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Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ʾÉlīʿezer Vīzel; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. He was a professor of the humanities at Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes and human rights causes and helped establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D. C. In his political activities, he also campaigned for victims of oppression in places like South Africa, Nicaragua, Kosovo, and Sudan. He publicly condemned the 1915 Armenian genocide and remained a strong defender of human rights during his lifetime. He was described as "the most important Jew in America" by the Los Angeles Times in 2003. Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. The Norwegian Nobel Committee called him a "messenger to mankind", stating that through his struggle to come to terms with "his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps", as well as his "practical work in the cause of peace", Wiesel delivered a message "of peace, atonement, and human dignity" to humanity. The Nobel Committee also stressed that Wiesel's commitment originated in the sufferings of the Jewish people but that he expanded it to embrace all repressed peoples and races. He was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active in it throughout his life. Early life Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet (now Sighetu Marmației), Maramureș, in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. His parents were Sarah Feig and Shlomo Wiesel. At home, Wiesel's family spoke Yiddish most of the time, but also German, Hungarian, and Romanian. Wiesel's mother, Sarah, was the daughter of Dodye Feig, a celebrated Vizhnitz Hasid and farmer from the nearby village of Bocskó. Dodye was active and trusted within the community. Wiesel's father, Shlomo, instilled a strong sense of humanism in his son, encouraging him to learn Hebrew and to read literature, whereas his mother encouraged him to study the Torah. Wiesel has said his father represented reason, while his mother Sarah promoted faith. Wiesel was instructed that his genealogy traced back to Rabbi Schlomo, son of Yitzhak, and was a descendant of Rabbi Yeshayahu ben Abraham Horovitz ha-Levi, an author. Wiesel had three siblings—older sisters Beatrice and Hilda, and younger sister Tzipora. Beatrice and Hilda survived the war, and were reunited with Wiesel at a French orphanage. They eventually emigrated to North America, with Beatrice moving to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Tzipora, Shlomo, and Sarah did not survive the Holocaust. Imprisonment and orphaning during the Holocaust In March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary, thus extending the Holocaust into Northern Transylvania as well. Wiesel was 15, and he, with his family, along with the rest of the town's Jewish population, was placed in one of the two confinement ghettos set up in Máramarossziget (Sighet), the town where he had been born and raised. In May 1944, the Hungarian authorities, under German pressure, began to deport the Jewish community to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where up to 90 percent of the people were killed on arrival. Immediately after they were sent to Auschwitz, his mother and his younger sister were murdered. Wiesel and his father were selected to perform labor so long as they remained able-bodied, after which they were to be killed in the gas chambers. Wiesel and his father were later deported to the concentration camp at Buchenwald. Until that transfer, he admitted to Oprah Winfrey, his primary motivation for trying to survive Auschwitz was knowing that his father was still alive: "I knew that if I died, he would die." After they were taken to Buchenwald, his father died before the camp was liberated. In Night, Wiesel recalled the shame he felt when he heard his father being beaten and was unable to help. Wiesel was tattooed with inmate number "A-7713" on his left arm. The camp was liberated by the U.S. Third Army on April 11, 1945, when they were just prepared to be evacuated from Buchenwald. Post-war career as a writer France After World War II ended and Wiesel was freed, he joined a transport of 1,000 child survivors of Buchenwald to Ecouis, France, where the Œuvre de secours aux enfants (OSE) had established a rehabilitation center. Wiesel joined a smaller group of 90 to 100 boys from Orthodox homes who wanted kosher facilities and a higher level of religious observance; they were cared for in a home in Ambloy under the directorship of Judith Hemmendinger. This home was later moved to Taverny and operated until 1947. Afterwards, Wiesel traveled to Paris where he learned French and studied literature, philosophy and psychology at the Sorbonne. He heard lectures by philosopher Martin Buber and existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre and he spent his evenings reading works by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Franz Kafka, and Thomas Mann. By the time he was 19, he had begun working as a journalist, writing in French, while also teaching Hebrew and working as a choirmaster. He wrote for Israeli and French newspapers, including Tsien in Kamf (in Yiddish). In 1946, after learning of the Irgun's bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, Wiesel made an unsuccessful attempt to join the underground Zionist movement. In 1948, he translated articles from Hebrew into Yiddish for Irgun periodicals, but never became a member of the organization. In 1949, he traveled to Israel as a correspondent for the French newspaper L'arche. He then was hired as Paris correspondent for the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, subsequently becoming its roaming international correspondent. For ten years after the war, Wiesel refused to write about or discuss his experiences during the Holocaust. He began to reconsider his decision after a meeting with the French author François Mauriac, the 1952 Nobel Laureate in Literature who eventually became Wiesel's close friend. Mauriac was a devout Christian who had fought in the French Resistance during the war. He compared Wiesel to "Lazarus rising from the dead", and saw from Wiesel's tormented eyes, "the death of God in the soul of a child". Mauriac persuaded him to begin writing about his harrowing experiences. Wiesel first wrote the 900-page memoir Un di velt hot geshvign (And the World Remained Silent) in Yiddish, which was published in abridged form in Buenos Aires. Wiesel rewrote a shortened version of the manuscript in French, La Nuit, in 1955. It was translated into English as Night in 1960. The book sold few copies after its initial publication, but still attracted interest from reviewers, leading to television interviews with Wiesel and meetings with writers such as Saul Bellow. As its profile rose, Night was eventually translated into 30 languages with ten million copies sold in the United States. At one point film director Orson Welles wanted to make it into a feature film, but Wiesel refused, feeling that his memoir would lose its meaning if it were told without the silences in between his words. Oprah Winfrey made it a spotlight selection for her book club in 2006. United States In 1955, Wiesel moved to New York as foreign correspondent for the Israel daily, Yediot Ahronot. In 1969, he married Marion Erster Rose, who was from Austria, who also translated many of his books. They had one son, Shlomo Elisha Wiesel, named after Wiesel's father. In the U.S., he eventually wrote over 40 books, most of them non-fiction Holocaust literature, and novels. As an author, he was awarded a number of literary prizes and is considered among the most important in describing the Holocaust from a highly personal perspective. As a result, some historians credited Wiesel with giving the term Holocaust its present meaning, although he did not feel that the word adequately described that historical event. In 1975, he co-founded the magazine Moment with writer Leonard Fein. The 1979 book and play The Trial of God are said to have been based on his real-life Auschwitz experience of witnessing three Jews who, close to death, conduct a trial against God, under the accusation that He has been oppressive towards the Jewish people. Wiesel also played a role in the initial success of The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski by endorsing it before it became known the book was fiction and, in the sense that it was presented as all Kosinski's true experience, a hoax. Wiesel published two volumes of memoirs. The first, All Rivers Run to the Sea, was published in 1994 and covered his life up to the year 1969. The second, titled And the Sea is Never Full and published in 1999, covered the years from 1969 to 1999. Political activism Wiesel and his wife, Marion, started the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity in 1986. He served as chairman of the President's Commission on the Holocaust (later renamed the US Holocaust Memorial Council) from 1978 to 1986, spearheading the building of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Sigmund Strochlitz was his close friend and confidant during these years. The Holocaust Memorial Museum gives the Elie Wiesel Award to "internationally prominent individuals whose actions have advanced the Museum's vision of a world where people confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity". The Foundation had invested its endowment in money manager Bernard L. Madoff's investment Ponzi scheme, costing the Foundation $15 million and Wiesel and his wife much of their own personal savings. In 1982, at the request of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Wiesel agreed to resign from his position as chairman of a planned international conference on the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. Wiesel then worked with the Foreign Ministry in its attempts to get the conference either cancelled or to remove all discussion of the Armenian genocide from it, and to those ends he provided the Foreign Ministry with internal documents on the conference's planning and lobbied fellow academics to not attend the conference. Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for speaking out against violence, repression, and racism. The Norwegian Nobel Committee described Wiesel as "one of the most important spiritual leaders and guides in an age when violence, repression, and racism continue to characterize the world". Wiesel explained his feelings during his acceptance speech: He received many other prizes and honors for his work, including the Congressional Gold Medal in 1985, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence. He was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1996. Wiesel co-founded Moment magazine with Leonard Fein in 1975. They founded the magazine to provide a voice for American Jews. He was also a member of the International Advisory Board of NGO Monitor. Wiesel became a regular speaker on the subject of the Holocaust. As a political activist, he advocated for many causes, including Israel, the plight of Soviet and Ethiopian Jews, the victims of apartheid in South Africa, Argentina's Desaparecidos, Bosnian victims of genocide in the former Yugoslavia, Nicaragua's Miskito Indians, and the Kurds. In April 1999, Wiesel delivered the speech "The Perils of Indifference" in Washington D.C., criticizing the people and countries who chose to be indifferent while the Holocaust was happening. He defined indifference as being neutral between two sides, which, in this case, amounts to overlooking the victims of the Holocaust. Throughout the speech, he expressed the view that a little bit of attention, either positive or negative, is better than no attention at all. In 2003, he discovered and publicized the fact that at least 280,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews, along with other groups, were massacred in Romanian-run death camps. In 2005, he gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the new building of Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust History Museum: I know what people say – it is so easy. Those that were there won't agree with that statement. The statement is: it was man's inhumanity to man. NO! It was man's inhumanity to Jews! Jews were not killed because they were human beings. In the eyes of the killers they were not human beings! They were Jews! In early 2006, Wiesel accompanied Oprah Winfrey as she visited Auschwitz, a visit which was broadcast as part of The Oprah Winfrey Show. On November 30, 2006, Wiesel received a knighthood in London in recognition of his work toward raising Holocaust education in the United Kingdom. In September 2006, he appeared before the UN Security Council with actor George Clooney to call attention to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. When Wiesel died, Clooney wrote, "We had a champion who carried our pain, our guilt, and our responsibility on his shoulders for generations." In 2007, Wiesel was awarded the Dayton Literary Peace Prize's Lifetime Achievement Award. That same year, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity issued a letter condemning Armenian genocide denial, a letter that was signed by 53 Nobel laureates including Wiesel. Wiesel has repeatedly called Turkey's 90-year-old campaign to downplay its actions during the Armenian genocide a double killing. In 2009, Wiesel criticized the Vatican for lifting the excommunication of controversial bishop Richard Williamson, a member of the Society of Saint Pius X. The excommunication was later reimposed. In June 2009, Wiesel accompanied US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as they toured the Buchenwald concentration camp. Wiesel was an adviser at the Gatestone Institute. In 2010, Wiesel accepted a five-year appointment as a Distinguished Presidential Fellow at Chapman University in Orange County, California. In that role, he made a one-week visit to Chapman annually to meet with students and offer his perspective on subjects ranging from Holocaust history to religion, languages, literature, law and music. In July 2009, Wiesel announced his support to the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka. He said that, "Wherever minorities are being persecuted, we must raise our voices to protest ... The Tamil people are being disenfranchised and victimized by the Sri Lanka authorities. This injustice must stop. The Tamil people must be allowed to live in peace and flourish in their homeland." In 2009, Wiesel returned to Hungary for his first visit since the Holocaust. During this visit, Wiesel participated in a conference at the Upper House Chamber of the Hungarian Parliament, met Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai and President László Sólyom, and made a speech to the approximately 10,000 participants of an anti-racist gathering held in Faith Hall. However, in 2012, he protested against "the whitewashing" of Hungary's involvement in the Holocaust, and he gave up the Great Cross award he had received from the Hungarian government. Wiesel was active in trying to prevent Iran from making nuclear weapons, stating that, "The words and actions of the leadership of Iran leave no doubt as to their intentions". He also condemned Hamas for the "use of children as human shields" during the 2014 Israel-Gaza Conflict by running an ad in several large newspapers. The Times refused to run the advertisement, saying, "The opinion being expressed is too strong, and too forcefully made, and will cause concern amongst a significant number of Times readers." Wiesel often emphasized the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, and criticized the Obama administration for pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt East Jerusalem Israeli settlement construction. He stated that "Jerusalem is above politics. It is mentioned more than six hundred times in Scripture—and not a single time in the Koran ... It belongs to the Jewish people and is much more than a city". Teaching Wiesel held the position of Andrew Mellon Professor of the Humanities at Boston University from 1976, teaching in both its religion and philosophy departments. He became a close friend of the president and chancellor John Silber. The university created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. From 1972 to 1976 Wiesel was a Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York and member of the American Federation of Teachers. In 1982 he served as the first Henry Luce Visiting Scholar in Humanities and Social Thought at Yale University. He also co-instructed Winter Term (January) courses at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida. From 1997 to 1999 he was Ingeborg Rennert Visiting Professor of Judaic Studies at Barnard College of Columbia University. Personal life In 1969 he married Marion Erster Rose, who originally was from Austria and also translated many of his books. They had one son, Shlomo Elisha Wiesel, named after Wiesel's father. The family lived in Greenwich, Connecticut. Wiesel was attacked in a San Francisco hotel by 22-year-old Holocaust denier Eric Hunt in February 2007, but was not injured. Hunt was arrested the following month and charged with multiple offenses. In May 2011, Wiesel served as the Washington University in St. Louis commencement speaker. In February 2012, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints performed a posthumous baptism for Simon Wiesenthal's parents without proper authorization. After his own name was submitted for proxy baptism, Wiesel spoke out against the unauthorized practice of posthumously baptizing Jews and asked presidential candidate and Latter-day Saint Mitt Romney to denounce it. Romney's campaign declined to comment, directing such questions to church officials. Death and aftermath Wiesel died on the morning of July 2, 2016, at his home in Manhattan, aged 87. Utah senator Orrin Hatch paid tribute to Wiesel in a speech on the Senate floor the following week, in which he said that "With Elie's passing, we have lost a beacon of humanity and hope. We have lost a hero of human rights and a luminary of Holocaust literature." In 2018, antisemitic graffiti was found on the house where Wiesel was born. Awards and honors Prix de l'Université de la Langue Française (Prix Rivarol) for The Town Beyond the Wall, 1963. National Jewish Book Award for The Town Beyond the Wall, 1965. Ingram Merrill award, 1964. Prix Médicis for A Beggar in Jerusalem, 1968. National Jewish Book Award for Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic Masters, 1973. Jewish Heritage Award, Haifa University, 1975. Holocaust Memorial Award, New York Society of Clinical Psychologists, 1975. S.Y. Agnon Medal, 1980. Jabotinsky Medal, State of Israel, 1980. Prix Livre Inter, France, for The Testament, 1980. Grand Prize in Literature from the City of Paris for The Fifth Son, 1983. Commander in the French Legion of Honor, 1984. U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, 1984. Four Freedom Award for the Freedom of Worship, 1985. Medal of Liberty, 1986. Nobel Peace Prize, 1986. Grand Officer in the French Legion of Honor, 1990. Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1992 Niebuhr Medal, Elmhurst College, Illinois, 1995. Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, 1996, presented by Awards Council member Rosa Parks at the Academy's 35th annual Summit in Sun Valley, Idaho. Grand Cross in the French Legion of Honor, 2000. Order of the Star of Romania, 2002. Man of the Year award, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 2005. Light of Truth award, International Campaign for Tibet, 2005. Honorary Knighthood, United Kingdom, 2006. Honorary Visiting Professor of Humanities, Rochester College, 2008. National Humanities Medal, 2009. Norman Mailer Prize, Lifetime Achievement, 2011. Loebenberg Humanitarian Award, Florida Holocaust Museum, 2012. Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement, 2012 Nadav Award, 2012. S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards, 2013. John Jay Medal for Justice John Jay College, 2014. Bust of Wiesel was carved on the Human Rights Porch of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., 2021. Honorary degrees Wiesel had received more than 90 honorary degrees from colleges worldwide. Doctor of Humane Letters, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1985. Doctor of Humane Letters, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, 1997. Doctorate, Seton Hall University, New Jersey, 1998. Doctor of Humanities, Michigan State University, 1999. Doctorate, McDaniel College, Westminster, Maryland, 2005. Doctor of Humane Letters, Chapman University, 2005. Doctor of Humane Letters, Dartmouth College, 2006. Doctor of Humane Letters, Cabrini College, Radnor, Pennsylvania, 2007. Doctor of Humane Letters, University of Vermont, 2007. Doctor of Humanities, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, 2007. Doctor of Letters, City College of New York, 2008. Doctorate, Tel Aviv University, 2008. Doctorate, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel, 2008. Doctor of Humane Letters, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, 2009. Doctor of Letters, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 2010. Doctor of Humane Letters, Washington University in St. Louis, 2011. Doctor of Humane Letters, College of Charleston, 2011. Doctorate, University of Warsaw, June 25, 2012. Doctorate, The University of British Columbia, September 10, 2012. Doctorate, Pontifical University of John Paul II, June 30, 2015 See also The Boys of Buchenwald – documentary about the orphanage in which he stayed after the Holocaust Canadian Institute for the Study of Antisemitism Elie Wiesel bibliography Elie Wiesel National Institute for Studying the Holocaust in Romania Genesis Prize God on Trial – a 2008 joint BBC / WGBH Boston dramatization of his book The Trial of God Holocaust research List of civil rights leaders List of investors in Bernard L. Madoff Securities List of Jewish Nobel laureates References Informational notes Citations Speeches and interviews Elie Wiesel Video Gallery "Perils of Indifference" Speech by Elie Wiesel, Washington, D.C., Transcript (as delivered), Audio, Video, April 12, 1999. "Perils of Indifference" Speech by Elie Wiesel, Washington, D.C., Text and Audio, April 12, 1999. The Kennedy Center Presents: Speak Truth to Power: Elie Wiesel, PBS, October 8, 2000. An Evening with Elie Wiesel. Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies. UCTV (University of California). August 19, 2002 Elie Wiesel: First Person Singular, PBS, October 24, 2002. . Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Elie Wiesel from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, May 24, 2007. Further reading Berenbaum, Michael. The Vision of the Void: Theological Reflections on the Works of Elie Wiesel. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1979. Davis, Colin. Elie Wiesel's Secretive Texts. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1994. Downing, Frederick L. Elie Wiesel: A Religious Biography. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2008. Fine, Ellen S. Legacy of Night: The Literary Universe of Elie Wiesel. New York: State University of New York Press, 1982. Fonseca, Isabel. Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey. London: Vintage, 1996. Rota, Olivier. Choisir le français pour exprimer l'indicible. Elie Wiesel, in , 2006, pp. 47–55. Re-published in Sens, dec. 2007, pp. 659–668. External links The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Biography on The Elie Wiesel Foundation For Humanity "Free At Last: Elie Wiesel, Plainclothes Nuns, and Breakthroughs – Or Witnessing a Witness of History", pp. 19–21 in 'Spirit of America, Vol. 39: Simple Gifts', La Crosse, WI: DigiCOPY, 2017, Essay by David Joseph Marcou about his meeting Mr. Wiesel and being official Viterbo U. Photographer for Elie Wiesel Day at Viterbo U., 9-26-06, in Book by DJ Marcou on Missouri J-School Library Web-page of David Joseph Marcou's works Elie Wiesel, Nobel Luminaries - Jewish Nobel Prize Winners, on the Beit Hatfutsot-The Museum of the Jewish People Website. 1928 births 2016 deaths Nobel Peace Prize laureates American Nobel laureates Romanian Nobel laureates Hungarian Nobel laureates Jewish American novelists 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century translators 21st-century translators American activists American agnostics American Federation of Teachers people American Jewish theologians American male novelists American memoirists American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American religious writers Auschwitz concentration camp survivors American biblical scholars Columbia University faculty Boston University faculty Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Congressional Gold Medal recipients Hasidic Judaism Holocaust historiography Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Hungarian Jews Hungarian writers Jewish agnostics Jewish concentration camp survivors Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Madoff investment scandal Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters National Humanities Medal recipients Nazi-era ghetto inmates Novelists from Massachusetts People from Sighetu Marmației Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Prix Médicis winners Prix du Livre Inter winners Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Distinction of Israel Romanian agnostics Romanian emigrants to the United States Romanian Jews Romanian writers The Holocaust in Hungary Translators to Yiddish United Nations Messengers of Peace University of Paris alumni Victims of human rights abuses Writers on antisemitism Yiddish-language writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Recipients of the Four Freedoms Award Burials at Kensico Cemetery Grand Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers

The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent company that produced motion pictures, formed by William Fox in 1915. It was the corporate successor and spin-off to his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film Company. The company's first film studios were set up in Fort Lee, New Jersey, but in 1917, William Fox sent Sol M. Wurtzel to Hollywood, California to oversee the studio's new West Coast production facilities, where the climate was more hospitable for filmmaking. On July 23, 1926, the company bought the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film. After the Wall Street crash of 1929, William Fox lost control of the company in 1930, during a hostile takeover. Under new president Sidney Kent, the new owners merged the company with Twentieth Century Pictures to form 20th Century-Fox in 1935. History Background William Fox entered the film industry in 1904 when he purchased a one-third share of a Brooklyn nickelodeon for $1,667. He reinvested his profits from that initial location, expanding to fifteen similar venues in the city, and purchasing prints from the major studios of the time: Biograph, Essanay, Kalem, Lubin, Pathé, Selig, Phonoson-Coles, Tsereteli and Vitagraph. After experiencing further success presenting live vaudeville routines along with motion pictures, he expanded into larger venues beginning with his purchase of the disused Gaiety theater, and continuing with acquisitions throughout New York City and New Jersey, including the Academy of Music. Fox invested further in the film industry by founding the Greater New York Film Rental Company as a film distributor. The major film studios responded by forming the Motion Picture Patents Company in 1908 and the General Film Company in 1910, in an effort to create a monopoly on the creation and distribution of motion pictures. Fox refused to sell out to the monopoly, and sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act, eventually receiving a $370,000 settlement, and ending restrictions on the length of films and the prices that could be paid for screenplays. In 1914, reflecting the broader scope of his business, he renamed it the Box Office Attraction Film Rental Company. He entered into a contract with the Balboa Amusement Producing Company film studio, purchasing all of their films for showing in his New York area theaters and renting the prints to other exhibitors nationwide. He also continued to distribute material from other sources, such as Winsor McCay's early animated film Gertie the Dinosaur. Later that year, Fox concluded that it was unwise to be so dependent on other companies, so he purchased the Éclair studio facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey, along with property in Staten Island, and arranged for actors and crew. The company became a film studio, with its name shortened to the Box Office Attractions Company; its first release was Life's Shop Window. Fox Film Corporation Always more of an entrepreneur than a showman, Fox concentrated on acquiring and building theaters; pictures were secondary. The company's first film studios were set up in Fort Lee where it and many other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based at the beginning of the 20th century. That same year, in 1914, Fox Film began making motion pictures in California, and in 1915 decided to build its own permanent studio. The company leased the Los Angeles Edendale studio of the Selig Polyscope Company until its own studio, located at Western Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, was completed in 1916. In 1917, William Fox sent Sol M. Wurtzel to Hollywood to oversee the studio's West Coast production facilities where a more hospitable and cost-effective climate existed for filmmaking. Between 1915 and 1919, Fox Films earned millions of dollars through films featuring Theda Bara, known as "The Vamp" due to her unique habit for displaying exoticism. With the introduction of sound technology, Fox moved to acquire the rights to a sound-on-film process. In the years 1925–26, Fox purchased the rights to the work of Freeman Harrison Owens, the U.S. rights to the Tri-Ergon system invented by three German inventors, and the work of Theodore Case. This resulted in the Movietone sound system later known as "Fox Movietone" developed at the Movietone Studio. Later that year, the company began offering films with a music-and-effects track, and the following year Fox began the weekly Fox Movietone News feature, that ran until 1963. The growing company needed space, and in 1926 Fox acquired 300 acres (1.2 km2) in the open country west of Beverly Hills and built "Movietone City", the best-equipped studio of its time. Because William Fox opted to remain in New York, much of the Hollywood filmmaking at the Fox Film Corporation was instead managed by Fox's movie makers. Janet Gaynor would also become one of the company's most prominent stars by the late 1920s. Decline When rival Marcus Loew died in 1927, Fox offered to buy the Loew family's holdings. Loew's Inc. controlled more than 200 theaters, as well as the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio. The Loew family agreed to the sale, and the merger of Fox and Loew's Inc. was announced in 1929; MGM studio bosses Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg were not included in the deal, and fought back. Using powerful political connections, Mayer called upon the Justice Department's antitrust unit to delay giving final approval to the merger. William Fox was badly injured in a car crash in the summer of 1929, and by the time he recovered, he had lost most of his fortune in the stock market crash of 1929, ending any chance of the Fox/Loew's merger being approved, even without the Justice Department's objections. Overextended and close to bankruptcy, Fox was stripped of his empire in 1930 and later ended up in jail on bribery and perjury charges. Fox Film, with more than 500 theatres, was placed in receivership. A bank-mandated reorganization propped the company up for a time, but it soon became apparent that despite its size, Fox could not stand on its own. William Fox resented the way he was forced out of his company and portrayed it as an active conspiracy against him in the 1933 book Upton Sinclair Presents William Fox. Merger Under new president Sidney Kent, the new owners began negotiating with the upstart, but powerful independent Twentieth Century Pictures in the early spring of 1935. The two companies merged that spring and formed 20th Century-Fox Studios. By 1985, the hyphen of that merger would lose itself by the time News Corporation purchased the company. Since 2020, that company was named 20th Century Studios following the Disney purchase. For many years, 20th Century-Fox claimed to have been founded in 1915. For instance, it marked 1945 as its 30th anniversary. However, in recent years it has claimed the 1935 merger as its founding, even though most film historians agree it was founded in 1915. Products Feature films A 1937 fire in a Fox film storage facility destroyed over 40,000 reels of negatives and prints, including the best-quality copies of every Fox feature produced prior to 1932; although copies located elsewhere allowed many to survive in some form, over 75% of Fox's feature films from before 1930 are completely lost. Newsreels In 1919, Fox began a series of silent newsreels, competing with existing series such as Hearst Metrotone News, International Newsreel, and Pathé News. Fox News premiered on October 11, 1919, with subsequent issues released on the Wednesday and Sunday of each week. Fox News gained an advantage over its more established competitors when President Woodrow Wilson endorsed the newsreel in a letter, in what may have been the first time an American president commented on a film. In subsequent years, Fox News remained one of the major names in the newsreel industry by providing often-exclusive coverage of major international events, including reporting on Pancho Villa, the airship Roma, the Ku Klux Klan, and a 1922 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The silent newsreel series continued until 1930. In 1926, a subsidiary, Fox Movietone Corporation, was created, tasked with producing newsreels using Fox's recently acquired sound-on-film technology. The first of these newsreels debuted on January 21, 1927. Four months later, the May 25 release of a sound recording of Charles Lindbergh's departure on his transatlantic flight was described by film historian Raymond Fielding as the "first sound news film of consequence". Movietone News was launched as a regular newsreel feature December 3 of that year. Production of the series continued after the merger with Twentieth Century Pictures, until 1963, and continued to serve 20th Century Fox after that, as a source for film industry stock footage. Unlike Fox's early feature films, the Fox News and Fox Movietone News libraries have largely survived. The earlier series and some parts of its sound successor are now held by the University of South Carolina, with the remaining Fox Movietone News still held by the company. Serials Fox Film briefly experimented with serial films, releasing the 15-episode Bride 13 and the 20-episode Fantômas in 1920. William Fox was unwilling to compromise on production quality in order to make serials profitable, however, and none were produced subsequently. Short films Hundreds of one- and two-reel short films of various types were also produced by Fox. Beginning in 1916, the Sunshine Comedy division created two-reel comedy shorts. Many of these, beginning with 1917's Roaring Lions and Wedding Bliss, starring Lloyd Hamilton, were slapstick, intended to compete with Mack Sennett's popular offerings. Sunshine releases continued until the introduction of sound. Other short film series included Imperial Comedies, Van Bibber Comedies (with Earle Foxe), O'Henry, Married Life of Helen and Warren, and Fox Varieties. Fox's expansion into Spanish-language films in the early 1930s also included shorts. Notes References Bibliography External links 1915 establishments in California 1935 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1915 American companies disestablished in 1935 Mass media companies established in 1915 Mass media companies disestablished in 1935 Companies based in Los Angeles Defunct American film studios Film production companies of the United States Film distributors of the United States 20th Century Studios Articles containing video clips Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners

In mathematics, a field is a set on which addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are defined and behave as the corresponding operations on rational and real numbers do. A field is thus a fundamental algebraic structure which is widely used in algebra, number theory, and many other areas of mathematics. The best known fields are the field of rational numbers, the field of real numbers and the field of complex numbers. Many other fields, such as fields of rational functions, algebraic function fields, algebraic number fields, and p-adic fields are commonly used and studied in mathematics, particularly in number theory and algebraic geometry. Most cryptographic protocols rely on finite fields, i.e., fields with finitely many elements. The relation of two fields is expressed by the notion of a field extension. Galois theory, initiated by Évariste Galois in the 1830s, is devoted to understanding the symmetries of field extensions. Among other results, this theory shows that angle trisection and squaring the circle cannot be done with a compass and straightedge. Moreover, it shows that quintic equations are, in general, algebraically unsolvable. Fields serve as foundational notions in several mathematical domains. This includes different branches of mathematical analysis, which are based on fields with additional structure. Basic theorems in analysis hinge on the structural properties of the field of real numbers. Most importantly for algebraic purposes, any field may be used as the scalars for a vector space, which is the standard general context for linear algebra. Number fields, the siblings of the field of rational numbers, are studied in depth in number theory. Function fields can help describe properties of geometric objects. Definition Informally, a field is a set, along with two operations defined on that set: an addition operation written as , and a multiplication operation written as , both of which behave similarly as they behave for rational numbers and real numbers, including the existence of an additive inverse for all elements , and of a multiplicative inverse for every nonzero element . This allows one to also consider the so-called inverse operations of subtraction, , and division, , by defining: , . Classic definition Formally, a field is a set together with two binary operations on called addition and multiplication. A binary operation on is a mapping , that is, a correspondence that associates with each ordered pair of elements of F a uniquely determined element of . The result of the addition of and is called the sum of and , and is denoted . Similarly, the result of the multiplication of and is called the product of and , and is denoted or . These operations are required to satisfy the following properties, referred to as field axioms (in these axioms, , , and are arbitrary elements of the field ): Associativity of addition and multiplication: , and . Commutativity of addition and multiplication: , and . Additive and multiplicative identity: there exist two different elements and in such that and . Additive inverses: for every in , there exists an element in , denoted , called the additive inverse of , such that . Multiplicative inverses: for every in , there exists an element in , denoted by or , called the multiplicative inverse of , such that . Distributivity of multiplication over addition: . This may be summarized by saying: a field has two operations, called addition and multiplication; it is an abelian group under addition with 0 as the additive identity; the nonzero elements are an abelian group under multiplication with 1 as the multiplicative identity; and multiplication distributes over addition. Even more summarized: a field is a commutative ring where and all nonzero elements are invertible. Alternative definition Fields can also be defined in different, but equivalent ways. One can alternatively define a field by four binary operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) and their required properties. Division by zero is, by definition, excluded. In order to avoid existential quantifiers, fields can be defined by two binary operations (addition and multiplication), two unary operations (yielding the additive and multiplicative inverses respectively), and two nullary operations (the constants and ). These operations are then subject to the conditions above. Avoiding existential quantifiers is important in constructive mathematics and computing. One may equivalently define a field by the same two binary operations, one unary operation (the multiplicative inverse), and two constants and , since and . Examples Rational numbers Rational numbers have been widely used a long time before the elaboration of the concept of field. They are numbers that can be written as fractions , where and are integers, and . The additive inverse of such a fraction is , and the multiplicative inverse (provided that ) is , which can be seen as follows: The abstractly required field axioms reduce to standard properties of rational numbers. For example, the law of distributivity can be proven as follows: Real and complex numbers The real numbers , with the usual operations of addition and multiplication, also form a field. The complex numbers consist of expressions with real, where is the imaginary unit, i.e., a (non-real) number satisfying . Addition and multiplication of real numbers are defined in such a way that expressions of this type satisfy all field axioms and thus hold for . For example, the distributive law enforces It is immediate that this is again an expression of the above type, and so the complex numbers form a field. Complex numbers can be geometrically represented as points in the plane, with Cartesian coordinates given by the real numbers of their describing expression, or as the arrows from the origin to these points, specified by their length and an angle enclosed with some distinct direction. Addition then corresponds to combining the arrows to the intuitive parallelogram (adding the Cartesian coordinates), and the multiplication is – less intuitively – combining rotating and scaling of the arrows (adding the angles and multiplying the lengths). The fields of real and complex numbers are used throughout mathematics, physics, engineering, statistics, and many other scientific disciplines. Constructible numbers In antiquity, several geometric problems concerned the (in)feasibility of constructing certain numbers with compass and straightedge. For example, it was unknown to the Greeks that it is, in general, impossible to trisect a given angle in this way. These problems can be settled using the field of constructible numbers. Real constructible numbers are, by definition, lengths of line segments that can be constructed from the points 0 and 1 in finitely many steps using only compass and straightedge. These numbers, endowed with the field operations of real numbers, restricted to the constructible numbers, form a field, which properly includes the field of rational numbers. The illustration shows the construction of square roots of constructible numbers, not necessarily contained within . Using the labeling in the illustration, construct the segments , , and a semicircle over (center at the midpoint ), which intersects the perpendicular line through in a point , at a distance of exactly from when has length one. Not all real numbers are constructible. It can be shown that is not a constructible number, which implies that it is impossible to construct with compass and straightedge the length of the side of a cube with volume 2, another problem posed by the ancient Greeks. A field with four elements In addition to familiar number systems such as the rationals, there are other, less immediate examples of fields. The following example is a field consisting of four elements called , , , and . The notation is chosen such that plays the role of the additive identity element (denoted 0 in the axioms above), and is the multiplicative identity (denoted 1 in the axioms above). The field axioms can be verified by using some more field theory, or by direct computation. For example, , which equals , as required by the distributivity. This field is called a finite field with four elements, and is denoted or . The subset consisting of and (highlighted in red in the tables at the right) is also a field, known as the binary field or . In the context of computer science and Boolean algebra, and are often denoted respectively by false and true, the addition is then denoted XOR (exclusive or), and the multiplication is denoted AND. In other words, the structure of the binary field is the basic structure that allows computing with bits. Elementary notions In this section, denotes an arbitrary field and and are arbitrary elements of . Consequences of the definition One has and . In particular, one may deduce the additive inverse of every element as soon as one knows . If then or must be 0, since, if , then . This means that every field is an integral domain. In addition, the following properties are true for any elements and : if The additive and the multiplicative group of a field The axioms of a field imply that it is an abelian group under addition. This group is called the additive group of the field, and is sometimes denoted by when denoting it simply as could be confusing. Similarly, the nonzero elements of form an abelian group under multiplication, called the multiplicative group, and denoted by or just or . A field may thus be defined as set equipped with two operations denoted as an addition and a multiplication such that is an abelian group under addition, is an abelian group under multiplication (where 0 is the identity element of the addition), and multiplication is distributive over addition. Some elementary statements about fields can therefore be obtained by applying general facts of groups. For example, the additive and multiplicative inverses and are uniquely determined by . The requirement follows, because 1 is the identity element of a group that does not contain 0. Thus, the trivial ring, consisting of a single element, is not a field. Every finite subgroup of the multiplicative group of a field is cyclic (see ). Characteristic In addition to the multiplication of two elements of F, it is possible to define the product of an arbitrary element of by a positive integer to be the -fold sum (which is an element of .) If there is no positive integer such that , then is said to have characteristic 0. For example, the field of rational numbers has characteristic 0 since no positive integer is zero. Otherwise, if there is a positive integer satisfying this equation, the smallest such positive integer can be shown to be a prime number. It is usually denoted by and the field is said to have characteristic then. For example, the field has characteristic 2 since (in the notation of the above addition table) . If has characteristic , then for all in . This implies that , since all other binomial coefficients appearing in the binomial formula are divisible by . Here, ( factors) is the -th power, i.e., the -fold product of the element . Therefore, the Frobenius map is compatible with the addition in (and also with the multiplication), and is therefore a field homomorphism. The existence of this homomorphism makes fields in characteristic quite different from fields of characteristic 0. Subfields and prime fields A subfield of a field is a subset of that is a field with respect to the field operations of . Equivalently is a subset of that contains , and is closed under addition, multiplication, additive inverse and multiplicative inverse of a nonzero element. This means that , that for all both and are in , and that for all in , both and are in . Field homomorphisms are maps between two fields such that , , and , where and are arbitrary elements of . All field homomorphisms are injective. If is also surjective, it is called an isomorphism (or the fields and are called isomorphic). A field is called a prime field if it has no proper (i.e., strictly smaller) subfields. Any field contains a prime field. If the characteristic of is (a prime number), the prime field is isomorphic to the finite field introduced below. Otherwise the prime field is isomorphic to . Finite fields Finite fields (also called Galois fields) are fields with finitely many elements, whose number is also referred to as the order of the field. The above introductory example is a field with four elements. Its subfield is the smallest field, because by definition a field has at least two distinct elements . The simplest finite fields, with prime order, are most directly accessible using modular arithmetic. For a fixed positive integer , arithmetic "modulo " means to work with the numbers The addition and multiplication on this set are done by performing the operation in question in the set of integers, dividing by and taking the remainder as result. This construction yields a field precisely if is a prime number. For example, taking the prime results in the above-mentioned field . For and more generally, for any composite number (i.e., any number which can be expressed as a product of two strictly smaller natural numbers), is not a field: the product of two non-zero elements is zero since in , which, as was explained above, prevents from being a field. The field with elements ( being prime) constructed in this way is usually denoted by . Every finite field has elements, where is prime and . This statement holds since may be viewed as a vector space over its prime field. The dimension of this vector space is necessarily finite, say , which implies the asserted statement. A field with elements can be constructed as the splitting field of the polynomial . Such a splitting field is an extension of in which the polynomial has zeros. This means has as many zeros as possible since the degree of is . For , it can be checked case by case using the above multiplication table that all four elements of satisfy the equation , so they are zeros of . By contrast, in , has only two zeros (namely 0 and 1), so does not split into linear factors in this smaller field. Elaborating further on basic field-theoretic notions, it can be shown that two finite fields with the same order are isomorphic. It is thus customary to speak of the finite field with elements, denoted by or . History Historically, three algebraic disciplines led to the concept of a field: the question of solving polynomial equations, algebraic number theory, and algebraic geometry. A first step towards the notion of a field was made in 1770 by Joseph-Louis Lagrange, who observed that permuting the zeros of a cubic polynomial in the expression (with being a third root of unity) only yields two values. This way, Lagrange conceptually explained the classical solution method of Scipione del Ferro and François Viète, which proceeds by reducing a cubic equation for an unknown to a quadratic equation for . Together with a similar observation for equations of degree 4, Lagrange thus linked what eventually became the concept of fields and the concept of groups. Vandermonde, also in 1770, and to a fuller extent, Carl Friedrich Gauss, in his Disquisitiones Arithmeticae (1801), studied the equation for a prime and, again using modern language, the resulting cyclic Galois group. Gauss deduced that a regular -gon can be constructed if . Building on Lagrange's work, Paolo Ruffini claimed (1799) that quintic equations (polynomial equations of degree 5) cannot be solved algebraically; however, his arguments were flawed. These gaps were filled by Niels Henrik Abel in 1824. Évariste Galois, in 1832, devised necessary and sufficient criteria for a polynomial equation to be algebraically solvable, thus establishing in effect what is known as Galois theory today. Both Abel and Galois worked with what is today called an algebraic number field, but conceived neither an explicit notion of a field, nor of a group. In 1871 Richard Dedekind introduced, for a set of real or complex numbers that is closed under the four arithmetic operations, the German word Körper, which means "body" or "corpus" (to suggest an organically closed entity). The English term "field" was introduced by . In 1881 Leopold Kronecker defined what he called a domain of rationality, which is a field of rational fractions in modern terms. Kronecker's notion did not cover the field of all algebraic numbers (which is a field in Dedekind's sense), but on the other hand was more abstract than Dedekind's in that it made no specific assumption on the nature of the elements of a field. Kronecker interpreted a field such as abstractly as the rational function field . Prior to this, examples of transcendental numbers were known since Joseph Liouville's work in 1844, until Charles Hermite (1873) and Ferdinand von Lindemann (1882) proved the transcendence of and , respectively. The first clear definition of an abstract field is due to . In particular, Heinrich Martin Weber's notion included the field Fp. Giuseppe Veronese (1891) studied the field of formal power series, which led to introduce the field of p-adic numbers. synthesized the knowledge of abstract field theory accumulated so far. He axiomatically studied the properties of fields and defined many important field-theoretic concepts. The majority of the theorems mentioned in the sections Galois theory, Constructing fields and Elementary notions can be found in Steinitz's work. linked the notion of orderings in a field, and thus the area of analysis, to purely algebraic properties. Emil Artin redeveloped Galois theory from 1928 through 1942, eliminating the dependency on the primitive element theorem. Constructing fields Constructing fields from rings A commutative ring is a set, equipped with an addition and multiplication operation, satisfying all the axioms of a field, except for the existence of multiplicative inverses . For example, the integers form a commutative ring, but not a field: the reciprocal of an integer is not itself an integer, unless . In the hierarchy of algebraic structures fields can be characterized as the commutative rings in which every nonzero element is a unit (which means every element is invertible). Similarly, fields are the commutative rings with precisely two distinct ideals, and . Fields are also precisely the commutative rings in which is the only prime ideal. Given a commutative ring , there are two ways to construct a field related to , i.e., two ways of modifying such that all nonzero elements become invertible: forming the field of fractions, and forming residue fields. The field of fractions of is , the rationals, while the residue fields of are the finite fields . Field of fractions Given an integral domain , its field of fractions is built with the fractions of two elements of exactly as Q is constructed from the integers. More precisely, the elements of are the fractions where and are in , and . Two fractions and are equal if and only if . The operation on the fractions work exactly as for rational numbers. For example, It is straightforward to show that, if the ring is an integral domain, the set of the fractions form a field. The field of the rational fractions over a field (or an integral domain) is the field of fractions of the polynomial ring . The field of Laurent series over a field is the field of fractions of the ring of formal power series (in which ). Since any Laurent series is a fraction of a power series divided by a power of (as opposed to an arbitrary power series), the representation of fractions is less important in this situation, though. Residue fields In addition to the field of fractions, which embeds injectively into a field, a field can be obtained from a commutative ring by means of a surjective map onto a field . Any field obtained in this way is a quotient , where is a maximal ideal of . If has only one maximal ideal , this field is called the residue field of . The ideal generated by a single polynomial in the polynomial ring (over a field ) is maximal if and only if is irreducible in , i.e., if cannot be expressed as the product of two polynomials in of smaller degree. This yields a field This field contains an element (namely the residue class of ) which satisfies the equation . For example, is obtained from by adjoining the imaginary unit symbol , which satisfies , where . Moreover, is irreducible over , which implies that the map that sends a polynomial to yields an isomorphism Constructing fields within a bigger field Fields can be constructed inside a given bigger container field. Suppose given a field , and a field containing as a subfield. For any element of , there is a smallest subfield of containing and , called the subfield of F generated by and denoted . The passage from to is referred to by adjoining an element to . More generally, for a subset , there is a minimal subfield of containing and , denoted by . The compositum of two subfields and of some field is the smallest subfield of containing both and The compositum can be used to construct the biggest subfield of satisfying a certain property, for example the biggest subfield of , which is, in the language introduced below, algebraic over . Field extensions The notion of a subfield can also be regarded from the opposite point of view, by referring to being a field extension (or just extension) of , denoted by , and read " over ". A basic datum of a field extension is its degree , i.e., the dimension of as an -vector space. It satisfies the formula . Extensions whose degree is finite are referred to as finite extensions. The extensions and are of degree 2, whereas is an infinite extension. Algebraic extensions A pivotal notion in the study of field extensions are algebraic elements. An element is algebraic over if it is a root of a polynomial with coefficients in , that is, if it satisfies a polynomial equation , with in , and . For example, the imaginary unit in is algebraic over , and even over , since it satisfies the equation . A field extension in which every element of is algebraic over is called an algebraic extension. Any finite extension is necessarily algebraic, as can be deduced from the above multiplicativity formula. The subfield generated by an element , as above, is an algebraic extension of if and only if is an algebraic element. That is to say, if is algebraic, all other elements of are necessarily algebraic as well. Moreover, the degree of the extension , i.e., the dimension of as an -vector space, equals the minimal degree such that there is a polynomial equation involving , as above. If this degree is , then the elements of have the form For example, the field of Gaussian rationals is the subfield of consisting of all numbers of the form where both and are rational numbers: summands of the form (and similarly for higher exponents) don't have to be considered here, since can be simplified to . Transcendence bases The above-mentioned field of rational fractions , where is an indeterminate, is not an algebraic extension of since there is no polynomial equation with coefficients in whose zero is . Elements, such as , which are not algebraic are called transcendental. Informally speaking, the indeterminate and its powers do not interact with elements of . A similar construction can be carried out with a set of indeterminates, instead of just one. Once again, the field extension discussed above is a key example: if is not algebraic (i.e., is not a root of a polynomial with coefficients in ), then is isomorphic to . This isomorphism is obtained by substituting to in rational fractions. A subset of a field is a transcendence basis if it is algebraically independent (don't satisfy any polynomial relations) over and if is an algebraic extension of . Any field extension has a transcendence basis. Thus, field extensions can be split into ones of the form (purely transcendental extensions) and algebraic extensions. Closure operations A field is algebraically closed if it does not have any strictly bigger algebraic extensions or, equivalently, if any polynomial equation , with coefficients , has a solution . By the fundamental theorem of algebra, is algebraically closed, i.e., any polynomial equation with complex coefficients has a complex solution. The rational and the real numbers are not algebraically closed since the equation does not have any rational or real solution. A field containing is called an algebraic closure of if it is algebraic over (roughly speaking, not too big compared to ) and is algebraically closed (big enough to contain solutions of all polynomial equations). By the above, is an algebraic closure of . The situation that the algebraic closure is a finite extension of the field is quite special: by the Artin-Schreier theorem, the degree of this extension is necessarily 2, and is elementarily equivalent to . Such fields are also known as real closed fields. Any field has an algebraic closure, which is moreover unique up to (non-unique) isomorphism. It is commonly referred to as the algebraic closure and denoted . For example, the algebraic closure of is called the field of algebraic numbers. The field is usually rather implicit since its construction requires the ultrafilter lemma, a set-theoretic axiom that is weaker than the axiom of choice. In this regard, the algebraic closure of , is exceptionally simple. It is the union of the finite fields containing (the ones of order ). For any algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, the algebraic closure of the field of Laurent series is the field of Puiseux series, obtained by adjoining roots of . Fields with additional structure Since fields are ubiquitous in mathematics and beyond, several refinements of the concept have been adapted to the needs of particular mathematical areas. Ordered fields A field F is called an ordered field if any two elements can be compared, so that and whenever and . For example, the real numbers form an ordered field, with the usual ordering . The Artin-Schreier theorem states that a field can be ordered if and only if it is a formally real field, which means that any quadratic equation only has the solution . The set of all possible orders on a fixed field is isomorphic to the set of ring homomorphisms from the Witt ring of quadratic forms over , to . An Archimedean field is an ordered field such that for each element there exists a finite expression whose value is greater than that element, that is, there are no infinite elements. Equivalently, the field contains no infinitesimals (elements smaller than all rational numbers); or, yet equivalent, the field is isomorphic to a subfield of . An ordered field is Dedekind-complete if all upper bounds, lower bounds (see Dedekind cut) and limits, which should exist, do exist. More formally, each bounded subset of is required to have a least upper bound. Any complete field is necessarily Archimedean, since in any non-Archimedean field there is neither a greatest infinitesimal nor a least positive rational, whence the sequence , every element of which is greater than every infinitesimal, has no limit. Since every proper subfield of the reals also contains such gaps, is the unique complete ordered field, up to isomorphism. Several foundational results in calculus follow directly from this characterization of the reals. The hyperreals form an ordered field that is not Archimedean. It is an extension of the reals obtained by including infinite and infinitesimal numbers. These are larger, respectively smaller than any real number. The hyperreals form the foundational basis of non-standard analysis. Topological fields Another refinement of the notion of a field is a topological field, in which the set is a topological space, such that all operations of the field (addition, multiplication, the maps and ) are continuous maps with respect to the topology of the space. The topology of all the fields discussed below is induced from a metric, i.e., a function that measures a distance between any two elements of . The completion of is another field in which, informally speaking, the "gaps" in the original field are filled, if there are any. For example, any irrational number , such as , is a "gap" in the rationals in the sense that it is a real number that can be approximated arbitrarily closely by rational numbers , in the sense that distance of and given by the absolute value is as small as desired. The following table lists some examples of this construction. The fourth column shows an example of a zero sequence, i.e., a sequence whose limit (for ) is zero. The field is used in number theory and -adic analysis. The algebraic closure carries a unique norm extending the one on , but is not complete. The completion of this algebraic closure, however, is algebraically closed. Because of its rough analogy to the complex numbers, it is sometimes called the field of complex p-adic numbers and is denoted by . Local fields The following topological fields are called local fields: finite extensions of (local fields of characteristic zero) finite extensions of , the field of Laurent series over (local fields of characteristic ). These two types of local fields share some fundamental similarities. In this relation, the elements and (referred to as uniformizer) correspond to each other. The first manifestation of this is at an elementary level: the elements of both fields can be expressed as power series in the uniformizer, with coefficients in . (However, since the addition in is done using carrying, which is not the case in , these fields are not isomorphic.) The following facts show that this superficial similarity goes much deeper: Any first-order statement that is true for almost all is also true for almost all . An application of this is the Ax-Kochen theorem describing zeros of homogeneous polynomials in . Tamely ramified extensions of both fields are in bijection to one another. Adjoining arbitrary -power roots of (in ), respectively of (in ), yields (infinite) extensions of these fields known as perfectoid fields. Strikingly, the Galois groups of these two fields are isomorphic, which is the first glimpse of a remarkable parallel between these two fields: Differential fields Differential fields are fields equipped with a derivation, i.e., allow to take derivatives of elements in the field. For example, the field R(X), together with the standard derivative of polynomials forms a differential field. These fields are central to differential Galois theory, a variant of Galois theory dealing with linear differential equations. Galois theory Galois theory studies algebraic extensions of a field by studying the symmetry in the arithmetic operations of addition and multiplication. An important notion in this area is that of finite Galois extensions , which are, by definition, those that are separable and normal. The primitive element theorem shows that finite separable extensions are necessarily simple, i.e., of the form , where is an irreducible polynomial (as above). For such an extension, being normal and separable means that all zeros of are contained in and that has only simple zeros. The latter condition is always satisfied if has characteristic 0. For a finite Galois extension, the Galois group is the group of field automorphisms of that are trivial on (i.e., the bijections that preserve addition and multiplication and that send elements of to themselves). The importance of this group stems from the fundamental theorem of Galois theory, which constructs an explicit one-to-one correspondence between the set of subgroups of and the set of intermediate extensions of the extension . By means of this correspondence, group-theoretic properties translate into facts about fields. For example, if the Galois group of a Galois extension as above is not solvable (cannot be built from abelian groups), then the zeros of cannot be expressed in terms of addition, multiplication, and radicals, i.e., expressions involving . For example, the symmetric groups is not solvable for . Consequently, as can be shown, the zeros of the following polynomials are not expressible by sums, products, and radicals. For the latter polynomial, this fact is known as the Abel–Ruffini theorem: (and ), (where is regarded as a polynomial in , for some indeterminates , is any field, and ). The tensor product of fields is not usually a field. For example, a finite extension of degree is a Galois extension if and only if there is an isomorphism of -algebras . This fact is the beginning of Grothendieck's Galois theory, a far-reaching extension of Galois theory applicable to algebro-geometric objects. Invariants of fields Basic invariants of a field include the characteristic and the transcendence degree of over its prime field. The latter is defined as the maximal number of elements in that are algebraically independent over the prime field. Two algebraically closed fields and are isomorphic precisely if these two data agree. This implies that any two uncountable algebraically closed fields of the same cardinality and the same characteristic are isomorphic. For example, and are isomorphic (but not isomorphic as topological fields). Model theory of fields In model theory, a branch of mathematical logic, two fields and are called elementarily equivalent if every mathematical statement that is true for is also true for and conversely. The mathematical statements in question are required to be first-order sentences (involving 0, 1, the addition and multiplication). A typical example, for , n an integer, is = "any polynomial of degree in has a zero in " The set of such formulas for all expresses that is algebraically closed. The Lefschetz principle states that is elementarily equivalent to any algebraically closed field of characteristic zero. Moreover, any fixed statement holds in if and only if it holds in any algebraically closed field of sufficiently high characteristic. If is an ultrafilter on a set , and is a field for every in , the ultraproduct of the with respect to is a field. It is denoted by , since it behaves in several ways as a limit of the fields : Łoś's theorem states that any first order statement that holds for all but finitely many , also holds for the ultraproduct. Applied to the above sentence , this shows that there is an isomorphism The Ax–Kochen theorem mentioned above also follows from this and an isomorphism of the ultraproducts (in both cases over all primes ) . In addition, model theory also studies the logical properties of various other types of fields, such as real closed fields or exponential fields (which are equipped with an exponential function ). The absolute Galois group For fields that are not algebraically closed (or not separably closed), the absolute Galois group is fundamentally important: extending the case of finite Galois extensions outlined above, this group governs all finite separable extensions of . By elementary means, the group can be shown to be the Prüfer group, the profinite completion of . This statement subsumes the fact that the only algebraic extensions of are the fields for , and that the Galois groups of these finite extensions are given by . A description in terms of generators and relations is also known for the Galois groups of -adic number fields (finite extensions of ). Representations of Galois groups and of related groups such as the Weil group are fundamental in many branches of arithmetic, such as the Langlands program. The cohomological study of such representations is done using Galois cohomology. For example, the Brauer group, which is classically defined as the group of central simple -algebras, can be reinterpreted as a Galois cohomology group, namely . K-theory Milnor K-theory is defined as The norm residue isomorphism theorem, proved around 2000 by Vladimir Voevodsky, relates this to Galois cohomology by means of an isomorphism Algebraic K-theory is related to the group of invertible matrices with coefficients the given field. For example, the process of taking the determinant of an invertible matrix leads to an isomorphism K1(F) = F×. Matsumoto's theorem shows that K2(F) agrees with K2M(F). In higher degrees, K-theory diverges from Milnor K-theory and remains hard to compute in general. Applications Linear algebra and commutative algebra If , then the equation has a unique solution in a field , namely This immediate consequence of the definition of a field is fundamental in linear algebra. For example, it is an essential ingredient of Gaussian elimination and of the proof that any vector space has a basis. The theory of modules (the analogue of vector spaces over rings instead of fields) is much more complicated, because the above equation may have several or no solutions. In particular systems of linear equations over a ring are much more difficult to solve than in the case of fields, even in the specially simple case of the ring of the integers. Finite fields: cryptography and coding theory A widely applied cryptographic routine uses the fact that discrete exponentiation, i.e., computing ( factors, for an integer ) in a (large) finite field can be performed much more efficiently than the discrete logarithm, which is the inverse operation, i.e., determining the solution to an equation . In elliptic curve cryptography, the multiplication in a finite field is replaced by the operation of adding points on an elliptic curve, i.e., the solutions of an equation of the form . Finite fields are also used in coding theory and combinatorics. Geometry: field of functions Functions on a suitable topological space into a field can be added and multiplied pointwise, e.g., the product of two functions is defined by the product of their values within the domain: . This makes these functions a -commutative algebra. For having a field of functions, one must consider algebras of functions that are integral domains. In this case the ratios of two functions, i.e., expressions of the form form a field, called field of functions. This occurs in two main cases. When is a complex manifold . In this case, one considers the algebra of holomorphic functions, i.e., complex differentiable functions. Their ratios form the field of meromorphic functions on . The function field of an algebraic variety (a geometric object defined as the common zeros of polynomial equations) consists of ratios of regular functions, i.e., ratios of polynomial functions on the variety. The function field of the -dimensional space over a field is , i.e., the field consisting of ratios of polynomials in indeterminates. The function field of is the same as the one of any open dense subvariety. In other words, the function field is insensitive to replacing by a (slightly) smaller subvariety. The function field is invariant under isomorphism and birational equivalence of varieties. It is therefore an important tool for the study of abstract algebraic varieties and for the classification of algebraic varieties. For example, the dimension, which equals the transcendence degree of , is invariant under birational equivalence. For curves (i.e., the dimension is one), the function field is very close to : if is smooth and proper (the analogue of being compact), can be reconstructed, up to isomorphism, from its field of functions. In higher dimension the function field remembers less, but still decisive information about . The study of function fields and their geometric meaning in higher dimensions is referred to as birational geometry. The minimal model program attempts to identify the simplest (in a certain precise sense) algebraic varieties with a prescribed function field. Number theory: global fields Global fields are in the limelight in algebraic number theory and arithmetic geometry. They are, by definition, number fields (finite extensions of ) or function fields over (finite extensions of ). As for local fields, these two types of fields share several similar features, even though they are of characteristic 0 and positive characteristic, respectively. This function field analogy can help to shape mathematical expectations, often first by understanding questions about function fields, and later treating the number field case. The latter is often more difficult. For example, the Riemann hypothesis concerning the zeros of the Riemann zeta function (open as of 2017) can be regarded as being parallel to the Weil conjectures (proven in 1974 by Pierre Deligne). Cyclotomic fields are among the most intensely studied number fields. They are of the form , where is a primitive -th root of unity, i.e., a complex number satisfying and for all . For being a regular prime, Kummer used cyclotomic fields to prove Fermat's Last Theorem, which asserts the non-existence of rational nonzero solutions to the equation . Local fields are completions of global fields. Ostrowski's theorem asserts that the only completions of , a global field, are the local fields and . Studying arithmetic questions in global fields may sometimes be done by looking at the corresponding questions locally. This technique is called the local-global principle. For example, the Hasse–Minkowski theorem reduces the problem of finding rational solutions of quadratic equations to solving these equations in and , whose solutions can easily be described. Unlike for local fields, the Galois groups of global fields are not known. Inverse Galois theory studies the (unsolved) problem whether any finite group is the Galois group for some number field . Class field theory describes the abelian extensions, i.e., ones with abelian Galois group, or equivalently the abelianized Galois groups of global fields. A classical statement, the Kronecker–Weber theorem, describes the maximal abelian extension of : it is the field obtained by adjoining all primitive -th roots of unity. Kronecker's Jugendtraum asks for a similarly explicit description of of general number fields . For imaginary quadratic fields, , , the theory of complex multiplication describes using elliptic curves. For general number fields, no such explicit description is known. Related notions In addition to the additional structure that fields may enjoy, fields admit various other related notions. Since in any field 0 ≠ 1, any field has at least two elements. Nonetheless, there is a concept of field with one element, which is suggested to be a limit of the finite fields , as tends to 1. In addition to division rings, there are various other weaker algebraic structures related to fields such as quasifields, near-fields and semifields. There are also proper classes with field structure, which are sometimes called Fields, with a capital F. The surreal numbers form a Field containing the reals, and would be a field except for the fact that they are a proper class, not a set. The nimbers, a concept from game theory, form such a Field as well. Division rings Dropping one or several axioms in the definition of a field leads to other algebraic structures. As was mentioned above, commutative rings satisfy all field axioms except for the existence of multiplicative inverses. Dropping instead commutativity of multiplication leads to the concept of a division ring or skew field; sometimes associativity is weakened as well. The only division rings that are finite-dimensional -vector spaces are itself, (which is a field), the quaternions (in which multiplication is non-commutative), and the octonions (in which multiplication is neither commutative nor associative). This fact was proved using methods of algebraic topology in 1958 by Michel Kervaire, Raoul Bott, and John Milnor. The non-existence of an odd-dimensional division algebra is more classical. It can be deduced from the hairy ball theorem illustrated at the right. Notes References , especially Chapter 13 . See especially Book 3 () and Book 6 (). Algebraic structures Abstract algebra

Francis II may refer to: Francis II, Duke of Brittany (1433–1488) Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua (1466–1519), ruler of the Italian city of Mantua Francis II of France (1544–1560), king of France Francis II, Duke of Lorraine (1572–1632), son of Charles III, Duke of Lorraine, and Claude of Valois Francesco II d'Este, Duke of Modena (1660–1694) Francis II Rákóczi (1676–1735), Prince of Transylvania Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (1768–1835), last Holy Roman Emperor Francis II of the Two Sicilies (1836–1894), last king of the Two Sicilies Franz, Duke of Bavaria (born 1933), called "Francis II" by supporters of the Jacobite claim to the thrones of England, Scotland, Ireland, and France Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1547–1619), third son of Francis I of Saxe-Lauenburg and Sybille of Saxe-Freiberg See also Francesco II (disambiguation)

Telecommunications in Fiji include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet. Radio and television Radio stations: state-owned commercial company, Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, operates 6 radio stations - 2 public broadcasters and 4 commercial broadcasters with multiple repeaters; 5 radio stations with repeaters operated by Communications Fiji, Ltd; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2009); 13 AM, 40 FM, and no shortwave stations (1998). Radios: 500,000 (1997). Television stations: Fiji TV, a publicly traded company on the South Pacific Stock Exchange, operates a free to air channel ever since its inception in 1994. 2 terrestrial stations (1998). Television sets: 21,000 (1997). Radio is a key source of information, particularly on the outer islands. There are publicly and privately owned stations. State-owned Fiji Broadcasting Corporation operates Fijian-language Radio Fiji One, Hindi-language Radio Fiji Two, music-based Bula FM, Hindi station Mirchi FM, and music-based 2day FM. Communications Fiji Limited, a public listed company on the South Pacific Stock Exchange was established in 1996 and is located in 231 Waimanu Road, Suva. It broadcasts English speaking stations FM96 and LegendFM on 96.2FM and 98.6FM respectively, Fijian language station, VitiFM, Navtarang and Radio Sargam - Hindi speaking stations. The BBC World Service broadcasts on 88.2 FM in the capital, Suva. Media control Under the military government's Media Decree, the directors and 90 percent of the shareholders of locally based media must be citizens of, and permanently resident in, the country. The Fiji Media Industry Development Authority is responsible for enforcing these provisions. The authority has the power to investigate journalists and media outlets for alleged violations of the decree, including powers of search and seizure of equipment. A code of ethics contained in the Media Decree requires that all stories run by the media be balanced, with comment obtained from both sides where there is any disagreement on the facts. This requirement enables government departments and private businesses to prevent stories from being published by not responding to media questions, thus making it impossible for the media to fulfill the decree's requirement for comment from both sides. However, media sources report that if the story is positive toward the government, the balance requirement could be ignored without consequence. Telephones Calling code: +679 International call prefix: 00 or 052 Main lines:   88,400 lines in use, 147th in the world (2012); 112,500 lines in use (2005). Mobile cellular: 858,800 lines, 159th in the world (2012); 315,000 lines (2007). Telephone system: modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio communications center; telephone or radio telephone links to almost all inhabited islands; most towns and large villages have automatic telephone exchanges and direct dialing; combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 100 per 100 persons (2011). Communications cables: Southern Cross Cable, links to the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia; Vanuatu-Fiji Interchange Cable (2014); Tonga-Fiji cable. Satellite earth station: 2 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean) (2011). Internet Top-level domain: .fj Internet users: 300,326 users, 140th in the world; 33.7% of the population, 126th in the world (2012); 114,200 users, 157th in the world (2009). Fixed broadband: 13,734 subscriptions, 142nd in the world; 1.5% of the population, 133rd in the world (2012). Wireless broadband: 96,277 subscriptions, 118th in the world; 10.8% of the population, 89th in the world (2012). Internet hosts: 21,739 hosts, 115th in the world (2012). IPv4: 134,656 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 151.3 addresses per 1000 people (2012). Internet Service Providers: 7 ISPs (2011) The Internet is widely available and used in and around urban centers, but its availability and use are minimal or nonexistent outside these areas. Internet censorship and surveillance The government in a parliament sitting on March 15, 2018 passed a bill known as the Online Safety Bill to the Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights that was tabled in the Parliament of Fiji to enforce tougher restrictions on those that may share explicit photos of individuals on social media or spread anti- government remarks as well. Currently, there are no government restrictions on general public access to the Internet, but evidence suggests that the government monitors private e-mails of citizens as well as Internet traffic in an attempt to control antigovernment reports by anonymous bloggers. The country has operated under a military-led government since 2006 and has had no constitution or functioning parliament since 2009. A series of decrees have been issued, including the Public Order Amendment Decree (POAD), the Media Decree, and the Crime Decree. By decree all telephone and Internet service users must register their personal details with telephone and Internet providers, including their name, birth date, home address, left thumbprint, and photographic identification. The decree imposes fines of up to F$100,000 ($56,721) on providers who continue to provide services to unregistered users and up to F$10,000 ($5,672) on users who do not update their registration information as required. Vodafone, one of two mobile telephone providers, also requires users to register their nationality, postal address, employment details, and both thumbprints. The POAD gives the government the power to detain persons on suspicion of "endangering public safety or the preservation of the peace"; defines terrorism as any act designed to advance a political, religious, or ideological cause that could "reasonably be regarded" as intended to compel a government to do or refrain from doing any act or to intimidate the public or a section thereof; and makes religious vilification and attempts to sabotage or undermine the economy offenses punishable by a maximum F$10,000 ($5,672) fine or five years’ imprisonment. The Media Decree prohibits "irresponsible reporting" and provides for government censorship of the media. The Crimes Decree includes criticism of the government in its definition of the crime of sedition, including statements made in other countries by any person, who can be prosecuted on return to Fiji. The government uses the threat of prosecution under these provisions to intimidate government critics and limit public criticism of the government. Journalists and media organizations practice varying degrees of self-censorship, with many reportedly fearing retribution if they criticize the government. In May 2007 it was reported that the military in Fiji had blocked access to blogs critical of the regime. In 2012 police investigated former University of the South Pacific (USP) professor Wadan Narsey, a prominent Fijian economist and long-time critic of the military government, for alleged sedition in writings published on his personal blog. The POAD permits military personnel to search persons and premises without a warrant from a court and to take photographs, fingerprints, and measurements of any person. Police and military officers may enter private premises to break up any meeting considered unlawful. References External links .fj Domain Name Registry, at The University of the South Pacific. Fiji Fiji

The Fagales are an order of flowering plants, including some of the best-known trees. The order name is derived from genus Fagus, beeches. They belong among the rosid group of dicotyledons. The families and genera currently included are as follows: Betulaceae - birch family (Alnus, Betula, Carpinus, Corylus, Ostrya, Ostryopsis) Casuarinaceae - she-oak family (Allocasuarina, Casuarina, Ceuthostoma, Gymnostoma) Fagaceae - beech family (Castanea, Castanopsis, Chrysolepis, Colombobalanus, Fagus, Lithocarpus, Notholithocarpus, Quercus) Juglandaceae - walnut family (Alfaroa, Carya, Cyclocarya, Engelhardia, Juglans, Oreomunnea, Platycarya, Pterocarya, Rhoiptelea) Myricaceae - bayberry family (Canacomyrica, Comptonia, Myrica) Nothofagaceae - southern beech family (Nothofagus) Ticodendraceae - ticodendron family (Ticodendron) The older Cronquist system only included four families (Betulaceae, Corylaceae, Fagaceae, Ticodendraceae; Corylaceae now being included within Betulaceae); this arrangement is followed by, for example, the World Checklist of selected plant families. The other families were split into three different orders, placed among the Hamamelidae. The Casuarinales comprised the single family Casuarinaceae, the Juglandales comprised the Juglandaceae and Rhoipteleaceae, and the Myricales comprised the remaining forms (plus Balanops). The change is due to studies suggesting the Myricales, so defined, are paraphyletic to the other two groups. Characteristics Most Fagales are wind pollinated and are monoecious with unisexual flowers. Evolutionary history The oldest member of the order is the flower Soepadmoa from the late Turonian-Coniacian New Jersey amber, which is a mosaic with characteristics characteristic of both Nothofagus and other Fagales, suggesting that the ancestor of all Fagales was Nothofagus-like. Systematics Modern molecular phylogenetics suggest the following relationships: References External links Missouri Botanical Gardens - Fagales Angiosperm orders

The Falkland Islands are located in the South Atlantic Ocean between 51°S and 53°S on a projection of the Patagonian Shelf, part of the South American continental shelf. In ancient geological time this shelf was part of Gondwana, and around 400 million years ago split from what is now Africa and drifted westwards from it. Today the islands are subjected to the Roaring Forties, winds that shape both their geography and climate. The Falklands comprise two main islands, West Falkland and East Falkland, and about 776 small islands. Geology The geological history of the Falkland Islands began during the Precambrian era more than 1000 million years ago, when Proterozoic granites and gneisses were laid down in Gondwana. These rocks became part of the Cape Meredith/ formation and outcrop at the Cape. During the Siluro-Devonian era, these rocks were overlain with quartzose and subarkosic sandstones with some siltstone and mudstone, rocks that are particularly erosion- and weather-resistant, giving these parts of the islands a rugged landscape and coastline. Tectonic forces continued to form the region: a mountain chain formed, part of which now creates Wickham Heights on East Falkland Island and extends westwards through West Falkland into the Jason Islands. A basin developed and was filled with land-based, or terrigenous, sediments. These layers of sand and mud filled the basin as it sank and as they hardened they produced the rocks of the sedimentary Lafonia Group of the Falklands. These rocks are similar to those in southern Africa's Karoo basin. About 290 million years ago, in the Carboniferous period, an ice age engulfed the area as glaciers advanced from the polar region eroding and transporting rocks. These rocks were deposited as extensive moraines and glacial till, or they sank in the sea while the glacier floated in a layer of ice. When the glacial sediments were turned into stone they formed the rocks that now make up the Fitzroy Tillite Formation in the Falklands. Identical rocks are found in southern Africa. During the break-up of Gondwana and the formation of the Atlantic Ocean some 200 million years ago, minor crustal fragments that were to become the Falkland Islands detached themselves from the nascent African continent and drifted westwards, dividing and rotating as they did so before settling on the Patagonian Shelf. Most of the layers of West Falkland and its surrounding islands are slightly inclined from the horizontal. This inclination shows different types of rocks in different places. The quartzites of Port Stephens and Stanley are more resistant than the arenaceous sediments of the formation at Fox Bay. The Hornby Mountains, near Falkland Sound have experienced tectonic forces of uplift and folding which has inclined the quartzite beds of Stanley to the vertical. Rocks from more recent geological periods such as the Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary periods usually contain lime-rich rocks. The absence of such rocks has led to an acidic substrate which manifests itself in the nature of the soil. Topographical description The Falkland Islands are an archipelago of 778 islands with an area of located in the South Atlantic Ocean on a projection of the Patagonian Shelf. The two principal islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, account for 91% of the land area. These two islands, which have a combined distance of from east to west and from north to south, are separated by the Falkland Sound, a channel that averages in width and has a typical depth of . Cape Meredith on West Falkland is about north-west of the tip of Tierra del Fuego and Westpoint, also on West Falkland and adjacent to West Point Island, is about from the Patagonian coast. It is believed that at times during the Pleistocene epoch, relative sea level was some lower than the present time–sufficient for the sound to be bridged. East Falkland East Falkland, which has an area of , a little over half the total area of the islands consists of two land masses of approximately equal size – the southerly part known as Lafonia, but the northerly part has no specific name. These land masses are joined by an isthmus of width that separates two deep fjords, Choiseul Sound and Brenton Loch-Grantham Sound from each other. The island's coastline has many smaller bays, inlets and headlands. Over 70% of the population of the Falkland Islands live in the capital, Stanley, which is located in East Falkland. The northern part of the island, apart from the coastal strip bordering the Choiseul Sound, is largely underlain by Palaeozoic rocks in the form of quartzite and slate, which tend to form rugged landscapes and coastlines and to cause the soil to be poor and acidic. The principal range of hills, the Wickham Heights runs from north-east to south-west. The highest point of the range (also the highest point in the Falklands), is Mount Usborne which has a height of . The area away from the mountain range consists chiefly of low undulating ground, a mixture of pasture and morass, with many shallow freshwater tarns, and small streams running in the valleys. Two inlets, Berkeley Sound and Port William, run far into the land at the north-eastern extremity of the island and provide anchorage for shipping. In contrast, Lafonia is underlain by Mesozoic age sandstone, a younger rock than the Palaeozoic rock to the north, giving a flatter landscape than is seen elsewhere on the island. Sheets of liquid basalt intruded into the cracks that formed between the sedimentary layers. The resulting solidified sheets can now be seen in the form of dikes that cut the oldest sedimentary layers, those that lie principally in the southern part of East Falkland and in South Africa. West Falkland West Falkland has an area of , making it smaller than East Falkland. Mount Adam, the highest point in the island and part of the Hornby Hills, is above sea level. The Hornby Hills which are the principal range on the island run approximately north–south parallel with Falkland Sound. Geologically this range is a continuation of the Wickham Heights on East Falkland. In West Falkland there are several dykes that cut the rocks of the western islands, but these dykes, unlike the previous ones, are chemically more unstable and have been eroded. The only indications of their existence are the aligned linear depressions. In the margins of these depressions there is evidence of contact baking or hornfels formation adjacent to the once molten basalt dyke. West Falkland is more hilly on the side closest to East Falkland. The southernmost point of West Falkland is Cape Meredith, and the most south-westerly point is Calm Head. On the southerly side lie high cliffs with an abundance of seabirds. Smaller islands In addition to the two main islands, the Falkland Islands have over 700 further islands, many no more than a few hectares in area. The islands to the north west of West Falkland include Pebble Island (103 km2), Keppel Island (36 km2), Saunders Island (131 km2), Carcass Island, West Point Island and the Jason group of islands (33 km2) that lie some from West Falkland. The principal islands to the south west of West Falkland include New Island (22 km2), Weddell Island (265 km2), Beaver Island (48 km2) and Staats Island. The group of islands that are separated from Lafonia by the Eagle Passage include Speedwell Island (51 km2), and George Island (24 km2). Other islands off the Lafonia coast include Bleaker Island (21 km2), Sealion Island, Lively Island (56 km2), Barren Island. In addition, Beauchene Island, a rocky outcrop lies some from the Lafonia coast. Many of the islands are nature reserves, either in whole or in part. Seabed The Patagonian Shelf, which in ancient geological time was part of Gondwana and which broke from what is now Africa, drifted westwards relative to Africa. It is now the widest continental shelf in the world covering . It protrudes some into the South Atlantic Ocean from the Patagonian coastline and slopes gently to before falling away; the Falkland Islands being located two thirds of the way along this protrusion. The base of the plateau is about below sea level to the west of the islands (400 km from the Patagonian coast), sloping to to the east of the islands where it falls away into the South Atlantic Ocean. The Falklands Plateau, a slightly shallower stretch of water lies to the immediate east of the Falkland Islands. To the immediate south of the islands, the Falklands Plateau is split into two by the Falklands Trough, a submarine valley that separates the plateau proper from the Scotia Arc – an underwater ridge that links Tierra Del Fuego with the Burdwood Bank (where the water is only deep) and, further into the Atlantic Ocean/Great Southern Ocean, with a number of islands including South Orkneys, South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia. Burdwood Bank was the location of several landslides some three million years ago. This in turn produced tsunami like events that hit the Falkland Islands on its southern coast. Estimates of the size of the waves vary from up to at the southern coast and up to where the capital, Port Stanley, is located. Licences to harvest the large variety of fish that live on the shelf provides a major source of income for the islands as does the licensing of oil exploration. Climate The Falkland Islands have a maritime climate in the transition region between the tundra and subarctic zones (Köppen classifications ET and Cfc respectively) which is characterised by both low seasonal and diurnal temperature ranges and no marked wet and dry season while in the sub-arctic zone the average monthly maximum temperature exceeds for no more than four months of the year and the average monthly minimum does not drop below . The Falkland Islands climate is very much influenced by both the cool ocean currents and the shielding effect of the Andes. The cold Antarctic Coastal Current flows in an easterly direction around Cape Horn where part of it is diverted northwards as the Falklands Current. Subsurface temperatures in the vicinity of the Falklands are of the order of 6 °C. The Falklands Current meets the warm South Brazilian Current at about 40°S (see Brazil–Falkland Confluence), some north of the islands. The prevailing winds at the Falklands' latitude are the westerlies that gather moisture across the Pacific Ocean, but the Andes form a barrier causing a rain shadow across the Patagonia and to a lesser extent, the Falkland Islands. The January average maximum temperature is about 13 °C (55 °F), and the July maximum average temperature is about 4 °C (39 °F). The rainfall varies between 300 mm in parts of Lafonia to 1400 mm in the mountain ranges with an average annual rainfall of 573 mm. Humidity and winds, however, are constantly high. Snow is rare but can occur at almost any time of year. Gales are very frequent, particularly in winter. In addition to parts of the Falklands, a maritime subarctic climatic zone is found in parts of coastal Iceland, Faroe Islands, north western coastal Norway, southern islands of Alaska and parts of the Alaskan Panhandle, the southern tip of South America and mountainous areas of Europe including the Scottish Highlands and south-western Norway. Flora and fauna Biogeographically, the Falkland Islands are classified as part of the Antarctic ecozone and Antarctic Floristic Kingdom. Strong connections exist with the flora and fauna of Patagonia in South America. The only terrestrial mammal upon the arrival of Europeans was the warrah, the loup-renard of Louis Antoine de Bougainville, a kind of fox found on both major islands that became extinct in the mid-19th century. Slater suggests that the warrah was introduced into the Falkland Islands either by rafting or by dispersal of glacial ice during one of the glaciations of the late Pleistocene epoch (2.5 million and 15,000 years ago). A total of 14 species of marine mammals have been identified in the surrounding waters: elephant seal, fur seal and sea lions all breed on the islands with the largest elephant seal breeding site has over 500 animals. A total of 227 bird species have been seen on the islands, over 60 of which are known to breed on the islands. There are two endemic species and 14 endemic subspecies of bird. Five penguin species including the Magellanic penguin breed on the islands as do over 60% of the global black-browed albatross population. There are no native reptiles or amphibians on the islands. Over 200 species of insects have been recorded, along with 43 spider species and 12 worm species. Only 13 terrestrial invertebrates are recognised as endemic, although information on many species is lacking and it is suspected up to two thirds of species found are actually endemic. Due to the island environment, many insect species have developed reduced or absent wings. There are around 129 freshwater invertebrates, the majority being rotifer; however, the identification of some species remains in dispute. Six species of fish are found in freshwater areas, including zebra trout and falklands minnows. The islands claim a territorial sea of and an exclusive fishing zone of , which has been a source of disagreement with Argentina. Different species of krill are found in Falkland waters, with Lobster Krill inhabiting the warmer waters in the north. The waters around the Falkland Islands are part of the Patagonian Shelf Large Marine Environment. Fin fish that are harvested in the Falkland waters include southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis), rock cod (Patagonotothen), Blue grenadier or Hoki (Macruronus magellanicus) and the principal species of squid that are harvested are the Illex squid (Illex argentinus) and the Patagonian squid (Loligo gahi). The squid spawn in the mouth of the Río de la Plata close to the confluence of the cold Falklands current and the warm Brazilian current, migrate southwards along the Patagonian Shelf into the Falklands waters and then return to their spawning grounds along that lies off the continental shelf. There are no native tree species on the archipelago, although two species of bushes, fachine and native box are found. Other vegetation consists of grasses and ferns. Around 363 species of vascular plants, 21 species of ferns and clubmosses and 278 species of flowering plants have been recorded on the islands. Of the vascular plants, 171 are believed to be native and 13 to be endemic. Some bogs and fens exist and support some freshwater plant species, but these are not common on the islands. Tussac grass, which averages in height but can reach up to , is found within 300 m (1,000 ft) of the coast where it forms bands around larger islands. The dense canopies formed create an insulated micro-climate suitable for many birds and invertebrates. The pale maiden (Olsynium filifolium) is the islands' proposed national flower. Human geography Prior to 1812, various colonial powers had small settlements on the Falkland Islands. In that year the islands were abandoned but within twenty years the British had re-established a settlement. In the 1851 census, the settlement's population was recorded as 287, increasing to 2,043 in 1901 and 2,563 in 2012. Human settlements and activities The main settlements in the islands are at Stanley which as of 2012 had a population of 2,121, and RAF Mount Pleasant, which in 2006 had a population of about 1,700. A further 351 people lived in "Camp" (outside Stanley) − just over half in East Falkland, a third in West Falkland and the remainder on outlying islands. The principal settlements on East Falkland (excluding Stanley and Mount Pleasant) are at Darwin and Goose Green, on West Falkland at Port Howard and Fox Bay and elsewhere, the Pebble Island Settlement. At the time of the Falklands War, the settlements in Camp were connected by tracks that were often impassable in wet weather, but by 2007 the Falkland Islands had a road network of , with further roads planned for construction to link all occupied mainland settlements by 2013. In the early nineteenth century, the main economic activity on the islands was seal hunting. Later the islands became a re-provisioning depot for clippers sailing from Australia to the United Kingdom via Cape Horn. Over 80% of the islands' land is given over to sheep farming, with half a million animals being supported on 11,239 km2 of farmland, of which 40 km2 was perennial pasture. Roughly 40% of the national flock are on West Falkland and 60% on East Falkland. In addition to dairy and pig farming, a small amount of reindeer farming is carried out, for example on the Beaver group of islands. This herd was the only herd in the world that was unaffected by the Chernobyl disaster. In the last decade of the twentieth century and the early twenty-first century tourism and fishing have made a major economic impact on the islands and as of 2012 an oil exploration industry was developing. Impact of human activity There is little long-term data on habitat changes, so the extent of human impact is unclear. Vegetation such as tussac grass, fachine, and native box (Hebe elliptica) have been heavily affected by introduced grazing animals. Many breeding birds similarly only live on offshore islands, where introduced animals such as cats and rats are not found. Virtually the entire area of the islands is used as pasture for sheep. There is also an introduced reindeer population, which was brought to the islands in 2001 for commercial purposes. Rats and grey foxes have been introduced and are having a detrimental impact on birds that nest on the shores, as are feral cats. Twenty-two introduced plant species are thought to provide a significant threat to local flora. Extreme points Northernmost point – West Jason Cay Southernmost point – Beauchene Island Westernmost point – West Jason Cay Easternmost point – Cape Pembroke Highest point – Mount Usborne: 705 m Lowest point – Atlantic Ocean: 0 m Notes References

The economy of the Faroe Islands was the 166th largest in the world in 2014, having a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.613 billion per annum. GDP increased from DKK 8 billion in 1999, to 21 billion in 2019. The vast majority of Faroese exports, around 90%, consists of fishery products. History After the severe economic troubles of the early 1990s, brought on by a drop in the vital fish catch and poor management of the economy, the Faroe Islands have recently recovered, with unemployment down to 5% in mid-1998, and holding below 3% since 2006, one of the lowest rates in Europe. Challenges and opportunities High dependence on fishing (including salmon farming) means the Faroe Islands' economy remains vulnerable. The Faroese hope to broaden their economic base by building new fish-processing plants. The islands allow up to 25% foreign ownership of ocean industry decreasing gradually until 2032 when foreign ownership must end. Petroleum found close to the Faroese area gives hope for deposits in the immediate area, which may lay the basis for sustained economic prosperity. Also important are the annual subsidy from Denmark, which amounted to about 3% of the GDP. The Faroes have one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe (1% in 2019), but this is not necessarily a sign of a recovering economy, as many young students move to Denmark and other countries once they are finished with high school. This leaves a largely middle-aged and elderly population that may lack the skills and knowledge to take IT positions in business and industry. Since 2000, new information technology and business projects have been fostered in the Faroe Islands to attract new investment. The result from these projects is not yet known but is hoped to bring a better market economy to the Faroe Islands. The population was around 52,000 by 2019. General salaries increased from DKK 7 billion in 2013 to DKK 10 billion in 2019. In 2020, salmon exports were DKK 3.3 billion. Fishing industries occupied 1,441 people on land and 1,341 at sea. Trade In 2014 the Faroe Islands had a trade surplus of 401 million DKK, a figure that rose to 1.43 billion DKK in 2016. As of 2016, the Faroe Islands mainly imported goods from Denmark (2,467 million DKK), Germany (877 million DKK), and Norway (610 million DKK). The country's top export destinations were Russia (1,907 million DKK), the United States (898 million DKK), the United Kingdom (851 million DKK), and Denmark (697 million DKK). European Union countries constituted 72.9% of total Faroese imports, while the exports of the Faroe Islands were more equally distributed between European Union (44.4%) and non-European Union countries (55.6%). The vast majority of Faroese exports, around 90%, consists of fishery products. Russian countersanctions on food imports from Norway and the European Union, saw the Faroe Islands increase its fresh salmon exports to Russia. The Faroe Islands has a free trade agreement with Iceland since 2005. Energy Oil consumption peaked at over 300,000 tonnes in 2020, of which 30% was for fishing vessels. In 2014 217,547 tonnes of oil products were consumed in the Faroe Islands. Of this 31.58% was consumed by fishing vessels, 14.73% was used by SEV for electricity production, 23.23% was consumed in air, sea or land transport, 9.6% was used in the industry, and the rest was used in public or private buildings. The islands have 6 hydroelectric plants, 4 diesel plants and several wind power plants with a capacity factor above 40%. In 2014, a 12MW wind farm for DKK 180 million became operational near Torshavn and increased wind capacity from 6.6 to 18.6MW. It decreases oil consumption by 8,000 ton (approximately 4M€) per year. A 2.3MW 700 kWh lithium-ion battery became operational in 2016. Planners also consider converting the existing hydropower to pumped-storage hydroelectricity. Tidal power and Thermal energy storage solutions are also considered. The islands have a goal of 100% green electricity production by 2030. In 2014 and 2017 50.8% of the electricity production of SEV in the Faroe Islands came from green energy like hydro and wind, while 49.2% was produced by the thermal power plants, which was 12.4% less than in 2013. fossil fuel: 49.2% hydro: 39.5% wind: 11.3% (2014) nuclear: 0% Total annual production: 305.4 GWh (2014) of which the production of thermal, hydropower and wind power was: Thermal: 150,2 GWh Hydropower: 120,7 GWh Wind: 34,5 GWh The Faroe Islands have no electricity connections to other areas, and thus operate in island condition. Some islands are also not connected to the other islands, and must maintain their own electric system. Other Agriculture - products: milk, potatoes, vegetables; sheep; salmon, other fish Currency: 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 ører Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 – 5.560 (2008), 7.336 (January 2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997), 5.799 (1996), 5.602 (1995) Further reading www.FaroeseSeafood.com - Information site on fisheries and aquaculture in the Faroe Islands Apostle, Richard A. The Restructuration of the Faroese Economy The Significance of the Inner Periphery. Frederiksberg, Denmark: Samfundslitteratur, 2002. Elkjær-Hansen, Niels. The Faroe Islands Scenery, Culture, and Economy. Copenhagen: Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1959. Hagstova.fo, 2008 figures References External links Faroese banknote series Information about Faroese banknotes Economy of Denmark Faroe Islands +Faroe Islands

The Finnish Defence Forces (, ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime the Finnish Border Guard (which is its own military unit in peacetime) becomes part of the Finnish Defence Forces. Universal male conscription is in place, under which all men serve for 165, 255, or 347 days, from the year they turn 18 until the year they turn 29. Alternative non-military service for men and voluntary service for women is available. Finland is the only non-NATO European Union state bordering Russia. Finland's official policy states that a wartime military strength of 280,000 personnel constitutes a sufficient deterrent. The army consists of a highly mobile field army backed up by local defence units. The army defends the national territory and its military strategy employs the use of the heavily forested terrain and numerous lakes to wear down an aggressor, instead of attempting to hold the attacking army on the frontier. Finland's defence budget equals approximately €4.87 billion or 2.15% of GDP. The voluntary overseas service is highly popular and troops serve around the world in UN, NATO and EU missions. Homeland defence willingness against a superior enemy is at 76%, one of the highest rates in Europe. History Civil War After Finland's declaration of independence on 6 December 1917, the Civic Guards were proclaimed the troops of the government on 25 January 1918 and Baron C. G. E. Mannerheim was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of these forces the next day. Fighting between the White Guards (as the Civic Guards were commonly known) and the Red Guards had already broken out about a week before around Viipuri, in what became known as the Finnish Civil War. In the war, the Whites were victorious in large part thanks to the leadership of General Mannerheim and the lead by example offensive mindedness of 1,800 German-trained Finnish Jägers, who brought with them German tactical doctrine and military culture. The post-war years were characterized by the Volunteer Campaigns that came to an end in 1920 with the signing of the Treaty of Tartu, which ended the state of war between Finland and Soviet Russia and defined the internationally recognized borders of Finland. Interwar years After winning the Civil War, the Finnish peacetime army was organized as three divisions and a brigade by professional German officers. It became the basic structure for the next 20 years. The coast was guarded by former czarist coastal fortifications and ships taken as prizes of war. The Air Force had already been formed in March 1918, but remained a part of the Army and did not become a fully independent fighting force until 1928. The new government instituted conscription after the Civil War and also introduced a mobilization system and compulsory refresher courses for reservists. An academy providing basic officer training (Kadettikoulu) was established in 1919, the founding of a General Staff College (Sotakorkeakoulu) followed in 1924, and in 1927 a tactical training school (Taistelukoulu) for company-grade and junior officers and NCOs was set up. The requirement of one year of compulsory service was greater than that imposed by any other Scandinavian country in the 1920s and the 1930s, but political opposition to defense spending left the military badly equipped to resist an attack by the Soviet Union, the only security threat in Finnish eyes. World War II When the Soviets invaded in November 1939, the Finns, led by Marshal Mannerheim, defeated the Red Army on numerous occasions, including at the crucial Battle of Suomussalmi. These successes were in large part thanks to the application of motti tactics. While the Finns ultimately lost the war and were forced to agree to the Moscow Peace Treaty, the Soviet objective of conquering Finland failed, in part due to the threat of Allied intervention. During the war the Finns lost 25,904 men, while Soviet losses were 167,976 dead. Finland fought in the Continuation War alongside Germany from 1941 to 1944. Thanks to Nazi-German aid, the army was now much better equipped, and the period of conscription had been increased to two years, making possible the formation of sixteen infantry divisions. Having initially deployed on the defensive, the Finns took advantage of the weakening of the Soviet positions as a consequence of Operation Barbarossa, swiftly recovering their lost territories and invading Soviet territory in Karelia, eventually settling into defensive positions from December 1941 onwards. The Soviet offensive of June 1944 undid these Finnish gains and, while failing in its objective of destroying the Finnish army and forcing Finland's unconditional surrender, forced Finland out of the war. The Finnish were able to preserve their independence with key defensive victories over the Red Army, the Battle of Tali-Ihantala being very significant. These conflicts involving Finland has had a significant impact on the Finnish defense force of today, while other European militaries has cut-down on their forces, Finland has still maintained a large conscript-based reserve army. As stated in a Swedish report; "The reason why the FDF chose to maintain this model while its Nordic neighbours jumped on the expeditionary bandwagon is not hard to see. Sharing a 1340km border with Russia, the need for large ground forces is self-explanatory. Furthermore, memories of World War II – in which over 2 per cent of the population perished in two brutal wars with the Soviet Union – are very much alive in Finland". This mindset inherited from Finland's war experiences also extends to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing Lithuania's LRT article; "During the coronavirus pandemic, people were amazed that Finland had kept its entire national reserve of medical supplies from the Cold War times, which came in very handy.". Cold War The demobilization and regrouping of the Finnish Defence Forces were carried out in late 1944 under the supervision of the Soviet-dominated Allied Control Commission. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1947, which imposed restrictions on the size and equipment of the armed forces and required disbandment of the Civic Guard, Finland reorganized its defense forces. The fact that the conditions of the peace treaty did not include prohibitions on reserves or mobilization made it possible to contemplate an adequate defense establishment within the prescribed limits. The reorganization resulted in the adoption of the brigade -in place of the division- as the standard formation. For the first two decades after the Second World War, the Finnish Defence Forces relied largely on obsolete wartime material. Defence spending remained minimal until the early 1960s. During the peak of the Cold War, the Finnish government made a conscious effort to increase defence capability. This resulted in the commissioning of several new weapons systems and the strengthening of the defence of Finnish Lapland by the establishment of new garrisons in the area. From 1968 onwards, the Finnish government adopted the doctrine of territorial defence, which requires the use of large land areas to delay and wear out a potential aggressor. The doctrine was complemented by the concept of total defence which calls for the use of all resources of society for national defence in case of a crisis. From the mid-1960s onwards the Finnish Defence Forces also began to specifically prepare to defeat a strategic strike, the kind which the Soviet Union employed successfully to topple the government of Czechoslovakia in 1968. In an all-out confrontation between the two major blocs, Finnish objective would have been to prevent any military incursions to Finnish territory and thereby keep Finland outside the war. Recent history The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 did not eliminate the military threat perceived by the government, but the nature of the threat has changed. While the concept of total, territorial defence was not dropped, the military planning has moved towards the capability to prevent and frustrate a strategic attack toward the vital regions of the country. The end of the Cold War has also allowed new opportunities which would have previously been seen as breaking Finland's stance of neutrality. This has meant for example participation in the War in Afghanistan and the Nordic Battlegroup. Future The defence forces are currently undergoing key procurement programmes for all the three branches. The Navy is scheduled to get its largest vessels since the Väinämöinen class with the new 100m+ Pohjanmaa-class corvette. The Air Force is in the process of acquiring the Lockheed Martin F-35A to replace the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter for 10€ billion. Meanwhile, the Army is planning to replace the Patria Pasi armoured vehicles with the also domestic Protolab Misu. The standard issue assault rifle RK 62 is also being upgraded to a new variant. Organization The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. Decisions concerning military orders are made by the President of the Republic in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence. Apart from the Defence Command (, ), the military branches are the Finnish Army (, ), the Finnish Navy (, ) and the Finnish Air Force (, ). The Border Guard (, ) (including the coast guard) is under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior, but can be incorporated fully or in part into the defence forces when required by defence readiness. All logistical duties of the Defence Forces are carried out by the Defence Forces Logistics Command (), which has three Logistics Regiment for each military province. The Army is divided into eight brigade-level units (). Under the brigades, there were 12 military districts (), which were responsible for carrying out the draft, training and crisis-time activation of reservists and for planning and executing territorial defence of their areas. The military districts were disbanded in 2014, as a part of the 800 million euro savings the Finnish Defence Forces had to carry out. The Navy consists of headquarters and four brigade-level units: Coastal Fleet (), Coastal Brigade (), Nyland Brigade (, ), and Naval Academy (). The Coastal Fleet includes all the surface combatants of the Navy, while Coastal Brigade and Nyland Brigade train coastal troops. The Air Force consists of headquarters and four brigade-level units: Satakunta, Lapland and Karelian Air Commands () and Air Force Academy (). They are responsible for securing the integrity of the Finnish airspace during peace and for conducting aerial warfare independently during a crisis. The military training of the reservists is primarily the duty of the Defence Forces, but it is assisted by the National Defence Training Association of Finland (). This association provides reservists with personal, squad, platoon and company level military training. Most of the 2,000 instructors of the association are volunteers certified by the Defence Forces, but when Defence Forces materiel is used, the training always takes place under the supervision of career military personnel. Annually, the Defence Forces requests the Association to run specialized exercises for some 8,500 personnel placed in reserve units, and an additional 16,500 reservists participate in military courses where the participants are not directly selected by the Defence Forces. The legislation concerning the association will require that the chairman and the majority of the members of its board are chosen by the Finnish Government. The other board members are chosen by NGOs active in the national defence. General Officers The Finnish Defence Forces Chief of Defence General Timo Kivinen Defence Command Chief of Defence Command Finland Lieutenant General Eero Pyötsiä Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel Lieutenant General Ilkka Korkiamäki Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations Major General Pasi Välimäki Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategy Lieutenant General Kim Jäämeri Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics and Armaments Major General Timo Kakkola Adjutant General Brigadier General Kim Mattsson Chief of Logistics Brigadier General Janne Jaakkola Field Bishop Field Bishop Pekka Särkiö Chief of Intelligence Major General Pekka Toveri Chief of Education Major General Jukka Sonninen Surgeon General Brigadier General Medical Simo Siitonen Chief of C5 Brigadier General Mikko Heiskanen Chief of Planning Brigadier General Vesa Virtanen Special Assignment Commodore Timo Hirvonen Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations Brigadier General Kari Nisula Army Commander of The Finnish Army Lieutenant General Petri Hulkko Chief of Staff, Army Major General Markku Myllykangas Chief of Operations, Army Command Brigadier General Rami Saari Commander of Kainuu Brigade Brigadier General Manu Tuominen Commander of Pori Brigade Brigadier General Mika Kalliomaa Commander of Karelia Brigade Brigadier General Jukka Jokinen Navy Commander of The Finnish Navy Rear Admiral Jori Harju Chief of Staff, Navy Commodore Tuomas Tiilikainen Air Force Commander of The Finnish Air Force Major General Pasi Jokinen Chief of Staff, Air Force Brigadier General Jari Mikkonen National Defence University Rector of The National Defence University Major General Jari Kallio International Tasks Military Representative to The EU and NATO Rear Admiral Juha Vauhkonen Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command Chief of Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command Major General Kari Renko Military service The Finnish defence forces is based on universal male conscription. All men above 18 years of age are liable to serve either 6, 9 or 12 months. Some 27,000 conscripts are trained annually. 80% of Finnish men complete their service. The conscripts at first receive basic training, after which they are assigned to various units for special training. Privates who are trained for tasks not requiring special skills serve for 6 months. In technically demanding tasks the time of service is 9, or in some cases 12 months. Those selected for NCO (non-commissioned officer) or officer training serve 12 months. At the completion of the service, the conscripts receive a reserve military rank of private, lance corporal, corporal, sergeant or second lieutenant, depending on their training and accomplishments. After their military service, the conscripts are placed in reserve until the end of their 50th or 60th living year, depending on their military rank. During their time in reserve, the reservists are liable to participate in military refresher exercises for a total of 40, 75 or 100 days, depending on their military rank. In addition, all reservists are liable for activation in a situation where the military threat against Finland has seriously increased, in full or partial mobilization or in a large-scale disaster or a virulent epidemic. The males who do not belong to the reserve may only be activated in case of full mobilization, and those rank-and-file personnel who have fulfilled 50 years of age only with a specific parliamentary decision. Military service can be started after turning 18. The service can be delayed due to studies, work or other personal reasons until the 28th birthday, but these reasons do not result in exemptions. In addition to lodging, food, clothes and health care the conscripts receive between 5 and 11.70 euros per day, depending on the time they have served. The state also pays for any rental and electricity bills the conscripts incur during their service. If the conscripts have families, they are entitled to benefits as well. It is illegal to fire an employee due to military service or due to a refresher exercise or activation. Voluntary females in military service receive a small additional benefit, because they are expected to provide their own underwear and other personal items. The military service consists of lessons, practical training, various cleaning and maintenance duties and field exercises. Most weekends conscripts can leave the barracks on Friday and are expected to return by midnight on Sunday. A small force of conscripts are kept in readiness on weekends to aid civil agencies in various types of emergency situations, to guard the premises and to maintain defence in case of a sudden military emergency. Field exercises can go on regardless of the time of day or week. The training of conscripts is based on joukkotuotanto-principle (lit. English troop production). In this system, 80% of the conscripts are trained to fulfill a specific role in a specific wartime military unit. Each brigade-level unit is responsible for producing specified reserve units from the conscripts it has been allocated. As the reservists are discharged, they receive a specific wartime placement in the unit with which they have trained during their conscription. As the conscripts age, their unit is given new, different tasks and materiel. Typically, reservists are placed for the first five years in first-line units, then moved to military formations with less demanding tasks, while the reservists unable to serve in the unit are substituted with reservists from the reserve without specific placement. In refresher exercises, the unit is then given new training for these duties, if the defence funding permits this. The inhabitants of the demilitarized Åland islands are exempt from military service. By the Conscription act of 1950, they are however required to serve a time at a local institution, like the coast guard instead. However, until such service has been arranged, they are freed from service obligation. The non-military service of Åland islands has not been arranged since the introduction of the act, and there are no plans to institute it. The inhabitants of Åland islands can also volunteer for military service on the mainland. Jehovah's Witnesses were exempt until February 2019. It is also possible to serve either weapon-free military service of 270 or 362 days or undergo a 12-month-long non-military service. Finnish law requires that men who do not want to serve the defense of the country in any capacity (so-called total objectors) be sentenced to a prison term of 197 days. As of 1995, women were permitted to serve on a voluntary basis and pursue careers as officers. In conscription, women have consideration time of six weeks, during which they have the choice to halt their service without any other specific reason. After the said six weeks, all the same laws and jurisdictions apply to them as to men. Unlike in many other countries women are allowed to serve in all combat arms including front-line infantry and special forces. Military ranks The Finnish military ranks follow the Western usage in the officer ranks. As a Finnish peculiarity, the rank of lieutenant has three grades: 2nd lieutenant, lieutenant and senior lieutenant. The 2nd lieutenant is a reserve officer rank, active commissioned officers beginning their service as lieutenants. The basic structure of the NCO ranks is a variant of the German rank structure, but the rank system has some peculiarities due to different personnel groups. The duties carried out by NCOs in most Western armed forces are carried out by warrant officers (opistoupseeri) serving in the ranks from lieutenant to captain. This personnel group is being phased out. career NCOs serving in the ranks from enlistee (sotilasammattihenkilö), sergeant, staff sergeant, sergeant first class (gunnery sergeant is equivalent), master sergeant and sergeant major (sotilasmestari). Career NCO's with rank of sergeant have a sword symbol in their insignia to distinguish them from conscript sergeants. contractual military personnel (sopimussotilas) serving in the ranks of corporal, sergeant and 2nd lieutenant (reserve officers) conscripts in the ranks of corporal, officer student, sergeant and officer candidate. In a case of war, most of the NCO duties would be carried out by reserve NCOs who have received their training during conscription. The rank and file of the Finnish Defence Forces is composed of conscripts serving in the ranks of private, lance corporal and NCO student. Equipment Finland does not have attack helicopters, submarines, or long-range ballistic missiles (Finland has however updated its M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System to be able to fire the ATACMS tactical ballistic missile). Legislation forbids nuclear weapons entirely. Peacekeeping operations Finland has taken part in peacekeeping operations since 1956 (the number of Finnish peacekeepers who have served since 1956 amounts to 43,000). In 2003 over a thousand Finnish peacekeepers were involved in peacekeeping operations, including UN and NATO led missions. According to the Finnish law the maximum simultaneous strength of the peacekeeping forces is limited to 2,000 soldiers. Since 1956, 39 Finnish soldiers have died while serving in peacekeeping operations Since 1996 the Pori Brigade has trained parts of the Finnish Rapid Deployment Force (FRDF), which can take part in international crisis management/peacekeeping operations at short notice. The Nyland/Uusimaa Brigade has started training the Amphibious Task Unit (ATU) in recent years, a joint Swedish-Finnish international task unit. Since 2006, Finland has participated in the formation of European Union Battlegroups. Finland will be participating to two European Union Battlegroups in 2011. International operations Finland is participating in by deploying military units (personnel strength in parenthesis): Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan (44) Operation Inherent Resolve in Kurdistan Region (50) UNIFIL in Lebanon (350) Other international operations Finland is participating in with staff personnel, military observers and similar (personnel strength in parenthesis): EUFOR Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina (8) EUNAVFOR/OPERATION ATALANTA in Gulf of Aden Somalian coast (6) European Union Training Mission Somalia (6) European Union Training Mission in Mali (11) EUNAVFOR MED - OPERATION SOPHIA (8) KFOR in Kosovo (20) UNTSO (19) UNMOGIP in India and Pakistan (6) MINUSMA in Mali (5) Total defence The Finnish military doctrine is based on the concept of total defence. The term total means that all sectors of the government and economy are involved in the defence planning. In principle, each ministry has the responsibility for planning its operations during a crisis. There are no special emergency authorities, such as the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. Instead, each authority regularly trains for crises and has been allocated a combination of normal and emergency powers it needs to keep functioning in any conceivable situation. In a war, all resources of society may be diverted to ensure the survival of the nation. The legal basis for such measures is found in the Readiness Act and in the State of Defence Act, which would come into force through a presidential decision verified by parliament in the case of a crisis. The main objective of the doctrine is to establish and maintain a military force capable of deterring any potential aggressor from using Finnish territory or applying military pressure against Finland. To accomplish this, the defence is organised on the doctrine of territorial defence. The stated main principles of the territorial defence doctrine are military non-alliance, general conscription, territorial defence, training of conscripts for wartime units, dispersed mobilisation, and flexible readiness in responding to military threats of various degree. The defence planning is organised to counteract three threat situations: A regional crisis that may have effects on Finland. Political, economic and military pressure, which may include a threat of using military force and its restricted use. Use of military force in the form of a strategic strike or an attack beginning with a strategic strike aimed at seizing territory. In all cases, the national objective is to keep the vital areas, especially the capital area in Finnish possession. In other areas, the size of the country is used to delay and wear down the invader, until the enemy may be defeated in an area of Finnish choosing. The Army carries most of the responsibility for this task. The key wartime army units in 2015 are: 3 Readiness brigades 2 Jaeger brigades 2 mechanised battle groups 6 Infantry brigades (regional) 14 independent battalions / battlegroups (regional) 28 Territorial Forces (Finland) / company sized (regional) Helicopter battalion Special Jaeger battalion The total number of territorial and regional units is undisclosed. The army units are mostly composed of reservists, the career soldiers manning the command and specialty positions. The role of the Navy is to repel all attacks carried out against Finnish coasts and to safeguard the territorial integrity during peacetime and the "gray" phase of the conflict. The maritime defence relies on combined use of coastal artillery, missile systems and naval mines to wear down the attacker. The Air Force is used to deny the invader the air superiority and to protect most important troops and objects of national importance in conjunction with the ground-based air defence. As the readiness of the Air Force and the Navy is high even during the peacetime, the career personnel have a much more visible role in the wartime duties of these defence branches. The Border Guard has the responsibility for border security in all situations. During a war, it will contribute to the national defence partially integrated into the army, its total mobilized strength being some 11,600 troops. One of the projected uses for the Border Guard is guerrilla warfare in areas temporarily occupied by enemy. Key wartime units The army is organised into operative forces which consist of approximately 61 000 persons and territorial forces which consist of 176 000 persons. The following list is the wartime organisation of the Finnish army from 1.1.2008 Army 3 readiness brigades (1 armoured brigade) 2 Jaeger brigades 2 Mechanized battlegroups 1 Helicopter battalion 1 Special jaeger battalion 1 Anti-aircraft missile and anti-aircraft unit Territorial forces: 6 infantry brigades (regional) 14 independent battalions / battlegroups (regional) 28 Territorial Forces (Finland) / company sized (regional) Navy 2 Battle groups (fleet) 3 Battle groups (coastal) Battle group (coastal Jaeger) Air Force 3 fighter squadrons 4 Main operating bases Gallery See also Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency Finnish military ranks Finnish Rapid Deployment Force Hybrid warfare Military history of Finland during World War II Military of the Grand Duchy of Finland Nordic Battlegroup List of active Finnish Navy ships List of equipment of the Finnish Army List of military aircraft of Finland List of senior officers of the Finnish Defence Forces Total defence References Bibliography Kronlund, Jarl (project leader) Suomen Puolustuslaitos 1918-1939, Porvoo: WSOY, 1988, . External links Finnish Defence Forces website Finnish Peacekeeping Operations One for all, all for one? New Nordic Defence Partnership? Publication from the Nordic Council of Ministers. Free download. Findicator - Participation in military crisis management operations Findicator - Participants in military service and refresher courses for reservists Findicator - Willingness to defend the country + Permanent Structured Cooperation

Politics of French Polynesia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic French overseas collectivity, whereby the President of French Polynesia is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Assembly of French Polynesia. Between 1946 and 2003, French Polynesia had the status of an overseas territory (French: territoire d'outre-mer, or TOM). In 2003 it became an overseas collectivity (French: collectivité d'outre-mer, or COM). Its statutory law of 27 February 2004 gives it the particular designation of "overseas country" to underline the large autonomy of the territory. Executive branch |High Commissioner |Dominique Sorain |Non-Partisan |10 July 2019 |- |President of French Polynesia |Édouard Fritch |Tapura Huiraatira |18 mai 2018 |- |President of the Assembly |Gaston Tong Sang |Tapura Huiraatira |17 mai 2018 |} The President of the French Republic is represented by the High Commissioner of the Republic in French Polynesia (Haut-Commissaire de la République en Polynésie française). The government is headed by the President of French Polynesia. He submits as Council of Ministers a list of members of the Territorial Assembly, the Assembly of French Polynesia (Assemblée de la Polynésie française), for approval by them to serve as ministers. Legislative branch French Polynesia elects the Assembly of French Polynesia (Assemblée de la Polynésie française), the unicameral legislature on the territorial level. The Assembly of French Polynesia has 57 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies. Since the territorial elections of March 6, 2001, the parity bill now binds that the number of women matches the number of men at the Assembly. Political parties and elections The members of the Assembly of French Polynesia are elected in 6 different electoral districts or electoral circumscriptions () which slightly differ from the administrative subdivisions (subdivisions administratives) on the Tuamotus and the Gambier Islands. The 6 electoral circumscriptions (circonscriptions électorales) are: electoral circumscription of the Windward Islands (circonscription des Îles du Vent) (37 members) electoral circumscription of the Leeward Islands (circonscription des Îles Sous-le-Vent) (8 members) electoral circumscription of the Austral Islands (circonscription des Îles Australes) (3 members) electoral circumscription of the Gambier Islands and the Islands Tuamotu-East (circonscription des Îles Gambier et Tuamotu Est) (3 members) electoral circumscription of the Islands Tuamotu-West (circonscription des Îles Tuamotu Ouest) (3 members) electoral circumscription of the Marquesas Islands (circonscription des Îles Marquises) (3 members) Judicial branch Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif. Administrative divisions French Polynesia has 5 administrative subdivisions (): Windward Islands ( or officially subdivision administrative des Îles du Vent) (the two subdivisions administratives Windward Islands and Leeward Islands are part of the Society Islands) Leeward Islands ( or officially subdivision administrative des Îles Sous-le-Vent) (the two subdivisions administratives Windward Islands and Leeward Islands are part of the Society Islands) Marquesas Islands ( or officially subdivision administrative des (Îles) Marquises) Austral Islands ( or officially subdivision administrative des (Îles) Australes) (including the Bass Islands) Tuamotu-Gambier ( or officially subdivision administrative des (Îles) Tuamotu-Gambier) (the Tuamotus and the Gambier Islands) note: Clipperton Island (), just off the coast of Mexico, was administered by France from French Polynesia. International organization participation ESCAP (associate), FZ, ITUC, SPC, WMO See also 2004 French Polynesian legislative election References External links francepolitique.free.fr CIA World Factbook – French Polynesia

Telephones – main lines in use: 47,000 (1995) Telephones – mobile cellular: NA Telephone system: domestic: fair open wire and microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station – 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) Radio stations: AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) Radios: 104,000 (1997) Television stations: 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) Televisions: 30,000 (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA Country code (Top-level domain): GF See also French Guiana Telecommunications in France French Guiana French Guiana +French Guiana

A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festival's focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some festivals focus on a specific filmmaker, genre of film (i.e. horror films), or subject matter (LGBTQ+ film festivals). Several film festivals focus solely on presenting short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians, including Jerry Beck, do not consider film festivals as official releases of the film. The most prestigious film festivals in the world, known as the "Big Three", are (listed chronologically according to the date of foundation): Venice, Cannes and Berlin. The most prestigious film festivals in North America are Sundance and Toronto. History The Venice Film Festival in Italy began in 1932 and is the oldest film festival still running. Raindance Film Festival is the UK's largest celebration of independent filmmaking and takes place in London in October. Mainland Europe's biggest independent film festival is ÉCU The European Independent Film Festival, which started in 2006 and takes place every spring in Paris, France. Edinburgh International Film Festival is the longest-running festival in Great Britain as well as the longest continually running film festival in the world. Australia's first and longest-running film festival is the Melbourne International Film Festival (1952), followed by the Sydney Film Festival (1954). North America's first and longest-running short film festival is the Yorkton Film Festival, established in 1947. The first film festival in the United States was the Columbus International Film & Video Festival, also known as The Chris Awards, held in 1953. According to the Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco, "The Chris Awards (is) one of the most prestigious documentaries, educational, business and informational competitions in the U.S; (it is) the oldest of its kind in North America and celebrating its 54th year". It was followed four years later by the San Francisco International Film Festival, held in March 1957, which emphasized feature-length dramatic films. The festival played a major role in introducing foreign films to American audiences. Films in the first year included Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood and Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali. Today, thousands of film festivals take place around the world—from high-profile festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and Slamdance Film Festival (Park City, Utah), to horror festivals such as Terror Film Festival (Philadelphia), and the Park City Film Music Festival, the first U.S. film festival dedicated to honoring music in film. Film Funding competitions such as Writers and Filmmakers were introduced when the cost of production could be lowered significantly and internet technology allowed for the collaboration of film production. Film festivals have evolved significantly since the pandemic. Many festivals opted for virtual or hybrid festivals. The industry ecosystem, which was already in upheaval due to streaming options, has faced another major shift and movies that are showcased at festivals have an even shorter runway to screening on your devices. Notable film festivals The "Big Five" film festivals are considered to be Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance and Toronto. In North America, the Toronto International Film Festival is North America's most popular festival. Time wrote it had "grown from its place as the most influential fall film festival to the most influential film festival, period". The Seattle International Film Festival is credited as being the largest film festival in the United States, regularly showing over 400 films in a month across the city. Competitive feature films The festivals in Berlin, Cairo, Cannes, Goa, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, Mar del Plata, Montreal, Moscow, San Sebastián, Shanghai, Tallinn, Tokyo, Venice, and Warsaw are accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) in the category of competitive feature films. As a rule, for films to compete, they must first be released during the festivals and not in any other previous venue beforehand. Experimental films Ann Arbor Film Festival started in 1963. It is the oldest continually operated experimental film festival in North America, and has become one of the premier film festivals for independent and, primarily, experimental filmmakers to showcase work. Independent films In the U.S., Telluride Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Austin's South by Southwest, New York City's Tribeca Film Festival, London's London Eco-Film Festival, and Slamdance Film Festival are all considered significant festivals for independent film. The Zero Film Festival is significant as the first and only festival exclusive to self-financed filmmakers. The biggest independent film festival in the UK is Raindance Film Festival. The British Urban Film Festival (which specifically caters to Black and minority interests) was officially recognized in the 2020 New Year Honours list. Subject specific films A few film festivals have focused on highlighting specific issue topics or subjects. These festivals have included both mainstream and independent films. Some examples include military films, health-related film festivals, and human rights film festivals. There are festivals, especially in the US, that highlight and promote films that are made by or are about various ethnic groups and nationalities or feature the cinema from a specific foreign country. These include African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Arabs, Italian, German, French, Palestinian, and Native American. The Deauville American Film Festival in France is devoted to the cinema of the United States. LGBTQ+ and Women's Film Festivals are also popular. North American film festivals The San Francisco International Film Festival, founded by Irving "Bud" Levin started in 1957, is the oldest continuously annual film festival in the United States. It highlights current trends in international filmmaking and video production with an emphasis on work that has not yet secured U.S. distribution. The Toronto International Film Festival, founded by Bill Marshall, Henk Van der Kolk and Dusty Cohl, is regarded as North America's most important film festival, and is the most widely attended. The Ottawa Canadian Film Festival, abbreviated OCanFilmFest, was co-founded by Ottawa-based filmmakers Jith Paul, Ed Kucerak and Blair Campbell in 2015, and features films of various durations and genres from filmmakers across Canada. The Sundance Film Festival founded by Sterling Van Wagenen (then head of Wildwood, Robert Redford's company), John Earle, and Cirina Hampton Catania (both serving on the Utah Film Commission at the time) is a major festival for independent film. The Woodstock Film Festival was launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto to bring high-quality independent films to the Hudson Valley region of New York. Indiewire has named the Woodstock Film Festival among the top 50 independent film festivals worldwide. The Regina International Film Festival and Awards (RIFFA) founded by John Thimothy, one of the top leading international film festivals in western Canada (Regina, Saskatchewan) represented 35 countries in 2018 festival. RIFFA annual Award show and red carpet arrival event is getting noticed in the contemporary film and fashion industries in Western Canada. Toronto's Hot Docs founded by filmmaker Paul Jay, is a North American documentary film festival. Toronto has the largest number of film festivals in the world, ranging from cultural, independent, and historic films. The Seattle International Film Festival, which screens 270 features and approximately 150 short films, is the largest American film festival in terms of the number of feature productions. The Expresión en Corto International Film Festival is the largest competitive film festival in Mexico. It specializes in emerging talent, and is held in the last week of each July in the two colonial cities of San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato. Other Mexican festivals include the Guadalajara International Film Festival in Guadalajara, Oaxaca Film Fest, the Morelia International Film Festival in Morelia, Michoacan Mexico, and the Los Cabos International Film Festival founded by Scott Cross, Sean Cross, and Eduardo Sanchez Navarro, in Los Cabos, Baja Sur, Mexico are considered the most important film festivals in Latin America. In 2015, Variety called the Los Cabos International Film Festival the "Cannes of Latin America". South American film festivals The Cartagena Film Festival, founded by Victor Nieto in 1960, is the oldest in Latin America. The Festival de Gramado (or Gramado Film Festival) Gramado, Brazil. The Valdivia International Film Festival is held annually in the city of Valdivia. It is arguable the most important film festival in Chile. There is also Filmambiente, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, an international festival on environmental films and videos. The Caribbean For Spanish-speaking countries, the Dominican International Film Festival takes place annually in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. As well as the Havana Film Festival was founded in 1979 and is the oldest continuous annual film festival in the Caribbean. Its focus is on Latin American cinema. The Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, founded in 2006, is dedicated to screening the newest films from the English-, Spanish, French- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, as well as the region's diaspora. It also seeks to facilitate the growth of Caribbean cinema by offering a wide-ranging industry programme and networking opportunities. The Lusca Fantastic Film Fest (formerly Puerto Rico Horror Film Fest) was also founded in 2006 and is the first and only international fantastic film festival in the Caribbean devoted to Sci-Fi, Thriller, Fantasy, Dark Humor, Bizarre, Horror, Anime, Adventure, Virtual Reality and Animation in Short and Feature Films. European festivals The most important European film festivals the Venice Film Festival (late summer to early autumn), the Cannes Film Festival (late spring to early summer), and the Berlin International Film Festival (late winter to early spring), founded in 1932, 1946, and 1951 respectively. Animation Many film festivals are dedicated exclusively to animation. Annecy International Animated Film Festival (f. 1960—the oldest) Zagreb (f. 1972) Ottawa (f. 1976) Hiroshima (f. 1985) KROK (f. 1989) Anima Mundi (f. 1992) Fredrikstad Animation Festival (f. 1994) Animac (f. 1996) A variety of regional festivals happen in various countries. Austin Film Festival is accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which makes all their jury award-winning narrative short and animated short films eligible for an Academy Award. African festivals There are several significant film festivals held regularly in Africa. The biannual Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in Burkina Faso was established in 1969 and accepts competition-only films by African filmmakers and chiefly produced in Africa. The annual Durban International Film Festival in South Africa and Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania has grown in importance for the film and entertainment industry, as they often screen the African premieres of many international films. The Nairobi Film Festival (NBO), which was established in 2016, with a special focus on screening exceptional films from around the world that are rarely presented in Nairobi’s mainstream cinema and spotlighting the best Kenyan films, has also been growing in popularity over the years and has improved the cinema-going culture in Kenya. The Sahara International Film Festival, held annually in the Sahrawi refugee camps in western Algeria near the border of Western Sahara, is notable as the only film festival in the world to take place in a refugee camp. The festival has the two-fold aim of providing cultural entertainment and educational opportunities to refugees, and of raising awareness of the plight of the Sahrawi people, who have been exiled from their native Western Sahara for more than three decades. Asian film festivals India The International Film Festival of India, organized by the government of India, was founded in 1952. The Kolkata International Film Festival, founded in 1995, is the third oldest international film festival in India. The International Film Festival of Kerala organised by the Government of Kerala held annually at Thiruvananthapuram is acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in Indian. The International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, is a major documentary and short film festival. The Mumbai Women's International Film Festival (MWIFF) is an annual film festival in Mumbai featuring films made by women directors and women technicians. YathaKatha International Film & Literature Festival (YKIFLF)]] is an annual film & literature festival in Mumbai showcasing the collaboration of literature in cinema via various constructive discussions and forums. 1st edition of festival is being held from 25–28 November in Mumbai, Maharashtra India. Others Notable festivals include the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, and the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). Arab World film festivals There are several major film festivals in the Arab world, such as the Beirut International Film Festival, Cairo International Film Festival, the only international competitive feature film festival recognized by the FIAPF in the Arab world and Africa, as well as the oldest in this category, Carthage Film Festival, the oldest festival in Africa and the Arab world, and Marrakech International Film Festival. Festival administration Business model Although there are notable for-profit festivals such as SXSW, most festivals operate on a nonprofit membership-based model, with a combination of ticket sales, membership fees, and corporate sponsorship constituting the majority of revenue. Unlike other arts nonprofits (performing arts, museums, etc.), film festivals typically receive few donations from the general public and are occasionally organized as nonprofit business associations instead of public charities. Film industry members often have significant curatorial input, and corporate sponsors are given opportunities to promote their brand to festival audiences in exchange for cash contributions. Private parties, often to raise investments for film projects, constitute significant "fringe" events. Larger festivals maintain year-round staffs often engaging in community and charitable projects outside the festival season. Entry fee While entries from established filmmakers are usually considered pluses by the organizers, most festivals require new or relatively unknown filmmakers to pay an entry fee to have their works considered for screening. This is especially so in larger film festivals, such as the Jaipur International Film Festival in Jaipur India, Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, South by Southwest, Montreal World Film Festival, and even smaller "boutique" festivals such as the Miami International Film Festival, British Urban Film Festival in London and Mumbai Women's International Film Festival in India. On the other hand, some festivals—usually those accepting fewer films, and perhaps not attracting as many "big names" in their audiences as do Sundance and Telluride—require no entry fee. Many smaller film festivals in the United States (the Stony Brook Film Festival on Long Island, the Northwest Filmmakers' Festival, and the Sicilian Film Festival in Miami), are examples. The Portland International Film Festival charges an entry fee but waives it for filmmakers from the Northwestern United States, and some others with regional focuses have similar approaches. Several film festival submission portal websites exist to streamline filmmakers' entries into multiple festivals. They provide databases of festival calls for entry and offer filmmakers a convenient "describe once, submit many" service. Screening out of competition The core tradition of film festivals is competition, that is, the consideration of films with the intention of judging which are most deserving of various forms of recognition. In contrast to those films, some festivals may screen (i.e., project onto a movie screen before an audience) some films without treating them as part of the competition; the films are said to be "screened out..." (or "outside...") "of competition". See also Arthouse film Cult film Foreign film List of film festivals List of film festivals in Africa List of film festivals in Asia List of film festivals in South America List of film festivals in Europe List of film festivals in North and Central America List of film festivals in Oceania List of short film festivals Online film festivals Outdoor cinema Outline of film Short film References Further reading Turan, Kenneth, Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made, Los Angeles, University of California Press, 2002, hardback, . Watson, Nigel, "The Sense and Sensationalism of Film Festivals", Talking Pictures website Cultural festivals

Formalist film theory is an approach to film theory that is focused on the formal or technical elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of color, shot composition, and editing. This approach was proposed by Hugo Münsterberg, Rudolf Arnheim, Sergei Eisenstein, and Béla Balázs. Today, it is a major approach in film studies. Overview Formalism, at its most general, considers the synthesis (or lack of synthesis) of the multiple elements of film production, and the effects, emotional and intellectual, of that synthesis and of the individual elements. For example, take the single element of editing. A formalist might study how standard Hollywood "continuity editing" creates a more comforting effect and non-continuity or jump cut editing might become more disconcerting or volatile. Or one might consider the synthesis of several elements, such as editing, shot composition, and music. The shoot-out that ends Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Western Dollars trilogy is a notable example of how these elements work together to produce an effect: The shot selection goes from very wide to very close and tense; the length of shots decreases as the sequence progresses towards its end; the music builds. All of these elements, in combination rather than individually, create tension. Formalism is unique in that it embraces both ideological and auteurist branches of criticism. In both these cases, the common denominator for Formalist criticism is style. Ideologues focus on how socio-economic pressures create a particular style, and auteurists on how auteurs put their own stamp on the material. Formalism is primarily concerned with style and how it communicates ideas, emotions, and themes (rather than, as critics of formalism point out, concentrating on the themes of a work itself). Ideological formalism Two examples of ideological interpretations that are related to formalism: The classical Hollywood cinema has a very distinct style, sometimes called the institutional mode of representation: continuity editing, massive coverage, three-point lighting, "mood" music, dissolves, all designed to make the experience as pleasant as possible. The socio-economic ideological explanation for this is, quite crassly, that Hollywood wants to make as much money and appeal to as many ticket-buyers as possible. Film noir, which was given its name by Nino Frank, is marked by lower production values, darker images, under lighting, location shooting, and general nihilism: this is because, we are told, during the war and post-war years filmmakers (as well as filmgoers) were generally more pessimistic. Also, the German Expressionists (including Fritz Lang, who was not technically an expressionist as popularly believed) emigrated to America and brought their stylized lighting effects (and disillusionment due to the war) to American soil. It can be argued that, by this approach, the style or 'language' of these films is directly affected not by the individuals responsible, but by social, economic, and political pressures, of which the filmmakers themselves may be aware or not. It is this branch of criticism that gives us such categories as the classical Hollywood cinema, the American independent movement, the new queer cinema, and the French, German, and Czech new waves. Formalism in auteur theory If the ideological approach is concerned with broad movements and the effects of the world around the filmmaker, then the auteur theory is diametrically opposite to it, celebrating the individual, usually in the person of the filmmaker, and how his/her personal decisions, thoughts, and style manifest themselves in the material. This branch of criticism, begun by François Truffaut and the other young film critics writing for Cahiers du cinéma, was created for two reasons. First, it was created to redeem the art of film itself. By arguing that films had auteurs, or authors, Truffaut sought to make films (and their directors) at least as important as the more widely accepted art forms, such as literature, music, and painting. Each of these art forms, and the criticism thereof, is primarily concerned with a sole creative force: the author of a novel (not, for example, his editor or type-setter), the composer of a piece of music (though sometimes the performers are given credence, akin to actors in film today), or the painter of a fresco (not his assistants who mix the colours or often do some of the painting themselves). By elevating the director, and not the screenwriter, to the same importance as novelists, composers, or painters, it sought to free the cinema from its popular conception as a bastard art, somewhere between theater and literature. Secondly, it sought to redeem many filmmakers who were looked down upon by mainstream film critics. It argued that genre filmmakers and low-budget B-movies were just as important, if not more, than the prestige pictures commonly given more press and legitimacy in France and the United States. According to Truffaut's theory, auteurs took material that was beneath their talents—a thriller, a pulpy action film, a romance—and, through their style, put their own personal stamp on it. See also Clement Greenberg Clive Bell Formalism (art) Medium specificity Neoformalism (film theory) Russian formalism Structuralist film theory Notes References Bordwell, David, Film Art: An Introduction; McGraw-Hill; 7th edition (June, 2003). Braudy, Leo, ed., Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings; Oxford University Press; 6th edition (March, 2004). Gianetti, Louis, Understanding Movies; Prentice Hall; 10th edition (March, 2004) Film theory Formalism (aesthetics)

Francium is a chemical element with the symbol Fr and atomic number 87. It is extremely radioactive; its most stable isotope, francium-223 (originally called actinium K after the natural decay chain it appears in), has a half-life of only 22 minutes. It is the second-most electropositive element, behind only caesium, and is the second rarest naturally occurring element (after astatine). The isotopes of francium decay quickly into astatine, radium, and radon. The electronic structure of a francium atom is [Rn] 7s1, and so the element is classed as an alkali metal. Bulk francium has never been seen. Because of the general appearance of the other elements in its periodic table column, it is presumed that francium would appear as a highly reactive metal, if enough could be collected together to be viewed as a bulk solid or liquid. Obtaining such a sample is highly improbable, since the extreme heat of decay resulting from its short half-life would immediately vaporize any viewable quantity of the element. Francium was discovered by Marguerite Perey in France (from which the element takes its name) in 1939. Prior to its discovery, it was referred to as eka-caesium or ekacaesium because of its conjectured existence below caesium in the periodic table. It was the last element first discovered in nature, rather than by synthesis. Outside the laboratory, francium is extremely rare, with trace amounts found in uranium and thorium ores, where the isotope francium-223 continually forms and decays. As little as 20–30 g (one ounce) exists at any given time throughout the Earth's crust; aside from francium-221, its other isotopes are entirely synthetic. The largest amount produced in the laboratory was a cluster of more than 300,000 atoms. Characteristics Francium is one of the most unstable of the naturally occurring elements: its longest-lived isotope, francium-223, has a half-life of only 22 minutes. The only comparable element is astatine, whose most stable natural isotope, astatine-219 (the alpha daughter of francium-223), has a half-life of 56 seconds, although synthetic astatine-210 is much longer-lived with a half-life of 8.1 hours. All isotopes of francium decay into astatine, radium, or radon. Francium-223 also has a shorter half-life than the longest-lived isotope of each synthetic element up to and including element 105, dubnium. Francium is an alkali metal whose chemical properties mostly resemble those of caesium. A heavy element with a single valence electron, it has the highest equivalent weight of any element. Liquid francium—if created—should have a surface tension of 0.05092 N/m at its melting point. Francium's melting point was estimated to be around ; a value of is also often encountered. The melting point is uncertain because of the element's extreme rarity and radioactivity; a different extrapolation based on Dmitri Mendeleev's method gave . The estimated boiling point of is also uncertain; the estimates and , as well as the extrapolation from Mendeleev's method of , have also been suggested. The density of francium is expected to be around 2.48 g/cm3 (Mendeleev's method extrapolates 2.4 g/cm3). Linus Pauling estimated the electronegativity of francium at 0.7 on the Pauling scale, the same as caesium; the value for caesium has since been refined to 0.79, but there are no experimental data to allow a refinement of the value for francium. Francium has a slightly higher ionization energy than caesium, 392.811(4) kJ/mol as opposed to 375.7041(2) kJ/mol for caesium, as would be expected from relativistic effects, and this would imply that caesium is the less electronegative of the two. Francium should also have a higher electron affinity than caesium and the Fr− ion should be more polarizable than the Cs− ion. Compounds Due to francium being very unstable, its salts are only known to a small extent. Francium coprecipitates with several caesium salts, such as caesium perchlorate, which results in small amounts of francium perchlorate. This coprecipitation can be used to isolate francium, by adapting the radiocaesium coprecipitation method of Lawrence E. Glendenin and C. M. Nelson. It will additionally coprecipitate with many other caesium salts, including the iodate, the picrate, the tartrate (also rubidium tartrate), the chloroplatinate, and the silicotungstate. It also coprecipitates with silicotungstic acid, and with perchloric acid, without another alkali metal as a carrier, which leads to other methods of separation. Francium perchlorate Francium perchlorate is produced by the reaction of francium chloride and sodium perchlorate. The francium perchlorate coprecipitates with caesium perchlorate. This coprecipitation can be used to isolate francium, by adapting the radiocaesium coprecipitation method of Lawrence E. Glendenin and C. M. Nelson. However, this method is unreliable in separating thallium due to it coprecipitates with the francium. Francium perchlorate's enthropy is expected to be 42.7 e.u. Francium halides Francium halides are all soluble in water and are expected to be white solids. They are expected to be produced by the reaction of the corresponding halides. For example, francium chloride would be produced by the reaction of francium and chlorine. Francium chloride has been studied as a pathway to separate francium from other elements, by using the high vapour pressure of the compound, although francium fluoride would have a higher vapour pressure. Other compounds Francium nitrate, sulfate, hydroxide, carbonate, acetate, and oxalate, are all soluble in water, while the iodate, picrate, tartrate, chloroplatinate, and silicotungstate are insoluble. The insolubility of these compounds are used to extract francium from other radioactive products, such as zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, tin, antimony, the method mentioned in the section above. The CsFr molecule is predicted to have francium at the negative end of the dipole, unlike all known heterodiatomic alkali metal molecules. Francium superoxide (FrO2) is expected to have a more covalent character than its lighter congeners; this is attributed to the 6p electrons in francium being more involved in the francium–oxygen bonding. The only double salt known of francium has the formula Fr9Bi2I9. Isotopes There are 34 known isotopes of francium ranging in atomic mass from 199 to 232. Francium has seven metastable nuclear isomers. Francium-223 and francium-221 are the only isotopes that occur in nature, with the former being far more common. Francium-223 is the most stable isotope, with a half-life of 21.8 minutes, and it is highly unlikely that an isotope of francium with a longer half-life will ever be discovered or synthesized. Francium-223 is a fifth product of the uranium-235 decay series as a daughter isotope of actinium-227; thorium-227 is the more common daughter. Francium-223 then decays into radium-223 by beta decay (1.149 MeV decay energy), with a minor (0.006%) alpha decay path to astatine-219 (5.4 MeV decay energy). Francium-221 has a half-life of 4.8 minutes. It is the ninth product of the neptunium decay series as a daughter isotope of actinium-225. Francium-221 then decays into astatine-217 by alpha decay (6.457 MeV decay energy). The least stable ground state isotope is francium-215, with a half-life of 0.12 μs: it undergoes a 9.54 MeV alpha decay to astatine-211. Its metastable isomer, francium-215m, is less stable still, with a half-life of only 3.5 ns. Applications Due to its instability and rarity, there are no commercial applications for francium. It has been used for research purposes in the fields of chemistry and of atomic structure. Its use as a potential diagnostic aid for various cancers has also been explored, but this application has been deemed impractical. Francium's ability to be synthesized, trapped, and cooled, along with its relatively simple atomic structure, has made it the subject of specialized spectroscopy experiments. These experiments have led to more specific information regarding energy levels and the coupling constants between subatomic particles. Studies on the light emitted by laser-trapped francium-210 ions have provided accurate data on transitions between atomic energy levels which are fairly similar to those predicted by quantum theory. History As early as 1870, chemists thought that there should be an alkali metal beyond caesium, with an atomic number of 87. It was then referred to by the provisional name eka-caesium. Research teams attempted to locate and isolate this missing element, and at least four false claims were made that the element had been found before an authentic discovery was made. Erroneous and incomplete discoveries Soviet chemist Dmitry Dobroserdov was the first scientist to claim to have found eka-caesium, or francium. In 1925, he observed weak radioactivity in a sample of potassium, another alkali metal, and incorrectly concluded that eka-caesium was contaminating the sample (the radioactivity from the sample was from the naturally occurring potassium radioisotope, potassium-40). He then published a thesis on his predictions of the properties of eka-caesium, in which he named the element russium after his home country. Shortly thereafter, Dobroserdov began to focus on his teaching career at the Polytechnic Institute of Odessa, and he did not pursue the element further. The following year, English chemists Gerald J. F. Druce and Frederick H. Loring analyzed X-ray photographs of manganese(II) sulfate. They observed spectral lines which they presumed to be of eka-caesium. They announced their discovery of element 87 and proposed the name alkalinium, as it would be the heaviest alkali metal. In 1930, Fred Allison of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute claimed to have discovered element 87 (in addition to 85) when analyzing pollucite and lepidolite using his magneto-optical machine. Allison requested that it be named virginium after his home state of Virginia, along with the symbols Vi and Vm. In 1934, H.G. MacPherson of UC Berkeley disproved the effectiveness of Allison's device and the validity of his discovery. In 1936, Romanian physicist Horia Hulubei and his French colleague Yvette Cauchois also analyzed pollucite, this time using their high-resolution X-ray apparatus. They observed several weak emission lines, which they presumed to be those of element 87. Hulubei and Cauchois reported their discovery and proposed the name moldavium, along with the symbol Ml, after Moldavia, the Romanian province where Hulubei was born. In 1937, Hulubei's work was criticized by American physicist F. H. Hirsh Jr., who rejected Hulubei's research methods. Hirsh was certain that eka-caesium would not be found in nature, and that Hulubei had instead observed mercury or bismuth X-ray lines. Hulubei insisted that his X-ray apparatus and methods were too accurate to make such a mistake. Because of this, Jean Baptiste Perrin, Nobel Prize winner and Hulubei's mentor, endorsed moldavium as the true eka-caesium over Marguerite Perey's recently discovered francium. Perey took pains to be accurate and detailed in her criticism of Hulubei's work, and finally she was credited as the sole discoverer of element 87. All other previous purported discoveries of element 87 were ruled out due to francium's very limited half-life. Perey's analysis Eka-caesium was discovered on 7 January 1939 by Marguerite Perey of the Curie Institute in Paris, when she purified a sample of actinium-227 which had been reported to have a decay energy of 220 keV. Perey noticed decay particles with an energy level below 80 keV. Perey thought this decay activity might have been caused by a previously unidentified decay product, one which was separated during purification, but emerged again out of the pure actinium-227. Various tests eliminated the possibility of the unknown element being thorium, radium, lead, bismuth, or thallium. The new product exhibited chemical properties of an alkali metal (such as coprecipitating with caesium salts), which led Perey to believe that it was element 87, produced by the alpha decay of actinium-227. Perey then attempted to determine the proportion of beta decay to alpha decay in actinium-227. Her first test put the alpha branching at 0.6%, a figure which she later revised to 1%. Perey named the new isotope actinium-K (it is now referred to as francium-223) and in 1946, she proposed the name catium (Cm) for her newly discovered element, as she believed it to be the most electropositive cation of the elements. Irène Joliot-Curie, one of Perey's supervisors, opposed the name due to its connotation of cat rather than cation; furthermore, the symbol coincided with that which had since been assigned to curium. Perey then suggested francium, after France. This name was officially adopted by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in 1949, becoming the second element after gallium to be named after France. It was assigned the symbol Fa, but this abbreviation was revised to the current Fr shortly thereafter. Francium was the last element discovered in nature, rather than synthesized, following hafnium and rhenium. Further research into francium's structure was carried out by, among others, Sylvain Lieberman and his team at CERN in the 1970s and 1980s. Occurrence 223Fr is the result of the alpha decay of 227Ac and can be found in trace amounts in uranium minerals. In a given sample of uranium, there is estimated to be only one francium atom for every 1 × 1018 uranium atoms. It is also calculated that there is a total mass of at most 30 g of francium in the Earth's crust at any given time. Production Francium can be synthesized by a fusion reaction when a gold-197 target is bombarded with a beam of oxygen-18 atoms from a linear accelerator in a process originally developed at the physics department of the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1995. Depending on the energy of the oxygen beam, the reaction can yield francium isotopes with masses of 209, 210, and 211. 197Au + 18O → 209Fr + 6 n 197Au + 18O → 210Fr + 5 n 197Au + 18O → 211Fr + 4 n The francium atoms leave the gold target as ions, which are neutralized by collision with yttrium and then isolated in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) in a gaseous unconsolidated state. Although the atoms only remain in the trap for about 30 seconds before escaping or undergoing nuclear decay, the process supplies a continual stream of fresh atoms. The result is a steady state containing a fairly constant number of atoms for a much longer time. The original apparatus could trap up to a few thousand atoms, while a later improved design could trap over 300,000 at a time. Sensitive measurements of the light emitted and absorbed by the trapped atoms provided the first experimental results on various transitions between atomic energy levels in francium. Initial measurements show very good agreement between experimental values and calculations based on quantum theory. The research project using this production method relocated to TRIUMF in 2012, where over 106 francium atoms have been held at a time, including large amounts of 209Fr in addition to 207Fr and 221Fr. Other synthesis methods include bombarding radium with neutrons, and bombarding thorium with protons, deuterons, or helium ions. 223Fr can also be isolated from samples of its parent 227Ac, the francium being milked via elution with NH4Cl–CrO3 from an actinium-containing cation exchanger and purified by passing the solution through a silicon dioxide compound loaded with barium sulfate. In 1996, the Stony Brook group trapped 3000 atoms in their MOT, which was enough for a video camera to capture the light given off by the atoms as they fluoresce. Francium has not been synthesized in amounts large enough to weigh. Notes References External links Francium at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham) WebElements.com – Francium Stony Brook University Physics Dept. 2013, E.R. Scerri,A tale of seven elements, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Chemical elements Alkali metals Eponyms Science and technology in France Chemical elements with body-centered cubic structure

Frequency modulation (FM) is the encoding of information in a carrier wave by varying the instantaneous frequency of the wave. The technology is used in telecommunications, radio broadcasting, signal processing, and computing. In analog frequency modulation, such as radio broadcasting, of an audio signal representing voice or music, the instantaneous frequency deviation, i.e. the difference between the frequency of the carrier and its center frequency, has a functional relation to the modulating signal amplitude. Digital data can be encoded and transmitted with a type of frequency modulation known as frequency-shift keying (FSK), in which the instantaneous frequency of the carrier is shifted among a set of frequencies. The frequencies may represent digits, such as '0' and '1'. FSK is widely used in computer modems, such as fax modems, telephone caller ID systems, garage door openers, and other low-frequency transmissions. Radioteletype also uses FSK. Frequency modulation is widely used for FM radio broadcasting. It is also used in telemetry, radar, seismic prospecting, and monitoring newborns for seizures via EEG, two-way radio systems, sound synthesis, magnetic tape-recording systems and some video-transmission systems. In radio transmission, an advantage of frequency modulation is that it has a larger signal-to-noise ratio and therefore rejects radio frequency interference better than an equal power amplitude modulation (AM) signal. For this reason, most music is broadcast over FM radio. Frequency modulation and phase modulation are the two complementary principal methods of angle modulation; phase modulation is often used as an intermediate step to achieve frequency modulation. These methods contrast with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier wave varies, while the frequency and phase remain constant. Theory If the information to be transmitted (i.e., the baseband signal) is and the sinusoidal carrier is , where fc is the carrier's base frequency, and Ac is the carrier's amplitude, the modulator combines the carrier with the baseband data signal to get the transmitted signal: where , being the sensitivity of the frequency modulator and being the amplitude of the modulating signal or baseband signal. In this equation, is the instantaneous frequency of the oscillator and is the frequency deviation, which represents the maximum shift away from fc in one direction, assuming xm(t) is limited to the range ±1. While most of the energy of the signal is contained within fc ± fΔ, it can be shown by Fourier analysis that a wider range of frequencies is required to precisely represent an FM signal. The frequency spectrum of an actual FM signal has components extending infinitely, although their amplitude decreases and higher-order components are often neglected in practical design problems. Sinusoidal baseband signal Mathematically, a baseband modulating signal may be approximated by a sinusoidal continuous wave signal with a frequency fm. This method is also named as single-tone modulation. The integral of such a signal is: In this case, the expression for y(t) above simplifies to: where the amplitude of the modulating sinusoid is represented in the peak deviation (see frequency deviation). The harmonic distribution of a sine wave carrier modulated by such a sinusoidal signal can be represented with Bessel functions; this provides the basis for a mathematical understanding of frequency modulation in the frequency domain. Modulation index As in other modulation systems, the modulation index indicates by how much the modulated variable varies around its unmodulated level. It relates to variations in the carrier frequency: where is the highest frequency component present in the modulating signal xm(t), and is the peak frequency-deviation—i.e. the maximum deviation of the instantaneous frequency from the carrier frequency. For a sine wave modulation, the modulation index is seen to be the ratio of the peak frequency deviation of the carrier wave to the frequency of the modulating sine wave. If , the modulation is called narrowband FM (NFM), and its bandwidth is approximately . Sometimes modulation index  is considered as NFM, otherwise wideband FM (WFM or FM). For digital modulation systems, for example binary frequency shift keying (BFSK), where a binary signal modulates the carrier, the modulation index is given by: where is the symbol period, and is used as the highest frequency of the modulating binary waveform by convention, even though it would be more accurate to say it is the highest fundamental of the modulating binary waveform. In the case of digital modulation, the carrier is never transmitted. Rather, one of two frequencies is transmitted, either or , depending on the binary state 0 or 1 of the modulation signal. If , the modulation is called wideband FM and its bandwidth is approximately . While wideband FM uses more bandwidth, it can improve the signal-to-noise ratio significantly; for example, doubling the value of , while keeping constant, results in an eight-fold improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio. (Compare this with chirp spread spectrum, which uses extremely wide frequency deviations to achieve processing gains comparable to traditional, better-known spread-spectrum modes). With a tone-modulated FM wave, if the modulation frequency is held constant and the modulation index is increased, the (non-negligible) bandwidth of the FM signal increases but the spacing between spectra remains the same; some spectral components decrease in strength as others increase. If the frequency deviation is held constant and the modulation frequency increased, the spacing between spectra increases. Frequency modulation can be classified as narrowband if the change in the carrier frequency is about the same as the signal frequency, or as wideband if the change in the carrier frequency is much higher (modulation index > 1) than the signal frequency. For example, narrowband FM (NFM) is used for two-way radio systems such as Family Radio Service, in which the carrier is allowed to deviate only 2.5 kHz above and below the center frequency with speech signals of no more than 3.5 kHz bandwidth. Wideband FM is used for FM broadcasting, in which music and speech are transmitted with up to 75 kHz deviation from the center frequency and carry audio with up to a 20 kHz bandwidth and subcarriers up to 92 kHz. Bessel functions For the case of a carrier modulated by a single sine wave, the resulting frequency spectrum can be calculated using Bessel functions of the first kind, as a function of the sideband number and the modulation index. The carrier and sideband amplitudes are illustrated for different modulation indices of FM signals. For particular values of the modulation index, the carrier amplitude becomes zero and all the signal power is in the sidebands. Since the sidebands are on both sides of the carrier, their count is doubled, and then multiplied by the modulating frequency to find the bandwidth. For example, 3 kHz deviation modulated by a 2.2 kHz audio tone produces a modulation index of 1.36. Suppose that we limit ourselves to only those sidebands that have a relative amplitude of at least 0.01. Then, examining the chart shows this modulation index will produce three sidebands. These three sidebands, when doubled, gives us (6 × 2.2 kHz) or a 13.2 kHz required bandwidth. Carson's rule A rule of thumb, Carson's rule states that nearly all (≈98 percent) of the power of a frequency-modulated signal lies within a bandwidth of: where , as defined above, is the peak deviation of the instantaneous frequency from the center carrier frequency , is the Modulation index which is the ratio of frequency deviation to highest frequency in the modulating signal and is the highest frequency in the modulating signal. Condition for application of Carson's rule is only sinusoidal signals. For non-sinusoidal signals: where W is the highest frequency in the modulating signal but non-sinusoidal in nature and D is the Deviation ratio which the ratio of frequency deviation to highest frequency of modulating non-sinusoidal signal. Noise reduction FM provides improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), as compared for example with AM. Compared with an optimum AM scheme, FM typically has poorer SNR below a certain signal level called the noise threshold, but above a higher level – the full improvement or full quieting threshold – the SNR is much improved over AM. The improvement depends on modulation level and deviation. For typical voice communications channels, improvements are typically 5–15 dB. FM broadcasting using wider deviation can achieve even greater improvements. Additional techniques, such as pre-emphasis of higher audio frequencies with corresponding de-emphasis in the receiver, are generally used to improve overall SNR in FM circuits. Since FM signals have constant amplitude, FM receivers normally have limiters that remove AM noise, further improving SNR. Implementation Modulation FM signals can be generated using either direct or indirect frequency modulation: Direct FM modulation can be achieved by directly feeding the message into the input of a voltage-controlled oscillator. For indirect FM modulation, the message signal is integrated to generate a phase-modulated signal. This is used to modulate a crystal-controlled oscillator, and the result is passed through a frequency multiplier to produce an FM signal. In this modulation, narrowband FM is generated leading to wideband FM later and hence the modulation is known as indirect FM modulation. Demodulation Many FM detector circuits exist. A common method for recovering the information signal is through a Foster–Seeley discriminator or ratio detector. A phase-locked loop can be used as an FM demodulator. Slope detection demodulates an FM signal by using a tuned circuit which has its resonant frequency slightly offset from the carrier. As the frequency rises and falls the tuned circuit provides a changing amplitude of response, converting FM to AM. AM receivers may detect some FM transmissions by this means, although it does not provide an efficient means of detection for FM broadcasts. Applications Doppler effect When an echolocating bat approaches a target, its outgoing sounds return as echoes, which are Doppler-shifted upward in frequency. In certain species of bats, which produce constant frequency (CF) echolocation calls, the bats compensate for the Doppler shift by lowering their call frequency as they approach a target. This keeps the returning echo in the same frequency range of the normal echolocation call. This dynamic frequency modulation is called the Doppler Shift Compensation (DSC), and was discovered by Hans Schnitzler in 1968 Magnetic tape storage FM is also used at intermediate frequencies by analog VCR systems (including VHS) to record the luminance (black and white) portions of the video signal. Commonly, the chrominance component is recorded as a conventional AM signal, using the higher-frequency FM signal as bias. FM is the only feasible method of recording the luminance ("black-and-white") component of video to (and retrieving video from) magnetic tape without distortion; video signals have a large range of frequency components – from a few hertz to several megahertz, too wide for equalizers to work with due to electronic noise below −60 dB. FM also keeps the tape at saturation level, acting as a form of noise reduction; a limiter can mask variations in playback output, and the FM capture effect removes print-through and pre-echo. A continuous pilot-tone, if added to the signal – as was done on V2000 and many Hi-band formats – can keep mechanical jitter under control and assist timebase correction. These FM systems are unusual, in that they have a ratio of carrier to maximum modulation frequency of less than two; contrast this with FM audio broadcasting, where the ratio is around 10,000. Consider, for example, a 6-MHz carrier modulated at a 3.5-MHz rate; by Bessel analysis, the first sidebands are on 9.5 and 2.5 MHz and the second sidebands are on 13 MHz and −1 MHz. The result is a reversed-phase sideband on +1 MHz; on demodulation, this results in unwanted output at 6 – 1 = 5 MHz. The system must be designed so that this unwanted output is reduced to an acceptable level. Sound FM is also used at audio frequencies to synthesize sound. This technique, known as FM synthesis, was popularized by early digital synthesizers and became a standard feature in several generations of personal computer sound cards. Radio Edwin Howard Armstrong (1890–1954) was an American electrical engineer who invented wideband frequency modulation (FM) radio. He patented the regenerative circuit in 1914, the superheterodyne receiver in 1918 and the super-regenerative circuit in 1922. Armstrong presented his paper, "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation", (which first described FM radio) before the New York section of the Institute of Radio Engineers on November 6, 1935. The paper was published in 1936. As the name implies, wideband FM (WFM) requires a wider signal bandwidth than amplitude modulation by an equivalent modulating signal; this also makes the signal more robust against noise and interference. Frequency modulation is also more robust against signal-amplitude-fading phenomena. As a result, FM was chosen as the modulation standard for high frequency, high fidelity radio transmission, hence the term "FM radio" (although for many years the BBC called it "VHF radio" because commercial FM broadcasting uses part of the VHF band—the FM broadcast band). FM receivers employ a special detector for FM signals and exhibit a phenomenon known as the capture effect, in which the tuner "captures" the stronger of two stations on the same frequency while rejecting the other (compare this with a similar situation on an AM receiver, where both stations can be heard simultaneously). However, frequency drift or a lack of selectivity may cause one station to be overtaken by another on an adjacent channel. Frequency drift was a problem in early (or inexpensive) receivers; inadequate selectivity may affect any tuner. An FM signal can also be used to carry a stereo signal; this is done with multiplexing and demultiplexing before and after the FM process. The FM modulation and demodulation process is identical in stereo and monaural processes. A high-efficiency radio-frequency switching amplifier can be used to transmit FM signals (and other constant-amplitude signals). For a given signal strength (measured at the receiver antenna), switching amplifiers use less battery power and typically cost less than a linear amplifier. This gives FM another advantage over other modulation methods requiring linear amplifiers, such as AM and QAM. FM is commonly used at VHF radio frequencies for high-fidelity broadcasts of music and speech. Analog TV sound is also broadcast using FM. Narrowband FM is used for voice communications in commercial and amateur radio settings. In broadcast services, where audio fidelity is important, wideband FM is generally used. In two-way radio, narrowband FM (NBFM) is used to conserve bandwidth for land mobile, marine mobile and other radio services. There are reports that on October 5, 1924, Professor Mikhail A. Bonch-Bruevich, during a scientific and technical conversation in the Nizhny Novgorod Radio Laboratory, reported about his new method of telephony, based on a change in the period of oscillations. Demonstration of frequency modulation was carried out on the laboratory model. See also Amplitude modulation Continuous-wave frequency-modulated radar Chirp FM broadcasting FM stereo FM-UWB (FM and Ultra Wideband) History of radio Modulation, for a list of other modulation techniques References Further reading . . (2nd ed., 2005) External links Analog Modulation online interactive demonstration using Python in Google Colab Platform, by C Foh. Radio modulation modes

Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel Dune and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer. The Dune saga, set in the distant future, and taking place over millennia, explores complex themes, such as the long-term survival of the human species, human evolution, planetary science and ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, economics and power in a future where humanity has long since developed interstellar travel and settled many thousands of worlds. Dune is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, and the entire series is considered to be among the classics of the genre. Biography Early life Frank Patrick Herbert Jr. was born on October 8, 1920, in Tacoma, Washington, to Frank Patrick Herbert Sr. and Eileen (née McCarthy) Herbert. His rural upbringing involved spending a lot of his youth on the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. He was fascinated by books and could read much of the newspaper before the age of five, had an excellent memory, and learned things quickly. He had an early interest in photography, and bought a Kodak box camera at age ten, a new folding camera in his early teens, and a color film camera in the mid-1930s. Because of an impoverished home environment, largely due to the Great Depression, he ran away from home in 1938 to live with an aunt and uncle in Salem, Oregon. He enrolled in high school at Salem High School (now North Salem High School), where he graduated the next year. In 1939 he lied about his age to get his first newspaper job at the Glendale Star. Herbert then returned to Salem in 1940 where he worked for the Oregon Statesman newspaper (now Statesman Journal) in a variety of positions, including photographer. Herbert married Flora Lillian Parkinson in San Pedro, California, in 1941. They had one daughter, Penelope (b. February 16, 1942), and divorced in 1943. During 1942, after the U.S. entry into World War II, he served in the Navy's Seabees for six months as a photographer, but suffered an accidental head injury and was given a medical discharge. Herbert subsequently moved to Portland, Oregon where he reported for The Oregon Journal. After the war, Herbert attended the University of Washington, where he met Beverly Ann Stuart at a creative writing class in 1946. They were the only students who had sold any work for publication; Herbert had sold two pulp adventure stories to magazines, the first to Esquire in 1945, and Stuart had sold a story to Modern Romance magazine. They married in Seattle, Washington on June 20, 1946, and had two sons, Brian Patrick Herbert (b. June 29, 1947, Seattle, Washington) and Bruce Calvin Herbert (b. June 26, 1951, Santa Rosa, California d. June 15, 1993, San Rafael, California, a professional photographer and gay rights activist). In 1949 Herbert and his wife moved to California to work on the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. Here they befriended the psychologists Ralph and Irene Slattery. The Slatterys introduced Herbert to the work of several thinkers who would influence his writing, including Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Karl Jaspers and Martin Heidegger; they also familiarized Herbert with Zen Buddhism. Herbert never graduated from university. According to his son Brian, he wanted to study only what interested him and so did not complete the required curriculum. He returned to journalism and worked at the Seattle Star and the Oregon Statesman. He was a writer and editor for the San Francisco Examiner California Living magazine for a decade. In a 1973 interview, Herbert stated that he had been reading science fiction "about ten years" before he began writing in the genre, and he listed his favorite authors as H. G. Wells, Robert A. Heinlein, Poul Anderson and Jack Vance. Herbert's first science fiction story, "Looking for Something", was published in the April 1952 issue of Startling Stories, then a monthly edited by Samuel Mines. Three more of his stories appeared in 1954 issues of Astounding Science Fiction and Amazing Stories. His career as a novelist began in 1955 with the serial publication of Under Pressure in Astounding from November 1955; afterward it was issued as a book by Doubleday titled The Dragon in the Sea. The story explored sanity and madness in the environment of a 21st-century submarine and predicted worldwide conflicts over oil consumption and production. It was a critical success but not a major commercial one. During this time Herbert also worked as a speechwriter for Republican senator Guy Cordon. Dune Herbert began researching Dune in 1959. He was able to devote himself wholeheartedly to his writing career because his wife returned to work full-time as an advertising writer for department stores, becoming the breadwinner during the 1960s. The novel Dune was published in 1965, which spearheaded the Dune franchise. He later told Willis E. McNelly that the novel originated when he was assigned to write a magazine article about sand dunes in the Oregon Dunes near Florence, Oregon. He got overinvolved and ended up with far more raw material than needed for an article. The article was never written, but it planted the seed that led to Dune. Another significant source of inspiration for Dune was Herbert's experiences with psilocybin and his hobby of cultivating mushrooms, according to mycologist Paul Stamets's account. Dune took six years of research and writing to complete and was much longer than other commercial science fiction of the time. Analog (the renamed Astounding, still edited by John W. Campbell) published it in two parts comprising eight installments, "Dune World" from December 1963 and "Prophet of Dune" in 1965. It was then rejected by nearly twenty book publishers. One editor prophetically wrote, "I might be making the mistake of the decade, but..." Sterling E. Lanier, an editor of Chilton Book Company (known mainly for its auto-repair manuals) had read the Dune serials and offered a $7,500 advance plus future royalties for the rights to publish them as a hardcover book. Herbert rewrote much of his text. Dune was soon a critical success. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965 and shared the Hugo Award in 1966 with ...And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny. Dune was not an immediate bestseller. By 1968 Herbert had made $20,000 from it, far more than most science fiction novels of the time were generating, but not enough to let him take up full-time writing. However, the publication of Dune did open doors for him. He was the Seattle Post-Intelligencer education writer from 1969 to 1972 and lecturer in general studies and interdisciplinary studies at the University of Washington (1970–1972). He worked in Vietnam and Pakistan as a social and ecological consultant in 1972. In 1973 he was director-photographer of the television show The Tillers. By the end of 1972, Herbert had retired from newspaper writing and become a full-time fiction writer. During the 1970s and 1980s, he enjoyed considerable commercial success as an author. He divided his time between homes in Hawaii and Washington's Olympic Peninsula; his home in Port Townsend on the peninsula was intended to be an "ecological demonstration project". During this time he wrote numerous books and pushed ecological and philosophical ideas. He continued his Dune saga with Dune Messiah (1969), Children of Dune (1976), God Emperor of Dune (1981), Heretics of Dune (1984) and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985). Herbert planned to write a seventh novel to conclude the series, but his death in 1986 left storylines unresolved. Other works by Herbert include The Godmakers (1972), The Dosadi Experiment (1977), The White Plague (1982) and the books he wrote in partnership with Bill Ransom: The Jesus Incident (1979), The Lazarus Effect (1983) and The Ascension Factor (1988), which were sequels to Herbert's 1966 novel Destination: Void. He also helped launch the career of Terry Brooks with a very positive review of Brooks' first novel, The Sword of Shannara, in 1977. Success, family changes, and death Herbert's change in fortune was shadowed by tragedy. In 1974, his wife Beverly underwent an operation for cancer. She lived ten more years, but her health was adversely affected by the surgery. During this period, Herbert was the featured speaker at the Octocon II science fiction convention held at the El Rancho Tropicana in Santa Rosa, California, in October 1978. In 1979, he met anthropologist James Funaro with whom he conceived the Contact Conference. Beverly Herbert died on February 7, 1984. Herbert completed and published Heretics of Dune that year. In his afterword to 1985's Chapterhouse: Dune, Herbert included a dedication to Beverly. In 1983, British heavy metal band Iron Maiden requested permission from Herbert's publisher to name a song on their album Piece of Mind after Dune, but were told that the author had a strong distaste for their style of music. They instead titled the song "To Tame a Land". 1984 was a tumultuous year in Herbert's life. During this same year of his wife's death, his career took off with the release of David Lynch's film version of Dune. Despite high expectations, a big-budget production design and an A-list cast, the movie drew mostly poor reviews in the United States. However, despite a disappointing response in the US, the film was a critical and commercial success in Europe and Japan. In 1985, after Beverly's death, Herbert married his former Putnam representative Theresa Shackleford. The same year he published Chapterhouse: Dune, which tied up many of the saga's story threads. This would be Herbert's final single work (the collection Eye was published that year, and Man of Two Worlds was published in 1986). He died of a massive pulmonary embolism while recovering from surgery for pancreatic cancer on February 11, 1986, in Madison, Wisconsin, age 65. Criticism of government Herbert was a strong critic of the Soviet Union. He was a distant relative of the Republican senator Joseph McCarthy, whom he referred to as "Cousin Joe". However, he was appalled to learn of McCarthy's blacklisting of suspected communists from working in certain careers and believed that he was endangering essential freedoms of citizens of the United States. Herbert believed that governments lie to protect themselves and that, following the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon had unwittingly taught an important lesson in not trusting government. Herbert also opposed American involvement in the war in Vietnam. In Chapterhouse: Dune, he wrote: Ideas and themes Frank Herbert used his science fiction novels to explore complex ideas involving philosophy, religion, psychology, politics and ecology. The underlying thrust of his work was a fascination with the question of human survival and evolution. Herbert has attracted a sometimes fanatical fan base, many of whom have tried to read everything he wrote, fiction or non-fiction, and see Herbert as something of an authority on the subject matters of his books. Indeed, such was the devotion of some of his readers that Herbert was at times asked if he was founding a cult, something he was very much against. There are a number of key themes in Herbert's work: A concern with leadership. He explored the human tendency to slavishly follow charismatic leaders. He delved into both the flaws and potentials of bureaucracy and government. Herbert was among the first science fiction authors to popularize ideas about ecology and systems thinking. He stressed the need for humans to think both systematically and long-term. The relationship between religion, politics and power. Human survival and evolution: Herbert writes of the Fremen, the Sardaukar, and the Dosadi, who are molded by their terrible living conditions into dangerous super races. Human possibilities and potential: Herbert offered Mentats, the Bene Gesserit and the Bene Tleilax as different visions of human potential. The nature of sanity and madness. Frank Herbert was interested in the work of Thomas Szasz and the anti-psychiatry movement. Often, Herbert poses the question, "What is sane?", and while there are clearly insane behaviors and psychopathies as evinced by characters (Piter De Vries for instance), it is often suggested that normal and abnormal are relative terms which humans are sometimes ill-equipped to apply to one another, especially on the basis of statistical regularity. The possible effects and consequences of consciousness-altering chemicals, such as the spice in the Dune saga, as well as the "Jaspers" fungus in The Santaroga Barrier, and the Kelp in the Destination: Void sequence. How language shapes thought. More specifically, Herbert was influenced by Alfred Korzybski's General Semantics. Algis Budrys wrote that his knowledge of language and linguistics "is worth at least one PhD and the Chair of Philology at a good New England college". Learning, teaching, and thinking. Frank Herbert refrained from offering his readers formulaic answers to many of the questions he explored. Status and influence on science fiction Dune and the Dune saga constitute one of the world's best-selling science fiction series and novels; Dune in particular has received widespread critical acclaim, winning the Nebula Award in 1965 and sharing the Hugo Award in 1966, and is frequently considered one of the best science fiction novels ever, if not the best. Locus subscribers voted it the all-time best SF novel in 1975, again in 1987, and the best "before 1990" in 1998.Dune is considered a landmark novel for a number of reasons: Dune is a landmark of soft science fiction. Herbert deliberately suppressed technology in his Dune universe so that he could address the future of humanity, rather than the future of humanity's technology. Dune considers the way humans and their institutions might change over time. Frank Herbert was a great popularizer of scientific ideas; many of his fans credit Frank Herbert for introducing them to philosophy and psychology. In Dune, he helped popularize the term ecology. Gerald Jonas explains in The New York Times Book Review: "So completely did Mr. Herbert work out the interactions of man and beast and geography and climate that Dune became the standard for an emerging subgenre of 'ecological' science fiction." Dune is considered an epic example of literary world-building. The Library Journal reports that "Dune is to science fiction what The Lord of the Rings is to fantasy". Arthur C. Clarke is quoted as making a similar statement on the back cover of a paper edition of Dune. Frank Herbert imagined every facet of his creation. He lovingly included glossaries, quotes, documents, and histories, to bring his universe alive to his readers. No science fiction novel before it had so vividly realized life on another world. Herbert never again equalled the critical acclaim he received for Dune. Neither his sequels to Dune nor any of his other books won a Hugo or Nebula Award, although almost all of them were New York Times Best Sellers. Malcolm Edwards wrote, in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted Herbert in 2006. California State University, Fullerton's Pollack Library has several of Herbert's draft manuscripts of Dune and other works, with the author's notes, in their Frank Herbert Archives. Metro Parks Tacoma built Dune Peninsula and the Frank Herbert Trail at Point Defiance Park in July 2019 to honor the hometown writer. Bibliography Posthumously published works Beginning in 2012, Herbert's estate and WordFire Press have released four previously unpublished novels in e-book and paperback formats: High-Opp (2012), Angels' Fall (2013), A Game of Authors (2013), and A Thorn in the Bush (2014). In recent years, Frank Herbert's son Brian Herbert and author Kevin J. Anderson have added to the Dune franchise, using notes left behind by Frank Herbert and discovered over a decade after his death. Brian Herbert and Anderson have written three prequel trilogies (Prelude to Dune, Legends of Dune and Great Schools of Dune) exploring the history of the Dune universe before the events of the original novel, two novels that take place between novels of the original Dune sequels (with plans for more), as well as two post-Chapterhouse Dune novels that complete the original series (Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune) based on Frank Herbert's own Dune 7 outline. See also Kevin J. Anderson Brian Herbert References Sources Further reading Allen, L. David. Cliffs Notes on Herbert's Dune & Other Works. Lincoln, NE: Cliffs Notes, 1975. Clarke, Jason. SparkNotes: Dune, Frank Herbert. New York: Spark Publishing, 2002. Herbert, Brian. Dreamer of Dune : The Biography of Frank Herbert. New York: Tor Books, 2003. Levack, Daniel JH; Willard, Mark. Dune Master: A Frank Herbert Bibliography. Westport, CT: Meckler, 1988. McNelly, Dr. Willis E. (ed.) The Dune Encyclopedia. New York: Berkeley Publishing Group, 1984. Miller, David M. Starmont Reader's Guide 5: Frank Herbert. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont, 1980. O'Reilly, Timothy. Frank Herbert. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1980. O'Reilly, Timothy (ed.) The Maker of Dune. New York: Berkeley Publishing Group, 1987. External links Official website for Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson Frank Herbert SF Hall of Fame induction (Kevin Anderson report with his speech) 1984 interview with L. A. Reader: part 1, 2, 3 Frank Herbert on the Literature Map Biography and criticism Frank Herbert biography at the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Arabic and Islamic themes in Frank Herbert's Dune novels Study by Tim O'Reilly of Frank Herbert's work up to the Jesus Incident; one of the more in-depth studies of Frank Herbert's thoughts and ideas Article on the inspirations for Dune "Frank Herbert, the Dune Man" -(Frederik Pohl) "Frank Herbert, the Dune Man, Part 2" Bibliography and works 20th-century American novelists American environmentalists American male novelists United States Navy personnel of World War II American science fiction writers Converts to Buddhism from Christianity American Zen Buddhists Deaths from cancer in Wisconsin Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from pulmonary embolism Hugo Award-winning writers Journalists from Oregon Constructed language creators Nebula Award winners North Salem High School (Salem, Oregon) alumni Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees University of Washington alumni Writers from Port Townsend, Washington Writers from Salem, Oregon Writers from Seattle Writers from Tacoma, Washington 1920 births 1986 deaths San Francisco Examiner people American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers Activists from California 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Washington (state) Novelists from Oregon American male non-fiction writers Seattle Post-Intelligencer people Seabees 20th-century American journalists American male journalists American war photographers

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and engravings reflected contemporary historical upheavals and influenced important 19th- and 20th-century painters. Goya is often referred to as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was born to a middle-class family in 1746, in Fuendetodos in Aragon. He studied painting from age 14 under José Luzán y Martinez and moved to Madrid to study with Anton Raphael Mengs. He married Josefa Bayeu in 1773. Their life was characterised by a series of pregnancies and miscarriages, and only one child, a son, survived into adulthood. Goya became a court painter to the Spanish Crown in 1786 and this early portion of his career is marked by portraits of the Spanish aristocracy and royalty, and Rococo-style tapestry cartoons designed for the royal palace. He was guarded, and although letters and writings survive, little is known about his thoughts. He suffered a severe and undiagnosed illness in 1793 which left him deaf, after which his work became progressively darker and pessimistic. His later easel and mural paintings, prints and drawings appear to reflect a bleak outlook on personal, social and political levels, and contrast with his social climbing. He was appointed Director of the Royal Academy in 1795, the year Manuel Godoy made an unfavorable treaty with France. In 1799, Goya became Primer Pintor de Cámara (Prime Court Painter), the highest rank for a Spanish court painter. In the late 1790s, commissioned by Godoy, he completed his La maja desnuda, a remarkably daring nude for the time and clearly indebted to Diego Velázquez. In 1800–01 he painted Charles IV of Spain and His Family, also influenced by Velázquez. In 1807, Napoleon led the French army into the Peninsular War against Spain. Goya remained in Madrid during the war, which seems to have affected him deeply. Although he did not speak his thoughts in public, they can be inferred from his Disasters of War series of prints (although published 35 years after his death) and his 1814 paintings The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808. Other works from his mid-period include the Caprichos and Los Disparates etching series, and a wide variety of paintings concerned with insanity, mental asylums, witches, fantastical creatures and religious and political corruption, all of which suggest that he feared for both his country's fate and his own mental and physical health. His late period culminates with the Black Paintings of 1819–1823, applied on oil on the plaster walls of his house the Quinta del Sordo (House of the Deaf Man) where, disillusioned by political and social developments in Spain, he lived in near isolation. Goya eventually abandoned Spain in 1824 to retire to the French city of Bordeaux, accompanied by his much younger maid and companion, Leocadia Weiss, who may or may not have been his lover. There he completed his La Tauromaquia series and a number of other, major, canvases. Following a stroke which left him paralyzed on his right side, and suffering failing eyesight and poor access to painting materials, he died and was buried on 16 April 1828 aged 82. His body was later re-interred in the Real Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida in Madrid. Famously, the skull was missing, a detail the Spanish consul immediately communicated to his superiors in Madrid, who wired back, "Send Goya, with or without head." Early years (1746–1771) Francisco Goya was born in Fuendetodos, Aragón, Spain, on 30 March 1746 to José Benito de Goya y Franque and Gracia de Lucientes y Salvador. The family had moved that year from the city of Zaragoza, but there is no record why; likely José was commissioned to work there. They were lower middle-class. José was the son of a notary and of Basque origin, his ancestors being from Zerain, earning his living as a gilder, specialising in religious and decorative craftwork. He oversaw the gilding and most of the ornamentation during the rebuilding of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (Santa Maria del Pilar), the principal cathedral of Zaragoza. Francisco was their fourth child, following his sister Rita (b. 1737), brother Tomás (b. 1739) (who was to follow in his father's trade) and second sister Jacinta (b. 1743). There were two younger sons, Mariano (b. 1750) and Camilo (b. 1753). His mother's family had pretensions of nobility and the house, a modest brick cottage, was owned by her family and, perhaps fancifully, bore their crest. About 1749 José and Gracia bought a home in Zaragoza and were able to return to live in the city. Although there are no surviving records, it is thought that Goya may have attended the Escuelas Pías de San Antón, which offered free schooling. His education seems to have been adequate but not enlightening; he had reading, writing and numeracy, and some knowledge of the classics. According to Robert Hughes the artist "seems to have taken no more interest than a carpenter in philosophical or theological matters, and his views on painting ... were very down to earth: Goya was no theoretician." At school he formed a close and lifelong friendship with fellow pupil Martín Zapater; the 131 letters Goya wrote to him from 1775 until Zapater's death in 1803 give valuable insight into Goya's early years at the court in Madrid. Visit to Italy At age 14 Goya studied under the painter José Luzán, where he copied stamps for 4 years until he decided to work on his own, as he wrote later on "paint from my invention". He moved to Madrid to study with Anton Raphael Mengs, a popular painter with Spanish royalty. He clashed with his master, and his examinations were unsatisfactory. Goya submitted entries for the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in 1763 and 1766 but was denied entrance into the academia. Rome was then the cultural capital of Europe and held all the prototypes of classical antiquity, while Spain lacked a coherent artistic direction, with all of its significant visual achievements in the past. Having failed to earn a scholarship, Goya relocated at his own expense to Rome in the old tradition of European artists stretching back at least to Albrecht Dürer. He was an unknown at the time and so the records are scant and uncertain. Early biographers have him travelling to Rome with a gang of bullfighters, where he worked as a street acrobat, or for a Russian diplomat, or fell in love with a beautiful young nun whom he plotted to abduct from her convent. It is possible that Goya completed two surviving mythological paintings during the visit, a Sacrifice to Vesta and a Sacrifice to Pan, both dated 1771. In 1771 he won second prize in a painting competition organized by the City of Parma. That year he returned to Zaragoza and painted elements of the cupolas of the Basilica of the Pillar (including Adoration of the Name of God), a cycle of frescoes for the monastic church of the Charterhouse of Aula Dei, and the frescoes of the Sobradiel Palace. He studied with the Aragonese artist Francisco Bayeu y Subías and his painting began to show signs of the delicate tonalities for which he became famous. He befriended Francisco Bayeu and married his sister Josefa (he nicknamed her "Pepa") on 25 July 1773. Their first child, Antonio Juan Ramon Carlos, was born on 29 August 1774. Madrid (1775–1789) The marriage and Francisco Bayeu's 1765 membership of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando and directorship of the tapestry works from 1777 helped Goya earn a commission for a series of tapestry cartoons for the Royal Tapestry Factory. Over five years he designed some 42 patterns, many of which were used to decorate and insulate the stone walls of El Escorial and the Palacio Real del Pardo, the residences of the Spanish monarchs. While designing tapestries was neither prestigious nor well paid, his cartoons are mostly popularist in a rococo style, and Goya used them to bring himself to wider attention. The cartoons were not his only royal commissions, and were accompanied by a series of engravings, mostly copies after old masters such as Marcantonio Raimondi and Velázquez. Goya had a complicated relationship to the latter artist; while many of his contemporaries saw folly in Goya's attempts to copy and emulate him, he had access to a wide range of the long-dead painter's works that had been contained in the royal collection. Nonetheless, etching was a medium that the young artist was to master, a medium that was to reveal both the true depths of his imagination and his political beliefs. His c. 1779 etching of The Garrotted Man ("El agarrotado") was the largest work he had produced to date, and an obvious foreboding of his later "Disasters of War" series. Goya was beset by illness, and his condition was used against him by his rivals, who looked jealously upon any artist seen to be rising in stature. Some of the larger cartoons, such as The Wedding, were more than 8 by 10 feet, and had proved a drain on his physical strength. Ever resourceful, Goya turned this misfortune around, claiming that his illness had allowed him the insight to produce works that were more personal and informal. However, he found the format limiting, as it did not allow him to capture complex color shifts or texture, and was unsuited to the impasto and glazing techniques he was by then applying to his painted works. The tapestries seem as comments on human types, fashion and fads. Other works from the period include a canvas for the altar of the Church of San Francisco El Grande in Madrid, which led to his appointment as a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Art. Court painter In 1783, the Count of Floridablanca, favorite of King Charles III, commissioned Goya to paint his portrait. He became friends with the King's half-brother Luis, and spent two summers working on portraits of both the Infante and his family. During the 1780s, his circle of patrons grew to include the Duke and Duchess of Osuna, the King and other notable people of the kingdom whom he painted. In 1786, Goya was given a salaried position as painter to Charles III. Goya was appointed court painter to Charles IV in 1789. The following year he became First Court Painter, with a salary of 50,000 reales and an allowance of 500 ducats for a coach. He painted portraits of the king and the queen, and the Spanish Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy and many other nobles. These portraits are notable for their disinclination to flatter; his Charles IV of Spain and His Family is an especially brutal assessment of a royal family. Modern interpreters view the portrait as satirical; it is thought to reveal the corruption behind the rule of Charles IV. Under his reign his wife Louisa was thought to have had the real power, and thus Goya placed her at the center of the group portrait. From the back left of the painting one can see the artist himself looking out at the viewer, and the painting behind the family depicts Lot and his daughters, thus once again echoing the underlying message of corruption and decay. Goya earned commissions from the highest ranks of the Spanish nobility, including Pedro Téllez-Girón, 9th Duke of Osuna and his wife María Josefa Pimentel, 12th Countess-Duchess of Benavente, José Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba and his wife María del Pilar de Silva, and María Ana de Pontejos y Sandoval, Marchioness of Pontejos. In 1801 he painted Godoy in a commission to commemorate the victory in the brief War of the Oranges against Portugal. The two were friends, even if Goya's 1801 portrait is usually seen as satire. Yet even after Godoy's fall from grace the politician referred to the artist in warm terms. Godoy saw himself as instrumental in the publication of the Caprichos and is widely believed to have commissioned La maja desnuda. Middle period (1793–1799) La Maja Desnuda (La maja desnuda) has been described as "the first totally profane life-size female nude in Western art" without pretense to allegorical or mythological meaning. The identity of the Majas is uncertain. The most popularly cited models are the Duchess of Alba, with whom Goya was sometimes thought to have had an affair, and Pepita Tudó, mistress of Manuel de Godoy. Neither theory has been verified, and it remains as likely that the paintings represent an idealized composite. The paintings were never publicly exhibited during Goya's lifetime and were owned by Godoy. In 1808 all Godoy's property was seized by Ferdinand VII after his fall from power and exile, and in 1813 the Inquisition confiscated both works as 'obscene', returning them in 1836 to the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. In 1798 he painted luminous and airy scenes for the pendentives and cupola of the Real Ermita (Chapel) of San Antonio de la Florida in Madrid. Many of these depict miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua set in the midst of contemporary Madrid. At some time between late 1792 and early 1793 an undiagnosed illness left Goya deaf. He became withdrawn and introspective while the direction and tone of his work changed. He began the series of aquatinted etchings, published in 1799 as the Caprichos—completed in parallel with the more official commissions of portraits and religious paintings. In 1799 Goya published 80 Caprichos prints depicting what he described as "the innumerable foibles and follies to be found in any civilized society, and from the common prejudices and deceitful practices which custom, ignorance, or self-interest have made usual". The visions in these prints are partly explained by the caption "The sleep of reason produces monsters". Yet these are not solely bleak; they demonstrate the artist's sharp satirical wit, particularly evident in etchings such as Hunting for Teeth. Goya's physical and mental breakdown seems to have happened a few weeks after the French declaration of war on Spain. A contemporary reported, "The noises in his head and deafness aren’t improving, yet his vision is much better and he is back in control of his balance." These symptoms may indicate a prolonged viral encephalitis, or possibly a series of miniature strokes resulting from high blood pressure and which affected the hearing and balance centers of the brain. Symptoms of tinnitus, episodes of imbalance and progressive deafness are typical of Ménière's disease. It is possible that Goya suffered from cumulative lead poisoning, as he used massive amounts of lead white—which he ground himself—in his paintings, both as a canvas primer and as a primary color. Other postmortem diagnostic assessments point toward paranoid dementia, possibly due to brain trauma, as evidenced by marked changes in his work after his recovery, culminating in the "black" paintings. Art historians have noted Goya's singular ability to express his personal demons as horrific and fantastic imagery that speaks universally, and allows his audience to find its own catharsis in the images. Peninsular War (1808–1814) The French army invaded Spain in 1808, leading to the Peninsular War of 1808–1814. The extent of Goya's involvement with the court of the "Intruder king", Joseph I, the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, is not known; he painted works for French patrons and sympathisers, but kept neutral during the fighting. After the restoration of the Spanish king Ferdinand VII in 1814, Goya denied any involvement with the French. By the time of his wife Josefa's death in 1812, he was painting The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808, and preparing the series of etchings later known as The Disasters of War (Los desastres de la guerra). Ferdinand VII returned to Spain in 1814 but relations with Goya were not cordial. The artist completed portraits of the king for a variety of ministries, but not for the king himself. While convalescing between 1793 and 1794, Goya completed a set of eleven small pictures painted on tin that mark a significant change in the tone and subject matter of his art, and draw from the dark and dramatic realms of fantasy nightmare. Yard with Lunatics is an imaginary vision of loneliness, fear and social alienation. The condemnation of brutality towards prisoners (whether criminal or insane) is a subject that Goya assayed in later works that focused on the degradation of the human figure. It was one of the first of Goya's mid-1790s cabinet paintings, in which his earlier search for ideal beauty gave way to an examination of the relationship between naturalism and fantasy that would preoccupy him for the rest of his career. He was undergoing a nervous breakdown and entering prolonged physical illness, and admitted that the series was created to reflect his own self-doubt, anxiety and fear that he was losing his mind. Goya wrote that the works served "to occupy my imagination, tormented as it is by contemplation of my sufferings." The series, he said, consisted of pictures which "normally find no place in commissioned works." Although Goya did not make his intention known when creating The Disasters of War, art historians view them as a visual protest against the violence of the 1808 Dos de Mayo Uprising, the subsequent Peninsular War and the move against liberalism in the aftermath of the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1814. The scenes are singularly disturbing, sometimes macabre in their depiction of battlefield horror, and represent an outraged conscience in the face of death and destruction. They were not published until 1863, 35 years after his death. It is likely that only then was it considered politically safe to distribute a sequence of artworks criticising both the French and restored Bourbons. The first 47 plates in the series focus on incidents from the war and show the consequences of the conflict on individual soldiers and civilians. The middle series (plates 48 to 64) record the effects of the famine that hit Madrid in 1811–12, before the city was liberated from the French. The final 17 reflect the bitter disappointment of liberals when the restored Bourbon monarchy, encouraged by the Catholic hierarchy, rejected the Spanish Constitution of 1812 and opposed both state and religious reform. Since their first publication, Goya's scenes of atrocities, starvation, degradation and humiliation have been described as the "prodigious flowering of rage". His works from 1814 to 1819 are mostly commissioned portraits, but also include the altarpiece of Santa Justa and Santa Rufina for the Cathedral of Seville, the print series of La Tauromaquia depicting scenes from bullfighting, and probably the etchings of Los Disparates. Quinta del Sordo and Black Paintings (1819–1822) Records of Goya's later life are relatively scant, and ever politically aware, he suppressed a number of his works from this period, working instead in private. Goya was tormented by a dread of old age and fear of madness, the latter possibly from anxiety caused by an undiagnosed illness that left him deaf from the early 1790s. Goya had been a successful and royally placed artist, but withdrew from public life during his final years. From the late 1810s he lived in near-solitude outside Madrid in a farmhouse converted into a studio. The house had become known as "La Quinta del Sordo" (The House of the Deaf Man), after the nearest farmhouse that had coincidentally also belonged to a deaf man. Art historians assume Goya felt alienated from the social and political trends that followed the 1814 restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, and that he viewed these developments as reactionary means of social control. In his unpublished art he seems to have railed against what he saw as a tactical retreat into Medievalism. It is thought that he had hoped for political and religious reform, but like many liberals became disillusioned when the restored Bourbon monarchy and Catholic hierarchy rejected the Spanish Constitution of 1812. At the age of 75, alone and in mental and physical despair, he completed the work of his 14 Black Paintings, all of which were executed in oil directly onto the plaster walls of his house. Goya did not intend for the paintings to be exhibited, did not write of them, and likely never spoke of them. Around 1874, 50 years after his death, they were taken down and transferred to a canvas support by owner Baron Frédéric Émile d'Erlanger. Many of the works were significantly altered during the restoration, and in the words of Arthur Lubow what remain are "at best a crude facsimile of what Goya painted." The effects of time on the murals, coupled with the inevitable damage caused by the delicate operation of mounting the crumbling plaster on canvas, meant that most of the murals suffered extensive damage and loss of paint. Today they are on permanent display at the Museo del Prado, Madrid. Bordeaux (October 1824 – 1828) Leocadia Weiss (née Zorrilla, 1790–1856), the artist's maid, younger by 35 years, and a distant relative, lived with and cared for Goya after Bayeu's death. She stayed with him in his Quinta del Sordo villa until 1824 with her daughter Rosario. Leocadia was probably similar in features to Goya's first wife Josefa Bayeu, to the point that one of his well-known portraits bears the cautious title of Josefa Bayeu (or Leocadia Weiss). Not much is known about her beyond her fiery temperament. She was likely related to the Goicoechea family, a wealthy dynasty into which the artist's son, Javier, had married. It is known that Leocadia had an unhappy marriage with a jeweler, Isidore Weiss, but was separated from him since 1811, after he had accused her of "illicit conduct". She had two children before that time, and bore a third, Rosario, in 1814 when she was 26. Isidore was not the father, and it has often been speculated—although with little firm evidence—that the child belonged to Goya. There has been much speculation that Goya and Weiss were romantically linked; however, it is more likely the affection between them was sentimental. Goya died on 16 April 1828. Leocadia was left nothing in Goya's will; mistresses were often omitted in such circumstances, but it is also likely that he did not want to dwell on his mortality by thinking about or revising his will. She wrote to a number of Goya's friends to complain of her exclusion but many of her friends were Goya's also and by then were old men or had died, and did not reply. Largely destitute, she moved into rented accommodation, later passing on her copy of the Caprichos for free. Films and television Goya: Crazy Like a Genius (2002), a documentary by Ian MacMillan, presented by Robert Hughes Goya's Ghosts (2006), directed by Miloš Forman Volavérunt (1999), directed by Bigas Luna and based on the novel by Antonio Larreta Goya in Bordeaux (1999), Spanish historical drama film written and directed by Carlos Saura about the life of Francisco de Goya Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment (1971) (German: Goya – oder der arge Weg der Erkenntnis) is a 1971 East German drama film directed by Konrad Wolf. It was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Prize. It is based on a novel with the same title by Lion Feuchtwanger. The Naked Maja (1958), directed by Henry Koster. A film about the painter Francisco Goya and the Duchess of Alba; Anthony Franciosa played Goya and Ava Gardner played The Duchess. Tiempo de ilustrados (Time of the Enlightened) in the series The Ministry of Time. Goya (played by Pedro Casablanc) must repaint La maja desnuda after a cult called the Exterminating Angels destroy it. Goya's influence on modern and contemporary artists and writers In the early 20th century, Spanish masters Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí drew influence from Los caprichos and the Black Paintings of Goya. In the 21st century, American postmodern painters such as Michael Zansky and Bradley Rubenstein draw inspiration from "The Dream of Reason Produces Monsters" (1796–98) and Goya's Black Paintings. Zanksy's "Giants and Dwarf Series" (1990–2002) of large-scale paintings and wood carvings use imagery from Goya. Spanish author Fernando Arrabal's novel The Burial of the Sardine was inspired by Goya's painting. Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky's I Am Goya was inspired by Goya's anti-war paintings. References Footnotes Citations Further reading Baticle, Jeannine. Goya: Painter of Terrible Splendor, "Abrams Discoveries" series. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1994 Buchholz, Elke Linda. Francisco de Goya. Cologne: Könemann, 1999. Ciofalo, John J. The Self-Portraits of Francisco Goya. Cambridge University Press, 2002 Connell, Evan S. Francisco Goya: A Life. New York: Counterpoint, 2004. Eitner, Lorenz. An Outline of 19th Century European Painting. New York: Harper & Row, 1997. Gassier, Pierre. Goya: A Biographical and Critical Study. New York: Skira, 1955 Gassier, Piere and Juliet Wilson. The Life and Complete Work of Francisco Goya. New York 1971. Glendinning, Nigel. Goya and his Critics. New Haven 1977. Glendinning, Nigel. "The Strange Translation of Goya's Black Paintings". The Burlington Magazine, Volume 117, No. 868, 1975 Hagen, Rose-Marie & Hagen, Rainer. Francisco Goya, 1746–1828. London: Taschen, 1999. Havard, Robert. "Goya's House Revisited: Why a Deaf Man Painted his Walls Black". Bulletin of Spanish Studies, Volume 82, Issue 5 July 2005 Hennigfeld, Ursula (ed.). Goya im Dialog der Medien, Kulturen und Disziplinen. Freiburg: Rombach, 2013. Hilt, Douglas. "Goya: Turmoils of a Patriot" History Today (Aug 1973), Vol. 23 Issue 8, pp 536–545, online Hughes, Robert. Goya. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. Junquera, Juan José. The Black Paintings of Goya. London: Scala Publishers, 2008. Kravchenko, Anastasiia. Mythological subjects in Francisco Goya’s work. 2019 Licht, Fred S. Goya in Perspective. New York 1973. Licht, Fred. Goya: The Origins of the Modern Temper in Art. Universe Books, 1979. Litroy, Jo. Jusqu'à la mort. Paris: Editions du Masque, 2013. Orozco, Miguel. Goya's frescoes in San Antonio de la Florida and José María Galván's etchings after them. Academia.edu. San Francisco, California 2021 Orozco, Miguel. The complete prints of Francisco de Goya. Academia.edu. San Francisco, California 2021 Symmons, Sarah. Goya: A Life in Letters. Pimlico, 2004. Tomlinson, Janis. Francisco Goya y Lucientes 1746–1828. London: Phaidon, 1994. Tomlinson, Janis. "Burn It, Hide It, Flaunt It: Goya's Majas and the Censorial Mind". The Art Journal, Volume 50, No. 4, 1991 External links Francisco Goya's Cats www.FranciscoGoya.com Goya in Aragon Foundation: Online catalogue Goya, the Secret of the Shadows, a documentary film by David Mauas, Spain, 2011, 77' Goya: The Most Spanish of Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston   (PDF in the Arno Schmidt Reference Library)   (PDF in the Arno Schmidt Reference Library) Etching series by Goya "His Majesty’s Giant Anteater – A New Goya is Discovered!" Bibliothèque numérique de l'INHA – Estampes de Francisco de Goya Goya in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF) Prints & People: A Social History of Printed Pictures, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains a significant amount of material on the prints of Goya Francisco Goya Prints in the Claremont Colleges Digital Library Francisco Goya Work at the Muscarelle Museum of Art Goya hidden micro-signatures, a revolutionary discovery 1746 births 1828 deaths 18th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century male artists 18th-century Spanish people 19th-century Spanish people Painters from Aragon Burials in Madrid Court painters Deaf artists Deaf people from Spain People from Campo de Belchite Royal Order of Spain members Spanish battle painters Spanish people of Basque descent Spanish printmakers Spanish Roman Catholics Spanish romantic painters Spanish satirists

Events Pre-1600 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt. 842 – Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages. 1014 – Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and of Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor. 1130 – The troubled 1130 papal election exposes a rift within the College of Cardinals. 1349 – Several hundred Jews are burned to death by mobs while the remaining Jews are forcibly removed from Strasbourg. 1530 – Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrow and execute Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico. 1556 – Having been declared a heretic and laicized by Pope Paul IV on 4 December 1555, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is publicly defrocked at Christ Church Cathedral. 1556 – Coronation of Akbar as ruler of the Mughal Empire. 1601–1900 1613 – Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate at Whitehall Palace, London. 1655 – The Mapuches launch coordinated attacks against the Spanish in Chile beginning the Mapuche uprising of 1655. 1778 – The United States flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to , commanded by John Paul Jones. 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Kettle Creek is fought in Georgia. 1779 – James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii. 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Cape St. Vincent: John Jervis, (later 1st Earl of St Vincent) and Horatio Nelson (later 1st Viscount Nelson) lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar. 1804 – Karađorđe leads the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire. 1831 – Ras Marye of Yejju marches into Tigray and defeats and kills Dejazmach Sabagadis in the Battle of Debre Abbay. 1835 – The original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in the Latter Day Saint movement, is formed in Kirtland, Ohio. 1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken. 1852 – Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, is founded in London. 1855 – Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas. 1859 – Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state. 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray. 1879 – The War of the Pacific breaks out when the Chilean Army occupies the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta. 1899 – Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections. 1900 – The British Army begins the Battle of the Tugela Heights in an effort to lift the Siege of Ladysmith. 1901–present 1903 – The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor). 1912 – Arizona is admitted as the 48th and the last contiguous U.S. state. 1912 – The U.S. Navy commissions its first class of diesel-powered submarines. 1919 – The Polish–Soviet War begins. 1920 – The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago. 1924 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). 1929 – Saint Valentine's Day Massacre: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone's gang, are murdered in Chicago. 1942 – Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore. 1943 – World War II: Rostov-on-Don, Russia is liberated. 1943 – World War II: Tunisia Campaign: General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim's Fifth Panzer Army launches a concerted attack against Allied positions in Tunisia. 1944 – World War II: In the action of 14 February 1944, a Royal Navy submarine sinks a German-controlled Italian Regia Marina submarine in the Strait of Malacca. 1945 – World War II: On the first day of the bombing of Dresden, the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces begin fire-bombing Dresden. 1945 – World War II: Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague, Czechoslovakia by a United States Army Air Forces squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviet Red Army's Vistula–Oder Offensive. 1945 – World War II: Mostar is liberated by Yugoslav partisans 1945 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the , officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations. 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalized. 1949 – The Knesset (parliament of Israel) convenes for the first time. 1949 – The Asbestos Strike begins in Canada. The strike marks the beginning of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec. 1961 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California. 1966 – Australian currency is decimalized. 1979 – In Kabul, Setami Milli militants kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police. 1983 – United American Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee collapses. Its president, Jake Butcher, is later convicted of fraud. 1989 – Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the Indian government for damages it caused in the 1984 Bhopal disaster. 1989 – Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. 1990 – Ninety-two people are killed when Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashes in Bangalore, India. 1990 – The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth that later becomes famous as Pale Blue Dot. 1998 – An oil tanker train collides with a freight train in Yaoundé, Cameroon, spilling fuel oil. One person scavenging the oil created a massive explosion which killed 120. 2000 – The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid. 2003 – Iraq disarmament crisis: UNMOVIC Executive Chairman Hans Blix reports to the United Nations Security Council that disarmament inspectors have found no weapons of mass destruction in Ba'athist Iraq. 2004 – In a suburb of Moscow, Russia, the roof of the Transvaal water park collapses, killing more than 28 people, and wounding 193 others. 2005 – In Beirut, 23 people, including former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, are killed when the equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT is detonated while Hariri's motorcade drives through the city. 2005 – Seven people are killed and 151 wounded in a series of bombings by suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants that hit Makati, Davao City, and General Santos City, all in the Philippines. 2005 – YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos. 2008 – Northern Illinois University shooting: A gunman opens fire in a lecture hall of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb County, Illinois, resulting in six fatalities (including the gunman) and 21 injuries. 2011 – As a part of Arab Spring, the Bahraini uprising begins with a 'Day of Rage'. 2018 – Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa. 2018 – A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 15 injuries. 2019 – Pulwama attack takes place in Lethpora in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and a suicide bomber were killed and 35 were injured. Births Pre-1600 1404 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian painter, poet, and philosopher (d. 1472) 1408 – John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel (d. 1435) 1452 – Pandolfo Petrucci, tyrant of Siena (d. 1512) 1468 – Johannes Werner, German priest and mathematician (d. 1522) 1483 – Babur, Moghul emperor (d. 1530) 1490 – Valentin Friedland, German scholar and educationist of the Reformation (d. 1556) 1513 – Domenico Ferrabosco, Italian composer (d. 1573) 1545 – Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara (d. 1561) 1601–1900 1602 – Francesco Cavalli, Italian composer (d. 1676) 1614 – John Wilkins, English bishop, academic and natural philosopher (d. 1672) 1625 – Countess Palatine Maria Euphrosyne of Zweibrücken, Swedish princess (d. 1687) 1628 – Valentine Greatrakes, Irish faith healer (d. 1683) 1640 – Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (d. 1693) 1670 – Rajaram Raj Bhonsle, third Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1700) 1679 – Georg Friedrich Kauffmann, German organist and composer (d. 1735) 1692 – Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French author and playwright (d. 1754) 1701 – Enrique Flórez, Spanish historian and author (d. 1773) 1763 – Jean Victor Marie Moreau, French general (d. 1813) 1782 – Eleanora Atherton, English philanthropist (d. 1870) 1784 – Heinrich Baermann, German clarinetist (d. 1847) 1799 – Walenty Wańkowicz, Polish painter and illustrator (d. 1842) 1800 – Emory Washburn, American historian, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1877) 1808 – Michael Costa, Italian-English conductor and composer (d. 1884) 1813 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (d. 1884) 1819 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American journalist and politician, invented the typewriter (d. 1890) 1824 – Winfield Scott Hancock, American general and politician (d. 1886) 1828 – Edmond François Valentin About, French journalist and author (d. 1885) 1835 – Piet Paaltjens, Dutch minister and poet (d. 1894) 1838 – Margaret E. Knight, American inventor (d. 1914) 1846 – Julian Scott, American soldier and drummer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1901) 1847 – Anna Howard Shaw, American physician, minister, and activist (d. 1919) 1848 – Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer and academic (d. 1934) 1855 – Frank Harris, Irish author and journalist (d. 1931) 1859 – George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., American engineer, inventor of the Ferris wheel (d. 1896) 1860 – Eugen Schiffer, German lawyer and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 1954) 1869 – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist and meteorologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959) 1878 – Julius Nieuwland, Belgian priest, chemist and academic (d. 1936) 1882 – John Barrymore, American actor (d. 1942) 1884 – Nils Olaf Chrisander, Swedish actor and director (d. 1947) 1884 – Kostas Varnalis, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1974) 1888 – Chandrashekhar Agashe, Indian industrialist (d. 1956) 1890 – Nina Hamnett, Welsh-English painter and author (d. 1956) 1890 – Dick Richards, Welsh international footballer (d. 1934) 1891 – Katherine Stinson, American aviator (d. 1977) 1892 – Radola Gajda, Czech commander and politician (d. 1948) 1894 – Jack Benny, American actor and producer (d. 1974) 1895 – Wilhelm Burgdorf, German general (d. 1945) 1895 – Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (d. 1973) 1898 – Bill Tilman, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977) 1898 – Fritz Zwicky, Swiss-American physicist and astronomer (d. 1974) 1900 – Jessica Dragonette, American singer (d. 1980) 1901–present 1903 – Stuart Erwin, American actor (d. 1967) 1905 – Thelma Ritter, American actress and singer (d. 1969) 1907 – Johnny Longden, English-American jockey and trainer (d. 2003) 1911 – Willem Johan Kolff, Dutch physician and inventor (d. 2009) 1912 – Tibor Sekelj, Hungarian lawyer, explorer, and author (d. 1988) 1913 – Mel Allen, American sportscaster (d. 1996) 1913 – Woody Hayes, American football player and coach (d. 1987) 1913 – Jimmy Hoffa, American trade union leader (d. 1975) 1913 – James Pike, American bishop (d. 1969) 1915 – Sally Gray, English actress and singer (d. 2006) 1916 – Marcel Bigeard, French general (d. 2010) 1916 – Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese director and producer (d. 1996) 1916 – Edward Platt, American actor (d. 1974) 1917 – Herbert A. Hauptman, American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011) 1921 – Hugh Downs, American journalist, game show host, and producer (d. 2020) 1921 – Hazel McCallion, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 3rd Mayor of Mississauga 1923 – Jay Hebert, American golfer (d. 1997) 1924 – Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (d. 2017) 1927 – Lois Maxwell, Canadian-Australian model and actress (d. 2007) 1928 – William Allain, American lawyer and politician, 58th Governor of Mississippi (d. 2013) 1928 – Vicente T. Blaz, American general and politician (d. 2014) 1929 – Vic Morrow, American actor and director (d. 1982) 1931 – Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2006) 1931 – Brian Kelly, American actor and director (d. 2005) 1932 – Harriet Andersson, Swedish actress 1934 – Florence Henderson, American actress and singer (d. 2016) 1935 – David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, Scottish academic and diplomat, 27th Governor of Hong Kong 1936 – Anna German, Polish singer (d. 1982) 1937 – John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market, English politician, Secretary of State for Transport 1937 – Magic Sam, American singer and guitarist (d. 1969) 1939 – Razzy Bailey, American country music singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2021) 1939 – Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016) 1939 – Eugene Fama, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate 1941 – Donna Shalala, American academic and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services 1941 – Paul Tsongas, American lawyer and politician (d. 1997) 1942 – Michael Bloomberg, American businessman and politician, 108th Mayor of New York City 1942 – Andrew Robinson, American actor and director 1942 – Ricardo Rodríguez, Mexican racing driver (d. 1962) 1943 – Maceo Parker, American saxophonist 1944 – Carl Bernstein, American journalist and author 1944 – Alan Parker, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2020) 1944 – Ronnie Peterson, Swedish racing driver (d. 1978) 1945 – Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein 1945 – Rod Masterson, American lieutenant and actor (d. 2013) 1946 – Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauru politician, President of Nauru (d. 2003) 1946 – Gregory Hines, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 2003) 1947 – Tim Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975) 1947 – Judd Gregg, American lawyer and politician, 76th Governor of New Hampshire 1948 – Kitten Natividad, Mexican-American actress and dancer 1948 – Pat O'Brien, American journalist and author 1948 – Wally Tax, Dutch singer-songwriter (d. 2005) 1948 – Teller, American magician and actor 1950 – Roger Fisher, American guitarist and songwriter 1951 – Terry Gross, American radio host and producer 1951 – Kevin Keegan, English footballer and manager 1952 – Sushma Swaraj, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (d. 2019) 1954 – Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (d. 2013) 1955 – Carol Kalish, American publisher (d. 1991) 1956 – Howard Davis Jr., American boxer and trainer (d. 2015) 1956 – Dave Dravecky, American baseball player 1956 – Katharina Fritsch, German sculptor and academic 1957 – Soile Isokoski, Finnish soprano and actress 1957 – Alan Smith, English bishop 1958 – Grant Thomas, Australian footballer and coach 1959 – Renée Fleming, American soprano and actress 1960 – Philip Jones, English admiral 1960 – Jim Kelly, American football player and businessman 1960 – Meg Tilly, American actress and author 1963 – Enrico Colantoni, Canadian actor, director, and producer 1963 – John Marzano, American baseball player (d. 2008) 1964 – Gianni Bugno, Italian cyclist and sportscaster 1966 – Petr Svoboda, Czech ice hockey player and agent 1967 – Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Greek-English businessman, founded easyJet 1967 – Manuela Maleeva, Bulgarian-Swiss tennis player 1967 – Mark Rutte, Dutch businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1968 – Jules Asner, American model and television host 1968 – Chris Lewis, Guyanese-English cricketer 1968 – Scott McClellan, American civil servant and author, 25th White House Press Secretary 1969 – Meg Hillier, English journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 1970 – Giuseppe Guerini, Italian cyclist 1970 – Sean Hill, American ice hockey player 1970 – Simon Pegg, English actor, director, and producer 1971 – Kris Aquino, Filipino talk show host, actress, and producer 1971 – Gheorghe Mureșan, Romanian basketball player 1972 – Drew Bledsoe, American football player and coach 1972 – Musōyama Masashi, Japanese sumo wrestler 1972 – Najwa Nimri, Spanish actress and singer 1972 – Jaan Tallinn, Estonian computer programmer, co-developed Skype 1972 – Rob Thomas, American singer-songwriter 1973 – H. D. Ackerman, South African cricketer 1973 – Tyus Edney, American basketball player and coach 1973 – Steve McNair, American football player (d. 2009) 1973 – Annalisa Buffa, Italian mathematician 1974 – Valentina Vezzali, Italian fencer and politician 1976 – Liv Kristine, Norwegian singer-songwriter 1976 – Rie Rasmussen, Danish model, film director, writer, photographer, and actress 1977 – Cadel Evans, Australian cyclist 1977 – Jim Jefferies, Australian comedian and actor 1977 – Darren Purse, English footballer 1977 – Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (d. 2007) 1977 – Anna Erschler, Russian mathematician 1977 – Robert J. Jackson Jr., American law professor 1978 – Richard Hamilton, American basketball player 1978 – Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player and coach 1980 – Josh Senter, American screenwriter and producer 1980 – Michelle Ye, Hong Kong actress and producer 1981 – Matteo Brighi, Italian footballer 1981 – Randy de Puniet, French motorcycle racer 1981 – Brad Halsey, American baseball player (d. 2014) 1982 – Marián Gáborík, Slovak ice hockey player 1982 – John Halls, English footballer and model 1982 – Lenka Tvarošková, Slovak tennis player 1983 – Callix Crabbe, Virgin Islander baseball player 1983 – Rocky Elsom, Australian rugby player 1983 – Bacary Sagna, French footballer 1985 – Karima Adebibe, English model and actress 1985 – Tyler Clippard, American baseball player 1985 – Heart Evangelista, Filipino singer and actress 1985 – Philippe Senderos, Swiss international footballer 1985 – Miki Yeung, Hong Kong singer and actress 1986 – Michael Ammermüller, German racing driver 1986 – Oliver Lee, English actor, director, and screenwriter 1986 – Gao Lin, Chinese footballer 1987 – Edinson Cavani, Uruguayan footballer 1987 – Tom Pyatt, Canadian ice hockey player 1987 – David Wheater, English footballer 1988 – Katie Boland, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter 1988 – Ángel Di María, Argentinian footballer 1988 – Siim Liivik, Estonian ice hockey player 1989 – Néstor Calderón, Mexican footballer 1989 – Adam Matuszczyk, Polish footballer 1989 – Emma Miskew, Canadian curler 1989 – Brandon Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player 1989 – Jurij Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper 1989 – Kristian Thomas, English gymnast 1990 – Sefa Yılmaz, German-Turkish footballer 1991 – Daniela Mona Lambin, Estonian footballer 1992 – Christian Eriksen, Danish footballer 1992 – Freddie Highmore, English actor 1996 – Lucas Hernandez, French footballer 1997 – Jaehyun, South Korean singer and actor Deaths Pre-1600 869 – Cyril, Greek missionary bishop (b. 827) 945 – Lian Chongyu, Chinese general 945 – Zhu Wenjin, Chinese emperor 1009 – Bruno of Querfurt, German missionary bishop 1010 – Fujiwara no Korechika, Japanese nobleman (b. 974) 1140 – Leo I, Armenian prince 1140 – Sobĕslav I, duke of Bohemia 1164 – Sviatoslav Olgovich, Kievan prince 1229 – Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, king of the Isles 1317 – Margaret of France, queen of England 1400 – Richard II, king of England (b. 1367) 1440 – Dietrich of Oldenburg, German nobleman 1489 – Nicolaus von Tüngen, prince-bishop of Warmia 1528 – Edzard I, German nobleman (b. 1462) 1549 – Il Sodoma, Italian painter (b. 1477) 1571 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal (b. 1517) 1601–1900 1676 – Abraham Bosse, French engraver and illustrator (b. 1602) 1714 – Maria Luisa of Savoy, queen of Spain (b. 1688) 1737 – Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot, English lawyer and politician Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1685) 1744 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (b. 1682) 1779 – James Cook, English captain, cartographer, and explorer (b. 1728) 1780 – William Blackstone, English jurist and politician (b. 1723) 1782 – Singu Min, Burmese king (b. 1756) 1808 – John Dickinson, American lawyer and politician 5th Governor of Delaware (b. 1732) 1831 – Vicente Guerrero, Mexican general and politician, 2nd President of Mexico (b. 1782) 1831 – Henry Maudslay, English engineer (b. 1771) 1870 – St. John Richardson Liddell, American general (b. 1815) 1881 – Fernando Wood, American merchant and politician, 73rd Mayor of New York City (b. 1812) 1884 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (b. 1813) 1885 – Jules Vallès, French journalist and author (b. 1832) 1891 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (b. 1820) 1894 – Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (b. 1814) 1901–present 1901 – Edward Stafford, Scottish-New Zealand educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1819) 1910 – Giovanni Passannante, Italian anarchist (b. 1849) 1922 – Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish lawyer and politician (b. 1880; assassinated) 1929 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and lawyer (b. 1875) 1930 – Thomas Mackenzie, Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1853) 1933 – Carl Correns, German botanist and geneticist (b. 1864) 1937 – Erkki Melartin, Finnish composer (b. 1875) 1942 – Adnan Saidi, Malayan lieutenant (b. 1915) 1943 – Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (b. 1899) 1943 – David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (b. 1862) 1948 – Mordecai Brown, American baseball player and manager (b. 1876) 1949 – Yusuf Salman Yusuf, Iraqi politician (b. 1901) 1950 – Karl Guthe Jansky, American physicist and engineer (b. 1905) 1952 – Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (b. 1896) 1958 – Abdur Rab Nishtar, Pakistani politician, 2nd Governor of Punjab (b. 1899) 1959 – Baby Dodds, American drummer (b. 1898) 1967 – Sig Ruman, German-American actor (b. 1884) 1969 – Vito Genovese, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1897) 1970 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer and coach (b. 1880) 1974 – Stewie Dempster, New Zealand cricketer and coach (b. 1903) 1975 – Julian Huxley, English biologist and eugenicist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b. 1887) 1975 – P. G. Wodehouse, English novelist and playwright (b. 1881) 1976 – Gertrud Dorka, German archaeologist, prehistorian and museum director (born 1893) 1979 – Adolph Dubs, American lieutenant and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (b. 1920) 1983 – Lina Radke, German runner and coach (b. 1903) 1986 – Edmund Rubbra, English composer and conductor (b. 1901) 1987 – Dmitry Kabalevsky, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1904) 1988 – Frederick Loewe, German-American composer (b. 1901) 1989 – James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (b. 1900) 1989 – Vincent Crane, English pianist (b. 1943) 1994 – Andrei Chikatilo, Soviet serial killer (b. 1936) 1994 – Christopher Lasch, American historian and critic (b. 1932) 1995 – Michael V. Gazzo, American actor and playwright (b. 1923) 1995 – U Nu, Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1907) 1996 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (b. 1919) 1999 – John Ehrlichman, American lawyer and politician, 12th White House Counsel (b. 1925) 1999 – Buddy Knox, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1933) 2002 – Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1922) 2002 – Mick Tucker, English drummer (b. 1947) 2003 – Johnny Longden, English jockey and trainer (b. 1907) 2004 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (b. 1970) 2005 – Rafic Hariri, Lebanese businessman and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1944; assassinated) 2006 – Lynden David Hall, English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1974) 2007 – Ryan Larkin, Canadian animator and director (b. 1943) 2007 – Gareth Morris, English flute player and educator (b. 1920) 2009 – Bernard Ashley, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Laura Ashley plc (b. 1926) 2009 – Louie Bellson, American drummer and composer (b. 1924) 2010 – Doug Fieger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952) 2010 – Dick Francis, Welsh jockey and author (b. 1920) 2010 – Linnart Mäll, Estonian historian, orientalist, and translator (b. 1938) 2011 – George Shearing, English-American pianist and composer (b. 1919) 2012 – Mike Bernardo, South African boxer and martial artist (b. 1969) 2012 – Tonmi Lillman, Finnish drummer and producer (b. 1973) 2012 – Dory Previn, American singer-songwriter (b. 1925) 2012 – Péter Rusorán, Hungarian swimmer, water polo player, and coach (b. 1940) 2013 – Glenn Boyer, American historian and author (b. 1924) 2013 – Ronald Dworkin, American philosopher and scholar (b. 1931) 2014 – Tom Finney, English footballer (b. 1922) 2014 – Chris Pearson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Yukon (b. 1931) 2014 – Mike Stepovich, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Alaska Territory (b. 1919) 2015 – Louis Jourdan, French-American actor and singer (b. 1921) 2015 – Philip Levine, American poet and academic (b. 1928) 2015 – Franjo Mihalić, Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (b. 1920) 2016 – Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, English lieutenant, engineer, and politician (b. 1928) 2016 – Steven Stucky, American composer and academic (b. 1949) 2018 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch politician and diplomat, Prime Minister and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (b. 1939) 2018 – Morgan Tsvangirai, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (b. 1952). 2021 – Carlos Menem, Argentine former president, lawyer, and statesman (b. 1930). 2021 – William Meninger, American Trappist monk and a principal developer of Centering Prayer (b. 1932) Holidays and observances Christian feast day: Cyril and Methodius, patron saints of Europe (Roman Catholic Church) Manchan Valentine (see also Valentine's Day) February 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Statehood Day (Arizona, United States) Statehood Day (Oregon, United States) Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Armenian Apostolic Church) Parents' Worship Day (parts of India) References External links BBC: On This Day Historical Events on February 14 Today in Canadian History Days of the year February

In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the course of the composition. It is not to be confused with a fuguing tune, which is a style of song popularized by and mostly limited to early American (i.e. shape note or "Sacred Harp") music and West Gallery music. A fugue usually has three main sections: an exposition, a development and a final entry that contains the return of the subject in the fugue's tonic key. Some fugues have a recapitulation. In the Middle Ages, the term was widely used to denote any works in canonic style; by the Renaissance, it had come to denote specifically imitative works. Since the 17th century, the term fugue has described what is commonly regarded as the most fully developed procedure of imitative counterpoint. Most fugues open with a short main theme, the subject, which then sounds successively in each voice (after the first voice is finished stating the subject, a second voice repeats the subject at a different pitch, and other voices repeat in the same way); when each voice has completed the subject, the exposition is complete. This is often followed by a connecting passage, or episode, developed from previously heard material; further "entries" of the subject then are heard in related keys. Episodes (if applicable) and entries are usually alternated until the "final entry" of the subject, by which point the music has returned to the opening key, or tonic, which is often followed by closing material, the coda. In this sense, a fugue is a style of composition, rather than a fixed structure. The form evolved during the 18th century from several earlier types of contrapuntal compositions, such as imitative ricercars, capriccios, canzonas, and fantasias. The famous fugue composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) shaped his own works after those of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), Johann Jakob Froberger (1616–1667), Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643), Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637–1707) and others. With the decline of sophisticated styles at the end of the baroque period, the fugue's central role waned, eventually giving way as sonata form and the symphony orchestra rose to a dominant position. Nevertheless, composers continued to write and study fugues for various purposes; they appear in the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), as well as modern composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975). Etymology The English term fugue originated in the 16th century and is derived from the French word fugue or the Italian fuga. This in turn comes from Latin, also fuga, which is itself related to both fugere ("to flee") and fugare ("to chase"). The adjectival form is fugal. Variants include fughetta (literally, "a small fugue") and fugato (a passage in fugal style within another work that is not a fugue). Musical outline A fugue begins with the exposition and is written according to certain predefined rules; in later portions the composer has more freedom, though a logical key structure is usually followed. Further entries of the subject will occur throughout the fugue, repeating the accompanying material at the same time. The various entries may or may not be separated by episodes. What follows is a chart displaying a fairly typical fugal outline, and an explanation of the processes involved in creating this structure. S = subject; A = answer; CS = countersubject; T = tonic; D = dominant Exposition A fugue begins with the exposition of its subject in one of the voices alone in the tonic key. After the statement of the subject, a second voice enters and states the subject with the subject transposed to another key (usually the dominant or subdominant), which is known as the answer. To make the music run smoothly, it may also have to be altered slightly. When the answer is an exact copy of the subject to the new key, with identical intervals to the first statement, it is classified as a real answer; if the intervals are altered to maintain the key it is a tonal answer. A tonal answer is usually called for when the subject begins with a prominent dominant note, or where there is a prominent dominant note very close to the beginning of the subject. To prevent an undermining of the music's sense of key, this note is transposed up a fourth to the tonic rather than up a fifth to the supertonic. Answers in the subdominant are also employed for the same reason. While the answer is being stated, the voice in which the subject was previously heard continues with new material. If this new material is reused in later statements of the subject, it is called a countersubject; if this accompanying material is only heard once, it is simply referred to as free counterpoint. The countersubject is written in invertible counterpoint at the octave or fifteenth. The distinction is made between the use of free counterpoint and regular countersubjects accompanying the fugue subject/answer, because in order for a countersubject to be heard accompanying the subject in more than one instance, it must be capable of sounding correctly above or below the subject, and must be conceived, therefore, in invertible (double) counterpoint. In tonal music, invertible contrapuntal lines must be written according to certain rules because several intervallic combinations, while acceptable in one particular orientation, are no longer permissible when inverted. For example, when the note "G" sounds in one voice above the note "C" in lower voice, the interval of a fifth is formed, which is considered consonant and entirely acceptable. When this interval is inverted ("C" in the upper voice above "G" in the lower), it forms a fourth, considered a dissonance in tonal contrapuntal practice, and requires special treatment, or preparation and resolution, if it is to be used. The countersubject, if sounding at the same time as the answer, is transposed to the pitch of the answer. Each voice then responds with its own subject or answer, and further countersubjects or free counterpoint may be heard. When a tonal answer is used, it is customary for the exposition to alternate subjects (S) with answers (A), however, in some fugues this order is occasionally varied: e.g., see the SAAS arrangement of Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846, from J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. A brief codetta is often heard connecting the various statements of the subject and answer. This allows the music to run smoothly. The codetta, just as the other parts of the exposition, can be used throughout the rest of the fugue. The first answer must occur as soon after the initial statement of the subject as possible; therefore the first codetta is often extremely short, or not needed. In the above example, this is the case: the subject finishes on the quarter note (or crotchet) B of the third beat of the second bar which harmonizes the opening G of the answer. The later codettas may be considerably longer, and often serve to (a) develop the material heard so far in the subject/answer and countersubject and possibly introduce ideas heard in the second countersubject or free counterpoint that follows (b) delay, and therefore heighten the impact of the reentry of the subject in another voice as well as modulating back to the tonic. The exposition usually concludes when all voices have given a statement of the subject or answer. In some fugues, the exposition will end with a redundant entry, or an extra presentation of the theme. Furthermore, in some fugues the entry of one of the voices may be reserved until later, for example in the pedals of an organ fugue (see J.S. Bach's Fugue in C major for Organ, BWV 547). Episode Further entries of the subject follow this initial exposition, either immediately (as for example in Fugue No. 1 in C major, BWV 846 of the Well-Tempered Clavier) or separated by episodes. Episodic material is always modulatory and is usually based upon some element heard in the exposition. Each episode has the primary function of transitioning for the next entry of the subject in a new key, and may also provide release from the strictness of form employed in the exposition, and middle-entries. André Gedalge states that the episode of the fugue is generally based on a series of imitations of the subject that have been fragmented. Development Further entries of the subject, or middle entries, occur throughout the fugue. They must state the subject or answer at least once in its entirety, and may also be heard in combination with the countersubject(s) from the exposition, new countersubjects, free counterpoint, or any of these in combination. It is uncommon for the subject to enter alone in a single voice in the middle entries as in the exposition; rather, it is usually heard with at least one of the countersubjects and/or other free contrapuntal accompaniments. Middle entries tend to occur at pitches other than the initial. As shown in the typical structure above, these are often closely related keys such as the relative dominant and subdominant, although the key structure of fugues varies greatly. In the fugues of J.S. Bach, the first middle entry occurs most often in the relative major or minor of the work's overall key, and is followed by an entry in the dominant of the relative major or minor when the fugue's subject requires a tonal answer. In the fugues of earlier composers (notably, Buxtehude and Pachelbel), middle entries in keys other than the tonic and dominant tend to be the exception, and non-modulation the norm. One of the famous examples of such non-modulating fugue occurs in Buxtehude's Praeludium (Fugue and Chaconne) in C, BuxWV 137. When there is no entrance of the subject and answer material, the composer can develop the subject by altering the subject. This is called an episode, often by inversion, although the term is sometimes used synonymously with middle entry and may also describe the exposition of completely new subjects, as in a double fugue for example (see below). In any of the entries within a fugue, the subject may be altered, by inversion, retrograde (a less common form where the entire subject is heard back-to-front) and diminution (the reduction of the subject's rhythmic values by a certain factor), augmentation (the increase of the subject's rhythmic values by a certain factor) or any combination of them. Example and analysis The excerpt below, bars 7–12 of J.S. Bach's Fugue No. 2 in C minor, BWV 847, from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 illustrates the application of most of the characteristics described above. The fugue is for keyboard and in three voices, with regular countersubjects. This excerpt opens at last entry of the exposition: the subject is sounding in the bass, the first countersubject in the treble, while the middle-voice is stating a second version of the second countersubject, which concludes with the characteristic rhythm of the subject, and is always used together with the first version of the second countersubject. Following this an episode modulates from the tonic to the relative major by means of sequence, in the form of an accompanied canon at the fourth. Arrival in E major is marked by a quasi perfect cadence across the bar line, from the last quarter note beat of the first bar to the first beat of the second bar in the second system, and the first middle entry. Here, Bach has altered the second countersubject to accommodate the change of mode. False entries At any point in the fugue there may be "false entries" of the subject, which include the start of the subject but are not completed. False entries are often abbreviated to the head of the subject, and anticipate the "true" entry of the subject, heightening the impact of the subject proper. Counter-exposition The counter-exposition is a second exposition. However, there are only two entries, and the entries occur in reverse order. The counter-exposition in a fugue is separated from the exposition by an episode and is in the same key as the original exposition. Stretto Sometimes counter-expositions or the middle entries take place in stretto, whereby one voice responds with the subject/answer before the first voice has completed its entry of the subject/answer, usually increasing the intensity of the music. Only one entry of the subject must be heard in its completion in a stretto. However, a stretto in which the subject/answer is heard in completion in all voices is known as stretto maestrale or grand stretto. Strettos may also occur by inversion, augmentation and diminution. A fugue in which the opening exposition takes place in stretto form is known as a close fugue or stretto fugue (see for example, the Gratias agimus tibi and choruses from J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor). Final entries and coda The closing section of a fugue often includes one or two counter-expositions, and possibly a stretto, in the tonic; sometimes over a tonic or dominant pedal note. Any material that follows the final entry of the subject is considered to be the final coda and is normally cadential. Types Simple fugue A simple fugue has only one subject, and does not utilize invertible counterpoint. Double (triple, quadruple) fugue A double fugue has two subjects that are often developed simultaneously. Similarly, a triple fugue has three subjects. There are two kinds of double (triple) fugue: (a) a fugue in which the second (third) subject is (are) presented simultaneously with the subject in the exposition (e.g. as in Kyrie Eleison of Mozart's Requiem in D minor or the fugue of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582), and (b) a fugue in which all subjects have their own expositions at some point, and they are not combined until later (see for example, the three-subject Fugue No. 14 in F minor from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2, or more famously, Bach's "St. Anne" Fugue in E major, BWV 552, a triple fugue for organ.) Counter-fugue A counter-fugue is a fugue in which the first answer is presented as the subject in inversion (upside down), and the inverted subject continues to feature prominently throughout the fugue. Examples include Contrapunctus V through Contrapunctus VII, from Bach's The Art of Fugue. Permutation fugue Permutation fugue describes a type of composition (or technique of composition) in which elements of fugue and strict canon are combined. Each voice enters in succession with the subject, each entry alternating between tonic and dominant, and each voice, having stated the initial subject, continues by stating two or more themes (or countersubjects), which must be conceived in correct invertible counterpoint. (In other words, the subject and countersubjects must be capable of being played both above and below all the other themes without creating any unacceptable dissonances.) Each voice takes this pattern and states all the subjects/themes in the same order (and repeats the material when all the themes have been stated, sometimes after a rest). There is usually very little non-structural/thematic material. During the course of a permutation fugue, it is quite uncommon, actually, for every single possible voice-combination (or "permutation") of the themes to be heard. This limitation exists in consequence of sheer proportionality: the more voices in a fugue, the greater the number of possible permutations. In consequence, composers exercise editorial judgment as to the most musical of permutations and processes leading thereto. One example of permutation fugue can be seen in the eighth and final chorus of J.S. Bach's cantata, Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182. Permutation fugues differ from conventional fugue in that there are no connecting episodes, nor statement of the themes in related keys. So for example, the fugue of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 is not purely a permutation fugue, as it does have episodes between permutation expositions. Invertible counterpoint is essential to permutation fugues but is not found in simple fugues. Fughetta A fughetta is a short fugue that has the same characteristics as a fugue. Often the contrapuntal writing is not strict, and the setting less formal. See for example, variation 24 of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations Op. 120. History Middle Ages and Renaissance The term fuga was used as far back as the Middle Ages, but was initially used to refer to any kind of imitative counterpoint, including canons, which are now thought of as distinct from fugues. Prior to the 16th century, fugue was originally a genre. It was not until the 16th century that fugal technique as it is understood today began to be seen in pieces, both instrumental and vocal. Fugal writing is found in works such as fantasias, ricercares and canzonas. "Fugue" as a theoretical term first occurred in 1330 when Jacobus of Liege wrote about the fuga in his Speculum musicae. The fugue arose from the technique of "imitation", where the same musical material was repeated starting on a different note. Gioseffo Zarlino, a composer, author, and theorist in the Renaissance, was one of the first to distinguish between the two types of imitative counterpoint: fugues and canons (which he called imitations). Originally, this was to aid improvisation, but by the 1550s, it was considered a technique of composition. The composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525?–1594) wrote masses using modal counterpoint and imitation, and fugal writing became the basis for writing motets as well. Palestrina's imitative motets differed from fugues in that each phrase of the text had a different subject which was introduced and worked out separately, whereas a fugue continued working with the same subject or subjects throughout the entire length of the piece. Baroque era It was in the Baroque period that the writing of fugues became central to composition, in part as a demonstration of compositional expertise. Fugues were incorporated into a variety of musical forms. Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Johann Jakob Froberger and Dieterich Buxtehude all wrote fugues, and George Frideric Handel included them in many of his oratorios. Keyboard suites from this time often conclude with a fugal gigue. Domenico Scarlatti has only a few fugues among his corpus of over 500 harpsichord sonatas. The French overture featured a quick fugal section after a slow introduction. The second movement of a sonata da chiesa, as written by Arcangelo Corelli and others, was usually fugal. The Baroque period also saw a rise in the importance of music theory. Some fugues during the Baroque period were pieces designed to teach contrapuntal technique to students. The most influential text was Johann Joseph Fux's Gradus Ad Parnassum ("Steps to Parnassus"), which appeared in 1725. This work laid out the terms of "species" of counterpoint, and offered a series of exercises to learn fugue writing. Fux's work was largely based on the practice of Palestrina's modal fugues. Mozart studied from this book, and it remained influential into the nineteenth century. Haydn, for example, taught counterpoint from his own summary of Fux and thought of it as the basis for formal structure. Bach's most famous fugues are those for the harpsichord in The Well-Tempered Clavier, which many composers and theorists look at as the greatest model of fugue. The Well-Tempered Clavier comprises two volumes written in different times of Bach's life, each comprising 24 prelude and fugue pairs, one for each major and minor key. Bach is also known for his organ fugues, which are usually preceded by a prelude or toccata. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080, is a collection of fugues (and four canons) on a single theme that is gradually transformed as the cycle progresses. Bach also wrote smaller single fugues and put fugal sections or movements into many of his more general works. J.S. Bach's influence extended forward through his son C.P.E. Bach and through the theorist Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (1718–1795) whose Abhandlung von der Fuge ("Treatise on the fugue", 1753) was largely based on J.S. Bach's work. Classical era During the Classical era, the fugue was no longer a central or even fully natural mode of musical composition. Nevertheless, both Haydn and Mozart had periods of their careers in which they in some sense "rediscovered" fugal writing and used it frequently in their work. Haydn Joseph Haydn was the leader of fugal composition and technique in the Classical era. Haydn's most famous fugues can be found in his "Sun" Quartets (op. 20, 1772), of which three have fugal finales. This was a practice that Haydn repeated only once later in his quartet-writing career, with the finale of his String Quartet, Op. 50 No. 4 (1787). Some of the earliest examples of Haydn's use of counterpoint, however, are in three symphonies (No. 3, No. 13, and No. 40) that date from 1762 to 1763. The earliest fugues, in both the symphonies and in the Baryton trios, exhibit the influence of Joseph Fux's treatise on counterpoint, Gradus ad Parnassum (1725), which Haydn studied carefully. Haydn's second fugal period occurred after he heard, and was greatly inspired by, the oratorios of Handel during his visits to London (1791–1793, 1794–1795). Haydn then studied Handel's techniques and incorporated Handelian fugal writing into the choruses of his mature oratorios The Creation and The Seasons, as well as several of his later symphonies, including No. 88, No. 95, and No. 101; and the late string quartets, Opus 71 no. 3 and (especially) Opus 76 no. 6. Mozart The young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart studied counterpoint with Padre Martini in Bologna. Under the employment of Archbishop Colloredo, and the musical influence of his predecessors and colleagues such as Johann Ernst Eberlin, Anton Cajetan Adlgasser, Michael Haydn, and his own father, Leopold Mozart at the Salzburg Cathedral, the young Mozart composed ambitious fugues and contrapuntal passages in Catholic choral works such as Mass in C minor, K. 139 "Waisenhaus" (1768), Mass in C major, K. 66 "Dominicus" (1769), Mass in C major, K. 167 "in honorem Sanctissimae Trinitatis" (1773), Mass in C major, K. 262 "Missa longa" (1775), Mass in C major, K. 337 "Solemnis" (1780), various litanies, and vespers. Leopold admonished his son openly in 1777 that he not forget to make public demonstration of his abilities in "fugue, canon, and contrapunctus" (Konrad). Later in life, the major impetus to fugal writing for Mozart was the influence of Baron Gottfried van Swieten in Vienna around 1782. Van Swieten, during diplomatic service in Berlin, had taken the opportunity to collect as many manuscripts by Bach and Handel as he could, and he invited Mozart to study his collection and encouraged him to transcribe various works for other combinations of instruments. Mozart was evidently fascinated by these works and wrote a set of transcriptions for string trio of fugues from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, introducing them with preludes of his own. In a letter to his sister Nannerl Mozart, dated in Vienna on 20 April 1782, Mozart recognizes that he had not written anything in this form, but moved by his wife's interest he composed one piece, which is sent with the letter. He begs her not to let anybody see the fugue and manifests the hope to write five more and then present them to Baron van Swieten. Regarding the piece, he said "I have taken particular care to write andante maestoso upon it, so that it should not be played fast – for if a fugue is not played slowly the ear cannot clearly distinguish the new subject as it is introduced and the effect is missed". Mozart then set to writing fugues on his own, mimicking the Baroque style. These included the fugues for String Quartet, K. 405 (1782) and a Fugue in C Minor K. 426 for two pianos (1783). Later, Mozart incorporated fugal writing into his opera Die Zauberflöte and the finale of his Symphony No. 41. The parts of the Requiem he completed also contain several fugues (most notably the Kyrie, and the three fugues in the Domine Jesu; he also left behind a sketch for an Amen fugue which, some believe, would have come at the end of the Sequentia). Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven was familiar with fugal writing from childhood, as an important part of his training was playing from The Well-Tempered Clavier. During his early career in Vienna, Beethoven attracted notice for his performance of these fugues. There are fugal sections in Beethoven's early piano sonatas, and fugal writing is to be found in the second and fourth movements of the Eroica Symphony (1805). Beethoven incorporated fugues in his sonatas, and reshaped the episode's purpose and compositional technique for later generations of composers. Nevertheless, fugues did not take on a truly central role in Beethoven's work until his late period. The finale of Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata contains a fugue, which was practically unperformed until the late 19th century, due to its tremendous technical difficulty and length. The last movement of his Cello Sonata, Op. 102 No. 2 is a fugue, and there are fugal passages in the last movements of his Piano Sonatas in A major, Op. 101 and A major Op. 110. According to Charles Rosen, "With the finale of 110, Beethoven re-conceived the significance of the most traditional elements of fugue writing." Fugal passages are also found in the Missa Solemnis and all movements of the Ninth Symphony, except the third. A massive, dissonant fugue forms the finale of his String Quartet, Op. 130 (1825); the latter was later published separately as Op. 133, the Große Fuge ("Great Fugue"). However, it is the fugue that opens Beethoven's String Quartet in C minor, Op. 131 that several commentators regard as one of the composer's greatest achievements. Joseph Kerman (1966, p. 330) calls it "this most moving of all fugues". J. W. N. Sullivan (1927, p. 235) hears it as "the most superhuman piece of music that Beethoven has ever written." Philip Radcliffe (1965, p. 149) says "[a] bare description of its formal outline can give but little idea of the extraordinary profundity of this fugue ." Romantic era By the beginning of the Romantic era, fugue writing had become specifically attached to the norms and styles of the Baroque. Felix Mendelssohn wrote many fugues inspired by his study of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Johannes Brahms' Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, is a work for solo piano written in 1861. It consists of a set of twenty-five variations and a concluding fugue, all based on a theme from George Frideric Handel's Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in B♭ major, HWV 434. Franz Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor (1853) contains a powerful fugue, demanding incisive virtuosity from its player: Richard Wagner included several fugues in his opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Giuseppe Verdi included a whimsical example at the end of his opera Falstaff and his setting of the Requiem Mass contained two (originally three) choral fugues. Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler also included them in their respective symphonies. The exposition of the finale of Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 begins with a fugal exposition. The exposition ends with a chorale, the melody of which is then used as a second fugal exposition at the beginning of the development. The recapitulation features both fugal subjects concurrently. The finale of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 features a "fugue-like" passage early in the movement, though this is not actually an example of a fugue. 20th century Twentieth-century composers brought fugue back to its position of prominence, realizing its uses in full instrumental works, its importance in development and introductory sections, and the developmental capabilities of fugal composition. The second movement of Maurice Ravel's piano suite Le Tombeau de Couperin (1917) is a fugue that Roy Howat (200, p. 88) describes as having "a subtle glint of jazz". Béla Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1936) opens with a slow fugue that Pierre Boulez (1986, pp. 346–47) regards as "certainly the finest and most characteristic example of Bartók's subtle style... probably the most timeless of all Bartók's works – a fugue that unfolds like a fan to a point of maximum intensity and then closes, returning to the mysterious atmosphere of the opening." Schwanda the Bagpiper (Czech: Švanda dudák), written in 1926, an opera in two acts (five scenes), with music by Jaromír Weinberger, includes a Polka followed by a powerful Fugue based on the Polka theme. Igor Stravinsky also incorporated fugues into his works, including the Symphony of Psalms and the Dumbarton Oaks concerto. Stravinsky recognized the compositional techniques of Bach, and in the second movement of his Symphony of Psalms (1930), he lays out a fugue that is much like that of the Baroque era. It employs a double fugue with two distinct subjects, the first beginning in C and the second in E. Techniques such as stretto, sequencing, and the use of subject incipits are frequently heard in the movement. Dmitri Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues is the composer's homage to Bach's two volumes of The Well-Tempered Clavier. In the first movement of his Fourth Symphony, starting at rehearsal mark 63, is a gigantic fugue in which the 20-bar subject (and tonal answer) consist entirely of semiquavers, played at the speed of quaver = 168. Olivier Messiaen, writing about his Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus (1944) wrote of the sixth piece of that collection, "Par Lui tout a été fait" ("By Him were all things made"): György Ligeti wrote a five-part double fugue for his Requiem'''s second movement, the Kyrie, in which each part (SMATB) is subdivided in four-voice "bundles" that make a canon. The melodic material in this fugue is totally chromatic, with melismatic (running) parts overlaid onto skipping intervals, and use of polyrhythm (multiple simultaneous subdivisions of the measure), blurring everything both harmonically and rhythmically so as to create an aural aggregate, thus highlighting the theoretical/aesthetic question of the next section as to whether fugue is a form or a texture. According to Tom Service, in this work, Ligeti Benjamin Britten used a fugue in the final part of The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1946). The Henry Purcell theme is triumphantly cited at the end, making it a choral fugue. Canadian pianist and musical thinker Glenn Gould composed So You Want to Write a Fugue?, a full-scale fugue set to a text that cleverly explicates its own musical form. Outside classical music Fugues (or fughettas/fugatos) have been incorporated into genres outside Western classical music. Several examples exist within jazz, such as Bach goes to Town, composed by the Welsh composer Alec Templeton and recorded by Benny Goodman in 1938, and Concorde composed by John Lewis and recorded by the Modern Jazz Quartet in 1955. In "Fugue for Tinhorns" from the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, written by Frank Loesser, the characters Nicely-Nicely, Benny, and Rusty sing simultaneously about hot tips they each have in an upcoming horse race. In "West Side Story", the dance sequence following the song "Cool" is structured as a fugue. Interestingly, Leonard Bernstein quotes Beethoven's monumental "Grosse Fugue" for string quartet and employs Arnold Schoenberg's twelve tone technique, all in the context of a jazz infused Broadway show stopper. A few examples also exist within progressive rock, such as the central movement of "The Endless Enigma" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer and "On Reflection" by Gentle Giant. On their EP of the same name, Vulfpeck has a composition called "Fugue State", which incorporates a fugue between Theo Katzman (guitar), Joe Dart (bass), and Woody Goss (Wurlitzer keyboard). The composer Matyas Seiber included an atonal or twelve-tone fugue, for flute trumpet and string quartet, in his score for the 1953 film Graham SutherlandThe film composer John Williams includes a fugue in his score for the 1990 film, Home Alone, at the point where Kevin, accidentally left at home by his family, and realizing he is about to be attacked by a pair of bumbling burglars, begins to plan his elaborate defenses. Another fugue occurs at a similar point in the 1992 sequel film, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The jazz composer and film composer, Michel Legrand, includes a fugue as the climax of his score (a classical theme with variations, and fugue) for Joseph Losey's 1972 film The Go-Between, based on the 1953 novel by British novelist, L.P. Hartley. Discussion Musical form or texture A widespread view of the fugue is that it is not a musical form but rather a technique of composition. The Austrian musicologist Erwin Ratz argues that the formal organization of a fugue involves not only the arrangement of its theme and episodes, but also its harmonic structure. In particular, the exposition and coda tend to emphasize the tonic key, whereas the episodes usually explore more distant tonalities. Ratz stressed, however, that this is the core, underlying form ("Urform") of the fugue, from which individual fugues may deviate. Although certain related keys are more commonly explored in fugal development, the overall structure of a fugue does not limit its harmonic structure. For example, a fugue may not even explore the dominant, one of the most closely related keys to the tonic. Bach's Fugue in B major from Book 1 of the Well Tempered Clavier explores the relative minor, the supertonic and the subdominant. This is unlike later forms such as the sonata, which clearly prescribes which keys are explored (typically the tonic and dominant in an ABA form). Then, many modern fugues dispense with traditional tonal harmonic scaffolding altogether, and either use serial (pitch-oriented) rules, or (as the Kyrie/Christe in György Ligeti's Requiem, Witold Lutosławski works), use panchromatic, or even denser, harmonic spectra. Perceptions and aesthetics The fugue is the most complex of contrapuntal forms. In Ratz's words, "fugal technique significantly burdens the shaping of musical ideas, and it was given only to the greatest geniuses, such as Bach and Beethoven, to breathe life into such an unwieldy form and make it the bearer of the highest thoughts." In presenting Bach's fugues as among the greatest of contrapuntal works, Peter Kivy points out that "counterpoint itself, since time out of mind, has been associated in the thinking of musicians with the profound and the serious" and argues that "there seems to be some rational justification for their doing so." This is related to the idea that restrictions create freedom for the composer, by directing their efforts. He also points out that fugal writing has its roots in improvisation, and was, during the Renaissance, practiced as an improvisatory art. Writing in 1555, Nicola Vicentino, for example, suggests that: References Sources Further reading External links Score, J. S. Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier'', Mutopia Project Fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier (viewable in Adobe Flash or Shockwave) Theory on fugues Fugues and fugue sets Analyses of J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier with accompanying recordings Polyphonic form Classical music styles

Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau. The commune has the largest land area in the Île-de-France region; it is the only one to cover a larger area than Paris itself. The commune is closest to Seine-et-Marne Prefecture, Melun. Fontainebleau, together with the neighbouring commune of Avon and three other smaller communes, form an urban area of 36,298 inhabitants (according to the 2011 census). This urban area is a satellite of Paris. Fontainebleau is renowned for the large and scenic forest of Fontainebleau, a favourite weekend getaway for Parisians, as well as for the historic Château de Fontainebleau, which once belonged to the kings of France. It is also the home of INSEAD, one of the world's most elite business schools. Inhabitants of Fontainebleau are sometimes called Bellifontains. History Fontainebleau was recorded in the Latinised forms Fons Bleaudi, Fons Bliaudi, and Fons Blaadi in the 12th and 13th centuries, as Fontem blahaud in 1137, as Fontaine belle eau (folk etymology "fountain of beautiful water") in the 16th century, as Fontainebleau and Fontaine belle eau in 1630, and as the invented, fanciful Latin Fons Bellaqueus in the 17th century, which is the origin of the fanciful name Bellifontains of the inhabitants. Contrary to the folk etymology, the name comes from the medieval compound noun of fontaine, meaning spring (fountainhead) and fountain, and blitwald, consisting of the Germanic personal name Blit and the Germanic word for forest. This hamlet was endowed with a royal hunting lodge and a chapel by Louis VII in the middle of the twelfth century. A century later, Louis IX, also called Saint Louis, who held Fontainebleau in high esteem and referred to it as "his wilderness", had a country house and a hospital constructed there. Philip the Fair was born there in 1268 and died there in 1314. In all, thirty-four sovereigns, from Louis VI, the Fat, (1081–1137) to Napoleon III (1808–1873), spent time at Fontainebleau. The connection between the town of Fontainebleau and the French monarchy was reinforced with the transformation of the royal country house into a true royal palace, the Palace of Fontainebleau. This was accomplished by the great builder-king, Francis I (1494–1547), who, in the largest of his many construction projects, reconstructed, expanded, and transformed the royal château at Fontainebleau into a residence that became his favourite, as well as the residence of his mistress, Anne, duchess of Étampes. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, every monarch, from Francis I to Louis XV, made important renovations at the Palace of Fontainebleau, including demolitions, reconstructions, additions, and embellishments of various descriptions, all of which endowed it with a character that is a bit heterogeneous, but harmonious nonetheless. On 18 October 1685, Louis XIV signed the Edict of Fontainebleau there. Also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, this royal fiat reversed the permission granted to the Huguenots in 1598 to worship publicly in specified locations and hold certain other privileges. The result was that a large number of Protestants were forced to convert to the Catholic faith, killed, or forced into exile, mainly in the Low Countries, Prussia and in England. The 1762 Treaty of Fontainebleau, a secret agreement between France and Spain concerning the Louisiana territory in North America, was concluded here. Also, preliminary negotiations, held before the 1763 Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Seven Years' War, were at Fontainebleau. During the French Revolution, Fontainebleau was temporarily renamed Fontaine-la-Montagne, meaning "Fountain by the Mountain". (The mountain referred to is the series of rocky formations located in the forest of Fontainebleau.) On 29 October 1807, Manuel Godoy, chancellor to the Spanish king, Charles IV and Napoleon signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau, which authorized the passage of French troops through Spanish territories so that they might invade Portugal. On 20 June 1812, Pope Pius VII arrived at the château of Fontainebleau, after a secret transfer from Savona, accompanied by his personal physician, Balthazard Claraz. In poor health, the Pope was the prisoner of Napoleon, and he remained in his genteel prison at Fontainebleau for nineteen months. From June 1812 until 23 January 1814, the Pope never left his apartments. On 20 April 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte, shortly before his first abdication, bid farewell to the Old Guard, the renowned grognards (gripers) who had served with him since his first campaigns, in the "White Horse Courtyard" (la cour du Cheval Blanc) at the Palace of Fontainebleau. (The courtyard has since been renamed the "Courtyard of Goodbyes".) According to contemporary sources, the occasion was very moving. The 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau stripped Napoleon of his powers (but not his title as Emperor of the French) and sent him into exile on Elba. Until the 19th century, Fontainebleau was a village and a suburb of Avon. Later, it developed as an independent residential city. For the 1924 Summer Olympics, the town played host to the riding portion of the modern pentathlon event. This event took place near a golf course. In July and August 1946, the town hosted the Franco-Vietnamese Conference, intended to find a solution to the long-contested struggle for Vietnam's independence from France, but the conference ended in failure. Fontainebleau also hosted the general staff of the Allied Forces in Central Europe (Allied Forces Center or AFCENT) and the land forces command (LANDCENT); the air forces command (AIRCENT) was located nearby at Camp Guynemer. These facilities were in place from the inception of NATO until France's partial withdrawal from NATO in 1967 when the United States returned those bases to French control. NATO moved AFCENT to Brunssum in the Netherlands and AIRCENT to Ramstein in West Germany. (Note that the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, also known as SHAPE, was located at Rocquencourt, west of Paris, quite a distance from Fontainebleau). In 2008, The men's World Championship of Real Tennis (Jeu de Paume) was held in the tennis court of the Chateau. The real tennis World Championship is the oldest in sport and Fontainebleau has one of only two active courts in France. Tourism Fontainebleau is a popular tourist destination; each year, 300,000 people visit the palace and more than 13 million people visit the forest. Fontainebleau forest The forest of Fontainebleau surrounds the town and dozens of nearby villages. It is protected by France's Office National des Forêts, and it is recognised as a French national park. It is managed in order that its wild plants and trees, such as the rare service tree of Fontainebleau, and its populations of birds, mammals, and butterflies, can be conserved. It is a former royal hunting park often visited by hikers and horse riders. The forest is also well regarded for bouldering and is particularly popular among climbers, as it is the biggest developed area of that kind in the world. Royal Château de Fontainebleau The Royal Château de Fontainebleau is a large palace where the kings of France took their ease. It is also the site where the French royal court, from 1528 onwards, entertained the body of new ideas that became known as the Renaissance. INSEAD The European (and historic) campus of the INSEAD business school is located at the edge of Fontainebleau, by the Lycee Francois Couperin. INSEAD students live in local accommodations around the Fontainebleau area, and especially in the surrounding towns. Other notables The graves of G. I. Gurdjieff and Katherine Mansfield can be found in the cemetery at Avon. Transport Fontainebleau is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris–Lyon rail line: Fontainebleau–Avon and Thomery. Fontainebleau–Avon station, the station closest to the centre of Fontainebleau, is located near the dividing-line between the commune of Fontainebleau and the commune of Avon, on the Avon side of the border. Hospital Fontainebleau has a campus of the Centre hospitalier Sud Seine et Marne. Notable people Francis I of France, built a large part of the palace Philip IV of France, born and died in Fontainebleau Francis II of France, born in Fontainebleau Henry III of France, born in Fontainebleau Henry IV of France, built a part of the palace Louis XIII, king of France, born in Fontainebleau Louis XIV of France, built a part of the palace Louis XV, king of France, built a part of the palace Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, king and queen of France, built a part of the palace Christina, Queen of Sweden; her lover, Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi, was murdered in Fontainebleau Pierre Levassor (1808–1870), actor Alfonso XIII, king of Spain, after his abdication Aga Khan IV, international business magnate Anna Elizabeth Klumpke, an early twentieth-century artist Ernst August, Prince of Hanover and Caroline, Princess of Hanover Rosa Bonheur, a 19th-century artist Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923), New Zealander short story writer, died in Fontainebleau Arnold Bennett (1867- 1931), writer, lived in Fontainebleau from 1908 to 1912 Lilian Thuram, football player, World Cup and European Championship winner Django Reinhardt, died near Fontainebleau, in Samois-sur-Seine Napoleon Pope Pius VII, lived (as a prisoner of Napoleon) in the palace Napoleon III Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer Lin Fengmian, famous Chinese painter who advocated the synthesis of Western techniques and Eastern traditions and later became known as the father of modern Chinese painting, brushed up on his French in Fontainebleau before moving on to study art at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts of Paris Gabrièle Buffet-Picabia (1881–1985), art critic, first wife of painter Francis Picabia was born in Fontainebleau Pascal Lecocq, born in 1958, fine art painter, study at École Comairas (1973–1977) and exhibit for the 1st time in 1977 ; Mark Maggiori, lead vocalist of Pleymo Oscar Milosz, poet, novelist, dramatist and Lithuanian diplomat died in Fontainebleau in 1939. Twinning Fontainebleau is twinned with the following cities: Konstanz, Germany, since 28 May 1960 Richmond-upon-Thames, England, United Kingdom, since 1977 Siem Reap, Cambodia, since 11 June 2000 Nanjing, China Lodi, Italy since 2011 Sintra, Portugal since 2016 Image gallery See also Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Fontainebleau Fontainebleau rock climbing Milly-la-Forêt Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) Bibliography The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Miscellanies, Volume III, Edinburgh, Longmans Green and Co, 1895 "Fontainebleau : Village Communities of Painters" p.201-226 References External links Venues of the 1924 Summer Olympics Communes of Seine-et-Marne Olympic modern pentathlon venues Subprefectures in France

The Albert Park Circuit is a motorsport street circuit around Albert Park Lake, three kilometres south of central Melbourne. It is used annually as a circuit for the traditional Formula One season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the supporting Supercars Championship Melbourne 400 and other associated support races. The circuit has an FIA Grade 1 license. Although the entire track consists of normally public roads, each sector includes medium to high-speed characteristics more commonly associated with dedicated racetracks facilitated by grass and gravel run-off safety zones that are reconstructed annually. However, the circuit also has characteristics of a street circuit's enclosed nature due to concrete barriers annually built along the Lakeside Drive curve, in particular, where run-off is not available due to the proximity of the lake shore. Design The circuit uses everyday sections of road that circle Albert Park Lake, a small man-altered lake (originally a large lagoon formed as part of the ancient Yarra River course) just south of the Central Business District of Melbourne. The road sections that are used were rebuilt before the inaugural event in 1996 to ensure consistency and smoothness. As a result, compared to other circuits that are held on public roads, the Albert Park track has quite a smooth surface. Before 2007 there existed only a few other places on the Formula 1 calendar with a body of water close to the track. Many of the new tracks, such as Valencia, Singapore and Abu Dhabi are close to a body of water. The course is considered to be quite fast and relatively easy to drive, drivers having commented that the consistent placement of corners allows them to easily learn the circuit and achieve competitive times. However, the flat terrain around the lake, coupled with a track design that features few true straights, means that the track is not conducive to overtaking or easy spectating unless in possession of a grandstand seat. Each year, most of the trackside fencing, pedestrian overpasses, grandstands, and other motorsport infrastructure are erected approximately two months before the Grand Prix weekend and removed within 6 weeks after the event. The land around the circuit (including a large aquatic centre, a golf course, a Lakeside Stadium, some restaurants, and rowing boathouses) has restricted access during that entire period. Dissent is still prevalent among nearby residents and users of those other facilities, and some still maintain a silent protest against the event. Nevertheless, the event is reasonably popular in Melbourne and Australia (with a large European population and a general interest in motorsport). Middle Park, the home of South Melbourne FC was demolished in 1994 due to expansion at Albert Park. On 4 July 2008, F1 announced that more than 300,000 people attended the four-day Melbourne Grand Prix, though actual ticket sales were later disputed by the local media. There has never been a night race at Albert Park, although the 2009 and 2010 events both started at 5:00 p.m. local time. The current contract for the Grand Prix at the circuit concludes in 2025. Following the postponement of the Australian Grand Prix in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the track underwent layout changes, the most notable part is the modification of the Turn 9-10 complex from a heavy right-left corner to a fast-sweeping right-left corner into Turns 11 and 12. Further modifications include the widening of the pit lane by 2 metres and the reprofiling of Turn 13. Also, some corners will be widened such as Turn 1, Turn 3, Turn 6, Turn 7, and Turn 15; and it is expected that these modifications will reduce qualifying lap times by as much as 5 seconds. Everyday access During the nine months of the year when the track is not required for Grand Prix preparation or the race weekend, most of the track can be driven by ordinary street-registered vehicles either clockwise or anti-clockwise. Only the sections between turns 3, 4, and 5, then 5 and 6, differ significantly from the race track configuration. Turn 4 is replaced by a car park access road running directly from turns 3 to 5. Between turns 5 and 6, the road is blocked. It is possible to drive from turn 5 on to Albert Road and back on to the track at turn 7 though three sets of lights control the flow of this option. The only set of lights on the actual track is halfway between turns 12 and 13, where drivers using Queens Road are catered for. The chicanes at turns 11 and 12 are considerably more open than that used in the Grand Prix, using the escape roads. Turn 9 is also a car park and traffic is directed down another escape road. The speed limit is generally , while some short sections have a speed limit of , which is still slower than an F1 car under pit lane speed restrictions. The back of the track, turns 7 to 13 inclusive, is known as Lakeside Drive. Double lines separate the two-way traffic along most of Lakeside Drive with short road islands approximately every 50 metres which means overtaking is illegal here. Black Swans live and breed in Albert Park, and frequently cross the road causing traffic delays, sometimes with up to five cygnets (young swans). Approximately 80% of the track edge is lined with short parkland-style chain-linked fencing leaving normal drivers less room for error than F1 drivers have during race weekend. There is however substantial shoulder room between the outside of each lane and the fencing, which is used as parking along Aughtie Drive during the other nine months. History Albert Park Circuit (1953 to 1958) Prior to World War 2, attempts were made to use Albert Park for motor racing. The first was in 1934 but failed due to opposition, and a second attempt for a motorcycle race in 1937 similarly failed. Finally in 1953 the Light Car Club of Australia were able to secure use of the circuit for that year's Australian Grand Prix. Albert Park is the only venue to host the Australian Grand Prix in both World Championship and non-World Championship formats with an earlier configuration of the current circuit used for the race on two occasions during the 1950s. During this time racing was conducted in an anti-clockwise direction as opposed to the current circuit which runs clockwise. Known as the Albert Park Circuit, the original course hosted a total of six race meetings: 21 November 1953 - Featuring the 1953 Australian Grand Prix, won by Doug Whiteford (Talbot-Lago T26C) 26 & 27 March 1955 - The first Moomba meeting, which involved an alliance with the Moomba festival and The Argus newspaper - featuring the Moomba TT, won by Doug Whiteford (Triumph TR2) and the Argus Trophy, also won by Doug Whiteford (Talbot-Lago) 11 March & 18 March 1956 - The second Moomba meeting - featuring the 1956 Moomba TT, won by Tony Gaze (HWM Jaguar), and, on the second weekend, the 1956 Argus Trophy, won by Reg Hunt (Maserati 250F) 25 November & 2 December 1956 - featuring the 1956 Australian Tourist Trophy, won by Stirling Moss (Maserati 300S) and, on the second weekend, the 1956 Australian Grand Prix, also won by Stirling Moss (Maserati 250F) 17 & 24 March 1957 - The third Moomba meeting - featuring the Victorian Tourist Trophy won by Doug Whiteford (Maserati 300S), and the Victorian Trophy, won by Lex Davison (Ferrari 500). The Victorian Trophy was retrospectively designated as the second round of the 1957 Australian Drivers' Championship 23 & 30 November 1958 - Featuring the 1958 Victorian Tourist Trophy, won by Doug Whiteford (Maserati 300S), and, on the second weekend, the 1958 Melbourne Grand Prix, (a round of the 1958 Australian Drivers' Championship), won by Stirling Moss (Cooper Coventry Climax) The November 1958 meeting was the last on the original incarnation of the circuit, as it closed shortly after. Race lap records As of 16 March 2019, the official race lap records at the Albert Park Circuit are listed as: See also Adelaide Street Circuit References External links Albert Park at Official Formula 1 website Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit Guide Albert Park Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit on Google Maps (Current Formula 1 Tracks) Motorsport venues in Victoria (Australia) Formula One circuits Australian Grand Prix Sports venues in Melbourne Streets in Melbourne Supercars Championship circuits Sports venues in Victoria (Australia)

Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best remembered for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. She has been dubbed one of the early "scream queens". After appearing in minor film roles, Wray gained media attention after being selected as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars" in 1926. This led to her being contracted to Paramount Pictures as a teenager, where she made more than a dozen feature films. After leaving Paramount, she signed deals with various film companies, being cast in her first horror film roles, in addition to many other types of roles, including in The Bowery (1933) and Viva Villa (1934), both of which starred Wallace Beery. For RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., Wray starred in the film she is most identified with, King Kong (1933). After the success of King Kong, she made numerous appearances in both film and television, retiring in 1980. Early life Wray was born on a ranch near Cardston, Alberta, to parents who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elvina Marguerite Jones, who was from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Joseph Heber Wray, who was from Kingston upon Hull, England. She was one of six children and was a granddaughter of LDS pioneer Daniel Webster Jones. Her ancestors came from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Wray was never baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her family returned to the United States a few years after she was born; they moved to Salt Lake City in 1912 and moved to Lark, Utah, in 1914. In 1919, the Wray family returned to Salt Lake City, and then relocated to Hollywood, where Fay attended Hollywood High School. Early acting career In 1923, Wray appeared in her first film at the age of 16, when she landed a role in a short historical film sponsored by a local newspaper. In the 1920s, Wray landed a major role in the silent film The Coast Patrol (1925), as well as uncredited bit parts at the Hal Roach Studios. In 1926, the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers selected Wray as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars", a group of women whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. She was at the time under contract to Universal Studios, mostly co-starring in low-budget Westerns opposite Buck Jones. The following year, Wray was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures. In 1926, director Erich von Stroheim cast her as the main female lead in his film The Wedding March, released by Paramount two years later. While the film was noted for its high budget and production values, it was a financial failure. It also gave Wray her first lead role. Wray stayed with Paramount to make more than a dozen films and made the transition from silent films to "talkies". Horror films and King Kong After leaving Paramount, Wray signed with other film studios. Under these deals, Wray was cast in several horror films, including Doctor X (1932) and Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933). However, her best known films were produced under her deal with RKO Radio Pictures. Her first film with RKO was The Most Dangerous Game (1932), co-starring Joel McCrea. The production was filmed at night on the same jungle sets that were being used for King Kong during the day, and with Wray and Robert Armstrong starring in both movies. The Most Dangerous Game was followed by the release of Wray's best remembered film, King Kong. According to Wray, Jean Harlow had been RKO's original choice, but because MGM put Harlow under exclusive contract during the pre-production phase of the film, she became unavailable. Wray was approached by director Merian C. Cooper to play the blonde captive of King Kong; the role of Ann Darrow for which she was paid $10,000 ($ in dollars) to play her. The film was a commercial success and Wray was reportedly proud that the film saved RKO from bankruptcy. Later career Wray continued to star in films, including The Richest Girl in the World, but by the early 1940s, her appearances became less frequent. She retired from acting in 1942 after her second marriage but due to financial exigencies she soon resumed her acting career, and over the next three decades, Wray appeared in several films and frequently appeared on television. Wray portrayed Catherine Morrison in the 1953–54 sitcom The Pride of the Family. Wray appeared in Queen Bee, released in 1955. Wray appeared in three episodes of Perry Mason: "The Case of the Prodigal Parent" (1958); "The Case of the Watery Witness" (1959), as murder victim Lorna Thomas; and "The Case of the Fatal Fetish" (1965), as voodoo practitioner Mignon Germaine. In 1959, Wray was cast as Tula Marsh in the episode "The Second Happiest Day" of Playhouse 90. Other roles around this time were in the episodes "Dip in the Pool" (1958) and "The Morning After" of CBS's Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1960, she appeared as Clara in an episode of 77 Sunset Strip, "Who Killed Cock Robin?" Another 1960 role was that of Mrs. Staunton, with Gigi Perreau as her daughter, in the episode "Flight from Terror" of The Islanders. Wray appeared in a 1961 episode of The Real McCoys titled "Theatre in the Barn". In 1963, she played Mrs. Brubaker in the episode "You're So Smart, Why Can't You Be Good?" of The Eleventh Hour. She ended her acting career in the 1980 made-for-television film Gideon's Trumpet. In 1988, she published her autobiography On the Other Hand. In her later years, Wray continued to make public appearances. In 1991, she was crowned Queen of the Beaux Arts Ball, presiding with King Herbert Huncke. She was approached by James Cameron to play the part of Rose Dawson Calvert for his blockbuster Titanic (1997) with Kate Winslet to play her younger self, but she turned down the role, which ended up being played by Gloria Stuart. She was a special guest at the 70th Academy Awards, where the show's host Billy Crystal introduced her as the "Beauty who charmed the Beast." She was the only 1920s Hollywood actress in attendance that evening with fellow 1930s actress Gloria Stuart nominated for an award. On October 3, 1998, she appeared at the Pine Bluff Film Festival, which showed The Wedding March with live orchestral accompaniment. In January 2003, the 95-year-old Wray appeared at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival to celebrate the Rick McKay documentary film Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There, where she was honored with a "Legend in Film" award. In her later years, she visited the Empire State Building frequently; in 1991, she was a guest of honor at the building's 60th anniversary, and in May 2004, she made one of her last public appearances at the ESB. Her final public appearance was at an after-party at Sardi's restaurant in New York City, following the premiere of the documentary film Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There. Personal life Wray married three times – to writers John Monk Saunders and Robert Riskin and the neurosurgeon Sanford Rothenberg (January 28, 1919 – January 4, 1991). She had three children: Susan Saunders, Victoria Riskin, and Robert Riskin Jr. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1933. Death Wray died in her sleep of natural causes in the night of August 8, 2004, in her apartment on Fifth Avenue Manhattan. She is interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. Two days after her death, the lights of the Empire State Building were lowered for 15 minutes in her memory. Honors In 1989, Wray was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award. Wray was honored with a Legend in Film award at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Wray was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6349 Hollywood Blvd. She received a star posthumously on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto on June 5, 2005. A small park near Lee's Creek on Main Street in Cardston, Alberta, her birthplace, was named Fay Wray Park in her honour. The small sign at the edge of the park on Main Street has a silhouette of King Kong on it, remembering her role in the film King Kong. A large oil portrait of Wray by Alberta artist Neil Boyle is on display in the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod, Alberta. In May 2006, Wray became one of the first four entertainers to be honored by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp. Partial filmography Gasoline Love (1923 short subject) The Coast Patrol (1925) as Beth Slocum Sure-Mike (1925 short) as Salesgirl at Department Store What Price Goofy (1925 short) as Concerned Girl with Perfume (uncredited) Isn't Life Terrible? (1925 short) as Potential Pen-Buyer (uncredited) Thundering Landlords (1925 short) as The Wife Chasing the Chaser (1925 short) as Nursemaid Madame Sans Jane (1925 short) No Father to Guide Him (1925 short) as Beach House Cashier (uncredited) Unfriendly Enemies (1925 short) as The Girl Your Own Back Yard (1925 short) as Woman in Quarrelsome Couple A Lover's Oath (1925) (uncredited) *lost film Moonlight and Noses (1925 short) as Miss Sniff, the Professor's Daughter Should Sailors Marry? (1925 short) as Herself Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) as Slave Girl (unconfirmed, uncredited) WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1926 (1926 short) as Herself One Wild Time (1926 short) Don Key (A Son of a Burro) (1926 short) The Man in the Saddle (1926) as Pauline Stewart *lost film Don't Shoot (1926 short) as Nancy Burton The Wild Horse Stampede (1926) as Jessie Hayden The Saddle Tramp (1926 short) The Show Cowpuncher (1926 short) Lazy Lightning (1926) as Lila Rogers Loco Luck (1927) as Molly Vernon A One Man Game (1927) as Roberta Spurs and Saddles (1927) as Mildred Orth A Trip Through the Paramount Studio (1927 short) as Herself The Legion of the Condemned (1928) as Christine Charteris *lost film Street of Sin (1928) as Elizabeth *lost film The First Kiss (1928) as Anna Lee *lost film The Wedding March (1928) as Mitzi / Mitzerl Schrammell The Four Feathers (1929) as Ethne Eustace Thunderbolt (1929) as Ritzie Pointed Heels (1929) as Lora Nixon Behind the Make-Up (1930) as Marie Gardoni Paramount on Parade (1930) as Sweetheart (Dream Girl) The Texan (1930) as Consuelo The Border Legion (1930) as Joan Randall The Sea God (1930) as Daisy The Honeymoon (1930, unreleased) as Mitzi Captain Thunder (1930) as Ynez Stub Man (1931) The Slippery Pearls (1931 short) as Herself Dirigible (1931) as Helen Pierce The Conquering Horde (1931) as Taisie Lockhart Three Rogues (1931) as Lee Carleton The Finger Points (1931) as Marcia Collins The Lawyer's Secret (1931) as Kay Roberts The Unholy Garden (1931) as Camille de Jonghe Hollywood on Parade (1932 short subject) as Herself Stowaway (1932) as Mary Foster Doctor X (1932) as Joanne Xavier The Most Dangerous Game (1932) as Eve Trowbridge The Vampire Bat (1933) as Ruth Bertin Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) as Charlotte Duncan King Kong (1933) as Ann Darrow Below the Sea (1933) as Diana Ann Carver's Profession (1933) as Ann Carver Graham The Woman I Stole (1933) as Vida Carew Shanghai Madness (1933) as Wildeth Christie The Big Brain (1933) as Cynthia Glennon One Sunday Afternoon (1933) as Virginia Brush The Bowery (1933) as Lucy Calhoun Master of Men (1933) as Kay Walling Madame Spy (1934) as Marie Franck The Countess of Monte Cristo (1934) as Janet Krueger Once to Every Woman (1934) as Mary Fanshane Viva Villa! (1934) as Teresa Black Moon (1934) as Gail Hamilton The Affairs of Cellini (1934) as Angela The Richest Girl in the World (1934) as Sylvia Lockwood Cheating Cheaters (1934) as Nan Brockton Woman in the Dark (1934) as Louise Loring Mills of the Gods (1934) as Jean Hastings The Clairvoyant (1935) (US title: The Evil Mind) as Rene Bulldog Jack (1935) as Ann Manders Come Out of the Pantry (1935) as Hilda Beach-Howard White Lies (1935) as Joan Mitchell When Knights Were Bold (1936) as Lady Rowena Roaming Lady (1936) as Joyce Reid They Met in a Taxi (1936) as Mary Trenton It Happened in Hollywood (1937) as Gloria Gay Murder in Greenwich Village (1937) as Kay Cabot aka Lucky The Jury's Secret (1938) as Linda Ware Smashing the Spy Ring (1938) as Eleanor Dunlap Navy Secrets (1939) as Carol Mathews – Posing as Carol Evans Wildcat Bus (1940) as Ted Dawson Adam Had Four Sons (1941) as Molly Stoddard Melody for Three (1941) as Mary Stanley Not a Ladies' Man (1942) as Hester Hunter This Is the Life (1944, co-author of play with Sinclair Lewis) Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953) as Annette, Marquise de St. Malo Small Town Girl (1953) as Mrs. Kimbell The Cobweb (1955) as Edna Devanal Queen Bee (1955) as Sue McKinnon Hell on Frisco Bay (1956) as Kay Stanley Rock, Pretty Baby (1956) as Beth Daley Crime of Passion (1957) as Alice Pope Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) as Mrs. Brent Summer Love (1958) as Beth Daley Dragstrip Riot (1958) as Norma Martin / Mrs. Martin Gideon's Trumpet (1980) as Edna Curtis Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (1997 documentary) as Herself Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003 documentary) as Herself Cultural references In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, extraterrestrial transvestite mad scientist Frank N. Furter sings in the song, "Don't Dream It": "Whatever happened to Fay Wray? / That delicate satin-draped frame / As it clung to her thigh / How I started to cry / 'Cause I wanted to be dressed just the same". Mentioned in the chorus of the Jimmy Ray song, "Are You Jimmy Ray?" Type O Negative, on their album Bloody Kisses, has a track titled "Fay Wray Come Out to Play." Mentioned repeatedly in Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. Fay Wray is briefly mentioned in the Bruce Cockburn song "Mama Just Wants to Barrelhouse All Night Long" on the 1973 Night Vision album in its second verse: "I hear the city singing like a siren choir / Some fool tried to set this town on fire / TV preacher screams 'come on along' / I feel like Fay Wray face to face with King Kong / But Mama just wants to barrelhouse all night long." Fay Wray has been mentioned in the Peanuts comic strip a couple of times, mostly involving characters Snoopy and Woodstock in reenacting the iconic scenes from King Kong. The first one was in a September 11, 1976 strip with Snoopy playing as King Kong while holding Woodstock as Ann Darrow (with a brief mention of her co-star Bruce Cabot); and in a August 29, 1976 Sunday strip format where Snoopy is dreaming that his nose is the Empire State Building and Woodstock, as King Kong, is climbing atop of it in real time. Waking up from it, Snoopy complains afterwards that "Fay Wray didn't even show up" in it. See also Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood References External links Fay Wray at Northern Stars website Fay Wray speaking at UCLA 11/18/1970 1907 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Alberta Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from New York City American film actresses American people of Canadian descent American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Scottish descent American people of Welsh descent American silent film actresses American television actresses American women memoirists Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Canadian child actresses Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian film actresses Canadian people of American descent Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian people of Welsh descent Hollywood High School alumni Naturalized citizens of the United States Paramount Pictures contract players People from Cardston RKO Pictures contract players WAMPAS Baby Stars Western (genre) film actresses 21st-century American women

First-order logic—also known as predicate logic, quantificational logic, and first-order predicate calculus—is a collection of formal systems used in mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. First-order logic uses quantified variables over non-logical objects, and allows the use of sentences that contain variables, so that rather than propositions such as "Socrates is a man", one can have expressions in the form "there exists x such that x is Socrates and x is a man", where "there exists" is a quantifier, while x is a variable. This distinguishes it from propositional logic, which does not use quantifiers or relations; in this sense, propositional logic is the foundation of first-order logic. A theory about a topic is usually a first-order logic together with a specified domain of discourse (over which the quantified variables range), finitely many functions from that domain to itself, finitely many predicates defined on that domain, and a set of axioms believed to hold about them. Sometimes, "theory" is understood in a more formal sense, which is just a set of sentences in first-order logic. The adjective "first-order" distinguishes first-order logic from higher-order logic, in which there are predicates having predicates or functions as arguments, or in which predicate quantifiers or function quantifiers or both are permitted. In first-order theories, predicates are often associated with sets. In interpreted higher-order theories, predicates may be interpreted as sets of sets. There are many deductive systems for first-order logic which are both sound (i.e., all provable statements are true in all models) and complete (i.e. all statements which are true in all models are provable). Although the logical consequence relation is only semidecidable, much progress has been made in automated theorem proving in first-order logic. First-order logic also satisfies several metalogical theorems that make it amenable to analysis in proof theory, such as the Löwenheim–Skolem theorem and the compactness theorem. First-order logic is the standard for the formalization of mathematics into axioms, and is studied in the foundations of mathematics. Peano arithmetic and Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory are axiomatizations of number theory and set theory, respectively, into first-order logic. No first-order theory, however, has the strength to uniquely describe a structure with an infinite domain, such as the natural numbers or the real line. Axiom systems that do fully describe these two structures (that is, categorical axiom systems) can be obtained in stronger logics such as second-order logic. The foundations of first-order logic were developed independently by Gottlob Frege and Charles Sanders Peirce. For a history of first-order logic and how it came to dominate formal logic, see José Ferreirós (2001). Introduction While propositional logic deals with simple declarative propositions, first-order logic additionally covers predicates and quantification. A predicate takes an entity or entities in the domain of discourse as input while outputs are either True or False. Consider the two sentences "Socrates is a philosopher" and "Plato is a philosopher". In propositional logic, these sentences are viewed as being unrelated, and might be denoted, for example, by variables such as p and q. The predicate "is a philosopher" occurs in both sentences, which have a common structure of "a is a philosopher". The variable a is instantiated as "Socrates" in the first sentence, and is instantiated as "Plato" in the second sentence. While first-order logic allows for the use of predicates, such as "is a philosopher" in this example, propositional logic does not. Relationships between predicates can be stated using logical connectives. Consider, for example, the first-order formula "if a is a philosopher, then a is a scholar". This formula is a conditional statement with "a is a philosopher" as its hypothesis, and "a is a scholar" as its conclusion. The truth of this formula depends on which object is denoted by a, and on the interpretations of the predicates "is a philosopher" and "is a scholar". Quantifiers can be applied to variables in a formula. The variable a in the previous formula can be universally quantified, for instance, with the first-order sentence "For every a, if a is a philosopher, then a is a scholar". The universal quantifier "for every" in this sentence expresses the idea that the claim "if a is a philosopher, then a is a scholar" holds for all choices of a. The negation of the sentence "For every a, if a is a philosopher, then a is a scholar" is logically equivalent to the sentence "There exists a such that a is a philosopher and a is not a scholar". The existential quantifier "there exists" expresses the idea that the claim "a is a philosopher and a is not a scholar" holds for some choice of a. The predicates "is a philosopher" and "is a scholar" each take a single variable. In general, predicates can take several variables. In the first-order sentence "Socrates is the teacher of Plato", the predicate "is the teacher of" takes two variables. An interpretation (or model) of a first-order formula specifies what each predicate means, and the entities that can instantiate the variables. These entities form the domain of discourse or universe, which is usually required to be a nonempty set. For example, in an interpretation with the domain of discourse consisting of all human beings and the predicate "is a philosopher" understood as "was the author of the Republic", the sentence "There exists a such that a is a philosopher" is seen as being true, as witnessed by Plato. Syntax There are two key parts of first-order logic. The syntax determines which finite sequences of symbols are well-formed expressions in first-order logic, while the semantics determines the meanings behind these expressions. Alphabet Unlike natural languages, such as English, the language of first-order logic is completely formal, so that it can be mechanically determined whether a given expression is well formed. There are two key types of well-formed expressions: terms, which intuitively represent objects, and formulas, which intuitively express predicates that can be true or false. The terms and formulas of first-order logic are strings of symbols, where all the symbols together form the alphabet of the language. As with all formal languages, the nature of the symbols themselves is outside the scope of formal logic; they are often regarded simply as letters and punctuation symbols. It is common to divide the symbols of the alphabet into logical symbols, which always have the same meaning, and non-logical symbols, whose meaning varies by interpretation. For example, the logical symbol always represents "and"; it is never interpreted as "or", which is represented by the logical symbol . On the other hand, a non-logical predicate symbol such as Phil(x) could be interpreted to mean "x is a philosopher", "x is a man named Philip", or any other unary predicate depending on the interpretation at hand. Logical symbols There are several logical symbols in the alphabet, which vary by author but usually include: The quantifier symbols: for universal quantification, and for existential quantification The logical connectives: for conjunction, for disjunction, for implication, for biconditional, for negation. Occasionally other logical connective symbols are included. Some authors use Cpq, instead of , and Epq, instead of , especially in contexts where → is used for other purposes. Moreover, the horseshoe may replace ; the triple-bar may replace ; a tilde (), Np, or Fp, may replace ; a double bar , or Apq may replace ; and ampersand , Kpq, or the middle dot, , may replace , especially if these symbols are not available for technical reasons. (The aforementioned symbols Cpq, Epq, Np, Apq, and Kpq are used in Polish notation.) Parentheses, brackets, and other punctuation symbols. The choice of such symbols varies depending on context. An infinite set of variables, often denoted by lowercase letters at the end of the alphabet x, y, z, ... . Subscripts are often used to distinguish variables: An equality symbol (sometimes, identity symbol) (see below). Not all of these symbols are required–only one of the quantifiers, negation and conjunction, variables, brackets and equality suffice. There are numerous minor variations that may define additional logical symbols: In some occasions, the truth constants T, Vpq, or , for "true" and F, Opq, or , for "false" are included. Without any such logical operators of valence 0, these two constants can only be expressed using quantifiers. In other occasions, additional logical connectives are included, such as the Sheffer stroke, Dpq (NAND), and exclusive or, Jpq. Non-logical symbols The non-logical symbols represent predicates (relations), functions and constants on the domain of discourse. It used to be standard practice to use a fixed, infinite set of non-logical symbols for all purposes. A more recent practice is to use different non-logical symbols according to the application one has in mind. Therefore, it has become necessary to name the set of all non-logical symbols used in a particular application. This choice is made via a signature. The traditional approach is to have only one, infinite, set of non-logical symbols (one signature) for all applications. Consequently, under the traditional approach there is only one language of first-order logic. This approach is still common, especially in philosophically oriented books. For every integer n ≥ 0, there is a collection of n-ary, or n-place, predicate symbols. Because they represent relations between n elements, they are also called relation symbols. For each arity n, we have an infinite supply of them: Pn0, Pn1, Pn2, Pn3, ... For every integer n ≥ 0, there are infinitely many n-ary function symbols: f n0, f n1, f n2, f n3, ... In contemporary mathematical logic, the signature varies by application. Typical signatures in mathematics are {1, ×} or just {×} for groups, or {0, 1, +, ×, <} for ordered fields. There are no restrictions on the number of non-logical symbols. The signature can be empty, finite, or infinite, even uncountable. Uncountable signatures occur for example in modern proofs of the Löwenheim–Skolem theorem. In this approach, every non-logical symbol is of one of the following types. A predicate symbol (or relation symbol) with some valence (or arity, number of arguments) greater than or equal to 0. These are often denoted by uppercase letters such as P, Q and R. Relations of valence 0 can be identified with propositional variables. For example, P, which can stand for any statement. For example, P(x) is a predicate variable of valence 1. One possible interpretation is "x is a man". Q(x,y) is a predicate variable of valence 2. Possible interpretations include "x is greater than y" and "x is the father of y". A function symbol, with some valence greater than or equal to 0. These are often denoted by lowercase roman letters such as f, g and h. Examples: f(x) may be interpreted as for "the father of x". In arithmetic, it may stand for "-x". In set theory, it may stand for "the power set of x". In arithmetic, g(x,y) may stand for "x+y". In set theory, it may stand for "the union of x and y". Function symbols of valence 0 are called constant symbols, and are often denoted by lowercase letters at the beginning of the alphabet such as a, b and c. The symbol a may stand for Socrates. In arithmetic, it may stand for 0. In set theory, such a constant may stand for the empty set. The traditional approach can be recovered in the modern approach, by simply specifying the "custom" signature to consist of the traditional sequences of non-logical symbols. Formation rules The formation rules define the terms and formulas of first-order logic. When terms and formulas are represented as strings of symbols, these rules can be used to write a formal grammar for terms and formulas. These rules are generally context-free (each production has a single symbol on the left side), except that the set of symbols may be allowed to be infinite and there may be many start symbols, for example the variables in the case of terms. Terms The set of terms is inductively defined by the following rules: Variables. Any variable is a term. Functions. Any expression f(t1,...,tn) of n arguments (where each argument ti is a term and f is a function symbol of valence n) is a term. In particular, symbols denoting individual constants are nullary function symbols, and thus are terms. Only expressions which can be obtained by finitely many applications of rules 1 and 2 are terms. For example, no expression involving a predicate symbol is a term. Formulas The set of formulas (also called well-formed formulas or WFFs) is inductively defined by the following rules: Predicate symbols. If P is an n-ary predicate symbol and t1, ..., tn are terms then P(t1,...,tn) is a formula. Equality. If the equality symbol is considered part of logic, and t1 and t2 are terms, then t1 = t2 is a formula. Negation. If is a formula, then is a formula. Binary connectives. If and are formulas, then () is a formula. Similar rules apply to other binary logical connectives. Quantifiers. If is a formula and x is a variable, then (for all x, holds) and (there exists x such that ) are formulas. Only expressions which can be obtained by finitely many applications of rules 1–5 are formulas. The formulas obtained from the first two rules are said to be atomic formulas. For example, is a formula, if f is a unary function symbol, P a unary predicate symbol, and Q a ternary predicate symbol. On the other hand, is not a formula, although it is a string of symbols from the alphabet. The role of the parentheses in the definition is to ensure that any formula can only be obtained in one way—by following the inductive definition (i.e., there is a unique parse tree for each formula). This property is known as unique readability of formulas. There are many conventions for where parentheses are used in formulas. For example, some authors use colons or full stops instead of parentheses, or change the places in which parentheses are inserted. Each author's particular definition must be accompanied by a proof of unique readability. This definition of a formula does not support defining an if-then-else function ite(c, a, b), where "c" is a condition expressed as a formula, that would return "a" if c is true, and "b" if it is false. This is because both predicates and functions can only accept terms as parameters, but the first parameter is a formula. Some languages built on first-order logic, such as SMT-LIB 2.0, add this. Notational conventions For convenience, conventions have been developed about the precedence of the logical operators, to avoid the need to write parentheses in some cases. These rules are similar to the order of operations in arithmetic. A common convention is: is evaluated first and are evaluated next Quantifiers are evaluated next is evaluated last. Moreover, extra punctuation not required by the definition may be inserted—to make formulas easier to read. Thus the formula might be written as In some fields, it is common to use infix notation for binary relations and functions, instead of the prefix notation defined above. For example, in arithmetic, one typically writes "2 + 2 = 4" instead of "=(+(2,2),4)". It is common to regard formulas in infix notation as abbreviations for the corresponding formulas in prefix notation, cf. also term structure vs. representation. The definitions above use infix notation for binary connectives such as . A less common convention is Polish notation, in which one writes , and so on in front of their arguments rather than between them. This convention is advantageous in that it allows all punctuation symbols to be discarded. As such, Polish notation is compact and elegant, but rarely used in practice because it is hard for humans to read. In Polish notation, the formula becomes Free and bound variables In a formula, a variable may occur free or bound (or both). Intuitively, a variable occurrence is free in a formula if it is not quantified: in , the sole occurrence of variable x is free while that of y is bound. The free and bound variable occurrences in a formula are defined inductively as follows. Atomic formulas If φ is an atomic formula, then x occurs free in φ if and only if x occurs in φ. Moreover, there are no bound variables in any atomic formula. Negation x occurs free in ¬φ if and only if x occurs free in φ. x occurs bound in ¬φ if and only if x occurs bound in φ Binary connectives x occurs free in (φ → ψ) if and only if x occurs free in either φ or ψ. x occurs bound in (φ → ψ) if and only if x occurs bound in either φ or ψ. The same rule applies to any other binary connective in place of →. Quantifiers x occurs free in , if and only if x occurs free in φ and x is a different symbol from y. Also, x occurs bound in , if and only if x is y or x occurs bound in φ. The same rule holds with in place of . For example, in , x and y occur only bound, z occurs only free, and w is neither because it does not occur in the formula. Free and bound variables of a formula need not be disjoint sets: in the formula , the first occurrence of x, as argument of P, is free while the second one, as argument of Q, is bound. A formula in first-order logic with no free variable occurrences is called a first-order sentence. These are the formulas that will have well-defined truth values under an interpretation. For example, whether a formula such as Phil(x) is true must depend on what x represents. But the sentence will be either true or false in a given interpretation. Example: ordered abelian groups In mathematics, the language of ordered abelian groups has one constant symbol 0, one unary function symbol −, one binary function symbol +, and one binary relation symbol ≤. Then: The expressions +(x, y) and +(x, +(y, −(z))) are terms. These are usually written as x + y and x + y − z. The expressions +(x, y) = 0 and ≤(+(x, +(y, −(z))), +(x, y)) are atomic formulas. These are usually written as x + y = 0 and x + y − z  ≤  x + y. The expression is a formula, which is usually written as This formula has one free variable, z. The axioms for ordered abelian groups can be expressed as a set of sentences in the language. For example, the axiom stating that the group is commutative is usually written Semantics An interpretation of a first-order language assigns a denotation to each non-logical symbol in that language. It also determines a domain of discourse that specifies the range of the quantifiers. The result is that each term is assigned an object that it represents, each predicate is assigned a property of objects, and each sentence is assigned a truth value. In this way, an interpretation provides semantic meaning to the terms, the predicates, and formulas of the language. The study of the interpretations of formal languages is called formal semantics. What follows is a description of the standard or Tarskian semantics for first-order logic. (It is also possible to define game semantics for first-order logic, but aside from requiring the axiom of choice, game semantics agree with Tarskian semantics for first-order logic, so game semantics will not be elaborated herein.) The domain of discourse D is a nonempty set of "objects" of some kind. Intuitively, a first-order formula is a statement about these objects; for example, states the existence of an object x such that the predicate P is true where referred to it. The domain of discourse is the set of considered objects. For example, one can take to be the set of integer numbers. The interpretation of a function symbol is a function. For example, if the domain of discourse consists of integers, a function symbol f of arity 2 can be interpreted as the function that gives the sum of its arguments. In other words, the symbol f is associated with the function which, in this interpretation, is addition. The interpretation of a constant symbol is a function from the one-element set D0 to D, which can be simply identified with an object in D. For example, an interpretation may assign the value to the constant symbol . The interpretation of an n-ary predicate symbol is a set of n-tuples of elements of the domain of discourse. This means that, given an interpretation, a predicate symbol, and n elements of the domain of discourse, one can tell whether the predicate is true of those elements according to the given interpretation. For example, an interpretation I(P) of a binary predicate symbol P may be the set of pairs of integers such that the first one is less than the second. According to this interpretation, the predicate P would be true if its first argument is less than the second. First-order structures The most common way of specifying an interpretation (especially in mathematics) is to specify a structure (also called a model; see below). The structure consists of a nonempty set D that forms the domain of discourse and an interpretation of the non-logical terms of the signature. This interpretation is itself a function: Each function symbol f of arity n is assigned a function from to . In particular, each constant symbol of the signature is assigned an individual in the domain of discourse. Each predicate symbol P of arity n is assigned a relation over or, equivalently, a function from to . Thus each predicate symbol is interpreted by a Boolean-valued function on D. Evaluation of truth values A formula evaluates to true or false given an interpretation, and a variable assignment μ that associates an element of the domain of discourse with each variable. The reason that a variable assignment is required is to give meanings to formulas with free variables, such as . The truth value of this formula changes depending on whether x and y denote the same individual. First, the variable assignment μ can be extended to all terms of the language, with the result that each term maps to a single element of the domain of discourse. The following rules are used to make this assignment: Variables. Each variable x evaluates to μ(x) Functions. Given terms that have been evaluated to elements of the domain of discourse, and a n-ary function symbol f, the term evaluates to . Next, each formula is assigned a truth value. The inductive definition used to make this assignment is called the T-schema. Atomic formulas (1). A formula is associated the value true or false depending on whether , where are the evaluation of the terms and is the interpretation of , which by assumption is a subset of . Atomic formulas (2). A formula is assigned true if and evaluate to the same object of the domain of discourse (see the section on equality below). Logical connectives. A formula in the form , , etc. is evaluated according to the truth table for the connective in question, as in propositional logic. Existential quantifiers. A formula is true according to M and if there exists an evaluation of the variables that only differs from regarding the evaluation of x and such that φ is true according to the interpretation M and the variable assignment . This formal definition captures the idea that is true if and only if there is a way to choose a value for x such that φ(x) is satisfied. Universal quantifiers. A formula is true according to M and if φ(x) is true for every pair composed by the interpretation M and some variable assignment that differs from only on the value of x. This captures the idea that is true if every possible choice of a value for x causes φ(x) to be true. If a formula does not contain free variables, and so is a sentence, then the initial variable assignment does not affect its truth value. In other words, a sentence is true according to M and if and only if it is true according to M and every other variable assignment . There is a second common approach to defining truth values that does not rely on variable assignment functions. Instead, given an interpretation M, one first adds to the signature a collection of constant symbols, one for each element of the domain of discourse in M; say that for each d in the domain the constant symbol cd is fixed. The interpretation is extended so that each new constant symbol is assigned to its corresponding element of the domain. One now defines truth for quantified formulas syntactically, as follows: Existential quantifiers (alternate). A formula is true according to M if there is some d in the domain of discourse such that holds. Here is the result of substituting cd for every free occurrence of x in φ. Universal quantifiers (alternate). A formula is true according to M if, for every d in the domain of discourse, is true according to M. This alternate approach gives exactly the same truth values to all sentences as the approach via variable assignments. Validity, satisfiability, and logical consequence If a sentence φ evaluates to True under a given interpretation M, one says that M satisfies φ; this is denoted . A sentence is satisfiable if there is some interpretation under which it is true. Satisfiability of formulas with free variables is more complicated, because an interpretation on its own does not determine the truth value of such a formula. The most common convention is that a formula with free variables is said to be satisfied by an interpretation if the formula remains true regardless which individuals from the domain of discourse are assigned to its free variables. This has the same effect as saying that a formula is satisfied if and only if its universal closure is satisfied. A formula is logically valid (or simply valid) if it is true in every interpretation. These formulas play a role similar to tautologies in propositional logic. A formula φ is a logical consequence of a formula ψ if every interpretation that makes ψ true also makes φ true. In this case one says that φ is logically implied by ψ. Algebraizations An alternate approach to the semantics of first-order logic proceeds via abstract algebra. This approach generalizes the Lindenbaum–Tarski algebras of propositional logic. There are three ways of eliminating quantified variables from first-order logic that do not involve replacing quantifiers with other variable binding term operators: Cylindric algebra, by Alfred Tarski and colleagues; Polyadic algebra, by Paul Halmos; Predicate functor logic, mainly due to Willard Quine. These algebras are all lattices that properly extend the two-element Boolean algebra. Tarski and Givant (1987) showed that the fragment of first-order logic that has no atomic sentence lying in the scope of more than three quantifiers has the same expressive power as relation algebra. This fragment is of great interest because it suffices for Peano arithmetic and most axiomatic set theory, including the canonical ZFC. They also prove that first-order logic with a primitive ordered pair is equivalent to a relation algebra with two ordered pair projection functions. First-order theories, models, and elementary classes A first-order theory of a particular signature is a set of axioms, which are sentences consisting of symbols from that signature. The set of axioms is often finite or recursively enumerable, in which case the theory is called effective. Some authors require theories to also include all logical consequences of the axioms. The axioms are considered to hold within the theory and from them other sentences that hold within the theory can be derived. A first-order structure that satisfies all sentences in a given theory is said to be a model of the theory. An elementary class is the set of all structures satisfying a particular theory. These classes are a main subject of study in model theory. Many theories have an intended interpretation, a certain model that is kept in mind when studying the theory. For example, the intended interpretation of Peano arithmetic consists of the usual natural numbers with their usual operations. However, the Löwenheim–Skolem theorem shows that most first-order theories will also have other, nonstandard models. A theory is consistent if it is not possible to prove a contradiction from the axioms of the theory. A theory is complete if, for every formula in its signature, either that formula or its negation is a logical consequence of the axioms of the theory. Gödel's incompleteness theorem shows that effective first-order theories that include a sufficient portion of the theory of the natural numbers can never be both consistent and complete. For more information on this subject see List of first-order theories and Theory (mathematical logic) Empty domains The definition above requires that the domain of discourse of any interpretation must be nonempty. There are settings, such as inclusive logic, where empty domains are permitted. Moreover, if a class of algebraic structures includes an empty structure (for example, there is an empty poset), that class can only be an elementary class in first-order logic if empty domains are permitted or the empty structure is removed from the class. There are several difficulties with empty domains, however: Many common rules of inference are only valid when the domain of discourse is required to be nonempty. One example is the rule stating that implies when x is not a free variable in . This rule, which is used to put formulas into prenex normal form, is sound in nonempty domains, but unsound if the empty domain is permitted. The definition of truth in an interpretation that uses a variable assignment function cannot work with empty domains, because there are no variable assignment functions whose range is empty. (Similarly, one cannot assign interpretations to constant symbols.) This truth definition requires that one must select a variable assignment function (μ above) before truth values for even atomic formulas can be defined. Then the truth value of a sentence is defined to be its truth value under any variable assignment, and it is proved that this truth value does not depend on which assignment is chosen. This technique does not work if there are no assignment functions at all; it must be changed to accommodate empty domains. Thus, when the empty domain is permitted, it must often be treated as a special case. Most authors, however, simply exclude the empty domain by definition. Deductive systems A deductive system is used to demonstrate, on a purely syntactic basis, that one formula is a logical consequence of another formula. There are many such systems for first-order logic, including Hilbert-style deductive systems, natural deduction, the sequent calculus, the tableaux method, and resolution. These share the common property that a deduction is a finite syntactic object; the format of this object, and the way it is constructed, vary widely. These finite deductions themselves are often called derivations in proof theory. They are also often called proofs, but are completely formalized unlike natural-language mathematical proofs. A deductive system is sound if any formula that can be derived in the system is logically valid. Conversely, a deductive system is complete if every logically valid formula is derivable. All of the systems discussed in this article are both sound and complete. They also share the property that it is possible to effectively verify that a purportedly valid deduction is actually a deduction; such deduction systems are called effective. A key property of deductive systems is that they are purely syntactic, so that derivations can be verified without considering any interpretation. Thus a sound argument is correct in every possible interpretation of the language, regardless whether that interpretation is about mathematics, economics, or some other area. In general, logical consequence in first-order logic is only semidecidable: if a sentence A logically implies a sentence B then this can be discovered (for example, by searching for a proof until one is found, using some effective, sound, complete proof system). However, if A does not logically imply B, this does not mean that A logically implies the negation of B. There is no effective procedure that, given formulas A and B, always correctly decides whether A logically implies B. Rules of inference A rule of inference states that, given a particular formula (or set of formulas) with a certain property as a hypothesis, another specific formula (or set of formulas) can be derived as a conclusion. The rule is sound (or truth-preserving) if it preserves validity in the sense that whenever any interpretation satisfies the hypothesis, that interpretation also satisfies the conclusion. For example, one common rule of inference is the rule of substitution. If t is a term and φ is a formula possibly containing the variable x, then φ[t/x] is the result of replacing all free instances of x by t in φ. The substitution rule states that for any φ and any term t, one can conclude φ[t/x] from φ provided that no free variable of t becomes bound during the substitution process. (If some free variable of t becomes bound, then to substitute t for x it is first necessary to change the bound variables of φ to differ from the free variables of t.) To see why the restriction on bound variables is necessary, consider the logically valid formula φ given by , in the signature of (0,1,+,×,=) of arithmetic. If t is the term "x + 1", the formula φ[t/y] is , which will be false in many interpretations. The problem is that the free variable x of t became bound during the substitution. The intended replacement can be obtained by renaming the bound variable x of φ to something else, say z, so that the formula after substitution is , which is again logically valid. The substitution rule demonstrates several common aspects of rules of inference. It is entirely syntactical; one can tell whether it was correctly applied without appeal to any interpretation. It has (syntactically defined) limitations on when it can be applied, which must be respected to preserve the correctness of derivations. Moreover, as is often the case, these limitations are necessary because of interactions between free and bound variables that occur during syntactic manipulations of the formulas involved in the inference rule. Hilbert-style systems and natural deduction A deduction in a Hilbert-style deductive system is a list of formulas, each of which is a logical axiom, a hypothesis that has been assumed for the derivation at hand, or follows from previous formulas via a rule of inference. The logical axioms consist of several axiom schemas of logically valid formulas; these encompass a significant amount of propositional logic. The rules of inference enable the manipulation of quantifiers. Typical Hilbert-style systems have a small number of rules of inference, along with several infinite schemas of logical axioms. It is common to have only modus ponens and universal generalization as rules of inference. Natural deduction systems resemble Hilbert-style systems in that a deduction is a finite list of formulas. However, natural deduction systems have no logical axioms; they compensate by adding additional rules of inference that can be used to manipulate the logical connectives in formulas in the proof. Sequent calculus The sequent calculus was developed to study the properties of natural deduction systems. Instead of working with one formula at a time, it uses sequents, which are expressions of the form where A1, ..., An, B1, ..., Bk are formulas and the turnstile symbol is used as punctuation to separate the two halves. Intuitively, a sequent expresses the idea that implies . Tableaux method Unlike the methods just described, the derivations in the tableaux method are not lists of formulas. Instead, a derivation is a tree of formulas. To show that a formula A is provable, the tableaux method attempts to demonstrate that the negation of A is unsatisfiable. The tree of the derivation has at its root; the tree branches in a way that reflects the structure of the formula. For example, to show that is unsatisfiable requires showing that C and D are each unsatisfiable; this corresponds to a branching point in the tree with parent and children C and D. Resolution The resolution rule is a single rule of inference that, together with unification, is sound and complete for first-order logic. As with the tableaux method, a formula is proved by showing that the negation of the formula is unsatisfiable. Resolution is commonly used in automated theorem proving. The resolution method works only with formulas that are disjunctions of atomic formulas; arbitrary formulas must first be converted to this form through Skolemization. The resolution rule states that from the hypotheses and , the conclusion can be obtained. Provable identities Many identities can be proved, which establish equivalences between particular formulas. These identities allow for rearranging formulas by moving quantifiers across other connectives, and are useful for putting formulas in prenex normal form. Some provable identities include: (where must not occur free in ) (where must not occur free in ) Equality and its axioms There are several different conventions for using equality (or identity) in first-order logic. The most common convention, known as first-order logic with equality, includes the equality symbol as a primitive logical symbol which is always interpreted as the real equality relation between members of the domain of discourse, such that the "two" given members are the same member. This approach also adds certain axioms about equality to the deductive system employed. These equality axioms are: Reflexivity. For each variable x, x = x. Substitution for functions. For all variables x and y, and any function symbol f, x = y → f(..., x, ...) = f(..., y, ...). Substitution for formulas. For any variables x and y and any formula φ(x), if φ' is obtained by replacing any number of free occurrences of x in φ with y, such that these remain free occurrences of y, then x = y → (φ → φ'). These are axiom schemas, each of which specifies an infinite set of axioms. The third schema is known as Leibniz's law, "the principle of substitutivity", "the indiscernibility of identicals", or "the replacement property". The second schema, involving the function symbol f, is (equivalent to) a special case of the third schema, using the formula x = y → (f(..., x, ...) = z → f(..., y, ...) = z). Many other properties of equality are consequences of the axioms above, for example: Symmetry. If x = y then y = x. Transitivity. If x = y and y = z then x = z. First-order logic without equality An alternate approach considers the equality relation to be a non-logical symbol. This convention is known as first-order logic without equality. If an equality relation is included in the signature, the axioms of equality must now be added to the theories under consideration, if desired, instead of being considered rules of logic. The main difference between this method and first-order logic with equality is that an interpretation may now interpret two distinct individuals as "equal" (although, by Leibniz's law, these will satisfy exactly the same formulas under any interpretation). That is, the equality relation may now be interpreted by an arbitrary equivalence relation on the domain of discourse that is congruent with respect to the functions and relations of the interpretation. When this second convention is followed, the term normal model is used to refer to an interpretation where no distinct individuals a and b satisfy a = b. In first-order logic with equality, only normal models are considered, and so there is no term for a model other than a normal model. When first-order logic without equality is studied, it is necessary to amend the statements of results such as the Löwenheim–Skolem theorem so that only normal models are considered. First-order logic without equality is often employed in the context of second-order arithmetic and other higher-order theories of arithmetic, where the equality relation between sets of natural numbers is usually omitted. Defining equality within a theory If a theory has a binary formula A(x,y) which satisfies reflexivity and Leibniz's law, the theory is said to have equality, or to be a theory with equality. The theory may not have all instances of the above schemas as axioms, but rather as derivable theorems. For example, in theories with no function symbols and a finite number of relations, it is possible to define equality in terms of the relations, by defining the two terms s and t to be equal if any relation is unchanged by changing s to t in any argument. Some theories allow other ad hoc definitions of equality: In the theory of partial orders with one relation symbol ≤, one could define s = t to be an abbreviation for s ≤ t ∧ t ≤ s. In set theory with one relation ∈, one may define s = t to be an abbreviation for . This definition of equality then automatically satisfies the axioms for equality. In this case, one should replace the usual axiom of extensionality, which can be stated as , with an alternative formulation , which says that if sets x and y have the same elements, then they also belong to the same sets. Metalogical properties One motivation for the use of first-order logic, rather than higher-order logic, is that first-order logic has many metalogical properties that stronger logics do not have. These results concern general properties of first-order logic itself, rather than properties of individual theories. They provide fundamental tools for the construction of models of first-order theories. Completeness and undecidability Gödel's completeness theorem, proved by Kurt Gödel in 1929, establishes that there are sound, complete, effective deductive systems for first-order logic, and thus the first-order logical consequence relation is captured by finite provability. Naively, the statement that a formula φ logically implies a formula ψ depends on every model of φ; these models will in general be of arbitrarily large cardinality, and so logical consequence cannot be effectively verified by checking every model. However, it is possible to enumerate all finite derivations and search for a derivation of ψ from φ. If ψ is logically implied by φ, such a derivation will eventually be found. Thus first-order logical consequence is semidecidable: it is possible to make an effective enumeration of all pairs of sentences (φ,ψ) such that ψ is a logical consequence of φ. Unlike propositional logic, first-order logic is undecidable (although semidecidable), provided that the language has at least one predicate of arity at least 2 (other than equality). This means that there is no decision procedure that determines whether arbitrary formulas are logically valid. This result was established independently by Alonzo Church and Alan Turing in 1936 and 1937, respectively, giving a negative answer to the Entscheidungsproblem posed by David Hilbert and Wilhelm Ackermann in 1928. Their proofs demonstrate a connection between the unsolvability of the decision problem for first-order logic and the unsolvability of the halting problem. There are systems weaker than full first-order logic for which the logical consequence relation is decidable. These include propositional logic and monadic predicate logic, which is first-order logic restricted to unary predicate symbols and no function symbols. Other logics with no function symbols which are decidable are the guarded fragment of first-order logic, as well as two-variable logic. The Bernays–Schönfinkel class of first-order formulas is also decidable. Decidable subsets of first-order logic are also studied in the framework of description logics. The Löwenheim–Skolem theorem The Löwenheim–Skolem theorem shows that if a first-order theory of cardinality λ has an infinite model, then it has models of every infinite cardinality greater than or equal to λ. One of the earliest results in model theory, it implies that it is not possible to characterize countability or uncountability in a first-order language with a countable signature. That is, there is no first-order formula φ(x) such that an arbitrary structure M satisfies φ if and only if the domain of discourse of M is countable (or, in the second case, uncountable). The Löwenheim–Skolem theorem implies that infinite structures cannot be categorically axiomatized in first-order logic. For example, there is no first-order theory whose only model is the real line: any first-order theory with an infinite model also has a model of cardinality larger than the continuum. Since the real line is infinite, any theory satisfied by the real line is also satisfied by some nonstandard models. When the Löwenheim–Skolem theorem is applied to first-order set theories, the nonintuitive consequences are known as Skolem's paradox. The compactness theorem The compactness theorem states that a set of first-order sentences has a model if and only if every finite subset of it has a model. This implies that if a formula is a logical consequence of an infinite set of first-order axioms, then it is a logical consequence of some finite number of those axioms. This theorem was proved first by Kurt Gödel as a consequence of the completeness theorem, but many additional proofs have been obtained over time. It is a central tool in model theory, providing a fundamental method for constructing models. The compactness theorem has a limiting effect on which collections of first-order structures are elementary classes. For example, the compactness theorem implies that any theory that has arbitrarily large finite models has an infinite model. Thus the class of all finite graphs is not an elementary class (the same holds for many other algebraic structures). There are also more subtle limitations of first-order logic that are implied by the compactness theorem. For example, in computer science, many situations can be modeled as a directed graph of states (nodes) and connections (directed edges). Validating such a system may require showing that no "bad" state can be reached from any "good" state. Thus one seeks to determine if the good and bad states are in different connected components of the graph. However, the compactness theorem can be used to show that connected graphs are not an elementary class in first-order logic, and there is no formula φ(x,y) of first-order logic, in the logic of graphs, that expresses the idea that there is a path from x to y. Connectedness can be expressed in second-order logic, however, but not with only existential set quantifiers, as also enjoys compactness. Lindström's theorem Per Lindström showed that the metalogical properties just discussed actually characterize first-order logic in the sense that no stronger logic can also have those properties (Ebbinghaus and Flum 1994, Chapter XIII). Lindström defined a class of abstract logical systems, and a rigorous definition of the relative strength of a member of this class. He established two theorems for systems of this type: A logical system satisfying Lindström's definition that contains first-order logic and satisfies both the Löwenheim–Skolem theorem and the compactness theorem must be equivalent to first-order logic. A logical system satisfying Lindström's definition that has a semidecidable logical consequence relation and satisfies the Löwenheim–Skolem theorem must be equivalent to first-order logic. Limitations Although first-order logic is sufficient for formalizing much of mathematics, and is commonly used in computer science and other fields, it has certain limitations. These include limitations on its expressiveness and limitations of the fragments of natural languages that it can describe. For instance, first-order logic is undecidable, meaning a sound, complete and terminating decision algorithm for provability is impossible. This has led to the study of interesting decidable fragments, such as C2: first-order logic with two variables and the counting quantifiers and . Expressiveness The Löwenheim–Skolem theorem shows that if a first-order theory has any infinite model, then it has infinite models of every cardinality. In particular, no first-order theory with an infinite model can be categorical. Thus there is no first-order theory whose only model has the set of natural numbers as its domain, or whose only model has the set of real numbers as its domain. Many extensions of first-order logic, including infinitary logics and higher-order logics, are more expressive in the sense that they do permit categorical axiomatizations of the natural numbers or real numbers. This expressiveness comes at a metalogical cost, however: by Lindström's theorem, the compactness theorem and the downward Löwenheim–Skolem theorem cannot hold in any logic stronger than first-order. Formalizing natural languages First-order logic is able to formalize many simple quantifier constructions in natural language, such as "every person who lives in Perth lives in Australia". Hence, first-order logic is used as a basis for knowledge representation languages, such as FO(.). Still, there are complicated features of natural language that cannot be expressed in first-order logic. "Any logical system which is appropriate as an instrument for the analysis of natural language needs a much richer structure than first-order predicate logic". Restrictions, extensions, and variations There are many variations of first-order logic. Some of these are inessential in the sense that they merely change notation without affecting the semantics. Others change the expressive power more significantly, by extending the semantics through additional quantifiers or other new logical symbols. For example, infinitary logics permit formulas of infinite size, and modal logics add symbols for possibility and necessity. Restricted languages First-order logic can be studied in languages with fewer logical symbols than were described above. Because can be expressed as , and can be expressed as , either of the two quantifiers and can be dropped. Since can be expressed as and can be expressed as , either or can be dropped. In other words, it is sufficient to have and , or and , as the only logical connectives. Similarly, it is sufficient to have only and as logical connectives, or to have only the Sheffer stroke (NAND) or the Peirce arrow (NOR) operator. It is possible to entirely avoid function symbols and constant symbols, rewriting them via predicate symbols in an appropriate way. For example, instead of using a constant symbol one may use a predicate (interpreted as ), and replace every predicate such as with . A function such as will similarly be replaced by a predicate interpreted as . This change requires adding additional axioms to the theory at hand, so that interpretations of the predicate symbols used have the correct semantics. Restrictions such as these are useful as a technique to reduce the number of inference rules or axiom schemas in deductive systems, which leads to shorter proofs of metalogical results. The cost of the restrictions is that it becomes more difficult to express natural-language statements in the formal system at hand, because the logical connectives used in the natural language statements must be replaced by their (longer) definitions in terms of the restricted collection of logical connectives. Similarly, derivations in the limited systems may be longer than derivations in systems that include additional connectives. There is thus a trade-off between the ease of working within the formal system and the ease of proving results about the formal system. It is also possible to restrict the arities of function symbols and predicate symbols, in sufficiently expressive theories. One can in principle dispense entirely with functions of arity greater than 2 and predicates of arity greater than 1 in theories that include a pairing function. This is a function of arity 2 that takes pairs of elements of the domain and returns an ordered pair containing them. It is also sufficient to have two predicate symbols of arity 2 that define projection functions from an ordered pair to its components. In either case it is necessary that the natural axioms for a pairing function and its projections are satisfied. Many-sorted logic Ordinary first-order interpretations have a single domain of discourse over which all quantifiers range. Many-sorted first-order logic allows variables to have different sorts, which have different domains. This is also called typed first-order logic, and the sorts called types (as in data type), but it is not the same as first-order type theory. Many-sorted first-order logic is often used in the study of second-order arithmetic. When there are only finitely many sorts in a theory, many-sorted first-order logic can be reduced to single-sorted first-order logic. One introduces into the single-sorted theory a unary predicate symbol for each sort in the many-sorted theory, and adds an axiom saying that these unary predicates partition the domain of discourse. For example, if there are two sorts, one adds predicate symbols and and the axiom . Then the elements satisfying are thought of as elements of the first sort, and elements satisfying as elements of the second sort. One can quantify over each sort by using the corresponding predicate symbol to limit the range of quantification. For example, to say there is an element of the first sort satisfying formula φ(x), one writes . Additional quantifiers Additional quantifiers can be added to first-order logic. Sometimes it is useful to say that " holds for exactly one x", which can be expressed as . This notation, called uniqueness quantification, may be taken to abbreviate a formula such as . First-order logic with extra quantifiers has new quantifiers Qx,..., with meanings such as "there are many x such that ...". Also see branching quantifiers and the plural quantifiers of George Boolos and others. Bounded quantifiers are often used in the study of set theory or arithmetic. Infinitary logics Infinitary logic allows infinitely long sentences. For example, one may allow a conjunction or disjunction of infinitely many formulas, or quantification over infinitely many variables. Infinitely long sentences arise in areas of mathematics including topology and model theory. Infinitary logic generalizes first-order logic to allow formulas of infinite length. The most common way in which formulas can become infinite is through infinite conjunctions and disjunctions. However, it is also possible to admit generalized signatures in which function and relation symbols are allowed to have infinite arities, or in which quantifiers can bind infinitely many variables. Because an infinite formula cannot be represented by a finite string, it is necessary to choose some other representation of formulas; the usual representation in this context is a tree. Thus formulas are, essentially, identified with their parse trees, rather than with the strings being parsed. The most commonly studied infinitary logics are denoted Lαβ, where α and β are each either cardinal numbers or the symbol ∞. In this notation, ordinary first-order logic is Lωω. In the logic L∞ω, arbitrary conjunctions or disjunctions are allowed when building formulas, and there is an unlimited supply of variables. More generally, the logic that permits conjunctions or disjunctions with less than κ constituents is known as Lκω. For example, Lω1ω permits countable conjunctions and disjunctions. The set of free variables in a formula of Lκω can have any cardinality strictly less than κ, yet only finitely many of them can be in the scope of any quantifier when a formula appears as a subformula of another. In other infinitary logics, a subformula may be in the scope of infinitely many quantifiers. For example, in Lκ∞, a single universal or existential quantifier may bind arbitrarily many variables simultaneously. Similarly, the logic Lκλ permits simultaneous quantification over fewer than λ variables, as well as conjunctions and disjunctions of size less than κ. Non-classical and modal logics Intuitionistic first-order logic uses intuitionistic rather than classical propositional calculus; for example, ¬¬φ need not be equivalent to φ. First-order modal logic allows one to describe other possible worlds as well as this contingently true world which we inhabit. In some versions, the set of possible worlds varies depending on which possible world one inhabits. Modal logic has extra modal operators with meanings which can be characterized informally as, for example "it is necessary that φ" (true in all possible worlds) and "it is possible that φ" (true in some possible world). With standard first-order logic we have a single domain and each predicate is assigned one extension. With first-order modal logic we have a domain function that assigns each possible world its own domain, so that each predicate gets an extension only relative to these possible worlds. This allows us to model cases where, for example, Alex is a Philosopher, but might have been a Mathematician, and might not have existed at all. In the first possible world P(a) is true, in the second P(a) is false, and in the third possible world there is no a in the domain at all. First-order fuzzy logics are first-order extensions of propositional fuzzy logics rather than classical propositional calculus. Fixpoint logic Fixpoint logic extends first-order logic by adding the closure under the least fixed points of positive operators. Higher-order logics The characteristic feature of first-order logic is that individuals can be quantified, but not predicates. Thus is a legal first-order formula, but is not, in most formalizations of first-order logic. Second-order logic extends first-order logic by adding the latter type of quantification. Other higher-order logics allow quantification over even higher types than second-order logic permits. These higher types include relations between relations, functions from relations to relations between relations, and other higher-type objects. Thus the "first" in first-order logic describes the type of objects that can be quantified. Unlike first-order logic, for which only one semantics is studied, there are several possible semantics for second-order logic. The most commonly employed semantics for second-order and higher-order logic is known as full semantics. The combination of additional quantifiers and the full semantics for these quantifiers makes higher-order logic stronger than first-order logic. In particular, the (semantic) logical consequence relation for second-order and higher-order logic is not semidecidable; there is no effective deduction system for second-order logic that is sound and complete under full semantics. Second-order logic with full semantics is more expressive than first-order logic. For example, it is possible to create axiom systems in second-order logic that uniquely characterize the natural numbers and the real line. The cost of this expressiveness is that second-order and higher-order logics have fewer attractive metalogical properties than first-order logic. For example, the Löwenheim–Skolem theorem and compactness theorem of first-order logic become false when generalized to higher-order logics with full semantics. Automated theorem proving and formal methods Automated theorem proving refers to the development of computer programs that search and find derivations (formal proofs) of mathematical theorems. Finding derivations is a difficult task because the search space can be very large; an exhaustive search of every possible derivation is theoretically possible but computationally infeasible for many systems of interest in mathematics. Thus complicated heuristic functions are developed to attempt to find a derivation in less time than a blind search. The related area of automated proof verification uses computer programs to check that human-created proofs are correct. Unlike complicated automated theorem provers, verification systems may be small enough that their correctness can be checked both by hand and through automated software verification. This validation of the proof verifier is needed to give confidence that any derivation labeled as "correct" is actually correct. Some proof verifiers, such as Metamath, insist on having a complete derivation as input. Others, such as Mizar and Isabelle, take a well-formatted proof sketch (which may still be very long and detailed) and fill in the missing pieces by doing simple proof searches or applying known decision procedures: the resulting derivation is then verified by a small core "kernel". Many such systems are primarily intended for interactive use by human mathematicians: these are known as proof assistants. They may also use formal logics that are stronger than first-order logic, such as type theory. Because a full derivation of any nontrivial result in a first-order deductive system will be extremely long for a human to write, results are often formalized as a series of lemmas, for which derivations can be constructed separately. Automated theorem provers are also used to implement formal verification in computer science. In this setting, theorem provers are used to verify the correctness of programs and of hardware such as processors with respect to a formal specification. Because such analysis is time-consuming and thus expensive, it is usually reserved for projects in which a malfunction would have grave human or financial consequences. For the problem of model checking, efficient algorithms are known to decide whether an input finite structure satisfies a first-order formula, in addition to computational complexity bounds: see . See also ACL2 — A Computational Logic for Applicative Common Lisp. Equiconsistency Extension by definitions Extension (predicate logic) Herbrandization Higher-order logic List of logic symbols Löwenheim number Nonfirstorderizability Prenex normal form Relational algebra Relational model Second-order logic Skolem normal form Tarski's World Truth table Type (model theory) Prolog Aristotelian logic Prior Analytics Notes References Andrews, Peter B. (2002); An Introduction to Mathematical Logic and Type Theory: To Truth Through Proof, 2nd ed., Berlin: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Available from Springer. Avigad, Jeremy; Donnelly, Kevin; Gray, David; and Raff, Paul (2007); "A formally verified proof of the prime number theorem", ACM Transactions on Computational Logic, vol. 9 no. 1 Barwise, Jon; and Etchemendy, John (2000); Language Proof and Logic, Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications (Distributed by the University of Chicago Press) Bocheński, Józef Maria (2007); A Précis of Mathematical Logic, Dordrecht, NL: D. Reidel, translated from the French and German editions by Otto Bird Ferreirós, José (2001); The Road to Modern Logic — An Interpretation, Bulletin of Symbolic Logic, Volume 7, Issue 4, 2001, pp. 441–484, , Hilbert, David; and Ackermann, Wilhelm (1950); Principles of Mathematical Logic, Chelsea (English translation of Grundzüge der theoretischen Logik, 1928 German first edition) Hodges, Wilfrid (2001); "Classical Logic I: First Order Logic", in Goble, Lou (ed.); The Blackwell Guide to Philosophical Logic, Blackwell Ebbinghaus, Heinz-Dieter; Flum, Jörg; and Thomas, Wolfgang (1994); Mathematical Logic, Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics, Berlin, DE/New York, NY: Springer-Verlag, Second Edition, Tarski, Alfred and Givant, Steven (1987); A Formalization of Set Theory without Variables. Vol.41 of American Mathematical Society colloquium publications, Providence RI: American Mathematical Society, External links Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Shapiro, Stewart; "Classical Logic". Covers syntax, model theory, and metatheory for first-order logic in the natural deduction style. Magnus, P. D.; forall x: an introduction to formal logic. Covers formal semantics and proof theory for first-order logic. Metamath: an ongoing online project to reconstruct mathematics as a huge first-order theory, using first-order logic and the axiomatic set theory ZFC. Principia Mathematica modernized. Podnieks, Karl; Introduction to mathematical logic Cambridge Mathematical Tripos notes (typeset by John Fremlin). These notes cover part of a past Cambridge Mathematical Tripos course taught to undergraduate students (usually) within their third year. The course is entitled "Logic, Computation and Set Theory" and covers Ordinals and cardinals, Posets and Zorn's Lemma, Propositional logic, Predicate logic, Set theory and Consistency issues related to ZFC and other set theories. Tree Proof Generator can validate or invalidate formulas of first-order logic through the semantic tableaux method. Systems of formal logic Predicate logic Model theory

Sir Fred Hoyle FRS (24 June 1915 – 20 August 2001) was an English astronomer who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. He also held controversial stances on other scientific matters—in particular his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory, a term coined by him on BBC radio, and his promotion of panspermia as the origin of life on Earth. He also wrote science fiction novels, short stories and radio plays, and co-authored twelve books with his son, Geoffrey Hoyle. He spent most of his working life at the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge and served as its director for six years. He was one of the authors of the influential B2FH paper. Biography Early life and career Hoyle was born near Bingley in Gilstead, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. His father, Ben Hoyle, who was a violinist and worked in the wool trade in Bradford, served as a machine gunner in the First World War. His mother, Mabel Pickard, had studied music at the Royal College of Music in London and later worked as a cinema pianist. Hoyle was educated at Bingley Grammar School and read mathematics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. In 1936, he won the Mayhew Prize (jointly with George Stanley Rushbrooke). In late 1940, Hoyle left Cambridge to go to Portsmouth to work for the Admiralty on radar research, for example devising a method to get the altitude of the incoming aeroplanes. He was also put in charge of countermeasures against the radar guided guns found on the Graf Spee. Britain's radar project employed more personnel than the Manhattan project, and was probably the inspiration for the large British project in The Black Cloud. Two colleagues in this war work were Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold, and the three had many and deep discussions on cosmology. The radar work paid for a couple of trips to North America, where he took the opportunity to visit astronomers. On one trip to the US, he learned about supernovae at Caltech and Mount Palomar and, in Canada, the nuclear physics of plutonium implosion and explosion, noticed some similarity between the two and started thinking about supernova nucleosynthesis. He had an intuition at the time "I will make a name for myself if this works out." Eventually (1954) his prescient and ground breaking paper came out. He also formed a group at Cambridge exploring stellar nucleosynthesis in ordinary stars and was bothered by the paucity of stellar carbon production in existing models. He noticed that one of the existing processes would be made a billion times more productive if the carbon-12 nucleus had a resonance at 7.7 MeV, but the nuclear physicists did not list such a one. On another trip, he visited the nuclear physics group at Caltech, spending a few months of sabbatical there and persuaded them against their considerable scepticism to look for and find the Hoyle state in carbon-12, from which developed a full theory of stellar nucleosynthesis, co-authored by Hoyle with some members of the Caltech group. After the war, in 1945, Hoyle returned to Cambridge University, as a lecturer at St John's College, Cambridge. Hoyle's Cambridge years, 1945–1973, saw him rise to the top of world astrophysics theory, on the basis of a startling originality of ideas covering a very wide range of topics. In 1958, Hoyle was appointed Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy in Cambridge University. In 1967, he became the founding director of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy (subsequently renamed the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge), where his innovative leadership quickly led to this institution becoming one of the premier groups in the world for theoretical astrophysics. In 1971, he was invited to deliver the MacMillan Memorial Lecture to the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. He chose the subject "Astronomical Instruments and their Construction". Hoyle was knighted in 1972. Hoyle resigned his Plumian professor position in 1972 and his directorship of the institute in 1973, with this move effectively cutting him off from most of his establishment power-base, connections and steady salary. After leaving Cambridge, Hoyle wrote many popular science and science fiction books, as well as presenting lectures around the world. Part of the motivation for this was simply to provide a means of support. Hoyle was still a member of the joint policy committee (since 1967), during the planning stage for the 150-inch Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales. He became chairman of the Anglo-Australian Telescope board in 1973, and presided at its inauguration in 1974 by Charles, Prince of Wales. Decline and death After his resignation from Cambridge, Hoyle moved to the Lake District and occupied his time with a mix of treks across the moors, writing books, visiting research centres around the world, and working on science ideas that have been nearly universally rejected. On 24 November 1997, while hiking across moorlands in west Yorkshire, near his childhood home in Gilstead, Hoyle fell into a steep ravine called Shipley Glen. Roughly twelve hours later, Hoyle was found by a search dog. He was hospitalised for two months with pneumonia and kidney problems (both resulting from hypothermia), as well as a broken shoulder from the fall. Thereafter he entered a marked decline, suffering from memory and mental agility problems. In 2001, he suffered a series of strokes and died in Bournemouth on 20 August of that year. Views and contributions Origin of nucleosynthesis Hoyle authored the first two research papers ever published on the synthesis of the chemical elements heavier than helium by nuclear reactions in stars. The first of these in 1946 showed that the cores of stars will evolve to temperatures of billions of degrees, much hotter than temperatures considered for thermonuclear origin of stellar power in main-sequence stars. Hoyle showed that at such high temperatures the element iron can become much more abundant than other heavy elements owing to thermal equilibrium among nuclear particles, explaining the high natural abundance of iron. This idea would later be called the e Process. Hoyle's second foundational nucleosynthesis publication, published in 1954, showed that the elements between carbon and iron cannot be synthesized by such equilibrium processes. He attributed those elements to specific nuclear fusion reactions between abundant constituents in concentric shells of evolved massive, pre-supernova stars. This startlingly modern picture is the accepted paradigm today for the supernova nucleosynthesis of these primary elements. In the mid-1950s, Hoyle became the leader of a group of very talented experimental and theoretical physicists who met in Cambridge: William Alfred Fowler, Margaret Burbidge, and Geoffrey Burbidge. This group systematized basic ideas of how all the chemical elements in our universe were created, with this now being a field called nucleosynthesis. Famously, in 1957, this group produced the B2FH paper (known for the initials of the four authors) in which the field of nucleosynthesis was organized into complementary nuclear processes. They also added much new material on the synthesis of heavy elements by neutron-capture reactions, the so-called s process and the r process. So influential did the B2FH paper become that for the remainder of the twentieth century it became the default citation of almost all researchers wishing to cite an accepted origin for nucleosynthesis theory, and as a result, the path-breaking Hoyle 1954 paper fell into obscurity. Historical research in the 21st century has brought Hoyle's 1954 paper back to scientific prominence. Those historical arguments were first presented to a gathering of nucleosynthesis experts attending a 2007 conference at Caltech organized after the deaths of both Fowler and Hoyle to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of B2FH. Ironically the B2FH paper did not review Hoyle's 1954 supernova-shells attribution of the origin of elements between silicon and iron despite Hoyle's co-authorship of B2FH. Based on his many personal discussions with Hoyle Donald D. Clayton has attributed this seemingly inexplicable oversight in B2FH to the lack of proofreading by Hoyle of the draft composed at Caltech in 1956 by G.R. Burbidge and E.M. Burbidge. The second of Hoyle's nucleosynthesis papers also introduced an interesting use of the anthropic principle, which was not then known by that name. In trying to work out the routes of stellar nucleosynthesis, Hoyle calculated that one particular nuclear reaction, the triple-alpha process, which generates carbon from helium, would require the carbon nucleus to have a very specific resonance energy and spin for it to work. The large amount of carbon in the universe, which makes it possible for carbon-based life-forms of any kind to exist, demonstrated to Hoyle that this nuclear reaction must work. Based on this notion, Hoyle therefore predicted the values of the energy, the nuclear spin and the parity of the compound state in the carbon nucleus formed by three alpha particles (helium nuclei), which was later borne out by experiment. This energy level, while needed to produce carbon in large quantities, was statistically very unlikely to fall where it does in the scheme of carbon energy levels. Hoyle later wrote: His co-worker William Alfred Fowler eventually won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983 (with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar), but for some reason Hoyle's original contribution was overlooked by the electors, and many were surprised that such a notable astronomer missed out. Fowler himself in an autobiographical sketch affirmed Hoyle's pioneering efforts: Rejection of the Big Bang While having no argument with the Lemaître theory (later confirmed by Edwin Hubble's observations) that the universe was expanding, Hoyle disagreed on its interpretation. He found the idea that the universe had a beginning to be pseudoscience, resembling arguments for a creator, "for it's an irrational process, and can't be described in scientific terms" (see Kalam cosmological argument). Instead, Hoyle, along with Thomas Gold and Hermann Bondi (with whom he had worked on radar in the Second World War), in 1948 began to argue for the universe as being in a "steady state" and formulated their Steady State theory. The theory tried to explain how the universe could be eternal and essentially unchanging while still having the galaxies we observe moving away from each other. The theory hinged on the creation of matter between galaxies over time, so that even though galaxies get further apart, new ones that develop between them fill the space they leave. The resulting universe is in a "steady state" in the same manner that a flowing river is—the individual water molecules are moving away but the overall river remains the same. The theory was one alternative to the Big Bang which, like the Big Bang, agreed with key observations of the day, namely Hubble's red shift observations, and Hoyle was a strong critic of the Big Bang. He coined the term "Big Bang" on BBC radio's Third Programme broadcast on 28 March 1949. It was said by George Gamow and his opponents that Hoyle intended to be pejorative, and the script from which he read aloud was interpreted by his opponents to be "vain, one-sided, insulting, not worthy of the BBC". Hoyle explicitly denied that he was being insulting and said it was just a striking image meant to emphasize the difference between the two theories for the radio audience. In another BBC interview, he said, "The reason why scientists like the "big bang" is because they are overshadowed by the Book of Genesis. It is deep within the psyche of most scientists to believe in the first page of Genesis". Hoyle had a famously heated argument with Martin Ryle of the Cavendish Radio Astronomy Group about Hoyle's steady state theory, which somewhat restricted collaboration between the Cavendish group and the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy during the 1960s. Hoyle, unlike Gold and Bondi, offered an explanation for the appearance of new matter by postulating the existence of what he dubbed the "creation field", or just the "C-field", which had negative pressure in order to be consistent with the conservation of energy and drive the expansion of the universe. This C-field is the same as the later "de Sitter solution" for cosmic inflation, but the C-field model acts much slower than the de Sitter inflation model. They jointly argued that continuous creation was no more inexplicable than the appearance of the entire universe from nothing, although it had to be done on a regular basis. In the end, mounting observational evidence convinced most cosmologists that the steady state model was incorrect and that the Big Bang was the theory that agreed better with observations, although Hoyle continued to support and develop his theory. In 1993, in an attempt to explain some of the evidence against the steady state theory, he presented a modified version called "quasi-steady state cosmology" (QSS), but the theory is not widely accepted. The evidence that resulted in the Big Bang's victory over the steady state model included the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation in the 1960s, and the distribution of "young galaxies" and quasars throughout the Universe in the 1980s indicate a more consistent age estimate of the universe. Hoyle died in 2001 having never accepted the validity of the Big Bang theory. Theory of gravity Together with Narlikar, Hoyle developed a particle theory in the 1960s, the Hoyle–Narlikar theory of gravity. It made predictions that were roughly the same as Einstein's general relativity, but it incorporated Mach's Principle, which Einstein had tried but failed to incorporate in his theory. The Hoyle-Narlikar theory fails several tests, including consistency with the microwave background. It was motivated by their belief in the steady state model of the universe. Rejection of Earth-based abiogenesis In his later years, Hoyle became a staunch critic of theories of abiogenesis to explain the origin of life on Earth. With Chandra Wickramasinghe, Hoyle promoted the hypothesis that the first life on Earth began in space, spreading through the universe via panspermia, and that evolution on Earth is influenced by a steady influx of viruses arriving via comets. His belief that comets had a significant percentage of organic compounds was well ahead of his time, as the dominant views in the 1970s and 1980s were that comets largely consisted of water-ice, and the presence of organic compounds was then highly controversial. Wickramasinghe wrote in 2003: "In the highly polarized polemic between Darwinism and creationism, our position is unique. Although we do not align ourselves with either side, both sides treat us as opponents. Thus we are outsiders with an unusual perspective—and our suggestion for a way out of the crisis has not yet been considered." Hoyle and Wickramasinghe advanced several instances where they say outbreaks of illnesses on Earth are of extraterrestrial origins, including the 1918 flu pandemic, and certain outbreaks of polio and mad cow disease. For the 1918 flu pandemic, they hypothesized that cometary dust brought the virus to Earth simultaneously at multiple locations—a view almost universally dismissed by experts on this pandemic. In 1982, Hoyle presented Evolution from Space for the Royal Institution's Omni Lecture. After considering what he thought of as a very remote possibility of Earth-based abiogenesis he concluded: Published in his 1982/1984 books Evolution from Space (co-authored with Chandra Wickramasinghe), Hoyle calculated that the chance of obtaining the required set of enzymes for even the simplest living cell without panspermia was one in 1040,000. Since the number of atoms in the known universe is infinitesimally tiny by comparison (1080), he argued that Earth as life's place of origin could be ruled out. He claimed: However, his calculations are not compatible with modern molecular evolution, including research on the RNA world and the evolution of proteins from simple peptides. Though Hoyle declared himself an atheist, this apparent suggestion of a guiding hand led him to the conclusion that "a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and ... there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature." He would go on to compare the random emergence of even the simplest cell without panspermia to the likelihood that "a tornado sweeping through a junk-yard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein" and to compare the chance of obtaining even a single functioning protein by chance combination of amino acids to a solar system full of blind men solving Rubik's Cubes simultaneously. This is known as "the junkyard tornado", or "Hoyle’s Fallacy". Those who advocate the intelligent design (ID) belief sometimes cite Hoyle's work in this area to support the claim that the universe was fine tuned in order to allow intelligent life to be possible. Other controversies While Hoyle was well-regarded for his works on nucleosynthesis and science popularization, he held controversial positions on a wide range of scientific issues, often in direct opposition to the prevailing theories of the scientific community. Paul Davies describes how he "loved his maverick personality and contempt for orthodoxy", quoting Hoyle as saying "I don't care what they think" about his theories on discrepant redshift, and "it is better to be interesting and wrong than boring and right". Hoyle often expressed anger against the labyrinthine and petty politics at Cambridge and frequently feuded with members and institutions of all levels of the British astronomy community, leading to his resignation from Cambridge in September 1971 over the way he thought Donald Lynden-Bell was chosen to replace retiring professor Roderick Oliver Redman behind his back. According to biographer Simon Mitton, Hoyle was crestfallen because he felt that his colleagues at Cambridge were unsupportive. In addition to his views on steady state theory and panspermia, Hoyle also supported the following controversial hypotheses and speculations: The correlation of flu epidemics with the sunspot cycle, with epidemics occurring at the minimum of the cycle. The idea was that flu contagion was scattered in the interstellar medium and reached Earth only when the solar wind had minimum power. Two fossil Archaeopteryx were man-made fakes. This assertion was definitively refuted by, among other strong indications, the presence of microcracks extending through the fossils into the surrounding rock. The theory of abiogenic petroleum, held by Hoyle and by Thomas Gold, where natural hydrocarbons (oil and natural gas) are explained as the result of deep carbon deposits, instead of fossilized organic material. This theory is dismissed by the mainstream petroleum geochemistry community. In his 1977 book On Stonehenge, Hoyle supported Gerald Hawkins's proposal that the fifty-six Aubrey holes at Stonehenge were used as a system for neolithic Britons to predict eclipses, using them in the daily positioning of marker stones. The use of the Aubrey holes for predicting lunar eclipses was originally proposed by Gerald Hawkins in his book of the subject Stonehenge Decoded (1965). Nobel Physics Prizes Hoyle was also at the centre of two unrelated controversies involving the politics for selecting the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics. The first came when the 1974 prize went, in part, to Antony Hewish for his leading role in the discovery of pulsars. Promptly Hoyle made an off-the-cuff remark to a reporter in Montreal that "Yes, Jocelyn Bell was the actual discoverer, not Hewish, who was her supervisor, so she should have been included." This remark received widespread international coverage. Worried about being misunderstood and by British libel laws, Hoyle carefully composed a letter of explanation to The Times. The second controversy came when the 1983 prize went in part to William Alfred Fowler "for his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe." The controversy arose because Hoyle had been the inventor of the theory of nucleosynthesis in the stars with two research papers published shortly after WWII. So some suspicion arose that Hoyle was denied the third share of this prize because of his earlier public disagreement with the 1974 award. British scientist Harry Kroto later said that the Nobel Prize is not just an award for a piece of work, but a recognition of a scientist's overall reputation and Hoyle's championing many disreputable and disproven ideas may have invalidated him. In Nature, editor John Maddox called it "shameful" that Fowler had been rewarded with a Nobel prize and Hoyle had not. Media appearances Hoyle appeared in a series of radio talks on astronomy for the BBC in the 1950s; these were collected in the book The Nature of the Universe, and he went on to write a number of other popular science books. In the play Sur la route de Montalcino, the character of Fred Hoyle confronts Georges Lemaître on a fictional journey to the Vatican in 1957. Hoyle also appeared in the 1973 short film Take the World From Another Point of View. In the 2004 television movie Hawking, Fred Hoyle is played by Peter Firth. In the movie, Stephen Hawking (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) publicly confronts Hoyle at a Royal Society lecture in summer 1964, about a mistake he found in his latest publication. Honours Awards Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1957 Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1968) Bakerian Lecture (1968) Bruce Medal (1970) Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1971) Jansky Lectureship before the National Radio Astronomy Observatory Knighthood (1972) President of the Royal Astronomical Society (1971–1973) Royal Medal (1974) Klumpke-Roberts Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1977) Balzan Prize for Astrophysics: evolution of stars (1994, with Martin Schwarzschild) Crafoord Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, with Edwin Salpeter (1997) Named after him Hoyle Building, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge Asteroid 8077 Hoyle Janibacter hoylei, species of bacteria discovered by ISRO scientists Sir Fred Hoyle Way, a stretch of the A650 dual carriageway in Bingley. Institute of Physics Fred Hoyle Medal and Prize Memorabilia The Fred Hoyle Collection at St John's College Library contains "a pair of walking boots, five boxes of photographs, two ice axes, some dental X-rays, a telescope, ten large film reels and an unpublished opera" in addition to 150 document boxes of papers. Bibliography Non-fiction The Nature of the Universe – a series of broadcast lectures, Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1950 (early use of the big bang phrase) Frontiers of Astronomy, Heinemann Education Books Limited, London, 1955. The Internet Archive. HarperCollins, Burbidge, E.M., Burbidge, G.R., Fowler, W.A. and Hoyle, F., "Synthesis of the Elements in Stars" , Revs. Mod. Physics 29:547–650, 1957, the famous B2FH paper after their initials, for which Hoyle is most famous among professional cosmologists. Astronomy, A history of man's investigation of the universe, Crescent Books, Inc., London 1962, Of men and galaxies, Seattle University of Washington, 1964, Galaxies, Nuclei, and Quasars, Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, 1965, Nicolaus Copernicus, Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., London, p. 78, 1973 Astronomy and Cosmology: A Modern Course, 1975, Energy or Extinction? The case for nuclear energy, 1977, Heinemann Educational Books Limited, . In this provocative book Hoyle establishes the dependence of Western civilization on energy consumption and predicts that nuclear fission as a source of energy is essential for its survival. Ten Faces of the Universe, 1977, W.H. Freeman and Company (San Francisco), , On Stonehenge, 1977, London : Heinemann Educational, ; San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company, pbk. Lifecloud – The Origin of Life in the Universe, Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe C., J.M. Dent and Sons, 1978. Diseases from Space (with Chandra Wickramasinghe) (J.M. Dent, London, 1979) Commonsense in Nuclear Energy, Fred Hoyle and Geoffrey Hoyle, 1980, Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., The big bang in astronomy, New Scientist 92(1280):527, 19 November 1981. Ice, the Ultimate Human Catastrophe,1981, Snippet view from Google Books The Intelligent Universe, 1983 From Grains to Bacteria, Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe N.C., University College Cardiff Press, , 1984 Evolution from space (the Omni lecture) and other papers on the origin of life 1982, Evolution from Space: A Theory of Cosmic Creationism, 1984, Viruses from Space, 1986, With Jayant Narlikar and Chandra Wickramasinghe, The extragalactic universe: an alternative view, Nature 346:807–812, 30 August 1990. The Origin of the Universe and the Origin of Religion,1993, Home Is Where the Wind Blows: Chapters from a Cosmologist's Life (autobiography) Oxford University Press 1994, Mathematics of Evolution, (1987) University College Cardiff Press, (1999) Acorn Enterprises LLC., With G. Burbridge and Narlikar J.V. A Different Approach to Cosmology, Cambridge University Press 2000, Science fiction Hoyle also wrote science fiction. In his first novel, The Black Cloud, most intelligent life in the universe takes the form of interstellar gas clouds; they are surprised to learn that intelligent life can also form on planets. He wrote a television series, A for Andromeda, which was also published as a novel. His play Rockets in Ursa Major had a professional production at the Mermaid Theatre in 1962. The Black Cloud, 1957 Ossian's Ride, 1959 A for Andromeda, 1962 (co-authored with John Elliot) Fifth Planet, 1963 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) Andromeda Breakthrough, 1965 (co-authored with John Elliot) October the First Is Too Late, 1966 Element 79, 1967 Rockets in Ursa Major, 1969 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) Seven Steps to the Sun, 1970 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) The Inferno, 10/1973 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) The Molecule Men and the Monster of Loch Ness, 1973 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) Into Deepest Space, 1974 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) The Incandescent Ones, 1977 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) The Westminster Disaster, 1978 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle and Edited by Barbara Hoyle) Comet Halley, 11/1985 The Frozen Planet of Azuron, 1982 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) The Energy Pirate, 1982 (Ladybird Books, co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) The Planet of Death, 1982 (Ladybird Books, co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) The Giants of Universal Park, 1982 (co-authored with Geoffrey Hoyle) Most of these are independent of each other. Andromeda Breakthrough is a sequel to A for Andromeda and Into Deepest Space is a sequel to Rockets in Ursa Major. The four Ladybird Books are intended for children. Some stories of the anthology Element 79 are fantasy, in particular "Welcome to Slippage City" and "The Judgement of Aphrodite". Both introduce mythological characters. The Telegraph (UK) called him a "masterful" science fiction writer. References Further reading Alan P. Lightman and Roberta Brawer, Origins: The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists, Harvard University Press, 1990. A collection of interviews, mostly with the generation (or two) of cosmologists after Hoyle, but also including an interview with Hoyle himself. Several interviewees testify to Hoyle's influence in popularizing astronomy and cosmology. Dennis Overbye, Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos: The Scientific Quest for the Secret of the Universe, HarperCollins, 1991. Second edition (with new afterword), Back Bay, 1999. Gives a biographical account of modern cosmology in a novel-like fashion. Complementary to Origins. Simon Mitton, Fred Hoyle: A Life in Science, Cambridge University Press, 2011. Douglas Gough, editor, The Scientific Legacy of Fred Hoyle, Cambridge University Press, 2005. Chandra Wickramasinghe, A Journey with Fred Hoyle, World Scientific Pub, 2005. . Jane Gregory, Fred Hoyle's Universe, Oxford University Press, 2005. A Journey with Frey Hoyle: Second Edition by Chandra Wickramasinghe, World Scientific Publishing Co. 2013. External links Fred Hoyle Website Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe Website Obituary by Sir Martin Rees in Physics Today Obituary by Bernard Lovell in The Guardian Fred Hoyle: An Online Exhibition An Interview with Fred Hoyle, 5 July 1996 Fred Hoyle at the Notable Names Database 20th-century British astronomers English science fiction writers British cosmologists Panspermia Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Knights Bachelor English agnostics Kalinga Prize recipients People from Bingley 1915 births 2001 deaths Royal Medal winners Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society People educated at Bingley Grammar School Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society 20th-century British novelists English male novelists British atheists 20th-century atheists 20th-century English male writers

Forth is a procedural, stack-oriented programming language and interactive environment designed by Charles H. "Chuck" Moore and first used by other programmers in 1970. Although not an acronym, the language's name in its early years was often spelled in all capital letters as FORTH, but Forth is more common. Forth combines a compiler with an integrated command shell, where the user interacts via subroutines called words. Words can be defined, tested, redefined, and debugged without recompiling or restarting the whole program. All syntactic elements, including variables and basic operators, are defined as words. A stack is used to pass parameters between words, leading to a Reverse Polish Notation style. For much of Forth's existence, the standard technique was to compile to threaded code, which can be interpreted faster than bytecode. One of the early benefits of Forth was size: an entire development environment—including compiler, editor, and user programs—could fit in memory on an 8-bit or similarly limited system. No longer constrained by space, there are modern implementations that generate optimized machine code like other language compilers. Forth is used in the Open Firmware boot loader, in space applications such as the Philae spacecraft, and in other embedded systems which involve interaction with hardware. The relative simplicity of creating a basic Forth system has led to many personal and proprietary variants, such as the custom Forth used to implement the bestselling 1986 video game Starflight from Electronic Arts. The free software Gforth implementation is actively maintained, as are several commercially supported systems. Moore later developed a series of microprocessors for executing compiled Forth-like code directly and experimented with smaller languages based on Forth concepts, including cmForth and colorForth. Uses Forth has a niche in astronomical and space applications as well as a history in embedded systems. The Open Firmware boot ROMs used by Apple, IBM, Sun, and OLPC XO-1 contain a Forth environment. Forth has often been used to bring up new hardware. Forth was the first resident software on the new Intel 8086 chip in 1978, and MacFORTH was the first resident development system for the Macintosh 128K in 1984. Atari, Inc. used an elaborate animated demo written in Forth to showcase capabilities of the Atari 400 and 800 computers in department stores. Two home computer games from Electronic Arts, published in the 1980s, were written in Forth: Worms? (1983) and Starflight (1986). The Canon Cat (1987) uses Forth for its system programming. Rockwell produced single-chip microcomputers with resident Forth kernels: the R65F11 and R65F12. ASYST was a Forth expansion for measuring and controlling on PCs. History Forth evolved from Charles H. Moore's personal programming system, which had been in continuous development since 1968. Forth was first exposed to other programmers in the early 1970s, starting with Elizabeth Rather at the United States National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). After their work at NRAO, Charles Moore and Elizabeth Rather formed FORTH, Inc. in 1973, refining and porting Forth systems to dozens of other platforms in the next decade. Forth is so-named, because in 1968 "the file holding the interpreter was labeled FOURTH, for 4th (next) generation software, but the IBM 1130 operating system restricted file names to five characters." Moore saw Forth as a successor to compile-link-go third-generation programming languages, or software for "fourth generation" hardware. FORTH, Inc.'s microFORTH was developed for the Intel 8080, Motorola 6800, Zilog Z80, and RCA 1802 microprocessors, starting in 1976. MicroFORTH was later used by hobbyists to generate Forth systems for other architectures, such as the 6502 in 1978. The Forth Interest Group was formed in 1978. It promoted and distributed its own version of the language, FIG-Forth, for most makes of home computer. Forth was popular in the early 1980s, because it was well suited to the limited memory of microcomputers. The ease of implementing the language led to many implementations. The British Jupiter ACE home computer has Forth in its ROM-resident operating system. Insoft GraFORTH is a version of Forth with graphics extensions for the Apple II. Common practice was codified in the de facto standards FORTH-79 and FORTH-83 in the years 1979 and 1983, respectively. These standards were unified by ANSI in 1994, commonly referred to as Forth. As of 2018, the source for the original 1130 version of FORTH has been recovered, and is now being updated to run on a restored or emulated 1130 system. Overview Forth emphasizes the use of small, simple functions called words. Words for bigger tasks call upon many smaller words that each accomplish a distinct sub-task. A large Forth program is a hierarchy of words. These words, being distinct modules that communicate implicitly via a stack mechanism, can be prototyped, built and tested independently. The highest level of Forth code may resemble an English-language description of the application. Forth has been called a meta-application language: a language that can be used to create problem-oriented languages. Forth relies on explicit use of a data stack and reverse Polish notation which is commonly used in calculators from Hewlett-Packard. In RPN, the operator is placed after its operands, as opposed to the more common infix notation where the operator is placed between its operands. Postfix notation makes the language easier to parse and extend; Forth's flexibility makes a static BNF grammar inappropriate, and it does not have a monolithic compiler. Extending the compiler only requires writing a new word, instead of modifying a grammar and changing the underlying implementation. Using RPN, one can get the result of the mathematical expression (25 * 10 + 50) this way: 25 10 * 50 + CR . 300 ok First the numbers 25 and 10 are put on the stack. The word * takes the top two numbers from the stack, multiplies them, and puts the product back on the stack. Then the number 50 is placed on the stack. The word + adds the top two values, pushing the sum. CR (carriage return) starts the output on a new line. Finally, . prints the result. As everything has completed successfully, the Forth system prints OK. Even Forth's structural features are stack-based. For example: : FLOOR5 ( n -- n' ) DUP 6 < IF DROP 5 ELSE 1 - THEN ; The colon indicates the beginning of a new definition, in this case a new word (again, word is the term used for a subroutine) called FLOOR5. The text in parentheses is a comment, advising that this word expects a number on the stack and will return a possibly changed number (on the stack). The subroutine uses the following commands: DUP duplicates the number on the stack; 6 pushes a 6 on top of the stack; < compares the top two numbers on the stack (6 and the DUPed input), and replaces them with a true-or-false value; IF takes a true-or-false value and chooses to execute commands immediately after it or to skip to the ELSE; DROP discards the value on the stack; 5 pushes a 5 on top of the stack; and THEN ends the conditional. The FLOOR5 word is equivalent to this function written in the C programming language using the ternary operator '?:' int floor5(int v) { return (v < 6) ? 5 : (v - 1); } This function is written more succinctly as: : FLOOR5 ( n -- n' ) 1- 5 MAX ; This can be run as follows: 1 FLOOR5 CR . 5 ok 8 FLOOR5 CR . 7 ok First a number (1 or 8) is pushed onto the stack, FLOOR5 is called, which pops the number again and pushes the result. CR moves the output to a new line (again, this is only here for readability). Finally, a call to . pops the result and prints. Facilities Forth's grammar has no official specification. Instead, it is defined by a simple algorithm. The interpreter reads a line of input from the user input device, which is then parsed for a word using spaces as a delimiter; some systems recognise additional whitespace characters. When the interpreter finds a word, it looks the word up in the dictionary. If the word is found, the interpreter executes the code associated with the word, and then returns to parse the rest of the input stream. If the word isn't found, the word is assumed to be a number and an attempt is made to convert it into a number and push it on the stack; if successful, the interpreter continues parsing the input stream. Otherwise, if both the lookup and the number conversion fail, the interpreter prints the word followed by an error message indicating that the word is not recognised, flushes the input stream, and waits for new user input. The definition of a new word is started with the word : (colon) and ends with the word ; (semi-colon). For example, : X DUP 1+ . . ; will compile the word X, and makes the name findable in the dictionary. When executed by typing 10 X at the console this will print 11 10. Most Forth systems include an assembler to write words using the processor's facilities. Forth assemblers often use a reverse Polish syntax in which the parameters of an instruction precede the instruction. A typical reverse Polish assembler prepares the operands on the stack and the mnemonic copies the whole instruction into memory as the last step. A Forth assembler is by nature a macro assembler, so that it is easy to define an alias for registers according to their role in the Forth system: e.g. "dsp" for the register used as the data stack pointer. Operating system, files, and multitasking Most Forth systems run under a host operating system such as Microsoft Windows, Linux or a version of Unix and use the host operating system's file system for source and data files; the ANSI Forth Standard describes the words used for I/O. All modern Forth systems use normal text files for source, even if they are embedded. An embedded system with a resident compiler gets its source via a serial line. Classic Forth systems traditionally use neither operating system nor file system. Instead of storing code in files, source code is stored in disk blocks written to physical disk addresses. The word BLOCK is employed to translate the number of a 1K-sized block of disk space into the address of a buffer containing the data, which is managed automatically by the Forth system. Block use has become rare since the mid-1990s. In a hosted system those blocks too are allocated in a normal file in any case. Multitasking, most commonly cooperative round-robin scheduling, is normally available (although multitasking words and support are not covered by the ANSI Forth Standard). The word PAUSE is used to save the current task's execution context, to locate the next task, and restore its execution context. Each task has its own stacks, private copies of some control variables and a scratch area. Swapping tasks is simple and efficient; as a result, Forth multitaskers are available even on very simple microcontrollers, such as the Intel 8051, Atmel AVR, and TI MSP430. Other non-standard facilities include a mechanism for issuing calls to the host OS or windowing systems, and many provide extensions that employ the scheduling provided by the operating system. Typically they have a larger and different set of words from the stand-alone Forth's PAUSE word for task creation, suspension, destruction and modification of priority. Self-compilation and cross compilation A full-featured Forth system with all source code will compile itself, a technique commonly called meta-compilation or self-hosting, by Forth programmers (although the term doesn't exactly match meta-compilation as it is normally defined). The usual method is to redefine the handful of words that place compiled bits into memory. The compiler's words use specially named versions of fetch and store that can be redirected to a buffer area in memory. The buffer area simulates or accesses a memory area beginning at a different address than the code buffer. Such compilers define words to access both the target computer's memory, and the host (compiling) computer's memory. After the fetch and store operations are redefined for the code space, the compiler, assembler, etc. are recompiled using the new definitions of fetch and store. This effectively reuses all the code of the compiler and interpreter. Then, the Forth system's code is compiled, but this version is stored in the buffer. The buffer in memory is written to disk, and ways are provided to load it temporarily into memory for testing. When the new version appears to work, it is written over the previous version. Numerous variations of such compilers exist for different environments. For embedded systems, the code may instead be written to another computer, a technique known as cross compilation, over a serial port or even a single TTL bit, while keeping the word names and other non-executing parts of the dictionary in the original compiling computer. The minimum definitions for such a Forth compiler are the words that fetch and store a byte, and the word that commands a Forth word to be executed. Often the most time-consuming part of writing a remote port is constructing the initial program to implement fetch, store and execute, but many modern microprocessors have integrated debugging features (such as the Motorola CPU32) that eliminate this task. Structure of the language The basic data structure of Forth is the "dictionary" which maps "words" to executable code or named data structures. The dictionary is laid out in memory as a tree of linked lists with the links proceeding from the latest (most recently) defined word to the oldest, until a sentinel value, usually a NULL pointer, is found. A context switch causes a list search to start at a different leaf. A linked list search continues as the branch merges into the main trunk leading eventually back to the sentinel, the root. There can be several dictionaries. In rare cases such as meta-compilation a dictionary might be isolated and stand-alone. The effect resembles that of nesting namespaces and can overload keywords depending on the context. A defined word generally consists of head and body with the head consisting of the name field (NF) and the link field (LF), and body consisting of the code field (CF) and the parameter field (PF). Head and body of a dictionary entry are treated separately because they may not be contiguous. For example, when a Forth program is recompiled for a new platform, the head may remain on the compiling computer, while the body goes to the new platform. In some environments (such as embedded systems) the heads occupy memory unnecessarily. However, some cross-compilers may put heads in the target if the target itself is expected to support an interactive Forth. Dictionary entry The exact format of a dictionary entry is not prescribed, and implementations vary. However, certain components are almost always present, though the exact size and order may vary. Described as a structure, a dictionary entry might look this way: structure byte: flag \ length of word's name char-array: name \ name's runtime length isn't known at compile time address: previous \ link field, backward ptr to previous word address: codeword \ ptr to the code to execute this word any-array: parameterfield \ unknown length of data, words, or opcodes end-structure forthword The name field starts with a prefix giving the length of the word's name. The character representation of the word's name then follows the prefix. Depending on the particular implementation of Forth, there may be one or more NUL ('\0') bytes for alignment. The link field contains a pointer to the previously defined word. The pointer may be a relative displacement or an absolute address that points to the next oldest sibling. The code field pointer will be either the address of the word which will execute the code or data in the parameter field or the beginning of machine code that the processor will execute directly. For colon defined words, the code field pointer points to the word that will save the current Forth instruction pointer (IP) on the return stack, and load the IP with the new address from which to continue execution of words. This is the same as what a processor's call/return instructions do. Structure of the compiler The compiler itself is not a monolithic program. It consists of Forth words visible to the system, and usable by a programmer. This allows a programmer to change the compiler's words for special purposes. The "compile time" flag in the name field is set for words with "compile time" behavior. Most simple words execute the same code whether they are typed on a command line, or embedded in code. When compiling these, the compiler simply places code or a threaded pointer to the word. The classic examples of compile-time words are the control structures such as IF and WHILE. Almost all of Forth's control structures and almost all of its compiler are implemented as compile-time words. Apart from some rarely used control flow words only found in a few implementations, such as a conditional return, all of Forth's control flow words are executed during compilation to compile various combinations of primitive words along with their branch addresses. For instance, IF and WHILE, and the words that match with those, set up BRANCH (unconditional branch) and ?BRANCH (pop a value off the stack, and branch if it is false). Counted loop control flow words work similarly but set up combinations of primitive words that work with a counter, and so on. During compilation, the data stack is used to support control structure balancing, nesting, and back-patching of branch addresses. The snippet: ... DUP 6 < IF DROP 5 ELSE 1 - THEN ... would be compiled to the following sequence inside a definition: ... DUP LIT 6 < ?BRANCH 5 DROP LIT 5 BRANCH 3 LIT 1 - ... The numbers after BRANCH represent relative jump addresses. LIT is the primitive word for pushing a "literal" number onto the data stack. Compilation state and interpretation state The word : (colon) parses a name as a parameter, creates a dictionary entry (a colon definition) and enters compilation state. The interpreter continues to read space-delimited words from the user input device. If a word is found, the interpreter executes the compilation semantics associated with the word, instead of the interpretation semantics. The default compilation semantics of a word are to append its interpretation semantics to the current definition. The word ; (semi-colon) finishes the current definition and returns to interpretation state. It is an example of a word whose compilation semantics differ from the default. The interpretation semantics of ; (semi-colon), most control flow words, and several other words are undefined in Forth, meaning that they must only be used inside of definitions and not on the interactive command line. The interpreter state can be changed manually with the words [ (left-bracket) and ] (right-bracket) which enter interpretation state or compilation state, respectively. These words can be used with the word LITERAL to calculate a value during a compilation and to insert the calculated value into the current colon definition. LITERAL has the compilation semantics to take an object from the data stack and to append semantics to the current colon definition to place that object on the data stack. In Forth, the current state of the interpreter can be read from the flag STATE which contains the value true when in compilation state and false otherwise. This allows the implementation of so-called state-smart words with behavior that changes according to the current state of the interpreter. Immediate words The word IMMEDIATE marks the most recent colon definition as an immediate word, effectively replacing its compilation semantics with its interpretation semantics. Immediate words are normally executed during compilation, not compiled, but this can be overridden by the programmer in either state. ; is an example of an immediate word. In Forth, the word POSTPONE takes a name as a parameter and appends the compilation semantics of the named word to the current definition even if the word was marked immediate. Forth-83 defined separate words COMPILE and [COMPILE] to force the compilation of non-immediate and immediate words, respectively. Unnamed words and execution tokens In Forth, unnamed words can be defined with the word :NONAME which compiles the following words up to the next ; (semi-colon) and leaves an execution token on the data stack. The execution token provides an opaque handle for the compiled semantics, similar to the function pointers of the C programming language. Execution tokens can be stored in variables. The word EXECUTE takes an execution token from the data stack and performs the associated semantics. The word COMPILE, (compile-comma) takes an execution token from the data stack and appends the associated semantics to the current definition. The word ' (tick) takes the name of a word as a parameter and returns the execution token associated with that word on the data stack. In interpretation state, ' RANDOM-WORD EXECUTE is equivalent to RANDOM-WORD. Parsing words and comments The words : (colon), POSTPONE, ' (tick) are examples of parsing words that take their arguments from the user input device instead of the data stack. Another example is the word ( (paren) which reads and ignores the following words up to and including the next right parenthesis and is used to place comments in a colon definition. Similarly, the word \ (backslash) is used for comments that continue to the end of the current line. To be parsed correctly, ( (paren) and \ (backslash) must be separated by whitespace from the following comment text. Structure of code In most Forth systems, the body of a code definition consists of either machine language, or some form of threaded code. The original Forth which follows the informal FIG standard (Forth Interest Group), is a TIL (Threaded Interpretive Language). This is also called indirect-threaded code, but direct-threaded and subroutine threaded Forths have also become popular in modern times. The fastest modern Forths, such as SwiftForth, VFX Forth, and iForth, compile Forth to native machine code. Data objects When a word is a variable or other data object, the CF points to the runtime code associated with the defining word that created it. A defining word has a characteristic "defining behavior" (creating a dictionary entry plus possibly allocating and initializing data space) and also specifies the behavior of an instance of the class of words constructed by this defining word. Examples include: VARIABLE Names an uninitialized, one-cell memory location. Instance behavior of a VARIABLE returns its address on the stack. CONSTANT Names a value (specified as an argument to CONSTANT). Instance behavior returns the value. CREATE Names a location; space may be allocated at this location, or it can be set to contain a string or other initialized value. Instance behavior returns the address of the beginning of this space. Forth also provides a facility by which a programmer can define new application-specific defining words, specifying both a custom defining behavior and instance behavior. Some examples include circular buffers, named bits on an I/O port, and automatically indexed arrays. Data objects defined by these and similar words are global in scope. The function provided by local variables in other languages is provided by the data stack in Forth (although Forth also has real local variables). Forth programming style uses very few named data objects compared with other languages; typically such data objects are used to contain data which is used by a number of words or tasks (in a multitasked implementation). Forth does not enforce consistency of data type usage; it is the programmer's responsibility to use appropriate operators to fetch and store values or perform other operations on data. Examples “Hello, World!” : HELLO ( -- ) CR ." Hello, World!" ; HELLO <cr> Hello, World! The word CR (Carriage Return) causes the following output to be displayed on a new line. The parsing word ." (dot-quote) reads a double-quote delimited string and appends code to the current definition so that the parsed string will be displayed on execution. The space character separating the word ." from the string Hello, World! is not included as part of the string. It is needed so that the parser recognizes ." as a Forth word. A standard Forth system is also an interpreter, and the same output can be obtained by typing the following code fragment into the Forth console: CR .( Hello, World!) .( (dot-paren) is an immediate word that parses a parenthesis-delimited string and displays it. As with the word ." the space character separating .( from Hello, World! is not part of the string. The word CR comes before the text to print. By convention, the Forth interpreter does not start output on a new line. Also by convention, the interpreter waits for input at the end of the previous line, after an ok prompt. There is no implied "flush-buffer" action in Forth's CR, as sometimes is in other programming languages. Mixing states of compiling and interpreting Here is the definition of a word EMIT-Q which when executed emits the single character Q: : EMIT-Q 81 ( the ASCII value for the character 'Q' ) EMIT ; This definition was written to use the ASCII value of the Q character (81) directly. The text between the parentheses is a comment and is ignored by the compiler. The word EMIT takes a value from the data stack and displays the corresponding character. The following redefinition of EMIT-Q uses the words [ (left-bracket), ] (right-bracket), CHAR and LITERAL to temporarily switch to interpreter state, calculate the ASCII value of the Q character, return to compilation state and append the calculated value to the current colon definition: : EMIT-Q [ CHAR Q ] LITERAL EMIT ; The parsing word CHAR takes a space-delimited word as parameter and places the value of its first character on the data stack. The word [CHAR] is an immediate version of CHAR. Using [CHAR], the example definition for EMIT-Q could be rewritten like this: : EMIT-Q [CHAR] Q EMIT ; \ Emit the single character 'Q' This definition used \ (backslash) for the describing comment. Both CHAR and [CHAR] are predefined in Forth. Using IMMEDIATE and POSTPONE, [CHAR] could have been defined like this: : [CHAR] CHAR POSTPONE LITERAL ; IMMEDIATE A complete RC4 cipher program In 1987, Ron Rivest developed the RC4 cipher-system for RSA Data Security, Inc. The code is extremely simple and can be written by most programmers from the description: The following Standard Forth version uses Core and Core Extension words only. 0 value ii 0 value jj 0 value KeyAddr 0 value KeyLen create SArray 256 allot \ state array of 256 bytes : KeyArray KeyLen mod KeyAddr ; : get_byte + c@ ; : set_byte + c! ; : as_byte 255 and ; : reset_ij 0 TO ii 0 TO jj ; : i_update 1 + as_byte TO ii ; : j_update ii SArray get_byte + as_byte TO jj ; : swap_s_ij jj SArray get_byte ii SArray get_byte jj SArray set_byte ii SArray set_byte ; : rc4_init ( KeyAddr KeyLen -- ) 256 min TO KeyLen TO KeyAddr 256 0 DO i i SArray set_byte LOOP reset_ij BEGIN ii KeyArray get_byte jj + j_update swap_s_ij ii 255 < WHILE ii i_update REPEAT reset_ij ; : rc4_byte ii i_update jj j_update swap_s_ij ii SArray get_byte jj SArray get_byte + as_byte SArray get_byte xor ; This is one of many ways to test the code: hex create AKey 61 c, 8A c, 63 c, D2 c, FB c, : test cr 0 DO rc4_byte . LOOP cr ; AKey 5 rc4_init 2C F9 4C EE DC 5 test \ output should be: F1 38 29 C9 DE Implementations Because Forth is simple to implement and has no standard reference implementation, there are numerous versions of the language. In addition to supporting the standard varieties of desktop computer systems (POSIX, Microsoft Windows, macOS), many of these Forth systems also target a variety of embedded systems. Listed here are some of the systems which conform to the 1994 Forth standard. ASYST, a Forth-like system for data collection and analysis Collapse OS, A Forth operating system and tools aimed to program microcontrollers through civilizational collapse Gforth, a portable Forth implementation from the GNU Project Mecrisp-Stellaris, native code Forth for a number of microcontrollers including MSP430, ARM (many flavors), Cypress PSOC, ESP8266, RISC-V and custom CPUs like the J1. See an introduction and a docker based demo. Open Firmware, a bootloader and Firmware standard based on Forth pForth, portable Forth written in C SP-Forth, Forth implementation from the Russian Forth Interest Group (RuFIG) Swift Forth, machine code generating implementation from Forth, Inc. VFX Forth, optimizing native code Forth Win32Forth, Windows-oriented, running on all Windows versions since XP See also RTX2010, a CPU that runs Forth natively References Further reading Forth programming language family Concatenative programming languages Stack-based virtual machines Systems programming languages Programming languages created in 1970 Extensible syntax programming languages Programming languages with an ISO standard Programming languages 1970 software Articles with example C code

Events Pre-1600 1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated. 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark. 1521 – Juan Ponce de León sets out from Spain for Florida with about 200 prospective colonists. 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. 1601–1900 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas. 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington. 1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power. 1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta. 1816 – Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. 1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile. 1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence. 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war. 1865 – End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance. 1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City. 1877 – Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. 1901–present 1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time. 1905 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Massachusetts's mandatory smallpox vaccination program in Jacobson v. Massachusetts. 1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro. 1913 – King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra. 1920 – An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori. 1931 – The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California. 1931 – An anarchist uprising in Encarnación briefly transforms the city into a revolutionary commune. 1933 – The U.S. Congress approves the Blaine Act to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution to state ratifying conventions for approval. 1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party's upcoming election campaign. 1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica. 1942 – Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace. 1943 – American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies. 1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms. 1944 – World War II: The "Big Week" began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers. 1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Atoll. 1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League. 1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy. 1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate. 1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes. 1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts. 1968 – The China Academy of Space Technology, China's main arm for the research, development, and creation of space satellites, is established in Beijing. 1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert. 1979 – An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java. 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years. 1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. 1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters. 1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. 2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others. 2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout. 2009 – Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack. 2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago. 2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, many reportedly killed by snipers. 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services. 2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Births Pre-1600 1358 – Eleanor of Aragon, queen of John I of Castile (d. 1382) 1469 – Thomas Cajetan, Italian philosopher (d. 1534) 1523 – Jan Blahoslav, Czech writer (d. 1571) 1549 – Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, last Duke of Urbino (d. 1631) 1552 – Sengoku Hidehisa, Daimyō (d. 1614) 1601–1900 1608 – Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (d. 1649) 1631 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1712) 1633 – Jan de Baen, Dutch painter (d. 1702) 1705 – Nicolas Chédeville, French musette player and composer (d. 1782) 1726 – William Prescott, American colonel (d. 1795) 1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (d. 1813) 1748 – Luther Martin, American politician (d. 1826) 1751 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (d. 1826) 1753 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1815) 1756 – Angelica Schuyler Church, American socialite, sister-in-law to Alexander Hamilton (d. 1814) 1759 – Johann Christian Reil, German physician, physiologist, and anatomist (d. 1813) 1774 – Vicente Sebastián Pintado, Spanish cartographer, engineer, military officer and land surveyor of Spanish Louisiana and Spanish West Florida (d. 1829) 1784 – Judith Montefiore, British linguist, travel writer, philanthropist (d. 1862) 1792 – Eliza Courtney, French daughter of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1859) 1794 – William Carleton, Irish author (d. 1869) 1802 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1870) 1819 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (d. 1882) 1839 – Benjamin Waugh, English activist, founded the NSPCC (d. 1908) 1844 – Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1906) 1844 – Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909) 1848 – E. H. Harriman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1909) 1857 – A. P. Lucas, English cricketer (d. 1923) 1866 – Carl Westman, Swedish architect, designed the Stockholm Court House and Röhsska Museum (d. 1936) 1867 – Louise, Princess Royal of England (d. 1931) 1870 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (d. 1937) 1874 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (d. 1967) 1879 – Hod Stuart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1907) 1880 – Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen, French author and poet (d. 1923) 1882 – Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor (d. 1946) 1887 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967) 1888 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (d. 1948) 1889 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and physician (d. 1948) 1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1993) 1895 – Louis Zborowski, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1924) 1897 – Ivan Albright, American painter (d. 1983) 1898 – Ante Ciliga, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (d. 1992) 1899 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1992) 1901–present 1901 – René Dubos, French-American biologist and author (d. 1982) 1901 – Louis Kahn, American architect, designed the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Bangladesh Parliament Building (d. 1974) 1901 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian general and politician, 1st President of Egypt (d. 1984) 1901 – Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (d. 1978) 1902 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (d. 1984) 1906 – Gale Gordon, American actor (d. 1995) 1912 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (d. 1994) 1912 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace of the Second World War (d. 2006) 1913 – Tommy Henrich, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009) 1914 – John Charles Daly, South African–American journalist and game show host (d. 1991) 1916 – Jean Erdman, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2020) 1918 – Leonore Annenberg, American businesswoman and diplomat (d. 2009) 1919 – James O'Meara, English soldier and pilot (d. 1974) 1920 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (d. 2014) 1921 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 1992) 1923 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (d. 2014) 1923 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Guyana (d. 1985) 1923 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress (d. 2004) 1924 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress, fashion designer, and socialite (d. 2019) 1925 – Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006) 1925 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (d. 1990) 1926 – Matthew Bucksbaum, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded General Growth Properties (d. 2013) 1926 – Gillian Lynne, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2018) 1926 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013) 1926 – Bob Richards, American Olympic track and field athlete 1926 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1998) 1927 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer and political activist (d. 1986) 1927 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer and musician (d. 2005) 1927 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat (d. 2022) 1928 – Jean Kennedy Smith, American diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to Ireland (d. 2020) 1929 – Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989) 1931 – John Milnor, American mathematician and academic 1932 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and author (d. 2007) 1934 – Bobby Unser, American race car driver (d. 2021) 1935 – Ellen Gilchrist, American novelist, short story writer, and poet 1936 – Marj Dusay, American actress (d. 2020) 1936 – Larry Hovis, American actor and singer (d. 2003) 1936 – Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach 1937 – Robert Huber, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate 1937 – Roger Penske, American race car driver and businessman 1937 – Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress (d. 2018) 1940 – Jimmy Greaves, English international footballer and TV pundit (d. 2021) 1941 – Lim Kit Siang, Malaysian lawyer and politician 1941 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer 1942 – Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager 1942 – Mitch McConnell, American lawyer and politician 1942 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012) 1943 – Antonio Inoki, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician 1943 – Mike Leigh, English director and screenwriter 1944 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian economist and politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1999) 1944 – Lew Soloff, American trumpet player, composer, and actor (d. 2015) 1944 – Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach 1945 – Alan Hull, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995) 1946 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress 1946 – Sandy Duncan, American actress, singer, and dancer 1946 – J. Geils, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017) 1947 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006) 1947 – Peter Strauss, American actor and producer 1948 – Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster 1948 – Jennifer O'Neill, American model and actress 1949 – Eddie Hemmings, English cricketer 1949 – Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite and model 1950 – Walter Becker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017) 1950 – Peter Marinello, Scottish footballer 1950 – Tony Wilson, English journalist and businessman (d. 2007) 1951 – Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006) 1951 – Gordon Brown, Scottish historian and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1951 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997) 1951 – Phil Neal, English footballer and manager 1953 – Poison Ivy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1954 – Jon Brant, American bass player 1954 – Anthony Head, English actor 1954 – Patty Hearst, American actress and author 1957 – Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach 1959 – Scott Brayton, American race car driver (d. 1996) 1959 – David Corn, American journalist and author 1959 – Bill Gullickson, American baseball player 1960 – Joel Hodgson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter 1960 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas, Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (d. 2014) 1961 – Steve Lundquist, American swimmer 1962 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded Milestone Media (d. 2011) 1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player and sportscaster 1963 – Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter and musician 1963 – Joakim Nystrom, Swedish tennis player 1963 – Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health 1963 – Cui Yongyuan, Chinese former anchor 1964 – Willie Garson, American actor and director (d. 2021) 1964 – Tom Harris, Scottish journalist and politician 1964 – Jeff Maggert, American golfer 1964 – French Stewart, American actor 1966 – Cindy Crawford, American model and businesswoman 1967 – Paul Accola, Swiss alpine skier 1967 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994) 1967 – David Herman, American comedian and actor 1967 – Andrew Shue, American actor and activist, founded Do Something 1967 – Lili Taylor, American actress 1967 – Tom Waddle, American football player and sportscaster 1969 – Kjell Ove Hauge, Norwegian school principal and track and field athlete 1969 – Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer and manager 1969 – Danis Tanović, Bosnian director and screenwriter 1971 – Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer 1971 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby player (d. 2017) 1974 – Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer and manager 1975 – Liván Hernández, Cuban baseball player 1975 – Brian Littrell, American singer-songwriter and actor 1977 – Stephon Marbury, American basketball player 1977 – Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler 1980 – Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player 1980 – Luis Gabriel Rey, Colombian footballer 1981 – Tony Hibbert, English footballer 1982 – Jason Hirsh, American baseball player 1983 – Jose Morales, Puerto Rican-American baseball player 1983 – Justin Verlander, American baseball player 1984 – Brian McCann, American baseball player 1984 – Trevor Noah, South African comedian, actor, and television host 1984 – Ramzee Robinson, American football player 1985 – Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player 1985 – Julia Volkova, Russian singer and actress 1985 – TJ Kirk, American YouTube personality and podcast host 1987 – Luke Burgess, English rugby league player 1987 – Miles Teller, American actor 1988 – Kealoha Pilares, American football player 1988 – Ki Bo-bae, South Korean archer 1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian-American singer-songwriter and actress 1988 – Jiah Khan, Indian singer and actress (d. 2013) 1989 – Daly Cherry-Evans, Australian rugby league player 1990 – Ciro Immobile, Italian 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Ferdinand de Saussure (; ; 26 November 1857 – 22 February 1913) was a Swiss linguist, semiotician and philosopher. His ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in both linguistics and semiotics in the 20th century. He is widely considered one of the founders of 20th-century linguistics and one of two major founders (together with Charles Sanders Peirce) of semiotics, or semiology, as Saussure called it. One of his translators, Roy Harris, summarized Saussure's contribution to linguistics and the study of "the whole range of human sciences. It is particularly marked in linguistics, philosophy, psychoanalysis, psychology, sociology and anthropology." Although they have undergone extension and critique over time, the dimensions of organization introduced by Saussure continue to inform contemporary approaches to the phenomenon of language. Prague school linguist Jan Mukařovský writes that Saussure's "discovery of the internal structure of the linguistic sign differentiated the sign both from mere acoustic 'things'... and from mental processes", and that in this development "new roads were thereby opened not only for linguistics, but also, in the future, for the theory of literature". Ruqaiya Hasan argued that "the impact of Saussure’s theory of the linguistic sign has been such that modern linguists and their theories have since been positioned by reference to him: they are known as pre-Saussurean, Saussurean, anti-Saussurean, post-Saussurean, or non-Saussure". Biography Saussure was born in Geneva in 1857. His father, Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure, was a mineralogist, entomologist, and taxonomist. Saussure showed signs of considerable talent and intellectual ability as early as the age of fourteen. In the autumn of 1870, he began attending the Institution Martine (previously the Institution Lecoultre until 1969), in Geneva. There he lived with the family of a classmate, Elie David. Graduating at the top of class, Saussure expected to continue his studies at the Gymnase de Genève, but his father decided he was not mature enough at fourteen and a half, and sent him to the Collège de Genève instead. Saussure was not pleased, as he complained: "I entered the Collège de Genève, to waste a year there as completely as a year can be wasted." After a year of studying Latin, Ancient Greek and Sanskrit and taking a variety of courses at the University of Geneva, he commenced graduate work at the University of Leipzig in 1876. Two years later, at 21, Saussure published a book entitled Mémoire sur le système primitif des voyelles dans les langues indo-européennes (Dissertation on the Primitive Vowel System in Indo-European Languages). After this he studied for a year at the University of Berlin under the Privatdozent Heinrich Zimmer, with whom he studied Celtic, and Hermann Oldenberg with whom he continued his studies of Sanskrit. He returned to Leipzig to defend his doctoral dissertation De l'emploi du génitif absolu en Sanscrit, and was awarded his doctorate in February 1880. Soon, he relocated to the University of Paris, where he lectured on Sanskrit, Gothic and Old High German and occasionally other subjects. Ferdinand de Saussure is one of the world’s most quoted linguists, which is remarkable as he himself hardly published anything during his lifetime. Even his few scientific articles are not unproblematic. Thus, for example, his publication on Lithuanian phonetics is mostly taken from studies by the Lithuanian researcher Friedrich Kurschat, with whom Saussure traveled through Lithuania in August 1880 for two weeks and whose (German-language) books Saussure had read. Saussure, who had studied some basic grammar of Lithuanian in Leipzig for one semester but was unable to speak the language, was thus dependent on Kurschat. Saussure taught at the École pratique des hautes études for eleven years during which he was named Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor). When offered a professorship in Geneva in 1892, he returned to Switzerland. Saussure lectured on Sanskrit and Indo-European at the University of Geneva for the remainder of his life. It was not until 1907 that Saussure began teaching the Course of General Linguistics, which he would offer three times, ending in the summer of 1911. He died in 1913 in Vufflens-le-Château, Vaud, Switzerland. His brothers were the linguist and Esperantist René de Saussure, and scholar of ancient Chinese astronomy, Léopold de Saussure. His son Raymond de Saussure was a psychoanalyst. Saussure attempted, at various times in the 1880s and 1890s, to write a book on general linguistic matters. His lectures about important principles of language description in Geneva between 1907 and 1911 were collected and published by his pupils posthumously in the famous Cours de linguistique générale in 1916. Some of his manuscripts, including an unfinished essay discovered in 1996, were published in Writings in General Linguistics, but most of the material in it had already been published in Engler's critical edition of the Course, in 1967 and 1974. It is also questionable to what extent the Cours itself can be traced back to Saussure alone. Studies have shown that at least the current version and its content are more likely to have the so-called editors Charles Bally and Albert Sèchehaye as their source than Saussure himself. Work and influence Saussure's theoretical reconstructions of the Proto-Indo-European language vocalic system and particularly his theory of laryngeals, otherwise unattested at the time, bore fruit and found confirmation after the decipherment of Hittite in the work of later generations of linguists such as Émile Benveniste and Walter Couvreur, who both drew direct inspiration from their reading of the 1878 Mémoire. Saussure had a major impact on the development of linguistic theory in the first half of the 20th century with his notions becoming incorporated in the central tenets of structural linguistics. His main contribution to structuralism was his theory of a two-tiered reality about language. The first is the langue, the abstract and invisible layer, while the second, the parole, refers to the actual speech that we hear in real life. This framework was later adopted by Claude Levi-Strauss, who used the two-tiered model to determine the reality of myths. His idea was that all myths have an underlying pattern, which form the structure that makes them myths. These established the structuralist framework to literary criticism. In Europe, the most important work after Saussure's death was done by the Prague school. Most notably, Nikolay Trubetzkoy and Roman Jakobson headed the efforts of the Prague School in setting the course of phonological theory in the decades from 1940. Jakobson's universalizing structural-functional theory of phonology, based on a markedness hierarchy of distinctive features, was the first successful solution of a plane of linguistic analysis according to the Saussurean hypotheses. Elsewhere, Louis Hjelmslev and the Copenhagen School proposed new interpretations of linguistics from structuralist theoretical frameworks. In America, where the term 'structuralism' became highly ambiguous, Saussure's ideas informed the distributionalism of Leonard Bloomfield, but his influence remained limited. Systemic functional linguistics is a theory considered to be based firmly on the Saussurean principles of the sign, albeit with some modifications. Ruqaiya Hasan describes systemic functional linguistics as a 'post-Saussurean' linguistic theory. Michael Halliday argues: Course in General Linguistics Saussure's most influential work, Course in General Linguistics (Cours de linguistique générale), was published posthumously in 1916 by former students Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye, on the basis of notes taken from Saussure's lectures in Geneva. The Course became one of the seminal linguistics works of the 20th century not primarily for the content (many of the ideas had been anticipated in the works of other 20th century linguists) but for the innovative approach that Saussure applied in discussing linguistic phenomena. Its central notion is that language may be analyzed as a formal system of differential elements, apart from the messy dialectics of real-time production and comprehension. Examples of these elements include his notion of the linguistic sign, which is composed of the signifier and the signified. Though the sign may also have a referent, Saussure took that to lie beyond the linguist's purview. Throughout the book, he stated that a linguist can develop a diachronic analysis of a text or theory of language but must learn just as much or more about the language/text as it exists at any moment in time (i.e. "synchronically"): "Language is a system of signs that expresses ideas". A science that studies the life of signs within society and is a part of social and general psychology. Saussure believed that semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign, and he called it semiology. Laryngeal theory While a student, Saussure published an important work in Indo-European philology that proposed the existence of ghosts in Proto-Indo-European called sonant coefficients. The Scandinavian scholar Hermann Möller suggested that they might actually be laryngeal consonants, leading to what is now known as the laryngeal theory. It has been argued that the problem that Saussure encountered, trying to explain how he was able to make systematic and predictive hypotheses from known linguistic data to unknown linguistic data, stimulated his development of structuralism. His predictions about the existence of primate coefficients/laryngeals and their evolution proved a success when Hittite texts were discovered and deciphered, some 50 years later. Influence outside linguistics The principles and methods employed by structuralism were later adapted in diverse fields by French intellectuals such as Roland Barthes, Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and Claude Lévi-Strauss. Such scholars took influence from Saussure's ideas in their own areas of study (literary studies/philosophy, psychoanalysis, anthropology, respectively). View of language Saussure approaches theory of language from two different perspectives. On the one hand, language is a system of signs. That is, a semiotic system; or a semiological system as he himself calls it. On the other hand, a language is also a social phenomenon: a product of the language community. Language as semiology The bilateral sign One of Saussure's key contributions to semiotics lies in what he called semiology, the concept of the bilateral (two-sided) sign which consists of 'the signifier' (a linguistic form, e.g. a word) and 'the signified' (the meaning of the form). Saussure supported the argument for the arbitrariness of the sign although he did not deny the fact that some words are onomatopoeic, or claim that picture-like symbols are fully arbitrary. Saussure also did not consider the linguistic sign as random, but as historically cemented. All in all, he did not invent the philosophy of arbitrariness, but made a very influential contribution to it. The arbitrariness of words of different languages itself is a fundamental concept in Western thinking of language, dating back to Ancient Greek philosophers. The question whether words are natural or arbitrary (and artificially made by people) returned as a controversial topic during the Age of Enlightenment when the mediaeval scholastic dogma, that languages were created by God, became opposed by the advocates of humanistic philosophy. There were efforts to construct a 'universal language', based on the lost Adamic language, with various attempts to uncover universal words or characters which would be readily understood by all people regardless of their nationality. John Locke, on the other hand, was among those who believed that languages were a rational human innovation, and argued for the arbitrariness of words. Saussure took it for granted in his time that "No one disputes the principle of the arbitrary nature of the sign." He however disagreed with the common notion that each word corresponds "to the thing that it names" or what is called the referent in modern semiotics. For example, In Saussure's notion, the word 'tree' does not refer to a tree as a physical object, but to the psychological concept of a tree. The linguistic sign thus arises from the psychological association between the signifier (a 'sound-image') and the signified (a 'concept'). There can therefore be no linguistic expression without meaning, but also no meaning without linguistic expression. Saussure's structuralism, as it later became called, therefore includes an implication of linguistic relativity. However, Saussure's own view has been described instead as a form of semantic holism that acknowledged that the interconnection between terms in a language was not fully arbitrary and only methodologically bracketed the relationship between linguistic terms and the physical world. The naming of spectral colours exemplifies how meaning and expression arise simultaneously from their interlinkage. Different colour frequencies are per se meaningless, or mere substance or meaning potential. Likewise, phonemic combinations which are not associated with any content are only meaningless expression potential, and therefore not considered as signs. It is only when a region of the spectrum is outlined and given an arbitrary name, for example 'blue', that the sign emerges. The sign consists of the signifier ('blue') and of the signified (the colour region), and of the associative link which connects them. Arising from an arbitrary demarcation of meaning potential, the signified is not a property of the physical world. In Saussure's concept, language is ultimately not a function of reality, but a self-contained system. Thus, Saussure's semiology entails a bilateral (two-sided) perspective of semiotics. The same idea is applied to any concept. For example, natural law does not dictate which plants are 'trees' and which are 'shrubs' or a different type of woody plant; or whether these should be divided into further groups. Like blue, all signs gain semantic value in opposition to other signs of the system (e.g. red, colourless). If more signs emerge (e.g. 'marine blue), the semantic field of the original word may narrow down. Conversely, words may become antiquated, whereby competition for the semantic field lessens. Or, the meaning of a word may change altogether. After his death, structural and functional linguists applied Saussure's concept to the analysis of the linguistic form as motivated by meaning. The opposite direction of the linguistic expressions as giving rise to the conceptual system, on the other hand, became the foundation of the post-Second World War structuralists who adopted Saussure's concept of structural linguistics as the model for all human sciences as the study of how language shapes our concepts of the world. Thus, Saussure's model became important not only for linguistics, but for humanities and social sciences as a whole. Opposition theory A second key contribution comes from Saussure's notion of the organisation of language based on the principle of opposition. Saussure made a distinction between meaning (significance) and value. On the semantic side, concepts gain value by being contrasted with related concepts, creating a conceptual system which could in modern terms be described as a semantic network. On the level of the sound-image, phonemes and morphemes gain value by being contrasted with related phonemes and morphemes; and on the level of the grammar, parts of speech gain value by being contrasted with each other. Each element within each system is eventually contrasted with all other elements in different types of relations so that no two elements have the exact same value: "Within the same language, all words used to express related ideas limit each other reciprocally; synonyms like French redouter 'dread', craindre 'fear,' and avoir peur 'be afraid' have value only through their opposition: if redouter did not exist, all its content would go to its competitors." Saussure defined his own theory in terms of binary oppositions: sign—signified, meaning—value, language—speech, synchronic—diachronic, internal linguistics—external linguistics, and so on. The related term markedness denotes the assessment of value between binary oppositions. These were studied extensively by post-war structuralists such as Claude Lévi-Strauss to explain the organisation of social conceptualisation, and later by the post-structuralists to criticise it. Cognitive semantics also diverges from Saussure on this point, emphasizing the importance of similarity in defining categories in the mind as well as opposition. Based on markedness theory, the Prague Linguistic Circle made great advances in the study of phonetics reforming it as the systemic study of phonology. Although the terms opposition and markedness are rightly associated with Saussure's concept of language as a semiological system, he did not invent the terms and concepts which had been discussed by various 19th century grammarians before him. Language as a social phenomenon In his treatment of language as a 'social fact', Saussure touches topics that were controversial in his time, and that would continue to split opinions in the post-war structuralist movement. Saussure's relationship with 19th century theories of language was somewhat ambivalent. These included social Darwinism and Völkerpsychologie or Volksgeist thinking which were regarded by many intellectuals as nationalist and racist pseudoscience. Saussure, however, considered the ideas useful if treated in a proper way. Instead of discarding August Schleicher's organicism or Heymann Steinthal's "spirit of the nation", he restricted their sphere in ways that were meant to preclude any chauvinistic interpretations. Organic analogy Saussure exploited the sociobiological concept of language as a living organism. He criticises August Schleicher and Max Müller's ideas of languages as organisms struggling for living space, but settles with promoting the idea of linguistics as a natural science as long as the study of the 'organism' of language excludes its adaptation to its territory. This concept would be modified in post-Saussurean linguistics by the Prague circle linguists Roman Jakobson and Nikolai Trubetzkoy, and eventually diminished. The speech circuit Perhaps the most famous of Saussure's ideas is the distinction between language and speech (Fr. langue et parole), with 'speech' referring to the individual occurrences of language usage. These constitute two parts of three of Saussure's 'speech circuit' (circuit de parole). The third part is the brain, that is, the mind of the individual member of the language community. This idea is in principle borrowed from Steinthal, so Saussure concept of a language as a social fact corresponds to "Volksgeist", although he was careful to preclude any nationalistic interpretations. In Saussure's and Durkheim's thinking, social facts and norms do not elevate the individuals, but shackle them. Saussure's definition of language is statistical rather than idealised. "Among all the individuals that are linked together by speech, some sort of average will be set up : all will reproduce — not exactly of course, but approximately — the same signs united with the same concepts." Saussure argues that language is a 'social fact'; a conventionalised set of rules or norms relating to speech. When at least two people are engaged in conversation, there forms a communicative circuit between the minds of the individual speakers. Saussure explains that language, as a social system, is neither situated in speech nor in the mind. It only properly exists between the two within the loop. It is located in – and is the product of – the collective mind of the linguistic group. An individual has to learn the normative rules of language and can never control them. The task of the linguist is to study language by analysing samples of speech. For practical reasons, this is ordinarily the analysis of written texts. The idea that language is studied through texts is by no means revolutionary as it had been the common practice since the beginning of linguistics. Saussure does not advise against introspection and takes up many linguistic examples without reference to a source in a text corpus. The idea that linguistics is not the study of the mind, however, contradicts Wilhelm Wundt's Völkerpsychologie in Saussure's contemporary context; and in a later context, generative grammar and cognitive linguistics. A legacy of ideological disputes Structuralism versus generative grammar Saussure's influence was restricted in American linguistics which was dominated by the advocates of Wilhelm Wundt's psychological approach to language, especially Leonard Bloomfield (1887–1949). The Bloomfieldian school rejected Saussure's and other structuralists' sociological or even anti-psychological (e.g. Louis Hjelmslev, Lucien Tesnière) approaches to theory of language. Problematically, the post-Bloomfieldian school was nicknamed 'American structuralism', causing confusion. Although Bloomfield denounced Wundt's Völkerpsychologie and opted for behavioural psychology in his 1933 textbook Language, he and other American linguists stuck to Wundt's practice of analysing the grammatical object as part of the verb phrase. Since this practice is not semantically motivated, they argued for the disconnectedness of syntax from semantics, thus fully rejecting structuralism. The question remained why the object should be in the verb phrase, vexing American linguists for decades. The post-Bloomfieldian approach was eventually reformed as a sociobiological framework by Noam Chomsky who argued that linguistics is a cognitive science; and claimed that linguistic structures are the manifestation of a random mutation in the human genome. Advocates of the new school, generative grammar, claim that Saussure's structuralism has been reformed and replaced by Chomsky's modern approach to linguistics. Jan Koster asserts: it is certainly the case that Saussure, considered the most important linguist of the century in Europe until the 1950s, hardly plays a role in current theoretical thinking about language. As a result of the Chomskyan revolution, linguistics has gone through a number of conceptual transformations which have led to all kinds of technical pre-occupations that are far beyond linguistic practice of the days of Saussure. For the most it seems Saussure has rightly sunk into near oblivion. French historian and philosopher François Dosse however argues that there have been various misunderstandings. He points out that Chomsky's criticism of 'structuralism' is directed at the Bloomfieldian school and not the proper address of the term; and that structural linguistics is not to be reduced to mere sentence analysis. It is also argued that "‘Chomsky the Saussurean’ is nothing but “an academic fable”. This fable is a result of misreading – by Chomsky himself (1964) and also by others – of Saussure’s la langue (in the singular form) as generativist concept of ‘competence’ and, therefore, its grammar as the Universal Grammar (UG)." Saussure versus the social Darwinists Saussure's Course in General Linguistics begins and ends with a criticism of 19th century linguistics where he is especially critical of Volkgeist thinking and the evolutionary linguistics of August Schleicher and his colleagues. Saussure's ideas replaced social Darwinism in Europe as it was banished from humanities at the end of World War II. The publication of Richard Dawkins's memetics in 1976 brought the Darwinian idea of linguistic units as cultural replicators back to vogue. It became necessary for adherents of this movement to redefine linguistics in a way that would be simultaneously anti-Saussurean and anti-Chomskyan. This led to a redefinition of old humanistic terms such as structuralism, formalism, functionalism and constructionism along Darwinian lines through debates which were marked by an acrimonious tone. In a functionalism–formalism debate of the decades following The Selfish Gene, the 'functionalism' camp attacking Saussure's legacy includes frameworks such as Cognitive Linguistics, Construction Grammar, Usage-based linguistics and Emergent Linguistics. Arguing for 'functional-typological theory', William Croft criticises Saussure's use or the organic analogy: When comparing functional-typological theory to biological theory, one must take care to avoid a caricature of the latter. In particular, in comparing the structure of language to an ecosystem, one must not assume that in contemporary biological theory, it is believed that an organism possesses a perfect adaptation to a stable niche inside an ecosystem in equilibrium. The analogy of a language as a perfectly adapted 'organic' system where tout se tient is a characteristic of the structuralist approach, and was prominent in early structuralist writing. The static view of adaptation in biology is not tenable in the face of empirical evidence of nonadaptive variation and competing adaptive motivations of organisms. Structural linguist Henning Andersen disagrees with Croft. He criticises memetics and other models of cultural evolution and points out that the concept of 'adaptation' is not to be taken in linguistics in the same meaning as in biology. Humanistic and structuralistic notions are likewise defended by Esa Itkonen and Jacques François; the Saussurean standpoint is explained and defended by Tomáš Hoskovec, representing the Prague Linguistic Circle. Conversely, other cognitive linguists claim to continue and expand Saussure's work on the bilateral sign. Dutch philologist Elise Elffers, however, argues that their view of the subject is incompatible with Saussure's own ideas. Political controversies There had long been disagreements between structuralists and Marxists, and after the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe, structural linguists who found themselves behind the Iron Curtain were labelled dissidents. From 1948 onwards the communist government of Czechoslovakia forced the Prague Linguistic Circle to publish a series of writings repudiating structuralism, and to rally around the banner of dialectical materialism. For example, Jan Mukařovský publicly denounced structuralism in his 'confession' as the product of 'bourgeois scholarship', arguing that its role "in the service of the warmongers is to subvert the worker's consciousness by stirring a distrust of the power of knowledge, spreading individualism and subjectivism, concealing the insoluble inner contradictions of perishing capitalism." The original Prague Linguistic Circle disbanded in 1953 due to its problems with the socialist regime. In Western Europe, in contrast, Saussure's work became widely influential as the structuralists led by Michel Foucault rose to academic power at the Sorbonne after the student revolts of Spring 1968. Their intention was to replace Marxism by redefining leftism as a struggle for equality of all social categories. Structural linguistics was taken as the model science for humanities. Soon enough it was however noted that, as a scientific enterprise, structuralism was too conservative to serve the purpose. This led to new paradigms of post-structuralism. Jacques Derrida's deconstructionism, for example, does not take as its goal the recognition of binary oppositions but that of their deconstruction. Structuralism also became criticised for its denial that the individual can change the social norm, and labelled as 'anti-humanistic' by many. The post-structuralists, after having extended their method to natural sciences, were eventually attacked by Chomsky's allies, including Jean Bricmont, in the Science Wars. The term 'structuralism' continues to be used in structural–functional linguistics which despite the contrary claims defines itself as a humanistic approach to language. Works (1878) Mémoire sur le système primitif des voyelles dans les langues indo-européennes [= Dissertation on the Primitive System of Vowels in Indo-European Languages]. Leipzig: Teubner. (online version in Gallica Program, Bibliothèque nationale de France). (1881) De l'emploi du génitif absolu en Sanscrit: Thèse pour le doctorat présentée à la Faculté de Philosophie de l'Université de Leipzig [= On the Use of the Genitive Absolute in Sanskrit: Doctoral thesis presented to the Philosophy Department of Leipzig University]. Geneva: Jules-Guillamaume Fick. (online version on the Internet Archive). (1916) Cours de linguistique générale, eds. Charles Bally & Alert Sechehaye, with the assistance of Albert Riedlinger. Lausanne – Paris: Payot. 1st trans.: Wade Baskin, trans. Course in General Linguistics. New York: The Philosophical Society, 1959; subsequently edited by Perry Meisel & Haun Saussy, NY: Columbia University Press, 2011. 2nd trans.: Roy Harris, trans. Course in General Linguistics. La Salle, Ill.: Open Court, 1983. (1922) Recueil des publications scientifiques de F. de Saussure. Eds. Charles Bally & Léopold Gautier. Lausanne – Geneva: Payot. (1993) Saussure’s Third Course of Lectures in General Linguistics (1910–1911) from the Notebooks of Emile Constantin. (Language and Communication series, vol. 12). French text edited by Eisuke Komatsu & trans. by Roy Harris. Oxford: Pergamon Press. (1995) Phonétique: Il manoscritto di Harvard Houghton Library bMS Fr 266 (8). Ed. Maria Pia Marchese. Padova: Unipress, 1995. (2002) Écrits de linguistique générale. Eds. Simon Bouquet & Rudolf Engler. Paris: Gallimard. . Trans.: Carol Sanders & Matthew Pires, trans. Writings in General Linguistics. NY: Oxford University Press, 2006. This volume, which consists mostly of material previously published by Rudolf Engler, includes an attempt at reconstructing a text from a set of Saussure's manuscript pages headed "The Double Essence of Language", found in 1996 in Geneva. These pages contain ideas already familiar to Saussure scholars, both from Engler's critical edition of the Course and from another unfinished book manuscript of Saussure's, published in 1995 by Maria Pia Marchese. (2013) Anagrammes homériques. Ed. Pierre-Yves Testenoire. Limoges: Lambert Lucas. (2014) Une vie en lettres 1866 – 1913. Ed. Claudia Mejía Quijano. ed. Nouvelles Cécile Defaut. See also Theory of language Geneva School Jan Baudouin de Courtenay Notes References Sources Culler, J. (1976). Saussure. Glasgow: Fontana/Collins. Ducrot, O. and Todorov, T. (1981). Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Sciences of Language, trans. C. Porter. Oxford: Blackwell. Harris, R. (1987). Reading Saussure. London: Duckworth. Holdcroft, D. (1991). Saussure: Signs, System, and Arbitrariness. Cambridge University Press. Веселинов, Д. (2008). Българските студенти на Фердинанд дьо Сосюр (The bulgarian students of Ferdinand de Saussure). Университетско издателство "Св. Климент Охридски" (Sofia University Press). Joseph, J. E. (2012). Saussure. Oxford University Press. Wittmann, Henri (1974). "New tools for the study of Saussure's contribution to linguistic thought." Historiographia Linguistica 1.255-64. External links The poet who could smell vowels: an article in The Times Literary Supplement by John E. Joseph, November 14, 2007. Original texts and resources, published by Texto, . Hearing Heidegger and Saussure by Elmer G. Wines. Cercle Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss society devoted to Saussurean studies. 1857 births 1913 deaths 19th-century essayists 19th-century linguists 19th-century Swiss philosophers 19th-century Swiss writers 20th-century essayists 20th-century linguists 20th-century Swiss non-fiction writers 20th-century Swiss philosophers Balticists Ferdinand Leipzig University alumni Linguistic turn Linguists from Switzerland Linguists of Indo-European languages People from Geneva Philosophers of culture Philosophers of language Philosophers of linguistics Philosophers of psychology Semioticians Structuralists Swiss essayists Swiss male writers Swiss non-fiction writers Swiss philosophers University of Geneva alumni

Faith, derived from Latin fides and Old French feid, is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often think of faith as confidence based on a perceived degree of warrant, while others who are more skeptical of religion tend to think of faith as simply belief without evidence. Etymology The English word faith is thought to date from 1200–1250, from the Middle English feith, via Anglo-French fed, Old French feid, feit from Latin fidem, accusative of fidēs (trust), akin to fīdere (to trust). Stages of faith development James W. Fowler (1940–2015) proposes a series of stages of faith-development (or spiritual development) across the human life-span. His stages relate closely to the work of Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlberg regarding aspects of psychological development in children and adults. Fowler defines faith as an activity of trusting, committing, and relating to the world based on a set of assumptions of how one is related to others and the world. Stages of faith Intuitive-Projective: a stage of confusion and of high impressionability through stories and rituals (pre-school period). Mythic-Literal: a stage where provided information is accepted in order to conform with social norms (school-going period). Synthetic-Conventional: in this stage the faith acquired is concreted in the belief system with the forgoing of personification and replacement with authority in individuals or groups that represent one's beliefs (early-late adolescence). Individuative-Reflective: in this stage the individual critically analyzes adopted and accepted faith with existing systems of faith. Disillusion or strengthening of faith happens in this stage. Based on needs, experiences and paradoxes (early adulthood). Conjunctive faith: in this stage people realize the limits of logic and, facing the paradoxes or transcendence of life, accept the "mystery of life" and often return to the sacred stories and symbols of the pre-acquired or re-adopted faith system. This stage is called negotiated settling in life (mid-life). Universalizing faith: this is the "enlightenment" stage where the individual comes out of all the existing systems of faith and lives life with universal principles of compassion and love and in service to others for upliftment, without worries and doubt (middle-late adulthood (45–65 years old and plus). No hard-and-fast rule requires individuals pursuing faith to go through all six stages. There is a high probability for individuals to be content and fixed in a particular stage for a lifetime; stages from 2–5 are such stages. Stage 6 is the summit of faith development. This state is often considered as "not fully" attainable. Religious views Baháʼí Faith In the Baháʼí Faith, faith is meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds, ultimately the acceptance of the divine authority of the Manifestations of God. In the religion's view, faith and knowledge are both required for spiritual growth. Faith involves more than outward obedience to this authority, but also must be based on a deep personal understanding of religious teachings. Buddhism Faith in Buddhism (, ) refers to a serene commitment in the practice of the Buddha's teaching and trust in enlightened or highly developed beings, such as Buddhas or bodhisattvas (those aiming to become a Buddha). Buddhists usually recognize multiple objects of faith, but many are especially devoted to one particular object of faith, such as one particular Buddha. In early Buddhism, faith was focused on the Triple Gem, that is, Gautama Buddha, his teaching (the Dhamma), and the community of spiritually developed followers, or the monastic community seeking enlightenment (the Sangha). Although offerings to the monastic community were valued highest, early Buddhism did not morally condemn peaceful offerings to deities. A faithful devotee was called upāsaka or upāsika, for which no formal declaration was required. In early Buddhism, personal verification was valued highest in attaining the truth, and sacred scriptures, reason or faith in a teacher were considered less valuable sources of authority. As important as faith was, it was a mere initial step to the path to wisdom and enlightenment, and was obsolete or redefined at the final stage of that path. While faith in Buddhism does not imply "blind faith", Buddhist practice nevertheless requires a degree of trust, primarily in the spiritual attainment of Gautama Buddha. Faith in Buddhism centers on the understanding that the Buddha is an Awakened being, on his superior role as teacher, in the truth of his Dharma (spiritual teachings), and in his Sangha (community of spiritually developed followers). Faith in Buddhism can be summarised as faith in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. It is intended to lead to the goal of enlightenment, or bodhi, and Nirvana. Volitionally, faith implies a resolute and courageous act of will. It combines the steadfast resolution that one will do a thing with the self-confidence that one can do it. In the later stratum of Buddhist history, especially Mahāyāna Buddhism, faith was given a much more important role. The concept of the Buddha Nature was developed, as devotion to Buddhas and bodhisattvas residing in Pure Lands became commonplace. With the arising of the cult of the Lotus Sūtra, faith gained a central role in Buddhist practice, which was further amplified with the development of devotion to the Amitabha Buddha in Pure Land Buddhism. In the Japanese form of Pure Land Buddhism, under the teachers Hōnen and Shinran, only entrusting faith toward the Amitabha Buddha was believed to be a fruitful form of practice, as the practice of celibacy, morality and other Buddhist disciplines were dismissed as no longer effective in this day and age, or contradicting the virtue of faith. Faith was defined as a state similar to enlightenment, with a sense of self-negation and humility. Thus, the role of faith increased throughout Buddhist history. However, from the nineteenth century onward, Buddhist modernism in countries like Sri Lanka and Japan, and also in the West, has downplayed and criticized the role of faith in Buddhism. Faith in Buddhism still has a role in modern Asia or the West, but is understood and defined differently from traditional interpretations. Within the Dalit Buddhist Movement communities, taking refuge is defined not only as a religious, but also a political choice. Christianity The word translated as "faith" in English-language editions of the New Testament, the Greek word πίστις (pístis), can also be translated as "belief", "faithfulness", or "trust". Christianity encompasses various views regarding the nature of faith. Some see faith as being persuaded or convinced that something is true. In this view, a person believes something when they are presented with adequate evidence that it is true. The 13th-century theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas did not hold that faith is mere opinion: on the contrary, he held that it represents a mean (understood in the Platonic sense) between excessive reliance on science (i.e. demonstration) and excessive reliance on opinion. Numerous commentators discuss the results of faith. Some believe that true faith results in good works, while others believe that while faith in Jesus brings eternal life, it does not necessarily result in good works. Regardless of the approach taken to faith, all Christians agree that the Christian faith (in the sense of Christian practice) is aligned with the ideals and the example of the life of Jesus. The Christian contemplates the mystery of God and his grace, and seeks to know and become obedient to God. To a Christian, the faith is not static but causes one to learn more of God and to grow in faith; Christian faith has its origin in God. The definition of faith given by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews at Hebrews 11:1 carries particular weight with Christians who respect the Bible. There the author writes: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." — King James Version "Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists." — International Standard Version In Christianity, faith causes change as it seeks a greater understanding of God. Faith is not only fideism or simple obedience to a set of rules or statements. Before Christians have faith, they must understand in whom and in what they have faith. Without understanding, there cannot be true faith, and that understanding is built on the foundation of the community of believers, the scriptures and traditions and on the personal experiences of the believer. In English translations of the New Testament, the word "faith" generally corresponds to the Greek noun πίστις (pistis) or to the Greek verb πιστεύω (pisteuo), meaning "to trust, to have confidence, faithfulness, to be reliable, to assure". Strength of faith Christians may recognise different degrees of faith when they encourage each other to and themselves strive to develop, grow, and/or deepen their faith. This may imply that one can measure faith. Willingness to undergo martyrdom indicates a proxy for depth of faith, but does not provide an everyday measurement for the average contemporary Christian. Within the Calvinist tradition the degree of prosperity may serve as an analog of level of faith. Other Christian strands may rely on personal self-evaluation to measure the intensity of an individual's faith, with associated difficulties in calibrating to any scale. Solemn affirmations of a creed (a statement of faith) provide broad measurements of details. Various tribunals of the Inquisition, however, concerned themselves with precisely evaluating the orthodoxy of the faith of those it examined – in order to acquit or to punish in varying degrees. The classification of different degrees of faith allows that faith and its expression may wax and wane in fervor - during the lifetime of a faithful individual and/or over the various historical centuries of a society with an embedded religious system. Thus one can speak of an "Age of Faith" or of the "decay" of a society's religiosity into corruption, secularism, or atheism, - interpretable as the ultimate loss of faith. Christian apologetic views In contrast to Richard Dawkins' view of faith as "blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence", Alister McGrath quotes the Oxford Anglican theologian W. H. Griffith Thomas (1861–1924), who states that faith is "not blind, but intelligent" and that it "commences with the conviction of the mind based on adequate evidence...", which McGrath sees as "a good and reliable definition, synthesizing the core elements of the characteristic Christian understanding of faith". American biblical scholar Archibald Thomas Robertson (1863-1934) stated that the Greek word pistis used for "faith" in the New Testament (over two hundred forty times), and rendered "assurance" in Acts 17:31 (KJV), is "an old verb meaning "to furnish", used regularly by Demosthenes for bringing forward evidence." Tom Price (Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics) affirms that when the New Testament talks about faith positively it only uses words derived from the Greek root [pistis] which means "to be persuaded". British Christian apologist John Lennox argues that "faith conceived as belief that lacks warrant is very different from faith conceived as belief that has warrant". He states that "the use of the adjective 'blind' to describe 'faith' indicates that faith is not necessarily, or always, or indeed normally, blind". "The validity, or warrant, of faith or belief depends on the strength of the evidence on which the belief is based." "We all know how to distinguish between blind faith and evidence-based faith. We are well aware that faith is only justified if there is evidence to back it up." "Evidence-based faith is the normal concept on which we base our everyday lives." Peter S Williams holds that "the classic Christian tradition has always valued rationality, and does not hold that faith involves the complete abandonment of reason while believing in the teeth of evidence". Quoting Moreland, faith is defined as "a trust in and commitment to what we have reason to believe is true". Regarding doubting Thomas in John 20:24–31, Williams points out that "Thomas wasn't asked to believe without evidence". He was asked to believe on the basis of the other disciples' testimony. Thomas initially lacked the first-hand experience of the evidence that had convinced them... Moreover, the reason John gives for recounting these events is that what he saw is evidence... Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples...But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing ye might have life in his name. John 20:30,31. Concerning doubting Thomas, Michael R. Allen wrote: "Thomas's definition of faith implies adherence to conceptual propositions for the sake of personal knowledge, knowledge of and about a person qua person". Kenneth Boa and Robert M. Bowman Jr. describe a classic understanding of faith that is referred to as evidentialism, and which is part of a larger epistemological tradition called classical foundationalism, which is accompanied by deontologism, which holds that humans have an obligation to regulate their beliefs in accordance with evidentialist structures. They show how this can go too far, and Alvin Plantinga deals with it. While Plantinga upholds that faith may be the result of evidence testifying to the reliability of the source (of the truth claims), yet he sees having faith as being the result of hearing the truth of the gospel with the internal persuasion by the Holy Spirit moving and enabling him to believe. "Christian belief is produced in the believer by the internal instigation of the Holy Spirit, endorsing the teachings of Scripture, which is itself divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. The result of the work of the Holy Spirit is faith." Catholicism The four-part Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) gives Part One to "The Profession of Faith". This section describes the content of faith. It elaborates and expands particularly upon the Apostles' Creed. CCC 144 initiates a section on the "Obedience of Faith". In the theology of Pope John Paul II, faith is understood in personal terms as a trusting commitment of person to person and thus involves Christian commitment to the divine person of Jesus Christ. Methodism In Methodism, faith plays an important role in justification, which occurs during the New Birth. The Emmanuel Association, a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement, teaches: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) states that "faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" is the first principle of the gospel. Some alternative, yet impactful, ideas regarding the nature of faith were presented by church founder Joseph Smith in a collection of sermons, which are now published as the Lectures on Faith. Lecture 1 explains what faith is; Lecture 2 describes how mankind comes to know about God; Lectures 3 and 4 make clear the necessary and unchanging attributes of God; Lecture 5 deals with the nature of God the Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost; Lecture 6 proclaims that the willingness to sacrifice all earthly things is prerequisite to gaining faith unto salvation; Lecture 7 treats the fruits of faith—perspective, power, and eventually perfection. Hinduism Bhakti () literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity". It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to devotion and love for a personal god or a representational god by a devotee. In ancient texts such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the term simply means participation, devotion and love for any endeavor, while in the Bhagavad Gita, it connotes one of the possible paths of spirituality and towards moksha, as in bhakti marga. Ahimsa, also referred to as nonviolence, is the fundamental tenet of Hinduism which advocates harmonious and peaceful co-existence and evolutionary growth in grace and wisdom for all humankind unconditionally. In Hinduism, most of the Vedic prayers begins with the chants of Om. Om is the Sanskrit symbol that amazingly resonates the peacefulness ensconced within one's higher self. Om is considered to have a profound effect on the body and mind of the one who chants and also creates a calmness, serenity, healing, strength of its own to prevail within and also in the surrounding environment. Islam In Islam, a believer's faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam is called Iman (), which is complete submission to the will of God, not unquestionable or blind belief. A man must build his faith on well-grounded convictions beyond any reasonable doubt and above uncertainty. According to the Quran, Iman must be accompanied by righteous deeds and the two together are necessary for entry into Paradise. In the Hadith of Gabriel, Iman in addition to Islam and Ihsan form the three dimensions of the Islamic religion. Muhammad referred to the six axioms of faith in the Hadith of Gabriel: "Iman is that you believe in God and His Angels and His Books and His Messengers and the Hereafter and the good and evil fate [ordained by your God]." The first five are mentioned together in the Qur'an The Quran states that faith can grow with remembrance of God. The Qur'an also states that nothing in this world should be dearer to a true believer than faith. Judaism Judaism recognizes the positive value of Emunah (generally translated as faith, trust in God) and the negative status of the Apikorus (heretic), but faith is not as stressed or as central as it is in other religions, especially compared with Christianity and Islam. It could be a necessary means for being a practicing religious Jew, but the emphasis is placed on true knowledge, true prophecy and practice rather than on faith itself. Very rarely does it relate to any teaching that must be believed. Judaism does not require one to explicitly identify God (a key tenet of Christian faith, which is called Avodah Zarah in Judaism, a minor form of idol worship, a big sin and strictly forbidden to Jews). Rather, in Judaism, one is to honour a (personal) idea of God, supported by the many principles quoted in the Talmud to define Judaism, mostly by what it is not. Thus there is no established formulation of Jewish principles of faith which are mandatory for all (observant) Jews. In the Jewish scriptures, trust in God – Emunah – refers to how God acts toward his people and how they are to respond to him; it is rooted in the everlasting covenant established in the Torah, notably Deuteronomy 7:9: The specific tenets that compose required belief and their application to the times have been disputed throughout Jewish history. Today many, but not all, Orthodox Jews have accepted Maimonides' Thirteen Principles of Belief. A traditional example of Emunah as seen in the Jewish annals is found in the person of Abraham. On a number of occasions, Abraham both accepts statements from God that seem impossible and offers obedient actions in response to direction from God to do things that seem implausible. "The Talmud describes how a thief also believes in G‑d: On the brink of his forced entry, as he is about to risk his life—and the life of his victim—he cries out with all sincerity, 'G‑d help me!' The thief has faith that there is a G‑d who hears his cries, yet it escapes him that this G‑d may be able to provide for him without requiring that he abrogate G‑d’s will by stealing from others. For emunah to affect him in this way he needs study and contemplation." Sikhism Faith itself is not a religious concept in Sikhism. However, the five Sikh symbols, known as Kakaars or Five Ks (in Punjabi known as pañj kakkē or pañj kakār), are sometimes referred to as the Five articles of Faith. The articles include kēs (uncut hair), kaṅghā (small wooden comb), kaṛā (circular steel or iron bracelet), kirpān (sword/dagger), and kacchera (special undergarment). Baptised Sikhs are bound to wear those five articles of faith, at all times, to save them from bad company and keep them close to God. Epistemological validity There is a wide spectrum of opinion with respect to the epistemological validity of faith - that is, whether it is a reliable way to acquire true beliefs. Fideism Fideism is an epistemological theory which maintains that faith is independent of reason, or that reason and faith are hostile to each other and faith is superior at arriving at particular truths (see natural theology). Fideism is not a synonym for religious belief, but describes a particular philosophical proposition in regard to the relationship between faith's appropriate jurisdiction at arriving at truths, contrasted against reason. It states that faith is needed to determine some philosophical and religious truths, and it questions the ability of reason to arrive at all truth. The word and concept had its origin in the mid- to late-19th century by way of Catholic thought, in a movement called Traditionalism. The Roman Catholic Magisterium has, however, repeatedly condemned fideism. Support Religious epistemologists have formulated and defended reasons for the rationality of accepting belief in God without the support of an argument. Some religious epistemologists hold that belief in God is more analogous to belief in a person than belief in a scientific hypothesis. Human relations demand trust and commitment. If belief in God is more like belief in other persons, then the trust that is appropriate to persons will be appropriate to God. American psychologist and philosopher William James offers a similar argument in his lecture The Will to Believe. Foundationalism is a view about the structure of justification or knowledge. Foundationalism holds that all knowledge and justified belief are ultimately based upon what are called properly basic beliefs. This position is intended to resolve the infinite regress problem in epistemology. According to foundationalism, a belief is epistemically justified only if it is justified by properly basic beliefs. One of the significant developments in foundationalism is the rise of reformed epistemology. Reformed epistemology is a view about the epistemology of religious belief, which holds that belief in God can be properly basic. Analytic philosophers Alvin Plantinga and Nicholas Wolterstorff develop this view. Plantinga holds that an individual may rationally believe in God even though the individual does not possess sufficient evidence to convince an agnostic. One difference between reformed epistemology and fideism is that the former requires defence against known objections, whereas the latter might dismiss such objections as irrelevant. Plantinga has developed reformed epistemology in Warranted Christian Belief as a form of externalism that holds that the justification conferring factors for a belief may include external factors. Some theistic philosophers have defended theism by granting evidentialism but supporting theism through deductive arguments whose premises are considered justifiable. Some of these arguments are probabilistic, either in the sense of having weight but being inconclusive, or in the sense of having a mathematical probability assigned to them. Notable in this regard are the cumulative arguments presented by British philosopher Basil Mitchell and analytic philosopher Richard Swinburne, whose arguments are based on Bayesian probability. In a notable exposition of his arguments, Swinburne appeals to an inference for the best explanation. Professor of Mathematics and philosopher of science at University of Oxford John Lennox has stated, "Faith is not a leap in the dark; it’s the exact opposite. It’s a commitment based on evidence… It is irrational to reduce all faith to blind faith and then subject it to ridicule. That provides a very anti-intellectual and convenient way of avoiding intelligent discussion.” He criticises Richard Dawkins as a famous proponent of asserting that faith equates to holding a belief without evidence, thus that it is possible to hold belief without evidence, for failing to provide evidence for this assertion. Criticism Bertrand Russell wrote: Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins criticizes all faith by generalizing from specific faith in propositions that conflict directly with scientific evidence. He describes faith as belief without evidence; a process of active non-thinking. He states that it is a practice that only degrades our understanding of the natural world by allowing anyone to make a claim about nature that is based solely on their personal thoughts, and possibly distorted perceptions, that does not require testing against nature, has no ability to make reliable and consistent predictions, and is not subject to peer review. Philosophy professor Peter Boghossian argues that reason and evidence are the only way to determine which "claims about the world are likely true". Different religious traditions make different religious claims, and Boghossian asserts that faith alone cannot resolve conflicts between these without evidence. He gives as an example of the belief held by that Muslims that Muhammad (who died in the year 632) was the last prophet, and the contradictory belief held by Mormons that Joseph Smith (born in 1805) was a prophet. Boghossian asserts that faith has no "built-in corrective mechanism". For factual claims, he gives the example of the belief that the Earth is 4,000 years old. With only faith and no reason or evidence, he argues, there is no way to correct this claim if it is inaccurate. Boghossian advocates thinking of faith either as "belief without evidence" or "pretending to know things you don't know". Friedrich Nietzsche expressed his criticism of the Christian idea of faith in passage 51 of The Antichrist: The fact that faith, under certain circumstances, may work for blessedness, but that this blessedness produced by an idée fixe by no means makes the idea itself true, and the fact that faith actually moves no mountains, but instead raises them up where there were none before: all this is made sufficiently clear by a walk through a lunatic asylum. Not, of course, to a priest: for his instincts prompt him to the lie that sickness is not sickness and lunatic asylums not lunatic asylums. Christianity finds sickness necessary, just as the Greek spirit had need of a superabundance of health—the actual ulterior purpose of the whole system of salvation of the church is to make people ill. And the church itself—doesn’t it set up a Catholic lunatic asylum as the ultimate ideal?—The whole earth as a madhouse?—The sort of religious man that the church wants is a typical décadent; the moment at which a religious crisis dominates a people is always marked by epidemics of nervous disorder; the “inner world” of the religious man is so much like the “inner world” of the overstrung and exhausted that it is difficult to distinguish between them; the “highest” states of mind, held up before mankind by Christianity as of supreme worth, are actually epileptoid in form—the church has granted the name of holy only to lunatics or to gigantic frauds in majorem dei honorem.... See also References Sources Further reading Sam Harris, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, W. W. Norton (2004), hardcover, 336 pages, Stephen Palmquist, "Faith as Kant's Key to the Justification of Transcendental Reflection", The Heythrop Journal 25:4 (October 1984), pp. 442–455. Reprinted as Chapter V in Stephen Palmquist, Kant's System of Perspectives (Lanham: University Press of America, 1993). D. Mark Parks, "Faith/Faithfulness" Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Eds. Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England. Nashville: Holman Publishers, 2003. On Faith and Reason by Swami Tripurari Baba, Meher: Discourses, San Francisco: Sufism Reoriented, 1967. Classic reflections on the nature of faith Martin Buber, I and Thou Paul Tillich, The Dynamics of Faith The Reformation view of faith John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1536 R.C. Sproul, Faith Alone, Baker Books, 1 February 1999, External links Faith in Judaism chabad.org Pew Research Center Reports on Religion Faith News & Religion | Times Online Articles and comment about faith issues and religion from The Times Belief Religious belief and doctrine Seven virtues

FAO, or the Food and Agriculture Organization, is an agency of the United Nations. FAO may also refer to: Places Fao, Iraq Fao Peninsula Fão, Portugal Faro Airport, in Portugal, airport code FAO Military and insurgents Al-Fao, an Iraqi artillery system Western Armed Forces (French: ), a Chadian insurgent group Fusil ametrallador Oviedo, a Spanish light machine gun Professions Flight Activities Officer, a NASA flight controller Foreign area officer of the United States Armed Forces Other uses Fao (god), a god of Niue Fao festival, in Ghana FAO Schwarz, an American toy retailer Faroese language, language code Fao Football Association of Odisha, in India

Freeciv is a single- and multiplayer turn-based strategy game for workstations and personal computers inspired by the proprietary Sid Meier's Civilization series. It is available for most desktop computer operating systems and available in an online browser version. Released under the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later, Freeciv is free and open source software. The game's default settings are closest to Civilization II, in both gameplay and graphics, including the units and the isometric grid. Freeciv is playable online at freecivweb.org Players take the role of tribal leaders in 4000 B.C. who must guide their peoples through the centuries. Over time, new technologies are discovered, which allow the construction of new city buildings and the deployment of new units. Players can wage war on one another or form diplomatic relationships. The game ends when one civilization has eradicated all others or accomplished the goal of space colonization, or at a given deadline. If more than one civilization remains at the deadline, the player with the highest score wins. Points are awarded for the size of a civilization, its wealth, and cultural and scientific advances. History At the computer science department at Aarhus University, three students, avid players of XPilot and of Sid Meier's Civilization, which was a stand-alone PC game for MS-DOS, decided to find out whether the two could be fused into an X-based multiplayer Civilization-like strategy game. The students—Peter Unold, Claus Leth Gregersen and Allan Ove Kjeldbjerg—started development in November 1995; the first playable version was released in January 1996, with bugfixing and small enhancements until April. The rules of the game were close to Civilization, while the client/server architecture was basically that of XPilot. For the developers, Freeciv 1.0 was a successful proof of concept, but a rather boring game, so they went back to XPilot. Other players and developers took over; they made the game available on many other operating systems, including Linux, Solaris, Ultrix, Amiga OS, and Microsoft Windows. Linux distributions started to include Freeciv. The main development goal remained to make a Civilization-like game playable over the Internet, with participants on different continents, even when connected with 14400 bit/s modems. Freeciv achieved this by using an asynchronous client-server protocol: during each turn, human users play concurrently, and their actions are sent to the server for processing without awaiting the results. This kept the game playable with network latency up to a few hundreds of milliseconds. In 1998, computer players were added; they could soon beat newcomers to the game with ease, using only minor forms of cheating. Computer players are implemented directly in the server; they do not play concurrently with human players, but separately, in between turns. The game grew in popularity. A public server was installed on which games could be played around the clock; it retained the games and published a post-game analysis webpage with per-player statistics and an animated map replay. Subsequent 1.x releases improved the GUI, improved the gameplay, optimized playability over poor connections, and added many small features. Over time, the winning strategy proved to be city smallpox, i.e. sprawling the map with many small cities as fast as possible; whoever could develop fastest would win the game, and growing and developing individual cities was not worthwhile. In practice, from around 2002, experienced players would form teams at the start of the game; a fork of Freeciv included specific features for team play. Version 2.0, released in 2005, introduced several important changes. New team playing features and advanced diplomacy made cooperative gaming more attractive. Adjustments to various costs and benefits put an end to the dominance of the city smallpox strategy that left many of the game's features unused; developing one's empire now necessitated a careful plan for city development, including the used of trade routes and phases of rapture, in which city populations grow quickly, under relatively peaceful conditions. As a result, multiplayer games were almost always played in teams and typically took longer to finish when compared to 1.x games. In 2006, TCP and UDP port number 5556 was assigned to Freeciv by IANA. In 2017, after being hosted on Gna! for 15 years, Freeciv moved its source repository to GitHub. Reception and impact In 2000 CNN placed Freeciv among the "Top 10 Linux games for the holidays". In 2005, in an O'Reilly article on "Open Source Mac Gaming", Freeciv was recommended. In 2008 APC named Freeciv among the "Top 5 best (free) open source games". Linux Format selected it as "HotPick" in April 2010 and in October 2014. Freeciv was described as an example in The Art of Unix Programming by Eric S. Raymond. Studies and courses have used Freeciv as a platform for experimenting with the design and programming of intelligent agents. In 2016 Freeciv was used as a challenge after chess and Go for a commercial AI. Design Freeciv is very configurable, down to the specific rules, so it can be played in Freeciv (default) mode, Civilization mode, Civilization II mode, or a custom mode. One or several players act as game administrators and can configure the game rules. Typically modified rules are: Number of players required before the game can be started. The maximum number of players is 126 in the latest version of Freeciv. Speed of technological development Whether there should be computer controlled players Whether (computer controlled) barbarians should invade player settlements How close cities can be built to one another How continents and islands are generated and distributed over the map The map size, where the maximum map size is 2,048,000 map tiles (128,000 before 2.4.0) Map topology (rectangular or hexagonal tiling; whether it wraps horizontally and/or vertically) In order to play a game of Freeciv, a user must start up a Freeciv client and connect it to a Freeciv server. Initially, the server is in pre-game phase; in this phase, clients can connect and game configuration parameters can be changed. At some point, the server may be ordered to start a game; in response, it creates game players (nations) and the game map, and assigns every player to either a Freeciv client or a computer player, as specified by the configuration. From that point on, the game will run until it ends or is terminated; the server can never get back into pre-game state. The user can also start a game directly from the client: this automatically starts a Freeciv server, connects to it and starts the game. Features Freeciv's graphics system is configurable: originally, map display was always in overhead mode (like in Civ I). Isometric mode (like in Civ II and III) and optionally hexagonal tiling (like in Civ V and VI) were added later. In both modes, look can be further customized by switching to an alternative set of graphics (called a tileset). The sounds can be replaced as well. Freeciv supports human-to-human multiplayer gameplay and artificial intelligence (AI) computer players. While the game is turn based, human players move simultaneously. The AI players move separately, partly at the start of a turn, partly at the end. In releases before 2.0, AI players could not engage in diplomatic relationships with human players. Under the current releases, AI players will engage in a very predictable, rules-based diplomacy. Version 2.2.0 included a map editor, termed Civworld. It can create new scenarios, as well as edit the map currently being played. Basic scripting is available with Freeciv, but is not available in Civworld. Version 2.3 increased the limit of players from 30 to 126. There are different clients available SDL, GTK+ (version3) and Xaw3D A Qt client was added in version 2.5. The Freeciv interface is available in over 30 different languages. The addition of Gaelic was covered on BBC TV. Ports and variants Originally developed on IRIX, Freeciv has been ported to many different operating systems: it is distributed with many Linux distributions, offers installers for Microsoft Windows, and has been known to run on Mac OS X, MorphOS, Solaris, Ultrix, QNX, OS/2, Cygwin, AmigaOS, AROS, RISC OS, Maemo, ZETA, SkyOS, various BSDs, and smartphones and tablets running Android. As of version 2.4, Mac OS X, and as of version 2.3, Windows versions older than Windows XP SP3 are no longer supported. Freeciv is available in the PortableApps format. Freeciv-web Freeciv-web is a version of Freeciv playable online in any modern web browser. It supports 2D isometric graphics or 3D graphics using WebGL. The game is a fork of the Freeciv project, with the goal of redesigning the desktop game into a version which can be played online. Freeciv-web introduced several new features, such as play-by-email support freely available to anyone online, and support for playing the game on any real-world map location by choosing a map using Mapbox, which is not available in commercial games in the genre. The game's default settings are closest to Civilization II, both in gameplay and graphics (including the units and the isometric grid). The proposal to create a web-version of Freeciv was made 6 April 2007 on the Freeciv mailing lists, and documented on the Freeciv.org wiki. Freeciv-web was originally created by Andreas Røsdal, but is now maintained by several Freeciv developers on GitHub. Freeciv-web is free and open source software. The Freeciv C server is released under the GNU General Public License, while the Freeciv-web client is released under the GNU Affero General Public License. Freeciv-web supports human-to-human multiplayer gameplay and artificial intelligence (AI) computer players. Its features are similar to the Freeciv C client, although not all of the user-interface has been ported from the C client yet. The Freeciv-web server on play.freeciv.org was shut down in March 2018, but the project was revived by a group of volunteers on freecivweb.org. Freeciv-web can be played online at a number of servers such as freecivweb.org. All the features required to play a full game of Freeciv are in place. Most servers offer multiple varieties of the game: single-player, multiplayer free-for-all, play-by-email and longturn. Longturn variants Freeciv Longturn is a specialized large-group-multiplayer-online-strategy variant of Freeciv featuring daylong game turns with large amounts of human opponents per map, allowing for optimal timing to build up strategic plans and readapt them to the circumstances of each turn. Matches can last anytime from a few weeks to months, and commonly involve 20 to 30 players in each one. Longturn's first game, now called LT0, started around 2004 on the Polish Civilization fanpage civ.org.pl and is now conducted at Longturn.net. It was decided that the game is a bit too slow-paced, so a new "3X movement" ruleset was devised – basically, all units had their movement points and vision radius tripled. As of April 2020, the latest game was LT53. Changes to settings or rulesets are discussed in the Longturn forum. Greatturn was a similar concept on another server. FreeCivWeb.org also offers longturn games (more than fifty have been played before mid-2021) with a multiplayer ruleset which is documented in great details Power of Planets - Earth (formerly known as GaCivs) is a free-to-play MMO-RTS variant based on FreeCiv. The ruleset was devised to support long-term time-based gameplay instead of turn-based strategy. See also List of free and open-source software packages List of open source video games References External links 1996 video games 4X video games Acorn Archimedes games Amiga games AmigaOS 4 games AROS software Articles containing video clips Browser games Cooperative video games Cross-platform software Free and open-source Android software Free software that uses SDL Linux games Lua (programming language)-scripted video games Maemo games MorphOS games Multiplayer hotseat games Open-source video games Strategy video games MacOS games Panhistorical video games Turn-based strategy video games Video games developed in Denmark Video games with isometric graphics Windows games

The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. FIDE was founded in Paris, France, on July 20, 1924. Its motto is Gens una sumus, Latin for "We are one Family". In 1999, FIDE was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As of February 2022, there are 201 member federations of FIDE. Role FIDE's most visible activity is organizing the World Chess Championship since 1948. FIDE also organizes world championships for women, juniors, seniors, and the disabled. Another flagship event is the Chess Olympiad, a biennial chess tournament organized since 1924, in which national teams compete. In alternate years, FIDE also organizes the World Team Championship, in which the best teams from the previous Olympiad compete. As part of the World Chess Championship cycle, FIDE also organizes the Candidates Tournament, which determines who will challenge the reigning World Champion, and the qualifying tournaments for the Candidates, such as the Chess World Cup, the FIDE Grand Prix, and the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2019. FIDE is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the supreme body responsible for the organization of chess and its championships at global and continental levels. Other tournaments are not overseen directly by FIDE, but they generally observe FIDE rules and regulations. Some national chess organizations such as the US Chess Federation use minor differences to FIDE rules. FIDE defines the rules of chess, both for individual games (i.e. the board and moves) and for the conduct of international competitions. The international competition rules are the basis for local competitions, although local bodies are allowed to modify these rules to a certain extent. FIDE awards a number of organizational titles, including International Arbiter, which signifies that the recipient is competent and trusted to oversee top-class competitions. FIDE calculates the Elo ratings of players. FIDE awards titles for achievement in competitive play, such as the Grandmaster title. It also awards titles to composers and solvers of chess problems and studies. Correspondence chess (chess played by post, email or on online servers) is regulated by the International Correspondence Chess Federation, an independent body that cooperates with FIDE where appropriate. The FIDE budget for 2022 was 12.84 million euros, an increase from the 2021 budget which was 4 million. Income is primarily from rights to tournaments such as the Olympiad and World Championship, from various fees and commissions, and from corporate sponsorship and donations. History Foundation and early years (up to 1939) In April 1914, an initiative was taken in St. Petersburg, Russia, to form an international chess federation. Another attempt was made in July 1914 during the Mannheim International Chess Tournament, but further efforts temporarily came to an end as a result of the outbreak of World War I. In 1920, another attempt to organize an international federation was made at the Gothenburg Tournament. Players also made the first attempt to produce rules for world championship matches—in 1922, world champion José Raúl Capablanca proposed the "London rules": the first player to win six games outright would win the match; playing sessions would be limited to five hours; the time limit would be 40 moves in 2.5 hours each; the champion would be obliged to defend his title within one year of receiving a challenge from a recognized master; the champion would decide the date of the match; the champion was not obliged to accept a challenge for a purse of less than $10,000; 20% of the purse was to be paid to the title holder, with the remainder being divided, 60 percent to the winner of the match, and 40% to the loser; the highest purse bid must be accepted. Alekhine, Bogoljubov, Maróczy, Réti, Rubinstein, Tartakower and Vidmar promptly signed them. The only match played under those rules was Capablanca vs Alekhine in 1927. In 1922, the Russian master Eugene Znosko-Borovsky, while participating in an international tournament in London, announced that a tournament would be held during the 8th Sports Olympic Games in Paris in 1924 and would be hosted by the French Chess Federation. On July 20, 1924 the participants at the Paris tournament founded FIDE as a kind of players' union. In its early years, FIDE had little power, and was poorly financed. FIDE's congresses in 1925 and 1926 expressed a desire to become involved in managing the world championship. FIDE was largely happy with the "London Rules", but claimed that the requirement for a purse of $10,000 was impracticable and called upon Capablanca to come to an agreement with the leading masters to revise the Rules. FIDE's third congress, in Budapest in 1926, also decided to organize a Chess Olympiad. The invitations were, however, late in being sent, with the result that only four countries participated, and the competition was called the Little Olympiad. The winner was Hungary, followed by Yugoslavia, Romania, and Germany. In 1927, FIDE began organizing the First Chess Olympiad during its 4th Congress in London. The official title of the tournament was the "Tournament of Nations", or "World Team Championship", but "Chess Olympiad" became a more popular title. The event was won by Hungary, with 16 teams competing. In 1928 FIDE recognized Bogoljubow as "Champion of FIDE" after he won a match against Max Euwe. Alekhine, the reigning world champion, attended part of the 1928 Congress and agreed to place future matches for the world title under the auspices of FIDE, although any match with Capablanca should be under the same conditions as in Buenos Aires, 1927, i.e. including the requirement for a purse of at least $10,000. FIDE accepted this and decided to form a commission to modify the London Rules for future matches, though this commission never met; by the time of the 1929 Congress, a world championship match between Alekhine and Bogoljubow was under way, held neither under the auspices of FIDE nor in accordance with the London Rules. While negotiating his 1937 World Championship re-match with Alekhine, Euwe proposed that if he retained the title, FIDE should manage the nomination of future challengers and the conduct of championship matches. FIDE had been trying since 1935 to introduce rules on how to select challengers, and its various proposals favored selection by some sort of committee. While they were debating procedures in 1937 and Alekhine and Euwe were preparing for their re-match later that year, the Dutch Chess Federation proposed that a super-tournament (AVRO) of ex-champions and rising stars should be held to select the next challenger. FIDE rejected this proposal and at their second attempt nominated Salo Flohr as the official challenger. Euwe then declared that: if he retained his title against Alekhine he was prepared to meet Flohr in 1940 but he reserved the right to arrange a title match either in 1938 or 1939 with José Raúl Capablanca, who had lost the title to Alekhine in 1927; if Euwe lost his title to Capablanca then FIDE's decision should be followed and Capablanca would have to play Flohr in 1940. Most chess writers and players strongly supported the Dutch super-tournament proposal and opposed the committee processes favored by FIDE. While this confusion went unresolved: Euwe lost his title to Alekhine; the AVRO tournament in 1938 was won by Paul Keres under a tie-breaking rule, with Reuben Fine placed second and Capablanca and Flohr in the bottom places; and the outbreak of World War II in 1939 cut short the controversy. Although competitive chess continued in many countries, including some that were under Nazi occupation, there was no international competition and FIDE was inactive during the war. 1946 to 1993 Birth of the World Championship challenge cycle From the time of Emanuel Lasker's defeat of Wilhelm Steinitz in 1894, until 1946, a new World Champion had won the title by defeating the former champion in a match. Alexander Alekhine's death created an interregnum that made the normal procedure impossible. The situation was confused, with many respected players and commentators offering different solutions. FIDE found it difficult to organize the early discussions on how to resolve the interregnum, because problems with money and travel in the aftermath of World War II prevented many countries from sending representatives, most notably the Soviet Union. The shortage of clear information resulted in otherwise responsible magazines publishing rumors and speculation, which only made the situation more confused. See Interregnum of World Chess Champions for more details. This situation was exacerbated by the Soviet Union having long refused to join FIDE, and by this time it was clear that about half the credible contenders were Soviet citizens. The Soviet Union realized, however, it could not afford to be left out of the discussions regarding the vacant world championship, and in 1947 sent a telegram apologizing for the absence of Soviet representatives and requesting that the USSR be represented in future FIDE Committees. The eventual solution was similar to FIDE's initial proposal and to a proposal put forward by the Soviet Union (authored by Mikhail Botvinnik). The 1938 AVRO tournament was used as the basis for the 1948 Championship Tournament. The AVRO tournament had brought together the eight players who were, by general acclamation, the best players in the world at the time. Two of the participants at AVRO—Alekhine and former world champion Capablanca—had since died; but FIDE decided that the other six participants at AVRO would play a quadruple round-robin tournament. These players were: Max Euwe (from The Netherlands); Botvinnik, Paul Keres and Salo Flohr (from the Soviet Union); and Reuben Fine and Samuel Reshevsky (from the United States). FIDE soon accepted a Soviet request to substitute Vasily Smyslov for Flohr, and Fine withdrew in order to continue his degree studies in psychiatry, so five players competed, in a quintuple round robin. Botvinnik won, thus becoming world champion, ending the interregnum. The proposals which led to the 1948 Championship Tournament also specified the procedure by which challengers for the World Championship would be selected in a three-year cycle: countries affiliated with FIDE would send players to Zonal tournaments (the number varied depending on the number of strong players each country had); the players who gained the top places in these would compete in an Interzonal tournament (later split into two, then three tournaments as the number of countries and eligible players increased); the highest-placed players from the Interzonal would compete in the Candidates Tournament, along with the loser of the previous title match and the runner-up in the previous Candidates Tournament; and the winner of the Candidates played a title match against the champion. From 1950 until 1962 inclusive, the Candidates Tournament was a multi-round round-robin—how and why it was changed are described below. Bobby Fischer controversies FIDE found itself embroiled in some controversies relating to the American player Bobby Fischer, the first of which took place when Fischer alleged that at the 1962 Candidates Tournament in Curaçao, the Soviet players Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres and Efim Geller had pre-arranged draws in their games played amongst themselves, and that Viktor Korchnoi, another Soviet player, had been instructed to lose to them (Fischer had placed 4th, well behind Petrosian, Keres and Geller). Grandmaster Yuri Averbakh, a member of the Soviet delegation at the tournament, confirmed in 2002 that Petrosian, Keres and Geller privately agreed to draw their games. FIDE responded by changing the format of Candidates Tournaments from a multi-round round-robin to a series of elimination matches, initially 10–12 games in duration, though by the 1970s, the Candidates final would be as long as 24 games. In 1969, Fischer refused to play in the U.S. Championship because of disagreements about the tournament's format and prize fund. Since that event was being treated as a Zonal tournament, Fischer forfeited his right to compete for the right to challenge World Champion Boris Spassky in 1972. Grandmaster Pal Benko agreed to relinquish his qualifying place at the Interzonal in Fischer's favor, and the other participants waived their right to claim the spot. FIDE president Max Euwe interpreted the rules very flexibly to allow Fischer to play in the 1970 Interzonal at Palma de Mallorca, which he won convincingly. Fischer then crushed Mark Taimanov, Bent Larsen (both 6–0) and Tigran Petrosian in the 1971 Candidates Tournament and won the title match with Spassky to become world champion. After winning the world championship, Fischer criticized the existing championship match format (24 games; the champion retained the title if the match was tied) on the grounds that it encouraged whoever got an early lead to play for draws. While this dispute was going on, Anatoly Karpov won the right to challenge in 1975. Fischer refused to accept any match format other than the one he proposed. Among Fischer's demands was a requirement that the challenger must beat him by at least two games in order to take his title (Fischer proposed a match format in which the first player to win 10 games wins, with draws not counting, but if the result is 9–9 it is considered a tie). The FIDE argued that it was unfair for a challenger to be able to beat the world champion, yet not take his title. Fischer would not back down, and eventually FIDE awarded the title to Karpov by default. Some commentators have questioned whether FIDE president Max Euwe did as much as he could have to prevent Fischer from forfeiting his world title. Other 1970s controversies FIDE had a number of conflicts with the Soviet Chess Federation. These conflicts included: The defection of grandmaster Gennadi Sosonko in 1972. The Soviets demanded that Sosonko be excluded from competitive chess, television or any other event that might publicize his defection. FIDE refused, and no Soviet players took part in the 1974 Wijk aan Zee tournament in The Netherlands because Sosonko was playing in it. In 1976 world championship contender Viktor Korchnoi sought political asylum in The Netherlands. In a discussion a few days earlier Euwe told Korchnoi, "...of course you will retain all your rights ..." and later opposed Soviet efforts to prevent Korchnoi from challenging for Anatoly Karpov's title in 1978. FIDE decided to hold the 1976 Chess Olympiad in Israel, which the Soviet Union did not recognize as a country. Rapid expansion of membership During his period as president of FIDE (1970–1978) Max Euwe strove to increase the number of member countries, and Florencio Campomanes (president 1982–1995) continued this policy, with each member nation receiving one vote. Former world champion Anatoly Karpov later said this was a mixed blessing, as the inclusion of so many small, poor countries led to a "leadership vacuum at the head of the world of chess......" Yuri Averbakh said the presence of so many weak countries made it easy to manipulate decisions. World Championship, 1983–1985 The events leading to Garry Kasparov's winning the world championship involved FIDE in two controversies. While arranging the Candidates Tournament semi-final matches to be played in 1983, FIDE accepted bids to host Kasparov versus Victor Korchnoi in Pasadena, California. The Soviet Union refused to accept this, either because it feared Kasparov would defect or because it thought Kasparov was the greater threat to reigning champion Anatoly Karpov. Their refusal would have meant that Kasparov forfeited his chance of challenging for the title. FIDE president Florencio Campomanes negotiated with the Soviet Union, and the match was played in London. In the 1984 world championship match between Karpov and Kasparov the winner was to be the first to win six games. In the first 27 games Karpov gained a 5–0 lead but by the end of the 48th Kasparov had reduced this to 5–3. At this point the match had lasted for 159 days (from September 1984 to February 1985). Then the match was ended without result by Florencio Campomanes, the President of the World Chess Federation, and a new match was announced to start a few months later. The termination was controversial, as both players stated that they preferred the match to continue. Announcing his decision at a press conference, Campomanes cited the health of the players, which had been strained by the length of the match. Kasparov won the second match and became world champion. 1993 to 2018 World Championship divided, 1993–2006 In 1992 Nigel Short surprised the world by winning the Candidates Tournament and thus becoming the official challenger for Kasparov's world title. FIDE very quickly accepted a bid from Manchester (England) to host the title match in 1993. But at that time Short was travelling to Greece and could not be consulted as FIDE's rules required. On learning of the situation Short contacted Kasparov, who had distrusted FIDE and its president, Florencio Campomanes ever since Campomanes had stopped his title match against Karpov in 1984. Kasparov and Short concluded that FIDE had failed to get them the best financial deal available and announced that they would "play under the auspices of a new body, the "Professional Chess Association" (PCA). FIDE stripped Kasparov of his FIDE title and dropped Kasparov and Short from the official rating list. It also announced a title match between Karpov and Jan Timman, whom Short had defeated in the semi-final and final stages of the Candidates Tournament. Kasparov and Karpov won their matches and there were now two players claiming to be world champion. In 1994 Kasparov concluded that breaking away from FIDE had been a mistake, because both commercial sponsors and the majority of grandmasters disliked the split in the world championship. Kasparov started trying to improve relations with FIDE and supported Campomanes' bid for re-election as president of FIDE. But many FIDE delegates regarded Campomanes as corrupt and in 1995 he agreed to resign provided his successor was Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, president of the Republic of Kalmykia. In the next few years several attempts to re-unify the world championship failed for various reasons – notably inability to finance a match or Kasparov's opposition to any plan that required him to play in a qualifying series rather than go straight into a re-unification match. In 2000 Vladimir Kramnik defeated Kasparov in a match for what was now the Braingames World Chess Championship (the PCA had collapsed by this time). But Kramnik was also unwilling to play in a qualifying series, and objected strongly to FIDE's attempt to have the world championship decided by annual knock-out tournaments and to reduce the time limits for games, changes which FIDE hoped would make the game more interesting to outsiders. Finally in 2006 a re-unification match was played between Kramnik and Veselin Topalov, which Kramnik won after an unpleasant controversy which led to one game being awarded to Topalov. But the split in the world title had after-effects, as shown by FIDE's complicated regulations for the 2007–9 world championship cycle. Because Topalov was unable to compete in the 2007 World Chess Championship Tournament, FIDE decided he should have a "fast track" entry into the 2007–2009 cycle. And FIDE also decided that, if Kramnik did not win the 2007 championship tournament, he should play a championship match in 2008 against the winner—and this provision became applicable because Viswanathan Anand won the tournament and thus became world champion. IOC recognition In 1999, FIDE was recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Two years later, it introduced the IOC's anti-drugs rules to chess, as part of its campaign for chess to become part of the Olympic Games. Commercial agreement with Agon and World Chess In 2012 FIDE entered into a commercial agreement, initially planned to last until 2021, with the company Agon Limited. This company was given rights to organize and commercially exploit the World Chess Championship and the associated events in the World Championship cycle. The first tournament it organized was the London FIDE Grand Prix event in September 2012, followed by the London Candidates Tournament in March 2013, and the Chennai World Chess Championship in November 2013. Agon subsequently organized the four events in the FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15, the Candidates Tournament in 2014, and the World Chess Championship in 2014. Agon had been founded in 2012 in Jersey by Andrew Paulson as the sole shareholder. On February 20, 2012, an agreement between Agon and FIDE was made, subject to approval by the 2012 FIDE General Assembly. This approval was forthcoming in September 2012. In October 2014, Agon was sold to its current CEO Ilya Merenzon for the sum of one pound. At the September 2016 FIDE General Assembly, it was resolved that Agon should institute a corporate presence in a locale with more transparency. Merenzon said that they would register in the United Kingdom within a few months. As a result, a new company, World Chess Limited, was registered shortly after, replacing Agon as the rights holder in the agreement with FIDE. FIDE and Agon/World Chess contract controversy Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was happy with the agreement on the basis that now FIDE itself did not have to expend resources to find organizers for its premier events. The issue of financial guarantees was also important, though as explained below, these have not always materialized. His estimation of 10–12 million euros to FIDE from the coming cycles has not yet come to fruition either. The condition that Agon would be the sole organizer of Championship events was disputed originally by principally the Bulgarian Chess Federation, with respect to the Candidates matches for 2012. In early 2014, a purported agreement between Paulson and FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was leaked, and then published by Chess.com (and others), which allegedly indicated that Paulson was simply a front man with Ilyumzhinov the ultimate benefactor of Agon. In that Chess.com article Malcolm Pein is quoted as having twice been told by Paulson that Ilyuzmhinov owned Agon, and in a New In Chess article Nigel Short asserted he had also been told this personally by Paulson. In response, FIDE's deputy vice president Georgios Makropoulos pointed out that the purported contract was a draft document. The FIDE Ethics Commission ruled in September 2015 that Ilyumzhinov did not violate the FIDE Code of Ethics. 2018 to present The election of Arkady Dvorkovich and the end of the Ilyumzhinov era In July 2018, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was ousted as FIDE President, after having been in office for 23 years, since 1995. Being subjected to US sanctions for his business dealings with the Syrian government, Ilyumzhinov was forced out and did not run for re-election in the 2018 FIDE elections. The Greek Georgios Makropoulos, who had been General Secretary since 1990 and number two in the organization under Kirsan's Presidency, was the first to announce his ticket. He was followed by the Englishman Nigel Short, a world title contender in the World Chess Championship 1993 against Garry Kasparov. The last to announce his candidacy was Arkady Dvorkovich, an economist who had served as Russian deputy prime minister and was also a member of the Supervisory Board of the Russian Chess Federation. Dvorkovich was also one of the chief organizers of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Dvorkovich was placed in the US Treasury pre-sanctions list in 2018 as a top Russian government employee. In the elections, held in Batumi (Georgia) in October 2018, Dvorkovich won by 103 votes to 78 against Makropoulos, after Nigel Short withdrew his candidacy at the last minute and expressed his support to the Russian candidate. After the 2018 FIDE elections and the appointment of a new FIDE President, the new management took regaining control over the World Championship cycle as one of their top priorities. In January 2019, FIDE Director-General Emil Sutovsky announced that a new contract has been signed that continues a scaled-back relationship with World Chess (formerly known as AGON) through 2021. In virtue of this new agreement, FIDE reasserted control over the 2020 Candidates and the World Championship match, which from now on will undergo an open bidding procedure. Agon/World Chess only retained organizational and commercial rights over the FIDE Grand Prix Series, limited until 2021. FIDE presidents 1924–1949 Alexander Rueb 1949–1970 Folke Rogard 1970–1978 Max Euwe 1978–1982 Friðrik Ólafsson 1982–1995 Florencio Campomanes 1995–2018 Kirsan Ilyumzhinov 2018–present Arkady Dvorkovich Publications See also FIDE Online Arena Chess around the world FIDE World Rankings International Correspondence Chess Federation List of FIDE chess world number ones FIDE titles Notes References External links “FIDE: The Prehistory” by Edward Winter “Chess: The History of FIDE” by Edward Winter Chess in France Chess organizations 1924 in chess Sports organizations established in 1924

Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for Fortress) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the twelfth richest city in the country in GDP. It also has the third richest metropolitan area in the North and Northeast regions. It is an important industrial and commercial center of Brazil, the nation's eighth largest municipality in purchasing power. According to the Ministry of Tourism, the city reached the mark of second most desired destination of Brazil and fourth among Brazilian cities in tourists received. The BR-116, the most important highway of the country, starts in Fortaleza. The municipality is part of the Common Market of Mercosur Cities, and also the Brazilian state capital which is closest to Europe, from Lisbon, Portugal. To the north of the city lies the Atlantic Ocean; to the south are the municipalities of Pacatuba, Eusébio, Maracanaú and Itaitinga; to the east is the municipality of Aquiraz and the Atlantic Ocean; and to the west is the municipality of Caucaia. Residents of the city are known as Fortalezenses. Fortaleza is one of the three leading cities in the Northeast region together with Recife and Salvador. History Colonial period Colonisation began in 1603 when Portugal was part of the Iberian Union, when the Portuguese Pero Coelho de Souza constructed the Fort of São Tiago and founded the settlement of Nova Lisboa (New Lisbon). After a victory over the French in 1612, Martins Soares Moreno expanded the Fort of São Tiago and changed its name to Forte de São Sebastião. In 1630 the Dutch invaded the Brazilian Northeast and in 1637 they took the Fort of São Sebastião and ruled over Ceará. In battles with the Portuguese and natives in 1644 the fort was destroyed. Under captain Matthias Beck the Dutch West Indies Company built a new fortress by the banks of river Pajeú. Fort Schoonenborch ("graceful stronghold") officially opened on August 19, 1649. After the capitulation of Pernambuco in 1654, the Dutch handed over this fortress to the Portuguese, who renamed it Fortaleza da Nossa Senhora de Assunção ("Fort of Our Lady of the Assumption"), after which the city of Fortaleza takes its name. Fortaleza was officially founded as a village 1726, becoming the capital of Ceará state in 1799. Imperial period During the 19th century, Fortaleza was consolidated as an urban centre in Ceará, supported by the cotton industry. With the transformation of the city into a regional export center and with the increase of direct navigation to Europe, the customs building of Fortaleza was built in 1812. In 1824, the city was targeted by the revolutionaries of Confederation of the Equator. Republican period The city gained a number of new districts in the 1930s, including Messejana and Porangaba. In 1954, the first university in the city was created, the Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC). In 1983 the city started to integrate the territory of the new city of Maracanaú, which, just some years ago, was made again part of the Greater Fortaleza (the city's Metropolitan area). In the 1980s, Fortaleza exceeded Recife in population terms, becoming the second most populous city in Northeastern Brazil, with 2,571,896 inhabitants. Geography Climate Fortaleza has a typical tropical climate, specifically a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification: Aw/As), with high temperatures and relative humidity throughout the year. However, these conditions are usually relieved by pleasant winds blowing from the ocean. Average temperatures are not much different throughout the year. December is the warmest month, with a high of and low of . The rainy season spans from January to July, with rainfall particularly prodigious in March and April. The average annual temperature is . The relative humidity in Fortaleza is 79%, with average annual rainfall of . There is usually rain during the first seven months of the year from January to July. During this period, relative humidity is high. Fortaleza's climate is usually very dry from August to December, with very little rainfall. Rainfall is like all of Northeastern Brazil among the most variable in the world, comparable (for similar average annual rainfalls) to central Queensland cities like Townsville and Mackay. In the notorious drought year of 1877 as little as fell, and in 1958 only , but in the Nordeste's record wet year of 1985 Fortaleza received . Vegetation In Fortaleza there are some remaining areas of mangrove in preserved areas, including Cocó Park. Ten miles offshore is the Pedra da Risca do Meio Marine State Park, created in 1997 to protect the reefs. Ecology and environment The vegetation of Fortaleza is typically coastal. The restinga areas are found in dune regions near the mouths of the Ceará, Cocó and Pacoti rivers, in the beds of which there is still a mangrove forest. In other green areas of the city, there is no longer native vegetation, consisting of varied vegetation, fruit trees more commonly. The city is home to seven environmental conservation units. These are the Sabiaguaba Dunes Municipal Natural Park, the Sabiaguaba Environmental Protection Area, the Maraponga Lagoon Ecological Park, the Cocó Ecological Park, the Ceará River Estuary Environmental Protection Area, the Environmental Protection Area of the Rio Pacoti and the Pedra da Risca do Meio Marine State Park. There is also, in the city, the Area of Relevant Ecological Interest of Sírio Curió, that protects the last enclave of Atlantic Forest in the urban zone. The Cocó River is part of the river basin of the east coast of Ceará and has a total length of about 50 km in its main area. The park is inserted in the area of greater environmental sensitivity of the city, where it is possible to identify geoenvironmental formations such as coastal plain, fluvial plain and surface of the coastal trays. The Cocó river mangrove is home to mollusks, crustaceans, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. The park has a structure of visitation, with guides, ecological trails and equipment and events of environmental education and ecotourism. The Coaçu River, affluent of the river Cocó, forms in its bed the lagoon of the Precabura. The Rio Pacoti provides much of the water supply for Fortaleza. At the municipal boundary with Caucaia, the estuary of the Rio Ceará is covered by an environmental protection area (APA), which was set up in 1999. Demographics According to the 2010 IBGE Census, there were 2,315,116 people residing in the city of Fortaleza. The census revealed the following numbers: 1,403,292 Pardo (multiracial) people (57.2%), 901,816 White people (36.8%), 110,811 Black people (4.5%), 33,161 Asian people (1.4%), 3,071 Amerindian people (0.1%). In 2010, the city of Fortaleza was the 5th most populous city proper in Brazil, after São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Brasília. In 2010, the city had 433,942 opposite-sex couples and 1,559 same-sex couples. The population of Fortaleza was 53.2% female and 46.8% male. The following cities are included in the metropolitan area of Fortaleza (ordered by population): Fortaleza, Caucaia, Maracanaú, Maranguape, Aquiraz, Pacatuba, Pacajus, Horizonte, São Gonçalo do Amarante, Itatinga, Guaiúba and Chorozinho. According to a genetic study from 2011, 'pardos' and whites' from Fortaleza, which comprise the largest share of the population, showed European ancestry of about 70%, the rest divided between Native American and African ancestries. A 2015 study, however, found out the following composition in Fortaleza: 48,9% of European contribution, 35,4% of Native American input and 15,7% of African ancestry. Religion The prevailing religion of Fortaleza is the Roman Catholic branch of Christianity. Source: IBGE 2000. According to the census of 2010, 1,664,521 people, 67.88% of the population, followed Roman Catholicism, 523,456 (21.35%) were Protestant, 31,691 (1.29%) represented Spiritism and 162,985 (6.65%) had no religion whatsoever. Other religions, such as Umbanda, Candomblé, other Afro-Brazilian religions, Spiritualism, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, other Eastern religions, Esotericism and other Christian churches like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had a smaller number of adherents. Politics The administration of the municipality is made from the executive and legislative branches. Roberto Cláudio, of the PDT, won 650,607 votes in the 2012 election, and was elected mayor. Legislative power rests with the City Council of Fortaleza, composed of 43 city councilors, elected for four-year terms, responsible for drafting municipal laws and supervising the executive. The municipality is, in addition, governed by organic law. In January 2015, there were 1 659 091 voters in Fortaleza (26,457% of the total state), distributed in thirteen electoral zones. The number of persons directly and indirectly employed in the municipal public administration in 2013 was respectively 31 318 and 4 950. The city also houses the seat of state executive power, the Abolition Palace, occupied by governor Camilo Santana, of the PT, elected in the general elections in Brazil in 2014. historically headquarters of the Iracema Club, which was Ceded to the Municipal Hall and now houses municipal executive bodies. In the city, there is the Administrative Center Governor Virgílio Távora. Among the institutions present in the city, are the Fortaleza Air Base, the Port Authority of Ceará, School of Apprentice Sailors of Ceará and the Command of the Tenth Military Region. The city also has units of the International Committee of the Red Cross and UNICEF. Since 1996, a city is part of the Common Market of Cities of Mercosur. Economy At the beginning of the decade of 2000, among the capitals of the Northeast, Fortaleza had the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP), being surpassed by Recife and Salvador. In 2012, the GDP of Fortaleza reached the value of 43.4 billion Reais, the tenth highest of the country. In the same year, the value of taxes on products net of subsidies at current prices was R $6,612,822,000 and the municipality's GDP per capita was R$17.359,53. The city's booming economy is reflected in purchasing power, the country's eighth largest, with estimated consumption potential at 42 billion reais in 2014. The main economic source of the municipality is centered in the tertiary sector, with its diversified segments of commerce and service rendering. Next, the secondary sector stands out, with the industrial complexes. In 2012, the city had 873,746 people in employment. Culture According to the Master Plan of Fortaleza, the Special Areas for the Preservation of Historic, Cultural and Archaeological Heritage are the regions of the center, Parangaba, Alagadiço Novo/José de Alencar, Benfica, Porangabuçu and Praia de Iracema. Properties of conservation interest. The architectural heritage of Fortaleza in the form of fallen goods, however, is predominantly concentrated in the center of the city. The Mucuripe Lighthouse is unfortunately in ruins today, Ceará and Fortaleza were part of the pioneering group of states and cities to adopt public policies to protect the living intangible heritage of their culture, through the Masters of Culture program. Museums, theatres and cultural spaces Among the theaters, the largest and most popular are Theatro José de Alencar, São José Theater, São Luiz Cinema Theater, and Teatro RioMarand Teatro Via Sul. The Ceará Museum houses numerous artifacts, including pieces of paleontology and furniture. The Dragão do Mar Center of Art and Culture is the main cultural centre, and includes the Ceará Museum of Culture, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Ceará, theaters, a planetarium, cinemas, shops and spaces for public presentations, as well as housing the Public Library Governador Menezes Pimentel, Oporto Iracema of the Arts and the School of Arts and Crafts Thomaz Pompeu Sobrinho. The Casa de Jose Alencar is one of the Brazilian museums recognised as dealing with Brazilian literature. It was opened in 1964 and houses art collections, a gallery, a library and the ruins of the first steam power plant in Ceará. In the different SERs of the city, the complexes of the CUCA Network are spread, which are facilities dedicated to art, leisure and education, especially for young people. Freemasonry is represented by the Grand Masonic Lodge of Ceará and the Great State East of Ceará. There are also service clubs in the city, such as the Lions Club and Rotary International. The Ceará handicraft has its main market and showcase in Fortaleza. In the city, there are several specific places for trade in handicraft products, such as the Ceará Craft Center (CeArt), Ceará Tourism Center (Emcetur), Crafts Fair of Beira-Mar, and on Avenida Monsenhor Tabosa. Literature and cinema The main literary manifestation of Fortaleza's history emerged at the end of the 19th century, in the cafes of Praça do Ferreira, known as the Spiritual Bakery, a pioneer in the dissemination of modern ideas in Brazilian literature that would only be adopted nationally in the following century, in the Modern Art Week. The most important historical entities of high culture still present in the city are the Ceará Institute and the Ceará Academy of Letters, the first academy of letters created in Brazil, founded in 1887 and 1894 respectively. The Ceará Institute has helped launch important names in national historiography and philosophy, such as Farias Brito and Capistrano de Abreu. Among the writers who are members of the Cearense Academy of Letters and members or patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, are Gustavo Barroso, Araripe Júnior, José de Alencar, Heráclito Graça, Franklin Tavora, Clóvis Beviláqua and Rachel de Queiroz, the first woman to Be part of the entity. The Casa de Juvenal Galeno is another historical cultural institution of Fortaleza, named after one of the greatest poets born in the city, Juvenal Galeno. The house became well known for its festivals of poetry and seminaries. In cinema, the most well known name is Zelito Viana, director of films like Villa-Lobos: A Life of Passion and Life and Death of Severina. More recently, Karim Aïnouz has directed Madame Satã, Suely in the Sky and Futuro Beach, and script of Lower City, Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures and Behind the Sun. Another current exponent of cinema born in Fortaleza is Halder Gomes, director and screenwriter of Holliúdy Cinema. New filmmakers in the city have gained in recent years prominent exhibitions such as at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. The most traditional cinema event in Fortaleza is the Cine Ceará (Ibero-American Film Festival), considered one of the main festivals of the country. Fashion The main fashion name in the city is the , who, from Fortaleza, designed himself nationally and internationally and today is one of the main names of São Paulo Fashion Week, besides being one of the founding designers of this fashion week. There are major events in the city, such as the Dragão Fashion Brasil, considered the largest fashion event in the Northeast and the third largest in the country. Much of the clothing that is produced in Ceará flows through Fortaleza, which in turn is recognized as one of the most important textile centers of the country, giving the garment industry great weight in the metropolitan economy. Brands of the city like Santana Textiles and headquarters of brands like Esplanada and Otoch have considerable regional influence. Music Forró is the most popular musical genre in the city. Bands originating in Fortaleza, such as Mastruz com Leite and Aviões do Forró, were responsible for the popularization of electronic forró, which promoted the revaluation of the accordion in the genre and brought it closer to pop music. The forró pé-de serra, however, still holds great cultural influence and commercial prominence in the city. In Música popular brasileira, some of the names from Fortaleza were Fagner, Ednardo, Belchior (from Sobral but lived in Fortaleza) and Amelinha. The musical tradition of Fortaleza, however, goes back to the composer Alberto Nepomuceno, one of the greatest names in classical music in Brazil, a pioneer in the development of the country's musical nationalism, and therefore considered the "founder of Brazilian music". The Alberto Nepomuceno Conservatory is one of the city's leading music schools. Carnival Fortaleza hosts one of the noted Brazilian Carnivals. Its main locations are Iracema Beach and Avenue Domingos Olimpio. Cuisine The gastronomy of Fortaleza is very close to the typical Northeastern cuisine, and, traditional include the baião de dois, usually accompanied by barbecue of mutton or meat of sun, and tapioca which is a pancake made from the starch of cassava. The seafood is another ingredient of typical dishes of fortalezeense cuisine, such as the steak moqueca and the mackerel and snapper fish. The fruit of the sea identity of the coast of the state is the crab. Shrimp and lobster are also widely used delicacies in dishes such as shrimp rice or shrimp dumplings. Tourism Acquario Ceará, due to be one of the largest oceanariums in Brazil, is currently under construction. Attractions such as the Beach Park theme park, located in the Great Fortaleza, Avenida Beira Mar and its bars, restaurants and music clubs, the beaches of Futuro and Iracema and Pirata Bar have placed Fortaleza among the Brazilian destinations preferred by Europeans. Scuba diving is possible in the area of Pedra da Risca do Meio Marine State Park, a marine protected area located about 10 nautical miles from the shoreline of Fortaleza. Urban beaches Fortaleza has about of urban beaches. Mucuripe is the place where jangadas can be found. Still used by fishermen to go into high seas, jangadas can be seen along the way during the afternoon and evenings, and returning from the sea in the morning; part of the catch of the day is sold in an old-style fish market. Education In 2010, the level of the education factor of the Strengthening Human Development Index was medium, despite its great advance, which went from 0.367 to 0.695 between 1991 and 2010. According to data from the 2010 Human Development Atlas of Brazil, Fortaleza's adult education levels were divided as follows: 8.57% did not complete primary school or were illiterate, 62.43% had completed elementary education, 45.93% had completed high school and 13.73% had completed higher education. Health The health indexes of the Fortaleza population are better than the Brazilian average. According to data from 2010, the infant mortality rate up to one year old was 15.8 per 1000 live births in Fortaleza, against a Brazilian average of 16.7. By 2013, 90.6% of children under one year of age had their immunization records up to date. In 2012, 37,577 live births were registered, and the infant mortality rate up to five years of age was 13.2 per 1000. Of the total number of children under two years old weighed by the Family Health Program in 2013, 0.8% were malnourished. In 2009, Fortaleza had a total of 35 general hospitals, of which 11 were public, 21 were private, two were philanthropic, and one was a trade union. The Doctor José Frota Institute is the largest hospital administered by the Municipal Government, and the General Hospital of Fortaleza is the largest hospital administered by the State Government. In addition, it had 54 specialized hospitals and eight polyclinics. The total number of physicians working in the health network of the municipality was 13,604, approximately 5.4 per thousand inhabitants. Fortaleza has 117 units of health posts, three administered by the municipality and six administered by the state. The first hospital built in Fortaleza was the Santa Casa de Misericórdia, founded in 1861. Among the most important public health institutions in the city, the most important is the Dr. José Frota Institute, the largest hospital administered by the Municipal Government, and the General Hospital of Fortaleza, the largest hospital administered by the State Government. Among the private institutions, the largest are the Unimed Fortaleza Regional Hospital, Antônio Prudente Hospital, Monte Klinikum Hospital and São Mateus Hospital. One of the most important basic health programs in Fortaleza is the Family Health Program, within which the city is in third place in the country in extension of coverage, with hundreds of teams distributed in dozens of care units. The Emergency Mobile Care Service (SAMU) is the municipality's health care service, which serves an average of 200 daily occurrences. The University Hospital Walter Cantídio is the largest liver transplantation facility in the country. The Faculty of Medicine of the UFC is the 13th best medical school in Brazil, 2nd best medical school in the North and Northeast regions and the best medical school in Ceará. UFC's medical degree is still one of the most popular in the country. Transportation International Airport The current passenger terminal of Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport, located in the center of Fortaleza, was built between 1996 and 1998. The airport is now undergoing an expansion process, from which the number of boarding bridges will increase from seven to sixteen and the passenger terminal will be expanded from 38,000 m2 to 133,000 m2. In 2014, the airport was capable of serving 6.2 million passengers per year, but after expansion, capacity would be 11.2 million. Pinto Martins Airport is the third busiest airport in the Northeast Region and one of the busiest in the country, receiving on average 1,500 international aircraft and 65,000 domestic aircraft per year. In 2013, it received more than 5.9 million passengers. Air Force Base Fortaleza Air Force Base - BAFZ, a base of the Brazilian Air Force, is located in Fortaleza. Roads In 2013, Fortaleza had 908,074 vehicles, of which 511,109 were cars, and 229 154 motorcycles. Traffic density at peak times in the city is rated as the fourth largest in the country, with 48% of congested roads. The cycle network of Fortaleza is composed of 116.4 km, of which 78.8 km are cycle paths and 37.6 km are cycle paths. The municipality also has a public bicycle system, Bicicletar, which had 40 stations and 400 units in April 2015. In 2015, the municipal taxi fleet was composed of 4 886 vehicles, including common, adapted and special use vehicles. The city's road transport system is regulated by the Fortaleza Urban Transportation Company (ETUFOR), an agency of the Municipality of Fortaleza. The collective transport carried out by buses is called the Integrated Transportation System (SIT-FOR), and its operation began in 1992. The system of traffic monitoring is known by the acronym CTAFOR, which stands for (Traffic Control of the Area of Fortaleza). Subway The Fortaleza Metro comprises five lines. The Fortaleza Metro started on October 1, 2014. As of 2014 18 of the 20 stations planned for the South Line are in operation, along with 9 stations of the West Line. MetroFor is the rapid transit system for the city of Fortaleza. Bus stations Fortaleza has multiple Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, lines throughout the city and has plans to extend this network of transportation (BRTBrasil.org) Bike lanes Fortaleza officially has of bike lanes. Sports The main games of the Ceará State Championship are played in Fortaleza. There are several association football clubs in the city, including Ceará SC, Fortaleza EC and Ferroviário AC. Fortaleza was one of the host cities of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup. Neighborhoods Dom Lustosa Notable people José de Alencar, famous writer from the 19th century Alberto Nepomuceno, famous composer from the 19th century Rachel de Queiroz, first female writer in Academia Brasileira de Letras André Diamant, international chess grandmaster Casimiro Montenegro Filho, founder of the Brazilian Air Force Aeronautical Technologic Institute - ITA Maurício Peixoto, mathematician, one of the founders of IMPA Gilberto Câmara, former director of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) Hélder Câmara, Roman Catholic Archbishop nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize Castelo Branco, former president (1964–67) Karim Aïnouz, film director Ed Lincoln, musician and composer Shelda Bede, beach volleyball player and olympic medalist Raffael, professional footballer Ronny Araújo, professional footballer Mário Jardel, retired professional footballer José Gerardo Moreira Rocha Júnior, footballer Otávio Dutra, professional footballer Marcus Aurélio, mixed martial arts professional Wilson Gouveia, mixed martial arts professional Thiago Alves, mixed martial arts professional Hermes França, mixed martial arts professional Jorge Gurgel, mixed martial arts professional Heloneida Studart, writer, politician, women's rights advocate International relations Fortaleza is twinned with: Ferreira do Alentejo, Portugal Lisbon, Portugal Miami Beach, United States Montese, Italy Praia, Cape Verde Racine, United States Sal, Cape Verde See also Housing in Fortaleza, Brazil References Bibliography External links Fortaleza City Council home page Fortaleza Tourism Office home page Port cities in Brazil Populated places established in 1726 1726 establishments in the Portuguese Empire 1726 establishments in South America

The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy, while phrases like liberté, égalité, fraternité reappeared in other revolts, such as the 1917 Russian Revolution, and inspired campaigns for the abolition of slavery and universal suffrage. The values and institutions it created dominate French politics to this day. Its causes are generally agreed to be a combination of social, political and economic factors, which the existing regime proved unable to manage. In May 1789, widespread social distress led to the convocation of the Estates General, which was converted into a National Assembly in June. Continuing unrest culminated in the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July, which led to a series of radical measures by the Assembly, including the abolition of feudalism, the imposition of state control over the Catholic Church in France, and extension of the right to vote. The next three years were dominated by the struggle for political control, exacerbated by economic depression and Civil disorder. Opposition from external powers like Austria, Britain, and Prussia resulted in the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in April 1792. Disillusionment with Louis XVI led to the establishment of the French First Republic on 22 September 1792, followed by his execution in January 1793. In June, an uprising in Paris replaced the Girondins who dominated the National Assembly with the Committee of Public Safety, headed by Maximilien Robespierre. This sparked the Reign of Terror, an attempt to eradicate alleged "counter-revolutionaries"; by the time it ended in July 1794, over 16,600 had been executed in Paris and the provinces. As well as its external enemies, the Republic faced internal opposition from both Royalists and Jacobins and in order to deal with these threats, the French Directory took power in November 1795. Despite a series of military victories, many won by Napoleon Bonaparte, political divisions and economic stagnation resulted in the Directory being replaced by the Consulate in November 1799. This is generally seen as marking the end of the Revolutionary period. Causes The underlying causes of the French Revolution are generally seen as arising from the failure of the Ancien Régime to manage social and economic inequality. Rapid population growth and the inability to adequately finance government debt resulted in economic depression, unemployment and high food prices. Combined with a regressive tax system and resistance to reform by the ruling elite, it resulted in a crisis Louis XVI proved unable to manage. At the same time, discussion of these issues and political dissent had become part of wider European society, rather than confined to a small elite. This took different forms, such as the English 'coffeehouse culture', and extended to areas colonised by Europeans, particularly British North America. Contacts between diverse groups in Edinburgh, Geneva, Boston, Amsterdam, Paris, London or Vienna were much greater than often appreciated. Transnational elites who shared ideas and styles were not new; what changed was their extent and the numbers involved. Under Louis XIV, the Court at Versailles was the centre of culture, fashion and political power. Improvements in education and literacy over the course of the 18th century meant larger audiences for newspapers and journals, with Masonic lodges, coffee houses and reading clubs providing areas where people could debate and discuss ideas. The emergence of this "public sphere" led to Paris replacing Versailles as the cultural and intellectual centre, leaving the Court isolated and less able to influence opinion. In addition to these social changes, the French population grew from 18 million in 1700 to 26 million in 1789, making it the most populous state in Europe; Paris had over 600,000 inhabitants, of whom roughly one third were either unemployed or had no regular work. Inefficient agricultural methods meant domestic farmers struggled to grow enough food to support these numbers and primitive transportation networks made it hard to distribute what they did produce. As a consequence of this imbalance, food prices rose by 65% between 1770 and 1790 but wages increased by only 22%. Such shortages were damaging for the regime, since many blamed price increases on government failure to prevent profiteering. Poor harvests throughout the 1780s, culminating in the most severe winter for decades in 1788/1789, created a rural peasantry with nothing to sell, and an urban proletariat whose purchasing power had collapsed. The other major drag on the economy was state debt. Traditional views of the French Revolution often attribute the financial crisis to the costs of the 1778–1783 Anglo-French War, but modern economic studies show this is only a partial explanation. In 1788, the ratio of debt to gross national income in France was 55.6%, compared to 181.8% in Britain, and although French borrowing costs were higher, the percentage of revenue devoted to interest payments was roughly the same in both countries. One historian concludes "neither the level of French state debt in 1788, or its previous history, can be considered an explanation for the outbreak of revolution in 1789". The root of the problem lay in the taxation system used to fund government expenditure. While often suggested the nobility and clergy were largely exempt from taxes, more recent work argues the tax burden was in fact shared more equally between the classes than previously understood but its assessment and collection were "a disaster". Tax rates varied widely from one region to another, often bore little or no relation to the principles set out in official decrees and were collected inconsistently; it was the "bewildering complexity of the system" that caused resentment as much as the level. Attempts to make the system more transparent were blocked by the regional Parlements which controlled financial policy. The resulting impasse in the face of widespread economic distress led to the calling of the Estates-General, which became radicalised by the struggle for control of public finances. Although not indifferent to the crisis and willing to consider reforms, Louis XVI often backed down when faced with opposition from conservative elements within the nobility. As a result, the court became the target of popular anger, particularly Queen Marie-Antoinette, who was viewed as a spendthrift Austrian spy, and blamed for the dismissal of 'progressive' ministers like Jacques Necker. For their opponents, Enlightenment ideas on equality and democracy provided an intellectual framework for dealing with these issues, while the American Revolution was seen as confirmation of their practical application. Crisis of the Ancien Régime Financial crisis The French state faced a series of budgetary crises during the 18th century, caused primarily by structural deficiencies rather than lack of resources. Unlike Britain, where Parliament determined both expenditures and taxes, in France, the Crown controlled spending, but not revenue. National taxes could only be approved by the Estates-General, which had not sat since 1614; its revenue functions had been assumed by regional parlements, the most powerful being the Parlement de Paris (see Map). Although willing to authorise one-time taxes, these bodies were reluctant to pass long-term measures, while collection was outsourced to private individuals. This significantly reduced the yield from those that were approved and as a result, France struggled to service its debt despite being larger and wealthier than Britain. Following partial default in 1770, reforms were instituted by Turgot, the Finance Minister, which by 1776 had balanced the budget and reduced government borrowing costs from 12% per year to under 6%. Despite this success, he was dismissed in May 1776 after arguing France could not afford to intervene in the American Revolutionary War. He was succeeded by Swiss Protestant Jacques Necker, who was himself replaced in 1781 by Charles de Calonne. French intervention in America and the associated 1778 to 1783 Anglo-French War could only be funded by issuing substantial quantities of state debt. This created a large rentier class who lived on the interest, primarily members of the French nobility or commercial classes. By 1785, the government was struggling to cover these payments; since defaulting on the debt would negatively impact much of French society, the only other option was to increase taxes. When the parlements refused to collect them, Calonne persuaded Louis to summon the Assembly of Notables, an advisory council dominated by the upper nobility. Led by de Brienne, a former archbishop of Toulouse, the council also refused to approve new taxes, arguing this could only be done by the Estates. By 1788, debt owed by the French Crown totaled an unprecedented 4.5 billion livres. De Brienne, who had replaced Calonne in May 1787, tried to address the budgetary impasse without raising taxes by devaluing the coinage instead; the result was runaway inflation, worsening the plight of the farmers and urban poor. In a last attempt to resolve the crisis, Necker replaced him as Finance Minister in August 1788, but was unable to reach an agreement on how to increase revenue. In May 1789, Louis summoned the Estates-General for the first time in over a hundred and fifty years. Estates-General of 1789 The Estates-General was divided into three parts: the First for members of the clergy; Second for the nobility; and Third for the "commons". Each sat separately, enabling the First and Second Estates to outvote the Third, despite representing less than 5% of the population, while both were largely exempt from tax. In the 1789 elections, the First Estate returned 303 deputies, representing 100,000 Catholic clergy; nearly 10% of French lands were owned directly by individual bishops and monasteries, in addition to tithes paid by peasants. More than two-thirds of the clergy lived on less than 500 livres per year, and were often closer to the urban and rural poor than those elected for the Third Estate, where voting was restricted to male French taxpayers, aged 25 or over. As a result, half of the 610 deputies elected to the Third Estate in 1789 were lawyers or local officials, nearly a third businessmen, while fifty-one were wealthy land owners. The Second Estate elected 291 deputies, representing about 400,000 men and women, who owned about 25% of the land and collected seigneurial dues and rents from their tenants. Like the clergy, this was not a uniform body, and was divided into the noblesse d'épée, or traditional aristocracy, and the noblesse de robe. The latter derived rank from judicial or administrative posts and tended to be hard-working professionals, who dominated the regional parlements and were often intensely socially conservative. To assist delegates, each region completed a list of grievances, known as Cahiers de doléances. Although they contained ideas that would have seemed radical only months before, most supported the monarchy, and assumed the Estates-General would agree to financial reforms, rather than fundamental constitutional change. The lifting of press censorship allowed widespread distribution of political writings, mostly written by liberal members of the aristocracy and upper middle-class. Abbé Sieyès, a political theorist and priest elected to the Third Estate, argued it should take precedence over the other two as it represented 95% of the population. The Estates-General convened in the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi on 5 May 1789, near the Palace of Versailles rather than in Paris; the choice of location was interpreted as an attempt to control their debates. As was customary, each Estate assembled in separate rooms, whose furnishings and opening ceremonies deliberately emphasised the superiority of the First and Second Estates. They also insisted on enforcing the rule that only those who owned land could sit as deputies for the Second Estate, and thus excluded the immensely popular Comte de Mirabeau. As separate assemblies meant the Third Estate could always be outvoted by the other two, Sieyès sought to combine all three. His method was to require all deputies be approved by the Estates-General as a whole, instead of each Estate verifying its own members. Since this meant the legitimacy of deputies derived from the Estates-General, they would have to continue sitting as one body. After an extended stalemate, on 10 June the Third Estate proceeded to verify its own deputies, a process completed on 17 June; two days later, they were joined by over 100 members of the First Estate, and declared themselves the National Assembly. The remaining deputies from the other two Estates were invited to join, but the Assembly made it clear they intended to legislate with or without their support. In an attempt to prevent the Assembly from convening, Louis XVI ordered the Salle des États closed down, claiming it needed to be prepared for a royal speech. On 20 June, the Assembly met in a tennis court outside Versailles and swore not to disperse until a new constitution had been agreed. Messages of support poured in from Paris and other cities; by 27 June, they had been joined by the majority of the First Estate, plus forty-seven members of the Second, and Louis backed down. Constitutional monarchy (July 1789 – September 1792) Abolition of the Ancien Régime Even these limited reforms went too far for Marie Antoinette and Louis' younger brother the Comte d'Artois; on their advice, Louis dismissed Necker again as chief minister on 11 July. On 12 July, the Assembly went into a non-stop session after rumours circulated he was planning to use the Swiss Guards to force it to close. The news brought crowds of protestors into the streets, and soldiers of the elite Gardes Françaises regiment refused to disperse them. On the 14th, many of these soldiers joined the mob in attacking the Bastille, a royal fortress with large stores of arms and ammunition. Its governor, Bernard-René de Launay, surrendered after several hours of fighting that cost the lives of 83 attackers. Taken to the Hôtel de Ville, he was executed, his head placed on a pike and paraded around the city; the fortress was then torn down in a remarkably short time. Although rumoured to hold many prisoners, the Bastille held only seven: four forgers, two noblemen held for "immoral behaviour", and a murder suspect. Nevertheless, as a potent symbol of the Ancien Régime, its destruction was viewed as a triumph and Bastille Day is still celebrated every year. In French culture, some see its fall as the start of the Revolution. Alarmed by the prospect of losing control of the capital, Louis appointed Lafayette commander of the National Guard, with Jean-Sylvain Bailly as head of a new administrative structure known as the Commune. On 17 July, he visited Paris accompanied by 100 deputies, where he was greeted by Bailly and accepted a tricolore cockade to loud cheers. However, it was clear power had shifted from his court; he was welcomed as 'Louis XVI, father of the French and king of a free people.' The short-lived unity enforced on the Assembly by a common threat quickly dissipated. Deputies argued over constitutional forms, while civil authority rapidly deteriorated. On 22 July, former Finance Minister Joseph Foullon and his son were lynched by a Parisian mob, and neither Bailly nor Lafayette could prevent it. In rural areas, wild rumours and paranoia resulted in the formation of militia and an agrarian insurrection known as la Grande Peur. The breakdown of law and order and frequent attacks on aristocratic property led much of the nobility to flee abroad. These émigrés funded reactionary forces within France and urged foreign monarchs to back a counter-revolution. In response, the Assembly published the August Decrees which abolished feudalism and other privileges held by the nobility, notably exemption from tax. Other decrees included equality before the law, opening public office to all, freedom of worship, and cancellation of special privileges held by provinces and towns. Over 25% of French farmland was subject to feudal dues, which provided most of the income for large landowners; these were now cancelled, along with tithes due to the church. The intention was for tenants to pay compensation for these losses but the majority refused to comply and the obligation was cancelled in 1793. With the suspension of the 13 regional parlements in November, the key institutional pillars of the old regime had all been abolished in less than four months. From its early stages, the Revolution therefore displayed signs of its radical nature; what remained unclear was the constitutional mechanism for turning intentions into practical applications. Creating a new constitution Assisted by Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette prepared a draft constitution known as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which echoed some of the provisions of the Declaration of Independence. However France had reached no consensus on the role of the Crown, and until this question was settled, it was impossible to create political institutions. When presented to the legislative committee on 11 July, it was rejected by pragmatists such as Jean Joseph Mounier, President of the Assembly, who feared creating expectations that could not be satisfied. After editing by Mirabeau, it was published on 26 August as a statement of principle. It contained provisions considered radical in any European society, let alone 1789 France, and while historians continue to debate responsibility for its wording, most agree the reality is a mix. Although Jefferson made major contributions to Lafayette's draft, he himself acknowledged an intellectual debt to Montesquieu, and the final version was significantly different. French historian Georges Lefebvre argues that combined with the elimination of privilege and feudalism, it "highlighted equality in a way the (American Declaration of Independence) did not". More importantly, the two differed in intent; Jefferson saw the US Constitution and Bill of Rights as fixing the political system at a specific point in time, claiming they 'contained no original thought...but expressed the American mind' at that stage. The 1791 French Constitution was viewed as a starting point, the Declaration providing an aspirational vision, a key difference between the two Revolutions. Attached as a preamble to the French Constitution of 1791, and that of the 1870 to 1940 French Third Republic, it was incorporated into the current Constitution of France in 1958. Discussions continued. Mounier, supported by conservatives like Gérard de Lally-Tollendal, wanted a bicameral system, with an upper house appointed by the king, who would have the right of veto. On 10 September, the majority led by Sieyès and Talleyrand rejected this in favour of a single assembly, while Louis retained only a "suspensive veto"; this meant he could delay the implementation of a law, but not block it. On this basis, a new committee was convened to agree on a constitution; the most controversial issue was citizenship, linked to the debate on the balance between individual rights and obligations. Ultimately, the 1791 Constitution distinguished between 'active citizens' who held political rights, defined as French males over the age of 25, who paid direct taxes equal to three days' labour, and 'passive citizens', who were restricted to 'civil rights'. As a result, it was never fully accepted by radicals in the Jacobin club. Food shortages and the worsening economy caused frustration at the lack of progress, and the Parisian working-class, or sans culottes, became increasingly restive. This came to a head in late September, when the Flanders Regiment arrived in Versailles to reinforce the Royal Bodyguard and in line with normal practice were welcomed with a formal banquet. Popular anger was fuelled by press descriptions of this as a 'gluttonous orgy', and claims that the tricolor cockade had been abused. The arrival of these troops was also viewed as an attempt to intimidate the Assembly. On 5 October 1789, crowds of women assembled outside the Hôtel de Ville, urging action to reduce prices and improve bread supplies. These protests quickly turned political, and after seizing weapons stored at the Hôtel de Ville, some 7,000 marched on Versailles, where they entered the Assembly to present their demands. They were followed by 15,000 members of the National Guard under Lafayette, who tried to dissuade them, but took command when it became clear they would desert if he did not grant their request. When the National Guard arrived later that evening, Lafayette persuaded Louis that the safety of his family required their relocation to Paris. Next morning, some of the protestors broke into the Royal apartments, searching for Marie Antoinette, who escaped. They ransacked the palace, killing several guards. Although the situation remained tense, order was eventually restored, and the Royal family and Assembly left for Paris, escorted by the National Guard. Announcing his acceptance of the August Decrees and the Declaration, Louis committed to constitutional monarchy, and his official title changed from 'King of France' to 'King of the French'. Revolution and the church Historian John McManners argues "in eighteenth-century France, throne and altar were commonly spoken of as in close alliance; their simultaneous collapse ... would one day provide the final proof of their interdependence." One suggestion is that after a century of persecution, some French Protestants actively supported an anti-Catholic regime, a resentment fuelled by Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire. Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote it was "manifestly contrary to the law of nature... that a handful of people should gorge themselves with superfluities while the hungry multitude goes in want of necessities." The Revolution caused a massive shift of power from the Catholic Church to the state; although the extent of religious belief has been questioned, elimination of tolerance for religious minorities meant by 1789 being French also meant being Catholic. The church was the largest individual landowner in France, controlling nearly 10% of all estates and levied tithes, effectively a 10% tax on income, collected from peasant farmers in the form of crops. In return, it provided a minimal level of social support. The August decrees abolished tithes, and on 2 November the Assembly confiscated all church property, the value of which was used to back a new paper currency known as assignats. In return, the state assumed responsibilities such as paying the clergy and caring for the poor, the sick and the orphaned. On 13 February 1790, religious orders and monasteries were dissolved, while monks and nuns were encouraged to return to private life. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy of 12 July 1790 made them employees of the state, as well as establishing rates of pay and a system for electing priests and bishops. Pope Pius VI and many French Catholics objected to this since it denied the authority of the Pope over the French Church. In October, thirty bishops wrote a declaration denouncing the law, further fuelling opposition. When clergy were required to swear loyalty to the Civil Constitution in November 1790, it split the church between the 24% who complied, and the majority who refused. This stiffened popular resistance against state interference, especially in traditionally Catholic areas such as Normandy, Brittany and the Vendée, where only a few priests took the oath and the civilian population turned against the revolution. The result was state-led persecution of "Refractory clergy", many of whom were forced into exile, deported, or executed. Political divisions The period from October 1789 to spring 1791 is usually seen as one of relative tranquility, when some of the most important legislative reforms were enacted. While certainly true, many provincial areas experienced conflict over the source of legitimate authority, where officers of the Ancien Régime had been swept away, but new structures were not yet in place. This was less obvious in Paris, since the formation of the National Guard made it the best policed city in Europe, but growing disorder in the provinces inevitably affected members of the Assembly. Centrists led by Sieyès, Lafayette, Mirabeau and Bailly created a majority by forging consensus with monarchiens like Mounier, and independents including Adrien Duport, Barnave and Alexandre Lameth. At one end of the political spectrum, reactionaries like Cazalès and Maury denounced the Revolution in all its forms, with extremists like Maximilien Robespierre at the other. He and Jean-Paul Marat gained increasing support for opposing the criteria for 'active citizens', which had disenfranchised much of the Parisian proletariat. In January 1790, the National Guard tried to arrest Marat for denouncing Lafayette and Bailly as 'enemies of the people'. On 14 July 1790, celebrations were held throughout France commemorating the fall of the Bastille, with participants swearing an oath of fidelity to 'the nation, the law and the king.' The Fête de la Fédération in Paris was attended by Louis XVI and his family, with Talleyrand performing a mass. Despite this show of unity, the Assembly was increasingly divided, while external players like the Paris Commune and National Guard competed for power. One of the most significant was the Jacobin club; originally a forum for general debate, by August 1790 it had over 150 members, split into different factions. The Assembly continued to develop new institutions; in September 1790, the regional Parlements were abolished and their legal functions replaced by a new independent judiciary, with jury trials for criminal cases. However, moderate deputies were uneasy at popular demands for universal suffrage, labour unions and cheap bread, and over the winter of 1790 and 1791, they passed a series of measures intended to disarm popular radicalism. These included exclusion of poorer citizens from the National Guard, limits on use of petitions and posters, and the June 1791 Le Chapelier Law suppressing trade guilds and any form of worker organisation. The traditional force for preserving law and order was the army, which was increasingly divided between officers, who largely came from the nobility, and ordinary soldiers. In August 1790, the loyalist General Bouillé suppressed a serious mutiny at Nancy; although congratulated by the Assembly, he was criticised by Jacobin radicals for the severity of his actions. Growing disorder meant many professional officers either left or became émigrés, further destabilising the institution. Varennes and after Held in the Tuileries Palace under virtual house arrest, Louis XVI was urged by his brother and wife to re-assert his independence by taking refuge with Bouillé, who was based at Montmédy with 10,000 soldiers considered loyal to the Crown. The royal family left the palace in disguise on the night of 20 June 1791; late the next day, Louis was recognised as he passed through Varennes, arrested and taken back to Paris. The attempted escape had a profound impact on public opinion; since it was clear Louis had been seeking refuge in Austria, the Assembly now demanded oaths of loyalty to the regime, and began preparing for war, while fear of 'spies and traitors' became pervasive. Despite calls to replace the monarchy with a republic, Louis retained his position but was generally regarded with acute suspicion and forced to swear allegiance to the constitution. A new decree stated retracting this oath, making war upon the nation, or permitting anyone to do so in his name would be considered abdication. However, radicals led by Jacques Pierre Brissot prepared a petition demanding his deposition, and on 17 July, an immense crowd gathered in the Champ de Mars to sign. Led by Lafayette, the National Guard was ordered to "preserve public order" and responded to a barrage of stones by firing into the crowd, killing between 13 and 50 people. The massacre badly damaged Lafayette's reputation; the authorities responded by closing radical clubs and newspapers, while their leaders went into exile or hiding, including Marat. On 27 August, Emperor Leopold II and Frederick William II of Prussia issued the Declaration of Pillnitz declaring their support for Louis, and hinting at an invasion of France on his behalf. In reality, the meeting between Leopold and Frederick was primarily to discuss the Partitions of Poland; the Declaration was intended to satisfy Comte d'Artois and other French émigrés but the threat rallied popular support behind the regime. Based on a motion proposed by Robespierre, existing deputies were barred from elections held in early September for the French Legislative Assembly. Although Robespierre himself was one of those excluded, his support in the clubs gave him a political power base not available to Lafayette and Bailly, who resigned respectively as head of the National Guard and the Paris Commune. The new laws were gathered together in the 1791 Constitution, and submitted to Louis XVI, who pledged to defend it "from enemies at home and abroad". On 30 September, the Constituent Assembly was dissolved, and the Legislative Assembly convened the next day. Fall of the monarchy The Legislative Assembly is often dismissed by historians as an ineffective body, compromised by divisions over the role of the monarchy which were exacerbated by Louis' resistance to limitations on his powers and attempts to reverse them using external support. Restricting the franchise to those who paid a minimum amount of tax meant only 4 out of 6 million Frenchmen over 25 were able to vote; it largely excluded the sans culottes or urban working class, who increasingly saw the new regime as failing to meet their demands for bread and work. This meant the new constitution was opposed by significant elements inside and outside the Assembly, itself split into three main groups. 245 members were affiliated with Barnave's Feuillants, constitutional monarchists who considered the Revolution had gone far enough, while another 136 were Jacobin leftists who supported a republic, led by Brissot and usually referred to as Brissotins. The remaining 345 belonged to La Plaine, a central faction who switched votes depending on the issue; many of whom shared Brissotins suspicions as to Louis' commitment to the Revolution. After Louis officially accepted the new Constitution, one response was recorded as being "Vive le roi, s'il est de bon foi!", or "Long live the king – if he keeps his word". Although a minority, the Brissotins control of key committees allowed them to focus on two issues, both intended to portray Louis as hostile to the Revolution by provoking him into using his veto. The first concerned émigrés; between October and November, the Assembly approved measures confiscating their property and threatening them with the death penalty. The second was non-juring priests, whose opposition to the Civil Constitution led to a state of near civil war in southern France, which Bernave tried to defuse by relaxing the more punitive provisions. On 29 November, the Assembly passed a decree giving refractory clergy eight days to comply, or face charges of 'conspiracy against the nation', which even Robespierre viewed as too far, too soon. As expected and indeed intended by their authors, both were vetoed by Louis who was now portrayed as opposed to reform in general. Accompanying this was a campaign for war against Austria and Prussia, also led by Brissot, whose aims have been interpreted as a mixture of cynical calculation and revolutionary idealism. While exploiting popular anti-Austrianism, it reflected a genuine belief in exporting the values of political liberty and popular sovereignty. Ironically, Marie Antoinette headed a faction within the court that also favoured war, seeing it as a way to win control of the military, and restore royal authority. In December 1791, Louis made a speech in the Assembly giving foreign powers a month to disband the émigrés or face war, which was greeted with enthusiasm by supporters and suspicion from opponents. Bernave's inability to build a consensus in the Assembly resulted in the appointment of a new government, chiefly composed of Brissotins. On 20 April 1792 the French Revolutionary Wars began when France armies attacked Austrian and Prussian forces along their borders, before suffering a series of disastrous defeats. In an effort to mobilise popular support, the government ordered non-juring priests to swear the oath or be deported, dissolved the Constitutional Guard and replaced it with 20,000 fédérés; Louis agreed to disband the Guard, but vetoed the other two proposals, while Lafayette called on the Assembly to suppress the clubs. Popular anger increased when details of the Brunswick Manifesto reached Paris on 1 August, threatening 'unforgettable vengeance' should any oppose the Allies in seeking to restore the power of the monarchy. On the morning of 10 August, a combined force of the Paris National Guard and provincial fédérés attacked the Tuileries Palace, killing many of the Swiss Guards protecting it. Louis and his family took refuge with the Assembly and shortly after 11:00 am, the deputies present voted to 'temporarily relieve the king', effectively suspending the monarchy. First Republic (1792–1795) Proclamation of the First Republic In late August, elections were held for the National Convention; voter restrictions meant those cast fell to 3.3 million, versus 4 million in 1791, while intimidation was widespread. The former Brissotins now split into moderate Girondins led by Brissot, and radical Montagnards, headed by Maximilien Robespierre, Georges Danton and Jean-Paul Marat. While loyalties constantly shifted, around 160 of the 749 deputies were Girondists, 200 Montagnards and 389 members of La Plaine. Led by Bertrand Barère, Pierre Joseph Cambon and Lazare Carnot, as before this central faction acted as a swing vote. In the September Massacres, between 1,100 and 1,600 prisoners held in Parisian jails were summarily executed, the vast majority of whom were common criminals. A response to the capture of Longwy and Verdun by Prussia, the perpetrators were largely National Guard members and fédérés on their way to the front. Responsibility is disputed, but even moderates expressed sympathy for the action, which soon spread to the provinces; the killings reflected widespread concern over social disorder On 20 September, the French army won a stunning victory over the Prussians at Valmy. Emboldened by this, on 22 September the Convention replaced the monarchy with the French First Republic and introduced a new calendar, with 1792 becoming "Year One". The next few months were taken up with the trial of Citoyen Louis Capet, formerly Louis XVI. While the convention was evenly divided on the question of his guilt, members were increasingly influenced by radicals centred in the Jacobin clubs and Paris Commune. The Brunswick Manifesto made it easy to portray Louis as a threat to the Revolution, apparently confirmed when extracts from his personal correspondence were published showed him conspiring with Royalist exiles serving in the Prussian and Austrian armies. On 17 January 1793, the Assembly condemned Louis to death for "conspiracy against public liberty and general safety", by 361 to 288; another 72 members voted to execute him subject to a variety of delaying conditions. The sentence was carried out on 21 January on the Place de la Révolution, now the Place de la Concorde. Horrified conservatives across Europe called for the destruction of revolutionary France; in February the Convention anticipated this by declaring war on Britain and the Dutch Republic; these countries were later joined by Spain, Portugal, Naples and the Tuscany in the War of the First Coalition. Political crisis and fall of the Girondins The Girondins hoped war would unite the people behind the government and provide an excuse for rising prices and food shortages, but found themselves the target of popular anger. Many left for the provinces. The first conscription measure or levée en masse on 24 February sparked riots in Paris and other regional centres. Already unsettled by changes imposed on the church, in March the traditionally conservative and royalist Vendée rose in revolt. On 18th, Dumouriez was defeated at Neerwinden and defected to the Austrians. Uprisings followed in Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulon, Marseilles and Caen. The Republic seemed on the verge of collapse. The crisis led to the creation on 6 April 1793 of the Committee of Public Safety, an executive committee accountable to the convention. The Girondins made a fatal political error by indicting Marat before the Revolutionary Tribunal for allegedly directing the September massacres; he was quickly acquitted, further isolating the Girondins from the sans-culottes. When Jacques Hébert called for a popular revolt against the "henchmen of Louis Capet" on 24 May, he was arrested by the Commission of Twelve, a Girondin-dominated tribunal set up to expose 'plots'. In response to protests by the Commune, the Commission warned "if by your incessant rebellions something befalls the representatives of the nation,...Paris will be obliterated". Growing discontent allowed the clubs to mobilise against the Girondins. Backed by the Commune and elements of the National Guard, on 31 May they attempted to seize power in a coup. Although the coup failed, on 2 June the convention was surrounded by a crowd of up to 80,000, demanding cheap bread, unemployment pay and political reforms, including restriction of the vote to the sans-culottes, and the right to remove deputies at will. Ten members of the commission and another twenty-nine members of the Girondin faction were arrested, and on 10 June, the Montagnards took over the Committee of Public Safety. Meanwhile, a committee led by Robespierre's close ally Saint-Just was tasked with preparing a new Constitution. Completed in only eight days, it was ratified by the convention on 24 June, and contained radical reforms, including universal male suffrage and abolition of slavery in French colonies. However, normal legal processes were suspended following the assassination of Marat on 13 July by the Girondist Charlotte Corday, which the Committee of Public Safety used as an excuse to take control. The 1793 Constitution was suspended indefinitely in October. Key areas of focus for the new government included creating a new state ideology, economic regulation and winning the war. They were helped by divisions among their internal opponents; while areas like the Vendée and Brittany wanted to restore the monarchy, most supported the Republic but opposed the regime in Paris. On 17 August, the Convention voted a second levée en masse; despite initial problems in equipping and supplying such large numbers, by mid-October Republican forces had re-taken Lyon, Marseilles and Bordeaux, while defeating Coalition armies at Hondschoote and Wattignies. The new class of military leaders included a young colonel named Napoleon Bonaparte, who was appointed commander of artillery at the Siege of Toulon thanks to his friendship with Augustin Robespierre. His success in that role resulted in promotion to the Army of Italy in April 1794, and the beginning of his rise to military and political power. Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror began as a way to harness revolutionary fervour, but quickly degenerated into the settlement of personal grievances. At the end of July, the Convention set price controls over a wide range of goods, with the death penalty for hoarders, and on 9 September 'revolutionary groups' were established to enforce them. On 17th, the Law of Suspects ordered the arrest of suspected "enemies of freedom", initiating what became known as the "Terror". According to archival records, from September 1793 to July 1794 some 16,600 people were executed on charges of counter-revolutionary activity; another 40,000 may have been summarily executed or died awaiting trial. Fixed prices, death for 'hoarders' or 'profiteers', and confiscation of grain stocks by groups of armed workers meant that by early September Paris was suffering acute food shortages. However, France's biggest challenge was servicing the huge public debt inherited from the former regime, which continued to expand due to the war. Initially the debt was financed by sales of confiscated property, but this was hugely inefficient; since few would buy assets that might be repossessed, fiscal stability could only be achieved by continuing the war until French counter-revolutionaries had been defeated. As internal and external threats to the Republic increased, the position worsened; dealing with this by printing assignats led to inflation and higher prices. On 10 October, the Convention recognised the Committee of Public Safety as the supreme Revolutionary Government, and suspended the Constitution until peace was achieved. In mid-October, Marie Antoinette was found guilty of a long list of crimes and guillotined; two weeks later, the Girondist leaders arrested in June were also executed, along with Philippe Égalité. Terror was not confined to Paris; over 2,000 were killed after the recapture of Lyons. At Cholet on 17 October, the Republican army won a decisive victory over the Vendée rebels, and the survivors escaped into Brittany. Another defeat at Le Mans on 23 December ended the rebellion as a major threat, although the insurgency continued until 1796. The extent of the brutal repression that followed has been debated by French historians since the mid-19th century. Between November 1793 to February 1794, over 4,000 were drowned in the Loire at Nantes under the supervision of Jean-Baptiste Carrier. Historian Reynald Secher claims that as many as 117,000 died between 1793 and 1796. Although those numbers have been challenged, François Furet concluded it "not only revealed massacre and destruction on an unprecedented scale, but a zeal so violent that it has bestowed as its legacy much of the region's identity." At the height of the Terror, the slightest hint of counter-revolutionary thought could place one under suspicion, and even its supporters were not immune. Under the pressure of events, splits appeared within the Montagnard faction, with violent disagreements between radical Hébertists and moderates led by Danton. Robespierre saw their dispute as de-stabilising the regime, and, as a deist, he objected to the anti-religious policies advocated by the atheist Hébert, who was arrested and executed on 24 March with 19 of his colleagues, including Carrier. To retain the loyalty of the remaining Hébertists, Danton was arrested and executed on 5 April with Camille Desmoulins, after a show trial that arguably did more damage to Robespierre than any other act in this period. The Law of 22 Prairial (10 June) denied "enemies of the people" the right to defend themselves. Those arrested in the provinces were now sent to Paris for judgement; from March to July, executions in Paris increased from five to twenty-six a day. Many Jacobins ridiculed the festival of the Cult of the Supreme Being on 8 June, a lavish and expensive ceremony led by Robespierre, who was also accused of circulating claims he was a second Messiah. Relaxation of price controls and rampant inflation caused increasing unrest among the sans-culottes, but the improved military situation reduced fears the Republic was in danger. Many feared their own survival depended on Robespierre's removal; during a meeting on 29 June, three members of the Committee of Public Safety called him a dictator in his face. Robespierre responded by not attending sessions, allowing his opponents to build a coalition against him. In a speech made to the convention on 26 July, he claimed certain members were conspiring against the Republic, an almost certain death sentence if confirmed. When he refused to give names, the session broke up in confusion. That evening he made the same speech at the Jacobins club, where it was greeted with huge applause and demands for execution of the 'traitors'. It was clear if his opponents did not act, he would; in the Convention next day, Robespierre and his allies were shouted down. His voice failed when he tried to speak, a deputy crying "The blood of Danton chokes him!" After the Convention authorised his arrest, he and his supporters took refuge in the Hotel de Ville, which was defended by elements of the National Guard. Other units loyal to the Convention stormed the building that evening and detained Robespierre, who severely injured himself attempting suicide. He was executed on 28 July with 19 colleagues, including Saint-Just and Georges Couthon, followed by 83 members of the Commune. The Law of 22 Prairial was repealed, any surviving Girondists reinstated as deputies, and the Jacobin Club was closed and banned. There are various interpretations of the Terror and the violence with which it was conducted; Marxist historian Albert Soboul saw it as essential to defend the Revolution from external and internal threats. François Furet argues the intense ideological commitment of the revolutionaries and their utopian goals required the extermination of any opposition. A middle position suggests violence was not inevitable but the product of a series of complex internal events, exacerbated by war. Thermidorean reaction The bloodshed did not end with the death of Robespierre; Southern France saw a wave of revenge killings, directed against alleged Jacobins, Republican officials and Protestants. Although the victors of Thermidor asserted control over the Commune by executing their leaders, some of those closely involved in the "Terror" retained their positions. They included Paul Barras, later chief executive of the French Directory, and Joseph Fouché, director of the killings in Lyon who served as Minister of Police under the Directory, the Consulate and Empire. Despite his links to Augustin Robespierre, military success in Italy meant Napoleon Bonaparte escaped censure. The December 1794 Treaty of La Jaunaye ended the Chouannerie in western France by allowing freedom of worship and the return of non-juring priests. This was accompanied by military success; in January 1795, French forces helped the Dutch Patriots set up the Batavian Republic, securing their northern border. The war with Prussia was concluded in favour of France by the Peace of Basel in April 1795, while Spain made peace shortly thereafter. However, the Republic still faced a crisis at home. Food shortages arising from a poor 1794 harvest were exacerbated in Northern France by the need to supply the army in Flanders, while the winter was the worst since 1709. By April 1795, people were starving and the assignat was worth only 8% of its face value; in desperation, the Parisian poor rose again. They were quickly dispersed and the main impact was another round of arrests, while Jacobin prisoners in Lyon were summarily executed. A committee drafted a new constitution, approved by plebiscite on 23 September 1795 and put into place on 27th. Largely designed by Pierre Daunou and Boissy d'Anglas, it established a bicameral legislature, intended to slow down the legislative process, ending the wild swings of policy under the previous unicameral systems. The Council of 500 was responsible for drafting legislation, which was reviewed and approved by the Council of Ancients, an upper house containing 250 men over the age of 40. Executive power was in the hands of five Directors, selected by the Council of Ancients from a list provided by the lower house, with a five-year mandate. Deputies were chosen by indirect election, a total franchise of around 5 million voting in primaries for 30,000 electors, or 0.6% of the population. Since they were also subject to stringent property qualification, it guaranteed the return of conservative or moderate deputies. In addition, rather than dissolving the previous legislature as in 1791 and 1792, the so-called 'law of two-thirds' ruled only 150 new deputies would be elected each year. The remaining 600 Conventionnels kept their seats, a move intended to ensure stability. Directory (1795–1799) The Directory has a poor reputation amongst historians; for Jacobin sympathisers, it represented the betrayal of the Revolution, while Bonapartists emphasised its corruption to portray Napoleon in a better light. Although these criticisms were certainly valid, it also faced internal unrest, a stagnating economy and an expensive war, while hampered by the impracticality of the constitution. Since the Council of 500 controlled legislation and finance, they could paralyse government at will, and as the Directors had no power to call new elections, the only way to break a deadlock was to rule by decree or use force. As a result, the Directory was characterised by "chronic violence, ambivalent forms of justice, and repeated recourse to heavy-handed repression." Retention of the Conventionnels ensured the Thermidorians held a majority in the legislature and three of the five Directors, but they faced an increasing challenge from the right. On 5 October, Convention troops led by Napoleon put down a royalist rising in Paris; when the first elections were held two weeks later, over 100 of the 150 new deputies were royalists of some sort. The power of the Parisian san culottes had been broken by the suppression of the May 1795 revolt; relieved of pressure from below, the Jacobins became natural supporters of the Directory against those seeking to restore the monarchy. Removal of price controls and a collapse in the value of the assignat led to inflation and soaring food prices. By April 1796, over 500,000 Parisians were reportedly in need of relief, resulting in the May insurrection known as the Conspiracy of the Equals. Led by the revolutionary François-Noël Babeuf, their demands included the implementation of the 1793 Constitution and a more equitable distribution of wealth. Despite limited support from sections of the military, it was easily crushed, with Babeuf and other leaders executed. Nevertheless, by 1799 the economy had been stabilised and important reforms made allowing steady expansion of French industry; many remained in place for much of the 19th century. Prior to 1797, three of the five Directors were firmly Republican; Barras, Révellière-Lépeaux and Jean-François Rewbell, as were around 40% of the legislature. The same percentage were broadly centrist or unaffiliated, along with two Directors, Étienne-François Letourneur and Lazare Carnot. Although only 20% were committed Royalists, many centrists supported the restoration of the exiled Louis XVIII of France in the belief this would end the War of the First Coalition with Britain and Austria. The elections of May 1797 resulted in significant gains for the right, with Royalists Jean-Charles Pichegru elected President of the Council of 500, and Barthélemy appointed a Director. With Royalists apparently on the verge of power, the Republicans staged a coup on 4 September. Using troops from Bonaparte's Army of Italy under Pierre Augereau, the Council of 500 was forced to approve the arrest of Barthélemy, Pichegru and Carnot. The election results were cancelled, sixty-three leading royalists deported to French Guiana and new laws passed against émigrés, Royalists and ultra-Jacobins. Although the power of the monarchists had been destroyed, it opened the way for direct conflict between Barras and his opponents on the left. Despite general war weariness, fighting continued and the 1798 elections saw a resurgence in Jacobin strength. The invasion of Egypt in July 1798 confirmed European fears of French expansionism, and the War of the Second Coalition began in November. Without a majority in the legislature, the Directors relied on the army to enforcing decrees and extract revenue from conquered territories. This made generals like Bonaparte and Joubert essential political players, while both the army and the Directory became notorious for their corruption. It has been suggested the Directory did not collapse for economic or military reasons, but because by 1799, many 'preferred the uncertainties of authoritarian rule to the continuing ambiguities of parliamentary politics'. The architect of its end was Sieyès, who when asked what he had done during the Terror allegedly answered "I survived". Nominated to the Directory, his first action was removing Barras, using a coalition that included Talleyrand and former Jacobin Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother and president of the Council of 500. On 9 November 1799, the Coup of 18 Brumaire replaced the five Directors with the French Consulate, which consisted of three members, Bonaparte, Sieyès, and Roger Ducos; most historians consider this the end point of the French Revolution. French Revolutionary Wars The Revolution initiated a series of conflicts that began in 1792 and ended only with Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815. In its early stages, this seemed unlikely; the 1791 Constitution specifically disavowed "war for the purpose of conquest", and although traditional tensions between France and Austria re-emerged in the 1780s, Emperor Joseph cautiously welcomed the reforms. Austria was at war with the Ottomans, as were the Russians, while both were negotiating with Prussia over partitioning Poland. Most importantly, Britain preferred peace, and as Emperor Leopold stated after the Declaration of Pillnitz, "without England, there is no case". In late 1791, factions within the Assembly came to see war as a way to unite the country and secure the Revolution by eliminating hostile forces on its borders and establishing its "natural frontiers". France declared war on Austria in April 1792 and issued the first conscription orders, with recruits serving for twelve months. By the time peace finally came in 1815, the conflict had involved every major European power as well as the United States, redrawn the map of Europe and expanded into the Americas, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean. From 1701 to 1801, the population of Europe grew from 118 to 187 million; combined with new mass production techniques, this allowed belligerents to support large armies, requiring the mobilisation of national resources. It was a different kind of war, fought by nations rather than kings, intended to destroy their opponents' ability to resist, but also to implement deep-ranging social change. While all wars are political to some degree, this period was remarkable for the emphasis placed on reshaping boundaries and the creation of entirely new European states. In April 1792, French armies invaded the Austrian Netherlands but suffered a series of setbacks before victory over an Austrian-Prussian army at Valmy in September. After defeating a second Austrian army at Jemappes on 6 November, they occupied the Netherlands, areas of the Rhineland, Nice and Savoy. Emboldened by this success, in February 1793 France declared war on the Dutch Republic, Spain and Britain, beginning the War of the First Coalition. However, the expiration of the 12-month term for the 1792 recruits forced the French to relinquish their conquests. In August, new conscription measures were passed and by May 1794 the French army had between 750,000 and 800,000 men. Despite high rates of desertion, this was large enough to manage multiple internal and external threats; for comparison, the combined Prussian-Austrian army was less than 90,000. By February 1795, France had annexed the Austrian Netherlands, established their frontier on the left bank of the Rhine and replaced the Dutch Republic with the Batavian Republic, a satellite state. These victories led to the collapse of the anti-French coalition; Prussia made peace in April 1795, followed soon after by Spain, leaving Britain and Austria as the only major powers still in the war. In October 1797, a series of defeats by Bonaparte in Italy led Austria to agree to the Treaty of Campo Formio, in which they formally ceded the Netherlands and recognised the Cisalpine Republic. Fighting continued for two reasons; first, French state finances had come to rely on indemnities levied on their defeated opponents. Second, armies were primarily loyal to their generals, for whom the wealth achieved by victory and the status it conferred became objectives in themselves. Leading soldiers like Hoche, Pichegru and Carnot wielded significant political influence and often set policy; Campo Formio was approved by Bonaparte, not the Directory, which strongly objected to terms it considered too lenient. Despite these concerns, the Directory never developed a realistic peace programme, fearing the destabilising effects of peace and the consequent demobilisation of hundreds of thousands of young men. As long as the generals and their armies stayed away from Paris, they were happy to allow them to continue fighting, a key factor behind sanctioning Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt. This resulted in aggressive and opportunistic policies, leading to the War of the Second Coalition in November 1798. French colonial policy Although the French Revolution had a dramatic impact in numerous areas of Europe, the French colonies felt a particular influence. As the Martinican author Aimé Césaire put it, "there was in each French colony a specific revolution, that occurred on the occasion of the French Revolution, in tune with it." The Revolution in Saint-Domingue was the most notable example of slave uprisings in French colonies. In the 1780s, Saint-Domingue was France's wealthiest possession, producing more sugar than all the British West Indies islands combined. In February 1794, the National Convention voted to abolish slavery, several months after rebels in Saint-Domingue had already seized control. However, the 1794 decree was only implemented in Saint-Domingue, Guadeloupe and Guyane, and was a dead letter in Senegal, Mauritius, Réunion and Martinique, the last of which had been captured by the British, and as such remained unaffected by French law. Media and symbolism Newspapers Newspapers and pamphlets played a central role in stimulating and defining the Revolution. Prior to 1789, there have been a small number of heavily censored newspapers that needed a royal licence to operate, but the Estates-General created an enormous demand for news, and over 130 newspapers appeared by the end of the year. Among the most significant were Marat's L'Ami du peuple and Elysée Loustallot's . Over the next decade, more than 2,000 newspapers were founded, 500 in Paris alone. Most lasted only a matter of weeks but they became the main communication medium, combined with the very large pamphlet literature. Newspapers were read aloud in taverns and clubs, and circulated hand to hand. There was a widespread assumption that writing was a vocation, not a business, and the role of the press was the advancement of civic republicanism. By 1793 the radicals were most active but initially the royalists flooded the country with their publication the "" (Friends of the King) until they were suppressed. Revolutionary symbols To illustrate the differences between the new Republic and the old regime, the leaders needed to implement a new set of symbols to be celebrated instead of the old religious and monarchical symbols. To this end, symbols were borrowed from historic cultures and redefined, while those of the old regime were either destroyed or reattributed acceptable characteristics. These revised symbols were used to instil in the public a new sense of tradition and reverence for the Enlightenment and the Republic. La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" () became the national anthem of France. The song was written and composed in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin". The French National Convention adopted it as the First Republic's anthem in 1795. It acquired its nickname after being sung in Paris by volunteers from Marseille marching on the capital. The song is the first example of the "European march" anthemic style, while the evocative melody and lyrics led to its widespread use as a song of revolution and incorporation into many pieces of classical and popular music. De Lisle was instructed to 'produce a hymn which conveys to the soul of the people the enthusiasm which it (the music) suggests.' Guillotine The guillotine remains "the principal symbol of the Terror in the French Revolution." Invented by a physician during the Revolution as a quicker, more efficient and more distinctive form of execution, the guillotine became a part of popular culture and historic memory. It was celebrated on the left as the people's avenger, for example in the revolutionary song La guillotine permanente, and cursed as the symbol of the Terror by the right. Its operation became a popular entertainment that attracted great crowds of spectators. Vendors sold programmes listing the names of those scheduled to die. Many people came day after day and vied for the best locations from which to observe the proceedings; knitting women (tricoteuses) formed a cadre of hardcore regulars, inciting the crowd. Parents often brought their children. By the end of the Terror, the crowds had thinned drastically. Repetition had staled even this most grisly of entertainments, and audiences grew bored. Cockade, tricolore and liberty cap Cockades were widely worn by revolutionaries beginning in 1789. They now pinned the blue-and-red cockade of Paris onto the white cockade of the Ancien Régime. Camille Desmoulins asked his followers to wear green cockades on 12 July 1789. The Paris militia, formed on 13 July, adopted a blue and red cockade. Blue and red are the traditional colours of Paris, and they are used on the city's coat of arms. Cockades with various colour schemes were used during the storming of the Bastille on 14 July. The Liberty cap, also known as the Phrygian cap, or pileus, is a brimless, felt cap that is conical in shape with the tip pulled forward. It reflects Roman republicanism and liberty, alluding to the Roman ritual of manumission, in which a freed slave receives the bonnet as a symbol of his newfound liberty. Role of women The role of women in the Revolution has long been a topic of debate. Deprived of political rights under the Ancien Regime, the 1791 Constitution classed them as "passive" citizens, leading to demands for social and political equality for women and an end to male domination. They expressed these demands using pamphlets and clubs such as the Cercle Social, whose largely male members viewed themselves as contemporary feminists. However, in October 1793, the Assembly banned all women's clubs and the movement was crushed; this was driven by the emphasis on masculinity in a wartime situation, antagonism towards feminine "interference" in state affairs due to Marie Antoinette, and traditional male supremacy. A decade later the Napoleonic Code confirmed and perpetuated women's second-class status. At the beginning of the Revolution, women took advantage of events to force their way into the political sphere, swore oaths of loyalty, "solemn declarations of patriotic allegiance, [and] affirmations of the political responsibilities of citizenship." Activists included Girondists like Olympe de Gouges, author of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, and Charlotte Corday, the killer of Marat. Others like Théroigne de Méricourt, Pauline Léon and the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women supported the Jacobins, staged demonstrations in the National Assembly and took part in the October 1789 March to Versailles. Despite this, the constitutions of 1791 and 1793 denied them political rights and democratic citizenship. On 20 June 1792 a number of armed women took part in a procession that "passed through the halls of the Legislative Assembly, into the Tuileries Garden, and then through the King's residence." Women also assumed a special role in the funeral of Marat, following his murder on 13 July 1793 by Corday; as part of the funeral procession, they carried the bathtub in which he died, as well as a shirt stained with his blood. On 20 May 1793 women were in the forefront of a crowd demanding "bread and the Constitution of 1793"; when they went unnoticed, they began "sacking shops, seizing grain and kidnapping officials." The Society of Revolutionary Republican Women, a militant group on the far left, demanded a law in 1793 that would compel all women to wear the tricolour cockade to demonstrate their loyalty to the Republic. They also demanded vigorous price controls to keep bread – the major food of the poor people – from becoming too expensive. After the Convention passed the law in September 1793, the Revolutionary Republican Women demanded vigorous enforcement, but were countered by market women, former servants, and religious women who adamantly opposed price controls (which would drive them out of business) and resented attacks on the aristocracy and on religion. Fist fights broke out in the streets between the two factions of women. Meanwhile, the men who controlled the Jacobins rejected the Revolutionary Republican Women as dangerous rabble-rousers. At this point the Jacobins controlled the government; they dissolved the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women, and decreed that all women's clubs and associations were illegal. They sternly reminded women to stay home and tend to their families by leaving public affairs to the men. Organised women were permanently shut out of the French Revolution after 30 October 1793. Prominent women Olympe de Gouges wrote a number of plays, short stories, and novels. Her publications emphasised that women and men are different, but this shouldn't prevent equality under the law. In her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen she insisted that women deserved rights, especially in areas concerning them directly, such as divorce and recognition of illegitimate children. Madame Roland (a.k.a. Manon or Marie Roland) was another important female activist. Her political focus was not specifically on women or their liberation. She focused on other aspects of the government, but was a feminist by virtue of the fact that she was a woman working to influence the world. Her personal letters to leaders of the Revolution influenced policy; in addition, she often hosted political gatherings of the Brissotins, a political group which allowed women to join. As she was led to the scaffold, Madame Roland shouted "O liberty! What crimes are committed in thy name!" Many activists were punished for their actions, while some were executed for "conspiring against the unity and the indivisibility of the Republic". Counter-revolutionary women Counter-revolutionary women resisted what they saw as the increasing intrusion of the state into their lives. One major consequence was the dechristianisation of France, a movement strongly rejected by many devout people; especially for women living in rural areas, the closing of the churches meant a loss of normality. This sparked a counter-revolutionary movement led by women; while supporting other political and social changes, they opposed the dissolution of the Catholic Church and revolutionary cults like the Cult of the Supreme Being. Olwen Hufton argues some wanted to protect the Church from heretical changes enforced by revolutionaries, viewing themselves as "defenders of faith". Economically, many peasant women refused to sell their goods for assignats because this form of currency was unstable and was backed by the sale of confiscated Church property. By far the most important issue to counter-revolutionary women was the passage and the enforcement of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in 1790. In response to this measure, women in many areas began circulating anti-oath pamphlets and refused to attend masses held by priests who had sworn oaths of loyalty to the Republic. These women continued to adhere to traditional practices such as Christian burials and naming their children after saints in spite of revolutionary decrees to the contrary. Economic policies The Revolution abolished many economic constraints imposed by the Ancien régime, including church tithes and feudal dues although tenants often paid higher rents and taxes. All church lands were nationalised, along with those owned by Royalist exiles, which were used to back paper currency known as assignats, and the feudal guild system eliminated. It also abolished the highly inefficient system of tax farming, whereby private individuals would collect taxes for a hefty fee. The government seized the foundations that had been set up (starting in the 13th century) to provide an annual stream of revenue for hospitals, poor relief, and education. The state sold the lands but typically local authorities did not replace the funding and so most of the nation's charitable and school systems were massively disrupted Between 1790 and 1796, industrial and agricultural output dropped, foreign trade plunged, and prices soared, forcing the government to finance expenditure by issuing ever increasing quantities assignats. When this resulted in escalating inflation, the response was to impose price controls and persecute private speculators and traders, creating a Black market. Between 1789 and 1793, the annual deficit increased from 10% to 64% of gross national product, while annual inflation reached 3,500% after a poor harvest in 1794 and the removal of price controls. The assignats were withdrawn in 1796 but inflation continued until the introduction of the gold-based Franc germinal in 1803. Long-term impact The French Revolution had a major impact on European and Western history, by ending feudalism and creating the path for future advances in broadly defined individual freedoms. Its impact on French nationalism was profound, while also stimulating nationalist movements throughout Europe. Modern historians argue the concept of the nation state was a direct consequence of the Revolution. France The impact of the Revolution on French society was enormous and led to numerous changes, some of which were widely accepted, while others continue to be debated. Under Louis XIV, political power was centralised at Versailles and controlled by the monarch, whose power derived from immense personal wealth, control over the army and appointment of clergy, provincial governors, lawyers and judges. In less than a year, the king was reduced to a figurehead, the nobility deprived of titles and estates and the church of its monasteries and property. Clergy, judges and magistrates were controlled by the state, and the army sidelined, with military power placed held by the revolutionary National Guard. The central elements of 1789 were the slogan "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" and "The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen", which Lefebvre calls "the incarnation of the Revolution as a whole." The long-term impact on France was profound, shaping politics, society, religion and ideas, and polarising politics for more than a century. Historian François Aulard writes: "From the social point of view, the Revolution consisted in the suppression of what was called the feudal system, in the emancipation of the individual, in greater division of landed property, the abolition of the privileges of noble birth, the establishment of equality, the simplification of life.... The French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity." Status of the Catholic church One of the most heated controversies during the Revolution was the status of the Catholic Church. In 1788, it held a dominant position within society; to be French meant to be a Catholic. By 1799, much of its property and institutions had been confiscated and its senior leaders dead or in exile. Its cultural influence was also under attack, with efforts made to strip civil life of religious elements such as Sundays, holy days, saints, prayers, rituals and ceremonies. Ultimately these attempts not only failed but aroused a furious reaction among the pious; opposition to these changes was a key factor behind the revolt in the Vendée. Over the centuries, charitable foundations had been set up to fund hospitals, poor relief, and schools; when these were confiscated and sold off, the funding was not replaced, causing massive disruption to these support systems. Under the Ancien régime, medical assistance for the rural poor was often provided by nuns, acting as nurses but also physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries; the Revolution abolished most of these orders without replacing organised nursing support. Demand remained strong and after 1800 nuns resumed their work in hospitals and on rural estates. They were tolerated by officials because they had widespread support and were a link between elite male physicians and distrustful peasants who needed help. The church was a primary target during the Terror, due to its association with "counter-revolutionary" elements, resulting in the persecution of priests and destruction of churches and religious images throughout France. An effort was made to replace the Catholic Church altogether with the Cult of Reason, and with civic festivals replacing religious ones, leading to attacks by locals on state officials. These policies were promoted by the atheist Hébert and opposed by the deist Robespierre, who denounced the campaign and replaced the Cult of Reason with the Cult of the Supreme Being. The Concordat of 1801 established the rules for a relationship between the Catholic Church and French State that lasted until it was abrogated by the French Third Republic on 11 December 1905. The Concordat was a compromise that restored some of the Church's traditional roles but not its power, lands or monasteries; the clergy became public officials controlled by Paris, not Rome, while Protestants and Jews gained equal rights. However, debate continues into the present over the role of religion in the public sphere and related issues such as church-controlled schools. Recent arguments over the use of Muslim religious symbols in schools, such as wearing headscarves, have been explicitly linked to the conflict over Catholic rituals and symbols during the Revolution. Economics Two thirds of France was employed in agriculture, which was transformed by the Revolution. With the breakup of large estates controlled by the Church and the nobility and worked by hired hands, rural France became more a land of small independent farms. Harvest taxes were ended, such as the tithe and seigneurial dues, much to the relief of the peasants. Primogeniture was ended both for nobles and peasants, thereby weakening the family patriarch, and led to a fall in the born rate since all children had a share in the family property. Cobban argues the Revolution bequeathed to the nation "a ruling class of landowners." In the cities, entrepreneurship on a small scale flourished, as restrictive monopolies, privileges, barriers, rules, taxes and guilds gave way. However, the British blockade virtually ended overseas and colonial trade, hurting the cities and their supply chains. Overall, the Revolution did not greatly change the French business system, and probably helped freeze in place the horizons of the small business owner. The typical businessman owned a small store, mill or shop, with family help and a few paid employees; large-scale industry was less common than in other industrialising nations. Economic historians dispute the impact on income per capita caused by the emigration of more than 100,000 individuals during the Revolution, the vast majority of whom were supporters of the old regime. One suggestion is the resulting fragmentation of agricultural holdings had a significant negative impact in the early years of 19th century, then became positive in the second half of the century because it facilitated the rise in human capital investments. Others argue the redistribution of land had an immediate positive impact on agricultural productivity, before the scale of these gains gradually declined over the course of the 19th century. Constitutionalism The Revolution meant an end to arbitrary royal rule and held out the promise of rule by law under a constitutional order, but it did not rule out a monarch. Napoleon as emperor set up a constitutional system (although he remained in full control), and the restored Bourbons were forced to go along with one. After the abdication of Napoleon III in 1871, the monarchists probably had a voting majority, but they were so factionalised they could not agree on who should be king, and instead the French Third Republic was launched with a deep commitment to upholding the ideals of the Revolution. The conservative Catholic enemies of the Revolution came to power in Vichy France (1940–44), and tried with little success to undo its heritage, but they kept it a republic. Vichy denied the principle of equality and tried to replace the Revolutionary watchwords "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" with "Work, Family, and Fatherland." However, there were no efforts by the Bourbons, Vichy or anyone else to restore the privileges that had been stripped away from the nobility in 1789. France permanently became a society of equals under the law. Communism The Jacobin cause was picked up by Marxists in the mid-19th century and became an element of communist thought around the world. In the Soviet Union, "Gracchus" Babeuf was regarded as a hero. Europe outside France Economic historians Dan Bogart, Mauricio Drelichman, Oscar Gelderblom, and Jean-Laurent Rosenthal described codified law as the French Revolution's "most significant export." They wrote, "While restoration returned most of their power to the absolute monarchs who had been deposed by Napoleon, only the most recalcitrant ones, such as Ferdinand VII of Spain, went to the trouble of completely reversing the legal innovations brought on by the French." They also note that the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars caused England, Spain, Prussia and the Dutch Republic to centralize their fiscal systems to an unprecedented extent in order to finance the military campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. According to Daron Acemoglu, Davide Cantoni, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson the French Revolution had long-term effects in Europe. They suggest that "areas that were occupied by the French and that underwent radical institutional reform experienced more rapid urbanization and economic growth, especially after 1850. There is no evidence of a negative effect of French invasion." A 2016 study in the European Economic Review found that the areas of Germany that were occupied by France in the 19th century and in which the Code Napoleon was applied have higher levels of trust and cooperation today. Britain On 16 July 1789, two days after the Storming of the Bastille, John Frederick Sackville, serving as ambassador to France, reported to Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds, "Thus, my Lord, the greatest revolution that we know anything of has been effected with, comparatively speaking – if the magnitude of the event is considered – the loss of very few lives. From this moment we may consider France as a free country, the King a very limited monarch, and the nobility as reduced to a level with the rest of the nation." Yet in Britain the majority, especially among the aristocracy, strongly opposed the French Revolution. Britain led and funded the series of coalitions that fought France from 1793 to 1815, and then restored the Bourbons. Philosophically and politically, Britain was in debate over the rights and wrongs of revolution, in the abstract and in practicalities. The Revolution Controversy was a "pamphlet war" set off by the publication of A Discourse on the Love of Our Country, a speech given by Richard Price to the Revolution Society on 4 November 1789, supporting the French Revolution (as he had the American Revolution), and saying that patriotism actually centers around loving the people and principles of a nation, not its ruling class. Edmund Burke responded in November 1790 with his own pamphlet, Reflections on the Revolution in France, attacking the French Revolution as a threat to the aristocracy of all countries. William Coxe opposed Price's premise that one's country is principles and people, not the State itself. Conversely, two seminal political pieces of political history were written in Price's favour, supporting the general right of the French people to replace their State. One of the first of these "pamphlets" into print was A Vindication of the Rights of Men by Mary Wollstonecraft (better known for her later treatise, sometimes described as the first feminist text, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman); Wollstonecraft's title was echoed by Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, published a few months later. In 1792 Christopher Wyvill published Defence of Dr. Price and the Reformers of England, a plea for reform and moderation. This exchange of ideas has been described as "one of the great political debates in British history". Even in France, there was a varying degree of agreement during this debate, English participants generally opposing the violent means that the Revolution bent itself to for its ends. In Ireland, the effect was to transform what had been an attempt by Protestant settlers to gain some autonomy into a mass movement led by the Society of United Irishmen involving Catholics and Protestants. It stimulated the demand for further reform throughout Ireland, especially in Ulster. The upshot was a revolt in 1798, led by Wolfe Tone, that was crushed by Britain. Germany German reaction to the Revolution swung from favourable to antagonistic. At first it brought liberal and democratic ideas, the end of guilds, serfdom and the Jewish ghetto. It brought economic freedoms and agrarian and legal reform. Above all the antagonism helped stimulate and shape German nationalism. Switzerland The French invaded Switzerland and turned it into the "Helvetic Republic" (1798–1803), a French puppet state. French interference with localism and traditions was deeply resented in Switzerland, although some reforms took hold and survived in the later period of restoration. Belgium The region of modern-day Belgium was divided between two polities: the Austrian Netherlands and Prince-Bishopric of Liège. Both territories experienced revolutions in 1789. In the Austrian Netherlands, the Brabant Revolution succeeded in expelling Austrian forces and established the new United Belgian States. The Liège Revolution expelled the tyrannical Prince-Bishop and installed a republic. Both failed to attract international support. By December 1790, the Brabant revolution had been crushed and Liège was subdued the following year. During the Revolutionary Wars, the French invaded and occupied the region between 1794 and 1814, a time known as the French period. The new government enforced new reforms, incorporating the region into France itself. New rulers were sent in by Paris. Belgian men were drafted into the French wars and heavily taxed. Nearly everyone was Catholic, but the Church was repressed. Resistance was strong in every sector, as Belgian nationalism emerged to oppose French rule. The French legal system, however, was adopted, with its equal legal rights, and abolition of class distinctions. Belgium now had a government bureaucracy selected by merit. Antwerp regained access to the sea and grew quickly as a major port and business centre. France promoted commerce and capitalism, paving the way for the ascent of the bourgeoisie and the rapid growth of manufacturing and mining. In economics, therefore, the nobility declined while middle-class Belgian entrepreneurs flourished because of their inclusion in a large market, paving the way for Belgium's leadership role after 1815 in the Industrial Revolution on the Continent. Scandinavia The Kingdom of Denmark adopted liberalising reforms in line with those of the French Revolution, with no direct contact. Reform was gradual and the regime itself carried out agrarian reforms that had the effect of weakening absolutism by creating a class of independent peasant freeholders. Much of the initiative came from well-organised liberals who directed political change in the first half of the 19th century. The Constitution of Norway of 1814 was inspired by the French Revolution, and was considered to be one of the most liberal and democratic constitutions at the time. North America Canada Coverage of the Revolution in the then Province of Quebec took place against the background of an ongoing campaign for constitutional reform by Loyalist emigrants from the United States. With the press reliant on reprinting articles from British newspapers, local opinion followed them in being generally positive on the aims and objectives of the revolutionaries. This made it increasingly difficult to justify the withholding of electoral rights, with the British Home Secretary William Grenville remarking it was difficult to deny "to so large a body of British Subjects, the benefits of the British Constitution". This led to the "Constitutional Act 1791", which split the Province into two separate colonies, each with its own electoral assembly, the predominantly French-speaking Lower Canada and predominantly English-speaking Upper Canada. French migration into the Canadas significantly declined during and after the Revolution, with only limited numbers of artisans, professionals, and religious emigres permitted to settle in that period. Most emigres settled in Montreal or Quebec City, although French nobleman Joseph-Geneviève de Puisaye and a small group of Royalists settled lands north of York, modern day Toronto. The influx of religious migrants also reinvigorated the local Catholic Church, with exiled priests establishing a number of parishes throughout the Canadas. United States The French Revolution deeply polarised American politics, and this polarisation led to the creation of the First Party System. In 1793, as war broke out in Europe, the Democratic-Republican Party led by former American minister to France Thomas Jefferson favored revolutionary France and pointed to the 1778 treaty that was still in effect. George Washington and his unanimous cabinet, including Jefferson, decided that the treaty did not bind the United States to enter the war. Washington proclaimed neutrality instead. Under President John Adams, a Federalist, an undeclared naval war took place with France from 1798 until 1799, often called the "Quasi War". Jefferson became president in 1801, but was hostile to Napoleon as a dictator and emperor. However, the two entered negotiations over the Louisiana Territory and agreed to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, an acquisition that substantially increased the size of the United States. Historiography The French Revolution has received enormous amounts of historical attention, both from the general public as well as scholars and academics, while perspectives on its significance and major developments have often been characterised as falling along ideological lines. In general, studies of the Revolution initially focused on political ideas and developments, but gradually shifted towards social history that analyses its impact on individuals. Contemporary conservatives like Edmund Burke and Friedrich von Gentz argued it was the product of a few conspiratorial individuals who brainwashed the masses into subverting the old order, a claim rooted in the belief that the revolutionaries had no legitimate complaints. In the 19th century, the Revolution was heavily analysed by economists and political scientists like Alexis de Tocqueville, who suggested it was the result of a more prosperous middle class becoming conscious of its social importance. Perhaps the most influential was Karl Marx, who viewed the social class nature of the Revolution as fundamental to understanding human social evolution itself. He argued the egalitarian values it introduced gave rise to a classless and co-operative model for society called "socialism", which found direct expression in the 1870 to 1871 Paris Commune. For much of the 20th century, historians influenced by Marx, notably Albert Soboul, emphasised the role of the peasants and urban workers in the Revolution and presented it as class struggle. The central theme of this argument was that the Revolution emerged from the rising bourgeoisie, with support from the sans-culottes, who united to destroy the aristocracy. However, Western scholars largely abandoned Marxist interpretations in the 1990s; the theme of class conflict was widely discredited, but no new explanatory model has gained widespread support. Nevertheless, in Western history the Revolution is still seen as a key dividing point between the early modern and late modern periods, and thus one of its most important events. Within France itself, the Revolution permanently crippled the power of the aristocracy and drained the wealth of the Church, although the two institutions survived despite the damage they sustained. After the collapse of the First French Empire in 1815, the French public lost many of the rights and privileges earned since the Revolution, but remembered the participatory politics that characterised the period. According to one historian: "Thousands of men and even many women gained firsthand experience in the political arena: they talked, read, and listened in new ways; they voted; they joined new organisations; and they marched for their political goals. Revolution became a tradition, and republicanism an enduring option." It is also suggested the French underwent a fundamental transformation in self-identity, evidenced by the elimination of privileges and their replacement by intrinsic human rights, as well as a decline in social deference that highlighted the principle of equality throughout the Revolution. The Revolution represented the most significant and dramatic challenge to political absolutism up to that point in history and spread democratic ideals throughout Europe and ultimately the world. See also Age of Revolution Cordeliers Glossary of the French Revolution History of France List of people associated with the French Revolution List of political groups in the French Revolution Musée de la Révolution française Paris in the 18th Century Timeline of the French Revolution Notes References Sources {{cite book |last1=Hussenet |first1=Jacques |title=Détruisez la Vendée !" Regards croisés sur les victimes et destructions de la guerre de Vendée |date=2007 |publisher=Centre vendéen de recherches historiques |language=Fr}} Bibliography Surveys and reference Andress, David, ed. The Oxford Handbook of the French Revolution (Oxford University Press, 2015). excerpt, 714 pp; 37 articles by experts Aulard, François-Alphonse. The French Revolution, a Political History, 1789–1804 (4 vol. 1910); famous classic; volume 1 1789–1792 online; Volume 2 1792–95 online Azurmendi, Joxe (1997). The democrats and the violent. Mirande's critique of the French Revolution. Philosophical viewpoint. (Original: Demokratak eta biolentoak, Donostia: Elkar ). Ballard, Richard. A New Dictionary of the French Revolution (2011) excerpt and text search Bosher, J.F. The French Revolution (1989) 365 pp Davies, Peter. The French Revolution: A Beginner's Guide (2009), 192 pp Gershoy, Leo. The French Revolution and Napoleon (1945) 585 pp Gershoy, Leo. The Era of the French Revolution, 1789–1799 (1957), brief summary with some primary sources Gottschalk, Louis R. The Era of the French Revolution (1929), cover 1780s to 1815 Hanson, Paul R. The A to Z of the French Revolution (2013) Hanson, Paul R. Historical dictionary of the French Revolution (2015) online ; inspiration for Soboul and Lefebvre, one of the most important accounts of the Revolution in terms of shaping perspectives; Jones, Colin. The Longman Companion to the French Revolution (1989) Jones, Colin. The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon (2002) excerpt and text search Madelin, Louis. The French Revolution (1916); textbook by leading French scholar. online Paxton, John. Companion to the French Revolution (1987), 234 pp; hundreds of short entries. Popkin, Jeremy D. A Short History of the French Revolution (5th ed. 2009) 176 pp Scott, Samuel F. and Barry Rothaus, eds. Historical Dictionary of the French Revolution, 1789–1799 (2 vol 1984), short essays by scholars vol. 1 online; vol 2 online Sutherland, D.M.G. France 1789–1815. Revolution and Counter-Revolution (2nd ed. 2003, 430 pp excerpts and online search from Amazon.com European and Atlantic History Amann, Peter H., ed. The eighteenth-century revolution: French or Western? (Heath, 1963) readings from historians Brinton, Crane. A Decade of Revolution 1789–1799 (1934) the Revolution in European context Desan, Suzanne, et al. eds. The French Revolution in Global Perspective (2013) Fremont-Barnes, Gregory. ed. The Encyclopedia of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History (ABC-CLIO: 3 vol 2006) Goodwin, A., ed. The New Cambridge Modern History, Vol. 8: The American and French Revolutions, 1763–93 (1965), 764 pp Palmer, R.R. "The World Revolution of the West: 1763–1801," Political Science Quarterly (1954) 69#1 pp. 1–14 Palmer, Robert R. The Age of the Democratic Revolution: A Political History of Europe and America, 1760–1800. (2 vol 1959), highly influential comparative history; vol 1 online Rude, George F. and Harvey J. Kaye. Revolutionary Europe, 1783–1815 (2000), scholarly survey excerpt and text search Politics and wars Andress, David. The terror: Civil war in the French revolution (2006). ed. Baker, Keith M. The French Revolution and the Creation of Modern Political Culture (Oxford, 1987–94) vol 1: The Political Culture of the Old Regime, ed. K.M. Baker (1987); vol. 2: The Political Culture of the French Revolution, ed. C. Lucas (1988); vol. 3: The Transformation of Political Culture, 1789–1848, eds. F. Furet & M. Ozouf (1989); vol. 4: The Terror, ed. K.M. Baker (1994). excerpt and text search vol 4 Blanning, T.C.W. The French Revolutionary Wars 1787–1802 (1996). Desan, Suzanne. "Internationalizing the French Revolution," French Politics, Culture & Society (2011) 29#2 pp. 137–60. Doyle, William. Origins of the French Revolution (3rd ed. 1999) online edition Englund, Steven. Napoleon: A Political Life. (2004). 575 pp; emphasis on politics excerpt and text search Fremont-Barnes, Gregory. The French Revolutionary Wars (2013), 96 pp; excerpt and text search Griffith, Paddy. The Art of War of Revolutionary France 1789–1802, (1998); 304 pp; excerpt and text search Hardman, John. Louis XVI: The Silent King (2nd ed. 2016) 500 pp; much expanded new edition; now the standard scholarly biography; (1st ed. 1994) 224; older scholarly biography Schroeder, Paul. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848. 1996; Thorough coverage of diplomatic history; hostile to Napoleon; online edition Economy and society Anderson, James Maxwell. Daily life during the French Revolution (2007) Andress, David. French Society in Revolution, 1789–1799 (1999) Kennedy, Emmet. A Cultural History of the French Revolution (1989) McPhee, Peter. "The French Revolution, Peasants, and Capitalism," American Historical Review (1989) 94#5 pp. 1265–80 Tackett, Timothy, "The French Revolution and religion to 1794," and Suzanne Desan, "The French Revolution and religion, 1795–1815," in Stewart J. Brown and Timothy Tackett, eds. The Cambridge History of Christianity vol. 7 (Cambridge UP, 2006). Women Dalton, Susan. "Gender and the Shifting Ground of Revolutionary Politics: The Case of Madame Roland." Canadian journal of history (2001) 36#2 Godineau, Dominique. The Women of Paris and Their French Revolution (1998) 440 pp 1998 Hufton, Olwen. "Women in Revolution 1789–1796" Past & Present (1971) No. 53 pp. 90–108 Hufton, Olwen. "In Search of Counter-Revolutionary Women." The French Revolution: Recent debates and New Controversies Ed. Gary Kates. (1998) pp. 302–36 Kelly, Linda. Women of the French Revolution (1987) 192 pp. biographical portraits or prominent writers and activists Landes, Joan B. Women and the Public Sphere in the Age of the French Revolution (Cornell University Press, 1988) excerpt and text search Melzer, Sara E., and Leslie W. Rabine, eds. Rebel daughters: women and the French Revolution (Oxford University Press, 1992) Proctor, Candice E. Women, Equality, and the French Revolution (Greenwood Press, 1990) online Roessler, Shirley Elson. Out of the Shadows: Women and Politics in the French Revolution, 1789–95 (Peter Lang, 1998) online Historiography and memory Andress, David. "Interpreting the French Revolution," Teaching History (2013), Issue 150, pp. 28–29, very short summary Censer, Jack R. "Amalgamating the Social in the French Revolution." Journal of Social History 2003 37(1): 145–50. online Cox, Marvin R. The Place of the French Revolution in History (1997) 288 pp Desan, Suzanne. "What's after Political Culture? Recent French Revolutionary Historiography," French Historical Studies (2000) 23#1 pp. 163–96. Furet, François and Mona Ozouf, eds. A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution (1989), 1120 pp; long essays by scholars; strong on history of ideas and historiography (esp pp. 881–1034 excerpt and text search Furet, François. Interpreting the French revolution (1981). Germani, Ian, and Robin Swayles. Symbols, myths and images of the French Revolution. University of Regina Publications. 1998. Geyl, Pieter. Napoleon for and Against (1949), 477 pp; summarizes views of major historians on controversial issues Hanson, Paul R. Contesting the French Revolution (2009). 248 pp. Kafker, Frank A. and James M. Laux, eds. The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations (5th ed. 2002), articles by scholars Kaplan, Steven Laurence. Farewell, Revolution: The Historians' Feud, France, 1789/1989 (1996), focus on historians excerpt and text search Kaplan, Steven Laurence. Farewell, Revolution: Disputed Legacies, France, 1789/1989 (1995); focus on bitter debates re 200th anniversary excerpt and text search Kates, Gary, ed. The French Revolution: Recent Debates and New Controversies (2nd ed. 2005) excerpt and text search Lewis, Gwynne. The French Revolution: Rethinking the Debate (1993) online; 142 pp. ; 540 pp; 30 essays by experts; emphasis on historiography and memory Reichardt, Rolf: The French Revolution as a European Media Event, European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2010, retrieved: 17 December 2012. Ross, Steven T., ed. The French Revolution: conflict or continuity? (1971) 131 pp; excerpt from historians table of contents Primary sources , complete text online Dwyer, Philip G. and Peter McPhee, eds. The French Revolution and Napoleon: A Sourcebook (2002) 235 pp; online Legg, L.G. Wickham, ed. Select Documents Illustrative of the History of the French Revolution (2 Volumes, 1905) 630 pp vol 1 online free; in French (not translated) Levy, Darline Gay, et al. eds. Women in Revolutionary Paris, 1789–1795 (1981) 244 pp excerpt and text search Mason, Laura, and Tracey Rizzo, eds. The French Revolution: A Document Collection (1998) 334 pp excerpt and text search Stewart, John Hall, ed. A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution (1951), 818 pp Thompson, J.M., ed. The French revolution: Documents, 1789–94 (1948), 287 pp External links Museum of the French Revolution (French) Primary source documents from The Internet Modern History Sourcebook. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution, a collaborative site by the Center for History and New Media (George Mason University) and the American Social History Project (City University of New York). Vancea, S. The Cahiers de Doleances of 1789, Clio History Journal, 2008. French Revolution Digital Archive a collaboration of the Stanford University Libraries and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, containing 12000 digitised images The guillotined of the French Revolution factsheets of all the sentenced to death of the French Revolution Jean-Baptiste Lingaud papers, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania. Includes a vast number of name lists and secret surveillance records as well as arrest warrants for aristocrats and their sympathisers. Most notable in this part of the collection are letters and documents from the Revolutionary Committee and the Surveillance Committee. French Revolution Pamphlets, Division of Special Collections, University of Alabama Libraries. Over 300 digitised pamphlets, from writers including Robespierre, St. Juste, Desmoulins, and Danton. "The French Revolution's Legacy" BBC Radio 4 discussion with Stefan Collini, Anne Janowitz and Andrew Roberts (In Our Time'', 14 June 2001) 1789 in France 1790s in France 18th-century rebellions 18th-century revolutions Conflicts in 1789 Conflicts in 1790 Conflicts in 1791 Conflicts in 1792 Modern history of France Republicanism in France

Fart is a word in the English language most commonly used in reference to flatulence that can be used as a noun or a verb. The immediate roots are in the Middle English words ferten, feortan and farten, kin of the Old High German word ferzan. Cognates are found in Old Norse, Slavic and also Greek and Sanskrit. The word fart has been incorporated into the colloquial and technical speech of a number of occupations, including computing. It is often considered unsuitable in formal situations as it may be considered vulgar or offensive. Etymology The English word fart is one of the oldest words in the English lexicon. Its Indo-European origins are confirmed by the many cognate words in some other Indo-European languages: It is cognate with Greek verb πέρδομαι (perdomai), as well as the Latin pēdĕre, Sanskrit pardate, Avestan , Italian , French "péter", Russian пердеть (perdet') and Polish "" << PIE * [break wind loudly] or * [the same, softly], all of which mean the same thing. Like most Indo-European roots in the Germanic languages, it was altered under Grimm's law, so that Indo-European /p/ > /f/, and /d/ > /t/, as the German cognate furzen also manifests. Vulgarity and offensiveness In certain circles the word is considered merely a common profanity with an often humorous connotation. For example, a person may be referred to as a 'fart', or an 'old fart', not necessarily depending on the person's age. This may convey the sense that a person is boring or unduly fussy and be intended as an insult, mainly when used in the second or third person. For example, '"he's a boring old fart!" However the word may be used as a colloquial term of endearment or in an attempt at humorous self-deprecation (e.g., in such phrases as "I know I'm just an old fart" or "you do like to fart about!"). 'Fart' is often only used as a term of endearment when the subject is personally well known to the user. In both cases though, it tends to refer to personal habits or traits that the user considers to be a negative feature of the subject, even when it is a self-reference. For example, when concerned that a person is being overly methodical they might say 'I know I'm being an old fart', potentially to forestall negative thoughts and opinions in others. When used in an attempt to be offensive, the word is still considered vulgar, but it remains a mild example of such an insult. This usage dates back to the Medieval period, where the phrase 'not worth a fart' would be applied to an item held to be worthless. Historical examples The word fart in Middle English occurs in "Sumer Is Icumen In", where one sign of summer is "bucke uerteþ" (the buck farts). It appears in several of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. In "The Miller's Tale", Absolon has already been tricked into kissing Alison's buttocks when he is expecting to kiss her face. Her boyfriend Nicholas hangs his buttocks out of a window, hoping to trick Absolon into kissing his buttocks in turn and then farts in the face of his rival. In "The Summoner's Tale", the friars in the story are to receive the smell of a fart through a twelve-spoked wheel. In the early modern period, the word fart was not considered especially vulgar; it even surfaced in literary works. For example, Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1755, included the word. Johnson defined it with two poems, one by Jonathan Swift, the other by Sir John Suckling. Benjamin Franklin prepared an essay on the topic for the Royal Academy of Brussels in 1781 urging scientific study. In 1607, a group of Members of Parliament had written a ribald poem entitled The Parliament Fart, as a symbolic protest against the conservatism of the House of Lords and the king, James I. Modern usage While not one of George Carlin's original seven dirty words, he noted in a later routine that the word fart ought to be added to "the list" of words that were not acceptable (for broadcast) in any context (which have non-offensive meanings), and described television as (then) a "fart-free zone". Thomas Wolfe had the phrase "a fizzing and sulphuric fart" cut out of his 1929 work Look Homeward, Angel by his publisher. Ernest Hemingway, who had the same publisher, accepted the principle that "fart" could be cut, on the grounds that words should not be used purely to shock. The hippie movement in the 1970s saw a new definition develop, with the use of "fart" as a personal noun, to describe a "detestable person, or someone of small stature or limited mental capacity", gaining wider and more open usage as a result. Rhyming slang developed the alternative form "raspberry tart", later shortened to "raspberry", and occasionally abbreviated further to "razz". This was associated with the phrase "blowing a raspberry". The word has become more prevalent, and now features in children's literature, such as the Walter the Farting Dog series of children's books, Robert Munsch's Good Families Don't and The Gas We Pass by Shinta Cho. See also Flatulence humor Le Pétomane Queef References Further reading External links Dictionary of Fart Slang Flatulence Digestive system English words

The Premier League, also known exonymously as the English Premier League or the EPL (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited), is the top level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League (EFL). Seasons run from August to May with each team playing 38 matches (playing all 19 other teams both home and away). Most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The competition was founded as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from the Football League, founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights sale to Sky. From 2019 to 2020, the league's accumulated television rights deals were worth around £3.1 billion a year, with Sky and BT Group securing the domestic rights to broadcast 128 and 32 games respectively. The Premier League is a corporation where chief executive Richard Masters is responsible for its management, whilst the member clubs act as shareholders. Clubs were apportioned central payment revenues of £2.4 billion in 2016–17, with a further £343 million in solidarity payments to English Football League (EFL) clubs. The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people. For the 2018–19 season, the average Premier League match attendance was at 38,181, second to the German Bundesliga's 43,500, while aggregated attendance across all matches is the highest of any association football league at 14,508,981. Most stadium occupancies are near capacity. The Premier League ranks first in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons as of 2021. The English top-flight has produced the second-highest number of UEFA Champions League/European Cup titles, with five English clubs having won fourteen European trophies in total. Fifty clubs have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992: forty-eight English and two Welsh clubs. Seven of them have won the title: Manchester United (13), Chelsea (5), Manchester City (5), Arsenal (3), Blackburn Rovers (1), Leicester City (1) and Liverpool (1). History Origins Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late 1980s marked a low point for English football. Stadiums were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs had been banned from European competition for five years following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. The Football League First Division, the top level of English football since 1888, was behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga in attendances and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad. By the turn of the 1990s, the downward trend was starting to reverse. At the 1990 FIFA World Cup, England reached the semi-finals; UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990, resulting in Manchester United lifting the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991. The Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadiums in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, was published in January 1990. During the 1980s, major English clubs had begun to transform into business ventures, applying commercial principles to club administration to maximise revenue. Martin Edwards of Manchester United, Irving Scholar of Tottenham Hotspur, and David Dein of Arsenal were among the leaders in this transformation. The commercial imperative led to the top clubs seeking to increase their power and revenue: the clubs in Division One threatened to break away from the Football League, and in so doing they managed to increase their voting power and gain a more favourable financial arrangement, taking a 50% share of all television and sponsorship income in 1986. They demanded that television companies should pay more for their coverage of football matches, and revenue from television grew in importance. The Football League received £6.3 million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but by 1988, in a deal agreed with ITV, the price rose to £44 million over four years with the leading clubs taking 75% of the cash. According to Scholar, who was involved in the negotiations of television deals, each of the First Division clubs received only around £25,000 per year from television rights before 1986, this increased to around £50,000 in the 1986 negotiation, then to £600,000 in 1988. The 1988 negotiations were conducted under the threat of ten clubs leaving to form a "super league", but they were eventually persuaded to stay, with the top clubs taking the lion's share of the deal. The negotiations also convinced the bigger clubs that in order to receive enough votes, they needed to take the whole of First Division with them instead of a smaller "super league". By the beginning of the 1990s, the big clubs again considered breaking away, especially now that they had to fund the cost of stadium upgrade as proposed by the Taylor Report. In 1990, the managing director of London Weekend Television (LWT), Greg Dyke, met with the representatives of the "big five" football clubs in England (Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Arsenal) over a dinner. The meeting was to pave the way for a breakaway from The Football League. Dyke believed that it would be more lucrative for LWT if only the larger clubs in the country were featured on national television and wanted to establish whether the clubs would be interested in a larger share of television rights money. The five clubs agreed with the suggestion and decided to press ahead with it; however, the league would have no credibility without the backing of The Football Association, and so David Dein of Arsenal held talks to see whether the FA were receptive to the idea. The FA did not enjoy an amicable relationship with the Football League at the time and considered it as a way to weaken the Football League's position. The FA released a report in June 1991, Blueprint for the Future of Football, that supported the plan for Premier League with FA the ultimate authority that would oversee the breakaway league. Foundation (1990s) At the close of the 1990–1991 season, a proposal was tabled for the establishment of a new league that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League. The newly formed top division was to have commercial independence from The Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League licence to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe. Although Dyke played a significant role in the creation of the Premier League, he and ITV (of which LWT was part) lost out in the bidding for broadcast rights: BSkyB won with a bid of £304 million over five years, with the BBC awarded the highlights package broadcast on Match of the Day. The First Division clubs resigned en masse from the Football League in 1992, and on 27 May that year the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company, working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster Gate. The 22 inaugural members of the new Premier League were: This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained the same as the old First and Second Divisions with three teams relegated from the league and three promoted. The league held its first season in 1992–93. It was composed of 22 clubs for that season (reduced to 20 in the 1995–96 season). The first Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. Luton Town, Notts County, and West Ham United were the three teams relegated from the old First Division at the end of the 1991–92 season, and did not take part in the inaugural Premier League season. "Top Four" dominance (2000s) The 2000s saw the dominance of the so-called "Top Four" clubs. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United finished at the top of the table for bulk of the decade, thereby guaranteeing qualification for the UEFA Champions League. Only four other clubs managed to qualify for the competition during this period: Leeds United (2000-01), Newcastle United (2001–02 and 2002–03), Everton (2004–05) and Tottenham Hotspur (2009–10) – each occupying the final Champions League spot, with the exception of Newcastle in the 2002–03 season, who finished third. Following the 2003–04 season, Arsenal acquired the nickname "The Invincibles" as it became the first club to complete a Premier League campaign without losing a single game, the only time this has ever happened in the Premier League. In May 2008, Kevin Keegan stated that "Top Four" dominance threatened the division: "This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world." Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said in defence: "There are a lot of different tussles that go on in the Premier League depending on whether you're at the top, in the middle or at the bottom that make it interesting." Between 2005 and 2012 there was a Premier League representative in seven of the eight Champions League finals, with only "Top Four" clubs reaching that stage. Liverpool (2005), Manchester United (2008) and Chelsea (2012) won the competition during this period, with Arsenal (2006), Liverpool (2007), Chelsea (2008) and Manchester United (2009 and 2011) all losing Champions League finals. Leeds United were the only non-"Top Four" side to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League, in the 2000–01 season. There were three Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09, a feat only ever achieved five times (along with Serie A in 2002-03 and La Liga in 1999-2000). Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win the competition in 2001. Arsenal (2000), Middlesbrough (2006) and Fulham (2010) all lost their finals. Although the group's dominance was reduced to a degree after this period with the emergence of Manchester City and Tottenham, in terms of all time Premier League points won they remain clear by some margin. As of the end of the 2018–19 season – the 27th season of the Premier League – Liverpool, in fourth place in the all-time points table, were over 250 points ahead of the next team, Tottenham Hotspur. They are also the only teams to maintain a winning average of over 50% throughout their entire Premier League tenures. Emergence of the "Big Six" (2010s) The years following 2009 marked a shift in the structure of the "Top Four" with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City both breaking into the top four places on a regular basis, turning the "Top Four" into the "Big Six". In the 2009–10 season, Tottenham finished fourth and became the first team to break the top four since Everton five years prior. Criticism of the gap between an elite group of "super clubs" and the majority of the Premier League has continued, nevertheless, due to their increasing ability to spend more than the other Premier League clubs. Manchester City won the title in the 2011–12 season, becoming the first club outside the "Big Four" to win since Blackburn Rovers in the 1994–95 season. That season also saw two of the "Big Four" (Chelsea and Liverpool) finish outside the top four places for the first time since that season. With only four UEFA Champions League qualifying places available in the league, greater competition for qualification now exists, albeit from a narrow base of six clubs. In the five seasons following the 2011–12 campaign, Manchester United and Liverpool both found themselves outside of the top four three times, while Chelsea finished 10th in the 2015–16 season. Arsenal finished 5th in 2016–17, ending their record run of 20 consecutive top-four finishes. In the 2015–16 season, the top four was breached by a non-Big Six side for the first time since Everton in 2005. Leicester City were the surprise winners of the league, qualifying for the Champions League as a result. Off the pitch, the "Big Six" wield significant financial power and influence, with these clubs arguing that they should be entitled to a greater share of revenue due to the greater stature of their clubs globally and the attractive football they aim to play. Objectors argue that the egalitarian revenue structure in the Premier League helps to maintain a competitive league which is vital for its future success. The 2016–17 Deloitte Football Money League report showed the financial disparity between the "Big Six" and the rest of the division. All of the "Big Six" had revenues greater than €350 million, with Manchester United having the largest revenue in the league at €676.3 million. Leicester City was the closest club to the "Big Six" in terms of revenue, recording a figure of €271.1 million for that season – helped by participation in the Champions League. The eighth-largest revenue generator, West Ham – who did not play in European competition – had revenues of €213.3 million, nearly half of those of the club with the fifth-largest revenue, Liverpool (€424.2 million). A substantial part of the clubs' revenue by then came from television broadcast deals, with the biggest clubs each taking from around £150 million to nearly £200 million in the 2016–17 season from such deals. In Deloitte's 2019 report, all the "Big Six" were in the top ten of the world's richest clubs. 2020s From the 2019–20 season, video assistant referees were used in the league. Project Big Picture was announced in October 2020 that described a plan to reunite the top Premier League clubs with the English Football League, proposed by leading Premier League clubs Manchester United and Liverpool. It has been criticised by the Premier League leadership and the UK government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport. On 26 April 2021, play was stopped during a match between Leicester City and Crystal Palace to allow players Wesley Fofana and Cheikhou Kouyaté to break Ramadan fast. It is believed to be the first time in Premier League history that a game was paused to allow Muslim players to eat and drink after the sun had set in accordance with the rules of the faith. Corporate structure The Football Association Premier League Ltd (FAPL) is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs elect a chairman, chief executive, and board of directors to oversee the daily operations of the league. The Football Association is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, but has veto power as a special shareholder during the election of the chairman and chief executive and when new rules are adopted by the league. The current chief executive is Richard Masters, who was appointed in December 2019, whilst the chairman is Gary Hoffman, appointed in April 2020. Both men succeeded Richard Scudamore, who held the combined position of "Executive Chairman" from November 1999 until his retirement in November 2019. The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Association, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients. For the 2012–13 season the Premier League has 10 representatives in the Association: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur. The European Club Association is responsible for electing three members to UEFA's Club Competitions Committee, which is involved in the operations of UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Criticism of governance The Premier League has faced criticism of its governance due to an alleged lack of transparency and accountability. Following the Premier League's blocking of the attempted takeover of Newcastle United by a PIF-backed consortium through the league's Owners' and Directors' test, many MPs, Newcastle United fans and related parties to the deal denounced the Premier League for its perceived lack of transparency and accountability throughout the process. On 6 July 2021, consortium member Amanda Staveley of PCP Capital Partners said that “fans surely deserve absolute transparency from the regulators across all their processes - to best ensure that they act responsibly. They (the Premier League) are performing a function like that of a government regulator - but without the same systems for accountability.” On 22 July 2021, Tracey Crouch MP – chair of the fan-led review into the UK's football governance - announced in the review's interim findings that the Premier League had “lost the trust and confidence" of fans. The review also recommended that a new independent regulator be created to oversee matters such as club takeovers. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters had earlier spoken out against the implementation of an independent regulator, saying on 17 May 2021 that "I don’t think that the independent regulator is the answer to the question. I would defend the Premier League’s role as regulator of its clubs over the past 30 years." Competition format Competition There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents', for 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. Promotion and relegation A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Premier League and the EFL Championship. The three lowest placed teams in the Premier League are relegated to the Championship, and the top two teams from the Championship promoted to the Premier League, with an additional team promoted after a series of play-offs involving the third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed clubs. The number of clubs was reduced from 22 to 20 in 1995, when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. The top flight had only been expanded to 22 teams at the start of the 1991–92 season – the year prior to the formation of the Premier League. On 8 June 2006, FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga, be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the 2007–08 season. The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction. Ultimately, the 2007–08 season kicked off again with 20 teams. Clubs 50 clubs have played in the Premier League from its inception in 1992, up to and including the 2021–22 season. Champions 2021–22 season Twenty clubs compete in the 2021–22 Premier League, with three promoted from the Championship: Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United were relegated to the EFL Championship for the 2021–22 season, while Norwich City, Watford and Brentford, as winners, runners-up and play-off final winners respectively, were promoted from the 2020–21 season. Brighton & Hove Albion are the only club to have remained in the Premier League since their first promotion, having been in 5 seasons (out of 30). Non-English clubs In 2011, after Swansea City gained promotion, a Welsh club participated in the Premier League for the first time. The first Premier League match to be played outside England was Swansea City's home match at the Liberty Stadium against Wigan Athletic on 20 August 2011. The number of Welsh clubs in the Premier League increased to two in 2013–14, as Cardiff City gained promotion, but they were relegated after their maiden season. Cardiff were promoted again in 2017–18 but the number of Welsh clubs remained the same for the 2018–19 Premier League season, for Swansea City were relegated from the Premier League in 2017–18. Following Cardiff City's relegation after the 2018–19 season, there are currently no Welsh clubs participating in the Premier League. Because they are members of the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the question of whether clubs like Swansea should represent England or Wales in European competitions has caused long-running discussions in UEFA. Swansea took one of England's three available places in the Europa League in 2013–14 by winning the League Cup in 2012–13. The right of Welsh clubs to take up such English places was in doubt until UEFA clarified the matter in March 2012, allowing them to participate. Participation in the Premier League by some Scottish or Irish clubs has sometimes been discussed, but without result. The idea came closest to reality in 1998, when Wimbledon received Premier League approval to relocate to Dublin, Ireland, but the move was blocked by the Football Association of Ireland. Additionally, the media occasionally discusses the idea that Scotland's two biggest teams, Celtic and Rangers, should or will take part in the Premier League, but nothing has come of these discussions. International competitions Qualification for European competitions Qualification criteria for 2020–21 The top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the subsequent season's UEFA Champions League group stage. The winners of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League may earn an additional qualification for the subsequent season's UEFA Champions League group stage if they are not in the top four. If this means six Premier League teams qualify, then the fourth-placed team in the Premier League instead plays in the UEFA Europa League, for any single nation is limited to a maximum of five teams in UCL. The fifth-placed team in the Premier League, as well as the winner of the FA Cup, qualifies for the subsequent season's UEFA Europa League group stage, but if the winner also finished in the top five places in the Premier League or has won one of UEFA's major tournaments, then this place reverts to the team that finished sixth. The winner of the EFL Cup qualifies for the subsequent season's UEFA Europa League second qualifying round, but if the winner already qualified for a UEFA competition via their performance in another competition, then this place reverts to the team that finished sixth in the Premier League, or seventh if the FA Cup result already caused the sixth-placed team to qualify. The number of places allocated to English clubs in UEFA competitions is dependent upon the position a country holds in the UEFA country coefficients, which are calculated based upon the performance of teams in UEFA competitions in the previous five years. Currently the ranking of England (and de facto the Premier League) is second, behind Spain. Previous seasons An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, after Liverpool won the Champions League the year before, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in the Premier League that season. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers. UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this meant that if the Champions League winner finished outside the top four in its domestic league, it would qualify at the expense of the fourth-placed team in the league. At that time, no association could have more than four entrants in the Champions League. This occurred in 2012, when Chelsea – who had won the Champions League that summer, but finished sixth in the league – qualified for the Champions League in place of Tottenham Hotspur, who went into the Europa League. From 2015–16, the Europa League winners qualify for the Champions League, increasing the maximum number of participants per country to five. This took effect in England in 2016–17, when Manchester United finished sixth in the Premier League and won the Europa League, giving England five Champions League entrants for 2017–18. In these instances, any Europa League berth vacated will not be handed down to the next-best Premier League finisher outside a qualifying place and so the association's Europa League entrants for the following season will be reduced. If it happens that both Champions League and Europa League winners are of the same association and both finish outside the top four, then the fourth-placed team will be transferred to the Europa League. Performance in international competition Between the 1992–93 and the 2020–21 seasons, Premier League clubs won the UEFA Champions League six times (and had seven runners-up), behind Spain's La Liga with eleven wins, and ahead of, among others, Italy's Serie A with five wins and Germany's Bundesliga with four wins. The FIFA Club World Cup (originally called the FIFA Club World Championship) has been won twice by a Premier League club (Manchester United in 2008 and Liverpool in 2019), with two runners-up (Liverpool in 2005 and Chelsea in 2012), behind Spain's La Liga with seven wins, Brazil's Brasileirão with four wins, and tied with Italy's Serie A with two wins. Sponsorship The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007. From 1993 to 2016, the Premier League had title sponsorship rights sold to two companies, which were Carling brewery and Barclays Bank PLC; Barclays was the most recent title sponsor, having sponsored the Premier League from 2001 until 2016 (until 2004, the title sponsorship was held through its Barclaycard brand before shifting to its main banking brand in 2004). Barclays' deal with the Premier League expired at the end of the 2015–16 season. The FA announced on 4 June 2015 that it would not pursue any further title sponsorship deals for the Premier League, arguing that they wanted to build a "clean" brand for the competition more in line with those of major U.S. sports leagues. As well as sponsorship for the league itself, the Premier League has a number of official partners and suppliers. The official ball supplier for the league is Nike who have had the contract since the 2000–01 season when they took over from Mitre. Under its Merlin brand, Topps held the licence to produce collectables for the Premier League between 1994 and 2019 including stickers (for their sticker album) and trading cards. Launched in the 2007–08 season, Topps’ Match Attax, the official Premier League trading card game, is the best selling boys collectable in the UK, and is also the biggest selling sports trading card game in the world. In October 2018, Panini were awarded the licence to produce collectables from the 2019–20 season. The chocolate company Cadbury has been the official snack partner of the Premier League since 2017, and sponsors the Golden Boot, Golden Glove, and Playmaker of the Season awards. Finances The Premier League has the highest revenue of any association football league in the world, with total club revenues of €2.48 billion in 2009–10. In 2013–14, due to improved television revenues and cost controls, the Premier League clubs collectively made a net profit in excess of £78 million, exceeding all other football leagues. In 2010 the Premier League was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category for its outstanding contribution to international trade and the value it brings to English football and the United Kingdom's broadcasting industry. The Premier League includes some of the richest football clubs in the world. Deloitte's "Football Money League" listed seven Premier League clubs in the top 20 for the 2009–10 season, and all 20 clubs were in the top 40 globally by the end of the 2013–14 season, largely as a result of increased broadcasting revenue. In 2019, the league generated around £3.1 billion per year in domestic and international television rights. Premier League clubs agreed in principle in December 2012, to radical new cost controls. The two proposals consist of a break-even rule and a cap on the amount clubs can increase their wage bill by each season. With the new television deals on the horizon, momentum has been growing to find ways of preventing the majority of the cash going straight to players and agents. Central payments for the 2016–17 season amounted to £2,398,515,773 across the 20 clubs, with each team receiving a flat participation fee of £35,301,989 and additional payments for TV broadcasts (£1,016,690 for general UK rights to match highlights, £1,136,083 for each live UK broadcast of their games and £39,090,596 for all overseas rights), commercial rights (a flat fee of £4,759,404) and a notional measure of "merit" which was based upon final league position. The merit component was a nominal sum of £1,941,609 multiplied by each finishing place, counted from the foot of the table (e.g., Burnley finished 16th in May 2017, five places counting upwards, and received 5 × £1,941,609 = £9,708,045 merit payment). Relegation Since its split with the Football League, established clubs in the Premier League have a funding disparity from counterparts in lower leagues. Revenue from television rights between the leagues has played a part in this. Promoted teams have found it difficult to avoid relegation in their first Premier League season. One Premier League newcomer has been relegated back to the Football League every season, save the 2001–02, 2011–12 and 2017–18 seasons. In the 1997–98 season, all three promoted clubs were relegated by the season's end. The Premier League distributes a portion of its television revenue as "parachute payments" to relegated clubs for adjustment to television revenue loss. The average Premier League team receives £41 million while the average Championship club receives £2 million. Starting with the 2013–14 season, these payments are in excess of £60 million over four seasons. Critics maintain that the payments widen the gap between teams that have reached the Premier League and those that have not, leading to the common occurrence of teams "bouncing back" soon after their relegation. Clubs which have failed to win immediate promotion back to the Premier League have seen financial problems, in some cases administration or liquidation. Further relegations down the footballing ladder have occurred for multiple clubs unable to cope with the gap. Media coverage United Kingdom and Ireland Television has played a major role in the history of the Premier League. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to BSkyB in 1992 was at the time a radical decision, but one that has paid off. At the time pay television was an almost untested proposition in the UK market, as was charging fans to watch live televised football. However, a combination of Sky's strategy, the quality of Premier League football and the public's appetite for the game has seen the value of the Premier League's TV rights soar. The Premier League sells its television rights on a collective basis. This is in contrast to some other European leagues, including La Liga, in which each club sells its rights individually, leading to a much higher share of the total income going to the top few clubs. The money is divided into three parts: half is divided equally between the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position, the top club getting twenty times as much as the bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the top clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this. The income from overseas rights is divided equally between the twenty clubs. Not all Premier League matches are televised in the United Kingdom, as the league upholds the long-standing prohibition on telecasts of any association football match (domestic or otherwise) that kicks off between 2:45 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. on Saturday matchdays. The first Sky television rights agreement was worth £304 million over five seasons. The next contract, negotiated to start from the 1997–98 season, rose to £670 million over four seasons. The third contract was a £1.024 billion deal with BSkyB for the three seasons from 2001 to 2002 to 2003–04. The league brought in £320 million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from 2004 to 2005 to 2006–07. It sold the rights itself on a territory-by-territory basis. Sky's monopoly was broken from August 2006 when Setanta Sports was awarded rights to show two out of the six packages of matches available. This occurred following an insistence by the European Commission that exclusive rights should not be sold to one television company. Sky and Setanta paid £1.7 billion, a two-thirds increase which took many commentators by surprise as it had been widely assumed that the value of the rights had levelled off following many years of rapid growth. Setanta also hold rights to a live 3 pm match solely for Irish viewers. The BBC has retained the rights to show highlights for the same three seasons (on Match of the Day) for £171.6 million, a 63 per cent increase on the £105 million it paid for the previous three-year period. Sky and BT have agreed to jointly pay £84.3 million for delayed television rights to 242 games (that is the right to broadcast them in full on television and over the internet) in most cases for a period of 50 hours after 10 pm on matchday. Overseas television rights fetched £625 million, nearly double the previous contract. The total raised from these deals is more than £2.7 billion, giving Premier League clubs an average media income from league games of around £40 million-a-year from 2007 to 2010. The TV rights agreement between the Premier League and Sky has faced accusations of being a cartel, and a number of court cases have arisen as a result. An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading in 2002 found BSkyB to be dominant within the pay TV sports market, but concluded that there were insufficient grounds for the claim that BSkyB had abused its dominant position. In July 1999 the Premier League's method of selling rights collectively for all member clubs was investigated by the UK Restrictive Practices Court, which concluded that the agreement was not contrary to the public interest. The BBC's highlights package on Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as other evenings when fixtures justify, will run until 2016. Television rights alone for the period 2010 to 2013 have been purchased for £1.782 billion. On 22 June 2009, due to troubles encountered by Setanta Sports after it failed to meet a final deadline over a £30 million payment to the Premier League, ESPN was awarded two packages of UK rights containing 46 matches that were available for the 2009–10 season as well as a package of 23 matches per season from 2010 to 2011 to 2012–13. On 13 June 2012, the Premier League announced that BT had been awarded 38 games a season for the 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons at £246 million-a-year. The remaining 116 games were retained by Sky, which paid £760 million-a-year. The total domestic rights have raised £3.018 billion, an increase of 70.2% over the 2010–11 to 2012–13 rights. The value of the licensing deal rose by another 70.2% in 2015, when Sky and BT paid £5.136 billion to renew their contracts with the Premier League for another three years up to the 2018–19 season. A new rights cycle began in the 2019–20 season, with the domestic package increasing to 200 matches overall; in February 2018, BT were awarded the package of 32 lunchtime fixtures on Saturdays, while Sky was awarded four of the seven packages, covering the majority of weekend fixtures (including eight new prime time fixtures on Saturdays), as well as Monday and Friday matches. Two remaining packages of 20 fixtures each were to be sold at a later date, including three rounds of mid-week fixtures and a bank holiday round. As Sky already owned the maximum number of matches it could hold without breaching a 148-match cap, it was speculated that at least one of the new packages could go to a new entrant, such as a streaming service. The five packages sold to BT and Sky were valued at £4.464 billion. In June 2018, it was announced that Amazon Prime Video and BT had acquired the remaining two packages; Amazon acquired rights to 20 matches per-season, covering a mid-week round in December, and all Boxing Day fixtures. The Amazon telecasts are produced in association with Sunset + Vine and BT Sport. With the resumption of play in the 2019–20 Premier League due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the Premier League announced that all remaining matches would be carried on British television, split primarily across Sky, BT, and Amazon. A large number of these matches were also scheduled for free-to-air broadcasts, with Sky airing 25 on Pick, Amazon streaming its four matches on Twitch, and the BBC – for the first time in league history – carrying four live matches. As matches would continue to be played without spectators upon the start of the 2020–21 Premier League, its clubs voted on 8 September to continue broadcasting all matches through at least September (with the BBC and Amazon each holding one additional match), and "appropriate arrangements" being made for October. It was later announced that matches not selected for broadcast would be carried on pay-per-view via BT Sport Box Office and Sky Box Office at a cost of £14.95 per-match. The PPV scheme was poorly-received; the Football Supporters' Federation felt that the price was too high, and there were concerns that it could encourage piracy. There were calls from supporters to boycott the pay-per-views, and make donations to support charitable causes instead (with Newcastle's "Charity Not PPV" campaign raising £20,000 for a local food bank, and Arsenal fans raising £34,000 for Islington Giving). On 13 November, amid the reintroduction of measures across the UK, the Premier League officially announced that the non-televised matches would be assigned to its main broadcast partners, and again including additional matches for the BBC and Amazon. UK highlights In August 2016, it was announced the BBC would be creating a new magazine-style show for the Premier League entitled The Premier League Show. Worldwide The Premier League is the most-watched football league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people,. The Premier League's production arm, Premier League Productions, is operated by IMG Productions and produces all content for its international television partners. The Premier League is the most widely distributed sports programme in Asia. In Australia, Optus telecommunications holds exclusive rights to the Premier League, providing live broadcasts and online access (Fox Sports formerly held rights). In India, the matches are broadcast live on STAR Sports. In China, the broadcast rights were awarded to Super Sports in a six-year agreement that began in the 2013–14 season. As of the 2019–20 season, Canadian broadcast rights to the Premier League are owned by DAZN, after having been jointly owned by Sportsnet and TSN from 2013 to 2014. The Premier League is broadcast in the United States by NBC Sports, a division of Sky parent Comcast. Acquiring the rights to the Premier League in 2013 (replacing Fox Soccer and ESPN), NBC Sports has been widely praised for its coverage. NBC Sports reached a six-year extension with the Premier League in 2015 to broadcast the league until the end of the 2021–22 season in a deal valued at $1 billion (£640 million). In November 2021, NBC reached another six-year extension through 2028 in a deal valued at $2.76 billion (£2 billion). The Premier League is broadcast by SuperSport across sub-Saharan Africa. Broadcasters to continental Europe until 2025 include Canal+ for France, Sky Sport for Germany and Austria, Match TV for Russia, Sky Sport for Italy, Eleven Sports for Portugal, DAZN for Spain, beIN Sports to Turkey, and NENT to Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark and Norway), Poland and the Netherlands. In South America, ESPN covers much of the continent, with coverage in Brazil shared between ESPN Brasil and Fox Sports. SKY México broadcasts the league in Central America. Stadiums As of the 2017–18 season, Premier League football has been played in 58 stadiums since the formation of the division. The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 and the subsequent Taylor Report saw a recommendation that standing terraces should be abolished. As a result, all stadiums in the Premier League are all-seater. Since the formation of the Premier League, football grounds in England have seen constant improvements to capacity and facilities, with some clubs moving to new-build stadiums. Nine stadiums that have seen Premier League football have now been demolished. The stadiums for the 2017–18 season show a large disparity in capacity. For example, Wembley Stadium, the temporary home of Tottenham Hotspur, has a capacity of 90,000 while Dean Court, the home of AFC Bournemouth, has a capacity of 11,360. The combined total capacity of the Premier League in the 2017–18 season is 806,033 with an average capacity of 40,302. Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for Premier League clubs. For the 2016–17 season, average attendances across the league clubs were 35,838 for Premier League matches with an aggregate attendance of 13,618,596. This represents an increase of 14,712 from the average attendance of 21,126 recorded in the Premier League's first season (1992–93). However, during the 1992–93 season, the capacities of most stadiums were reduced as clubs replaced terraces with seats in order to meet the Taylor Report's 1994–95 deadline for all-seater stadiums. The Premier League's record average attendance of 36,144 was set during the 2007–08 season. This record was then beaten in the 2013–14 season recording an average attendance of 36,695 with an attendance of just under 14 million, the highest average in England's top flight since 1950. Managers Managers in the Premier League are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection and player acquisition. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the ownership of the club and the relationship of the manager with fans. Managers are required to have a UEFA Pro Licence which is the final coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of the UEFA 'B' and 'A' Licences. The UEFA Pro Licence is required by every person who wishes to manage a club in the Premier League on a permanent basis (i.e., more than 12 weeks, the amount of time an unqualified caretaker manager is allowed to take control). Caretaker appointments are managers that fill the gap between a managerial departure and a new appointment. Several caretaker managers have gone on to secure a permanent managerial post after performing well as a caretaker, including Paul Hart at Portsmouth and David Pleat at Tottenham Hotspur. Arsène Wenger is the longest-serving manager, having been in charge of Arsenal in the Premier League from 1996 to his departure at the conclusion of the 2017–18 season, and holds the record for most matches managed in the Premier League with 828, all with Arsenal. He broke the record set by Alex Ferguson, who had managed 810 matches with Manchester United from the Premier League's inception to his retirement at the end of the 2012–13 season. Ferguson was in charge of Manchester United from November 1986 until his retirement at the end of the 2012–13 season, meaning he was manager for the last five years of the old Football League First Division and all of the first 21 seasons of the Premier League. There have been several studies into the reasoning behind, and effects of, managerial sackings. Most famously, Professor Sue Bridgewater of the University of Liverpool and Dr. Bas ter Weel of the University of Amsterdam, performed two separate studies which helped to explain the statistics behind managerial sackings. Bridgewater's study found clubs generally sack their managers upon dropping below an average of one point per match. Players Appearances Transfer regulations and foreign players Player transfers may only take place within transfer windows set by the Football Association. The two transfer windows run from the last day of the season to 31 August and from 31 December to 31 January. Player registrations cannot be exchanged outside these windows except under specific licence from the FA, usually on an emergency basis. As of the 2010–11 season, the Premier League introduced new rules mandating that each club must register a maximum 25-man squad of players aged over 21, with the squad list only allowed to be changed in transfer windows or in exceptional circumstances. This was to enable the "home grown" rule to be enacted, whereby the Premier League would also from 2010 require at least eight members of the named 25-man squad to be "home-grown players". At the inception of the Premier League in 1992–93, just 11 players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches hailed from outside of the United Kingdom or Ireland. By 2000–01, the number of foreign players participating in the Premier League was 36% of the total. In the 2004–05 season, the figure had increased to 45%. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up, and on 14 February 2005, Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match. By 2009, under 40% of the players in the Premier League were English. By February 2020, 117 different nationalities had played in the Premier League, and 101 nationalities had scored in the competition. In 1999, in response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young English players in favour of foreign players, the Home Office tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of the European Union. A non-EU player applying for the permit must have played for his country in at least 75 per cent of its competitive 'A' team matches for which he was available for selection during the previous two years, and his country must have averaged at least 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings over the previous two years. If a player does not meet those criteria, the club wishing to sign him may appeal. Following the implementation of Brexit in January 2021, new regulations were introduced which require all foreign players to obtain a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) in order to play football in the United Kingdom, regardless of EU status. Top scorers Italics denotes players still playing professional football,Bold denotes players still playing in the Premier League. The Premier League Golden Boot is awarded each season to the top scorer in the division. Former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer holds the record for most Premier League goals with 260. Twenty-eight players have reached the 100-goal mark. Since the first Premier League season in 1992–93, 23 players from 11 clubs have won or shared the top scorer title. Thierry Henry won his fourth overall scoring title by scoring 27 goals in the 2005–06 season. Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer hold the record for most goals in a season (34) – for Newcastle and Blackburn respectively. Ryan Giggs of Manchester United holds the record for scoring goals in consecutive seasons, having scored in the first 21 seasons of the league. Giggs also holds the record for the most Premier League assists, with 162. Wages There is no team or individual salary cap in the Premier League. As a result of the increasingly lucrative television deals, player wages rose sharply following the formation of the Premier League when the average player wage was £75,000 per year. In the 2018–19 season the average annual salary stood at £2.99 million. The total salary bill for the 20 Premier League clubs in the 2018–19 season was £1.62bn; this compares to £1.05bn in La Liga, £0.83bn in Serie A, £0.72bn in Bundesliga, and £0.54bn in Ligue 1. The club with the highest average wages is Manchester United at £6.5m. This is smaller than the club with the highest wage bill in Spain (Barcelona £10.5m), and Italy (Juventus £6.7m), but higher than in Germany (Bayern Munich £6.4m), and France (Paris Saint-Germain 6.1m). For the 2018–19 season the ratio of the wages of the highest-paid team to lowest-paid in the Premier League is 6.82 to 1. This is much lower than in La Liga (19.1 to 1), Serie A (16 to 1), Bundesliga (20.5 to 1), and Ligue 1 (26.6 to 1). Because of the lower differential between team wage bills in the Premier League, it is often regarded as being more competitive than other top European leagues. Player transfer fees The record transfer fee for a Premier League player has risen steadily over the lifetime of the competition. Prior to the start of the first Premier League season Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a transfer fee of more than £3 million. The record has increased steadily and Philippe Coutinho is now the most expensive transfer involving a Premier League club at £106 million. The highest transfer fee paid by a Premier League club is £100 million for Jack Grealish. Awards Trophy The Premier League maintains two trophies – the genuine trophy (held by the reigning champions) and a spare replica. Two trophies are held for the purpose of making the award within minutes of the title being secured, in the event that on the final day of the season two clubs are still within reach of winning the League. In the rare event that more than two clubs are vying for the title on the final day of the season, a replica won by a previous club is used. The current Premier League trophy was created by Royal Jewellers Asprey of London. It consists of a trophy with a golden crown and a malachite plinth base. The plinth weighs and the trophy weighs . The trophy and plinth are tall, wide and deep. Its main body is solid sterling silver and silver gilt, while its plinth is made of malachite, a semi-precious stone. The plinth has a silver band around its circumference, upon which the names of the title-winning clubs are listed. The green of the malachite represents the green field of play. The design of the trophy is based on the heraldry of Three Lions that is associated with English football. Two of the lions are found above the handles on either side of the trophy – the third is symbolised by the captain of the title-winning team as he raises the trophy, and its gold crown, above his head at the end of the season. The ribbons that drape the handles are presented in the team colours of the league champions that year. In 2004, a special gold version of the trophy was commissioned to commemorate Arsenal winning the title without a single defeat. Player and manager awards In addition to the winner's trophy and the individual winner's medals awarded to players who win the title, the Premier League also issues other awards throughout the season. A man-of-the-match award is awarded to the player who has the greatest impact in an individual match. Monthly awards are also given for the Manager of the Month, Player of the Month and Goal of the Month. These are also issued annually for Manager of the Season, Player of the Season. and Goal of the Season. The Young Player of the Season award is given to the most outstanding U-23 player starting from the 2019–20 season. The Golden Boot award is given to the top goalscorer of every season, the Playmaker of the Season award is given to the player who makes the most assists of every season, and the Golden Glove award is given to the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets at the end of the season. From the 2017–18 season, players also receive a milestone award for 100 appearances and every century there after and also players who score 50 goals and multiples thereof. Each player to reach these milestones is to receive a presentation box from the Premier League containing a special medallion and a plaque commemorating their achievement. 20 Seasons Awards In 2012, the Premier League celebrated its second decade by holding the 20 Seasons Awards: Fantasy Team of the 20 Seasons Panel Choice: Peter Schmeichel, Gary Neville, Tony Adams, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer Public Vote: Peter Schmeichel, Gary Neville, Tony Adams, Nemanja Vidić, Ashley Cole, Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer Best Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson Best Player: Ryan Giggs Most Appearances: Gareth Barry (652) Top Goalscorer: Alan Shearer (260) Most Clean Sheets: David James (173) 500 Club: Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Gareth Barry, Ryan Giggs, David James, Gary Speed, Frank Lampard, Emile Heskey and Sol Campbell Best Goal: Wayne Rooney, 12 February 2011, Manchester United vs Manchester City Best Save: Craig Gordon, 18 December 2010, Sunderland vs Bolton Wanderers Best Team: Arsenal 2003–04 See also List of English football champions List of English Football League managers Football records and statistics in England List of professional sports teams in the United Kingdom References Bibliography External links 1 1992 establishments in England Professional sports leagues in the United Kingdom Sports leagues established in 1992 England

"Welcome to the Pleasuredome" is the title track to the 1984 debut album by British band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The lyrics of the song were inspired by the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In March 1985, the album track was abridged and remixed for release as the group's fourth UK single. While criticized at the time of release and afterward for being a song that glorifies debauchery, the lyrics (and video), just as Coleridge's poem, were about the dangers of this kind of lifestyle. This song, along with "Relax", made Frankie Goes to Hollywood even more controversial than they already were. Original 1985 single Despite the group's record label (ZTT) pre-emptively promoting the single as "their fourth number one", an achievement that would have set a new UK record for consecutive number one singles by a debuting artist, "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, being kept off the top spot by the Phil Collins/Philip Bailey duet "Easy Lover". The single spent a total of eleven weeks on the UK chart. It was the first release by the group not to reach number one and, despite representing a creditable success in its own right, it symbolically confirmed the end of the chart invincibility that the group had enjoyed during 1984. Frankie Goes to Hollywood would not release another record for seventeen months, and they would fail to emulate their past chart success upon their return. The spoken-word introductions to both 12-inch mixes are adapted from Walter Kaufmann's 1967 translation of Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy. The recitation on the first 12-inch ("Real Altered") is by Gary Taylor, whilst that on the second 12-inch ("Fruitness") and the cassette is by actor Geoffrey Palmer. It is unknown whether Palmer's concluding "Welcome To The Pleasuredrome" was a genuine mistake or a deliberately scripted one. This is the only single from the group that was not released on a CD single at that time, the other being "Watching The Wildlife". "Relax", "Two Tribes", "The Power of Love" and "Rage Hard+" all saw a CD-maxi release in Germany at the end of the '80s. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" was not given such a release. However, the 7" vinyl single was released in two different mixes, and it was purely random as to which one you ended up with, as both mixes were in identical sleeve designs and carried the same catalogue number. Not only that, but the subtitle used to identify different mixes was identical on both record labels, with only the matrix number on the run out groove giving the game away. The first 7" (matrix 7 A 1 U) carried the normal 7" single mix, which was guitar driven. However, the "secret" alternative mix (matrix 7 A 7 U or 7 A 8 U) was quite different, and featured on the Apple shaped Picture Disc. The subtitle for that disc was 'alternative reel' but on the 7" single the subtitle remained unchanged as 'altered real'. In fact, although appearing to be identical sleeves, the two mixes were actually released in slightly different ones. The standard 7" mix came in a thick paper sleeve, whereas the "secret" one came in a thin paper sleeve. B-sides All releases featured an edited version of "Get It On", originally recorded for a BBC Radio 1 session in 1983 (a full-length version was included on the cassette release), plus a faded or full length version of "Happy Hi!", a non-album track. Both "Relax (International)" and "Born To Run" are live recordings (with some minor overdubs), based on an actual live appearance on The Tube's "Europe A-Go-Go" in Newcastle during early January 1985. Music video The music video for "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" was directed by Bernard Rose. It features the group stealing a car whilst Holly is flying in a helicopter chasing them, going to a carnival and encountering all manner of deceptively "pleasureable" activities. The audio soundtrack of the video was included as part of the cassette single. Three edits were made, the regular 4:55 version with the regular 7" mix, a 5:45 version matching what was included on the cassette single and a 7:52 version with a longer, different intro. Promotional releases In 1984, a few months prior to the album's release, an early instrumental version of the album track was issued as a promotional 12-inch single, entitled "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Pleasure Fix)", along with a similar early instrumental of "The Only Star in Heaven" (subtitled "Star Fix"). These tracks were subsequently given wider release as part of the B-side to the second 12-inch of "The Power of Love" single. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" was also used on several promotional records in the USA during 1985, featuring the following tracks in various combinations: The second UK 7-inch mix of the track ("Alternative Reel"), labeled "Trevor Horn Re-mix Edit". An edited version of the album track created by the Sacramento radio station KZAP, and known as "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (KZAP Edit)" (6:22) A version of the second UK 7-inch mix ("Alternative Reel") with a new introduction added, and known as "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Urban Mix)" (8:08). This is on the Bang! Japanese album and CD, alongside the digital "Fruitness" single. A slightly edited (spoken introduction removed) version of "Relax (International)" (4:26) Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Track listing All discographical information pertains to the original UK single release only. All songs written by Peter Gill/Holly Johnson/Brian Nash/Mark O'Toole, unless otherwise noted. 7": ZTT / ZTAS 7 (UK) "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Altered Real) – 4:20 "Get It On" (Marc Bolan) — 3:28 "Happy Hi!" [fade] (Gill/Johnson/O'Toole) — 3:47 Matrix numbers on A-side: 1U/2U "Get It On" has the third verse edited out, going from the second chorus to the fourth verse. The "Altered Real" mix is also known as "Alternative To Reality". 7": ZTT / ZTAS 7 (UK) "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Alternative Reel) [a.k.a. Escape Act Video Mix or A Remade World] – 5:05 "Get It On" – 3:28 "Happy Hi!" – 4:04 Matrix numbers on A-side: 7U/8U Also issued in Ireland and Canada. 7": ZTT / PZTAS 7 (UK) "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Alternative Reel) – 5:05 "Get It On" – 2:32 "Happy Hi!" – 4:04 Apple-shaped picture disc single "Get It On" has the third and fourth verses edited out, going from the second verse to the fourth chorus. 7": Island / 7-99653 (US) "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Trevor Horn Remix) – 4:20 "Relax" (International Live) – 4:26 A-side is actually the "Altered Real" mix. 7": Island / 107 199 EP (Germany) "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Altered Real) - 4:22 "Get It On" – 2:32 "Happy Hi!" – 4:04 "Get It On" has the third and fourth verses edited out, going from the second verse to the fourth chorus. Also issued in Australia without "Get It On". 12": ZTT / 12 ZTAS 7 (UK) "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Real Altered) – 9:42 "Get It On" – 3:28 "Happy Hi!" – 4:04 "Relax" (International) (Gill/Johnson/O'Toole) — 4:51 "Get It On" is the same as the UK 7" edit. "Relax" (International) was rereleased in 2012 on CD Sexmix Disk 1, Track 6 in a very slightly edited (first words of spoken introduction removed) version. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Real Altered) also known as "Welcome to the Pleasuredome (How To Remake The World)". 12": ZTT / 12 XZTAS 7 (UK) A 'Fruitness' "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Fruitness) – 12:15 B 'Fruitness and light' "Get It On" – 2:32 "Happy Hi!" – 4:04 "Born to Run" ("live") – 4:49 "Fruitness" (usually portrayed without the 1:25 outro) is commonly referred as "The Alternative" by fans. "Born to Run" was recorded live in Newcastle in January 1985 on the "Europe A Go Go" tour. On other releases this version is labeled as "Born to Run (Live on the tube)" 12": Island / 0-96889 (US) "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Trevor Horn Remix) - 9:47 "Get It On" - 2:32 "Happy Hi!" - 4:02 "Relax" (International/Live) - 4:51 A-side is actually the "Real Altered" mix. Also issued in Germany, and in Australia without "Get It On". MC: ZTT / CTIS 107 (UK) "Happy Hi!" (All in the Body) – 1:18 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (The Soundtrack from Bernard Rose's Video)" – 5:37 "Get It On" – 4:06 "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Real Altered) – 9:23 "Happy Hi!" (All in the Mind) – 1:05 "Real Altered" plays at a slightly faster speed here. A 11:40 version of the regular "Real Altered" appears on the digital release and Sexmix. This complete cassette was slightly edited rereleased in 2012 on CD Sexmix Disk 1, Tracks 1–5. By mistake, the rerelease was originally printed in Monaural and was corrected via a mail-in replacement campaign. Reissues The track has periodically been reissued as a single, including during 1993 and 2000. Although these releases have some admirers, and have usefully made available various original mixes on CD for the first time, the accompanying A-side remixes by contemporary DJs have tended on the whole to bear little or no comparison to the spirit of the originals. Reissues in the group's name have also tended to shun any overt reference to the identity of the original artists, and the reissue artwork has notably featured no images of the group. It has been suggested that this situation may relate to Johnson's successful but acrimonious court case against ZTT in 1989, which freed him (and effectively the other group members) from their unfair contract with the label. 1993 reissues CD: ZTT / FGTH2CD United Kingdom "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Original 7") – 4:22 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Brothers In Rhythm Rollercoaster Mix) – 14:36 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Elevatorman's Non-stop Top Floor Club Mix) – 6:06 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Pleasurefix Original 12" Mix) – 9:41 (Track 4 is mislabeled. It's the "Real Altered" version from 12 ZTAS 7.) 12": ZTT / FGTH2T United Kingdom "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Brothers In Rhythm Rollercoaster Mix) – 14:36 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Elevatorman's Non-stop Top Floor Club Mix) – 6:06 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Elevatorman's Deep Down Bass-Ment Dub) – 6:02 2000 reissues CD: ZTT / ZTT 166CD United Kingdom "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesister Album Mix Edit) – 3:35 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Remix Edit) – 8:00 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesister Anthem Mix) – 7:32 CD: Avex / AVTCDS-296 Japan "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Full Length Mix) – 11:23 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sander's Coming Home Mix) – 10:18 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Paralyzer Remix) – 5:17 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Dub) – 11:22 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesister Edit) – 3:53 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesister Full Length Club) – 7:32 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Pleasurefix Mix) – 9:40 12": ZTT / ZTT 166 T United Kingdom "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Remix) – 11:23 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sander's Coming Home Remix) – 10:18 2x12": ZTT / ZTT 166 TP United Kingdom "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Remix) – 11:23 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sander's Coming Home Remix) – 10:18 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Paralyzer Remix) – 5:17 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Nalin & Kane Dub) – 11:22 UK 2x12" promo 12": ZTT / ZTT 166 TPX United Kingdom "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesisters Anthem Mix) – 7:32 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Paralyzer Remix) – 5:17 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Sleazesister Edit) – 3:53 UK 12" promo 2014 reissues Digital download (regular) "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Altered Real) - 4:23 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Real Altered) - 9:40 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Alternative Reel) [reel misspelt as real] - 5:08 "Get It On" (short version) - 2:36 "Happy Hi!" - 4:06 "Relax" (International) - 4:43 Digital download (Fruitness) "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Fruitness) - 12:15 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Urban) - 8:05 "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (Pleasurefix) - 9:44 "The Only Star in Heaven" (Starfix) - 3:54 "Get It On" (short version) - 2:36 "Happy Hi!" - 4:06 "Born To Run" (International) - 4:54 Other versions The instrumental "Into Battle Mix" appears on the soundtrack to the film Toys, specifically utilized whenever the Tommy Tanks appeared. References External links 1985 singles Frankie Goes to Hollywood songs Songs written by Holly Johnson Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn ZTT Records singles 1985 songs

Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913), better known as Francisco I. Madero, was a Mexican businessman, landowner, reformist, writer and statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was forced to resign in a right wing coup d'etat in February 1913, during which he was assassinated. A member of a large and extremely wealthy landowning family in the northern state of Coahuila. Despite his wealth, he was an advocate for social justice and democracy. Madero was notable for challenging long-time President Porfirio Díaz for the presidency in 1910 and being instrumental in sparking the Mexican Revolution. Following his being jailed before fraudulent elections in the summer of 1910, he called for the violent overthrow of Díaz as a last resort in his 1910 Plan of San Luis Potosí. Histories of Mexico date the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution to this plan. Until he ran for president in the 1910 elections, he had never held office, but he authored the book entitled The Presidential Succession in 1910, (1908). Madero called on voters to prevent the sixth reelection of Porfirio Díaz, which Madero considered anti-democratic. His vision would help lay the foundation for a democratic, twentieth-century Mexico, attempting to do so without polarizing the social classes. He bankrolled the opposition Anti-Reelectionist Party and urged voters to oust Díaz in the 1910 election. Madero's candidacy against Díaz garnered widespread support in Mexico. He was possessed of independent financial means, ideological determination, and the bravery to oppose Díaz when it was dangerous to do so. Díaz had Madero arrested before the elections, which were then seen as illegitimate. Madero escaped from prison and issued the Plan of San Luis Potosí from the United States. For the first time, he called for an armed uprising against the illegitimately elected Díaz, and outlined a program of reform. Madero's support was in northern Mexico and was aided by the access to arms and finances in the United States. The revolution "could not have succeeded without the United States". In Chihuahua, Madero recruited wealthy Chihuahua landowner Abraham González to his movement, appointing him provisional governor of the state. González recruited Francisco Villa and Pascual Orozco as leaders of the revolutionaries in Chihuahua. Madero crossed from Texas into Mexico and took command of a band of revolutionaries, but they were defeated in Casas Grandes by the Federal Army and Madero left leading men into battle to those more able. Madero feared a battle to take Ciudad Juárez would cause casualties in the U.S. city of El Paso, on the other side of the Rio Grande, and prompt the U.S. to intervene. He ordered Orozco to retreat, but Orozco disobeyed the order and took Juárez. Díaz's resigned on 25 May 1911, after the signing of the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez. Madero retained the Federal Army and dismissed the revolutionary fighters who had forced Díaz's resignation. Madero was enormously popular among many sectors, but he did not immediately assume the presidency. An interim president was installed and elections were scheduled for fall 1911. Madero was elected president on 15 October 1911 by almost 90% of the vote, and sworn into office on 6 November 1911. His administration soon encountered opposition both from more radical revolutionaries and from conservatives. He did not move quickly on land reform, which was a key demand of many of his supporters. Former supporter Emiliano Zapata declared himself in rebellion against Madero in the 1911 Plan of Ayala; similarly, in the north of the country, Madero faced an insurrection from former loyalist Pascual Orozco. These were significant challenges to Madero's presidency. Labor also became disillusioned by his moderate policies. Foreign entrepreneurs were concerned that Madero was unable to maintain political stability that would keep their investments safe, while foreign governments were concerned that a destabilized Mexico would threaten the international order. In February 1913, a military coup took place in the Mexican capital led by General Félix Díaz, nephew of Porfrio Díaz, and General Bernardo Reyes, and joined by General Victoriano Huerta, the military commander of the city. It was supported by the United States ambassador. Madero was arrested and a short time later assassinated along with his vice-president, José María Pino Suárez, following the series of events now called the Ten Tragic Days. After his assassination, Madero became a unifying force for disparate elements in Mexico opposed to the regime of Huerta. In the north of the country, Venustiano Carranza, then Governor of Coahuila, led the Constitutionalist Army against Huerta; meanwhile Zapata continued in his rebellion against the Federal Government under the Plan of Ayala. Once Huerta was ousted in July 1914, the opposition coalition dissolved and Mexico entered a new stage of civil war. Early years (1873–1903) Family background Madero was born into a large and extremely wealthy family in northeastern Mexico at the hacienda of El Rosario, in Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila. His grandfather Evaristo Madero had built an enormous and diversified fortune as a young man and briefly served as Governor of Coahuila, from 1880 to 1884, during the four-year interregnum of Porfirio Díaz's rule (1880–1884), when Díaz's right-hand man General Manuel González served as president, doing a poor job in Díaz's opinion. Díaz returned to presidency in 1884 and did not relinquish the office until 1911, when Francisco Madero's revolutionary movement forced him to resign. Díaz had permanently sidelined Evaristo Madero from further political office. Evaristo was the founder of a regional carting business, and he took advantage of economic opportunity and transported cotton from the Confederate states to Mexican ports during the U.S. Civil War (1861–65). Evaristo married twice, with the first marriage before he made his fortune to sixteen-year-old Marįa Rafaela Hernádez Lombaraña (1847–1870), the daughter of a powerful landowner, together producing seven children. She was the half-sister of the powerful miner and banker Antonio V. Hernández. Alongside his brother-in-law, and other of his new political family's relations, Evaristo founded the Compañía Industrial de Parras, initially involved in commercial vineyards, cotton, and textiles, and later also in mining, cotton mills, ranching, banking, coal, guayule rubber, and foundries in the later part of the nineteenth century. After her death at 38, Evaristo married Doňa Manuela Farías y Benavides (1870–1893), with the marriage producing eleven children. She was member of one of northern Mexico's most aristocratic families, daughter of Don Juan Francisco de Farías, mayor of Laredo. The surviving children of both of Evaristo's marriages also married well and expanded the Madero family power and wealth. For many years despite their exclusion from political office, the family prospered during Porfirio Díaz's regime, and by 1910 the family was one of the richest in Mexico, worth 30 million pesos ($15 million U.S. dollars of the day, and almost $500 million U.S. dollars in today's money). Much of this wealth arose from the diversification of Madero lands during the 1890s into the production of guayule rubber plants. Unusually for a Mexican landowner, many of whom stayed close to home, the patriarch Evaristo traveled to Europe, as did Francisco's father. Francisco's father was interested in the increasingly popular philosophical movement of spiritism, founded by Allan Kardec, and subscribed to the La Revue Spirite and the Société Parisienne d'Études Spirites. Young Francisco was sent to Paris to study business and became a devotee of spiritism himself. He wrote extensively about spiritism in his diaries. "He was searching for ethical connections between Spiritualism and the Christian Gospels. 'I have no doubts that the moral transormation I have experienced is due to my becoming a medium.'" Francisco I. Madero was the first-born son of Evaristo's first-born son of his first marriage, Francisco Ignacio Madero Hernández and Mercedes González Treviño, and was Evaristo's first-born grandson. Young Francisco was the first of his father's eleven children. This wealthy and prolific extended family could provide vast resources to young Francisco when he challenged Porfirio Díaz for the presidency in 1910. He was a sickly child, and was small in stature as an adult. It is widely believed that Madero's middle initial, I, stood for Indalecio, but according to his birth certificate it stood for Ignacio. On the birth certificate, Ignacio was written with the archaic spelling of Ygnacio. After winning election to the presidency in 1911, Francisco chose in uncle Ernesto Madero Farías from his grandfather's second marriage, as his Minister of Finance. Francisco was close to his full brother Gustavo A. Madero as a trusted advisor when president. His brother Gustavo was murdered during the coup that overthrew Francisco to the presidency. His brothers Emilio, Julio, and Raúl fought in the Mexican Revolution. Although Francisco I. Madero's marriage to Sara Pérez was childless and there are no direct descendants of his line of the Maderos, the descendants of Evaristo Madero make up some of Mexico's most influential families to this day. Thus, young Francisco was a member of a huge and powerful northern Mexican clan with a focus on commercial rather than political interests. Education Francisco and his younger brother Gustavo A. Madero attended the Jesuit college of San Juan in Saltillo, and wanted to then become a Jesuit. He and his brother Gustavo briefly attended another religious school, in the U.S. His English was poor, so he learned little in his short time there, and also abandoned any notion of a religious vocation. Between 1886 and 1892, Madero was educated in France and then the United States, attending the Lycée Hoche de Versailles, HEC Paris and UC Berkeley. At the Lycée Hoche in Versailles, France, he completed the classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles program. Soon after, he was admitted to study business at the prestigious École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris (HEC). His father's subscription to the magazine Revue Spirite awakened in the young Madero an interest in Spiritism, an offshoot of Spiritualism. During his time in Paris, Madero made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Allan Kardec, the founder of Spiritism, and became a passionate advocate of the belief, soon coming to believe he was a medium. Following business school, Madero studied at the University of California, Berkeley, to pursue courses in agricultural techniques and to improve his English. During his time there, he was influenced by the theosophist ideas of Annie Besant, which were prominent at nearby Stanford University. Return to Mexico In 1893, the 20-year-old Madero returned to Mexico and assumed management of one of the Madero family's hacienda at San Pedro, Coahuila. Well traveled and well educated, he was now in robust health. Proving an enlightened and progressive member of the Madero commercial complex, Francisco installed new irrigation, introduced American-made cotton and cotton machinery, and built a soap factory and also an ice factory. He embarked on a lifelong commitment to philanthropy. His employees were well paid and received regular medical exams; he built schools, hospitals, and community kitchens; and he paid to support orphans and award scholarships. He also taught himself homeopathy and offered medical treatments to his employees. Francisco became increasingly engaged with Spiritism and in 1901 was convinced that the spirit of his brother Raúl, who had died at age 4, was communicating with him, urging him to do charity work and practice self-discipline and self-abnegation. Madero became a vegetarian and stopped drinking alcohol and smoking. Already well-connected to a wealthy family and now well-educated in business, he had built a personal fortune of over 500,000 pesos by 1899. The family was organized on patriarchal principles, so that even though young Francisco was wealthy in his own right, his father and especially his grandfather Evaristo viewed him as someone who should be under the authority of his elders. As the eldest sibling, Francisco exercised authority over his younger brothers and sisters. In January 1903, he married Sara Pérez, first in a civil ceremony, and then a Catholic nuptial mass celebrated by the archbishop. Political career Introduction to politics (1903–1908) On 2 April 1903, Bernardo Reyes, governor of Nuevo León, violently crushed a political demonstration, an example of the increasingly authoritarian policies of president Porfirio Díaz. Madero was deeply moved and, believing himself to be receiving advice from the spirit of his late brother Raúl, he decided to act. The spirit of Raúl told him, "Aspire to do good for your fellow citizens...working for a lofty ideal that will raise the moral level of society, that will succeed in liberating it from oppression, slavery, and fanaticism." Madero founded the Benito Juárez Democratic Club and ran for municipal office in 1904, though he lost the election narrowly. In addition to his political activities, Madero continued his interest in Spiritualism, publishing a number of articles under the pseudonym of Arjuna (a prince from the Mahabharata). In 1905, Madero became increasingly involved in opposition to the Díaz government, which had excluded his family from political power. He organized political clubs and founded a political newspaper (El Demócrata) and a satirical periodical (El Mosco, "The Fly"). Madero's preferred candidate, Frumencio Fuentes, was defeated by that of Porfirio Díaz in Coahuila's 1905 gubernatorial elections. Díaz considered jailing Madero, but Bernardo Reyes suggested that Francisco's father be asked to control his increasingly political son. Leader of the Anti-Re-election Movement (1908–1909) In an interview with journalist James Creelman published on 17 February 1908 issue of Pearson's Magazine, President Díaz said that Mexico was ready for a democracy and that the 1910 presidential election would be a free election. Madero spent the bulk of 1908 writing a book, which he believed was at the direction of spirits, now including that of Benito Juárez himself. This book, published in January 1909, was titled La sucesión presidencial en 1910 (The Presidential Succession of 1910). The book quickly became a bestseller in Mexico. The book proclaimed that the concentration of absolute power in the hands of one man – Porfirio Díaz – for so long had made Mexico sick. Madero pointed out the irony that in 1871, Porfirio Díaz's political slogan had been "No Re-election". Madero acknowledged that Porfirio Díaz had brought peace and a measure of economic growth to Mexico. However, Madero argued that this was counterbalanced by the dramatic loss of freedom, including the brutal treatment of the Yaqui people, the repression of workers in Cananea, excessive concessions to the United States, and an unhealthy centralization of politics around the person of the president. Madero called for a return of the Liberal 1857 Constitution. To achieve this, Madero proposed organizing a Democratic Party under the slogan Sufragio efectivo, no reelección ("Effective Suffrage. No Re-election"). Porfirio Díaz could either run in a free election or retire. Madero's book was well received, and widely read. Many people began to call Madero the Apostle of Democracy. Madero sold off much of his property – often at a considerable loss – to finance anti-re-election activities throughout Mexico. He founded the Anti-Re-election Center in Mexico City in May 1909, and soon thereafter lent his backing to the periodical El Antirreeleccionista, which was run by the young lawyer/philosopher José Vasconcelos and another intellectual, Luis Cabrera Lobato. In Puebla, Aquiles Serdán, from a politically engaged family, contacted Madero and as a result, formed an Anti-Re-electionist Club to organize for the 1910 elections, particularly among the working classes. Madero traveled throughout Mexico giving anti-reelectionist speeches, and everywhere he went he was greeted by crowds of thousands. His candidacy cost him financially, since he sold much of his property at a loss to back his campaign. In spite of the attacks by Madero and his earlier statements to the contrary, Díaz ran for re-election. In a show of U.S. support, Díaz and William Howard Taft planned a summit in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, for 16 October 1909, a historic first meeting between a Mexican and a U.S. president and also the first time a U.S. president would cross the border into Mexico. At the meeting, Diaz told John Hays Hammond, "Since I am responsible for bringing several billion dollars in foreign investments into my country, I think I should continue in my position until a competent successor is found." The summit was a great success for Díaz, but it could have been a major tragedy. On the day of the summit, Frederick Russell Burnham, the celebrated scout, and Private C.R. Moore, a Texas Ranger, discovered a man holding a concealed palm pistol along the procession route and they disarmed the assassin within only a few feet of Díaz and Taft. The Porfirian regime reacted to Madero by placing pressure on the Madero family's banking interests, and at one point even issued a warrant for Madero's arrest on the grounds of "unlawful transaction in rubber". Madero was not arrested, though, apparently due in part to the intervention of Díaz's finance minister, José Yves Limantour, a friend of the Madero family. In April 1910, the Anti-Re-electionist Party met and selected Madero as their nominee for President of Mexico. During the convention, a meeting between Madero and Díaz was arranged by the governor of Veracruz, Teodoro Dehesa, and took place in Díaz's residence on 16 April 1910. Only the candidate and the president were present for the meeting, so the only account of it is Madero's own in correspondence. A political solution and compromise might have been possible, with Madero withdrawing his candidacy. It became clear to Madero that Díaz was a decrepit old man, out of touch politically, and unaware of the extent of formal political opposition. The meeting was important for strengthening Madero's resolve that political compromise was not possible and he is quoted as saying "Porfirio is not an imposing chief. Nevertheless, it will be necessary to start a revolution to overthrow him. But who will crush it afterwards?" Madero was worried that Porfirio Díaz would not willingly relinquish office, warned his supporters of the possibility of electoral fraud and proclaimed that "Force shall be met by force!" Campaign, arrest, escape 1910 Madero campaigned across the country on a message of reform and met with numerous supporters. Resentful of the "peaceful invasion" from the United States "which came to control 90 percent of Mexico's mineral resources, its national railroad, its oil industry and, increasingly, its land," Mexico's poor and middle-class overwhelmingly showed their support for Madero. Fearful of a dramatic change in direction, on 6 June 1910, the Porfirian regime arrested Madero in Monterrey and sent him to a prison in San Luis Potosí. Approximately 5,000 other members of the Anti-Re-electionist movement were also jailed. Francisco Vázquez Gómez took over the nomination, but during Madero's time in jail, a fraudulent election was held on 21 June 1910 that gave Díaz an unbelievably large margin of victory. Madero's father used his influence with the state governor and posted bond to give Madero the right to move about the city on horseback during the day. On 4 October 1910, Madero galloped away from his guards and took refuge with sympathizers in a nearby village. Three days later he was smuggled across the U.S. border, hidden in a baggage car by sympathetic railway workers. He took up residence in San Antonio, Texas, where he plotted his next moves. He wrote the Plan of San Luis Potosí in San Antonio, but back dated and situated in to last place he had been in Mexico. Plan of San Luis Potosí and rebellion Madero set up shop in San Antonio, Texas, and quickly issued his Plan of San Luis Potosí, which had been written during his time in prison, partly with the help of Ramón López Velarde. The plan proclaimed the elections of 1910 null and void, and called for an armed revolution to begin at 6 pm on 20 November 1910, against the "illegitimate presidency/dictatorship of Díaz". At that point, Madero declared himself provisional President of Mexico, and called for a general refusal to acknowledge the central government, restitution of land to villages and Indian communities, and freedom for political prisoners. Madero's policies painted him as a leader of each of the different sectors of Mexican society at the time. He was a member of the upper class; the middle class saw that he sought to gain entry into political processes; the lower class saw that he promised fairer politics and a much more substantial, equitable economic system. The family drew on its financial resources to make regime change possible, with Madero's brother Gustavo A. Madero hiring the law firm of Washington lawyer Sherburne Hopkins, the "world's best rigger of Latin American revolutions" to foment support in the U.S. A strategy to discredit Díaz with U.S. business and the U.S. government did meet some success, with Standard Oil engaging in talks with Gustavo Madero, but more importantly, the U.S. government "bent neutrality laws for the revolutionaries." The U.S. Senate held hearings in 1913 as to whether the U.S. had any role in fomenting revolution in Mexico, Hopkins gave testimony that "he did not believe that it cost the Maderos themselves more than $400,000 gold", with the aggregate cost being $1,500,000US. El Paso, Texas became a major staging point for Madero's insurrection against Díaz. It is directly across the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juárez and where two railway Mexican lines, the Mexican National Railroad and the Mexican Northwest Railroad, connected with the U.S. Southern Pacific Railroad. El Paso was the site of a historic meeting between Mexican President Porfirio Díaz and U.S. President William Howard Taft in 1909. The population of the twin border cities increased dramatically in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with legal commerce and considerable smuggling, "a time-honored occupation along the border." As the political tensions in Mexico increased, smuggling of guns and ammunition to insurrectionists was big business. Madero remained in San Antonio, Texas, but his main man in Chihuahua, Abraham González had recruited gifted, natural military leaders, Pancho Villa and Pascual Orozco, to Madero's cause. Chihuahua became the hub of insurrectionist activity. Villa and Orozco had increasing success against the Federal Army, which drew more recruits to Madero's cause, since it seems to have a real chance at success. Antonio I. Villareal, a follower of Ricardo Flores Magón, who forbade members of the Magonista movement to have anything to do with the Madero movement, but the pragmatist Villareal joined Madero. On 20 November 1910, Madero arrived at the border and planned to meet up with 400 men raised by his uncle Catarino Garza to launch an attack on Ciudad Porfirio Díaz (modern-day Piedras Negras, Coahuila). However, his uncle arrived late and brought only ten men. Madero decided to postpone the revolution. Instead, he and his brother Raúl (who had been given the same name as his late brother) traveled incognito to New Orleans, Louisiana. On 14 February 1911, Madero crossed the border into Chihuahua state from Texas, and on 6 March 1911 led 130 men in an attack on Casas Grandes, Chihuahua. Although holding democratic ideals that attracted many to his movement, Madero learned he was not a military leader. "Madero didn't know the first thing about warfare," initially capturing the town from the Federal Army, but he did not realize he needed to scout whether Federal reinforcements were on the way. There were heavy casualties among the insurrectionists, a number of whom were foreigners, including many from the U.S. and some from Germany. Two survivors of the Casas Grandes debacle were Giuseppe Garibaldi II, grandson of the famous Italian revolutionary, and General Benjamin Johannis Voljoen, an Afrikaner veteran of the Boer War. Madero was slightly wounded in his right arm in the fighting, shown bandaged in a photograph. Madero was saved by his personal bodyguard and Revolutionary general Máximo Castillo. He remained head of the movement in the north to oust Díaz. Madero movement successfully imported arms from the United States, procured by agents in the United States. Some were shipped directly from New York, disguised so that they would not be intercepted by the U.S. government. There were two businesses in El Paso that sold arms and ammunition to the rebels. The U.S. government of President William Howard Taft hired agents to surveil insurrectionists, fairly openly operated in El Paso. But the U.S. government efforts to halt the flow of arms to the Mexican revolutionaries failed. By April the Revolution had spread to eighteen states, including Morelos where the leader was Emiliano Zapata. On 1 April 1911, Porfirio Díaz claimed that he had heard the voice of the people of Mexico, replaced his cabinet, and agreed to restitution of the lands of the dispossessed. Madero did not believe this statement and instead demanded the resignation of President Díaz and Vice-President Ramón Corral. Madero then attended a meeting with the other revolutionary leaders – they agreed to a fourteen-point plan which called for pay for revolutionary soldiers; the release of political prisoners; and the right of the revolutionaries to name several members of cabinet. Madero was moderate, however. He believed that the revolutionaries should proceed cautiously so as to minimize bloodshed and should strike a deal with Díaz if possible. In early May, Madero wanted to extend a ceasefire, but his fellow revolutionaries Pascual Orozco and Francisco Villa disagreed and went ahead without orders on 8 May to attack Ciudad Juárez. It surrendered after two days of bloody fighting. The revolutionaries won this battle decisively, making it clear that Díaz could no longer retain power. On 21 May 1911, the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez was signed. Under the terms of the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez, Díaz and Corral agreed to resign by the end of May 1911, with Díaz's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francisco León de la Barra, becoming interim president solely for the purpose of calling general elections. Madero did not want to come to power by force of arms,, but by a democratic election. This first phase of the Mexican Revolution thus ended with Díaz leaving for exile in Europe at the end of May 1911. He was escorted to the port of Veracruz by General Victoriano Huerta. On 7 June 1911, Madero entered Mexico City in triumph where he was greeted with huge crowds shouting "¡Viva Madero!" Madero was arriving not as the conquering hero, but as a presidential candidate who now embarked on campaigning for the fall presidential election. He left in place all but the top political figures of the Díaz regime as well as the Federal Army, which had just been defeated by revolutionary forces. The Governor of Coahuila, Venustiano Carranza, and Luis Cabrera had strongly advised Madero not to sign the treaty, since it gave away the power the revolutionary forces had won. For Madero, that was not the only consideration. Madero saw that revolutionaries like Orozco were not going to docilely obey his orders not to attack and the situation could get even more out of hand when Díaz resigned. Madero recognized the legitimacy of the Federal Army and called on revolutionary forces to disband. "Having removed Díaz, it appeared that Madero was trying to contain the Revolutionary tiger before it had time to enjoy its liberty." Interim Presidency of De la Barra (May–November 1911) Although Madero and his supporters had forced Porfirio Díaz from power, he did not assume the presidency in June 1911. Instead, following the terms of the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez, he was a candidate for president and had no formal role in the Interim Presidency of Francisco León de la Barra, a diplomat and lawyer. Left in place was the Congress of Mexico, which was full of candidates whom Díaz had handpicked for the 1910 election. By doing this, Madero was true to his ideological commitment to constitutional democracy, but with members of the Díaz regime still in power, he was caused difficulties in the short and long term. The German ambassador to Mexico, Paul von Hintze, who associated with the Interim President, said of him that "De la Barra wants to accommodate himself with dignity to the inevitable advance of the ex-revolutionary influence, while accelerating the widespread collapse of the Madero party...." Madero sought to be a moderate democrat and follow the course outlined in treaty bringing about exile of Díaz, but by calling for the disarming and demobilization of his revolutionary base, he undermined his support. The Mexican Federal Army, just defeated by the revolutionaries, was to continue as the armed force of the Mexican state. Madero argued that the revolutionaries should henceforth proceed solely by peaceful means. In the south, revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata was skeptical about disbanding his troops, especially since the Federal Army from the Díaz era remained essentially intact. However, Madero traveled south to meet with Zapata at Cuernavaca and Cuautla, Morelos. Madero assured Zapata that the land redistribution promised in the Plan of San Luis Potosí would be carried out when Madero became president. With Madero now campaigning for the presidency, which he was expected to win, several landowners from Zapata's state of Morelos took advantage of his not being head of state and appealed to President De la Barra and the Congress to restore their lands which had been seized by Zapatista revolutionaries. They spread exaggerated stories of atrocities committed by Zapata's irregulars, calling Zapata the "Attila of the South". De la Barra and the Congress, therefore, decided to send regular troops under Victoriano Huerta to suppress Zapata's revolutionaries. Madero once again traveled south to urge Zapata to disband his supporters peacefully, but Zapata refused on the grounds that Huerta's troops were advancing on Yautepec. Zapata's suspicions proved accurate as Huerta's Federal soldiers moved violently into Yautepec. Madero wrote to De la Barra, saying that Huerta's actions were unjustified and recommending that Zapata's demands be met. However, when he left the south, he had achieved nothing. Nevertheless, he promised the Zapatistas that once he became president, things would change. Most Zapatistas had grown suspicious of Madero, however. Madero presidency (November 1911 – February 1913) Madero became president in November 1911, and, intending to reconcile the nation, appointed a cabinet that included many of Porfirio Díaz's supporters, as well as Madero's uncle Ernesto Madero, as Minister of Finance. A curious fact is that almost immediately after taking office in November, Madero became the first head of state in the world to fly in an airplane, which the Mexican press was later to mock. Madero was unable to achieve the reconciliation he desired since conservative Porfirians had organized themselves during the interim presidency and now mounted a sustained and effective opposition to Madero's reform program. Conservatives in the Senate refused to pass the reforms he advocated. At the same time, several of Madero's allies denounced him for being overly conciliatory with the Porfirians and with not moving aggressively forward with reforms. After years of censorship, Mexican newspapers took advantage of their newly found freedom of the press to harshly criticize Madero's performance as president. Gustavo A. Madero, the president's brother, remarked that "the newspapers bite the hand that took off their muzzle." President Madero refused the recommendation of some of his advisors that he bring back censorship. The press was particularly critical of Madero's handling of rebellions that broke out against his rule shortly after he became president. Despite internal and external opposition, the Madero administration had a number of important accomplishments, including freedom of the press. He freed political prisoners and abolished the death penalty. He did away with the practice of the Díaz government, which appointed local political bosses (jefes políticos), and instead set up a system of independent municipal authorities. State elections were free and fair. He was concerned about the improvement of education, establishing new schools and workshops. An important step was the creation of a federal department of labor, limited the workday to 10 hours, and set in place regulations on women's and children's labor. Unions were granted the right to freely organize. The Casa del Obrero Mundial ("House of the World Worker"), an organization with anarcho-syndicalist was founded during his presidency. Madero alienated a number of his political supporters when he created a new political party, the Constitutionalist Progressive party, which replaced the Anti-Reelectionist Party. He ousted leftist Emilio Vázquez Gómez from his cabinet, brother of Francisco Vázquez Gómez, whom Madero had replaced as his vice presidential candidate with Pino Suárez. Madero made gestures of reform to those who had helped bring him to power, but his aim was a democratic transition to power, fulfilled by his election. His supporters were offered mild gestures of reform, creating a Department of Labor and a National Agrarian Commission, but organized labor and peasants seeking land did not have their fundamental situations changed. Rebellions Madero retained the Mexican Federal Army and ordered the demobilization of revolutionary forces. For revolutionaries who considered themselves the reason that Díaz resigned, this was a hard course to follow. Since Madero did not implement immediate, radical reforms that many of those had supported him had expected, he lost control of those areas in Morelos and Chihuahua. A series of internal rebellions challenged Madero's presidency before the February 1913 coup that deposed him. Zapatista rebellion In Morelos, Emiliano Zapata proclaimed the Plan of Ayala on 25 November 1911, which excoriated Madero's slowness on land reform and declared the signatories in rebellion. Zapata's plan recognized Pascual Orozco as fellow revolutionary, although Orozco was for the moment loyal to Madero, until 1912. Madero sent the Federal Army to suppress the rebellion, but failed to do so. For Madero's opponents this was evidence of his ineffectiveness as a leader. Reyes rebellion In December 1911, General Bernardo Reyes, whom Porfirio Díaz had sent to Europe on a diplomatic mission because Díaz worried that Reyes was going to challenge him for the presidency, launched a rebellion in Nuevo León, where he had previously served as governor. He called for "the people" to rise against Madero. "His rebellion was a total failure", lasting only eleven days before Reyes surrendered to the Federal Army at Linares, Nuevo León. When the rebellion broke out, Madero made a calculated decision to entrust Pascual Orozco to put it down. In the fight against Dįaz, Orozco had led revolutionary forces in the north capturing Ciudad Juárez, against Madero's orders. Madero had not treated him well after he was elected, but entrusted him over General Victoriano Huerta. Huerta had previously been a supporter of Reyes, and Madero was concerned that Huerta would join with Reyes rather than suppress the rebellion. In one historian's assessment, " would have ensued and seriously threatedPresident Madero played his political cards perfectly this occasion. Had he dispatched a large force to the north under the command of either Huerta of [General] Blanquet, it is quite possible that a major military defection, seriously threatening the government." Reyes was sent to the Santiago Tlatelolco military prison in Mexico City. Madero allowed Reyes privileges while in prison, which allowed him to organize subsequent conspiracies from jail. Vázquez Gómez rebellion Nearly simultaneous with Reyes's rebellion, Emilio Vázquez Gómez, rose in rebellion. Emilio was the brother of Francisco Vázquez Gómez whom Madero replaced as the vice presidential candidate Pino Suárez when he successfully ran for president. Emilio gathered supporters in Chihuahua, with a number of small rebellions against the Madero's regime breaking out in December 191=1. Although Madero sent the Federal Army, he then sent Orozco to put down the rebellion. Rebels had captured and looted Ciudad Juáréz. Orozco arrived with a contingent of troops. Still popular in Chihuahua, Orozco persuaded rebels to lay down their arms against Madero. Madero was delighted that Orozco had been so successful in dealing with two rebellions. Orozco rebellion The two small, northern rebellions that Orozco suppressed showed his again his military skills, but with the Vázquez Gómez rebellion, he realized his continued popularity. In his recent dealings with Madero, the president had shown him respect, which was much lacking after Orozco disobeyed Madero's orders not to take Ciudad Juárez in May 1911 when Madero was attempting non-military means to persuade Dįaz to resign. Orozco was personally resentful of how President Madero had treated him once he was in office. He launched a rebellion in Chihuahua in March 1912 with the financial backing of Luis Terrazas, a former Governor of Chihuahua who was the largest landowner in Mexico. Northern oligarchs had opposed ousting of Díaz and Madero's presidency and saw in Orozco a potential ally, a rival to oust Madero. They began flattering him that he was the man to bring order to Mexico. Madero's advisors had repeatedly warned Madero that Orozco was untrustworthy, but Madero had just seen the demonstration of Orozco's loyalty in preserving his presidency. Orozco's "revolution came as a complete shock to Madero." At his request, Madero dispatched troops under General José González Salas, the Secretary of War, to put down the rebellion. González Salas was not a seasoned campaign general, but he did not want Huerta to be dispatched. Unlike the two small, unsuccessful rebellions that attracted few followers, Orozco not only had an army to 8,000 men, he had backing from landowning interests, and a detailed battle plan to sweep through Chihuahua and capture Mexico City. Although González Salas commanded forces of 2,000 troops, he was an ineffective leader. In the first major encounter, Orozco triumphed, crushing the Federal Army. González Salas committed suicide after the battlefield humiliation. General Victoriano Huerta assumed control of the federalist forces. Huerta was more successful, defeating Orozco's troops in three major battles and forcing Orozco to flee to the United States in September 1912. Relations between Huerta and Madero grew strained during the course of this campaign when Pancho Villa, the commander of the División del Norte, refused orders from General Huerta. Huerta ordered Villa's execution, but Madero commuted the sentence and Villa was sent to the same Santiago Tlatelolco prison as Reyes from which he escaped on Christmas Day 1912. Angry at Madero's commutation of Villa's sentence, Huerta, after a long night of drinking, mused about reaching an agreement with Orozco and together deposing Madero as president. When Mexico's Minister of War learned of General Huerta's comments, he stripped Huerta of his command, but Madero intervened and restored Huerta to command. Félix Díaz rebellion October 1912, Félix Díaz (nephew of Porfirio Díaz) launched a rebellion in Veracruz, hoping to capitalize on his famous name and with support from the U.S. But even with U.S. support, Díaz's rebellion collapsed after no Mexican generals or the general populace supported it. Díaz was arrested and imprisoned. Although Díaz was sentenced to death for his rebellion, the Supreme Court of Mexico, whose judges were appointed by former President Díaz, declared that Félix Díaz would be imprisoned, but not executed. Madero did not interfere with the decision; Díaz was transferred to the same prison where Reyes was incarcerated, where the two plotted further conspiracies. "Madero displayed a fatal softness toward the leaders of these coup attempts. U.S. and the Madero government Initially, the U.S. was cautiously optimistic about Madero leading the new government. He had kept the Federal Army and the federal bureaucracy, and dismissed the revolutionary forces that brought him to power. Although his Plan of San Luis Potosí signaled his openness to land reform, he failed to move on it, which did not have an impact on the U.S. or its business interests. Madero displayed to overt anti-Americanism, but his resistance to U.S. pressure on a variety of issues were taken as that by the U.S. government and business interests. He did not follow through on promises made in his name, perhaps by his brother Gustavo A. Madero, to turn Mexico's oil industry over to the Standard Oil Company. He refused to satisfy U.S. demands for compensation for life and property outside of a bilateral commission. He planned to institute universal male military service, which would have strengthened Mexico's position against foreign powers. Madero was not deviating from President Díaz's firmness against demands that infringed on Mexican sovereignty and domestic policy, but the U.S. pressed the issues. Increasingly, the U.S. position became hostile to the Madero regime. Madero's lifting of restrictions on labor organizing had resulted in strikes, which had an impact on U.S. companies in Mexico. The U.S. Ambassador, Henry Lane Wilson conducted a campaign of anti-Madero propaganda and disinformation, aimed at alarming the American residents, a campaign against Madero in U.S. newspapers. And the U.S. government and business interests increasingly backed rebellions against Madero. Germany and the Madero government Germany had business interests in Mexico, in banking and in exports from Germany, but it was reluctant to challenge the U.S. as the premier foreign arbiter in Mexico. In the period before the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, it followed the lead of the U.S. of initially being optimistic about Madero's moderation against revolutionary tendencies. But when U.S. turned against Madero, the U.S. ambassador and the German ambassador Paul von Hintze were in close contact. Hintze's reports on the situation in Mexico during the Madero presidency have been a rich source of information about the regime. Although the U.S. attempted to draw Germany as well as Great Britain into intervention in Mexico, both held back. They also sought to prevent the U.S. from intervening itself. Hintze had a low opinion of Félix Díaz, and saw the head of the Mexican Federal Army, Victoriano Huerta, as an appropriate candidate as a military dictator. That view dictated his actions as a plan for a coup was hatched in early 1913. Successful coup against Madero In early 1913, General Félix Díaz (Porfirio Díaz's nephew) and General Bernardo Reyes plotted the overthrow of Madero. Now known in Mexican history as the Ten Tragic Days, from 9 to 19 February events in the capital led to the overthrow and murder of Madero and his vice president. Rebel forces bombarded the National Palace and downtown Mexico City from the military arsenal (ciudadela). Madero's loyalists initially held their ground, but Madero's commander, General Victoriano Huerta secretly switched sides to support the rebels. Madero's decision to appoint General Victoriano Huerta as commander of forces in Mexico City was one "for which he would pay for with his life." Madero and his vice president were arrested. Under pressure Madero resigned the presidency, with the expectation that he would go into exile, as had President Díaz in May 1911. Madero's brother and advisor Gustavo A. Madero was kidnapped off the street, tortured, and killed. Following Huerta's coup d'état on 18 February 1913, Madero was forced to resign. After a 45-minute term of office, Pedro Lascuráin was replaced by Huerta, who took over the presidency later that day. Following his forced resignation, Madero and his Vice-President José María Pino Suárez were kept under guard in the National Palace. On the evening of 22 February, they were told that they were to be transferred to the main city penitentiary, where they would be safer. At 11:15 pm, reporters waiting outside the National Palace saw two cars containing Madero and Suárez emerge from the main gate under a heavy escort commanded by Major Francisco Cárdenas, an officer of the rurales. The journalists on foot were outdistanced by the motor vehicles, which were driven towards the penitentiary. The correspondent for the New York World was approaching the prison when he heard a volley of shots. Behind the building, he found the two cars with the bodies of Madero and Suárez nearby, surrounded by soldiers and gendarmes. Major Cárdenas subsequently told reporters that the cars and their escort had been fired on by a group, as they neared the penitentiary. The two prisoners had leapt from the vehicles and ran towards their presumed rescuers. They had however been killed in the cross-fire. This account was treated with general disbelief, although the American ambassador Henry Lane Wilson, a strong supporter of Huerta, reported to Washington that, "I am disposed to accept the (Huerta) government's version of the affair and consider it a closed incident". President Madero, dead at 39, was buried quietly in the French cemetery of Mexico City. A series of contemporary photographs taken by Manuel Ramos show Maderos's coffin being carried from the penitentiary and placed on a special funeral tram car for transportation to the cemetery. Only his close family were permitted to attend, leaving for Cuba immediately after. Following Huerta's overthrow, Francisco Cárdenas fled to Guatemala where he committed suicide in 1920 after the new Mexican government had requested his extradition to stand trial for the murder of Madero. Aftermath of coup There was shock at Madero's murder, but there were many, Mexican elites and foreign entrepreneurs and governments, who saw the coup and the emergence of General Huerta as the desired strongman to return order to Mexico. Among elites in Mexico, Madero's death was a cause of rejoicing, seeing the time since Díaz's resignation as one of political instability and economic uncertainty. Ordinary Mexicans in the capital, however, were dismayed by the coup, since many considered Madero a friend, but their feelings did not translate into concrete action against the Huerta regime. In northern Mexico, Madero's overthrow and martyrdom united forces against Huerta's usurpation of power. Governor of Coahuila, Venustiano Carranza refused to support the new regime although most state governors had. He brought together a coalition of revolutionaries under the banner of the Mexican Constitution, so that the Constitutionalist Army fought for the principles of constitutional democracy that Madero embraced. In southern Mexico, Zapata had been in rebellion against the Madero government for its slow action on land reform and continued in rebellion against the Huerta regime. However, Zapata repudiated his former high opinion of fellow revolutionary Pascual Orozco, who had also rebelled against Madero, when Orozco allied with Huerta. Madero's anti-reelectionist movement had mobilized revolutionary action that led to the resignation of Díaz. Madero's overthrow and murder during the Ten Tragic Days was a prelude to further years of civil war. For Mexicans hopeful of positive change with the Madero presidency, his performance in office was not inspiring, but as a martyr to the revolution ousted and murdered by reactionary forces with the aid of the United States, he became a powerful unifying force. The Governor of Coahuila, Madero's home state, became the leader of the northern revolutionaries opposing the Huerta. Venustiano Carranza had been put in office by Madero. Carranza named the broad-based, anti-Huerta northern coalition the Constitutionalist Army, invoking the Mexican Constitution of 1857 and rule of law that they hoped to restore. In 1915, a Constitutionalist supporter created a chart outlining the political leaders of the time, calling Madero "The Great Democrat, elected president by the unanimous will of the people." But by 1917, when the Constitutionalists had emerged as the winning faction of the revolution, Carranza began reshaping the historical narrative of the revolution that excluded Madero entirely. For Carranza, the revolution had three periods, with the start date being the armed struggle against Huerta, led by himself. After three years as constitutional president, Carranza himself was ousted and killed in a 1920 coup by Sonoran revolutionary generals, Álvaro Obregón, Plutarco Elías Calles, and Adolfo de la Huerta. Madero's status as a hero of the revolution was restored by the Sonoran dynasty, which deliberately constructed a narrative of historical memory that endures. 20 November, the day that Madero set in the Plan of San Luis Potosí for the rebellion against Porfirio Díaz, became a national day of celebration.<ref>Benjamin, Thomas, La Revolución: Mexico's Great Revolution as Memory, Myth, and History. Austin: University of Texas Press 2000, 64, 68–69</ref> Historical memory and popular culture Madero was known as "The Apostle of Democracy," but "Madero the martyr meant more to the soul of Mexico." Despite Madero's importance as a historical figure, there are relatively few memorials or monuments to him. It was not until the Monument to the Revolution was completed in 1938 that Madero had a public resting place. He had been interred in the French cemetery in Mexico City. After his death. His tomb had been an informal pilgrimage site on the anniversary of his murder (22 February) and the proclamation of his Plan of San Luis Potosí (20 November), which launched the Mexican Revolution. Initially, the monument to the Revolution held the remains of Madero, Carranza, and Villa and was planned as a collective commemoration of the Revolution, not individual revolutionaries. Although it was completed on 20 November 1938, there was no inaugural ceremony. The date of Madero's Plan of San Luis Potosí, 20 November, was a fixed official holiday in Mexico, Revolution Day, but a 2005 change in the law makes the third Monday in November the day of commemoration. During the Presidency of Venustiano Carranza, he ignored 20 November and commemorated 26 March, the anniversary of his Plan de Guadalupe. The Mexico City Metro has a stop named for Madero's vice president, Metro Pino Suárez, but not one to Madero. General Alvaro Obregón laid a foundation stone on the 10th anniversary of Madero's death of a planned Madero statue in the zócalo, but the statue was never built. A statue was erected in 1956 at a downtown intersection in Mexico City and has been moved to the presidential residence, Los Pinos, not easily viewable by the public. An exception is Avenida Madero in Mexico City. One contemporaneous honor by General Pancho Villa remains in Mexico City. On the morning of 8 December 1914, he declared that the street leading from the Zócalo in Mexico City towards the Paseo de la Reforma would be named for Madero. Still officially called Francisco I. Madero Avenue, but commonly known simply as Madero street, it is one of the most popular and historically significant streets in the city. It was pedestrianised in 2009. Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada created an etching for a broadside, produced on the occasion of Madero's election in 1910, titled "Calavera de Madero" portraying Madero as a calavera. Madero appears in the films Viva Villa! (1934), Villa Rides (1968) and Viva Zapata! (1952). In the novel The Friends of Pancho Villa (1996) by James Carlos Blake, Madero is a major character. See also List of heads of state of Mexico Emilio Madero, brother Ernesto Madero, uncle Gustavo A. Madero, brother Manifiesto a la Nación (Francisco I. Madero) References Further reading Cumberland, Charles C. Mexican Revolution: Genesis under Madero. Austin: University of Texas Press 1952. Katz, Friedrich. The Secret War in Mexico: Europe, the United States, and the Mexican Revolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1981. Knight, Alan. The Mexican Revolution, 2 volumes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1986. Krauze, Enrique, Mexico: Biography of Power. New York: HarperCollins 1997. Ross, Stanley R. Francisco I. Madero, Apostle of Democracy''. New York: Columbia University Press 1955. External links 1873 births 1913 deaths 1913 murders in North America Presidents of Mexico Mexican democracy activists Mexican revolutionaries Assassinated Mexican politicians Executed presidents People murdered in Mexico People from Parras, Coahuila People of the Mexican Revolution Candidates in the 1910 Mexican presidential election Candidates in the 1911 Mexican presidential election Mount St. Mary's University alumni Progressive Constitutionalist Party (Mexico) politicians Spiritualists 20th-century Mexican politicians Porfiriato UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources alumni

Felidae () is a family of mammals in the order Carnivora, colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the domestic cat (Felis catus). Felidae species exhibit the most diverse fur pattern of all terrestrial carnivores. Cats have retractile claws, slender muscular bodies and strong flexible forelimbs. Their teeth and facial muscles allow for a powerful bite. They are all obligate carnivores, and most are solitary predators ambushing or stalking their prey. Wild cats occur in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Some wild cat species are adapted to forest habitats, some to arid environments, and a few also to wetlands and mountainous terrain. Their activity patterns range from nocturnal and crepuscular to diurnal, depending on their preferred prey species. Reginald Innes Pocock divided the extant Felidae into three subfamilies: the Pantherinae, the Felinae and the Acinonychinae, differing from each other by the ossification of the hyoid apparatus and by the cutaneous sheaths which protect their claws. This concept has been revised following developments in molecular biology and techniques for analysis of morphological data. Today, the living Felidae are divided in two subfamilies: the Pantherinae and Felinae, with the Acinonychinae subsumed into the latter. Pantherinae includes five Panthera and two Neofelis species, while Felinae includes the other 34 species in ten genera. The first cats emerged during the Oligocene about , with the appearance of Proailurus and Pseudaelurus. The latter species complex was ancestral to two main lines of felids: the cats in the extant subfamilies and a group of extinct cats of the subfamily Machairodontinae, which include the saber-toothed cats such as the Smilodon. The "false sabre-toothed cats", the Barbourofelidae and Nimravidae, are not true cats, but are closely related. Together with the Felidae, Viverridae, hyaenas and mongooses, they constitute the Feliformia. Characteristics All members of the cat family have the following characteristics in common: They are digitigrade, have five toes on their forefeet and four on their hind feet. Their curved claws are protractile and attached to the terminal bones of the toe with ligaments and tendons. The claws are guarded by cutaneous sheaths, except in the Acinonyx. The plantar pads of both fore and hind feet form compact three-lobed cushions. They actively protract the claws by contracting muscles in the toe, and they passively retract them. The dewclaws are expanded but do not protract. They have lithe and flexible bodies with muscular limbs. Their skull is foreshortened with a rounded profile and large orbits. They have 30 teeth with a dental formula of . The upper third premolar and lower molar are adapted as carnassial teeth, suited to tearing and cutting flesh. The canine teeth are large, reaching exceptional size in the extinct saber-toothed species. The lower carnassial is smaller than the upper carnassial and has a crown with two compressed blade-like pointed cusps. Their tongue is covered with horny papillae, which rasp meat from prey and aid in grooming. Their nose projects slightly beyond the lower jaw. Their eyes are relatively large, situated to provide binocular vision. Their night vision is especially good due to the presence of a tapetum lucidum, which reflects light back inside the eyeball, and gives felid eyes their distinctive shine. As a result, the eyes of felids are about six times more light-sensitive than those of humans, and many species are at least partially nocturnal. The retina of felids also contains a relatively high proportion of rod cells, adapted for distinguishing moving objects in conditions of dim light, which are complemented by the presence of cone cells for sensing colour during the day. They have well-developed and highly sensitive whiskers above the eyes, on the cheeks, on the muzzle, but not below the chin. Whiskers help to navigate in the dark and to capture and hold prey. Their external ears are large and especially sensitive to high-frequency sounds in the smaller cat species. This sensitivity allows them to locate small rodent prey. The penis is subconical, facing backward when not erect. The baculum is small or vestigial, and shorter than in the Canidae. Felids have a vomeronasal organ in the roof of the mouth, allowing them to "taste" the air. The use of this organ is associated with the Flehmen response. They cannot detect the sweetness of sugar, as they lack the sweet-taste receptor. They share a broadly similar set of vocalisations, but with some variation between species. In particular, the pitch of calls varies, with larger species producing deeper sounds; overall, the frequency of felid calls ranges between 50 and 10,000 hertz. The standard sounds made by all felids include meowing, spitting, hissing, snarling and growling. Meowing is the main contact sound, whereas the others signify an aggressive motivation. They can purr during both phases of respiration, though pantherine cats seem to purr only during oestrus and copulation, and as cubs when suckling. Purring is generally a low pitch sound of less than 2 kHz and mixed with other vocalization types during the expiratory phase. The ability to roar comes from an elongated and specially adapted larynx and hyoid apparatus. When air passes through the larynx on the way from the lungs, the cartilage walls of the larynx vibrate, producing sound. Only lions, leopards, tigers, and jaguars are truly able to roar, although the loudest mews of snow leopards have a similar, if less structured, sound. The colour, length and density of their fur is very diverse. Fur colour covers the gamut from white to black, and fur pattern from distinctive small spots, stripes to small blotches and rosettes. Most cat species are born with a spotted fur, except the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) and caracal (Caracal caracal). The spotted fur of lion (Panthera leo) and cougar (Puma concolor) cubs change to a uniform fur during their ontogeny. Those living in cold environments have thick fur with long hair, like the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and the Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul). Those living in tropical and hot climate zones have short fur. Several species exhibit melanism with all-black individuals. In the great majority of cat species, the tail is between a third and a half of the body length, although with some exceptions, like the Lynx species and margay (Leopardus wiedii). Cat species vary greatly in body and skull sizes, and weights: The largest cat species is the tiger (Panthera tigris), with a head-to-body length of up to , a weight range of at least , and a skull length ranging from . Although the maximum skull length of a lion is slightly greater at , it is generally smaller in head-to-body length than the former. The smallest cat species are the rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) and the black-footed cat (Felis nigripes). The former is in length and weighs . The latter has a head-to-body length of and a maximum recorded weight of . Most cat species have a haploid number of 18 or 19. Central and South American cats have a haploid number of 18, possibly due to the combination of two smaller chromosomes into a larger one. Most cat species are also induced ovulators, although the margay appears to be a spontaneous ovulator. Evolution The family Felidae is part of the Feliformia, a suborder that diverged probably about into several families. The Felidae and the Asiatic linsangs are considered a sister group, which split about . The earliest cats probably appeared about . Proailurus is the oldest known cat that occurred after the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event about ; fossil remains were excavated in France and Mongolia's Hsanda Gol Formation. Fossil occurrences indicate that the Felidae arrived in North America around . This is about 20million years later than the Ursidae and the Nimravidae, and about 10 million years later than the Canidae. In the Early Miocene about , Pseudaelurus lived in Africa. Its fossil jaws were also excavated in geological formations of Europe's Vallesian, Asia's Middle Miocene and North America's late Hemingfordian to late Barstovian epochs. In the Early or Middle Miocene, the sabre-toothed Machairodontinae evolved in Africa and migrated northwards in the Late Miocene. With their large upper canines, they were adapted to prey on large-bodied megaherbivores. Miomachairodus is the oldest known member of this subfamily. Metailurus lived in Africa and Eurasia about . Several Paramachaerodus skeletons were found in Spain. Homotherium appeared in Africa, Eurasia and North America around , and Megantereon about . Smilodon lived in North and South America from about . This subfamily became extinct in the Late Pleistocene. Results of mitochondrial analysis indicate that the living Felidae species descended from a common ancestor, which originated in Asia in the Late Miocene epoch. They migrated to Africa, Europe and the Americas in the course of at least 10 migration waves during the past ~11 million years. Low sea levels, interglacial and glacial periods facilitated these migrations. Panthera blytheae is the oldest known pantherine cat dated to the late Messinian to early Zanclean ages about . A fossil skull was excavated in 2010 in Zanda County on the Tibetan Plateau. Panthera palaeosinensis from North China probably dates to the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene. The skull of the holotype is similar to that of a lion or leopard. Panthera zdanskyi dates to the Gelasian about . Several fossil skulls and jawbones were excavated in northwestern China. Panthera gombaszoegensis is the earliest known pantherine cat that lived in Europe about . Living felids fall into eight evolutionary lineages or species clades. Genotyping of nuclear DNA of all 41 felid species revealed that hybridization between species occurred in the course of evolution within the majority of the eight lineages. Modelling of felid coat pattern transformations revealed that nearly all patterns evolved from small spots. Classification Traditionally, five subfamilies have been distinguished within the Felidae based on phenotypical features: the Pantherinae, the Felinae, the Acinonychinae, and the extinct Machairodontinae and Proailurinae. Phylogeny The following cladogram based on Piras et al. (2013) depicts the phylogeny of basal living and extinct groups. The phylogenetic relationships of living felids are shown in the following cladogram: See also Cat gap Felid hybrid List of felids List of largest cats References External links Mammal families Extant Chattian first appearances Taxa named by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim

Friends is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, the show revolves around six friends in their 20s and 30s who live in Manhattan, New York City. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The original executive producers were Kevin S. Bright, Kauffman, and Crane. Kauffman and Crane began developing Friends under the working title Insomnia Cafe between November and December 1993. They presented the idea to Bright, and together they pitched a seven-page treatment of the show to NBC. After several script rewrites and changes, including title changes to Six of One and Friends Like Us, the series was finally named Friends. Filming took place at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. The entire series ranked within the top ten of the final television season ratings; it ultimately reached the number-one spot in its eighth season. The series finale aired on May 6, 2004, and was watched by around 52.5 million American viewers, making it the fifth-most-watched series finale in television history and the most-watched television episode of the 2000s. Friends received acclaim throughout its run, becoming one of the most popular television shows of all time. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth season. The show ranked no. 21 on TV Guides 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and no. 7 on Empire magazine's The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 1997, the episode "The One with the Prom Video" was ranked 100 on TV Guides 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. In 2013, Friends ranked no. 24 on the Writers Guild of America's 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time, and no. 28 on TV Guides 60 Best TV Series of All Time. The sitcom's cast members returned for a reunion special aired on HBO Max on May 27, 2021. Premise Rachel Green, a sheltered but friendly woman, flees her wedding day and wealthy yet unfulfilling life and finds childhood friend Monica Geller, a tightly wound but caring chef. Rachel becomes a waitress at West Village coffee house Central Perk after she moves into Monica's apartment above Central Perk and joins Monica's group of single friends in their mid-20s: previous roommate Phoebe Buffay, an eccentric masseuse and musician; neighbor Joey Tribbiani, a dim-witted yet loyal struggling actor and womanizer; Joey's roommate Chandler Bing, a sarcastic, self-deprecating data processor; and Monica's older brother and Chandler's college roommate Ross Geller, a sweet-natured but insecure paleontologist. Episodes depict the friends' comedic and romantic adventures and career issues, such as Joey auditioning for roles or Rachel seeking jobs in the fashion industry. The six characters each have many dates and serious relationships, such as Monica with Richard Burke and Ross with Emily Waltham. Ross and Rachel's intermittent relationship is the most often-recurring storyline; during the ten seasons of the show, they repeatedly date and break up. Over the course of the series, Ross briefly marries Emily, Ross and Rachel have a child together after a one-night stand, Chandler and Monica date and marry each other, and Phoebe marries Mike Hannigan. Other frequently recurring characters include Ross and Monica's parents Jack and Judy Geller from Long Island; Ross's ex-wife Carol Willick, their son Ben Geller, and Carol's lesbian partner Susan Bunch; Central Perk barista Gunther; Chandler's extremely annoying and obnoxious but good-natured ex-girlfriend Janice Goralnik; and Phoebe's evil twin sister Ursula. Cast and characters Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green: A fashion enthusiast and Monica Geller's best friend from childhood. Rachel first moves in with Monica in season one after nearly marrying Barry Farber. Rachel and Ross Geller are later involved in an on-again, off-again relationship throughout the series. Rachel dates other men during the series, such as Italian neighbor, Paolo, in season one; Joshua Bergin, a client from Bloomingdale's, in season four; Tag Jones, her assistant, in season seven; and Joey Tribbiani, one of her close friends, in season ten. Rachel's first job is as a waitress at the coffee house Central Perk, but she later becomes an assistant buyer at Bloomingdale's in season three, and a buyer at Ralph Lauren in season five. Rachel and Ross have a daughter named Emma in "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby, Part Two" at the end of season eight. In the final episode of the series, Ross and Rachel confess their love for each other, and Rachel gives up a dream fashion job at Louis Vuitton in Paris to be with him. It is heavily implied in the spin-off series, Joey, that Rachel married Ross after the series finale. Courteney Cox as Monica Geller: The "mother hen" of the group and a chef, known for her perfectionist, bossy, competitive, and obsessive-compulsive nature. Monica was overweight as a child. She works as a chef in various restaurants throughout the show. Monica's first serious relationship is with a long-time family friend Richard Burke, who is twenty-one years her senior. The two maintain a strong relationship for some time until Richard expresses that he does not want to have children. Monica and Chandler, one of her best friends, later start a relationship after spending a night with each other in London in the season four finale, leading to their marriage in season seven and the adoption of twins at the end of the series. Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay: A masseuse and self-taught musician. As a child, Phoebe lived in upstate New York with her mother, until her mother committed suicide and Phoebe took to the streets. She writes and sings her own strange songs, accompanying herself on the guitar. She has an identical twin named Ursula, who shares few of Phoebe's traits. Phoebe has three serious relationships over the show's run: David, a scientist, in season one, with whom she breaks up when he moves to Minsk on a research grant; Gary, a police officer whose badge she finds, in season five; and an on-and-off relationship with Mike Hannigan in seasons nine and ten. In season nine, Phoebe and Mike break up due to his desire not to marry. David returns from Minsk, leading to the two getting back together, but she eventually rejects him for Mike when both of them propose to her. Phoebe and Mike marry in season ten. Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani: A struggling actor and food lover who becomes famous for his role on soap opera Days of Our Lives as Dr. Drake Ramoray. Joey has many short-term girlfriends. Despite his womanizing, Joey is innocent, caring, and well-intentioned. Joey often uses the catchphrase pick-up line "How you doin'?" in his attempts to win over most of the women he meets. Joey rooms with his best friend Chandler for years, and later with Rachel. He falls in love with Rachel in season eight, but Rachel politely tells Joey that she does not share his feelings. They eventually date briefly in season ten, but after realizing it will not work due to their friendship and Rachel's complicated relationship with Ross, they return to being friends. At the end of the series, he is the only remaining single member of the group, and becomes the main protagonist of the sequel series Joey. Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing: An executive in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration for a large, multinational corporation. Chandler hates this job, although it pays well. He attempts to quit during season one but is lured back with a new office and a pay raise. He eventually quits this job in season nine due to a transfer to Tulsa. He becomes a junior copywriter at an advertising agency later that season. Chandler has a peculiar family history being the son of an erotic novelist mother and a gay, cross-dressing Las Vegas star father. Chandler is known for his sarcastic sense of humor and bad luck in relationships. Chandler marries Monica, one of his best friends, in season seven, and they adopt twins at the end of the series. Before his relationship with Monica, Chandler dated Janice Hosenstein in season one and subsequently broke up with her many times. David Schwimmer as Ross Geller: Monica's "geeky" older brother, a palaeontologist working at the Museum of Natural History, and later a tenured professor of palaeontology at New York University. Ross is involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with Rachel throughout the series. He has three failed marriages during the series: Carol Willick, a lesbian who is also the mother of his son, Ben Geller; Emily Waltham, who divorces him after he accidentally says Rachel's name instead of hers during their wedding vows; and Rachel, as the two drunkenly marry in Las Vegas. His divorces become a running joke within the series. Following a one-night stand, he and Rachel have a daughter, Emma, by the end of season eight. They finally confess that they are still in love with each other in the series finale. It is heavily implied in the spin-off series, Joey, that Ross married Rachel after the series finale. James Michael Tyler appears as Gunther, a barista at Central Perk, in every season of the show, but is only ever credited as a guest star. Gunther has a mostly secret profound love for Rachel throughout the entire series. At one point he becomes the manager of the coffee house. It is revealed that Gunther speaks Dutch in addition to English, as well as being a former soap opera actor. In their original contracts for the first season, cast members were paid $22,500 per episode. The cast members received different salaries in the second season, beginning from the $20,000 range to $40,000 per episode. Before their salary negotiations for the third season, the cast decided to enter collective negotiations, despite Warner Bros.' preference for individual deals. The actors were given the salary of the least paid cast member. The stars were paid $75,000 per episode in season three, $85,000 in season four, $100,000 in season five, $125,000 in season six, $750,000 in seasons seven and eight, and $1 million in seasons nine and ten, making Aniston, Cox, and Kudrow the highest-paid TV actresses of all time. The cast also received syndication royalties beginning in 2000 after renegotiations. At the time, that financial benefit of a piece of the show's lucrative back-end profits had only been given out to stars who had ownership rights in a show, like Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Cosby. Series creator David Crane wanted all six actors to be equally prominent, and the series was lauded as being "the first true 'ensemble' show." The cast members made efforts to keep the ensemble format and not allow one member to dominate; they entered themselves in the same acting categories for awards, opted for collective salary negotiations, and asked to appear together on magazine cover photos in the first season. The cast members also became best friends off-screen, so much so that recurring guest star Tom Selleck reported that he sometimes felt left out. The cast remained good friends after the series run, most notably Cox and Aniston, with Aniston being godmother to Cox and David Arquette's daughter, Coco. In the official farewell commemorative book Friends 'Til the End, each separately acknowledged in interviews that the cast had become their family. Episodes Season 1 The first season introduces the six main characters who live in New York City: Rachel Green, a waitress; professional chef Monica Geller; her paleontologist brother, Ross Geller; free-spirited masseuse Phoebe Buffay; struggling actor Joey Tribbiani, and Ross's college friend, Chandler Bing, whose precise occupation at a corporation is unknown. Rachel arrives at Central Perk, wearing her wedding dress, after leaving her fiancé, Barry, an orthodontist, at the altar. She moves into her high school friend Monica's apartment, and gets a waitress job at Central Perk. Ross, who has had a crush on Rachel since high school, often attempts to declare his feelings for her. However, many obstacles stand in his way, including his insecurities, Rachel dating an Italian neighbour named Paolo, and the fact that he is expecting a baby with his lesbian ex-wife, Carol, who gives birth to Ben later in the season. Joey never has a steady girlfriend and constantly sleeps with a variety of women. Phoebe is rather quirky and eccentric, mostly due to her mother's suicide when Phoebe was a child and having lived on the streets for a time. However, the gang loves her regardless. Chandler breaks up with his girlfriend, Janice (Maggie Wheeler), only to find himself reconnecting with her throughout the series. Near the end of the season, while Ross is at a paleontology dig in China, Chandler accidentally lets slip that Ross loves Rachel, who then realizes that she also cares for him. The season ends with Rachel waiting at the airport for Ross, who is returning from China. Season 2 Rachel greets Ross at the airport only to discover that he has returned with Julie (Lauren Tom), someone he knew from graduate school. Rachel's attempts to tell Ross that she loves him initially mirror his failed attempts in the first season. After he breaks up with Julie for Rachel, friction between them develops when Rachel discovers Ross's list of the cons of dating her. They eventually begin a relationship after Rachel sees an old home video from her and Monica's prom night and realizes Ross was going to stand in for her prom date who nearly stood her up. Monica is promoted to head chef at the Iridium restaurant, then gets fired for accepting gifts from a supplier, which is against company policy. Needing money, she is forced to take an embarrassing job as a waitress at a 1950s-style diner. She also begins dating Richard Burke (Tom Selleck), a recently divorced family friend who is 21 years her senior. They eventually break up when Monica realizes that Richard, already a father, does not want more children. Joey is cast in a fictional version of the soap opera, Days of Our Lives as neurosurgeon Dr. Drake Ramoray. He moves out of his and Chandler's apartment, forcing Chandler to get a new roommate, Eddie (Adam Goldberg). However, Eddie is annoying and somewhat deranged. When Joey claims in a soap opera magazine interview that he writes many of his own lines, offending the show's writer, his character is killed off. No longer able to afford his expensive new apartment, Joey moves back in with Chandler, kicking Eddie out in the process. In the season finale, Chandler talks to an anonymous woman in an online chat room. When they agree to meet in person, the woman turns out to be Janice. Season 3 Season 3 takes on a significantly more serialized format. Chandler and Janice date for several episodes until Joey catches Janice kissing her soon-to-be ex-husband. Not wanting to destroy her family, Chandler urges Janice to go back to her husband, then becomes depressed over the breakup for several episodes. Rachel quits her job at Central Perk and begins working at Bloomingdale's, an upscale department store chain. Ross soon becomes jealous of her colleague Mark and frustrated by Rachel's long work hours. She is tired of his constant jealousy and insecurity, and decides they need a (relationship) break. Ross, hurt and somewhat drunk, immediately sleeps with Chloe, "the hot girl from the Xerox place," causing Rachel to break up with him completely. Although Phoebe initially believes she has no family except her twin sister Ursula (Lisa Kudrow), she learns she has a half-brother, Frank Jr. (Giovanni Ribisi) and discovers her birth mother, Phoebe Abbott (Teri Garr) over the course of the season. Joey falls in love with his acting partner Kate (Dina Meyer), but is jealous of her dating the director of their play. They begin a brief relationship that ends when she takes an acting job in Los Angeles. Monica dates millionaire Pete Becker (Jon Favreau), despite her initially not being attracted to him. However, she breaks up with Pete after he is seriously hurt trying to become the Ultimate Fighting Champion and refuses to quit. Phoebe sets Ross up on a date with her friend, Bonnie (Christine Taylor), inciting Rachel's jealousy. She tries sabotaging the relationship by coercing Bonnie to shave her head bald, and eventually admits to Ross that she still has feelings for him. The season closes with Ross having to choose between Rachel and Bonnie. Season 4 In the season 4 premiere, after Ross breaks up with Bonnie, he and Rachel briefly reconcile after Ross pretends to read a long letter that Rachel wrote for him. However, Ross continues to insist that the two were on a break when he slept with Chloe, so they break up again. Joey dates Kathy (Paget Brewster), a girl that Chandler has a crush on. Kathy and Chandler later kiss, which causes drama between Chandler and Joey. Joey only forgives Chandler and allows him to date Kathy after Chandler spends Thanksgiving in a box as punishment. Chandler's relationship with Kathy ends after he discovers that she cheated on him due to an argument. Phoebe loses her job as a masseuse after making out with one of her clients and she accompanies Monica, who has become a caterer for hire. They soon start a catering business together but Monica, after negatively reviewing a restaurant, Allesandro's, is offered the position of head chef. Despite initially being pressured by the wrath of her co-workers, Monica eventually asserts her dominance in the kitchen. Phoebe becomes a surrogate for her brother and his wife, Alice (Debra Jo Rupp). Monica and Rachel are forced to switch apartments with Joey and Chandler after losing a bet during a quiz game, but manage to switch back by bribing them with Knicks season tickets and a one-minute kiss (off-screen) between each other. After her boss dies, Rachel is demoted to personal shopping and meets and later dates a customer named Joshua (Tate Donovan). Ross begins dating an English woman named Emily (Helen Baxendale), and they quickly get engaged. Rachel struggles to cope and hastily suggests to Joshua that they marry, after which he rejects her. In the season finale, the group, apart from a heavily pregnant Phoebe and Rachel, travel to Ross and Emily's wedding in London. Chandler and Monica sleep together, and Rachel, realizing that she is still in love with Ross, rushes to London to stop Ross and Emily's wedding, but changes her mind when she sees them happy together. While saying his vows, Ross accidentally says Rachel's name at the altar, shocking his bride and the guests. Season 5 Ross and Emily marry, but an angry and humiliated Emily flees the reception. Rachel soon admits her love for Ross, but realizing how ridiculous this is, advises him to work on his marriage to Emily. She develops a crush on her neighbor Danny and they date briefly, until she realizes that he is too close with his sister. Monica and Chandler try to keep their new relationship a secret from their friends. Phoebe gives birth to triplets in the show's 100th episode. She gives birth to a boy, Frank Jr. Jr., and two girls, Leslie and Chandler (the latter of whom was supposed to be a boy, but was later revealed to be a girl). After weeks of trying to contact her, Emily agrees to reconcile with Ross and move to New York if he breaks off all communication with Rachel. Ross agrees, but later attends a dinner with all his friends, Rachel included. Emily phones Ross, discovers Rachel is there, realizes she does not trust him and ends their marriage. Ross takes out his anger at work, resulting in him being indefinitely suspended from the museum, and he moves in with Chandler and Joey until eventually getting a new apartment across the street from them. Rachel gets a new job at Ralph Lauren. Phoebe begins a relationship with a police officer, Gary (Michael Rapaport), after finding his badge and using it as her own. Monica and Chandler go public with their relationship, to the surprise and delight of their friends. They decide to get married on a trip to Las Vegas, but change their plans after witnessing Ross and Rachel drunkenly stumbling out of the wedding chapel. Season 6 In the season 6 premiere, Ross and Rachel's marriage turns out to be a drunken mistake that neither remembers until the other friends mention it. Ross promises Rachel he will get them an annulment, then secretly does nothing because he cannot face having three failed marriages. By the time Rachel discovers they are still married, an annulment is impossible due to their history; they are forced to get a divorce. After ignoring the numerous signs that they should get married, Monica and Chandler decide to live together, forcing Rachel to move in with Phoebe. Joey gets a new roommate, Janine (Elle Macpherson). They develop feelings for each other and date briefly until Janine criticizes Monica and Chandler, ending the relationship. After Janine moves out, Joey struggles with paying his bills so he takes a job at Central Perk. He soon lands a role on a cable TV series called Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E., starring alongside a crime-fighting robot. Ross gets a teaching job at New York University. He dates Elizabeth (Alexandra Holden), a student, despite it being against university policy. Elizabeth's father, Paul (Bruce Willis), disapproves of Ross but falls for Rachel, and they start dating. Both relationships soon end: Elizabeth is too immature for Ross, and previously reserved Paul opens up emotionally and is more than Rachel can handle. Phoebe and Rachel's apartment catches fire, and Rachel moves in with Joey, while Phoebe stays with Chandler and Monica, though they later switch. While at a museum that has a two-year wait for weddings, Monica puts her name on the reservation list as a joke. When Chandler intercepts the museum's phone call about a cancellation, he panics; however, Chandler has been planning to propose while pretending he may never want to marry. While dining at a fancy restaurant, Chandler's planned proposal is subverted by Monica's ex-boyfriend Richard Burke, who unexpectedly shows up. Richard later tells Monica he wants to marry her and have children. Monica becomes upset at Chandler, believing his ruse about not wanting to marry. Chandler believes Monica has left him until he comes home to find their apartment decorated with candles and her waiting to propose to him. When she becomes too emotional to continue, Chandler proposes and she accepts. Season 7 The seventh season mainly follows Monica and Chandler as they plan their wedding amid various problems. Joey's television series, Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E is canceled, but he is offered his old role on Days of Our Lives; the show is retconned with the revelation that Dr. Drake Ramoray has been in a four-year coma and is revived with a brain transplant from another character. Phoebe's repaired apartment now has one large bedroom instead of the original two, so Rachel permanently stays at Joey's. Rachel is promoted at Ralph Lauren and impulsively hires a young assistant, Tag Jones (Eddie Cahill), based on his looks, passing over a more qualified woman. Tag discovers her feelings about him at Thanksgiving dinner, and they begin dating, hiding it from co-workers. However, on her 30th birthday, Rachel ends their relationship, realizing Tag is too young and immature, particularly if she intends to follow her marriage schedule. Hours before Monica and Chandler's wedding ceremony, Chandler panics and goes into hiding just as Phoebe and Rachel find a positive pregnancy test in Monica and Chandler's bathroom. They assume Monica is pregnant. Ross and Phoebe find Chandler and convince him to return for the ceremony, though he briefly bolts again after overhearing Phoebe and Rachel discussing the pregnancy test. He quickly returns, embracing the idea of fatherhood. After the ceremony, Monica denies she is pregnant; unbeknown to everyone, the positive pregnancy test is Rachel's. Season 8 Season 8 begins at Monica and Chandler's wedding reception. Phoebe and Monica discover Rachel's pregnancy and persuade her to take another test to confirm it. Phoebe initially claims the test is negative, badly disappointing Rachel, then reveals it is positive, saying Rachel now knows how she really feels about having a baby. Ross is eventually revealed to be the father, and the season revolves around Rachel's pregnancy. Rachel and Ross agree to be co-parents without resuming their romantic relationship; Ross begins dating Mona (Bonnie Somerville), who is Monica's co-worker from Allesandro's. Joey takes Rachel out to quell her fears about motherhood, and realizes he has romantic feelings for her. While suppressing his feelings, he encourages Rachel to stay at Ross's apartment so he can be involved in the pregnancy. The arrangement is too much for Mona, and she breaks up with Ross. Joey tells Ross about his feelings for Rachel. Ross initially is angry, then gives his blessing. Joey tells Rachel that he loves her, but she realizes she does not feel the same way, and they remain friends. When Rachel goes into labor, Ross's mother gives him a family heirloom ring and encourages him to propose to Rachel. Ross hesitates, and puts the ring in his jacket, which he later leaves in Rachel's room. After Monica jokes about having kids, she and Chandler decide to have a baby, starting while they are still at the hospital. After a prolonged labor, during which numerous other expectant mothers, including Janice, are taken to the delivery room, Rachel gives birth to baby Emma. She is left saddened and afraid after Janice later says that Ross may not always be there for her and the baby. When Joey comforts Rachel, the ring falls from Ross's jacket to the floor. Joey kneels to pick it up, and Rachel, believing he is proposing, impulsively says yes. Meanwhile, Ross intends to ask Rachel if she wants to resume their relationship. Season 9 Season nine begins with Ross and Rachel cohabitating with their daughter Emma, after Joey and Rachel clear up the proposal misunderstanding. Monica and Chandler run into obstacles as they try for a baby: Chandler unknowingly agrees to a work transfer to Tulsa just as Monica is offered a head chef job at a new restaurant, Javu, resulting in Chandler commuting back and forth. After being apart from Monica during Christmas, Chandler quits to pursue a new career in advertising, starting as an unpaid intern at an ad agency, and eventually being hired as a junior copywriter. Finally, Monica and Chandler discover they are physically incompatible to conceive and after considering multiple options, decide to adopt. Phoebe begins dating Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd) for most of the season until Mike says that he never wants to marry again. Phoebe dates her ex-boyfriend from season 1, David (Hank Azaria) who plans on proposing to her, but Mike proposes first. Phoebe rejects both proposals but gets back together with Mike, only needing the reassurance that they have a future together. Rachel, believing that her co-worker Gavin (Dermot Mulroney) is trying to steal her job while she is on maternity leave, returns to Ralph Lauren early. She discovers at her birthday party that Gavin has feelings for her. They kiss but do not pursue a relationship due to her history with Ross. Meanwhile, Ross, having seen the kiss, retaliates by dating other women. After realizing that her and Ross's living situation is too weird, Rachel and Emma move in with Joey. Rachel develops a crush on him, only to be disheartened when he starts dating Charlie (Aisha Tyler), a new paleontology professor who Ross is attracted to. In the finale, the group travels to Barbados for Ross's keynote speech at a conference. Joey and Charlie break up upon realizing they have nothing in common. Joey then learns about Rachel's feelings for him, but says they cannot pursue this because of Ross. However, upon seeing Ross and Charlie kiss each other, he goes to Rachel's hotel room, and the finale ends with them kissing. Season 10 The tenth season brings several long-running story lines to a close. Joey and Rachel try to contend with Ross's feelings about their relationship, and after disastrous attempts to consummate, decide it is best they remain friends. Charlie breaks up with Ross to get back together with her ex-boyfriend. Mid-season, Joey officiates Phoebe and Mike's wedding outside the Central Perk coffee house after a snow storm paralyzes the city, preventing them and guests getting to the wedding venue. Monica and Chandler are chosen by a pregnant woman named Erica (Anna Faris) to adopt her baby. Following this, Monica and Chandler prepare to move to a house in the suburbs to raise their family, saddening everyone, particularly Joey, who is coping with all the changes in his life. In the series finale, Erica gives birth to fraternal twins, much to Monica and Chandler's surprise. Rachel is fired from Ralph Lauren after her boss overhears her interviewing for a job at Gucci. She encounters her former Bloomingdale co-worker Mark, who offers her a new job at Louis Vuitton in Paris. Ross, believing Rachel wants to stay, tries bribing Mr. Zelner to rehire her until he realizes Rachel wants to go to Paris. When Rachel says a tearful personal goodbye to everyone except Ross at her going away party, a hurt and angry Ross confronts Rachel, and they end up sleeping together. Rachel leaves, and Ross – realizing how much he loves Rachel – chases her to the airport. When he reaches her, Rachel says she has to go to Paris. Before the plane takes off, Rachel calls Ross's home phone and leaves a voice mail, apologizing for the way it ended. While speaking, she realizes that she loves him too, and gets off the plane at the last minute. The series ends with all the friends, plus Monica and Chandler's new babies, leaving the empty apartment together for a final cup of coffee at Central Perk. The show ends first with a shot of everyone's keys to Monica and Chandler's apartment left on the counter top, and then pans to a shot of the apartment's purple door. Production Conception David Crane and Marta Kauffman began developing three new television pilots that would premiere in 1994 after their sitcom Family Album was cancelled by CBS in 1993. Kauffman and Crane decided to pitch the series about "six people in their 20s making their way in Manhattan" to NBC since they thought it would fit best there. Crane and Kauffman presented the idea to their production partner Kevin Bright, who had served as executive producer on their HBO series Dream On. The idea for the series was conceived when Crane and Kauffman began thinking about the time when they had finished college and started living by themselves in New York; Kauffman believed they were looking at a time when the future was "more of a question mark." They found the concept to be interesting, as they believed "everybody knows that feeling", and because it was also how they felt about their own lives at the time. The team titled the series Insomnia Cafe and pitched the idea as a seven-page treatment to NBC in December 1993. At the same time, Warren Littlefield, the then-president of NBC Entertainment, was seeking a comedy involving young people living together and sharing expenses. Littlefield wanted the group to share memorable periods of their lives with friends, who had become "new, surrogate family members." However, Littlefield found difficulty in bringing the concept to life and found the scripts developed by NBC to be terrible. When Kauffman, Crane and Bright pitched Insomnia Cafe, Littlefield was impressed that they knew who their characters were. NBC bought the idea as a put pilot, meaning they risked financial penalties if the pilot was not filmed. Kauffman and Crane took three days to write the pilot script for a show they titled Friends Like Us. Littlefield wanted the series to "represent Generation X and explore a new kind of tribal bonding", but the rest disagreed. Crane argued that it was not a series for one generation, and wanted to produce a series that everyone would enjoy watching. NBC liked the script and ordered the series. They changed the title to Six of One, mainly because they felt Friends Like Us was too similar to the ABC sitcom These Friends of Mine. Casting Once it became apparent that the series was a favored project at NBC, Littlefield reported that he was getting calls from every agent in town, wanting their client to be a part of the series. Auditions for the lead roles took place in New York and Los Angeles. The casting director shortlisted 1,000 actors who had applied for each role down to 75. Those who received a callback read in front of Crane, Kauffman and Bright. At the end of March, the number of potential actors had been reduced to three or four for each part, and these actors were asked to read for Les Moonves, then president of Warner Bros. Television. Having worked with David Schwimmer in the past, the series creators wrote the character of Ross with him in mind, and he was the first actor cast. Cox wanted to play the role of Monica because she liked the "strong" character, but the producers had her in mind to play Rachel because of her "cheery, upbeat energy", which was not how they envisioned Monica; after Cox's audition, though, Kauffman agreed with Cox, and she got the role. When Matt LeBlanc auditioned for Joey, he put a "different spin" on the character. He played Joey more simple-minded than intended and gave the character heart. Although Crane and Kauffman did not want LeBlanc for the role at the time, they were told by the network to cast him. Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow were cast based on their auditions. More changes occurred to the series's storylines during the casting process. The writers found that they had to adjust the characters they had written to suit the actors, and the discovery process of the characters occurred throughout the first season. Kauffman acknowledged that Joey's character became "this whole new being", and that "it wasn't until we did the first Thanksgiving episode that we realized how much fun Monica's neuroses are." Writing In the weeks after NBC's pick up of Friends, Crane, Kauffman and Bright reviewed sent-in scripts that writers had originally prepared for other series, mainly unproduced Seinfeld episodes. Kauffman and Crane hired a team of seven young writers because "When you're 40, you can't do it anymore. The networks and studios are looking for young people coming in out of college." The creators felt that using six equal characters, rather than emphasizing one or two, would allow for "myriad storylines and give the show legs." The majority of the storyline ideas came from the writers, although the actors added ideas. Although the writers originally planned the big love story to be between Joey and Monica, the idea of a romantic interest between Ross and Rachel emerged during the period when Kauffman and Crane wrote the pilot script. During the production of the pilot, NBC requested that the script be changed to feature one dominant storyline and several minor ones, but the writers refused, wanting to keep three storylines of equal weight. NBC also wanted the writers to include an older character to balance out the young ones. Crane and Kauffman were forced to comply and wrote a draft of an early episode that featured "Pat the Cop." who would be used to provide advice to the other characters. Crane found the storyline to be terrible, and Kauffman joked, "You know the book, Pat the Bunny? We had Pat the Cop." NBC eventually relented and dropped the idea. Each summer, the producers would outline the storylines for the subsequent season. Before an episode went into production, Kauffman and Crane would revise the script written by another writer, mainly if something concerning either the series or a character felt foreign. The hardest episodes to write were always "the first one and the last one of each season." Unlike other storylines, the idea for a relationship between Joey and Rachel was decided on halfway through the eighth season. The creators did not want Ross and Rachel to get back together so soon, and while looking for a romantic impediment, a writer suggested Joey's romantic interest in Rachel. The storyline was incorporated into the season; however, when the actors feared that the storyline would make their characters unlikable, the storyline was wrapped up, until it again resurfaced in the season's finale. For the ninth season, the writers were unsure about the amount of storyline to give to Rachel's baby, as they wanted the show neither to revolve around a baby nor pretend there to be none. Crane said that it took them a while to accept the idea of a tenth season, which they decided to do because they had enough stories left to tell to justify the season. Kauffman and Crane would not have signed on for an eleventh season, even if all the cast members had wanted to continue. The episode title format—"The One ..."—was created when the producers realized that the episode titles would not be featured in the opening credits, and therefore would be unknown to most of the audience. Episode titles officially begin with "The One ..." except the title of the pilot episode and the series finale "The Last One." The season 5 episode "The One Hundredth" has the alternative title of "The One With The Triplet". Filming The first season was shot on Stage 5 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. NBC executives had worried that the coffee house setting was too hip and asked for the series to be set in a diner, but eventually consented to the coffee house concept. The opening title sequence was filmed in a fountain at the Warner Bros. Ranch at 4:00 am, while it was particularly cold for a Burbank morning. At the beginning of the second season, production moved to the larger Stage 24, which was renamed The "Friends" Stage after the series finale. Filming for the series began during the summer of 1994 in front of a live audience, who were given a summary of the series to familiarize themselves with the six main characters; a hired comedian entertained the studio audience between takes. Each 22-minute episode took six hours to film—twice the length of most sitcom tapings—mainly due to the several retakes and rewrites of the script. Although the producers always wanted to find the right stories to take advantage of being on location, Friends was never shot in New York. Bright felt that filming outside the studio made episodes less funny, even when shooting on the lot outside, and that the live audience was an integral part of the series. When the series was criticized for incorrectly depicting New York, with the financially struggling group of friends being able to afford huge apartments, Bright noted that the set had to be big enough for the cameras, lighting, and "for the audience to be able to see what's going on"; the apartments also needed to provide a place for the actors to execute the funny scripts. The fourth-season finale was shot on location in London because the producers were aware of the series's popularity in the UK. The scenes were shot in a studio with three audiences each made up of 500 people. These were the show's largest audiences throughout its run. The fifth-season finale, set in Las Vegas, was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, although Bright met people who thought it was filmed on location. Series finale The series's creators completed the first draft of the hour-long finale in January 2004, four months before its original airing. Crane, Kauffman and Bright watched the finales of other sitcoms to prepare the episode's outline, paying attention to what worked and what did not. They liked the ones that stayed true to the series, citing the finale of The Mary Tyler Moore Show as the gold standard. Crane, Kauffman, and Bright had difficulty writing the finale. They did not want to do "something high concept, or take the show out of the show." The most critical parts of the finale were shot without an audience and with a minimum number of crew members. The main cast enjoyed the finale and were confident that the fans would react similarly: NBC heavily promoted the series finale, which was preceded by weeks of media hype. Local NBC affiliates organized viewing parties around the U.S., including an event at Universal CityWalk featuring a special broadcast of the finale on an outdoor Astrovision screen. The finale was the subject of two episodes of Dateline NBC, one of which ran for two hours. A one-hour retrospective of clips from previous episodes was shown before to the airing of the episode. Following the finale, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was filmed on the set of the Friends' Central Perk coffee house, which featured the series's cast as guests. The advertising rates for the finale averaged $2 million for 30 seconds of commercial time, breaking the record held by the Seinfeld finale at $1.7 million. In the U.S., 52.5 million viewers watched the finale on May 6, 2004, making it the most-watched entertainment telecast since the Seinfeld finale in 1998. Although not the most-watched episode of the series, the finale was the fourth most-watched series finale in television history, only behind the finales of M*A*S*H, Cheers and Seinfeld, which were respectively watched by 105, 80.4 and 76.2 million viewers. The retrospective episode was watched by fewer than 36 million viewers, and the finale was the second most-watched television broadcast of the year in the United States, only behind the Super Bowl. Following the finales of Friends and Frasier, media critics speculated about the fate of the sitcom genre. Expressed opinions varied between a signalling of the end of the sitcom genre, a small decline in the large history of the genre, and a general reduction of scripted television in favor of reality shows. Reunion special On November 12, 2019, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Warner Bros TV was developing a Friends reunion for HBO Max that would feature the whole cast and creators returning. On February 21, 2020, HBO confirmed that the unscripted reunion special, tentatively named "The One Where They Got Back Together", was set to be released in May the same year, along with the 236 original episodes of the series. On March 18, 2020, it was announced that the special, which was set to film on the Friends stage on March 23 and 24, had been postponed indefinitely, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, Matthew Perry tweeted that the reunion is set to start filming in March 2021. On May 13, 2021, a teaser trailer was released officially announcing Friends: The Reunion also known as "The One Where They Get Back Together". The reunion special was released on HBO Max on May 27, 2021. Reception Critical reception Early reviews of the series were mixed; the first season holds a Metacritic score of 65 out of 100, based on 24 sampled reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews." Tom Feran of The Plain Dealer wrote that the series traded "vaguely and less successfully on the hanging-out style of Seinfeld", while Ann Hodges of the Houston Chronicle called it "the new Seinfeld wannabe, but it will never be as funny as Seinfeld." In the Los Angeles Daily News, Ray Richmond named the series as "one of the brighter comedies of the new season", and the Los Angeles Times called it "flat-out the best comedy series of the new season." The Chicago Sun-Times Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel's characteristics to be underdeveloped, while Richmond commended the cast as a "likeable youth ensemble" with "good chemistry." Robert Bianco of USA Today was complimentary of Schwimmer, calling him "terrific." He also praised the female leads, but was concerned that Perry's role as Chandler was "undefined" and that LeBlanc was "relying too much on the same brain-dead stud routine that was already tired the last two times he tried it." The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends thought that the cast was "trying just a little too hard"; in particular, Perry and Schwimmer. As the series progressed, reviews became more positive, and Friends became one of the most popular sitcoms of its time. It is now often ranked among the all-time best TV shows. Critics commended the series for having consistently sharp writing and for the chemistry between the main actors. Noel Holston of Newsday, who had dismissed the pilot as a "so-so Seinfeld wannabe" in 1994, repudiated his earlier review after rewatching the episode and felt like writing an apology to the writers. Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com thought that the series "hit its stride" in the second season. Havrilesky found the character-specific jokes and situations "could reliably make you laugh out loud a few times each episode", and the quality of writing allowed the stories to be "original and innovative." Bill Carter of The New York Times called the eighth season a "truly stunning comeback." Carter found that by "generating new hot storylines and high-decibel laughs", the series made its way "back into the hearts of its fans." However, Liane Bonin of Entertainment Weekly felt that the direction of the ninth season was a "disappointing buzzkill", criticizing it for the non-stop celebrity guest spots and going into jump the shark territory. Although disappointed with the season, Bonin noted that "the writing [was] still sharp." Havrilesky thought that the tenth season was "alarmingly awful, far worse than you would ever imagine a show that was once so good could be." Friends was featured on Times list of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time", saying, "the well-hidden secret of this show was that it called itself Friends, and was really about family." Reviews of the series finale were mostly positive. USA Todays Robert Bianco described the finale as entertaining and satisfying and praised it for deftly mixing emotion and humor while highlighting each of the stars. Sarah Rodman of the Boston Herald praised Aniston and Schwimmer for their acting, but felt that their characters' reunion was "a bit too neat, even if it was what most of the show's legions of fans wanted." Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant felt that newcomers to the series would be "surprised at how laughless the affair could be, and how nearly every strained gag depends on the sheer stupidity of its characters." Ken Parish Perkins, writing for Fort Worth Star-Telegram, pointed out that the finale was "more touching than comical, more satisfying in terms of closure than knee-slappingly funny." In a 2021 program on ITV, Mr Bean writer Richard Curtis accused the Friends writers of stealing the joke which involved Joey getting a turkey stuck on his head in "The One with All the Thanksgivings" from the 1992 episode "Merry Christmas, Mr Bean". In that episode, Mr Bean got a turkey stuck on his head after losing his watch while stuffing the turkey and put his head in to try and retrieve it. Rowan Atkinson, however, argued that jokes are meant to be stolen, or to inspire. Awards To maintain the series's ensemble format, the main cast members decided to enter themselves in the same acting categories for awards. Beginning with the series's eighth season, the actors decided to submit themselves in the lead actor balloting, rather than in the supporting actor fields. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning six. Aniston and Kudrow are the only main cast members to win an Emmy, while Cox is the only actor not to be nominated. The series won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002, receiving nominations in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, and 2003. The series also won an American Comedy Award, one GLAAD Media Award, one Golden Globe Award, three Logie Awards, six People's Choice Awards, one Satellite Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Ratings The table below shows the ratings of Friends in the United States, where it consistently ranked within the top ten of the final television season ratings. "Rank" refers to how well Friends rated compared to other television series that aired during primetime hours of the corresponding television season. It is shown in relation to the total number of series airing on the then-six major English-language networks in a given season. "Viewers" refers to the average number of viewers for all original episodes, broadcast during the television season in the series's regular timeslot. The "season premiere" is the date that the first episode of the season aired, and the "season finale" is the date that the final episode of the season aired. So far, Friends has been the last sitcom to reach the 1 spot on television, as its successors were CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, American Idol, NBC Sunday Night Football, and NCIS. Following the September 11 attacks, ratings increased 17% over the previous season. Syndication Because of syndication revenue, Friends continues to generate approximately $1 billion each year for Warner Bros. That translates into about $20 million in annual residuals each for Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, who each get 2% of syndication income for Friends. All episodes became available on Netflix on January 1, 2015, introducing a new generation to the show. UK Friends reruns' ratings in 2015 increased by more than 10% annually. The 2016 reruns' US weekly audience, not including streaming, of 16 million would make it a hit on network television were the show still being produced. In the US, the series has a syndication deal through multiple networks, including Nick at Nite, TBS, and it Paramount Network. However, in July 2019, it was announced that from the beginning of 2020, Friends would not be available on Netflix in the US and instead would be shown on WarnerMedia's video-streaming service HBO Max, which launched on May 27, 2020. Cultural impact Although the producers thought of Friends as "only a TV show", psychologists investigated the cultural impact of Friends during the series's run. Aniston's hairstyle was nicknamed "The Rachel" and copied around the world. Joey's catchphrase, "How you doin'?", became a popular part of Western English slang, often used as a pick-up line or when greeting friends. The series also influenced the English language, according to a study by the University of Toronto that found that the characters used the emphasized word "so" to modify adjectives more often than any other intensifier. Although the preference had already made its way into the American vernacular, usage on the series may have accelerated the change. Chandler's habit of ending a sentence unfinished for sarcasm also influenced viewers' speech. Friends has also been credited in helping non-English speaking students to learn the language. A 2012 poll by Kaplan International English Colleges found that more than a quarter (26%) of its students cited the sitcom as the best show for helping them improve their English. Notable individuals who have also said that the sitcom helped them learn English include Liverpool F.C. manager Jürgen Klopp, BTS member RM and Belgian professional golfer Thomas Pieters. Friends is parodied in the twelfth season Murder, She Wrote episode "Murder Among Friends." In the episode, amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) investigates the murder of a writer for Buds, a fictional television series about the daily lives of a group of city friends. The episode was devised after CBS moved Murder, She Wrote from its regular Sunday night timeslot to a Thursday night timeslot directly opposite Friends on NBC; Angela Lansbury was quoted by Bruce Lansbury, her brother and Murder, She Wrotes supervising producer, as having "a bit of an attitude" about the move to Thursday, but he saw the plot as "a friendly setup, no mean-spiritedness." Jerry Ludwig, the writer of the episode, researched the "flavor" of Buds by watching episodes of Friends. Producers of Married... with Children attempted to create a spinoff series called Enemies, which was intended to act as an antithesis to Friends in the same way Married... with Children had been to family sitcoms such as The Cosby Show. However, the Fox network declined to pick up the series. The Central Perk coffee house, one of the principal settings of the series, is part of the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood. People sometimes propose marriage on the couch, and many tourists cry when they sit on it. The coffee house has inspired various imitations worldwide. In 2006, Iranian businessman Mojtaba Asadian started a Central Perk franchise, registering the name in 32 countries. The decor of the coffee houses is inspired by Friends, featuring replica couches, counters, neon signage and bricks. The coffee houses also contain paintings of the various characters from the series, and televisions playing Friends episodes. James Michael Tyler, who plays the Central Perk manager in the series, Gunther, attended the grand opening of the Dubai café, where he worked as a waiter. Central Perk was rebuilt as part of a museum exhibit at Warner Bros. Studios and was shown on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October 2008. Jennifer Aniston visited the set for the first time since the series finale in 2004. From September 24 to October 7, 2009, a Central Perk replica was based at Broadwick Street, Soho, London. The coffee house sold real coffee to customers and featured a display of Friends memorabilia and props, such as the Geller Cup from the season three episode "The One with the Football." In Beijing, business owner Du Xin opened a coffee shop named Central Perk in March 2010. In India, there are six Friends-themed cafes, located in Chandigarh (named Central Perk); Kolkata; and West Bengal (named F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Cafe), which features many icons from the original T.V. series, including Chandler and Joey's ugly dog statue, the orange sofa, the purple door of Monica and Rachel's apartment, and Phoebe's pink bicycle. The other three cafes are located in Delhi, Gurgaon; Bhubaneswar, Odisha; and Pune, Maharashtra. There are two Friends themed cafes in Pakistan as wellone in Lahore, Punjab known as "Friends Cafe" and the other in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa called "Central Perk". Both of those cafes have an iconic couch, a guitar and foosball table, quotes from the show on the walls and even episode reruns on a projector. They're also planning to have their own Gunther at the bar. In 2016, a Central Perk replica was opened in Outram, Singapore. It is the only Central Perk that has been given the intellectual property rights by Warner Bros. outside of the United States. The café also includes feature walls, replicating the walls of the main characters' apartments and memorabilia and props used on the show. In August 2019, it was announced that a Central Perk Lego set would be launched to mark the show's 25 anniversary. Friends has also developed an alternative family lifestyle by representing young people who live unconventional domestic lives. It presents the idea that "all you need are good friends" and can construct families through choice. The audience is able to identify with the program through the troubles seen on weekly episodes. It portrays a new way of living life and developing relationships which are not normally seen in conventional society. According to a pop-culture expert at the University at Buffalo, Friends is "one of those rare shows that marked a change in American culture." The images of youth and the roles they portray are better defined and represent a lifestyle that centres around creating and sustaining relationships between friends running their own lives and seeking help from each other. Vox stated that Friends impacted the creation of other conflictless "hangout sitcoms", with groups of adult friends who are funny and have similar character traits. One example of this is How I Met Your Mother, which The Guardians TV and radio blog notes also shares its setting with Friends, Manhattan. Other examples include The Big Bang Theory, New Girl, and Happy Endings. Readers of TV Guide voted the cast of Friends their Best Comedy cast of all time, ranking at 29% of the votes, beating Seinfeld, which registered 18%. A poll undertaken by 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair named Friends the third greatest sitcom of all time. In 2014, the series was ranked by Mundo Estranho the Best TV Series of All Time. A 2015 survey by The Hollywood Reporter of 2,800 actors, producers, directors, and other industry people named Friends as their No. 1 favorite show. Distribution Broadcast United States After the produced pilot lived up to NBC's hopes, the series premiered with the name Friends on September 22, 1994, in the coveted Thursday 8:30 p.m. time slot. The pilot aired between Mad About You and Seinfeld, and was watched by almost 22 million American viewers. The series was a huge success throughout its run and was a staple of NBC's Thursday night line-up, dubbed by the network as Must See TV. When Crane told reporters in 2001 that the ninth season was a possibility, critics believed that he was posturing and that at least two of the cast members would not sign on for another season. When it was confirmed that Friends would return for a ninth season, the news was mainly about the amount of money—$7 million per episode—that it took to bring the series back for another season. After year-long expectations that the ninth season would be the series's last, NBC signed a deal in late December 2002 to bring the series back for a final tenth season. The series's creative team did not want to extend negotiations into the next year and wanted to start writing the rest of the ninth-season episodes and a potential series finale. NBC agreed to pay $10 million to Warner Bros. for the production of each tenth-season episode, the highest price in television history for a 30-minute series. Although NBC was unable to bring in enough advertising revenue from commercials to cover the costs, the series was integral to the Thursday night schedule, which brought high ratings and profits to the other television series. The cast demanded that the tenth season be reduced from the usual 24 episodes to 18 episodes to allow them to work on outside projects. In fall 2001, Warner Bros. Domestic Cable made a deal with sister network TBS (both were owned by Time Warner) to air the series in rerun syndication. Warner Bros. Domestic Cable announced that it had sold additional cable rights to Friends to Nick at Nite which began airing in the fall of 2011 (unlike the TBS and broadcast syndication airings, Nick at Nite broadcasts of the series, which began airing as part of a seven-night launch marathon on September 5, 2011, replace the end credit tag scenes with marginalized credits featuring promotions for the series and other Nick at Nite programs). Warner Bros. was expected to make $200 million in license fees and advertising from the deal. Nick at Nite paid $500,000 per episode to air the episodes after 6 pm. ET for six years through fall 2017. In syndication until 2005, Friends had earned $4 million per episode in cash license fees for a total of $944 million. Comedy Central began airing reruns of Friends on October 12, 2019. International Having already made huge success in the United States, Friends producers decided to air the show in Europe. It premiered in the UK on April 28, 1995, with Season 1 broadcasting until September on Channel 4 at 9:30 PM on Friday nights, and immediately was a success. The popularity of the show even allowed the theme song by the Rembrandts to hit number 3 in the UK Singles Charts in September 1995. The popularity of the show in Britain also led to an episode being produced in London at the end of the fourth season, starring a British actress, Helen Baxendale who became a leading character in seasons four and five during her relationship with Ross. The show has since aired on different channels in the UK in their original, unedited international versions prior to their being re-edited for US broadcast and syndication. These versions, with additional footage not seen domestically, have aired on such stations as Channel 4, Sky1, E4, and Comedy Central UK. On September 4, 2011, Friends officially ended on E4 after the channel re-ran the series since 2004. Comedy Central took over the rights to air the program from October 2011. Since 2018 Channel 5 started airing the program. In the Republic of Ireland, each season of the show made its European debut on RTÉ2. After 2004 RTÉ2 began to repeat the series from the start before moving over to TV3 and its digital channel 3e in 2010. , repeats of the show have returned to RTÉ2 while also broadcasting on Comedy Central Ireland. Series 10's finale in the UK, broadcast on May 28, 2004, was on Channel 4. It was broadcast from 9 pm to 10 pm and attracted Friends''' largest UK audiences. It attracted almost 10 million viewers, and is currently standing at Number 10 in Channel 4's most-watched shows. Big Brother was moved to 10 pm, which Friends had beaten. Friends got 9.6 million viewers at 9 pm, while Big Brother 5s launch attracted 7.2 million viewers at 10 pm, which is the most-watched premiere on UK TV ever. However, on January 3, 2007, Celebrity Big Brother 5s launch was watched by 7.3 million viewers, and its eviction on January 19, 2007, was watched by 8.7 million viewers.Friends has aired in Australia on the Seven Network (season 1 only), Nine Network (season 2–10), Network Ten (2007–09, repeats), on GEM (a sub-channel of the Nine Network), and on pay TV channel TV Hits formerly aired on Arena, 111 Hits. The show is broadcast on TV2 in New Zealand. In Canada, the series was broadcast on Global. In later years, it was syndicated on several of its cable sibling networks, including Slice, DTour, and TVTropolis, its previous incarnation. The series is now syndicated to Bell Media owned CTV Comedy Channel. In Latin America, the first seven seasons aired on Sony, and the remaining seasons on Warner. In Brazil, free-to-air networks RedeTV! and SBT also aired a few seasons. In India, the show is broadcast by Comedy Central at various times. It is the most-watched English language show in the country. In the Philippines, the show was originally aired on ABC-5 from 1996 to 2005 and ETC from 2005 to 2014. In Greece, the show was broadcast on Star Channel. In Cyprus, Friends aired on CyBC 2 while reruns air on TVOne. In 2022 versions of Friends re-released by Bilibili, iQiyi, Tencent, and Youku in China had edited scenes, including edits to remove LBGT content, not edited in original Chinese airings. Online fans had a negative reaction to these edits. Remaster Beginning on March 5, 2012, high definition versions of all 236 Friends episodes were made available to local broadcast stations, starting with the pilot episode. For the remastered episodes, Warner Bros. restored previously cropped images on the left and right sides of the screen, using the original 35 mm film source, to use the entire 16:9 widescreen frame. However, because the show was not originally filmed for widescreen, but rather filmed in 4-perf format and protected for 4:3, some cropping problems arise in some shots where information from the top and bottom of the frame is removed, and some expanded shots reveal unintentional artifacts, including set edges, boom mics and body doubles replacing some of the main cast. In early versions of the HD remasters, there were also a few shots, including chroma effects shots, which were sourced from standard-definition videotape sources, as not all of the footage had been located in time for the remaster; the original film sources for these shots were later rescanned for later broadcast and release. These masters had been airing in New Zealand on TV2 since January 2011 and the earlier HD prints continue to air on Comedy Central in the United Kingdom as of 2020. Netflix added all ten seasons of Friends in high definition to its streaming service in the United States on January 1, 2015. Home media Streaming In October 2014, Warner Bros. chairman and chief executive officer, Kevin Tsujihara, announced that the company had licensed the North American streaming rights of all ten seasons of Friends to Netflix, in a deal said to be worth around $500,000 an episode, or about $120 million in total. The show became available on Netflix from January 1, 2015. The Netflix airings are the versions aired on NBC rather than the longer international versions, as discussed below. The series left Netflix in the US on January 1, 2020, as it began streaming on HBO Max on May 27, 2020.<ref>'Friends' Officially Leaving Netflix for WarnerMedia's Streaming Service . The Hollywood Reporter'. July 9, 2019.</ref> In Canada, the series left Netflix in Canada for Crave on December 31, 2020. Blu-ray and DVD All ten seasons have been released on DVD individually and as a box set. Each Region 1 season release contains special features and are presented in their aforementioned original international broadcast versions, although Region 2 releases are as originally aired domestically. For the first season, each episode is updated with color correction and sound enhancement. A wide range of Friends merchandise has been produced by various companies. In September 1995, WEA Records released the first album of music from Friends, the Friends Original TV Soundtrack, containing music featured in previous and future episodes. The soundtrack debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 46, and sold 500,000 copies in November 1995. In 1999, a second soundtrack album entitled Friends Again was released. Other merchandise includes a Friends version of the DVD game "Scene It?", and a quiz video game for PlayStation 2 and PC entitled Friends: The One with All the Trivia. On September 28, 2009, a box set was released in the UK celebrating the series's 15th anniversary. The box set contained extended episodes, an episode guide, and original special features. Warner Home Video released a complete series collection on Blu-ray on November 13, 2012. The collection does not feature the extra deleted scenes and jokes that were included on prior DVD releases, and are therefore presented in their NBC broadcast versions. In Australia, the original DVD releases were fold out box sets which contained three discs, and released as follows: Season 1 and Season 2 on March 13, 2002, Season 3 and Season 4 on July 9, 2002, Season 5, 6 and 7 on July 29, 2002, Season 8 on March 18, 2003, Season 9 on February 11, 2004, and Season 10 on November 24, 2004. Repackaged sets, slimmed into regular DVD cases also containing three discs were released from 2003 to 2004. Collector's Edition sets were released from September 9, 2003, through to February 1, 2006, these sets contains 4 discs, in fat DVD cases, with extra bonus material. On October 4, 2006, the individual seasons were repackaged into regular DVD case sets and marked as "Including Brand New Bonus Disc". Once again each individual season were repackaged with new artwork on March 31, 2010. The first complete series boxset on DVD was released around 2004 or 2005, this was titled 'The One With All Ten Seasons" and the packaging was a black box with a lift up lid and contains exclusive packaging for all ten seasons. The second complete series boxset was released August 21, 2013 and was a red box which contained the 2010 individual season sets inside. On October 1, 2014, was the 20th Anniversary boxset, this was a white box and contained the same 2010 individual releases inside. On October 7, 2015, another boxset was released 'The One With All Ten Seasons", the same name used on the original boxset, however this time slimmed down and contains the 2010 individual releases inside. The outer box is open on insert side for the cases to slide in and out, more of a budget release. In 2016, a repackaged 'The Complete Series' Blu-ray boxset was issued, containing the same 10 individual seasons in the original set, however the box is more cut down and is opened on one side, and also does not include the book that contained the episode guide. Spin-off Joey After the series finale in 2004, LeBlanc signed on for the spin-off series, Joey, following Joey's move to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. Kauffman and Crane were not interested in the spin-off, although Bright agreed to executive produce the series with Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan. NBC heavily promoted Joey and gave it Friends' Thursday 8:00 pm timeslot. The pilot was watched by 18.6 million American viewers, but ratings continually decreased throughout the series's two seasons, averaging 10.2 million viewers in the first season and 7.1 million in the second. The final broadcast episode on March 7, 2006, was watched by 7.09 million viewers; NBC cancelled the series on May 15, 2006, after two seasons, leaving eight episodes unaired. Bright blamed the collaboration between NBC executives, the studio and other producers for quickly ruining the series: See also Friends 'Til the End Music of Friends References Further reading Articles concerning the cultural influence of the program: Harrison, Andrew (September 12, 2014). "The Hunting of the Snark: Friends, 20 Years On". New Statesman. United Kingdom. External links Friends on Rotten Tomatoes 1990s American romantic comedy television series 1990s American sitcoms 1994 American television series debuts 2000s American romantic comedy television series 2000s American sitcoms 2004 American television series endings BAFTA winners (television series) English-language television shows Fictional sextets NBC original programming Nielsen ratings winners Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series winners Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Salary controversies in television Television series about siblings Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series created by David Crane (producer) Television series created by Marta Kauffman Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Manhattan

In computing and in systems theory, FIFO an acronym for first in, first out (the first in is the first out) is a method for organizing the manipulation of a data structure (often, specifically a data buffer) where the oldest (first) entry, or "head" of the queue, is processed first. Such processing is analogous to servicing people in a queue area on a first-come, first-served (FCFS) basis, i.e. in the same sequence in which they arrive at the queue's tail. FCFS is also the jargon term for the FIFO operating system scheduling algorithm, which gives every process central processing unit (CPU) time in the order in which it is demanded. FIFO's opposite is LIFO, last-in-first-out, where the youngest entry or "top of the stack" is processed first. A priority queue is neither FIFO or LIFO but may adopt similar behaviour temporarily or by default. Queueing theory encompasses these methods for processing data structures, as well as interactions between strict-FIFO queues. Computer science Depending on the application, a FIFO could be implemented as a hardware shift register, or using different memory structures, typically a circular buffer or a kind of list. For information on the abstract data structure, see Queue (data structure). Most software implementations of a FIFO queue are not thread safe and require a locking mechanism to verify the data structure chain is being manipulated by only one thread at a time. The following code shows a linked list FIFO C++ language implementation. In practice, a number of list implementations exist, including popular Unix systems C sys/queue.h macros or the C++ standard library std::list template, avoiding the need for implementing the data structure from scratch. #include <memory> #include <stdexcept> using namespace std; template <typename T> class FIFO { struct Node { T value; shared_ptr<Node> next = nullptr; Node(T _value): value(_value) {} }; shared_ptr<Node> front = nullptr; shared_ptr<Node> back = nullptr; public: void enqueue(T _value) { if (front == nullptr) { front = make_shared<Node>(_value); back = front; } else { back->next = make_shared<Node>(_value); back = back->next; } } T dequeue() { if (front == nullptr) throw underflow_error("Nothing to dequeue"); T value = front->value; front = move(front->next); return value; } }; In computing environments that support the pipes-and-filters model for interprocess communication, a FIFO is another name for a named pipe. Disk controllers can use the FIFO as a disk scheduling algorithm to determine the order in which to service disk I/O requests, where it is also known by the same FCFS initialism as for CPU scheduling mentioned before. Communication network bridges, switches and routers used in computer networks use FIFOs to hold data packets in route to their next destination. Typically at least one FIFO structure is used per network connection. Some devices feature multiple FIFOs for simultaneously and independently queuing different types of information. Electronics FIFOs are commonly used in electronic circuits for buffering and flow control between hardware and software. In its hardware form, a FIFO primarily consists of a set of read and write pointers, storage and control logic. Storage may be static random access memory (SRAM), flip-flops, latches or any other suitable form of storage. For FIFOs of non-trivial size, a dual-port SRAM is usually used, where one port is dedicated to writing and the other to reading. The first known FIFO implemented in electronics was by Peter Alfke in 1969 at Fairchild Semiconductor. Alfke was later a director at Xilinx. Synchronicity A synchronous FIFO is a FIFO where the same clock is used for both reading and writing. An asynchronous FIFO uses different clocks for reading and writing and they can introduce metastability issues. A common implementation of an asynchronous FIFO uses a Gray code (or any unit distance code) for the read and write pointers to ensure reliable flag generation. One further note concerning flag generation is that one must necessarily use pointer arithmetic to generate flags for asynchronous FIFO implementations. Conversely, one may use either a leaky bucket approach or pointer arithmetic to generate flags in synchronous FIFO implementations. A hardware FIFO is used for synchronization purposes. It is often implemented as a circular queue, and thus has two pointers: Read pointer / read address register Write pointer / write address register Status flags Examples of FIFO status flags include: full, empty, almost full, and almost empty. A FIFO is empty when the read address register reaches the write address register. A FIFO is full when the write address register reaches the read address register. Read and write addresses are initially both at the first memory location and the FIFO queue is empty. In both cases, the read and write addresses end up being equal. To distinguish between the two situations, a simple and robust solution is to add one extra bit for each read and write address which is inverted each time the address wraps. With this set up, the disambiguation conditions are: When the read address register equals the write address register, the FIFO is empty. When the read address least significant bit (LSB) equals the write address LSBs and the extra most significant bit are different, the FIFO is full. See also FIFO and LIFO accounting FINO Queueing theory References External links Cummings et al., Simulation and Synthesis Techniques for Asynchronous FIFO Design with Asynchronous Pointer Comparisons, SNUG San Jose 2002 Scheduling algorithms Queue management Inter-process communication

Events Pre-1600 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy. 1268 – The Battle of Wesenberg is fought between the Livonian Order and Dovmont of Pskov. 1332 – Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces. 1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is executed in private at the Tower of London. 1601–1900 1637 – Eighty Years' War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them. 1735 – The ballad opera called Flora, or Hob in the Well went down in history as the first opera of any kind to be produced in North America (Charleston, S.C.) 1781 – Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: Captain Thomas Shirley opens his expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghana). 1791 – Congress passes a law admitting the state of Vermont to the Union, effective 4 March, after that state had existed for 14 years as a de facto independent largely unrecognized state. 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Sir Ralph Abercromby and a fleet of 18 British warships invade Trinidad. 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Montereau. 1861 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America. 1861 – With Italian unification almost complete, Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy. 1873 – Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities. 1878 – John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico. 1885 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States. 1900 – Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg. 1901–present 1906 – Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels. 1911 – The first official flight with airmail takes place from Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about away. 1915 – U-boat Campaign: The Imperial German Navy institutes unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters around Great Britain and Ireland. 1930 – While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto. 1930 – Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft and also the first cow to be milked in an aircraft. 1932 – The Empire of Japan creates the independent state of Manzhouguo (the obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) free from the Republic of China and installed former Chinese Emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi as Chief Executive of the State. 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: During the Nanking Massacre, the Nanking Safety Zone International Committee is renamed "Nanking International Rescue Committee", and the safety zone in place for refugees falls apart. 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army begins the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore. 1943 – World War II: The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement. 1943 – World War II: Joseph Goebbels delivers his Sportpalast speech. 1946 – Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay harbour, from where the action spreads throughout the Provinces of British India, involving 78 ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors 1947 – First Indochina War: The French gain complete control of Hanoi after forcing the Viet Minh to withdraw to mountains. 1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles. 1955 – Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot "Wasp" is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series. 1957 – Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is executed by the British colonial government. 1957 – Walter James Bolton becomes the last person legally executed in New Zealand. 1965 – The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom. 1970 – The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. 1972 – The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson, (6 Cal.3d 628) invalidates the state's death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life imprisonment. 1977 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden "flight" on top of a Boeing 747. 1979 – Richard Petty wins a then-record sixth Daytona 500 after leaders Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crash on the final lap of the first NASCAR race televised live flag-to-flag. 1983 – Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee massacre in Seattle. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history. 1991 – The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London. 2001 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. 2001 – Sampit conflict: Inter-ethnic violence between Dayaks and Madurese breaks out in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, ultimately resulting in more than 500 deaths and 100,000 Madurese displaced from their homes. 2001 – NASCAR Champion Dale Earnhardt dies from an accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500. 2003 – Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea. 2004 – Up to 295 people, including nearly 200 rescue workers, die near Nishapur, Iran, when a runaway freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertilizer catches fire and explodes. 2007 – Samjhauta Express bombings occurred around midnight in Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of New Delhi, India. 2010 – WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier now known as Chelsea Manning. 2013 – Armed robbers steal a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium. 2014 – At least 76 people are killed and hundreds are injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Kyiv, Ukraine. 2021 – Perseverance, a Mars rover designed to explore Jezero crater on Mars, as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission, lands successfully. Births Pre-1600 1201 – Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Persian scientist and writer (d. 1274) 1372 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (d. 1448) 1486 – Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Indian monk and saint (d. 1534) 1516 – Mary I of England (d. 1558) 1530 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese daimyō (d. 1578) 1543 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608) 1547 – Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī, founder of Isfahan School of Islamic Philosophy (d. 1621) 1559 – Isaac Casaubon, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1614) 1589 – Henry Vane the Elder, English politician (d. 1655) 1589 – Maarten Gerritsz Vries, Dutch explorer (d. 1646) 1601–1900 1602 – Per Brahe the Younger, Swedish soldier and politician, Governor-General of Finland (d. 1680) 1602 – Michelangelo Cerquozzi, Italian painter (d. 1660) 1609 – Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, English historian and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1674) 1626 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician (d. 1697) 1632 – Giovanni Battista Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1692) 1642 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (d. 1698) 1658 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French philosopher and author (d. 1743) 1732 – Johann Christian Kittel, German organist and composer (d. 1809) 1745 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist, invented the battery (d. 1827) 1754 – Emanuel Granberg, Finnish church painter (d. 1797) 1814 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (d. 1900) 1817 – Lewis Armistead, American general (d. 1863) 1818 – John O'Shanassy, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Victoria (d. 1883) 1836 – Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Indian mystic and yogi (d. 1886) 1838 – Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1916) 1846 – Wilson Barrett, English actor, playwright, and manager (d. 1904) 1848 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (d. 1933) 1849 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician (d. 1906) 1850 – George Henschel, German-English singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (d. 1934) 1855 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French historian, author, and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (d. 1932) 1860 – Anders Zorn, Swedish artist (d. 1920) 1862 – Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (d. 1939) 1867 – Hedwig Courths-Mahler, German writer (d. 1950) 1870 – William Laurel Harris, American painter and author (d. 1924) 1871 – Harry Brearley, English inventor (d. 1948) 1883 – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek philosopher, author, and playwright (d. 1957) 1885 – Henri Laurens, French sculptor and illustrator (d. 1954) 1893 – Maksim Haretski, Belarusian prose writer, journalist and activist (d. 1938) 1890 – Edward Arnold, American actor (d. 1956) 1890 – Adolphe Menjou, American actor (d. 1963) 1892 – Wendell Willkie, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 1944) 1896 – Li Linsi, Chinese educator and diplomat (d. 1970) 1898 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet and politician, 1st Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (d. 1980) 1899 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (d. 1985) 1901–present 1903 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (d. 1983) 1906 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and academic (d. 1980) 1909 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1993) 1914 – Pee Wee King, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2000) 1915 – Phyllis Calvert, English actress (d. 2002) 1919 – Jack Palance, American boxer and actor (d. 2006) 1920 – Rolande Falcinelli, French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue (d. 2006) 1921 – Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (d. 1998) 1921 – Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (d. 2013) 1922 – Eric Gairy, Grenadan politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 1997) 1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist and author (d. 2012) 1922 – Connie Wisniewski, American baseball player (d. 1995) 1925 – George Kennedy, American actor (d. 2016) 1926 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (d. 1976) 1927 – Fazal Mahmood, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2005) 1929 – Len Deighton, English historian and author 1929 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 1968) 1931 – Johnny Hart, American cartoonist, co-created The Wizard of Id (d. 2007) 1931 – Toni Morrison, American novelist and editor, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019). 1932 – Miloš Forman, Czech-American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2018) 1933 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-American multimedia artist and musician 1933 – Bobby Robson, English international footballer and international manager (d. 2009) 1933 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (d. 1975) 1934 – Audre Lorde, American writer and activist (d. 1992) 1939 – Claude Ake, Nigerian political scientist and academic (d. 1996) 1940 – Fabrizio De André, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999) 1940 – Prue Leith, English restaurateur and journalist 1946 – Michael Buerk, English journalist 1950 – Nana Amba Eyiaba I, Ghanaian queen mother and advocate 1950 – John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009) 1951 – Queen Komal of Nepal 1951 – Isabel Preysler, Filipino-Spanish journalist 1952 – Randy Crawford, American jazz and R&B singer 1952 – Juice Newton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist 1954 – Charlie Fowler, American mountaineer, author, and photographer (d. 2006) 1954 – John Travolta, American actor, singer and producer 1955 – Lisa See, American writer and novelist 1957 – Marita Koch, German sprinter 1960 – Greta Scacchi, Italian-Australian actress 1967 – Roberto Baggio, Italian international footballer 1967 – Colin Jackson, Welsh sprinter and hurdler 1968 – Molly Ringwald, American actress 1970 – James H. Fowler, American political scientist and author 1971 – Thomas Bjørn, Danish golfer 1974 – Carrie Ann Baade, American painter and academic 1974 – Radek Černý, Czech international footballer 1974 – Julia Butterfly Hill, American environmentalist and author 1974 – Leilani Maaja Münter, American environmental activist and former professional race car driver 1975 – Gary Neville, English international footballer 1982 – Christian Tiffert, German footballer 1983 – Jermaine Jenas, English international footballer 1990 – Monica Aksamit, American Olympic saber fencer 1991 – Sebastian Neumann, German footballer 1994 – J-Hope, South Korean rapper, songwriter, dancer, and record producer Deaths Pre-1600 675 – Colmán, bishop of Lindisfarne 814 – Angilbert, Frankish monk and diplomat (b. 760) 901 – Thābit ibn Qurra, Arab astronomer and physician (b. 826) 999 – Gregory V, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 972) 1139 – Yaropolk II, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1082) 1218 – Berthold V, duke of Zähringen (b. 1160) 1225 – Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, Norman nobleman 1294 – Kublai Khan, Mongol emperor (b. 1215) 1379 – Albert II, duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1318) 1397 – Enguerrand VII, French nobleman (b. 1340) 1455 – Fra Angelico, Italian priest and painter (b. 1395) 1478 – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, English nobleman (b. 1449) 1502 – Hedwig Jagiellon, duchess of Bavaria (b. 1457) 1535 – Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German magician, astrologer, and theologian (b. 1486) 1546 – Martin Luther, German priest and theologian, leader of the Protestant Reformation (b. 1483) 1564 – Michelangelo, Italian sculptor and painter (b. 1475) 1601–1900 1654 – Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, French author (b. 1594) 1658 – John Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck, English courtier (b. c. 1591) 1683 – Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch painter (b. 1620) 1695 – William Phips, governor of Massachusetts (b. 1650) 1712 – Louis, Dauphin of France, (b. 1682) 1743 – Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Italian noble (b. 1667) 1748 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1677) 1772 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician (b. 1712) 1778 – Joseph Marie Terray, French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1715) 1780 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (b. 1714) 1788 – John Whitehurst, English geologist and clockmaker (b. 1713) 1803 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet and educator (b. 1719) 1851 – Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician and academic (b. 1804) 1873 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian activist, founded the Internal Revolutionary Organization (b. 1837) 1880 – Nikolay Zinin, Russian organic chemist (b. 1812) 1893 – Serranus Clinton Hastings, American lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Justice of California (b. 1814) 1901–present 1902 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (b. 1812) 1910 – Lucy Stanton, American activist (b. 1831) 1915 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (b. 1843) 1933 – James J. Corbett, American boxer and actor (b. 1866) 1938 – David King Udall, American missionary and politician (b. 1851) 1956 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer (b. 1860) 1957 – Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer, astrophysicist, and academic (b. 1877) 1960 – Gertrude Vanderbilt, American stage actress (b. ) 1967 – J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (b. 1904) 1969 – Dragiša Cvetković, Serbian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1893) 1977 – Andy Devine, American actor (b. 1905) 1981 – Jack Northrop, American engineer and businessman, founded the Northrop Corporation (b. 1895) 1982 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (b. 1895) 2001 – Balthus, Polish-Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1908) 2001 – Dale Earnhardt, American racer and NASCAR seven times champion (b. 1951) 2014 – Mavis Gallant, Canadian-French author and playwright (b. 1922) 2014 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1914) 2015 – Elchanan Heilprin, Czechoslovakian-born English rabbi (b. 1920 or 1922) 2019 – Alessandro Mendini, Italian designer and architect (b. 1931) 2020 – Flavio Bucci, Italian actor and voice actor (b. 1947) Holidays and observances Christian feast day: Bernadette Soubirous (France) Colmán of Lindisfarne Flavian of Constantinople Geltrude Comensoli Simeon of Jerusalem (Western Christianity) February 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Dialect Day (Amami Islands, Japan) Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Gambia from the United Kingdom in 1965 Kurdish Students Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan) National Democracy Day, celebrates the 1951 overthrow of the Rana dynasty (Nepal) Wife's Day (Konudagur) (Iceland) References External links BBC: On This Day Historical Events on February 18 Today in Canadian History Days of the year February

This is a list of notable and famous South Africans who are the subjects of Wikipedia articles. Academics Academics Estian Calitz, academic (born 1949) Jakes Gerwel, academic and anti-apartheid activist (1946–2012) Miriam Green, academic now living in England Adam Habib, political scientist (born 1965) Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr, academic and politician (1894–1948) Thamsanqa Kambule, South African Mathematician and Educator (1921–2009) Tshilidzi Marwala, academic and businessman (born 1971) Njabulo Ndebele, Principal of the University of Cape Town (born 1948) D. C. S. Oosthuizen, philosopher, (1926–1968) Adriaan N Pelzer, historian and Vice-Principal University Pretoria (1915–1981) Michiel Daniel Overbeek, South African amateur astronomer and prolific variable star observers (1920–2001) Pierre de Villiers Pienaar, pioneering role in speech language therapy and lexicography in South Africa (1904–1978) Calie Pistorius, academic and Principal of the University of Pretoria (born 1958) Benedict Wallet Vilakazi, author, educator, and first black South African to receive a PhD (1906–1947) David Webster, anthropologist (1945–1989) Medical and veterinary Abraham Manie Adelstein, UK Chief Medical Statistician (1916–1992) Christiaan Barnard, pioneering heart surgeon (1922–2001) Wouter Basson, medical scientist (born 1950) John Borthwick (veterinary surgeon), veterinary surgeon in the Cape Colony (1867–1936) Mary Malahlela, first black woman to register as a medical doctor in South Africa (1916–1981) Joan Morice, first female veterinary surgeon in South Africa (1904–1944) Anna Coutsoudis, public health scientist (born 1952) Patrick Soon-Shiong, surgeon, founder Abraxis BioScience, billionaire (born 1952) Arnold Theiler, veterinarian (1867–1936) Max Theiler, virologist, 1951 Nobel Prize winner (1899–1972) Lindiwe Sidali, surgeon (born 1984) Scientists Andrew Geddes Bain, geologist (1797–1864) Peter Beighton, geneticist (born 1934) Wilhelm Bleek, linguist (1827–1875) Robert Broom, palaeontologist (1866–1951) Sydney Brenner, biologist, 2002 Physiology or Medicine Nobel Prize winner (1927–2019) Phillip Clancey, ornithologist (1918–2001) Allan McLeod Cormack, physicist (1924–1998) Zodwa Dlamini, biochemist Clement Martyn Doke, linguist (1893–1980) Mulalo Doyoyo, professor and inventor (born 1970) Alexander du Toit, geologist (1878–1948) Robert Allen Dyer, botanist (1900–1987) Melville Edelstein, sociologist, killed due to Soweto uprising (1919–1976) Wendy Foden, conservation biologist J. W. B. Gunning, zoologist (1860–1913) Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Associate Scientific Director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) (born 1960) Salim Abdool Karim, South African epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist (born 1960) David Lewis-Williams, archaeologist (born 1934) Lucy Lloyd, anthropologist (1834–1914) Thebe Medupe, astrophysicist (born 1973) Hans Merensky, geologist (1871–1952) Austin Roberts, zoologist (1883–1948) Peter Sarnak, mathematician (born 1953) Ramotholo Sefako, astrophysicist (born 1971) Buyisiwe Sondezi, physicist (born 1976) Basil Schonland, physicist (1896–1972) J.L.B. Smith, ichthyologist (1897–1968) Phillip Tobias, palaeontologist (1925–2012) Theologians Also see: Prelates, clerics and evangelists David Bosch (1929–1992) John W. de Gruchy (born 1939) Dion Forster (born 1972) Johan Heyns (1928–1994) Writers Authors Lady Anne Barnard, travel writer and artist (1750–1825) Herman Charles Bosman, author (1905–1951) André P. Brink, author (1935–2015) Justin Cartwright, novelist (1943–2018) John Maxwell Coetzee, 2003 Nobel Prize-winning author (born 1940) K. Sello Duiker, novelist (1974–2005) Sir Percy FitzPatrick, writer, businessman and politician (1862–1931) Graeme Friedman, author and clinical psychologist Damon Galgut, author (born 1963) Nadine Gordimer, 1991 Nobel Prize-winning author (1923–2014) Alfred Hutchinson, South African author, teacher and activist (1924–1972) C. J. Langenhoven, writer and poet (1873–1932) Pule Lechesa, essayist, literary critic, and poet (born 1976) Dalene Matthee, author (1938–2005) Gcina Mhlope, author, storyteller, playwright, director, actor (born 1959) Deon Meyer, author (born 1958) Phaswane Mpe, novelist (1970–2004) Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, author and musician (born 1989) Alan Paton, author (1903–1988) Margaret Roberts, herbalist and writer (1937–2017) Karel Schoeman, novelist and historian (1939–2017) Olive Schreiner, author (1855–1920) Mongane Wally Serote, poet and writer (born 8 May 1944) Wilbur Smith, novelist (1933–2021) J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of The Rings (1892–1973) Etienne van Heerden, novelist (born 1956) Marlene van Niekerk, novelist (born 1954) Lyall Watson, writer (1939–2008) David Yudelman, writer Rachel Zadok, London-based South African writer (born 1972) Editors Kojo Baffoe, magazine editor (born 1972) Khanyi Dhlomo, magazine editor (born 1975) Laurence Gandar, Rand Daily Mail editor (1915–1998) Niel Hammann, editor of magazines (born 1937) John Tengo Jabavu, political activist and newspaper editor (1859–1921) Aggrey Klaaste, journalist and editor (1940–2004) Max du Preez, newspaper editor (born 1951) Poets See also: South African poets and Afrikaans language poets Roy Campbell, poet (1901–1957) Judy Croome, poet (born 1958) Sheila Cussons, poet (1922–2004) Jonty Driver (born 1939) Jakob Daniël du Toit, poet a.k.a. Totius (1877–1953) Elisabeth Eybers, poet (1915–2007) Stephen Gray, writer and poet (1941–2020) Ingrid Jonker, poet (1933–1965) Antjie Krog, poet, novelist and playwright (born 1952) Laurence Lerner, poet (1925–2016) Lucas Malan, Afrikaans academic and poet (1946–2010) Chris Mann, poet (1948–2021) Eugène Nielen Marais, poet, writer, lawyer and naturalist (1871–1936) Thomas Pringle, poet and journalist (1789–1834) N. P. van Wyk Louw, poet (1906–1970) Mongane Wally Serote, poet, activist and politician (born 1944) Stephen Watson, poet (1954–2011) Journalists Jani Allan, journalist and radio personality (born 1953) George Claassen, journalist (born 1949) Robyn Curnow, CNN television reporter and anchor John Charles Daly, television journalist, executive and game show host (1914–1991) Arnold S de Beer, journalist and academic (1942–2021) Frene Ginwala, journalist and politician (born 1932) Arthur Goldstuck, journalist (born 1959) Niel Hammann, journalist (born 1937) Archibald Campbell Jordan (1906–1968) Lara Logan, CBS television reporter/correspondent (born 1971) Peter Magubane, South African photographer (born 1932) John Matisonn, print and radio journalist for both South African and United States broadcasters (born 1949) Zakes Mda, journalist (born 1948) Nathaniel Ndazana Nakasa, South African journalist and short story writer (1937–1965) Sam Nzima, South African photographer, who took image of Hector Pieterson for the Soweto uprising (1934–2018) Henry Nxumalo, investigative journalist under apartheid (1917–1957) Sol Plaatje, journalist and political activist (1877–1932) Percy Qoboza, journalist, editorial writer, and political activist (1938–1988) Barry Streek, journalist, political activist, author, parliamentary media manager (1948–2006) Redi Tlhabi, journalist and broadcaster (born 1978) Eric Lloyd Williams, journalist and war correspondent (1915–1988) Donald Woods, journalist and anti-apartheid activist (1933–2001) Artist Performing artists Actors / Actresses Anel Alexander, actress, producer (born 1979) Lesley – Ann Brandt, South African born actress, notable for her role as Mazikeen in the show Lucifer (born 1981) Ayanda Borotho, actress (born 1981) Ivan Botha, actor (born 1984) Kai Luke Brümmer, actor (born 1993) Presley Chweneyagae, actor (born 1984) Peter Cartwright, actor (1935–2013) Baby Cele, actress (born 1972) Sharlto Copley, actor, (District 9) (born 1973) Katlego Danke, actress (born 1978) Embeth Davidtz, actress (born 1965) Gopala Davies, actor and director (born 1988) Ryan de Villiers, actor (born 1992) Sindi Dlathu, actress (born 1974) Pallance Dladla, actor (born 1992) Lillian Dube, South African actress (born 1945) Vinette Ebrahim, actress (born 1957) Kim Engelbrecht, actress (born 1980) Willie Esterhuizen, actor Connie Ferguson, actress (born 1970) Shona Ferguson, actor (1972–2021) Brett Goldin, actor (1977–2006) Zoe Gail, actress (1920–2020) Gugu Gumede, actress (born 1991) Roxane Hayward, actress (born 1991) Hennie Jacobs, actor (born 1981) David James, actor, stage, television, and film actor (born 1972) Sid James, film & television actor (1913–1976) Adhir Kalyan, actor (born 1983) Atandwa Kani, actor (born 1984) John Kani, actor, entertainer and writer (born 1943) Dawn Thandeka King, actress (born 1977) Shannon Kook (born 1987) Paballo Koza, actor (born 2002) Alice Krige, actress (born 1954) Deon Lotz, actor (born 1964) Sello Maake Ka-Ncube, actor (born 1960) Gail Mabalane, actress (born 1984) Joe Mafela, actor, writer and singer (1942–2017) Maps Maponyane, actor (born 1990) Warren Masemola, actor (born 1983) Khanyi Mbau, radio and television personality and actress notable for Happiness Is a Four-letter Word (born 1985) Nomzamo Mbatha, actress (born 1990) Michelle Mosalakae, actress (born 1994) Thuso Mbedu, actress (born 1991) Sean Michael (South African actor), (born 1969) Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa, actress (born 1988) Masoja Msiza, actor (born 1964) Patrick Mynhardt, actor (1932–2007) Themba Ndaba, actor (born 1965) Menzi Ngubane, actor (born 1967) Jessica Nkosi, actress (born 1990) Kenneth Nkosi, actor (born 1973) Winnie Ntshaba, actress (born 1975) Winston Ntshona, actor (1941–2018) Nandi Nyembe, South African actress (born 1950) Tanit Phoenix, actress (Death Race: Inferno, Lord of War, Safe House, Femme Fatales, Mad Buddies) (born 1984) Terry Pheto, actress (born 1981) Sasha Pieterse, actress (born 1996) Madelaine Petsch, actress (born 1994) Sandra Prinsloo, South African actress (The Gods Must Be Crazy, Quest for Love) (born 1947) Ama Qamata, actress (born 1998) Basil Rathbone, actor (1892–1967) Jo-anne Reyneke, actress (born 1988) Ian Roberts, actor, playwright, singer (born 1952) Angelique Rockas pioneer of multi-racial theatre in the UK (born 1951) Buhle Samuels Stelio Savante, actor (born 1970) Clive Scott, actor (1937–2021) Rapulana Seiphemo, actor (born 1967) Cliff Severn, actor (1925–2014) Raymond Severn, actor (1930–1994) Antony Sher, actor, author and painter (1949–2021) Cliff Simon, actor (1962-2021) William Smith, TV teacher and presenter (born 1939) Linda Sokhulu, actress (born 1976) Shaleen Surtie-Richards, actress (1955–2021) Janet Suzman, actress (born 1939) Reine Swart, actress, producer Charlize Theron, actress (born 1975) Pearl Thusi, actress, model, MC (born 1988) Siyabonga Thwala, actor (born 1969) Pieter-Dirk Uys, political satirist and entertainer (born 1945) Brümilda van Rensburg, actress (born 1956) Musetta Vander, actress (born 1969) Arnold Vosloo, actor (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, 24) (born 1962) Dancers Juliet Prowse, dancer (1936–1996) Playwrights and film directors Neill Blomkamp, director, District 9 (born 1979) Lev David, writer and media consultant (born 1980) Charles J. Fourie, playwright (born 1965) Athol Fugard, playwright (born 1932) Ronald Harwood, playwright and writer (1934–2020) Oliver Hermanus, film director and writer (born 1983) Gavin Hood, film director, wrote and directed the Academy Award-winning Tsotsi (2005) (born 1963) Rob De Mezieres, film director and writer Mbongeni Ngema, playwright, actor, choreographer and director (born 1955) Michael Oblowitz film director (born 1952) Mthuli ka Shezi, playwright and political activist (1947–1972) Leon Schuster, filmmaker, comedian, actor and prankster (born 1951) Jamie Uys, film director (1921–1996) Singers, musicians and composers Zain Bhikha, world-renowned singer-songwriter of the Nasheed genre Michael Blake, classical composer (born 1951) Johan Botha, opera singer (1965–2016) Al Bowlly, popular singer (1898–1941) Don Clarke, Singer-songwriter (born 1955) Johnny Clegg, musician (1953–2019) Mimi Coertse, opera singer (born 1932) Fanie de Jager, operatic tenor (born 1949) Lucky Dube, reggae singer (1964–2007) Brenda Fassie, anti-apartheid Afropop singer, songwriter, dancer and activist (1964–2004) Daniel Friedman ("Deep Fried Man"), musical comedian (born 1981) Steve Kekana, singer and songwriter (1958–2021) Jabu Khanyile, musician and lead vocalist (1957–2006) Claire Johnston, singer (born 1967) David Kramer, singer and playwright (born 1951) Clare Loveday, classical composer (born 1967) Lira (singer), singer (born 1979) Sipho Mabuse, singer (born 1951) Ringo Madlingozi, South African singer, songwriter, producer, and member of parliament (born 1964) Arthur Mafokate, kwaito musician and producer (born 1962) Winston Ngozi Mankunku, tenor sax player (1943–2009) Mahlathini, mbaqanga singer (1938–1999) Miriam Makeba, singer and civil rights activist (1932–2008) Rebecca Malope, multi-award-winning South African gospel singer (born 1968) Manfred Mann, musician (born 1940) Hugh Masekela, jazz trumpeter and singer (1939–2018) Gwendolyn Masin, violinist, author, pedagogue (born 1977) Lebo Mathosa, popular South African kwaito singer (1977–2006) Dave Matthews, leader of the Dave Matthews Band (born 1967) Shaun Morgan, lead singer of the award-winning band Seether (born 1978) Ray Phiri, jazz, fusion and Mbhaqanga musician (1947–2017) Aquiles Priester, drummer (born 1971) Rex Rabanye, jazz, fusion and soulful pop musician (1944–2010) Trevor Rabin, musician, composer, former member of progressive rock band Yes (born 1954) Koos Ras, comedian, singer, writer, composer (1928–1997) Charles Segal (pianist), composer, arranger, Guinness World Record holder (born 1929) Enoch Sontonga, composer of national anthem (1873–1905) Joseph Shabalala, founder and director of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (1941–2020) ZP Theart, singer, ex Dragonforce (born 1975) Hilda Tloubatla, lead singer of Mahotella Queens (born 1942) Watkin Tudor Jones, rapper, performance artist, band member of Die Antwoord (born 1974) Arnold van Wyk, classical composer (1916–1983) Yolandi Visser, rapper, performance artist, band member of Die Antwoord (born 1984) Amor Vittone, singer, performing artist and gold-disc recording artist (born 1972) Kevin Volans, classical composer (born 1949) Models, socialites and media personalities Jani Allan, radio personality, journalist (born 1953) Gina Athans, model, international socialite (born 1984) Riaan Cruywagen, TV news reader (born 1945) Lasizwe Dambuza, television personality (born 1998) Trevor Denman, horse racing announcer (born 1952) Minnie Dlamini, TV presenter, TV personality, model and actress (born 1990) Jade Fairbrother, model, fitness bikini competitor, Playboy Playmate (born 1986) Watkin Tudor Jones (Ninja) singer, rapper, actor, director (born 1974) Roxy Ingram, model (born 1982) Alan Khan, radio and television personality (born 1971) Caspar Lee, YouTube personality and actor (born 1994) Jeremy Maggs, journalist, radio host and television presenter (born 1961) Jeremy Mansfield, radio and TV personality Maps Maponyane, media socialite, model and actor (born 1990) Robert Marawa, sports journalist, television and radio personality (born 1973) Megan McKenzie, model (born 1980) Trevor Noah, comedian, actor, radio- and television host (born 1984) Debora Patta, broadcast journalist and television producer (born 1964) Tanit Phoenix, Sports Illustrated model and actress (born 1984) Lunga Shabalala, TV presenter, model and actor (born 1989) Linda Sibiya, radio personality, radio producer, television host, television producer and broadcaster. Troye Sivan, YouTube personality, actor and singer (born 1995) Reeva Steenkamp, model (1983–2013) Candice Swanepoel, Victoria's Secret model (born 1988) Charlize Theron, actress, film producer (born 1975) Lesego Tlhabi, comedian and satirist (as Coconut Kelz) (born 1988) Yolandi Visser singer, rapper, actor (born 1984) Minki van der Westhuizen, model and TV presenter (born 1984) Eddie Zondi, radio personality and music composer (1967–2014) Visual Artists Cartoonists T.O. Honiball, cartoonist (1905–1990) Jeremy Nell, cartoonist (born 1979) Zapiro, cartoonist (born 1958) Painters Thomas Baines, colonial painter and explorer (1820–1875) Leon Botha, painter and disc jockey (1985–2011) Garth Erasmus, visual artist (born 1956) Clinton Fein, artist, activist, photographer (born 1964) C. G. Finch-Davies, painter and ornithologist (1875–1920) Ronald Harrison, painter (1940–2011) William Kentridge, painter (born 1955) Maggie Laubser, painter (1886–1973) Neville Lewis, artist (1895–1972) Esther Mahlangu, painter (born 1935) Conor Mccreedy, artist (born 1987) Brett Murray, artist (born 1961) Charles Ernest Peers, painter (born 1875) George Pemba, visual artist (1912–2001) Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef, artist (1886–1957) Gerard Sekoto, artist and musician (1913–1993) Cecil Skotnes, painter (1926–2009) Irma Stern, painter (1894–1966) Vladimir Tretchikoff, painter (1913–2006) Photographers Kevin Carter (1961–1994) Ernest Cole (1940–1990) Caroline Gibello (born 1974) David Goldblatt, photographer (1930–2018) Bob Gosani (1934–1972) Alf Kumalo (1930–2012) Peter Magubane (born 1932) Jürgen Schadeberg (1931–2020) Austin Stevens (born 1951) Sculptors Anton van Wouw (1862–1945) Performance Artists Steven Cohen (born 1962) Tracey Rose (born 1974) Architects Herbert Baker (1862–1946) Gerard Moerdijk (1890–1958) Business Raymond Ackerman, businessman (born 1931) Barney Barnato, mining magnate (1852–1897) Roelof Botha, venture capitalist and company director (born 1973) David Brink, businessman (born 1939) John Fairbairn, founder of Mutual Life (1794–1864) Vanessa Gounden, South Africa's richest businesswoman (born 1961) Morris Kahn, Israeli billionaire, founder and chairman of Aurec Group (born 1930) Sol Kerzner, hotel magnate (1935–2020) Basetsana Kumalo, former Miss South Africa, presenter and businesswoman (born 1974) Richard Maponya, richest business man, former owner of Maponya Mall; founder and first president of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (NAFCOC) (1920–2020) Sammy Marks, businessman (1844–1920) Nthato Motlana, prominent South African businessman, physician and anti-apartheid activist (1925–2008) Bridgette Motsepe, businesswoman (born 1960) Patrice Motsepe, businessman (born 1962) Elon Musk, Internet and space launch entrepreneur (born 1971) Phiwa Nkambule, Co-founder and CEO of Riovic, founder of Cybatar (born 1992) Harry Oppenheimer, businessman (1908–2000) William G. Pietersen, international businessman, CEO, author, professor (born 1937) Charles Purdon, agricultural pioneer (1838–1926) Mamphela Ramphele, political activist, academic, businesswoman and mother to the son of Steve Biko (born 1947) Cyril Ramaphosa, politician and businessman (born 1952) George Rex, pioneer entrepreneur of the Southern Cape (1765–1839) Cecil Rhodes, businessman (1853–1902) Anton Rupert, businessman and conservationist (1916–2006) Johann Rupert, businessman, son of Anton Rupert (born 1950) Tokyo Sexwale, politician and businessman (born 1953) Mark Shuttleworth, web entrepreneur, founder of Thawte and Ubuntu Linux, space tourist (born 1973) Nicky Newton-King, first female CEO of JSE from 2012 to 2019 (born 1966) Charl S. Van Blerk, CEO & founder of ParkShare Technologies, SA’s first innovative parking administration app (born 1998) Legal, police and military Lourens Ackermann, constitutional court judge (born 1934) Ismail Ayob, lawyer (born 1942) Vernon Berrangé, human rights advocate (1900–1983) George Bizos, lawyer (1927–2020) Louis Botha, Boer War General, captured Winston Churchill during the Second Boer War, also one of the signatories of the Treaty of Vereeniging (1862–1919) Annie Botha, philanthropist and civic leader, wife of Louis Botha Arthur Chaskalson, judge (1931–2012) Piet Cronjé, Boer general and commander-in-chief of ZAR's military forces (1840–1911) Beric John Croome, chartered accountant (South Africa), Advocate of the High Court of South Africa, PhD, tax law author and pioneer in taxpayers' rights in South Africa (1960–2019) Garnet de la Hunt, the Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of South Africa, Vice-Chairman of the Africa Scout Committee, and South African World Scout Committee (1933–2014) Koos de la Rey, Boer general (1847–1914) Pierre de Vos, constitutional law scholar (born 1963) Christiaan Rudolph de Wet, Boer general and acting President of the Orange Free State (1854–1922) Johannes Christiaan de Wet, legal academic (1912–1990) Bram Fischer, advocate QC and political activist (1908–1975) Richard Goldstone, ex-constitutional court judge (born 1938) Harold Hanson, advocate QC (1904–1973) Sydney Kentridge, former advocate of the Supreme Court and Acting Justice of the Constitutional Court (born 1922) Mervyn E. King, former judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa and chairman of the King Committee on Corporate Governance (born 1937) Joel Joffe, Baron Joffe, CBE lawyer and Labour peer in the House of Lords (1932–2017) Pius Langa, former chief justice of constitutional court (1939–2013) Magnus Malan, minister of defence and chief of the South African Defence Force (1930–2011) Cecil Margo, judge (1915–2000) Richard Mdluli, head of Police Crime Intelligence (born 1958) Dunstan Mlambo, Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa (born 1960) Mogoeng Mogoeng, Chief Justice of South Africa (born 1961) Yvonne Mokgoro, former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa (born 1950) Phetogo Molawa, first black female helicopter pilot in the South African Air Force and the South African National Defence Force Sandile Ngcobo, former Chief Justice of South Africa (born 1953) Bulelani Ngcuka, director of public prosecutions (born 1954) Marmaduke Pattle, highest scoring Allied Air Ace of World War Two (1914–1941) Riah Phiyega, national police commissioner Vejaynand Ramlakan, South African military commander (1957–2020) Barry Roux, defence advocate who has represented Oscar Pistorius, Dave King and Lothar Neethling (born 1955) Albie Sachs, justice in constitutional court (born 1935) Harry Heinz Schwarz, lawyer (1924–2010) Jackie Selebi, national commissioner of police (1950–2015) Thembile Skweyiya, South African Constitutional Court judge (1939–2015) Percy Sonn, former head of the Directorate of Special Operations (1947–2007) Sir Robert Clarkson Tredgold, Chief Justice of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1899–1977) Percy Yutar, South Africa's first Jewish attorney-general and prosecutor of Nelson Mandela in the 1963 Rivonia Treason Trial (1911–2002) Political Activists and trade unionists Elizabeth 'Nanna' Abrahams, political activist and trade unionist (1925–2008) Zackie Achmat, AIDS activist (born 1962) Neil Aggett, political activist and trade unionist (1953–1982) Neville Alexander, revolutionary and proponent of a multilingual South Africa (1936–2012) Abdul Kader Asmal, South African politician (1934–2011) Abu Baker Asvat, founding member of Azapo (1943–1989) Zainab Asvat, South African anti-apartheid activist (1920–2013) Frances Baard, trade unionist, organiser for the African National Congress Women's League and a Patron of the United Democratic Front (1909–1997) Esther Barsel, South African political activist, long-standing member of the South African Communist Party and wife to Hymie Barsel (1924–2008) Hymie Barsel, South African activist (1920–1987) Jeremy Baskin, trade unionist (born 1956) Jean Bernadt, anti-apartheid activist (1914–2011) Lionel Bernstein, anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner (1920–2002) Edward Bhengu, founder member of the PAC (1934–2010) Sibusiso Bengu, politician (born 1934) Steve Biko, nonviolent political activist (1946–1977) Sonia Bunting, journalist, political and anti-apartheid activist (1922–2001) Amina Cachalia, South African anti-Apartheid activist, women's rights activist, and politician (1930–2013) Ismail Ahmed Cachalia, South African political activist and a leader of Transvaal Indian Congress and the African National Congress (1908–2003) Fort Calata, political activist and one of The Cradock Four (1956–1985) James Calata, political activist and ANC secretary (1895–1983) Collins Chabane, South African Minister of Public Service and Administration (1960–2015) Laloo Chiba, South African politician and revolutionary (1930–2017) Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo, South African Communist and an anti-apartheid activist (1909–1983) Eddie Daniels, anti-apartheid activist (1928–2017) Nosipho Dastile, community and anti-Apartheid activist (1938–2009) Sophia De Bruyn, political activist (born 1938) Amina Desai, political prisoner (1920–2009) Lilian Diedericks, South African activist (1925–2021) Bettie du Toit, trade unionist and anti-apartheid activist (1910–2002) Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, South African anti-apartheid activist (1937–2021) Colin Eglin, South African politician (1925–2013) Farid Esack, political activist and opposition to apartheid (born 1959) Lucinda Evans, women's right activist (born 1972) Ruth First, South African anti-apartheid activist, scholar and wife to Joe Slovo (1925–1982) Pregs Govender, human rights activist, former ANC MP, anti-apartheid campaigner (born 1960) Irene Grootboom, housing rights activist (c. 1969–2008) Denis Goldberg, political activist (1933–2020) Arthur Goldreich, abstract painter and anti-apartheid (1929–2011) John Gomomo, South African Unionist and activist (1945–2008) Matthew Goniwe, political activist and one of the Cradock four (1946–1985) Joe Nzingo Gqabi, political activist (1929–1981) Josiah Tshangana Gumede, political activist (1867–1946) Harry Gwala, revolutionary leader in the African National Congress and South African Communist Party (1920–1995) Nkululeko Gwala, prominent member of the shackdwellers' social movement Abahlali baseMjondolo (died 2013) Bertha Gxowa, anti-apartheid, women's rights activist and trade unionist (1934–2010) Chris Hani, political activist (1942–1993) Harold Hanson, politician and advocate (1904–1973) Frederick John Harris, South African schoolteacher and anti-apartheid (1937–1965) Abdullah Haron, South African Muslim cleric and anti-apartheid activist (1924–1969) Ruth Hayman, anti-apartheid campaigner (1913–1981) Alexander Hepple, trade unionist, politician, anti-apartheid activist and author and the last leader of the original South African Labour Party (1904–1983) Bob Hepple, political activist, leader in the fields of labour law, equality and human rights (1934–2015) Bavelile Gloria Hlongwa, South African chemical engineer and politician (1981–2019) Bantu Holomisa, political activist (born 1955) Timothy Peter Jenkin, anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner and writer (born 1948) Helen Joseph, anti-apartheid activist (1905–1992) Mthuli ka Shezi, South African playwright, political activist (1947–1972) James Kantor, politician, lawyer and writer (1927–1974) Ahmed Kathrada, political activist (1929–2017) Philip Kgosana, political activist (1936–2017) Winnie Kgware, anti-Apartheid activist (1917–1998) Alice Kinloch (born 1863), human rights activist and writer Wolfie Kodesh, South African Communist party activist (1918–2002) Moses Kotane, anti-apartheid activist (1907–1978) Ashley Kriel, South African activist (1966–1987) Duma Kumalo, South African human rights activist and one of the Sharpeville Six (died 2006) Dumisani Kumalo, South African politician (1947–2019) Ellen Kuzwayo, political activist (1914–2006) Lennox Lagu, political activist (1938—2011) Stephen Bernard Lee, anti-apartheid and political prisoner (born 1951) Anton Lembede, political activist (1914–1947) Moses Mabhida, anti-apartheid activist (1923–1986) Phakamile Mabija, anti-apartheid activist (died 1977) Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, political activist and former 2nd wife to Nelson Mandela (1936–2018) Zacharias Richard Mahabane, political activist (1881–1971) Mac Maharaj, political activist (born 1935) Solomon Mahlangu, Umkhonto we Sizwe operative (1956–1979) Vusumzi Make, political activist (1931–2006) Sefako Makgatho, political activist (1861–1951) Mbuyisa Makhubo, anti-Apartheid activist (born 1957/1958) Clarence Makwetu, political activist (1928–2016) Adolph Malan, fighter pilot and civil rights activist (1910–1963) Zollie Malindi, political activist (1924–2008) Nelson Mandela, political activist and first President of South Africa (1918–2013) Mosibudi Mangena, South Africa politician (born 1947) Isaac Lesiba Maphotho, political activist (1931–2019) J. B. Marks, politician activist (1903–1972) Jafta Jeff Masemola, political activist (1929–1990) Emma Mashinini, trade unionist and political leader (1929–2017) Tsietsi Mashinini, South African anti-Apartheid activist and student leader of the Soweto uprising on 16 June 1976 (1957–1990) Joseph Mathunjwa, Trade union leader and the head of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) (born 1965) Florence Matomela, South African anti-pass law activist (1910–1969) Joe Matthews, political activist and son of ZK Matthews (1929–2010) Z. K. Matthews, political activist (1901–1968) Seth Mazibuko, youngest member of the South African Students' Organisation that planned and led the Soweto uprising Epainette Mbeki, political activist, mother of Thabo Mbeki and wife to Govan Mbeki (1916–2014) Govan Mbeki, political activist and father of Thabo Mbeki (1910–2001) Robert McBride, anti-apartheid assassin and later police chief (born 1963) A. P. Mda, co-founder of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) and Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (1916–1993) Fatima Meer, scientist and political activist (1928–2010) Raymond Mhlaba, political activist and the former Premier of the Eastern Cape (1920–2005) Sicelo Mhlauli, political activist and one of the Cradock four (1952–1985) Jean Middleton, anti-apartheid activist and wife to Harold Strachan (1928–2010) Clarence Mini, anti-apartheid activist (1951–2020) Vuyisile Mini, unionist and Umkhonto we Sizwe activist (1920–1964) Nomhlangano Beauty Mkhize, political activist, shop steward and wife to Saul Mkhize (1946–1977) Sparrow Mkhonto, political activist and one of the Cradock four (1951–1985) Wilton Mkwayi, political activist (1923–2004) Johnson Mlambo, political activist (1940–2021) Andrew Mlangeni, political activist (1925–2020) Thamsanga Mnyele, anti-apartheid (1948–1985) Billy Modise, political activist (1930–2018) Joe Modise, political activist (1929–2001) Thabo Edwin Mofutsanyana, political activist (1899–1995) Mapetla Mohapi, political activist (1947–1976) Yunus Mohamed, (sometimes Mahomed) South African lawyer and activist (1950–2008) Peter Mokaba, political activist (1959–2002) Priscilla Mokaba, political activist and mother of Peter Mokaba (died 2013) Ruth Mompati, political activist (1925–2015) Moosa Moolla, political activist (born 1934) Rahima Moosa, anti-apartheid activist (1922–1993) James Moroka, political activist (1891–1985) Zephania Mothopeng, political activist (1913–1990) Nthato Motlana, physician and anti-apartheid activist (1925–2008) Caroline Motsoaledi, political activist and wife to Elias Motsoaledi (died c.2015) Elias Motsoaledi, political activist (1924–1994) James Mpanza, political activist (1889–1970) Oscar Mpetha, political activist and unionist (1909–1994) Griffiths Mxenge, anti-apartheid activist (1935–1981) Victoria Mxenge, anti-apartheid activist (1942–1985) Monty Naicker, South African anti-apartheid activist and medical doctor (1910–1978) Ama Naidoo, anti-apartheid activist (1908–1993) Billy Nair, political activist (1929–2008) Rita Ndzanga, anti-apartheid activist and trade unionist (born 1933) Mary Ngalo, South African anti-apartheid activist and was also active in fighting for women's rights (died 1973) Lilian Ngoyi, anti-apartheid activist (1911–1980) Looksmart Ngudle, political activist (1922–1963) Joe Nhlanhla, African National Congress national executive and the former South African Minister of Justice (Intelligence Affairs) (1936–2008) John Nkadimeng, politician and anti-apartheid activist (1927–2020) Vernon Nkadimeng, political activist (1958–1985) Nkwenkwe Nkomo, SASO nine member William Frederick Nkomo, medical doctor, community leader, political activist and teacher (1915–1972) Duma Nokwe, political activist (1927–1978) Jabulile Nyawose, trade unionist and anti-apartheid activist (died 1982) Alfred Nzo, political activist (1925–2000) Albert Nzula, political activist (1905–1934) Abdullah Mohamed Omar, anti-Apartheid activist and lawyer (1934–2004) Roy Padayachie, politician and Minister of Public Service and Administration of the Republic of South Africa (1950–2012) Aziz Pahad, political activist (born 1940) Essop Pahad, political activist (born 1939) Sabelo Phama, revolutionary (1949–1994) Motsoko Pheko, politician, lawyer, author, historian, theologian and academic (born 1933) Joyce Piliso-Seroke, South-African educator, activist, feminist and community organizer (born 1933) Sol Plaatje, political activist (1876–1932) John Nyathi Pokela, political activist (1922/1923–1985) Maggie Resha, political activist and wife of Robert Resha (1923–2003) Robert Resha, political activist (1920–1978) Walter Rubusana, first deputy president of the ANC (1856–1936) Albie Sachs, political activist (born 1935) Harry Schwarz, South African lawyer, statesman and long-time political opposition leader against apartheid in South Africa (1924–2010) Jackie Sedibe, South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Major General and politician activist and wife to Joe Modise (born 1945) Molefi Sefularo, Deputy Minister of Health (1957–2010) James Seipei, teenage United Democratic Front (UDF) activist (1974–1989) Nimrod Sejake, labour leader in South Africa, leading member of the Congress of South African Trade Unions and secretary of the Iron Steel Workers (1920–2004) Reggie September, activist (1923–2013) Gertrude Shope, South African trade unionist and politician (born 1925) Gert Sibande, political activist (1907–1987) Archie Sibeko, political activist and trade unionist (1928–2018) David Sibeko, South Africa politician and journalist (1938–1979) Letitia Sibeko, political activist and wife to Archie Sibeko (1930–??) Joyce Nomafa Sikakane, South African journalist and activist (born 1943) Annie Silinga, South African anti-pass laws and anti-apartheid political activist (1910–1984) Jack Simons, political activist (1907–1995) Rachel Simons, communist and trade unionist and wife to Jack Simons (1914–2004) Albertina Sisulu, political activist and wife of Walter Sisulu (1918–2011) Walter Sisulu, political activist (1912–2003) Zola Skweyiya, political activist (1942–2018) Joe Slovo, South African politician, and an opponent of the apartheid system (1926–1995) Robert Sobukwe, political activist and founder of PAC (1924–1978) Veronica Sobukwe, political activist and wife to Robert Sobukwe (1927–2018) Makhenkesi Stofile, political activist (1944–2016) Harold Strachan, anti-apartheid activist (1925–2020) Helen Suzman, South African anti-apartheid activist and politician (1917–2009) Isaac Bangani Tabata, political activist (1909–1990) Dora Tamana, South African anti-apartheid activist (1901–1983) Adelaide Tambo political activist and wife to Oliver Tambo (1929–2007) Oliver Tambo, political activist (1917–1993) Mary Thipe, anti-apartheid and human rights activist (1917–2002) Mohammed Tikly, South African educator and struggle veteran (1939–2020) Ahmed Timol, anti-apartheid activist, political leader and activist in the underground South African Communist Party (SACP) (1941–1971) Abram Onkgopotse Tiro, South African student political activist (1945–1974) Steve Tshwete, political activist (1938–2002) Ben Turok, anti-apartheid activist and Economics Professor (1927–2019) Moses Twebe, South African politician (1916–2013) Zwelinzima Vavi, former general secretary of COSATU, and Trade union leader SAFTU (born 1962) Randolph Vigne, anti-apartheid activist (1928–2016) Sheila Weinberg, anti-apartheid activist (1945–2004) AnnMarie Wolpe, sociologist, feminist, anti-apartheid activist and wife to Harold Wolpe (1930–2018) Harold Wolpe, lawyer, sociologist, political economist and anti-apartheid activist (1926–1996) Khoisan X, political activist (1955–2010) Alfred Xuma, political activist and ANC president (1893–1962) Tony Yengeni, anti-Apartheid activist (born 1954) Apartheid operatives Wouter Basson, apartheid scientist (born 1950) Dirk Coetzee, apartheid covert operative (1945–2013) Eugene de Kock, apartheid assassin (born 1949) Clive Derby-Lewis, assassin and former parliamentarian (1936–2016) Jimmy Kruger, apartheid Minister of Justice and the Police (1917–1987) Lothar Neethling, apartheid forensic scientist (1935–2005) Barend Strydom, convicted murderer and white supremacist activist (born 1965) Eugène Terre'Blanche, white supremacist activist (1941–2010) Adriaan Vlok, apartheid Minister of Law and Order (born 1937) Craig Williamson, apartheid spy (born 1949) Colonial and Union Governors George Grey, Cape governor (1812–1898) Jan Willem Janssens, Cape Governor (1762–1838) Benjamin d'Urban, Cape Governor (1834–1837) Benjamin Pine, Natal governor (1809–1891) Harry Smith, Cape governor 1847–52 (1787–1860) Andries Stockenström, governor of British Kaffraria (1792–1864) Simon van der Stel, first Cape governor (1639–1712) Willem Adriaan van der Stel, second Cape governor (1664–1723) Jan van Riebeeck, founder of Cape settlement (1619–1677) Nicolaas Jacobus de Wet, Chief Justice of South Africa and acting Governor-General (1873–1960) Leaders and politicians Ken Andrew, politician (born 1943) Kader Asmal, an activist, politician and professor of human rights (1934–2011) Sibusiso Bengu, politician (born 1934) Steve Biko, nonviolent political activist (1946–1977) Thozamile Botha, politician (born 1948) Cheryl Carolus, politician (born 1958) Yusuf Dadoo, doctor and politician (1909–1983) Patricia de Lille, politician (born 1951) Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, politician (born 1949) John Langalibalele Dube, founder and first president of ANC (1871–1946) Abba Eban, Israeli diplomat and politician, and President of the Weizmann Institute of Science (1915–2002) De Villiers Graaff, United Party opposition leader (1913–1999) Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr, journalist and politician (1845–1909) Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr, academic and politician (1894–1948) Danny Jordaan, politician and soccer administrator (born 1951) Tony Leon, DA opposition leader (born 1956) Albert Luthuli, President of the African National Congress, 1952–67 (1898–1967) Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, politician and second wife of Nelson Mandela (1936–2018) Trevor Manuel, minister of finance (born 1956) Lindiwe Mazibuko, former Parliamentary Leader for the opposition Democratic Alliance (born 1980) Govan Mbeki, political activist and father of Thabo Mbeki (1910–2001) Roelf Meyer, politician and businessman (born 1947) Raymond Mhlaba, political activist and the former Premier of the Eastern Cape (1920–2005) Vuyisile Mini, unionist and Umkhonto we Sizwe activist (1920–1964) Johnson Mlambo, political activist (1940–2021) Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, deputy president (born 1955) Pieter Mulder, leader of the Freedom Front Plus and former deputy minister of agriculture (born 1951) Gagathura (Monty) Mohambry Naicker, medical doctor and politician (1910–1978) Bulelani Ngcuka, politician (born 1954) Dullah Omar, politician (1934–2004) Andries Pretorius, Boer leader and commandant-general (1799–1853) Deneys Reitz, boer commando, deputy Prime Minister and High Commissioner to London (1882–1944) Pixley ka Isaka Seme, ANC founder member (1881–1951) Mbhazima Shilowa, trade unionist and premier (born 1958) Walter Sisulu, political activist (1912–2003) Ruth First-Slovo, political activist and wife to Joe Slovo (1924–1982) Joe Slovo, politician (1926–1995) Harry Schwarz, lawyer, politician, ambassador to United States and anti-apartheid leader (1924–2010) Robert Sobukwe, political activist and founder of PAC (1924–1978) Helen Suzman, politician (1917–2009) Oliver Tambo, political activist (1917–1993) Catherine Taylor, politician (1914–1992) Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, PFP opposition leader (1940–2010) Helen Zille, former DA opposition leader, former premier of the Western Cape (born 1951) Jacob Zuma, former president (born 1942) Prime Ministers and presidents Jacobus Boshoff, 2nd President of the Orange Free State (1808–1881) Louis Botha, Boer commander-in-chief and 1st Prime Minister of South Africa (1862–1919) Pieter Willem Botha, 9th and last Prime Minister and 8th State President of South Africa (1916–2006) Johannes Henricus Brand, 4th President of the Orange Free State (1823–1888) Thomas François Burgers, 4th President of South African Republic (1871–1877) Schalk Willem Burger, 6th and last President of South African Republic (1852–1918) Frederik Willem de Klerk, 9th and last State President of South Africa (1990–1994) and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner (1936–2021) Nicolaas Johannes Diederichs, 4th State President of South Africa (1903–1978) Jacobus Johannes Fouché, 3rd State President of South Africa (1898–1980) James Barry Munnik Hertzog, Boer general and 3rd Prime Minister of South Africa (1866–1942) Josias Hoffman, 1st President of the Orange Free State (1807–1879) Petrus Jacobus Joubert, Boer general and member of the Troika in the South African Republic (1834–1900) Paul Kruger, member of the Troika, 5th President of South African Republic (1825–1904) Daniel François Malan, 5th Prime Minister of South Africa and is responsible for laying the groundwork for Apartheid (1874–1959) Nelson Mandela, 1st democratically elected President of South Africa and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner (1918–2013) Thabo Mbeki, 2nd post-apartheid President of South Africa (born 1942) John X. Merriman, last prime minister of the Cape Colony (1841–1926) Kgalema Motlanthe, 3rd post-apartheid President of South Africa (born 1949) Tom Naudé, 2nd State President of South Africa (1889–1969) Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, 3rd President of the Orange Free State, 1st and 3rd President of the ZAR (1819–1901) Cyril Ramaphosa, 5th post-apartheid President of South Africa (born 1952) Francis William Reitz, 5th President of the Orange Free State (1844–1934) Jan Smuts, Boer general, British field marshal, 2nd and 4th Prime Minister of South Africa (1870–1950) Johannes Strijdom, 6th Prime Minister of South Africa (1893–1958) Martinus Theunis Steyn, 6th and last President of the Orange Free State (1857–1916) Charles Robberts Swart, last Governor-General of the Union of South Africa and 1st State President of the RSA (1894–1982) Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, 7th Prime Minister of South Africa and primary architect of Apartheid (1901–1966) Marais Viljoen, 5th and 7th State President of South Africa (1915–2007) Balthazar Johannes Vorster, 8th Prime Minister and 6th State President of South Africa (1915–1983) Jacob Zuma, 4th post-apartheid President of South Africa (born 1942) Provincial Premiers Nosimo Balindlela, 3rd Premier of the Eastern Cape (born 1949) Lynne Brown, (interim) 6th Premier of the Western Cape (born 1961) Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, 2nd Premier of the Free State (1937–2009) Grizelda Cjiekella, (acting) Premier of the Northern Cape (1970–2012) Manne Dipico, 1st Premier of the Northern Cape (born 1959) Winkie Direko, 3rd Premier of the Free State (1929–2012) Noxolo Kiviet, 5th Premier of the Eastern Cape (born 1963) Hernus Kriel, 1st Premier of the Western Cape (1941–2015) Hazel Jenkins, 3rd Premier of the Northern Cape (born 1960) Mosiuoa Lekota, 1st Premier of the Free State (born 1948) Sylvia Lucas, 4th Premier of the Northern Cape (born 1964) David Mabuza, 4th Premier of Mpumalanga (born 1960) Ace Magashule, 5th Premier of the Free State (born 1959) Supra Mahumapelo, 5th Premier of North West (born 1968) David Makhura, 6th Premier of Gauteng (born 1968) Thabang Makwetla, 3rd Premier of Mpumalanga (born 1957) Peter Marais, 3rd Premier of the Western Cape (born 1948) Beatrice Marshoff, 4th Premier of the Free State (born 1957) Paul Mashatile, 4th Premier of Gauteng (born 1961) Stanley Mathabatha, 4th Premier of Limpopo (born 1957) Cassel Mathale, 3rd Premier of Limpopo (born 1961) Senzo Mchunu, 6th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (born 1958) Willies Mchunu, 7th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (born 1948) Frank Mdlalose, 1st Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (1931–2021) Raymond Mhlaba, 1st Premier of the Eastern Cape (1920–2005) Zweli Mkhize, 5th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (born 1956) Thandi Modise, 4th Premier of North West (born 1959) Maureen Modiselle, 3rd Premier of North West (born 1941) Job Mokgoro, 6th Premier of North West (born 1948) Nomvula Mokonyane, 5th Premier of Gauteng (born 1963) Popo Molefe, 1st Premier of North West (born 1952) Edna Molewa, 2nd Premier of North West (1957–2018) Sello Moloto, 2nd Premier of Limpopo (born 1964) Gerald Morkel, 2nd Premier of the Western Cape (1941–2018) Mathole Motshekga, 2nd Premier of Gauteng (born 1949) Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, 5th Premier of Mpumalanga (born 1972/73) S'bu Ndebele, 4th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (born 1948) Ben Ngubane, 2nd Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (1941–2021) Sisi Ntombela, 6th Premier of the Free State (born 1956/1957) Dipuo Peters, 2nd Premier of the Northern Cape (born 1960) Mathews Phosa, 1st Premier of Mpumalanga (born 1952) Ngoako Ramathlodi, 1st Premier of Limpopo (born 1955) Leonard Ramatlakane, (acting) Premier of the Western Cape (born 1953) Ebrahim Rasool, 5th Premier of the Western Cape (born 1962) Zamani Saul, 5th Premier of the Northern Cape (born 1972) Tokyo Sexwale, 1st Premier of Gauteng (born 1953) Mbhazima Shilowa, 3rd Premier of Gauteng (born 1958) Mbulelo Sogoni, 4th Premier of the Eastern Cape (born 1966) Makhenkesi Stofile, 2nd Premier of the Eastern Cape (1944–2016) Marthinus van Schalkwyk, 4th Premier of the Western Cape (born 1959) Alan Winde, 8th Premier of the Western Cape (born 1965) Sihle Zikalala, 8th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (born 1973) Helen Zille, 7th Premier of the Western Cape (born 1951) Homelands Leaders Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Chief Executive Councillor and Chief Minister of KwaZulu (born 1928) Oupa Gqozo, President of Ciskei (born 1952) Gen. Bantu Holomisa, Prime Minister of Transkei (born 1955) Chief Thandatha Jongilizwe Mabandla, chief executive officer; Chief Executive Councillor and Chief Minister of Ciskei (1926–2021) Dr. Enos John Mabuza, Chief Minister of KaNgwane (1939–1997) Rocky Malebane-Metsing, President of Bophuthatswana (1949–2016) Kgosi Lucas Mangope, chief executive officer; Chief Executive Councillor; Chief Minister and President of Bophuthatswana (1923–2018) Chief George Matanzima, Prime Minister of Transkei (1918–2000) Chief Kaiser Matanzima, Chief Minister; Prime Minister and President of Transkei (1915–2003) Edward Mhinga, acting Chief Minister of Gazankulu (1927–2017) Job Mokgoro, Administrator (Transitional Executive Council) of Bophuthatswana (born 1948) Kenneth Mopeli, Chief Executive Councillor and Chief Minister of Qwaqwa (1930–2014) Chief Patrick Mphephu, chief executive officer; Chief Executive Councillor; Chief Minister and the President of Venda (1924–1988) Hudson William Edison Ntsanwisi, Chief of Minister of Gazankulu (1920–1993) Samuel Dickenson Nxumalo, Chief Minister of Gazankulu (born 1926) Dr. Cedric Phatudi, Chief Minister of Lebowa (1912–1987) Gabriel Ramushwana, Head of State of Venda (1941–2015) Lt. Gen. Charles Sebe, acting Chief Minister of Ciskei Lennox Sebe, Chief Minister and President of Ciskei (1926–1994) Chief Botha Sigcau, President of Transkei and father of Stella Sigcau (died c.1979) Stella Sigcau, Prime of Transkei (1937–2006) Tjaart van der Walt, Administrator Transitional Executive Council of Bophuthatswana (1934–2019) Administrators of former provinces Cornelius Botha, 12th and last Administrator of the Natal Province (1932–2014) Stoffel Botha, 10th Administrator of the Natal Province (1929–1998) Radclyffe Cadman, 11th Administrator of the Natal Province (1924–2011) Dr Willem Adriaan Cruywagen, 10th Administrator of the Transvaal Province (1921–2013) Nicolaas Frederic de Waal, 1st Administrator of the Cape Province (1853–1932) Jim Fouché, 8th Administrator of the Orange Free State Province (1898–1980) Theo Gerdener, 8th Administrator of the Natal Province (1916–2013) Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr, 3rd Administrator of the Transvaal Province (1894–1948) Gene Louw, 13th Administrator of the Cape Province (1931–2015) Nico Malan, 10th Administrator of the Cape Province William Nico, 7th Administrator of the Transvaal Province (1887–1967) Frans Hendrik Odendaal, 8th Administrator of the Transvaal Province (1898–1966) Denis Gem Shepstone, 6th Administrator of the Natal Province (1888–1966) Alfred Ernest Trollip, 7th Administrator of the Natal Province (1895–1972) Johannes Van Rensburg, 6th Administrator of the Orange Free State Province (1898–1966) Gideon Brand van Zyl, 5th Administrator of the Cape Province (1873–1956) Sir Cornelius Hermanus Wessels, 2nd Administrator of the Orange Free State Province (1851–1924) Royalty Kings, queens, princes and princesses Cetshwayo kaMpande, 4th Zulu king (1826–1884) Cyprian Bhekuzulu kaSolomon, 7th Zulu king (1924–1945) Goodwill Zwelethini, 8th king of the Zulu nation (1948–2021) Mangosuthu Buthelezi, politician and a Zulu prince (born 1928) Dingane kaSenzangakhona, 2nd Zulu king and half-brother of Shaka (1795–1840) Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo, 5th Zulu king, not officially recognized (1868–1913) Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, Aa! Zwelibanzi! Ruler of the Thembu (born 1964) Sabata Dalindyebo, Aa! Jonguhlanga! Ring of the Thembu (1928–1986) Faku kaNgqungqushe, Ruler of the Mpondo (1780–1867) Hintsa ka Khawuta, Aa! Zanzolo! King of Xhosa Nation (1780–1835) Khawuta kaGcaleka, Aa! Khala! King of the Xhosa Nation (1761–1804) Langalibalele, Hlubi king (1814–1889) Ingwenyama Mayitjha III, 7th Ndebele, king of Ndzundza-Mabhoko (1947–2005) Magogo kaDinuzulu, Zulu princess and mother of Mangosuthu Buthelezi (1900–1984) Mampuru II, king of the Marota (or Bapedi) (died c.1883) Maselekwane Modjadji, Balobedu's 1st Rain Queen (died 1854) Masalanabo Modjadji, Balobedu's 2nd Rain Queen (died 1894) Khetoane Modjadji, Balobedu's 3rd Rain Queen (1869–1959) Makoma Modjadji, Balobedu's 4th Rain Queen (1905–1980) Mokope Modjadji, Balobedu's 5th Rain Queen (1936–2001) Makobo Modjadji, Balobedu's 6th Rain Queen (1978–2005) Mkabayi kaJama, Zulu princess and sister of Senzangakhona (1750–1843) Mpande, 3rd Zulu king and half-brother of Shaka (1798–1872) Mthimkhulu II, King of the AmaHlubi (1778–1818) Mzilikazi, king of the Matabele (1790–1868) Nandi, Mhlongo princess and mother of Shaka (1760–1827) Ngqungqushe kaNyawuza, Mpondo ruler (1715/1760–1810/1815) Ngubengcuka, Aa! Ndaba! prominent king of the abaThembu (died 1830) Emma Sandile, (1842–1892), Aa! Emma! Xhosa Princess and the daughter of King Mgolombane Sandile (1842–1892) Mgolombane Sandile, Aa! Mgolombane! Xhosa king of the Right Hand House of the Xhosa Nation (1820–1878) Zanesizwe Sandile, Aa! Zanesizwe! King of the Right Hand House of the Xhosa Nation (1956–2011) Noloyiso Sandile, Aa! Noloyiso! Zulu Princess, Rharhabe Regent Queen, daughter of Zulu King Cyprian Bhekuzulu, sister to King Goodwill Zwelithini and the wife of the AmaRharhabe Monarch Zanesizwe Sandile (1963–2020) Sarili kaHintsa, Aa! Krili! King Of The Xhosa Nation (c. 1810–1892) Xolilizwe Sigcawu, Aa! Xolilizwe! Xhosa King (1926–2005) Zwelonke Sigcawu, Aa! Zwelonke! Xhosa king (1968–2019) Sekhukhune, king of the Marota (or Bapedi) (1814–1882) Senzangakhona kaJama, Zulu king and father of Shaka (1762–1816) Shaka, founder of the Zulu nation (1787–1828) Solomon kaDinuzulu, 6th Zulu king, not officially recognized (1891–1933) Victor Thulare III, king of the Pedi (1980–2021) uZibhebhu kaMaphitha, Zulu prince and chief (1841–1904) Tribal leaders and prophets See also: Gcaleka rulers, Rharhabe rulersNdwandwe people, Xhosa Chiefs, Zulus Bambatha kaMancinza, Zulu chief of the amaZondi clan and Bambatha Rebellion (1865–1906) Chief Albert Luthuli, Zulu chief and political activist (1898–1967) Adam Kok, Griqua leader (1811–1875) David Stuurman, Khoi chief and political activist (1773–1830) Thandatha Jongilizwe Mabandla, amaBhele chief, Tyume Valley, Alice, Ciskei (1926–2021) Makhanda, amaXhosa prophet (died 1819) Maqoma, Aa! Jongumsobomvu! amaRharhabe chief (1798–1873) Chief Mqalo, Amakhuze chief, Ciskei region (1916–2008) Moshoeshoe I, Basotho chief (c. 1786–1870) Nongqawuse, millennialist amaXhosa prophetess (c. 1840–1898) Ntsikana, amaXhosa prophet (1780–1821) Sigananda kaSokufa, Zulu aristocrat (c. 1815–1906) Hendrik Spoorbek, prophet and magician (died 1845) Mbongeleni Zondi, Zulu chief and great-grandson of Inkosi Bambatha kaMancinza (1969–2009) Atheists Zackie Achmat, AIDS activist, (born 1962) David Benatar, professor of philosophy (born 1966) Barry Duke, activist, journalist, editor of The Freethinker (born 1947) Nadine Gordimer, activist, writer, Nobel laureate (1923–2014) Ronnie Kasrils, politician (born 1938) Jacques Rousseau, secular activist, social commentator (born 1971) Harold Rubin, visual artist, musician (1932–2020) Joe Slovo, politician (1926–1995) Lewis Wolpert, author, biologist, broadcaster (1929–2021) Prelates, clerics and evangelists William Anderson, missionary (1769–1852) Nicholas Bhengu, evangelist and founder of Assemblies of God (1909–1986) Allan Boesak, cleric and anti-apartheid activist (born 1945) David Jacobus Bosch, missiologist and theologian (1929–1992) Angus Buchan, evangelist (born 1947) Frank Chikane, cleric and anti-apartheid activist (born 1951) John William Colenso, Anglican bishop of Natal (1814–1883) Ahmed Deedat (1918–2005) S.J. du Toit, cleric, Afrikaans language pioneer and founder member of the Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaners (1847–1911) Allan Hendrickse, cleric and MP (1927–2005) Denis Hurley, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Durban (1915–2004) Edward Lekganyane, the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) leader (1922–1967) Engenas Lekganyane, the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) founder (1885–1948) Albert Luthuli, cleric, politician and 1960 Nobel Peace Prize winner (c. 1898–1967) Thabo Makgoba, current Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (born 1960) Charlotte Maxeke, religious leader and political activist (1874–1939) Ray McCauley, head of Rhema church (born 1949) Robert Moffat, missionary, Bible translator and founder of Kuruman (1795–1883) Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, Catholic priest (born 1939) Frederick Samuel Modise, founder of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (1914–1998) Glayton Modise, the International Pentecostal Holiness Church leader (1940–2016) Andrew Murray (1828–1917) Zithulele Patrick Mvemve, South African Roman Catholic bishop (1941–2020) Selby Mvusi, theologian and artist (1929–1967) Wilfrid Napier, cardinal of the Catholic Church (born 1941) Beyers Naudé, cleric and anti-apartheid activist (1915–2004) Jozua Naudé, pastor, school founder and co-founder of the Afrikaner Broederbond (1873–1948) Carl Niehaus, theologian and former spokesman of South African president Nelson Mandela (born 1959) Albert Nolan, Catholic priest (born 1934) John Philip, missionary (1775–1851) Barney Pityana, human rights lawyer and theologian (born 1945) Ambrose Reeves, Anglican bishop and opponent of Apartheid (1899–1980) David Russell, South African Anglican bishop (1938–2014) Isaiah Shembe, the Church of Nazareth founder (1865–1935) Desmond Tutu, cleric and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1931–2021) William Cullen Wilcox, missionary (1850–1928) Sport Conservationists Ian Player (1927–2014) James Stevenson-Hamilton (1867–1957) John Varty (born 1950) Food Bertus Basson (born 1979) Karen Dudley (born 1968) Prue Leith (born 1940) Abigail Mbalo-Mokoena Jenny Morris Nompumelelo Mqwebu (born 1977) Siba Mtongana (born 1984) Kamini Pather (born 1983) Reuben Riffel (born 1974) Lesego Semenya (1982–2021) Faldela Williams (1952–2014) Travelers, adventurers and pioneers Alexander Biggar, colonial pioneer (1781–1838) Jeanne M. Borle, missionary and naturalist (1880 – ca. 1979) William John Burchell, naturalist traveler (1781–1863) Francisco de Almeida, adventurer buried in Cape Town (c. 1450–1510) Bartolomeu Dias, explorer who reached eastern Cape (c. 1450–1500) John Dunn, colonial pioneer (1833–1895) Robert Jacob Gordon, explorer, soldier, naturalist (1743–1795) Emil Holub, explorer (1847–1902) Nathaniel Isaacs, Natal traveler (1808–1872) Dick King, colonial pioneer (1813–1871) François Levaillant, Cape naturalist traveler (1753–1824) Karl Mauch, traveling geologist (1873–1875) Harriet A. Roche, Transvaal traveler (1835–1921) Carl Peter Thunberg, Cape naturalist traveler (1743–1828) Sibusiso Vilane, first black African to summit Mount Everest (born 1970) Kingsley Holgate, traveler and pioneer (born 1946) Mike Horn, explorer, traveler, environmentalist, adventurer (born 1966) James Alexander, explorer of the west coast and Namibia (1803–1885) Saray Khumalo, explorer and mountaineer (born 1972) Criminals Daisy de Melker, murderer (1886–1932) William Foster, leader of the Foster Gang Allan Heyl, Stander Gang member and bank robber (died 2020) Cedric Maake, serial killer (born 1965) Bulelani Mabhayi, serial killer (born 1974) Simon Majola, robber and serial killer who, with (born 1968) Fanuel Makamu, robber, rapist and serial killer (born 1977) Andries Makgae, serial killer and rapist (born 1962) Lee McCall, Stander Gang member and bank robber (1950–1984) Nicholas Lungisa Ncama, a rapist and serial killer Velaphi Ndlangamandla, robber and serial killer (born 1966) Solomon Ngobeni, the last person to be executed by the government of South Africa (died 1989) Butana Almond Nofomela, murder (born 1957) Gert van Rooyen, paedophile (1938–1990) Khangayi Sedumedi, Killer South African serial killer and rapist (born 1977) Schabir Shaik, convicted fraudster Norman Afzal Simons, rapist and serial killer (born 1967) Moses Sithole, convicted serial rapist and murderer (born 1964) Rashied Staggie, crime boss (1961–2019) Andre Stander, gang member (1946–1984) Thozamile Taki, serial killer (born 1971) Sipho Thwala, rapist and serial killer (born 1968) Dorethea van der Merwe, first woman to be hanged for murder under the Union of South Africa Bulelani Vukwana, spree killer (c. 1973–2002) Elias Xitavhudzi, serial killer Christopher Mhlengwa Zikode, rapist and serial killer (born 1975) Other Sir Herbert Baker, influential in South African architecture (1862–1946) Nozipho Bhengu, woman whose death from an AIDS-related illness (1974–2006) Fredie Blom, South African supercentenarian Fredie Blom (1904–2020) Denise Darvall, considered to be donor for the first human heart transplant (1943–1967) Ncoza Dlova, heralded as first black female head of University of KwaZulu-Natal's School of Clinical Medicine Napoléon Eugène, last of Napoleons who died in Zulu war (1856–1879) Emily Hobhouse, African British welfare campaigner for South Africans (1860–1926) John Hutchinson, thorough contributor to South African botany (1884–1972) Nkosi Johnson, child who died of AIDS (1989–2001) Isabel Jean Jones, early consumer advocate journalist (died 2008) Masego Kgomo, South African girl murdered (1999–2009) Sandra Laing, racial classification victim (born 1955) Paul Lloyd Jr, first South African wrestler to wrestle in WWE, son of successful SA wrestling promoter Paul Lloyd (born 1981) Asnath Mahapa, first female South African pilot (born 1979) Joe Mamasela, former Apartheid government spy (born 1953) Nomkhitha Virginia Mashinini, South African apartheid detainee, the mother of political figure Tsietsi Mashinini, and a community worker (1935–2008) Leigh Matthews, South African university student, kidnapped and murdered (1983–2004) Breaker Morant, Australian Boer War soldier executed by the British Army (1864–1902) Uyinene Mrwetyana, South African student, raped and murdered (2000–2019) Hastings Ndlovu, poster victim of the Soweto riots (1961–1976) Hector Pieterson, poster victim of the Soweto riots (1964–1976) Mrs. Ples, hominid fossil (born c. 2.6 to 2.8 million years ago) Raymond Rahme, first African to reach a final table at a World Series of Poker Main Event, finishing third (born 1945) Willem Ratte, soldier and criminal (born 1948) Rosenkowitz sextuplets, first known set of sextuplets to survive their infancy (born 1974) Maki Skosana, necklaced due to be suspected as a police informer (1961–1985) Reeva Steenkamp, South African model and paralegal (1983–2013) Adam Tas, colonial activist (1668–1722) Andries Tatane, Ficksburg activist killed by police (1978–2011) Taung Child, hominid fossil (born c. 2.5 million years ago) Louis Washkansky, recipient of first human heart transplant (1913–1967) Wolraad Woltemade, colonial hero figure (c. 1708–1773) See also Great South Africans, television program listing the 100 greatest South Africans as voted for by viewers List of South African office-holders List of Southern Ndebele people List of white Africans of European ancestry List of Xhosa people List of Zulu people Lists of people by nationality They Shaped Our Century, survey by Media24 in 1999 about 100 most influential South Africans (and people associated with South Africa) of the twentieth century References

The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the Council's convocation and meeting, many bishops had the opportunity to attend what is considered by the Catholic Church to have been the twelfth ecumenical council. Background Innocent III first mooted organizing an ecumenical council in November 1199. In his letter titled Vineam Domini, dated 19 April 1213, the Pope writes of the urgent need to recover the Holy Land and reform the Church. The letter, which also served as a summons to an ecumenical council, was included alongside the Pope's papal bull Quia maior. In preparing for the council, the Pope spearheaded the extensive refurbishment of the old St. Peter's Basilica, which he designated as the "centrepiece for display and decoration" during the council. The lunette of the main door leading to the tomb of St. Peter had engravings of Old Testament prophets and twenty-four bishops, alongside the messages, "Feed your Sheep" and "This is the Door of the Sheep". Proceedings Innocent III deliberately chose for the Fourth Council to meet in November, during which there were numerous feast days. A preliminary legal session took place on 4 November, while the opening ceremony of the council was held on St. Martin's Day and began with a private morning mass. Afterwards, at the start of the first plenary session in the Lateran Palace, the Pope led the singing of "Veni Creator Spiritus" and preached about Jesus' words to his disciples at the Last Supper, quoting from Luke 22. In his next two sermons, one on the need to recover the Holy Land and the other on dealing with heretics, the Pope was joined on stage by Raoul of Mérencourt and Thedisius of Agde respectively. On 14 November, there were violent scenes between the partisans of Simon de Montfort among the French bishops and those of the Count of Toulouse. Raymond VI of Toulouse, his son (afterwards Raymond VII), and Raymond-Roger of Foix attended the council to dispute the threatened confiscation of their territories; Bishop Foulques and Guy de Montfort (brother of Simon de Montfort) argued in favour of the confiscation. All of Raymond VI's lands were confiscated, save Provence, which was kept in trust to be restored to Raymond VII. Pierre-Bermond of Sauve's claim to Toulouse was rejected and Toulouse was awarded to de Montfort, while the lordship of Melgueil was separated from Toulouse and entrusted to the bishops of Maguelonne. The next day, in a ceremony attended by many council participants, the Pope consecrated the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, which had been rebuilt by Callixtus II. Four days later, the anniversary celebration at St. Peter's Basilica brought together such a large gathering that the Pope himself had trouble entering the premises. The second plenary session was held on 20 November; the Pope was scheduled to preach about church reform, but proceedings were disrupted by bishops who opposed the designation of Frederick II as Holy Roman Emperor. The council concluded on 30 November, Saint Andrew's Day, during which the Pope preached on the Nicene Creed and concluded his remarks by raising up a relic of the True Cross. The archbishop of Mainz attempted to interrupt the speech, although he complied with the Pope's raising of his handa command to stay silent. Outcomes Lateran IV established three objectives: crusading, Church reform, and combatting heresy. The seventy-one Lateran canons, which were not debated, were only formally adopted on the last day of the council; according to Anne J. Duggan, the "scholarly consensus" is that they were drafted by Innocent III himself. They cover a range of themes including Church reform and elections, taxation, matrimony, tithing, simony, and Judaism. After being recorded in the papal registers, the canons were quickly circulated in law schools. Effective application of the decrees varied according to local conditions and customs. Canons Canon 1 (De fide catholica or On the catholic faith): Infallibly defined the teaching of the Catholic Church on transubstantiation, the doctrine which describes in precise scholastic language the transformation by which the bread and wine offered in the sacrament of the Eucharist becomes the actual blood and body of Christ. Canon 2 (De errore abbatis Ioachim or On the error of abbot Joachim): Condemnation of the doctrines of Joachim of Fiore and Amalric of Bena. Canon 3 (De haereticis or On heretics): Procedure and penalties against heretics and their protectors. If those suspected of heresy should neglect to prove themselves innocent, they are excommunicated. If they continue in the excommunication for twelve months they are to be condemned as heretics. Princes are to swear that they will banish all whom the church points out as heretics. Canon 4 (De superbia Graecorum contra Latinos or On the pride of Greeks towards Latins): Exhortation to the Greeks to reunite with the Roman Church. Canon 5 (De dignitate patriarcharum or On the dignity of patriarchs): Proclamation of the papal primacy recognized by all antiquity. After the pope, primacy is attributed to the patriarchs in the following order: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Canon 6 (De conciliis provincialibus or On provincial councils): Provincial councils must be held annually for the reform of morals, especially those of the clergy. This was to ensure that the canons adopted would be implemented. Canon 7 (De correctione excessuum or On the conviction of offences): Sets down the responsibility of the bishops for the reform of their subjects. Canon 8 (De inquisitionibus or On inquests): Procedure in regard to accusations against ecclesiastics. Canon 9 (De diversis ritibus in eadem fide or On different rites within the same faith): Celebration of public worship in places where the inhabitants belong to nations following different rites. Canon 10 (De praedicatoribus instituendis or On appointing preachers): Ordered the appointment of preachers and penitentiaries to assist in the discharge of the episcopal functions of preaching and penance. Canon 11 (De magistris scholasticis or On schoolmasters): The decree of 1179, about a school in each cathedral having been entirely ignored, was re-enacted, and a lectureship in theology ordered to be founded in every cathedral. Canon 12 (De communibus capitulis monacborum or On general chapters of monks): Abbots and priors are to hold their general chapter every three years. Canon 13 (De novis religionibus prohibitis or On the prohibition against new religious orders): Forbade the establishment of new religious orders. Canons 14 (De incontinentia clericorum punienda or On punishing clerical incontinences): Set out guidelines for punishing incontinence. Canon 15 (De arcenda ebrietate clericorum or On preventing drunkenness among the clergy): Prohibited both drunkenness and the hunting of birds and dogs. Canon 16 (De indumentis clericorum or On the dress of clerics): Prescribed dressing for clergy members and prohibited gambling and spectating theatrical performances. Canon 17 (De comessationibus praelatorum et negligentia eorum super diviniis officiis or On prelates' feasts and their negligence at divine services): Admonished clerics who excessively engaged in non-religious activities while infrequently attending mass. Canon 18 (De indicio sanguinis et duelli clericis interdicto or On sentences involving either the shedding of blood or a duel being forbidden to clerics): Clerics may neither pronounce nor execute a sentence of death. Nor may they act as judges in extreme criminal cases, or take part in matters connected with judicial tests and trials by ordeal. Canon 19 (Ne ecclesiae mundanis suppellectilibus exponantur or That profane objects may not be introduced into churches): Household goods must not be stored in churches unless there be an urgent necessity. Churches, church vessels, and the like must be kept clean. Canon 20 (De chrismate et eucharistia sub sera conservanda or On keeping the chrism and the eucharist under lock and key): Ordering that the chrism and the Eucharist to be kept under lock and key, with a three-month suspension for leaving it out carelessly, and worse if "anything unspeakable" were to happen to it. Canon 21 (De confessione facienda et non revelanda a sacerdote et saltem in pascha communicando or On confession being made, and not revealed by the priest, and on communicating at least at Easter): Introduced the mandate "Omnis utriusque sexus", which commands every Christian who has reached the years of discretion to confess all his, or her, sins at least once a year to their own priest. This canon did no more than confirm earlier legislation and custom (of the previous century), although it is sometimes incorrectly quoted as commanding the use of sacramental confession for the first time. In actuality, the confession came into existence over period of time, largely during the high middle ages. However, Absolution & auricular confession as a sacrament & requirement were unknown in the first 1000 years of the church. There was no agreement on a definite list of sacraments prior to the high middle ages & confession to a priest had not been required in the first 1000 years. Canon 22 (Quod infirmi prius provideant animae quam corpori or That the sick should provide for the soul before the body): Before prescribing medicine for the sick, physicians shall be bound under pain of exclusion from the church, to exhort their patients to call in a priest, and thus provide for their spiritual welfare. Canon 23 (Quod ecclesia cathedralis vel regularis ultra tres menses non vacet or That a cathedral church or a church of the regular clergy is not to remain vacant for more than three months): Mandated that a church is not to be without a prelate for more than three months. Canon 24 (De electione facienda per scrutinium vel compromissum or On making an election by ballot or by agreement): Mandated that pastors are to be either elected or chosen by a committee acting on behalf of the congregation. Canon 25 (Quod electio facta per saecularem potestatem non valeat): Specified that spiritual leaders may not be selected by non-Christians. Canon 26 (De poema indigue confirmantis electionem or On the penalty for improperly confirming an election): Laid out the punishments for not adhering to electoral guidelines. Canon 27 (De instructione ordinandorum or On the instruction of ordinands): Stressed the need for bishops to properly guide their disciples and not ordain the "ignorant and unformed". Canon 28 (Quod compellantur cedere qui postulaverunt licentiam cedendi or That those who have asked for permission to resign are to be compelled to do so): Allowed members of the clergy to resign, with the caveat that their resignations would be irreversible. Canon 29 (Quod nullus babeat duo beneficia cum cura annexa or That nobody may hold two benefices with the cure of souls attached): Forbade the holding of several ecclesiastical offices at any given time. Canon 30 (De idoneitate instituendorum in ecclesiis or On the suitability of those instituted to churches): Forbade "unworthy persons" from working in churches. Canon 31 (De filiis canonicorum non instituendis cum patribus or On not instituting the sons of canons with their fathers): Prohibited clergymen from having their sons succeed them. Canon 32 (Ut patroni compententem portionem dimittant clericis or That patrons shall leave a suitable portion to clerics): Ruled that priests are entitled to a "fitting portion from the revenues of the church". Canon 33 (De procurationibus non accipiendis sine visitatione or On not receiving procurations without a visitation being made): Dictated that bishops may only expect to be reasonably remunerated when visiting churches. Canon 34 (De subditis non gravandis sub praetextu servitii alicuius or On not burdening subjects under the pretext of some service): Forbade prelates from charging for superfluous services. Canon 35 (De causa appellationis exprimenda or On stating the grounds for an appeal): Defendants must not appeal without good cause before sentence is given; if they do, they are to be charged expenses. Canon 36 (Quod index possit interlocutoriam et comminatoriam sententiam revocare or That a judge can revoke an interlocutory and a comminatory sentence): Judges may revoke comminatory and interlocutory sentences and proceed with the case. Canon 37 (De litteris non impetrandis ultra duas diaetas et sine specialis mandato or On not procuring letters which entail more than two days' journey and are without a special mandate): Declared that plaintiffs may not impede trials by calling on faraway witnesses, unless the defendant agrees to it. Canon 38 (De scribendis actis, ut probari possint or On writing acts so that they can be proved): Stipulated that trial proceedings must be recorded in writing. Canon 39 (De restitutione danda contra possessorem, quae non rapuit ipse or On granting restitution against a person in possession who was not the robber): Ruled that stolen goods have to be returned to their original owner. Canon 40 (De vera possessione or On true possession): Ruled that plaintiffs still have rightful ownership of goods withheld from them for more than a year. Canon 41 (De continuatione bonae fidei in omni praescriptione or On continuing good faith in every prescription): Declared that all prescriptions have to be made in good faith. Canon 42 (De saeculari iustitia or On secular justice): Stressed that religious law should not interfere with secular law, and vice versa. Canon 43 (Ne sine causa clericus fidelitatem laico faciat or On a cleric not doing fealty to a layman without good reason): Clerics should not take oaths of fealty to laymen without lawful cause. Canon 44 (Quod constitutiones principum non praeiudicent ecclesiis or That the ordinances of princes should not be prejudicial to churches): Lay princes should not usurp the rights of churches. Canon 45 (Patronus qui clericum ecclesiae occiderit vel mutilaverit, ius patronatus omittit or A patron who kills or mutilates a cleric of a church loses his right of patronage): Forbade patrons of churches from killing clergymen. Canon 46 (De talliis a clericis non exigendis or On not exacting taxes from clerics): Laid out exceptions to a Lateran III canon exempting clergymen from taxation. Canon 47 (De forma excommunicandi or On the form of an excommunication): Decreed that excommunication may be imposed only after warning in the presence of suitable witnesses and for manifest and reasonable cause. Canon 48 (De moe recusandi indicem or On how to challenge a judge): Laid out the guidelines to challenging a judge. Canon 49 (De poena excommunicantis iniuste or On the punishment for excommunicating someone unjustly): Stipulated that excommunication is to be neither imposed nor lifted for payment. Canons 50–52: There had been kings of France and Castile who had repudiated their wives and "remarried" with serious public consequences. Marriage, impediments of relationship, publication of banns were addressed in Canon 50. Canon 53 (De bis qui praedia sua in fraudem decimarum dant aliis excolenda or On those who give their fields to others to be cultivated so as to avoid paying tithes): The council condemned those who had their property cultivated by others (non-Christians) in order to avoid tithes. Canon 54 (Ut decimae ante tributa solvantur or That tithes should be paid before taxes): Ruled that tithe payments have priority over all other taxes and dues. Canon 57 (De interpretandis privilegiorum verbis or On interpreting the words of privileges): Gave precise instructions on the interpretation of the privilege of celebrating religious services during interdict, enjoyed by some orders. Canon 63 (De simonia or On simony): Prohibited simony, in that no fees are to be exacted for the consecration of bishops, the blessing of abbots or the ordination of clerics. Canon 64 (De eadem circa monachos et sanctimoniales or On the same with regard to monks and nuns): Ruled that monks and nuns may not require payment for their entry into the religious life. Canon 67 (De usuris Iudaeorum or On the usury of Jews): Prevented Jews from charging "extortionate and excessive interest". Canon 68 (Ut Iudaei discernantur a christianis in habitu or That Jews should be distinguished from Christians in their dress): Mandated a special dress code for Jews and Saracens to distinguish them from Christians so that no Christian shall come to marry them ignorant of who they are. Canon 69 (Ne Iudaei publicis officiis praeficiantur or That Jews are not to hold public offices): Disqualified Jews from holding public offices, incorporating into ecclesiastical law a decree of the Holy Christian Empire. Canon 70 (Ne conversi ad fidem de Iudaeis veterem ritum Iudaeorum retineant or That converts to the faith among the Jews may not retain their old rite): Prescribed measures to prevent converted Jews from returning to their former belief. Canon 71 (Expeditio pro recuperanda Terra sancta or Expedition for the recovery of the holy Land): Designated 1 June 1217 as the start of the Fifth Crusade. This canon was disregarded by canonists like Johannes Teutonicus Zemeke, who omitted it from his collection of Lateran IV canons, Compilatio quarta, and Damasus Hungarus, who wrote, "This constitution is temporary, and I do not care to gloss it." Records While the proceedings were not officially recorded, unlike in previous councils, evidence of the events have been found in various manuscripts by observers of the council. The Chronica Majora by Matthew Paris contains a line drawing of one of the sessions at the council which his abbot William of St Albans had personally attended. An extensive eyewitness account by an anonymous German cleric was copied into a manuscript that was published in 1964, in commemoration of the Second Vatican Council, and is now housed at the University of Giessen. Legacy Henry of Segusio likened the council to the "four great councils of antiquity". Lateran IV is sometimes referred to as the "Great Council of the Lateran" due to the presence of 404 or 412 bishops (including 71 cardinals and archbishops) and over 800 abbots and priors representing some eighty ecclesiastical provinces, together with 23 Latin-speaking prelates from the Eastern Orthodox Church and representatives of several monarchs, including Frederick II, Otto IV, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, the kings of Aragon, Cyprus, England, France, Hungary, and Jerusalem. This made it the largest ecumenical council between the Council of Chalcedon and the Second Vatican Council; Anne J. Duggan writes that "it was the largest, most representative, and most influential council assembled under papal leadership before the end of the fourteenth century." According to F. Donald Logan, "the Fourth Lateran Council was the most important general council of the church in the Middle Ages", whose effects "were felt for centuries." References Citations Bibliography 1215 in Europe 13th century in the Papal States 4 Lateran 4 Lateran IV Catholicism and Judaism Christian antisemitism in the Middle Ages

A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging (such as the maritime environment, where semaphore is used). The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin vexillum, meaning "flag" or "banner". National flags are patriotic symbols with widely varied interpretations that often include strong military associations because of their original and ongoing use for that purpose. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for decorative purposes. Some military units are called "flags" after their use of flags. A flag (Arabic: لواء) is equivalent to a brigade in Arab countries. In Spain, a flag (Spanish: bandera) is a battalion-equivalent in the Spanish Legion. History The origin of the flag is unknown. In antiquity, field signs or standards were used in warfare that can be categorised as vexilloid or 'flag-like'. This originated in ancient Egypt or Assyria. Examples include the Sassanid battle standard Derafsh Kaviani, and the standards of the Roman legions such as the eagle of Augustus Caesar's Xth legion, or the dragon standard of the Sarmatians; the latter was let fly freely in the wind, carried by a horseman, but judging from depictions it was more similar to an elongated dragon kite than to a simple flag. Flags as recognized today, made of a piece of cloth representing a particular entity, were invented in the Indian subcontinent or Chinese Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE). Chinese flags depicted colourful animals and royal flags were to be treated with a similar level of respect attributed to the ruler. Indian flags were often triangular and decorated with attachments such as yak's tail and the state umbrella. These usages spread to Southeast Asia as well, and were transmitted to Europe through the Muslim world where plainly coloured flags were being used due to Islamic proscriptions. In Europe, during the High Middle Ages, flags came to be used primarily as a heraldic device in battle, allowing more easily to identify a knight than only from the heraldic device painted on the shield. Already during the high medieval period, and increasingly during the Late Middle Ages, city states and communes such as those of the Old Swiss Confederacy also began to use flags as field signs. Regimental flags for individual units became commonplace during the Early Modern period. During the peak of the age of sail, beginning in the early 17th century, it was customary (and later a legal requirement) for ships to fly flags designating their nationality; these flags eventually evolved into the national flags and maritime flags of today. Flags also became the preferred means of communications at sea, resulting in various systems of flag signals; see, International maritime signal flags. Use of flags outside of military or naval context begins only with the rise of nationalist sentiment by the end of the 18th century, although some flags date back earlier. The flags of countries such as Austria, Denmark or Turkey emerged from the midst of legend while many others, including those of Poland and Switzerland, grew out of the heraldic emblems of the Middle Ages. The 17th century saw the birth of several national flags through revolutionary struggle. One of these was the flag of the Netherlands, which appeared during the 80-year Dutch rebellion which began in 1568 against Spanish domination. Political change and social reform, allied to a growing sense of nationhood among ordinary people, led to the birth of new nations and flags all over the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. National flags One of the most popular uses of a flag is to symbolise a nation or country. Some national flags have been particularly inspirational to other nations, countries, or subnational entities in the design of their own flags. Some prominent examples include: The flag of Denmark, the Dannebrog, is attested in 1478, and is the oldest national flag still in use. It inspired the cross design of the other Nordic countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and regional Scandinavian flags for the Faroe Islands, Åland, Scania and Bornholm, as well as flags for the non-Scandinavian Shetland and Orkney. The flag of the Netherlands is the oldest tricolour. Its three colours of red, white and blue go back to Charlemagne's time, the 9th century. The coastal region of what today is the Netherlands was then known for its cloth in these colours. Maps from the early 16th century already put flags in these colours next to this region, like Texeira's map of 1520. A century before that, during the 15th century, the three colours were mentioned as the coastal signals for this area, with the three bands straight or diagonal, single or doubled. As state flag it first appeared around 1572 as the Prince's Flag in orange–white–blue. Soon the more famous red–white–blue began appearing, becoming the prevalent version from around 1630. Orange made a comeback during the civil war of the late 18th century, signifying the orangist or pro-stadtholder party. During World War II the pro-Nazi NSB used it. Any symbolism has been added later to the three colours, although the orange comes from the House of Orange-Nassau. This use of orange comes from Nassau, which today uses orange-blue, not from Orange, which today uses red-blue. However, the usual way to show the link with the House of Orange-Nassau is the orange pennant above the red-white-blue. It is said that the Dutch Tricolour has inspired many flags but most notably those of Russia, New York City, and South Africa (the 1928–94 flag as well the current flag). As the probable inspiration for the Russian flag, it is the source too for the Pan-Slavic colours red, white and blue, adopted by many Slavic states and peoples as their symbols; examples are Slovakia, Serbia, and Slovenia. The national flag of France was designed in 1794. As a forerunner of revolution, France's tricolour flag style has been adopted by other nations. Examples: Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Romania and Mexico. The Union Flag (Union Jack) of the United Kingdom is the most commonly used. British colonies typically flew a flag based on one of the ensigns based on this flag, and many former colonies have retained the design to acknowledge their cultural history. Examples: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Tuvalu, and also the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Ontario and British Columbia, and the American state of Hawaii; see commons:Flags based on British ensigns. The flag of the United States is nicknamed The Stars and Stripes or Old Glory. Some nations imitated this flag so as to symbolise their similarity to the United States and/or the American Revolution. Examples: Liberia, Chile, Taiwan (ROC), and the French region of Brittany. Ethiopia was seen as a model by emerging African states of the 1950s and 1960s, as it was one of the oldest independent states in Africa. Accordingly, its flag became the source of the Pan-African colours, or 'Rasta colours'. Examples: Benin, Togo, Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Guinea. The flag of Turkey, which is very similar to the last flag of the old Ottoman Empire, has been an inspiration for the flag designs of many other Muslim nations. During the time of the Ottomans the crescent began to be associated with Islam and this is reflected on the flags of Algeria, Azerbaijan, Comoros, Libya, Mauritania, Pakistan, Tunisia and Maldives The Pan-Arab colours, green, white, red and black, are derived from the flag of the Great Arab Revolt as seen on the flags of Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen and Palestine. The Soviet flag, with its golden symbols of the hammer and sickle on a red field, was an inspiration to flags of other communist states, such as East Germany, People's Republic of China, Vietnam, Angola, Afghanistan (1978–1980) and Mozambique. The flag of Venezuela, created by Francisco de Miranda to represent the independence movement in Venezuela that later gave birth to the "Gran Colombia", inspired the flags of Colombia, Ecuador, and the Federal Territories in Malaysia, all sharing three bands of yellow, blue and red with the flag of Venezuela. The flag of Argentina, created by Manuel Belgrano during the war of independence, was the inspiration for the United Provinces of Central America's flag, which in turn was the origin for the flags of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. National flag designs are often used to signify nationality in other forms, such as flag patches. Civil flags A civil flag is a version of the national flag that is flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft. The use of civil flags was more common in the past, in order to denote buildings or ships that were not crewed by the military. In some countries the civil flag is the same as the war flag or state flag, but without the coat of arms, such as in the case of Spain, and in others it's an alteration of the war flag. War flags Several countries, including the British Army and the Royal Navy (White Ensign) of the United Kingdom (Great Britain) and the Soviet Union have had unique flags flown by their armed forces separately, rather than the national flag. Other countries' armed forces (such as those of the United States or Switzerland) use their standard national flag, in addition, the U.S. has alongside flags and seals designed from long tradition for each of its six uniformed military services/military sub-departments in the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Philippines' armed forces may use their standard national flag, but during times of war the flag is turned upside down. Bulgaria's flag is also turned upside down during times of war. These are also considered war flags, though the terminology only applies to the flag's military usage. Large versions of the war flag flown on the warships of countries' navies are known as battle ensigns. In addition besides flying the national standard or a military services' emblem flag at a military fort, base, station or post and at sea at the stern (rear) or main top mast of a warship, a Naval Jack flag and other Maritime flags, pennants and emblems are flown at the bow (front). In times of war waving a white flag is a banner of truce, talks/negotiations or surrender. Four distinctive African flags currently in the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Britain were flown in action by Itsekiri ships under the control of Nana Olomu during the conflict in the late 19th century. One is the flag generally known as the Benin Empire flag and one is referred to as Nana Olomu's flag. International flags Among international flags are the Flag of the United Nations, the Olympic flag, and the Paralympic flag. Maritime flags Flags are particularly important at sea, where they can mean the difference between life and death, and consequently where the rules and regulations for the flying of flags are strictly enforced. A national flag flown at sea is known as an ensign. A courteous, peaceable merchant ship or yacht customarily flies its ensign (in the usual ensign position), together with the flag of whatever nation it is currently visiting at the mast (known as a courtesy flag). To fly one's ensign alone in foreign waters, a foreign port or in the face of a foreign warship traditionally indicates a willingness to fight, with cannon, for the right to do so. As of 2009, this custom is still taken seriously by many naval and port authorities and is readily enforced in many parts of the world by boarding, confiscation and other civil penalties. In some countries yacht ensigns are different from merchant ensigns in order to signal that the yacht is not carrying cargo that requires a customs declaration. Carrying commercial cargo on a boat with a yacht ensign is deemed to be smuggling in many jurisdictions. Traditionally, a vessel flying under the courtesy flag of a specific nation, regardless of the vessel's country of registry, is considered to be operating under the law of her 'host' nation. There is a system of international maritime signal flags for numerals and letters of the alphabet. Each flag or pennant has a specific meaning when flown individually. As well, semaphore flags can be used to communicate on an ad hoc basis from ship to ship over short distances. Another category of maritime flag flown by some United States Government ships is the distinguishing mark. Although the United States Coast Guard has its own service ensign, all other U.S. Government ships fly the national ensign their service ensign, following United States Navy practice. To distinguish themselves from ships of the Navy, such ships historically have flown their parent organisation's flag from a forward mast as a distinguishing mark. Today, for example, commissioned ships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fly the NOAA flag as a distinguishing mark. Shapes and designs Flags are usually rectangular in shape (often in the ratio 2:3, 1:2, or 3:5), but may be of any shape or size that is practical for flying, including square, triangular, or swallow tailed. A more unusual flag shape is that of the flag of Nepal, which is in the shape of two stacked triangles. Other unusually shaped flags include the civil flags of Ohio (a swallowtail); Tampa, Florida; and Pike County, Ohio. Many flags are dyed through and through to be inexpensive to manufacture, such that the reverse side is the mirror image of the obverse (front) side, generally the side displayed when, from the observer's point of view, the flag flies from pole-side left to right. This presents two possibilities: If the design is symmetrical in an axis parallel to the flag pole, obverse and reverse will be identical despite the mirror-reversal, such as the Indian Flag or Canadian Flag If not, the obverse and reverse will present two variants of the same design, one with the hoist on the left (usually considered the obverse side), the other with the hoist on the right (usually considered the reverse side of the flag). This is very common and usually not disturbing if there is no text in the design. Some complex flag designs are not intended to be shown on both sides, requiring separate obverse and reverse sides if made correctly. In these cases there is a design element (usually text) which is not symmetric and should be read in the same direction, regardless of whether the hoist is to the viewer's left or right. These cases can be divided into two types: The same (asymmetric) design may be duplicated on both sides. Such flags can be manufactured by creating two identical through and through flags and then sewing them back to back, though this can affect the resulting combination's responsiveness to the wind. Depictions of such flags may be marked with the symbol , indicating the reverse is congruent to (rather than a mirror image of) the obverse. Rarely, the reverse design may differ, in whole or in part, from that of the obverse. Examples of flags whose reverse differs from the obverse include the flag of Paraguay, the flag of Oregon, and the historical flag of the Soviet Union. Depictions of such flags may be marked with the symbol . Common designs on flags include crosses, stripes, and divisions of the surface, or field, into bands or quarters—patterns and principles mainly derived from heraldry. A heraldic coat of arms may also be flown as a banner of arms, as is done on both the state flag of Maryland and the flag of Kiribati. The de jure flag of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi, which consisted of a rectangular field of green, was for a long period the only national flag using a single colour and no design or insignia. However, other historical states have also used flags without designs or insignia, such as the short-lived Soviet Republic of Hungary and the more recent Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, whose flags were both a plain field of red. Colours are normally described with common names, such as "red", but may be further specified using colourimetry. The largest flag flown from a flagpole worldwide, according to Guinness World Records, is the flag of the United Arab Emirates flown in Sharjah. This flag was . The largest flag ever made was the flag of Qatar; the flag, which measures at , was completed in December 2013 in Doha. Parts of a flag The general parts of a flag are: canton (the upper inner section of the flag), field or ground (the entire flag except the canton), the hoist (the edge used to attach the flag to the hoist), and the fly (the furthest edge from the hoist end). Vertical flags Vertical flags are sometimes used in lieu of the standard horizontal flag in central and eastern Europe, particularly in the German-speaking countries. This practice came about because the relatively brisk wind needed to display horizontal flags is not common in these countries. The standard horizontal flag (no. 1 in the preceding illustration) is nonetheless the form most often used even in these countries. The vertical flag (German: Hochformatflagge or Knatterflagge; no. 2) is a vertical form of the standard flag. The flag's design may remain unchanged (No. 2a) or it may change, e.g. by changing horizontal stripes to vertical ones (no. 2b). If the flag carries an emblem, it may remain centred or may be shifted slightly upwards. The vertical flag for hoisting from a beam (German: Auslegerflagge or Galgenflagge; no. 3) is additionally attached to a horizontal beam, ensuring that it is fully displayed even if there is no wind. The vertical flag for hoisting from a horizontal pole (German: Hängeflagge; no. 4) is hoisted from a horizontal pole, normally attached to a building. The topmost stripe on the horizontal version of the flag faces away from the building. The vertical flag for hoisting from a crossbar or banner (German: Bannerflagge; no. 5) is firmly attached to a horizontal crossbar from which it is hoisted, either by a vertical pole (no. 5a) or a horizontal one (no. 5b). The topmost stripe on the horizontal version of the flag normally faces to the left. Religious flags Flags can play many different roles in religion. In Buddhism, prayer flags are used, usually in sets of five differently coloured flags. Several flags and banners including the Black Standard are associated with Islam. Many national flags and other flags include religious symbols such as the cross, the crescent, or a reference to a patron saint. Flags are also adopted by religious groups and flags such as the Jain flag, Nishan Sahib (Sikhism), the Saffron Flag (Hindu) and the Christian flag are used to represent a whole religion. In sports Because of their ease of signalling and identification, flags are often used in sports. In association football, linesmen carry small flags along the touch lines. They use the flags to indicate to the referee potential infringements of the laws, or who is entitled to possession of the ball that has gone out of the field of play, or, most famously, raising the flag to indicate an offside offence. Officials called touch judges use flags for similar purposes in both codes of rugby. In American and Canadian football, referees use penalty flags to indicate that a foul has been committed in game play. The phrase used for such an indication is flag on the play. The flag itself is a small, weighted handkerchief, tossed on the field at the approximate point of the infraction; the intent is usually to sort out the details after the current play from scrimmage has concluded. In American football, the flag is usually yellow; in Canadian football, it is usually orange. In the National Football League, coaches also use red challenge flags to indicate that they wish to contest a ruling on the field. In yacht racing, flags are used to communicate information from the race committee boat to the racers. Different flags hoisted from the committee boat may communicate a false start, changes in the course, a cancelled race, or other important information. Racing boats themselves may also use flags to symbolise a protest or distress. The flags are often part of the nautical alphabetic system of International maritime signal flags, in which 26 different flags designate the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet. In auto and motorcycle racing, racing flags are used to communicate with drivers. Most famously, a checkered flag of black and white squares indicates the end of the race, and victory for the leader. A yellow flag is used to indicate caution requiring slow speed and a red flag requires racers to stop immediately. A black flag is used to indicate penalties. In addition, fans of almost all sports wave flags in the stands to indicate their support for the participants. Many sports teams have their own flags, and, in individual sports, fans will indicate their support for a player by waving the flag of his or her home country. Capture the flag is a popular children's sport. In Gaelic football and Hurling a green flag is used to indicate a goal while a white flag is used to indicate a point In Australian rules football, the goal umpire will wave two flags to indicate a goal (worth six points) and a single flag to indicate a behind (worth one point). For safety, dive flags indicate the locations of underwater scuba divers or that diving operations are being conducted in the vicinity. In water sports such as wakeboarding and Water-Skiing, an orange flag is held in between runs to indicate someone is in the water. In golf, the hole is almost always marked with a flag. The flagpole is designed to fit centered within the base of the hole and is removable. Many courses will use colour-coded flags to determine a hole location at the front, middle or rear of the green. However colour-coded flags are not used in the professional tours. (A rare example of a golf course that does not use flags to mark the hole is the East Course of Merion Golf Club, which instead uses flagpoles topped by wicker baskets.) Flag poles with flags of all shapes and sizes are used by marching bands, drum corps, and winter guard teams use flags as a method of visual enhancement in performances. Diplomatic flags Some countries use diplomatic flags, such as the United Kingdom (see image of the Embassy flag) and the Kingdom of Thailand (see image of the Embassy flag). The socialist movement uses red flags to represent their cause. The anarchist movement has a variety of different flags, but the primary flag associated with them is the black flag. In the Spanish civil war, the anarchists used the red-and-black bisected flag. In the 20th century, the rainbow flag was adopted as a symbol of the LGBT social movements. Its derivatives include the Bisexual pride and Transgender pride flags. Some of these political flags have become national flags, such as the red flag of the Soviet Union and national socialist banners for Nazi Germany. The present Flag of Portugal is based on what had been the political flag of the Portuguese Republican Party previous to the 5 October 1910 revolution which brought this party to power. Personal flags Throughout history, monarchs have often had personal flags (including royal standards), representing the royal person, including in personal union of national monarchies. Vehicle flags Flags are often representative of an individual's affinity or allegiance to a country, team or business and can be presented in various ways. A popular trend that has surfaced revolves around the idea of the 'mobile' flag in which an individual displays their particular flag of choice on their vehicle. These items are commonly referred to as car flags and are usually manufactured from high strength polyester material and are attached to a vehicle via a polypropylene pole and clip window attachment. Swimming flags In Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, a pair of red-yellow flags is used to mark the limits of the bathing area on a beach, usually guarded by surf lifesavers. If the beach is closed, the poles of the flags are crossed. The flags are coloured with a red triangle and a yellow triangle making a rectangular flag, or a red rectangle over a yellow rectangle. On many Australian beaches there is a slight variation with beach condition signalling. A red flag signifies a closed beach (in the UK also other dangers), yellow signifies strong current or difficult swimming conditions, and green represents a beach safe for general swimming. In Ireland, a red and yellow flag indicates that it is safe to swim; a red flag that it is unsafe; and no flag indicates that there are no lifeguards on duty. Blue flags may also be used away from the yellow-red lifesaver area to designate a zone for surfboarding and other small, non-motorised watercraft. Reasons for closing the beach include: dangerous rip hurricane warning no lifeguards in attendance overpolluted water sharks tsunami waves too strong A surf flag exists, divided into four quadrants. The top left and bottom right quadrants are black, and the remaining area is white. Signal flag "India" (a black circle on a yellow square) is frequently used to denote a "blackball" zone where surfboards cannot be used but other water activities are permitted. Railway flags Railways use a number of coloured flags. When used as wayside signals they usually use the following meanings (exact meanings are set by the individual railroad company): red = stop yellow = proceed with care green or white = proceed. a flag of any colour waved vigorously means stop a blue flag on the side of a locomotive means that it should not be moved because someone is working on it (or on the train attached to it). A blue flag on a track means that nothing on that track should be moved. The flag can only be removed by the person or group that placed it. In the railway dominated steel industry this principle of "blue flag and tag" was extended to all operations at Bethlehem Steel, Lackawanna, New York. If a man went inside a large machine or worked on an electrical circuit for example, his blue flag and tag was sacrosanct. The "Lock Out/Tag Out" practice is similar and now used in other industries to comply with safety regulations. At night, the flags are replaced with lanterns showing the same colours. Flags displayed on the front of a moving locomotive are an acceptable replacement for classification lights and usually have the following meanings (exact meanings are set by the individual railroad company): white = extra (not on the timetable) green = another section following red = last section Additionally, a railroad brakeman will typically carry a red flag to make his or her hand signals more visible to the engineer. Railway signals are a development of railway flags. Flagpoles A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff can be a simple support made of wood or metal. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The flag is fixed to one lower end of the cord, and is then raised by pulling on the other end. The cord is then tightened and tied to the pole at the bottom. The pole is usually topped by a flat plate or ball called a "truck" (originally meant to keep a wooden pole from splitting) or a finial in a more complex shape. Very high flagpoles may require more complex support structures than a simple pole, such as a guyed mast. Dwajasthambam are flagpoles commonly found at the entrances of South Indian Hindu temples. Record heights Since 26 December 2021, the tallest free-standing flagpole in the world is unnamed, located in the New Administrative Capital under construction in Egypt at a height of , exceeding the former record holders, the Jeddah Flagpole in Saudi Arabia (height: ), the Dushanbe Flagpole in Tajikistan (height: ) and the National Flagpole in Azerbaijan (height: ). The flagpole in North Korea is the 4th tallest flagpole in the world, however, it is not free-standing. It is a radio tower supported flagpole. Besides the first two flagpoles mentioned beforehand as the tallest, the previous six world-record holders were all built by the American company Trident Support: the Ashgabat flagpole in Turkmenistan at ; the Aqaba Flagpole in Jordan at ; the Raghadan Flagpole in Jordan at ; and the Abu Dhabi Flagpole in the United Arab Emirates at . The current tallest flagpole in India (and the tallest flying the tricolour) is the flagpole in Belgaum, Karnataka which was first hoisted on 12 March 2018. The tallest flagpole in the United Kingdom from 1959 until 2013 stood in Kew Gardens. It was made from a Canadian Douglas-fir tree and was in height. The current tallest flagpole in the United States (and the tallest flying an American flag) is the pole completed before Memorial Day 2014 and custom-made with an base in concrete by wind turbine manufacturer Broadwind Energy. It is situated on the north side of the Acuity Insurance headquarters campus along Interstate 43 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and is visible from Cedar Grove. The pole can fly a 220-pound flag for in light wind conditions and a heavier 350-pound flag in higher wind conditions. Design Flagpoles can be designed in one piece with a taper (typically a steel taper or a Greek entasis taper), or be made from multiple pieces to make them able to expand. In the United States, ANSI/NAAMM guide specification FP-1001-97 covers the engineering design of metal flagpoles to ensure safety. Hoisting the flag Hoisting the flag is the act of raising the flag on the flagpole. Raising or lowering flags, especially national flags, usually involves ceremonies and certain sets of rules, depending on the country, and usually involve the performance of a national anthem. A flag-raising squad is a group of people, usually troops, cadets, or students, that march in and bring the flags for the flag-hoisting ceremony. Flag-hoisting ceremonies involving flag-raising squads can be simple or elaborate, involving large numbers of squads. Elaborate flag-hoisting ceremonies are usually performed on national holidays. The cord or rope that ties a flag to its pole is called a halyard. Flags may have a strip of fabric along the hoist side called a heading for the halyard to pass through, or a pair of grommets for the halyard to be threaded through. Flags may also be held in position using Inglefield clips. Flags in communication Semaphore is a form of communication that utilises flags. The signalling is performed by an individual using two flags (or lighted wands), the positions of the flags indicating a symbol. The person who holds the flags is known as the signalman. This form of communication is primarily used by naval signallers. This technique of signalling was adopted in the early 19th century and is still used in various forms today. The colours of the flags can also be used to communicate. For example; a white flag means, among other things, surrender or peace, a red flag can be used as a warning signal, and a black flag can mean war, or determination to defeat enemies. Orientation of a flag is also used for communication, though the practice is rarely used given modern communication systems. Raising a flag upside-down was indicative that the raising force controlled that particular area, but that it was in severe distress. See also Lists and galleries of flags Gallery of sovereign state flags List of flag names Lists of flags Timeline of national flags Unofficial flags Notable flag-related topics False flag Flag Day Flag desecration Flag protocol Flag patch Flag semaphore Flag throwing Glossary of vexillology Pledge of Allegiance (United States) Standard-bearer (also enumerates various types of standards, both flag types and immobile ensigns) Vexillology Flags of the World, an Internet-based vexillological association and resource Windsock References Bibliography Inglefield, Eric (1979 edition). Flags. Ward Lock, London. External links International Marine Signal Flags Articles containing video clips National symbols Vexillology

__ / \ /|oo \ (_| /_) _`@/_ \ _ | | \ \\ | (*) | \ )) __ || / \// / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / () (_/(_|(/ (c) John Madill FidoNet logo by John Madill FidoNet is a worldwide computer network that is used for communication between bulletin board systems (BBSes). It uses a store-and-forward system to exchange private (email) and public (forum) messages between the BBSes in the network, as well as other files and protocols in some cases. The FidoNet system was based on several small interacting programs, only one of which needed to be ported to support other BBS software. FidoNet was one of the few networks that was supported by almost all BBS software, as well as a number of non-BBS online services. This modular construction also allowed FidoNet to easily upgrade to new data compression systems, which was important in an era using modem-based communications over telephone links with high long-distance calling charges. The rapid improvement in modem speeds during the early 1990s, combined with the rapid decrease in price of computer systems and storage, made BBSes increasingly popular. By the mid-1990s there were almost 40,000 FidoNet systems in operation, and it was possible to communicate with millions of users around the world. Only UUCPNET came close in terms of breadth or numbers; FidoNet's user base far surpassed other networks like BITNET. The broad availability of low-cost Internet connections starting in the mid-1990s lessened the need for FidoNet's store-and-forward system, as any system in the world could be reached for equal cost. Direct dialing into local BBS systems rapidly declined. Although FidoNet has shrunk considerably since the late 1990s, it has remained in use even today despite internet connectivity becoming more widespread. History Origins There are two major accounts of the development of the FidoNet, differing only in small details. Tom Jennings' account Around Christmas 1983, Tom Jennings started work on a new bulletin board system that would emerge as Fido BBS. It was called "Fido" because the assorted hardware together was "a real mongrel". Jennings set up the system in San Francisco sometime in early 1984. Another early user was John Madill, who was trying to set up a similar system in Baltimore on his Rainbow 100. Fido started spreading to new systems, and Jennings eventually started keeping an informal list of their phone numbers, with Jennings becoming #1 and Madill #2. Jennings released the first version of the FidoNet software in June 1984. In early 1985 he wrote a document explaining the operations of the FidoNet, along with a short portion on the history of the system. In this version, FidoNet was developed as a way to exchange mail between the first two Fido BBS systems, Jennings' and Madill's, to "see if it could be done, merely for the fun of it". This was first supported in Fido V7, "sometime in June 84 or so". Ben Baker's account In early 1984, Ben Baker was planning on starting a BBS for the newly forming computer club at the McDonnell Douglas automotive division in St. Louis. Baker was part of the CP/M special interest group within the club. He intended to use the seminal, CP/M-hosted, CBBS system, and went looking for a machine to run it on. The club's president told Baker that DEC would be giving them a Rainbow 100 computer on indefinite loan, so he made plans to move the CBBS onto this machine. The Rainbow contained two processors, an Intel 8088 and a Zilog Z80, allowing it to run both MS-DOS and CP/M, with the BBS running on the latter. When the machine arrived, they learned that the Z80 side had no access to the I/O ports, so CBBS could not communicate with a modem. While searching for software that would run on the MS-DOS side of the system, Baker learned of Fido through Madill. The Fido software required changes to the serial drivers to work properly on the Rainbow. A porting effort started, involving Jennings, Madill and Baker. This caused all involved to rack up considerable long distance charges as they all called each other during development, or called into each other's BBSes to leave email. During one such call "in May or early June", Baker and Jennings discussed how great it would be if the BBS systems could call each other automatically, exchanging mail and files between them. This would allow them to compose mail on their local machines, and then deliver it quickly, as opposed to calling in and typing the message in while on a long-distance telephone connection. Jennings responded by calling into Baker's system that night and uploading a new version of the software consisting of three files: FIDO_DECV6, a new version of the BBS program itself, FIDONET, a new program, and NODELIST.BBS, a text file. The new version of FIDO BBS had a timer that caused it to exit at a specified time, normally at night. As it exited it would run the separate FIDONET program. NODELIST was the list of Fido BBS systems, which Jennings had already been compiling. The FIDONET program was what later became known as a mailer. The FIDO BBS software was modified to use a previously unused numeric field in the message headers to store a node number for the machine the message should be delivered to. When FIDONET ran, it would search through the email database for any messages with a number in this field. FIDONET collected all of the messages for a particular node number into a file known as a message packet. After all the packets were generated, one for each node, the FIDONET program would look up the destination node's phone number in NODELIST.BBS, and call the remote system. Provided that FIDONET was running on that system, the two systems would handshake and, if this succeeded, the calling system would upload its packet, download a return packet if there was one, and disconnect. FIDONET would then unpack the return packet, place the received messages into the local system's database, and move onto the next packet. When there were no remaining packets, FIDONET would exit, and run the FIDO BBS program. In order to lower long-distance charges, the mail exchanges were timed to run late at night, normally 4 AM. This would later be known as national mail hour, and, later still, as Zone Mail Hour. Up and running By June 1984 Version 7 of the system was being run in production, and nodes were rapidly being added to the network. By August there were almost 30 systems in the nodelist, 50 by September, and over 160 by January 1985. As the network grew, the maintenance of the nodelist became prohibitive, and errors were common. In these cases, people would start receiving phone calls at 4 AM, from a caller that would say nothing and then hang up. In other cases the system would be listed before it was up and running, resulting in long-distance calls that accomplished nothing. In August 1984 Jennings handed off control of the nodelist to the group in St. Louis, mostly Ken Kaplan and Ben Baker. Kaplan had come across Fido as part of finding a BBS solution for his company, which worked with DEC computers and had been given a Rainbow computer and a USRobotics 1200bit/s modem. From then on, joining FidoNet required one to set up their system and use it to deliver a netmail message to a special system, Node 51. The message contained various required contact information. If this message was transmitted successfully, it ensured that at least some of the system was working properly. The nodelist team would then reply with another netmail message back to the system in question, containing the assigned node number. If delivery succeeded, the system was considered to be working properly, and it was added to the nodelist. The first new nodelist was published on 21 September 1984. Nets and nodes Growth continued to accelerate, and by the spring of 1985, the system was already reaching its limit of 250 nodes. In addition to the limits on the growth of what was clearly a popular system, nodelist maintenance continued to grow more and more time-consuming. It was also realized that Fido systems were generally clustered – of the 15 systems running by the start of June 1984, 5 of them were in St. Louis. A user on Jennings's system in San Francisco that addressed emails to different systems in St. Louis would cause calls to be made to each of those BBSes in turn. In the United States, local calls were normally free, and in most other countries were charged at a low rate. Additionally, the initial call setup, generally the first minute of the call, was normally billed at a higher rate than continuing an existing connection. Therefore, it would be less expensive to deliver all the messages from all the users in San Francisco to all of the users in St. Louis in a single call. Packets were generally small enough to be delivered within a minute or two, so delivering all the messages in a single call could greatly reduce costs by avoiding multiple first-minute charges. Once delivered, the packet would be broken out into separate packets for local systems, and delivered using multiple local free calls. The team settled on the concept of adding a new network number patterned on the idea of area codes. A complete network address would now consist of the network and node number pair, which would be written with a slash between them. All mail travelling between networks would first be sent to their local network host, someone who volunteered to pay for any long distance charges. That single site would collect up all the netmail from all of the systems in their network, then re-package it into single packets destined to each network. They would then call any required network admin sites and deliver the packet to them. That site would then process the mail as normal, although all of the messages in the packet would be guaranteed to be local calls. The network address was placed in an unused field in the Fido message database, which formerly always held a zero. Systems running existing versions of the software already ignored the fields containing the new addressing, so they would continue to work as before; when noticing a message addressed to another node they would look it up and call that system. Newer systems would recognize the network number and instead deliver that message to the network host. To ensure backward compatibility, existing systems retained their original node numbers through this period. A huge advantage of the new scheme was that node numbers were now unique only within their network, not globally. This meant the previous 250 node limit was gone, but for a variety of reasons this was initially limited to about 1,200. This change also devolved the maintenance of the nodelists down to the network hosts, who then sent updated lists back to Node 51 to be collected into the master list. The St. Louis group now had to only maintain their own local network, and do basic work to compile the global list. At a meeting held in Kaplan's living room in St. Louis on 11 April 1985 the various parties hammered out all of the details of the new concept. As part of this meeting, they also added the concept of a region, a purely administrative level that was not part of the addressing scheme. Regional hosts would handle any stragglers in the network maps, remote systems that had no local network hosts. They then divided up the US into ten regions that they felt would have roughly equal populations. By May, Jennings had early versions of the new software running. These early versions specified the routing manually through a new ROUTE.BBS file that listed network hosts for each node. For instance, an operator might want to forward all mail to St. Louis through a single node, node 10. ROUTE.BBS would then include a list of all the known systems in that area, with instructions to forward mail to each of those nodes through node 10. This process was later semi-automated by John Warren's NODELIST program. Over time, this information was folded into updated versions of the nodelist format, and the ROUTES file is no longer used. A new version of FIDO and FIDONET, 10C, was released containing all of these features. On 12 June 1985 the core group brought up 10C, and most Fido systems had upgraded within a few months. The process went much smoother than anyone imagined, and very few nodes had any problems. Echomail Sometime during the evolution of Fido, file attachments were added to the system, allowing a file to be referenced from an email message. During the normal exchange between two instances of FIDONET, any files attached to the messages in the packets were delivered after the packet itself had been up or downloaded. It is not clear when this was added, but it was already a feature of the basic system when the 8 February 1985 version of the FidoNet standards document was released, so this was added very early in Fido's history. At a sysop meeting in Dallas, the idea was raised that it would be nice if there was some way for the sysops to post messages that would be shared among the systems. In February 1986 Jeff Rush, one of the group members, introduced a new mailer that extracted messages from public forums that the sysop selected, like the way the original mailer handled private messages. The new program was known as a tosser/scanner. The tosser produced a file that was similar (or identical) to the output from the normal netmail scan, but these files were then compressed and attached to a normal netmail message as an attachment. This message was then sent to a special address on the remote system. After receiving netmail as normal, the scanner on the remote system looked for these messages, unpacked them, and put them into the same public forum on the original system. In this fashion, Rush's system implemented a store and forward public message system similar to Usenet, but based on, and hosted by, the FidoNet system. The first such echomail forum was one created by the Dallas area sysops to discuss business, known as SYSOP. Another called TECH soon followed. Several public echos soon followed, including GAYNET and CLANG. These spawned hundreds of new echos, and led to the creation of the Echomail Conference List (Echolist) by Thomas Kenny in January 1987. Echomail produced world-spanning shared forums, and its traffic volume quickly surpassed the original netmail system. By the early 1990s, echo mail was carrying over 8 MB of compressed message traffic a day, many times that when uncompressed. Echomail did not necessarily use the same distribution pathways as normal netmail, and the distribution routing was stored in a separate setup file not unlike the original ROUTES.BBS. At the originating site a header line was added to the message indicating the origin system's name and address. After that, each system that the message traveled through added itself to a growing PATH header, as well as a SEENBY header. SEENBY prevented the message from looping around the network in the case of misconfigured routing information. Echomail was not the only system to use the file attachment feature of netmail to implement store-and-forward capabilities. Similar concepts were used by online games and other systems as well. Zones and points The evolution towards the net/node addressing scheme was also useful for reducing communications costs between continents, where time zone differences on either end of the connection might also come into play. For instance, the best time to forward mail in the US was at night, but that might not be the best time for European hosts to exchange. Efforts towards introducing a continental level to the addressing system started in 1986. At the same time, it was noted that some power users were interested in using FidoNet protocols as a way of delivering the large quantities of echomail to their local machines where it could be read offline. These users did not want their systems to appear in the nodelist - they did not (necessarily) run a bulletin board system and were not publicly accessible. A mechanism allowing netmail delivery to these systems without the overhead of nodelist maintenance was desirable. In October 1986 the last major change to the FidoNet network was released, adding zones and points. Zones represented major geographical areas roughly corresponding to continents. There were six zones in total, North America, South America, Europe, Oceania, Asia, and Africa. Points represented non-public nodes, which were created privately on a BBS system. Point mail was delivered to a selected host BBS as normal, but then re-packaged into a packet for the point to pick up on-demand. The complete addressing format was now zone:net/node.point, so a real example might be Bob Smith@1:250/250.10. Points were widely used only for a short time, the introduction of offline reader systems filled this role with systems that were much easier to use. Points remain in use to this day but are less popular than when they were introduced. Other extensions Although FidoNet supported file attachments from even the earliest standards, this feature tended to be rarely used and was often turned off. File attachments followed the normal mail routing through multiple systems and could back up transfers all along the line as the files were copied. A solution was offered in the form of file requests, which made file transfers driven by the calling system and used one-time point-to-point connections instead of the traditional routing. Two such standards became common, "WaZOO" and "Bark", which saw varying support among different mailers. Both worked similarly, with the mailer calling the remote system and sending a new handshake packet to request the files. Although FidoNet was, by far, the best known BBS-based network, it was by no means the only one. From 1988 on, PCBoard systems were able to host similar functionality known as RelayNet, while other popular networks included RBBSNet from the Commodore 64 world, and AlterNet. Late in the evolution of the FidoNet system, there was a proposal to allow mail (but not forum messages) from these systems to switch into the FidoNet structure. This was not adopted, and the rapid rise of the internet made this superfluous as these networks rapidly added internet exchange, which acted as a lingua franca. Peak FidoNet started in 1984 and listed 100 nodes by the end of that year. Steady growth continued through the 1980s, but a combination of factors led to rapid growth after 1988. These included faster and less expensive modems and rapidly declining costs of hard drives and computer systems in general. By April 1993, the FidoNet nodelist contained over 20,000 systems. At that time it was estimated that each node had, on average, about 200 active users. Of these 4 million users in total, 2 million users commonly used echomail, the shared public forums, while about 200,000 used the private netmail system. At its peak, FidoNet listed approximately 39,000 systems. Throughout its lifetime, FidoNet was beset with management problems and infighting. Much of this can be traced to the fact that the inter-net delivery cost real money, and the traffic grew more rapidly than decreases caused by improving modem speeds and downward trending long-distance rates. As they increased, various methods of recouping the costs were attempted, all of which caused friction in the groups. The problems were so bad that Jennings came to refer to the system as the "fight-o-net". Decline As modems reached speeds of 28.8 kbit/s, the overhead of the TCP/IP protocols were no longer so egregious and dial-up Internet became increasingly common. By 1995, the bulletin board market was reeling as users abandoned local BBS systems in favour of larger sites and web pages, which could be accessed worldwide for the same cost as accessing a local BBS system. This also made FidoNet less expensive to implement, because inter-net transfers could be delivered over the Internet as well, at little or no marginal cost. But this seriously diluted the entire purpose of the store-and-forward model, which had been built up specifically to address a long-distance problem that no longer existed. The FidoNet nodelist started shrinking, especially in areas with a widespread availability of internet connections. This downward trend continues but has levelled out at approximately 2,500 nodes. FidoNet remains popular in areas where Internet access is difficult to come by, or expensive. Resurgence Around 2014, a retro movement led to a slow increase in internet-connected BBS and nodes. Telnet, rlogin, and SSH are being used between systems. This means the user can telnet to any BBS worldwide as cheaply as ones next door. Also, Usenet and internet mail has been added, along with long file names to many newer versions of BBS software, some being free-ware, resulting in increasing use. Nodelists are no longer declining in all cases. FidoNet organizational structure FidoNet is governed in a hierarchical structure according to FidoNet policy, with designated coordinators at each level to manage the administration of FidoNet nodes and resolve disputes between members. This structure is very similar to the organization structure of the Sicilian Mafia. Network coordinators (referred to as "Button Men") are responsible for managing the individual nodes within their area, usually a city or similar sized area. Regional coordinators (referred to as "Underbosses") are responsible for managing the administration of the network coordinators within their region, typically the size of a state, or small country. Zone coordinators (referred to as either "Dons" or "Godfathers") are responsible for managing the administration of all of the regions within their zone. The world is divided into six zones, the coordinators of which appoint themselves or representatives to the positions of "International Coordinators" of FidoNet (referred to as "La Cosa Nostra"). The six zone "International Coordinators", along with their Counselors (also known as their "Consiglieres"), form the twelve person body known as "FidoNet Central". Technical structure FidoNet was historically designed to use modem-based dial-up access between bulletin board systems, and much of its policy and structure reflected this. The FidoNet system officially referred only to the transfer of Netmail—the individual private messages between people using bulletin boards—including the protocols and standards with which to support it. A netmail message would contain the name of the person sending, the name of the intended recipient, and the respective FidoNet addresses of each. The FidoNet system was responsible for routing the message from one system to the other (details below), with the bulletin board software on each end being responsible for ensuring that only the intended recipient could read it. Due to the hobbyist nature of the network, any privacy between the sender and recipient was only the result of politeness from the owners of the FidoNet systems involved in the mail's transfer. It was common, however, for system operators to reserve the right to review the content of mail that passed through their system. Netmail allowed for the attachment of a single file to every message. This led to a series of piggyback protocols that built additional features onto FidoNet by passing information back and forth as file attachments. These included the automated distribution of files and transmission of data for inter-BBS games. By far the most commonly used of these piggyback protocols was Echomail, public discussions similar to Usenet newsgroups in nature. Echomail was supported by a variety of software that collected up new messages from the local BBSes' public forums (the scanner), compressed it using ARC or ZIP, attached the resulting archive to a Netmail message, and sent that message to a selected system. On receiving such a message, identified because it was addressed to a particular user, the reverse process was used to extract the messages, and a tosser put them back into the new system's forums. Echomail was so popular that for many users, Echomail was the FidoNet. Private person-to-person Netmail was relatively rare. Geographical structure FidoNet is politically organized into a tree structure, with different parts of the tree electing their respective coordinators. The FidoNet hierarchy consists of zones, regions, networks, nodes and points broken down more-or-less geographically. The highest level is the zone, which is largely continent-based: Zone 1 is the United States and Canada Zone 2 is Europe, Former Soviet Union countries, and Israel Zone 3 is Australasia Zone 4 is Latin America (except Puerto Rico) Zone 5 was Africa Zone 6 was Asia, Israel and the Asian parts of Russia, (which are listed in Zone 2). On 26 July 2007 zone 6 was removed, and all remaining nodes were moved to zone 3. Each zone is broken down into regions, which are broken down into nets, which consist of individual nodes. Zones 7-4095 are used for othernets; groupings of nodes that use Fido-compatible software to carry their own independent message areas without being in any way controlled by FidoNet's political structure. Using un-used zone numbers would ensure that each network would have a unique set of addresses, avoiding potential routing conflicts and ambiguities for systems that belonged to more than one network. FidoNet addresses FidoNet addresses explicitly consist of a zone number, a network number (or region number), and a node number. They are written in the form Zone:Network/Node. The FidoNet structure also allows for semantic designation of region, host, and hub status for particular nodes, but this status is not directly indicated by the main address. For example, consider a node located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States with an assigned node number is 918, located in Zone 1 (North America), Region 19, and Network 170. The full FidoNet address for this system would be 1:170/918. The region was used for administrative purposes, and was only part of the address if the node was listed directly underneath the Regional Coordinator, rather than one of the networks that were used to divide the region further. FidoNet policy requires that each FidoNet system maintain a nodelist of every other member system. Information on each node includes the name of the system or BBS, the name of the node operator, the geographic location, the telephone number, and software capabilities. The nodelist is updated weekly, to avoid unwanted calls to nodes that had shut down, with their phone numbers possibly having been reassigned for voice use by the respective telephone company. To accomplish regular updates, coordinators of each network maintain the list of systems in their local areas. The lists are forwarded back to the International Coordinator via automated systems on a regular basis. The International Coordinator would then compile a new nodelist, and generate the list of changes (nodediff) to be distributed for node operators to apply to their existing nodelist. Routing of FidoNet mail In a theoretical situation, a node would normally forward messages to a hub. The hub, acting as a distribution point for mail, might then send the message to the Net Coordinator. From there it may be sent through a Regional Coordinator, or to some other system specifically set up for the function. Mail to other zones might be sent through a Zone Gate. For example, a FidoNet message might follow the path: 1:170/918 (node) to 1:170/900 (hub) to 1:170/0 (net coordinator) to 1:19/0 (region coordinator) to 1:1/0 (zone coordinator). From there, it was distributed 'down stream' to the destination node(s). Originally there was no specific relationship between network numbers and the regions they reside in. In some areas of FidoNet, most notably in Zone 2, the relationship between region number and network number are entwined. For example, 2:201/329 is in Net 201 which is in Region 20 while 2:2410/330 is in Net 2410 which is in Region 24. Zone 2 also relates the node number to the hub number if the network is large enough to contain any hubs. This effect may be seen in the nodelist by looking at the structure of Net 2410 where node 2:2410/330 is listed under Hub 300. This is not the case in other zones. In Zone 1, things are much different. Zone 1 was the starting point and when Zones and Regions were formed, the existing nets were divided up regionally with no set formula. The only consideration taken was where they were located geographically with respect to the region's mapped outline. As net numbers got added, the following formula was used. Region number × 20 Then when some regions started running out of network numbers, the following was also used. Region number × 200 Region 19, for instance, contains nets 380-399 and 3800-3999 in addition to those that were in Region 19 when it was formed. Part of the objective behind the formation of local nets was to implement cost reduction plans by which all messages would be sent to one or more hubs or hosts in compressed form (ARC was nominally standard, but PKZIP is universally supported); one toll call could then be made during off-peak hours to exchange entire message-filled archives with an out-of-town uplink for further redistribution. In practice, the FidoNet structure allows for any node to connect directly to any other, and node operators would sometimes form their own toll-calling arrangements on an ad-hoc basis, allowing for a balance between collective cost saving and timely delivery. For instance, if one node operator in a network offered to make regular toll calls to a particular system elsewhere, other operators might arrange to forward all of their mail destined for the remote system, and those near it, to the local volunteer. Operators within individual networks would sometimes have cost-sharing arrangements, but it was also common for people to volunteer to pay for regular toll calls either out of generosity or to build their status in the community. This ad-hoc system was particularly popular with networks that were built on top of FidoNet. Echomail, for instance, often involved relatively large file transfers due to its popularity. If official FidoNet distributors refused to transfer Echomail due to additional toll charges, other node operators would sometimes volunteer. In such cases, Echomail messages would be routed to the volunteers' systems instead. The FidoNet system was best adapted to an environment in which local telephone service was inexpensive and long-distance calls (or intercity data transfer via packet-switched networks) costly. Therefore, it fared somewhat poorly in Japan, where even local lines are expensive, or in France, where tolls on local calls and competition with Minitel or other data networks limited its growth. Points As the number of messages in Echomail grew over time, it became very difficult for users to keep up with the volume while logged into their local BBS. Points were introduced to address this, allowing technically-savvy users to receive the already compressed and batched Echomail (and Netmail) and read it locally on their own machines. To do this, the FidoNet addressing scheme was extended with the addition of a final address segment, the point number. For instance, a user on the example system above might be given point number 10, and thus could be sent mail at the address 1:170/918.10. In real-world use, points are fairly difficult to set up. The FidoNet software typically consisted of a number of small utility programs run by manually edited scripts that required some level of technical ability. Reading and editing the mail required either a "sysop editor" program or a BBS program to be run locally. In North America (Zone 1), where local calls are generally free, the benefits of the system were offset by its complexity. Points were used only briefly, and even then only to a limited degree. Dedicated offline mail reader programs such as Blue Wave, Squiggy and Silver Xpress (OPX) were introduced in the mid-1990s and quickly rendered the point system obsolete. Many of these packages supported the QWK offline mail standard. In other parts of the world, especially Europe, this was different. In Europe, even local calls are generally metered, so there was a strong incentive to keep the duration of the calls as short as possible. Point software employs standard compression (ZIP, ARJ, etc.) and so keeps the calls down to a few minutes a day at most. In contrast to North America, pointing saw rapid and fairly widespread uptake in Europe. Many regions distribute a pointlist in parallel with the nodelist. The pointlist segments are maintained by Net- and Region Pointlist Keepers and the Zone Point List Keeper assembles them into the Zone pointlist. At the peak of FidoNet there were over 120,000 points listed in the Zone 2 pointlist. Listing points is on a voluntary basis and not every point is listed, so how many points there really were is anybody's guess. As of June 2006, there are still some 50,000 listed points. Most of them are in Russia and Ukraine. Technical specifications FidoNet contained several technical specifications for compatibility between systems. The most basic of all is FTS-0001, with which all FidoNet systems are required to comply as a minimum requirement. FTS-0001 defined: Handshaking - the protocols used by mailer software to identify each other and exchange meta-information about the session. Transfer protocol (XMODEM) - the protocols to be used for transferring files containing FidoNet mail between systems. Message format - the standard format for FidoNet messages during the time which they were exchanged between systems. Other specifications that were commonly used provided for echomail, different transfer protocols and handshake methods (e.g.: Yoohoo/Yoohoo2u2, EMSI), file compression, nodelist format, transfer over reliable connections such as the Internet (Binkp), and other aspects. Zone mail hour Since computer bulletin boards historically used the same telephone lines for transferring mail as were used for dial-in human users of the BBS, FidoNet policy dictates that at least one designated line of each FidoNet node must be available for accepting mail from other FidoNet nodes during a particular hour of each day. Zone Mail Hour, as it was named, varies depending on the geographic location of the node, and was designated to occur during the early morning. The exact hour varies depending on the time zone, and any node with only one telephone line is required to reject human callers. In practice, particularly in later times, most FidoNet systems tend to accept mail at any time of day when the phone line is not busy, usually during night. FidoNet deployments Most FidoNet deployments were designed in a modular fashion. A typical deployment would involve several applications that would communicate through shared files and directories, and switch between each other through carefully designed scripts or batch files. However, monolithic software that encompassed all required functions in one package is available, such as D'Bridge. Such software eliminated the need for custom batch files and is tightly integrated in operation. The preference for deployment was that of the operator and there were both pros and cons of running in either fashion. Arguably the most important piece of software on a DOS-based Fido system was the FOSSIL driver, which was a small device driver which provided a standard way for the Fido software to talk to the modem. This driver needed to be loaded before any Fido software would work. An efficient FOSSIL driver meant faster, more reliable connections. Mailer software was responsible for transferring files and messages between systems, as well as passing control to other applications, such as the BBS software, at appropriate times. The mailer would initially answer the phone and, if necessary, deal with incoming mail via FidoNet transfer protocols. If the mailer answered the phone and a human caller was detected rather than other mailer software, the mailer would exit, and pass control to the BBS software, which would then initialise for interaction with the user. When outgoing mail was waiting on the local system, the mailer software would attempt to send it from time to time by dialing and connecting to other systems who would accept and route the mail further. Due to the costs of toll calls which often varied between peak and off-peak times, mailer software would usually allow its operator to configure the optimal times in which to attempt to send mail to other systems. BBS software was used to interact with human callers to the system. BBS software would allow dial-in users to use the system's message bases and write mail to others, locally or on other BBSes. Mail directed to other BBSes would later be routed and sent by the mailer, usually after the user had finished using the system. Many BBSes also allowed users to exchange files, play games, and interact with other users in a variety of ways (i.e.: node to node chat). A scanner/tosser application, such as FastEcho, FMail, TosScan and Squish, would normally be invoked when a BBS user had entered a new FidoNet message that needed to be sent, or when a mailer had received new mail to be imported into the local messages bases. This application would be responsible for handling the packaging of incoming and outgoing mail, moving it between the local system's message bases and the mailer's inbound and outbound directories. The scanner/tosser application would generally be responsible for basic routing information, determining which systems to forward mail to. In later times, message readers or editors that were independent of BBS software were also developed. Often the System Operator of a particular BBS would use a devoted message reader, rather than the BBS software itself, to read and write FidoNet and related messages. One of the most popular editors in 2008 was GoldED+. In some cases, FidoNet nodes, or more often FidoNet points, had no public bulletin board attached and existed only for the transfer of mail for the benefit of the node's operator. Most nodes in 2009 had no BBS access, but only points, if anything. The original Fido BBS software, and some other FidoNet-supporting software from the 1980s, is no longer functional on modern systems. This is for several reasons, including problems related to the Y2K bug. In some cases, the original authors have left the BBS or shareware community, and the software, much of which was closed source, has been rendered abandonware. Several DOS-based legacy FidoNet Mailers such as FrontDoor, Intermail, MainDoor and D'Bridge from the early 1990s can still be run today under Windows without a modem, by using the freeware NetFoss Telnet FOSSIL driver, and by using a Virtual Modem such as NetSerial. This allows the mailer to dial an IP address or hostname via Telnet, rather than dialing a real POTS phone number. There are similar solutions for Linux such as MODEMU (modem emulator) which has limited success when combined with DOSEMU (DOS emulator). Mail Tossers such as FastEcho and FMail are still used today under both Windows and Linux/DOSEMU. There are several modern Windows based FidoNet Mailers available today with source code, including Argus, Radius, and Taurus. MainDoor is another Windows based Fidonet mailer, which also can be run using either a modem or directly over TCP/IP. Two popular free and open source software FidoNet mailers for Unix-like systems are the binkd (cross-platform, IP-only, uses the binkp protocol) and qico (supports modem communication as well as the IP protocol of ifcico and binkp). On the hardware side, Fido systems were usually well-equipped machines, for their day, with quick CPUs, high-speed modems and 16550 UARTs, which were at the time an upgrade. As a Fidonet system was usually a BBS, it needed to quickly process any new mail events before returning to its 'waiting for call' state. In addition, the BBS itself usually necessitated lots of storage space. Finally, a FidoNet system usually had at least one dedicated phone line. Consequently, operating a Fidonet system often required significant financial investment, a cost usually met by the owner of the system. FidoNet availability While the use of FidoNet has dropped dramatically compared with its use up to the mid-1990s, it is still used in many countries and especially Russia and former republics of the USSR. Some BBSes, including those that are now available for users with Internet connections via telnet, also retain their FidoNet netmail and echomail feeds. Some of FidoNet's echomail conferences are available via gateways with the Usenet news hierarchy using software like UFGate. There are also mail gates for exchanging messages between Internet and FidoNet. Widespread net abuse and e-mail spam on the Internet side has caused some gateways (such as the former 1:1/31 IEEE fidonet.org gateway) to become unusable or cease operation entirely. FidoNews FidoNews is the newsletter of the FidoNet community. Affectionately nicknamed The Snooze, it is published weekly. It was first published in 1984. Throughout its history, it has been published by various people and entities, including the short-lived International FidoNet Association. See also PODSnet RelayNet UUCP References Notes Citations Further reading Alt URL External links Alternate US FidoNet Home Page FidoNet Technical Standards Committee Home Page FidoNews, the weekly newsletter of the FidoNet community International Echolist Home Page IFDC FileGate Project Fidonet Showcase Project Computer-related introductions in 1984 Computer-mediated communication Pre–World Wide Web online services Wikipedia articles with ASCII art BBS networks

Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work (1852–1865). Brown spent the latter years of his life painting the twelve works known as The Manchester Murals, depicting Mancunian history, for Manchester Town Hall. Early life Brown was the grandson of the medical theorist John Brown, founder of the Brunonian system of medicine. His great grandfather was a Scottish labourer. His father Ford Brown served as a purser in the Royal Navy, including a period serving under Sir Isaac Coffin and a period on HMS Arethusa. He left the Navy after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1818, Ford Brown married Caroline Madox, of an old Kentish family. Brown's parents had limited financial resources, and they moved to Calais to seek cheaper lodgings, where their daughter Elizabeth Coffin was born in 1819 and their son Ford Madox Brown in 1821. Brown's education was limited, as the family frequently moved between lodgings in the Pas-de-Calais and relatives in Kent, but he showed artistic talent in copying of old master prints. His father initially sought a naval career for his son, writing to his former captain Sir Isaac Coffin. The family moved to Bruges in 1835 so Brown could study at the academy under Albert Gregorius. Brown moved to Ghent in 1836 to continue his studies under Pieter van Hanselaere. He moved to Antwerp in 1837 to study under Gustaf Wappers. He continued to study in Antwerp after his mother's death in 1839. His sister died in 1840, and then his father in 1842. Works The Tate Gallery holds an early example of Brown's work, a portrait of his father. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840, a work inspired by Lord Byron's poem The Giaour (now lost) and then completed a version of The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, with his cousin and future wife Elisabeth Bromley as one of his models. He lived in Montmartre with his new wife and aging father in 1841. He painted Manfred on the Jungfrau, inspired by Lord Byron's poem Manfred while he was in Paris. In 1843 he submitted work to the Westminster Cartoon Competition, for compositions to decorate the new Palace of Westminster. His entry, The Body of Harold Brought before William, was not successful. His early works were, however, greatly admired by the young Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who asked him to become his tutor. Through Rossetti, Brown came into contact with the artists who went on to form the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Though closely linked to them, he was never actually a member of the brotherhood itself, but adopted the bright colours and realistic style of William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais. He was also influenced by the works of Holbein that he saw in Basel in 1845, and by Friedrich Overbeck and Peter Cornelius, whom he met in Rome in 1845–46. Brown struggled to make his mark in the 1850s, with his paintings failing to find buyers, and he considered emigrating to India. In 1852 he started work on two of his most significant works. One of his most famous images is The Last of England, painted from 1852 to 1855, which was sold in March 1859 for 325 Guineas (2010: £). It depicts a pair of stricken emigrants as they sail away on the ship that will take them from England forever. It was inspired by the departure of the Pre-Raphaelite sculptor Thomas Woolner, who had left for Australia. In an unusual tondo format, the painting is structured with Brown's characteristic linear energy, and emphasis on apparently grotesque and banal details, such as the cabbages hanging from the ship's side. The husband and wife are portraits of Brown and his second wife Emma. Brown's most important painting was Work (1852–1865), begun in Hampstead in 1852 and which he showed at his retrospective exhibition in 1865. Thomas Plint advanced funds to enable Brown to complete the work, in anticipation of obtaining the finished painting, but died in 1861 before the painting had been completed. In this painting, Brown attempted to depict the totality of the mid-Victorian social experience in a single image, depicting 'navvies' digging up a road (The Mount, off Heath Street in Hampstead, north London) and disrupting the old social hierarchies in the process. The image erupts into proliferating details from the dynamic centre of the action, as the workers tear a hole in the road – and, symbolically, in the social fabric. Each character represents a particular social class and role in the modern urban environment. Brown wrote a catalogue to accompany the special exhibition of Work. This publication included an extensive explanation of Work that nevertheless leaves many questions unanswered. Brown's concern with the social issues addressed in Work prompted him to open a soup kitchen for Manchester's hungry, and to attempt to aid the city's unemployed to find work by founding a labour exchange. Brown found patrons in the north of England, including Plint, George Rae from Birkenhead, John Miller from Liverpool, and James Leathart from Newcastle. By the late 1850s he had lost patience with the poor reception he received at the Royal Academy and ceased to show his works there, rejecting an offer from Millais to support his becoming an associate member. He founded the Hogarth Club in 1858, with William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and his former pupil Rossetti. After a successful period of a few years, the club reached over 80 members, including several prominent members of the Royal Academy, but Brown resigned in 1860, and the club collapsed in 1861. From the 1860s, Brown also designed furniture and stained glass. He was a founder partner of William Morris's design company, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., in 1861, which dissolved in 1874 with Morris continuing on his own. He was a close friend of the landscape artist Henry Mark Anthony. Brown's major achievement after Work was The Manchester Murals, a cycle of twelve paintings in the Great Hall of Manchester Town Hall depicting the history of the city. Brown would be 72 by the time he finished the murals. In total, he took six years perfecting the murals, which were his last major work. Family Ford Madox Brown was married twice. His first wife Elizabeth Bromley was his first cousin, the daughter of his mother's sister Mary. They were married in Meopham in Kent in April 1841, shortly before his 20th birthday and less than a year after the sudden death of his sister Elizabeth. They lived in Montmartre in 1841 with Brown's invalid father who died the following summer. Their first child died young as an infant in November 1842. Their daughter Emma Lucy was born in 1843 and the family moved back to England in 1844. They travelled to Rome in 1845 to alleviate the illness of his wife, who was suffering from consumption (pulmonary tuberculosis). She died in Paris in June 1846, aged 27, on the journey back to England from Rome, and was buried on the western side of Highgate Cemetery. Christina Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal and other members of the Rossetti family were later buried alongside. Emma Hill became a frequent model for Brown from 1848; for example, she is the wife in The Last of England. She became his mistress, and they shared a house in London, but social convention discouraged him from marrying an illiterate daughter of a bricklayer. Their daughter Catherine Emily was born in 1850, and eventually they were married at St Dunstan-in-the-West in April 1853. Ford leased a house in Fitzroy Square. Their son, Oliver Madox Brown (1855–1874) (known as Nolly) showed promise both as an artist and poet, but died of blood poisoning before his maturity. The death of Nolly was a crushing blow for Brown, and he kept a room for his son's belongings as a shrine. Another son Arthur was born in September 1856. Brown used Arthur as the model for the baby held by a ragged girl in the foreground of Work, but he died aged only ten months old in July 1857. His daughters Lucy Madox Brown and Catherine Madox Brown were also competent artists. Lucy married William Michael Rossetti in 1874. Catherine, married Francis Hueffer; through Catherine, Brown was the grandfather of novelist Ford Madox Ford and great-grandfather of Labour Home Secretary Frank Soskice. Death Brown's second wife died in October 1890, and he died in Primrose Hill, north London, in 1893. He is buried in the St Pancras and Islington Cemetery in East Finchley. He was given a secular funeral, and the funeral oration was delivered by the American Moncure D. Conway, the secularist after whom Conway Hall was later named. Legacy The J D Wetherspoon pub in Oxford Road, Manchester is named after Ford Madox Brown. It states on the Wetherspoon's website that "This J D Wetherspoon pub is named after the much-travelled artist Ford Madox Brown, a one-time resident of Victoria Park, a suburb south of the pub." The pub opened in 2007. Gallery See also British art English art References Sources Virginia Surtees (ed.), The Diary of Ford Madox Brown, 1981, . Kenneth Bendiner, Ford Madox Brown: Il Lavoro, Turin: Lindau, 1991. Kenneth Bendiner, The Art of Ford Madox Brown, University Park, PA: Penn State Press, 1998. Tessa Sidey (ed.), Ford Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, 2008, . Julian Treuherz, Ford Madox Brown: Pre-Raphaelite Pioneer, Philip Wilson Publishers, 2011, , p. 12. Angela Thirlwell, Into the Frame: The Four Loves of Ford Madox Brown, Pimlico, 2011, . External links The iBiblio Web Museum exhibit on Brown Some of his paintings in the Carol Gerten Fine Art library Waiting: An English fireside of 1854–5 Spartacus Educational: Ford Madox Brown Chronology on Britain Unlimited Some stained glass designs by Ford Madox Brown Ford Madox Brown in the History of Art Phryne's list of pictures in public galleries Photo of Ford Madox Brown's grave and a brief article about his time in Finchley The Pre-Raph Pack Discover more about the artists, the techniques they used and a timeline spanning 100 years. Ford Madox Brown: PreRaphaelite Pioneer Exhibition, Manchester Art Gallery, Saturday 24 September 2011 – Sunday 29 January 2012 "The secret love of Ford Madox Brown": essay on Ford Madox Brown and Mathilde Blind, by Angela Thirlwell, from TLS, 8 October 2008 Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery's Pre-Raphaelite Online Resource includes almost two hundred paintings on canvas and works on paper by Ford Madox Brown Tim Barringer, ‘Brown, Ford Madox (1821–1893)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 accessed 2 May 2014 Biography of Ford Madox Brown, Manchester Art Gallery Artists' Rifles soldiers British agnostics 19th-century English painters English male painters English people of Scottish descent Morris & Co. Pre-Raphaelite painters 1821 births 1893 deaths Burials at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery People of Montmartre

There are two Epistles to the Thessalonians in the Bible: First Epistle to the Thessalonians Second Epistle to the Thessalonians

The politics of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) takes place in a framework of a federal assembly-independent representative democratic republic. The President of the Federated States of Micronesia is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the president and his cabinet, while legislative power is vested in both the president and the Congress. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The internal workings of the Micronesia are governed by the 1979 constitution, which guarantees fundamental human rights and establishes a separation of governmental powers. The Federation is in free association with the United States; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 3 November 1986. Executive branch The president and the vice president are elected by Congress from among the four senators-at-large for four-year terms. The president is both the chief of state and head of government. Their congressional seats are then filled by special elections. The president and vice president are supported by an appointed cabinet. Cabinet The President and Vice President are supported in the administration by a Cabinet made up of 9 appointed officials. They are: the Secretaries of the Department of Environment, Climate Change & Emergency Management (DECEM), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Affairs), the Department of Resource & Development (R&D), the Department of Health & Social Affairs (DHSA), the Department of Transportation, Communications, & Infrastructure (TC&I), and the Department of Education (DOE); the heads of the Office of the Public Defender, Office of National Archives, Culture, & Historic Preservations, and FSM Postal Services. Other Cabinet-level officials include the director of the National Oceanic Resource & Maritime Authority, Coconut Development Authority, FSM Banking Board, and National Fisheries Corporation. Legislative branch The Congress has fourteen non-partisan members, ten members elected for a two-year term in single-seat constituencies and four members elected for a four-year term, one from each state at large. Judicial branch The judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court, which is divided into trial and appellate divisions. The president appoints judges with the advice and consent of the Congress. Andon Amaraich was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court until his death in January 2010. He was succeeded by Martin G. Yinug, who served until his death on August 31, 2014. He was succeeded by Dennis K. Yamase, who continues to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court since his investiture on October 2, 2015. Political parties and elections A head of state (the President) and a legislature are elected on a national level. At the 2011 election, only non-partisans have been elected. The president is elected for a four-year term by Congress. There are no political parties in Micronesia, though they are not banned. Political allegiances depend mainly on family and island-related factors. Government Agencies The government of Micronesia includes national agencies to serve the Micronesian people. The FSM Social Security Administration, FSM Telecommunications Corporation, Office of the Public Auditor, and FSM PetroCorp are independent agencies. Administrative divisions The FSM is divided in four states: Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Each has its own constitution, elected legislature, governor, and lieutenant governor. The state governments maintain considerable power, particularly regarding the implementation of budgetary policies. International organization participation Micronesia is a member of the following international organizations: Alliance of Small Island States Asian Development Bank U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Group of 77 International Civil Aviation Organization International Bank for Reconstruction and Development International Development Association International Finance Corporation International Monetary Fund Intelsat International Olympic Committee International Telecommunication Union Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Pacific Islands Forum South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement Pacific Community (SPC) United Nations U.N. Conference on Trade and Development World Health Organization World Meteorological Organization See also List of diplomatic missions in the Federated States of Micronesia References External links Government Government of the Federated States of Micronesia Adam Carr's Election Archive Micronesia, Federated States Of

A fast Fourier transform (FFT) is an algorithm that computes the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of a sequence, or its inverse (IDFT). Fourier analysis converts a signal from its original domain (often time or space) to a representation in the frequency domain and vice versa. The DFT is obtained by decomposing a sequence of values into components of different frequencies. This operation is useful in many fields, but computing it directly from the definition is often too slow to be practical. An FFT rapidly computes such transformations by factorizing the DFT matrix into a product of sparse (mostly zero) factors. As a result, it manages to reduce the complexity of computing the DFT from , which arises if one simply applies the definition of DFT, to , where is the data size. The difference in speed can be enormous, especially for long data sets where N may be in the thousands or millions. In the presence of round-off error, many FFT algorithms are much more accurate than evaluating the DFT definition directly or indirectly. There are many different FFT algorithms based on a wide range of published theories, from simple complex-number arithmetic to group theory and number theory. Fast Fourier transforms are widely used for applications in engineering, music, science, and mathematics. The basic ideas were popularized in 1965, but some algorithms had been derived as early as 1805. In 1994, Gilbert Strang described the FFT as "the most important numerical algorithm of our lifetime", and it was included in Top 10 Algorithms of 20th Century by the IEEE magazine Computing in Science & Engineering. The best-known FFT algorithms depend upon the factorization of N, but there are FFTs with O(N log N) complexity for all N, even for prime N. Many FFT algorithms depend only on the fact that is an N-th primitive root of unity, and thus can be applied to analogous transforms over any finite field, such as number-theoretic transforms. Since the inverse DFT is the same as the DFT, but with the opposite sign in the exponent and a 1/N factor, any FFT algorithm can easily be adapted for it. History The development of fast algorithms for DFT can be traced to Carl Friedrich Gauss's unpublished work in 1805 when he needed it to interpolate the orbit of asteroids Pallas and Juno from sample observations. His method was very similar to the one published in 1965 by James Cooley and John Tukey, who are generally credited for the invention of the modern generic FFT algorithm. While Gauss's work predated even Joseph Fourier's results in 1822, he did not analyze the computation time and eventually used other methods to achieve his goal. Between 1805 and 1965, some versions of FFT were published by other authors. Frank Yates in 1932 published his version called interaction algorithm, which provided efficient computation of Hadamard and Walsh transforms. Yates' algorithm is still used in the field of statistical design and analysis of experiments. In 1942, G. C. Danielson and Cornelius Lanczos published their version to compute DFT for x-ray crystallography, a field where calculation of Fourier transforms presented a formidable bottleneck. While many methods in the past had focused on reducing the constant factor for computation by taking advantage of "symmetries", Danielson and Lanczos realized that one could use the "periodicity" and apply a "doubling trick" to "double [N] with only slightly more than double the labor", though like Gauss they did not analyze that this led to scaling. James Cooley and John Tukey independently rediscovered these earlier algorithms and published a more general FFT in 1965 that is applicable when N is composite and not necessarily a power of 2, as well as analyzing the scaling. Tukey came up with the idea during a meeting of President Kennedy's Science Advisory Committee where a discussion topic involved detecting nuclear tests by the Soviet Union by setting up sensors to surround the country from outside. To analyze the output of these sensors, an FFT algorithm would be needed. In discussion with Tukey, Richard Garwin recognized the general applicability of the algorithm not just to national security problems, but also to a wide range of problems including one of immediate interest to him, determining the periodicities of the spin orientations in a 3-D crystal of Helium-3. Garwin gave Tukey's idea to Cooley (both worked at IBM's Watson labs) for implementation. Cooley and Tukey published the paper in a relatively short time of six months. As Tukey did not work at IBM, the patentability of the idea was doubted and the algorithm went into the public domain, which, through the computing revolution of the next decade, made FFT one of the indispensable algorithms in digital signal processing. Definition Let , …, be complex numbers. The DFT is defined by the formula where is a primitive th root of 1. Evaluating this definition directly requires operations: there are N outputs Xk, and each output requires a sum of N terms. An FFT is any method to compute the same results in operations. All known FFT algorithms require operations, although there is no known proof that a lower complexity score is impossible. To illustrate the savings of an FFT, consider the count of complex multiplications and additions for N=4096 data points. Evaluating the DFT's sums directly involves N2 complex multiplications and N(N − 1) complex additions, of which operations can be saved by eliminating trivial operations such as multiplications by 1, leaving about 30 million operations. In contrast, the radix-2 Cooley–Tukey algorithm, for N a power of 2, can compute the same result with only (N/2)log2(N) complex multiplications (again, ignoring simplifications of multiplications by 1 and similar) and N log2(N) complex additions, in total about 30,000 operations a thousand times less than with direct evaluation. In practice, actual performance on modern computers is usually dominated by factors other than the speed of arithmetic operations and the analysis is a complicated subject (for example, see Frigo & Johnson, 2005), but the overall improvement from to remains. Algorithms Cooley–Tukey algorithm By far the most commonly used FFT is the Cooley–Tukey algorithm. This is a divide-and-conquer algorithm that recursively breaks down a DFT of any composite size into many smaller DFTs of sizes and , along with multiplications by complex roots of unity traditionally called twiddle factors (after Gentleman and Sande, 1966). This method (and the general idea of an FFT) was popularized by a publication of Cooley and Tukey in 1965, but it was later discovered that those two authors had independently re-invented an algorithm known to Carl Friedrich Gauss around 1805 (and subsequently rediscovered several times in limited forms). The best known use of the Cooley–Tukey algorithm is to divide the transform into two pieces of size N/2 at each step, and is therefore limited to power-of-two sizes, but any factorization can be used in general (as was known to both Gauss and Cooley/Tukey). These are called the radix-2 and mixed-radix cases, respectively (and other variants such as the split-radix FFT have their own names as well). Although the basic idea is recursive, most traditional implementations rearrange the algorithm to avoid explicit recursion. Also, because the Cooley–Tukey algorithm breaks the DFT into smaller DFTs, it can be combined arbitrarily with any other algorithm for the DFT, such as those described below. Other FFT algorithms There are FFT algorithms other than Cooley–Tukey. For N = N1N2 with coprime N1 and N2, one can use the prime-factor (Good–Thomas) algorithm (PFA), based on the Chinese remainder theorem, to factorize the DFT similarly to Cooley–Tukey but without the twiddle factors. The Rader–Brenner algorithm (1976) is a Cooley–Tukey-like factorization but with purely imaginary twiddle factors, reducing multiplications at the cost of increased additions and reduced numerical stability; it was later superseded by the split-radix variant of Cooley–Tukey (which achieves the same multiplication count but with fewer additions and without sacrificing accuracy). Algorithms that recursively factorize the DFT into smaller operations other than DFTs include the Bruun and QFT algorithms. (The Rader–Brenner and QFT algorithms were proposed for power-of-two sizes, but it is possible that they could be adapted to general composite N. Bruun's algorithm applies to arbitrary even composite sizes.) Bruun's algorithm, in particular, is based on interpreting the FFT as a recursive factorization of the polynomial zN − 1, here into real-coefficient polynomials of the form zM − 1 and z2M + azM + 1. Another polynomial viewpoint is exploited by the Winograd FFT algorithm, which factorizes zN − 1 into cyclotomic polynomials—these often have coefficients of 1, 0, or −1, and therefore require few (if any) multiplications, so Winograd can be used to obtain minimal-multiplication FFTs and is often used to find efficient algorithms for small factors. Indeed, Winograd showed that the DFT can be computed with only O(N) irrational multiplications, leading to a proven achievable lower bound on the number of multiplications for power-of-two sizes; unfortunately, this comes at the cost of many more additions, a tradeoff no longer favorable on modern processors with hardware multipliers. In particular, Winograd also makes use of the PFA as well as an algorithm by Rader for FFTs of prime sizes. Rader's algorithm, exploiting the existence of a generator for the multiplicative group modulo prime N, expresses a DFT of prime size N as a cyclic convolution of (composite) size N − 1, which can then be computed by a pair of ordinary FFTs via the convolution theorem (although Winograd uses other convolution methods). Another prime-size FFT is due to L. I. Bluestein, and is sometimes called the chirp-z algorithm; it also re-expresses a DFT as a convolution, but this time of the same size (which can be zero-padded to a power of two and evaluated by radix-2 Cooley–Tukey FFTs, for example), via the identity Hexagonal fast Fourier transform (HFFT) aims at computing an efficient FFT for the hexagonally-sampled data by using a new addressing scheme for hexagonal grids, called Array Set Addressing (ASA). FFT algorithms specialized for real or symmetric data In many applications, the input data for the DFT are purely real, in which case the outputs satisfy the symmetry and efficient FFT algorithms have been designed for this situation (see e.g. Sorensen, 1987). One approach consists of taking an ordinary algorithm (e.g. Cooley–Tukey) and removing the redundant parts of the computation, saving roughly a factor of two in time and memory. Alternatively, it is possible to express an even-length real-input DFT as a complex DFT of half the length (whose real and imaginary parts are the even/odd elements of the original real data), followed by O(N) post-processing operations. It was once believed that real-input DFTs could be more efficiently computed by means of the discrete Hartley transform (DHT), but it was subsequently argued that a specialized real-input DFT algorithm (FFT) can typically be found that requires fewer operations than the corresponding DHT algorithm (FHT) for the same number of inputs. Bruun's algorithm (above) is another method that was initially proposed to take advantage of real inputs, but it has not proved popular. There are further FFT specializations for the cases of real data that have even/odd symmetry, in which case one can gain another factor of roughly two in time and memory and the DFT becomes the discrete cosine/sine transform(s) (DCT/DST). Instead of directly modifying an FFT algorithm for these cases, DCTs/DSTs can also be computed via FFTs of real data combined with O(N) pre- and post-processing. Computational issues Bounds on complexity and operation counts A fundamental question of longstanding theoretical interest is to prove lower bounds on the complexity and exact operation counts of fast Fourier transforms, and many open problems remain. It is not rigorously proved whether DFTs truly require Ω(N log N) (i.e., order N log N or greater) operations, even for the simple case of power of two sizes, although no algorithms with lower complexity are known. In particular, the count of arithmetic operations is usually the focus of such questions, although actual performance on modern-day computers is determined by many other factors such as cache or CPU pipeline optimization. Following work by Shmuel Winograd (1978), a tight Θ(N) lower bound is known for the number of real multiplications required by an FFT. It can be shown that only irrational real multiplications are required to compute a DFT of power-of-two length . Moreover, explicit algorithms that achieve this count are known (Heideman & Burrus, 1986; Duhamel, 1990). However, these algorithms require too many additions to be practical, at least on modern computers with hardware multipliers (Duhamel, 1990; Frigo & Johnson, 2005). A tight lower bound is not known on the number of required additions, although lower bounds have been proved under some restrictive assumptions on the algorithms. In 1973, Morgenstern proved an Ω(N log N) lower bound on the addition count for algorithms where the multiplicative constants have bounded magnitudes (which is true for most but not all FFT algorithms). Pan (1986) proved an Ω(N log N) lower bound assuming a bound on a measure of the FFT algorithm's "asynchronicity", but the generality of this assumption is unclear. For the case of power-of-two N, Papadimitriou (1979) argued that the number of complex-number additions achieved by Cooley–Tukey algorithms is optimal under certain assumptions on the graph of the algorithm (his assumptions imply, among other things, that no additive identities in the roots of unity are exploited). (This argument would imply that at least real additions are required, although this is not a tight bound because extra additions are required as part of complex-number multiplications.) Thus far, no published FFT algorithm has achieved fewer than complex-number additions (or their equivalent) for power-of-two N. A third problem is to minimize the total number of real multiplications and additions, sometimes called the "arithmetic complexity" (although in this context it is the exact count and not the asymptotic complexity that is being considered). Again, no tight lower bound has been proven. Since 1968, however, the lowest published count for power-of-two N was long achieved by the split-radix FFT algorithm, which requires real multiplications and additions for N > 1. This was recently reduced to (Johnson and Frigo, 2007; Lundy and Van Buskirk, 2007). A slightly larger count (but still better than split radix for N ≥ 256) was shown to be provably optimal for N ≤ 512 under additional restrictions on the possible algorithms (split-radix-like flowgraphs with unit-modulus multiplicative factors), by reduction to a satisfiability modulo theories problem solvable by brute force (Haynal & Haynal, 2011). Most of the attempts to lower or prove the complexity of FFT algorithms have focused on the ordinary complex-data case, because it is the simplest. However, complex-data FFTs are so closely related to algorithms for related problems such as real-data FFTs, discrete cosine transforms, discrete Hartley transforms, and so on, that any improvement in one of these would immediately lead to improvements in the others (Duhamel & Vetterli, 1990). Approximations All of the FFT algorithms discussed above compute the DFT exactly (i.e. neglecting floating-point errors). A few "FFT" algorithms have been proposed, however, that compute the DFT approximately, with an error that can be made arbitrarily small at the expense of increased computations. Such algorithms trade the approximation error for increased speed or other properties. For example, an approximate FFT algorithm by Edelman et al. (1999) achieves lower communication requirements for parallel computing with the help of a fast multipole method. A wavelet-based approximate FFT by Guo and Burrus (1996) takes sparse inputs/outputs (time/frequency localization) into account more efficiently than is possible with an exact FFT. Another algorithm for approximate computation of a subset of the DFT outputs is due to Shentov et al. (1995). The Edelman algorithm works equally well for sparse and non-sparse data, since it is based on the compressibility (rank deficiency) of the Fourier matrix itself rather than the compressibility (sparsity) of the data. Conversely, if the data are sparse—that is, if only K out of N Fourier coefficients are nonzero—then the complexity can be reduced to O(Klog(N)log(N/K)), and this has been demonstrated to lead to practical speedups compared to an ordinary FFT for N/K > 32 in a large-N example (N = 222) using a probabilistic approximate algorithm (which estimates the largest K coefficients to several decimal places). Accuracy FFT algorithms have errors when finite-precision floating-point arithmetic is used, but these errors are typically quite small; most FFT algorithms, e.g. Cooley–Tukey, have excellent numerical properties as a consequence of the pairwise summation structure of the algorithms. The upper bound on the relative error for the Cooley–Tukey algorithm is O(ε log N), compared to O(εN3/2) for the naïve DFT formula, where ε is the machine floating-point relative precision. In fact, the root mean square (rms) errors are much better than these upper bounds, being only O(ε ) for Cooley–Tukey and O(ε ) for the naïve DFT (Schatzman, 1996). These results, however, are very sensitive to the accuracy of the twiddle factors used in the FFT (i.e. the trigonometric function values), and it is not unusual for incautious FFT implementations to have much worse accuracy, e.g. if they use inaccurate trigonometric recurrence formulas. Some FFTs other than Cooley–Tukey, such as the Rader–Brenner algorithm, are intrinsically less stable. In fixed-point arithmetic, the finite-precision errors accumulated by FFT algorithms are worse, with rms errors growing as O() for the Cooley–Tukey algorithm (Welch, 1969). Achieving this accuracy requires careful attention to scaling to minimize loss of precision, and fixed-point FFT algorithms involve rescaling at each intermediate stage of decompositions like Cooley–Tukey. To verify the correctness of an FFT implementation, rigorous guarantees can be obtained in O(N log N) time by a simple procedure checking the linearity, impulse-response, and time-shift properties of the transform on random inputs (Ergün, 1995). Multidimensional FFTs As defined in the multidimensional DFT article, the multidimensional DFT transforms an array xn with a d-dimensional vector of indices by a set of d nested summations (over for each j), where the division n/N, defined as , is performed element-wise. Equivalently, it is the composition of a sequence of d sets of one-dimensional DFTs, performed along one dimension at a time (in any order). This compositional viewpoint immediately provides the simplest and most common multidimensional DFT algorithm, known as the row-column algorithm (after the two-dimensional case, below). That is, one simply performs a sequence of d one-dimensional FFTs (by any of the above algorithms): first you transform along the n1 dimension, then along the n2 dimension, and so on (or actually, any ordering works). This method is easily shown to have the usual O(N log N) complexity, where is the total number of data points transformed. In particular, there are N/N1 transforms of size N1, etcetera, so the complexity of the sequence of FFTs is: In two dimensions, the xk can be viewed as an matrix, and this algorithm corresponds to first performing the FFT of all the rows (resp. columns), grouping the resulting transformed rows (resp. columns) together as another matrix, and then performing the FFT on each of the columns (resp. rows) of this second matrix, and similarly grouping the results into the final result matrix. In more than two dimensions, it is often advantageous for cache locality to group the dimensions recursively. For example, a three-dimensional FFT might first perform two-dimensional FFTs of each planar "slice" for each fixed n1, and then perform the one-dimensional FFTs along the n1 direction. More generally, an asymptotically optimal cache-oblivious algorithm consists of recursively dividing the dimensions into two groups and that are transformed recursively (rounding if d is not even) (see Frigo and Johnson, 2005). Still, this remains a straightforward variation of the row-column algorithm that ultimately requires only a one-dimensional FFT algorithm as the base case, and still has O(N log N) complexity. Yet another variation is to perform matrix transpositions in between transforming subsequent dimensions, so that the transforms operate on contiguous data; this is especially important for out-of-core and distributed memory situations where accessing non-contiguous data is extremely time-consuming. There are other multidimensional FFT algorithms that are distinct from the row-column algorithm, although all of them have O(N log N) complexity. Perhaps the simplest non-row-column FFT is the vector-radix FFT algorithm, which is a generalization of the ordinary Cooley–Tukey algorithm where one divides the transform dimensions by a vector of radices at each step. (This may also have cache benefits.) The simplest case of vector-radix is where all of the radices are equal (e.g. vector-radix-2 divides all of the dimensions by two), but this is not necessary. Vector radix with only a single non-unit radix at a time, i.e. , is essentially a row-column algorithm. Other, more complicated, methods include polynomial transform algorithms due to Nussbaumer (1977), which view the transform in terms of convolutions and polynomial products. See Duhamel and Vetterli (1990) for more information and references. Other generalizations An O(N5/2log N) generalization to spherical harmonics on the sphere S2 with N2 nodes was described by Mohlenkamp, along with an algorithm conjectured (but not proven) to have O(N2 log2(N)) complexity; Mohlenkamp also provides an implementation in the libftsh library. A spherical-harmonic algorithm with O(N2log N) complexity is described by Rokhlin and Tygert. The fast folding algorithm is analogous to the FFT, except that it operates on a series of binned waveforms rather than a series of real or complex scalar values. Rotation (which in the FFT is multiplication by a complex phasor) is a circular shift of the component waveform. Various groups have also published "FFT" algorithms for non-equispaced data, as reviewed in Potts et al. (2001). Such algorithms do not strictly compute the DFT (which is only defined for equispaced data), but rather some approximation thereof (a non-uniform discrete Fourier transform, or NDFT, which itself is often computed only approximately). More generally there are various other methods of spectral estimation. Applications The FFT is used in digital recording, sampling, additive synthesis and pitch correction software. The FFT's importance derives from the fact that it has made working in the frequency domain equally computationally feasible as working in the temporal or spatial domain. Some of the important applications of the FFT include: fast large-integer and polynomial multiplication, efficient matrix–vector multiplication for Toeplitz, circulant and other structured matrices, filtering algorithms (see overlap–add and overlap–save methods), fast algorithms for discrete cosine or sine transforms (e.g. fast DCT used for JPEG and MPEG/MP3 encoding and decoding), fast Chebyshev approximation, solving difference equations, computation of isotopic distributions. modulation and demodulation of complex data symbols using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) for 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi, DSL, and other modern communication systems. Research areas Big FFTs With the explosion of big data in fields such as astronomy, the need for 512K FFTs has arisen for certain interferometry calculations. The data collected by projects such as WMAP and LIGO require FFTs of tens of billions of points. As this size does not fit into main memory, so called out-of-core FFTs are an active area of research. Approximate FFTs For applications such as MRI, it is necessary to compute DFTs for nonuniformly spaced grid points and/or frequencies. Multipole based approaches can compute approximate quantities with factor of runtime increase. Group FFTs The FFT may also be explained and interpreted using group representation theory allowing for further generalization. A function on any compact group, including non-cyclic, has an expansion in terms of a basis of irreducible matrix elements. It remains active area of research to find efficient algorithm for performing this change of basis. Applications including efficient spherical harmonic expansion, analyzing certain Markov processes, robotics etc. Quantum FFTs Shor's fast algorithm for integer factorization on a quantum computer has a subroutine to compute DFT of a binary vector. This is implemented as sequence of 1- or 2-bit quantum gates now known as quantum FFT, which is effectively the Cooley–Tukey FFT realized as a particular factorization of the Fourier matrix. Extension to these ideas is currently being explored. Language reference See also FFT-related algorithms: Goertzel algorithm – computes individual terms of discrete Fourier transform FFT implementations: ALGLIB – a dual/GPL-licensed C++ and C# library (also supporting other languages), with real/complex FFT implementation FFTPACK – another Fortran FFT library (public domain) Architecture-specific: Arm Performance Libraries Intel Integrated Performance Primitives Intel Math Kernel Library Many more implementations are available, for CPUs and GPUs, such as PocketFFT for C++ Other links: Odlyzko–Schönhage algorithm applies the FFT to finite Dirichlet series Schönhage–Strassen algorithm – asymptotically fast multiplication algorithm for large integers Butterfly diagram – a diagram used to describe FFTs Spectral music (involves application of DFT analysis to musical composition) Spectrum analyzer – any of several devices that perform spectrum analysis, often via a DFT Time series Fast Walsh–Hadamard transform Generalized distributive law Least-squares spectral analysis Multidimensional transform Multidimensional discrete convolution Fast Fourier Transform Telescope References Further reading (NB. Contains extensive bibliography.) Elena Prestini: "The Evolution of Applied Harmonic Analysis", Springer, ISBN 978-0-8176-4125-2 (2004), Sec.3.10 'Gauss and the asteroids: history of the FFT'. External links Fast Fourier Transform for Polynomial Multiplication fast Fourier algorithm Fast Fourier Transforms, Connexions online book edited by Charles Sidney Burrus, with chapters by Charles Sidney Burrus, Ivan Selesnick, Markus Pueschel, Matteo Frigo, and Steven G. Johnson (2008) Fast Fourier transform — FFT FFT programming in C++ the Cooley–Tukey algorithm Online documentation, links, book, and code Sri Welaratna, "Thirty years of FFT analyzers", Sound and Vibration (January 1997, 30th anniversary issue) a historical review of hardware FFT devices ALGLIB FFT Code a dual/GPL-licensed multilanguage (VBA, C++, Pascal, etc.) numerical analysis and data processing library SFFT: Sparse Fast Fourier Transform MIT's sparse (sub-linear time) FFT algorithm, sFFT, and implementation VB6 FFT a VB6 optimized library implementation with source code Interactive FFT Tutorial a visual interactive intro to Fourier transforms and FFT methods FFT algorithms Digital signal processing Discrete transforms

Florence ( ; ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,084 inhabitants in 2013, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area. Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is considered by many academics to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center. During this time, Florence rose to a position of enormous influence in Italy, Europe, and beyond. Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy (established in 1861). The Florentine dialect forms the base of Standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Italy due to the prestige of the masterpieces by Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini. The city attracts millions of tourists each year, and UNESCO declared the Historic Centre of Florence a World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments. The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, Forbes has ranked it as the most beautiful city in the world of 2010. Florence plays an important role in Italian fashion, and is ranked in the top 15 fashion capitals of the world by Global Language Monitor; furthermore, it is a major national economic centre, as well as a tourist and industrial hub. It is the 4th richest Italian city. History Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a long period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune, it was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. It was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th to 16th centuries. The language spoken in the city during the 14th century came to be accepted as the model for what would become the Italian language. Thanks especially to the works of the Tuscans Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, the Florentine dialect, above all the local dialects, was adopted as the basis for a national literary language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of industry all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon and Hungary. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War. They similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European history's most important noble families. Lorenzo de' Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century: Leo X and Clement VII. Catherine de Medici married King Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de' Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future King Louis XIII. The Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de' Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici in 1737. Roman origins In the 9th–8th century BC, the Etruscans formed the small settlement of Fiesole (Faesulae in Latin) This was destroyed by Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 80 BC, in reprisal for supporting the populares faction in Rome. The present city of Florence was established by Julius Caesar in 59 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers and was named originally Fluentia, owing to the fact that it was built between two rivers, which was later changed to Florentia ("flowering"). It was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the main route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. In centuries to come, the city experienced turbulent periods of Ostrogothic rule, during which the city was often troubled by warfare between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines, which may have caused the population to fall to as few as 1,000 people. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century. Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to grow again and commerce prospered. In 854, Florence and Fiesole were united in one county. Second millennium Margrave Hugo chose Florence as his residency instead of Lucca at about 1000 AD. The Golden Age of Florentine art began around this time. In 1013, construction began on the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte. The exterior of the church was reworked in Romanesque style between 1059 and 1128. In 1100, Florence was a "commune", meaning a city state. The city's primary resource was the Arno river, providing power and access for the industry (mainly textile industry), and access to the Mediterranean sea for international trade. Another great source of strength was its industrious merchant community. The Florentine merchant banking skills became recognised in Europe after they brought decisive financial innovation (e.g. bills of exchange, double-entry bookkeeping system) to medieval fairs. This period also saw the eclipse of Florence's formerly powerful rival Pisa (defeated by Genoa in 1284 and subjugated by Florence in 1406), and the exercise of power by the mercantile elite following an anti-aristocratic movement, led by Giano della Bella, that resulted in a set of laws called the Ordinances of Justice (1293). Middle Ages and Renaissance Rise of the Medici At the height of demographic expansion around 1325, the urban population may have been as great as 120,000, and the rural population around the city was probably close to 300,000. The Black Death of 1348 reduced it by over half, about 25,000 are said to have been supported by the city's wool industry: in 1345 Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool combers (ciompi), who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule in the Revolt of the Ciompi. After their suppression, Florence came under the sway (1382–1434) of the Albizzi family, who became bitter rivals of the Medici. In the 15th century, Florence was among the largest cities in Europe, with a population of 60,000, and was considered rich and economically successful. Cosimo de' Medici was the first Medici family member to essentially control the city from behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts, his power came from a vast patronage network along with his alliance to the new immigrants, the gente nuova (new people). The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their ascendancy. Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero, who was, soon after, succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. Lorenzo was an accomplished poet and musician and brought composers and singers to Florence, including Alexander Agricola, Johannes Ghiselin, and Heinrich Isaac. By contemporary Florentines (and since), he was known as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" (Lorenzo il Magnifico). Following Lorenzo de' Medici's death in 1492, he was succeeded by his son Piero II. When the French king Charles VIII invaded northern Italy, Piero II chose to resist his army. But when he realised the size of the French army at the gates of Pisa, he had to accept the humiliating conditions of the French king. These made the Florentines rebel, and they expelled Piero II. With his exile in 1494, the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government. Savonarola, Machiavelli, and the Medici popes During this period, the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola had become prior of the San Marco monastery in 1490. He was famed for his penitential sermons, lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and attachment to material riches. He praised the exile of the Medici as the work of God, punishing them for their decadence. He seized the opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more democratic rule. But when Savonarola publicly accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption, he was banned from speaking in public. When he broke this ban, he was excommunicated. The Florentines, tired of his teachings, turned against him and arrested him. He was convicted as a heretic, hung and burned at the stake on the Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498. His ashes were dispersed in the Arno river. Another Florentine of this period with famously acute insight was Niccolò Machiavelli, whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as a legitimization of political expediency and even malpractice. Machiavelli was a political thinker, renowned for his political handbook The Prince, which is about ruling and exercising power. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the Florentine Histories, the history of the city. In 1512, the Medici retook control of Florence with the help of Spanish and Papal troops. They were led by two cousins, Giovanni and Giulio de' Medici, both of whom would later become Popes of the Catholic Church, (Leo X and Clement VII, respectively). Both were generous patrons of the arts, commissioning works like Michelangelo's Laurentian Library and Medici Chapel in Florence, to name just two. Their reigns coincided with political upheaval in Italy, and thus in 1527, Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re-established a theocratic republic on 16 May 1527, (Jesus Christ was named King of Florence). The Medici returned to power in Florence in 1530, with the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the blessings of Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici). Florence officially became a monarchy in 1531, when Emperor Charles and Pope Clement named Alessandro de Medici as Duke of the Florentine Republic. The Medici's monarchy would last over two centuries. Alessandro's successor, Cosimo I de Medici, was named Grand Dukes of Tuscany in 1569; in all Tuscany, only the Republic of Lucca (later a Duchy) and the Principality of Piombino were independent from Florence. 18th and 19th centuries The extinction of the Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen, duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. It became a secundogeniture of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, who were deposed for the House of Bourbon-Parma in 1801. From 1801 to 1807 Florence was the capital of the Napoleonic client state Kingdom of Etruria. The Bourbon-Parma were deposed in December 1807 when Tuscany was annexed by France. Florence was the prefecture of the French département of Arno from 1808 to the fall of Napoleon in 1814. The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was restored on the throne of Tuscany at the Congress of Vienna but finally deposed in 1859. Tuscany became a region of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Florence replaced Turin as Italy's capital in 1865 and, in an effort to modernise the city, the old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and many medieval houses were pulled down and replaced by a more formal street plan with newer houses. The Piazza (first renamed Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, then Piazza della Repubblica, the present name) was significantly widened and a large triumphal arch was constructed at the west end. This development was unpopular and was prevented from continuing by the efforts of several British and American people living in the city. A museum recording the destruction stands nearby today. The country's second capital city was superseded by Rome six years later, after the withdrawal of the French troops allowed the capture of Rome. 20th century During World War II the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943–1944) being part of the Italian Social Republic. Hitler declared it an open city on 3 July 1944 as troops of the British 8th Army closed in. In early August, the retreating Germans decided to demolish all the bridges along the Arno linking the district of Oltrarno to the rest of the city, making it difficult for troops of the 8th Army to cross. However, at the last moment Charles Steinhauslin, at the time consul of 26 countries in Florence, convinced the German general in Italy that the Ponte Vecchio was not to be destroyed due to its historical value. Instead, an equally historic area of streets directly to the south of the bridge, including part of the Corridoio Vasariano, was destroyed using mines. Since then the bridges have been restored to their original forms using as many of the remaining materials as possible, but the buildings surrounding the Ponte Vecchio have been rebuilt in a style combining the old with modern design. Shortly before leaving Florence, as they knew that they would soon have to retreat, the Germans executed many freedom fighters and political opponents publicly, in streets and squares including the Piazza Santo Spirito. Florence was liberated by New Zealand, South African and British troops on 4 August 1944 alongside partisans from the Tuscan Committee of National Liberation (CTLN). The Allied soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in cemeteries outside the city (Americans about south of the city, British and Commonwealth soldiers a few kilometres east of the centre on the right bank of the Arno). At the end of World War II in May 1945, the US Army's Information and Educational Branch was ordered to establish an overseas university campus for demobilised American service men and women in Florence, Italy. The first American university for service personnel was established in June 1945 at the School of Aeronautics in Florence, Italy. Some 7,500 soldier-students were to pass through the university during its four one-month sessions (see G. I. American Universities). In November 1966, the Arno flooded parts of the centre, damaging many art treasures. Around the city there are tiny placards on the walls noting where the flood waters reached at their highest point. Geography Florence lies in a basin formed by the hills of Careggi, Fiesole, Settignano, Arcetri, Poggio Imperiale and Bellosguardo (Florence). The Arno river, three other minor rivers (Mugnone, Ema and Greve) and some streams flow through it. Climate Florence has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), tending to Mediterranean (Csa). It has hot summers with moderate or light rainfall and cool, damp winters. As Florence lacks a prevailing wind, summer temperatures are higher than along the coast. Rainfall in summer is convectional, while relief rainfall dominates in the winter. Snow flurries occur almost every year, but often result in no accumulation. The highest officially recorded temperature was on 26 July 1983 and the lowest was on 12 January 1985. Government The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council (Consiglio Comunale), which is composed of 36 councillors elected every five years with a proportional system, at the same time as the mayoral elections. The executive body is the City Committee (Giunta Comunale), composed of 7 assessors, nominated and presided over by a directly elected Mayor. The current mayor of Florence is Dario Nardella. The municipality of Florence is subdivided into five administrative Boroughs (Quartieri). Each borough is governed by a Council (Consiglio) and a President, elected at the same time as the city mayor. The urban organisation is governed by the Italian Constitution (art. 114). The boroughs have the power to advise the Mayor with nonbinding opinions on a large spectrum of topics (environment, construction, public health, local markets) and exercise the functions delegated to them by the City Council; in addition they are supplied with an autonomous funding in order to finance local activities. The boroughs are: Q1 – Centro storico (Historic Centre); population: 67,170; Q2 – Campo di Marte; population: 88,588; Q3 – Gavinana-Galluzzo; population: 40,907; Q4 – Isolotto-Legnaia; population: 66,636; Q5 – Rifredi; population: 103,761. All of the five boroughs are governed by the Democratic Party. The former Italian Prime Minister (2014–2016), Matteo Renzi, served as mayor from 2009 to 2014. Main sights Florence is known as the "cradle of the Renaissance" (la culla del Rinascimento) for its monuments, churches, and buildings. The best-known site of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo, whose dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. The nearby Campanile (partly designed by Giotto) and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights. The dome, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world. In 1982, the historic centre of Florence (Italian: centro storico di Firenze) was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. The centre of the city is contained in medieval walls that were built in the 14th century to defend the city. At the heart of the city, in Piazza della Signoria, is Bartolomeo Ammannati's Fountain of Neptune (1563–1565), which is a masterpiece of marble sculpture at the terminus of a still functioning Roman aqueduct. The layout and structure of Florence in many ways harkens back to the Roman era, where it was designed as a garrison settlement. Nevertheless, the majority of the city was built during the Renaissance. Despite the strong presence of Renaissance architecture within the city, traces of medieval, Baroque, Neoclassical and modern architecture can be found. The Palazzo Vecchio as well as the Duomo, or the city's Cathedral, are the two buildings which dominate Florence's skyline. The river Arno, which cuts through the old part of the city, is as much a character in Florentine history as many of the people who lived there. Historically, the locals have had a love-hate relationship with the Arno – which alternated between nourishing the city with commerce, and destroying it by flood. One of the bridges in particular stands out – the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges, held up by stilts. The bridge also carries Vasari's elevated corridor linking the Uffizi to the Medici residence (Palazzo Pitti). Although the original bridge was constructed by the Etruscans, the current bridge was rebuilt in the 14th century. It is the only bridge in the city to have survived World War II intact. It is the first example in the western world of a bridge built using segmental arches, that is, arches less than a semicircle, to reduce both span-to-rise ratio and the numbers of pillars to allow lesser encumbrance in the riverbed (being in this much more successful than the Roman Alconétar Bridge). The church of San Lorenzo contains the Medici Chapel, the mausoleum of the Medici family—the most powerful family in Florence from the 15th to the 18th century. Nearby is the Uffizi Gallery, one of the finest art museums in the world – founded on a large bequest from the last member of the Medici family. The Uffizi is located at the corner of Piazza della Signoria, a site important for being the centre of Florence's civil life and government for centuries. The Palazzo della Signoria facing it is still home of the municipal government. Many significant episodes in the history of art and political changes were staged here, such as: In 1301, Dante Alighieri was sent into exile from here (commemorated by a plaque on one of the walls of the Uffizi). On 26 April 1478, Jacopo de' Pazzi and his retainers tried to raise the city against the Medici after the plot known as La congiura dei Pazzi (The Pazzi conspiracy), murdering Giuliano di Piero de' Medici and wounding his brother Lorenzo. All the members of the plot who could be apprehended were seized by the Florentines and hanged from the windows of the palace. In 1497, it was the location of the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by the Dominican friar and preacher Girolamo Savonarola On 23 May 1498, the same Savonarola and two followers were hanged and burnt at the stake. (A round plate in the ground marks the spot where he was hanged) In 1504, Michelangelo's David (now replaced by a replica, since the original was moved in 1873 to the Galleria dell'Accademia) was installed in front of the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as Palazzo Vecchio). The Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria is the location of a number of statues by other sculptors such as Donatello, Giambologna, Ammannati and Cellini, although some have been replaced with copies to preserve the originals. Monuments, museums and religious buildings Florence contains several palaces and buildings from various eras. The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence and also an art museum. This large Romanesque crenellated fortress-palace overlooks the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well as the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria, after the Signoria of Florence, the ruling body of the Republic of Florence, it was also given several other names: Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, and Palazzo Ducale, in accordance with the varying use of the palace during its long history. The building acquired its current name when the Medici duke's residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti. It is linked to the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti through the Corridoio Vasariano. Palazzo Medici Riccardi, designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo il Vecchio, of the Medici family, is another major edifice, and was built between 1445 and 1460. It was well known for its stone masonry that includes rustication and ashlar. Today it is the head office of the Metropolitan City of Florence and hosts museums and the Riccardiana Library. The Palazzo Strozzi, an example of civil architecture with its rusticated stone, was inspired by the Palazzo Medici, but with more harmonious proportions. Today the palace is used for international expositions like the annual antique show (founded as the Biennale dell'Antiquariato in 1959), fashion shows and other cultural and artistic events. Here also is the seat of the Istituto Nazionale del Rinascimento and the noted Gabinetto Vieusseux, with the library and reading room. There are several other notable places, including the Palazzo Rucellai, designed by Leon Battista Alberti between 1446 and 1451 and executed, at least in part, by Bernardo Rossellino; the Palazzo Davanzati, which houses the museum of the Old Florentine House; the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, designed in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1871; the Palazzo Spini Feroni, in Piazza Santa Trinita, a historic 13th-century private palace, owned since the 1920s by shoe-designer Salvatore Ferragamo; as well as various others, including the Palazzo Borghese, the Palazzo di Bianca Cappello, the Palazzo Antinori, and the Royal building of Santa Maria Novella. Florence contains numerous museums and art galleries where some of the world's most important works of art are held. The city is one of the best preserved Renaissance centres of art and architecture in the world and has a high concentration of art, architecture and culture. In the ranking list of the 15 most visited Italian art museums, ⅔ are represented by Florentine museums. The Uffizi is one of these, having a very large collection of international and Florentine art. The gallery is articulated in many halls, catalogued by schools and chronological order. Engendered by the Medici family's artistic collections through the centuries, it houses works of art by various painters and artists. The Vasari Corridor is another gallery, built connecting the Palazzo Vecchio with the Pitti Palace passing by the Uffizi and over the Ponte Vecchio. The Galleria dell'Accademia houses a Michelangelo collection, including the David. It has a collection of Russian icons and works by various artists and painters. Other museums and galleries include the Bargello, which concentrates on sculpture works by artists including Donatello, Giambologna and Michelangelo; the Palazzo Pitti, containing part of the Medici family's former private collection. In addition to the Medici collection, the palace's galleries contain many Renaissance works, including several by Raphael and Titian, large collections of costumes, ceremonial carriages, silver, porcelain and a gallery of modern art dating from the 18th century. Adjoining the palace are the Boboli Gardens, elaborately landscaped and with numerous sculptures. There are several different churches and religious buildings in Florence. The cathedral is Santa Maria del Fiore. The San Giovanni Baptistery located in front of the cathedral, is decorated by numerous artists, notably by Lorenzo Ghiberti with the Gates of Paradise. Other churches in Florence include the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, located in Santa Maria Novella square (near the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station) which contains works by Masaccio, Paolo Uccello, Filippino Lippi and Domenico Ghirlandaio; the Basilica of Santa Croce, the principal Franciscan church in the city, which is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about southeast of the Duomo, and is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Rossini, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie); the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which is one of the largest churches in the city, situated at the centre of Florence's main market district, and the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III; Santo Spirito, in the Oltrarno quarter, facing the square with the same name; Orsanmichele, whose building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michele, now demolished; Santissima Annunziata, a Roman Catholic basilica and the mother church of the Servite order; Ognissanti, which was founded by the lay order of the Umiliati, and is among the first examples of Baroque architecture built in the city; the Santa Maria del Carmine, in the Oltrarno district of Florence, which is the location of the Brancacci Chapel, housing outstanding Renaissance frescoes by Masaccio and Masolino da Panicale, later finished by Filippino Lippi; the Medici Chapel with statues by Michelangelo, in the San Lorenzo; as well as several others, including Santa Trinita, San Marco, Santa Felicita, Badia Fiorentina, San Gaetano, San Miniato al Monte, Florence Charterhouse, and Santa Maria del Carmine. The city additionally contains the Orthodox Russian church of Nativity, and the Great Synagogue of Florence, built in the 19th century. Florence contains various theatres and cinemas. The Odeon Cinema of the Palazzo dello Strozzino is one of the oldest cinemas in the city. Established from 1920 to 1922 in a wing of the Palazzo dello Strozzino, it used to be called the Cinema Teatro Savoia (Savoy Cinema-Theatre), yet was later called Odeon. The Teatro della Pergola, located in the centre of the city on the eponymous street, is an opera house built in the 17th century. Another theatre is the Teatro Comunale (or Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), originally built as the open-air amphitheatre, the Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele, which was inaugurated on 17 May 1862 with a production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and which seated 6,000 people. There are several other theatres, such as the Saloncino Castinelli, the Teatro Puccini, the Teatro Verdi, the Teatro Goldoni and the Teatro Niccolini. Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore Florence Cathedral, formally the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, is the cathedral of Florence, Italy. It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally completed by 1436, with the dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. Squares, streets and parks Aside from such monuments, Florence contains numerous major squares (piazze) and streets. The Piazza della Repubblica is a square in the city centre, location of the cultural cafés and bourgeois palaces. Among the square's cafés (like Caffè Gilli, Paszkowski or the Hard Rock Cafè), the Giubbe Rosse café has long been a meeting place for artists and writers, notably those of Futurism. The Piazza Santa Croce is another; dominated by the Basilica of Santa Croce, it is a rectangular square in the centre of the city where the Calcio Fiorentino is played every year. Furthermore, there is the Piazza Santa Trinita, a square near the Arno that mark the end of the Via de' Tornabuoni street. Other squares include the Piazza San Marco, the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the Piazza Beccaria and the Piazza della Libertà. The centre additionally contains several streets. Such include the Via Camillo Cavour, one of the main roads of the northern area of the historic centre; the Via Ghibellina, one of central Florence's longest streets; the Via dei Calzaiuoli, one of the most central streets of the historic centre which links Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Signoria, winding parallel to via Roma and Piazza della Repubblica; the Via de' Tornabuoni, a luxurious street in the city centre that goes from Antinori square to ponte Santa Trinita, across Piazza Santa Trinita, characterised by the presence of fashion boutiques; the Viali di Circonvallazione, 6-lane boulevards surrounding the northern part of the historic centre; as well as others, such as Via Roma, Via degli Speziali, Via de' Cerretani, and the Viale dei Colli. Florence also contains various parks and gardens. Such include the Boboli Gardens, the Parco delle Cascine, the Giardino Bardini and the Giardino dei Semplici, amongst others. Demographics In 1200 the city was home to 50,000 people. By 1300 the population of the city proper was 120,000, with an additional 300,000 living in the Contado. Between 1500 and 1650 the population was around 70,000. , the population of the city proper is 370,702, while Eurostat estimates that 696,767 people live in the urban area of Florence. The Metropolitan Area of Florence, Prato and Pistoia, constituted in 2000 over an area of roughly , is home to 1.5 million people. Within Florence proper, 46.8% of the population was male in 2007 and 53.2% were female. Minors (children aged 18 and less) totalled 14.10 percent of the population compared to pensioners, who numbered 25.95 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Florence resident is 49 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Florence grew by 3.22 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent. The birth rate of Florence is 7.66 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. , 87.46% of the population was Italian. An estimated 6,000 Chinese live in the city. The largest immigrant group came from other European countries (mostly Romanians and Albanians): 3.52%, East Asia (mostly Chinese and Filipino): 2.17%, the Americas: 1.41%, and North Africa (mostly Moroccan): 0.9%. Much like the rest of Italy most of the people in Florence are Roman Catholic, with more than 90% of the population belonging to the Archdiocese of Florence. Economy Tourism is, by far, the most important of all industries and most of the Florentine economy relies on the money generated by international arrivals and students studying in the city. The value tourism to the city totalled some €2.5 billion in 2015 and the number of visitors had increased by 5.5% from the previous year. In 2013, Florence was listed as the second best world city by Condé Nast Traveler. Manufacturing and commerce, however, still remain highly important. Florence is also Italy's 17th richest city in terms of average workers' earnings, with the figure being €23,265 (the overall city's income is €6,531,204,473), coming after Mantua, yet surpassing Bolzano. Industry, commerce and services Florence is a major production and commercial centre in Italy, where the Florentine industrial complexes in the suburbs produce all sorts of goods, from furniture, rubber goods, chemicals, and food. However, traditional and local products, such as antiques, handicrafts, glassware, leatherwork, art reproductions, jewellery, souvenirs, elaborate metal and iron-work, shoes, accessories and high fashion clothes also dominate a fair sector of Florence's economy. The city's income relies partially on services and commercial and cultural interests, such as annual fairs, theatrical and lyrical productions, art exhibitions, festivals and fashion shows, such as the Calcio Fiorentino. Heavy industry and machinery also take their part in providing an income. In Nuovo Pignone, numerous factories are still present, and small-to medium industrial businesses are dominant. The Florence-Prato-Pistoia industrial districts and areas were known as the 'Third Italy' in the 1990s, due to the exports of high-quality goods and automobile (especially the Vespa) and the prosperity and productivity of the Florentine entrepreneurs. Some of these industries even rivalled the traditional industrial districts in Emilia-Romagna and Veneto due to high profits and productivity. In the fourth quarter of 2015, manufacturing increased by 2.4% and exports increased by 7.2%. Leading sectors included mechanical engineering, fashion, pharmaceutics, food and wine. During 2015, permanent employment contracts increased by 48.8 percent, boosted by nationwide tax break. Tourism Tourism is the most significant industry in central Florence. From April to October, tourists outnumber local population. Tickets to the Uffizi and Accademia museums are regularly sold out and large groups regularly fill the basilicas of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, both of which charge for entry. Tickets for The Uffizi and Accademia can be purchased online prior to visiting. In 2010, readers of Travel + Leisure magazine ranked the city as their third favourite tourist destination. In 2015, Condé Nast Travel readers voted Florence as the best city in Europe. Studies by Euromonitor International have concluded that cultural and history-oriented tourism is generating significantly increased spending throughout Europe. Florence is believed to have the greatest concentration of art (in proportion to its size) in the world. Thus, cultural tourism is particularly strong, with world-renowned museums such as the Uffizi selling over 1.93 million tickets in 2014. The city's convention centre facilities were restructured during the 1990s and host exhibitions, conferences, meetings, social forums, concerts and other events all year. In 2016, Florence had 20,588 hotel rooms in 570 facilities. International visitors use 75% of the rooms; some 18% of those were from the U.S. In 2014, the city had 8.5 million overnight stays. A Euromonitor report indicates that in 2015 the city ranked as the world's 36th most visited in the world, with over 4.95 million arrivals for the year. Tourism brings revenue to Florence, but also creates certain problems. The Ponte Vecchio, The San Lorenzo Market and Santa Maria Novella are plagued by pickpockets. The province of Florence receives roughly 13 million visitors per year and in peak seasons, popular locations may become overcrowded as a result. In 2015, Mayor Dario Nardella expressed concern over visitors who arrive on buses, stay only a few hours, spend little money but contribute significantly to overcrowding. "No museum visit, just a photo from the square, the bus back and then on to Venice... We don’t want tourists like that," he said. Some tourists are less than respectful of the city's cultural heritage, according to Nardella. In June 2017, he instituted a programme of spraying church steps with water to prevent tourists from using such areas as picnic spots. While he values the benefits of tourism, he claims that there has been "an increase among those who sit down on church steps, eat their food and leave rubbish strewn on them," he explained. To boost the sale of traditional foods, the mayor had introduced legislation (enacted in 2016) that requires restaurants to use typical Tuscan products and rejected McDonald's application to open a location in the Piazza del Duomo. In October 2021, Florence was shortlisted for the European Commission's 2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism award along with Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Dublin, Ljubljana, Palma de Mallorca and Valencia. Food and wine production Food and wine have long been an important staple of the economy. The Chianti region is just south of the city, and its Sangiovese grapes figure prominently not only in its Chianti Classico wines but also in many of the more recently developed Supertuscan blends. Within to the west is the Carmignano area, also home to flavourful sangiovese-based reds. The celebrated Chianti Rufina district, geographically and historically separated from the main Chianti region, is also few kilometres east of Florence. More recently, the Bolgheri region (about southwest of Florence) has become celebrated for its "Super Tuscan" reds such as Sassicaia and Ornellaia. Culture Art Florence was the birthplace of High Renaissance art, which lasted from 1450 to 1527. While Medieval art focused on basic story telling of the Bible, Renaissance art focused on naturalism and human emotion. Medieval art was abstract, formulaic, and largely produced by monks whereas Renaissance art was rational, mathematical, individualistic, consisted of linear perspective and shading (Chiaroscuro) and produced by specialists (Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael). Religion was important, but with this new age came the humanization of religious figures in art, such as Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Ecce Homo (Bosch, 1470s), and Madonna Della Seggiola; People of this age began to understand themselves as human beings, which reflected in art. The Renaissance marked the rebirth of classical values in art and society as people studied the ancient masters of the Greco-Roman world; Art became focused on realism as opposed to idealism. Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived in Florence as well as Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, renewers of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, forefathers of the Renaissance, Ghiberti and the Della Robbias, Filippo Lippi and Angelico; Botticelli, Paolo Uccello and the universal genius of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Their works, together with those of many other generations of artists, are gathered in the several museums of the town: the Uffizi Gallery, the Palatina gallery with the paintings of the "Golden Ages", the Bargello with the sculptures of the Renaissance, the museum of San Marco with Fra Angelico's works, the Academy, the chapels of the Medicis Buonarroti's house with the sculptures of Michelangelo, the following museums: Bardini, Horne, Stibbert, Romano, Corsini, The Gallery of Modern Art, the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, the museum of Silverware and the museum of Precious Stones. Several monuments are located in Florence: the Florence Baptistery with its mosaics; the cathedral with its sculptures, the medieval churches with bands of frescoes; public as well as private palaces: Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Palazzo Davanzati; monasteries, cloisters, refectories; the "Certosa". In the archaeological museum includes documents of Etruscan civilisation. In fact the city is so rich in art that some first time visitors experience the Stendhal syndrome as they encounter its art for the first time. Florentine architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1466) and Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) were among the fathers of both Renaissance and Neoclassical architecture. The cathedral, topped by Brunelleschi's dome, dominates the Florentine skyline. The Florentines decided to start building it – late in the 13th century, without a design for the dome. The project proposed by Brunelleschi in the 14th century was the largest ever built at the time, and the first major dome built in Europe since the two great domes of Roman times – the Pantheon in Rome, and Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore remains the largest brick construction of its kind in the world. In front of it is the medieval Baptistery. The two buildings incorporate in their decoration the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. In recent years, most of the important works of art from the two buildings – and from the nearby Giotto's Campanile, have been removed and replaced by copies. The originals are now housed in the Museum dell'Opera del Duomo, just to the east of the cathedral. Florence has large numbers of art-filled churches, such as San Miniato al Monte, San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella, Santa Trinita, Santa Maria del Carmine, Santa Croce, Santo Spirito, the Annunziata, Ognissanti and numerous others. Artists associated with Florence range from Arnolfo di Cambio and Cimabue to Giotto, Nanni di Banco, and Paolo Uccello; through Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Donatello and Massaccio and the della Robbia family; through Fra Angelico and Botticelli and Piero della Francesca, and on to Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Others include Benvenuto Cellini, Andrea del Sarto, Benozzo Gozzoli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Filippo Lippi, Bernardo Buontalenti, Orcagna, Pollaiuolo, Filippino Lippi, Verrocchio, Bronzino, Desiderio da Settignano, Michelozzo, the Rossellis, the Sangallos, and Pontormo. Artists from other regions who worked in Florence include Raphael, Andrea Pisano, Giambologna, Il Sodoma and Peter Paul Rubens. Picture galleries in Florence include the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. Two superb collections of sculpture are in the Bargello and the Museum of the Works of the Duomo. They are filled with the creations of Donatello, Verrochio, Desiderio da Settignano, Michelangelo and others. The Galleria dell'Accademia has Michelangelo's David – perhaps the best-known work of art anywhere, plus the unfinished statues of the slaves Michelangelo created for the tomb of Pope Julius II. Other sights include the medieval city hall, the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as the Palazzo Vecchio), the Archeological Museum, the Museum of the History of Science, the Garden of Archimedes, the Palazzo Davanzatti, the Stibbert Museum, St. Marks, the Medici Chapels, the Museum of the Works of Santa Croce, the Museum of the Cloister of Santa Maria Novella, the Zoological Museum ("La Specola"), the Bardini, and the Museo Horne. There is also a collection of works by the modern sculptor, Marino Marini, in a museum named after him. The Strozzi Palace is the site of special exhibits. Language Florentine (fiorentino), spoken by inhabitants of Florence and its environs, is a Tuscan dialect and the immediate parent language to modern Italian. Although its vocabulary and pronunciation are largely identical to standard Italian, differences do exist. The Vocabolario del fiorentino contemporaneo (Dictionary of Modern Florentine) reveals lexical distinctions from all walks of life. Florentines have a highly recognisable accent in phonetic terms due to the so-called gorgia toscana): "hard c" between two vowels is pronounced as a fricative similar to an English h, so that dico 'I say' is phonetically , i cani 'the dogs' is . Similarly, t between vowels is pronounced as in English thin, and p in the same position is the bilabial fricative . Other traits include using a form of the subjunctive mood last commonly used in medieval times, a frequent usage in everyday speech of the modern subjunctive, and a shortened pronunciation of the definite article, instead of "il", causing doubling of the consonant that follows, so that il cane 'the dog', for example, is pronounced . Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio pioneered the use of the vernacular instead of the Latin used for most literary works at the time. Literature Despite Latin being the main language of the courts and the Church in the Middle Ages, writers such as Dante Alighieri and many others used their own language, the Florentine vernacular descended from Latin, in composing their greatest works. The oldest literary pieces written in Florentine go as far back as the 13th century. Florence's literature fully blossomed in the 14th century, when not only Dante with his Divine Comedy (1306–1321) and Petrarch, but also poets such as Guido Cavalcanti and Lapo Gianni composed their most important works. Dante's masterpiece is the Divine Comedy, which mainly deals with the poet himself taking an allegoric and moral tour of Hell, Purgatory and finally Heaven, during which he meets numerous mythological or real characters of his age or before. He is first guided by the Roman poet Virgil, whose non-Christian beliefs damned him to Hell. Later on he is joined by Beatrice, who guides him through Heaven. In the 14th century, Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio led the literary scene in Florence after Dante's death in 1321. Petrarch was an all-rounder writer, author and poet, but was particularly known for his Canzoniere, or the Book of Songs, where he conveyed his unremitting love for Laura. His style of writing has since become known as Petrarchism. Boccaccio was better known for his Decameron, a slightly grim story of Florence during the 1350s bubonic plague, known as the Black Death, when some people fled the ravaged city to an isolated country mansion, and spent their time there recounting stories and novellas taken from the medieval and contemporary tradition. All of this is written in a series of 100 distinct novellas. In the 16th century, during the Renaissance, Florence was the home town of political writer and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, whose ideas on how rulers should govern the land, detailed in The Prince, spread across European courts and enjoyed enduring popularity for centuries. These principles became known as Machiavellianism. Music Florence became a musical centre during the Middle Ages and music and the performing arts remain an important part of its culture. The growth of Northern Italian Cities in the 1500s likely contributed to its increased prominence. During the Renaissance, there were four kinds of musical patronage in the city with respect to both sacred and secular music: state, corporate, church, and private. It was here that the Florentine Camerata convened in the mid-16th century and experimented with setting tales of Greek mythology to music and staging the result—in other words, the first operas, setting the wheels in motion not just for the further development of the operatic form, but for later developments of separate "classical" forms such as the symphony and concerto. After the year 1600, Italian trends prevailed across Europe, by 1750 it was the primary musical language. The genre of the Madrigal, born in Italy, gained popularity in Britain and elsewhere. Several Italian cities were "larger on the musical map than their real-size for power suggested. Florence, was once such city which experienced a fantastic period in the early seventeenth Century of musico-theatrical innovation, including the beginning and flourishing of opera. Opera was invented in Florence in the late 16th century when Jacobo Peri's Dafne an opera in the style of monody, was premiered. Opera spread from Florence throughout Italy and eventually Europe. Vocal Music in the choir setting was also taking new identity at this time. At the beginning of the 17th century, two practices for writing music were devised, one the first practice or Stile Antico/Prima Prattica the other the Stile Moderno/Seconda Prattica. The Stile Antico was more prevalent in Northern Europe and Stile Moderno was practiced more by the Italian Composers of the time. The piano was invented in Florence in 1709 by Bartolomeo Cristofori. Composers and musicians who have lived in Florence include Piero Strozzi (1550 – after 1608), Giulio Caccini (1551–1618) and Mike Francis (1961–2009). Giulio Caccini's book Le Nuove Musiche was significant in performance practice technique instruction at the time. The book specified a new term, in use by the 1630s, called monody which indicated the combination of voice and basso continuo and connoted a practice of stating text in a free, lyrical, yet speech-like manner. This would occur while an instrument, usually a keyboard type such as harpsichord, played and held chords while the singer sang/spoke the monodic line. Cinema Florence has been a setting for numerous works of fiction and movies, including the novels and associated films, such as Light in the Piazza, The Girl Who Couldn't Say No, Calmi Cuori Appassionati, Hannibal, A Room with a View, Tea with Mussolini, Virgin Territory and Inferno. The city is home to renowned Italian actors and actresses, such as Roberto Benigni, Leonardo Pieraccioni and Vittoria Puccini. Video games Florence has appeared as a location in video games such as Assassins Creed II. The Republic of Florence also appears as a playable nation in Paradox Interactive's grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV. Other Media 16th century Florence is the setting of the Japanese manga and anime series Arte. Cuisine Florentine food grows out of a tradition of peasant eating rather than rarefied high cooking. The majority of dishes are based on meat. The whole animal was traditionally eaten; tripe (trippa) and stomach (lampredotto) were once regularly on the menu and still are sold at the food carts stationed throughout the city. Antipasti include crostini toscani, sliced bread rounds topped with a chicken liver-based pâté, and sliced meats (mainly prosciutto and salame, often served with melon when in season). The typically saltless Tuscan bread, obtained with natural levain frequently features in Florentine courses, especially in its soups, ribollita and pappa al pomodoro, or in the salad of bread and fresh vegetables called panzanella that is served in summer. The bistecca alla fiorentina is a large (the customary size should weigh around ) – the "date" steak – T-bone steak of Chianina beef cooked over hot charcoal and served very rare with its more recently derived version, the tagliata, sliced rare beef served on a bed of arugula, often with slices of Parmesan cheese on top. Most of these courses are generally served with local olive oil, also a prime product enjoying a worldwide reputation. Among the desserts, schiacciata alla fiorentina, a white flatbread cake, is one of the most popular; it is a very soft cake, prepared with extremely simple ingredients, typical of Florentine cuisine, and is especially eaten at Carnival. Research activity Research institutes and university departments are located within the Florence area and within two campuses at Polo di Novoli and Polo Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino as well as in the Research Area of Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Science and discovery Florence has been an important scientific centre for centuries, notably during the Renaissance with scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci. Florentines were one of the driving forces behind the Age of Discovery. Florentine bankers financed Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese explorers who pioneered the route around Africa to India and the Far East. It was a map drawn by the Florentine Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, a student of Brunelleschi, that Christopher Columbus used to sell his "enterprise" to the Spanish monarchs, and which he used on his first voyage. Mercator's "Projection" is a refined version of Toscanelli's, taking the Americas into account. Galileo and other scientists pioneered the study of optics, ballistics, astronomy, anatomy, and other scientific disciplines. Pico della Mirandola, Leonardo Bruni, Machiavelli, and many others laid the groundwork for modern scientific understanding. Fashion By the year 1300 Florence had become a centre of textile production in Europe. Many of the rich families in Renaissance Florence were major purchasers of locally produced fine clothing, and the specialists of fashion in the economy and culture of Florence during that period is often underestimated. Florence is regarded by some as the birthplace and earliest centre of the modern (post World War Two) fashion industry in Italy. The Florentine "soirées" of the early 1950s organised by Giovanni Battista Giorgini were events where several Italian designers participated in group shows and first garnered international attention. Florence has served as the home of the Italian fashion company Salvatore Ferragamo since 1928. Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, and Emilio Pucci are also headquartered in Florence. Other major players in the fashion industry such as Prada and Chanel have large offices and stores in Florence or its outskirts. Florence's main upscale shopping street is Via de' Tornabuoni, where major luxury fashion houses and jewellery labels, such as Armani and Bulgari, have their elegant boutiques. Via del Parione and Via Roma are other streets that are also well known for their high-end fashion stores. Historical evocations Scoppio del Carro The Scoppio del Carro ("Explosion of the Cart") is a celebration of the First Crusade. During the day of Easter, a cart, which the Florentines call the Brindellone and which is led by four white oxen, is taken to the Piazza del Duomo between the Baptistery of St. John the Baptist (Battistero di San Giovanni) and the Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore). The cart is connected by a rope to the interior of the church. Near the cart there is a model of a dove, which, according to legend, is a symbol of good luck for the city: at the end of the Easter mass, the dove emerges from the nave of the Duomo and ignites the fireworks on the cart. Calcio Storico Calcio Storico Fiorentino ("Historic Florentine Football"), sometimes called Calcio in costume, is a traditional sport, regarded as a forerunner of soccer, though the actual gameplay most closely resembles rugby. The event originates from the Middle Ages, when the most important Florentine nobles amused themselves playing while wearing bright costumes. The most important match was played on 17 February 1530, during the siege of Florence. That day Papal troops besieged the city while the Florentines, with contempt of the enemies, decided to play the game notwithstanding the situation. The game is played in the Piazza di Santa Croce. A temporary arena is constructed, with bleachers and a sand-covered playing field. A series of matches are held between four teams representing each quartiere (quarter) of Florence during late June and early July. There are four teams: Azzurri (light blue), Bianchi (white), Rossi (red) and Verdi (green). The Azzurri are from the quarter of Santa Croce, Bianchi from the quarter of Santo Spirito, Verdi are from San Giovanni and Rossi from Santa Maria Novella. Sport In association football Florence is represented by ACF Fiorentina, which plays in Serie A, the top league of Italian league system. ACF Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1956 and 1969, and 6 Italian cups, since their formation in 1926. They play their games at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, which holds 47,282. The female squad of ACF Fiorentina have won the women's association football Italian Championship of the 2016–17 season. The city is home of the Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, in Coverciano, Florence, the main training ground of the Italian national team, and the technical department of the Italian Football Federation. Florence was one of the host cities for cycling's 2013 UCI Road World Championships. The city has also hosted stages of the Giro d'Italia, most recently in 2017. Since 2017 Florence is also represented in Eccellenza, the top tier of rugby union league system in Italy, by I Medicei, which is a club established in 2015 by the merging of the senior squads of I Cavalieri (of Prato) and Firenze Rugby 1931. I Medicei won the Serie A Championship in 2016–17 and were promoted to Eccellenza for the 2017–18 season. Rari Nantes Florentia is a successful water polo club based in Florence; both its male and female squads have won several Italian championships and the female squad has also European titles in their palmarès. Education The University of Florence was first founded in 1321, and was recognized by Pope Clement VI in 1349. In 2019, over 50,000 students were enrolled at the university. The European University Institute has been based in the suburb of Fiesole since 1976. Several American universities host a campus in Florence. Including New York University, Marist College, Pepperdine, Stanford, Florida State and James Madison. Another center of crucial importance is Villa I Tatti, the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. The center for arts and humanities advanced research is located on the border of Florence, Fiesole and Settignano since 1961. Over 8,000 American students are enrolled for study in Florence. The private school, Centro Machiavelli which teaches Italian language and culture to foreigners, is located in Piazza Santo Spirito in Florence. Transportation Cars The centre of Florence is closed to through-traffic, although buses, taxis and residents with appropriate permits are allowed in. This area is commonly referred to as the ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitato), which is divided into several subsections. Residents of one section, therefore, will only be able to drive in their district and perhaps some surrounding ones. Cars without permits are allowed to enter after 7.30 pm, or before 7.30 am. The rules shift during the tourist-filled summers, putting more restrictions on where one can get in and out. Buses The principal public transit network in the city is run by the ATAF and Li-nea bus company. Individual tickets, or a pass called Carta Agile with multiple rides, are purchased in advance and must be validated once on board. These tickets may be used on ATAF and Li-nea buses, Tramvia and second-class local trains only within city railway stations. Train tickets must be validated before boarding. The main bus station is next to Santa Maria Novella railway station. Trenitalia runs trains between the railway stations within the city, and to other destinations around Italy and Europe. The central railway station, Santa Maria Novella, is about northwest of the Piazza del Duomo. There are two other important stations: Campo di Marte and Rifredi. Most bundled routes are Firenze—Pisa, Firenze—Viareggio and Firenze-Arezzo (along the main line to Rome). Other local railways connect Florence with Borgo San Lorenzo in the Mugello area (Faentina railway) and Siena. Long distance buses are run by the SITA, Copit, and CAP companies. The transit companies also accommodate travellers from the Amerigo Vespucci Airport, which is west of the city centre, and which has scheduled services run by major European carriers. Trams In an effort to reduce air pollution and car traffic in the city, a multi-line tram network called Tramvia is under construction. The first line began operation on 14 February 2010 and connects Florence's primary intercity railway station (Santa Maria Novella) with the southwestern suburb of Scandicci. This line is long and has 14 stops. The construction of a second line began on 5 November 2011, construction was stopped due to contractors' difficulties and restarted in 2014 with the new line opening on 11 February 2019. This second line connects Florence's airport with the city centre. A third line (from Santa Maria Novella to the Careggi area, where the most important hospitals of Florence are located) is also under construction. Florence public transport statistics The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Firenze, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 59 min. 13% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 14 min, while 22% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 4.1 km, while 3% travel for over 12 km in a single direction. Railway station Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station is the main national and international railway station in Florence and is used by 59 million people every year. The building, designed by Giovanni Michelucci, was built in the Italian Rationalism style and it is one of the major rationalist buildings in Italy. It is located in Piazza della Stazione, near the Fortezza da Basso (a masterpiece of the military Renaissance architecture) and the Viali di Circonvallazione, and in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella's apse from which it takes its name. As well as numerous high speed trains to major Italian cities Florence is served by international overnight sleeper services to Munich and Vienna operated by Austrian railways ÖBB. A new high-speed rail station is under construction and is contracted to be operational by 2015. It is planned to be connected to Vespucci airport, Santa Maria Novella railway station, and to the city centre by the second line of Tramvia. The architectural firms Foster + Partners and Lancietti Passaleva Giordo and Associates designed this new rail station. Airport The Florence Airport, Peretola, is one of two main airports in the Tuscany region though it is not widely used by popular airlines. The other airport in the Tuscany region is the Galileo Galilei International Airport in Pisa. Mobike (bike-sharing) Mobike, a Chinese dockless bike sharing company, has been operating in Florence since July 2017. As of 2019, the company operates 4,000 bikes in Florence. The users scan the QR code on the bike using the Mobike app, and end the ride by parking curbside. The bikes have a fixed rate of €1 every 20 minutes. Since Mobike is a dock-less bike-sharing system, it does not provide stations, therefore the bikes can be left almost anywhere. International relations Twin towns and sister cities Florence is twinned with: Bethlehem, Palestine Budapest, Hungary Dresden, Germany Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom Fes, Morocco Isfahan, Iran Kassel, Germany Kyiv, Ukraine Kuwait City, Kuwait Kyoto, Japan Nanjing, China Nazareth, Israel Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Puebla, Mexico Reims, France Riga, Latvia Salvador, Brazil Samarkand, Uzbekistan Sydney, Australia Tirana, Albania Turku, Finland Valladolid, Spain Other partnerships Arequipa, Peru Cannes, France Gifu, Gifu Japan Kraków, Poland Malmö, Sweden Mauthausen, Austria Ningbo, China Porto-Vecchio, Corsica, France Providence, Rhode Island, United States Tallinn, Estonia Notable residents Antonia of Florence, saint Agnes of Montepulciano, saint Harold Acton, author and aesthete John Argyropoulos, scholar Leone Battista Alberti, polymath Dante Alighieri, poet Giovanni Boccaccio, poet Baldassarre Bonaiuti, 14th-century chronicler Sandro Botticelli, painter Aureliano Brandolini, agronomist and development cooperation scholar Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 19th-century English poets Filippo Brunelleschi, architect Michelangelo Buonarroti, sculptor, painter, author of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and David Francesco Casagrande, cyclist Roberto Cavalli, fashion designer Carlo Collodi, writer Enrico Coveri, fashion designer Donatello, sculptor Oriana Fallaci, journalist and author Salvatore Ferragamo, fashion designer and shoemaker Mike Francis (born Francesco Puccioni), singer and composer Silpa Bhirasri (born Corrado Feroci), sculptor, credited as the principal figure of modern art in Thailand. Frescobaldi Family, notable bankers and wine producers Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, astronomer, and philosopher Giotto, early 14th-century painter, sculptor and architect Lorenzo Ghiberti, sculptor Guccio Gucci, founder of the Gucci label Pauline von Hügel (1858-1901), baroness, writer, philanthropist Bruno Innocenti, sculptor Robert Lowell, poet Niccolò Machiavelli, poet, philosopher and political thinker, author of The Prince and The Discourses Masaccio, painter Rose McGowan, Florence-born actress Medici family Girolamo Mei, historian and humanist Antonio Meucci, inventor of the telephone Pirrho Musefili, Florentine cryptographer and cryptanalyst Florence Nightingale, pioneer of modern nursing, and statistician Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione, early photographic artist, secret agent and courtesan Valerio Profondavalle, Flemish painter Giulio Racah (1909–1965), Italian-Israeli mathematician and physicist; Acting President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Raphael, painter Anna Sarfatti, children's author Girolamo Savonarola, reformist Adriana Seroni, politician Giovanni Spadolini, politician Antonio Squarcialupi, organist and composer Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist Anna Tonelli (c.1763–1846), Florence born portrait painter in the late 17th century and early 18th century. Giorgio Vasari, painter, architect, and historian Amerigo Vespucci, explorer and cartographer, namesake of the Americas Leonardo da Vinci, polymath Lisa del Giocondo, model of the Mona Lisa Giorgio Antonucci, physician, psychoanalyst and an international reference on the questioning of the basis of psychiatry See also Chancellor of Florence Cronaca fiorentina European University Institute Florentine School List of historic states of Italy List of squares in Florence :Category:Buildings and structures in Florence Notes References Sources Niccolò Machiavelli. Florentine Histories Chaney, Edward (2003), A Traveller's Companion to Florence. Ferdinand Schevill, History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance (Frederick Ungar, 1936) is the standard overall history of Florence. External links Florence Art Museums The High Renaissance in Florence – Video UNESCO video Former capitals of Italy Former national capitals 50s BC establishments 59 BC Capitals of former nations Populated places established in the 1st century BC

Federalism is a mixed or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (provincial, state, cantonal, territorial or other sub-unit governments) in a single political system, dividing the powers between the two. It has its roots in ancient Europe. Federalism in the modern era was first adopted in the unions of states during the Old Swiss Confederacy. Federalism differs from confederalism, in which the general level of government is subordinate to the regional level, and from devolution within a unitary state, in which the regional level of government is subordinate to the general level. It represents the central form in the pathway of regional integration or separation, bounded on the less integrated side by confederalism and on the more integrated side by devolution within a unitary state. Examples of a federation or federal province or state include Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Switzerland, and United States. Some characterize the European Union as the pioneering example of federalism in a multi-state setting, in a concept termed the federal union of states. Overview Etymology The terms "federalism" and "confederalism" share a root in the Latin word foedus, meaning "treaty, pact or covenant". Their common early meaning until the late eighteenth century was a simple league or inter-governmental relationship among sovereign states based on a treaty. They were therefore initially synonyms. It was in this sense that James Madison in Federalist 39 had referred to the new US Constitution as "neither a national nor a federal Constitution, but a composition of both" (i.e. as constituting neither a single large unitary state nor a league/confederation among several small states, but a hybrid of the two). In the course of the nineteenth century United States, the meaning of federalism would come to shift, strengthening to refer uniquely to the novel compound political form established at the Philadelphia Convention, while the meaning of confederalism would remain at a league of states. Origins In the narrow sense, federalism refers to the mode in which the body politic of a state is organized internally, and this is the meaning most often used in modern times. Political scientists, however, use it in a much broader sense, referring instead to a "multi-layer or pluralistic concept of social and political life." The first forms of federalism took place in ancient times, in the form of alliances between states. Some examples from the seventh to second century B.C. were the Archaic League, the Aetolic League, the Peloponnesian League, and the Delian League. An early progenitor of federalism was the Achaean League in Hellenistic Greece. Unlike the Greek city states of Classical Greece, each of which insisted on keeping its complete independence, changing conditions in the Hellenistic period drove many city states to band together even at the cost of losing part of their sovereignty. Subsequent unions of states included the first and second Swiss Confederations (1291-1798 and 1815-48), the United Provinces of the Netherlands (1579-1795), the German Bund (1815-66), the first American union known as the Confederation of the United States of America (1781-89), and second American union formed as the United States of America (1789-1865). Political theory Modern federalism is a political system based upon democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments. The term federalist describes several political beliefs around the world depending on context. Since the term federalization also describes distinctive political processes, its use as well depends on the context. In political theory, two main types of federalization are recognized: integrative, or aggregative federalization, designating various processes like: integration of non-federated political subjects by creating a new federation, accession of non-federated subjects into an existing federation, or transformation of a confederation into a federation devolutive, or dis-aggregative federalization: transformation of a unitary state into a federation Federalism is sometimes viewed in the context of international negotiation as "the best system for integrating diverse nations, ethnic groups, or combatant parties, all of whom may have cause to fear control by an overly powerful center." However, those skeptical of federal prescriptions sometimes believe that increased regional autonomy can lead to secession or dissolution of the nation. In Syria, for example, federalization proposals have failed in part because "Syrians fear that these borders could turn out to be the same as the ones that the fighting parties have currently carved out." Federations such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia collapsed as soon as it was possible to put the model to the test. Reasons for adoption According to Daniel Ziblatt, there are four competing theoretical explanations in the academic literature for the adoption of federal systems: Ideational theories, which hold that a greater ideological commitment to decentralist ideas in society makes federalism more likely to be adopted. Cultural-historical theories, which hold that federal institutions are more likely to be adopted in societies with culturally or ethnically fragmented populations. "Social contract" theories, which hold that federalism emerges as a bargain between a center and a periphery where the center is not powerful enough to dominate the periphery and the periphery is not powerful enough to secede from the center. "Infrastructural power" theories, which hold that federalism is likely to emerge when the subunits of a potential federation already have highly developed infrastructures (e.g. they are already constitutional, parliamentary, and administratively modernized states). Immanuel Kant noted that "the problem of setting up a state can be solved even by a nation of devils" so long as they possess an appropriate constitution which pits opposing factions against each other with a system of checks and balances. In particular individual states required a federation as a safeguard against the possibility of war. Examples Many countries have implemented federal systems of government with varying degree of central and regional sovereignty. The federal government of these countries can be divided into minimalistic federations, consisting of only two sub-federal units or multi-regional, those that consist of three to dozens of regional governments. They can also be grouped based on their body polity type, such as emirate, provincial, republican or state federal systems. Another way to study federated countries is by categorizing them into those whose entire territory is federated as opposed to only part of its territory comprising the federal portion of the country. Some federal systems are national systems while others, like the European Union are supra national. In general, two extremes of federalism can be distinguished: at one extreme, the strong federal state is almost completely unitary, with few powers reserved for local governments; while at the other extreme, the national government may be a federal state in name only, being a confederation in actuality. Federalism may encompass as few as two or three internal divisions, as is the case in Belgium or Bosnia and Herzegovina. The governments of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, India, and Mexico, among others, are also organized along federalist principles. In Canada, federalism typically implies opposition to sovereigntist movements (most commonly Quebec separatism). In 1999, the Government of Canada established the Forum of Federations as an international network for exchange of best practices among federal and federalizing countries. Headquartered in Ottawa, the Forum of Federations partner governments include Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and Switzerland. Europe vs. the United States Sixty percent of the American continent is organized as federal states, while in Europe federations are the exception: Germany, Austria and Switzerland are the only federal states in Europe. In Europe, "federalist" is sometimes used to describe those who favor a common federal government, with distributed power at regional, national and supranational levels. Most European federalists want this development to continue within the European Union. Although there are medieval and early modern examples of European states which used confederal and federal systems, contemporary European federalism originated in post-war Europe; one of the more important initiatives was Winston Churchill's speech in Zürich in 1946. In the United States, federalism originally referred to belief in a stronger central government. When the U.S. Constitution was being drafted, the Federalist Party supported a stronger central government, while "Anti-Federalists" wanted a weaker central government. This is very different from the modern usage of "federalism" in Europe and the United States. The distinction stems from the fact that "federalism" is situated in the middle of the political spectrum between a confederacy and a unitary state. The U.S. Constitution was written as a reaction to the Articles of Confederation, under which the United States was a loose confederation with a weak central government. In contrast, Europe has a greater history of unitary states than North America, thus European "federalism" argues for a weaker central government, relative to a unitary state. The modern American usage of the word is much closer to the European sense. As the power of the U.S. federal government has increased, some people have perceived a much more unitary state than they believe the Founding Fathers intended. Most people politically advocating "federalism" in the United States argue in favor of limiting the powers of the federal government, especially the judiciary (see Federalist Society, New Federalism). The contemporary concept of federalism came about with the creation of an entirely new system of government that provided for democratic representation at two governing levels simultaneously, which was implemented in the US Constitution. In the United States implementation of federalism, a bicameral general government, consisting of a chamber of popular representation proportional to population (the House of Representatives), and a chamber of equal State-based representation consisting of two delegates per State (the Senate), was overlaid upon the pre-existing regional governments of the thirteen independent States. With each level of government allocated a defined sphere of powers, under a written constitution and the rule of law (that is, subject to the independent third-party arbitration of a supreme court in competence disputes), the two levels were thus brought into a coordinate relationship for the first time. In 1946, Kenneth Wheare observed that the two levels of government in the US were "co-equally supreme". In this, he echoed the perspective of American founding father James Madison who saw the several States as forming "distinct and independent portions of the supremacy" in relation to the general government. Anarchism Anarchists are against the state, but they are not against political organization or "governance", so long as it is self-governance utilizing direct democracy. The mode of political organization preferred by anarchists, in general, is federalism or confederalism. However, the anarchist definition of federalism tends to differ from the definition of federalism assumed by pro-state political scientists. The following is a brief description of federalism from section I.5 of An Anarchist FAQ: "The social and political structure of anarchy is similar to that of the economic structure, i.e., it is based on a voluntary federation of decentralized, directly democratic policy-making bodies. These are the neighborhood and community assemblies and their confederations. In these grassroots political units, the concept of "self-management" becomes that of "self-government", a form of municipal organisation in which people take back control of their living places from the bureaucratic state and the capitalist class whose interests it serves. [...] The key to that change, from the anarchist standpoint, is the creation of a network of participatory communities based on self-government through direct, face-to-face democracy in grassroots neighborhood and community assemblies [meetings for discussion, debate, and decision making]. [...] Since not all issues are local, the neighborhood and community assemblies will also elect mandated and re-callable delegates to the larger-scale units of self-government in order to address issues affecting larger areas, such as urban districts, the city or town as a whole, the county, the bio-region, and ultimately the entire planet. Thus the assemblies will confederate at several levels in order to develop and co-ordinate common policies to deal with common problems. [...] This need for co-operation does not imply a centralized body. To exercise your autonomy by joining self-managing organisations and, therefore, agreeing to abide by the decisions you help make is not a denial of that autonomy (unlike joining a hierarchical structure, where you forsake autonomy within the organisation). In a centralized system, we must stress, power rests at the top and the role of those below is simply to obey (it matters not if those with the power are elected or not, the principle is the same). In a federal system, power is not delegated into the hands of a few (obviously a "federal" government or state is a centralized system). Decisions in a federal system are made at the base of the organisation and flow upwards so ensuring that power remains decentralized in the hands of all. Working together to solve common problems and organize common efforts to reach common goals is not centralization and those who confuse the two make a serious error – they fail to understand the different relations of authority each generates and confuse obedience with co-operation." Christian Church Federalism also finds expression in ecclesiology (the doctrine of the church). For example, presbyterian church governance resembles parliamentary republicanism (a form of political federalism) to a large extent. In Presbyterian denominations, the local church is ruled by elected elders, some of which are ministerial. Each church then sends representatives or commissioners to presbyteries and further to a general assembly. Each greater level of assembly has ruling authority over its constituent members. In this governmental structure, each component has some level of sovereignty over itself. As in political federalism, in presbyterian ecclesiology, there is shared sovereignty. Other ecclesiologies also have significant representational and federalists components, including the more anarchic congregational ecclesiology, and even in more hierarchical episcopal ecclesiology. Some Christians argue that the earliest source of political realism (or federalism in human institutions; in contrast to theological federalism) is the ecclesiastical federalism found in the Bible. They point to the structure of the early Christian Church as described (and prescribed, as believed by many) in the New Testament. In their arguments, this is particularly demonstrated in the Council of Jerusalem, described in Acts chapter 15, where the Apostles and elders gathered together to govern the Church; the Apostles being representatives of the universal Church, and elders being such for the local church. To this day, elements of federalism can be found in almost every Christian denomination, some more than others. Constitutional structure Division of powers In a federation, the division of power between federal and regional governments is usually outlined in the constitution. Almost every country allows some degree of regional self-government, but in federations the right to self-government of the component states is constitutionally entrenched. Component states often also possess their own constitutions which they may amend as they see fit, although in the event of conflict the federal constitution usually takes precedence. In almost all federations the central government enjoys the powers of foreign policy and national defense as exclusive federal powers. Were this not the case a federation would not be a single sovereign state, per the UN definition. Notably, the states of Germany retain the right to act on their own behalf at an international level, a condition originally granted in exchange for the Kingdom of Bavaria's agreement to join the German Empire in 1871. Beyond this the precise division of power varies from one nation to another. The constitutions of Germany and the United States provide that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government are retained by the states. The Constitution of some countries like Canada and India, state that powers not explicitly granted to the provincial governments are retained by the federal government. Much like the US system, the Australian Constitution allocates to the Federal government (the Commonwealth of Australia) the power to make laws about certain specified matters which were considered too difficult for the States to manage, so that the States retain all other areas of responsibility. Under the division of powers of the European Union in the Lisbon Treaty, powers which are not either exclusively of Union competence or shared between the Union and the Member States as concurrent powers are retained by the constituent States. Where every component state of a federation possesses the same powers, we are said to find 'symmetric federalism'. Asymmetric federalism exists where states are granted different powers, or some possess greater autonomy than others do. This is often done in recognition of the existence of a distinct culture in a particular region or regions. In Spain, the Basques and Catalans, as well as the Galicians, spearheaded a historic movement to have their national specificity recognized, crystallizing in the "historical communities" such as Navarre, Galicia, Catalonia, and the Basque Country. They have more powers than the later expanded arrangement for other Spanish regions, or the Spain of the autonomous communities (called also the "coffee for everyone" arrangement), partly to deal with their separate identity and to appease peripheral nationalist leanings, partly out of respect to specific rights they had held earlier in history. However, strictly speaking Spain is not a federation, but a system of asymmetric devolved government within a unitary state. It is common that during the historical evolution of a federation there is a gradual movement of power from the component states to the centre, as the federal government acquires additional powers, sometimes to deal with unforeseen circumstances. The acquisition of new powers by a federal government may occur through formal constitutional amendment or simply through a broadening of the interpretation of a government's existing constitutional powers given by the courts. Usually, a federation is formed at two levels: the central government and the regions (states, provinces, territories), and little to nothing is said about second or third level administrative political entities. Brazil is an exception, because the 1988 Constitution included the municipalities as autonomous political entities making the federation tripartite, encompassing the Union, the States, and the municipalities. Each state is divided into municipalities (municípios) with their own legislative council (câmara de vereadores) and a mayor (prefeito), which are partly autonomous from both Federal and State Government. Each municipality has a "little constitution", called "organic law" (lei orgânica). Mexico is an intermediate case, in that municipalities are granted full-autonomy by the federal constitution and their existence as autonomous entities (municipio libre, "free municipality") is established by the federal government and cannot be revoked by the states' constitutions. Moreover, the federal constitution determines which powers and competencies belong exclusively to the municipalities and not to the constituent states. However, municipalities do not have an elected legislative assembly. Federations often employ the paradox of being a union of states, while still being states (or having aspects of statehood) in themselves. For example, James Madison (author of the US Constitution) wrote in Federalist Paper No. 39 that the US Constitution "is in strictness neither a national nor a federal constitution; but a composition of both. In its foundation, it is federal, not national; in the sources from which the ordinary powers of the Government are drawn, it is partly federal, and partly national..." This stems from the fact that states in the US maintain all sovereignty that they do not yield to the federation by their own consent. This was reaffirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reserves all powers and rights that are not delegated to the Federal Government as left to the States and to the people. Bicameralism The structures of most federal governments incorporate mechanisms to protect the rights of component states. One method, known as 'intrastate federalism', is to directly represent the governments of component states in federal political institutions. Where a federation has a bicameral legislature the upper house is often used to represent the component states while the lower house represents the people of the nation as a whole. A federal upper house may be based on a special scheme of apportionment, as is the case in the senates of the United States and Australia, where each state is represented by an equal number of senators irrespective of the size of its population. Alternatively, or in addition to this practice, the members of an upper house may be indirectly elected by the government or legislature of the component states, as occurred in the United States prior to 1913, or be actual members or delegates of the state governments, as, for example, is the case in the German Bundesrat and in the Council of the European Union. The lower house of a federal legislature is usually directly elected, with apportionment in proportion to population, although states may sometimes still be guaranteed a certain minimum number of seats. Intergovernmental relations In Canada, the provincial governments represent regional interests and negotiate directly with the central government. A First Ministers conference of the prime minister and the provincial premiers is the de facto highest political forum in the land, although it is not mentioned in the constitution. Constitutional change Federations often have special procedures for amendment of the federal constitution. As well as reflecting the federal structure of the state this may guarantee that the self-governing status of the component states cannot be abolished without their consent. An amendment to the constitution of the United States must be ratified by three-quarters of either the state legislatures, or of constitutional conventions specially elected in each of the states, before it can come into effect. In referendums to amend the constitutions of Australia and Switzerland it is required that a proposal be endorsed not just by an overall majority of the electorate in the nation as a whole, but also by separate majorities in each of a majority of the states or cantons. In Australia, this latter requirement is known as a double majority. Some federal constitutions also provide that certain constitutional amendments cannot occur without the unanimous consent of all states or of a particular state. The US constitution provides that no state may be deprived of equal representation in the senate without its consent. In Australia, if a proposed amendment will specifically impact one or more states, then it must be endorsed in the referendum held in each of those states. Any amendment to the Canadian constitution that would modify the role of the monarchy would require unanimous consent of the provinces. The German Basic Law provides that no amendment is admissible at all that would abolish the federal system. Other technical terms Fiscal federalism – the relative financial positions and the financial relations between the levels of government in a federal system. Formal federalism (or 'constitutional federalism') – the delineation of powers is specified in a written constitution, which may or may not correspond to the actual operation of the system in practice. Executive federalism refers in the English-speaking tradition to the intergovernmental relationships between the executive branches of the levels of government in a federal system and in the continental European tradition to the way constituent units 'execute' or administer laws made centrally. Gleichschaltung – the conversion from a federal governance to either a completely unitary or more unitary one, the term was borrowed from the German for conversion from alternating to direct current. During the Nazi era the traditional German states were mostly left intact in the formal sense, but their constitutional rights and sovereignty were eroded and ultimately ended and replaced with the Gau system. Gleichschaltung also has a broader sense referring to political consolidation in general. defederalize – to remove from federal government, such as taking a responsibility from a national level government and giving it to states or provinces Political philosophy The meaning of federalism, as a political movement, and of what constitutes a 'federalist', varies with country and historical context. Movements associated with the establishment or development of federations can exhibit either centralising or decentralising trends. For example, at the time those nations were being established, factions known as "federalists" in the United States and Australia advocated the formation of strong central government. Similarly, in European Union politics, federalists mostly seek greater EU integration. In contrast, in Spain and in post-war Germany, federal movements have sought decentralisation: the transfer of power from central authorities to local units. In Canada, where Quebec separatism has been a political force for several decades, the "federalist" impulse aims to keep Quebec inside Canada. Conflict reducing device Federalism, and other forms of territorial autonomy, is generally seen as a useful way to structure political systems in order to prevent violence among different groups within countries because it allows certain groups to legislate at the subnational level. Some scholars have suggested, however, that federalism can divide countries and result in state collapse because it creates proto-states. Still others have shown that federalism is only divisive when it lacks mechanisms that encourage political parties to compete across regional boundaries. See also Consociationalism Cooperative federalism Democratic World Federalists Federal republicanism Federal Union Forum of Federations Layer cake federalism Pillarisation States' rights Union of Utrecht World Federalist Movement Feudalism Neo-feudalism Notes and references Sources External links P.-J. Proudhon, The Principle of Federation, 1863. A Comparative Bibliography: Regulatory Competition on Corporate Law A Rhetoric for Ratification: The Argument of the Federalist and its Impact on Constitutional Interpretation Brainstorming National Teaching about Federalism in the United States – From the Education Resources Information Center Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education Bloomington, Indiana. An Ottawa, Ontario, Canada-based international organization for federal countries that share best practices among countries with that system of government Tenth Amendment Center Federalism and States Rights in the U.S. BackStory Radio episode on the origins and current status of Federalism Constitutional law scholar Hester Lessard discusses Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and jurisdictional justice McGill University, 2011 General Federalism Political systems Political theories ca:Federació

Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, but also having a historical presence in Extremadura and Murcia. In a wider sense, it is a portmanteau term used to refer to a variety of both contemporary and traditional musical styles typical of southern Spain. Flamenco is closely associated to the gitanos of the Romani ethnicity who have contributed significantly to its origination and professionalization. However, its style is uniquely Andalusian and flamenco artists have historically included Spaniards of both gitano and non-gitano heritage. The oldest record of flamenco music dates to 1774 in the book Las Cartas Marruecas by José Cadalso. The development of flamenco over the past two centuries is well documented: "the theatre movement of sainetes (one-act plays) and tonadillas, popular song books and song sheets, customs, studies of dances, and toques, perfection, newspapers, graphic documents in paintings and engravings. ... in continuous evolution together with rhythm, the poetic stanzas, and the ambiance.” Flamenco is rooted in various Andalusian popular musical styles, although its origins and influences are the subject of many hypotheses which may or may not have ideological implications and none of which are necessarily mutually exclusive. The most widespread is that flamenco was developed through the cross-cultural interchange among the various groups which coexisted in close proximity in Andalusia's lower classes, combining southern Spain's indigenous, Byzantine, Moorish and Romani musical traditions. On 16 November 2010, UNESCO declared flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. History It is believed that the flamenco genre emerged at the end of the 18th century in cities and agrarian towns of Baja Andalusia, highlighting Jerez de la Frontera as the first written vestige of this art, although there is practically no data related to those dates and the manifestations of this time they are more typical of the bolero school than of flamenco. There are hypotheses that point to the influence on flamenco of types of dance from the Indian subcontinent – the place of origin of the Romani people – such as the kathak dance. But also, the documentary Gurumbé, songs from your black memory, shows the African influence on the rhythms and choreographies of flamenco. The musician and anthropologist Raúl Rodríguez points out that in the Bantu language fanda means party, and the suffix -ngo (as in "Congo" or "Mandinga") indicates a possible African origin of the word "fandango". Origins and influences The Gitanos and the ethnicity debate The casticismo During the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, a number of factors led to rise in Spain of a phenomenon known as "Costumbrismo Andaluz" or "Andalusian Mannerism". In 1783 Carlos III promulgated a pragmatics that regulated the social situation of the Gitanos. This was a momentous event in the history of Spanish gitanos who, after centuries of marginalization and persecution, saw their legal situation improve substantially. After the Spanish War of Independence (1808–1812), a feeling of racial pride developed in the Spanish conscience, in opposition to the "gallified" "Afrancesados" - Spaniards who were influenced by French culture and the idea of the enlightenment. In this context, gitanos were seen as an ideal embodiment of Spanish culture and the emergence of the bullfighting schools of Ronda and Seville, the rise of the Bandidos and Vaqueros led to a taste for Andalusian romantic culture which triumphed in the Madrid court. At this time there is evidence of disagreements due to the introduction of innovations in art. Los cafés cantantes In 1881 Silverio Franconetti opened the first flamenco singer café in Seville. In Silverio's café the cantaores were in a very competitive environment, which allowed the emergence of the professional cantaor and served as a crucible where flamenco art was configured. In them Gitanos and non-Gitanos learned the cantes, while reinterpreted the Andalusian folk songs in their own style, expanding the repertoire. Likewise, the taste of the public contributed to configure the flamenco genre, unifying its technique and its theme. The antiflamenquismo of "La generación del 98" Flamenco, defined by the Royal Spanish Academy as a "fondness for flamenco art and customs", is a conceptual catch-all where flamenco singing and a fondness for bullfighting, among other traditional Spanish elements, fit. These customs were strongly attacked by the generation of 98, all of its members being "anti-flamenco", with the exception of the Machado brothers, since Manuel and Antonio, being Sevillians and sons of the folklorist Demófilo, had a more complex vision of the matter. The greatest standard bearer of anti-flamenquism was the Madrid writer Eugenio Noel, who, in his youth, had been a militant casticista. Noel attributed to flamenco and bullfighting the origin of the ills of Spain which he saw as manifestations of the country's oriental character which hindered economic and social development. These considerations caused an insurmountable rift to be established for decades between flamenco and most "intellectuals" of the time. The flamenca opera Between 1920 and 1955, flamenco shows began to be held in bullrings and theaters, under the name "flamenco opera". This denomination was an economic strategy of the promoters, since opera only paid 3% while variety shows paid 10%. At this time, flamenco shows spread throughout Spain and the main cities of the world. The great social and commercial success achieved by flamenco at this time eliminated some of the oldest and most sober styles from the stage, in favor of lighter airs, such as cantiñas, los cantes de ida y vuelta and fandangos, of which many personal versions were created. The purist critics attacked this lightness of the cantes, as well as the use of falsete and the gaitero style. In the line of purism, the poet Federico García Lorca and the composer Manuel de Falla had the idea of concurso de cante jondo en Granada en 1922. Both artists conceived of flamenco as folklore, not as a scenic artistic genre; for this reason, they were concerned, since they believed that the massive triumph of flamenco would end its purest and deepest roots. To remedy this, they organized a cante jondo contest in which only amateurs could participate and in which festive cantes (such as cantiñas) were excluded, which Falla and Lorca did not consider jondos, but flamencos. The jury was chaired by Antonio Chacón, who at that time was the leading figure in cante. The winners were "El Tenazas", a retired professional cantaor from Morón de la Frontera, and Manuel Ortega, an eight-year-old boy from Seville who would go down in flamenco history as Manolo Caracol. The contest turned out to be a failure due to the scant echo it had and because Lorca and Falla did not know how to understand the professional character that flamenco already had at that time, striving in vain to seek a purity that never existed in an art that was characterized by mixture and the personal innovation of its creators. Apart from this failure, with the Generation of '27, whose most eminent members were Andalusians and therefore knew the genre first-hand, the recognition of flamenco by intellectuals began. At that time, there were already flamenco recordings related to Christmas, which can be divided into two groups: the traditional flamenco carol and flamenco songs that adapt their lyrics to the Christmas theme. These cantes have been maintained to this day, the Zambomba Jerezana being spatially representative, declared an Asset of Intangible Cultural Interest by the Junta de Andalucía in December 2015. During the Spanish Civil War, a large number of singers were exiled or died defending the Republic and the humiliations to which they were being subjected by the National Party: Bando Nacional: Corruco de Algeciras, Chaconcito, El Carbonerillo, El Chato De Las Ventas, Vallejito, Rita la Cantaora, Angelillo, Guerrita are some of them. In the postwar period and the first years of the Franco regime, the world of flamenco was viewed with suspicion, as the authorities were not clear that this genre contributed to the national conscience. However, the regime soon ended up adopting flamenco as one of the quintessential Spanish cultural manifestations. The singers who have survived the war go from stars to almost outcasts, singing for the young men in the private rooms of the brothels in the center of Seville where they have to adapt to the whims of aristocrats, soldiers and businessmen who have become rich. In short, the period of the flamenco opera was a time open to creativity and that definitely made up most of the flamenco repertoire. It was the Golden Age of this genre, with figures such as Antonio Chacón, Manuel Vallejo, Manuel Torre, La Niña de los Peines, Pepe Marchena and Manolo Caracol. Flamencología Starting in the 1950s, abundant anthropological and musicological studies on flamenco began to be published. In 1954 Hispavox published the first Antología del Cante Flamenco, a sound recording that was a great shock to its time, dominated by orchestrated cante and, consequently, mystified. In 1955, the Argentine intellectual Anselmo González Climent published an essay called "Flamencología", whose title he baptized the "set of knowledge, techniques, etc., on flamenco singing and dancing." This book dignified the study of flamenco by applying the academic methodology of musicology to it and served as the basis for subsequent studies on this genre. As a result, in 1956 the National Contest of Cante Jondo de Córdoba was organized and in 1958 the first flamencology chair was founded in Jerez de la Frontera, the oldest academic institution dedicated to the study, research, conservation, promotion and defense of the flamenco art. Likewise, in 1963 the Cordovan poet Ricardo Molina and the Sevillian cantaor Antonio Mairena published Alalimón Mundo y Formas del Cante flamenco, which has become a must-have reference work. For a long time the Mairenistas postulates were considered practically unquestionable, until they found an answer in other authors who elaborated the "Andalusian thesis", which defended that flamenco was a genuinely Andalusian product, since it had been developed entirely in this region and because its styles basic ones derived from the folklore of Andalusia. They also maintained that the Andalusian Gitanos had contributed decisively to their formation, highlighting the exceptional nature of flamenco among gypsy music and dances from other parts of Spain and Europe. The unification of the Gitanos and Andalusian thesis has ended up being the most accepted today. In short, between the 1950s and 1970s, flamenco went from being a mere show to also becoming an object of study. Flamenco protest during the Franco regime Flamenco became one of the symbols of Spanish national identity during the Franco regime, since the regime knew how to appropriate a folklore traditionally associated with Andalusia to promote national unity and attract tourism, constituting what was called national-flamenquismo. Hence, flamenco had long been seen as a reactionary or retrograde element. In the mid-60s and until the transition, cantaores who opposed the regime began to appear with the use of protest lyrics. These include: José Menese and lyricist Francisco Moreno Galván, Enrique Morente, Manuel Gerena, El Lebrijano, El Cabrero, Lole y Manuel, el Piki or Luis Marín, among many others. In contrast to this conservatism with which it was associated during the Franco regime, flamenco suffered the influence of the wave of activism that also shook the university against the repression of the regime when university students came into contact with this art in the recitals that were held, for example, at the Colegio Mayor de San Juan Evangelista: "flamenco amateurs and professionals got involved with performances of a manifestly political nature. It was a kind of flamenco protest charged with protest, which meant censorship and repression for the flamenco activists ". As the political transition progressed, the demands were deflated as flamenco inserted itself within the flows of globalized art. At the same time, this art was institutionalized until it reached the point that the Junta de Andalucía was attributed in 2007 "exclusive competence in matters of knowledge, conservation, research, training, promotion and dissemination". Flamenco fusion In the 1970s, there were airs of social and political change in Spain, and Spanish society was already quite influenced by various musical styles from the rest of Europe and the United States. There were also numerous singers who had grown up listening to Antonio Mairena, Pepe Marchena and Manolo Caracol. The combination of both factors led to a revolutionary period called flamenco fusion. | Seville Flamenco Dance Museum 2014. The singer Rocío Jurado internationalized flamenco at the beginning of the 70s, replacing the bata de cola with evening dresses. Her facet in the "Fandangos de Huelva" and in the Alegrías was recognized internationally for her perfect voice tessitura in these genres. She used to be accompanied in her concerts by guitarists Enrique de Melchor and Tomatito, not only at the national level but in countries like Colombia, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. The musical representative José Antonio Pulpón was a decisive character in that fusion, as he urged the cantaor Agujetas to collaborate with the Sevillian Andalusian rock group "Pata Negra", the most revolutionary couple since Antonio Chacón and Ramón Montoya, initiating a new path for flamenco. It also fostered the artistic union between the virtuoso guitarist from Algeciras Paco de Lucía and the long-standing singer from the island Camarón de la Isla, who gave a creative impulse to flamenco that would mean its definitive break with Mairena's conservatism. When both artists undertook their solo careers, Camarón became a mythical cantaor for his art and personality, with a legion of followers, while Paco de Lucía reconfigured the entire musical world of flamenco, opening up to new influences, such as Brazilian music, Arabic and jazz and introducing new musical instruments such as the Peruvian cajon, the transverse flute, etc. Other leading performers in this process of formal flamenco renewal were Juan Peña El Lebrijano, who married flamenco with Andalusian music, and Enrique Morente, who throughout his long artistic career has oscillated between the purism of his first recordings and the crossbreeding with rock, or Remedios Amaya from Triana, cultivator of a unique style of tangos from Extremadura, and a wedge of purity in her cante make her part of this select group of established artists. Other singers with their own style include Cancanilla de Marbella. In 2011 this style became known in India thanks to María del Mar Fernández, who acts in the video clip of the film You Live Once, entitled Señorita. The film was seen by more than 73 million viewers. New flamenco In the 1980s a new generation of flamenco artists emerged who had been influenced by the mythical cantaor Camarón, Paco de Lucía, Morente, etc. These artists were interested in popular urban music, which in those years was renewing the Spanish music scene, it was the time of the Movida madrileña. Among them are "Pata Negra", who fused flamenco with blues and rock, Ketama, of pop and Cuban inspiration and Ray Heredia, creator of his own musical universe where flamenco occupies a central place. Also the recording company Nuevos Medios released many musicians under the label nuevo flamenco and this denomination has grouped musicians very different from each other like Rosario Flores, daughter of Lola Flores, or the renowned singer Malú, niece of Paco de Lucía and daughter of Pepe de Lucía, who despite sympathizing with flamenco and keeping it in her discography has continued with her personal style. However, the fact that many of the interpreters of this new music are also renowned cantaores, in the case of José Mercé, El Cigala, and others, has led to labeling everything they perform as flamenco, although the genre of their songs differs quite a bit from the classic flamenco. This has generated very different feelings, both for and against. Other contemporary artists of that moment were O'Funkillo and Ojos de Brujo, Arcángel, Miguel Poveda, Mayte Martín, Marina Heredia, Estrella Morente or Manuel Lombo, etc. But the discussion between the difference of flamenco and new flamenco in Spain has just gained strength during since 2019 due to the success of new flamenco attracting the taste of the youngest Spanish fans but also in the international musical scene emphasizing the problem of how should we call this new musical genre mixed with flamenco. One of these artist who has reinvented flamenco is Rosalía, an indisputable name on the international music scene. "Pienso en tu mirá", "Di mi nombre" or the song that catapulted her to fame, "Malamente", are a combination of styles that includes a flamenco/south Spain traditional musical base. Rosalía has broken the limits of this musical genre by embracing other urban rhythms, but has also created a lot of controversy about which genre is she using. The Catalan artist has been awarded several Latin GrammyAwards and MTV Video Music Awards, which also, at just 26 years old, garners more than 12 million monthly listeners on Spotify. But it is not the only successful case, the Granada-born Dellafuente, C. Tangana, MAKA, RVFV, Demarco Flamenco, Maria Àrnal and Marcel Bagés, El Niño de Elche, Sílvia Pérez Cruz; Califato 3/4, Juanito Makandé, Soledad Morente, María José Llergo o Fuel Fandango are only a few of the new spanish musical scene that includes flamenco in their music. It seems that the Spanish music scene is experiencing a change in its music and new rhythms are re-emerging together with new artists who are experimenting to cover a wider audience that wants to maintain the closeness that flamenco has transmitted for decades. Flamenco Culture Overseas The state of New Mexico, located in the southwest of the United States maintains a strong identity with Flamenco culture. The University of New Mexico located in Albuquerque offers a graduate degree program in Flamenco. Flamenco performances are widespread in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe communities, with the National institute of Flamenco sponsoring an annual festival, as well as a variety of professional flamenco performacess offere at various locales. Emmy Grimm, known by her stage name La Emi is a professional Flamenco dancer and native to New Mexico who performs as well as teaches Flamenco in Santa Fe. She continues studying her art by traveling to Spain to work intensively with Carmela Greco and La Popi, as well as José Galván, Juana Amaya, Yolanda Heredia, Ivan Vargas Heredia, Torombo and Rocio Alcaide Ruiz. Main Palos Palos (formerly known as cantes) are flamenco styles, classified by criteria such as rhythmic pattern, mode, chord progression, stanzaic form and geographic origin. There are over 50 different palos, some are sung unaccompanied while others have guitar or other accompaniment. Some forms are danced while others are not. Some are reserved for men and others for women while some may be performed by either, though these traditional distinctions are breaking down: the Farruca, for example, once a male dance, is now commonly performed by women too. There are many ways to categorize Palos but they traditionally fall into three classes: the most serious is known as cante jondo (or cante grande), while lighter, frivolous forms are called Cante Chico. Forms that do not fit either category are classed as Cante Intermedio . These are the best known palos (; ): Alegrías The alegrías are thought to derive from the Aragonese jota, which took root in Cadiz during the Peninsular war and the establishment of the Cortes de Cadiz. That is why its classic lyrics contain so many references to the Virgen del Pilar, the Ebro River and Navarra. Enrique Butrón is considered to have formalized the current flamenco style of alegrías and Ignacio Espeleta who introduced the characteristic "tiriti, tran, tran...". Some of the best known interpreters of alegrías are Enrique el Mellizo, Chato de la Isla, Pinini, Pericón de Cádiz, Aurelio Sellés, La Perla de Cádiz, Chano Lobato and El Folli. One of the structurally strictest forms of flamenco, a traditional dance in alegrías must contain each of the following sections: a salida (entrance), paseo (walkaround), silencio (similar to an adagio in ballet), castellana (upbeat section) zapateado (Literally "a tap of the foot") and bulerías. This structure though, is not followed when alegrías are sung as a standalone song (with no dancing). In that case, the stanzas are combined freely, sometimes together with other types of cantiñas. Alegrías has a rhythm consisting of 12 beats. It is similar to Soleares. Its beat emphasis is as follows: 1 2 [3] 4 5 [6] 7 [8] 9 [10] 11 [12]. Alegrías originated in Cádiz. Alegrías belongs to the group of palos called Cantiñas and it is usually played in a lively rhythm (120-170 beats per minute). The livelier speeds are chosen for dancing, while quieter rhythms are preferred for the song alone. Bulerías Bulerías a fast flamenco rhythm made up of a 12 beat cycle with emphasis in two general forms as follows: [12] 1 2 [3] 4 5 [6] 7 [8] 9 [10] 11 or [12] 1 2 [3] 4 5 6 [7] [8] 9 [10] 11. It originated among the Calé Romani people of Jerez during the 19th century, originally as a fast, upbeat ending to soleares or alegrias. It is among the most popular and dramatic of the flamenco forms and often ends any flamenco gathering, often accompanied by vigorous dancing and tapping. Fandango Granaínas Guajiras Malagueñas Peteneras Saeta Seguiriyas Soleá Tangos Tanguillos Tarantos Tientos Music Structure A typical flamenco recital with voice and guitar accompaniment comprises a series of pieces (not exactly "songs") in different palos. Each song is a set of verses (called copla, tercio, or letras), punctuated by guitar interludes (falsetas). The guitarist also provides a short introduction setting the tonality, compás (see below) and tempo of the cante . In some palos, these falsetas are played with a specific structure too; for example, the typical sevillanas is played in an AAB pattern, where A and B are the same falseta with only a slight difference in the ending . Harmony Flamenco uses the flamenco mode (which can also be described as the modern Phrygian mode (modo frigio), or a harmonic version of that scale with a major 3rd degree), in addition to the major and minor scales commonly used in modern Western music. The Phrygian mode occurs in palos such as soleá, most bulerías, siguiriyas, tangos and tientos. A typical chord sequence, usually called the "Andalusian cadence" may be viewed as in a modified Phrygian: in E the sequence is Am–G–F–E . According to Manolo Sanlúcar E is here the tonic, F has the harmonic function of dominant while Am and G assume the functions of subdominant and mediant respectively . Guitarists tend to use only two basic inversions or "chord shapes" for the tonic chord (music), the open 1st inversion E and the open 3rd inversion A, though they often transpose these by using a capo. Modern guitarists such as Ramón Montoya, have introduced other positions: Montoya himself started to use other chords for the tonic in the modern Dorian sections of several palos; F for tarantas, B for granaínas and A for the minera. Montoya also created a new palo as a solo for guitar, the rondeña in C with scordatura. Later guitarists have further extended the repertoire of tonalities, chord positions and scordatura. There are also palos in major mode; most cantiñas and alegrías, guajiras, some bulerías and tonás, and the cabales (a major type of siguiriyas). The minor mode is restricted to the Farruca, the milongas (among cantes de ida y vuelta), and some styles of tangos, bulerías, etc. In general traditional palos in major and minor mode are limited harmonically to two-chord (tonic–dominant) or three-chord (tonic–subdominant–dominant) progressions . However modern guitarists have introduced chord substitution, transition chords, and even modulation. Fandangos and derivative palos such as malagueñas, tarantas and cartageneras are bimodal: guitar introductions are in Phrygian mode while the singing develops in major mode, modulating to Phrygian at the end of the stanza . Melody Dionisio Preciado, quoted by Sabas de , established the following characteristics for the melodies of flamenco singing: Microtonality: presence of intervals smaller than the semitone. Portamento: frequently, the change from one note to another is done in a smooth transition, rather than using discrete intervals. Short tessitura or range: Most traditional flamenco songs are limited to a range of a sixth (four tones and a half). The impression of vocal effort is the result of using different timbres, and variety is accomplished by the use of microtones. Use of enharmonic scale. While in equal temperament scales, enharmonics are notes with identical pitch but different spellings (e.g. A♭ and G♯); in flamenco, as in unequal temperament scales, there is a microtonal intervalic difference between enharmonic notes. Insistence on a note and its contiguous chromatic notes (also frequent in the guitar), producing a sense of urgency. Baroque ornamentation, with an expressive, rather than merely aesthetic function. Apparent lack of regular rhythm, especially in the siguiriyas: the melodic rhythm of the sung line is different from the metric rhythm of the accompaniment. Most styles express sad and bitter feelings. Melodic improvisation: flamenco singing is not, strictly speaking, improvised, but based on a relatively small number of traditional songs, singers add variations on the spur of the moment. Musicologist Hipólito Rossy adds the following characteristics : Flamenco melodies are characterized by a descending tendency, as opposed to, for example, a typical opera aria, they usually go from the higher pitches to the lower ones, and from forte to piano, as was usual in ancient Greek scales. In many styles, such as soleá or siguiriya, the melody tends to proceed in contiguous degrees of the scale. Skips of a third or a fourth are rarer. However, in fandangos and fandango-derived styles, fourths and sixths can often be found, especially at the beginning of each line of verse. According to Rossy, this is proof of the more recent creation of this type of songs, influenced by Castilian jota. Compás or time signature Compás is the Spanish word for metre or time signature (in classical music theory). It also refers to the rhythmic cycle, or layout, of a palo. The compás is fundamental to flamenco. Compás is most often translated as rhythm but it demands far more precise interpretation than any other Western style of music. If there is no guitarist available, the compás is rendered through hand clapping (palmas) or by hitting a table with the knuckles. The guitarist uses techniques like strumming (rasgueado) or tapping the soundboard (golpe). Changes of chords emphasize the most important downbeats. Flamenco uses three basic counts or measures: Binary, Ternary and a form of a twelve-beat cycle that is unique to flamenco. There are also free-form styles including, among others, the tonás, saetas, malagueñas, tarantos, and some types of fandangos. Rhythms in or . These metres are used in forms like tangos, tientos, gypsy rumba, zambra and tanguillos. Rhythms in . These are typical of fandangos and sevillanas, suggesting their origin as non-Roma styles, since the and measures are not common in ethnic Roma music. 12-beat rhythms usually rendered in amalgams of + and sometimes . The 12-beat cycle is the most common in flamenco, differentiated by the accentuation of the beats in different palos. The accents do not correspond to the classic concept of the downbeat. The alternating of groups of 2 and 3 beats is also common in Spanish folk dances of the 16th century such as the zarabanda, jácara and canarios. There are three types of 12-beat rhythms, which vary in their layouts, or use of accentuations: soleá, seguiriya and bulería. peteneras and guajiras: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. Both palos start with the strong accent on 12. Hence the meter is 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11. The seguiriya, liviana, serrana, toná liviana, cabales: 121 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. soleá, within the cantiñas group of palos which includes the alegrías, cantiñas, mirabras, romera, caracoles and soleá por bulería (also "bulería por soleá"): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. For practical reasons, when transferring flamenco guitar music to sheet music, this rhythm is written as a regular . The Bulerías is the emblematic palo of flamenco: today its 12-beat cycle is most often played with accents on the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th beats. The accompanying palmas are played in groups of 6 beats, giving rise to a multitude of counter-rhythms and percussive voices within the 12 beat compás. In certain regions like, Xerez, Spain, the rhythm stays in a simpler six-count rhythm, only including the twelve count in a musical resolve. Forms of flamenco expression Toque (guitar) The posture and technique of flamenco guitarists, called "tocaores", differs from that used by the players of classical guitar. While the classical guitarist supports the guitar on his left leg in an inclined way, the flamenco guitarist usually crosses his legs and supports it on the one that is higher, placing the neck in an almost horizontal position with respect to the ground. Modern guitarists usually use classical guitars, although there is a specific instrument for this genre called flamenco guitar. This is less heavy, and its body is narrower than that of the classical guitar, so its sound is lower and does not overshadow the cantaor. It is usually made of cypress wood, with the handle of cedar and the top of fir. The cypress gives it a brilliant sound very suitable for the characteristics of flamenco. Formerly, the palo santo from Rio or India was also used, being the first of higher quality, but currently it is in disuse due to its scarcity. The palo santo gave guitars an amplitude of sound especially suitable for solo playing. At present, the most widely used headstock is the metal one, since the wooden one poses tuning problems. The main guitar makers were Antonio de Torres Jurado (Almería, 1817–1892) considered the father of the guitar, Manuel Ramírez de Galarreta, the Great Ramírez (Madrid, 1864 -1920), and his disciples Santos Hernández (Madrid, 1873–1943), who built several guitars for the maestro Sabicas, Domingo Esteso and Modesto Borreguero. Also noteworthy are the Conde Brothers, Faustino (1913–1988), Mariano (1916–1989) and Julio (1918–1996), nephews of Domingo Esteso, whose children and heirs continue the saga. The guitarists use the technique of alzapúa, picado, the strum and the tremolo, among others. One of the first touches that is considered flamenco, such as the "rondeña", was the first composition recorded for solo guitar, by Julián Arcas (María, Almería, 1832 – Antequera, Málaga, 1882) in Barcelona in 1860. The strum can be performed with 5, 4 or 3 fingers, the latter invented by Sabicas. The use of the thumb is also characteristic of flamenco playing. Guitarists rest their thumb on the guitar's soundboard and their index and middle fingers on the string above the one they are playing, thus achieving greater power and sound than the classical guitarist. The middle finger is also placed on the pickguard of the guitar for more precision and strength when plucking the string. Likewise, the use of the pickguard as an element of percussion gives great strength to flamenco guitar playing. The melodic or flourishing phrase that is inserted between the chord sequences intended to accompany the couplet is called "falseta". The accompaniment and solo playing of flamenco guitarists is based on both the modal harmonic system and the tonal system, although the most frequent is a combination of both. Some flamenco songs are performed "a palo seco" (a cappella), without guitar accompaniment. Cante (song) According to the Royal Spanish Academy, "cante" is called the "action or effect of singing any Andalusian singing", defining "flamenco singing" as "agitated Andalusian singing" and cante jondo as "the most genuine song. Andalusian, of deep feeling ". The interpreter of flamenco singing is called cantaor instead of singer, with the loss of the intervocalic characteristic of the Andalusian dialect. The most important award in flamenco singing is probably the Golden Key of Cante, which has been awarded five times to: El Nitri, Manuel Vallejo, Antonio Mairena, Island Shrimp and Fosforito. The origins, history and importance of the cante is covered in the main Wikipedia entry for the cante flamenco. Baile (dance) El baile flamenco is known for its emotional intensity, proud carriage, expressive use of the arms and rhythmic stamping of the feet, unlike tap dance or Irish dance which use different techniques. As with any dance form, many different styles of flamenco have developed. In the 20th century, flamenco danced informally at gitano (Roma) celebrations in Spain was considered the most "authentic" form of flamenco. There was less virtuoso technique in gitano flamenco, but the music and steps are fundamentally the same. The arms are noticeably different from classical flamenco, curving around the head and body rather than extending, often with a bent elbow. "Flamenco puro" otherwise known as "flamenco por derecho" is considered the form of performance flamenco closest to its gitano influences. In this style, the dance is often performed solo, and is based on signals and calls of structural improvisation rather than choreographed. In the improvisational style, castanets are not often used. "Classical flamenco" is the style most frequently performed by Spanish flamenco dance companies. It is danced largely in a proud and upright style. For women, the back is often held in a marked back bend. Unlike the more gitano influenced styles, there is little movement of the hips, the body is tightly held and the arms are long, like a ballet dancer. In fact many of the dancers in these companies are trained in Ballet Clásico Español more than in the improvisational language of flamenco. Flamenco has both influenced and been influenced by Ballet Clásico Español, as evidenced by the fusion of the two ballets created by 'La Argentinita' in the early part of the 20th century and later, by Joaquín Cortés, eventually by the entire Ballet Nacional de España et al. In the 1950s Jose Greco was one of the most famous male flamenco dancers, performing on stage worldwide and on television including the Ed Sullivan Show, and reviving the art almost singlehandedly. Greco's company left a handful of prominent pioneers, most notably: Maria Benitez and Vicente Romero of New Mexico. Today, there are many centers of flamenco art. Albuquerque, New Mexico is considered the "Center of the Nation" for flamenco art. Much of this is due to Maria Benitez's 37 years of sold-out summer seasons. Albuquerque boasts three distinct prominent centers: National Institute of Flamenco, Casa Flamenca and Flamenco Works. Each center dedicates time to daily training, cultural diffusion and world-class performance equaled only to world-class performances one would find in the heart of Southern Spain, Andalucía. Modern flamenco is a highly technical dance style requiring years of study. The emphasis for both male and female performers is on lightning-fast footwork performed with absolute precision. In addition, the dancer may have to dance while using props such as castanets, canes, shawls and fans. "Flamenco nuevo" is a recent marketing phenomenon in flamenco. Marketed as a "newer version" of flamenco, its roots came from world-music promoters trying to sell albums of artists who created music that "sounded like" or had Spanish-style influences. Though some of this music was played in similar pitches, scales and was well-received, it has little to nothing to do with the art of flamenco guitar, dance, cante Jondo or the improvisational language. "Nuevo flamenco" consists largely of compositions and repertoire, while traditional flamenco music and dance is a language composed of stanzas, actuated by oral formulaic calls and signals. The flamenco most foreigners are familiar with is a style that was developed as a spectacle for tourists. To add variety, group dances are included and even solos are more likely to be choreographed. The frilly, voluminous spotted dresses are derived from a style of dress worn for the Sevillanas at the annual Feria in Seville. In traditional flamenco, only the very young or older dancers are considered to have the emotional innocence or maturity to adequately convey the duende (soul) of the genre . Therefore, unlike other dance forms, where dancers turn professional through techniques early on to take advantage of youth and strength, many flamenco dancers do not hit their peak until their thirties and will continue to perform into their fifties and beyond. One artist that is considered a young master is Juan Manuel Fernandez Montoya, otherwise known as "Farruquito". At age 12, Farruquito was considered a pioneer and for "Flamenco Puro", or "Flamenco por Derecho", because of his emotional depth. Scenes of flamenco performance in Seville. Regulated teaching of flamenco in educational centers In Spain, regulated flamenco studies are officially taught in various music conservatories, dance conservatories and music schools in various autonomous communities. Conservatories of music Flamenco guitar studies in official educational centers began in Spain in 1988 at the hands of the great concert performer and teacher from Granada Manuel Cano Tamayo, who obtained a position as emeritus professor at the Superior Conservatory de Música Rafael Orozco from Córdoba. There are specialized flamenco conservatories throughout the country, although mainly in the Andalusia region, such as the aforementioned Córdoba Conservatory, the Murcia Superior Music Conservatory or the Superior Music School of Catalonia, among others. Outside of Spain, a unique case is the Rotterdam Conservatory, in the Netherlands, which offers regulated flamenco guitar studies under the direction of maestro Paco Peña since 1985, a few years before they existed in Spain. University In 2018 the first university master's degree in flamenco research and analysis begins, after the previous attempts of the "Doctorate Program of Approach to Flamenco", taught by several universities such as Huelva, Seville, Cádiz and Córdoba, among others. History The fandango, which in the 17th century was the most widespread song and dance throughout Spain, eventually ended up generating local and regional variants, especially in the province of Huelva. In Alta Andalucía and bordering areas the fandangos were accompanied with the bandola, an instrument with which they accompanied themselves following a regular beat that allowed dancing and from whose name the style derives " abandoned ". Thus arose the fandangos of Lucena, the drones of Puente Genil, the primitive malagueñas, the rondeñas, the jaberas, the jabegotes, the verdiales, the chacarrá, the granaína, the taranto and the taranta. Due to the expansion of the Sevillanas in Baja Andalusia, the fandango gradually lost its role as a support for the dance, which allowed the singer to shine and freedom, generating a multitude of fandangos of personal creation in the 20th century. Likewise, thousands of Andalusian peasants, especially from the Eastern Andalusian provinces, emigrated to the mining sites Murcian, where the tarantos and taranta s evolved. The Tarante de Linares, evolved into the mining of the Union, the Cartagena and the Levantica. At the time of the cafés cantantes, some of these cantes were separated from the dance and acquired a free beat, which allowed the performers to show off. The great promoter of this process was Antonio Chacón, who developed precious versions of malagueñas, granainas and cantes mineros. The stylization of romance and cord sheets gave rise to corrido. The extraction of the romances from quatrains or three significant verses gave rise to the primitive tonás, the caña and the polo, which share meter and melody, but differing in their execution. The guitar accompaniment gave them a beat that made them danceable. It is believed that their origin was in Ronda, a city in Alta Andalucía close to Baja Andalucía and closely related to it, and that from there they reached the Sevillian suburb of Triana, with a great tradition of corridos, where they became the soleá. From the festive performance of corridos and soleares, the jaleos arose in Triana, who traveled to Extremadura and in Jerez and Utrera led to the bulería, from where they spread throughout Baja Andalucía, generating local variations. Lexicon Ole Adolfo Salazar states that the expressive voice ole, with which Andalusian cantaores and bailaores are encouraged, can come from the Hebrew verb oleh which means "to throw upwards", showing that the dervish s gyrovagos of Tunisia also dance around to the sound of repeated" ole "or" joleh ". The use of the word "arza", which is the Andalusian dialect form, of pronouncing the voice imperative "rise", with the characteristic Andalusian equalization of / l / and / r / implosives. The indiscriminate use of the voices "arza" and "ole" is frequent when it comes to jalear, but the most evidence of the origin of this word can be from the caló: Olá, which means "come". Likewise, in Andalusia it is known as jaleo al ojeo de hunt, that is, the act of glancing, which is "driving away the game with voices, shots, blows or noise, so that they 'get up. Duende According to the RAE dictionary (1956!) The "duende" in Andalusia is a "mysterious and ineffable charm", a charisma that the Gitanos call duende. Federico García Lorca, in his lecture Teoría y juego del duende confirms this ineffability of the duende by defining it with the following words from Goethe: "Mysterious power that everyone feels and that no philosopher explains". In the flamenco imaginary, the duende goes beyond technique and inspiration, in Lorca's words "To search for the duende there is no map or exercise". When a flamenco artist experiences the arrival of this mysterious charm, the expressions "have duende" or sing, play or dance "with duende" are used. Along with those previously mentioned, there are many other words and expressions characteristic of the flamenco genre, such as "tablao flamenco", "tablao flamenco", "flamenco spree", "third", "aflamencar", "flamenco", "flamenco". See also References Sources Álvarez Caballero, Ángel: El cante flamenco, Alianza Editorial, Madrid, Second edition, 1998. (First edition: 1994) Álvarez Caballero, Ángel: La Discografía ideal del cante flamenco, Planeta, Barcelona, 1995. Arredondo Pérez, Herminia, and Francisco J. García Gallardo: "Música flamenca. Nuevos artistas, antiguas tradiciones" In Andalucía en la música. Expresión de comunidad, construcción de identidad, edited by Francisco J. García y Herminia Arredondo. Sevilla: Centro de Estudios Andaluces, 2014, pp. 225–242. Banzi, Julia Lynn (PhD): "Flamenco Guitar Innovation and the Circumscription of Tradition" 2007, 382 pages; AAT 328581, DAI-A 68/10, University of California, Santa Barbara. Caba Landa, Pedro, and Carlos Caba Landa. Andalucía, su comunismo y su cante jondo. First edition, Editorial Atlántico 1933. Third edition, Editorial Renacimiento 2008. Coelho, Víctor Anand (Editor): "Flamenco Guitar: History, Style, and Context", in The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar, Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 13–32. In {{wikicite|ref=|reference=Hoces Bonavilla, Sabas de. n.d. Revista de Folklore, no. 23:147–157 (archive from 24 September 2015).}} Mairena, Antonio, and Ricardo Molina. Mundo y formas del cante flamenco, Librería Al-Ándalus, third edition, 1979 (First Edition: Revista de Occidente, 1963) . Martín Salazar, Jorge: Los cantes flamencos, Diputación Provincial de Granada, Granada, 1991 Ortiz Nuevo, José Luis: Alegato contra la pureza, Libros PM, Barcelona, 1996. Rito y geografía del cante. Serie documental de los años 70 del siglo XX sobre los orígenes, estilos y pervivencia del cante flamenco, con José María Velázquez-Gaztelu. Nuestro flamenco: programa de Radio Clásica, con José María Velázquez-Gaztelu. Agencia Andaluza para el Desarrollo del Flamenco Flamenco Viejo Flamenco Olímpico Reportaje Documental Flamenco de la A a la Z: breve enciclopedia del flamenco que incluye diccionario en el sitio de Radiolé. GRANDE, Félix: Memoria del flamenco, con prólogo de José Manuel Caballero Bonald. Galaxia Gutenberg/Círculo de Lectores, Barcelona, 1991. Texto en PDF. Flamenco en Sevilla LAFUENTE ALCÁNTARA, Emilio (1825–1868): Cancionero popular. Colección escogida de seguidillas y coplas'', 1865. Vol. II: Coplas; texto en Google Books. Sobre Emilio Lafuente Alcántara, hermano de Miguel Lafuente Alcántara, en el sitio Biblioteca Virtual de Arabistas y Africanistas Españoles. Universo Lorca | El Concurso del Cante Jondo de 1922. Web dedicada a la vida y obra de Federico García Lorca y su vinculación con Granada. (Diputación de Granada) Los Palos del Flamenco | Los Palos del Flamenco. Artículos sobre el origen y evolución del arte flamenco. (Flamencos Online) Notes External links Flamenco show in Seville Spanish music Andalusian music Romani dances Spanish dances Spanish folk music European folk dances Articles containing video clips Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity Romani culture Romani music

Fucking Åmål (released in some countries as Show Me Love) is a 1998 Swedish romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Lukas Moodysson in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Rebecka Liljeberg and Alexandra Dahlström as two seemingly disparate teenage girls who begin a tentative romantic relationship. The film was released theatrically in Sweden on 23 October 1998, and first premiered internationally at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. The film received an overwhelmingly positive reception and won four Guldbagge Awards (Sweden's official film awards) at the 1999 ceremony. Its international awards include the Teddy Award at the 1999 Berlin International Film Festival, and the Special Jury Prize at the 34th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The Swedish title refers to the small town of Åmål in Västra Götaland County, western Sweden. However, only a few scenes were filmed in Åmål, and they were not included in the final version. The main shooting took place in the nearby town of Trollhättan, the location of producing company Film i Väst's studios. Plot Two girls, Agnes and Elin, attend school in the small town of Åmål, Sweden. Elin is outgoing and popular but finds her life unsatisfying and dull. Agnes, by contrast, has no real friends and is constantly depressed. Agnes is in love with Elin but cannot find any way to express it. Agnes's parents worry about their daughter's reclusive life and try to be reassuring. Her mother decides, against Agnes's will, to throw a 16th birthday party for her. Agnes is afraid no one will come. Viktoria, a girl in a wheelchair, shows up and Agnes shouts at her in front of her parents, telling her they are friends only because no one else will talk to them. Agnes, overcome with anger and depression, goes to her room and cries into her pillow shouting that she wishes she were dead, while her father tries to soothe her. Viktoria leaves and Agnes's family eats the food made for the party. Elin arrives at Agnes's house, mainly as an excuse to avoid going to another party, where there will be a boy (Johan, played by Mathias Rust) she wants to avoid. Elin's older sister, Jessica, who comes with her, dares her to kiss Agnes, who is rumoured to be a lesbian. Elin fulfills the dare and then runs out with Jessica, only to soon feel guilty for having humiliated Agnes. After becoming drunk at the other party, Elin gets sick and throws up. Johan tries to help her and ends up professing his love to her. Elin leaves Johan and the party, only to return to Agnes's house to apologize for how she acted earlier. In doing so, Elin stops Agnes from cutting herself. She even manages to persuade Agnes to return with her to the other party. On the way, Elin shares her real feelings about being trapped in Åmål. She asks Agnes about being a lesbian and believes that their problems could be solved by leaving Åmål and going to Stockholm. On impulse, Elin persuades Agnes to hitchhike to Stockholm, which is a five-hour journey by car. They find a driver who agrees to take them, believing them to be sisters who are visiting their grandmother. While sitting in the back seat, they have their first real kiss. The driver sees them and, shocked at the behaviour of the two 'sisters', orders them to leave the car. Elin discovers that she is attracted to Agnes but is afraid to admit it. She proceeds to ignore Agnes and refuses to talk to her. Elin's sister Jessica sees that she is in love and pushes her to figure out who it is. To cover the fact that she is in love with Agnes, Elin lies, pretending to be in love with Johan, and loses her virginity during a short-lived relationship with him. Elin eventually admits her feelings, when, after a climactic scene in a school bathroom, they are forced to 'out' their relationship to the school. The film ends with Elin and Agnes sitting in Elin's bedroom drinking chocolate milk. Elin explains that she often adds too much chocolate until her milk is nearly black. She must fill another glass with milk and mix it and that her sister Jessica often gets mad that she finishes the chocolate. Elin has the last word saying "It makes a lot of chocolate milk. But that doesn't matter." Cast Alexandra Dahlström as Elin Olsson Rebecka Liljeberg as Agnes Ahlberg Erica Carlson as Jessica Olsson Mathias Rust as Johan Hulth Stefan Hörberg as Markus Josefine Nyberg as Viktoria Ralph Carlsson as Agnes's father, Olof Maria Hedborg as Agnes's mother, Karin Axel Widegren as Agnes's little brother, Oskar Jill Ung as Elin's and Jessica's mother, Birgitta Title The original title of the film, Fucking Åmål, refers to the girls' feelings about their small town: In a key scene Elin shouts in desperation "varför måste vi bo i fucking jävla kuk-Åmål?" (which roughly translates to "why do we have to live in fucking bloody cock-Åmål?"). According to Moodysson, the problem with the original title started when the film was Sweden's candidate for the Academy Awards, though eventually it was not chosen as a nominee. The Hollywood industry magazine Variety refused to run an advertisement for Fucking Åmål. Thus, American distributor Strand Releasing asked for a new title. Moodysson took the new title from the song at the end of the film, by Robyn. Distributors in other native English-speaking countries then followed suit. ("Discovering Love") ("School Friends") ("Love is Love") The Czech title is based on a Lucie Bílá song of the same name, which references homosexuality. (, "Show Me Love") Hebrew: F- Åmål English: Show Me Love Reception Political controversy Even before the film was completed, it created controversy in the town of Åmål. Local politicians campaigned to get the title changed because they argued that it would show the town in an unfair way and even undermine it as an economic centre. Further pressure was brought on the makers of the film, the Film i Väst studio, who are partly financed by Swedish local authorities, including Åmål. However, the local complaints had no effect on the content or release of the film. Since the release, the town of Åmål has tried to embrace the publicity generated, despite the fact that the town's name is missing from the English title. In the early 2000s the town founded the pop music "Fucking Åmål Festival." Critical and commercial response Fucking Åmål received the highest audience figures for a Swedish film in 1998–9, with a total audience of 867,576 and a total audience for the whole of Europe of 2,100,000. Some reports outside Sweden stated that in Sweden the film had outgrossed the Hollywood film Titanic. In fact, Titanic had over twice as many viewers as Show Me Love in Sweden in 1998. Based on 43 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of critics gave Show Me Love a positive review. It is among the top ten of the British Film Institute list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14. The film received consistently good reviews, including the realism and credibility of its portrayal of what it is like to be a teenager in a small town in the 1990s. In addition, the efforts of the young actors were praised. Jan-Olov Andersson at Aftonbladet felt that Dahlström's and Liljeberg's imaginative appearance and interaction was "sensationally credible", and Bo Ludvigsson at Svenska Dagbladet wrote that it was "a warm, strong and confident film about the courage to be human". Ludvigsson also believed that Fucking Åmål, with its storytelling drive, leave and authenticity, was well above most of the Swedish films of recent years. Anders Hansson at Göteborgs-Posten thought that director Moodysson with fairly ordinary elements created "a film with unusual rise". Autostraddle placed it at number one on its "Top 10 Best Lesbian Movies" list. Cultural impact According to Russian singer Lena Katina, producer Ivan Shapovalov was inspired to create the pop duo t.A.T.u. after the release of this film. The track "Show Me Love" is featured in their album 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane. Soundtrack The film's soundtrack was released through Metronome Records and consists of songs in English and Swedish language. Swedish band Broder Daniel, who contributed three English language songs to Fucking Åmål, saw a spike in popularity after the film's release. The band also released an EP titled Fucking Åmål. Fucking Åmål / Musiken Från Filmen Label: Metronome Records Format: CD, compilation Country: Sweden Released: 1998 Awards and nominations |- ! rowspan="24" | 1999 | rowspan="2" | Amanda Award | Best Foreign Feature Film | Fucking Åmål, director Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Best Nordic Feature Film | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Atlantic Film Festival | Best International Feature | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | rowspan="2" | Berlin International Film Festival | C.I.C.A.E. Award - Recommendation (Panorama) | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Teddy Award - Best Feature Film | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | British Film Institute Awards | Sutherland Trophy - Special Mention | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Manaki Brothers Film Festival | Special Jury Award | Ulf Brantås | | |- | Cinema Jove - Valencia International Film Festival | Golden Moon of Valencia | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | European Film Awards | Best Film | Lars Jönsson | | |- | rowspan="2" | Flanders International Film Festival Ghent | Student Jury Award | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Grand Prix | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | rowspan="5" | Guldbagge Awards | Best Film | Lars Jönsson | | |- | Best Director | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Best Screenplay | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Alexandra DahlströmRebecka Liljeberg | | |- | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Ralph Carlsson | | |- | rowspan="4" | Karlovy Vary International Film Festival | Audience Award | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | FICC - The Don Quixote Prize | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Special Jury Prize | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Crystal Globe | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | rowspan="3" | Kyiv International Film Festival "Molodist" | Best Full-Length Fiction Film | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | FIPRESCI | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Youth Jury Award - Full-Length Feature Film | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | Verzaubert International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival | Rosebud - Best Film | Lukas Moodysson | | |- ! rowspan="3" | 2000 | Bodil Awards | Best Non-American Film | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | GLAAD Media Award | Outstanding Film – Limited Release | Lukas Moodysson | | |- | International Film Festival Rotterdam | MovieZone Young Jury Award | Lukas Moodysson | | See also List of submissions to the 71st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film List of Swedish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film References External links Swedish teen films Swedish teen drama films 1990s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 1998 LGBT-related films 1990s romantic comedy-drama films 1990s teen comedy-drama films 1990s teen romance films 1998 films 1998 in Swedish cinema Best Film Guldbagge Award winners Coming-of-age romance films Controversies in Sweden Film controversies Films directed by Lukas Moodysson Films set in Dalsland Films shot in Trollhättan Films whose director won the Best Director Guldbagge Award Lesbian-related films LGBT-related comedy-drama films LGBT-related coming-of-age films LGBT-related romance films Swedish comedy-drama films Swedish coming-of-age films Swedish films Swedish LGBT-related films Swedish romantic comedy-drama films Swedish-language films Political controversies Teen LGBT-related films Zentropa films Teensploitation 1998 directorial debut films 1998 comedy films 1998 drama films

Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its business model, brand, and rights to sell its branded products and services to a franchisee. In return the franchisee pays certain fees and agrees to comply with certain obligations, typically set out in a franchise agreement. The word "franchise" is of Anglo-French derivation—from franc, meaning free—and is used both as a noun and as a (transitive) verb. For the franchisor, use of a franchise system is an alternative business growth strategy, compared to expansion through corporate owned outlets or "chain stores". Adopting a franchise system business growth strategy for the sale and distribution of goods and services minimizes the franchisor's capital investment and liability risk. Franchising is not an equal partnership, especially due to the legal advantages the franchisor has over the franchisee. But under specific circumstances like transparency, favourable legal conditions, financial means and proper market research, franchising can be a vehicle of success for both franchisor and franchisee. Thirty-six countries have laws that explicitly regulate franchising, with the majority of all other countries having laws which have a direct or indirect effect on franchising. Franchising is also used as a foreign market entry mode. History The boom in franchising did not take place until after World War II. Nevertheless, the rudiments of modern franchising date back to the Middle Ages when landowners made franchise-like agreements with tax collectors, who retained a percentage of the money they collected and turned the rest over. The practice ended around 1562 but spread to other endeavors. For example, in 17th century England franchisees were granted the right to sponsor markets and fairs or operate ferries. There was little growth in franchising, though, until the mid-19th century, when it appeared in the United States for the first time. One of the first successful American franchising operations was started by an enterprising druggist named John S. Pemberton. In 1886, he concocted a beverage comprising sugar, molasses, spices, and cocaine. Pemberton licensed selected people to bottle and sell the drink, which was an early version of what is now known as Coca-Cola. His was one of the earliest—and most successful—franchising operations in the United States. The Singer Company implemented a franchising plan in the 1850s to distribute its sewing machines. The operation failed, though, because the company did not earn much money even though the machines sold well. The dealers, who had exclusive rights to their territories, absorbed most of the profits because of deep discounts. Some failed to push Singer products, so competitors were able to outsell the company. Under the existing contract, Singer could neither withdraw rights granted to franchisees nor send in its own salaried representatives. So, the company started repurchasing the rights it had sold. The experiment proved to be a failure. That may have been one of the first times a franchisor failed, but it was by no means the last. (Even Colonel Sanders did not initially succeed in his Kentucky Fried Chicken franchising efforts.) Still, the Singer venture did not put an end to franchising. Other companies tried franchising in one form or another after the Singer experience. For example, several decades later, General Motors Corporation established a somewhat successful franchising operation in order to raise capital. Perhaps the father of modern franchising, though, is Louis K. Liggett. In 1902, Liggett invited a group of druggists to join a "drug cooperative." As he explained to them, they could increase profits by paying less for their purchases, especially if they set up their own manufacturing company. His idea was to market private label products. About 40 druggists pooled $4,000 of their own money and adopted the name "Rexall". Sales soared, and Rexall became a franchisor. The chain's success set a pattern for other franchisors to follow. Although many business owners did affiliate with cooperative ventures of one type or another, there was little growth in franchising until the early 20th century, and in whatever form franchising existed, it looked nothing like what it is today. As the United States shifted from an agricultural to an industrial economy, manufacturers licensed individuals to sell automobiles, trucks, gasoline, beverages, and a variety of other products. The franchisees did little more than selling the products, though. The sharing of responsibility associated with contemporary franchising arrangement did not exist to a great extent. Consequently, franchising was not a growth industry in the United States. It was not until the 1960s and 1970s that people began to take a close look at the attractiveness of franchising. The concept intrigued people with entrepreneurial spirit. However, there were serious pitfalls for investors, which almost ended the practice before it became truly popular. The United States is a leader in franchising, a position it has held since the 1930s when it used the approach for fast-food restaurants, food inns and, slightly later, motels at the time of the Great Depression.<ref>Stephen T. Schroth, "Vacation", in The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia, ed. Marilyn J. Coleman and Lawrence H. Ganong (NY: Sage, 2014), 1411-14. For a parallel discussion of Canada, see Alan Gordon, Time Travel: Tourism and the Rise of the Living History Museum in Mid-Twentieth-Century Canada (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2016), 85-87. </ref> As of 2005, there were 909,253 established franchised businesses, generating $880.9 billion of output and accounting for 8.1 percent of all private, non-farm jobs. This amounts to 11 million jobs, and 4.4 percent of all private sector output. Mid-sized franchises like restaurants, gasoline stations and trucking stations involve substantial investment and require all the attention of a businessperson. There are also large franchises like hotels, spas and hospitals, which are discussed further under technological alliances. "No poaching" agreements are prevalent within franchises, thus limiting the ability of employers at one franchise establishment to hire employees at an affiliated franchise. Economists have characterized these agreements as a contributor to oligopsony. Fees and contract arrangement Three important payments are made to a franchisor: (a) a royalty for the trademark, (b) reimbursement for the training and advisory services given to the franchisee, and (c) a percentage of the individual business unit's sales. These three fees may be combined in a single 'management' fee. A fee for "disclosure" is separate and is always a "front-end fee". A franchise usually lasts for a fixed time period (broken down into shorter periods, which each require renewal), and serves a specific territory or geographical area surrounding its location. One franchisee may manage several such locations. Agreements typically last from five to thirty years, with premature cancellations or terminations of most contracts bearing serious consequences for franchisees. A franchise is merely a temporary business investment involving renting or leasing an opportunity, not the purchase of a business for the purpose of ownership. It is classified as a wasting asset due to the finite term of the license. Franchise fees are on average 6.7% with an additional average marketing fee of 2%. However, not all franchise opportunities are the same and many franchise organizations are pioneering new models that challenge antiquated structures and redefine success for the organization as well as the franchisee. A franchise can be exclusive, non-exclusive or "sole and exclusive". Although franchisor revenues and profit may be listed in a franchise disclosure document (FDD), no laws require an estimate of franchisee profitability, which depends on how intensively the franchisee "works" the franchise. Therefore, franchisor fees are typically based on "gross revenue from sales" and not on profits realized. See remuneration. Various tangibles and intangibles such as national or international advertising, training and other support services are commonly made available by the franchisor. Franchise brokers help franchisors find appropriate franchisees. There are also main 'master franchisors' who obtain the rights to sub-franchise in a territory. According to the International Franchise Association approximately 44% of all businesses in the United States are franchisee-worked. Rationale and risk shift Franchising is one of the few means available to access venture capital without the need to give up control of the operation of the chain and build a distribution system for servicing it. After the brand and formula are carefully designed and properly executed, franchisors are able to sell franchises and expand rapidly across countries and continents using the capital and resources of their franchisees while reducing their own risk. There is also risk for the people buying the franchises. However, failure rates are much lower for franchise businesses than independent business startups. Franchisor rules imposed by the franchising authority are becoming increasingly strict. Some franchisors are using minor rule violations to terminate contracts and seize the franchise without any reimbursement. Advantages and disadvantages of franchising as an entry mode Franchising brings with it several advantages and disadvantages for firms looking to expand into new areas and foreign markets. The primary advantage is that the firm does not have to bear the development cost and risks of opening a foreign market on its own, as the franchisee is typically responsible for those costs and risks, putting the onus on them to build a profitable operation as quickly as possible. Through franchising, a firm has the potential of building a global presence quickly and also at a low cost and risk. For the franchisee, the primary advantages are access to a well-known brand, support in setting up the business using operating manuals, and ongoing operational support including access to suppliers and employee training. A primary disadvantage to franchising is quality control, as the franchisor wants the firm's brand name to convey a message to consumers about the quality and consistency of the firm's product. They want the consumer to experience the same quality regardless of location or franchise status. This can prove to be an issue with franchising, as a customer who had a bad experience at one franchise may assume that they will have the same experience at other locations with other services. Distance can make it difficult for firms to detect whether or not the franchises are of poor quality. One way around this disadvantage is to set up extra subsidiaries in each country or state in which the firm expands. This creates a smaller number of franchisees to oversee, which will reduce the quality control challenges. Obligations of the parties Each party to a franchise has several interests to protect. The franchisor is involved in securing protection for the trademark, controlling the business concept and securing know-how. The franchisee is obligated to carry out the services for which the trademark has been made prominent or famous. There is a great deal of standardization required. The place of service has to bear the franchisor's signs, logos and trademark in a prominent place. The uniforms worn by the staff of the franchisee have to be of a particular design and color. The service has to be in accordance with the pattern followed by the franchisor in the successful franchise operations. Thus, franchisees are not in full control of the business, as they would be in retailing. A service can be successful if equipment and supplies are purchased at a fair price from the franchisor or sources recommended by the franchisor. A coffee brew, for example, can be readily identified by the trademark if its raw materials come from a particular supplier. If the franchisor requires purchase from her stores, it may come under anti-trust legislation or equivalent laws of other countries. So too the purchase things like uniforms of personnel and signs, as well as the franchise sites, if they are owned or controlled by the franchisor. The franchisee must carefully negotiate the license and must develop a marketing or business plan with the franchisor. The fees must be fully disclosed and there should not be any hidden fees. The start-up costs and working capital must be known before the license is granted. There must be assurance that additional licensees will not crowd the "territory" if the franchise is worked according to plan. The franchisee must be seen as an independent merchant. It must be protected by the franchisor from any trademark infringement by third parties. A franchise attorney is required to assist the franchisee during negotiations. Often the training period – the costs of which are in great part covered by the initial fee – is too short in cases where it is necessary to operate complicated equipment, and the franchisee has to learn on their own from instruction manuals. The training period must be adequate, but in low-cost franchises it may be considered expensive. Many franchisors have set up corporate universities to train staff online. This is in addition to providing literature, sales documents and email access. Also, franchise agreements carry no guarantees or warranties and the franchisee has little or no recourse to legal intervention in the event of a dispute. Franchise contracts tend to be unilateral and favor of the franchisor, who is generally protected from lawsuits from their franchisees because of the non-negotiable contracts that franchisees are required to acknowledge, in effect, that they are buying the franchise knowing that there is risk, and that they have not been promised success or profits by the franchisor. Contracts are renewable at the sole option of the franchisor. Most franchisors require franchisees to sign agreements that mandate where and under what law any dispute would be litigated. Regulations Australia In 2016 there were an estimated 1,120 franchise brands operating in Australia and an estimated 79,000 units operating in business format franchises, with a total brand turnover of approximately $146 billion and a sales revenue of approximately $66.5 billion. In 2016 the majority of franchise brands were retailers with the largest segment being non-food retailing, accounting for 26 percent of brands, a further 19 percent of brands were involved in food retailing, 15 percent of franchisors operated in administration and support services, 10 percent in other services, 7 percent in education and training and 7 percent in rental, hire and real estate services. Franchising in Australia commenced in a significant way in the early 1970s under the influence of the franchised US fast food systems such as KFC, Pizza Hut, and McDonald's. It was however underway prior to this and a decade earlier in 1960 Leslie Joseph Hooker, considered a pioneer of franchising, created Australia's first national real estate agency network of Hooker real estate agencies. In Australia, franchising is regulated by the Franchising Code of Conduct, a mandatory code of conduct concluded under the Trade Practices Act 1974. The ACCC regulates the Franchising Code of Conduct, which is a mandatory industry code that applies to the parties to a franchise agreement. This code requires franchisors to produce a disclosure document which must be given to a prospective franchisee at least 14 days before the franchise agreement is entered into. The code also regulates the content of franchise agreements, for example in relation to marketing funds, a cooling-off period, termination, and the resolution of disputes by mediation. Franchising code of conduct On 1 January 2015, the old Franchising Code was repealed and replaced with a new Franchising Code of Conduct. The new Code applies to conduct on or after 1 January 2015. The new Code: introduces an obligation under the Code for parties to act in good faith in their dealings with one another introduces financial penalties and infringement notices for serious breaches of the Code requires franchisors to provide prospective franchisees with a short information sheet outlining the risks and rewards of franchising requires franchisors to provide greater transparency in the use of and accounting for money used for marketing and advertising and to set up a separate marketing fund for marketing and advertising fees requires additional disclosure about the ability of the franchisor and a franchisee to sell online prohibits franchisors from imposing significant capital expenditure except in limited circumstances. These are significant changes and it is important that franchisors, franchisees and potential franchises understand their rights and responsibilities under the Code. For further information about the changes to the Code, please see the updated Franchisor Compliance Manual and the Franchisee Manual. The Code explanatory materials are available from the ComLaw website (link is external). New Zealand New Zealand is served by around 423 franchise systems operating 450 brands, giving it the highest proportion of franchises per capita in the world. Despite (or because of) the 2008-09 recession, the total number of franchised units increased by 5.3% from 2009 to 2010. There is no separate law covering franchises, so they are covered by normal commercial law. This functions very well in New Zealand and includes law as it applies to contracts, restrictive trade practices, intellectual property, and the law of misleading or deceptive conduct. The Franchise Association of New Zealand introduced a self-regulatory code of practice for its members in 1996. This contains many provisions similar to those of the Australian Franchising Code of Practice legislation, although only around a third of all franchises are members of the association and therefore bound by the code. A case of fraud in 2007 perpetrated by a former master franchisee of the country's largest franchise system led to a review of the need for franchise law by the Ministry of Economic Development. The New Zealand Government decided there was no case for franchise-specific legislation at that time. This decision was criticised by the opposition, which had initiated the review when in power, and the review process was questioned by a leading academic. The Franchise Association originally supported the positive regulation of the franchise sector but its eventual submission to the review was in favour of the status quo of self-regulation. Brazil By the end of 2012, about 2,031 franchise brands were operating in Brazil, with approximately 93,000 locations, making it one of the largest countries in the world in terms of number of units. Around 11 percent of this total were foreign-based franchisors. The Brazilian Franchise Law (Law No. 8955 of December 15, 1994) defines the franchise as a system in which the franchisor licenses the franchisee, for a payment, the right to use a trademark or patent along with the right to distribute products or services on an exclusive or semi-exclusive basis. The provision of a "Franchise Offer Circular", or disclosure document, is mandatory before execution of agreement and is valid for all of the Brazilian territory. Failure to disclose voids the agreement, which leads to refunds and serious payments for damages. The Franchise Law does not distinguish between Brazilian and foreign franchisors. The National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) is the registering authority. Indispensable documents are a Statement of Delivery (of disclosure documentation) and a Certification of Recording (INPI). The latter is necessary for payments. All sums may not be convertible into foreign currency. Certification may also mean compliance with Brazil's antitrust legislation. Parties to international franchising may decide to adopt the English language for the document, as long as the Brazilian party knows English fluently and expressly acknowledges that fact, to avoid translation. The registration accomplishes three things: * It make the agreement effective against third parties * It permits the remittance of payments * It qualifies the franchisee for tax deductions. Canada In Canada, recent legislation has mandated better disclosure and fair treatment of franchisees. The regulations also ensure their right to form associations and launch collective action, even if they signed contracts prohibiting such moves. Franchising in Canada involves 1,300 brands, 80,000 franchise units accounting for about 20% of all consumer spending. China China has the most franchises in the world but the scale of their operations is relatively small. The average franchise system in China has about 45 outlets, compared to more than 540 in the United States. Together, there are 2600 brands in some 200,000 retail markets. KFC was the most significant foreign entry in 1987 and is widespread. Many franchises are in fact joint-ventures, as at their forming the franchise law was not explicit. For example, McDonald's is a joint venture. Pizza Hut, TGIF, Wal-mart, Starbucks followed not long thereafter. But total franchising is only 3% of retail trade, which seeks foreign franchise growth. The year 2005 saw the birth of an updated franchise law, "Measures for the Administration of Commercial Franchise". Previous legislation (1997) made no specific inclusion of foreign investors. Further updates were made in 2007, with the objective of increased clarity of the law. The laws are applicable if there are transactions involving a trademark combined with payments with many obligations on the franchisor. The law comprises 42 articles and eight chapters. Among the franchisor obligations are: The FIE (foreign-invested enterprise) franchisor must be registered by the regulator The franchisor (or its subsidiary) must have operated at least two company-owned franchises in China (revised to "anywhere") for more than 12 months ("the two-shop, one-year" rule) The franchisor must disclose any information requested by the franchisee Cross-border franchising, with some caveats, is possible (2007 law). The franchisor must meet a list of requirements for registration, among which are: The standard franchise agreement, working manual and working capital requirements, A track-record of operations, and ample ability to supply materials, The ability to train the Chinese personnel and provide long-term operational guidance, The franchise agreement must have a minimum three-year term. Among other provisions: The franchisor is liable for certain actions of its suppliers Monetary and other penalties apply for infractions of the regulations. The disclosure must take place 20 days in advance. It has to contain: Details of the franchisor's experience in the franchised business with scope of business Identification of the franchisor's principal officers Litigation of the franchisor during the past five years Full details about all franchise fees The amount of a franchisee's initial investment A list of the goods or services the franchisor can supply, and the terms of supply The training franchisees will receive Information about the trademarks, including registration, usage and litigation Demonstration of the franchisor's capabilities to provide training and guidance Statistics about existing units, including number, locations and operational results, and the percentage of franchises that have been terminated, and An audited financial report and tax information (for an unspecified period of time). Other elements of this legislation are: The franchisee's confidentiality obligations continue indefinitely after termination or expiration of the franchise agreement If the franchisee has paid a deposit to the franchisor, it must be refunded on termination of the franchise agreement; upon termination, the franchisee is prohibited from continuing to use the franchisor's marks. India The franchising of foreign goods and services to India is in its infancy. The first International Exhibition was only held in 2009. India is, however, one of the biggest franchising markets because of its large middle-class of 300 million who are not reticent about spending and because the population is entrepreneurial in character. In a highly diversified society, (see Demographics of India) McDonald's is a success story despite its menu differing from that of the rest of the world. So far, franchise agreements are covered under two standard commercial laws: the Contract Act 1872 and the Specific Relief Act 1963, which provide for both specific enforcement of covenants in a contract and remedies in the form of damages for breach of contract. Kazakhstan In Kazakhstan franchise turnover for 2013 is 2.5 billion US$ dollars per year. Kazakhstan is the leader in Central Asia in the franchising market. A special law on franchising came into effect in 2002. There are more than 300 franchise systems and the number of franchised outlets approaches 2000. Kazakhstan franchising began with the emergence of a "Coca-Cola" factory, opened to sublicense a Turkish licensor of the same brand. The plant was built in 1994. Other brands that are also present in Kazakhstan through the franchise system include Pepsi, Hilton, Marriott, Intercontinental, and Pizza Hut. Europe Franchising has grown rapidly in Europe in recent years, but the industry is largely unregulated. The European Union has not adopted a uniform franchise law. Only six of the 28 member states have a pre-contract disclosure law. They are France (1989), Spain (1996), Romania (1997), Italy (2004) Sweden ( 2004) and Belgium (2005). Estonia and Lithuania have franchise laws that impose mandatory terms on franchise agreements. In Spain there is also mandatory registration on a public registry. Although they have no franchise specific laws, Germany and those countries with a legal system based upon that of Germany, such as Austria, Greece and Portugal, probably impose the greatest regulatory burden on franchisors due to their tendency to treat franchisees as quasi consumers in certain circumstances and the willingness of the judiciary to use the concept of good faith to make pro-franchisee decisions. In the UK, the recent Papa John case shows that there is also a need for pre-contractual disclosure and the Yam Seng case shows that there is a duty of good faith in franchise relationships. The European Franchising Federation's Code of Ethics has been adopted by seventeen national franchise associations. However this has no legal force and enforcement by the national associations is neither uniform of rigorous. Commentators like Dr Mark Abell, in his book "The Law and Regulation of Franchising in the EU" (published in 2013 by Edward Elgar ) consider this lack of uniformity to be one of the greatest barriers to franchising realising its potential in the EU. When adopting a European strategy, it is important that a franchisor takes expert legal advice. Most often one of the principal tasks in Europe is to find retail space, which is not so significant a factor in the USA. This is where the franchise broker, or the master franchisor, plays an important role. Cultural factors are also relevant, as local populations tend to be heterogeneous. France France is one of Europe's largest markets. Similar to the United States, it has a long history of franchising, dating back to the 1930s. Growth came in the 1970s. The market is considered difficult for outside franchisors because of cultural characteristics, yet McDonald's and Century 21 are found everywhere. There are some 30 U.S. firms involved in franchising in France. There are no government agencies regulating franchises. The Loi Doubin Law of 1989 was the first European franchise disclosure law. Combined with Decree No. 91-337, it regulates disclosure, although the decree also applies to any person who provides to another person a corporate name, trademark or trade name or other business arrangements. The law applies to "exclusive or quasi-exclusive territory". The disclosure document must be delivered at least 20 days before the execution of the agreement or any payments are made. The specific and important disclosures to be made are: The date of the founding of the franchisor's enterprise and a summary of its business history and all information necessary to assess the business experience of the franchisor, including bankers, A description of the local market for the goods or services, The franchisor's financial statements for the previous two years, A list of all other franchisees currently in the network, All franchisees who have left the network during the preceding year, whether by termination or non-renewal, and The conditions for renewal, assignment, termination and the scope of exclusivity. Initially, there was some uncertainty whether any breach of the provisions of the Doubin Law would enable the franchisee to walk away from the contract. However, the French supreme court (Cour de cassation) eventually ruled that agreements should only be annulled where missing or incorrect information affected the decision of the franchisee to enter into the agreement. The burden of proof is on the franchisee. Dispute settlement features are only incorporated in some European countries. By not being rigorous, franchising is encouraged. Italy Under Italian law franchise is defined as an arrangement between two financially independent parties where a franchisee is granted, in exchange for a consideration, the right to market goods and services under particular trademarks. In addition, articles dictate the form and content of the franchise agreement and define the documents that must be made available 30 days prior to execution. The franchisor must disclose: a) A summary of the franchise activities and operations, b) A list of franchisees currently operating in the franchise system in Italy, c) Year-by-year details of the changes in the number of franchisees for the previous three years in Italy, d) A summary of any court or arbitral proceedings in Italy related to the franchise system, and e) If requested by the franchisee, copies of franchisor's balance sheets for the previous three years, or since start-up if that period is shorter. Norway There are no specific laws regulating franchising in Norway. However, the Norwegian Competition Act section 10 prohibits cooperation which may prevent, limit or diminish the competition. This may also apply to vertical cooperation such as franchising. Russia In Russia, under chapter 54 of the Civil Code (passed 1996), franchise agreements are invalid unless written and registered, and franchisors cannot set standards or limits on the prices of the franchisee's goods. Enforcement of laws and resolution of contractual disputes is a problem: Dunkin' Donuts chose to terminate its contract with Russian franchisees who were selling vodka and meat patties contrary to their contracts, rather than pursue legal remedies. Spain The legal definition of franchising in Spain is an activity in which an undertaking, the franchisor, grants to another party, the franchisee, for a specific market and in exchange for financial compensation (either direct, indirect or both), the right to exploit an owned system to commercialize products or services already exploited by the franchisor with enough success and experience. The Spanish Retail Trading Act regulates franchising. The contents of the franchise must include, at least: The use of a common name or brand or any other intellectual property right and a uniform presentation of the premises or the transport means included in the agreement. The communication by the franchisor to the franchise of certain technical knowledge or substantial and singular know-how that has to be owned by the franchisor, and Technical or commercial assistance or both, provided by the franchisor to the franchisee during the agreement, without prejudice to any supervision faculty to which the parties could freely agree in the contract. In Spain, the franchisor submits the disclosure information 20 days prior to signing the agreement or prior to any payment made by the franchisee to the franchisor. Franchisors are to disclose to the potential franchisee specific information in writing. This information has to be true and not misleading and include: Identification of the franchisor; Justification of ownership or license for use of any trademark or similar sign and judicial claims affecting them as well as the duration of the license; General description of the sector in which the franchise operates; Experience of the franchisor; Contents and characteristics of the franchise and its exploitation; Structure and extension of the network in Spain; Essential elements of the franchise agreement. Franchisors (with some exceptions) should be registered in the Franchisors' Register and provide the requested information. According to the regulation in force in 2010 this obligation has to be met within three months after the start of its activities in Spain. Turkey Franchising is a sui generis contract which bears the characteristics of several explicitly regulated contracts such as; agency, sales contract and so forth. The regulations concerning these kinds of contracts in Turkish Commercial Code and in Turkish Code of Obligations are applied to franchising. Franchising is described in doctrine and has several essential components such as; the independence of the franchisee from the franchisor, the use of know-how and the uniformity of product and services, standard use of the brand and logo, payment of a royalty fee, increasement of sales by the franchisee and continuity. Franchising may be for a determined or undetermined period of time. The undetermined one can only be annulled either by a notice before a reasonable amount of time or by a just cause. The franchising agreement with a determined time period ends within the end of the time period if not specified otherwise in the agreement. However, termination based on just cause is also foreseen for franchising agreement with a determined time period. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom there are no franchise-specific laws; franchises are subject to the same laws that govern other businesses. There is some self-regulation through the British Franchise Association (BFA) and the Quality Franchise Association (QFA). There are a number of franchise businesses which are not members of the BFA and many which do not meet the BFA membership criteria. Part of the BFA's role in self-regulation is to work with franchisors through the application process and recommend changes which will lead to the franchise business meeting BFA standards. A number of businesses that refer to themselves as franchises do not conform to the BFA Code of Ethics are therefore excluded from membership. On 22 May 2007, hearings were held in the UK Parliament concerning citizen-initiated petitions for special regulation of franchising by the government of the UK due to losses incurred by citizens who had invested in franchises. The Minister for Industry and the Regions, Margaret Hodge, conducted hearings but saw no need for any government regulation of franchising with the advice that government regulation of franchising might lull the public into a false sense of security. Mr Mark Prisk MP suggested that the costs of such regulation to the franchisee and franchisor could be prohibitive and would in any case provide a system which mirrored the work already being completed by the BFA. The Minister for Industry and the Regions indicated that if due diligence were performed by the investors and the banks, the current laws governing business contracts in the UK offered sufficient protection for the public and the banks. The debate also made reference to the self-regulatory function performed by the BFA recognizing that the association "punched above its weight". In the 2010 case of MGB Printing v Kall Kwik UK Ltd., the High Court established that a franchisor may assume a duty of care to a franchisee in certain circumstances. Kall Kwik, a design and print franchisor, had incorrectly advised MGB, who was purchasing a franchise, of the costs of undertaking refit work needed to meet Kall Kwik's franchising requirements. In this particular case, Kall Kwik had stated that they would provide professional advice to potential franchisees, and because they had not provided details of the fitting standards which must be met, they had encouraged MGB to rely on the advice offered by themselves. United States Isaac Singer, who made improvements to an existing model of a sewing machine in the 1850s, began one of the first franchising efforts in the United States, followed later by Coca-Cola, Western Union, and by agreements between automobile manufacturers and dealers. Modern franchising came to prominence with the rise of franchise-based food service establishments. In 1932, Howard Deering Johnson established the first modern restaurant franchise based on his successful Quincy, Massachusetts Howard Johnson's restaurant founded in the late 1920s. The idea was to let independent operators use the same name, food, supplies, logo and even building design in exchange for a fee. The growth in franchising accelerated in the 1930s when such chains as Howard Johnson's started to franchise motels. The 1950s saw a boom in franchise chains in conjunction with the development of the U.S. Interstate Highway System and the growing popularity of fast food. The Federal Trade Commission has oversight of franchising via the FTC Franchise Rule. The FTC requires that the franchisee be furnished with a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) by the franchisor at least fourteen days before money changes hands or a franchise agreement is signed. Whereas elements of the disclosure may be available from third parties, only that provided by the franchisor can be depended upon. The U.S. Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) is lengthy (300–700 pp +) and detailed (see Franchise Disclosure Document, above), and generally requires audited financial statements from the franchisor in a particular format, except in some circumstances, such as where a franchisor is new. It must include such data as the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the franchisees in the licensed territory (who may be contacted and consulted before negotiations), estimate of total franchise revenues and franchisor profitability. Individual states may require the FDD to contain their own specific requirements, but the requirements in state disclosure documents must be in compliance with the federal rule that governs federal regulatory policy. There is no private right of action of action under the FTC rule for franchisor violation of the rule, but fifteen or more of the states have passed statutes that provide this right of action to franchisees when fraud can be proven under these special statutes. The majority of franchisors have inserted mandatory arbitration clauses into their agreements with their franchisees, some of which the U.S. Supreme Court has dealt with. In response to the implementation of California Assembly Bill 5 (2019) which limits the use of classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees in California, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reinstated its decision in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro which impacts California franchise law and California independent contractor law by making it unclear that if a franchisor licenses its trademark to a franchisee, whether the franchisor incurs the liabilities of an employer for a franchisee's employees. There is no federal registry of franchises or any federal filing requirements for information. States are the primary collectors of data on franchising companies and enforce laws and regulations regarding their presence and their spread in their jurisdictions. Where the franchisor has many partners, the agreement may take the shape of a business format franchise – an agreement that is identical for all franchisees. Social franchises In recent years, the idea of franchising has been picked up by the social enterprise sector, which hopes to simplify and expedite the process of setting up new businesses. A number of business ideas, such as soap making, wholefood retailing, aquarium maintenance, and hotel operation have been identified as suitable for adoption by social firms employing disabled and disadvantaged people. The most successful examples are probably the Kringwinkel second-hand shops employing 5,000 people in Flanders, franchised by KOMOSIE, the CAP Markets, a steadily growing chain of 100 neighbourhood supermarkets in Germany. and the Hotel Tritone in Trieste, which inspired the Le Mat social franchise, now active in Italy and Sweden. Social franchising also refers to a technique used by governments and aid donors to provide essential clinical health services in the developing world. Social Franchise Enterprises objective is to achieve development goals by creating self sustainable activities by providing services and goods in un-served areas. They use the Franchise Model characteristics to deliver Capacity Building, Access to Market and Access to Credit/Finance. Third-party logistics franchising Third-party logistics has become an increasingly more popular franchise opportunity due to the quickly growing transportation industry and low cost franchising. In 2012, Inc. Magazine ranked three logistics and transportation companies in the top 100 fastest growing companies in the annual Inc. 5000 rankings. Event franchising Event franchising is the duplication of public events in other geographical areas, retaining the original brand (logo), mission, concept and format of the event. As in classic franchising, event franchising is built on precisely copying successful events. An example of event franchising is the World Economic Forum, also known as the Davos forum, which has regional event franchisees in China, Latin America, etc. Likewise, the alter-globalist World Social Forum has launched many national events. When The Music Stops is an example of an events franchise in the UK, in this case, running speed dating and singles events. Home-based franchises The franchising or duplication of another firm's successful home-based business model is referred to as a home-based franchise. Home-based franchises are becoming popular as they are considered to be an easy way to start a business as they may provide a low barrier for entry into entrepreneurship. It may cost little to start a home-based franchise, but experts say that "the work is no less hard." See also American Association of Franchisees and Dealers Franchise termination Franchise agreement Franchise consulting Franchise Disclosure Document Franchise fraud List of franchises The Franchise Rule U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Martha Matilda Harper, another female franchising pioneer Leslie Joseph Hooker, Australian pioneer of franchising of LJ Hooker real estate Further reading Callaci, B. (2021). "Control Without Responsibility: The Legal Creation of Franchising, 1960–1980." Enterprise & Society, 22''(1), 156–182. References External links International Franchise Association Strategic alliances Contract law Business models

Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-German-American film director, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best-known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute. Lang's most celebrated films include the groundbreaking futuristic Metropolis (1927) and the influential M (1931), a film noir precursor that he made before he moved to the United States. His other major films include Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922), Die Nibelungen (1924), Fury (1936), You Only Live Once (1937), Hangmen Also Die! (1943), The Woman in the Window (1944), Scarlet Street (1945) and The Big Heat (1953). Life and career Early life Lang was born in Vienna, as the second son of Anton Lang (1860–1940), an architect and construction company manager, and his wife Pauline "Paula" Lang ( Schlesinger; 1864–1920). He was baptized on December 28, 1890, at the Schottenkirche in Vienna. He had an elder brother, Adolf (1884–?). Lang's parents were of Moravian descent and practising Catholics. His parents (his mother, born Jewish, converted to Roman Catholicism before Fritz's birth) took their religion seriously and were dedicated to raising Fritz as a Catholic. Lang frequently had Catholic-influenced themes in his films. Late in life, he described himself as "a born Catholic and very puritan". Although an atheist, Lang believed that religion was important for teaching ethics. After finishing school, Lang briefly attended the Technical University of Vienna, where he studied civil engineering and eventually switched to art. He left Vienna in 1910 in order to see the world, traveling throughout Europe and Africa, and later Asia and the Pacific area. In 1913, he studied painting in Paris. At the outbreak of World War I, Lang returned to Vienna and volunteered for military service in the Austrian army and fought in Russia and Romania, where he was wounded four times and lost sight in his right eye, the first of many vision issues he would face in his lifetime. While recovering from his injuries and shell shock in 1916, he wrote some scenarios and ideas for films. He was discharged from the army with the rank of lieutenant in 1918 and did some acting in the Viennese theater circuit for a short time before being hired as a writer at Decla Film, Erich Pommer's Berlin-based production company. In 1919, he married for the first time to Lisa Rosenthal, a Jewish girl; in 1921, she died under mysterious circumstances, dying of a single gunshot wound deemed to have been fired by a sidearm weapon from World War I. Expressionist films: the Weimar years (1918–1933) Lang's writing stint was brief, as he soon started to work as a director at the German film studio UFA, and later Nero-Film, just as the Expressionist movement was building. In this first phase of his career, Lang alternated between films such as Der Müde Tod ("The Weary Death") and popular thrillers such as Die Spinnen ("The Spiders"), combining popular genres with Expressionist techniques to create an unprecedented synthesis of popular entertainment with art cinema. In 1920, Lang met his future wife, the writer Thea von Harbou. She and Lang co-wrote all of his movies from 1921 through 1933, including Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler ("Dr. Mabuse the Gambler," 1922 - which ran for over four hours, in two parts in the original version, and was the first in the Dr. Mabuse trilogy), the five-hour Die Nibelungen (1924), the dystopian film Metropolis (1927), and the science fiction film Woman in the Moon (1929). Metropolis went far over budget and nearly destroyed UFA, which was bought by right-wing businessman and politician Alfred Hugenberg. It was a financial flop, as were his last silent films Spies (1928) and Woman in the Moon, produced by Lang's own company. In 1931, independent producer Seymour Nebenzahl hired Lang to direct M for Nero-Film. His first "talking" picture, considered by many film scholars to be a masterpiece of the early sound era, M is a disturbing story of a child murderer (Peter Lorre in his first starring role) who is hunted down and brought to rough justice by Berlin's criminal underworld. M remains a powerful work; it was remade in 1951 by Joseph Losey, but this version had little impact on audiences, and has become harder to see than the original film. During the climactic final scene in M, Lang allegedly threw Peter Lorre down a flight of stairs in order to give more authenticity to Lorre's battered look. Lang, who was known for being hard to work with, epitomized the stereotype of the tyrannical Germanic film director, a type embodied also by Erich von Stroheim and Otto Preminger; Lang wore a monocle adding to the stereotype. In the films of his German period, Lang produced a coherent oeuvre that established the characteristics later attributed to film noir, with its recurring themes of psychological conflict, paranoia, fate and moral ambiguity. At the end of 1932, Lang started filming The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. Adolf Hitler came to power in January 1933, and by March 30, the new regime banned it as an incitement to public disorder. Testament is sometimes deemed an anti-Nazi film, as Lang had put phrases used by the Nazis into the mouth of the title character. A screening of the film was cancelled by Joseph Goebbels, and it was later banned by the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. In banning the film, Goebbels stated that the film "showed that an extremely dedicated group of people are perfectly capable of overthrowing any state with violence", and that the film posed a threat to public health and safety. Lang was worried about the advent of the Nazi regime, partly because of his Jewish heritage, whereas his wife and co-screenwriter Thea von Harbou had started to sympathize with the Nazis in the early 1930s, and later joined the NSDAP in 1940. They soon divorced. Lang's fears would be realized following his departure from Austria, as under the Nuremberg Laws he would be identified as a part-Jew even though his mother was a converted Roman Catholic, and he was raised as such. Emigration According to Lang, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels called Lang to his offices to inform him – apologetically – that The Testament of Dr Mabuse was being banned but, nevertheless, he was so impressed by Lang's abilities as a filmmaker (especially Metropolis), that he offered Lang the position of head of German film studio UFA. Lang said it was during that meeting he had decided to leave for Paris – but that the banks had closed by the time the meeting was over. Lang claimed that, after selling his wife's jewelry, he fled by train to Paris that evening, leaving most of his money and personal possessions behind. However, his passport of the time showed that he traveled to and from Germany a few times during 1933. Lang left Berlin for good on July 31, 1933, four months after his meeting with Goebbels and his initial departure. He moved to Paris, having divorced Thea von Harbou, who stayed behind, earlier in 1933. In Paris, Lang filmed a version of Ferenc Molnár's Liliom, starring Charles Boyer. That was Lang's only film in French (excluding the French version of Testament). He then moved to the United States. Hollywood career (1936–1957) Lang made twenty-three features in his 20-year American career, working in a variety of genres at every major studio in Hollywood, and occasionally producing his films as an independent. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1939. Signing first with MGM Studios, Lang's crime drama Fury (1936) saw Spencer Tracy cast as a man who is wrongly accused of a crime and nearly killed when a lynch mob sets fire to the jail where he is awaiting trial. However, in Fury, he was not allowed to represent black victims in a lynching scenario or to criticize racism, which was his original intention. By the time Fury was released, Lang had been involved in the creation of the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, working with Otto Katz, a Czech who was a Comintern spy. He made four films with an explicitly anti-Nazi theme, Man Hunt (1941), Hangmen Also Die! (1943), Ministry of Fear (1944) and Cloak and Dagger (1946). Man Hunt, wrote Dave Kehr in 2009, "may be the best" of the "many interventionist films produced by the Hollywood studios before Pearl Harbor" as it is "clean and concentrated, elegant and precise, pointed without being preachy." His American films were often compared unfavorably to his earlier works by contemporary critics, although the restrained Expressionism of these films is now seen as integral to the emergence and evolution of American genre cinema, film noir in particular. Scarlet Street (1945), one of his films featuring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett, is considered a central film in the genre. One of Lang's most praised films noir is the police drama The Big Heat (1953), known for its uncompromising brutality, especially for a scene in which Lee Marvin throws scalding coffee on Gloria Grahame's face. As Lang's visual style simplified, in part due to the constraints of the Hollywood studio system, his worldview became increasingly pessimistic, culminating in the cold, geometric style of his last American films, While the City Sleeps (1956) and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956). Last films (1959–1963) Finding it difficult to find congenial production conditions and backers in Hollywood, particularly as his health declined with age, Lang contemplated retirement. The German producer Artur Brauner had expressed interest in remaking The Indian Tomb (from an original story by Thea von Harbou, that Lang had developed in the 1920s which had ultimately been directed by Joe May), so Lang returned to Germany to make his "Indian Epic" (consisting of The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb). Following the production, Brauner was preparing for a remake of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse when Lang approached him with the idea of adding a new original film to the series. The result was The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960), whose success led to a series of new Mabuse films, which were produced by Brauner (including the remake of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse), though Lang did not direct any of the sequels. Lang was approaching blindness during the production, and it was his final project as director. In 1963, he appeared as himself in Jean-Luc Godard's film Contempt. Death and legacy On February 8, 1960, Lang received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion picture industry, located at 1600 Vine Street. Lang died from a stroke in 1976 and was interred in the Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. While his career had ended without fanfare, Lang's American and later German works were championed by the critics of the Cahiers du cinéma, such as François Truffaut and Jacques Rivette. Truffaut wrote that Lang, especially in his American career, was greatly underappreciated by "cinema historians and critics" who "deny him any genius when he 'signs' spy movies ... war movies ... or simple thrillers." Filmmakers that were influenced by his work include Jacques Rivette, William Friedkin, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Luis Buñuel, Osamu Tezuka, Alfred Hitchcock, Jean-Luc Godard and Stanley Kubrick. Lang is credited with launching or developing many different genres of film. Phillip French of The Observer believed that Lang helped craft the "entertainment war flick" and that his interpretation of the story of Bonnie and Clyde "helped launch the Hollywood film noir". Geoff Andrew of the British Film Institute believed he set the "blueprint for the serial killer movie" through M. In December 2021 Lang was the subject for BBC Radio 4's In Our Time. Preservation The Academy Film Archive has preserved a number of Lang's films, including Human Desire and Man Hunt. Filmography Awards Commander Cross, Order of Merit in 1957 and 1966 Golden Ribbon of Motion Picture Arts in 1963 by the Federal Republic of Germany Order of Arts and Letters from France in 1965 Honorary Professor of Fine Arts by the University of Vienna, Austria, in 1973 Order of the Yugoslavia Flag with a Golden Wreath in 1971 Plaque from El Festival Internacional del Cine de San Sebastian in 1970 Silver Hand in 1931, for his film M, by the German Motion Picture Arts Association References Further reading . "Je les chasserai jusqu'au bout du monde jusqu'à ce qu'ils en crèvent," Paris: Éditions n°1, 1997; . Friedrich, Otto. City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s; New York: Harper & Row, 1986; . (See e.g. pp. 45–46 for anecdotes revealing Lang's arrogance.) McGilligan, Patrick. Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast; New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997; . Schnauber, Cornelius. Fritz Lang in Hollywood; Wien: Europaverlag, 1986; (in German). Shaw, Dan. Great Directors: Fritz Lang. Senses of Cinema issue 22, October 2002. – contains interviews with Lang and a discussion of the making of the film M. External links Fritz Lang Bibliography (via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center) Senses of Cinema – Biographie Fritz Lang at filmportal.de Photos of Fritz Lang and cast of Hangmen Also Die by Ned Scott The Fritz Lang papers at the American Heritage Center 1890 births 1976 deaths American atheists American film directors American male screenwriters American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Moravian-German descent Austrian emigrants to Germany Austrian atheists Austrian expatriates in France Austrian expatriates in Germany Austrian film directors Austrian people of Jewish descent Austrian people of Moravian-German descent Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) English-language film directors German-language film directors Science fiction film directors People from Margareten Film people from Vienna German emigrants to the United States TU Wien alumni Western (genre) film directors Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Horror film directors Silent film screenwriters 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters

A factoid is either an invented or assumed statement presented as a fact, or a true but brief or trivial item of news or information. The term was coined in 1973 by American writer Norman Mailer to mean a piece of information that becomes accepted as a fact even though it is not actually true, or an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print. Since the term's invention in 1973, it has become used to describe a brief or trivial item of news or information. Usage The term was coined by American writer Norman Mailer in his 1973 biography of Marilyn Monroe. Mailer described factoids as "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper", and formed the word by combining the word fact and the ending -oid to mean "similar but not the same". The Washington Times described Mailer's new word as referring to "something that looks like a fact, could be a fact, but in fact is not a fact". Accordingly, factoids may give rise to, or arise from, common misconceptions and urban legends. Several decades after the term was coined by Mailer, it came to have several meanings, some of which are quite distinct from each other. In 1993, William Safire identified several contrasting senses of factoid: "factoid: accusatory: misinformation purporting to be factual; or, a phony statistic." "factoid: neutral: seemingly though not necessarily factual" "factoid: (the CNN version): a little-known bit of information; trivial but interesting data." This new sense of a factoid as a trivial but interesting fact was popularized by the CNN Headline News TV channel, which, during the 1980s and 1990s, often included such a fact under the heading "factoid" during newscasts. BBC Radio 2 presenter Steve Wright uses factoids extensively on his show. Versus factlet As a result of confusion over the meaning of factoid, some English-language style and usage guides discourage its use. William Safire in his "On Language" column advocated the use of the word factlet instead of factoid to express a brief interesting fact as well as a "little bit of arcana" but did not explain how adopting this new term would alleviate the ongoing confusion over the existing contradictory common use meanings of factoid. Safire suggested that factlet be used to designate a small or trivial bit of information that is nonetheless true or accurate. A report in The Guardian identified Safire as the writer who coined the term factlet, although Safire's 1993 column suggested factlet was already in use at that time. The Atlantic magazine agreed with Safire, and recommended factlet to signify a "small probably unimportant but interesting fact", as factoid still connoted a spurious fact. The term factlet has been used in publications such as Mother Jones, the San Jose Mercury News, and in the Reno Gazette Journal. See also Chuck Norris facts Cuboid Communal reinforcement Fake news Groupthink Humanoid Just-so story Meme Pseudoscience Talking point Truthiness Woozle effect References Communication Doubt Traditional stories

Fick's laws of diffusion describe diffusion and were derived by Adolf Fick in 1855. They can be used to solve for the diffusion coefficient, . Fick's first law can be used to derive his second law which in turn is identical to the diffusion equation. A diffusion process that obeys Fick's laws is called normal or Fickian diffusion; otherwise, it is called anomalous diffusion or non-Fickian diffusion. History In 1855, physiologist Adolf Fick first reported his now well-known laws governing the transport of mass through diffusive means. Fick's work was inspired by the earlier experiments of Thomas Graham, which fell short of proposing the fundamental laws for which Fick would become famous. Fick's law is analogous to the relationships discovered at the same epoch by other eminent scientists: Darcy's law (hydraulic flow), Ohm's law (charge transport), and Fourier's Law (heat transport). Fick's experiments (modeled on Graham's) dealt with measuring the concentrations and fluxes of salt, diffusing between two reservoirs through tubes of water. It is notable that Fick's work primarily concerned diffusion in fluids, because at the time, diffusion in solids was not considered generally possible. Today, Fick's Laws form the core of our understanding of diffusion in solids, liquids, and gases (in the absence of bulk fluid motion in the latter two cases). When a diffusion process does not follow Fick's laws (which happens in cases of diffusion through porous media and diffusion of swelling penetrants, among others), it is referred to as non-Fickian. Fick's first law Fick's first law relates the diffusive flux to the gradient of the concentration. It postulates that the flux goes from regions of high concentration to regions of low concentration, with a magnitude that is proportional to the concentration gradient (spatial derivative), or in simplistic terms the concept that a solute will move from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration across a concentration gradient. In one (spatial) dimension, the law can be written in various forms, where the most common form (see) is in a molar basis: where is the diffusion flux, of which the dimension is amount of substance per unit area per unit time. measures the amount of substance that will flow through a unit area during a unit time interval. is the diffusion coefficient or diffusivity. Its dimension is area per unit time. (for ideal mixtures) is the concentration, of which the dimension is amount of substance per unit volume. is position, the dimension of which is length. is proportional to the squared velocity of the diffusing particles, which depends on the temperature, viscosity of the fluid and the size of the particles according to the Stokes–Einstein relation. In dilute aqueous solutions the diffusion coefficients of most ions are similar and have values that at room temperature are in the range of . For biological molecules the diffusion coefficients normally range from 10−10 to 10−11 m2/s. In two or more dimensions we must use , the del or gradient operator, which generalises the first derivative, obtaining where denotes the diffusion flux vector. The driving force for the one-dimensional diffusion is the quantity , which for ideal mixtures is the concentration gradient. Alternative formulations of the first law Another form for the first law is to write it with the primary variable as mass fraction (, given for example in kg/kg), then the equation changes to: where the index denotes the th species, is the diffusion flux vector of the th species (for example in mol/m2-s), is the molar mass of the th species, and is the mixture density (for example in kg/m3). Note that the is outside the gradient operator. This is because: where is the partial density of the th species. Beyond this, in chemical systems other than ideal solutions or mixtures, the driving force for diffusion of each species is the gradient of chemical potential of this species. Then Fick's first law (one-dimensional case) can be written where the index denotes the th species. is the concentration (mol/m3). is the universal gas constant (J/K/mol). is the absolute temperature (K). is the chemical potential (J/mol). The driving force of Fick's law can be expressed as a fugacity difference: Fugacity has Pa units. is a partial pressure of component i in a vapor or liquid phase. At vapor liquid equilibrium the evaporation flux is zero because . Derivation of Fick's first law for gases Four versions of Fick's law for binary gas mixtures are given below. These assume: thermal diffusion is negligible; the body force per unit mass is the same on both species; and either pressure is constant or both species have the same molar mass. Under these conditions, Ref. shows in detail how the diffusion equation from the kinetic theory of gases reduces to this version of Fick's law: where is the diffusion velocity of species . In terms of species flux this is If, additionally, , this reduces to the most common form of Fick's law, If (instead of or in addition to ) both species have the same molar mass, Fick's law becomes where is the mole fraction of species . Fick's second law Fick's second law predicts how diffusion causes the concentration to change with respect to time. It is a partial differential equation which in one dimension reads: where is the concentration in dimensions of [(amount of substance) length−3], example mol/m3; is a function that depends on location and time is time, example s is the diffusion coefficient in dimensions of [length2 time−1], example m2/s is the position [length], example m In two or more dimensions we must use the Laplacian , which generalises the second derivative, obtaining the equation Fick's second law has the same mathematical form as the Heat equation and its fundamental solution is the same as the Heat kernel, except switching thermal conductivity with diffusion coefficient : Derivation of Fick's second law Fick's second law can be derived from Fick's first law and the mass conservation in absence of any chemical reactions: Assuming the diffusion coefficient to be a constant, one can exchange the orders of the differentiation and multiply by the constant: and, thus, receive the form of the Fick's equations as was stated above. For the case of diffusion in two or more dimensions Fick's second law becomes which is analogous to the heat equation. If the diffusion coefficient is not a constant, but depends upon the coordinate or concentration, Fick's second law yields An important example is the case where is at a steady state, i.e. the concentration does not change by time, so that the left part of the above equation is identically zero. In one dimension with constant , the solution for the concentration will be a linear change of concentrations along . In two or more dimensions we obtain which is Laplace's equation, the solutions to which are referred to by mathematicians as harmonic functions. Example solutions and generalization Fick's second law is a special case of the convection–diffusion equation in which there is no advective flux and no net volumetric source. It can be derived from the continuity equation: where is the total flux and is a net volumetric source for . The only source of flux in this situation is assumed to be diffusive flux: Plugging the definition of diffusive flux to the continuity equation and assuming there is no source (), we arrive at Fick's second law: If flux were the result of both diffusive flux and advective flux, the convection–diffusion equation is the result. Example solution 1: constant concentration source and diffusion length A simple case of diffusion with time in one dimension (taken as the -axis) from a boundary located at position , where the concentration is maintained at a value is where is the complementary error function. This is the case when corrosive gases diffuse through the oxidative layer towards the metal surface (if we assume that concentration of gases in the environment is constant and the diffusion space – that is, the corrosion product layer – is semi-infinite, starting at 0 at the surface and spreading infinitely deep in the material). If, in its turn, the diffusion space is infinite (lasting both through the layer with , and that with , ), then the solution is amended only with coefficient in front of (as the diffusion now occurs in both directions). This case is valid when some solution with concentration is put in contact with a layer of pure solvent. (Bokstein, 2005) The length is called the diffusion length and provides a measure of how far the concentration has propagated in the -direction by diffusion in time (Bird, 1976). As a quick approximation of the error function, the first two terms of the Taylor series can be used: If is time-dependent, the diffusion length becomes This idea is useful for estimating a diffusion length over a heating and cooling cycle, where varies with temperature. Example solution 2: Brownian particle and Mean squared displacement Another simple case of diffusion is the Brownian motion of one particle. The particle's Mean squared displacement from its original position is: where is the dimension of the particle's Brownian motion. For example, the diffusion of a molecule across a cell membrane 8 nm thick is 1-D diffusion because of the spherical symmetry; However, the diffusion of a molecule from the membrane to the center of a eukaryotic cell is a 3-D diffusion. For a cylindrical cactus, the diffusion from photosynthetic cells on its surface to its center (the axis of its cylindrical symmetry) is a 2-D diffusion. The square root of MSD, , is often used as a characterization of how far has the particle moved after time has elapsed. The MSD is symmetrically distributed over the 1D, 2D, and 3D space. Thus, the probability distribution of the magnitude of MSD in 1D is Gaussian and 3D is Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. Generalizations In non-homogeneous media, the diffusion coefficient varies in space, . This dependence does not affect Fick's first law but the second law changes: In anisotropic media, the diffusion coefficient depends on the direction. It is a symmetric tensor . Fick's first law changes to it is the product of a tensor and a vector: For the diffusion equation this formula gives The symmetric matrix of diffusion coefficients should be positive definite. It is needed to make the right hand side operator elliptic. For inhomogeneous anisotropic media these two forms of the diffusion equation should be combined in The approach based on Einstein's mobility and Teorell formula gives the following generalization of Fick's equation for the multicomponent diffusion of the perfect components: where are concentrations of the components and is the matrix of coefficients. Here, indices and are related to the various components and not to the space coordinates. The Chapman–Enskog formulae for diffusion in gases include exactly the same terms. These physical models of diffusion are different from the test models which are valid for very small deviations from the uniform equilibrium. Earlier, such terms were introduced in the Maxwell–Stefan diffusion equation. For anisotropic multicomponent diffusion coefficients one needs a rank-four tensor, for example , where refer to the components and correspond to the space coordinates. Applications Equations based on Fick's law have been commonly used to model transport processes in foods, neurons, biopolymers, pharmaceuticals, porous soils, population dynamics, nuclear materials, plasma physics, and semiconductor doping processes. The theory of voltammetric methods is based on solutions of Fick's equation. On the other hand, in some cases a "Fickian" description is inadequate. For example, in polymer science and food science a more general approach is required to describe transport of components in materials undergoing a glass transition. One more general framework is the Maxwell–Stefan diffusion equations of multi-component mass transfer, from which Fick's law can be obtained as a limiting case, when the mixture is extremely dilute and every chemical species is interacting only with the bulk mixture and not with other species. To account for the presence of multiple species in a non-dilute mixture, several variations of the Maxwell–Stefan equations are used. See also non-diagonal coupled transport processes (Onsager relationship). Fick's flow in liquids When two miscible liquids are brought into contact, and diffusion takes place, the macroscopic (or average) concentration evolves following Fick's law. On a mesoscopic scale, that is, between the macroscopic scale described by Fick's law and molecular scale, where molecular random walks take place, fluctuations cannot be neglected. Such situations can be successfully modeled with Landau-Lifshitz fluctuating hydrodynamics. In this theoretical framework, diffusion is due to fluctuations whose dimensions range from the molecular scale to the macroscopic scale. In particular, fluctuating hydrodynamic equations include a Fick's flow term, with a given diffusion coefficient, along with hydrodynamics equations and stochastic terms describing fluctuations. When calculating the fluctuations with a perturbative approach, the zero order approximation is Fick's law. The first order gives the fluctuations, and it comes out that fluctuations contribute to diffusion. This represents somehow a tautology, since the phenomena described by a lower order approximation is the result of a higher approximation: this problem is solved only by renormalizing the fluctuating hydrodynamics equations. Sorption rate and collision frequency of diluted solute The adsorption or absorption rate of a dilute solute to a surface or interface in a (gas or liquid) solution can be calculated using Fick's laws of diffusion. The accumulated number of molecules adsorbed on the surface is expressed by the Langmuir-Schaefer equation at the short-time limit by integrating the diffusion equation over time: where is the surface area and is the number concentration of the molecule in the bulk solution. The Langmuir-Schaefer equation can be extended to the Ward-Tordai Equation to account for the "back-diffusion" of rejected molecules from the surface: where is the bulk concentration, is the sub-surface concentration (which is a function of time depending on the reaction model of the adsorption), and is a dummy variable. Monte Carlo simulations show that these two equations work to predict the adsorption rate of systems that form predictable concentration gradients near the surface but have troubles for systems without or with unpredictable concentration gradients, such as typical biosensing systems or when flow and convection are significant. In the ultrashort time limit, in the order of the diffusion time a2/D, where a is the particle radius, the diffusion is described by the Langevin equation. At a longer time, the Langevin equation merges into the Stokes–Einstein equation. The latter is appropriate for the condition of the diluted solution, where long-range diffusion is considered. According to the fluctuation-dissipation theorem based on the Langevin equation in the long-time limit and when the particle is significantly denser than the surrounding fluid, the time-dependent diffusion constant is: where kB is Boltzmann's constant. T is the absolute temperature. μ is the mobility of the particle in the fluid or gas, which can be calculated using the Einstein relation (kinetic theory). m is the mass of the particle. t is time. For a single molecule such as organic molecules or biomolecules (e.g. proteins) in water, the exponential term is negligible due to the small product of mμ in the picosecond region. When the area of interest is the size of a molecule (specifically, a long cylindrical molecule such as DNA), the adsorption rate equation represents the collision frequency of two molecules in a diluted solution, with one molecule a specific side and the other no steric dependence, i.e., a molecule (random orientation) hit one side of the other. The diffusion constant need to be updated to the relative diffusion constant between two diffusing molecules. This estimation is especially useful in studying the interaction between a small molecule and a larger molecule such as a protein. The effective diffusion constant is dominated by the smaller one whose diffusion constant can be used instead. The above hitting rate equation is also useful to predict the kinetics of molecular self-assembly on a surface. Molecules are randomly oriented in the bulk solution. Assuming 1/6 of the molecules has the right orientation to the surface binding sites, i.e. 1/2 of the z-direction in x, y, z three dimensions, thus the concentration of interest is just 1/6 of the bulk concentration. Put this value into the equation one should be able to calculate the theoretical adsorption kinetic curve using the Langmuir adsorption model. In a more rigid picture, 1/6 can be replaced by the steric factor of the binding geometry. Biological perspective The first law gives rise to the following formula: in which, is the permeability, an experimentally determined membrane "conductance" for a given gas at a given temperature. is the difference in concentration of the gas across the membrane for the direction of flow (from to ). Fick's first law is also important in radiation transfer equations. However, in this context, it becomes inaccurate when the diffusion constant is low and the radiation becomes limited by the speed of light rather than by the resistance of the material the radiation is flowing through. In this situation, one can use a flux limiter. The exchange rate of a gas across a fluid membrane can be determined by using this law together with Graham's law. Under the condition of a diluted solution when diffusion takes control, the membrane permeability mentioned in the above section can be theoretically calculated for the solute using the equation mentioned in the last section (use with particular care because the equation is derived for dense solutes, while biological molecules are not denser than water): where is the total area of the pores on the membrane (unit m2). transmembrane efficiency (unitless), which can be calculated from the stochastic theory of chromatography. D is the diffusion constant of the solute unit m2s−1. t is time unit s. c2, c1 concentration should use unit mol m−3, so flux unit becomes mol s−1. The flux is decay over the square root of time because a concentration gradient builds up near the membrane over time under ideal conditions. When there is flow and convection, the flux can be significantly different than the equation predicts and show an effective time t with a fixed value, which makes the flux stable instead of decay over time. This strategy is adopted in biology such as blood circulation. Semiconductor fabrication applications Integrated circuit fabrication technologies, model processes like CVD, thermal oxidation, wet oxidation, doping, etc. use diffusion equations obtained from Fick's law. In certain cases, the solutions are obtained for boundary conditions such as constant source concentration diffusion, limited source concentration, or moving boundary diffusion (where junction depth keeps moving into the substrate). See also Diffusion Osmosis Mass flux Maxwell–Stefan diffusion Churchill–Bernstein equation Nernst–Planck equation Gas exchange False diffusion Advection Notes References – reprinted in External links Fick's equations, Boltzmann's transformation, etc. (with figures and animations) Fick's Second Law on OpenStax Diffusion Statistical mechanics Physical chemistry Mathematics in medicine de:Diffusion#Erstes Fick'sches Gesetz

Franz Bopp (; 14 September 1791 – 23 October 1867) was a German linguist known for extensive and pioneering comparative work on Indo-European languages. Early life Bopp was born in Mainz, but the political disarray in the Republic of Mainz caused his parents' move to Aschaffenburg, the second seat of the Archbishop of Mainz. There he received a liberal education at the Lyceum and Karl Joseph Hieronymus Windischmann drew his attention to the languages and literature of the East. (Windischmann, along with Georg Friedrich Creuzer, Joseph Görres, and the brothers Schlegel, expressed great enthusiasm for Indian wisdom and philosophy.) Moreover, Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schlegel's book, Über die Sprache und Weisheit der Indier (On the Speech and Wisdom of the Indians, Heidelberg, 1808), had just begun to exert a powerful influence on the minds of German philosophers and historians, and stimulated Bopp's interest in the sacred language of the Hindus. Career In 1812, he went to Paris at the expense of the Bavarian government, with a view to devoting himself vigorously to the study of Sanskrit. There he enjoyed the society of such eminent men as Antoine-Léonard de Chézy (his primary instructor), Silvestre de Sacy, Louis Mathieu Langlès, and, above all Alexander Hamilton (1762–1824), cousin of the American statesman of the same name , who had acquired an acquaintance with Sanskrit when in India and had brought out, along with Langlès, a descriptive catalogue of the Sanskrit manuscripts of the Imperial Library. In the library, Bopp had access not only to the rich collection of Sanskrit manuscripts (mostly brought from India by Jean François Pons in the early 18th century), but also to the Sanskrit books that had been issued from the Calcutta and Serampore presses. He spent five years of laborious study, almost living in the libraries of Paris and unmoved by the turmoils that agitated the world around him, including Napoleon's escape, the Waterloo campaign and the Restoration. The first paper from his years of study in Paris appeared in Frankfurt am Main in 1816, under the title of Über das Konjugationssystem der Sanskritsprache in Vergleichung mit jenem der griechischen, lateinischen, persischen und germanischen Sprache (On the Conjugation System of Sanskrit in comparison with that of Greek, Latin, Persian and Germanic), to which Windischmann contributed a preface. In this first book, Bopp entered at once the path on which he would focus the philological researches of his whole subsequent life. His task was not to point out the similarity of Sanskrit with Persian, Greek, Latin or German, for previous scholars had long established that, but he aimed to trace the postulated common origin of the languages' grammatical forms, of their inflections from composition. This was something no predecessor had attempted. By a historical analysis of those forms, as applied to the verb, he furnished the first trustworthy materials for a history of the languages compared. After a brief sojourn in Germany, Bopp travelled to London where he made the acquaintance of Sir Charles Wilkins and Henry Thomas Colebrooke. He also became friends with Wilhelm von Humboldt, the Prussian ambassador at the Court of St. James's, to whom he taught Sanskrit. He brought out, in the Annals of Oriental Literature (London, 1820), an essay entitled "Analytical Comparison of the Sanskrit, Greek, Latin and Teutonic Languages" in which he extended to all parts of grammar what he had done in his first book for the verb alone. He had previously published a critical edition, with a Latin translation and notes, of the story of Nala and Damayanti (London, 1819), the most beautiful episode of the Mahabharata. Other episodes of the Mahabharata, Indralokâgama, and three others (Berlin, 1824); Diluvium, and three others (Berlin, 1829); a new edition of Nala (Berlin, 1832) followed in due course, all of which, with August Wilhelm von Schlegel's edition of the Bhagavad Gita (1823), proved excellent aids in initiating the early student into the reading of Sanskrit texts. On the publication, in Calcutta, of the whole Mahabharata, Bopp discontinued editing Sanskrit texts and confined himself thenceforth exclusively to grammatical investigations. After a short residence at Göttingen, Bopp gained, on the recommendation of Humboldt, appointment to the chair of Sanskrit and comparative grammar at the University of Berlin in 1821, which he occupied for the rest of his life. He also became a member of the Royal Prussian Academy the following year. In 1827, he published his Ausführliches Lehrgebäude der Sanskritsprache (Detailed System of the Sanskrit Language), on which he had worked since 1821. Bopp started work on a new edition in Latin, for the following year, completed in 1832; a shorter grammar appeared in 1834. At the same time he compiled a Sanskrit and Latin Glossary (1830), in which, more especially in the second and third editions (1847 and 1868–71), he also took account of the cognate languages. His chief activity, however, centered on the elaboration of his Comparative Grammar, which appeared in six parts at considerable intervals (Berlin, 1833, 1835, 1842, 1847, 1849, 1852), under the title Vergleichende Grammatik des Sanskrit, Zend, Griechischen, Lateinischen, Litthauischen, Altslawischen, Gotischen und Deutschen (Comparative Grammar of Sanskrit, Zend [Avestan], Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, Old Slavonic, Gothic and German). How carefully Bopp matured this work emerges from the series of monographs printed in the Transactions of the Berlin Academy (1824–1831), which preceded it. They bear the general title Vergleichende Zergliederung des Sanskrits und der mit ihm verwandten Sprachen (Comparative Analysis of Sanskrit and its related Languages). Two other essays (on the Numerals, 1835) followed the publication of the first part of the Comparative Grammar. Old Slavonian began to take its stand among the languages compared from the second part onwards. E. B. Eastwick translated the work into English in 1845. A second German edition, thoroughly revised (1856–1861), also covered Old Armenian. In his Comparative Grammar Bopp set himself a threefold task: to give a description of the original grammatical structure of the languages as deduced from their inter-comparison. to trace their phonetic laws. to investigate the origin of their grammatical forms. The first and second points remained dependent upon the third. As Bopp based his research on the best available sources and incorporated every new item of information that came to light, his work continued to widen and deepen in the making, as can be witnessed from his monographs on the vowel system in the Teutonic languages (1836), on the Celtic languages (1839), on the Old Prussian (1853) and Albanian languages (Über das Albanesische in seinen verwandtschaftlichen Beziehungen, Vienna, 1854), on the accent in Sanskrit and Greek (1854), on the relationship of the Malayo-Polynesian to the Indo-European languages (1840), and on the Caucasian languages (1846). In the last two, the impetus of his genius led him on a wrong track. He is the first philologist to prove Albanian as a separate branch of Indo-European. Bopp was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1855 and an international member of the American Philosophical Society in 1863. Criticism Critics have charged Bopp with neglecting the study of the native Sanskrit grammars, but in those early days of Sanskrit studies, the great libraries of Europe did not hold the requisite materials; if they had, those materials would have demanded his full attention for years, and such grammars as those of Charles Wilkins and Henry Thomas Colebrooke, from which Bopp derived his grammatical knowledge, had all used native grammars as a basis. The further charge that Bopp, in his Comparative Grammar, gave undue prominence to Sanskrit is disproved by his own words; for, as early as 1820, he gave it as his opinion that frequently, the cognate languages serve to elucidate grammatical forms lost in Sanskrit (Annals of Or. Lit. i. 3), which he further developed in all his subsequent writings. The Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition of 1911) assesses Bopp and his work as follows: English scholar Russell Martineau, who had studied under Bopp, gave the following tribute: Martineau also wrote: Notes References Sources Attribution External links Franz Bopp, "A Comparative Grammar, Volume 1", 1885, at the Internet Archive. Balticists 1791 births 1867 deaths Linguists from Germany Indo-Europeanists Writers from Mainz People from Aschaffenburg Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Humboldt University of Berlin faculty Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences German philologists Albanologists

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a semi-retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft that was developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational aircraft to be designed around stealth technology. The F-117 was based on the Have Blue technology demonstrator. The Nighthawk's maiden flight took place in 1981 at Groom Lake, Nevada, and the aircraft achieved initial operating capability status in 1983. The aircraft was shrouded in secrecy until it was revealed to the public in 1988. Of the 64 F-117s built, 59 were production versions, with the other five being prototypes. The F-117 was widely publicized for its role in the Persian Gulf War of 1991. Although it was commonly referred to as the "Stealth Fighter", it was strictly a ground-attack aircraft. F-117s took part in the conflict in Yugoslavia, where one was shot down and another damaged by surface-to-air missiles (SAM) in 1999. The U.S. Air Force retired the F-117 in April 2008, primarily due to the fielding of the F-22 Raptor. Despite the type's official retirement, a portion of the fleet has been kept in airworthy condition, and Nighthawks have been observed flying since 2009. Development Background and Have Blue In 1964, Pyotr Ufimtsev, a Soviet mathematician, published a seminal paper titled Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction in the journal of the Moscow Institute for Radio Engineering, in which he showed that the strength of the radar return from an object is related to its edge configuration, not its size. Ufimtsev was extending theoretical work published by the German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld. Ufimtsev demonstrated that he could calculate the radar cross-section across a wing's surface and along its edge. The obvious and logical conclusion was that even a large aircraft could reduce its radar signature by exploiting this principle. However, the resulting design would make the aircraft aerodynamically unstable, and the state of computer technology in the early 1960s could not provide the kinds of flight computers which would later allow aircraft such as the F-117 and B-2 Spirit to stay airborne. By the 1970s, when Lockheed analyst Denys Overholser found Ufimtsev's paper, computers and software had advanced significantly, and the stage was set for the development of a stealth airplane. The F-117 was born after the Vietnam War, where increasingly sophisticated Soviet surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) had downed heavy bombers. The heavy losses inflicted by Soviet-made SAMs upon the Israeli air force in the 1973 Yom Kippur war also contributed to a 1974 Defense Science Board assessment that in case of a conflict in Central Europe, air defenses would likely prevent NATO air strikes on targets in Eastern Europe. It was a black project, an ultra-secret program for much of its life; very few people in the Pentagon knew the program even existed. The project began in 1975 with a model called the "Hopeless Diamond" (a wordplay on the Hope Diamond because of its appearance). The following year, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) issued Lockheed Skunk Works a contract to build and test two Stealth Strike Fighters, under the code name "Have Blue". These subscale aircraft incorporated jet engines of the Northrop T-38A, fly-by-wire systems of the F-16, landing gear of the A-10, and environmental systems of the C-130. By bringing together existing technology and components, Lockheed built two demonstrators under budget, at $35 million for both aircraft, and in record time. The maiden flight of the demonstrators occurred on 1 December 1977. Although both aircraft crashed during the demonstration program, test data proved positive. The success of Have Blue led the government to increase funding for stealth technology. Much of that increase was allocated towards the production of an operational stealth aircraft, the Lockheed F-117A, under the program code name "Senior Trend". Senior Trend The decision to produce the F-117A was made on 1 November 1978, and a contract was awarded to Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, popularly known as the Skunk Works, in Burbank, California. The program was led by Ben Rich, with Alan Brown as manager of the project. Rich called on Bill Schroeder, a Lockheed mathematician, and Overholser, a computer scientist, to exploit Ufimtsev's work. The three designed a computer program called "Echo", which made it possible to design an airplane with flat panels, called facets, which were arranged so as to scatter over 99% of a radar's signal energy "painting" the aircraft. The first YF-117A, serial number 79-10780, made its maiden flight from Groom Lake ("Area 51"), Nevada, on 18 June 1981, only 31 months after the full-scale development decision. The first production F-117A was delivered in 1982, and operational capability was achieved in October 1983. The 4450th Tactical Group stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, were tasked with the operational development of the early F-117, and between 1981 (prior to the arrival of the first models) and 1989 they used LTV A-7 Corsair IIs for training, to bring all pilots to a common flight training baseline and later as chase planes for F-117A tests. The F-117 was secret for much of the 1980s. Many news articles discussed what they called a "F-19" stealth fighter, and the Testor Corporation produced a very inaccurate scale model. When an F-117 crashed in Sequoia National Forest in July 1986, killing the pilot and starting a fire, the Air Force established restricted airspace. Armed guards prohibited entry, including firefighters, and a helicopter gunship circled the site. All F-117 debris was replaced with remains of a F-101A Voodoo crash stored at Area 51. When another fatal crash in October 1987 occurred inside Nellis, the military again provided little information to the press. The Air Force denied the existence of the aircraft until 10 November 1988, when Assistant Secretary of Defense J. Daniel Howard displayed a grainy photograph at a Pentagon press conference, disproving the many inaccurate rumors about the shape of the "F-19". After the announcement pilots could fly the F-117 during daytime and no longer needed to be associated with the A-7, flying the T-38 supersonic trainer for travel and training instead. In April 1990, two F-117 aircraft were flown into Nellis, arriving during daylight and publicly displayed to a crowd of tens of thousands. Five Full Scale Development (FSD) aircraft were built, designated "YF-117A". The last of 59 production F-117s were delivered on 3 July 1990. As the Air Force has stated, "Streamlined management by Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, combined breakthrough stealth technology with concurrent development and production to rapidly field the aircraft ... The F-117A program demonstrates that a stealth aircraft can be designed for reliability and maintainability." Designation The operational aircraft was officially designated "F-117A". Most modern U.S. military aircraft use post-1962 designations in which the designation "F" is usually an air-to-air fighter, "B" is usually a bomber, "A" is usually a ground-attack aircraft, etc. (Examples include the F-15, the B-2 and the A-6.) The F-117 is primarily an attack aircraft, so its "F" designation is inconsistent with the DoD system. This is an inconsistency that has been repeatedly employed by the U.S. Air Force with several of its attack aircraft since the late 1950s, including the Republic F-105 Thunderchief and General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark. A televised documentary quoted project manager Alan Brown as saying that Robert J. Dixon, a four-star Air Force general who was the head of Tactical Air Command felt that the top-notch USAF fighter pilots required to fly the new aircraft were more easily attracted to an aircraft with an "F" designation for fighter, as opposed to a bomber ("B") or attack ("A") designation. The designation "F-117" seems to indicate that it was given an official designation prior to the 1962 U.S. Tri-Service Aircraft Designation System and could be considered numerically to be a part of the earlier "Century series" of fighters. The assumption prior to the revealing of the aircraft to the public was that it would likely receive the F-19 designation as that number had not been used. However, there were no other aircraft to receive a "100" series number following the F-111. Soviet fighters obtained by the U.S. via various means under the Constant Peg program were given F-series numbers for their evaluation by U.S. pilots, and with the advent of the Teen Series fighters, most often Century Series designations. As with other exotic military aircraft types flying in the southern Nevada area, such as captured fighters, an arbitrary radio call of "117" was assigned. This same radio call had been used by the enigmatic 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron, also known as the "Red Hats" or "Red Eagles", that often had flown expatriated MiG jet fighters in the area, but there was no relationship to the call and the formal F-19 designation then being considered by the Air Force. Apparently, use of the "117" radio call became commonplace and when Lockheed released its first flight manual (i.e., the Air Force "dash one" manual for the aircraft), F-117A was the designation printed on the cover. Design When the Air Force first approached Lockheed with the stealth concept, Skunk Works Director Kelly Johnson proposed a rounded design. He believed smoothly blended shapes offered the best combination of speed and stealth. However, his assistant, Ben Rich, showed that faceted-angle surfaces would provide a significant reduction in radar signature, and the necessary aerodynamic control could be provided with computer units. A May 1975 Skunk Works report, "Progress Report No. 2, High Stealth Conceptual Studies", showed the rounded concept that was rejected in favor of the flat-sided approach. The resulting unusual design surprised and puzzled experienced pilots. A Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot who flew it as an exchange officer stated that when he first saw a photograph of the still-secret F-117, he "promptly giggled and thought [to himself] 'this clearly can't fly. Early stealth aircraft were designed with a focus on minimal radar cross-section (RCS) rather than aerodynamic performance. Highly stealthy aircraft like the F-117 Nighthawk are aerodynamically unstable in all three aircraft principal axes and require constant flight corrections from a fly-by-wire (FBW) flight system to maintain controlled flight. It is shaped to deflect radar signals and is approximately the size of an F-15 Eagle. The single-seat Nighthawk is powered by two non-afterburning General Electric F404 turbofan engines. It is air refuelable and features a V-tail. The maximum speed is at high altitude, the max rate of climb is per minute, and service ceiling is . The cockpit was quite spacious, with ergonomic displays and controls, but the field of view was somewhat obstructed with a large blind spot to the rear. Avionics It has quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire flight controls. To lower development costs, the avionics, fly-by-wire systems, and other parts were derived from the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet and McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle. The parts were originally described as spares on budgets for these aircraft, to keep the F-117 project secret. The aircraft is equipped with sophisticated navigation and attack systems integrated into a digital avionics suite. It navigates primarily by GPS and high-accuracy inertial navigation. Missions are coordinated by an automated planning system that can automatically perform all aspects of an attack mission, including weapons release. Targets are acquired by a thermal imaging infrared system, paired with a laser rangefinder/laser designator that finds the range and designates targets for laser-guided bombs. The F-117A's split internal bay can carry of ordnance. Typical weapons are a pair of GBU-10, GBU-12, or GBU-27 laser-guided bombs, two BLU-109 penetration bombs, or two Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) GPS/INS guided stand-off bombs. To maintain its low observability, the aircraft was not fitted with its own radar; not only would an active radar be detectable through its emissions, but an inactive radar would also act as a reflector of radar energy. Stealth The F-117 has a radar cross-section of about . Among the penalties for stealth are lower engine thrust due to losses in the inlet and outlet, a very low wing aspect ratio, and a high sweep angle (50°) needed to deflect incoming radar waves to the sides. With these design considerations and no afterburner, the F-117 is limited to subsonic speeds. The F-117A carries no radar, which lowers emissions and cross-section, and whether it carries any radar detection equipment remained classified as of 2008. Its faceted shape (made from 2-dimensional flat surfaces) resulted from the limitations of the 1970s-era computer technology used to calculate its radar cross-section. Later supercomputers made it possible for subsequent aircraft like the B-2 bomber to use curved surfaces while maintaining stealth, through the use of far more computational resources to perform the additional calculations. The radar-absorbent flat sheets covering the F-117A weighed almost one ton, and were held in place by glue, with the gaps between the sheets filled with a kind of putty material called "butter". An exhaust plume contributes a significant infrared signature. The F-117 reduces IR signature with a non-circular tail pipe (a slit shape) to minimize the exhaust cross-section and maximize the mixing of hot exhaust with cool ambient air. The F-117 lacks afterburners, because the hot exhaust would increase the infrared signature, and breaking the sound barrier would produce an obvious sonic boom, as well as surface heating of the aircraft skin which also increases the infrared footprint. As a result, its performance in air combat maneuvering required in a dogfight would never match that of a dedicated fighter aircraft. This was unimportant in the case of this aircraft since it was designed to be a bomber. Passive (multistatic) radar, bistatic radar and especially multistatic radar systems detect some stealth aircraft better than conventional monostatic radars, since first-generation stealth technology (such as the F-117) reflects energy away from the transmitter's line of sight, effectively increasing the radar cross section (RCS) in other directions, which the passive radars monitor. Operational history During the program's early years, from 1984 to mid-1992, the F-117A fleet was based at Tonopah Test Range Airport, Nevada, where it served under the 4450th Tactical Group. Because the F-117 was classified during this time, the unit was officially located at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and equipped with A-7 Corsair II aircraft. All military personnel were permanently assigned to Nellis AFB, and most personnel and their families lived in Las Vegas. This required commercial air and trucking to transport personnel between Las Vegas and Tonopah each week. The 4450th was absorbed by the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing in 1989. In 1992, the entire fleet was transferred to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, under the command of the 49th Fighter Wing. This move also eliminated the Key Air and American Trans Air contract flights to Tonopah, which flew 22,000 passenger trips on 300 flights from Nellis to Tonopah per month. The F-117 reached initial operating capability status in 1983. The Nighthawk's pilots called themselves "Bandits". Each of the 558 Air Force pilots who have flown the F-117 has a Bandit number, such as "Bandit 52", that indicates the sequential order of their first flight in the F-117. Pilots told friends and families that they flew the Northrop F-5 in aggressor squadrons against Tactical Air Command. The F-117 has been used several times in war. Its first mission was during the United States invasion of Panama in 1989. During that invasion two F-117A Nighthawks dropped two bombs on Rio Hato airfield. During the Gulf War in 1991, the F-117 flew approximately 1,300 sorties and scored direct hits on 1,600 high-value targets in Iraq over 6,905 flight hours. Leaflet drops on Iraqi forces displayed the F-117 destroying ground targets and warned "Escape now and save yourselves". Only 229 Coalition tactical aircraft could drop and designate laser-guided bombs of which 36 F-117s represented 15.7%, and only the USAF had the I-2000 bombs intended for hardened targets. So the F-117 represented 32% of all coalition aircraft that could deliver such bombs. Initial claims of its effectiveness were later found to be overstated. initial reports of F-117s hitting 80% of their targets were later scaled back to "41–60%". On the first night, they failed to hit 40% of their assigned air-defense targets, including the Air Defense Operations Center in Baghdad, and 8 such targets remained functional out of 10 that could be assessed. In their Desert Storm white paper, the USAF stated that "the F-117 was the only airplane that the planners dared risk over downtown Baghdad" and that this area was particularly well defended. (Dozens of F-16s were routinely tasked to attack Baghdad in the first few days of the war.) In fact, most of the air defenses were on the outskirts of the city and many other aircraft hit targets in the downtown area, with minimal casualties when they attacked at night like the F-117. This meant they avoided the optically aimed anti-aircraft cannon and infrared SAMs which were the biggest threat to Coalition aircraft. The aircraft was operated in secret from Tonopah for almost a decade, but after the Gulf War the aircraft moved to Holloman in 1992—however, its integration with the USAF's non-stealth "iron jets" occurred slowly. As one senior F-117A pilot later said: Because of ongoing secrecy others continued to see the aircraft as "none of their business, a stand-alone system". The F-117A and the men and women of the 49th Fighter Wing were deployed to Southwest Asia on multiple occasions. On their first deployment, with the aid of aerial refueling, pilots flew non-stop from Holloman to Kuwait, a flight of approximately 18.5 hours. Combat over Yugoslavia One F-117 (AF ser. no. 82-0806) was lost to enemy action. It was downed during a Operation Allied Force mission against the Army of Yugoslavia on 27 March 1999. The aircraft was acquired by a fire control radar at a distance of and an altitude of . SA-3s were then launched by a Yugoslav version of the Soviet Isayev S-125 "Neva" (NATO name SA-3 "Goa") anti-aircraft missile system. The launcher was run by the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade under the command of Colonel Zoltán Dani. After the explosion, the aircraft became uncontrollable, forcing the pilot to eject. The pilot was recovered six hours later by a United States Air Force Pararescue team. The stealth technology from the downed F-117 may have been acquired by Russia and China, but the United States did not attempt to destroy the wreckage because senior Pentagon officials argued that its technology was already dated and no longer important to protect. American sources state that a second F-117 was targeted and damaged during the campaign, allegedly on 30 April 1999. The aircraft returned to Spangdahlem base, but it supposedly never flew again. However, the USAF continued to use the F-117 during Allied Force. Later service and retirement The F-117 was later used in the Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. It was only operated by the U.S. Air Force. The loss in Serbia caused the USAF to create a subsection of their existing weapons school to improve tactics. More training was done with other units, and the F-117A began to participate in Red Flag exercises. Though advanced for its time, the F-117's stealthy faceted airframe required a large amount of maintenance and was eventually superseded by streamlined shapes produced with computer-aided design. Other weapon systems began to take on the F-117's roles, such as the F-22 Raptor gaining the ability to drop guided bombs. By 2005, the aircraft was used only for certain missions, such as if a pilot needed to verify that the correct target had been hit, or when minimal collateral damage was vital. The USAF had once planned to retire the F-117 in 2011, but Program Budget Decision 720 (PBD 720), dated 28 December 2005, proposed retiring it by October 2008 to free up an estimated $1.07 billion to buy more F-22s. PBD 720 called for 10 F-117s to be retired in FY2007 and the remaining 42 in FY2008, stating that other USAF planes and missiles could stealthily deliver precision ordnance, including the B-2 Spirit, F-22 and JASSM. The planned introduction of the multi-role F-35 Lightning II also contributed to the retirement decision. In late 2006, the USAF closed the F-117 formal training unit (FTU), and announced the retirement of the F-117. The first six aircraft to be retired took their last flight on 12 March 2007 after a ceremony at Holloman AFB to commemorate the aircraft's career. Brigadier General David L. Goldfein, commander of the 49th Fighter Wing, said at the ceremony, "With the launch of these great aircraft today, the circle comes to a close—their service to our nation's defense fulfilled, their mission accomplished and a job well done. We send them today to their final resting place—a home they are intimately familiar with—their first, and only, home outside of Holloman." Unlike most other USAF aircraft that are retired to Davis-Monthan AFB for scrapping, or dispersal to museums, most of the F-117s were placed in "Type 1000" storage in their original hangars at the Tonopah Test Range Airport. At Tonopah, their wings were removed and the aircraft are stored in their original climate-controlled hangars. The decommissioning occurred in eight phases, with the operational aircraft retired to Tonopah in seven waves from 13 March 2007 until the last wave's arrival on 22 April 2008. Four aircraft were kept flying beyond April by the 410th Flight Test Squadron at Palmdale for flight test. By August, two were remaining. The last F-117 (AF Serial No. 86-0831) left Palmdale to fly to Tonopah on 11 August 2008. With the last aircraft retired, the 410th was inactivated in a ceremony on 1 August 2008. Five aircraft were placed in museums, including the first four YF-117As and some remains of the F-117 shot down over Serbia. Through 2009, one F-117 had been scrapped; AF Serial No. 79-0784 was scrapped at the Palmdale test facility on 26 April 2008. It was the last F-117 at Palmdale and was scrapped to test an effective method for destroying F-117 airframes. Congress had ordered that all F-117s from 30 September 2006 onwards were to be maintained "in a condition that would allow recall of that aircraft to future service" as part of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act. By April 2016, lawmakers appeared ready to "remove the requirement that certain F-117 aircraft be maintained in a condition that would allow recall of those aircraft to future service", which would move them from storage to the aerospace maintenance and regeneration yard in Arizona to be scavenged for hard-to-find parts, or completely disassembled. On 11 September 2017, it was reported that in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, signed into law on 23 December 2016, "the Air Force will remove four F-117s every year to fully divest them—a process known as demilitarizing aircraft". Post-retirement sightings Although officially retired, the F-117 fleet remained intact as of 2009, with photos showing the aircraft carefully mothballed. As of 2016, the retired fleet comprised over 50 airframes, with some of the aircraft being flown periodically. F-117s were spotted flying periodically from 2014 to 2019. In March 2019, it was reported that four F-117s had been secretly deployed to the Middle East in 2016 and that one had to make an emergency landing at Ali Al Salem (OKAS), Kuwait sometime late that year. In February 2019, an F-117 was observed flying through the R-2508 Special Use Airspace Complex in the vicinity of Edwards Air Force Base, escorted by two F-16 Fighting Falcons that may have been providing top cover. Closer photographs of the aircraft revealed that the tail code had been scrubbed in an attempt to remove the paint. The partially-intact code identified it as a former aircraft of the 49th Operations Group. An F-117 was also photographed in 2019 carrying unit markings previously unassociated with the aircraft—a band on the tail bearing the name Dark Knights, suggesting either an official or unofficial squadron is maintaining the Nighthawks. In July 2019, one Nighthawk in a hybrid aggressor paint scheme was spotted flying above Death Valley, trailing behind a KC-135R Stratotanker. In March 2020, a spectator recorded an F-117 flying through the "Star Wars Canyon" in Death Valley, California. On 20 May 2020, two more F-117s were sighted in a common aerial refueling area of Southern California trailing a NKC-135R Stratotanker from Edwards AFB, California. In October 2020, at least two F-117s arrived at MCAS Miramar, featuring a tail code of TR which the Nighthawks based at Tonopah Range had previously used. On 13 September 2021, a pair of F-117s landed at Fresno Yosemite International Airport in California. They were scheduled to train with the California Air National Guard F-15C/D Eagles of the 144th Fighter Wing over the next few days. One aircraft had red letters on its tail, and the other had white letters. One of the two was observed to not be fitted with radar reflectors. In January 2022, two F-117s were observed in flight in the Saline Military Operating Area. One had portions of its exterior covered in a "mirror-like coating" believed to be an experimental treatment to reduce the aircraft's infrared signature. Variants F-117N "Seahawk" The United States Navy tested the F-117 in 1984 but determined it was not suitable for carrier use. In the early 1990s, Lockheed proposed an upgraded, carrier-capable variant of the F-117 dubbed the "Seahawk" to the Navy as an alternative to the canceled A/F-X program. The unsolicited proposal was received poorly by the Department of Defense, which had little interest in the single mission capabilities of such an aircraft, particularly as it would take money away from the Joint Advanced Strike Technology program, which evolved into the Joint Strike Fighter. The new aircraft would have differed from the land-based F-117 in several ways, including the addition "of elevators, a bubble canopy, a less sharply swept wing and reconfigured tail". The "N" variant would also be re-engined to use General Electric F414 turbofans instead of the older General Electric F404s. The aircraft would be optionally fitted with hardpoints, allowing for an additional of payload, and a new ground-attack radar with air-to-air capability. In that role, the F-117N could carry AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. F-117B After being rebuffed by the Navy, Lockheed submitted an updated proposal that included afterburning capability and a larger emphasis on the F-117N as a multi-mission aircraft, rather than just an attack aircraft. To boost interest, Lockheed also proposed an F-117B land-based variant that shared most of the F-117N capabilities. This variant was proposed to the USAF and RAF. Two RAF pilots formally evaluated the aircraft in 1986 as a reward for British help with the American bombing of Libya that year, RAF exchange officers began flying the F-117 in 1987, and the British declined an offer during the Reagan administration to purchase the aircraft. This renewed F-117N proposal was also known as the A/F-117X. Neither the F-117N nor the F-117B were ordered. Operators United States United States Air Force 4450th Tactical Group – Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 4450th Tactical Squadron (1981–1989) 4451st Tactical Squadron (1981–1989) 4453rd Test and Evaluation Squadron (1985–1989) 37th Tactical Fighter Wing/Fighter Wing – Tonopah Test Range 415th Tactical Fighter Squadron (1989–1992) 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron (1989–1992) 417th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron (1989–1992) 49th Fighter Wing – Holloman AFB, New Mexico 7th Fighter Squadron (1992–2006) 8th Fighter Squadron (1992–2008) 9th Fighter Squadron (1993–2008) 412th Test Wing – Edwards AFB, California 410th Flight Test Squadron (1993–2008) Aircraft on display United States YF-117A 79-10780 Scorpion 1 – on pedestal display on Nellis Boulevard, at the entrance to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada (). It was put in place on 16 May 1992, the first F-117 to be made a gate guardian. 79-10781 Scorpion 2 – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside Dayton, Ohio. It was delivered to the museum on 17 July 1991. 79-10782 Scorpion 3 – Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It was repainted to resemble the first F-117A used to drop weapons in combat. This aircraft was used for acoustics and navigation system testing. While wearing a flag painted on its bottom surface, this aircraft revealed the type's existence to high-ranking officials at Groom Lake on 14 December 1983, the first semi-public unveiling of the aircraft. It was placed on display at Holloman AFB on 5 April 2008. 79-10783 Scorpion 4 – It had been previously on display at the Blackbird Airpark Museum at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California. In June 2012, Scorpion 4 was transported from Blackbird Airpark to Edwards AFB for restoration work; it is planned for the aircraft to be displayed at the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum. F-117A 80-0785 – Pole-mounted outside the Skunk Works facility at United States Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. Hybrid airframe comprising the wreckage of 80–0785, the first production F-117A, and static test articles 778 and 779. 82-0799 Midnight Rider – Hill Aerospace Museum; Aircraft arrived at the museum on 5 August 2020; it is to be prepared and painted for display. 82-0803 Unexpected Guest – Displayed outside the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. 85-0817 Shaba – Arrived at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo on 11 December 2020 to be partially restored and put on display. 85-0819 Raven Beauty – Scheduled to be transported to the Stafford Air & Space Museum in early 2020 for preservation. 84-0827 – Stripped fuselage listed as "scrap" on a government surplus website in early 2020. Fate unknown. 85-0831 – Located at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland, Nebraska, where it is scheduled for restoration and display. It served as a test aircraft at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California from 1987 to 2008. 85-0833 Black Devil – Unveiled at Palm Springs Air Museum on 3 October 2020. Under restoration and scheduled for public display in Spring 2021. Serbia F-117A 82-0806 Something Wicked – shot down over Serbia; the remains are displayed at the Museum of Aviation in Belgrade close to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. Nicknames The aircraft's official name is "Night Hawk", however the alternative form "Nighthawk" is frequently used. As it prioritized stealth over aerodynamics, it earned the nickname "Wobblin' Goblin" due to its alleged instability at low speeds. However, F-117 pilots have stated the nickname is undeserved. "Wobblin' (or Wobbly) Goblin" is likely a holdover from the early Have Blue / Senior Trend (FSD) days of the project when instability was a problem. In the USAF, "Goblin" (without wobbly) persists as a nickname because of the aircraft's appearance. During Operation Desert Storm, Saudis dubbed the aircraft "Shaba", which is Arabic for "Ghost". Some pilots also called the airplane the "Stinkbug". Specifications (F-117A) Notable appearances in media The Omaha Nighthawks professional American football team used the F-117 Nighthawk as its logo. The experimental Remora F-117X was featured in the 1996 film Executive Decision. See also References Notes Bibliography Further reading External links Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk. National Museum of the United States Air Force The 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base F-117A.com – The "Black Jet" website (a comprehensive site) F-117 article and Stealth article on Centennial of Flight web site F-117A Nighthawk page on AirAttack.com F-117A Nighthawk page on FAS.org "Filling the Stealth Gap," in Air and Space Power Journal Fall 2006 The Advent, Evolution, and New Horizons of United States Stealth Aircraft "The Secrets of Stealth" on Discovery Military Channel Austrian Radar Plots on acig.org CNN – NATO air attack shifts, aims at violence inside Kosovo – 27 March 1999 Google Maps directory of all surviving F-117s on public display Austrian article about interception of F-117 Russians admit testing F-117 lost in Yugoslavia, 2001 Flight Global article F-117 Aircraft first flown in 1981 Articles containing video clips Low-wing aircraft Relaxed-stability aircraft Stealth aircraft Twinjets 1980s United States attack aircraft V-tail aircraft

Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction films and horror films, although the genres do overlap. Fantasy films often have an element of magic, myth, wonder, escapism, and the extraordinary. Prevalent elements include fairies, angels, mermaids, witches, monsters, wizards, unicorns, dragons, talking animals, ogres, elves, trolls, white magic, gnomes, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons, dwarves, giants, goblins, anthropomorphic or magical objects, familiars, curses and other enchantments, worlds involving magic, and the Middle Ages. Subgenres Several sub-categories of fantasy films can be identified, although the delineations between these subgenres, much as in fantasy literature, are somewhat fluid. The most common fantasy subgenres depicted in movies are High Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery. Both categories typically employ quasi-medieval settings, wizards, magical creatures and other elements commonly associated with fantasy stories. High Fantasy films tend to feature a more richly developed fantasy world, and may also be more character-oriented or thematically complex. Often, they feature a hero of humble origins and a clear distinction between good and evil set against each other in an epic struggle. Many scholars cite J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novel as the prototypical modern example of High Fantasy in literature, and the recent Peter Jackson film adaptation of the books is a good example of the High Fantasy subgenre on the silver screen. Sword and Sorcery movies tend to be more plot-driven than high fantasy and focus heavily on action sequences, often pitting a physically powerful but unsophisticated warrior against an evil wizard or other supernaturally endowed enemy. Although Sword and Sorcery films sometimes describe an epic battle between good and evil similar to those found in many High Fantasy movies, they may alternately present the hero as having more immediate motivations, such as the need to protect a vulnerable maiden or village, or even being driven by the desire for vengeance. The 1982 film adaptation of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, for example, is a personal (non-epic) story concerning the hero's quest for revenge and his efforts to thwart a single megalomaniac—while saving a beautiful princess in the process. Some critics refer to such films by the term Sword and Sandal rather than Sword and Sorcery, although others would maintain that the Sword and Sandal label should be reserved only for the subset of fantasy films set in ancient times on the planet Earth, and still others would broaden the term to encompass films that have no fantastic elements whatsoever. To some, the term Sword and Sandal has pejorative connotations, designating a film with a low-quality script, bad acting, and poor production values. Another important subgenre of fantasy films that has become more popular in recent years is contemporary fantasy. Such films feature magical effects or supernatural occurrences happening in the "real" world of today. Films with live action and animation such as Disney's Mary Poppins, Pete's Dragon, Enchanted, and the Robert Zemeckis film Who Framed Roger Rabbit are also fantasy films although are more often referred to as Live action/animation hybrids (2 of those are also classified as musicals). Fantasy films set in the afterlife, called Bangsian Fantasy, are less common, although films such as the 1991 Albert Brooks comedy Defending Your Life would likely qualify. Other uncommon subgenres include Historical Fantasy and Romantic Fantasy, although 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl successfully incorporated elements of both. As noted above, superhero movies and fairy tale films might each be considered subgenres of fantasy films, although most would classify them as altogether separate movie genres. Fantasy movies and the film industry As a cinematic genre, fantasy has traditionally not been regarded as highly as the related genre of science fiction film. Undoubtedly, the fact that until recently fantasy films often suffered from the "Sword and Sandal" afflictions of inferior production values, over-the-top acting, and decidedly poor special effects was a significant factor in fantasy film's low regard. Since the early 2000s, however, the genre has gained new respectability in a way, driven principally by the successful adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy is notable due to its ambitious scope, serious tone, and thematic complexity. These pictures achieved phenomenal commercial and critical success, and the third installment of the trilogy became the first fantasy film ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Harry Potter series has been a tremendous financial success, has achieved critical acclaim for its design, thematic sophistication and emotional depth, grittier realism and darkness, narrative complexity, and characterization, and boasts an enormous and loyal fanbase. Following the success of these ventures, Hollywood studios have greenlighted additional big-budget productions in the genre. These have included adaptations of the first, second, and third books in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series and the teen novel Eragon, as well as adaptations of Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising, Cornelia Funke's Inkheart, Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, Holly Black's The Spiderwick Chronicles, Nickelodeon's TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the Fantasia segment (along with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's original poem) The Sorcerer's Apprentice Many fantasy movies starting in the 2000s, such as The Lord of the Rings films, the first and third Narnia adaptations, and the first, second, fourth and seventh Harry Potter adaptations have most often been released in November and December. This is in contrast to science fiction films, which are often released during the northern hemisphere summer (June–August). All three installments of the Pirates of the Caribbean fantasy films, however, were released in July 2003, July 2006, and May 2007 respectively, and the latest releases in the Harry Potter series were released in July 2007 and July 2009. The huge commercial success of these pictures may indicate a change in Hollywood's approach to big-budget fantasy film releases. Screenwriter and scholar Eric R. Williams identifies fantasy films as one of eleven super-genres in his screenwriters’ taxonomy, claiming that all feature length narrative films can be classified by these super-genres. The other ten super-genres are Action, Crime, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Slice of Life, Sports, Thriller, War and Western. History Fantasy films have a history almost as old as the medium itself. However, fantasy films were relatively few and far between until the 1980s, when high-tech filmmaking techniques and increased audience interest caused the genre to flourish. What follows are some notable Fantasy films. For a more complete list see: List of fantasy films 1900–1920s In the era of silent film, the earliest fantasy films were those made by French film pioneer Georges Méliès from 1903. The most famous of these was 1902's A Trip to the Moon. In the Golden Age of Silent film (1918–1926) the most outstanding fantasy films were Douglas Fairbanks' The Thief of Bagdad (1924), Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen (1924), and Destiny (1921). Other notables in the genre were F.W. Murnau's romantic ghost story Phantom, Tarzan of the Apes starring Elmo Lincoln, and D. W. Griffith's The Sorrows of Satan. 1930s Following the advent of sound films, audiences of all ages were introduced from 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Also notable of the era, the iconic 1933 film King Kong borrows heavily from the Lost World subgenre of fantasy fiction as does such films as the 1935 adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's novel She about an African expedition that discovers an immortal queen known as Ayesha "She who must be obeyed". Frank Capra's 1937 picture Lost Horizon transported audiences to the Himalayan fantasy kingdom of Shangri-La, where the residents magically never age. Other noteworthy fantasy films of the 30s include Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932 starring Johnny Weissmuller starting a successful series of talking pictures based on the fantasy-adventure novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and the G. W. Pabst directed The Mistress of Atlantis from 1932. 1932 saw the release of the Universal Studios monster movie The Mummy which combined horror with a romantic fantasy twist. more light-hearted and comedic affairs from the decade include films like 1934s romantic drama film Death Takes a Holiday where Fredric March plays Death who takes a human body to experience life for three days and 1937s Topper where a man is haunted by two fun-loving ghosts who try to make his life a little more exciting. 1940s The 1940s then saw several full-color fantasy films produced by Alexander Korda, including The Thief of Bagdad (1940), a film on par with The Wizard of Oz, and Jungle Book (1942). In 1946, Jean Cocteau's classic adaptation of Beauty and the Beast won praise for its surreal elements and for transcending the boundaries of the fairy tale genre. Sinbad the Sailor (1947), starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., has the feel of a fantasy film though it does not actually have any fantastic elements. and Here Comes Mr. Jordan, all from 1941, Heaven Can Wait the musical Cabin in the Sky (1943), the comedy The Horn Blows at Midnight and romances such as The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), One Touch of Venus and Portrait of Jennie, both 1948. An astonishing anticipation of the full "sword and sorcery" genre was made in 1941 in Italy by Alessandro Blasetti. La Corona di Ferro presents the struggles of two imaginary kingdoms around the legendary Iron Crown (historically the ancient crown of Italy), with war, cruelty, betrayal, heroism, sex, magic and mysticism, a whirl of events taken from every possible fairy tale and legend source Blasetti could find. This movie is unlike anything done before; indeed, considering that it was finished fifteen years before the publication of Lord Of The Rings, its invention of a vast, national epic mythology is an act of genius. And while the storytelling is rough - due to the need to insert everything - and the resources limited, Blasetti shows how to make a little go a long way through beautifully staged and designed battle and crowd scenes. Although it's not classified as a fantasy film, Gene Kelly's Anchors Aweigh had a fantasy sequence called "The King who Couldn't Dance" in which Gene did a song and dance number with Jerry Mouse from Tom and Jerry. Because these movies do not feature elements common to high fantasy or sword and sorcery pictures, some modern critics do not consider them to be examples of the fantasy genre. 1950s In the 1950s there were a few major fantasy films, including Darby O'Gill and the Little People and The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., the latter penned by Dr. Seuss. Jean Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy, begun in 1930 and completed in 1959, is based on Greek mythology and could be classified either as fantasy or surrealist film, depending on how the boundaries between these genres are drawn. Russian fantasy director Aleksandr Ptushko created three mythological epics from Russian fairytales, Sadko (1953), Ilya Muromets (1956), and Sampo (1959). Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi's 1953 film Ugetsu Monogatari draws on Japanese classical ghost stories of love and betrayal. Other notable pictures from the 1950s that feature fantastic elements and are sometimes classified as fantasy are Harvey (1950), featuring a púca of Celtic mythology; Scrooge, the 1951 adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol; and Ingmar Bergman's 1957 masterpiece, The Seventh Seal. Disney's 1951 animated film Alice in Wonderland is also a fantasy classic. There were also a number of lower budget fantasies produced in the 1950s, typically based on Greek or Arabian legend. The most notable of these may be 1958's The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, featuring special effects by Ray Harryhausen and music by Bernard Herrmann. 1960s Harryhausen worked on a series of fantasy films in the 1960s, most importantly Jason and the Argonauts (1963). Many critics have identified this film as Harryhausen's masterwork for its stop-motion animated statues, skeletons, harpies, hydra, and other mythological creatures. Other Harryhausen fantasy and science fantasy collaborations from the decade include the 1961 adaptation of Jules Verne's Mysterious Island, the critically panned One Million Years B.C. starring Raquel Welch, and The Valley of Gwangi (1969). Capitalising on the success of the sword and sandal genre several Italian B-movies based on classical myth were made, including the Maciste series. Otherwise, the 1960s were almost entirely devoid of fantasy films. The fantasy picture 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, in which Tony Randall portrayed several characters from Greek mythology, was released in 1964. But the 1967 adaptation of the Broadway musical Camelot removed most of the fantasy elements from T. H. White's classic The Once and Future King, on which the musical had been based. The 1960s also saw a new adaption of Haggard's She in 1965 starring Ursula Andress as the immortal "She who must be obeyed" and was followed by a sequel in 1968 The Vengeance of She based loosely on the novel Ayesha: The Return of She both produced by Hammer Film Productions, 1968 also saw the release of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang based on a story by Ian Fleming with a script from Roald Dahl. 1970s Fantasy elements of Arthurian legend were again featured, albeit absurdly, in 1975's Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Harryhausen also returned to the silver screen in the 1970s with two additional Sinbad fantasies, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). The animated movie Wizards (1977) had limited success at the box office but achieved status as a cult film. There was also The Noah (1975) which was never released theatrically but became a cult favorite when it was finally released on DVD in 2006. Some would consider 1977's Oh God!, starring George Burns to be a fantasy film, and Heaven Can Wait (1978) was a successful Bangsian fantasy remake of 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan (not 1943's Heaven Can Wait). A few low budget "Lost World" pictures were made in the 1970s, such as 1975's The Land That Time Forgot. Otherwise, the fantasy genre was largely absent from mainstream movies in this decade, although 1971's Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory were two fantasy pictures in the public eye the former being predominantly from the same team who did Mary Poppins the latter again being from Roald Dahl in both script and novel. 1980s 1980s fantasy films were initially characterized by directors finding a new spin on established mythologies. Ray Harryhausen brought the monsters of Greek legends to life in Clash of the Titans while Arthurian lore returned to the screen in John Boorman's 1981 Excalibur. Films such as Ridley Scott's 1985 Legend and Terry Gilliam's 1981–1986 trilogy of fantasy epics (Time Bandits, Brazil, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) explored a new artist-driven style featuring surrealist imagery and thought-provoking plots. The modern sword and sorcery boom began around the same time with 1982's Conan the Barbarian followed by Krull and Fire and Ice in 1983, as well as a boom in fairy tale-like fantasy films such as Ladyhawke (1985), The Princess Bride (1987), and Willow (1988). The 1980s also started a trend in mixing modern settings and action film effects with exotic fantasy-like concepts. Big Trouble in Little China (1986), directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, combined humor, martial arts and classic Chinese folklore in a modern Chinatown setting. Highlander, a film about immortal Scottish swordsmen, was released the same year. Jim Henson produced two iconic fantasy films in the 80s, the solemn The Dark Crystal and the more whimsical and lofty Labyrinth. Meanwhile, Robert Zemeckis helmed Who Framed Roger Rabbit, featuring various famous cartoon characters from animation's "Golden Age," including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Droopy, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Pie, and Jiminy Cricket, among others. 1990s The 90s saw the Disney Renaissance in which many successful adaptations of written fantasy works were released by Disney Animation. Aladdin (1992) Army of Darkness (1992) Beauty and the Beast (1991) Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Dragonheart (1996) Edward Scissorhands (1990) Fantasia 2000 (1999) The Green Mile (1999) Groundhog Day (1993) Ghost in the Machine (1995) Hercules (1997) Hook (1991) The Indian in the Cupboard (1995) Jumanji (1995) Kazaam (1996) Matilda (1996) Meet Joe Black (1998) Mulan(1998) Nightbreed (1990) The Prince of Egypt (1998) Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime) (1997) Toy Story (1995) Toy Story 2 (1999) The Wind in the Willows (Mr Toad's Wild Ride) (1996) 2000s The 2000s saw a boom in the genre. This was compounded by the success of Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter, which spurred a movement in film adaptations of fantasy literary works including The Chronicles of Narnia, Tales from Earthsea, Eragon, Inkheart, and The Golden Compass. The Star Wars prequel trilogy and Pirates of the Caribbean also saw success at the box office. 13 Going on 30 (2004) 17 Again (2009) 300 (2006) Alvin & the Chipmunks (2007) Anji (2004) Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) Big Fish (2003) Bridge to Terabithia (2007) The Brothers Grimm (2005) The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-10) Coraline (2009) Corpse Bride (2005) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) D-War (2007) Dorian Gray (2009) Dungeons & Dragons (2000-12) Elf (2003) The Emperor's New Groove (2000) Enchanted (2007) Eragon (2006) Fat Albert (2004) The Golden Compass (2007) Harry Potter (2001–11) The Hexer (2001) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Howl's Moving Castle (2004) The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) Imagine That (2009) Inkheart (2008) The Invention of Lying (2009) King Kong (2005) Lady in the Water (2006) Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) The Lord of the Rings (2001–03) The Lovely Bones (2008) The Master of Disguise (2002) Monsters Inc. (2001-13) Nanny McPhee (2005) Night Watch (2004) Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Peter Pan (2003) Pirates of the Caribbean (2003-17) Prezzemolo (2003) Race to Witch Mountain (2009) The Science of Sleep (2006) The Secret of Kells (2009) The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007) Shrek (2001-10) The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) Spike (2008) Spirited Away (2002) Stardust (2007) Star Wars Episodes I-III (1999-2005) Tales from Earthsea ((2006) Treasure Planet (2002) Twilight (2008–12) Underworld (2003-16) Where the Wild Things Are (2009) Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005) 2010s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) Aladdin (2019) Alice in Wonderland (2010) Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) Aquaman (2018) A Wrinkle in Time (2018) Baahubali: The Beginning (2014) Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) Beauty and the Beast (2017) Black Panther (2018) Brave (2012) Christopher Robin (2018) Cinderella (2015) Clash of the Titans (2010) and its 2012 sequel, Wrath of the Titans Conan the Barbarian (2011) Crimson Peak (2015) Dark Shadows (2012) Doctor Strange (2016) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) Frozen (2013) Frozen II (2019) Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) Goosebumps (2015) Gulliver's Travels (2010) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) Hop (2011) How to Train Your Dragon (2010–19) Immortals (2011) Into the Woods (2014) Jack the Giant Slayer (2010) John Carter (2012) Life of Pi (2012) Maleficent (2014) Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) Mary Poppins Returns (2018) Maximum Shame (2010) Midnight in Paris (2011) Mirror Mirror (2012) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) Paddington (2014) Pan (2015) Percy Jackson & the Olympians: Sea of Monsters (2013) Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) Pete's Dragon (2016) Peter Rabbit (2018) Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) Puss in Boots (2011) Sardaar Ji (2015) (Punjabi) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) Song of the Sea (2014) Sucker Punch (2011) The Bastard Sword (2018) The BFG (2016) The Hobbit (2012–14) The Jungle Book (2016) The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) The Last Airbender (2010) The Lorax (2012) The Muppets (2011) The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018) Trolls (2016) The Shape of Water (2017) The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Thor: The Dark World (2013) Thor (2011) Toy Story 3 (2010) Toy Story 4 (2019)Wonder Woman (2017) Your Highness (2011) 2020s Bloodshot (2020) Bramhastra (2022) Dolittle (2020) Dragonheart: Vengeance (2020) Fantasy Island (2020) Jiu Jitsu (2020) Monster Hunter (2020) Mulan (2020) Nahuel and the Magic Book (2020) Onward (2020) Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) The Old Guard (2020) The Witches (2020) Trolls World Tour (2020) Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) Wolfwalkers'' (2020) See also Fantasy television List of fantasy films List of highest-grossing fantasy films References External links Film genres History of fiction

The fast combat support ship (US Navy hull classification symbol: AOE) is the United States Navy's largest combat logistics ship, designed as an oiler, ammunition and supply ship. All fast combat support ships currently in service are operated by Military Sealift Command. They can carry more than 177,000 barrels of oil, 2,150 tons of ammunition, 500 tons of dry stores and 250 tons of refrigerated stores. It receives petroleum products, ammunition and stores from various shuttle ships and redistributes these items when needed to ships in the carrier battle group. This greatly reduces the number of service ships needed to travel with carrier battle groups. The four ships of the were 53,000 tons at full load, 796 feet overall length, and carried two Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters. The Sacramento class was retired in 2005. The ships displace 48,800 tons full load and carried two Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters or two Sikorsky MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters. Air defense includes the Sea Sparrow radar and infrared surface-to-air missile in eight-cell launchers to provide point defence with 15km to 25km range. There are also two Phalanx mk15 20mm gatling gun close-in weapon systems (CIWS) and two 25mm Raytheon mk88 guns. China has developed the Type 901 fast combat support ship which serves a similar mission in their navy. List of Fast Combat Support Ships (AOE-1) USS Sacramento (AOE-2) USS Camden (AOE-3) USS Seattle (AOE-4) USS Detroit (AOE-6) USS Supply (New Class) (AOE-7) USS Rainier (AOE-8) USS Arctic (AOE-10) USS Bridge References AOE class at Naval Technology AOE class at US Navy Military Sealift Command AOE class at US Naval Vessel Register US Navy Military Sealift Command front page Extensive description and photos of AOE-1 Sacramento at Military Analysis Network (unofficial) See also List of Military Sealift Command ships Ship types Auxiliary ships of the United States Navy

The Field ion microscope (FIM) was invented by Müller in 1951. It is a type of microscope that can be used to image the arrangement of atoms at the surface of a sharp metal tip. On October 11, 1955, Erwin Müller and his Ph.D. student, Kanwar Bahadur (Pennsylvania State University) observed individual tungsten atoms on the surface of a sharply pointed tungsten tip by cooling it to 21 K and employing helium as the imaging gas. Müller & Bahadur were the first persons to observe individual atoms directly. Introduction In FIM, a sharp (<50 nm tip radius) metal tip is produced and placed in an ultra high vacuum chamber, which is backfilled with an imaging gas such as helium or neon. The tip is cooled to cryogenic temperatures (20–100 K). A positive voltage of 5 to 10 kilovolts is applied to the tip. Gas atoms adsorbed on the tip are ionized by the strong electric field in the vicinity of the tip (thus, "field ionization"), becoming positively charged and being repelled from the tip. The curvature of the surface near the tip causes a natural magnification — ions are repelled in a direction roughly perpendicular to the surface (a "point projection" effect). A detector is placed so as to collect these repelled ions; the image formed from all the collected ions can be of sufficient resolution to image individual atoms on the tip surface. Unlike conventional microscopes, where the spatial resolution is limited by the wavelength of the particles which are used for imaging, the FIM is a projection type microscope with atomic resolution and an approximate magnification of a few million times. Design, limitations and applications FIM like Field Emission Microscopy (FEM) consists of a sharp sample tip and a fluorescent screen (now replaced by a multichannel plate) as the key elements. However, there are some essential differences as follows: The tip potential is positive. The chamber is filled with an imaging gas (typically, He or Ne at 10−5 to 10−3 Torr). The tip is cooled to low temperatures (~20-80K). Like FEM, the field strength at the tip apex is typically a few V/Å. The experimental set-up and image formation in FIM is illustrated in the accompanying figures. In FIM the presence of a strong field is critical. The imaging gas atoms (He, Ne) near the tip are polarized by the field and since the field is non-uniform the polarized atoms are attracted towards the tip surface. The imaging atoms then lose their kinetic energy performing a series of hops and accommodate to the tip temperature. Eventually, the imaging atoms are ionized by tunneling electrons into the surface and the resulting positive ions are accelerated along the field lines to the screen to form a highly magnified image of the sample tip. In FIM, the ionization takes place close to the tip, where the field is strongest. The electron that tunnels from the atom is picked up by the tip. There is a critical distance, xc, at which the tunneling probability is a maximum. This distance is typically about 0.4 nm. The very high spatial resolution and high contrast for features on the atomic scale arises from the fact that the electric field is enhanced in the vicinity of the surface atoms because of the higher local curvature. The resolution of FIM is limited by the thermal velocity of the imaging ion. Resolution of the order of 1Å (atomic resolution) can be achieved by effective cooling of the tip. Application of FIM, like FEM, is limited by the materials which can be fabricated in the shape of a sharp tip, can be used in an ultra high vacuum (UHV) environment, and can tolerate the high electrostatic fields. For these reasons, refractory metals with high melting temperature (e.g. W, Mo, Pt, Ir) are conventional objects for FIM experiments. Metal tips for FEM and FIM are prepared by electropolishing (electrochemical polishing) of thin wires. However, these tips usually contain many asperities. The final preparation procedure involves the in situ removal of these asperities by field evaporation just by raising the tip voltage. Field evaporation is a field induced process which involves the removal of atoms from the surface itself at very high field strengths and typically occurs in the range 2-5 V/Å. The effect of the field in this case is to reduce the effective binding energy of the atom to the surface and to give, in effect, a greatly increased evaporation rate relative to that expected at that temperature at zero fields. This process is self-regulating since the atoms that are at positions of high local curvature, such as adatoms or ledge atoms, are removed preferentially. The tips used in FIM is sharper (tip radius is 100~300 Å) compared to those used in FEM experiments (tip radius ~1000 Å). FIM has been used to study dynamical behavior of surfaces and the behavior of adatoms on surfaces. The problems studied include adsorption-desorption phenomena, surface diffusion of adatoms and clusters, adatom-adatom interactions, step motion, equilibrium crystal shape, etc. However, there is the possibility of the results being affected by the limited surface area (i.e. edge effects) and by the presence of large electric field. See also Atom probe Electron microscope Field emission microscopy List of surface analysis methods References K.Oura, V.G.Lifshits, A.ASaranin, A.V.Zotov and M.Katayama, Surface Science – An Introduction, (Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003). John B. Hudson, Surface Science – An Introduction, BUTTERWORTH-Heinemann 1992. External links Northwestern University Center for Atom-Probe Tomography Microscope Parts need to know. Further reading Microscopes Scientific techniques

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity is a futuristic racing video game developed by NDcube and published by Nintendo as a launch title for the Game Boy Advance. The game was released in Japan, North America and Europe in 2001. It is the first F-Zero game to be released on a handheld game console. Maximum Velocity takes place twenty-five years after F-Zero, in another F-Zero Grand Prix. The past generations of F-Zero had "piloted their way to fame", so it is the second F-Zero game without Captain Falcon, Samurai Goroh, Pico, or Dr. Stewart after the game BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2. Players control fast hovering crafts and use their speed-boosting abilities to navigate through the courses as quickly as possible. Gameplay Every race consists of five laps around a race track. Players lose the race if their machine explodes due to taking too much damage, or if they land outside of the track, get ejected from the race due to falling to 20th place, complete a lap with a rank outside of the rank limit of that lap, or forfeit. In the single player Grand Prix mode, all of these conditions require the player to possess and use an extra machine to try again. For each lap completed the player is rewarded with a speed boost, to be used once any time; one of the "SSS" marks will be shaded green to indicate that it can be used. A boost will dramatically increase a player's speed, but will decrease their ability to turn. A boost used before a jump will make the player jump farther, which could allow the player to use a shortcut with the right vehicle. Boost time and speed varies according to the machine, and is usually tuned for proper balance. For example, one machine boasts a boost time of twelve seconds, yet has the slowest boost speed of the entire game. Players can also take advantage of the varying deceleration of each vehicle. Some vehicles, such as the Jet Vermilion, take longer than others to decelerate from top boost speed to normal speed, once the boost has been used up. Players can also take advantage of this effect on boost pads. The Grand Prix is the main single player component of Maximum Velocity. It consists of four series named after chess pieces: "Pawn", "Knight", "Bishop" and "Queen". The latter of these can be unlocked by winning the others on "Expert" mode. They have five races in four difficulty settings, "Master" mode is unlocked by winning expert mode in each series, the player unlocks a new machine after completing it. The player needs to be in the top three at the end of the last lap in order to continue to the next race. If the player is unable to continue, the player will lose a machine and can try the race again. If the player runs out of machines, then the game ends, and the player has to start the series from the beginning. Championship is another single player component. It is basically the same as a "Time Attack" mode, except the player can only race on one, special course: the Synobazz Championship Circuit. This special course is not selectable in any other modes. Multiplayer Maximum Velocity can be played in two multiplayer modes using the Game Boy Advance link cable, with one cartridge, or one cartridge per player. Two to four players can play in both modes. In single cart, only one player needs to have a cartridge. The other players will boot off the link cable network from the player with the cart using the GBA's netboot capability. All players drive a generic craft, and the game can only be played on one level, Silence. Silence, along with Fire Field, are the only areas to return from previous games. Aptly, Silence in Maximum Velocity has no background music, unlike in most other F-Zero games. In multi cart, each player needs to have a cartridge to play. This has many advantages over single cart: All players can use any machine in this game that has been unlocked by another player. Players can select any course in this game. After the race is finished, all of the players' ranking data are mixed and shared ("Mixed ranking" stored in each cart). Development F-Zero: Maximum Velocity is one of the first titles to have been developed by NDcube. Like the original F-Zero for SNES, Maximum Velocity implements a pseudo-3D visual technique based on the scaling and rotation effects of bitmap graphics. In this game, this technique consists of a double layer, one of which gives the illusion of depth. Release Maximum Velocity is one of ten Game Boy Advance games released on December 16, 2011, to Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors, a program to give free downloadable games to early adopters who bought a Nintendo 3DS before its price drop. It was also released on the Wii U Virtual Console on April 3, 2014, in Japan and April 17 in North America and Europe. Reception On release, Famitsu magazine scored the game a 31 out of 40. F-Zero: Maximum Velocity went on to sell 334,145 copies in Japan and 273,229 copies in the U.S. as of 2005. The game has total sales of over 1 million copies worldwide and has an overall score of 86% on Metacritic and 83.37% on Game Rankings. Notes References External links Official website 2001 video games F-Zero Game Boy Advance games Nintendo games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games Virtual Console games for Wii U

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. Lockheed Martin is the prime F-35 contractor, with principal partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A, the short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35B, and the carrier-based (CV/CATOBAR) F-35C. The aircraft descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, which in 2001 beat the Boeing X-32 to win the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Its development is principally funded by the United States, with additional funding from program partner countries from NATO and close U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Italy, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and formerly Turkey. Several other countries have ordered, or are considering ordering, the aircraft. The program has drawn much scrutiny and criticism for its unprecedented size, complexity, ballooning costs, and much-delayed deliveries, with numerous technical flaws still being corrected. The acquisition strategy of concurrent production of the aircraft while it was still in development and testing led to expensive design changes and retrofits. The F-35B entered service with the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2015, followed by the U.S. Air Force F-35A in August 2016 and the U.S. Navy F-35C in February 2019. The F-35 was first used in combat in 2018 by the Israeli Air Force. The U.S. plans to buy 2,456 F-35s through 2044, which will represent the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps for several decades. The aircraft is projected to operate until 2070. Development Program origins The F-35 was the product of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, which was the merger of various combat aircraft programs from the 1980s and 1990s. One progenitor program was the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Advanced Short Take-Off/Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) which ran from 1983 to 1994; ASTOVL aimed to develop a Harrier Jump Jet replacement for the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and the U.K. Royal Navy. Under one of ASTOVL's classified programs, the Supersonic STOVL Fighter (SSF), Lockheed Skunk Works conducted research for a stealthy supersonic STOVL fighter intended for both U.S. Air Force (USAF) and USMC; a key technology explored was the shaft-driven lift fan (SDLF) system. Lockheed's concept was a single-engine canard delta aircraft weighing about empty. ASTOVL was rechristened as the Common Affordable Lightweight Fighter (CALF) in 1993 and involved Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas, and Boeing. In 1993, the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program emerged following the cancellation of the USAF's Multi-Role Fighter (MRF) and U.S. Navy's (USN) Advanced Fighter-Attack (A/F-X) programs. MRF, a program for a relatively affordable F-16 replacement, was scaled back and delayed due to post–Cold War defense posture easing F-16 fleet usage and thus extending its service life as well as increasing budget pressure from the F-22 program. The A/F-X, initially known as the Advanced-Attack (A-X), began in 1991 as the USN's follow-on to the Advanced Tactical Aircraft (ATA) program for an A-6 replacement; the ATA's resulting A-12 Avenger II had been canceled due to technical problems and cost overruns in 1991. In the same year, the termination of the Naval Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF), an offshoot of USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program to replace the F-14, resulted in additional fighter capability being added to A-X, which was then renamed A/F-X. Amid increased budget pressure, the Department of Defense's (DoD) Bottom-Up Review (BUR) in September 1993 announced MRF's and A/F-X's cancellations, with applicable experience brought to the emerging JAST program. JAST was not meant to develop a new aircraft, but rather to develop requirements, maturing technologies, and demonstrating concepts for advanced strike warfare. As JAST progressed, the need for concept demonstrator aircraft by 1996 emerged, which would coincide with the full-scale flight demonstrator phase of ASTOVL/CALF. Because the ASTOVL/CALF concept appeared to align with the JAST charter, the two programs were eventually merged in 1994 under the JAST name, with the program now serving the USAF, USMC, and USN. JAST was subsequently renamed to Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in 1995, with STOVL submissions by McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing. The JSF was expected to eventually replace large numbers of multi-role and strike fighters in the inventories of the US and its allies, including the Harrier, F-16, F/A-18, A-10, and F-117. International participation is a key aspect of the JSF program, starting with United Kingdom participation in the ASTOVL program. Many international partners requiring modernization of their air forces were interested in the JSF. The United Kingdom joined JAST/JSF as a founding member in 1995 and thus became the only Tier 1 partner of the JSF program; Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Australia, and Turkey joined the program during the Concept Demonstration Phase (CDP), with Italy and the Netherlands being Tier 2 partners and the rest Tier 3. Consequently, the aircraft was developed in cooperation with international partners and available for export. JSF competition Boeing and Lockheed Martin were selected in early 1997 for CDP, with their concept demonstrator aircraft designated X-32 and X-35 respectively; the McDonnell Douglas team was eliminated and Northrop Grumman and British Aerospace joined the Lockheed Martin team. Each firm would produce two prototype air vehicles to demonstrate conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), carrier takeoff and landing (CV), and STOVL. Lockheed Martin's design would make use of the work on the SDLF system conducted under the ASTOVL/CALF program. The key aspect of the X-35 that enabled STOVL operation, the SDLF system consists of the lift fan in the forward center fuselage that could be activated by engaging a clutch that connects the driveshaft to the turbines and thus augmenting the thrust from the engine's swivel nozzle. Research from prior aircraft incorporating similar systems, such as the Convair Model 200, Rockwell XFV-12, and Yakovlev Yak-141, were also taken into consideration. By contrast, Boeing's X-32 employed direct lift system that the augmented turbofan would be reconfigured to when engaging in STOVL operation. Lockheed Martin's commonality strategy was to replace the STOVL variant's SDLF with a fuel tank and the aft swivel nozzle with a two-dimensional thrust vectoring nozzle for the CTOL variant. This would enable identical aerodynamic configuration for the STOVL and CTOL variants, while the CV variant would have an enlarged wing in order to reduce landing speed for carrier recovery. Due to aerodynamic characteristics and carrier recovery requirements from the JAST merger, the design configuration settled on a conventional tail compared to the canard delta design from the ASTOVL/CALF; notably, the conventional tail configuration offers much lower risk for carrier recovery compared to the ASTOVL/CALF canard configuration, which was designed without carrier compatibility in mind. This enabled greater commonality between all three variants, as the commonality goal was important at this design stage. Lockheed Martin's prototypes would consist of the X-35A for demonstrating CTOL before converting it to the X-35B for STOVL demonstration and the larger-winged X-35C for CV compatibility demonstration. The X-35A first flew on 24 October 2000 and conducted flight tests for subsonic and supersonic flying qualities, handling, range, and maneuver performance. After 28 flights, the aircraft was then converted into the X-35B for STOVL testing, with key changes including the addition of the SDLF, the three-bearing swivel module (3BSM), and roll-control ducts. The X-35B would successfully demonstrate the SDLF system by performing stable hover, vertical landing, and short takeoff in less than . The X-35C first flew on 16 December 2000 and conducted field landing carrier practice tests. On 26 October 2001, Lockheed Martin was declared the winner and was awarded the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract; Pratt & Whitney was separately awarded a development contract for the F135 engine for the JSF. The F-35 designation, which was out of sequence with standard DoD numbering, was allegedly determined on the spot by program manager Major General Mike Hough; this came as a surprise even to Lockheed Martin, which had expected the "F-24" designation for the JSF. Design and production As the JSF program moved into the System Development and Demonstration phase, the X-35 demonstrator design was modified to create the F-35 combat aircraft. The forward fuselage was lengthened by to make room for mission avionics, while the horizontal stabilizers were moved aft to retain balance and control. The diverterless supersonic inlet changed from a four-sided to a three-sided cowl shape and was moved aft. The fuselage section was fuller, the top surface raised by along the centerline to accommodate weapons bays. Following the designation of the X-35 prototypes, the three variants were designated F-35A (CTOL), F-35B (STOVL), and F-35C (CV). Prime contractor Lockheed Martin performs overall systems integration and final assembly and checkout (FACO), while Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems supply components for mission systems and airframe. Adding the systems of a fighter aircraft added weight. The F-35B gained the most, largely due to a 2003 decision to enlarge the weapons bays for commonality between variants; the total weight growth was reportedly up to , over 8%, causing all STOVL key performance parameter (KPP) thresholds to be missed. In December 2003, the STOVL Weight Attack Team (SWAT) was formed to reduce the weight increase; changes included more engine thrust, thinned airframe members, smaller weapons bays and vertical stabilizers, less thrust fed to the roll-post outlets, and redesigning the wing-mate joint, electrical elements, and the airframe immediately aft of the cockpit. Many changes from the SWAT effort were applied to all three variants for commonality. By September 2004, these efforts had reduced the F-35B's weight by over , while the F-35A and F-35C were reduced in weight by and respectively. The weight reduction work cost $6.2 billion and caused an 18-month delay. The first F-35A, designated AA-1, was rolled out in Fort Worth, Texas, on 19 February 2006 and first flew on 15 December 2006. In 2006, the F-35 was given the name "Lightning II" after the Lockheed P-38 Lightning of World War II. Some USAF pilots have nicknamed the aircraft "Panther" instead. The aircraft's software was developed as six releases, or Blocks, for SDD. The first two Blocks, 1A and 1B, readied the F-35 for initial pilot training and multi-level security. Block 2A improved the training capabilities, while 2B was the first combat-ready release planned for the USMC's Initial Operating Capability (IOC). Block 3i retains the capabilities of 2B while having new hardware and was planned for the USAF's IOC. The final release for SDD, Block 3F, would have full flight envelope and all baseline combat capabilities. Alongside software releases, each block also incorporates avionics hardware updates and air vehicle improvements from flight and structural testing. In what is known as "concurrency", some low rate initial production (LRIP) aircraft lots would be delivered in early Block configurations and eventually upgraded to Block 3F once development is complete. After 17,000 flight test hours, the final flight for the SDD phase was completed in April 2018. Like the F-22, the F-35 has been targeted by cyberattacks and technology theft efforts, as well as potential vulnerabilities in the integrity of the supply chain. Testing found several major problems: early F-35B airframes had premature cracking, the F-35C arrestor hook design was unreliable, fuel tanks were too vulnerable to lightning strikes, the helmet display had problems, and more. Software was repeatedly delayed due to its unprecedented scope and complexity. In 2009, the DoD Joint Estimate Team (JET) estimated that the program was 30 months behind the public schedule. In 2011, the program was "re-baselined"; that is, its cost and schedule goals were changed, pushing the IOC from the planned 2010 to July 2015. The decision to simultaneously test, fix defects, and begin production was criticized as inefficient; in 2014, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition Frank Kendall called it "acquisition malpractice". The three variants shared just 25% of their parts, far below the anticipated commonality of 70%. The program received considerable criticism for cost overruns and for the total projected lifetime cost, as well as quality management shortcomings by contractors. The JSF program was expected to cost about $200 billion for acquisition in base-year 2002 dollars when SDD was awarded in 2001. As early as 2005, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) had identified major program risks in cost and schedule. The costly delays strained the relationship between the Pentagon and contractors. By 2017, delays and cost overruns had pushed the F-35 program's expected acquisition costs to $406.5 billion, with total lifetime cost (i.e., to 2070) to $1.5 trillion in then-year dollars which also includes operations and maintenance. The unit cost of LRIP lot 13 F-35A was $79.2 million. Delays in development and operational test and evaluation pushed full-rate production to 2021. Upgrades and further development The first combat-capable Block 2B configuration, which had basic air-to-air and strike capabilities, was declared ready by the USMC in July 2015. The Block 3F configuration began operational test and evaluation (OT&E) in December 2018, the completion of which will conclude SDD. The F-35 program is also conducting sustainment and upgrade development, with early LRIP aircraft gradually upgraded to the baseline Block 3F standard by 2021. The F-35 is expected to be continually upgraded over its lifetime. The first upgrade program, called Continuous Capability Development and Delivery (C2D2) began in 2019 and is currently planned to run to 2024. The near-term development priority of C2D2 is Block 4, which would integrate additional weapons, including those unique to international customers, refresh the avionics, improve ESM capabilities, and add Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) support. C2D2 also places greater emphasis on agile software development to enable quicker releases. In 2018, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) awarded contracts to General Electric and Pratt & Whitney to develop more powerful and efficient adaptive cycle engines for potential application in the F-35, leveraging the research done under the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP); in 2022, the F-35 Adaptive Engine Replacement (FAER) program was launched to integrate adaptive cycle engines into the aircraft by 2028. Defense contractors have offered upgrades to the F-35 outside of official program contracts. In 2013, Northrop Grumman disclosed its development of a directional infrared countermeasures suite, named Threat Nullification Defensive Resource (ThNDR). The countermeasure system would share the same space as the Distributed Aperture System (DAS) sensors and acts as a laser missile jammer to protect against infrared-homing missiles. Israel wants more access to the core avionics to include their own equipment. Procurement and international participation The United States is the primary customer and financial backer, with planned procurement of 1,763 F-35As for the USAF, 353 F-35Bs and 67 F-35Cs for the USMC, and 273 F-35Cs for the USN. Additionally, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Norway, Denmark and Canada have agreed to contribute US$4.375 billion towards development costs, with the United Kingdom contributing about 10% of the planned development costs as the sole Tier 1 partner. The initial plan was that the U.S. and eight major partner nations would acquire over 3,100 F-35s through 2035. The three tiers of international participation generally reflect financial stake in the program, the amount of technology transfer and subcontracts open for bid by national companies, and the order in which countries can obtain production aircraft. Alongside program partner countries, Israel and Singapore have joined as Security Cooperative Participants (SCP). Sales to SCP and non-partner nations, including Belgium, Japan, and South Korea, are made through the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales program. Turkey was removed from the F-35 program in July 2019 over security concerns. In December 2011 Japan announced its intention to purchase 42 F-35s to replace the F-4 Phantom II, with 38 to be assembled domestically and deliveries beginning in 2016. Due to delays in development and testing, many initial orders have been postponed. Italy reduced its order from 131 to 90 F-35s in 2012. Australia decided to buy the F/A-18F Super Hornet in 2006 and the EA-18G Growler in 2013 as interim measures. On 3 April 2012, the Auditor General of Canada published a report outlining problems with Canada's F-35 procurement; the report states that the government knowingly understated the final cost of 65 F-35s by $10 billion. Following the 2015 Federal Election, the Canadian government under the Liberal Party decided not to proceed with a sole-sourced purchase and launched a competition to choose an aircraft. In January 2019, Singapore announced its plan to buy a small number of F-35s for an evaluation of capabilities and suitability before deciding on more to replace its F-16 fleet. In May 2019, Poland announced plans to buy 32 F-35As to replace its Soviet-era jets; the contract was signed in January 2020. In June 2021, the Swiss government decided to propose to Parliament to buy 36 F-35As for $5.4 billion. The Swiss anti-military group GSoA, supported by the Greens and Social Democrats, intends to contest the purchase through a peoples initiative that would constitutionally prohibit the deal. In December 2021, Finland announced its decision to buy 64 F-35As. Design Overview The F-35 is a family of single-engine, supersonic, stealth multirole fighters. The second fifth generation fighter to enter US service and the first operational supersonic STOVL stealth fighter, the F-35 emphasizes low observables, advanced avionics and sensor fusion that enable a high level of situational awareness and long range lethality; the USAF considers the aircraft its primary strike fighter for conducting suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) missions, owing to the advanced sensors and mission systems. The F-35 has a wing-tail configuration with two vertical stabilizers canted for stealth. Flight control surfaces include leading-edge flaps, flaperons, rudders, and all-moving horizontal tails (stabilators); leading edge root extensions also run forwards to the inlets. The relatively short 35-foot wingspan of the F-35A and F-35B is set by the requirement to fit inside USN amphibious assault ship parking areas and elevators; the F-35C's larger wing is more fuel efficient. The fixed diverterless supersonic inlets (DSI) use a bumped compression surface and forward-swept cowl to shed the boundary layer of the forebody away from the inlets, which form a Y-duct for the engine. Structurally, the F-35 drew upon lessons from the F-22; composites comprise 35% of airframe weight, with the majority being bismaleimide and composite epoxy materials as well as some carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy in later production lots. The F-35 is considerably heavier than the lightweight fighters it replaces, with the lightest variant having an empty weight of ; much of the weight can be attributed to the internal weapons bays and the extensive avionics carried. While lacking the raw performance of the larger twin-engine F-22, the F-35 has kinematics competitive with fourth generation fighters such as the F-16 and F/A-18, especially with ordnance mounted because the F-35's internal weapons carriage eliminates parasitic drag from external stores. All variants have a top speed of Mach 1.6, attainable with full internal payload. The powerful F135 engine gives good subsonic acceleration and energy, with supersonic dash in afterburner. The large stabilitors, leading edge extensions and flaps, and canted rudders provide excellent high alpha (angle-of-attack) characteristics, with a trimmed alpha of 50°. Relaxed stability and fly-by-wire controls provide excellent handling qualities and departure resistance. Having over double the F-16's internal fuel, the F-35 has considerably greater combat radius, while stealth also enables a more efficient mission flight profile. Sensors and avionics The F-35's mission systems are among the most complex aspects of the aircraft. The avionics and sensor fusion are designed to enhance the pilot's situational awareness and command and control capabilities and facilitate network-centric warfare. Key sensors include the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, BAE Systems AN/ASQ-239 Barracuda electronic warfare system, Northrop Grumman/Raytheon AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System (DAS), Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-40 Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) and Northrop Grumman AN/ASQ-242 Communications, Navigation, and Identification (CNI) suite. The F-35 was designed with sensor intercommunication to provide a cohesive image of the local battlespace and availability for any possible use and combination with one another; for example, the APG-81 radar also acts as a part of the electronic warfare system. Much of the F-35's software was developed in C and C++ programming languages, while Ada83 code from the F-22 was also used; the Block 3F software has 8.6 million lines of code. The Green Hills Software Integrity DO-178B real-time operating system (RTOS) runs on integrated core processors (ICPs); data networking includes the IEEE 1394b and Fibre Channel buses. To enable fleet software upgrades for the software-defined radio systems and greater upgrade flexibility and affordability, the avionics leverage commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components when practical. The mission systems software, particularly for sensor fusion, was one of the program's most difficult parts and responsible for substantial program delays. The APG-81 radar uses electronic scanning for rapid beam agility and incorporates passive and active air-to-air modes, strike modes, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capability, with multiple target track-while-scan at ranges in excess of . The antenna is tilted backwards for stealth. Complementing the radar is the AAQ-37 DAS, which consists of six infrared sensors that provide all-aspect missile launch warning and target tracking; the DAS acts as a situational awareness infrared search-and-track (SAIRST) and gives the pilot spherical infrared and night-vision imagery on the helmet visor. The ASQ-239 Barracuda electronic warfare system has ten radio frequency antennas embedded into the edges of the wing and tail for all-aspect radar warning receiver (RWR). It also provides sensor fusion of radio frequency and infrared tracking functions, geolocation threat targeting, and multispectral image countermeasures for self-defense against missiles. The electronic warfare system is capable of detecting and jamming hostile radars. The AAQ-40 EOTS is mounted internally behind a faceted low-observable window under the nose and performs laser targeting, forward-looking infrared (FLIR), and long range IRST functions. The ASQ-242 CNI suite uses a half dozen different physical links, including the Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL), for covert CNI functions. Through sensor fusion, information from radio frequency receivers and infrared sensors are combined to form a single tactical picture for the pilot. The all-aspect target direction and identification can be shared via MADL to other platforms without compromising low observability, while Link 16 is present for communication with legacy systems. The F-35 was designed from the outset to incorporate improved processors, sensors, and software enhancements over its lifespan. Technology Refresh 3, which includes a new core processor and a new cockpit display, is planned for Lot 15 aircraft. Lockheed Martin has offered the Advanced EOTS for the Block 4 configuration; the improved sensor fits into the same area as the baseline EOTS with minimal changes. In June 2018, Lockheed Martin picked Raytheon for improved DAS. The USAF has studied the potential for the F-35 to orchestrate attacks by unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) via its sensors and communications equipment. Stealth and signatures Stealth is a key aspect of the F-35s design, and radar cross-section (RCS) is minimized through careful shaping of the airframe and the use of radar-absorbent materials (RAM); visible measures to reduce RCS include alignment of edges, serration of skin panels, and the masking of the engine face and turbine. Additionally, the F-35's diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) uses a compression bump and forward-swept cowl rather than a splitter gap or bleed system to divert the boundary layer away from the inlet duct, eliminating the diverter cavity and further reducing radar signature. The RCS of the F-35 has been characterized as lower than a metal golf ball at certain frequencies and angles; in some conditions, the F-35 compares favorably to the F-22 in stealth. For maintainability, the F-35's stealth design took lessons learned from prior stealth aircraft such as the F-22; the F-35's radar-absorbent fibermat skin is more durable and requires less maintenance than older topcoats. The aircraft also has reduced infrared and visual signatures as well as strict controls of radio frequency emitters to prevent their detection. The F-35's stealth design is primarily focused on high-frequency X-band wavelengths; low-frequency radars can spot stealthy aircraft due to Rayleigh scattering, but such radars are also conspicuous, susceptible to clutter, and lack precision. To disguise its RCS, the aircraft can mount four Luneburg lens reflectors. Noise from the F-35 caused concerns in residential areas near potential bases for the aircraft, and residents near two such bases—Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, and Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida—requested environmental impact studies in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Although the noise level in decibels were comparable to those of prior fighters such as the F-16, the sound power of the F-35 is stronger particularly at lower frequencies. Subsequent surveys and studies have indicated that the noise of the F-35 was not perceptibly different from the F-16 and F/A-18E/F, though the greater low-frequency noise was noticeable for some observers. Cockpit The glass cockpit was designed to give the pilot good situational awareness. The main display is a 20- by 8-inch (50 by 20 cm) panoramic touchscreen, which shows flight instruments, stores management, CNI information, and integrated caution and warnings; the pilot can customize the arrangement of the information. Below the main display is a smaller stand-by display. The cockpit has a speech-recognition system developed by Adacel. The F-35 does not have a head-up display; instead, flight and combat information is displayed on the visor of the pilot's helmet in a helmet-mounted display system (HMDS). The one-piece tinted canopy is hinged at the front and has an internal frame for structural strength. The Martin-Baker US16E ejection seat is launched by a twin-catapult system housed on side rails. There is a right-hand side stick and throttle hands-on throttle-and-stick system. For life support, an onboard oxygen-generation system (OBOGS) is fitted and powered by the Integrated Power Package (IPP), with an auxiliary oxygen bottle and backup oxygen system for emergencies. The Vision Systems International helmet display is a key piece of the F-35's human-machine interface. Instead of the head-up display mounted atop the dashboard of earlier fighters, the HMDS puts flight and combat information on the helmet visor, allowing the pilot to see it no matter which way he or she is facing. Infrared and night vision imagery from the Distributed Aperture System can be displayed directly on the HMDS and enables the pilot to "see through" the aircraft. The HMDS allows an F-35 pilot to fire missiles at targets even when the nose of the aircraft is pointing elsewhere by cuing missile seekers at high angles off-boresight. Each helmet costs $400,000. The HMDS weighs more than traditional helmets, and there is concern that it can endanger lightweight pilots during ejection. Due to the HMDS's vibration, jitter, night-vision and sensor display problems during development, Lockheed Martin and Elbit issued a draft specification in 2011 for an alternative HMDS based on the AN/AVS-9 night vision goggles as backup, with BAE Systems chosen later that year. A cockpit redesign would be needed to adopt an alternative HMDS. Following progress on the baseline helmet, development on the alternative HMDS was halted in October 2013. In 2016, the Gen 3 helmet with improved night vision camera, new liquid crystal displays, automated alignment and software enhancements was introduced with LRIP lot 7. Armament To preserve its stealth shaping, the F-35 has two internal weapons bays with four weapons stations. The two outboard weapon stations each can carry ordnance up to , or for F-35B, while the two inboard stations carry air-to-air missiles. Air-to-surface weapons for the outboard station include the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), Paveway series of bombs, Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), and cluster munitions (Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser). The station can also carry multiple smaller munitions such as the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (SDB), GBU-53/B SDB II, and SPEAR 3 anti-tank missiles; up to four SDBs can be carried per station for the F-35A and F-35C, and three for the F-35B. The inboard station can carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM. Two compartments behind the weapons bays contain flares, chaff, and towed decoys. The aircraft can use six external weapons stations for missions that do not require stealth. The wingtip pylons each can carry an AIM-9X or AIM-132 ASRAAM and are canted outwards to reduce their radar cross-section. Additionally, each wing has a inboard station and a middle station, or for F-35B. The external wing stations can carry large air-to-surface weapons that would not fit inside the weapons bays such as the AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM) cruise missile. An air-to-air missile load of eight AIM-120s and two AIM-9s is possible using internal and external weapons stations; a configuration of six bombs, two AIM-120s and two AIM-9s can also be arranged. The F-35A is armed with a 25 mm GAU-22/A rotary cannon mounted internally near the left wing root with 182 rounds carried; the gun is more effective against ground targets than the 20 mm cannon carried by other USAF fighters. The F-35B and F-35C have no internal gun and instead can use a Terma A/S multi-mission pod (MMP) carrying the GAU-22/A and 220 rounds; the pod is mounted on the centerline of the aircraft and shaped to reduce its radar cross-section. In lieu of the gun, the pod can also be used for different equipment and purposes, such as electronic warfare, aerial reconnaissance, or rear-facing tactical radar. Lockheed Martin is developing a weapon rack called Sidekick that would enable the internal outboard station to carry two AIM-120s, thus increasing the internal air-to-air payload to six missiles, currently offered for Block 4. Block 4 will also have a rearranged hydraulic line and bracket to allow the F-35B to carry four SDBs per internal outboard station; integration of the MBDA Meteor is also planned. The USAF and USN are planning to integrate the AGM-88G AARGM-ER internally in the F-35A and F-35C. Norway and Australia are funding an adaptation of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) for the F-35; designated Joint Strike Missile (JSM), two missiles can be carried internally with an additional four externally. Nuclear weapons delivery via internal carriage of the B61 nuclear bomb is planned for Block 4B in 2024. Both hypersonic missiles and direct energy weapons such as solid-state laser are currently being considered as future upgrades. Lockheed Martin is studying integrating a fiber laser that uses spectral beam combining multiple individual laser modules into a single high-power beam, which can be scaled to various levels. The USAF plans for the F-35A to take up the close air support (CAS) mission in contested environments; amid criticism that it is not as well suited as a dedicated attack platform, USAF chief of staff Mark Welsh placed a focus on weapons for CAS sorties, including guided rockets, fragmentation rockets that shatter into individual projectiles before impact, and more compact ammunition for higher capacity gun pods. Fragmentary rocket warheads create greater effects than cannon shells as each rocket creates a "thousand-round burst", delivering more projectiles than a strafing run. Engine The single-engine aircraft is powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135 low-bypass augmented turbofan with rated thrust of . Derived from the Pratt & Whitney F119 used by the F-22, the F135 has a larger fan and higher bypass ratio to increase subsonic fuel efficiency, and unlike the F119, is not optimized for supercruise. The engine contributes to the F-35's stealth by having a low-observable augmenter, or afterburner, that incorporates fuel injectors into thick curved vanes; these vanes are covered by ceramic radar-absorbent materials and mask the turbine. The stealthy augmenter had problems with pressure pulsations, or "screech", at low altitude and high speed early in its development. The low-observable axisymmetric nozzle consists of 15 partially overlapping flaps that create a sawtooth pattern at the trailing edge, which reduces radar signature and creates shed vortices that reduce the infrared signature of the exhaust plume. Due to the engines large dimensions, the USN had to modify its underway replenishment system to facilitate at-sea logistics support. The F-35's Integrated Power Package (IPP) performs power and thermal management and integrates environment control, auxiliary power unit, engine starting, and other functions into a single system. The F135-PW-600 variant for the F-35B incorporates the SDLF to allow STOVL operations. Designed by Lockheed Martin and developed by Rolls-Royce, the SDLF, also known as the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem, consists of the lift fan, drive shaft, two roll posts, and a "three-bearing swivel module" (3BSM). The thrust vectoring 3BSM nozzle allows the main engine exhaust to be deflected downward at the tail of the aircraft and is moved by a "fueldraulic" actuator that uses pressurized fuel as the working fluid. Unlike the Harriers Pegasus engine that entirely uses direct engine thrust for lift, the F-35B's system augments the swivel nozzle's thrust with the lift fan; the fan is powered by the low-pressure turbine through a drive shaft when engaged with a clutch and placed near the front of the aircraft to provide a counterbalancing thrust. Roll control during slow flight is achieved by diverting unheated engine bypass air through wing-mounted thrust nozzles called roll posts. An alternative engine, the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136, was being developed in the 2000s; originally, F-35 engines from Lot 6 onward were competitively tendered. Using technology from the General Electric YF120, the F136 was claimed to have a greater temperature margin than the F135. The F136 was canceled in December 2011 due to lack of funding. The F-35 is expected to receive propulsion upgrades over its lifecycle in order to adapt to emerging threats and enable additional capabilities. In 2016, the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) was launched to develop and test adaptive cycle engines, with one major potential application being the re-engining of the F-35; in 2018, both GE and P&W were awarded contracts to develop thrust class demonstrators, with the designations XA100 and XA101 respectively. In addition to potential re-engining, P&W also plans to improve the baseline F135; in 2017, P&W announced the F135 Growth Option 1.0 and 2.0; Growth Option 1.0 was a drop-in power module upgrade that offered 6–10% thrust improvement and 5–6% fuel burn reduction, while Growth Option 2.0 would be the adaptive cycle XA101. In 2020, P&W shifted its F135 upgrade plan from the Growth Options to a series of Engine Enhancement Packages along with some additional capabilities, while the XA101 became a separate clean-sheet design. The capability packages are planned to be incorporated in two-year increments starting in the mid-2020s. Maintenance and logistics The F-35 is designed to require less maintenance than earlier stealth aircraft. Some 95% of all field-replaceable parts are "one deep"—that is, nothing else need be removed to reach the desired part; for instance, the ejection seat can be replaced without removing the canopy. The F-35 has a fibermat radar-absorbent material (RAM) baked into the skin, which is more durable, easier to work with, and faster to cure than older RAM coatings; similar coatings are currently being considered for application on older stealth aircraft such as the F-22. Skin corrosion on the F-22 led the F-35's designers to use a less galvanic corrosion-inducing skin gap filler and to use fewer gaps in the airframe skin needing filler and better drainage. The flight control system uses electro-hydrostatic actuators rather than traditional hydraulic systems; these controls can be powered by lithium-ion batteries in case of emergency. Commonality between the different variants allowed the USMC to create their first aircraft maintenance Field Training Detachment to apply the USAF's lessons to their F-35 operations. The F-35 was intended to be supported by a computerized maintenance management system named Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS). In concept, any aircraft can be serviced at any F-35 maintenance facility and for all parts to be globally tracked and shared as needed. Due to numerous problems, such as unreliable diagnoses, excessive connectivity requirements, and security vulnerabilities, program officials plan to replace ALIS with the cloud-based Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN) by 2022. ODIN base kits (OBKs)— OBKs are new computer hardware which replace ALIS's Standard Operating Unit unclassified (SOU-U) server hardware. Beginning in September 2020 OBKs were running ALIS software, as well as ODIN software, first at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Arizona, then at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, in support of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125 on 16 July 2021, and then Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, in support of the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) on 6 August 2021. In 2022, over a dozen more OBK server installation sites will replace the ALIS SOU-U servers, which will be able to run the legacy ALIS software as well as its replacement ODIN software. The performance on the OBK has doubled so far, compared to ALIS. Operational history Testing The first F-35A, AA-1, conducted its engine run in September 2006 and first flew on 15 December 2006. Unlike all subsequent aircraft, AA-1 did not have the weight optimization from SWAT; consequently, it mainly tested subsystems common to subsequent aircraft, such as the propulsion, electrical system, and cockpit displays. This aircraft was retired from flight testing in December 2009 and was used for live-fire testing at NAS China Lake. The first F-35B, BF-1, flew on 11 June 2008, while the first weight-optimized F-35A and F-35C, AF-1 and CF-1, flew on 14 November 2009 and 6 June 2010 respectively. The F-35B's first hover was on 17 March 2010, followed by its first vertical landing the next day. The F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) consisted of 18 aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Nine aircraft at Edwards, five F-35As, three F-35Bs, and one F-35C, performed flight sciences testing such as F-35A envelope expansion, flight loads, stores separation, as well as mission systems testing. The other nine aircraft at Patuxent River, five F-35Bs and four F-35Cs, were responsible for F-35B and C envelope expansion and STOVL and CV suitability testing. Additional carrier suitability testing was conducted at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Two non-flying aircraft of each variant were used to test static loads and fatigue. For testing avionics and mission systems, a modified Boeing 737-300 with a duplication of the cockpit, the Lockheed Martin CATBird has been used. Field testing of the F-35's sensors were conducted during Exercise Northern Edge 2009 and 2011, serving as significant risk-reduction steps. Flight tests revealed several serious deficiencies that required costly redesigns, caused delays, and resulted in several fleet-wide groundings. In 2011, the F-35C failed to catch the arresting wire in all eight landing tests; a redesigned tail hook was delivered two years later. By June 2009, many of the initial flight test targets had been accomplished but the program was behind schedule. Software and mission systems were among the biggest sources of delays for the program, with sensor fusion proving especially challenging. In fatigue testing, the F-35B suffered several premature cracks, requiring a redesign of the structure. A third non-flying F-35B is currently planned to test the redesigned structure. The F-35B and C also had problems with the horizontal tails suffering heat damage from prolonged afterburner use. Early flight control laws had problems with "wing drop" and also made the airplane sluggish, with high angles-of-attack tests in 2015 against an F-16 showing a lack of energy. At-sea testing of the F-35B was first conducted aboard . In October 2011, two F-35Bs conducted three weeks of initial sea trials, called Development Test I. The second F-35B sea trials, Development Test II, began in August 2013, with tests including nighttime operations; two aircraft completed 19 nighttime vertical landings using DAS imagery. The first operational testing involving six F-35Bs was done on the Wasp in May 2015. The final Development Test III on involving operations in high sea states was completed in late 2016. A Royal Navy F-35 conducted the first "rolling" landing on board in October 2018. After the redesigned tail hook arrived, the F-35C's carrier-based Development Test I began in November 2014 aboard and focused on basic day carrier operations and establishing launch and recovery handling procedures. Development Test II, which focused on night operations, weapons loading, and full power launches, took place in October 2015. The final Development Test III was completed in August 2016, and included tests of asymmetric loads and certifying systems for landing qualifications and interoperability. Operational test of the F-35C began in 2018. The F-35's reliability and availability have fallen short of requirements, especially in the early years of testing. The ALIS maintenance and logistics system was plagued by excessive connectivity requirements and faulty diagnoses. In late 2017, the GAO reported the time needed to repair an F-35 part averaged 172 days, which was "twice the program's objective," and that shortage of spare parts was degrading readiness. In 2019, while individual F-35 units have achieved mission-capable rates of over the target of 80% for short periods during deployed operations, fleet-wide rates remained below target. The fleet availability goal of 65% was also not met, although the trend shows improvement. Gun accuracy of the F-35A remains unacceptable. As of 2020, the number of the program's most serious issues have been decreased by half. Operational test and evaluation (OT&E) with Block 3F, the final configuration for SDD, began in December 2018. United States The F-35A and F-35B were cleared for basic flight training in early 2012. However, lack of system maturity at the time led to concerns over safety as well as concerns by the Director of Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) over electronic warfare testing, budget, and concurrency for the Operational Test and Evaluation master plan. Nevertheless, on 10 September 2012, the USAF began an operational utility evaluation (OUE) of the F-35A, including logistical support, maintenance, personnel training, and pilot execution. OUE flights began on 26 October and were completed on 14 November after 24 flights, each pilot having completed six flights. On 16 November 2012, the USMC received the first F-35B at MCAS Yuma, although Marine pilots had several flight restrictions. During the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase, the three U.S. military services jointly developed tactics and procedures using flight simulators, testing effectiveness, discovering problems and refining design. In January 2013, training began at Eglin AFB with capacity for 100 pilots and 2,100 maintainers at once. On 8 January 2015, RAF Lakenheath in the UK was chosen as the first base in Europe to station two USAF F-35 squadrons, with 48 aircraft adding to the 48th Fighter Wing's existing F-15C and F-15E squadrons. The USMC declared Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the F-35B in the Block 2B configuration on 31 July 2015 after operational trials. However, limitations remained in night operations, communications, software and weapons carriage capabilities. USMC F-35Bs participated in their first Red Flag exercise in July 2016 with 67 sorties conducted. USAF F-35A in the Block 3i configuration achieved IOC with the USAF's 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah on 2 August 2016. The USN achieved operational status with the F-35C in Block 3F on 28 February 2019. USAF F-35As conducted their first Red Flag exercise in 2017; system maturity had improved and the aircraft scored a kill ratio of 15:1 against an F-16 aggressor squadron in a high-threat environment. The F-35's operating cost is higher than some older fighters. In fiscal year 2018, the F-35A's cost per flight hour (CPFH) was $44,000, a number that was reduced to $35,000 in 2019. For comparison, in 2015 the CPFH of the A-10 was $17,716; the F-15C, $41,921; and the F-16C, $22,514. Lockheed Martin hopes to reduce it to $25,000 by 2025 through performance-based logistics and other measures. The USMC plans to disperse its F-35Bs among forward-deployed bases to enhance survivability while remaining close to a battlespace, similar to RAF Harrier deployment in the Cold War, which relied on the use of off-base locations that offered short runways, shelter, and concealment. Known as distributed STOVL operations (DSO), F-35Bs would operate from temporary bases in allied territory within range of hostile missiles and move between temporary locations inside the enemy's 24- to 48-hour targeting cycle; this strategy accounts for the F-35B's short range, the shortest of the three variants, with mobile forward arming and refueling points (M-Farps) accommodating KC-130 and MV-22 Osprey aircraft to rearm and refuel the jets, as well as littoral areas for sea links of mobile distribution sites. M-Farps can be based on small airfields, multi-lane roads, or damaged main bases, while F-35Bs return to rear-area friendly bases or ships for scheduled maintenance. Helicopter-portable metal planking is needed to protect unprepared roads from the F-35B's exhaust; the USMC are studying lighter heat-resistant options. The first U.S. combat employment began in July 2018 with USMC F-35Bs from the amphibious assault ship , with the first combat strike on 27 September 2018 against a Taliban target in Afghanistan. This was followed by a USAF deployment to Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE on 15 April 2019. On 27 April 2019, USAF F-35As were first used in combat in an airstrike on an Islamic State tunnel network in northern Iraq. On 2 August 2021, the F-35C embarked on its maiden deployment on board the USS Carl Vinson with another aircraft making its debut deployment being the CMV-22 Osprey. United Kingdom The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy both operate the F-35B, known simply as the Lightning in British service; it has replaced the Harrier GR9, which was retired in 2010, and Tornado GR4, which was retired in 2019. The F-35 is to be Britain's primary strike aircraft for the next three decades. One of the Royal Navy's requirements for the F-35B was a Shipborne Rolling and Vertical Landing (SRVL) mode to increase maximum landing weight by using wing lift during landing. In July 2013, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton announced that No. 617 (The Dambusters) Squadron would be the RAF's first operational F-35 squadron. The second operational squadron will be the Fleet Air Arm's 809 Naval Air Squadron which will stand up in April 2023 or later. No. 17 (Reserve) Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) stood-up on 12 April 2013 as the Operational Evaluation Unit for the Lightning, becoming the first British squadron to operate the type. By June 2013, the RAF had received three F-35s of the 48 on order, all initially based at Eglin Air Force Base. In June 2015, the F-35B undertook its first launches from a ski-jump at NAS Patuxent River. When operating at sea, British F-35Bs use ski-jumps fitted to the flight decks of aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) and HMS Prince of Wales (R09). The Italian Navy will use the same process. British F-35Bs are not intended to receive the Brimstone 2 missile. On 5 July 2017, it was announced the second UK-based RAF squadron would be No. 207 Squadron, which reformed on 1 August 2019 as the Lightning Operational Conversion Unit. No. 617 Squadron reformed on 18 April 2018 during a ceremony in Washington, D.C., US, becoming the first RAF front-line squadron to operate the type; receiving its first four F-35Bs on 6 June, flying from MCAS Beaufort to RAF Marham. Both No. 617 Squadron and its F-35s were declared combat ready on 10 January 2019. In April 2019, No. 617 Squadron deployed to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, the type's first overseas deployment. On 25 June 2019, the first combat use of an RAF F-35B was reportedly undertaken as armed reconnaissance flights searching for Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. In October 2019, the Dambusters and No. 17 TES F-35s were embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time. No. 617 Squadron departed RAF Marham on 22 January 2020 for their first Exercise Red Flag with the Lightning. Australia Australia’s first F-35, designated A35-001, was manufactured in 2014, with flight training provided through international Pilot Training Centre (PTC) at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. The first two F-35s were unveiled to the Australian public on 3 March 2017 at the Avalon Airshow. By 2021, the Royal Australian Air Force had accepted 26 F-35A aircraft, with nine in the US and 17 operating at No 3 Squadron and No 2 Operational Conversion Unit at RAAF Base Williamtown. With 41 trained RAAF pilots and 225 trained technicians for maintenance, the fleet was declared ready to deploy on operations. It is expected that Australia will receive all 72 of the F-35s by 2023. Israel The Israeli Air Force (IAF) declared the F-35 operationally capable on 6 December 2017. According to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida, in July 2018, a test mission of at least three IAF F-35s flew to Iran's capital Tehran and back from Tel Aviv. While publicly unconfirmed, regional leaders acted on the report; Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei reportedly fired the air force chief and commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps over the mission. On 22 May 2018, IAF chief Amikam Norkin said that the service had employed their F-35Is in two attacks on two battle fronts, marking the first combat operation of an F-35 by any country. Norkin said it had been flown "all over the Middle East", and showed photos of an F-35I flying over Beirut in daylight. In July 2019, Israel expanded its strikes against Iranian missile shipments; IAF F-35Is allegedly struck Iranian targets in Iraq twice. In November 2020, the IAF announced the delivery of an F-35I Testbed aircraft amongst a delivery of four aircraft received in August. This example will be used to test and integrate Israeli-produced weapons and electronic systems on future F-35s received. This is the only example of a testbed F-35 delivered to an air force outside of the United States. On 11 May 2021, eight IAF F-35Is took part in an attack on 150 terrorist targets in Hamas' rocket array, including 50-70 launch pits in the northern Gaza Strip, as part of Operation Guardian of the Walls. Italy Italy's F-35As were declared to have reached initial operational capability (IOC) on 30 November 2018. At the time Italy had taken delivery of 10 F-35As and one F-35B, with 2 F-35As and the one F-35B being stationed in the U.S. for training, the remaining 8 F-35As were stationed in Amendola. Norway On 6 November 2019 Norway declared initial operational capability (IOC) for its fleet of 15 F-35As out of a planned 52 F-35As. On January 6, 2022 Norway's F-35As replaced its F-16s for the NATO quick reaction alert mission in the high north. Netherlands On 27 December 2021 the Netherlands declared initial operational capability (IOC) for its fleet of 24 F-35As that it has received to date from its order for 46 F-35As. Variants The F-35 was designed with three initial variants - the F-35A, a CTOL land-based version; the F-35B, a STOVL version capable of use either on land or on aircraft carriers; and the F-35C, a CATOBAR carrier-based version. Since then, there has been work on the design of nationally specific versions for Israel and Canada, as well as initial concept design work for an updated version of the F-35A, which would become the F-35D. F-35A The F-35A is the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant intended for the USAF and other air forces. It is the smallest, lightest version and capable of 9 g, the highest of all variants. Although the F-35A currently conducts aerial refueling via boom and receptacle method, the aircraft can be modified for probe-and-drogue refueling if needed by the customer. A drag chute pod can be installed on the F-35A, with the Royal Norwegian Air Force being the first operator to adopt it. F-35B The F-35B is the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the aircraft. Similar in size to the A variant, the B sacrifices about a third of the A variant's fuel volume to accommodate the SDLF. This variant is limited to 7 g. Unlike other variants, the F-35B has no landing hook. The "STOVL/HOOK" control instead engages conversion between normal and vertical flight. The F-35B can also perform vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL). F-35C The F-35C variant is designed for catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery operations from aircraft carriers. Compared to the F-35A, the F-35C features larger wings with foldable wingtip sections, larger control surfaces for improved low-speed control, stronger landing gear for the stresses of carrier arrested landings, a twin-wheel nose gear, and a stronger tailhook for use with carrier arrestor cables. The larger wing area allows for decreased landing speed while increasing both range and payload. The F-35C is limited to 7.5 g. F-35I "Adir" The F-35I Adir (, meaning "Awesome", or "Mighty One") is an F-35A with unique Israeli modifications. The US initially refused to allow such changes before permitting Israel to integrate its own electronic warfare systems, including sensors and countermeasures. The main computer has a plug-and-play function for add-on systems; proposals include an external jamming pod, and new Israeli air-to-air missiles and guided bombs in the internal weapon bays. A senior IAF official said that the F-35's stealth may be partly overcome within 10 years despite a 30 to 40 year service life, thus Israel's insistence on using their own electronic warfare systems. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has considered a two-seat F-35 concept; an IAI executive noted: "There is a known demand for two seats not only from Israel but from other air forces". IAI plans to produce conformal fuel tanks. Proposed variants F-35D A study for a possible upgrade of the F-35A to be fielded by the 2035 target date of the USAF's Future Operating Concept. CF-35 The Canadian CF-35 is a proposed variant that would differ from the F-35A through the addition of a drogue parachute and may include an F-35B/C-style refueling probe. In 2012, it was revealed that the CF-35 would employ the same boom refueling system as the F-35A. One alternative proposal would have been the adoption of the F-35C for its probe refueling and lower landing speed; however, the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report cited the F-35C's limited performance and payload as being too high a price to pay. Following the 2015 Federal Election the Liberal Party, whose campaign had included a pledge to cancel the F-35 procurement, formed a new government and commenced an open competition to replace the existing CF-18 Hornet. New Export variant In December 2021, it was reported that Lockheed Martin was developing a new variant for a unspecified foreign customer. The Department of Defense released US$49 million in funding for this work. Operators Royal Australian Air Force – 44 F-35A delivered as of November 2021, of 72 ordered. Belgian Air Component – 34 F-35A planned. Royal Danish Air Force – 4 F-35A delivered of the 27 planned. Finnish Air Force – F-35A Block 4 selected via the HX fighter program to replace the current F/A-18 Hornets. 64 F-35As on order. Israeli Air Force – 30 delivered as of September 2021 (F-35I "Adir"). Includes one F-35 testbed aircraft for indigenous Israeli weapons, electronics and structural upgrades, designated (AS-15). A total of 75 ordered with 75 planned. Italian Air Force – 12 F-35As delivered as of May 2020. 1 F-35B delivered as of October 2020, at which point Italy planned to order 60 F-35As and 15 F-35Bs for the Italian Air Force. Italian Navy – 2 had been delivered as of October 2020. 15 F-35Bs planned for the Italian Navy. Japan Air Self-Defense Force – 23 F-35As operational as of December 2021 with a total order of 147, including 42 F-35Bs. Royal Netherlands Air Force – 24 F-35As delivered and operational out of 46 ordered Royal Norwegian Air Force – 31 F-35As delivered and operational, of which 21 are in Norway and 10 are based in the US for training as of August 11th 2021 of 52 F-35As planned in total. They differ from other F-35A through the addition of a drogue parachute. Polish Air Force – 32 F-35As on order. Option for additional 16. Republic of Korea Air Force – 40 F-35A delivered as of January 2022, with 20 more on order. Republic of Korea Navy – about 20 F-35Bs planned Republic of Singapore Air Force – four F-35Bs to be ordered with option to order eight more as of March 2019. Royal Air Force and Royal Navy (owned by the RAF but jointly operated) – 27 F-35Bs received with 23 in the UK after the loss of one aircraft in November 2021; the other three are in the US where they are used for testing and training. 42 (24 FOC fighters and 18 training aircraft) to be fast-tracked by 2023; A total of 48 ordered as of 2021; a total of 60 to 80 F-35Bs are planned to be ordered. United States Air Force – 1,763 F-35As planned United States Marine Corps – 353 F-35Bs and 67 F-35Cs planned United States Navy – 273 F-35Cs planned Order and approval cancellations Turkish Air Force – Four F-35As delivered to Luke Air Force Base for training in July 2018. 30 were ordered, of up to 120 total planned. Future purchases have been banned by the U.S. with contracts canceled by early 2020. All four F-35A have been withheld at Luke Air Force Base and not sent to Turkey. Accidents and notable incidents On 23 June 2014, an F-35A's engine caught fire at Eglin AFB. The pilot escaped unharmed, while the aircraft sustained an estimated US$50 million in damage. The accident caused all flights to be halted on 3 July. The fleet returned to flight on 15 July with flight envelope restrictions. In June 2015, the USAF Air Education and Training Command (AETC) issued its official report, which blamed the failure on the third stage rotor of the engine's fan module, pieces of which cut through the fan case and upper fuselage. Pratt & Whitney applied an extended "rub-in" to increase the gap between the second stator and the third rotor integral arm seal, as well as design alterations to pre-trench the stator by early 2016. On 28 September 2018, the first crash occurred involving a USMC F-35B near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina; the pilot ejected safely. The crash was attributed to a faulty fuel tube; all F-35s were grounded on 11 October pending a fleet-wide inspection of the tubes. The next day, most USAF and USN F-35s returned to flight status following the inspection. On 9 April 2019, a JASDF F-35A attached to Misawa Air Base disappeared from radar about 84 miles (135 km) east of the Aomori Prefecture during a training mission over the Pacific Ocean. The pilot, Major Akinori Hosomi, had radioed his intention to abort the drill before disappearing. The US and Japanese navies searched for the missing aircraft and pilot, finding debris on the water that confirmed its crash; Hosomi's remains were recovered in June. In response, Japan grounded its 12 F-35As. There was speculation that China or Russia might attempt to salvage it; the Japanese Defense Ministry announced there had been no "reported activities" from either country. The F-35 reportedly did not send a distress signal nor did the pilot attempt any recovery maneuvers as it descended at a rapid rate. The accident report attributed the cause to the pilot's spatial disorientation. On 19 May 2020, a USAF F-35A from the 58th Fighter Squadron crashed while landing at Eglin AFB. The pilot ejected and was in stable condition. The accident was attributed to a combination of pilot error induced by fatigue, an design issue with the oxygen system and the aircraft's more complex nature being distracting, as well as a malfunctioning head-mounted display and an unresponsive flight control system. On 29 September 2020, a USMC F-35B crashed in Imperial County, California, after colliding with a Marine Corps KC-130 during air-to-air refuelling. The F-35B pilot was injured in the ejection, and the KC-130 crash-landed gear up in a field. On 17 November 2021, a Royal Air Force F-35B crashed during routine operations in the Mediterranean. The pilot was safely recovered to . Early reports suggested some of "the covers and engine blanks" had not been removed before takeoff. The wreckage, including all security sensitive equipment, was largely recovered with the assistance of U.S. and Italian forces. On 4 January 2022, a South Korean Air Force F-35A made a belly landing after all systems failed except the flight controls and the engine. The pilot heard a series of bangs during low altitude flight, and various systems stopped working. The control tower suggested that the pilot eject, but he managed to land the plane without deploying the landing gear, walking away uninjured. On 24 January 2022, a USN F-35C with VFA-147 suffered a ramp strike while landing on the and was lost overboard in the South China Sea, injuring seven crew members. The pilot ejected safely and was recovered from the water. Plans to recover the fighter are underway. Specifications (F-35A) Differences between variants Appearances in media See also Notes References Bibliography Lake, Jon. "The West's Great Hope". AirForces Monthly, December 2010. Further reading External links Official JSF web site, Official JSF videos Official F-35 Team web site F-35 page on U.S. Naval Air Systems Command site F-35 – Royal Air Force F-035 Lightning II 2000s United States fighter aircraft Single-engined jet aircraft Lift fan Carrier-based aircraft Stealth aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 2006

George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and entrepreneur. Lucas is best known for creating the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founding Lucasfilm, Lucasfilm Games, and Industrial Light & Magic. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. Lucas is one of history's most financially successful filmmakers and has been nominated for four Academy Awards. His films are among the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted for ticket-price inflation. Lucas is considered one of the most significant figures of the 20th-century New Hollywood movement, and a pioneer of the modern blockbuster. After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1967, Lucas co-founded American Zoetrope with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Lucas wrote and directed THX 1138 (1971), based on his student short Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which was a critical success but a financial failure. His next work as a writer-director was the film American Graffiti (1973), inspired by his youth in the early 1960s Modesto, California, and produced through the newly founded Lucasfilm. The film was critically and commercially successful and received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture. Lucas's next film, the epic space opera Star Wars (1977), had a troubled production but was a surprise hit, becoming the highest-grossing film at the time, winning six Academy Awards and sparking a cultural phenomenon. Lucas produced and co-wrote the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). With director Steven Spielberg, he created, produced, and co-wrote the Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Lucas is also known for his collaboration with composer John Williams, who was recommended to him by Spielberg, and with whom he has worked for all the films in both of these franchises. He also produced and wrote a variety of films and television series through Lucasfilm between the 1970s and the 2010s. In 1997, Lucas re-released the Star Wars Trilogy as part of a special edition featuring several alterations; home media versions with further changes were released in 2004 and 2011. He returned to directing with a Star Wars prequel trilogy comprising Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). He last collaborated on the CGI-animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–2014, 2020), the war film Red Tails (2012), and the CGI film Strange Magic (2015). Early life Lucas was born and raised in Modesto, California, the son of Dorothy Ellinore Lucas (née Bomberger) and George Walton Lucas Sr., and is of German, Swiss-German, English, Scottish, and distant Dutch and French descent. His family attended Disneyland during its opening week in July 1955, and Lucas would remain enthusiastic about the park. He was interested in comics and science fiction, including television programs such as the Flash Gordon serials. Long before Lucas began making films, he yearned to be a racecar driver, and he spent most of his high school years racing on the underground circuit at fairgrounds and hanging out at garages. On June 12, 1962, a few days before his high school graduation, Lucas was driving his souped-up Autobianchi Bianchina when another driver broadsided him, flipping his car several times before it crashed into a tree; Lucas's seatbelt had snapped, ejecting him and thereby saving his life. However, his lungs were bruised from severe hemorrhaging and he required emergency medical treatment. This incident caused him to lose interest in racing as a career, but also inspired him to pursue his other interests. Lucas's father owned a stationery store, and had wanted George to work for him when he turned 18. Lucas had been planning to go to art school, and declared upon leaving home that he would be a millionaire by the age of 30. He attended Modesto Junior College, where he studied anthropology, sociology, and literature, amongst other subjects. He also began shooting with an 8 mm camera, including filming car races. At this time, Lucas and his friend John Plummer became interested in Canyon Cinema: screenings of underground, avant-garde 16 mm filmmakers like Jordan Belson, Stan Brakhage, and Bruce Conner. Lucas and Plummer also saw classic European films of the time, including Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless, François Truffaut's Jules et Jim, and Federico Fellini's 8½. "That's when George really started exploring," Plummer said. Through his interest in autocross racing, Lucas met renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler, another race enthusiast. Wexler, later to work with Lucas on several occasions, was impressed by Lucas's talent. "George had a very good eye, and he thought visually," he recalled. At Plummer's recommendation, Lucas then transferred to the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts. USC was one of the earliest universities to have a school devoted to motion picture film. During the years at USC, Lucas shared a dorm room with Randal Kleiser. Along with classmates such as Walter Murch, Hal Barwood, and John Milius, they became a clique of film students known as The Dirty Dozen. He also became good friends with fellow acclaimed student filmmaker and future Indiana Jones collaborator, Steven Spielberg. Lucas was deeply influenced by the Filmic Expression course taught at the school by filmmaker Lester Novros which concentrated on the non-narrative elements of Film Form like color, light, movement, space, and time. Another inspiration was the Serbian montagist (and dean of the USC Film Department) Slavko Vorkapić, a film theoretician who made stunning montage sequences for Hollywood studio features at MGM, RKO, and Paramount. Vorkapich taught the autonomous nature of the cinematic art form, emphasizing the kinetic energy inherent in motion pictures. Film career 1965–1969: Early career Lucas saw many inspiring films in class, particularly the visual films coming out of the National Film Board of Canada like Arthur Lipsett's 21-87, the French-Canadian cameraman Jean-Claude Labrecque's cinéma vérité 60 Cycles, the work of Norman McLaren, and the documentaries of Claude Jutra. Lucas fell madly in love with pure cinema and quickly became prolific at making 16 mm nonstory noncharacter visual tone poems and cinéma vérité with such titles as Look at Life, Herbie, 1:42.08, The Emperor, Anyone Lived in a Pretty (how) Town, Filmmaker, and 6-18-67. He was passionate and interested in camerawork and editing, defining himself as a filmmaker as opposed to being a director, and he loved making abstract visual films that created emotions purely through cinema. After graduating with a bachelor of fine arts in film in 1967, he tried joining the United States Air Force as an officer, but he was immediately turned down because of his numerous speeding tickets. He was later drafted by the Army for military service in Vietnam, but he was exempted from service after medical tests showed he had diabetes, the disease that killed his paternal grandfather. In 1967, Lucas re-enrolled as a USC graduate student in film production. He began working under Verna Fields for the United States Information Agency, where he met his future wife Marcia Griffin. Working as a teaching instructor for a class of U.S. Navy students who were being taught documentary cinematography, Lucas directed the short film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which won first prize at the 1967–68 National Student film festival. Lucas was awarded a student scholarship by Warner Bros. to observe and work on the making of a film of his choosing. The film he chose was Finian's Rainbow (1968) which was being directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who was revered among film school students of the time as a cinema graduate who had "made it" in Hollywood. In 1969, Lucas was one of the camera operators on the classic Rolling Stones concert film Gimme Shelter. 1969–1977: THX 1138, American Graffiti, and Star Wars In 1969, Lucas co-founded the studio American Zoetrope with Coppola, hoping to create a liberating environment for filmmakers to direct outside the perceived oppressive control of the Hollywood studio system. Coppola thought Lucas's Electronic Labyrinth could be adapted into his first full-length feature film, which was produced by American Zoetrope as THX 1138, but was not a success. Lucas then created his own company, Lucasfilm, Ltd., and directed the successful American Graffiti (1973). Lucas then set his sights on adapting Flash Gordon, an adventure serial from his childhood that he fondly remembered. When he was unable to obtain the rights, he set out to write an original space adventure that would eventually become Star Wars. Despite his success with his previous film, all but one studio turned Star Wars down. It was only because Alan Ladd, Jr., at 20th Century Fox liked American Graffiti that he forced through a production and distribution deal for the film, which ended up restoring Fox to financial stability after a number of flops. Star Wars was significantly influenced by samurai films of Akira Kurosawa, Spaghetti Westerns, as well as classic sword and sorcery fantasy stories. Star Wars quickly became the highest-grossing film of all-time, displaced five years later by Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. After the success of American Graffiti and prior to the beginning of filming on Star Wars, Lucas was encouraged to renegotiate for a higher fee for writing and directing Star Wars than the $150,000 agreed. He declined to do so, instead negotiating for advantage in some of the as-yet-unspecified parts of his contract with Fox, in particular, ownership of licensing and merchandising rights (for novelizations, clothing, toys, etc.) and contractual arrangements for sequels. Lucasfilm has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from licensed games, toys, and collectibles created for the franchise. The original Star Wars film went through a tumultuous production, and during editing, Lucas suffered chest pains initially feared to be a heart attack, but actually a fit of hypertension and exhaustion. The effort that Lucas exerted during post-production for the film, and its subsequent sequels, caused strains on his relationship with his wife Marcia Lucas, and was a contributing factor to their divorce at the end of the trilogy. The success of the first Star Wars film also resulted in more attention focused on Lucas, both positive and negative, attracting wealth and fame but also many people who wanted Lucas's financial backing or just to threaten him. 1977–1993: Hiatus from directing, Indiana Jones Following the release of the first Star Wars film, Lucas worked extensively as a writer and producer, including on the many Star Wars spinoffs made for film, television, and other media. Lucas acted as executive producer for the next two Star Wars films, commissioning Irvin Kershner to direct The Empire Strikes Back, and Richard Marquand to direct Return of the Jedi, while receiving a story credit on the former and sharing a screenwriting credit with Lawrence Kasdan on the latter. He also acted as story writer and executive producer on all four of the Indiana Jones films, which his colleague and good friend Steven Spielberg directed. Other successful projects where Lucas credited as executive producer and sometimes story writer in this period include Kurosawa's Kagemusha (1980), Twice Upon A Time (1983), Ewoks: Caravan of Courage (1984), Ewoks: Battle for Endor (1985), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), Jim Henson's Labyrinth (1986), Don Bluth's The Land Before Time (1988), and the Indiana Jones television spinoff The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992–96). There were unsuccessful projects, however, including More American Graffiti (1979), Willard Huyck's Howard the Duck (1986), which was the biggest flop of Lucas's career, Ron Howard's Willow (1988), Coppola's Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), and Mel Smith's Radioland Murders (1994). The animation studio Pixar was founded in 1979 as the Graphics Group, one third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm. Pixar's early computer graphics research resulted in groundbreaking effects in films such as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Young Sherlock Holmes, and the group was purchased in 1986 by Steve Jobs shortly after he left Apple Computer. Jobs paid Lucas US$5 million and put US$5 million as capital into the company. The sale reflected Lucas's desire to stop the cash flow losses from his 7-year research projects associated with new entertainment technology tools, as well as his company's new focus on creating entertainment products rather than tools. As of June 1983, Lucas was worth US$60 million, but he met cash-flow difficulties following his divorce that year, concurrent with the sudden dropoff in revenues from Star Wars licenses following the theatrical run of Return of the Jedi. At this point, Lucas had no desire to return to Star Wars, and had unofficially canceled the sequel trilogy. Also in 1983, Lucas and Tomlinson Holman founded the audio company THX Ltd. The company was formerly owned by Lucasfilm and contains equipment for stereo, digital, and theatrical sound for films, and music. Skywalker Sound and Industrial Light & Magic, are the sound and visual effects subdivisions of Lucasfilm, while Lucasfilm Games, later renamed LucasArts, produces products for the gaming industry. 1993–2012: Return to directing, Star Wars and Indiana Jones Having lost much of his fortune in a divorce settlement in 1987, Lucas was reluctant to return to Star Wars. However, the prequels, which were still only a series of basic ideas partially pulled from his original drafts of "The Star Wars", continued to tantalize him with technical possibilities that would make it worthwhile to revisit his older material. When Star Wars became popular once again, in the wake of Dark Horse's comic book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of spin-off novels, Lucas realized that there was still a large audience. His children were older, and with the explosion of CGI technology he began to consider directing once again. By 1993, it was announced, in Variety among other sources, that Lucas would be making the prequels. He began penning more to the story, indicating that the series would be a tragic one, examining Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Lucas also began to change the status of the prequels relative to the originals; at first, they were supposed to be a "filling-in" of history tangential to the originals, but now he saw that they could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death. This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "Saga". In 1994, Lucas began work on the screenplay of the first prequel, tentatively titled Episode I: The Beginning. In 1997, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Star Wars, Lucas returned to the original trilogy and made numerous modifications using newly available digital technology, releasing them in theaters as the Star Wars Special Edition. For DVD releases in 2004 and Blu-ray releases in 2011, the trilogy received further revisions to make them congruent with the prequel trilogy. Besides the additions to the Star Wars franchise, Lucas released a Director's Cut of THX 1138 in 2004, with the film re-cut and containing a number of CGI revisions. The first Star Wars prequel was finished and released in 1999 as Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which would be the first film Lucas had directed in over two decades. Following the release of the first prequel, Lucas announced that he would also be directing the next two, and began working on Episode II. The first draft of Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired Jonathan Hales, a writer from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, to polish it. It was completed and released in 2002 as Attack of the Clones. The final prequel, Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, began production in 2002 and was released in 2005. Numerous fans and critics considered the prequels inferior to the original trilogy, though they were box office successes. In 2004, Lucas reflected that his transition from independent to corporate filmmaker mirrored the story of Star Wars character Darth Vader in some ways. Lucas collaborated with Jeff Nathanson as a writer of the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, directed by Steven Spielberg. Like the Star Wars prequels, the reception was mixed, with numerous fans and critics once again considering it inferior to its predecessors. From 2008 to 2014, Lucas also served as the creator and executive producer and for a second Star Wars animated series on Cartoon Network, Star Wars: The Clone Wars which premiered with a feature film of the same name before airing its first episode. The supervising director for this series was Dave Filoni, who was chosen by Lucas and closely collaborated with him on its development. Series it bridged the events between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The animated series also featured the last Star Wars stories in which Lucas was majorly involved. In 2012, Lucas served as executive producer for Red Tails, a war film based on the exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He also took over direction of reshoots while director Anthony Hemingway worked on other projects. 2012–present: Semi-retirement In January 2012, Lucas announced his retirement from producing large blockbuster films and instead re-focusing his career on smaller, independently budgeted features. In June 2012, it was announced that producer Kathleen Kennedy, a long-term collaborator with Steven Spielberg and a producer of the Indiana Jones films, had been appointed as co-chair of Lucasfilm Ltd. It was reported that Kennedy would work alongside Lucas, who would remain chief executive and serve as co-chairman for at least one year, after which she would succeed him as the company's sole leader. With the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, Lucas is currently Disney's second-largest single shareholder after the estate of Steve Jobs. Lucas worked as a creative consultant on the Star Wars sequel trilogy's first film, The Force Awakens. As creative consultant on the film, Lucas's involvement included attending early story meetings; according to Lucas, "I mostly say, 'You can't do this. You can do that.' You know, 'The cars don't have wheels. They fly with antigravity.' There's a million little pieces ... I know all that stuff." Lucas's son Jett told The Guardian that his father was "very torn" about having sold the rights to the franchise, despite having hand-picked Abrams to direct, and that his father was "there to guide" but that "he wants to let it go and become its new generation." Among the materials turned over to the production team were rough story treatments Lucas developed when he considered creating episodes VII–IX himself years earlier; in January 2015, Lucas stated that Disney had discarded his story ideas. The Force Awakens, directed by J. J. Abrams, was released on December 18, 2015. Kathleen Kennedy executive produced the film and its sequels. The new sequel trilogy was jointly produced by Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company, which had acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. During an interview with talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose that aired on December 24, 2015, Lucas likened his decision to sell Lucasfilm to Disney to a divorce and outlined the creative differences between him and the producers of The Force Awakens. Lucas described the previous six Star Wars films as his "children" and defended his vision for them, while criticizing The Force Awakens for having a "retro feel", saying, "I worked very hard to make them completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships – you know, to make it new." Lucas also drew some criticism and subsequently apologized for his remark likening Disney to "white slavers". In 2015, Lucas wrote the CGI film Strange Magic, his first musical. The film was produced at Skywalker Ranch. Gary Rydstrom directed the movie. At the same time the sequel trilogy was announced a fifth installment of the Indiana Jones series also entered pre-development phase with Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg set to return. Lucas originally did not specify whether the selling of Lucasfilm would affect his involvement with the film. In October 2016, Lucas announced his decision to not be involved in the story of the film but would remain an executive producer. In 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first film of a Star Wars anthology series was released. It told the story of the rebels who stole the plans for the Death Star featured in the original Star Wars film, and it was reported that Lucas liked it more than The Force Awakens. The Last Jedi, the second film in the sequel trilogy, was released in 2017; Lucas described the film as "beautifully made". Lucas has had cursory involvement with Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), the Star Wars streaming series The Mandalorian, and the premiere of the eighth season of Game of Thrones. Lucas met with J. J. Abrams before the latter began writing the script to the sequel trilogy's final film, The Rise of Skywalker, which was released in 2019. Filmmaking Collaboration with John Williams Lucas was also heavily involved and invested in the scoring process for the original Star Wars soundtrack, which was composed by John Williams, on the recommendation of his friend and colleague Steven Spielberg. Whilst initially wanting to use tracks and film music in a similar manner to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which served as the inspiration for the film, Williams advised against this and instead proposed a system of recurring themes (or leitmotifs) to enhance the story in the style of classical composers Gustav Holst, William Walton, and Igor Stravinsky; works that Lucas had used as "temp tracks" for Williams to gain inspiration from. The film, and subsequent sequels and prequels, make use of the Main Title Theme, the Force Theme (less commonly referred to as Obi Wan Kenobi's Theme), the Rebel Alliance Theme, and Princess Leia's Theme (all introduced in this film) repeatedly. Subsequent films also added to the catalogue of themes for different characters, factions, and locations. The score was released to critical acclaim and won Williams his third Academy Award for Best Original Score. The score was listed by the American Film Institute in 2005 as the greatest film score of all time. The professional relationship formed by Lucas and Williams extended through to Williams working on all of Lucas's blockbuster franchise movies: the remaining two films of the Star Wars original trilogy; all three films of prequel trilogy developed over fifteen years later; and the four (to be five) films of the Indiana Jones franchise, in which Williams reunited with his long-time collaborator Spielberg. In his collaborations with Lucas, Williams received six of his fifty-two Academy Award nominations (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). After Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney, Williams stayed on board with the franchise, and continued to score the remaining three films of the "Skywalker saga" (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, for which he received a further three Oscar nominations), after which he announced his "retirement" from the series. Lucas was in attendance for a ceremony honouring Williams as the 44th recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award, the first composer to receive the honour, and gave a speech in praise of their relationship and his work. In interviews, and most famously at the 40th Anniversary Star Wars Celebration convention, Lucas has repeatedly reaffirmed the importance of Williams to the Star Wars saga, affectionately referring to him as the "secret sauce" of his movies. Philanthropy Lucas is one of the wealthiest celebrities in the world. Lucas has pledged to give half of his fortune to charity as part of an effort called The Giving Pledge led by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to persuade America's richest individuals to donate their financial wealth to charities. George Lucas Educational Foundation In 1991, The George Lucas Educational Foundation was founded as a nonprofit operating foundation to celebrate and encourage innovation in schools. The Foundation's content is available under the brand Edutopia, in an award-winning web site, social media and via documentary films. Lucas, through his foundation, was one of the leading proponents of the E-rate program in the universal service fund, which was enacted as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. On June 24, 2008, Lucas testified before the United States House of Representatives subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet as the head of his Foundation to advocate for a free wireless broadband educational network. Proceeds from the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney In 2012, Lucas sold Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company for a reported sum of $4.05 billion. It was widely reported at the time that Lucas intends to give the majority of the proceeds from the sale to charity. A spokesperson for Lucasfilm said, "George Lucas has expressed his intention, in the event the deal closes, to donate the majority of the proceeds to his philanthropic endeavors." Lucas also spoke on the matter: "For 41 years, the majority of my time and money has been put into the company. As I start a new chapter in my life, it is gratifying that I have the opportunity to devote more time and resources to philanthropy." Lucas Museum of Narrative Art By June 2013, Lucas was considering establishing a museum, the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum, to be built on Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, which would display his collection of illustrations and pop art, with an estimated value of more than $1 billion. Lucas offered to pay the estimated $300 million cost of constructing the museum, and would endow it with $400 million when it opened, eventually adding an additional $400 million to its endowment. After being unable to reach an agreement with The Presidio Trust, Lucas turned to Chicago. A potential lakefront site on Museum Campus in Chicago was proposed in May 2014. By June 2014, Chicago had been selected, pending approval of the Chicago Plan Commission, which was granted. The museum project was renamed the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. On June 24, 2016, Lucas announced that he was abandoning his plans to locate the museum in Chicago, due to a lawsuit by a local preservation group, Friends of the Parks, and would instead build the museum in California. On January 17, 2017, Lucas announced that the museum will be constructed in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California. Other initiatives In 2005, Lucas gave US$1 million to help build the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C. to commemorate American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. On September 19, 2006, the University of Southern California announced that Lucas had donated $175–180 million to his alma mater to expand the film school. It is the largest single donation to USC and the largest gift to a film school anywhere. Previous donations led to the already-existing George Lucas Instructional Building and Marcia Lucas Post-Production building. In 2013, Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson donated $25 million to the Chicago-based not-for-profit After School Matters, of which Hobson is the chair. On April 15, 2016, it was reported that Lucas had donated between $501,000 and $1 million through the Lucas Family Foundation to the Obama Foundation, which is charged with overseeing the construction of the Barack Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side. Personal life In 1969, Lucas married film editor Marcia Lou Griffin, who went on to win an Academy Award for her editing work on the original Star Wars film. They adopted a daughter, Amanda Lucas, in 1981, and divorced in 1983. Lucas subsequently adopted two more children as a single parent: daughter Katie Lucas, born in 1988, and son Jett Lucas, born in 1993. His three eldest children all appeared in the three Star Wars prequels, as did Lucas himself. Following his divorce, Lucas was in a relationship with singer Linda Ronstadt in the 1980s. Lucas began dating Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments and chair of DreamWorks Animation, in 2006. Lucas and Hobson announced their engagement in January 2013, and married on June 22, 2013, at Lucas's Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California. They have one daughter together, born via gestational carrier in August 2013. Lucas was born and raised in a Methodist family. The religious and mythical themes in Star Wars were inspired by Lucas's interest in the writings of mythologist Joseph Campbell, and he would eventually come to identify strongly with the Eastern religious philosophies he studied and incorporated into his films, which were a major inspiration for "the Force". Lucas has come to state that his religion is "Buddhist Methodist". He resides in Marin County. Lucas is a major collector of the American illustrator and painter Norman Rockwell. A collection of 57 Rockwell paintings and drawings owned by Lucas and fellow Rockwell collector and film director Steven Spielberg were displayed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from July 2, 2010, to January 2, 2011, in an exhibition titled Telling Stories. Lucas has said that he is a fan of Seth MacFarlane's hit TV show Family Guy. MacFarlane has said that Lucasfilm was extremely helpful when the Family Guy crew wanted to parody their works. Lucas supported Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Awards and honors In 1977, Lucas was awarded the Inkpot Award. The American Film Institute awarded Lucas its Life Achievement Award on June 9, 2005. This was shortly after the release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, about which he joked stating that, since he views the entire Star Wars series as one film, he could actually receive the award now that he had finally "gone back and finished the movie." Lucas was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Directing and Writing for American Graffiti and Star Wars. He received the Academy's Irving G. Thalberg Award in 1991. He appeared at the 79th Academy Awards ceremony in 2007 with Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola to present the Best Director award to their friend Martin Scorsese. During the speech, Spielberg and Coppola talked about the joy of winning an Oscar, making fun of Lucas, who has not won a competitive Oscar. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted Lucas in 2006, its second "Film, Television, and Media" contributor, after Spielberg. The Discovery Channel named him one of the 100 "Greatest Americans" in September 2008. Lucas served as Grand Marshal for the Tournament of Roses Parade and made the ceremonial coin toss at the Rose Bowl, New Year's Day 2007. In 2009, he was one of 13 California Hall of Fame inductees in The California Museum's yearlong exhibit. In July 2013, Lucas was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama for his contributions to American cinema. In October 2014, Lucas received Honorary Membership of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. In August 2015, Lucas was inducted as a Disney Legend, and on December 6, 2015, he was an honoree at the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2021, coinciding with Lucasfilm's 50th anniversary, an action figure of Lucas in stormtrooper disguise was released as part of Hasbro's Star Wars: The Black Series. Filmography Bibliography 1980: Alan Arnold: A Journal of the Making of "The Empire Strikes Back." . (contributor) 1983: Dale Pollock: Sky Walking: The Life and Films of George Lucas. . (contributor) 1995: George Lucas, Chris Claremont: Shadow Moon. . (story) 1996: Chris Claremont: Shadow Dawn. . (story) 1997: Laurent Bouzereau: Star Wars. The Annotated Screenplays. (contributor) . 2000: Terry Brooks: Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (novelization, contributor), Del Rey Books, 2000: Chris Claremont: Shadow Star. . (story) 2003: R. A. Salvatore: Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (novelization, contributor), Del Rey, 2004: Matthew Stover: Shatterpoint. (novel, prologue), Del Rey, . 2005: James Luceno: Labyrinth of Evil (novel, contributor), Del Rey, 2005: Matthew Stover: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith., Del Rey, . (novelization, contributor & line editor) 2007: J. W. Rinzler: The Making of "Star Wars". The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film. . (contributor) 2012: James Luceno: Star Wars: Darth Plagueis. novel (contributor), Del Rey, . 2020: Paul Duncan: The Star Wars Archives. 1999–2005 (contributor), Taschen, See also The Making of Star Wars References Footnotes Citations Sources Further reading External links George Lucas biography at Lucasfilm.com George Lucas at World of Business Ideas 1944 births 21st-century philanthropists AFI Life Achievement Award recipients American art collectors American billionaires American Buddhists American chief executives American Cinema Editors American cinematographers American entertainment industry businesspeople American film editors American film producers American male film actors American male novelists American male screenwriters American Methodists American science fiction writers American people of Swiss-German descent American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent American speculative fiction artists Businesspeople from California Cinema of the San Francisco Bay Area Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Film directors from California Film producers from California Giving Pledgers Golden Raspberry Award winners Inkpot Award winners Kennedy Center honorees Living people Lucasfilm people Mythopoeic writers People from Marin County, California People from Modesto, California Science fiction artists Science fiction fans Science fiction film directors Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees Screenwriters from California Special effects people USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni United States National Medal of Arts recipients

German (, ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a co-official language of Luxembourg and Belgium, as well as a national language in Namibia. German is most similar to other languages within the West Germanic language branch, including Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German, Luxembourgish, Scots, and Yiddish. It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group, such as Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language after English. German is one of the major languages of the world. It is the most spoken native language within the European Union. German is also widely taught as a foreign language, especially in continental Europe, where it is the third most taught foreign language (after English and French), and the United States. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used scientific language and among the most widely used languages on websites. The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in the world being published in German. German is an inflected language, with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter); and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs. The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share is partly derived from Latin and Greek, along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English. German is a pluricentric language; the three standardized variants are German, Austrian, and Swiss Standard High German. It is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Classification Modern Standard German is a West Germanic language in the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches, North Germanic, East Germanic, and West Germanic. The first of these branches survives in modern Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Faroese, and Icelandic, all of which are descended from Old Norse. The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch, Yiddish, Afrikaans, and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf-Benrath and Krefeld-Uerdingen, respectively) serve to distinguish the Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German/Low Saxon and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic, Ingvaeonic, and Istvaeonic, respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by the Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser-Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian-Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects) and Yiddish. Also closely related to Standard German are the Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries, such as Swiss German (Alemannic dialects) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est, such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central- and Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g. Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are the Frisian languages—North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland)—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift. History of High German Old High German The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period, which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon. This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants (b, d, g, and p, t, k, respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. Voiceless stops became long (geminated) voiceless fricatives following a vowel; Voiceless stops became affricates in word-initial position, or following certain consonants; Voiced stops became voiceless in certain phonetic settings. While there is written evidence of the Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c. 765–775), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans, the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in the ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli, the Merseburg Charms, and the Hildebrandslied, and other religious texts (the Georgslied, the Ludwigslied, the Evangelienbuch, and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment, and the Merseburg Charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from the pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied, a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from the Alamanni, Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group (Irminones), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of OHG show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as a result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. The German language through the OHG period was still predominantly a spoken language, with a wide range of dialects and a much more extensive oral tradition than a written one. Having just emerged from the High German consonant shift, OHG was also a relatively new and volatile language still undergoing a number of phonetic, phonological, morphological, and syntactic changes. The scarcity of written work, instability of the language, and widespread illiteracy of the time explain the lack of standardization up to the end of the OHG period in 1050. Middle High German While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as the Ostsiedlung). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to a greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house")→haus (regionally in later MHG)→Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from the MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied, an epic poem telling the story of the dragon-slayer Siegfried ( thirteenth century), and the Iwein, an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( 1203), lyric poems, and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan. Also noteworthy is the Sachsenspiegel, the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( 1220). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Early New High German Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which the influential German philologist Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War. This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in the German states. While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire, and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout the German states; the invention of the printing press 1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch, used in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and the other being Meißner Deutsch, used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg. Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages (Druckersprachen) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardization in the written form of German.One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony, spending much time among the population of Saxony researching the dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method:One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in the home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says 'ex abundantia cordis os loquitur,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund. But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No, the mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über.With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. Furthermore, his Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with the influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. Austrian Empire German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague () and Budapest (Buda, ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg (Pozsony, now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb () or Ljubljana (), contained significant German minorities. In the eastern provinces of Banat, Bukovina, and Transylvania (), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns – like (Timișoara), (Sibiu) and (Brașov) – but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. Standardization In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a complete standardization of the Standard High German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. The () had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres three years earlier; however, this was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of Standard High German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area todayespecially the pronunciation of the ending as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, Standard German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of Standard High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard High German which is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Geographical distribution As a result of the German diaspora, as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language, the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German. With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language, 10–25 million speak it as a second language, and 75–100 million as a foreign language. This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide. Europe , about 90 million people, or 16% of the European Union's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. German Sprachraum The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language is called the "German Sprachraum". German is the official language of the following countries: Germany Austria 17 cantons of Switzerland Liechtenstein German is a co-official language of the following countries: Belgium (as majority language only in the German-speaking Community, which represents 0.7% of the Belgian population) Luxembourg, along with French and Luxembourgish Switzerland, co-official at the federal level with French, Italian, and Romansh, and at the local level in four cantons: Bern (with French), Fribourg (with French), Grisons (with Italian and Romansh) and Valais (with French) Italian Autonomous Province of South Tyrol (also majority language) Outside the German Sprachraum Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German is a recognized minority language in the following countries: Czech Republic (see also: Germans in the Czech Republic) Denmark (see also: North Schleswig Germans) Hungary (see also: Germans of Hungary) Poland (see also German minority in Poland; German is an auxiliary and co-official language in 31 communes) Romania (see also: Germans of Romania) Russia, (see also: Germans in Russia) Slovakia (see also: Carpathian Germans) In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as "regional languages", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Africa Namibia Namibia was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1919. About 30,000 people still speak German as a native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers. The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called "Namibian Black German", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained a de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans, and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of the Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK)), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation). The is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. South Africa An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg. The South African constitution identifies German as a "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. North America In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish, French, and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In the states of North Dakota and South Dakota, German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country, German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region, such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital). A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania German and Texas German. South America In Brazil, the largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina, and Espírito Santo. German dialects (namely Hunsrik and East Pomeranian) are recognized languages in the following municipalities in Brazil: Espírito Santo (statewide cultural language): Domingos Martins, Laranja da Terra, Pancas, Santa Maria de Jetibá, Vila Pavão Rio Grande do Sul (Riograndenser Hunsrückisch German is a designated cultural language in the state): Santa Maria do Herval, Canguçu Santa Catarina: Antônio Carlos, Pomerode (standard German recognized) Small concentrations of German-speakers and their descendants are also found in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela, and Bolivia. Oceania In Australia, the state of South Australia experienced a pronounced wave of Prussian immigration in the 1840s (particularly from Silesia region). With the prolonged isolation from other German speakers and contact with Australian English, a unique dialect known as Barossa German developed, spoken predominantly in the Barossa Valley near Adelaide. Usage of German sharply declined with the advent of World War I, due to the prevailing anti-German sentiment in the population and related government action. It continued to be used as a first language into the 20th century, but its use is now limited to a few older speakers. As of the 2013 census, 36,642 people in New Zealand spoke German, mostly descendants of a small wave of 19th century German immigrants, making it the third most spoken European language after English and French and overall the ninth most spoken language. A German creole named was historically spoken in the former German colony of German New Guinea, modern day Papua New Guinea. It is at a high risk of extinction, with only about 100 speakers remaining, and a topic of interest among linguists seeking to revive interest in the language. As a foreign language Like English, French, and Spanish, German has become a standard foreign language throughout the world, especially in the Western World. German ranks second on par with French among the best known foreign languages in the European Union (EU) after English, as well as in Russia and Turkey. In terms of student numbers across all levels of education, German ranks third in the EU (after English and French) and in the United States (after Spanish and French). In 2020, approximately 15.4 million people were enrolled in learning German across all levels of education worldwide. This number has decreased from a peak of 20.1 million in 2000. Within the EU, not counting countries where it is an official language, German as a foreign language is most popular in Eastern and Northern Europe, namely the Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Sweden, Poland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. German was once, and to some extent still is, a lingua franca in those parts of Europe. Standard High German The basis of Standard High German developed with the Luther Bible and the chancery language spoken by the Saxon court. However, there are places where the traditional regional dialects have been replaced by new vernaculars based on Standard High German; that is the case in large stretches of Northern Germany but also in major cities in other parts of the country. It is important to note, however, that the colloquial Standard High German differs from the formal written language, especially in grammar and syntax, in which it has been influenced by dialectal speech. Standard High German differs regionally among German-speaking countries in vocabulary and some instances of pronunciation and even grammar and orthography. This variation must not be confused with the variation of local dialects. Even though the regional varieties of Standard High German are only somewhat influenced by the local dialects, they are very distinct. Standard High German is thus considered a pluricentric language. In most regions, the speakers use a continuum from more dialectal varieties to more standard varieties depending on the circumstances. Varieties In German linguistics, German dialects are distinguished from varieties of Standard High German. The varieties of Standard High German refer to the different local varieties of the pluricentric Standard High German. They differ only slightly in lexicon and phonology. In certain regions, they have replaced the traditional German dialects, especially in Northern Germany. German Standard German Austrian Standard German Swiss Standard German In the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, mixtures of dialect and standard are very seldom used, and the use of Standard High German is largely restricted to the written language. About 11% of the Swiss residents speak Standard High German at home, but this is mainly due to German immigrants. This situation has been called a medial diglossia. Swiss Standard German is used in the Swiss education system, while Austrian German is officially used in the Austrian education system. Dialects The German dialects are the traditional local varieties of the language; many of them are not mutually intelligibile with standard German, and they have great differences in lexicon, phonology, and syntax. If a narrow definition of language based on mutual intelligibility is used, many German dialects are considered to be separate languages (for instance in the Ethnologue). However, such a point of view is unusual in German linguistics. The German dialect continuum is traditionally divided most broadly into High German and Low German, also called Low Saxon. However, historically, High German dialects and Low Saxon/Low German dialects do not belong to the same language. Nevertheless, in today's Germany, Low Saxon/Low German is often perceived as a dialectal variation of Standard German on a functional level even by many native speakers. The variation among the German dialects is considerable, with often only neighbouring dialects being mutually intelligible. Some dialects are not intelligible to people who know only Standard German. However, all German dialects belong to the dialect continuum of High German and Low Saxon. Low German or Low Saxon Middle Low German was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League. It was the predominant language in Northern Germany until the 16th century. In 1534, the Luther Bible was published. It aimed to be understandable to a broad audience and was based mainly on Central and Upper German varieties. The Early New High German language gained more prestige than Low German and became the language of science and literature. Around the same time, the Hanseatic League, a confederation of northern ports, lost its importance as new trade routes to Asia and the Americas were established, and the most powerful German states of that period were located in Middle and Southern Germany. The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by mass education in Standard German in schools. Gradually, Low German came to be politically viewed as a mere dialect spoken by the uneducated. The proportion of the population who can understand and speak it has decreased continuously since World War II. The major cities in the Low German area are Hamburg, Hanover, Bremen and Dortmund. Sometimes, Low Saxon and Low Franconian varieties are grouped together because both are unaffected by the High German consonant shift. Low Franconian In Germany, Low Franconian dialects are spoken in the northwest of North Rhine-Westphalia, along the Lower Rhine. The Low Franconian dialects spoken in Germany are referred to as Low Rhenish. In the north of the German Low Franconian language area, North Low Franconian dialects (also referred to as Cleverlands or as dialects of South Guelderish) are spoken. The South Low Franconian and Bergish dialects, which are spoken in the south of the German Low Franconian language area, are transitional dialects between Low Franconian and Ripuarian dialects. The Low Franconian dialects fall within a linguistic category used to classify a number of historical and contemporary West Germanic varieties most closely related to, and including, the Dutch language. Consequently, the vast majority of the Low Franconian dialects are spoken outside of the German language area, in the Netherlands and Belgium. During the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, the Low Franconian dialects now spoken in Germany, used Middle Dutch or Early Modern Dutch as their literary language and Dachsprache. Following a 19th-century change in Prussian language policy, use of Dutch as an official and public language was forbidden; resulting in Standard German taking its place as the region's official language. As a result, these dialects are now considered German dialects from a socio-linguistic point of view. Nevertheless, topologically these dialects are structurally and phonologically far more similar to Dutch, than to German and form both the smallest and most divergent dialect cluster within the contemporary German language area. High German The High German dialects consist of the Central German, High Franconian and Upper German dialects. The High Franconian dialects are transitional dialects between Central and Upper German. The High German varieties spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews have several unique features and are considered as a separate language, Yiddish, written with the Hebrew alphabet. Central German The Central German dialects are spoken in Central Germany, from Aachen in the west to Görlitz in the east. They consist of Franconian dialects in the west (West Central German) and non-Franconian dialects in the east (East Central German). Modern Standard German is mostly based on Central German dialects. The Franconian, West Central German dialects are the Central Franconian dialects (Ripuarian and Moselle Franconian) and the Rhine Franconian dialects (Hessian and Palatine). These dialects are considered as German in Germany and Belgium Luxembourgish in Luxembourg Lorraine Franconian (spoken in Moselle) and as a Rhine Franconian variant of Alsatian (spoken in Alsace bossue only) in France Limburgish or Kerkrade dialect in the Netherlands. Luxembourgish as well as the Transylvanian Saxon dialect spoken in Transylvania are based on Moselle Franconian dialects. The major cities in the Franconian Central German area are Cologne and Frankfurt. Further east, the non-Franconian, East Central German dialects are spoken (Thuringian, Upper Saxon and North Upper Saxon-South Markish, and earlier, in the then German-speaking parts of Silesia also Silesian, and in then German southern East Prussia also High Prussian). The major cities in the East Central German area are Berlin and Leipzig. High Franconian The High Franconian dialects are transitional dialects between Central and Upper German. They consist of the East and South Franconian dialects. The East Franconian dialect branch is one of the most spoken dialect branches in Germany. These dialects are spoken in the region of Franconia and in the central parts of Saxon Vogtland. Franconia consists of the Bavarian districts of Upper, Middle, and Lower Franconia, the region of South Thuringia (Thuringia), and the eastern parts of the region of Heilbronn-Franken (Tauber Franconia and Hohenlohe) in Baden-Württemberg. The major cities in the East Franconian area are Nuremberg and Würzburg. South Franconian is mainly spoken in northern Baden-Württemberg in Germany, but also in the northeasternmost part of the region of Alsace in France. In Baden-Württemberg, they are considered as dialects of German. The major cities in the South Franconian area are Karlsruhe and Heilbronn. Upper German The Upper German dialects are the Alemannic and Swabian dialects in the west and the Bavarian dialects in the east. Alemannic and Swabian Alemannic dialects are spoken in Switzerland (High Alemannic in the densely populated Swiss Plateau, in the south also Highest Alemannic, and Low Alemannic in Basel), Baden-Württemberg (Swabian and Low Alemannic, in the southwest also High Alemannic), Bavarian Swabia (Swabian, in the southwesternmost part also Low Alemannic), Vorarlberg (Low, High, and Highest Alemannic), Alsace (Low Alemannic, in the southernmost part also High Alemannic), Liechtenstein (High and Highest Alemannic), and in the Tyrolean district of Reutte (Swabian). The Alemannic dialects are considered as Alsatian in Alsace. The major cities in the Alemannic area are Stuttgart, Freiburg, Basel, Zürich, Lucerne and Bern. Bavarian Bavarian dialects are spoken in Austria (Vienna, Lower and Upper Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Salzburg, Burgenland, and in most parts of Tyrol), Bavaria (Upper and Lower Bavaria as well as Upper Palatinate), South Tyrol, southwesternmost Saxony (Southern Vogtländisch), and in the Swiss village of Samnaun. The major cities in the Bavarian area are Vienna, Munich, Salzburg, Regensburg, Graz and Bolzano. Regiolects Berlinian, the High German regiolect or dialect of Berlin with Low German substrate Missingsch, a Low-German-coloured variety of High German. Ruhrdeutsch (Ruhr German), the High German regiolect of the Ruhr area. Grammar German is a fusional language with a moderate degree of inflection, with three grammatical genders; as such, there can be a large number of words derived from the same root. Noun inflection German nouns inflect by case, gender, and number: four cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, and dative. three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Word endings sometimes reveal grammatical gender: for instance, nouns ending in (-ing), (-ship), or (-hood, -ness) are feminine, nouns ending in or (diminutive forms) are neuter and nouns ending in (-ism) are masculine. Others are more variable, sometimes depending on the region in which the language is spoken. And some endings are not restricted to one gender, for example: (-er), such as (feminine), celebration, party; (masculine), labourer; and (neuter), thunderstorm. two numbers: singular and plural. This degree of inflection is considerably less than in Old High German and other old Indo-European languages such as Latin, Ancient Greek, and Sanskrit, and it is also somewhat less than, for instance, Old English, modern Icelandic, or Russian. The three genders have collapsed in the plural. With four cases and three genders plus plural, there are 16 permutations of case and gender/number of the article (not the nouns), but there are only six forms of the definite article, which together cover all 16 permutations. In nouns, inflection for case is required in the singular for strong masculine and neuter nouns only in the genitive and in the dative (only in fixed or archaic expressions), and even this is losing ground to substitutes in informal speech. Weak masculine nouns share a common case ending for genitive, dative, and accusative in the singular. Feminine nouns are not declined in the singular. The plural has an inflection for the dative. In total, seven inflectional endings (not counting plural markers) exist in German: . Like the other Germanic languages, German forms noun compounds in which the first noun modifies the category given by the second: ("dog hut"; specifically: "dog kennel"). Unlike English, whose newer compounds or combinations of longer nouns are often written "open" with separating spaces, German (like some other Germanic languages) nearly always uses the "closed" form without spaces, for example: ("tree house"). Like English, German allows arbitrarily long compounds in theory (see also English compounds). The longest German word verified to be actually in (albeit very limited) use is , which, literally translated, is "beef labelling supervision duties assignment law" [from (cattle), (meat), (labelling), (supervision), (duties), (assignment), (law)]. However, examples like this are perceived by native speakers as excessively bureaucratic, stylistically awkward, or even satirical. Verb inflection The inflection of standard German verbs includes: two main conjugation classes: weak and strong (as in English). Additionally, there is a third class, known as mixed verbs, whose conjugation combines features of both the strong and weak patterns. three persons: first, second and third. two numbers: singular and plural. three moods: indicative, imperative and subjunctive (in addition to infinitive). two voices: active and passive. The passive voice uses auxiliary verbs and is divisible into static and dynamic. Static forms show a constant state and use the verb ’'to be'’ (sein). Dynamic forms show an action and use the verb "to become'’ (werden). two tenses without auxiliary verbs (present and preterite) and four tenses constructed with auxiliary verbs (perfect, pluperfect, future and future perfect). the distinction between grammatical aspects is rendered by combined use of the subjunctive or preterite marking so the plain indicative voice uses neither of those two markers; the subjunctive by itself often conveys reported speech; subjunctive plus preterite marks the conditional state; and the preterite alone shows either plain indicative (in the past), or functions as a (literal) alternative for either reported speech or the conditional state of the verb, when necessary for clarity. the distinction between perfect and progressive aspect is and has, at every stage of development, been a productive category of the older language and in nearly all documented dialects, but strangely enough it is now rigorously excluded from written usage in its present normalised form. disambiguation of completed vs. uncompleted forms is widely observed and regularly generated by common prefixes ( [to look], [to see – unrelated form: ]). Verb prefixes The meaning of basic verbs can be expanded and sometimes radically changed through the use of a number of prefixes. Some prefixes have a specific meaning; the prefix refers to destruction, as in (to tear apart), (to break apart), (to cut apart). Other prefixes have only the vaguest meaning in themselves; is found in a number of verbs with a large variety of meanings, as in (to try) from (to seek), (to interrogate) from (to take), (to distribute) from (to share), (to understand) from (to stand). Other examples include the following: (to stick), (to detain); (to buy), (to sell); (to hear), (to cease); (to drive), (to experience). Many German verbs have a separable prefix, often with an adverbial function. In finite verb forms, it is split off and moved to the end of the clause and is hence considered by some to be a "resultative particle". For example, , meaning "to go along", would be split, giving (Literal: "Go you with?"; Idiomatic: "Are you going along?"). Indeed, several parenthetical clauses may occur between the prefix of a finite verb and its complement (ankommen = to arrive, er kam an = he arrived, er ist angekommen = he has arrived): A selectively literal translation of this example to illustrate the point might look like this: He "came" on Friday evening, after a hard day at work and the usual annoyances that had time and again been troubling him for years now at his workplace, with questionable joy, to a meal which, as he hoped, his wife had already put on the table, finally home "to". Word order German word order is generally with the V2 word order restriction and also with the SOV word order restriction for main clauses. For yes-no questions, exclamations, and wishes, the finite verb always has the first position. In subordinate clauses, the verb occurs at the very end. German requires a verbal element (main verb or auxiliary verb) to appear second in the sentence. The verb is preceded by the topic of the sentence. The element in focus appears at the end of the sentence. For a sentence without an auxiliary, these are several possibilities: (The old man gave me yesterday the book; normal order) (The book gave [to] me yesterday the old man) (The book gave the old man [to] me yesterday) (The book gave [to] me the old man yesterday) (Yesterday gave [to] me the old man the book, normal order) ([To] me gave the old man the book yesterday (entailing: as for someone else, it was another date)) The position of a noun in a German sentence has no bearing on its being a subject, an object or another argument. In a declarative sentence in English, if the subject does not occur before the predicate, the sentence could well be misunderstood. However, German's flexible word order allows one to emphasise specific words: Normal word order: The manager entered yesterday at 10 o'clock with an umbrella in the hand his office. Object in front: His office entered the manager yesterday at 10 o'clock with an umbrella in the hand. The object (his office) is thus highlighted; it could be the topic of the next sentence. Adverb of time in front: Yesterday entered the manager at 10 o'clock with an umbrella in the hand his office. (but today without umbrella) Both time expressions in front: . Yesterday at 10 o'clock entered the manager with an umbrella in the hand his office. The full-time specification is highlighted. Another possibility: . Yesterday at 10 o'clock entered the manager his office with an umbrella in the hand. Both the time specification and the fact he carried an umbrella are accentuated. Swapped adverbs: The manager entered with an umbrella in the hand yesterday at 10 o'clock his office. The phrase is highlighted. Swapped object: The manager entered yesterday at 10 o'clock his office with an umbrella in the hand. The time specification and the object (his office) are lightly accentuated. The flexible word order also allows one to use language "tools" (such as poetic meter and figures of speech) more freely. Auxiliary verbs When an auxiliary verb is present, it appears in second position, and the main verb appears at the end. This occurs notably in the creation of the perfect tense. Many word orders are still possible: (The old man has me today the book given.) (The book has the old man me today given.) (Today has the old man me the book given.) The main verb may appear in first position to put stress on the action itself. The auxiliary verb is still in second position. (Given has me the old man the book today.) The bare fact that the book has been given is emphasized, as well as 'today'. Modal verbs Sentences using modal verbs place the infinitive at the end. For example, the English sentence "Should he go home?" would be rearranged in German to say "Should he (to) home go?" (). Thus, in sentences with several subordinate or relative clauses, the infinitives are clustered at the end. Compare the similar clustering of prepositions in the following (highly contrived) English sentence: "What did you bring that book that I do not like to be read to out of up for?" Multiple infinitives German subordinate clauses have all verbs clustered at the end. Given that auxiliaries encode future, passive, modality, and the perfect, very long chains of verbs at the end of the sentence can occur. In these constructions, the past participle formed with is often replaced by the infinitive. V psv perf mod One suspects that the deserter probably shot become be should. ("It is suspected that the deserter probably had been shot") He knew not that the agent a picklock had make let He knew not that the agent a picklock make let had ("He did not know that the agent had had a picklock made") The order at the end of such strings is subject to variation, but the second one in the last example is unusual. Vocabulary Most German vocabulary is derived from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. However, there is a significant amount of loanwords from other languages, in particular Latin, Greek, Italian, French, and most recently English. In the early 19th century, Joachim Heinrich Campe estimated that one fifth of the total German vocabulary was of French or Latin origin. Latin words were already imported into the predecessor of the German language during the Roman Empire and underwent all the characteristic phonetic changes in German. Their origin is thus no longer recognizable for most speakers (e.g. , , , , from Latin , , , , ). Borrowing from Latin continued after the fall of the Roman Empire during Christianisation, mediated by the church and monasteries. Another important influx of Latin words can be observed during Renaissance humanism. In a scholarly context, the borrowings from Latin have continued until today, in the last few decades often indirectly through borrowings from English. During the 15th to 17th centuries, the influence of Italian was great, leading to many Italian loanwords in the fields of architecture, finance and music. The influence of the French language in the 17th to 19th centuries resulted in an even greater import of French words. The English influence was already present in the 19th century, but it did not become dominant until the second half of the 20th century. Thus, Notker Labeo was able to translate Aristotelian treatises into pure (Old High) German in the decades after the year 1000. The tradition of loan translation was revitalized in the 17th and 18th century with poets like Philipp von Zesen or linguists like Joachim Heinrich Campe, who introduced close to 300 words that are still used in modern German. Even today, there are movements that promote the substitution of foreign words that are deemed unnecessary with German alternatives. As in English, there are many pairs of synonyms due to the enrichment of the Germanic vocabulary with loanwords from Latin and Latinized Greek. These words often have different connotations from their Germanic counterparts and are usually perceived as more scholarly.  – "history, historical", ()  – "humaneness, humane", ()  – "millennium", ()  – "perception", ()  – "vocabulary", () – "dictionary, wordbook", () – "to try", () The size of the vocabulary of German is difficult to estimate. The (German Dictionary), initiated by the Brothers Grimm (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm) and the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language, already contained over 330,000 headwords in its first edition. The modern German scientific vocabulary is estimated at nine million words and word groups (based on the analysis of 35 million sentences of a corpus in Leipzig, which as of July 2003 included 500 million words in total). The Duden is the de facto official dictionary of the Standard High German language, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880. The Duden is updated regularly, with new editions appearing every four or five years. , it was in its 27th edition and in 12 volumes, each covering different aspects such as loanwords, etymology, pronunciation, synonyms, and so forth.The first of these volumes, (German Orthography), has long been the prescriptive source for the spelling of German. The Duden had become the bible of the German language, being the definitive set of rules regarding grammar, spelling, and usage of German. The ("Austrian Dictionary"), abbreviated , is the official dictionary of the German language in the Republic of Austria. It is edited by a group of linguists under the authority of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (). It is the Austrian counterpart to the German Duden and contains a number of terms unique to Austrian German or more frequently used or differently pronounced there. A considerable amount of this "Austrian" vocabulary is also common in Southern Germany, especially Bavaria, and some of it is used in Switzerland as well. Since the 39th edition in 2001 the orthography of the has been adjusted to the German spelling reform of 1996. The dictionary is also officially used in the Italian province of South Tyrol. Orthography Written texts in German are easily recognisable as such by distinguishing features such as umlauts and certain orthographical features – German is the only major language that capitalizes all nouns, a relic of a widespread practice in Northern Europe in the early modern era (including English for a while, in the 1700s) – and the frequent occurrence of long compounds. Because legibility and convenience set certain boundaries, compounds consisting of more than three or four nouns are almost exclusively found in humorous contexts. (In contrast, although English can also string nouns together, it usually separates the nouns with spaces. For example, "toilet bowl cleaner".) In German orthography, nouns are capitalised, which makes it easier for readers to determine the function of a word within a sentence. This convention is almost unique to German today (shared perhaps only by the closely related Luxembourgish language and several insular dialects of the North Frisian language), but it was historically common in other languages such as Danish (which abolished the capitalization of nouns in 1948) and English. Present Before the German orthography reform of 1996, ß replaced ss after long vowels and diphthongs and before consonants, word-, or partial-word endings. In reformed spelling, ß replaces ss only after long vowels and diphthongs. Since there is no traditional capital form of ß, it was replaced by SS (or SZ) when capitalization was required. For example, (tape measure) became in capitals. An exception was the use of ß in legal documents and forms when capitalizing names. To avoid confusion with similar names, lower case ß was sometimes maintained (thus "" instead of ""). Capital ß (ẞ) was ultimately adopted into German orthography in 2017, ending a long orthographic debate (thus " and "). Umlaut vowels (ä, ö, ü) are commonly transcribed with ae, oe, and ue if the umlauts are not available on the keyboard or other medium used. In the same manner, ß can be transcribed as ss. Some operating systems use key sequences to extend the set of possible characters to include, amongst other things, umlauts; in Microsoft Windows this is done using Alt codes. German readers understand these transcriptions (although they appear unusual), but they are avoided if the regular umlauts are available, because they are a makeshift and not proper spelling. (In Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, city and family names exist where the extra e has a vowel lengthening effect, e.g. Raesfeld , Coesfeld and Itzehoe , but this use of the letter e after a/o/u does not occur in the present-day spelling of words other than proper nouns.) There is no general agreement on where letters with umlauts occur in the sorting sequence. Telephone directories treat them by replacing them with the base vowel followed by an e. Some dictionaries sort each umlauted vowel as a separate letter after the base vowel, but more commonly words with umlauts are ordered immediately after the same word without umlauts. As an example in a telephone book occurs after but before (because Ä is replaced by Ae). In a dictionary comes after , but in some dictionaries and all other words starting with Ä may occur after all words starting with A. In some older dictionaries or indexes, initial Sch and St are treated as separate letters and are listed as separate entries after S, but they are usually treated as S+C+H and S+T. Written German also typically uses an alternative opening inverted comma (quotation mark) as in . Past Until the early 20th century, German was printed in blackletter typefaces (in Fraktur, and in Schwabacher), and written in corresponding handwriting (for example Kurrent and Sütterlin). These variants of the Latin alphabet are very different from the serif or sans-serif Antiqua typefaces used today, and the handwritten forms in particular are difficult for the untrained to read. The Nazis initially promoted Fraktur and Schwabacher because they were considered Aryan, but they abolished them in 1941, claiming that these letters were Jewish. It is believed that the Nazi régime had banned this script, as they realized that Fraktur would inhibit communication in the territories occupied during World War II. The Fraktur script however remains present in everyday life in pub signs, beer brands and other forms of advertisement, where it is used to convey a certain rusticality and antiquity. A proper use of the long s (), ſ, is essential for writing German text in Fraktur typefaces. Many Antiqua typefaces also include the long s. A specific set of rules applies for the use of long s in German text, but nowadays it is rarely used in Antiqua typesetting. Any lower case "s" at the beginning of a syllable would be a long s, as opposed to a terminal s or short s (the more common variation of the letter s), which marks the end of a syllable; for example, in differentiating between the words (guard-house) and (tube of polish/wax). One can easily decide which "s" to use by appropriate hyphenation, ( vs. ). The long s only appears in lower case. Consonant shifts German does not have any dental fricatives (as English th). The th sound, which the English language still has, disappeared on the continent in German with the consonant shifts between the 8th and 10th centuries. It is sometimes possible to find parallels between English and German by replacing the English th with d in German: "Thank" → in German , "this" and "that" → and , "thou" (old 2nd person singular pronoun) → , "think" → , "thirsty" → and many other examples. Likewise, the gh in Germanic English words, pronounced in several different ways in modern English (as an f or not at all), can often be linked to German ch: "to laugh" → , "through" → , "high" → , "naught" → , "light" → or , "sight" → , "daughter" → , "neighbour" → . Literature The German language is used in German literature and can be traced back to the Middle Ages, with the most notable authors of the period being Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach. The , whose author remains unknown, is also an important work of the epoch. The fairy tales collected and published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 19th century became famous throughout the world. Reformer and theologian Martin Luther, who has translated the Bible into High German, is widely credited for having set the basis for the modern Standard High German language. Among the best-known poets and authors in German are Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Hoffmann, Brecht, Heine and Kafka. Fourteen German-speaking people have won the Nobel Prize in literature: Theodor Mommsen, Rudolf Christoph Eucken, Paul von Heyse, Gerhart Hauptmann, Carl Spitteler, Thomas Mann, Nelly Sachs, Hermann Hesse, Heinrich Böll, Elias Canetti, Günter Grass, Elfriede Jelinek, Herta Müller and Peter Handke, making it the second most awarded linguistic region (together with French) after English. See also Outline of German language Denglisch Deutsch (disambiguation) German family name etymology German toponymy Germanism (linguistics) List of German exonyms List of German expressions in English List of German words of French origin List of pseudo-German words adapted to English List of terms used for Germans List of territorial entities where German is an official language Names for the German language DDR German Notes References Bibliography External links Dissemination of the German language in Europe around 1913 (map, 300 dpi) Fusional languages High German languages Languages of Austria Languages of Belgium Languages of Germany Languages of Liechtenstein Languages of Luxembourg Languages of Namibia Languages of Switzerland Languages of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Stress-timed languages Verb-second languages

Military of Germany may refer to: Reichsheer (1871–1919), armed forces of the German Empire (lit. Imperial Army) Reichswehr (1919–1935), armed forces of the Weimar Republic Wehrmacht (1935–1945), armed forces of Nazi Germany National People's Army (1956–1990), armed forces of the former German Democratic Republic of eastern Germany, prior to the reunification. Bundeswehr (since 1955), current armed forces of Germany as well as the Federal Republic of Germany in the west, prior to reunification.

George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American soldier, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army, Washington led the Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War, and presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which established the Constitution of the United States and a federal government. Washington has been called the "Father of the Nation" for his manifold leadership in the formative days of the country. Washington's first public office was serving as official Surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia from 1749 to 1750. Subsequently, he received his initial military training (as well as a command with the Virginia Regiment) during the French and Indian War. He was later elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and was named a delegate to the Continental Congress. Here he was appointed Commanding General of the Continental Army. With this title, he commanded American forces (allied with France) in the defeat and surrender of the British at the Siege of Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War. He resigned his commission after the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. Washington played an indispensable role in adopting and ratifying the Constitution of the United States. He was then twice elected president by the Electoral College unanimously. As president, he implemented a strong, well-financed national government while remaining impartial in a fierce rivalry between cabinet members Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. During the French Revolution, he proclaimed a policy of neutrality while sanctioning the Jay Treaty. He set enduring precedents for the office of president, including the title "Mr. President", and his Farewell Address is widely regarded as a pre-eminent statement on republicanism. Washington was a slaveowner who had a complicated relationship with slavery. During his lifetime he controlled a total of over 577 slaves, who were forced to work on his farms and wherever he lived, including the President's House in Philadelphia. As president, he signed laws passed by Congress that both protected and curtailed slavery. His will said that one of his slaves, William Lee, should be freed upon his death, and that the other 123 slaves must work for his wife and be freed on her death. She freed them during her lifetime to remove the incentive to hasten her death. He endeavored to assimilate Native Americans into the Anglo-American culture but fought indigenous resistance during instances of violent conflict. He was a member of the Anglican Church and the Freemasons, and he urged broad religious freedom in his roles as general and president. Upon his death, he was eulogized by Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen". Washington has been memorialized by monuments, a federal holiday, various media, geographical locations, including the national capital, the State of Washington, stamps, and currency, and many scholars and polls rank him among the greatest U.S. presidents. In 1976 Washington was posthumously promoted to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States. Early life (1732–1752) The Washington family was a wealthy Virginia planter family that had made its fortune through land speculation and the cultivation of tobacco. Washington's great-grandfather John Washington emigrated in 1656 from Sulgrave, Northamptonshire, England, to the English colony of Virginia where he accumulated of land, including Little Hunting Creek on the Potomac River. George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and was the first of six children of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler. The family moved to Little Hunting Creek in 1735. In 1738, they moved to Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia on the Rappahannock River. When Augustine died in 1743, Washington inherited Ferry Farm and ten slaves; his older half-brother Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek and renamed it Mount Vernon. Washington did not have the formal education his elder brothers received at Appleby Grammar School in England, but did attend the Lower Church School in Hartfield. He learned mathematics, trigonometry, and land surveying and became a talented draftsman and map-maker. By early adulthood, he was writing with "considerable force" and "precision"; however, his writing displayed little wit or humor. In pursuit of admiration, status, and power, he tended to attribute his shortcomings and failures to someone else's ineffectuality. Washington often visited Mount Vernon and Belvoir, the plantation that belonged to Lawrence's father-in-law William Fairfax. Fairfax became Washington's patron and surrogate father, and Washington spent a month in 1748 with a team surveying Fairfax's Shenandoah Valley property. He received a surveyor's license the following year from the College of William & Mary. Even though Washington had not served the customary apprenticeship, Fairfax appointed him surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia, and he appeared in Culpeper County to take his oath of office July 20, 1749. He subsequently familiarized himself with the frontier region, and though he resigned from the job in 1750, he continued to do surveys west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. By 1752 he had bought almost in the Valley and owned . In 1751, Washington made his only trip abroad when he accompanied Lawrence to Barbados, hoping the climate would cure his brother's tuberculosis. Washington contracted smallpox during that trip, which immunized him and left his face slightly scarred. Lawrence died in 1752, and Washington leased Mount Vernon from his widow Anne; he inherited it outright after her death in 1761. Colonial military career (1752–1758) Lawrence Washington's service as adjutant general of the Virginia militia inspired his half-brother George to seek a commission. Virginia's lieutenant governor, Robert Dinwiddie, appointed George Washington as a major and commander of one of the four militia districts. The British and French were competing for control of the Ohio Valley. While the British were constructing forts along the Ohio River, the French were doing the same—constructing forts between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. In October 1753, Dinwiddie appointed Washington as a special envoy. He had sent George to demand French forces to vacate land that was being claimed by the British. Washington was also appointed to make peace with the Iroquois Confederacy, and to gather further intelligence about the French forces. Washington met with Half-King Tanacharison, and other Iroquois chiefs, at Logstown, and gathered information about the numbers and locations of the French forts, as well as intelligence concerning individuals taken prisoner by the French. Washington was given the nickname Conotocaurius (town destroyer or devourer of villages) by Tanacharison. The nickname had previously been given to his great-grandfather John Washington in the late seventeenth century by the Susquehannock. Washington's party reached the Ohio River in November 1753, and were intercepted by a French patrol. The party was escorted to Fort Le Boeuf, where Washington was received in a friendly manner. He delivered the British demand to vacate to the French commander Saint-Pierre, but the French refused to leave. Saint-Pierre gave Washington his official answer in a sealed envelope after a few days' delay, as well as food and extra winter clothing for his party's journey back to Virginia. Washington completed the precarious mission in 77 days, in difficult winter conditions, achieving a measure of distinction when his report was published in Virginia and in London. French and Indian War In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of the 300-strong Virginia Regiment, with orders to confront French forces at the Forks of the Ohio. Washington set out for the Forks with half the regiment in April and soon learned a French force of 1,000 had begun construction of Fort Duquesne there. In May, having set up a defensive position at Great Meadows, he learned that the French had made camp seven miles (11 km) away; he decided to take the offensive. The French detachment proved to be only about fifty men, so Washington advanced on May 28 with a small force of Virginians and Indian allies to ambush them. What took place, known as the Battle of Jumonville Glen or the "Jumonville affair", was disputed, and French forces were killed outright with muskets and hatchets. French commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, who carried a diplomatic message for the British to evacuate, was killed. French forces found Jumonville and some of his men dead and scalped and assumed Washington was responsible. Washington blamed his translator for not communicating the French intentions. Dinwiddie congratulated Washington for his victory over the French. This incident ignited the French and Indian War, which later became part of the larger Seven Years' War. The full Virginia Regiment joined Washington at Fort Necessity the following month with news that he had been promoted to command of the regiment and colonel upon the regimental commander's death. The regiment was reinforced by an independent company of a hundred South Carolinians led by Captain James Mackay, whose royal commission outranked that of Washington, and a conflict of command ensued. On July 3, a French force attacked with 900 men, and the ensuing battle ended in Washington's surrender. In the aftermath, Colonel James Innes took command of intercolonial forces, the Virginia Regiment was divided, and Washington was offered a captaincy which he refused, with the resignation of his commission. In 1755, Washington served voluntarily as an aide to General Edward Braddock, who led a British expedition to expel the French from Fort Duquesne and the Ohio Country. On Washington's recommendation, Braddock split the army into one main column and a lightly equipped "flying column". Suffering from a severe case of dysentery, Washington was left behind, and when he rejoined Braddock at Monongahela the French and their Indian allies ambushed the divided army. Two-thirds of the British force became casualties, including the mortally wounded Braddock. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage, Washington, still very ill, rallied the survivors and formed a rear guard, allowing the remnants of the force to disengage and retreat. During the engagement, he had two horses shot from under him, and his hat and coat were bullet-pierced. His conduct under fire redeemed his reputation among critics of his command in the Battle of Fort Necessity, but he was not included by the succeeding commander (Colonel Thomas Dunbar) in planning subsequent operations. The Virginia Regiment was reconstituted in August 1755, and Dinwiddie appointed Washington its commander, again with the rank of colonel. Washington clashed over seniority almost immediately, this time with John Dagworthy, another captain of superior royal rank, who commanded a detachment of Marylanders at the regiment's headquarters in Fort Cumberland. Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission and pressed his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor, William Shirley, and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, Lord Loudoun. Shirley ruled in Washington's favor only in the matter of Dagworthy; Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort Cumberland. In 1758, the Virginia Regiment was assigned to the British Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. Washington disagreed with General John Forbes' tactics and chosen route. Forbes nevertheless made Washington a brevet brigadier general and gave him command of one of the three brigades that would assault the fort. The French abandoned the fort and the valley before the assault was launched; Washington saw only a friendly fire incident which left 14 dead and 26 injured. The war lasted another four years, and Washington resigned his commission and returned to Mount Vernon. Under Washington, the Virginia Regiment had defended of frontier against twenty Indian attacks in ten months. He increased the professionalism of the regiment as it increased from 300 to 1,000 men, and Virginia's frontier population suffered less than other colonies. Some historians have said this was Washington's "only unqualified success" during the war. Though he failed to realize a royal commission, he did gain self-confidence, leadership skills, and invaluable knowledge of British military tactics. The destructive competition Washington witnessed among colonial politicians fostered his later support of a strong central government. Marriage, civilian, and political life (1755–1775) On January 6, 1759, Washington, at age 26, married Martha Dandridge Custis, the 27-year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner Daniel Parke Custis. The marriage took place at Martha's estate; she was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate, and the couple created a happy marriage. They raised John Parke Custis (Jacky) and Martha "Patsy" Parke Custis, children from her previous marriage, and later Jacky's children Eleanor Parke Custis (Nelly) and George Washington Parke Custis (Washy). Washington's 1751 bout with smallpox is thought to have rendered him sterile, though it is equally likely that "Martha may have sustained injury during the birth of Patsy, her final child, making additional births impossible." The couple lamented not having any children together. They moved to Mount Vernon, near Alexandria, where he took up life as a planter of tobacco and wheat and emerged as a political figure. The marriage gave Washington control over Martha's one-third dower interest in the Custis estate, and he managed the remaining two-thirds for Martha's children; the estate also included 84 slaves. He became one of Virginia's wealthiest men, which increased his social standing. At Washington's urging, Governor Lord Botetourt fulfilled Dinwiddie's 1754 promise of land bounties to all-volunteer militia during the French and Indian War. In late 1770, Washington inspected the lands in the Ohio and Great Kanawha regions, and he engaged surveyor William Crawford to subdivide it. Crawford allotted to Washington; Washington told the veterans that their land was hilly and unsuitable for farming, and he agreed to purchase , leaving some feeling they had been duped. He also doubled the size of Mount Vernon to and increased its slave population to more than a hundred by 1775. Washington's political activities included supporting the candidacy of his friend George William Fairfax in his 1755 bid to represent the region in the Virginia House of Burgesses. This support led to a dispute which resulted in a physical altercation between Washington and another Virginia planter, William Payne. Washington defused the situation, including ordering officers from the Virginia Regiment to stand down. Washington apologized to Payne the following day at a tavern. Payne had been expecting to be challenged to a duel. As a respected military hero and large landowner, Washington held local offices and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, representing Frederick County in the House of Burgesses for seven years beginning in 1758. He plied the voters with beer, brandy, and other beverages, although he was absent while serving on the Forbes Expedition. He won the election with roughly 40 percent of the vote, defeating three other candidates with the help of several local supporters. He rarely spoke in his early legislative career, but he became a prominent critic of Britain's taxation policy and mercantilist policies towards the American colonies starting in the 1760s. By occupation, Washington was a planter, and he imported luxuries and other goods from England, paying for them by exporting tobacco. His profligate spending combined with low tobacco prices left him £1,800 in debt by 1764, prompting him to diversify his holdings. In 1765, because of erosion and other soil problems, he changed Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat and expanded operations to include corn flour milling and fishing. Washington also took time for leisure with fox hunting, fishing, dances, theater, cards, backgammon, and billiards. Washington soon was counted among the political and social elite in Virginia. From 1768 to 1775, he invited some 2,000 guests to his Mount Vernon estate, mostly those whom he considered people of rank, and was known to be exceptionally cordial toward his guests. He became more politically active in 1769, presenting legislation in the Virginia Assembly to establish an embargo on goods from Great Britain. Washington's step-daughter Patsy Custis suffered from epileptic attacks from age 12, and she died in his arms in 1773. The following day, he wrote to Burwell Bassett: "It is easier to conceive, than to describe, the distress of this Family". He canceled all business activity and remained with Martha every night for three months. Opposition to British Parliament and Crown Washington played a central role before and during the American Revolution. His disdain for the British military had begun when he was passed over for promotion into the Regular Army. Opposed to taxes imposed by the British Parliament on the Colonies without proper representation, he and other colonists were also angered by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which banned American settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains and protected the British fur trade. Washington believed the Stamp Act of 1765 was an "Act of Oppression", and he celebrated its repeal the following year. In March 1766, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act asserting that Parliamentary law superseded colonial law. In the late 1760s, the interference of the British Crown in American lucrative western land speculation spurred on the American Revolution. Washington himself was a prosperous land speculator, and in 1767, he encouraged "adventures" to acquire backcountry western lands. Washington helped lead widespread protests against the Townshend Acts passed by Parliament in 1767, and he introduced a proposal in May 1769 drafted by George Mason which called Virginians to boycott British goods; the Acts were mostly repealed in 1770. Parliament sought to punish Massachusetts colonists for their role in the Boston Tea Party in 1774 by passing the Coercive Acts, which Washington referred to as "an invasion of our rights and privileges". He said Americans must not submit to acts of tyranny since "custom and use shall make us as tame and abject slaves, as the blacks we rule over with such arbitrary sway". That July, he and George Mason drafted a list of resolutions for the Fairfax County committee which Washington chaired, and the committee adopted the Fairfax Resolves calling for a Continental Congress, and an end to the slave trade. On August 1, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention, where he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress, September 5 to October 26, 1774, which he also attended. As tensions rose in 1774, he helped train county militias in Virginia and organized enforcement of the Continental Association boycott of British goods instituted by the Congress. The American Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Siege of Boston. The colonists were divided over breaking away from British rule and split into two factions: Patriots who rejected British rule, and Loyalists who desired to remain subject to the King. General Thomas Gage was commander of British forces in America at the beginning of the war. Upon hearing the shocking news of the onset of war, Washington was "sobered and dismayed", and he hastily departed Mount Vernon on May 4, 1775, to join the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Commander in chief (1775–1783) Congress created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775, and Samuel and John Adams nominated Washington to become its commander-in-chief. Washington was chosen over John Hancock because of his military experience and the belief that a Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was considered an incisive leader who kept his "ambition in check". He was unanimously elected commander in chief by Congress the next day. Washington appeared before Congress in uniform and gave an acceptance speech on June 16, declining a salary—though he was later reimbursed expenses. He was commissioned on June 19 and was roundly praised by Congressional delegates, including John Adams, who proclaimed that he was the man best suited to lead and unite the colonies. Congress appointed Washington "General & Commander in chief of the army of the United Colonies and of all the forces raised or to be raised by them", and instructed him to take charge of the siege of Boston on June 22, 1775. Congress chose his primary staff officers, including Major General Artemas Ward, Adjutant General Horatio Gates, Major General Charles Lee, Major General Philip Schuyler, Major General Nathanael Greene, Colonel Henry Knox, and Colonel Alexander Hamilton. Washington was impressed by Colonel Benedict Arnold and gave him responsibility for launching an invasion of Canada. He also engaged French and Indian War compatriot Brigadier General Daniel Morgan. Henry Knox impressed Adams with ordnance knowledge, and Washington promoted him to colonel and chief of artillery. At the start of the war, Washington opposed the recruiting of blacks, both free and enslaved, into the Continental Army. After his appointment, Washington banned their enlistment. The British saw an opportunity to divide the colonies, and the colonial governor of Virginia issued a proclamation, which promised freedom to slaves if they joined the British. Desperate for manpower by late 1777, Washington relented and overturned his ban. By the end of the war, around one-tenth of Washington's army were blacks. Following the British surrender, Washington sought to enforce terms of the preliminary Treaty of Paris (1783) by reclaiming slaves freed by the British and returning them to servitude. He arranged to make this request to Sir Guy Carleton on May 6, 1783. Instead, Carleton issued 3,000 freedom certificates and all former slaves in New York City were able to leave before the city was evacuated by the British in late November 1783. After the war Washington became the target of accusations made by General Lee involving his alleged questionable conduct as Commander in Chief during the war that were published by patriot-printer William Goddard. Goddard in a letter of May 30, 1785, had informed Washington of Lee's request to publish his account and assured him that he "...took the liberty to suppress such expressions as appeared to be the ebullitions of a disappointed & irritated mind ...". Washington replied, telling Goddard to print what he saw fit, and to let "... the impartial & dispassionate world," draw their own conclusions. Siege of Boston Early in 1775, in response to the growing rebellious movement, London sent British troops, commanded by General Thomas Gage, to occupy Boston. They set up fortifications about the city, making it impervious to attack. Various local militias surrounded the city and effectively trapped the British, resulting in a standoff. As Washington headed for Boston, word of his march preceded him, and he was greeted everywhere; gradually, he became a symbol of the Patriot cause. Upon arrival on July 2, 1775, two weeks after the Patriot defeat at nearby Bunker Hill, he set up his Cambridge, Massachusetts headquarters and inspected the new army there, only to find an undisciplined and badly outfitted militia. After consultation, he initiated Benjamin Franklin's suggested reforms—drilling the soldiers and imposing strict discipline, floggings, and incarceration. Washington ordered his officers to identify the skills of recruits to ensure military effectiveness, while removing incompetent officers. He petitioned Gage, his former superior, to release captured Patriot officers from prison and treat them humanely. In October 1775, King George III declared that the colonies were in open rebellion and relieved General Gage of command for incompetence, replacing him with General William Howe. The Continental Army, further diminished by expiring short-term enlistments, and by January 1776 reduced by half to 9,600 men, had to be supplemented with the militia, and was joined by Knox with heavy artillery captured from Fort Ticonderoga. When the Charles River froze over, Washington was eager to cross and storm Boston, but General Gates and others were opposed to untrained militia striking well-garrisoned fortifications. Washington reluctantly agreed to secure the Dorchester Heights, 100 feet above Boston, in an attempt to force the British out of the city. On March 9, under cover of darkness, Washington's troops brought up Knox's big guns and bombarded British ships in Boston harbor. On March 17, 9,000 British troops and Loyalists began a chaotic ten-day evacuation of Boston aboard 120 ships. Soon after, Washington entered the city with 500 men, with explicit orders not to plunder the city. He ordered vaccinations against smallpox to great effect, as he did later in Morristown, New Jersey. He refrained from exerting military authority in Boston, leaving civilian matters in the hands of local authorities. Invasion of Quebec (1775) The Invasion of Quebec (June 1775 – October 1776, French: Invasion du Québec) was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. On June 27, 1775, Congress authorized General Philip Schuyler to investigate, and, if it seemed appropriate, begin an invasion. Benedict Arnold, passed over for its command, went to Boston and convinced General George Washington to send a supporting force to Quebec City under his command. The objective of the campaign was to seize the Province of Quebec (part of modern-day Canada) from Great Britain, and persuade French-speaking Canadiens to join the revolution on the side of the Thirteen Colonies. One expedition left Fort Ticonderoga under Richard Montgomery, besieged and captured Fort St. Johns, and very nearly captured British General Guy Carleton when taking Montreal. The other expedition, under Benedict Arnold, left Cambridge, Massachusetts and traveled with great difficulty through the wilderness of Maine to Quebec City. The two forces joined there, but they were defeated at the Battle of Quebec in December 1775. Battle of Long Island Washington then proceeded to New York City, arriving on April 13, 1776, and began constructing fortifications to thwart the expected British attack. He ordered his occupying forces to treat civilians and their property with respect, to avoid the abuses which Bostonian citizens suffered at the hands of British troops during their occupation. A plot to assassinate or capture him was discovered and thwarted, resulting in the arrest of 98 people involved or complicit (56 of which were from Long Island (Kings (Brooklyn) and Queens counties), including the Loyalist Mayor of New York David Mathews. Washington's bodyguard, Thomas Hickey, was hanged for mutiny and sedition. General Howe transported his resupplied army, with the British fleet, from Halifax to New York, knowing the city was key to securing the continent. George Germain, who ran the British war effort in England, believed it could be won with one "decisive blow". The British forces, including more than a hundred ships and thousands of troops, began arriving on Staten Island on July2 to lay siege to the city. After the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, Washington informed his troops in his general orders of July9 that Congress had declared the united colonies to be "free and independent states". Howe's troop strength totaled 32,000 regulars and Hessians auxiliaries, and Washington's consisted of 23,000, mostly raw recruits and militia. In August, Howe landed 20,000 troops at Gravesend, Brooklyn, and approached Washington's fortifications, as George III proclaimed the rebellious American colonists to be traitors. Washington, opposing his generals, chose to fight, based upon inaccurate information that Howe's army had only 8,000-plus troops. In the Battle of Long Island, Howe assaulted Washington's flank and inflicted 1,500 Patriot casualties, the British suffering 400. Washington retreated, instructing General William Heath to acquisition river craft in the area. On August 30, General William Alexander held off the British and gave cover while the army crossed the East River under darkness to Manhattan Island without loss of life or materiel, although Alexander was captured. Howe, emboldened by his Long Island victory, dispatched Washington as "George Washington, Esq." in futility to negotiate peace. Washington declined, demanding to be addressed with diplomatic protocol, as general and fellow belligerent, not as a "rebel", lest his men are hanged as such if captured. The Royal Navy bombarded the unstable earthworks on lower Manhattan Island. Washington, with misgivings, heeded the advice of Generals Greene and Putnam to defend Fort Washington. They were unable to hold it, and Washington abandoned it despite General Lee's objections, as his army retired north to the White Plains. Howe's pursuit forced Washington to retreat across the Hudson River to Fort Lee to avoid encirclement. Howe landed his troops on Manhattan in November and captured Fort Washington, inflicting high casualties on the Americans. Washington was responsible for delaying the retreat, though he blamed Congress and General Greene. Loyalists in New York considered Howe a liberator and spread a rumor that Washington had set fire to the city. Patriot morale reached its lowest when Lee was captured. Now reduced to 5,400 troops, Washington's army retreated through New Jersey, and Howe broke off pursuit, delaying his advance on Philadelphia, and set up winter quarters in New York. Crossing the Delaware, Trenton, and Princeton Washington crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, where Lee's replacement John Sullivan joined him with 2,000 more troops. The future of the Continental Army was in doubt for lack of supplies, a harsh winter, expiring enlistments, and desertions. Washington was disappointed that many New Jersey residents were Loyalists or skeptical about the prospect of independence. Howe split up his British Army and posted a Hessian garrison at Trenton to hold western New Jersey and the east shore of the Delaware, but the army appeared complacent, and Washington and his generals devised a surprise attack on the Hessians at Trenton, which he codenamed "Victory or Death". The army was to cross the Delaware River to Trenton in three divisions: one led by Washington (2,400 troops), another by General James Ewing (700), and the third by Colonel John Cadwalader (1,500). The force was to then split, with Washington taking the Pennington Road and General Sullivan traveling south on the river's edge. Washington first ordered a 60-mile search for Durham boats to transport his army, and he ordered the destruction of vessels that could be used by the British. Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night, December 25, 1776, while he personally risked capture staking out the Jersey shoreline. His men followed across the ice-obstructed river in sleet and snow from McConkey's Ferry, with 40 men per vessel. The wind churned up the waters, and they were pelted with hail, but by 3:00a.m. on December 26, they made it across with no losses. Henry Knox was delayed, managing frightened horses and about 18 field guns on flat-bottomed ferries. Cadwalader and Ewing failed to cross due to the ice and heavy currents, and awaiting Washington doubted his planned attack on Trenton. Once Knox arrived, Washington proceeded to Trenton to take only his troops against the Hessians, rather than risk being spotted returning his army to Pennsylvania. The troops spotted Hessian positions a mile from Trenton, so Washington split his force into two columns, rallying his men: "Soldiers keep by your officers. For God's sake, keep by your officers." The two columns were separated at the Birmingham crossroads. General Nathanael Greene's column took the upper Ferry Road, led by Washington, and General John Sullivan's column advanced on River Road. (See map.) The Americans marched in sleet and snowfall. Many were shoeless with bloodied feet, and two died of exposure. At sunrise, Washington led them in a surprise attack on the Hessians, aided by Major General Knox and artillery. The Hessians had 22 killed (including Colonel Johann Rall), 83 wounded, and 850 captured with supplies. Washington retreated across Delaware River to Pennsylvania and returned to New Jersey on January 3, 1777, launching an attack on British regulars at Princeton, with 40 Americans killed or wounded and 273 British killed or captured. American Generals Hugh Mercer and John Cadwalader were being driven back by the British when Mercer was mortally wounded, then Washington arrived and led the men in a counterattack which advanced to within of the British line. Some British troops retreated after a brief stand, while others took refuge in Nassau Hall, which became the target of Colonel Alexander Hamilton's cannons. Washington's troops charged, the British surrendered in less than an hour, and 194 soldiers laid down their arms. Howe retreated to New York City where his army remained inactive until early the next year. Washington's depleted Continental Army took up winter headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey while disrupting British supply lines and expelling them from parts of New Jersey. Washington later said the British could have successfully counterattacked his encampment before his troops were dug in. The victories at Trenton and Princeton by Washington revived Patriot morale and changed the course of the war. The British still controlled New York, and many Patriot soldiers did not re-enlist or deserted after the harsh winter campaign. Congress instituted greater rewards for re-enlisting and punishments for desertion to effect greater troop numbers. Strategically, Washington's victories were pivotal for the Revolution and quashed the British strategy of showing overwhelming force followed by offering generous terms. In February 1777, word reached London of the American victories at Trenton and Princeton, and the British realized the Patriots were in a position to demand unconditional independence. Brandywine, Germantown, and Saratoga In July 1777, British General John Burgoyne led the Saratoga campaign south from Quebec through Lake Champlain and recaptured Fort Ticonderoga intending to divide New England, including control of the Hudson River. However, General Howe in British-occupied New York blundered, taking his army south to Philadelphia rather than up the Hudson River to join Burgoyne near Albany. Meanwhile, Washington and Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe and were shocked to learn of Burgoyne's progress in upstate New York, where the Patriots were led by General Philip Schuyler and successor Horatio Gates. Washington's army of less experienced men were defeated in the pitched battles at Philadelphia. Howe outmaneuvered Washington at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, and marched unopposed into the nation's capital at Philadelphia. A Patriot attack failed against the British at Germantown in October. Major General Thomas Conway prompted some members of Congress (referred to as the Conway Cabal) to consider removing Washington from command because of the losses incurred at Philadelphia. Washington's supporters resisted, and the matter was finally dropped after much deliberation. Once the plot was exposed, Conway wrote an apology to Washington, resigned, and returned to France. Washington was concerned with Howe's movements during the Saratoga campaign to the north, and he was also aware that Burgoyne was moving south toward Saratoga from Quebec. Washington took some risks to support Gates' army, sending reinforcements north with Generals Benedict Arnold, his most aggressive field commander, and Benjamin Lincoln. On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne tried to take Bemis Heights but was isolated from support by Howe. He was forced to retreat to Saratoga and ultimately surrendered after the Battles of Saratoga. As Washington suspected, Gates' victory emboldened his critics. Biographer John Alden maintains, "It was inevitable that the defeats of Washington's forces and the concurrent victory of the forces in upper New York should be compared." The admiration for Washington was waning, including little credit from John Adams. British commander Howe resigned in May 1778, left America forever, and was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton. Valley Forge and Monmouth Washington's army of 11,000 went into winter quarters at Valley Forge north of Philadelphia in December 1777. They suffered between 2,000 and 3,000 deaths in the extreme cold over six months, mostly from disease and lack of food, clothing, and shelter. Meanwhile, the British were comfortably quartered in Philadelphia, paying for supplies in pounds sterling, while Washington struggled with a devalued American paper currency. The woodlands were soon exhausted of game, and by February, lowered morale and increased desertions ensued. Washington made repeated petitions to the Continental Congress for provisions. He received a congressional delegation to check the Army's conditions and expressed the urgency of the situation, proclaiming: "Something must be done. Important alterations must be made." He recommended that Congress expedite supplies, and Congress agreed to strengthen and fund the army's supply lines by reorganizing the commissary department. By late February, supplies began arriving. Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben's incessant drilling soon transformed Washington's recruits into a disciplined fighting force, and the revitalized army emerged from Valley Forge early the following year. Washington promoted Von Steuben to Major General and made him chief of staff. In early 1778, the French responded to Burgoyne's defeat and entered into a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans. The Continental Congress ratified the treaty in May, which amounted to a French declaration of war against Britain. The British evacuated Philadelphia for New York that June and Washington summoned a war council of American and French Generals. He chose a partial attack on the retreating British at the Battle of Monmouth; the British were commanded by Howe's successor General Henry Clinton. Generals Charles Lee and Lafayette moved with 4,000 men, without Washington's knowledge, and bungled their first attack on June 28. Washington relieved Lee and achieved a draw after an expansive battle. At nightfall, the British continued their retreat to New York, and Washington moved his army outside the city. Monmouth was Washington's last battle in the North; he valued the safety of his army more than towns with little value to the British. West Point espionage Washington became "America's first spymaster" by designing an espionage system against the British. In 1778, Major Benjamin Tallmadge formed the Culper Ring at Washington's direction to covertly collect information about the British in New York. Washington had disregarded incidents of disloyalty by Benedict Arnold, who had distinguished himself in many battles. During mid-1780, Arnold began supplying British spymaster John André with sensitive information intended to compromise Washington and capture West Point, a key American defensive position on the Hudson River. Historians have noted as possible reasons for Arnold's treachery his anger at losing promotions to junior officers, or repeated slights from Congress. He was also deeply in debt, profiteering from the war, and disappointed by Washington's lack of support during his eventual court-martial. Arnold repeatedly asked for command of West Point, and Washington finally agreed in August. Arnold met André on September 21, giving him plans to take over the garrison. Militia forces captured André and discovered the plans, but Arnold escaped to New York. Washington recalled the commanders positioned under Arnold at key points around the fort to prevent any complicity, but he did not suspect Arnold's wife Peggy. Washington assumed personal command at West Point and reorganized its defenses. André's trial for espionage ended in a death sentence, and Washington offered to return him to the British in exchange for Arnold, but Clinton refused. André was hanged on October 2, 1780, despite his last request being to face a firing squad, to deter other spies. Southern theater and Yorktown In late 1778, General Clinton shipped 3,000 troops from New York to Georgia and launched a Southern invasion against Savannah, reinforced by 2,000 British and Loyalist troops. They repelled an attack by Patriots and French naval forces, which bolstered the British war effort. In mid-1779, Washington attacked Iroquois warriors of the Six Nations to force Britain's Indian allies out of New York, from which they had assaulted New England towns. In response, Indian warriors joined with Loyalist rangers led by Walter Butler and killed more than 200 frontiersmen in June, laying waste to the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. Washington retaliated by ordering General John Sullivan to lead an expedition to effect "the total destruction and devastation" of Iroquois villages and take their women and children hostage. Those who managed to escape fled to Canada. Washington's troops went into quarters at Morristown, New Jersey during the winter of 1779–1780 and suffered their worst winter of the war, with temperatures well below freezing. New York Harbor was frozen over, snow and ice covered the ground for weeks, and the troops again lacked provisions. Clinton assembled 12,500 troops and attacked Charlestown, South Carolina in January 1780, defeating General Benjamin Lincoln who had only 5,100 Continental troops. The British went on to occupy the South Carolina Piedmont in June, with no Patriot resistance. Clinton returned to New York and left 8,000 troops commanded by General Charles Cornwallis. Congress replaced Lincoln with Horatio Gates; he failed in South Carolina and was replaced by Washington's choice of Nathaniel Greene, but the British already had the South in their grasp. Washington was reinvigorated, however, when Lafayette returned from France with more ships, men, and supplies, and 5,000 veteran French troops led by Marshal Rochambeau arrived at Newport, Rhode Island in July 1780. French naval forces then landed, led by Admiral Grasse, and Washington encouraged Rochambeau to move his fleet south to launch a joint land and naval attack on Arnold's troops. Washington's army went into winter quarters at New Windsor, New York in December 1780, and Washington urged Congress and state officials to expedite provisions in hopes that the army would not "continue to struggle under the same difficulties they have hitherto endured". On March 1, 1781, Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation, but the government that took effect on March2 did not have the power to levy taxes, and it loosely held the states together. General Clinton sent Benedict Arnold, now a British Brigadier General with 1,700 troops, to Virginia to capture Portsmouth and conduct raids on Patriot forces from there; Washington responded by sending Lafayette south to counter Arnold's efforts. Washington initially hoped to bring the fight to New York, drawing off British forces from Virginia and ending the war there, but Rochambeau advised Grasse that Cornwallis in Virginia was the better target. Grasse's fleet arrived off the Virginia coast, and Washington saw the advantage. He made a feint towards Clinton in New York, then headed south to Virginia. The Siege of Yorktown was a decisive Allied victory by the combined forces of the Continental Army commanded by General Washington, the French Army commanded by the General Comte de Rochambeau, and the French Navy commanded by Admiral de Grasse, in the defeat of Cornwallis' British forces. On August 19, the march to Yorktown led by Washington and Rochambeau began, which is known now as the "celebrated march". Washington was in command of an army of 7,800 Frenchmen, 3,100 militia, and 8,000 Continentals. Not well experienced in siege warfare, Washington often referred to the judgment of General Rochambeau and used his advice about how to proceed; however, Rochambeau never challenged Washington's authority as the battle's commanding officer. By late September, Patriot-French forces surrounded Yorktown, trapped the British army, and prevented British reinforcements from Clinton in the North, while the French navy emerged victorious at the Battle of the Chesapeake. The final American offensive was begun with a shot fired by Washington. The siege ended with a British surrender on October 19, 1781; over 7,000 British soldiers were made prisoners of war, in the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War. Washington negotiated the terms of surrender for two days, and the official signing ceremony took place on October 19; Cornwallis claimed illness and was absent, sending General Charles O'Hara as his proxy. As a gesture of goodwill, Washington held a dinner for the American, French, and British generals, all of whom fraternized on friendly terms and identified with one another as members of the same professional military caste. After the surrender at Yorktown, a situation developed that threatened relations between the newly independent America and Britain. Following a series of retributive executions between Patriots and Loyalists, Washington, on May 18, 1782, wrote in a letter to General Moses Hazen that a British captain would be executed in retaliation for the execution of Joshua Huddy, a popular Patriot leader, who was hanged at the direction of the Loyalist Richard Lippincott. Washington wanted Lippincott himself to be executed but was rebuffed. Subsequently, Charles Asgill was chosen instead, by a drawing of lots from a hat. This was a violation of the 14th article of the Yorktown Articles of Capitulation, which protected prisoners of war from acts of retaliation. Later, Washington's feelings on matters changed and in a letter of November 13, 1782, to Asgill, he acknowledged Asgill's letter and situation, expressing his desire not to see any harm come to him. After much consideration between the Continental Congress, Alexander Hamilton, Washington, and appeals from the French Crown, Asgill was finally released, where Washington issued Asgill a pass that allowed his passage to New York. Demobilization and resignation When peace negotiations began in April 1782, both the British and French began gradually evacuating their forces. The American treasury was empty, unpaid, and mutinous soldiers forced the adjournment of Congress, and Washington dispelled unrest by suppressing the Newburgh Conspiracy in March 1783; Congress promised officers a five-year bonus. Washington submitted an account of $450,000 in expenses which he had advanced to the army. The account was settled, though it was allegedly vague about large sums and included expenses his wife had incurred through visits to his headquarters. The following month, a Congressional committee led by Alexander Hamilton began adapting the army for peacetime. In August 1783, Washington gave the Army's perspective to the committee in his Sentiments on a Peace Establishment. He advised Congress to keep a standing army, create a "national militia" of separate state units, and establish a navy and a national military academy. The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, and Great Britain officially recognized the independence of the United States. Washington then disbanded his army, giving a farewell address to his soldiers on November 2. During this time, Washington oversaw the evacuation of British forces in New York and was greeted by parades and celebrations. There he announced that Colonel Henry Knox had been promoted commander-in-chief. Washington and Governor George Clinton took formal possession of the city on November 25. In early December 1783, Washington bade farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern and resigned as commander-in-chief soon thereafter, refuting Loyalist predictions that he would not relinquish his military command. In a final appearance in uniform, he gave a statement to the Congress: "I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life, by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping." Washington's resignation was acclaimed at home and abroad and showed a skeptical world that the new republic would not degenerate into chaos. The same month, Washington was appointed president-general of the Society of the Cincinnati, a newly established hereditary fraternity of Revolutionary War officers. He served in this capacity for the remainder of his life. Early republic (1783–1789) Return to Mount Vernon Washington was longing to return home after spending just ten days at Mount Vernon out of years of war. He arrived on Christmas Eve, delighted to be "free of the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life". He was a celebrity and was fêted during a visit to his mother at Fredericksburg in February 1784, and he received a constant stream of visitors wishing to pay their respects to him at Mount Vernon. Washington reactivated his interests in the Great Dismal Swamp and Potomac canal projects begun before the war, though neither paid him any dividends, and he undertook a 34-day, 680-mile (1090 km) trip to check on his land holdings in the Ohio Country. He oversaw the completion of the remodeling work at Mount Vernon, which transformed his residence into the mansion that survives to this day—although his financial situation was not strong. Creditors paid him in depreciated wartime currency, and he owed significant amounts in taxes and wages. Mount Vernon had made no profit during his absence, and he saw persistently poor crop yields due to pestilence and poor weather. His estate recorded its eleventh year running at a deficit in 1787, and there was little prospect of improvement. Washington undertook a new landscaping plan and succeeded in cultivating a range of fast-growing trees and shrubs that were native to North America. He also began breeding mules after having been gifted a Spanish jack by King Charles III of Spain in 1784. There were few mules in the United States at that time, and he believed that properly bred mules would revolutionize agriculture and transportation. Constitutional Convention of 1787 Before returning to private life in June 1783, Washington called for a strong union. Though he was concerned that he might be criticized for meddling in civil matters, he sent a circular letter to all the states, maintaining that the Articles of Confederation was no more than "a rope of sand" linking the states. He believed the nation was on the verge of "anarchy and confusion", was vulnerable to foreign intervention, and that a national constitution would unify the states under a strong central government. When Shays' Rebellion erupted in Massachusetts on August 29, 1786, over taxation, Washington was further convinced that a national constitution was needed. Some nationalists feared that the new republic had descended into lawlessness, and they met together on September 11, 1786, at Annapolis to ask Congress to revise the Articles of Confederation. One of their biggest efforts, however, was getting Washington to attend. Congress agreed to a Constitutional Convention to be held in Philadelphia in Spring 1787, and each state was to send delegates. On December 4, 1786, Washington was chosen to lead the Virginia delegation, but he declined on December 21. He had concerns about the legality of the convention and consulted James Madison, Henry Knox, and others. They persuaded him to attend it, however, as his presence might induce reluctant states to send delegates and smooth the way for the ratification process. On March 28, Washington told Governor Edmund Randolph that he would attend the convention but made it clear that he was urged to attend. Washington arrived in Philadelphia on May 9, 1787, though a quorum was not attained until Friday, May 25. Benjamin Franklin nominated Washington to preside over the convention, and he was unanimously elected to serve as president general. The convention's state-mandated purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation with "all such alterations and further provisions" required to improve them, and the new government would be established when the resulting document was "duly confirmed by the several states". Governor Edmund Randolph of Virginia introduced Madison's Virginia Plan on May 27, the third day of the convention. It called for an entirely new constitution and a sovereign national government, which Washington highly recommended. Washington wrote Alexander Hamilton on July 10: "I almost despair of seeing a favorable issue to the proceedings of our convention and do therefore repent having had any agency in the business." Nevertheless, he lent his prestige to the goodwill and work of the other delegates. He unsuccessfully lobbied many to support ratification of the Constitution, such as anti-federalist Patrick Henry; Washington told him "the adoption of it under the present circumstances of the Union is in my opinion desirable" and declared the alternative would be anarchy. Washington and Madison then spent four days at Mount Vernon evaluating the new government's transition. Chancellor of William & Mary In 1788, the Board of Visitors of the College of William & Mary decided to re-establish the position of Chancellor, and elected Washington to the office on January 18. The College Rector Samuel Griffin wrote to Washington inviting him to the post, and in a letter dated April 30, 1788, Washington accepted the position of the 14th Chancellor of the College of William & Mary. He continued to serve in the post through his presidency until his death on December 14, 1799. First presidential election The delegates to the Convention anticipated a Washington presidency and left it to him to define the office once elected. The state electors under the Constitution voted for the president on February 4, 1789, and Washington suspected that most republicans had not voted for him. The mandated March4 date passed without a Congressional quorum to count the votes, but a quorum was reached on April 5. The votes were tallied the next day, and Congressional Secretary Charles Thomson was sent to Mount Vernon to tell Washington he had been elected president. Washington won the majority of every state's electoral votes; John Adams received the next highest number of votes and therefore became vice president. Washington had "anxious and painful sensations" about leaving the "domestic felicity" of Mount Vernon, but departed for New York City on April 16 to be inaugurated. Presidency (1789–1797) Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, taking the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City. His coach was led by militia and a marching band and followed by statesmen and foreign dignitaries in an inaugural parade, with a crowd of 10,000. Chancellor Robert R. Livingston administered the oath, using a Bible provided by the Masons, after which the militia fired a 13-gun salute. Washington read a speech in the Senate Chamber, asking "that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations—and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, consecrate the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States". Though he wished to serve without a salary, Congress insisted adamantly that he accept it, later providing Washington $25,000 per year to defray costs of the presidency. Washington wrote to James Madison: "As the first of everything in our situation will serve to establish a precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part that these precedents be fixed on true principles." To that end, he preferred the title "Mr. President" over more majestic names proposed by the Senate, including "His Excellency" and "His Highness the President". His executive precedents included the inaugural address, messages to Congress, and the cabinet form of the executive branch. Washington had planned to resign after his first term, but the political strife in the nation convinced him he should remain in office. He was an able administrator and a judge of talent and character, and he regularly talked with department heads to get their advice. He tolerated opposing views, despite fears that a democratic system would lead to political violence, and he conducted a smooth transition of power to his successor. He remained non-partisan throughout his presidency and opposed the divisiveness of political parties, but he favored a strong central government, was sympathetic to a Federalist form of government, and leery of the Republican opposition. Washington dealt with major problems. The old Confederation lacked the powers to handle its workload and had weak leadership, no executive, a small bureaucracy of clerks, a large debt, worthless paper money, and no power to establish taxes. He had the task of assembling an executive department and relied on Tobias Lear for advice selecting its officers. Great Britain refused to relinquish its forts in the American West, and Barbary pirates preyed on American merchant ships in the Mediterranean at a time when the United States did not even have a navy. Cabinet and executive departments Congress created executive departments in 1789, including the State Department in July, the Department of War in August, and the Treasury Department in September. Washington appointed fellow Virginian Edmund Randolph as Attorney General, Samuel Osgood as Postmaster General, Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, and Henry Knox as Secretary of War. Finally, he appointed Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. Washington's cabinet became a consulting and advisory body, not mandated by the Constitution. Washington's cabinet members formed rival parties with sharply opposing views, most fiercely illustrated between Hamilton and Jefferson. Washington restricted cabinet discussions to topics of his choosing, without participating in the debate. He occasionally requested cabinet opinions in writing and expected department heads to agreeably carry out his decisions. Domestic issues Washington was apolitical and opposed the formation of parties, suspecting that conflict would undermine republicanism. He exercised great restraint in using his veto power, writing that "I give my Signature to many Bills with which my Judgment is at variance…." His closest advisors formed two factions, portending the First Party System. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton formed the Federalist Party to promote national credit and a financially powerful nation. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson opposed Hamilton's agenda and founded the Jeffersonian Republicans. Washington favored Hamilton's agenda, however, and it ultimately went into effect—resulting in bitter controversy. Washington proclaimed November 26 as a day of Thanksgiving to encourage national unity. "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor." He spent that day fasting and visiting debtors in prison to provide them with food and beer. African Americans In response to two antislavery petitions that were presented to Congress in 1790, slaveholders in Georgia and South Carolina objected and threatened to "blow the trumpet of civil war". Washington and Congress responded with a series of racist measures: naturalized citizenship was denied to black immigrants; blacks were barred from serving in state militias; the Southwest Territory that would soon become the state of Tennessee was permitted to maintain slavery; and two more slave states were admitted (Kentucky in 1792, and Tennessee in 1796). On February 12, 1793, Washington signed into law the Fugitive Slave Act, which overrode state laws and courts, allowing agents to cross state lines to capture and return escaped slaves. Many free blacks in the north decried the law believing it would allow bounty hunting and the kidnappings of blacks. The Fugitive Slave Act gave effect to the Constitution's Fugitive Slave Clause, and the Act was passed overwhelmingly in Congress (e.g. the vote was 48 to 7 in the House). On the anti-slavery side of the ledger, in 1789 Washington signed a reenactment of the Northwest Ordinance which had freed all slaves brought after 1787 into a vast expanse of federal territory north of the Ohio River, except for slaves escaping from slave states. That 1787 law lapsed when the new U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789. The Slave Trade Act of 1794, which sharply limited American involvement in the Atlantic slave trade, was also signed by Washington. And, Congress acted on February 18, 1791, to admit the free state of Vermont into the Union as the 14th state as of March 4, 1791. National Bank Washington's first term was largely devoted to economic concerns, in which Hamilton had devised various plans to address matters. The establishment of public credit became a primary challenge for the federal government. Hamilton submitted a report to a deadlocked Congress, and he, Madison, and Jefferson reached the Compromise of 1790 in which Jefferson agreed to Hamilton's debt proposals in exchange for moving the nation's capital temporarily to Philadelphia and then south near Georgetown on the Potomac River. The terms were legislated in the Funding Act of 1790 and the Residence Act, both of which Washington signed into law. Congress authorized the assumption and payment of the nation's debts, with funding provided by customs duties and excise taxes. Hamilton created controversy among Cabinet members by advocating establishing the First Bank of the United States. Madison and Jefferson objected, but the bank easily passed Congress. Jefferson and Randolph insisted that the new bank was beyond the authority granted by the constitution, as Hamilton believed. Washington sided with Hamilton and signed the legislation on February 25, and the rift became openly hostile between Hamilton and Jefferson. The nation's first financial crisis occurred in March 1792. Hamilton's Federalists exploited large loans to gain control of U.S. debt securities, causing a run on the national bank; the markets returned to normal by mid-April. Jefferson believed Hamilton was part of the scheme, despite Hamilton's efforts to ameliorate, and Washington again found himself in the middle of a feud. Jefferson–Hamilton feud Jefferson and Hamilton adopted diametrically opposed political principles. Hamilton believed in a strong national government requiring a national bank and foreign loans to function, while Jefferson believed the states and the farm element should primarily direct the government; he also resented the idea of banks and foreign loans. To Washington's dismay, the two men persistently entered into disputes and infighting. Hamilton demanded that Jefferson resign if he could not support Washington, and Jefferson told Washington that Hamilton's fiscal system would lead to the overthrow of the Republic. Washington urged them to call a truce for the nation's sake, but they ignored him. Washington reversed his decision to retire after his first term to minimize party strife, but the feud continued after his re-election. Jefferson's political actions, his support of Freneau's National Gazette, and his attempt to undermine Hamilton nearly led Washington to dismiss him from the cabinet; Jefferson ultimately resigned his position in December 1793, and Washington forsook him from that time on. The feud led to the well-defined Federalist and Republican parties, and party affiliation became necessary for election to Congress by 1794. Washington remained aloof from congressional attacks on Hamilton, but he did not publicly protect him, either. The Hamilton–Reynolds sex scandal opened Hamilton to disgrace, but Washington continued to hold him in "very high esteem" as the dominant force in establishing federal law and government. Whiskey Rebellion In March 1791, at Hamilton's urging, with support from Madison, Congress imposed an excise tax on distilled spirits to help curtail the national debt, which took effect in July. Grain farmers strongly protested in Pennsylvania's frontier districts; they argued that they were unrepresented and were shouldering too much of the debt, comparing their situation to excessive British taxation before the Revolutionary War. On August 2, Washington assembled his cabinet to discuss how to deal with the situation. Unlike Washington, who had reservations about using force, Hamilton had long waited for such a situation and was eager to suppress the rebellion by using federal authority and force. Not wanting to involve the federal government if possible, Washington called on Pennsylvania state officials to take the initiative, but they declined to take military action. On August 7, Washington issued his first proclamation for calling up state militias. After appealing for peace, he reminded the protestors that, unlike the rule of the British crown, the Federal law was issued by state-elected representatives. Threats and violence against tax collectors, however, escalated into defiance against federal authority in 1794 and gave rise to the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington issued a final proclamation on September 25, threatening the use of military force to no avail. The federal army was not up to the task, so Washington invoked the Militia Act of 1792 to summon state militias. Governors sent troops, initially commanded by Washington, who gave the command to Light-Horse Harry Lee to lead them into the rebellious districts. They took 150 prisoners, and the remaining rebels dispersed without further fighting. Two of the prisoners were condemned to death, but Washington exercised his Constitutional authority for the first time and pardoned them. Washington's forceful action demonstrated that the new government could protect itself and its tax collectors. This represented the first use of federal military force against the states and citizens, and remains the only time an incumbent president has commanded troops in the field. Washington justified his action against "certain self-created societies", which he regarded as "subversive organizations" that threatened the national union. He did not dispute their right to protest, but he insisted that their dissent must not violate federal law. Congress agreed and extended their congratulations to him; only Madison and Jefferson expressed indifference. Foreign affairs In April 1792, the French Revolutionary Wars began between Great Britain and France, and Washington declared America's neutrality. The revolutionary government of France sent diplomat Citizen Genêt to America, and he was welcomed with great enthusiasm. He created a network of new Democratic-Republican Societies promoting France's interests, but Washington denounced them and demanded that the French recall Genêt. The National Assembly of France granted Washington honorary French citizenship on August 26, 1792, during the early stages of the French Revolution. Hamilton formulated the Jay Treaty to normalize trade relations with Great Britain while removing them from western forts, and also to resolve financial debts remaining from the Revolution. Chief Justice John Jay acted as Washington's negotiator and signed the treaty on November 19, 1794; critical Jeffersonians, however, supported France. Washington deliberated, then supported the treaty because it avoided war with Britain, but was disappointed that its provisions favored Britain. He mobilized public opinion and secured ratification in the Senate but faced frequent public criticism. The British agreed to abandon their forts around the Great Lakes, and the United States modified the boundary with Canada. The government liquidated numerous pre-Revolutionary debts, and the British opened the British West Indies to American trade. The treaty secured peace with Britain and a decade of prosperous trade. Jefferson claimed that it angered France and "invited rather than avoided" war. Relations with France deteriorated afterward, leaving succeeding president John Adams with prospective war. James Monroe was the American Minister to France, but Washington recalled him for his opposition to the Treaty. The French refused to accept his replacement Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and the French Directory declared the authority to seize American ships two days before Washington's term ended. Native American affairs Ron Chernow describes Washington as always trying to be even-handed in dealing with the Natives. He states that Washington hoped they would abandon their itinerant hunting life and adapt to fixed agricultural communities in the manner of white settlers. He also maintains that Washington never advocated outright confiscation of tribal land or the forcible removal of tribes and that he berated American settlers who abused natives, admitting that he held out no hope for pacific relations with the natives as long as "frontier settlers entertain the opinion that there is not the same crime (or indeed no crime at all) in killing a native as in killing a white man." By contrast, Colin G. Calloway writes that "Washington had a lifelong obsession with getting Indian land, either for himself or for his nation, and initiated policies and campaigns that had devastating effects in Indian country." "The growth of the nation," Galloway has stated, "demanded the dispossession of Indian people. Washington hoped the process could be bloodless and that Indian people would give up their lands for a "fair" price and move away. But if Indians refused and resisted, as they often did, he felt he had no choice but to "extirpate" them and that the expeditions he sent to destroy Indian towns were therefore entirely justified." During the Fall of 1789, Washington had to contend with the British refusing to evacuate their forts in the Northwest frontier and their concerted efforts to incite hostile Indian tribes to attack American settlers. The Northwest tribes under Miami chief Little Turtle allied with the British Army to resist American expansion, and killed 1,500 settlers between 1783 and 1790. As documented by Harless (2018), Washington declared that "The Government of the United States are determined that their Administration of Indian Affairs shall be directed entirely by the great principles of Justice and humanity", and provided that treaties should negotiate their land interests. The administration regarded powerful tribes as foreign nations, and Washington even smoked a peace pipe and drank wine with them at the Philadelphia presidential house. He made numerous attempts to conciliate them; he equated killing indigenous peoples with killing whites and sought to integrate them into European-American culture. Secretary of War Henry Knox also attempted to encourage agriculture among the tribes. In the Southwest, negotiations failed between federal commissioners and raiding Indian tribes seeking retribution. Washington invited Creek Chief Alexander McGillivray and 24 leading chiefs to New York to negotiate a treaty and treated them like foreign dignitaries. Knox and McGillivray concluded the Treaty of New York on August 7, 1790, in Federal Hall, which provided the tribes with agricultural supplies and McGillivray with a rank of Brigadier General Army and a salary of $1,500. In 1790, Washington sent Brigadier General Josiah Harmar to pacify the Northwest tribes, but Little Turtle routed him twice and forced him to withdraw. The Western Confederacy of tribes used guerrilla tactics and were an effective force against the sparsely manned American Army. Washington sent Major General Arthur St. Clair from Fort Washington on an expedition to restore peace in the territory in 1791. On November 4, St. Clair's forces were ambushed and soundly defeated by tribal forces with few survivors, despite Washington's warning of surprise attacks. Washington was outraged over what he viewed to be excessive Native American brutality and execution of captives, including women and children. St. Clair resigned his commission, and Washington replaced him with the Revolutionary War hero General Anthony Wayne. From 1792 to 1793, Wayne instructed his troops on Native American warfare tactics and instilled discipline which was lacking under St. Clair. In August 1794, Washington sent Wayne into tribal territory with authority to drive them out by burning their villages and crops in the Maumee Valley. On August 24, the American army under Wayne's leadership defeated the western confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, and the Treaty of Greenville in August 1795 opened up two-thirds of the Ohio Country for American settlement. Second term Originally, Washington had planned to retire after his first term, while many Americans could not imagine anyone else taking his place. After nearly four years as president, and dealing with the infighting in his own cabinet and with partisan critics, Washington showed little enthusiasm in running for a second term, while Martha also wanted him not to run. James Madison urged him not to retire, that his absence would only allow the dangerous political rift in his cabinet and the House to worsen. Jefferson also pleaded with him not to retire and agreed to drop his attacks on Hamilton, or he would also retire if Washington did. Hamilton maintained that Washington's absence would be "deplored as the greatest evil" to the country at this time. Washington's close nephew George Augustine Washington, his manager at Mount Vernon, was critically ill and had to be replaced, further increasing Washington's desire to retire and return to Mount Vernon. When the election of 1792 neared, Washington did not publicly announce his presidential candidacy. Still, he silently consented to run to prevent a further political-personal rift in his cabinet. The Electoral College unanimously elected him president on February 13, 1793, and John Adams as vice president by a vote of 77 to 50. Washington, with nominal fanfare, arrived alone at his inauguration in his carriage. Sworn into office by Associate Justice William Cushing on March 4, 1793, in the Senate Chamber of Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Washington gave a brief address and then immediately retired to his Philadelphia presidential house, weary of office and in poor health. On April 22, 1793, during the French Revolution, Washington issued his famous Neutrality Proclamation and was resolved to pursue "a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent Powers" while he warned Americans not to intervene in the international conflict. Although Washington recognized France's revolutionary government, he would eventually ask French minister to America Citizen Genêt be recalled over the Citizen Genêt Affair. Genêt was a diplomatic troublemaker who was openly hostile toward Washington's neutrality policy. He procured four American ships as privateers to strike at Spanish forces (British allies) in Florida while organizing militias to strike at other British possessions. However, his efforts failed to draw America into the foreign campaigns during Washington's presidency. On July 31, 1793, Jefferson submitted his resignation from Washington's cabinet. Washington signed the Naval Act of 1794 and commissioned the first six federal frigates to combat Barbary pirates. In January 1795, Hamilton, who desired more income for his family, resigned office and was replaced by Washington appointment Oliver Wolcott, Jr. Washington and Hamilton remained friends. However, Washington's relationship with his Secretary of War Henry Knox deteriorated. Knox resigned office on the rumor he profited from construction contracts on U.S. Frigates. In the final months of his presidency, Washington was assailed by his political foes and a partisan press who accused him of being ambitious and greedy, while he argued that he had taken no salary during the war and had risked his life in battle. He regarded the press as a disuniting, "diabolical" force of falsehoods, sentiments that he expressed in his Farewell Address. At the end of his second term, Washington retired for personal and political reasons, dismayed with personal attacks, and to ensure that a truly contested presidential election could be held. He did not feel bound to a two-term limit, but his retirement set a significant precedent. Washington is often credited with setting the principle of a two-term presidency, but it was Thomas Jefferson who first refused to run for a third term on political grounds. Farewell Address In 1796, Washington declined to run for a third term of office, believing his death in office would create an image of a lifetime appointment. The precedent of a two-term limit was created by his retirement from office. In May 1792, in anticipation of his retirement, Washington instructed James Madison to prepare a "valedictory address", an initial draft of which was entitled the "Farewell Address". In May 1796, Washington sent the manuscript to his Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton who did an extensive rewrite, while Washington provided final edits. On September 19, 1796, David Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser published the final version of the address. Washington stressed that national identity was paramount, while a united America would safeguard freedom and prosperity. He warned the nation of three eminent dangers: regionalism, partisanship, and foreign entanglements, and said the "name of AMERICAN, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations." Washington called for men to move beyond partisanship for the common good, stressing that the United States must concentrate on its own interests. He warned against foreign alliances and their influence in domestic affairs, and bitter partisanship and the dangers of political parties. He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but advised against involvement in European wars. He stressed the importance of religion, asserting that "religion and morality are indispensable supports" in a republic. Washington's address favored Hamilton's Federalist ideology and economic policies. Washington closed the address by reflecting on his legacy: After initial publication, many Republicans, including Madison, criticized the Address and believed it was an anti-French campaign document. Madison believed Washington was strongly pro-British. Madison also was suspicious of who authored the Address. In 1839, Washington biographer Jared Sparks maintained that Washington's "...Farewell Address was printed and published with the laws, by order of the legislatures, as an evidence of the value they attached to its political precepts, and of their affection for its author." In 1972, Washington scholar James Flexner referred to the Farewell Address as receiving as much acclaim as Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. In 2010, historian Ron Chernow reported the Farewell Address proved to be one of the most influential statements on Republicanism. Post-presidency (1797–1799) Retirement Washington retired to Mount Vernon in March 1797 and devoted time to his plantations and other business interests, including his distillery. His plantation operations were only minimally profitable, and his lands in the west (Piedmont) were under Indian attacks and yielded little income, with the squatters there refusing to pay rent. He attempted to sell these but without success. He became an even more committed Federalist. He vocally supported the Alien and Sedition Acts and convinced Federalist John Marshall to run for Congress to weaken the Jeffersonian hold on Virginia. Washington grew restless in retirement, prompted by tensions with France, and he wrote to Secretary of War James McHenry offering to organize President Adams' army. In a continuation of the French Revolutionary Wars, French privateers began seizing American ships in 1798, and relations deteriorated with France and led to the "Quasi-War". Without consulting Washington, Adams nominated him for a lieutenant general commission on July 4, 1798, and the position of commander-in-chief of the armies. Washington chose to accept, replacing James Wilkinson, and he served as the commanding general from July 13, 1798, until his death 17 months later. He participated in planning for a provisional army, but he avoided involvement in details. In advising McHenry of potential officers for the army, he appeared to make a complete break with Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans: "you could as soon scrub the blackamoor white, as to change the principles of a profest Democrat; and that he will leave nothing unattempted to overturn the government of this country." Washington delegated the active leadership of the army to Hamilton, a major general. No army invaded the United States during this period, and Washington did not assume a field command. Washington was known to be rich because of the well-known "glorified façade of wealth and grandeur" at Mount Vernon, but nearly all his wealth was in the form of land and slaves rather than ready cash. To supplement his income, he erected a distillery for substantial whiskey production. Historians estimate that the estate was worth about $1million in 1799 dollars, . He bought land parcels to spur development around the new Federal City named in his honor, and he sold individual lots to middle-income investors rather than multiple lots to large investors, believing they would more likely commit to making improvements. Final days and death On December 12, 1799, Washington inspected his farms on horseback. He returned home late and had guests over for dinner. He had a sore throat the next day but was well enough to mark trees for cutting. That evening, he complained of chest congestion but was still cheerful. On Saturday, he awoke to an inflamed throat and difficulty breathing, so he ordered estate overseer George Rawlins to remove nearly a pint of his blood; bloodletting was a common practice of the time. His family summoned Doctors James Craik, Gustavus Richard Brown, and Elisha C. Dick. (Dr. William Thornton arrived some hours after Washington died.) Dr. Brown thought Washington had quinsy; Dr. Dick thought the condition was a more serious "violent inflammation of the throat". They continued the process of bloodletting to approximately five pints, and Washington's condition deteriorated further. Dr. Dick proposed a tracheotomy, but the others were not familiar with that procedure and therefore disapproved. Washington instructed Brown and Dick to leave the room, while he assured Craik, "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go." Washington's death came more swiftly than expected. On his deathbed, he instructed his private secretary Tobias Lear to wait three days before his burial, out of fear of being entombed alive. According to Lear, he died peacefully between 10 and 11 p.m. on December 14, 1799, with Martha seated at the foot of his bed. His last words were "'Tis well", from his conversation with Lear about his burial. He was 67. Congress immediately adjourned for the day upon news of Washington's death, and the Speaker's chair was shrouded in black the next morning. The funeral was held four days after his death on December 18, 1799, at Mount Vernon, where his body was interred. Cavalry and foot soldiers led the procession, and six colonels served as the pallbearers. The Mount Vernon funeral service was restricted mostly to family and friends. Reverend Thomas Davis read the funeral service by the vault with a brief address, followed by a ceremony performed by various members of Washington's Masonic lodge in Alexandria, Virginia. Congress chose Light-Horse Harry Lee to deliver the eulogy. Word of his death traveled slowly; church bells rang in the cities, and many places of business closed. People worldwide admired Washington and were saddened by his death, and memorial processions were held in major cities of the United States. Martha wore a black mourning cape for one year, and she burned their correspondence to protect their privacy. Only five letters between the couple are known to have survived: two from Martha to George and three from him to her. The diagnosis of Washington's illness and the immediate cause of his death have been subjects of debate since the day he died. The published account of Drs. Craik and Brown stated that his symptoms had been consistent with cynanche trachealis (tracheal inflammation), a term of that period used to describe severe inflammation of the upper windpipe, including quinsy. Accusations have persisted since Washington's death concerning medical malpractice, with some believing he had been bled to death. Various modern medical authors have speculated that he died from a severe case of epiglottitis complicated by the given treatments, most notably the massive blood loss which almost certainly caused hypovolemic shock. Burial, net worth, and aftermath Washington was buried in the old Washington family vault at Mount Vernon, situated on a grassy slope overspread with willow, juniper, cypress, and chestnut trees. It contained the remains of his brother Lawrence and other family members, but the decrepit brick vault needed repair, prompting Washington to leave instructions in his will for the construction of a new vault. Washington's estate at the time of his death was worth an estimated $780,000 in 1799, approximately equivalent to $17.82million in 2021. Washington's peak net worth was $587.0 million, including his 300 slaves. Washington held title to more than 65,000 acres of land in 37 different locations. In 1830, a disgruntled ex-employee of the estate attempted to steal what he thought was Washington's skull, prompting the construction of a more secure vault. The next year, the new vault was constructed at Mount Vernon to receive the remains of George and Martha and other relatives. In 1832, a joint Congressional committee debated moving his body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the Capitol. The crypt had been built by architect Charles Bulfinch in the 1820s during the reconstruction of the burned-out capital, after the Burning of Washington by the British during the War of 1812. Southern opposition was intense, antagonized by an ever-growing rift between North and South; many were concerned that Washington's remains could end up on "a shore foreign to his native soil" if the country became divided, and Washington's remains stayed in Mount Vernon. On October 7, 1837, Washington's remains were placed, still in the original lead coffin, within a marble sarcophagus designed by William Strickland and constructed by John Struthers earlier that year. The sarcophagus was sealed and encased with planks, and an outer vault was constructed around it. The outer vault has the sarcophagi of both George and Martha Washington; the inner vault has the remains of other Washington family members and relatives. Personal life Washington was somewhat reserved in personality, but he generally had a strong presence among others. He made speeches and announcements when required, but he was not a noted orator or debater. He was taller than most of his contemporaries; accounts of his height vary from to tall, he weighed between as an adult, and he was known for his great strength. He had grey-blue eyes and reddish-brown hair which he wore powdered in the fashion of the day. He had a rugged and dominating presence, which garnered respect from his peers. He bought William Lee on May 27, 1768, and he was Washington's valet for 20 years. He was the only slave freed immediately in Washington's will. Washington frequently suffered from severe tooth decay and ultimately lost all his teeth but one. He had several sets of false teeth, which he wore during his presidency, made using a variety of materials including both animal and human teeth, but wood was not used despite common lore. These dental problems left him in constant pain, for which he took laudanum. As a public figure, he relied upon the strict confidence of his dentist. Washington was a talented equestrian early in life. He collected thoroughbreds at Mount Vernon, and his two favorite horses were Blueskin and Nelson. Fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson said Washington was "the best horseman of his age and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horseback"; he also hunted foxes, deer, ducks, and other game. He was an excellent dancer and attended the theater frequently. He drank in moderation but was morally opposed to excessive drinking, smoking tobacco, gambling, and profanity. Religion and Freemasonry Washington was descended from Anglican minister Lawrence Washington (his great-great-grandfather), whose troubles with the Church of England may have prompted his heirs to emigrate to America. Washington was baptized as an infant in April 1732 and became a devoted member of the Church of England (the Anglican Church). He served more than 20 years as a vestryman and churchwarden for Fairfax Parish and Truro Parish, Virginia. He privately prayed and read the Bible daily, and he publicly encouraged people and the nation to pray. He may have taken communion on a regular basis prior to the Revolutionary War, but he did not do so following the war, for which he was admonished by Pastor James Abercrombie. Washington believed in a "wise, inscrutable, and irresistible" Creator God who was active in the Universe, contrary to deistic thought. He referred to God by the Enlightenment terms Providence, the Creator, or the Almighty, and also as the Divine Author or the Supreme Being. He believed in a divine power who watched over battlefields, was involved in the outcome of war, was protecting his life, and was involved in American politics—and specifically in the creation of the United States. Modern historian Ron Chernow has posited that Washington avoided evangelistic Christianity or hellfire-and-brimstone speech along with communion and anything inclined to "flaunt his religiosity". Chernow has also said Washington "never used his religion as a device for partisan purposes or in official undertakings". No mention of Jesus Christ appears in his private correspondence, and such references are rare in his public writings. He frequently quoted from the Bible or paraphrased it, and often referred to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. There is debate on whether he is best classed as a Christian or a theistic rationalist—or both. Washington emphasized religious toleration in a nation with numerous denominations and religions. He publicly attended services of different Christian denominations and prohibited anti-Catholic celebrations in the Army. He engaged workers at Mount Vernon without regard for religious belief or affiliation. While president, he acknowledged major religious sects and gave speeches on religious toleration. He was distinctly rooted in the ideas, values, and modes of thinking of the Enlightenment, but he harbored no contempt of organized Christianity and its clergy, "being no bigot myself to any mode of worship". In 1793, speaking to members of the New Church in Baltimore, Washington proclaimed, "We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition." Freemasonry was a widely accepted institution in the late 18th century, known for advocating moral teachings. Washington was attracted to the Masons' dedication to the Enlightenment principles of rationality, reason, and brotherhood. The American Masonic lodges did not share the anti-clerical perspective of the controversial European lodges. A Masonic lodge was established in Fredericksburg in September 1752, and Washington was initiated two months later at the age of 20 as one of its first Entered Apprentices. Within a year, he progressed through its ranks to become a Master Mason. Washington had high regard for the Masonic Order, but his personal lodge attendance was sporadic. In 1777, a convention of Virginia lodges asked him to be the Grand Master of the newly established Grand Lodge of Virginia, but he declined due to his commitments leading the Continental Army. After 1782, he frequently corresponded with Masonic lodges and members, and he was listed as Master in the Virginia charter of Alexandria Lodge No. 22 in 1788. Slavery In Washington's lifetime, slavery was deeply ingrained in the economic and social fabric of Virginia. Slavery was legal in all of the Thirteen Colonies prior to the American Revolution. Washington's slaves Washington owned and rented enslaved African Americans, and during his lifetime over 577 slaves lived and worked at Mount Vernon. He acquired them through inheritance, gaining control of 84 dower slaves upon his marriage to Martha, and purchased at least 71 slaves between 1752 and 1773. From 1786 he rented slaves, at his death he was renting 41. His early views on slavery were no different from any Virginia planter of the time. From the 1760s his attitudes underwent a slow evolution. The first doubts were prompted by his transition from tobacco to grain crops, which left him with a costly surplus of slaves, causing him to question the system's economic efficiency. His growing disillusionment with the institution was spurred by the principles of the American Revolution and revolutionary friends such as Lafayette and Hamilton. Most historians agree the Revolution was central to the evolution of Washington's attitudes on slavery; "After 1783", Kenneth Morgan writes, "...[Washington] began to express inner tensions about the problem of slavery more frequently, though always in private..." The many contemporary reports of slave treatment at Mount Vernon are varied and conflicting. Historian Kenneth Morgan (2000) maintains that Washington was frugal on spending for clothes and bedding for his slaves, and only provided them with just enough food, and that he maintained strict control over his slaves, instructing his overseers to keep them working hard from dawn to dusk year-round. However, historian Dorothy Twohig (2001) said: "Food, clothing, and housing seem to have been at least adequate". Washington faced growing debts involved with the costs of supporting slaves. He held an "engrained sense of racial superiority" towards African Americans but harbored no ill feelings toward them. Some enslaved families worked at different locations on the plantation but were allowed to visit one another on their days off. Washington's slaves received two hours off for meals during the workday and were given time off on Sundays and religious holidays. Some accounts report that Washington opposed flogging but at times sanctioned its use, generally as a last resort, on both men and women slaves. Washington used both reward and punishment to encourage discipline and productivity in his slaves. He tried appealing to an individual's sense of pride, gave better blankets and clothing to the "most deserving", and motivated his slaves with cash rewards. He believed "watchfulness and admonition" to be often better deterrents against transgressions but would punish those who "will not do their duty by fair means". Punishment ranged in severity from demotion back to fieldwork, through whipping and beatings, to permanent separation from friends and family by sale. Historian Ron Chernow maintains that overseers were required to warn slaves before resorting to the lash and required Washington's written permission before whipping, though his extended absences did not always permit this. Washington remained dependent on slave labor to work his farms and negotiated the purchase of more slaves in 1786 and 1787. Washington brought several of his slaves with him and his family to the federal capital during his presidency. When the capital moved from New York City to Philadelphia in 1791, the president began rotating his slave household staff periodically between the capital and Mount Vernon. This was done deliberately to circumvent Pennsylvania's Slavery Abolition Act, which, in part, automatically freed any slave who moved to the state and lived there for more than six months. In May 1796, Martha's personal and favorite slave Oney Judge escaped to Portsmouth. At Martha's behest, Washington attempted to capture Ona, using a Treasury agent, but this effort failed. In February 1797, Washington's personal slave Hercules escaped to Philadelphia and was never found. In February 1786, Washington took a census of Mount Vernon and recorded 224 slaves. By 1799, slaves at Mount Vernon totaled 317, including 143 children. Washington owned 124 slaves, leased 40, and held 153 for his wife's dower interest. Washington supported many slaves who were too young or too old to work, greatly increasing Mount Vernon's slave population and causing the plantation to operate at a loss. Abolition and manumission Based on his letters, diary, documents, accounts from colleagues, employees, friends, and visitors, Washington slowly developed a cautious sympathy toward abolitionism that eventually ended with his will freeing his military/war valet Billy Lee, and then subsequently freeing the rest of his personally-owned slaves outright upon Martha's death. As president, he remained publicly silent on the topic of slavery, believing it was a nationally divisive issue which could destroy the union. During the American Revolutionary War, Washington began to change his views on slavery. In a 1778 letter to Lund Washington, he made clear his desire "to get quit of Negroes" when discussing the exchange of slaves for the land he wanted to buy. The next year, Washington stated his intention not to separate enslaved families as a result of "a change of masters". During the 1780s, Washington privately expressed his support for the gradual emancipation of slaves. Between 1783 and 1786, he gave moral support to a plan proposed by Lafayette to purchase land and free slaves to work on it, but declined to participate in the experiment. Washington privately expressed support for emancipation to prominent Methodists Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury in 1785 but declined to sign their petition. In personal correspondence the next year, he made clear his desire to see the institution of slavery ended by a gradual legislative process, a view that correlated with the mainstream antislavery literature published in the 1780s that Washington possessed. He significantly reduced his purchases of slaves after the war but continued to acquire them in small numbers. In 1788, Washington declined a suggestion from a leading French abolitionist, Jacques Brissot, to establish an abolitionist society in Virginia, stating that although he supported the idea, the time was not yet right to confront the issue. The historian Henry Wiencek (2003) believes, based on a remark that appears in the notebook of his biographer David Humphreys, that Washington considered making a public statement by freeing his slaves on the eve of his presidency in 1789. The historian Philip D. Morgan (2005) disagrees, believing the remark was a "private expression of remorse" at his inability to free his slaves. Other historians agree with Morgan that Washington was determined not to risk national unity over an issue as divisive as slavery. Washington never responded to any of the antislavery petitions he received, and the subject was not mentioned in either his last address to Congress or his Farewell Address. The first clear indication that Washington seriously intended to free his slaves appears in a letter written to his secretary, Tobias Lear, in 1794. Washington instructed Lear to find buyers for his land in western Virginia, explaining in a private coda that he was doing so "to liberate a certain species of property which I possess, very repugnantly to my own feelings". The plan, along with others Washington considered in 1795 and 1796, could not be realized because he failed to find buyers for his land, his reluctance to break up slave families, and the refusal of the Custis heirs to help prevent such separations by freeing their dower slaves at the same time. On July 9, 1799, Washington finished making his last will; the longest provision concerned slavery. All his slaves were to be freed after the death of his wife, Martha. Washington said he did not free them immediately because his slaves intermarried with his wife's dower slaves. He forbade their sale or transportation out of Virginia. His will provided that old and young freed people be taken care of indefinitely; younger ones were to be taught to read and write and placed in suitable occupations. Washington freed more than 160 slaves, including about 25 he had acquired from his wife's brother Bartholomew Dandridge in payment of a debt. He was among the few large slave-holding Virginians during the Revolutionary Era who emancipated their slaves. On January 1, 1801, one year after George Washington's death, Martha Washington signed an order to free his slaves. Many of them, having never strayed far from Mount Vernon, were naturally reluctant to try their luck elsewhere; others refused to abandon spouses or children still held as dower slaves (the Custis estate) and also stayed with or near Martha. Following George Washington's instructions in his will, funds were used to feed and clothe the young, aged, and infirm slaves until the early 1830s. Historical reputation and legacy Washington's legacy endures as one of the most influential in American history since he served as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, a hero of the Revolution, and the first president of the United States. Various historians maintain that he also was a dominant factor in America's founding, the Revolutionary War, and the Constitutional Convention. Revolutionary War comrade Light-Horse Harry Lee eulogized him as "First in war—first in peace—and first in the hearts of his countrymen". Lee's words became the hallmark by which Washington's reputation was impressed upon the American memory, with some biographers regarding him as the great exemplar of republicanism. He set many precedents for the national government and the presidency in particular, and he was called the "Father of His Country" as early as 1778. In 1879, Congress proclaimed Washington's Birthday to be a federal holiday. Twentieth-century biographer Douglas Southall Freeman concluded, "The great big thing stamped across that man is character." Modern historian David Hackett Fischer has expanded upon Freeman's assessment, defining Washington's character as "integrity, self-discipline, courage, absolute honesty, resolve, and decision, but also forbearance, decency, and respect for others". Washington became an international symbol for liberation and nationalism as the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire. The Federalists made him the symbol of their party, but the Jeffersonians continued to distrust his influence for many years and delayed building the Washington Monument. Washington was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on January 31, 1781, before he had even begun his presidency. He was posthumously appointed to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States during the United States Bicentennial to ensure he would never be outranked; this was accomplished by the congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 passed on January 19, 1976, with an effective appointment date of July 4, 1976. On March 13, 1978, Washington was militarily promoted to the rank of General of the Armies. Parson Weems wrote a hagiographic biography in 1809 to honor Washington. Historian Ron Chernow maintains that Weems attempted to humanize Washington, making him look less stern, and to inspire "patriotism and morality" and to foster "enduring myths", such as Washington's refusal to lie about damaging his father's cherry tree. Weems' accounts have never been proven or disproven. Historian John Ferling, however, maintains that Washington remains the only founder and president ever to be referred to as "godlike", and points out that his character has been the most scrutinized by historians, past and present. Historian Gordon S. Wood concludes that "the greatest act of his life, the one that gave him his greatest fame, was his resignation as commander-in-chief of the American forces." Chernow suggests that Washington was "burdened by public life" and divided by "unacknowledged ambition mingled with self-doubt". A 1993 review of presidential polls and surveys consistently ranked Washington number 4, 3, or2 among presidents. A 2018 Siena College Research Institute survey ranked him number1 among presidents. In the 21st century, Washington's reputation has been critically scrutinized. Along with various other Founding Fathers, he has been condemned for holding enslaved human beings. Though he expressed the desire to see the abolition of slavery come through legislation, he did not initiate or support any initiatives for bringing about its end. This has led to calls from some activists to remove his name from public buildings and his statue from public spaces. Nonetheless, Washington maintains his place among the highest-ranked U.S. Presidents, listed second (after Lincoln) in a 2021 C-SPAN poll. Memorials Jared Sparks began collecting and publishing Washington's documentary record in the 1830s in Life and Writings of George Washington (12 vols., 1834–1837). The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799 (1931–1944) is a 39-volume set edited by John Clement Fitzpatrick, whom the George Washington Bicentennial Commission commissioned. It contains more than 17,000 letters and documents and is available online from the University of Virginia. Educational institutions Numerous secondary schools are named in honor of Washington, as are many universities, including George Washington University and Washington University in St. Louis. Places and monuments Many places and monuments have been named in honor of Washington, most notably the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C. The state of Washington is the only US state to be named after a president. Washington appears as one of four U.S. presidents in a colossal statue by Gutzon Borglum on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Currency and postage George Washington appears on contemporary U.S. currency, including the one-dollar bill, the Presidential one-dollar coin and the quarter-dollar coin (the Washington quarter). Washington and Benjamin Franklin appeared on the nation's first postage stamps in 1847. Washington has since appeared on many postage issues, more than any other person. See also British Army during the American Revolutionary War List of American Revolutionary War battles List of Continental Forces in the American Revolutionary War Timeline of the American Revolution Founders Online References Notes Citations Bibliography Print sources Primary sources Online sources Further reading (Volume 1: Containing the debates in Massachusetts and New York) External links Copies of the wills of General George Washington: the first president of the United States and of Martha Washington, his wife (1904), edited by E. R. Holbrook George Washington Personal Manuscripts George Washington Resources at the University of Virginia Library George Washington's Speeches: Quote-search-tool Original Digitized Letters of George Washington Shapell Manuscript Foundation The Papers of George Washington, subset of Founders Online from the National Archives Washington & the American Revolution, BBC Radio4 discussion with Carol Berkin, Simon Middleton & Colin Bonwick (In Our Time, June 24, 2004) Guide to the George Washington Collection 1776–1792 at the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center 1732 births 1799 deaths Washington family People from Mount Vernon, Virginia People from Westmoreland County, Virginia 18th-century American Episcopalians 18th-century American politicians 18th-century American writers 18th-century presidents of the United States 18th-century United States Army personnel American cartographers American foreign policy writers American Freemasons American male non-fiction writers American military personnel of the Seven Years' War American militia officers American people of English descent American planters American rebels American slave owners American surveyors British America army officers Burials at Mount Vernon Candidates in the 1789 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1792 United States presidential election Chancellors of the College of William & Mary Commanders in chief Commanding Generals of the United States Army Congressional Gold Medal recipients Continental Army generals Continental Army officers from Virginia Continental Congressmen from Virginia Deaths from respiratory disease Episcopalians from Virginia Farmers from Virginia Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Free speech activists Hall of Fame for Great Americans inductees House of Burgesses members Members of the American Philosophical Society People of the American Enlightenment People of Virginia in the French and Indian War Presidents of the United States Signers of the Continental Association Signers of the United States Constitution United States Army generals Virginia Independents Virginia militiamen in the American Revolution Washington and Lee University people Washington College people

is a 1962 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the third film in both the Godzilla franchise, and King Kong franchise, plus the first of two Toho-produced films featuring King Kong. It is also the first time that each character appeared on film in color and widescreen. The film stars Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yū Fujiki, Ichirō Arishima, and Mie Hama, with Shoichi Hirose as King Kong and Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla. In the film, as Godzilla is reawakened by an American submarine, a pharmaceutical company captures King Kong for promotional uses, which culminates into a battle on Mount Fuji. The project began with a story outline devised by King Kong stop motion animator Willis H. O'Brien around 1960, in which Kong battles a giant Frankenstein Monster; O'Brien gave the outline to producer John Beck for development. Behind O'Brien's back and without his knowledge, Beck gave the project to Toho to produce the film, replacing the giant Frankenstein Monster with Godzilla and scrapping O'Brien's original story. King Kong vs. Godzilla was released theatrically in Japan on August 11, 1962. The film remains the most attended Godzilla film in Japan to date, and is credited with encouraging Toho to prioritize the continuation of the Godzilla series after seven years of dormancy. A heavily edited version was released by Universal International Inc. theatrically in the United States on June 26, 1963. The film was followed by Mothra vs. Godzilla, released April 29, 1964. Plot Mr. Tako, head of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, is frustrated with the television shows his company is sponsoring and wants something to boost his ratings. When a doctor tells Tako about a giant monster he discovered on the small Faro Island, Tako believes that it would be a brilliant idea to use the monster to gain publicity. Tako immediately sends two men, Osamu Sakurai and Kinsaburo Furue, to find and bring back the monster. Meanwhile, the American nuclear submarine Seahawk gets caught in an iceberg. The iceberg collapses, unleashing Godzilla, who had been trapped within it since 1955. Godzilla then destroys the submarine and makes his way towards Japan, attacking a military base as he journeys southward. On Faro Island, a gigantic octopus crawls ashore and attacks the native village in search of Farolacton juice, taken from a species of red berry native to the island. The mysterious Faro monster, revealed to be King Kong, arrives and defeats the octopus. Kong then drinks several vases full of the juice while the islanders perform a ceremony, which both cause him to fall asleep. Sakurai and Furue place Kong on a large raft and begin to transport him back to Japan. Mr. Tako arrives on the ship transporting Kong, but a JSDF ship stops them and orders them to return Kong to Faro Island. Meanwhile, Godzilla arrives in Japan and begins terrorizing the countryside. Kong wakes up and breaks free from the raft. Reaching the mainland, Kong confronts Godzilla and proceeds to throw giant rocks at Godzilla. Godzilla is not fazed by King Kong's rock attack and uses his atomic heat ray to burn him. Kong retreats after realizing that he is not yet ready to take on Godzilla and his atomic heat ray. The JSDF digs a large pit laden with explosives and poison gas and lures Godzilla into it, but Godzilla is unharmed. They next string up a barrier of power lines around the city filled with 1,000,000 volts of electricity, which proves effective against Godzilla. Kong then approaches Tokyo and tears through the power lines, feeding off the electricity, which seems to make him stronger. Kong then enters Tokyo and captures Fumiko, Sakurai's sister, taking her to the National Diet Building which he then scales. The JSDF launches capsules full of vaporised Farolacton juice, which puts Kong to sleep, and are able to rescue Fumiko. The JSDF then decides to transport Kong via balloons to Godzilla, in hopes that they will kill each other. The next morning, Kong is deployed by helicopter next to Godzilla at the summit of Mount Fuji and the two engage in a final battle. Godzilla initially has the advantage dazing Kong with a devastating dropkick and repeated tail blows to his head. Godzilla then attempts to burn Kong to death by using his Atomic Breath to set fire to the foliage around Kong's body. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning from thunder clouds strikes Kong, reviving him and charging him up, and the battle resumes. Godzilla and King Kong fight their way down the mountain and into Atami, where the two monsters destroy Atami Castle while trading blows, before falling off a cliff together into Sagami Bay. After a brief underwater battle, only Kong resurfaces from the water, victorious, and he begins to swim back toward his home island. There is no sign of Godzilla, but the JSDF speculates that it is possible he survived. Cast Japanese version American version Cast taken from Japan's Favorite Mon-star. Production Crew Ishirō Honda – director Eiji Tsuburaya – special effects director Kōji Kajita – assistant director Toshio Takashima – lighting Takeo Kita – art director Teruaki Abe – art director Akira Watanabe – special effects art director Kuichirō Kishida – special effects lighting Masao Fujiyoshi – sound recording Thomas Montgomery – director (American footage) John Beck – producer (American version) Paul Mason – writer (American version) Bruce Howard – writer (American version) Peter Zinner – editorial and music supervision (American version) Personnel taken from Japan's Favorite Mon-star. Conception The film had its roots in an earlier concept for a new King Kong feature developed by Willis O'Brien, animator of the original stop-motion Kong. Around 1958, O'Brien came up with a proposed treatment, King Kong Meets Frankenstein, where Kong would fight against a giant Frankenstein Monster in San Francisco. O'Brien took the project (which consisted of some concept art and a screenplay treatment) to RKO to secure permission to use the King Kong character. During this time, the story was renamed King Kong vs. the Ginko when it was believed that Universal had the rights to the Frankenstein name (it actually only had the rights to the monster's makeup design by Jack Pierce). O'Brien was introduced to producer John Beck, who promised to find a studio to make the film (at this point in time, RKO was no longer a production company). Beck took the story treatment and had George Worthing Yates flesh it out into a screenplay. The story was slightly altered and the title changed to King Kong vs. Prometheus, returning the name to the original Frankenstein concept (The Modern Prometheus was the alternate title of the original novel). The November 2, 1960 issue of Variety reported that Beck had even asked Jerry Guran to direct the film. Unfortunately, the cost of stop-motion animation discouraged potential studios from putting the film into production. After shopping the script around overseas, Beck eventually attracted the interest of the Japanese studio Toho, which had long wanted to make a King Kong film. After purchasing the script, they decided to replace the giant Frankenstein Monster with Godzilla to be King Kong's opponent and would have Shinichi Sekizawa rewrite Yates' script. The studio thought that it would be the perfect way to celebrate its 30th year in production. It was one of five big banner releases for the company to celebrate the anniversary alongside Sanjuro, 47 Samurai, Lonely Lane, and Born in Sin. John Beck's dealings with Willis O'Brien's project were done behind his back, and O'Brien was never credited for his idea. Merian C. Cooper was bitterly opposed to the project, stating in a letter addressed to his friend Douglas Burden, "I was indignant when some Japanese company made a belittling thing, to a creative mind, called King Kong vs. Godzilla. I believe they even stooped so low as to use a man in a gorilla suit, which I have spoken out against so often in the early days of King Kong". In 1963, he filed a lawsuit to enjoin distribution of the movie against John Beck, as well as Toho and Universal (the film's U.S. copyright holder) claiming that he outright owned the King Kong character, but the lawsuit never went through, as it turned out he was not Kong's sole legal owner as he had previously believed. Themes Ishiro Honda wanted the theme of the movie to be a satire of the television industry in Japan. In April 1962, TV networks and their various sponsors started producing outrageous programming and publicity stunts to grab audiences' attention after two elderly viewers reportedly died at home while watching a violent wrestling match on TV. The various rating wars between the networks and banal programming that followed this event caused widespread debate over how TV would affect Japanese culture with Soichi Oya stating TV was creating "a nation of 100 million idiots". Honda stated "People were making a big deal out of ratings, but my own view of TV shows was that they did not take the viewer seriously, that they took the audience for granted...so I decided to show that through my movie" and "the reason I showed the monster battle through the prism of a ratings war was to depict the reality of the times". Honda addressed this by having a pharmaceutical company sponsor a TV show and going to extremes for a publicity stunt for ratings by capturing a giant monster stating "All a medicine company would have to do is just produce good medicines you know? But the company doesn't think that way. They think they will get ahead of their competitors if they use a monster to promote their product.". Honda would work with screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa on developing the story stating that "Back then Sekizawa was working on pop songs and TV shows so he really had a clear insight into television". Filming Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya was planning on working on other projects at this point in time such as a new version of a fairy tale film script called Kaguyahime (Princess Kaguya), but he postponed those to work on this project with Toho instead since he was such a huge fan of King Kong. He stated in an early 1960s interview with the Mainichi Newspaper, "But my movie company has produced a very interesting script that combined King Kong and Godzilla, so I couldn't help working on this instead of my other fantasy films. The script is special to me; it makes me emotional because it was King Kong that got me interested in the world of special photographic techniques when I saw it in 1933." Early drafts of the script were sent back with notes from the studio asking that the monster antics be made as "funny as possible". This comical approach was embraced by Tsuburaya, who wanted to appeal to children's sensibilities and broaden the genre's audience. Much of the monster battle was filmed to contain a great deal of humour but the approach was not favoured by most of the effects crew, who "couldn't believe" some of the things Tsuburaya asked them to do, such as Kong and Godzilla volleying a giant boulder back and forth. With the exception of the next film, Mothra vs. Godzilla, this film began the trend to portray Godzilla and the monsters with more and more anthropomorphism as the series progressed, to appeal more to younger children. Ishirō Honda was not a fan of the dumbing down of the monsters. Years later, Honda stated in an interview. "I don't think a monster should ever be a comical character." "The public is more entertained when the great King Kong strikes fear into the hearts of the little characters." The decision was also taken to shoot the film in a (2.35:1) scope ratio (Tohoscope) and to film in color (Eastman Color), marking both monsters' first widescreen and color portrayals. Toho had planned to shoot this film on location in Sri Lanka, but had to forgo that (and scale back on production costs) because it ended up paying RKO roughly ¥80 million ($220,000) for the rights to the King Kong character. The bulk of the film was shot on the Japanese island of Izu Ōshima instead. The movie's production budget came out to (). Suit actors Shoichi Hirose (King Kong) and Haruo Nakajima (Godzilla) were given mostly free rein by Eiji Tsuburaya to choreograph their own moves. The men would rehearse for hours and would base their moves on that from professional wrestling (a sport that was growing in popularity in Japan), in particular the movies of Toyonobori. During pre-production, Eiji Tsuburaya had toyed with the idea of using Willis O'Brien's stop-motion technique instead of the suitmation process used in the first two Godzilla films, but budgetary concerns prevented him from using the process, and the more cost-efficient suitmation was used instead. However, some brief stop motion was used in a couple of quick sequences. One of these sequences was animated by Koichi Takano, who was a member of Eiji Tsuburaya's crew. A brand new Godzilla suit was designed for this film and some slight alterations were done to its overall appearance. These alterations included the removal of its tiny ears, three toes on each foot rather than four, enlarged central dorsal fins, and a bulkier body. These new features gave Godzilla a more reptilian/dinosaurian appearance. Outside of the suit, a meter-high model and a small puppet were also built. Another puppet (from the waist up) was also designed that had a nozzle in the mouth to spray out liquid mist simulating Godzilla's atomic breath. However the shots in the film where this prop was employed (far away shots of Godzilla breathing its atomic breath during its attack on the Arctic Military base) were ultimately cut from the film. These cut scenes can be seen in the Japanese theatrical trailer. Finally, a separate prop of Godzilla's tail was also built for close-up practical shots when its tail would be used (such as the scene where Godzilla trips Kong with its tail). The tail prop would be swung offscreen by a stage hand. Sadamasa Arikawa (who worked with Eiji Tsuburaya) said that the sculptors had a hard time coming up with a King Kong suit that appeased Tsuburaya. The first suit was rejected for being too fat with long legs giving Kong what the crew considered an almost cute look. A few other designs were done before Tsuburaya would approve the final look that was ultimately used in the film. The suit's body design was a team effort by brothers Koei Yagi and Kanji Yagi and was covered with expensive yak hair, which Eizo Kaimai hand-dyed brown. Because RKO instructed that the face must be different from the original's design, sculptor Teizo Toshimitsu based Kong's face on the Japanese macaque rather than a gorilla, and designed two separate masks. As well, two separate pairs of arms were also created. One pair were extended arms that were operated by poles inside the suit to better give Kong a gorilla-like illusion, while the other pair were at normal arms-length and featured gloves that were used for scenes that required Kong to grab items and wrestle with Godzilla. Suit actor Hirose had to be sewn into the suit in order to hide the zipper. This would force him to be trapped inside the suit for large amounts of time and would cause him much physical discomfort. In the scene where Kong drinks the berry juice and falls asleep, he was trapped in the suit for three hours. Hirose stated in an interview "Sweat came pouring out like a flood and it got into my eyes too. When I came out, I was pale all over". Besides the suit with the two separate arm attachments, a meter-high model and a puppet of Kong (used for closeups) were also built. As well, a huge prop of Kong's hand was built for the scene where he grabs Mie Hama (Fumiko) and carries her off. For the attack of the giant octopus, four live octopuses were used. They were forced to move among the miniature huts by having hot air blown onto them. After the filming of that scene was finished, three of the four octopuses were released. The fourth became special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya's dinner. These sequences were filmed on a miniature set outdoors on the Miura Coast. Along with the live animals, two rubber octopus props were built, with the larger one being covered with plastic wrap to simulate mucous. Some stop-motion tentacles were also created for the scene where the octopus grabs a native and tosses him. These sequences were shot indoors at Toho Studios. Since King Kong was seen as the bigger draw and since Godzilla was still a villain at this point in the series, the decision was made to not only give King Kong top billing but also to present him as the winner of the climactic fight. While the ending of the film does look somewhat ambiguous, Toho confirmed that King Kong was indeed the winner in their 1962–63 English-language film program Toho Films Vol. 8, which states in the film's plot synopsis, A spectacular duel is arranged on the summit of Mt. Fuji and King Kong is victorious. But after he has won... American version When John Beck sold the King Kong vs Prometheus script to Toho (which became King Kong vs. Godzilla), he was given exclusive rights to produce a version of the film for release in non-Asian territories. He was able to line up a couple of potential distributors in Warner Bros. and Universal-International even before the film began production. Beck, accompanied by two Warner Bros. representatives, attended at least two private screenings of the film on the Toho Studios lot before it was released in Japan. John Beck enlisted the help of two Hollywood writers, Paul Mason and Bruce Howard, to write a new screenplay. After discussions with Beck, the two wrote the American version and worked with editor Peter Zinner to remove scenes, recut others, and change the sequence of several events. To give the film more of an American feel, Mason and Howard decided to insert new footage that would convey the impression that the film was actually a newscast. The television actor Michael Keith played newscaster Eric Carter, a United Nations reporter who spends much of the time commenting on the action from the U.N. Headquarters via an International Communications Satellite (ICS) broadcast. Harry Holcombe was cast as Dr. Arnold Johnson, the head of the Museum of Natural History in New York City, who tries to explain Godzilla's origin and his and Kong's motivations. The new footage, directed by Thomas Montgomery, was shot in three days. Beck and his crew were able to obtain library music from a host of older films (music tracks that had been composed by Henry Mancini, Hans J. Salter, and even a track from Heinz Roemheld). These films include Creature from the Black Lagoon, Bend of the River, Untamed Frontier, The Golden Horde, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Man Made Monster, Thunder on the Hill, While the City Sleeps, Against All Flags, The Monster That Challenged the World, The Deerslayer and music from the TV series Wichita Town. Cues from these scores were used to almost completely replace the original Japanese score by Akira Ifukube and give the film a more Western sound. They also obtained stock footage from the film The Mysterians from RKO (the film's U.S. copyright holder at the time) which was used not only to represent the ICS, but which was also utilized during the film's climax. Stock footage of a massive earthquake from The Mysterians was employed to make the earthquake caused by Kong and Godzilla's plummet into the ocean much more violent than the tame tremor seen in the Japanese version. This added footage features massive tidal waves, flooded valleys, and the ground splitting open swallowing up various huts. Beck spent roughly $15,500 making his English version and sold the film to Universal-International for roughly $200,000 on April 29, 1963. The film opened in New York on June 26 of that year. Starting in 1963, Toho's international sales booklets began advertising an English dub of King Kong vs. Godzilla alongside Toho-commissioned, unedited international dubs of movies such as Giant Monster Varan and The Last War. By association, it is thought that this King Kong vs. Godzilla dub is an unedited English-language international version not known to have been released on home video. Release Theatrical In Japan, the film was released on August 11, 1962, where it played alongside Myself and I for a two week period, afterward, it was extended by one more week and screened alongside the anime film Touring the World. The film was re-released twice as part of the Toho Champion Festival, a film festival that ran from 1969 through 1978 that featured numerous films packaged together and aimed at children, first in 1970, and then again in 1977, to coincide with the Japanese release of the 1976 version of King Kong. After its theatrical re-releases, the film was screened two more times at specialty festivals. In 1979, to celebrate Godzilla's 25th anniversary, the film was reissued as part of a triple bill festival known as The Godzilla Movie Collection (Gojira Eiga Zenshu). It played alongside Invasion of Astro-Monster and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. This release is known among fans for its exciting and dynamic movie poster featuring all the main kaiju from these three films engaged in battle. Then in 1983, the film was screened as part of The Godzilla Resurrection Festival (Gojira no Fukkatsu). This large festival featured 10 Godzilla/kaiju films in all (Godzilla, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Rodan, Mothra, Atragon, and King Kong Escapes). In North America, King Kong vs. Godzilla premiered in New York City on June 26, 1963. The film was also released in many international markets. In Germany, it was known as Die Rückkehr des King Kong ("The Return of King Kong") and in Italy as Il trionfo di King Kong ("The triumph of King Kong"). In France, it was released in 1976. Home media The Japanese version of this film was released numerous times through the years by Toho on different home video formats. The film was first released on VHS in 1985 and again in 1991. It was released on LaserDisc in 1986 and 1991, and then again in 1992 in its truncated 74-minute form as part of a laserdisc box set called the Godzilla Toho Champion Matsuri. Toho then released the film on DVD in 2001. They released it again in 2005 as part of the Godzilla Final Box DVD set, and again in 2010 as part of the Toho Tokusatsu DVD Collection. This release was volume #8 of the series and came packaged with a collectible magazine that featured stills, behind-the-scenes photos, interviews, and more. In the summer of 2014, the film was released for the first time on Blu-ray as part of the company releasing the entire series on the Blu-ray format for Godzilla's 60th anniversary. The 4K Ultra High Definition remaster of the film was released on Blu-Ray in both a two disc deluxe box set and a standard one disc in May 2021. The American version was released on VHS by GoodTimes Entertainment (which acquired the license to some of Universal's film catalogue) in 1987, and then on DVD to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the film's U.S release in 1998. Both of these releases were full frame. Universal Pictures released the English-language version of the film on DVD in widescreen as part of a two-pack bundle with King Kong Escapes in 2005, and then on its own as an individual release on September 15, 2009. They then re-released the film on Blu-ray on April 1, 2014, along with King Kong Escapes. This release sold $749,747 worth of Blu-rays. FYE released an exclusive Limited Edition Steelbook version of this Blu-ray on September 10, 2019. In 2019, the Japanese and American versions were included in a Blu-ray box set released by The Criterion Collection, which included all 15 films from the franchise's Shōwa era. Reception Box office In Japan, this film has the highest box office attendance figures of all of the Godzilla films to date. It sold 11.2 million tickets during its initial theatrical run, accumulating in distribution rental earnings. The film was the fourth highest-grossing film in Japan that year, behind The Great Wall (Shin no shikōtei), Sanjuro, and 47 Samurai and was Toho's second biggest moneymaker. At an average 1962 Japanese ticket price, ticket sales were equivalent to estimated gross receipts of approximately (). Including re-releases, the film accumulated a lifetime figure of 12.6 million tickets sold in Japan, with distribution rental earnings of . The 1970 re-release sold 870,000 tickets, equivalent to estimated gross receipts of approximately (). The 1977 re-release sold 480,000 tickets, equivalent to estimated gross receipts of approximately (). This adds up to total estimated Japanese gross receipts of approximately (). In the United States, the film grossed $2.7 million, accumulating a profit (via rentals) of $1.25 million. In France, where it released in 1976, the film sold 554,695 tickets, equivalent to estimated gross receipts of approximately ($1,667,650). This adds up to total estimated gross receipts of approximately worldwide. Preservation The original Japanese version of King Kong vs. Godzilla is infamous for being one of the most poorly-preserved tokusatsu films. In 1970, director Ishiro Honda prepared an edited version of the film for the Toho Champion Festival, a children's matinee program that showcased edited re-releases of older kaiju films along with cartoons and then-new kaiju films. Honda cut 24 minutes from the film's original negative and, as a result, the highest quality source for the cut footage was lost. For years, all that was thought to remain of the uncut 1962 version was a faded, heavily damaged 16mm element from which rental prints had been made. 1980s restorations for home video integrated the 16mm deleted scenes into the 35mm Champion cut, resulting in wildly inconsistent picture quality. In 1991, Toho issued a restored laserdisc incorporating the rediscovery of a reel of 35mm trims of the deleted footage from the original negative. The resultant quality was far superior to previous reconstructions, but not perfect; an abrupt cut caused by missing frames at the beginning or end of a trim is evident whenever the master switches between the Champion cut and a 35mm trim within the same shot. This laserdisc master was utilized for Toho's 2001 DVD release with few changes. In 2014, Toho released a new restoration of the film on Blu-Ray, which utilized the 35mm edits once again, but only those available for reels 2-7 of the film were able to be located. The remainder of video for the deleted portions was sourced from the earlier Blu-Ray of the U.S. version, in addition to the previous 480i 1991 laserdisc master. On July 14, 2016, a 4K restoration of a completely 35mm sourced version of the film aired on The Godzilla First Impact, a series of 4K broadcasts of Godzilla films on the Nihon Eiga Senmon Channel. Legacy Due to the great box office success of this film, Toho wanted to produce a sequel immediately. Shinichi Sekizawa was brought back to write the screenplay tentatively called Continuation King Kong vs Godzilla. Sekizawa revealed that Kong had killed Godzilla during their underwater battle in Sagami Bay with a line of dialogue stating "Godzilla, who sank and died in the waters off Atami". As the story progressed, Godzilla's body is salvaged from the Ocean by a group of entrepreneurs who hope to display the remains at a planned resort. Meanwhile King Kong is found in Africa where he had been protecting a baby (the sole survivor of a plane crash). After the baby is rescued by investigators, and is taken back to Japan, Kong follows the group and rampages through the country looking for the infant. Godzilla is then revived with hopes of driving off Kong. The story ends with both monsters plummeting into a volcano. The project was ultimately cancelled. A couple of years later, Toho conceived the idea to pit Godzilla against a giant Frankenstein Monster and assigned Takeshi Kimura in 1964 to write a screenplay titled Frankenstein vs. Godzilla. However, Toho would cancel this project as well and instead decided to match Mothra against Godzilla in Mothra vs. Godzilla. This began a formula where kaiju from past Toho films would be added into the Godzilla franchise. Toho was interested in producing a series around their version of King Kong, but were refused by RKO. However, Toho would handle the character once more in 1967 to help Rankin/Bass co-produce their film King Kong Escapes, which was loosely based on a cartoon series Rankin/Bass had produced. Henry G. Saperstein was impressed with the giant octopus scene and requested a giant octopus to appear in Frankenstein Conquers the World and The War of the Gargantuas. The giant octopus appeared in an alternate ending for Frankenstein Conquers the World that was intended for overseas markets, but went unused. As a result, the octopus instead appeared in the opening of The War of the Gargantuas. The film's Godzilla suit was reused for certain scenes in Mothra vs. Godzilla The film's Godzilla design also formed the basis for some early merchandise in the U.S. in the 1960s, such as a model kit by Aurora Plastics Corporation, and a board game by Ideal Toys. This game was released alongside a King Kong game in 1963 to coincide with the U.S. theatrical release of the film. The film's King Kong suit was recycled and altered for the second episode of Ultra Q and the water scenes for King Kong Escapes. Scenes of the film's giant octopus attack were recycled for the 23rd episode of Ultra Q. In 1992, to coincide with the company's 60th anniversary, Toho expressed interest in remaking the film as Godzilla vs. King Kong. However, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka stated that obtaining the rights to King Kong proved difficult. Toho then considered producing Godzilla vs. Mechani-Kong but effects director Koichi Kawakita confirmed that obtaining the likeness of King Kong also proved difficult. Mechani-Kong was replaced by Mechagodzilla, and the project was developed into Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II in 1993. During the production of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, animation director Hal Hickel instructed his team to watch King Kong vs. Godzilla, specifically the giant octopus scene, to use as a reference when animating the Kraken's tentacles. The film has been referenced in pop culture through various media. It was referenced in Da Lench Mob's 1992 single "Guerillas in tha Mist". It was spoofed in advertising for a Bembos burger commercial from Peru, for Ridsect Lizard Repellant, and for the board game Connect 4. It was paid homage to in comic books by DC Comics, Bongo Comics, and Disney Comics. It was spoofed in The Simpsons episode "Wedding for Disaster". In 2015, Legendary Entertainment announced plans for a King Kong vs Godzilla film of their own (unrelated to Toho's version), which was released on March 26, 2021. Dual ending myth For many years, a popular myth has persisted that in the Japanese version of this film, Godzilla emerges as the winner. The myth originated in the pages of Spacemen magazine, a 1960s sister magazine to the influential publication Famous Monsters of Filmland. In an article about the film, it is incorrectly stated that there were two endings and "If you see King Kong vs Godzilla in Japan, Hong Kong or some Oriental sector of the world, Godzilla wins!" The article was reprinted in various issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland in the years following, such as in issues #51 and #114. This misinformation would be accepted as fact and persist for decades. For example, a question in the "Genus III" edition of the popular board game Trivial Pursuit asked, "Who wins in the Japanese version of King Kong vs. Godzilla?" and stated that the correct answer was "Godzilla". Various media have repeated this falsehood, including the Los Angeles Times. With the rise of home video, Westerners have increasingly been able to view the original version and the myth has been dispelled. The only differences between the two endings of the film are minor: In the Japanese version, as Kong and Godzilla are fighting underwater, a very small earthquake occurs. In the American version, producer John Beck used stock footage of a violent earthquake from the 1957 Toho film The Mysterians to make the climactic earthquake seem far more violent and destructive. The dialogue is slightly different. In the Japanese version, onlookers are wondering if Godzilla might be dead or not as they watch Kong swim home and speculate that it is possible he survived. In the American version, onlookers simply say, "Godzilla has disappeared without a trace" and newly shot scenes of reporter Eric Carter have him watching Kong swim home on a view screen and wishing him luck on his long journey home. As the film ends and the screen fades to black, "Owari" ("The End") appears onscreen. Godzilla's roar, followed by Kong's, is on the Japanese soundtrack. This was akin to the monsters' taking a bow or saying goodbye to the audience, as at this point the film is over. In the American version, only Kong's roar is present on the soundtrack. In 1993, comic book artist Arthur Adams wrote and drew a one-page story that appeared in the anthology Urban Legends #1, published by Dark Horse Comics, which dispels the popular misconception about the two versions of King Kong vs. Godzilla. See also List of American films of 1963 Godzilla vs. Kong Notes References Bibliography External links Official Godzilla website by Toho [https://web.archive.org/web/20201104190952/https://www.toho.website/movies/3/index.html キングコング対ゴジラ'] - Toho's official page for the film King Kong vs. Godzilla at Movie-Censorship - detailed comparison between the Japanese and American versions of the film Archer, Eugene. "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (film review) The New York Times''. June 27, 1963. 1962 films 1963 films 1960s fantasy films 1960s monster movies 1960s science fiction films Color sequels of black-and-white films Horror crossover films Crossover tokusatsu films Films about cephalopods Films directed by Ishirō Honda Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka Films scored by Akira Ifukube Films set in the 1960s Films set in Atami Films set in Gunma Prefecture Films set in Oceania Films set in Tochigi Prefecture Films set in Tokyo Films set on fictional islands Films shot in Japan Films shot in Tokyo Films using stop-motion animation Giant monster films Godzilla films Japanese fantasy adventure films Japanese films Japanese sequel films Japanese-language films Kaiju films King Kong (franchise) films Toho films Universal Pictures films Films with screenplays by Shinichi Sekizawa Films with live action and animation

is a 1984 Japanese kaiju film directed by Koji Hashimoto, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. The film features the fictional monster character Godzilla. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 16th film in the Godzilla franchise, and is the last film to be produced in the Showa era. In Japan, the film was followed by Godzilla vs. Biollante in 1989. The Return of Godzilla stars Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Yosuke Natsuki, and Keiju Kobayashi, with Kenpachiro Satsuma as Godzilla. The film serves as both a sequel to the original 1954 film and a reboot of the franchise that ignores the events of every Shōwa era film aside from the original Godzilla, placing itself in line with the darker tone and themes of the original film and returning Godzilla to his destructive, antagonistic roots. The film was released theatrically in Japan on December 15, 1984. The following year, in the United States, New World Pictures released Godzilla 1985, a heavily re-edited American adaptation of the film which includes additional footage, and features Raymond Burr reprising his role from the 1956 film Godzilla, King of the Monsters!. Plot The Japanese fishing vessel Yahata-Maru is caught in strong currents off the shores of Daikoku Island. As the boat drifts into shore, the island begins to erupt, and a giant monster lifts itself out of the volcano. A few days later, reporter Goro Maki is sailing in the area and finds the vessel intact but deserted. As he explores the vessel, he finds all the crew dead except for Hiroshi Okumura, who has been badly wounded. Suddenly a giant Shockirus sea louse attacks him but he is saved by Okumura. In Tokyo, Okumura realizes by looking at pictures that the monster he saw was a new Godzilla. Maki writes an article about the account, but the news of Godzilla's return is kept secret and his article is withheld. Maki visits Professor Hayashida, whose parents were lost in the 1954 Godzilla attack. Hayashida describes Godzilla as a living, invincible nuclear weapon able to cause mass destruction. At Hayashida's laboratory, Maki meets Okumura's sister, Naoko, and informs her that her brother is alive and at the police hospital. A Soviet submarine is destroyed in the Pacific. The Soviets believe the attack was perpetrated by the Americans, and a diplomatic crisis ensues, which threatens to escalate into nuclear war. The Japanese intervene and reveal that Godzilla was behind the attacks. The Japanese cabinet meets to discuss Japan's defense. A new weapon is revealed, the Super X, a specially-armored flying fortress that will defend the capital. The Japanese military is put on alert. Godzilla attacks the Ihama nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture. While feeding off the reactor, he is distracted by a flock of birds and leaves the facility. Hayashida believes that Godzilla was distracted instinctively by a homing signal from the birds. Hayashida, together with geologist Minami, propose to the Japanese Cabinet, that Godzilla could be lured back to Mount Mihara on Ōshima Island by a similar signal, and a volcanic eruption could be started, capturing Godzilla. Prime Minister Mitamura meets with Soviet and American envoys and declares that nuclear weapons will not be used on Godzilla, even if he were to attack the Japanese mainland. Meanwhile, the Soviets have their own plans to counter the threat posed by Godzilla, and a Soviet control ship disguised as a freighter in Tokyo Harbor prepares to launch a nuclear missile from one of their orbiting satellites should Godzilla attack. Godzilla is sighted at dawn in Tokyo Bay heading towards Tokyo, causing mass evacuations. The JASDF attacks Godzilla but fails to stop his advance on the city. Godzilla soon emerges and makes short work of the JSDF stationed there. The battle causes damage to the Soviet ship and starts a missile launch countdown. The captain dies as he attempts to stop the missile from launching. Godzilla proceeds towards Shinjuku, wreaking havoc along the way. Godzilla is confronted by four laser-armed trucks and the Super X. Because Godzilla's heart is similar to a nuclear reactor, the cadmium shells that are fired into his mouth by the Super X seal and slow down his heart, knocking Godzilla unconscious. The countdown ends and the Soviet missile is launched, but it is destroyed by an American counter-missile. Hayashida and Okumura are extracted from Tokyo via helicopter and taken to Mt. Mihara to set up the homing device before the two missiles collide above Tokyo. The destruction of the nuclear missile produces an electrical storm and an EMP, which revives Godzilla once more and temporarily disables the Super X. An enraged Godzilla bears down on the Super X just as it manages to get airborne again. The Super X's weapons prove ineffective against the kaiju, resulting in even more destruction in the city as Godzilla chases it through several skyscrapers. Godzilla finally destroys the Super X by dropping a skyscraper on top of it and continues his rampage, until Hayashida uses the homing device to distract him. Godzilla leaves Tokyo and swims across Tokyo Bay, following the homing device to Mount Mihara. There, Godzilla follows the device and falls into the mouth of the volcano. Okumura activates detonators at the volcano, creating a controlled eruption that traps Godzilla inside. Cast Production Development After the box office failure of Terror of Mechagodzilla, Toho attempted to reinvigorate the franchise several times during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first attempt was the announcement of a color remake of the original 1954 film entitled The Rebirth of Godzilla in 1977, but the project was shelved. A year later, it was announced that Toho would develop a film jointly with UPA studios entitled Godzilla vs. the Devil, though this, along with UPA producer Henry G. Saperstein's proposed Godzilla vs. Gargantua, also never materialized. Godzilla series creator Tomoyuki Tanaka took charge of reviving the franchise in 1979, Godzilla's 25th anniversary, intending to return the series to its dark, anti-nuclear roots in the wake of the Three Mile Island accident. Hoping to win back adult audiences alienated by the fantastical approach to Godzilla films taken during the 1970s, Tanaka was further encouraged in his vision by the contemporary success of adult-oriented horror and science fiction movies like King Kong, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Alien and The Thing. A draft story entitled The Resurrection of Godzilla was submitted by Akira Murao in 1980, and had Godzilla pitted against a shape-shifting monster called Bakan in the backdrop of an illegal nuclear waste disposal site, though the project was cancelled due to budgetary concerns. In 1983, American director Steve Miner proposed directing a Godzilla film at his own expense. Toho approved of the project, and Miner hired Fred Dekker to write the screenplay and paleosculptor Steve Czerkas to redesign the monster. The project was however hampered by Miner's insistence on using prohibitively costly stop-motion animation and shooting the film in 3D, and was thus rejected by major American movie studios. Under pressure from a 10,000-member group of Japanese Godzilla fans calling themselves the "Godzilla Resurrection Committee", Tanaka decided to helm a Japanese film for "strictly domestic consumption" to be released jointly alongside Miner's movie. In an effort to disavow Godzilla's increasingly heroic and anthropomorphic depiction in previous films, Tanaka insisted on making a direct sequel to the original 1954 movie. He hired screenwriter Shuichi Nagahara, who wrote a screenplay combining elements of the previously cancelled The Resurrection of Godzilla and Miner's still unproduced film, including an intensification of hostilities during the Cold War and a flying fortress which fires missiles into Godzilla's mouth. Koji Hashimoto was hired as director after Ishirō Honda declined the offer, as he was assisting Akira Kurosawa with Kagemusha and Ran, and felt that the franchise should have been discontinued after the death of Eiji Tsuburaya. Composer Akira Ifukube was offered to score the film but respectfully declined. At the time, it was rumored that Ifukube refused to participate in the film due to the changes made to Godzilla, stating, "I do not write music for 80-meter monsters". However, this quote was later clarified, by Ifukube's biographer Erik Homenick and Japanese Giants editor Ed Godziszewski, as a joke spread by fans which was later misinterpreted as fact. Ifukube declined to score the film due to his priorities, at the time, teaching composition at the Tokyo College of Music. Special effects The special effects were directed by Teruyoshi Nakano, who had directed the special effects of several previous Godzilla films. The decision was made by Tanaka to increase the apparent height of Godzilla from to so that Godzilla would not be dwarfed by the contemporary skyline of Tokyo. This meant that the miniatures had to be built to a th scale, and this contributed to an increase in the budget of the film to $6.25 million. Tanaka and Nakano supervised suit-maker Noboyuki Yasumaru in constructing a new Godzilla design, incorporating ears and four toes, features not seen since Godzilla Raids Again. Nakano insisted on infusing elements into the design that suggested sadness, such as downward-slanting eyes and sloping shoulders. Suit construction took two months, and consisted of separately casting body-part molds with urethane on a pre-built, life-size statue of the final design. Yasumaru personally took charge of all phases of suit-building, unlike in previous productions wherein the different stages of suit-production were handled by different craftsmen. The final suit was constructed to accommodate stuntman Hiroshi Yamawaki, but he declined suddenly, and was replaced by veteran suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma, who had portrayed Hedorah and Gigan in the Showa Era. Because the suit wasn't built to his measurements, Satsuma had difficulty performing, being able to last only ten minutes within it, and losing 12 pounds during filming. Hoping to avoid having Godzilla move in an overly human fashion, Nakano instructed Satsuma to base his actions on Noh, a traditional Japanese dance. Taking inspiration from the publicity surrounding the 40-foot tall King Kong model from Dino De Laurentiis's 1976 film of the same name, Toho spent a reported ¥52,146 (approximately $475.00) on a 16-foot high robotic Godzilla (dubbed "Cybot") for use in close-up shots of the creature's head. The Cybot consisted of a hydraulically-powered mechanical endoskeleton covered in urethane skin containing 3,000 computer operated parts which permitted it to tilt its head, and move its lips and arms. Unlike previous Godzilla suits, whose lower jaws consisted of wire-operated flaps, the Cybot's jaws were hinged like those of an actual animal, and slid back as they opened. A life-size, crane operated foot was also built for close-up shots of city destruction scenes. Part of the film was shot on location on Izu Ōshima, where the climax of the story takes place. Release Theatrical The Return of Godzilla was released on December 15, 1984 in Japan where it was distributed by Toho. The film sold 3.2 million tickets, and grossed at the Japanese box office. Reception Despite its American re-edit receiving negative reviews, the original Japanese cut of the film has been much more well-received, with critics and fans praising the film's score, practical effects, and its darker tone. In 1985, the film won the Japan Academy Award for Special Effects. Home video In May 2016, Kraken Releasing revealed plans to release the original Japanese version of The Return of Godzilla and its international English dub on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on September 13, 2016. However, it was also revealed that the Americanized version of the film, Godzilla 1985 would not be featured in the release due to ongoing copyright issues concerning music cues that New World Pictures borrowed from Def-Con 4 for use in Godzilla 1985. Alternate English versions Exported English dub Shortly after the film's completion, Toho's foreign sales division, Toho International Co., Ltd, had the film dubbed into English by an unidentified firm in Hong Kong. No cuts were made, though credits and other titles were accordingly rendered in English. The international English dub features the voice of news anchor and radio announcer John Culkin in the role of Goro Maki, and actor Barry Haigh as Prime Minister Mitamura. The English version fully dubs all dialogue into English, including that of the Soviet and American characters. The international English dub was released on VHS in the U.K. by Carlton Home Entertainment on July 24, 1998. In 2016, the international English dub was included on the U.S. DVD and Blu-Ray releases from Kraken, though the audio mix was not the original monaural track that was originally heard on Toho's English language prints. The English dialogue was originally mixed with an alternate music and effects track that contained different music edits and sound effects from the Japanese theatrical version, most notably a distinct "cry" produced by Godzilla during the film's ending. The U.S. home video version instead uses the conventional music and effects track used for the regular Japanese version mixed in DTS 5.1 surround sound instead of mono. Godzilla 1985 After the film's lackluster performance in the Japanese box office and the ultimate shelving of Steve Miner's Godzilla 3D project, Toho decided to distribute the film overseas in order to regain lost profits. New World Pictures acquired The Return of Godzilla for distribution in North America, and changed the title to Godzilla 1985, bringing back Raymond Burr in order to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Godzilla: King of the Monsters!. Originally, New World reportedly planned to re-write the dialogue in order to turn the film into a tongue-in-cheek comedy starring Leslie Nielsen (à la What's Up, Tiger Lily?), but this plan was reportedly scrapped because Raymond Burr expressed displeasure at the idea, taking the idea of Godzilla as a nuclear metaphor seriously. The only dialogue left over from that script was "That's quite an urban renewal program they've got going on over there," said by Major McDonahue. All of Burr's scenes were filmed in one day to suit his schedule. He was paid US$50,000. The reverse shots, of the actors he was speaking to, were filmed the next day, and the American filming was completed in three days. One of the most controversial changes done on the film was having Soviet Colonel Kashirin deliberately launch the nuclear missile rather than die in attempting to prevent its launch. Director R. J. Kizer later attributed this to New World's management's conservative leanings. The newly edited film also contained numerous product placements for Dr Pepper, which had twice used Godzilla in its commercials. Dr Pepper's marketing director at one point insisted that Raymond Burr drink Dr Pepper during a scene, and the suggestion was put to the actor by Kizer. Burr reportedly responded by "[fixing] me with one of those withering glares and just said nothing." Roger Ebert and Vincent Canby gave the film negative reviews. See also Kaiju List of Japanese films of 1984 List of science-fiction films of the 1980s List of monster movies Notes References Bibliography External links The Return of Godzilla at the Movie Review Query Engine 1984 films 1980s monster movies 1980s political films 1980s science fiction films Alternative sequel films Anti-war films English-language films Japanese-language films Russian-language films Cold War submarine films Films about nuclear war and weapons Films about volcanoes Films directed by Koji Hashimoto Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka Films set in Tokyo Films set in Shizuoka Prefecture Films set on islands Films shot in Japan Films shot in Tokyo Giant monster films Godzilla films Japanese films Japanese political films Japanese science fiction films Japanese sequel films Kaiju films Reboot films Toho films

Little is known of the history of Gabon prior to European contact. Bantu migrants settled the area beginning in the 14th century. Portuguese explorers and traders arrived in the area in the late 15th century. The coast subsequently became a center of the transatlantic slave trade with European slave traders arriving to the region in the 16th century. In 1839 and 1841, France established a protectorate over the coast. In 1849, captives released from a captured slave ship founded Libreville. In 1862–1887, France expanded its control including the interior of the state, and took full sovereignty. In 1910 Gabon became part of French Equatorial Africa and in 1960, Gabon became independent. At the time of Gabon's independence, two principal political parties existed: the Gabonese Democratic Bloc (BDG), led by Léon M'Ba, and the Gabonese Democratic and Social Union (UDSG), led by Jean-Hilaire Aubame. In the first post-independence election, held under a parliamentary system, neither party was able to win a majority; the leaders subsequently agreed against a two-party system and ran with a single list of candidates. In the February 1961 election, held under the new presidential system, M'Ba became president and Aubame became foreign minister. The single-party solution disintegrated in 1963, and there was a single-day bloodless coup in 1964. In March 1967, Leon M'Ba and Omar Bongo were elected president and vice president. M'Ba died later that year. Bongo declared Gabon a one-party state, dissolved the BDG and established the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG). Sweeping political reforms in 1990 led to a new constitution, and the PDG garnered a large majority in the country's first multi-party elections in 30 years. Despite discontent from opposition parties, Bongo remained president until his death in 2009. Early history The societies of the indigenous Pygmies were largely displaced from about AD 1000 onwards by migrating Bantu peoples from the north, such as the Fang. Little is known of tribal life before European contact, but tribal art suggests a rich cultural heritage. Gabon's first confirmed European visitors were Portuguese explorers and traders who arrived in the late 15th century. At this time, the southern coast was controlled by the Kingdom of Loango. The Portuguese settled on the offshore islands of São Tomé, Príncipe, and Fernando Pó, but were regular visitors to the coast. They named the Gabon region after the Portuguese word gabão — a coat with sleeve and hood resembling the shape of the Komo River estuary. More European merchants came to the region in the 16th century, trading for slaves, ivory and tropical woods. French colonial period In 1838 and 1841, France established a protectorate over the coastal regions of Gabon by treaties with Gabonese coastal chiefs. American missionaries from New England established a mission at the mouth of the Komo River in 1842. In 1849, the French authorities captured an illegal slave ship and freed the captives on board. The captives were released near the mission station, where they founded a settlement which was called Libreville (French for "free town") French explorers penetrated Gabon's dense jungles between 1862 and 1887. The most famous, Savorgnan de Brazza, used Gabonese bearers and guides in his search for the headwaters of the Congo river. France occupied Gabon in 1885, but did not administer it until 1903. Gabon's first political party, the Jeunesse Gabonais, was founded around 1922. In 1910 Gabon became one of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa. On 15 July 1960 France agreed to Gabon becoming fully independent. On 17 August 1960 Gabon became an independent country. Independence At the time of Gabon's independence in 1960, two principal political parties existed: the Gabonese Democratic Bloc (BDG), led by Léon M'Ba, and the Gabonese Democratic and Social Union (UDSG), led by Jean-Hilaire Aubame. In the first post-independence election, held under a parliamentary system, neither party was able to win a majority. The BDG obtained support from three of the four independent legislative deputies, and M'Ba was named Prime Minister. Soon after concluding that Gabon had an insufficient number of people for a two-party system, the two party leaders agreed on a single list of candidates. In the February 1961 election, held under the new presidential system, M'Ba became president and Aubame became foreign minister. This one-party system appeared to work until February 1963, when the larger BDG element forced the UDSG members to choose between a merger of the parties or resignation. The UDSG cabinet ministers resigned, and M'Ba called an election for February 1964 and a reduced number of National Assembly deputies (from 67 to 47). The UDSG failed to muster a list of candidates able to meet the requirements of the electoral decrees. When the BDG appeared likely to win the election by default, the Gabonese military toppled M'Ba in a bloodless coup on 18 February 1964. French troops re-established his government the next day. Elections were held in April 1964 with many opposition participants. BDG-supported candidates won 31 seats and the opposition 16. Late in 1966, the constitution was revised to provide for automatic succession of the vice president should the president die in office. In March 1967, Leon M'Ba and Omar Bongo (then known as Albert Bongo) were elected President and Vice President, with the BDG winning all 47 seats in the National Assembly. M'Ba died later that year, and Omar Bongo became president. In March 1968 Bongo declared Gabon a one-party state by dissolving the BDG and establishing a new party: the Gabonese Democratic Party (Parti Démocratique Gabonais) (PDG). He invited all Gabonese, regardless of previous political affiliation, to participate. Bongo was elected President in February 1973; in April 1975, the office of vice president was abolished and replaced by the office of prime minister, who had no right to automatic succession. Bongo was re-elected president in December 1979 and November 1986 to 7-year terms. Using the PDG as a tool to submerge the regional and tribal rivalries that divided Gabonese politics in the past, Bongo sought to forge a single national movement in support of the government's development policies. Economic discontent and a desire for political liberalization provoked violent demonstrations and strikes by students and workers in early 1990. In response to worker grievances, Bongo negotiated on a sector-by-sector basis, making significant wage concessions. In addition, he promised to open up the PDG and to organize a national political conference in March–April 1990 to discuss Gabon's future political system. The PDG and 74 political organizations attended the conference. Participants essentially divided into two loose coalitions, the ruling PDG and its allies, and the United Front of Opposition Associations and Parties, consisting of the breakaway Morena Fundamental and the Gabonese Progress Party. The April 1990 conference approved sweeping political reforms, including creation of a national Senate, decentralization of the budgetary process, freedom of assembly and press, and cancellation of the exit visa requirement. In an attempt to guide the political system's transformation to multiparty democracy, Bongo resigned as PDG chairman and created a transitional government headed by a new Prime Minister, Casimir Oyé-Mba. The Gabonese Social Democratic Grouping (RSDG), as the resulting government was called, was smaller than the previous government and included representatives from several opposition parties in its cabinet. The RSDG drafted a provisional constitution in May 1990 that provided a basic bill of rights and an independent judiciary but retained strong executive powers for the president. After further review by a constitutional committee and the National Assembly, this document came into force in March 1991. Under the 1991 constitution, in the event of the president's death, the Prime Minister, the National Assembly president, and the defense minister were to share power until a new election could be held. Opposition to the PDG continued, however, and in September 1990, two coup d'état attempts were uncovered and aborted. Despite anti-government demonstrations after the untimely death of an opposition leader, the first multiparty National Assembly elections in almost 30 years took place in September–October 1990, with the PDG garnering a large majority. Following President Bongo's re-election in December 1993 with 51% of the vote, opposition candidates refused to validate the election results. Serious civil disturbances led to an agreement between the government and opposition factions to work toward a political settlement. These talks led to the Paris Accords in November 1994, under which several opposition figures were included in a government of national unity, and constitutional reforms were approved in a referendum in 1995. This arrangement soon broke down, however, and the 1996 and 1997 legislative and municipal elections provided the background for renewed partisan politics. The PDG won a landslide victory in the legislative election, but several major cities, including Libreville, elected opposition mayors during the 1997 local election. Modern times President Bongo coasted to easy re-elections in December 1998 and November 2005, with large majorities of the vote against a divided opposition. While Bongo's major opponents rejected the outcome as fraudulent, some international observers characterized the results as representative despite any perceived irregularities. Legislative elections held in 2001–2002, which were boycotted by a number of smaller opposition parties and were widely criticized for their administrative weaknesses, produced a National Assembly almost completely dominated by the PDG and allied independents. Omar Bongo died at a Spanish hospital on 8 June 2009. His son Ali Bongo Ondimba was elected president in the August 2009 presidential election. He was re-elected in August 2016, in elections marred by numerous irregularities, arrests, human rights violations and post-election violence. On 24 October 2018, Ali Bongo Ondimbao was hospitalized in Riyadh for an undisclosed illness. On 29 November 2018 Bongo was transferred to a military hospital in Rabat to continue recovery. On 9 December 2018 it was reported by Gabon's Vice President Moussavou that Bongo suffered a stroke in Riyadh and has since left the hospital in Rabat and is currently recovering at a private residence in Rabat. Since 24 October 2018 Bongo has not been seen in public and due to lack of evidence that he is either alive or dead many have speculated if he is truly alive or not. On 1 January 2019 Bongo gave his first public address via a video posted to social media since falling ill in October 2018 putting to rest any rumors he was dead. On 7 January 2019, soldiers in Gabon launched an unsuccessful coup d’etat attempt. On May 11, 2021, a Commonwealth delegation visited Gabon as Ali Bongo visited London to meet with the secretary general of the organization, which brings together 54 English-speaking countries. President Bongo expressed Gabon's willingness to join the Commonwealth. See also History of Africa List of heads of government of Gabon List of heads of state of Gabon Politics of Gabon Libreville history and timeline References Petringa, Maria (2006), Brazza, A Life for Africa. Schilling, Heinar (1937), Germanisches Leben, Koehler and Amelang, Leipzig, Germany. Bibliography External links WWW-VL History Index of Gabon A detailed history Background Note: Gabon Gabon French Equatorial Africa

Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It lies on the coast of the Black Sea and is bordered to the north and northeast by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. Location Georgia is largely surrounded by the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus mountains, which form part of a natural boundary between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Because the Europe–Asia boundary is essentially a “historical and cultural construct”, Georgia's continental placement has varied greatly. Anaximander placed the boundary between Europe and Asia along the Phasis River (the modern Rioni River), which effectively located northern parts of Georgia in Europe and the south in Asia, a convention also followed by Herodotus.According to one 18th century definition, which set the Kuma–Manych Depression as the continental boundary, Georgia and the entire Caucasus fell into Asia. However, yet other definition drew the line at Aras River, effectively placing all of Georgia in Europe. Notwithstanding variations in geographic placement, Georgia’s proximity to the bulk of Europe, combined with various historical, cultural and political forces, has led increasingly to its inclusion in Europe. The country has joined European organizations, such as the Council of Europe and Eurocontrol, and has been deemed eligible to apply for membership of the European Union if it so wishes in the future. Topography Despite its small area, Georgia has one of the most varied topographies of the former Soviet republics. Georgia lies mostly in the Caucasus Mountains, and its northern boundary is partly defined by the Greater Caucasus range. The Lesser Caucasus range, which runs parallel to the Turkish and Armenian borders, and the Surami and Imereti ranges, which connect the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus, create natural barriers that are partly responsible for cultural and linguistic differences among regions. Because of their elevation and a poorly developed transportation infrastructure, many mountain villages are virtually isolated from the outside world during the winter. Earthquakes and landslides in mountainous areas present a significant threat to life and property. Among the most recent natural disasters were massive rock- and mudslides in Ajaria in 1989 that displaced thousands in southwestern Georgia, and two earthquakes in 1991 that destroyed several villages in Racha, Upper Imereti and Tskhinvali Region (South Ossetia). Georgia has about 25,000 rivers, many of which power small hydroelectric stations. Drainage is into the Black Sea to the west and through Azerbaijan to the Caspian Sea to the east. The largest river is the Kura River, which flows 1,364 km from northeast Turkey across the plains of eastern Georgia, through the capital, Tbilisi, and into the Caspian Sea. The Rioni River, the largest river in western Georgia, rises in the Greater Caucasus and empties into the Black Sea at the port of Poti. Soviet engineers turned the river lowlands along the Black Sea coast into prime subtropical agricultural land, embanked and straightened many stretches of river, and built an extensive system of canals. Deep mountain gorges form topographical belts within the Greater Caucasus. Coastline The coastline of Georgia is 310 km long. Out of the Georgian coastline, 57 km is the coastline of Ajaria (Ajara), and 200 km is the coastline of Abkhazia. The Encyclopedia of the Nations lists the total length of the coastline as 315 km long. Georgia has an Exclusive Economic Zone of in the Black Sea. Climate Georgia's climate is affected by temperate humid influences from the west and continental influences from the east. The Greater Caucasus range moderates local climate by serving as a barrier against cold air from the north. Warm, moist air from the Black Sea moves easily into the coastal lowlands from the west. Climatic zones are determined by distance from the Black Sea and by altitude. Along the Black Sea coast, from Abkhazia to the Turkish border, and in the region known as the Colchis Lowland inland from the coast, the dominant subtropical climate features high humidity and heavy precipitation ( per year; the Black Sea port of Batumi receives per year). Several varieties of palm trees grow in these regions, where the midwinter average temperature is and the midsummer average is . The plains of eastern Georgia are shielded from the influence of the Black Sea by mountains that provide a more continental climate. Summer temperatures average to , winter temperatures to . Humidity is lower, and rainfall averages per year. Alpine and highland regions in the east and west, as well as a semi-arid region on the Iori Plateau to the southeast, have distinct microclimates. At higher elevations, precipitation is sometimes twice as heavy as in the eastern plains. In the west, the climate is subtropical to about ; above that altitude (and to the north and east) is a band of moist and moderately warm weather, then a band of cool and wet conditions. Alpine conditions begin at about , and above snow and ice are present year-round. Environmental issues Beginning in the 1980s, Black Sea pollution has greatly harmed Georgia's tourist industry. Inadequate sewage treatment is the main cause of that condition. In Batumi, for example, only 18 percent of wastewater was treated before release into the sea as of the early 1990s. As of the early 1990s, an estimated 70 percent of surface water contained health-endangering bacteria to which Georgia's high rate of intestinal disease was attributed. The war in Abkhazia did substantial damage to the ecological habitats unique to that region. In other respects, experts considered Georgia's environmental problems less serious than those of more industrialized former Soviet republics. Solving Georgia's environmental problems was not a high priority of the national government in the post-Soviet years, however; in 1993 the minister for protection of the environment resigned to protest this inactivity. In January 1994, the Cabinet of Ministers announced a new, interdepartmental environmental monitoring system to centralize separate programs under the direction of the Ministry of Protection of the Environment. The system would include a central environmental and information and research agency. The Green Party used its small contingent in the parliament to press environmental issues in 1993. Georgia participates in a number of international environmental agreements. It is a party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Wetlands. Extreme points Northernmost point: (de jure): Abkhazia Northernmost point (de facto): Mestia Municipality, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Southernmost point: Dedoplistsqaro Municipality, Kakheti Westernmost point (de jure): Abkhazia Westernmost point (de facto): Adjara Easternmost point: Dedoplistsqaro Municipality, Kakheti (border with Azerbaijan) See also Glaciers of Georgia List of earthquakes in Georgia (country) References bn:জর্জিয়া (রাষ্ট্র)#ভূগোল

The Demography of Ghana describes the condition and overview of Ghana's population. This article is about the demographic features of the population of Ghana, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. Ghana's population is 30,832,019 (2021 census). Languages Ghana is a multilingual country in which about 80 languages are spoken. English is the official language and lingua franca. Of the languages indigenous to Ghana, Akan is the most widely spoken. Ghana has more than seventy ethnic groups, each with its own distinct language. Languages that belong to the same ethnic group are usually mutually intelligible. Eleven languages have the status of government-sponsored languages: four Akan ethnic languages (Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi, Fante and Nzema) and two Mole-Dagbani ethnic languages (Dagaare and Dagbanli). The rest are Ewe, Dangme, Ga, Gonja, and Kasem, Hausa. Ethnic groups Ghana has more than seventy ethnic groups. Major ethnic groups in Ghana include the Akan at 47.5% of the population, the Mole-Dagbon at 16.6%, the Ewe at 13.9%, the Ga-Dangme at 7.4%, the Gurma at 5.7%, the Guan at 3.7%, the Grusi at 2.5%, the Kusaasi at 1.2%, and the Bikpakpaam a.k.a. Konkomba people at 3.5%. 4.3% of the population is white. They are of British, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Scandinavian, American, Latin American or Australian descent. They live in Accra, Cape Coast, Elmina, Saltpond, Sekondi-Takoradi, and Tema as well as Kumasi, Koforidua, Sunyani and towns such as Ho and Nkawkaw. 2.4% of the population is Chinese. Education Primary and junior secondary school education is tuition-free and mandatory. Since 1987, the Government of Ghana has increased its education budget by 700%. Basic education's share has grown from 45% to 60% of that total. Students begin their six-year primary education at the age of six. They pass into a junior secondary school system for 3 years of academic training combined with technical and vocational training. Those continuing move into the three-year senior secondary school program. Entrance to one of the best Ghanaian universities is by examination following completion of senior secondary school with a pass mark. Demographic trends Ghana's first post independence population census in 1961 counted about 6.7 million inhabitants. Between 1965 and 1989, a constant 45 percent of Ghana total female population was of childbearing age. The crude death rate of 18 per 1,000 population in 1965 fell to 13 per 1,000 population in 1992. Life expectancy rose from a 1992 average of 42 years for men and 45 years for women to 52 and 56 years in 2002. The fertility rate averaged two children per adult female in 2013. Fertility and births based on Demographics Health Survey Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR) Demographics Health Survey: Fertility and births (Census 2000 and 2010) Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR): Births and deaths Fertility data as of 2014 (DHS Program): Life expectancy Other demographic statistics Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019. One birth every 36 seconds One death every 2 minutes One net migrant every 26 minutes Net gain of one person every 50 seconds The following demographics are from the independent Ghana Statistical Service and from the CIA World Factbook unless otherwise indicated. Population 30,802,793 (Feb 2020 ) 25,009,153 (December 2013 est.) Females- 50.5% Male- 49.5% Age structure 0–14 years: 37.83% (male 5,344,146 /female 5,286,383) 15–24 years: 18.61% (male 2,600,390 /female 2,629,660) 25–54 years: 34.21% (male 4,663,234 /female 4,950,888) 55–64 years: 5.05% (male 690,327 /female 727,957) 65 years and over: 4.3% (male 557,155 /female 652,331) (2018 est.) Population growth rate 2.16% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 40th 2.1% (2013 est.) Birth rate 30.2 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 35th 16.03 births/1,000 population (2013 est.) Death rate 6.8 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 134th 7.53 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.) Total fertility rate 3.96 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 34th Fertility rate declined from 3.99 (2000) to 3.28 (2010) with 2.78 in Urban region and 3.94 in rural region. Median age total: 21.2 years. Country comparison to the world: 185th male: 20.7 years female: 21.7 years (2018 est.) Mother's mean age at first birth 22.3 years (2017 est.) note: median age at first birth among women 25–29 Contraceptive prevalence rate 33% (2017) Net migration rate -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 154th -1.85 migrant(s)/1,020 population (2013 est.) Infant mortality rate 39.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.) Dependency ratios total dependency ratio: 73 (2015 est.) youth dependency ratio: 67.1 (2015 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 5.9 (2015 est.) potential support ratio: 17.1 (2015 est.) Urbanization urban population: 56.1% of total population (2018) rate of urbanization: 3.34% annual rate of change (2015–20 est.) Life expectancy at birth total population: 67.4 years (2018 est.) male: 64.9 years (2018 est.) female: 70 years (2018 est.) total population: 65.46 years (2013 est.); 66 years male: 64.48 years (2013 est.); 66 years female: 66.48 years (2013 est.); 67 years (2013 est.) Nationality noun: Ghanaian adjective: Ghanaian Citizenship Ghanaian citizens (20,000,000 million) Ghanaian people Religions Religion in Ghana (2015) Christian 59.6% Protestantism 43.9% Roman Catholic 12.9% Eastern Orthodoxy 0.02% Islam 19.9% Traditional 15.5% None 0.3% Other 0.2% Languages Asante 16%, Ewe 14%, Fante 11.6%, Bono (Brong) 4.9%, Dagomba 4.4%, Dangme 4.2%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.9%, Likpakpaanl a.k.a. Konkomba language 3.5%, Akyem 3.2%, Ga 3.1%, Other 31.2% Literacy Definition: aged 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.) total population: 76.6% (2015 est.) male: 82% (2015 est.) female: 71.4% (2015 est.) School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) total: 12 years (2017) male: 12 years (2017) female: 11 years (2017) total population: 71.5% male: 78.3% female: 65.3% (2010 census) Unemployment, youth aged 15–24 total: 15.2% (2015 est.) male: 15.8% (2015 est.) female: 14.6% (2015 est.) Demographic history Historical population Population distribution Population density increased steadily from 36 per square kilometer in 1970 to 52 per square kilometer in 1984. In 1990 63 persons per square kilometer was the estimate for Ghana's overall population density. These averages did not reflect variations in population distribution. For example, while the Northern Region, one of ten administrative regions, showed a density of seventeen persons per square kilometer in 1984, in the same year Greater Accra Region recorded nine times the national average of 52 per square kilometer. As was the case in the 1960 and 1970 figures, the greatest concentration of population in 1984 was to the south of the Kwahu Plateau. The highest concentration of habitation continued to be within the Accra-Kumasi-Takoradi triangle, largely because of the economic productivity of the region. All of Ghana's mining centres, timber-producing deciduous forests, and cocoa-growing lands lie to the south of the Kwahu Plateau. The Accra-Kumasi-Takoradi triangle is linked to the coast by rail and road systems—making this area an important magnet for investment and labor. A large part of the Volta Basin is sparsely populated. The far north is heavily populated. The population density of the Upper East Region is well above the national average. This may be explained in part by the better soil found in some areas. Urban–rural disparities Localities of 5,000 persons and above have been classified as urban since 1960. The 1960 urban population totalled 1,551,174 persons, or 23.1 percent of total population. By 1970 the urban percentage had increased to 28 percent. That percentage rose to 32 in 1984 and was estimated at 33 percent for 1992. Urban areas in Ghana have customarily been supplied with more amenities than rural locations. Consequently, Kumasi, Accra, and many settlements within the southern economic belt attracted more people than the savanna regions of the north; only Tamale in the north has been an exception. The linkage of the national electricity grid to the northern areas of the country in the late 1980s may help to stabilize the north-to-south flow of internal migration. Ghana has a hugely rural population that is dependent on subsistence agriculture. Ghana has continued to be a nation of rural communities. Rural residency was estimated to be 67 percent of the population in 1992. In the 1970s, 72 percent of Ghana's population lived in rural areas. The "Rural Manifesto," which assessed the causes of rural underdevelopment, was introduced in April 1984. Development strategies were evaluated, and some were implemented to make rural residency more attractive. The Bank of Ghana established more than 120 rural banks to support rural entrepreneurs, and the rural electrification program was intensified in the late 1980s. The government presented its plans for district assemblies as a component of its strategy for rural improvement through decentralized administration. References External links Ghana Statistical Service

Communications in Gibraltar comprise a wide range of telephony systems (both fixed-line and mobile), Internet access, broadcasting (radio and television) and satellite control. There is also printed and online media. Regulation of telecommunications and broadcasting are the responsibility of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority (GRA), established by means of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority Act in 2000. Telecommunications History The first submarine telegraph cable started its operation in Gibraltar in 1870. Gibraltar was a landing point of the long-range submarine cable that from Porthcurno, in the United Kingdom ran to Lisbon, Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, Suez, Aden, Bombay, over land to the east coast of India, then on to Penang, Malacca, Singapore, Batavia (current Jakarta), to finally reach Darwin, Australia. It was the first direct link between Australia and Great Britain. The company that laid the first part of the cable took the name of Falmouth, Gibraltar and Malta Telegraph Company and had been founded in 1869. This company later operated as the Eastern Telegraph Company from Mount Pleasant in Gibraltar and eventually became Cable & Wireless. The first telephones were introduced to Gibraltar in 1886 by a private company which was later taken over by the colonial authorities. The first wireless message was transmitted to Gibraltar in 1903. Since 1926, the telephone service was operated by the City Council. An automatic exchange was installed in the last floor of the City Hall. On 4 April 1927, following an agreement signed between the Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España, the Spanish incumbent telecommunications operator, and the Gibraltar City Council, direct communications between Spain and Gibraltar were established. Upon the approval of the 1969 Constitution and the dissolution of the City Council, the telephone service was transferred to the newly formed Government of Gibraltar. In the 1970s there were three generations of automatic telephone exchange equipment in use with four and five digit numbers. The volume of calls grew and a System X digital exchange was installed. Until 1990, all telephone services were operated by the Gibraltar Government Telephone Department. International circuits were provided by Cable & Wireless, present in Gibraltar since 1870 as the Falmouth, Malta, Gibraltar Telegraph Company. However, Cable & Wireless left Gibraltar in 1987. On 1 January 1988, British Telecom (BT) and the Government of Gibraltar formed a joint venture company called Gibraltar Telecommunications International Ltd (known by its commercial brand Gibtel) to operate Gibraltar's international telecommunications services. Gibtel was subsequently granted a licence to offer mobile telephony introducing a GSM900 network. In 1990, the Government decided to privatise its Telephone Department and therefore entered into a joint venture with Nynex of the United States. Gibraltar Nynex Communications Ltd (GNC) became responsible for fixed-line telephony. GNC was the first acquisition of Nynex outside the Americas. In 1997, GNC, through its wholly owned subsidiary, GNC Networks, commenced Internet services. GNC Networks was later renamed GibConnect. ADSL services were introduced in 2002. In 2001, BT sold its 50% stake in Gibtel to GNC. Both companies subsequently merged to form Gibtelecom, a joint venture between the Government of Gibraltar and Nynex's successor company, Verizon. The name Gibtelecom begun to be used in July 2002, and as of 1 October 2003 this name was formally adopted by the company (which up until then was still Gibraltar Nynex Communications). In April 2007, Verizon sold its shares to Telekom Slovenije which is the incumbent telecommunications operator in Slovenia and is quoted on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. Infrastructure Telephones – Numbers in use: 25,000 (2006) Telephones – mobile cellular: 15,000 (2006) The telecommunications infrastructure in Gibraltar is modelled on that of the UK; for example; the ringing tone of fixed telephone lines is identical to that of the UK, although that of mobile phones may resemble that of mainland Europe, with long tones. Telephone jacks are also British Standard BS 6312, as opposed to the RJ11 versions found in other parts of Europe and the world. Numbering plan Calling code: +350 Telecom dispute Telecommunication services in Gibraltar were subject to Spanish restrictions until 10 February 2007. Subsequent to the resolution of the dispute, the Gibraltar telephone numbering plan has been increased to eight digits for land lines, adding a prefix of 200 to the existing Gibtelecom five digit numbers which is required to be dialled from October 2008. Gibtelecom was also prevented from having roaming agreements with Spanish GSM networks so its mobile phones did not operate in Spain. Gibtelecom had roaming arrangements with local GSM networks in most other countries. After the Córdoba Agreement, Gibtel (Gibtelecom's mobile service) could roam on Spanish network Movistar (Telefónica). As of recent customers can now roam on Vodafone and Yoigo. Orange still (September 2008) identifies as AMENA and does not allow Gibraltar phones to register. Fixed line services In the 1980s there was a shortage of local line capacity on the existing crossbar exchange, which itself had replaced the relay and Strowger switch exchanges and a modern digital System/X switch was installed. Cable and Wireless, who provided international circuits installed a satellite earth station which made International Subscriber Dialling possible. When the frontier with Spain was re-opened, telephone and telex circuits cut by General Franco were re-established. Subsequently, fibre links into the FLAG cable system (which had a landing point in Estepona, about 50 km from Gibraltar) were established and along with microwave links to Morocco giving Gibraltar a resilient communications infrastructure. Gibtelecom is also a partner in the EIG cable system, which will have a landing point in Gibraltar. Provision for Local Loop Unbundling was introduced in Gibraltar, under the 2006 Communications Act, similar to the UK's 2003 Communications Act. Earlier in December 2005, the European Commission initiated the second stage of infringement proceedings against the British Government relating to Gibraltar's failure to transpose five European Union directives on electronic communications, but these were closed after the relevant legislation was passed into law by the then House of Assembly in June 2006. Fixed line numbers are now eight digits, with Gibtelecom numbers being prefixed with 200. A second operator, CTS Gibraltar Limited, provided fixed line services beginning with the prefix 216, but closed down in early 2013. Mobile network GSM Network Identifiers : GIBTEL Gibraltar Telecommunications International Limited (Gibtel) (now Gibtelecom) introduced mobile phones in Gibraltar using a GSM900 network. The new GPRS network installed by the Scandinavian company allows faster and permanent connectivity for all mobile users, as well as providing high-speed picture and video messaging for owners of the new range of multi-purpose hand-sets. Gibtelecom operates 3G & 4G networks. CTS ceased providing 3G services in early 2013. A new provider, Shine Mobile, launched on 23 September 2013. On 12 May 2016 the Company posted a notice on its website [www.shinemobile.gi] saying that "As from 18/05/2016, our services are going to be SUSPENDED; therefore your Shine line will NOT be operational." It was said that was to facilitate working on upgrading infrastructure, but as of 29 May 2016 the service is still down. Suspending service with less than a week's notice, suggests this may not have just been related to upgrading infrastructure which presumably would have been in the planning stage for more than six days. Shine Mobile will not be back. Broadcasting Television Television stations: 1 (plus three low-power repeaters) (2002) Television licences: 7,452 (2002) Requirement abolished (2007). GBC Television is operated by the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) is transmitted on VHF Channel 12 with UHF repeaters on 56 and 53. Until 1999, GBC retransmitted BBC Prime, but was relaunched as a community-based service focusing on local news and other items of local interest. GBC programming starts at around 19:30 and finishes before midnight with the most popular programme being the local news bulletin, News Watch at 20:30. During the day fillers and the sound of GBC radio are transmitted. The station was funded by a mix of advertising, government funding, and an annual television licence fee. In June 2006, the licence was abolished by the Government. A new general manager was appointed in 2010 with a mandate to develop the station to meet future requirements of the community. The majority of homes also have access to satellite television with mostly United Kingdom channels. Gibraltar also receives Spanish national digital television and radio stations, as well as Spanish digital regional (from Andalusia) and local stations (from the Campo de Gibraltar area). Radio Radio stations: AM 1, FM 4, DAB+, Internet 2 (2019) Radios: 37,000 (1997) – Radio licences now discontinued The Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) operates Radio Gibraltar on both FM and AM, broadcasting a mix of local programming in English and Spanish, and retransmissions of the BBC World Service. In December 2005, GBC started internet streaming of its radio service, and in 2009 the daily Newswatch programme became available as video on demand. These services along with an up-to-date programme guide for GBC television and radio, can be found on the website. The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) operates two radio stations on FM, BFBS1 and BFBS2 and a private cable television network. BFBS1 and 2 are also available on the Internet streamed from the UK. On 1 October 2018, Rock Radio – Gibraltar's Hit Music Station was launched. Rock Radio is Gibraltar's first and only independent commercial radio station, the first to launch in over 50 years. The station transmits live from the top of the Rock on 99.2 FM, DAB+ and online. Amateur radio Callsigns: ZB0x (VHF only), ZB2xx (Full), ZB3x (novice) + special event stations Amateur radio started in Gibraltar shortly after the Second World War. The Gibraltar Amateur Radio Society (GARS) is a small but active society representing the interests of Amateur Radio both locally and internationally as a full International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member society. Each year for Gibraltar National Week amateur radio operators can use the ZG prefix instead of ZB. Special event stations are licensed by the GRA for example the Lighthouse Activity Weekend uses ZB2LGT. Internet Country code (top-level domain): .gi Internet service providers (ISPs): 4 Gibnet Limited, a private company, began Internet services in January 1996, with a 64 kbit/s circuit to Spain. In 2005 it merged with Broadband Gibraltar Limited to form Sapphire Networks Limited. Sapphire have their own redundant fibre and microwave infrastructure into and around Gibraltar. Sapphire uses the Gibtelecom ADSL concentrator to reach customers that are outside their own network, and sells high-bandwidth Internet services and Internet connectivity, competing directly with Gibtelecom. GNC Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gibraltar Nynex Communications, commenced services in 1997. GNC Networks was renamed Gibconnect and the parent company became Gibraltar Telecommunications International Limited, which is referred to as Gibtelecom, in 2002. ADSL services were introduced in 2002, by 2005, there were several thousand users. The company is co-owned by the Government of Gibraltar and Slovenia Telecom. In 2000, the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority issued Ladbrokes, who then operated Gibraltar's biggest call centre, with a licence to establish their own internet services. Under this Advanced Business Communications (Europe) began operating on the rock. The company applied for a licence in their own right. The GRA eventually denied ABC (Europe) a licence. Ladbrokes scaled down their Gibraltar operations and their 'Internet permit' was not renewed. ABC ceased their Gibraltar operations in early 2002. CTS Gibraltar Limited launched a WiMax service in 2008, competing against the established ADSL providers. It then expanded into ADSL for nearby housing estates, and set up a rival UTMS service. CTS was closed down in early 2013 due to significant debts owed to government authorities and other creditors. Shine Mobile, launched in September 2013, has obtained a licence for broadband services, which it planned to introduce, but the company closed down. In 2013, GibFibreSpeed Ltd, trading under A.J. Sheriff Electrical Ltd, obtained a broadband licence. GibFibreSpeed is Gibraltar's first communications provider to offer Fibre to the Home (FTTH) broadband services. Since 2013, GibFibreSpeed has been upgrading its own independent all-fibre network and preparing for the launch of broadband services, it has since opened its stores and has planned to begin offering broadband in early 2015. Printed media Newspapers The largest and most frequently published newspaper is the Gibraltar Chronicle, Gibraltar's oldest established daily newspaper and the world's second oldest English language newspaper to have been in print continuously with daily editions six days a week. Panorama is published on weekdays, and 7 Days, The New People, and Gibsport are weekly. Other newspapers such as the weekly El Faro de Gibraltar, are published in Spanish. Defunct newspapers include El Calpense, a Spanish-language newspaper that was published in Gibraltar between 1868 and 1982. In the 1960s it became a weekly newspaper. When the border between Spain and Gibraltar was eventually closed by the Spanish dictator in 1969, the newspaper changed its ownership and begun to be published in English. It later closed in 1982. Also, El Anunciador was a Spanish-language newspaper that was published between 1885 and 1940. Magazines Gibraltar has two prominent monthly magazines; Gibraltar Insight and the Gibraltar Magazine. EuropeAxess Media, in liaison with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar, also publishes a monthly magazine: Upon This Rock Globe magazine also appears monthly, having first started as a bi-lingual publication which produced two versions of each of its articles – one in English and the other in Spanish. Over time, Globe phased out the Spanish language element and is now an English language monthly aimed at Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar. B magazine is Gibraltar's first locally produced magazine aimed at women. It appears monthly and its contents include fashion, advice, health, weddings and similar features geared at young women. The publication also features a Social spotlight section composed of photos depicting eventsand fundraisers. Online Media Various online news outlets covering general news exist such as online editions of the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation, and the Gibraltar Chronicle. Independent online media include Your Gibraltar TV and sports news outlets such as GibFootballTalk. See also Telecom dispute between Gibraltar and Spain References External links Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (Internet-streamed radio) BFBS Radio in Gibraltar Gibraltar Regulatory Authority Gibtelecom Sapphire Networks Amateur Radio in Gibraltar

A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into a landmass. Gulf or the gulf may also refer to: Places Persian Gulf, sometimes called simply "The Gulf" Arab states of the Persian Gulf, or "The Gulf" Gulf of Mexico, known colloquially as just "the gulf" Gulf Country, a region in Australia Gulf Province, a province of Papua New Guinea Gulf, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States Gulf Freeway, a highway in Texas, United States Arts and media Gulf (novella), by Robert A. Heinlein (1949) The Gulf (play), 2010/2015 play by Audrey Cefaly The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, book by Jack E. Davis Gulf (film), Indian Telugu-language film Businesses and organizations Gulf Air, the principal flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain Gulf FM (disambiguation), various radio stations Gulf High School, a four-year public high school in New Port Richey, Florida Gulf Oil, a major oil company from 1901 to 1985 Gulf Canada, a major Canadian oil company since 1906, a subsidiary of Gulf Oil JWA Gulf, a Gulf Oil-sponsored motor racing team of John Wyer in the 1960s and 1970s Gulf Power Company, an American investor-owned electric utility Gulf and Western Industries, an American conglomerate Global University Leaders Forum, an organization within World Economic Forum Gulf News, a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai Other uses Gulf house, a type of farmhouse that emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries in North Germany Gulf of evaluation, the degree to which a computer system provides representations that can be directly perceived and interpreted in terms of the expectations and intentions of the user Gulf of execution, a term usually used in human computer interaction to describe the gap between a user's goal for action and the means to execute that goal See also Arabian Gulf (disambiguation) Gulf breeze (disambiguation) Gulf Coast (disambiguation) Grand Gulf (disambiguation) Gulf Building (disambiguation) Gulf Cup (disambiguation) Gulf states (disambiguation) Gulf University (disambiguation) Golf (disambiguation) Gulf Stream, a maritime current Gulf War, 1990–91 war waged by coalition forces led by the United States against Iraq Gulf Coast of the United States, the coastline along the Southern United States and the Gulf of Mexico List of gulfs, a list of large bays and gulfs

Greenland (, ; , ) is an island nation located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is the world's largest island, and one of the three constituent countries that form the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark and the Faroe Islands; the citizens of these countries are all Danish nationals. Greenland is divided into five municipalities: Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqqata, Qeqertalik and Avannaata. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated Northeast Greenland National Park. Thule Air Base is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality administered by the United States Space Force. Greenland's capital is Nuuk. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century. Today, the population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica. With a population of 56,081 (2020), it is the least densely populated region in the world. About a third of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital and largest city; the second-largest city in terms of population is Sisimiut, north of Nuuk. The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements. Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, having previously settled Iceland. These Norsemen later set sail from Greenland and Iceland, with Leif Erikson becoming the first known European to reach North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached the Caribbean islands. Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1261. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century after Norway was hit by the Black Death and entered a severe decline. Soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it Terra do Lavrador (later applied to Labrador in Canada). In the early 17th century, Danish explorers reached Greenland again. To strengthen trading and power, Denmark–Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Because of Norway's weak status, it lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became Danish in 1814 and was fully integrated in the Danish state in 1953 under the Constitution of Denmark. With the Constitution of 1953, the people in Greenland became citizens of Denmark. From 1961 Greenland joined the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which Denmark joined as a founding member of the EFTA in 1960, but its membership ceased with effect from 1973 when Denmark joined the European Communities. In 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC. This was effected in 1985, changing Greenland to an OCT (Overseas Countries and Territories) associated with the EEC, now the European Union (EU). The associated relationship with the EU also means that all Greenlandic nationals (OCT-nationals) are EU citizens. Greenland contains the world's largest and northernmost national park, Northeast Greenland National Park (Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq). Established in 1974 and expanded to its present size in 1988, it protects of the interior and northeastern coast of Greenland and is bigger than all but twenty-nine countries in the world. In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in 2008, Greenlanders voted in favour of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. Under the new structure, Greenland has gradually assumed responsibility for policing, the judicial system, company law, accounting, auditing, mineral resource activities, aviation, law of legal capacity, family law and succession law, immigration and border controls, the working environment, and financial regulation and supervision. The Danish government still retains control of citizenship, monetary policy and foreign affairs including defence. It also provided an initial annual subsidy of DKK 3.4 billion, that will diminish gradually. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources. The capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, mostly coming from hydropower. Etymology The early Norse settlers named the island as Greenland. In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter. Along with his extended family and his thralls (i.e. slaves or serfs), he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it (translated as "Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. The Saga of Erik the Red states: "In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favorable name." The name of the country in the indigenous Greenlandic language is ("land of the Kalaallit"). The Kalaallit are the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people who inhabit the country's western region. The military of the United States used as a code name for Greenland in World War II, where they kept several bases named as Bluie (East or West) (sequential numeral). History Early Paleo-Inuit cultures In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successive Paleo-Inuit cultures known today primarily through archaeological finds. The earliest entry of the Paleo-Inuit into Greenland is thought to have occurred about 2500 BC. From around 2500 BC to 800 BC, southern and western Greenland were inhabited by the Saqqaq culture. Most finds of Saqqaq-period archaeological remains have been around Disko Bay, including the site of Saqqaq, after which the culture is named. From 2400 BC to 1300 BC, the Independence I culture existed in northern Greenland. It was a part of the Arctic small tool tradition. Towns, including Deltaterrasserne, started to appear. Around 800 BC, the Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early Dorset culture emerged in western Greenland and the Independence II culture in northern Greenland. The Dorset culture was the first culture to extend throughout the Greenlandic coastal areas, both on the west and east coasts. It lasted until the total onset of the Thule culture in 1500 AD. The Dorset culture population lived primarily from hunting of whales and caribou. Norse settlement From 986, Greenland's west coast was settled by Icelanders and Norwegians, through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements – known as the Eastern Settlement, the Western Settlement and the Middle Settlement – on fjords near the southwesternmost tip of the island. They shared the island with the late Dorset culture inhabitants who occupied the northern and western parts, and later with the Thule culture that entered from the north. Norse Greenlanders submitted to Norwegian rule in 1261 under the Kingdom of Norway. Later the Kingdom of Norway entered into a personal union with Denmark in 1380 and from 1397 was a part of the Kalmar Union. The Norse settlements, such as Brattahlíð, thrived for centuries but disappeared sometime in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of the Little Ice Age. Apart from some runic inscriptions, the only contemporary records or historiography that survives from the Norse settlements is of their contact with Iceland or Norway. Medieval Norwegian sagas and historical works mention Greenland's economy as well as the bishops of Gardar and the collection of tithes. A chapter in the Konungs skuggsjá (The King's Mirror) describes Norse Greenland's exports and imports as well as grain cultivation. Icelandic saga accounts of life in Greenland were composed in the 13th century and later, and do not constitute primary sources for the history of early Norse Greenland. Those accounts are closer to primary for more contemporaneous accounts of late Norse Greenland. Modern understanding therefore mostly depends on the physical data from archeological sites. Interpretation of ice core and clam shell data suggests that between 800 and 1300 AD, the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland experienced a relatively mild climate several degrees Celsius higher than usual in the North Atlantic, with trees and herbaceous plants growing, and livestock being farmed. Barley was grown as a crop up to the 70th parallel. The ice cores indicate Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times over the past 100,000 years. Similarly the Icelandic Book of Settlements records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs". These Icelandic settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The demise of the Western Settlement coincides with a decrease in summer and winter temperatures. A study of North Atlantic seasonal temperature variability during the Little Ice Age showed a significant decrease in maximum summer temperatures beginning in the late 13th century to early 14th century – as much as lower than modern summer temperatures. The study also found that the lowest winter temperatures of the last 2,000 years occurred in the late 14th century and early 15th century. The Eastern Settlement was likely abandoned in the early to mid-15th century, during this cold period. Theories drawn from archeological excavations at Herjolfsnes in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because of soil erosion resulting from the Norsemen's destruction of natural vegetation in the course of farming, turf-cutting, and wood-cutting. Malnutrition may also have resulted from widespread deaths from pandemic plague; the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with the Skrælings (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches"). Recent archeological studies somewhat challenge the general assumption that the Norse colonization had a dramatic negative environmental effect on the vegetation. Data support traces of a possible Norse soil amendment strategy. More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the 15th century as walrus ivory, the most valuable export from Greenland, decreased in price because of competition with other sources of higher-quality ivory, and that there was actually little evidence of starvation or difficulties. Other explanations of the disappearance of the Norse settlements have been proposed: Lack of support from the homeland. Ship-borne marauders (such as Basque, English, or German pirates) rather than Skrælings, could have plundered and displaced the Greenlanders. They were "the victims of hidebound thinking and of a hierarchical society dominated by the Church and the biggest land owners. In their reluctance to see themselves as anything but Europeans, the Greenlanders failed to adopt the kind of apparel that the Inuit employed as protection against the cold and damp or to borrow any of the Inuit hunting gear." That portion of the Greenlander population willing to adopt Inuit ways and means intermarried with and assimilated into the Inuit community. Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Unsolved Mysteries of the Arctic, 1938, chapter 1. Much of the Greenland population today is mixed Inuit and European ancestry. It was impossible in 1938 when Stefansson wrote his book to distinguish between intermarriage before the European loss of contact and after the contact was restored. "Norse society's structure created a conflict between the short-term interests of those in power, and the long-term interests of the society as a whole." Thule culture (1300–present) The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic population. No genes from the Paleo-Inuit have been found in the present population of Greenland. The Thule culture migrated eastward from what is now known as Alaska around 1000 AD, reaching Greenland around 1300. The Thule culture was the first to introduce to Greenland such technological innovations as dog sleds and toggling harpoons. There is an account of contact and conflict with the Norse population, as told by the Inuit. It is republished in The Norse Atlantic Sagas, by Gwyn Jones. Jones reports that there is also an account of perhaps the same incident, of more doubtful provenance, told by the Norse side. 1500–1814 In 1500, King Manuel I of Portugal sent Gaspar Corte-Real to Greenland in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia which, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, was part of Portugal's sphere of influence. In 1501, Corte-Real returned with his brother, Miguel Corte-Real. Finding the sea frozen, they headed south and arrived in Labrador and Newfoundland. Upon the brothers' return to Portugal, the cartographic information supplied by Corte-Real was incorporated into a new map of the world which was presented to Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, by Alberto Cantino in 1502. The Cantino planisphere, made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland. In 1605–1607, King Christian IV of Denmark sent a series of expeditions to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assert Danish sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were mostly unsuccessful, partly due to leaders who lacked experience with the difficult Arctic ice and weather conditions, and partly because the expedition leaders were given instructions to search for the Eastern Settlement on the east coast of Greenland just north of Cape Farewell, which is almost inaccessible due to southward drifting ice. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer James Hall. After the Norse settlements died off, Greenland came under the de facto control of various Inuit groups, but the Danish government never forgot or relinquished the claims to Greenland that it had inherited from the Norse. When it re-established contact with Greenland in the early 17th century, Denmark asserted its sovereignty over the island. In 1721, a joint mercantile and clerical expedition led by Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of the Dano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas. After 15 years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his son Paul Egede in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred at Godthåb ("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries. Treaty of Kiel to World War II When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland as Erik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constituted terra nullius. Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to the Permanent Court of International Justice, which decided against Norway. Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early in World War II, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany. The United States occupation of Greenland continued until 1945. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by selling cryolite from the mine at Ivittuut. The major air bases were Bluie West-1 at Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 at Søndre Strømfjord (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports. Bluie was the military code name for Greenland. During this war, the system of government changed: Governor Eske Brun ruled the island under a law of 1925 that allowed governors to take control under extreme circumstances; Governor Aksel Svane was transferred to the United States to lead the commission to supply Greenland. The Danish Sirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dogsleds. They detected several German weather stations and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Albert Speer briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to the United States Armed Forces. Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. The Danish government had maintained a strict monopoly of Greenlandic trade, allowing no more than small scale barter trading with British whalers. In wartime Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world. Despite this change, in 1946 a commission including the highest Greenlandic council, the Landsrådene, recommended patience and no radical reform of the system. Two years later, the first step towards a change of government was initiated when a grand commission was established. A final report (G-50) was presented in 1950, which recommended the introduction of a modern welfare state with Denmark's development as sponsor and model. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979. Home rule and self-rule Following World War II, the United States developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland, and in 1946 the United States offered to buy the island from Denmark for $100,000,000. Denmark refused to sell it. Historically this repeated an interest by Secretary of State William H. Seward. In 1867 he worked with former senator Robert J. Walker to explore the possibility of buying Greenland and perhaps Iceland. Opposition in Congress ended this project. In the 21st century, the United States, according to WikiLeaks, remains interested in investing in the resource base of Greenland and in tapping hydrocarbons off the Greenlandic coast. In August 2019, the American president Donald Trump again proposed to buy the country, prompting premier Kim Kielsen to issue the statement, "Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold, but Greenland is open for trade and cooperation with other countries – including the United States." In 1950, Denmark agreed to allow the US to regain the use of Thule Air Base; it was greatly expanded between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO Cold War defence strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secret nuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, named Project Iceworm. According to documents declassified in 1996, this project was managed from Camp Century from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable. The missiles were never fielded and necessary consent from the Danish Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government did not become aware of the programme's mission until 1997, when they discovered it while looking, in the declassified documents, for records related to the crash of a nuclear equipped B-52 bomber at Thule in 1968. With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended as the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an amt (county). Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation – or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, and a number lost their cultural ties to Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s. As a consequence of political complications in relation to Denmark's entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979. This gave Greenland limited autonomy with its own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while the Parliament of Denmark maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, remains Greenland's head of state. In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC) upon achieving self-rule, as it did not agree with the EEC's commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on seal skin products. Greenland voters approved a referendum on greater autonomy on 25 November 2008. According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence." On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, and natural resources. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under international law. Denmark maintains control of foreign affairs and defence matters. Denmark upholds the annual block grant of 3.2 billion Danish kroner, but as Greenland begins to collect revenues of its natural resources, the grant will gradually be diminished. This is generally considered to be a step toward eventual full independence from Denmark. Greenlandic was declared the sole official language of Greenland at the historic ceremony. Tourism Tourism increased significantly between 2010 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 460,000 per year to 2 million. Condé Nast Traveler describes that high level as "overtourism". One source estimated that in 2019 the revenue from this aspect of the economy was about 450 million kroner (US$67 million). Like many aspects of the economy, this slowed dramatically in 2020, and into 2021, due to restrictions required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; one source describes it as being the "biggest economic victim of the coronavirus". (The overall economy did not suffer too severely as of mid 2020, thanks to the fisheries "and a hefty subsidy from Copenhagen".) Greenland's goal for returning tourism is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run". Geography and climate Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island and the third largest area in North America after Canada and the United States. It is between latitudes 59° and 83°N, and longitudes 11° and 74°W. Greenland is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Greenland Sea to the east, the North Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, the Davis Strait to the southwest, Baffin Bay to the west, the Nares Strait and Lincoln Sea to the northwest. The nearest countries are Canada, to the west and southwest across Nares Strait and Baffin Bay; and Iceland, southeast of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland also contains the world's largest national park, and it is the largest dependent territory by area in the world, as well as the fourth largest country subdivision in the world, after Sakha Republic in Russia, Australia's state of Western Australia, and Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the largest in North America. The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached . In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from The total area of Greenland is (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers (81%) and has a volume of approximately . The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at of the Watkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than in elevation. The weight of the ice sheet has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than below sea level, while elevations rise suddenly and steeply near the coast. The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, at Greenland's Grand Canyon and south of Nordostrundingen. All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park. At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established on the ice sheet in the ice-covered central part of Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the adjacent map): Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round station Summit Camp on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brønlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world. The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt away completely, the world's sea level would rise by more than . In 2003, a small island, in length and width, was discovered by arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt and his team at the coordinates of 83-42. Whether this island is permanent is not yet confirmed. If it is, it is the northernmost permanent known land on Earth. In 2007, the existence of a new island was announced. Named "Uunartoq Qeqertaq" (English: Warming Island), this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland, but was covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the exposed island. The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007. Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented: "In the last two or three decades, global warming has reduced the size of glaciers throughout the Arctic and earlier this year, news sources confirmed what climate scientists already knew: water, not rock, lay beneath this ice bridge on the east coast of Greenland. More islets are likely to appear as the sheet of frozen water covering the world's largest island continues to melt". Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period in Greenland during the mid-20th century. Climate change Between 1989 and 1993, US and European climate researchers drilled into the summit of Greenland's ice sheet, obtaining a pair of long ice cores. Analysis of the layering and chemical composition of the cores has provided a revolutionary new record of climate change in the Northern Hemisphere going back about 100,000 years and illustrated that the world's weather and temperature have often shifted rapidly from one seemingly stable state to another, with worldwide consequences. The glaciers of Greenland are also contributing to a rise in the global sea level faster than was previously believed. Between 1991 and 2004, monitoring of the weather at one location (Swiss Camp) showed that the average winter temperature had risen almost . Other research has shown that higher snowfalls from the North Atlantic oscillation caused the interior of the ice cap to thicken by an average of each year between 1994 and 2005. In July 2021, Greenland banned all new oil and gas exploration in its territory, with government officials stating that the environmental "price of oil extraction is too high." In August 2021, rain fell on the summit of Greenland's ice cap for the first time in recorded history, which scientists attributed to climate change. Geology The island was part of the very ancient Precambrian continent of Laurentia, the eastern core of which forms the Greenland Shield, while the less exposed coastal strips become a plateau. On these ice-free coastal strips are sediments formed in the Precambrian, overprinted by metamorphism and now formed by glaciers, which continue into the Cenozoic and Mesozoic in parts of the island. In the east and west of Greenland there are remnants of flood basalts. Notable rock provinces (metamorphic igneous rocks, ultramafics and anorthosites) are found on the southwest coast at Qeqertarsuatsiaat. East of Nuuk, the banded iron ore region of Isukasia, over three billion years old, contains the world's oldest rocks, such as greenlandite (a rock composed predominantly of hornblende and hyperthene), formed 3.8 billion years ago, and nuummite. In southern Greenland, the Illimaussaq alkaline complex consists of pegmatites such as nepheline, syenites (especially kakortokite or naujaite) and sodalite (sodalite-foya). In Ivittuut, where cryolite was formerly mined, there are fluoride-bearing pegmatites. To the north of Igaliku, there are the Gardar alkaline pegmatitic intrusions of augite syenite, gabbro, etc. To the west and southwest are Palaeozoic carbonatite complexes at Kangerlussuaq (Gardiner complex) and Safartoq, and basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks at Uiffaq on Disko Island, where there are masses of heavy native iron up to in the basalts. Biodiversity Greenland is home to two ecoregions: Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra. There are approximately 700 known species of insects in Greenland, which is low compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). The sea is rich in fish and invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current; a large part of the Greenland fauna is associated with marine-based food chains, including large colonies of seabirds. The few native land mammals in Greenland include the polar bear, reindeer (introduced by Europeans), arctic fox, arctic hare, musk ox, collared lemming, ermine, and arctic wolf. The last four are found naturally only in East Greenland, having immigrated from Ellesmere Island. There are dozens of species of seals and whales along the coast. Land fauna consists predominantly of animals which have spread from North America or, in the case of many birds and insects, from Europe. There are no native or free-living reptiles or amphibians on the island. Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland and small shrubs, which are regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European white birch (Betula pubescens) along with gray-leaf willow (Salix glauca), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), common juniper (Juniperus communis) and other smaller trees, mainly willows. Greenland's flora consists of about 500 species of "higher" plants, i.e. flowering plants, ferns, horsetails and lycopodiophyta. Of the other groups, the lichens are the most diverse, with about 950 species; there are 600–700 species of fungi; mosses and bryophytes are also found. Most of Greenland's higher plants have circumpolar or circumboreal distributions; only a dozen species of saxifrage and hawkweed are endemic. A few plant species were introduced by the Norsemen, such as cow vetch. The terrestrial vertebrates of Greenland include the Greenland dog, which was introduced by the Inuit, as well as European-introduced species such as Greenlandic sheep, goats, cattle, reindeer, horse, chicken and sheepdog, all descendants of animals imported by Europeans. Marine mammals include the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) as well as the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus). Whales frequently pass very close to Greenland's shores in the late summer and early autumn. Whale species include the beluga whale, blue whale, Greenland whale, fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale, narwhal, pilot whale, sperm whale. As of 2009, 269 species of fish from over 80 different families are known from the waters surrounding Greenland. Almost all are marine species with only a few in freshwater, notably Atlantic salmon and charr. The fishing industry is the primary industry of Greenland's economy, accounting for the majority of the country's total exports. Birds, particularly seabirds, are an important part of Greenland's animal life; they consist of both Palearctic and Nearctic species, breeding populations of auks, puffins, skuas, and kittiwakes are found on steep mountainsides. Greenland's ducks and geese include common eider, long-tailed duck, king eider, white-fronted goose, pink-footed goose and barnacle goose. Breeding migratory birds include the snow bunting, lapland bunting, ringed plover, red-throated loon and red-necked phalarope. Non-migratory land birds include the arctic redpoll, ptarmigan, short-eared owl, snowy owl, gyrfalcon and white-tailed eagle. Politics The Greenlandic government holds executive power in local government affairs. The head of the government is called Naalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat ("Premier") and serves as head of Greenlandic Government. Any other member of the cabinet is called a Naalakkersuisoq ("Minister"). The Greenlandic parliament – the Inatsisartut ("Legislators"). The parliament currently has 31 members. In contemporary times, elections are held at municipal, national (Inatsisartut), and kingdom (Folketing) levels. Greenland is a self-governing entity within the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark, in which Queen Margrethe II is the head of state. The monarch officially retains executive power and presides over the Council of State (privy council). However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct. Political system The party system is dominated by the social-democratic Forward Party, and the democratic socialist Inuit Community Party, both of which broadly argue for greater independence from Denmark. While the 2009 election saw the unionist Democrat Party (two MPs) decline greatly, the 2013 election consolidated the power of the two main parties at the expense of the smaller groups, and saw the eco-socialist Inuit Party elected to the Parliament for the first time. The dominance of the Forward and Inuit Community parties began to wane after the snap 2014 and 2018 elections. The non-binding 2008 referendum on self-governance favouring increased self-governance and autonomy was passed winning 76.22% of the vote. In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC), unlike Denmark, which remains a member. The EEC later became the European Union (EU, renamed and expanded in scope in 1992). Greenland retains some ties through its associated relationship with the EU. However, EU law largely does not apply to Greenland except in the area of trade. Greenland is designated as a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) and is thus officially not a part of the European Union, though Greenland can and does receive support from the European Development Fund, Multiannual Financial Framework, European Investment Bank and EU Programmes. Government Greenland's head of state is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The Queen's government in Denmark appoints a high commissioner (Rigsombudsmand) to represent it on the island. The commissioner is Mikaela Engell. The Greenland constituency elect two MP representatives to the Kingdom Parliament (Folketinget) in Denmark, out of a total of 179. The current representatives are Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam of the Siumut Party and Aaja Chemnitz Larsen of the Inuit Community Party. Greenland has national Parliament that consists of 31 representatives. The government is the Naalakkersuisut whose members are appointed by the premier. The head of government is the premier, usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament. The premier is Múte Bourup Egede of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party. Military Several American and Danish military bases are located in Greenland, including Thule Air Base, which is home to the United States Space Force's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Elements of the sensor systems are commanded and controlled variously by Space Delta's 2, 4, and 6. In 1995, a political scandal in Denmark occurred after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission for nuclear weapons to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957 nuclear-free zone policy. The United States built a secret nuclear powered base, called Camp Century, in the Greenland ice sheet. On 21 January 1968, a B-52G, with four nuclear bombs aboard as part of Operation Chrome Dome, crashed on the ice of the North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. The resulting fire caused extensive radioactive contamination. One of the H-bombs remains lost. Administrative divisions Formerly consisting of three counties comprising a total of 18 municipalities, Greenland abolished these in 2009 and has since been divided into large territories known as "municipalities" (, ): Sermersooq ("Much Ice") around the capital Nuuk and also including all East Coast communities; Kujalleq ("South") around Cape Farewell; Qeqqata ("Centre") north of the capital along the Davis Strait; Qeqertalik ("The one with islands") surrounding Disko Bay; and Avannaata ("Northern") in the northwest; the latter two having come into being as a result of the Qaasuitsup municipality, one of the original four, being partitioned in 2018. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated Northeast Greenland National Park. Thule Air Base is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality administered by the United States Air Force. During its construction, there were as many as 12,000 American residents but in recent years the number has been below 1,000. Economy The Greenlandic economy is highly dependent on fishing. Fishing accounts for more than 90% of Greenland's exports. The shrimp and fish industry is by far the largest income earner. Greenland is abundant in minerals. Mining of ruby deposits began in 2007. Other mineral prospects are improving as prices are increasing. These include iron, uranium, aluminium, nickel, platinum, tungsten, titanium, and copper. Despite resumption of several hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will take several years before hydrocarbon production can materialize. The state oil company Nunaoil was created to help develop the hydrocarbon industry in Greenland. The state company Nunamineral has been launched on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange to raise more capital to increase the production of gold, started in 2007. Electricity has traditionally been generated by oil or diesel power plants, even if there is a large surplus of potential hydropower. There is a programme to build hydro power plants. The first, and still the largest, is Buksefjord hydroelectric power plant. There are also plans to build a large aluminium smelter, using hydropower to create an exportable product. It is expected that much of the labour needed will be imported. The European Union has urged Greenland to restrict People's Republic of China development of rare-earth projects, as China accounts for 95% of the world's current supply. In early 2013, the Greenland government said that it had no plans to impose such restrictions. The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland's economy. About half the government revenues come from grants from the Danish government, an important supplement to the gross domestic product (GDP). Gross domestic product per capita is equivalent to that of the average economies of Europe. Greenland suffered an economic contraction in the early 1990s. But, since 1993, the economy has improved. The Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a tight fiscal policy since the late 1980s, which has helped create surpluses in the public budget and low inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign-trade deficit following the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc mine that year. In 2017, new sources of ruby in Greenland have been discovered, promising to bring new industry and a new export from the country. (See Gemstone industry in Greenland). Transport There is air transport both within Greenland and between the island and other nations. There is also scheduled boat traffic, but the long distances lead to long travel times and low frequency. There are virtually no roads between cities because the coast has many fjords that would require ferry service to connect a road network. The only exception is a gravel road of length between Kangilinnguit and the now abandoned former cryolite mining town of Ivittuut. In addition, the lack of agriculture, forestry and similar countryside activities has meant that very few country roads have been built. Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) is the largest airport and the main aviation hub for international passenger transport. It serves international and domestic airline operated flight. SFJ is far from the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas, to the capital Nuuk, and airline passenger services are available. Greenland has no passenger railways. Nuuk Airport (GOH) is the second-largest airport located just from the centre of the capital. GOH serves general aviation traffic and has daily- or regular domestic flights within Greenland. GOH also serves international flights to Iceland, business and private airplanes. Ilulissat Airport (JAV) is a domestic airport that also serves international flights to Iceland. There are a total of 13 registered civil airports and 47 helipads in Greenland; most of them are unpaved and located in rural areas. The second longest runway is at Narsarsuaq, a domestic airport with limited international service in south Greenland. All civil aviation matters are handled by the Danish Transport Authority. Most airports including Nuuk Airport have short runways and can only be served by special fairly small aircraft on fairly short flights. Kangerlussuaq Airport around inland from the west coast is the major airport of Greenland and the hub for domestic flights. Intercontinental flights connect mainly to Copenhagen. Travel between international destinations (except Iceland) and any city in Greenland requires a plane change. Icelandair operates flights from Reykjavík to a number of airports in Greenland, and the company promotes the service as a day-trip option from Iceland for tourists. There are no direct flights to the United States or Canada, although there have been flights Kangerlussuaq – Baltimore, and Nuuk – Iqaluit, which were cancelled because of too few passengers and financial losses. An alternative between Greenland and the United States/Canada is Icelandair with a plane change in Iceland. Sea passenger transport is served by several coastal ferries. Arctic Umiaq Line makes a single round trip per week, taking 80 hours each direction. Cargo freight by sea is handled by the shipping company Royal Arctic Line from, to and across Greenland. It provides trade and transport opportunities between Greenland, Europe and North America. Population Demographics Greenland has a population of 56,421 (2021). In terms of country of birth, the population is estimated to be of 89.7% Greenlandic (Inuit including European-Inuit multi-ethnic), 7.8% Danish, 1.1% Nordic and 1.4% other. The multi-ethnic population of European-Inuit represent people of Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, Dutch (whalers), German (Herrnhuters), Czech (Jednota bratrská) descent and others. The Inuit are indigenous to the Arctic and have traditionally inhabited Greenland, as well as areas in Canada and in Alaska in the United States. A 2015 wide genetic study of Greenlanders found modern-day Inuit in Greenland are direct descendants of the first Inuit pioneers of the Thule culture with ∼25% admixture of the European colonizers from the 16th century. Despite previous speculations, no evidence of Viking settlers predecessors has been found. The majority of the population is Lutheran. Nearly all Greenlanders live along the fjords in the south-west of the main island, which has a relatively mild climate. In 2021, 18,800 people reside in Nuuk, the capital city. Greenland's warmest climates such as the vegetated area around Narsarsuaq are sparsely populated, whereas the majority of the population lives north of 64°N in colder coastal climates. Greenland is the only country in the Americas where natives make up a majority of the population. Languages Both Greenlandic (an Eskaleut language, effectively meaning West Greenlandic) and Danish have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home rule in 1979; the majority of the population can speak both. Greenlandic became the sole official language in June 2009. In practice, Danish is still widely used in the administration and in higher education, as well as remaining the first or only language for some Danish immigrants in Nuuk and other larger towns. Debate about the roles of Greenlandic and Danish in the country's future is ongoing. The orthography of Greenlandic was established in 1851 and revised in 1973. The country has a 100% literacy rate. A majority of the population speaks West Greenlandic, most of them bi- or tri-lingually. It is spoken by about 50,000 people, making it the most populous of the Eskaleut language family, spoken by more people than all the other languages of the family combined. Kalaallisut is the language of West Greenland, which has long been the most populous area of the island. This has led to its de facto status as the official "Greenlandic" language, although the northern language Inuktun is spoken by 1,000 or so people around Qaanaaq, and East Greenlandic (Tunumiisut) by around 3,000. Each of these varieties is nearly unintelligible to the speakers of the others. Inuktun is closer to the Inuit languages of Canada than it is to other Greenlandic, and some linguists consider Tunumiit to be a separate language as well. A UNESCO report has labelled the other varieties as endangered, and measures are now being considered to protect East Greenlandic dialect. About 12% of the population speak Danish as a first or sole language. These are primarily Danish immigrants in Greenland, many of whom fill positions such as administrators, professionals, academics, or skilled tradesmen. While Greenlandic is dominant in all smaller settlements, a part of the population of Inuit or multi-ethnic ancestry, especially in towns, speaks Danish. Most of the Inuit population speaks Danish as a second language. In larger towns, especially Nuuk and in the higher social strata, this is a large group. English is another important language for Greenland, taught in schools from the first school year. Education Education is organized in a similar way to Denmark. There is ten year mandatory primary school. There is also a secondary school, with either work education or preparatory for university education. There is one university, the University of Greenland () in Nuuk. Many Greenlanders attend universities in Denmark or elsewhere. The public school system in Greenland is, as in Denmark, under the jurisdiction of the municipalities: they are therefore municipal schools. The legislature specifies the standards allowed for the content in schools, but the municipal governments decide how the schools under their responsibility are run. Education is free and compulsory for children aged seven to 16. The financial effort devoted to education is now very important (11.3% of GDP). Section 1 of the Government Ordinance on Public Schools (as amended on June 6, 1997) requires Greenlandic as the language of instruction. Education is governed by Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990 on primary and lower secondary education. This regulation was amended by Regulation No. 8 of 13 May 1993 and Regulation No. 1 of 1 March 1994. Under Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990, linguistic integration in primary and lower secondary schools became compulsory for all students. The aim is to place Greenlandic-speaking and Danish-speaking pupils in the same classes, whereas previously they were placed in separate classes according to their mother tongue. At the same time, the government guarantees that Danish speakers can learn Greenlandic. In this way, the Greenlandic government wants to give the same linguistic, cultural and social education to all students, both those of Greenlandic and Danish origin. A study, which was carried out during a three-year trial period, concluded that this policy had achieved positive results. This bilingualism policy has been in force since 1994.About 100 schools have been established. Greenlandic and Danish are taught there. Normally, Greenlandic is taught from kindergarten to the end of secondary school, but Danish is compulsory from the first cycle of primary school as a second language. As in Denmark with Danish, the school system provides for "Greenlandic 1" and "Greenlandic 2" courses. Language tests allow students to move from one level to the other. Based on the teachers' evaluation of their students, a third level of courses has been added: "Greenlandic 3". Secondary education in Greenland is generally vocational and technical education. The system is governed by Regulation No. 16 of 28 October 1993 on Vocational and Technical Education, Scholarships and Career Guidance. Danish remains the main language of instruction. The capital, Nuuk, has a (bilingual) teacher training college and a (bilingual) university. At the end of their studies, all students must pass a test in the Greenlandic language. Higher education is offered in Greenland: "university education" (regulation no. 3 of May 9, 1989); training of journalists, training of primary and lower secondary school teachers, training of social workers, training of social educators (regulation no. 1 of May 16, 1989); and training of nurses and nursing assistants (regulation no. 9 of May 13, 1990). Greenlandic students can continue their education in Denmark, if they wish and have the financial means to do so. For admission to Danish educational institutions, Greenlandic applicants are placed on an equal footing with Danish applicants. Scholarships are granted to Greenlandic students who are admitted to Danish educational institutions. To be eligible for these scholarships, the applicant must be a Danish citizen and have had permanent residence in Greenland for at least five years. The total period of residence outside Greenland may not exceed three years. Religion The nomadic Inuit people were traditionally shamanistic, with a well-developed mythology primarily concerned with appeasing a vengeful and fingerless sea goddess called Sedna who controlled the success of the seal and whale hunts. The first Norse colonists worshipped the Norse gods, but Erik the Red's son Leif was converted to Christianity by King Olaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 999 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric at Garðar. Rediscovering these colonists and spreading ideas of the Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and German Moravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements, but no Norse were found, and instead they began preaching to the Inuit. The principal figures in the Christianization of Greenland were Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament was translated piecemeal from the time of the very first settlement on Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not completed until 1900. An improved translation using the modern orthography was completed in 2000. Today, the major religion is Protestant Christianity, represented mainly by the Church of Denmark, which is Lutheran in orientation. While there are no official census data on religion in Greenland, the Bishop of Greenland Sofie Petersen estimates that 85% of the Greenlandic population are members of her congregation. The Church of Denmark is the established church through the Constitution of Denmark. The Roman Catholic minority is pastorally served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen. There are still Christian missionaries on the island, but mainly from charismatic movements proselytizing fellow Christians. According to Operation World, just 4.7% of Greenlanders are Evangelical Christian, although the Evangelical population is growing at an annual rate of 8.4%. Social issues The rate of suicide in Greenland is very high. According to a 2010 census, Greenland holds the highest suicide rate in the world. Another significant social issue faced by Greenland is a high rate of alcoholism. Alcohol consumption rates in Greenland reached their height in the 1980s, when it was twice as high as in Denmark, and had by 2010 fallen slightly below the average level of consumption in Denmark (which at the time were 12th highest in the world, but has since fallen). However, at the same time, alcohol prices are far higher, meaning that consumption has a large social impact. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS used to be high in Greenland and peaked in the 1990s when the fatality rate also was relatively high. Through a number of initiatives the prevalence (along with the fatality rate through efficient treatment) has fallen and is now low, 0.13%, below most other countries. In recent decades, the unemployment rates have generally been somewhat above those in Denmark; in 2017, the rate was 6.8% in Greenland, compared to 5.6% in Denmark. Culture Today Greenlandic culture is a blending of traditional Inuit (Kalaallit, Tunumiit, Inughuit) and Scandinavian culture. Inuit, or Kalaallit, culture has a strong artistic tradition, dating back thousands of years. The Kalaallit are known for an art form of figures called tupilak or a "spirit object". Traditional art-making practices thrive in the Ammassalik. Sperm whale ivory remains a valued medium for carving. Music Greenland also has a successful, albeit small, music culture. Some popular Greenlandic bands and artists include Sume (classic rock), Chilly Friday (rock), Nanook (rock), Siissisoq (rock), Nuuk Posse (hip hop) and Rasmus Lyberth (folk), who performed in the Danish national final for the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, performing in Greenlandic. The singer-songwriter Simon Lynge is the first musical artist from Greenland to have an album released across the United Kingdom, and to perform at the UK's Glastonbury Festival. The music culture of Greenland also includes traditional Inuit music, largely revolving around singing and drums. The drum is the traditional Greenlandic instrument. It was used to perform traditional drum dances. For this purpose, a round drum (qilaat) in the form of a frame made of driftwood or walrus ribs covered with a polar bear bladder, polar bear stomach or walrus stomach was used. The drumming was not done on the membrane, but with a stick from underneath the frame. Simple melodies were sung for this purpose. The drum dance used to serve two functions: On the one hand, the drum was used to drive away fear on long, dark winter nights. To do this, the drum dancer would make faces and try to make others laugh until all fear was forgotten. Disputes were also settled with the drum. If someone had misbehaved, he was challenged with the drum. People would gather at certain powerful places and take turns beating the drum and singing to it. They tried to ridicule the other person as much as possible. The spectators expressed with their laughter who was the winner and who was therefore the guilty one. The drum could also be used by shamans for ritual conjurations of spirits. After the arrival of missionaries in the 18th century, the drum dance (still popular among Canadian Inuit today) was banned as pagan and shamanistic and replaced by polyphonic singing of secular and church songs. This choral singing is known today for its special sound. Church hymns are partly of German origin due to the influence of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde. Scandinavian, German and Scottish whalers brought the fiddle, accordion and polka (kalattuut) to Greenland, where they are now played in intricate dance steps. Sport Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active. Popular sports include association football, track and field, handball and skiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport, and Greenland's men's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001. Greenland has excellent conditions for skiing, fishing, snowboarding, ice climbing and rock climbing, although mountain climbing and hiking are preferred by the general public. Although the environment is generally ill-suited for golf, there is a golf course in Nuuk. Cuisine The national dish of Greenland is suaasat, a soup made from seal meat. Meat from marine mammals, game, birds, and fish play a large role in the Greenlandic diet. Due to the glacial landscape, most ingredients come from the ocean. Spices are seldom used besides salt and pepper. Greenlandic coffee is a "flaming" dessert coffee (set alight before serving) made with coffee, whiskey, Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and whipped cream. It is stronger than the familiar Irish dessert coffee. Media Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) is the public broadcasting company of Greenland. It is an associate member of Eurovision and an associate member of the Nordvision network. Nearly one hundred people are directly employed by this company, which is one of the largest in the territory. The city of Nuuk also has its own radio and television station. The city of Nuuk also has a local television channel, Nanoq Media, which was created on 1 August 2002. It is the largest local television station in Greenland, reaching more than 4,000 households as receiving members, which corresponds to about 75% of all households in the capital. Today only two newspapers are published in Greenland, both of which are distributed nationally. The Greenlandic weekly Sermitsiaq is published every Friday, while the online version is updated several times a day. It was distributed only in Nuuk until the 1980s. It is named after the mountain Sermitsiaq, located about northeast of Nuuk. The bi-weekly Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten (AG) is the other newspaper in Greenland, published every Tuesday and Thursday in Greenlandic as Atuagagdliutit and in Danish as Grønlandsposten. The articles are all published in both languages. Fine arts The Inuit have their own arts and crafts tradition; for example, they carve tupilaks, sculptures of figures of avenging monsters practiced within shaman traditions. This Kalaallisut word means soul or spirit of a deceased person and today describes an artistic figure, usually no more than 20 centimetres tall, carved mainly from walrus ivory, with a variety of unusual shapes. This sculpture actually represents a mythical or spiritual being; usually, however, it has become a mere collector's item because of its grotesque appearance for Western visual habits. Modern artisans, however, still use indigenous materials such as musk ox and sheep wool, seal fur, shells, soapstone, reindeer antlers or gemstones. The history of Greenlandic painting began with Aron von Kangeq, who depicted the old Greenlandic sagas and myths in his drawings and watercolours in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century, landscape and animal painting developed, as well as printmaking and book illustrations with sometimes expressive colouring. It was mainly through their landscape paintings that Kiistat Lund and Buuti Pedersen became known abroad. Anne-Birthe Hove chose themes from Greenlandic social life. There is a museum of fine arts in Nuuk, the Nuuk Art Museum. See also Index of Greenland-related articles Outline of Greenland Danish Realm Faroe Islands Other similar territories Åland (Finland) Svalbard (Norway) Notes References Bibliography Works cited Bardarson, I. (ed. Jónsson, F.) "Det gamle Grønlands beskrivelse af Ívar Bárðarson (Ivar Bårdssön)", (Copenhagen, 1930). CIA World Factbook, 2000. Conkling, P. W. et al. 2011. The Fate of Greenland: Lessons from Abrupt Climate Change, co-authored with Richard Alley, Wallace Broecker and George Denton, with photographs by Gary Comer, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Steffen, Konrad, N. Cullen, and R. Huff (2005). "Climate variability and trends along the western slope of the Greenland Ice Sheet during 1991–2004", Proceedings of the 85th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting (San Diego). Sowa, F. 2013. Relations of Power & Domination in a World Polity: The Politics of Indigeneity & National Identity in Greenland. In: Heininen, L. Arctic Yearbook 2013. The Arctic of regions vs. the globalized Arctic. Akureyri: Northern Research Forum, pp. 184–198.www.arcticyearbook.com/ay2013 Sowa, F. 2014. Greenland. in: Hund, A. Antarctica and the Arctic Circle: A Geographic Encyclopedia of the Earth's Polar Regions. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, pp. 312–316. External links Greenland entry at Denmark.dk. The Government of Greenland Offices official website Visit Greenland – the official Greenlandic Tourist Board Inuit Circumpolar Council Greenland Inuit territories Nordic countries Regions of the Arctic Dependent territories in North America Special territories of the European Union Island countries Members of the Nordic Council States and territories established in 1979 Danish dependencies Danish-speaking countries and territories Kingdom of Denmark Former Norwegian colonies Kingdom of Norway (872–1397) Christian states Northern America

Grenada is an island country located between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located at . There are no large inland bodies of water on the island, which consists entirely of the state of Grenada. The coastline is 121 km long. The island has 15 constituencies and speaks English and Grenadian Creole. It is volcanic in origin and its topography is mountainous. Natural resources include timber, tropical fruit and deepwater harbours. Grenada and its largely uninhabited outlying territories are the most southerly of the Windward Islands. The Grenadine Islands chain consists of some 600 islets; those south of the Martinique Channel belong to Grenada, while those north of the channel are part of the nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Located about 160 kilometers north of Venezuela, at approximately 12° north latitude and 61° west longitude, Grenada and its territories occupy a small area of 433 square kilometers. Grenada, known as the Spice Isle because of its production of nutmeg and mace, is the largest at 310 square kilometers, or about the size of the city of Detroit. The island is oval shaped and framed by a jagged southern coastline; its maximum width is thirty-four kilometers, and its maximum length is nineteen kilometers. St. George's, the capital and the nation's most important harbour, is favorably situated near a lagoon on the southwestern coast. Of all the islands belonging to Grenada, only two are of consequence: Carriacou, with a population of a few thousand, and its neighbour Petit Martinique, roughly 40 kilometers northeast of Grenada and populated by some 700 inhabitants. Terrain Part of the volcanic chain in the Lesser Antilles arc, Grenada and its possessions generally vary in elevation from under 300 meters to over 600 meters above sea level. Grenada is more rugged and densely foliated than its outlying possessions, but other geographical conditions are more similar. Grenada's landmass rises from a narrow, coastal plain in a generally north–south trending axis of ridges and narrow valleys. Mount St. Catherine is the highest peak at 840 meters. Although many of the rocks and soils are of volcanic origin, the volcanic cones dotting Grenada are long dormant. The only known active volcano in the area is Kick 'em Jenny, just north between Grenada and Carriacou. Some of the drainage features on Grenada remain from its volcanic past. There are a few crater lakes, the largest of which is Grand Etang. The swift upper reaches of rivers, which occasionally overflow and cause flooding and landslides, generally cut deeply into the conic slopes. By contrast, many of the water courses in the lowlands tend to be sluggish and meandering. Table of Islands Climate The Grenadian climate is tropical, tempered by northeast trade winds. The abundance of water is primarily caused by the tropical, wet climate. Yearly precipitation, largely generated by the warm and moisture-laden northeasterly trade winds, varies from more than on the windward mountainsides to less than in the lowlands. The greatest monthly totals are recorded throughout Grenada from June through November, the months when tropical storms and hurricanes are most likely to occur. Rainfall is less pronounced from December through May, when the equatorial low-pressure system moves south. Similarly, the highest humidities, usually close to 80 percent, are recorded during the rainy months, and values from 68 to 78 percent are registered during the drier period. Temperatures averaging are constant throughout the year, however, with slightly higher readings in the lowlands. Nevertheless, diurnal ranges within a 24-hour period are appreciable: between during the day and between at night. Statistics Area Total: 348.5 km² Land: 344 km² Maritime claims Territorial sea: Exclusive economic zone: and Land use Arable land: 8.82% Permanent crops: 20.59% Other: 70.59% (2012 est.) Irrigated land 2.19 km² (2003) Natural hazards Lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November Extreme points Northernmost point – Gun Point, Carriacou Northernmost point (Grenada only) - Tanga Langue, Saint Patrick Parish Easternmost point – east coast of Petite Martinique island Easternmost point (Grenada only) - Artiste Point, Saint Andrew Parish Southernmost point – Glover Island, Saint George Parish Southernmost point (Grenada only) - Prickly Point, Saint George Parish Westernmost point – Point Salines, Saint George Parish Highest point – Mount Saint Catherine: 840 m Lowest point – Caribbean Sea: 0 m Environment - international agreements Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling Geography - note The administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (northern Grenadines) and Grenada (southern Grenadines) See also Grenadines List of cities in Grenada List of islands of Grenada List of rivers of Grenada List of volcanoes in Grenada Parishes of Grenada Notes References External links Grenada geography-related lists Islands Subdivisions of Grenada

Though Guam is a United States territory, some U.S. long-distance plans and courier services list Guam as an international location. As a result of Guam's being added to the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in 1997, calls made to the U.S., Canada, or other participating countries from Guam (or to Guam from other NANP locations) only require the caller to dial a 1 followed by the area code. In this way, only domestic charges are incurred between the US and Guam on most carriers. Before Guam's inclusion, calling the U.S. required dialing the international 011 first, thus resulting in higher long-distance rates and less frequent calls to the U.S. by relatives in Guam. Prices of long-distance calls to these destinations have dropped significantly to the point where now calling the U.S. from Guam or calling Guam from the U.S. costs the same. Mail Some companies in the U.S. mainland still treat Guam as a foreign country and refuse to sell and ship items to Guam. However, if an item is shipped via USPS, shipping costs to Guam are the same as coast-to-coast shipping costs within the US. Many others will ship to Guam but will charge the shipping as an international destination. This is mainly because the company is using a private shipping company like UPS, FedEx, or DHL for its shipping. Much of the mail to and from Guam routes through Hawaii and awaits cargo space on United Airlines which is contracted to deliver mail between Hawaii and Guam. Telephones Telephones – main lines in use: 85,000 (2007) Telephones – mobile cellular: 98,000 (2007) Telephone system: domestic: GTA: ~70,000 local access lines, dial-up and DSL, Internet, long-distance service, TDMA and GSM wireless services via Pulse Mobile & Docomo Pacific (formerly Guam Wireless) ChoicePhone LLC, dba iConnect with iDen, GSM and 4G LTE networks. international: satellite earth stations – 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to United States, Japan and Australia. international access code: +1.671 (in the North American Numbering Plan, Area code 671) Radio and television Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2005) Radios: 300,000 (2007) Television broadcast stations: 8 (2007) Televisions: 200,000 (2007) Internet Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 4 (2013) Country code (Top-level domain): GU Submarine cables Because of its location in the western Pacific and its status as U.S. territory, Guam has one of the most extensive submarine communications cable infrastructures in the Asia-Pacific. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami cut many of the primary cables connecting the United States and Asia, prompting companies to look for alternate locations for new cables. In 2019, GTA Teleguam and RTI Cable built the island's first combined neutral cable landing station and data center. This coincided with a bill introduced to the Legislature of Guam by Sen. Telo Taitague to conduct an economic study and develop policy recommendations on submarine cables. GTA also seeks to attract U.S. companies to build data centers on Guam, noting the reduced network latency from Asia to Guam, compared to the U.S. Existing cable landing stations and their cables are: Tanguisson cable landing station in Tamuning: Asia-America Gateway, Australia–Japan Cable and Guam-Philippines Tumon Bay cable landing station in Tamuning: TPC-5CN, Australia–Japan Cable Tata Piti cable landing station: VSNL Transpacific, Tata TGN-Intra Asia, and Pipe Pacific Cable-1 GTA Piti-I cable landing station: SEA-US, Japan-Guam-Australia South Gateway Network Connections neutral cable landing station and data center in Piti: HK-G, Japan-Guam-Australia North, SxS Cable System Unknown landing station: HANTRU-1 Retired cables landing on Guam include China-US Cable Network and PacRimWest. See also Area code 671, Guam's telephone area code References Guam

Guernsey (; Guernésiais: Giernési) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands, an island group roughly north of Saint-Malo and west of the Cotentin Peninsula. The jurisdiction consists of ten parishes on the island of Guernsey, three other inhabited islands (Herm, Jethou and Lihou), and many small islets and rocks. It is not part of the United Kingdom, although defence and some aspects of international relations are managed by the UK. Although the bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey are often referred to collectively as the Channel Islands, the "Channel Islands" are not a constitutional or political unit. Jersey has a separate relationship to the Crown from the other Crown dependencies of Guernsey and the Isle of Man, although all are held by the monarch of the United Kingdom. The island has a mixed British-Norman culture, although British cultural influence is stronger, with English being the main language and the Pound sterling its primary currency. The island has a traditional local language known as Guernésiais. Toponymy The island's name, "Guernsey", like that of neighbouring "Jersey", is of Old Norse origin. The second element of each word, "-ey", is the Old Norse for "island", while the original root, "guern(s)", is of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly deriving from either a personal name such as Grani or Warinn, or from gron, meaning pine tree. Previous names for the Channel Islands vary over history, but include the Lenur islands, and Sarnia; Sarnia is the Latin name for Guernsey, or Lisia (Guernsey) and Angia (Jersey). History Early history Around 6000 BC, rising seas created the English Channel and separated the Norman promontories that became the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey from continental Europe. Neolithic farmers then settled on its coast and built the dolmens and menhirs found in the islands today, providing evidence of human presence dating back to around 5000 BC. Evidence of Roman settlements on the island, and the discovery of amphorae from the Herculaneum area and Spain, show evidence of an intricate trading network with regional and long-distance trade. Buildings found in La Plaiderie, St Peter Port dating from 100 to 400 AD appear to be warehouses. The earliest evidence of shipping was the discovery of a wreck of a ship in St Peter Port harbour, which has been named "Asterix". It is thought to be a 3rd-century Roman cargo vessel and was probably at anchor or grounded when a fire broke out. Travelling from the Kingdom of Gwent, Saint Sampson, later the abbot of Dol in Brittany, is credited with the introduction of Christianity to Guernsey. Middle Ages In 933, the Cotentin Peninsula including Avranchin which included the islands, were placed by the French King Ranulf under the control of William I. The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Duchy of Normandy. In 1204, when King John lost the continental portion of the Duchy to Philip II of France, the islands remained part of the kingdom of England. The islands were then recognised by the 1259 Treaty of Paris as part of Henry III's territories. During the Middle Ages, the island was a haven for pirates that would use the "lamping technique" to ground ships close to the island. This intensified during the Hundred Years War, when, starting in 1339, the island was occupied by the Capetians on several occasions. The Guernsey Militia was first mentioned as operational in 1331 and would help defend the island for a further 600 years. In 1372, the island was invaded by Aragonese mercenaries under the command of Owain Lawgoch (remembered as Yvon de Galles), who was in the pay of the French king. Owain and his dark-haired mercenaries were later absorbed into Guernsey legend as invading fairies from across the sea. Early modern period As part of the peace between England and France, Pope Sixtus IV issued in 1483 a Papal bull granting the Privilege of Neutrality, by which the Islands, their harbours and seas, as far as the eye can see, were considered neutral territory. Anyone molesting Islanders would be excommunicated. A Royal Charter in 1548 confirmed the neutrality. The French attempted to invade Jersey a year later in 1549 but were defeated by the militia. The neutrality lasted another century, until William III of England abolished the privilege due to privateering activity against Dutch ships. In the mid-16th century, the island was influenced by Calvinist reformers from Normandy. During the Marian persecutions, three women, the Guernsey Martyrs, were burned at the stake for their Protestant beliefs, along with the infant son of one of the women. The burning of the infant was ordered by Bailiff Hellier Gosselin, with the advice of priests nearby who said the boy should burn due to having inherited moral stain from his mother. Later on Hellier Gosselin fled the island to escape widespread outrage. During the English Civil War, Guernsey sided with the Parliamentarians. The allegiance was not total, however; there were a few Royalist uprisings in the southwest of the island, while Castle Cornet was occupied by the Governor, Sir Peter Osborne, and Royalist troops. In December 1651, with full honours of war, Castle Cornet surrendered – the last Royalist outpost anywhere in the British Isles to surrender. Wars against France and Spain during the 17th and 18th centuries gave Guernsey shipowners and sea captains the opportunity to exploit the island's proximity to mainland Europe by applying for letters of marque and turning their merchantmen into privateers. By the beginning of the 18th century, Guernsey's residents were starting to settle in North America, in particular founding Guernsey County in Ohio in 1810. The threat of invasion by Napoleon prompted many defensive structures to be built at the end of that century. The early 19th century saw a dramatic increase in the prosperity of the island, due to its success in the global maritime trade, and the rise of the stone industry. Maritime trade suffered a major decline with the move away from sailing craft as materials such as iron and steel were not available on the island. Le Braye du Valle was a tidal channel that made the northern extremity of Guernsey, Le Clos du Valle, a tidal island. Le Braye du Valle was drained and reclaimed in 1806 by the British Government as a defence measure. The eastern end of the former channel became the town and harbour (from 1820) of St Sampson's, now the second biggest port in Guernsey. The western end of La Braye is now Le Grand Havre. The roadway called "The Bridge" across the end of the harbour at St Sampson's recalls the bridge that formerly linked the two parts of Guernsey at high tide. New roads were built and main roads metalled for ease of use by the military. Infrastructure was funded by creating money debt-free starting in 1815. Contemporary period During the First World War, about 3,000 island men served in the British Expeditionary Force. Of these, about 1,000 served in the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry regiment formed from the Royal Guernsey Militia in 1916. From 30 June 1940, during the Second World War, the Channel Islands were occupied by German troops. Before the occupation, 80% of Guernsey children had been evacuated to England to live with relatives or strangers during the war. Most children returned home after the war ended in 1945. The occupying German forces deported over 1,000 Guernsey residents to camps in southern Germany, notably to the Lager Lindele (Lindele Camp) near Biberach an der Riß and to Oflag VII-C in Laufen. Guernsey was very heavily fortified during World War II, out of all proportion to the island's strategic value. German defences and alterations remain visible, particularly to Castle Cornet and around the northern coast of the island. Guernsey and Jersey were both liberated on 9 May 1945, now celebrated as Liberation Day on the two islands. During the late 1940s the island repaired the damage caused to its buildings during the occupation. The tomato industry started up again and thrived until the 1970s when the significant increase in world oil prices led to a sharp, terminal decline. Tourism has remained important. Finance businesses grew in the 1970s and expanded in the next two decades and are important employers. Guernsey's constitutional and trading relationships with the UK is largely unaffected by Brexit. Geography Situated in Mont Saint-Michel Bay at around , Guernsey, Herm and some other smaller islands together have a total area of and coastlines of about . Elevation varies from sea level to at Hautnez on Guernsey. There are many smaller islands, islets, rocks and reefs in Guernsey waters. Combined with a tidal range of and fast currents of up to 12 knots, this makes sailing in local waters dangerous. The very large tidal variation provides an environmentally rich inter-tidal zone around the islands, and some sites have received Ramsar Convention designation. The tidal flows in the area are remarkable, owing to the flatness of the ground for nearly 32 km (20 mi) westward. Guernsey is the westernmost of the Channel Islands, and the jurisdiction is at the greatest distance from the coast of Normandy than any of the other islands. Climate Guernsey's climate is temperate with mild winters and mild, sunny summers. It is classified as an oceanic climate, with a dry-summer trend, although marginally wetter than mediterranean summers. The warmest months are July and August, when temperatures are generally around with some days occasionally going above . On average, the coldest month is February with an average weekly mean air temperature of . Average weekly mean air temperature reaches in August. Snow rarely falls and is unlikely to settle, but is most likely to fall in February. The temperature rarely drops below freezing, although strong wind-chill from Arctic winds can sometimes make it feel like it. The rainiest months are December (average ), November (average ) and January (average ). July is, on average, the sunniest month with 250 hours recorded sunshine; December the least with 58 hours recorded sunshine. 50% of the days are overcast. Carbon Guernsey plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 according to the Climate Change Policy & Action Plan adopted in August 2020. Geology Guernsey has a geological history stretching further back into the past than most of Europe. It forms part of the geological province of France known as the Armorican Massif. There is a broad geological division between the north and south of the island. The Southern Metamorphic Complex is elevated above the geologically younger, lower lying Northern Igneous Complex. Guernsey has experienced a complex geological evolution (especially the rocks of the southern complex) with multiple phases of intrusion and deformation recognisable. Guernsey is composed of nine main rock types: two of these are granites and the rest gneiss. Politics Guernsey is a parliamentary representative democracy and a British Crown dependency. The Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey is the "representative of the Crown in right of the république of the Bailiwick of Guernsey". The official residence of the Lieutenant Governor is Government House. Since 2016 the incumbent has been Vice Admiral Sir Ian Corder KBE, CB, replacing his predecessor, Air Marshal Peter Walker, who had died in post. The post was created in 1835 as a result of the abolition of the office of Governor. Since that point, the Lieutenant Governor has always resided locally. The jurisdiction is not part of the United Kingdom, although defence and most foreign relations are handled by the British Government. The entire jurisdiction lies within the Common Travel Area of the British Islands and the Republic of Ireland. Taken together with the separate jurisdictions of Alderney and Sark it forms the Bailiwick of Guernsey. States of Guernsey The deliberative assembly of the States of Guernsey () is called the States of Deliberation () and consists of 38 People's Deputies, elected on an islandwide basis every four years. There are also two representatives from Alderney, a semi-autonomous dependency of the Bailiwick, but Sark sends no representative since it has its own legislature. The Bailiff or Deputy Bailiff preside in the assembly. There are also two non-voting members: H.M. Procureur (analogous to the role of Attorney General) and H.M. Comptroller (analogous to Solicitor General), both appointed by the Crown and collectively known as the Law Officers of the Crown. A projet de loi is the equivalent of a UK bill or a French projet de loi, and a law is the equivalent of a UK act of parliament or a French loi. A draft law passed by the States can have no legal effect until formally approved by Her Majesty in Council and promulgated by means of an order in council. Laws are given the Royal Sanction at regular meetings of the Privy Council in London, after which they are returned to the islands for formal registration at the Royal Court. The States also make delegated legislation known as Ordinances (Ordonnances) and Orders (ordres) which do not require the Royal Assent. Commencement orders are usually in the form of ordinances. The Policy and Resources Committee is responsible for Guernsey's constitutional and external affairs, developing strategic and corporate policy and coordinating States business. It also examines proposals and Reports placed before Guernsey's Parliament (the States of Deliberation) by Departments and Non States Bodies. The President of the committee is the de facto head of government of Guernsey. Legal system Guernsey's legal system originates in Norman Customary Law, overlaid with principles taken from English common law and Equity as well as from statute law enacted by the competent legislature(s) – usually, but not always, the States of Guernsey. Guernsey has almost complete autonomy over internal affairs and certain external matters. However, the Crown – that is to say, the UK Government – retains an ill-defined reserved power to intervene in the domestic affairs of any of the five Crown Dependencies within the British Islands "in the interests of good government". The UK Parliament is also a source of Guernsey law for those matters which are reserved to the UK, namely defence and foreign affairs. The head of the bailiwick judiciary in Guernsey is the Bailiff, who, as well as performing the judicial functions of a Chief Justice, is also the head of the States of Guernsey and has certain civic, ceremonial and executive functions. The Bailiff's functions may be exercised by the Deputy Bailiff. The posts of Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff are Crown appointments. Sixteen Jurats, who need no specific legal training, are elected by the States of Election from among Islanders. They act as a jury, as judges in civil and criminal cases and fix the sentence in criminal cases. First mentioned in 1179, there is a list of Jurats who have served since 1299. The oldest Courts of Guernsey can be traced back to the 9th century. The principal court is the Royal Court and exercises both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Additional courts, such as the Magistrate's Court, which deals with minor criminal matters, and the Court of Appeal, which hears appeals from the Royal Court, have been added to the Island's legal system over the years. External relations Several European countries have a consular presence within the jurisdiction. The French Consulate is based at Victor Hugo's former residence at Hauteville House. While the jurisdiction of Guernsey has complete autonomy over internal affairs and certain external matters, the topic of complete independence from the British Crown has been discussed widely and frequently, with ideas ranging from Guernsey obtaining independence as a Dominion to the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey uniting and forming an independent Federal State within the Commonwealth, whereby both islands retain their independence with regards to domestic affairs but internationally, the islands would be regarded as one state. Although it was not a member of the European Union, it had a special relationship with it until Brexit. It had been treated as part of the European Community with access to the single market for the purposes of the free trade in goods. From 2021 with free travel to the continent ceasing, additional bureaucratic procedures come into force, including the need for international driving licences and green cards for vehicle insurance. Parishes Guernsey has ten parishes, which act as civil administration districts with limited powers. Each parish is administered by a Douzaine, usually made up of twelve members, known as Douzeniers. Douzeniers are elected for a four-year mandate, two Douzeniers being elected by parishioners at a parish meeting in November each year. The senior Douzenier is known as the Doyen (Dean). Two elected Constables () carry out the decisions of the Douzaine, serving for between one and three years. The longer serving Constable is known as the Senior Constable and his or her colleague as the Junior Constable. The Douzaines levy an Occupiers Rate on properties to provide funding for running of the administration. Guernsey's Church of England parishes fall under the See of Canterbury, having split from the Bishopric of Winchester in 2014. The biggest parish is Castel, while the most populated is St Peter Port. Economy Financial services, such as banking, fund management, and insurance, account for about 37% of GDP. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, especially freesias, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular offshore finance centre for private-equity funds. Guernsey does not have a Central Bank and it issues its own sterling coinage and banknotes. UK coinage and (English, Scottish and Northern Irish-faced) banknotes also circulate freely and interchangeably. Total island investment funds, used to fund pensions and future island costs, amount to £2.7billion as at June 2016. The island issued a 30-year bond in December 2015 for £330m, its first bond in 80 years. The island has been given a credit rating of AA-/A-1+ with a stable outlook from Standard & Poor's. Guernsey has the official ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code GG and the official ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code GGY; market data vendors, such as Reuters, will report products related to Guernsey using the alpha-3 code. In March 2016 there were over 32,291 people employed in Guernsey with 4,864 being self-employed and 2,453 employing businesses. 19.6% work in the finance industry and median earnings were £31,215. Infrastructure Public services, such as water, wastewater, the two main harbours and the airport are still owned and controlled by the States of Guernsey. The electricity, and postal services have been commercialised by the States and are now operated by companies wholly owned by the States of Guernsey. Gas is supplied by an independent private company. In 1998, Guernsey and Jersey jointly formed the Channel Islands Electricity Grid to operate and manage the submarine cables between Europe and the Channel Islands. The installation of these cables was originally to provide the island with a secure form of backup power but now are effectively the primary source of power with the local diesel generators providing back-up. Guernsey Telecoms, which provided telecommunications, was sold by the States to Cable & Wireless plc, rebranded as Sure and was sold to Batelco in April 2013. Newtel was the first alternative telecommunications company on the island and was acquired by Wave Telecom in 2010 and subsequently rebranded as Jersey Telecom. Airtel-Vodafone also provide a mobile network. Both the Guernsey Post postal boxes (since 1969) and the telephone boxes (since 2002) are painted blue, but otherwise are identical to their British counterparts, the red pillar box and red telephone box. In 2009 the telephone boxes at the bus station were painted yellow just like they used to be when Guernsey Telecoms was state-owned. The oldest pillar box still in use in the British Isles can be found in Union Street, St Peter Port, and dates back to 1853. Transport Ports and harbours exist at St Peter Port and St Sampson. There is a single paved airport, Guernsey Airport. The States of Guernsey wholly own their own airline, Aurigny. The decision to purchase the airline was made to protect important air links to and from the island and the sale was completed on 15 May 2003. The Guernsey Railway, effectively an electric tramway, began working on 20 February 1892 and was abandoned on 9 June 1934. It replaced an earlier transport system which was worked by steam, the Guernsey Steam Tramway, which had operated from 6 June 1879 with six locomotives. Alderney is now the only Channel Island with a working railway. A narrow gauge railway was built by the German forces during WW2 to transport materials used in the construction of coastal defenses. This was removed after the War. Guernsey has a public bus service, operated by CT Plus on behalf of the States of Guernsey Environment and Infrastructure Department. Business , the finance industry forms the largest economic sector in Guernsey, generating around 40% of Guernsey's GDP and directly employing around 21% of its workforce. Banks began setting up operations in the island from the early 1960s onwards in order to avoid high onshore taxes and restrictive regulation. The industry regulator is the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, which was established in 1987.In 2015, the Bailiwick of Guernsey (in conjunction with Jersey) established the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman (CIFO) to resolve consumer complaints about financial services provided in or from the Channel Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. Prior to the growth of the finance industry, the island's main industries were quarrying and horticulture. The latter particularly decline as a result of the oil price shocks of the 1970s and the introduction of cheap North Sea gas that benefited Dutch growers. Guernsey is home to Specsavers Optical Group and Healthspan also has its headquarters in Guernsey. Tourism Guernsey has been a tourist destination since at least the Victorian days, with the first tourist guide published in 1834. In the 19th century, two rail companies (London and South Western Railway and Great Western Railway) ran competing boats from the UK to St Peter Port, with a race to the only convenient berth. This was halted with the sinking of the SS Stella in 1899. Guernsey enters Britain in Bloom with St Martin Parish winning the small town category twice in 2006 and 2011, Saint Peter Port winning the large coastal category in 2014 and St Peter's winning the small coastal prize in 2015. Herm has won Britain in Bloom categories several times: in 2002, 2008, and 2012, Herm won the Britain in Bloom Gold Award. The military history of the island has left a number of fortifications, including Castle Cornet, Fort Grey. Guernsey loophole towers and a large collection of German fortifications with a number of museums. The use of the roadstead in front of St Peter Port by over 100 cruise ships a year is bringing over 100,000 day-trip passengers to the island each year. Taxation Guernsey, Alderney and Sark each raise their own taxation, although in 1949 Alderney (but not Sark) transferred its fiscal rights to Guernsey. Personal tax liability differs according to whether an individual is resident in the island or not. Individuals resident in the Jurisdiction of Guernsey (which does not include Sark) pay income tax at the rate of 20% on their worldwide income, whereas non-residents are only liable on income arising from activity or ownership within Guernsey. Unlike in the UK, the income tax year in Guernsey aligns to the calendar year. All Guernsey-resident individuals are subject to an upper limit on their tax liability, which is known as the "tax cap". Individuals may elect either of the following; Tax on non-Guernsey-source income restricted to £110,000, plus tax on Guernsey-source income (excluding Guernsey bank interest), or Taxed on worldwide income restricted to £220,000, including Guernsey-source income. Income derived from Guernsey land and property is excluded from the tax cap, as from 1 January 2015, and is subject to tax at the normal rate of 20%. Only one cap applies per married couple. As from 1 Jan 2019, these tax caps have increased to £130,000 and £260,000 respectively. Guernsey has also introduced a new lower £50k tax cap for new residents for three years, subject to buying an Open Market Part A house with a document duty in excess of that amount, and not having lived in Guernsey or Alderney for three years prior. Since 2008, Guernsey has operated three levels of corporation tax, depending on the source of the income. A 0% corporation tax rate on most companies. A 10% rate (income from banking business and, with effect from 1 January 2013, extended to domestic insurance business, fiduciary business, insurance intermediary business and insurance manager business). A 20% rate (income from trading activities regulated by the Office of the Director General of Utility Regulation, and income from the ownership of lands and buildings). Guernsey levies no capital gains, inheritance, capital transfer, value added (VAT / TVA) or general withholding taxes. In the 2011 Budget, the UK announced that it would be ending Low Value Consignment Relief that was being used to sell goods VAT free to customers across the UK, with this legislation coming into force on 1 April 2012. Tax revenues represent 22.4% of GDP. Social Security contributions, a form of taxation, are payable by most residents, employees paying 6.6%, self employed 11% and non employed 10.4%, all subject to upper and lower limits. Society Demographics The population is 63,026 (July 2016 est.) The median age for males is 40 years and for females is 42 years. The population growth rate is 0.775% with 9.62 births/1,000 population, 8 deaths/1,000 population, and annual net migration of 6.07/1,000 population. The life expectancy is 80.1 years for males and 84.5 years for females. The Bailiwick ranked 10th in the world in 2015 with an average life expectancy of 82.47 years. Border control The whole jurisdiction of Guernsey is part of the Common Travel Area. For immigration and nationality purposes it is UK law, and not Guernsey law, which applies (technically the Immigration Act 1971, extended to Guernsey by Order in Council). Guernsey may not apply different immigration controls from the UK. Housing restrictions Guernsey undertakes a population management mechanism using restrictions over who may work in the island through control of which properties people may live in. The housing market is split between local market properties and a set number of open market properties. Anyone may live in an open market property, but local market properties can only be lived in by those who qualify – either through being born in Guernsey (to at least one local parent), by obtaining a housing licence, or by virtue of sharing a property with someone who does qualify (living en famille). Consequently, open market properties are much more expensive both to buy and to rent. Housing licences are for fixed periods, often only valid for 4 years and only as long as the individual remains employed by a specified Guernsey employer. The licence will specify the type of accommodation and be specific to the address the person lives in, and is often subject to a police record check. These restrictions apply equally regardless of whether the property is owned or rented, and only apply to occupation of the property. Thus a person whose housing licence expires may continue to own a Guernsey property, but will no longer be able to live in it. There are no restrictions on who may own a property. There are a number of routes to qualifying as a "local" for housing purposes. Generally, it is sufficient to be born to at least one Guernsey parent and to live in the island for ten years in a twenty-year period. In a similar way a partner (married or otherwise) of a local can acquire local status. Multiple problems arise following early separation of couples, especially if they have young children or if a local partner dies, in these situations personal circumstances and compassion can add weight to requests for local status. Once "local" status has been achieved it remains in place for life. Even a lengthy period of residence outside Guernsey does not invalidate "local" housing status. Although Guernsey's inhabitants are full British citizens, prior to the UK's withdrawal from the EU, an endorsement restricted the right of establishment in other European Union states was placed in the passport of British citizens connected solely with the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. If it was classified with "Islander Status", the British passport was be endorsed as follows: 'The holder is not entitled to benefit from EU provisions relating to employment or establishment'. Those who had a parent or grandparent born in the United Kingdom itself (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), or had lived in the United Kingdom for 5 years, were not subject to this restriction. Education Teaching in Guernsey is based on the English National Curriculum. There are 10 primary schools, plus two junior schools and three infant schools. , the island still has the 11-plus exam and pupils then transfer to one of four 11–16 secondary schools, or a co-educational grammar school. There are also three fee-paying colleges with lower schools, for which pupils over 11 receive grant support from the States of Guernsey. In 2016, the States of Guernsey voted to end the use of the 11-plus exams from 2019 onwards. It is also responsible for education on the neighbouring islands. The Education Department is part way through a programme of re-building its secondary schools. The department has completed the building of Le Rondin special needs school, the Sixth Form Centre at the Grammar School and the first phase of the new College of Further Education – a performing arts centre. The construction of St Sampsons High was completed summer 2008 and admitted its first pupils in September 2008. In 2008, the school leaving age was raised so the earliest date is the last Friday in June in the year a pupil turns 16, in line with England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This means pupils will be between 15 and 10 months and 16 and 10 months before being able to leave. Prior to this, pupils could leave school at the end of the term in which they turned 14, if they so wished: a letter was required to be sent to the Education department to confirm this. However, this option was undertaken by relatively few pupils, the majority choosing to complete their GCSEs and then either begin employment or continue their education. Post-GCSE pupils have a choice of transferring to the state-run Grammar School & Sixth Form Centre, or to the independent colleges for academic AS/A Levels/International Baccalureate Diploma Programme. They also have the option to study vocational subjects at the island's Guernsey College of Further Education. There are no universities in the island. Students who attend university in the United Kingdom receive state support towards both maintenance and tuition fees. In 2007, the Education Department received the approval of the States Assembly to introduce student contributions to the costs of higher education, in the form of student loans, as apply in the UK. However, immediately after the general election of 2008, the States Assembly voted in favour of a Requête which proposed abolishing the student loans scheme on the grounds that it was expensive to run and would potentially discourage students from going to, and then returning to the island from, university. In 2012, the Education Department reported to the States Assembly that it had no need to re-examine the basis of higher education funding at the present time. Culture The French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir visited the island in late summer 1883. While on the island, he painted fifteen pictures of the views on the island, all featuring the bay and beach of Moulin Huet on the south coast. The Guernsey cattle is an internationally famous icon of the island. As well as being prized for its rich creamy milk, which is claimed to hold health benefits over milk from other breeds, Guernsey cattle are increasingly being raised for their distinctively flavoured and rich yellowy-fatted beef, with butter made from the milk of Guernsey cows also has a distinctive yellow colour. Since the 1960s the number of individual islanders raising these cattle for private supply has diminished significantly, Guernsey steers can still be occasionally seen grazing on L'Ancresse common. Guernsey also hosts a breed of goat known as the Golden Guernsey, distinguished by its golden-coloured coat. At the end of the Second World War, the Golden Guernsey had almost been rendered extinct due to interbreeding on the island. The survival of this breed is largely credited to the work of a single woman, Miriam Milbourne, who successfully hid her herd from the Germans during the occupation. Although no longer considered to be critically endangered, the breed remains on the watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The traditional explanation for the donkey (âne in French and Guernésiais) is the steepness of St Peter Port streets that necessitated beasts of burden for transport (in contrast to the flat terrain of the rival capital of St Helier in Jersey), although it is also used in reference to Guernsey inhabitants' stubbornness. In turn, Guernseymen traditionally refer to Jerseymen as crapauds ("toads"). The so-called Guernsey Lily, Nerine sarniensis, is also used as a symbol of the island, although this species was introduced to the island from South Africa. Local food A local delicacy is the ormer (Haliotis tuberculata), a variety of abalone harvested under strict laws from beaches at low spring tides. Traditional Guernsey recipes include a stew called Guernsey Bean Jar, that is particularly served at the annual Viaer Marchi festival. Chief ingredients include haricot and butter beans, pork and shin beef. Guernsey Gâche is a special bread made with raisins, sultanas and mixed peel. Gâche Mélée is a dessert consisting of spiced, chopped apples suspended in a sponge mix. Languages English is the language in general use by the majority of the population, while Guernésiais, the Norman language of the island, is spoken fluently by only about 2% of the population (according to 2001 census). However, 14% of the population claim some understanding of the language. Until the early 20th-century French was the only official language of the Bailiwick, and all deeds for the sale and purchase of real estate in Guernsey were written in French until 1971. Family and place names reflect this linguistic heritage. George Métivier, a poet, wrote in Guernesiais. The loss of the island's language and the Anglicisation of its culture, which began in the 19th century and proceeded inexorably for a century, accelerated sharply when the majority of the island's school children were evacuated to the UK for five years during the German occupation of 1940–45. Literature Victor Hugo, having arrived on Halloween 1855, wrote some of his best-known works while in exile in Guernsey, including Les Misérables. His home in St Peter Port, Hauteville House, is now a museum administered by the city of Paris. In 1866, he published a novel set on Guernsey, Travailleurs de la Mer (Toilers of the Sea), which he dedicated to the island. Guernsey was his home for fifteen years. Mabel Collins (1851–1927), a theosophist and prolific author, was born in St Peter Port, Guernsey. Guernseyman G. B. Edwards wrote a critically acclaimed novel, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page that was published in 1981, including insights into Guernsey life during the 20th century. In September 2008, a blue plaque was affixed to the house on the Braye Road where Edwards was raised. Henry Watson Fowler moved to Guernsey in 1903. He and his brother Francis George Fowler composed The King's English, the Concise Oxford Dictionary and much of Modern English Usage on the island. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, describes the Occupation of Germans during World War II. Written in 2009, it is about a writer who begins corresponding with residents of the island, and becomes compelled to visit the island. Film A Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society film adaptation starring Lily James and Jessica Brown Findlay was released in 2018. In 2021 the feature film titled Marooned Awakeneing, starring Murray McArthur, Cameron Ashplant and Tilly Keeper, began filming in Guernsey Sport Guernsey participates in the biennial Island Games, which it hosted in 1987 and 2003 at Footes Lane. Guernsey has also participated as a country in its own right in Commonwealth Games since 1970. Its first medals came in 1982 with its first gold in 1990. In those sporting events where Guernsey does not have international representation, but the British Home Nations are competing separately, highly skilled islanders may choose to compete for any of the Home Nations. There are, however, restrictions on subsequent transfers to represent other Home Nations. The football player Matt Le Tissier, for example, could have played for the Scottish or Welsh football teams, but opted to play for England instead. Football in Guernsey is run by the Guernsey Football Association. The top tier of Guernsey football is the FNB Priaulx League where there are nine teams (Alderney, Belgrave Wanderers, Manzur, Northerners, Sylvans, St Martin's, Rovers, Rangers and Vale Recreation). The second tier is the Jackson League. In the 2011–12 season, Guernsey F.C. was formed and entered the Combined Counties League Division 1, becoming the first Channel Island club ever to compete in the English leagues. Guernsey became division champions comfortably on 24 March 2012, they won the Combined Counties Premier Challenge Cup on 4 May 2012. Their second season saw them promoted again on the final day in front of 1,754 'Green Lions' fans, this time to Division One South of the Isthmian League, despite their fixtures being heavily affected not only by poor winter weather, but by their notable progression to the semi-finals of the FA Vase cup competition. They play in level 8 of the English football pyramid. The Corbet Football Field, donated by Jurat Wilfred Corbet OBE in 1932, has fostered the sport greatly over the years. Recently, the island upgraded to a larger, better-quality stadium, in Footes Lane. Guernsey has the second oldest tennis club in the world, at Kings (founded in 1857), with courts built in 1875. The island has produced a world class tennis player in Heather Watson as well as professional squash players in Martine Le Moignan, Lisa Opie and Chris Simpson. Guernsey was declared an affiliate member by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2005 and an associate member in 2008. The Guernsey cricket team plays in the World Cricket League and European Cricket Championship as well as the Sussex Cricket League. Various forms of motorsport take place on the island, including races on the sands on Vazon beach as well as a quarter-mile "sprint" along the Vazon coast road. Le Val des Terres, a steeply winding road rising south from St Peter Port to Fort George, is often the focus of both local and international hill-climb races. In addition, the 2005, 2006 and 2007 World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx is a Guernseyman. The racecourse on L'Ancresse Common was re-established in 2004 after a gap of 13 years, with the first new race occurring on 2 May 2005. Races are held on most May day bank holidays, with competitors from Guernsey as well as Jersey, France and the UK participating. Sea angling around Guernsey and the other islands in the Bailiwick from shore or boat is a popular pastime for both locals and visitors with the Bailiwick boasting multiple UK records. See also Outline of Guernsey Index of Guernsey-related articles Bibliography of Guernsey List of people from Guernsey United Kingdom–Crown Dependencies Customs Union References Notes Citations Sources External links States of Guernsey Government House Guernsey VisitGuernsey/ Guernsey tourism Guernsey Crown dependencies English-speaking countries and territories Geography of Guernsey Islands of the Channel Islands States and territories established in 1204

Transport in Guinea is composed by a variety of systems that people in the country use to get around as well as to and from domestic and international destinations. The railway from Conakry to Kankan ceased operating in the mid-1980s. Most vehicles in Guinea are 20+ years old, and cabs are any four-door vehicle which the owner has designated as being for hire. Domestic air services are intermittent. Conakry International Airport is the largest airport in the country, with flights to other cities in Africa as well as to Europe. Locals, nearly entirely without vehicles of their own, rely upon these taxis (which charge per seat) and small buses to take them around town and across the country. There is some river traffic on the Niger and Milo rivers. Horses and donkeys pull carts, primarily to transport construction materials. Iron mining at Simandou (South) in the southeast beginning in 2007 and at Kalia in the east is likely to result in the construction of a new heavy-duty standard gauge railway and deepwater port. Iron mining at Simandou (North) will load to a new port near Buchanan, Liberia, in exchange for which rehabilitation of the Conakry to Kankan line will occur. Railways total: 1,086 km standard gauge: 279 km gauge metre gauge: 807 km gauge (includes 662 km in common carrier service from Kankan to Conakry) The lines do not all connect. Cities served by rail Santou - Dapilo This 125 km long Standard Gauge railway connects bauxite mines at Boffa with a new port at Boké, both places in the north of Guinea. A Joint Venture has already launched the $US 3bn Boffa – Boké Project which a 125km line from the Dapilon River Terminal to new mining areas of Santou II and Houda. There are 2 tunnels. This line opened in 28-06-2021. See: Boffa-Boke Railway Northern line This line is gauge (standard gauge) and carries about per annum. Port Kamsar - port Boké Crossing with proposed B B line. Both 1435mm gauge. By bridge or by level crossing. Rail Sangarédi - bauxite mine Central line This line is gauge and head off in a northwestern direction. Conakry - capital and port. Dubréka Fria - bauxite mine Southern line This line is gauge. Conversion to gauge has been proposed. Conakry - capital and port. Kindia - provincial capital. Kolèntèn Konkouré - several km north of railway Mamou - provincial capital Kégnégo Dabola - junction and break of gauge Bissikrima Cisséla - Kouroussa - bridge over Niger River Kankan - terminus and provincial capital. This line is . Dabola - junction and break of gauge Tougué - bauxite South Western line This line is and parallels the Southern line. Conakry - capital and port. Rail Map (red dots) Rail Map (gray lines) Kindia - bauxite mine. Proposed South Trans-Guinean Railway The heavy duty Transguinean Railways is about 650 km long and would be (standard gauge). It goes from iron ore mines in the south east and bauxite mines in the north to a new port a Matakong. Matakong - Deep water port Forécariah Madina Woula - way station Bambafouga - junction Marela - way station Faranah Tiro Kissidougou - way station Macenta Koule Nzerekore Lola Simandou iron ore deposit near Diéké Nimba - iron ore Pontiola - bauxite Tougué - branch terminus - bauxite Timeline 2019 Télimélé - Boffa 2008 July 2008 - wobbles over Simandou leases four ex-Croatian locomotives refurbished and regauged in Russia 1994 Progress Statistics Length Highways total: 30,500 km paved: 5,033 km unpaved: 25,467 km (1996 est.) The Trans–West African Coastal Highway crosses Guinea, connecting it to Bissau (Guinea-Bissau), and when construction in Sierra Leone and Liberia is complete, to a total of 13 other nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Waterways 1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft Ports and harbors Boké, Conakry, Kamsar Merchant marine none (1999 est.) Airports 15 (1999 est.) Airports - with paved runways total: 5 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (1999 est.) The airport code for the capital, Conakry, is CKY. Airports - with unpaved runways total: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.) See also Economy of Guinea References External links Google maps Conakry International Airport, Conakry, Guinea Aviation Safety CKY Guinea AZ World Airports Guinea

Transport infrastructure in Guinea-Bissau is basic, with most roads outside the capital Bissau being unpaved. Railways There are no railways in Guinea-Bissau. At the Port of Bissau, there was a small cargo railway working from the late 19th century into the 1940s. In 1998 an agreement was signed between Portugal and Guinea-Bissau for construction of a railway to Guinea, but the outbreak of the Guinea-Bissau Civil War in 1998 made these plans impossible. Roads Total: 4,400 km Paved: 453 km Unpaved: 3,947 km (1996 est.) The Trans–West African Coastal Highway crosses Guinea-Bissau, connecting it to Banjul (the Gambia), Conakry (Guinea), and eventually to 11 other nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Waterways Several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping in Guinea-Bissau. Seaports and harbours Port of Bissau Buba Cacheu Farim Merchant Marine In 1999 no merchant vessels were operating. Airports The main airport serving the country, and the only one with scheduled commercial service, is Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Bissau. 30 (1999 est.) Paved runways: 3 (Osvaldo Vieira International Airport, Cufar Airport, and Bubaque Airport) Over 3, 047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 Unpaved runways: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 22 (1999 est.) See also Guinea-Bissau Air Bissau Guine Bissau Airlines (2002) Guine Bissau Airlines References

The University of Gothenburg () is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. The university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 staff members it is one of the largest universities in the Nordic countries. About With its eight faculties and 38 departments, the University of Gothenburg is one of the most wide-ranging and versatile universities in Sweden. Its eight faculties offer training in the Creative Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Education, Information Technology, Business, Economics and Law, and Health Sciences. The University of Gothenburg has the highest number of applicants per study place in many of its subjects and courses, making it one of the most popular universities in Sweden. History The University of Gothenburg was founded as Göteborgs högskola (Gothenburg University College) in 1891. In 1907 it was granted the same status as Uppsala University and Lund University by the Swedish government, thus creating Sweden's third university. Over the course of time, it has merged with a number of previously independent higher education institutions in the city and has continuously expanded its study profile. It was granted the rights of a full university by the Swedish Government in 1954, following the merger of the Göteborgs högskola (Gothenburg College) with the Medicinhögskolan i Göteborg (Gothenburg Medical School). In 1971, the originally separate Gothenburg School of Economics and Commercial Law became part of the University of Gothenburg. Sahlgrenska University Hospital is associated with the university as a teaching hospital. The Sahlgrenska Hospital was founded in 1772 following a donation by Niclas Sahlgren, and is the largest in Northern Europe. In the 1990s the School of Economics and the Academy of Music, Drama and Opera have moved to new buildings in the city centre. A new campus for the Faculty of Education (teacher training) was opened in central Gothenburg in 2006. The University of Gothenburg is a pronounced city university, that is most of its facilities are within the city centre of Gothenburg. The main building as well as most faculties are located in the central part of Gothenburg. Gothenburg has a great academic excellence, originating from the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology and the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, to face these challenges. It has a strong tradition of innovation, resulting in for example Losec, the Brånemark implant, drugs against Parkinson's and most recently, the first ever completed pregnancy from a transplanted uterus. Together with Uppsala, Lund, and Stockholm universities, it is one of four large international research universities in Sweden. Structure Management The University of Gothenburg is one of Sweden's largest universities. It is a comprehensive university, organised into eight faculties and 38 departments. The university is a public authority as well as a confederation of Faculty Boards. Each faculty/school has significant autonomy based on its attributed powers, and a distinct identity within the university. The University Board is the university's highest decision-making body. The board consists of 15 members and has "supervision over all the University’s affairs, and is responsible that its duties are fulfilled". The Swedish Government appoints seven of the members externally, based on their having experience in activities that have significance for the university's teaching and research functions. In addition, the vice-chancellor, three faculty members and three students, as well as union representatives are included as ordinary members. The day-to-day management is headed by the vice-chancellor, who is responsible for implementing the decisions of the board. She is supported by the central administration. Faculties The university is organised into eight academic faculties. Collaboration across faculty and subject boundaries is emphasised in the university's research and education strategies. All faculties takes advantage of this possibility and are active participants in a multitude of cross-disciplinary research and education activities within the framework of the university. The university closely cooperates with Chalmers University of Technology, a fact that further increases the total scope of the academic environment in Gothenburg. The Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts (Konstnärliga fakulteten) offers courses in the fields of design and crafts, film studies, photography, scene, music and fine arts. The Göteborg Organ Art Center, HDK, Högskolan för scen och musik, and Valand Academy are part of the faculty. The Faculty of Education (Utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten) is responsible for teacher training in various subjects. The Faculty of Arts (Humanistiska fakulteten) comprises the humanities, for instance cultural studies, history, literature, history of ideas, religion, modern languages, philosophy, linguistics, theory of science and Swedish language and literature The IT Faculty (IT fakulteten) offers programmes in applied information technology, computer science and engineering. The Faculty of Science (Naturvetenskapliga fakulteten) covers a number of science disciplines such as botany, cell and molecular biology, physics, earth sciences, chemistry, conservation, marine ecology, mathematics, environmental science, and zoology. The Sahlgrenska Academy (Sahlgrenska Akadamin) is part of the University of Gothenburg and functions as a separate academy with the prestigious Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The School of Business, Economics and Law (Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet) is a business school and a law school. The Faculty of Social Sciences (Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten) offers courses in peace and development studies, public administration, journalism, psychology, social anthropology, social work, sociology, political science, and European studies. Other The Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research' is a unit of about 30 staff which was formed in 1998. World ranking University of Gothenburg places well in local and global rankings and is usually positioned among the world's best for life sciences and medicine. It was ranked 2nd in Sweden, 11th in Europe and 31st in the world in the subjects of biological and life sciences by AWRU-Shanghai 2018 world ranking. Noted people Alumni Percy Barnevik, industry leader, former CEO of Asea Brown Boveri Nick Bostrom, philosopher and futurist, and Director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University Malin Byström, operatic soprano Magnus Carlsson, singer Martin Wallström, actor Jan Eliasson, diplomat and politician (former President of the United Nations General Assembly, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden) Hans Hagnell, politician Carl Henrik Fredriksson, literary critic, columnist, essayist, and translator Cecilia Malmström, politician (European Commissioner) Aleksandra Mir, visual artist Njuguna Ndungu, economist, Governor and Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of Kenya Susanna Roxman, Anglophone poet and critic Juri Kurol, Swedish Orthodontist Maria Wetterstrand, politician (Green Party) Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, Syrian Islamic scholar Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor and former Head of Design for H&M Jonas Jonasson, author of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared''. Sture Allén, computer linguist, former permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy Jens Allwood, linguist Arvid Carlsson, Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine, 2000 Ernst Cassirer, philosopher Östen Dahl, linguist (member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities and Academia Europaea) Åke Edwardson, author (used to teach Journalism) Gunnar D Hansson, author Tore Janson, linguist. Bernhard Karlgren, sinologist Nils Kock, developer of the Kock pouch surgical procedure Lotta Lotass, writer and literary scholar (former Member of the Swedish Academy) Erik Lönnroth, historian (Member of the Swedish Academy) Joakim Norbeck, scientist in molecular biotechnology at Chalmers University Bo Ralph, linguist (Member of the Swedish Academy) Bo Rothstein, political scientist Gudrun Slettengren-Fernholm, artist Anna Wåhlin, Antarctic researcher, oceanographer Agnes Wold, professor of clinical bacteriology José González, singer Honorary degrees The University of Gothenburg has awarded numerous honorary doctorates to public figures and excellent academics, including: Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President of Iceland 1980–1996 (honorary doctorate 1990) Hillary Clinton, politician (honorary doctorate, 2007) David Cox, statistician (honorary doctorate 2007) Linda Haas, sociologist Past rectors 1891 Axel Kock 1891–1893 Hjalmar Edgren 1893–1899 Johannes Paulson 1899–1909 Johan Vising 1909–1914 Ludvig Stavenow 1914–1931 Otto Sylwan 1931–1936 Bernhard Karlgren 1936–1951 Curt Weibull 1951–1966 Hjalmar Frisk 1966–1972 Bo Eric Ingelmark 1972–1982 Georg Lundgren 1982–1986 Kjell Härnqvist 1986–1992 Jan S. Nilsson 1992–1997 Jan Ling 1997–2003 Bo Samuelsson 2003–2006 Gunnar Svedberg 2006–2017 Pam Fredman 2017– Eva Wiberg See also Chalmers University of Technology GOArt Gothenburg quadricentennial jubilee List of universities in Sweden Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg The International Science Festival in Gothenburg Sahlgrenska University Hospital References External links University of Gothenburg – Official site University of Gothenburg alumni network slide-show Gothenburg Educational institutions established in 1891 1891 establishments in Sweden Universities established in the 20th century

George Hoyt Whipple (August 28, 1878 – February 1, 1976) was an American physician, pathologist, biomedical researcher, and medical school educator and administrator. Whipple shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934 with George Richards Minot and William Parry Murphy "for their discoveries concerning liver therapy in cases of anemia". This makes Whipple the first of several Nobel laureates affiliated with the University of Rochester. Early life Whipple was born to Ashley Cooper Whipple and Frances Anna Hoyt in Ashland, New Hampshire. Ashley Cooper Whipple was a physician, and his father (George's paternal grandfather) was a physician and President of the New Hampshire Medical Society. Whipple's father died from pneumonia or typhoid fever when George was just shy two years old. His maternal grandfather also died when Whipple was two years old, and his paternal grandfather died a year later. This left Whipple to be raised by his mother, Frances, and grandmother, Frances Moody Hoyt, who impressed on him the value of hard work and education. Whipple attended Andover prep school and began attending Yale University as an undergraduate in 1896, earning A.B. degree in 1900. During these years, he developed as an outdoorsman, an affinity he would hold lifelong. He wrote in his autobiography about growing up in a lake district, "I feel very fortunate that I grew up in the country...I became interested in wild life and camping, also hiking, snowshoeing, skating, bob sledding, canoeing, fishing, hunting—all this was an essential part of my life". He even credited his love for the outdoors as a contributor to his successes in work, study, and teaching. In the summers of prep school and undergrad, he worked at a drugstore and at Squam Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire providing help and ferry services to the tourists and campers. Of his summer experiences, Whipple said, "I sometimes think I learned as much during the summer work periods as during the school terms." Education As an undergraduate, he became a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and proved to be a prize-winning gymnast, oarsman, and an outstanding science student. His excellence in science was exemplified by his election to Sigma Xi honor society and graduation with senior honors. The interactions Whipple had with biochemists Russell Henry Chittenden and Lafayette Mendel during his senior year at Yale left an indelible mark on his life and career. In his autobiography, Whipple describes Mendel as "an unusual man who exerted a strong influence on me ... work with him was exciting and never to be forgotten". With a shortage of funds to finance further education, Whipple took a year off after graduating Yale. During this year, he worked at Dr. Holbrook Military School in Ossining, New York teaching mathematics and science, and serving as an athletic coach. In 1901, under the advice, persuasion, and guidance of his mother, Whipple attended medical school at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He received his M.D. degree in 1905. To gain experience and subsidize his medical school studies, Whipple applied for and was accepted to a teaching assistantship in John J. Abel's Department of Physiological Chemistry. Later, his performance in his first year anatomy course earned him a second-year appointment as a student instructor in anatomy. During this time, his interest in histology developed. Under the mentorship of William Welch, Eugene Opie, and William McCallum, Whipple was inspired to correlate clinical illness and disease, to the tissue findings discovered on autopsy. Together, McCallum and Welch conspired to offer Whipple a position as junior member of the pathology department with the hope it would lead to Whipple become a pediatric pathologist. Ultimately, Whipple accepted the position which shaped his career aspirations to become a pathologist. Career In 1905, Whipple joined the pathology department at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as an assistant in pathology. He was promoted successively to Assistant, Instructor, Associate and Associate Professor in pathology until he left in 1914. During this time, he spent a year in Panama at Ancon Hospital as a pathologist. In Panama, he worked with Samuel Darling, a resident pathologist, and General Gorgas to gain experience in tropical diseases. This experience afforded him the opportunity to study massive hemolysis associated with blackwater fever. Before returning to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine after his time in Panama, Whipple traveled to Europe and spent time in the laboratories of Krehl and Morawitz in Heidelberg, where he learned about anemia in rabbits. In 1911, Whipple went to Vienna to study hepatic portal vein blood flow and its effects on hepatic functions in the dog with Hans Meyer. In 1914, at 34 years old, Whipple married Katherine Ball Waring of Charleston, South Carolina. They had two children. He was also appointed Professor of Research Medicine, and Director of the Hooper Foundation for Medical Research at the University of California San Francisco medical school. He was dean of that medical school in 1920 and 1921. In 1921, through the persistence of University of Rochester President Benjamin Rush Rhees, Whipple agreed to become a Professor and Chairman of Pathology, and the founding Dean of the yet-to-be-built medical school (URMC). Rhees was so determined to recruit Whipple, he personally flew to UC San Francisco to offer him the opportunity to build the medical school from the ground up. Whipple found this offer attractive because it would fulfil his passion to create a program which fostered an exchange between clinical and preclinical disciplines. His vision for the school included housing the medical school and hospital at the same site to facilitate this exchange. The first students entered URMC in 1925. Retirement In 1953, at 75 years old, Whipple retired from the Deanship, and retirement from the University would follow in 1955. He was remembered as a superb teacher. In his autobiography, A Dozen Doctors, Whipple wrote, "I would be remembered as a teacher". He spent his retirement years dabbling in pathology department and medical school activities at the University of Rochester, but returned to his outdoors-man roots, filling his time with pheasant hunting, salmon fishing on the Margaree River, and tarpon fishing off the coast in Florida. Whipple died in 1976 at the age of 97 and his ashes were scattered in Rochester's Mount Hope Cemetery. Though he was not related to Allen Whipple, who described the Whipple procedure and Whipple's triad, the two were lifelong friends. The Whipples also had a deep friendship with George Eastman, founder of Rochester-based Eastman Kodak. Whipple's research Over the course of his career, Whipple authored or co-authored more than 300 publications. Whipple's research interests during his career primarily included anemia and the physiology and pathology of the liver. But he also researched and made significant contributions to tuberculosis, pancreatitis, chloroform poisoning in animals, the metabolism of bile pigments and iron, the constituents of the bile, and the regeneration of plasma protein, protein metabolism, and the stroma of the red blood cells. One of his first publications described the role of the lungs, lymphatic system, and gastrointestinal tract in the spread of tubercle bacillus causing tuberculosis. Another one of his early publications described autopsy results from a patient with an accumulation of fatty acids in the walls of the small intestine and lymph nodes. He named this abnormality lipodystrophia intestinalis (intestinal lipodystrophy), and correctly pointed to the bacterial cause of the lipid deposits, resulting in the disease being named Whipple's disease. When Whipple first joined Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as an assistant, he worked under William H. Welch, focusing on the repair and regeneration of liver cells. His research in dogs demonstrated that liver cells had an almost unlimited ability to regenerate. Through his chloroform liver injury studies, Whipple demonstrated that the liver was the site of fibrinogen synthesis. His research elucidated the route by which bile pigments enter circulation and produce jaundice in various parts of the body. Later, he studied bile pigments and their production outside the liver by way of bile fistulas at the Hooper Foundation at UC San Francisco. His interests soon extended to understanding the production of hemoglobin to gain a better understand of how it is metabolized into bile pigments. Co-authored with Hooper, Whipple published 12 papers, from 1915–1917, reporting the following: Bile pigment bilirubin was a breakdown product of muscle hemoglobin, though red blood cell hemoglobin was the major normal source. Bile pigment was not reabsorbed and reused in the production of new red blood cells. The heme moiety of hemoglobin could be converted to bilirubin in both the pleural and peritoneal cavities, in addition to the liver. Normal liver function was essential for the excretion of bilirubin. The curve of red blood cell regeneration in anemia, as influenced by dietary factors, like sugar, amino acids and starvation. At the University of Rochester, Whipple's research focus became studying the various factors in diets which contributed to recovery of long-term anemia, particularly in anemic dogs. Along with his research assistant, Frieda Robscheit-Robbins (formally Frieda Robbins), they co-authored 21 publications, from 1925–1930, reporting the following: Circulating plasma and hemoglobin volumes The effects of dietary and other factors on bile salt production and secretion Measurements of blood fibrinogen The effects of diet, hemorrhage, liver injury, and other factors on plasma fibrinogen levels Blood regeneration following simple anemia Whipple and Robscheit-Robbins were regarded as having one of the "great creative partnerships in medicine". In his landmark studies, published as a series "Blood Regeneration in Severe Anemia" beginning in 1925, Whipple demonstrated that raw liver fed to anemic dogs was the most effective diet additive for reversing the anemia by boosting the production of red blood cells. He would go on to show that foods derived from animal tissue, and cooked apricots also had a positive effect of increasing red blood cells during anemia. Based on these data, Whipple associated the iron content in these dietary factors to the potency of red blood cell regeneration. This data led directly to successful liver treatment of pernicious anemia by George R. Minot and William P. Murphy, despite the main therapeutic mechanism being through B12 rather than iron. This was a remarkable discovery since previously, pernicious anemia was invariably fatal at a young age. For his contribution to this body of work, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1934 along with Minot and Murphy. In 1937, Whipple collaborated with William B. Hawkins to determine the life-span of the red blood cell in dogs. Simultaneously, with the advent of radioactive iron, Whipple, Paul F. Hahn, and William F. Bale collaborated to study iron absorption and utilization. They demonstrated that iron absorption was highly regulated in the small intestine and was influenced by the amount of iron stores in the body. They also demonstrated that insignificant amounts of iron were normally excreted or lost in the urine, feces, or bile. During this time, Whipple also formulated his theory on "the dynamic equilibrium between blood and tissue proteins" based on earlier plasmapheresis experiments he had performed (in the early 1930s) which demonstrated the importance of dietary protein on production of plasma proteins. This formed the foundation of research into mammalian protein metabolism, and led Rudolf Schoenheimer to write The Dynamic State of the Body Constituents, marking the modern era of biochemistry and biology. Between 1939 and 1943 Leon L. Miller and Whipple collaborated to study the hepato-toxic effects of chloroform anesthesia on dogs. They found that dogs in a protein depleted state sustained lethal liver injury from within anesthesia fifteen minutes; but that feeding these depleted dogs a protein rich meal, particularly rich in L-methionine or L-cystine, prior to anesthesia was protective. This and other studies, led Whipple to the conclusion that S-containing amino acids are protective against liver against toxic agents. During World War II, Whipple tested combinations of dietary amino acids, administered, orally or parenterally, and their effects on plasma protein synthesis. He was able to characterize amino acid mixtures that could satisfy the metabolic requirements necessary to maintain weight, nitrogen balance, and plasma protein and hemoglobin regeneration in the dog. This would ultimately led to human clinical trials which demonstrated that these amino acid mixtures, along with enzymatic digest of casein, could sustain nourishment in patients who could not intake nutrients through the normal gastrointestinal route for extended periods. Intravenous nutrition, referred to as parenteral nutrition, is routinely used today. Nobel Prize, honors and distinctions Whipple shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934 with George R. Minot and William P. Murphy "for their discoveries concerning liver therapy in cases of anemia". In presenting the Nobel Prize, Professor I. Holmgren of the Nobel committee observed that "Of the three prize winners, it was Whipple who first occupied himself with the investigations for which the prize is now awarded. ... Whipple's experiments were planned exceedingly well, and carried out very accurately, and consequently their results can lay claim to absolute reliability. These investigations and results of Whipple's gave Minot and Murphy the idea that an experiment could be made to see whether favorable results might also be obtained in the case of pernicious anemia...by making use of the foods of the kind that Whipple had found to yield favorable results in his experiments regarding anemia from loss of blood." Whipple received honorary doctorates from several American and international Universities, including the Universities of Athens and Glasgow. In 1930, along with Minot, he received the Popular Science Monthly Gold Medal and Annual Award. In 1934, he was awarded the William Wood Gerhard Gold Medal of the Pathological Society of Philadelphia. He also was a member of the following organizations: Rockefeller Foundation, Trustee Association of Physicians in Vienna, Corresponding Member Royal Society of Physicians in Budapest European Society of Haematology British Medical Association, Foreign Corresponding Member. Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Honorary Member American Philosophical Society, Honorary Member Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine, Honorary Member Board of Scientific Directors of the Rockefeller Institute, Member Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Institute, Member; Vice-Chairman; and Trustee Emeritus See also Whipple House (Ashland, New Hampshire), his birthplace New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 100: George Hoyt Whipple Further reading References External links including the Nobel Lecture, December 12, 1934 Hemoglobin Regeneration as Influenced by Diet and Other Factors Other biography 1878 births 1976 deaths Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester) Johns Hopkins University alumni Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine American Nobel laureates People from Ashland, New Hampshire Phillips Academy alumni American pathologists Yale University alumni University of California, San Francisco faculty

Gheorghe Zamfir (; born April 6, 1941) is a Romanian nai (pan flute) musician. Zamfir is known for playing an expanded version of normally 20-pipe nai, with 22, 25, 28 or even 30 pipes, to increase its range, and obtaining as many as eight overtones (additional to the fundamental tone) from each pipe by changing his embouchure. He is known as "The Master of the Pan Flute". Career Zamfir came to the public eye when he was approached by Swiss ethnomusicologist Marcel Cellier, who extensively researched Romanian folk music in the 1960s. The composer Vladimir Cosma brought Zamfir with his pan flute to Western European countries for the first time in 1972 as the soloist in Cosma's original music for the movie Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire. The movie received several awards, including the Top Foreign Film from the National Board of Review in 1973. Zamfir continued to perform as a soloist in movie soundtracks by composers Francis Lai, Ennio Morricone and many others. Largely through television commercials where he was billed as "Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute", he introduced the folk instrument to a modern audience and revived it from obscurity. In 1966, Zamfir was appointed conductor of the "Ciocîrlia Orchestra", one of the most prestigious state ensembles of Romania, destined for concert tours abroad. This created the opportunity for composition and arranging. In 1969 he left Ciocîrlia and started his own taraf (small band) and in 1970 he had his first longer term contract in Paris. Zamfir discovered the much greater freedom for artistic adventure. His taraf consisted of: Ion Drăgoi (violin), Ion Lăceanu (flutes), Dumitru Fărcaș (tarogato), Petre Vidrean (double bass) and Tony Iordache (cymbalum) all number one soloists in their country. This taraf made some excellent recordings (CD Zamfir a Paris). He changed the composition of the band soon after: Efta Botoca (violin), Marin Chisar (flutes), Dorin Ciobaru and Pavel Cebzan (clarinet and tarogato), Vasile Pandelescu (accordion), Petre Vidrean (bass) and Pantelimon Stînga (cymbalum). It is said that this change was made to increase the command of Zamfir and have more artistic freedom. A turning point was the recording of Zamfir's composition "Messe pour la Paix" (Philips). His taraf joined a choir and a symphonic orchestra. This was evidence of the growing ambition. While the Philips recordings of that time were rather conservative, Zamfir preached revolution in the concert halls with daring performances. In 1977, he recorded "The Lonely Shepherd" with James Last. Zamfir put himself on the world map and since then his career became highly varied, hovering over classical repertoire, easy listening and pop music. Between 1976 and 1983, Zamfir had six album peak within the Australian top 100 albums charts, with The Flutes of Pan, his best, peaking at number 26 in 1980. Zamfir's big break in the English-speaking world came when the BBC religious television program, The Light of Experience, adopted his recording of "Doina De Jale", a traditional Romanian funeral song, as its theme. Epic Records released the tune as a single in 1976, and it climbed to number four on the UK Singles chart. It would prove to be his only UK hit single, but it helped pave the way for a consistent stream of album sales in Britain. His song "Summer Love" reached number 9 in South Africa in November 1976. In 1983, he scored a No. 3 hit on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart with "Blue Navajo," and several of his albums (including 1982's Romance and 1983's Childhood Dreams) have charted in Canada as well. His 1985 album, Atlantis, contained tracks composed by Jacques Brel and Eric Satie, plus music from films and Zamfir's version of "Stranger on the Shore". After nearly a decade-long absence, Zamfir returned to Canada in January 2006 for a seven-city tour with the Traffic Strings quintet. The program included a world premiere of Vivaldi's Four Seasons for pan flute and string quintet arranged by Lucian Moraru, jazz standards, and well-known favorites. In 2009, Zamfir was sampled by Animal Collective in the song "Graze" on their EP Fall Be Kind. In 2012, he performed at the opening ceremony of the 11th Conference of Parties to the Ramsar Convention at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania. Zamfir played "Silent Night" at the opening of Concerto di Natale (The Christmas Concert) on 15 December 2018 at the Vatican Aula Jean Paul the II. Concerto di Natale is an international event where artists from all over the world meet for a special concert to raise as much money as possible for charity projects in Africa and poor regions of the world. He performed with Anastacia, the Italian singer Alessandra Amoroso, and the Italian flautist Andrea Griminelli. Zamfir and Andrea Griminelli appeared again to perform “The Lonely Shepherd”. Soundtracks His first appearance as soloist interpreter in a movie soundtrack was in Vladimir Cosma's 1972 Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire, whose soundtrack became a worldwide hit. Another of his notable contributions was to the soundtrack of the classic 1975 Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock. His other film scores include La guerre du pétrole n'aura pas lieu (1975) and the Moroccan film Bodas de Sangre (1977). He was asked by Ennio Morricone to perform the pieces "Childhood Memories" and "Cockeye's Song" for the soundtrack of Sergio Leone's 1984 gangster film Once Upon a Time in America. His performance can also be heard throughout the 1984 film The Karate Kid plus the sequels. One of Zamfir's most famous pieces is "The Lonely Shepherd", which was written by James Last and recorded with the James Last Orchestra, and first included on Last's 1977 album Russland Erinnerungen (Memories of Russia); it was also released as a single. "The Lonely Shepherd" was used as the theme for the 1979 Australian miniseries Golden Soak. It was also featured in Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film Kill Bill: Volume 1 and in Nikolas Grasso's short film Doina. His song "Frunzuliță Lemn Adus Cântec De Nuntă" ("Fluttering Green Leaves Wedding Song") appears in the 1991 Studio Ghibli film Only Yesterday. Personal life Zamfir was born in Găeşti, Romania, on April 6, 1941. Although initially interested in becoming an accordionist, at the age of 14 he began his pan flute studies with Fănică Luca at the Special Musical School no. 1 in Bucharest. Later he attended the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory. He currently resides and teaches pan flute in Bucharest. His son, Emmanuel Teodor (who resides in Montreal, Canada), is also a drummer/musician. Bibliography (instructional book) (autobiography) References External links Official website Henk Jansen: Zamfir and his artistic success 1941 births Living people Folk flautists People from Găești Romanian musicians Romanian flautists Mercury Records artists Philips Records artists

Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional career, and won 73 caps for England, highlighted by starting every game of the nation's 1966 World Cup victory. Banks joined Chesterfield in March 1953, and played for their youth team in the 1956 FA Youth Cup final. He made his first team debut in November 1958, and was sold to Leicester City for £7,000 in July 1959. He played in four cup finals for the club, as they were beaten in the 1961 and 1963 FA Cup finals, before winning the League Cup in 1964 and finishing as finalists in 1965. Despite this success, and his World Cup win in 1966, Banks was dropped by Leicester and sold on to Stoke City for £50,000 in April 1967. In the 1970 World Cup, he made one of the game's great saves to prevent a Pelé goal, but was absent due to illness as England were beaten by West Germany at the quarter-final stage. Banks was Stoke City's goalkeeper in the 1972 League Cup win, the club's only major honour. He was still Stoke's and England's number one when a car crash in October 1972 cost him both the sight in his right eye and, eventually, his professional career. He played two last seasons in the United States for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 1977 and 1978, and despite only having vision in one eye, was NASL Goalkeeper of the Year in 1977 after posting the best defensive record in the league. He briefly entered management with Telford United, but left the game in December 1980. Banks was named FWA Footballer of the Year in 1972, and was named FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year on six occasions. The IFFHS named Banks the second-best goalkeeper of the 20th century, after Lev Yashin (1st) and ahead of Dino Zoff (3rd). Early life Banks was born in Abbeydale, Sheffield, and brought up in the working-class area of Tinsley. The family later moved to the village of Catcliffe after his father set up a (then-illegal) betting shop. This brought greater prosperity but also misery; one day Banks's disabled brother was mugged for the shop's daily takings, and died of his injuries some weeks later. Banks left school in December 1952, aged 15, and took up employment as a bagger with a local coal merchant, which helped to build up his upper body strength. He spent a season playing for amateur side Millspaugh after their regular goalkeeper failed to turn up for a match; the club's trainer spotted Banks amongst the spectators and invited him to play in goal as he was aware that Banks had previously played for Sheffield Schoolboys. His performances there earned him a game in the Yorkshire League for Rawmarsh Welfare, however a 12–2 defeat to Stocksbridge Works on his debut was followed by a 3–1 home defeat, and he was dropped by Rawmarsh and returned to Millspaugh. Still aged 15, he then switched jobs to become a hod carrier. Club career Chesterfield He was scouted by Chesterfield whilst playing for Millspaugh, and offered a six-game trial in the youth team in March 1953. He impressed enough in these games to be offered a part-time £3-a-week contract by manager Teddy Davison in July 1953. The reserve team were placed in the Central League on account of a powerful club director rather than on merit, and Banks conceded 122 goals in the 1954–55 season as the "Spireites" finished in last place with only three victories. Banks was posted to Germany with the Royal Signals on national service, and won the Rhine Cup with his regimental team. He recovered from a fractured elbow to help the Chesterfield youth team to the 1956 final of the FA Youth Cup. There they were beaten 4–3 on aggregate by Manchester United's famous "Busby Babes"—a team that included both Wilf McGuinness and Bobby Charlton. Banks was given his first team debut by manager Doug Livingstone, at the expense of long-serving Ron Powell, in a Third Division game against Colchester United at Saltergate in November 1958. The game ended 2–2, and Banks kept his place against Norwich City in the following match; by the end of the 1958–59 season he had missed only three games, those owing to injury. With no goalkeeping coach to guide him, Banks had to learn from his mistakes on the pitch, and he soon developed into a modern vocal goalkeeper who ordered the players in front of him into a more effective defence. Having just 23 league and three cup appearances to his name, it came as a surprise to Banks when Matt Gillies, manager of First Division club Leicester City, bought him from Chesterfield for £7,000 in July 1959; this also meant a wage increase to £15 a week. Leicester City Banks faced competition from five other goalkeepers, including 30-year-old Scotland international Johnny Anderson and 25-year-old Dave MacLaren. He started the 1959–60 season as the reserve team's goalkeeper. This in effect made him the club's second choice, ahead of four of his rivals but behind first team choice MacLaren. He had played four reserve team games when MacLaren picked up an injury, and manager Matt Gillies selected Banks for his Leicester debut against Blackpool at Filbert Street on 9 September. The match finished 1–1, with Jackie Mudie's strike cancelling out Ken Leek's opener. Banks retained his place for the 2–0 loss to Newcastle United at St James' Park three days later. With McLaren fit again, Banks was sent back to the reserves but, after the first team conceded 14 goals in the next five games, he was recalled and became the first-choice goalkeeper for the remainder of the season. The defensive record did not improve at first, with Banks conceding six in a heavy defeat by Everton at Goodison Park, but he improved in each match and the Foxes settled for a comfortable 12th-place finish. In training, he worked extensively on improving his weaknesses, such as coming for crosses. He put in extra hours during training and came up with practice sessions to improve his skills – this was largely unique in an era where there were no specialized goalkeeping coaches. In the summer, both Anderson and MacLaren departed, leaving Banks as the club's undisputed number one ahead of a group of understudies. Leicester finished sixth in 1960–61, and managed to beat champions Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. Yet their greatest accomplishment was in reaching the final of the FA Cup, with Banks conceding only five goals in their nine games en route to the final, and keeping three clean sheets in the semi-final and two replays against Sheffield United. Goals from Jimmy Walsh and Ken Leek finally broke the deadlock in the second replay at St Andrew's. Their opponents in the final at Wembley were Tottenham, who had already won the First Division title by an eight-point margin. Right-back Len Chalmers picked up a severe injury early in the match, and with Ken Leek dropped for disciplinary reasons in favour of rookie Hughie McIlmoyle, City were effectively playing with ten men and offered little threat going forward. Bobby Smith and Terry Dyson gave Spurs a 2–0 win and the first "double" of the 20th century, with Banks unable to prevent either goal. The 1961–62 season proved to be highly disappointing, as Leicester finished 14th in the league and exited the FA Cup at the hands of Stoke City. The only highlight was the club's participation in the European Cup Winners' Cup, which actually put Banks in the difficult position of choosing to play for his club against Spanish club Atlético Madrid or choosing to attend the England versus Portugal match as a non-playing squad member. He elected to attend both games, leaving London at full-time to reach Leicester 30 minutes before the kick-off against Madrid. A last-minute goal earned the Spaniards a 1–1 draw at Filbert Street. In the return leg, Banks saved an Enrique Collar penalty, but Atlético were awarded a second penalty which Collar converted, and Leicester lost the game 2–0 (losing the tie 3–1 on aggregate). Banks broke his nose at Craven Cottage on the opening day of the 1962–63 season, in a 2–1 defeat by Fulham. Leicester went to chase a possible double, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals whilst lying top of the table in April. City beat Liverpool 1–0 at Hillsborough to reach the final, with Banks keeping a clean sheet despite his goal being under a near-constant siege from the Merseyside club. The News of the World reported that Liverpool had had 34 attempts on goal to Leicester's one, and Banks later stated that it was his finest performance at club level. Unluckily, Banks then broke a finger in a 2–1 defeat by West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, and was out injured as Leicester lost their final three league games, ending the season in a disappointing fourth place. In the 1963 FA Cup Final Banks and the rest of the team underperformed, and lost the game 3–1 to Manchester United. City ended the 1963–64 season in 11th place, having been inconsistent all season. Success instead came through the League Cup, as they beat West Ham United 6–3 over two legs in the semi-finals to reach the final against Stoke City. The opening tie at the Victoria Ground finished 1–1 in extremely muddy conditions as Banks spilled a shot from Bill Asprey, with Keith Bebbington pouncing on the rebound. Back at Filbert Street, goals from Mike Stringfellow, Dave Gibson and Howard Riley won the game for Leicester 3–2 and settled the tie at 4–3. Banks started the 1964–65 season on wages of £40 a week, and the club only agreed to pay £60 a week in December. These miserly wages made it difficult for the club to spend the £80,000 it received from the sale of Frank McLintock – he had put in a transfer request over dissatisfaction with his pay and quality replacements were reluctant to join a club that paid full internationals like Banks and McLintock no more than the base rate that rival clubs paid to average players. Leicester finished 18th in the league and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Liverpool at Anfield in the sixth round. In the League Cup, City struggled to get past Peterborough United (in a replay), Grimsby Town and Crystal Palace (in a replay), before they recorded an 8–1 victory over Coventry City at Highfield Road. After easing past Plymouth Argyle in the semi-finals, Banks found himself playing in another League Cup final. However Chelsea won the final after successfully defending their 3–2 win at Stamford Bridge with a goalless draw at Filbert Street. Banks missed the first nine games of the 1965–66 season after breaking his wrist when diving at the feet of Northampton Town's Joe Kiernan in a pre-season friendly. Leicester finished the season in seventh spot, and exited both cup competitions at the hands of Manchester City. Despite being a World Cup winner in the previous summer, Banks was dropped towards the end of the 1966–67 season in favour of highly promising teenage reserve Peter Shilton. Manager Matt Gillies was blunt, telling Banks "we [Gillies and the club's directors] think your best days are behind you, and you should move on". Teammate Richie Norman told Banks that Gillies was pressured into the decision, Shilton having told the board he would leave the club unless he was given first team football. Banks was transfer listed at £50,000, the same price the club received for Derek Dougan in March 1967. However, many of the big clubs were unwilling to spend such a sum on a goalkeeper. Liverpool manager Bill Shankly showed strong interest, but could not convince the club's board of directors to agree to such a large fee for a goalkeeper. West Ham United manager Ron Greenwood was prepared to match the fee, but instead signed Kilmarnock's Bobby Ferguson for £65,000 because he had already agreed terms with Kilmarnock and did not want to go back on his word. Terms were instead agreed with Stoke City, a mid-table First Division side. Stoke City On leaving Filbert Street, Banks requested a loyalty bonus from Leicester, and was told by Matt Gillies "We've decided not to pay you a penny. There's to be no compensation payment and that's final." Banks then refused the move until Stoke boss Tony Waddington seemingly negotiated a £2,000 payment out of Leicester. It was only some years later that Banks was informed that Stoke had actually made the payment, not Leicester. Waddington valued good goalkeepers highly, and the two built up a close relationship. During this time, Banks moved to Madeley, Staffordshire. He replaced John Farmer as the club's number one, and kept goal in the last four games of the 1966–67 season, making his home debut at the Victoria Ground in a 3–1 win over his former club Leicester. Banks fitted in well at Stoke, as Waddington built a team of veteran players who were judged by some to be past their best. The Potters struggled near the foot of the First Division table in the 1967–68 and 1968–69 campaigns, before rising to ninth place in the 1969–70 season. Banks remained a reliable stopper for the club, though on 1 March 1969 he was knocked unconscious at Roker Park by Sunderland's Malcolm Moore, and his replacement David Herd conceded four goals in a 4–1 defeat. Banks also played a season for the Cleveland Stokers of the American United Soccer Association in the summer of 1968: he played seven of the short-lived club's 12 games in Cleveland, Ohio. Banks made what he believed to be three of the best saves of his career in a Stoke shirt. In the first instance he saved and caught a powerful and well-placed header from Manchester City's Wyn Davies from just eight yards out; in the second case he saved a Francis Lee header at Maine Road; and he made his third great save for the club by catching a volley from Tottenham Hotspur's Alan Gilzean that had been hit from just six yards out at White Hart Lane. Stoke began to compete for honours in the 1970–71 season, though despite impressive victories against the top two clubs—Arsenal and Leeds United—City ended the season in mid-table obscurity. The club's great achievement was in reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup, beating Millwall, Huddersfield Town, Ipswich Town and Hull City en route. Facing Arsenal at Hillsborough in the semi-finals, they lost a two-goal lead to draw 2–2, and were then beaten 2–0 in the replay at Villa Park. Despite another mid-table finish in 1971–72, Stoke beat Chesterfield, Tranmere Rovers, Hull City and Manchester United to reach another FA Cup semi-final. They again faced Arsenal, and once more a draw at Villa Park meant a replay at Goodison Park. The Gunners' goals in a 2–1 victory came from a disputed Frank McLintock penalty and a John Radford goal that television replays showed was clearly offside. In a May 2011 interview, Banks said that he still felt "cheated" out of a chance to play for the club in an FA Cup final. Stoke and Banks found solace in the League Cup, though it took them 11 matches to reach the final after overcoming Southport, then Oxford United in a replay, Manchester United in a second replay, Bristol Rovers, and then West Ham United in a second replay following an aggregate draw after two legs. In extra-time of the second leg with West Ham, Banks fouled Harry Redknapp, conceding a penalty, and then saved Geoff Hurst's powerful spot-kick to keep City in the competition. They then faced Chelsea in the final at Wembley. Peter Osgood beat Banks with a hooked shot just before half-time, but goals from Terry Conroy and George Eastham won Stoke the game 2–1. At the end of the season Banks was named as the FWA Footballer of the Year, becoming the first goalkeeper to receive the honour since Bert Trautmann in 1956. On 22 October 1972, while driving home from a session of work on his injured shoulder with the Stoke physiotherapist, Banks lost control of his new Ford Consul (a re-badged Ford Granada Mk I) car, which ended up in a ditch. He had attempted to overtake a car on a sharp bend and collided with an oncoming Austin A60 van. He was taken to the North Staffordshire Hospital and during an operation received 200 stitches in his face and over 100 micro-stitches inside the socket of his right eye, and was told the chances of saving the sight in his eye were 50–50. His sight never returned, and as the loss of binocular vision severely limited his abilities as a goalkeeper, he retired from professional football the following summer. Fort Lauderdale Strikers In April 1977 he went to play as a named superstar in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The Strikers won their division in 1977, and Banks was named NASL Goalkeeper of the Year after he conceded only 29 goals in 26 games—the best defensive record in the NASL. He also played one League of Ireland game for St Patrick's Athletic, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win over Shamrock Rovers at Richmond Park on 2 October 1977. He returned to Fort Lauderdale and played 11 games in the 1978 season. International career Banks was capped twice for the England under-23 side, in matches against Wales and Scotland in 1961. Ron Springett was the goalkeeper for England as Banks rose to prominence, but after the 1962 World Cup in Chile, a new coach was appointed in former England right-back Alf Ramsey. Ramsey demanded sole control of the team and began looking towards the next World Cup. Banks won his first cap on 6 April 1963 against Scotland at Wembley, after Springett was dropped following a poor performance. England lost 2–1, though Banks was blameless as Scotland's goals came firstly from an error by Jimmy Armfield and then secondly from the penalty spot. He was picked for the next match against Brazil, which ended in a credible 1–1 draw after Bryan Douglas cancelled out Pepe's opener. Banks continued to play consistently to become established as England's first-choice goalkeeper. In 1963, he was picked to play against the Rest of the World, in a celebration match to mark 100 years of The Football Association. Banks also played in two of England's three games at the "Little World Cup" in Brazil in the summer of 1964, a 1–1 draw with Portugal and a 1–0 defeat to Argentina. Blackpool's Tony Waiters won five caps in the England goal in 1964, but found that his challenge to Banks's first team place came to an end after he conceded five goals to Brazil. During England's summer of 1965 tour he built up a solid understanding with his defenders—George Cohen, Jack Charlton, Bobby Moore, and Ray Wilson—as he only conceded two goals in four matches against Hungary, Yugoslavia, West Germany, and Sweden. They then played seven friendlies in 1966 in the build-up to the World Cup, though the team passed their biggest test of character in the British Home Championship, beating Scotland 4–3 in front of a crowd of over 130,000 at Hampden Park. Going into the competition, the only defeat in 21 matches since the "Little World Cup" came against Austria, in a game that Banks missed due to injury. 1966 World Cup Banks entered the 1966 FIFA World Cup as England's first choice goalkeeper, and his understudies Ron Springett and Peter Bonetti never took to the field during the tournament. England opened the tournament with a goalless draw against Uruguay, with Banks a virtual spectator as the highly defensive Uruguayans rarely ventured out of their own half. They then defeated Mexico 2–0, with Banks again rarely troubled throughout. A 2–0 win over France then took England through the group stage without Banks conceding a goal. England beat Argentina 1–0 in the last eight, with Geoff Hurst scoring with a header; the match was sullied by the first-half sending off of Argentinian midfielder Antonio Rattín, who refused to leave the pitch after being dismissed for dissent. In contrast to the previous games, the semi-final against Portugal proved to be a fair contest between two sides of talented players eager to attack from the start of the match. Yet there was panic in the buildup to the game as trainer Harold Shepherdson forgot to buy chewing gum, which Banks used to make his hands stickier and better able to handle the ball, and so Shepherdson had to run to a nearby newsagents to purchase gum as the teams were in the tunnel. Bobby Charlton scored two goals, but Portugal made a strong finish and won a penalty on 82 minutes after Jack Charlton handled the ball in the penalty area. Eusébio converted the penalty after sending Banks the wrong way, and the game finished 2–1 in England's favour. This was the first goal Banks had conceded for England in 721 minutes of regular play, since giving up Scotland's last goal after 81 minutes of the Home International clash in April. This remained a record for an England goalkeeper until 2021 when it was broken by Jordan Pickford. England's opponents in the final were West Germany. It was England who dominated the final but it was Banks who was beaten first. A weak header from Ray Wilson handed a chance to Helmut Haller, who sent an accurate but relatively weak shot into the corner of the net; Banks had been unsighted by Jack Charlton, and he failed to adjust his position in time to reach the ball. England equalised through a Geoff Hurst header within six minutes and went ahead late in the second half through Martin Peters. With seconds left in the game, Lothar Emmerich sent a free kick into the England penalty area, and the ball fell to Wolfgang Weber, who guided the ball over a lunging Ray Wilson and an outstretched Banks into the net to take the game into extra-time. In extra-time, the Germans sent shots in at the England goal which Banks managed to catch and control without any great danger. Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick, and though many claimed his second goal never crossed the line Banks always maintained his belief that the officials called the decision correctly. Between these goals Banks had to deal with a fiery shot from Sigfried Held, and was later exposed only for Uwe Seeler to come just centimetres away from connecting with the ball. Euro 1968 Scotland were the first team to beat the world champions, as goals from Denis Law, Bobby Lennox and Jim McCalliog secured a 3–2 victory at Wembley on 15 April 1967. Despite this set-back, England qualified for UEFA Euro 1968, which consisted of just four teams: England, Italy (hosts), the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia. England played just two games at the tournament, losing 1–0 to Yugoslavia, and then beating the Soviets 2–0 in the third-place play-off. 1970 World Cup Banks went into the 1970 World Cup as England's number one with 59 caps to his name, and had Peter Bonetti (six caps) and Alex Stepney (one cap) as his understudies. He found the heat and altitude at Guadalajara, Mexico difficult to cope with. The team's efforts at acclimatisation were not helped when Bobby Moore was falsely accused of stealing the infamous "Bogotá Bracelet". Despite this, a Geoff Hurst goal was enough to beat their first opponents, Romania. A far tougher test awaited on 7 June, when England faced Brazil. The day before the match Banks was informed that he had been awarded an OBE. Playing at pace, Brazil were putting England under enormous pressure and an attack was begun by captain Carlos Alberto who sent a low ball down the right flank for the speedy Jairzinho to latch on to. The Brazilian winger sped past left-back Terry Cooper and crossed the ball into the six-yard box, where Pelé connected with a powerful header to send the ball low towards the right-hand corner of the goal. In the knowledge that his header was placed to perfection, Pelé immediately shouted "Gol!" (Brazilian Portuguese for goal). The split-second incident only allowed Banks time for one conscious thought – that the shot was impossible to catch, and the only way to prevent Pelé from following up on the rebound would be to parry the ball over the bar. The ball bounced two yards in front of the goal-line, and Banks managed to make contact with the ball with the fingers of his right hand, and rolled his hand slightly to angle the ball over the crossbar. He landed in the inner netting of the goal, and knew he had saved the ball after seeing Pelé's reaction. Banks then rose to his feet to defend the corner, and broke into laughter after the following exchange: "I thought that was a goal." (Pelé) "You and me both." (Banks) "You're getting old, Banksy, you used to hold on to them." (Bobby Moore) Pelé, and numerous journalists and pundits, would later describe the save as the greatest in the history of the game. Banks later said "They won't remember me for winning the World Cup, it'll be for that save. That's how big a thing it is. People just want to talk about that save." In 2002 the UK public voted the save No. 41 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments. Brazil won the game 1–0 after Jairzinho beat Banks in the second half. England ultimately joined Brazil in the last eight after a win in the final group game against Czechoslovakia. The reward was a rematch of the 1966 final against West Germany. The day before the game England's hopes of making further inroads into the World Cup were dented when Banks started to complain of an upset stomach. He became affected by violent stomach cramps and aching limbs, and spent his time in the bathroom sweating, shivering and vomiting. He passed an extremely undemanding fitness test but suffered a relapse shortly before the game and Ramsey was forced to rest him and play Peter Bonetti in his place. Ramsey remarked that "of all the players to lose, we had to lose him." Banks watched the game on television at the hotel as England lost a two-goal lead to be eliminated 3–2 after extra time; due to a time delay on the broadcast he switched the television off with England 2–0 in the lead as Bobby Moore returned to the hotel to break the news of the defeat. Conspiracies later surfaced that Banks had been poisoned to take him out of the game, but with no evidence to support them Banks never believed in these conspiracies. Final years Only four teams competed in UEFA Euro 1972: Belgium (hosts), Hungary, the Soviet Union, and West Germany. England came close to qualifying, but lost 3–1 to West Germany in the final round of qualifying. On 15 May 1971, Banks was involved in a notorious incident with George Best who, while playing against England for Northern Ireland, flicked the ball out of Banks's hands and headed it into the net. The move was audacious, but was disallowed by the referee, who judged it to be dangerous play. Banks played his 73rd and final game for England on 27 May 1972, in a 1–0 win over Scotland at Hampden Park. During his 73 international games he kept 35 clean sheets and lost just nine games. Coaching career In December 1977 he was appointed as a coach at Port Vale by manager Dennis Butler, being demoted to reserve coach in October 1978 by new boss Alan Bloor. Banks enjoyed coaching but soon resigned his position, feeling that players such as Bernie Wright refused to take his advice on board. He applied for the vacant management positions at Lincoln City and Rotherham United, but was rejected. He instead accepted the role as manager of Alliance Premier League part-time club Telford United. He signed a goalkeeper, centre-half and centre-forward from Bangor City for £1,500, as well as former Stoke striker John Ruggiero. The "Bucks" finished in 13th place in 1979–80. In November 1980, he left Jackie Mudie in temporary charge of team affairs whilst he underwent surgery, who led the club to defeat in the FA Trophy at the hands of a lower league club. On his return to the club Banks was sacked. He was offered the position of raffle-ticket seller, and accepted the post in the belief that it would entitle him to the money owed to him in the terms of his management contract; he eventually had to settle for 50% of his contract. He later stated that "It broke my heart ... I did not want to stay in the game." Style of play An excellent, consistent, and instinctive goalkeeper, who possessed significant physical strength, athleticism, and excellent shot-stopping abilities, Banks is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time in his position. He possessed an excellent positional sense, which he felt to be one of his best assets, and was also known for his handling, awareness, composure, and mental strength, as well as his agility, speed, and quick reflexes, which enabled him to produce acrobatic saves, such as his famous stop from Pelé's header against Brazil at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Personal life Banks first met his wife Ursula during his national service in Germany in 1955. They had three children: Robert, Julia and Wendy. He separated from Ursula during his time in America, but the couple reunited when Banks returned to England. In October 1972 Banks was involved in a car crash in his Ford Consul while driving on the wrong side of the road, close to his home in Madeley Heath. Fragments of glass had perforated his right eye and damaged the retina requiring 100 micro stitches to the eye and a further 200 to his face. Banks's nephew is Nick Banks, drummer of the band Pulp. Shortly after his retirement, Banks was surprised by Eamonn Andrews for an episode of This Is Your Life. He later fronted a Leicester-based hospitality company. He lost a significant sum of money when the business failed, but was helped out by Leicester City, who offered him a belated testimonial match. He was appointed as Stoke City's president following the death of Stanley Matthews. Since the 1980s he was a member of the three-man pools panel. In 2001, he sold his World Cup winners medal at Christie's for £124,750, and his international cap from the final was also sold at £27,025. Banks was an Inaugural Inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. In March 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the world's 125 greatest living footballers. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Keele University in February 2006. In May 2006, Banks was the first 'legend' to be inducted into a new Walk of Fame, by having a plaque installed in the pavement in front of Sheffield Town Hall. In July 2008, Pelé unveiled a statue of Banks making his famous 1970 World Cup save outside the Britannia Stadium. In March 2011, he was also inducted into the City of Stoke-on-Trent Hall of Fame, along with Roy Sproson. Pelé became a good friend of Banks and following his death the Brazilian described Banks as a "goalkeeper with magic". In 1980 Banks published his first autobiography, Banks of England. He published a more comprehensive autobiography in 2002: Banksy: My Autobiography. Irish investigative author, Don Mullan, published a boyhood memoir in 2006 called Gordon Banks – A Hero Who Could Fly in which he wrote about the influence of the England goalkeeper on his life. In December 2015, it was announced he was receiving treatment for kidney cancer. Banks died in his sleep on 12 February 2019 at the age of 81. Banks's funeral took place on 4 March 2019 at Stoke Minster. His pallbearers were goalkeepers representing his former teams; Joe Anyon (Chesterfield), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Joe Hart (England) and Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City). Career statistics Club International Honours Leicester City League Cup: 1963–64 Stoke City League Cup: 1971–72 England FIFA World Cup: 1966 UEFA European Championship third-place: 1968 British Home Championship (8): 1964 (shared), 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970 (shared), 1971, 1972 Individual FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1966 Officer of the Order of the British Empire: 1970 Daily Express Sportsmen of the Year: 1971, 1972 FWA Footballer of the Year: 1972 Football League 100 Legends: 1998 English Football Hall of Fame: 2002 NASL All-Stars: 1977 NASL Goalkeeper of the Year: 1977 FIFA 100: 2004 PFA Team of the Century (1907–1976): 2007 Freedom of the City of Stoke-on-Trent 16 October 2014. Freedom of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme 23 February 2018. References Specific General External links Official website FIFA Classic Player FA.com profile 1937 births 2019 deaths 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1966 FIFA World Cup players 1970 FIFA World Cup players Association football coaches Association football goalkeepers Chesterfield F.C. players Cleveland Stokers players England international footballers England under-23 international footballers English autobiographers English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English Football Hall of Fame inductees English Football League players English Football League representative players English football managers English footballers Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Expatriate soccer players in the United States FIFA 100 FIFA World Cup-winning players Footballers from Sheffield Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Hellenic F.C. players League of Ireland players Leicester City F.C. players National League (English football) managers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Darnall People from Madeley, Staffordshire Port Vale F.C. non-playing staff Rawmarsh Welfare F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Telford United F.C. managers UEFA Euro 1968 players United Soccer Association players National Football League (South Africa) players 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Corps of Signals soldiers FA Cup Final players

George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which were adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2019). He also helped create the Wild Cards anthology series, and contributed worldbuilding for the 2022 video game Elden Ring. In 2005, Lev Grossman of Time called Martin "the American Tolkien", and in 2011, he was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. Early life George Raymond Martin (he adopted the confirmation name Richard at 13 years old) was born on September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of longshoreman Raymond Collins Martin and Margaret Brady Martin. His mother's family had once been wealthy, owning a successful construction business, but lost it all in the Great Depression, something Martin was reminded about every day when he passed what used to be his family's dock and house. It made him feel that even if they were poor, they came from greatness that had been taken away from them. He has two younger sisters, Darleen and Janet. His mother was of half Irish ancestry. He also acknowledges French, English, Welsh and German roots, which were confirmed on the television series Finding Your Roots. However, while he also believed he was a quarter Italian because of who he was told was his paternal grandfather, a DNA test on the show confirmed his Irish and other ancestries but excluded any Italian ancestry, showing instead he is approximately a quarter Ashkenazi Jewish. The family first lived in a house on Broadway belonging to Martin's great-grandmother. In 1953, they moved to a federal housing project near the Bayonne docks. During Martin's childhood, his world consisted predominantly of "First Street to Fifth Street", between his grade school and his home; this limited world made him want to travel and experience other places, but the only way of doing so was through his imagination, and he became a voracious reader. Martin began writing and selling monster stories for pennies to other neighborhood children, dramatic readings included. He also wrote stories about a mythical kingdom populated by his pet turtles; the turtles died frequently in their toy castle, so he decided they were killing each other off in "sinister plots". Martin had a habit of starting "endless stories" that he never completed, as they did not turn out as well on paper as he had imagined them. Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and later Marist High School. While there he became an avid comic book fan, developing a strong interest in the superheroes being published by Marvel Comics, and later credited Stan Lee for being one of his greatest literary influences; "Maybe Stan Lee is the greatest literary influence on me, even more than Shakespeare or Tolkien." A letter Martin wrote to the editor of Fantastic Four was printed in issue No. 20 (November 1963); it was the first of many sent, e.g., Fantastic Four #32, #34, and others. Fans who read his letters wrote him letters in turn, and through such contacts, Martin joined the fledgling comics fandom of the era, writing fiction for various fanzines; he bought the first ticket to the world's first Comic-Con, held in New York in 1964. In 1965, Martin won comic fandom's Alley Award for Best Fan Fiction for his prose superhero story "Powerman vs. The Blue Barrier". In 1970, Martin earned a B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude; he went on to complete his M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Medill. Eligible for the draft during the Vietnam War, to which he objected, Martin applied for and obtained conscientious objector status; he instead did alternative service work for two years (1972–1974) as a VISTA volunteer, attached to the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. Career Early writing career Martin began selling science fiction short stories professionally in 1970, at age 21. His first sale was "The Hero", sold to Galaxy magazine and published in its February 1971 issue; other sales soon followed. His first story to be nominated for the Hugo Award and Nebula Awards was "With Morning Comes Mistfall", published in 1973 in Analog magazine. In 1975 his story "...for a single yesterday" about a post-apocalyptic timetripper was selected for inclusion in Epoch, a science fiction anthology edited by Roger Elwood and Robert Silverberg. His first novel, Dying of the Light, was completed in 1976 right before he moved to Dubuque and published in 1977. That same year the enormous success of Star Wars had a huge impact on the publishing industry and science fiction, and he sold the novel for the same amount he would make in three years of teaching. The short stories he was able to sell in his early 20s gave him some profit, but not enough to pay his bills, which prevented him from becoming the full-time writer he wanted to be. The need for a day job occurred simultaneously with the American chess craze which followed Bobby Fischer's victory in the 1972 world chess championship. Martin's own chess skills and experience allowed him to be hired as a tournament director for the Continental Chess Association that ran chess tournaments on the weekends. This gave him a sufficient income, and because the tournaments only ran on Saturdays and Sundays, it allowed him to work as a writer five days a week from 1973 to 1976. When the chess bubble subsequently burst and no longer provided an income, he had become much better established as a writer. Teaching In the mid-1970s, Martin met English professor George Guthridge from Dubuque, Iowa, at a science fiction convention in Milwaukee. Martin persuaded Guthridge (who later said that at that time he despised science fiction and fantasy) not only to give speculative fiction a second look, but to write in the field himself. Guthridge has since been a finalist for the Hugo Award and twice for the Nebula Award for science fiction and fantasy. In 1998, Guthridge and Janet Berliner won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in the Novel for their Children of the Dusk. In turn, Guthridge helped Martin in finding a job at Clarke University (then Clarke College). Martin "wasn't making enough money to stay alive" from writing and the chess tournaments, says Guthridge. From 1976 to 1978, Martin was an English and journalism instructor at Clarke, and he became Writer In Residence at the college from 1978 to 1979. Concentration on writing While he enjoyed teaching, the sudden death of friend and fellow author Tom Reamy in late 1977 made Martin reevaluate his own life, and he eventually decided to try to become a full-time writer. When his wife graduated from Clarke in 1979, he resigned from his job, and being tired of the hard winters in Dubuque, they moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1979, which they had "fallen in love with" after a visit the year before on their way to the worldcon in Phoenix. Martin is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA); he served as the organization's Southwest Regional Director from 1977 to 1979, and as its vice-president from 1996 to 1998. In 1976, for Kansas City's MidAmeriCon, the 34th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), Martin and his friend and fellow writer-editor Gardner Dozois conceived of and organized the first Hugo Losers' Party for the benefit of all past and present Hugo-losing writers on the evening following the convention's Hugo Awards ceremony. Martin was nominated for two Hugos that year but lost both awards, for the novelette "...and Seven Times Never Kill Man" and the novella The Storms of Windhaven, co-written with Lisa Tuttle. Although Martin often writes fantasy or horror, a number of his earlier works are science fiction tales occurring in a loosely defined future history, known informally as "The Thousand Worlds" or "The Manrealm". In 2017, Martin recalled that he had started writing science fiction-horror hybrids in the late 1970s to disprove a statement from a critic claiming that science fiction and horror were opposites and therefore incompatible. Martin considered Sandkings (1979) the best known of these. Another was the novella Nightflyers (1980), whose screen and television rights were purchased by Vista in 1984, which produced a 1987 film adaptation, Nightflyers, with a screenplay co-written by Martin. Martin was unhappy about having to cut plot elements in order to accommodate the film's small budget. While not a hit at theatres, Martin believes that the film saved his career, and that everything he has written since exists in large part because of it. He has also written at least one piece of political-military fiction, "Night of the Vampyres", collected in Harry Turtledove's anthology The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century (2001). In 1982, Martin published a vampire novel titled Fevre Dream set in the 19th century on the Mississippi River. Unlike traditional vampire novels, in Fevre Dream vampires are not supernatural creatures, but are rather a different species related to humans created by evolution with superhuman powers. Critic Don D'Amassa has praised Fevre Dream for its strong 19th century atmosphere and wrote: "This is without question one of the greatest vampire novels of all time". Martin followed up Fevre Dream with another horror novel, The Armageddon Rag (1983). The unexpected commercial failure of The Armageddon Rag "essentially destroyed my career as a novelist at the time", he recalled, and made him consider going into real estate instead. In 1984, the new editor of Baen Books, Betsy Mitchell, called Martin to ask him if he had considered doing a collection of Haviland Tuf adventures. Martin, who had several favorite series characters like Solomon Kane, Elric, Nicholas van Rijn and Magnus Ridolph, had made an attempt to create such a character on his own in the 1970s with his Tuf stories. He was interested, but was too occupied with the writing of his next book, the never-completed novel Black and White and Red All Over, which occupied most of his writing time the same year. But after the failure of The Armageddon Rag, all editors rejected his upcoming novel, and desperate for money, he accepted Mitchell's offer and wrote some more Tuf stories which were collected in Tuf Voyaging, which sold well enough for Mitchell to suggest a sequel. Martin was willing and agreed to do it, but before he got started he got an offer from Hollywood, where producer Philip DeGuere Jr. wanted to adapt The Armageddon Rag into a film. The film adaptation did not happen, but they stayed in touch, and when DeGuere became the producer for the revival of The Twilight Zone, Martin was offered a job as a writer. Working for television paid a lot better than writing literature, so he decided to move to Hollywood to seek a new career. At first he worked as staff writer for the show, and then as an executive story consultant. After the CBS series was cancelled, Martin migrated over to the already-underway satirical science fiction series Max Headroom. He worked on scripts and created the show's "Ped Xing" character. However, before his scripts could go into production, the ABC show was cancelled in the middle of its second season. Martin was hired as a writer-producer on the new dramatic fantasy series Beauty and the Beast; in 1989, he became the show's co-supervising producer and wrote 14 of its episodes. In 1987, Martin published a collection of short horror stories in Portraits of His Children. During this same period, Martin continued working in print media as a book-series editor, this time overseeing the development of the multi-author Wild Cards book series, which takes place in a shared universe in which a small slice of post–World War II humanity gains superpowers after the release of an alien-engineered virus; new titles are published in the ongoing series from Tor Books. In Second Person, Martin "gives a personal account of the close-knit role-playing game (RPG) culture that gave rise to his Wild Cards shared-world anthologies". An important element in the creation of the multiple author series was a campaign of Chaosium's role-playing game Superworld (1983) that Martin ran in Albuquerque. Admitting he became completely obsessed with the game, he stopped writing literature for most of 1983, which he refers to as his "lost year", but his shrinking bank accounts made him realize he had to come up with something, and got the idea that perhaps the stories and characters created in Superworld could somehow become profitable. Martin's own contributions to Wild Cards have included Thomas Tudbury, "The Great and Powerful Turtle", a powerful psychokinetic whose flying "shell" consisted of an armored VW Beetle. , 21 Wild Cards volumes had been published in the series; earlier that same year, Martin signed the contract for the 22nd volume, Low Ball (2014), published by Tor Books. In early 2012, Martin signed another Tor contract for the 23rd Wild Cards volume, High Stakes, which was released in August 2016. In August 2016 Martin announced that Universal Cable Productions had acquired the rights to adapt the Wild Cards novels into a television series. A Song of Ice and Fire In 1991, Martin briefly returned to writing novels. He had grown frustrated that his TV pilots and screenplays were not getting made and that TV-related production limitations like budgets and episode lengths were forcing him to cut characters and trim battle scenes. This pushed Martin back towards writing books, where he did not have to worry about compromising his imagination. Admiring the works of J. R. R. Tolkien in his childhood, he wanted to write an epic fantasy, though he did not have any specific ideas. His epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, was inspired by the Wars of the Roses, The Accursed Kings and Ivanhoe. Though Martin originally conceptualized it as being three volumes, it is currently slated to comprise seven. The first, A Game of Thrones, was published in 1996, followed by A Clash of Kings in 1998 and A Storm of Swords in 2000. In November 2005, A Feast for Crows, the fourth novel in this series, became The New York Times No. 1 Bestseller. The fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, was published July 12, 2011, and became an international bestseller, including achieving a No. 1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List and many others; it remained on the New York Times list for 88 weeks. In 2012, A Dance With Dragons made the final ballot for science fiction and fantasy's Hugo Award, World Fantasy Award, Locus Poll Award, and the British Fantasy Award; the novel went on to win the Locus Poll Award for Best Fantasy Novel. Two more novels are planned in the series: The Winds of Winter and the final volume A Dream of Spring. On April 25, 2018, Martin announced the release date of his new book, Fire & Blood, dealing with the history of House Targaryen, which was released on November 20, 2018. Should Martin die before finishing the A Song of Ice and Fire series, former collaborators have said that they will not conclude the series for him. HBO adaptation HBO Productions purchased the television rights for the A Song of Ice and Fire series in 2007 and began airing the fantasy series on their US premium cable channel on April 17, 2011. Titled Game of Thrones, it ran weekly for ten episodes, each approximately an hour long. Although busy completing A Dance With Dragons and other projects, George R. R. Martin was heavily involved in the production of the television series adaptation of his books. Martin's involvement included the selection of a production team and participation in scriptwriting; the opening credits list him as a co-executive producer of the series. The series was renewed shortly after the first episode aired. The first season was nominated for 13 Emmy Awards, ultimately winning two: one for its opening title credits, and one for Peter Dinklage as Best Supporting Actor. The first season was also nominated for a 2012 Hugo Award, fantasy and science fiction's oldest award, presented by the World Science Fiction Society each year at the annual Worldcon; the show went on to win the 2012 Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, at Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention. Martin took home one of the three Hugo Award trophies awarded in that collaborative category, the other two going to Game of Thrones show-runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The second season, based on the second A Song of Ice and Fire novel A Clash of Kings, began airing on HBO in the US on April 1, 2012. The second season was nominated for 12 Emmy Awards, including another Supporting Actor nomination for Dinklage. It went on to win six of those Emmys in the Technical Arts categories, which were awarded the week before the regular televised 2012 awards show. The second-season episode "Blackwater", written by Martin, was nominated the following year for the 2013 Hugo Award in the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category; that episode went on to win the Hugo Award at LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention. In addition to Martin, show-runners Benioff and Weiss (who contributed several scenes to the final screenplay) and episode director Neil Marshal (who expanded the scope of the episode on set) received Hugo statuettes. Seasons 5 and 6 each won a dozen Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. By the end of 2016, all seasons up to season 6 (which premiered on April 24, 2016) had been aired on HBO and all seasons had been released on DVD and/or Blu-ray for home viewing (see List of Game of Thrones episodes). The company confirmed on July 18, 2016, that season 7 would consist of seven episodes instead of the usual ten, and would premiere later than usual, in mid-2017, because of the later filming schedule. This was necessary in order to be shooting during the winter season in Europe. Season 7 was expected to air in mid 2017. The first footage from the season was revealed in a new promotional video that featured clips from its new and returning original shows for the coming year on November 28, 2016, showcasing Jon Snow, Sansa Stark and Arya Stark. Like the previous season, it would largely consist of original content not found in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, but also adapts material from the upcoming sixth and seventh novels: The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. For season 8, in November 2016, President of Programming Casey Bloys indicated that he had had preliminary discussions about a prequel spinoff to the Game of Thrones series with Martin. In May 2017, HBO commissioned five screenwriters – Max Borenstein, Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland, Carly Wray and Bryan Cogman – to develop individual spin-offs. All of the writers are to be working individually with Martin. According to Casey Bloys, Martin is co-writing two of the four announced scripts. The first episode of season 8 was broadcast on April 14, 2019. This season had a total of six episodes. Themes Martin's work has been described as having "complex story lines, fascinating characters, great dialogue, perfect pacing" by literary critic Jeff VanderMeer. Dana Jennings of the New York Times described Martin's work as "fantasy for grown ups" and Lev Grossman wrote that it was dark and cynical. Martin's first novel, Dying of the Light, set the tone for some of his future work; it unfolds on a mostly abandoned planet that is slowly becoming uninhabitable as it moves away from its sun. This story has a strong sense of melancholy. His characters are often unhappy or, at least, unsatisfied, in many cases holding on to idealisms in spite of an otherwise chaotic and ruthless world, and often troubled by their own self-seeking or violent actions, even as they undertake them. Many have elements of tragic heroes or antiheroes in them; reviewer T. M. Wagner writes: "Let it never be said Martin doesn't share Shakespeare's fondness for the senselessly tragic." The overall gloominess of A Song of Ice and Fire can be an obstacle for some readers; the Inchoatus Group writes that, "If this absence of joy is going to trouble you, or you're looking for something more affirming, then you should probably seek elsewhere." However, for many fans, it is precisely this level of "realness" and "completeness"–including many characters' imperfections, moral and ethical ambiguity, and (often sudden) consequential plot twists that is endearing about Martin's work. Many find that this is what makes the series' story arcs compelling enough to keep following despite its sheer brutality and intricately messy and interwoven plotlines; as TM Wagner points out:There's great tragedy here, but there's also excitement, humor, heroism even in weaklings, nobility even in villains, and, now and then, a taste of justice after all. It's a rare gift when a writer can invest his story with that much humanity.Martin's characters are multifaceted, each with intricate pasts, aspirations, and ambitions. Publishers Weekly writes of his ongoing epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire: "The complexity of characters such as Daenerys, Arya and the Kingslayer will keep readers turning even the vast number of pages contained in this volume, for the author, like Tolkien or Jordan, makes us care about their fates." Misfortune, injury, and death (including false death and reanimation) often befall major or minor characters, no matter how attached the reader has become. Martin has described his penchant for killing off important characters as being necessary for the story's depth: "when my characters are in danger, I want you to be afraid to turn the page, (so) you need to show right from the beginning that you're playing for keeps". In distinguishing his work from others, Martin makes a point of emphasizing realism and plausible social dynamics above an over-reliance on magic and a simplistic "good versus evil" dichotomy, for which contemporary fantasy writing is often criticized. Notably, Martin's work makes a sharp departure from the prevalent "heroic knights and chivalry" schema that has become a mainstay in fantasy as derived from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He specifically critiques the oversimplification of Tolkien's themes and devices by imitators in ways that he has humorously described as "Disneyland Middle Ages", which gloss over or ignore major differences between medieval and modern societies, particularly social structures, ways of living, and political arrangements. Martin has been described as "the American Tolkien" by literary critics. While Martin finds inspiration in Tolkien's legacy, he aims to go beyond what he sees as Tolkien's "medieval philosophy" of "if the king was a good man, the land would prosper" to delve into the complexities, ambiguities, and vagaries of real-life power: "We look at real history and it's not that simple ... Just having good intentions doesn't make you a wise king." Per this fact Martin has been credited with the rise of grimdark fantasy, a modern form of an "anti-Tolkien" approach to fantasy writing which, according to British science fiction and fantasy novelist Adam Roberts, is characterized by its reaction to Tolkien's idealism even though it owes a lot to Tolkien's work. The Canadian fantasy writer R. Scott Bakker "says he wouldn't have been able to publish his fantasy novels without the success George R. R. Martin achieved first". Similarly, Mark Lawrence, author of Prince of Thorns, was inspired by Martin and impressed by his Red Wedding scene. The author makes a point of grounding his work on a foundation of historical fiction, which he channels to evoke important social and political elements of primarily the European medieval era that differ markedly from elements of modern times, including the multigenerational, rigid, and often brutally consequential nature of the hierarchical class system of feudal societies that is in many cases overlooked in fantasy writing. Even as A Song of Ice and Fire is a fantasy series that employs magic and the surreal as central to the genre, Martin is keen to ensure that magic is merely one element of many that moves his work forward, not a generic deus ex machina that is itself the focus of his stories, which is something he has been very conscious about since reading Tolkien; "If you look at The Lord of the Rings, what strikes you, it certainly struck me, is that although the world is infused with this great sense of magic, there is very little onstage magic. So you have a sense of magic, but it's kept under very tight control, and I really took that to heart when I was starting my own series." Martin's ultimate aim is an exploration of the internal conflicts that define the human condition, which, in deriving inspiration from William Faulkner, he ultimately describes as the only reason to read any literature, regardless of genre. In 2018, Martin called The Lord of the Rings, The Great Gatsby, Gone with the Wind, Great Expectations, Lonesome Dove, Catch-22, and Charlotte's Web "favorites all, towering masterpieces, books that changed my life". Producing In 2017, Martin confirmed he would serve as an executive producer of the HBO television series adaptation of the 2010 science fantasy novel Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor. Martin also contributed to the 2022 video game titled Elden Ring, writing the worldbuilding aspects for it. In February 2021, it was reported that Martin and Kalinda Vazquez were developing a TV adaptation of Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny, which Martin pitched to HBO in 2020. Martin will be an executive producer, Vazquez the showrunner, writer and executive producer. In March 2021, he signed an overall deal with HBO. Martin will serve as an executive producer of the Peacock TV adaptation in development of his Wild Cards book series, together with Melinda M. Snodgrass and Vince Gerardis, Martin's manager. He will serve as an executive producer of the 2022 AMC series Dark Winds based on Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn & Chee books, together with the creator Graham Roland, the showrunner Vince Calandra, the lead Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, Chris Eyre, Robert Redford, Tina Elmo and Vince Gerardis. In 2021, Martin served as one of the producers of the short film Night of the Cooters based on the eponymous short story by Howard Waldrop. Relationship with fans Martin actively contributes to his blog, Not a Blog; in April 2018 he moved his blog from Livejournal to his own website. Martin's official fan club is the "Brotherhood Without Banners", which has a regular posting board at the Forum of the website westeros.org, which is focused on his A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. At the annual World Science Fiction Convention every year, the Brotherhood Without Banners hosts a large, on-going hospitality suite that is open to all members of the Worldcon. Martin is opposed to fan fiction, which he views as copyright infringement and a bad exercise for aspiring writers in terms of developing skills in worldbuilding and character development. Conventions Martin is known for his regular attendance at science fiction conventions and comics conventions, and his accessibility to fans. In the early 1980s, critic and writer Thomas Disch identified Martin as a member of the "Labor Day Group", writers who regularly congregated at the annual Worldcon, usually held on or around the Labor Day weekend. Since the early 1970s, he has also attended regional science fiction conventions; further, since 1986, Martin has participated annually in Albuquerque's smaller regional convention Bubonicon, near his New Mexico home. He was the Guest of Honor at the 61st World Science Fiction Convention in Toronto, held in 2003. In December 2016, Martin was a key speaker at the Guadalajara International Book Fair 2016 in Mexico where the author provided hints about the next two books in the series A Song of Ice and Fire. In 2020, Martin gave a speech at the Hugo Awards event in which he mispronounced several names, including that of R. F. Kuang, which she considered a microaggression. Martin later apologized for mispronouncing the names. Criticism Martin has been criticized by some of his readers for the long periods between books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, notably the six-year gap between the fourth volume, A Feast for Crows (2005), and the fifth volume, A Dance with Dragons (2011). In 2010, Martin had responded to fan criticisms by saying he was unwilling to write only his A Song of Ice and Fire series, noting that working on other prose and compiling and editing different book projects have always been part of his working process. Writer Neil Gaiman famously wrote on his blog in 2009 to a critic of Martin's pace, "George R. R. Martin is not your bitch". Gaiman later went on to state that writers are not machines and that they have every right to work on other projects if they want to. Personal life In the early 1970s, Martin was in a relationship with fellow science fiction/fantasy author Lisa Tuttle, with whom he co-wrote Windhaven. While attending an East Coast science fiction convention he met his first wife, Gale Burnick; they were married in 1975. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979, without issue, just before they were meant to move to Santa Fe together. Instead he settled there alone from December that same year until September 1981, when what would be his longtime partner Parris McBride moved in with him. On February 15, 2011, Martin married Parris during a small ceremony at their Santa Fe home. On August 19, 2011, they held a larger wedding ceremony and reception at Renovation, the 69th World Science Fiction Convention. He and McBride are supporters of the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico. In early 2013, he purchased Santa Fe's Jean Cocteau Cinema and Coffee House, which had been closed since 2006. He had the property completely restored, including both its original 35 mm capability to which was added digital projection and sound; the Cocteau officially reopened for business on August 9, 2013. In 2019, he opened a bookstore named Beastly Books, after Beauty and the Beast, next to Jean Cocteau. Martin has also supported Meow Wolf, an arts collective in Santa Fe, having pledged $2.7 million towards a new art-space in January 2015. In response to a question on his religious views, Martin replied: "I suppose I'm a lapsed Catholic. You would consider me an atheist or agnostic. I find religion and spirituality fascinating. I would like to believe this isn't the end and there's something more, but I can't convince the rational part of me that makes any sense whatsoever." Martin is a fan of the New York Jets, the New York Giants and the New York Mets. He is also a fan of the Grateful Dead, and says that the band's music may have influenced his work. Martin made a guest appearance as himself in an episode, "El Skeletorito", of the Adult Swim show Robot Chicken. He also appeared in SyFy's Z Nation as a zombie version of himself in season two's "The Collector", where he is still signing copies of his new novel. In Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, he is killed when watching a movie at the theatre. Philanthropy In 2014, Martin launched a campaign on Prizeo to raise funds for Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary and the Food Depot of Santa Fe. As part of the campaign, Martin offered one donor the chance to accompany him on a trip to the wolf sanctuary, including a helicopter ride and dinner. Martin also offered those donating $20,000 or more the opportunity to have a character named after them and "killed off" in an upcoming A Song of Ice and Fire novel. The campaign garnered media attention and raised a total of $502,549. In 2017, Martin announced that he was funding The Miskatonic Scholarship. The Miskatonic Scholarship allows a writer of Lovecraftian cosmic horror to attend the Odyssey workshop, a six-week writing workshop held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. Politics Growing up, Martin avoided the draft to the Vietnam War by being a conscientious objector and did two years of alternative service. He generally opposes war and thought the Vietnam War was a "terrible mistake for America". He has also written against the glory of war and tries to describe war realistically in his books. While he did not endorse Barack Obama in 2008, Martin endorsed him for re-election in 2012 calling Obama the most intelligent president since Jimmy Carter. In 2014, Martin endorsed Democratic Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico. In the midst of pressure to pull the 2014 feature film The Interview from theaters, the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which has been owned by Martin since 2013, decided to show the film. Theater manager Jon Bowman told the Santa Fe New Mexican: "Martin feels strongly about the First Amendment and the idea of artists having the ability to speak their minds and not having to worry about being targets." On November 20, 2015, writing on his LiveJournal blog, Martin advocated for allowing Syrian refugees into the United States. Immediately following Bernie Sanders' defeat in the U.S. Democratic primary election, he supported Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the general 2016 United States presidential election, and criticized Donald Trump during the election and following her defeat, commenting that Trump would "become the worst president in American history". In May 2019, Martin endorsed Joe Biden for president in 2020. Awards 1975 Hugo Award for Best Novella for "A Song for Lya" 1976 Locus Award for Best Novella for The Storms of Windhaven (with Lisa Tuttle) 1977 Locus Award for Best Author Collection for A Song for Lya and Other Stories 1979 Nebula Award for Best Novelette for "Sandkings" 1980 Hugo Award for Best Novelette for "Sandkings" (This is Martin's only story to win both a Hugo and a Nebula.) 1980 Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "The Way of Cross and Dragon" 1980 Locus Award for Best Short Story for The Way of Cross and Dragon 1980 Locus Award for Best Novelette for Sandkings 1981 Locus Award for Best Novella for Nightflyers 1982 Locus Award for Best Single Author Collection for Sandkings 1982 Locus Award for Best Novelette for Guardians 1984 Locus Award for Best Novelette for The Monkey Treatment 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novelette for "Portraits of His Children" 1988 Inkpot Award 1988 Bram Stoker Award for Long Fiction for "The Pear-Shaped Man" 1989 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella for "The Skin Trade" 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella for "Blood of the Dragon" 1997 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel for A Game of Thrones 1999 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel for A Clash of Kings 2001 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel for A Storm of Swords 2003 Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel for A Game of Thrones 2004 Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel for A Clash of Kings 2006 Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel for A Storm of Swords 2011 Locus Award for Best Original Anthology for Warriors (co-edited with Gardner Dozois) 2011 Goodreads Choice Award Best Fantasy for A Dance with Dragons Declared by Time "One of the Most Influential People of 2011" 2012 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel for A Dance with Dragons 2012 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form for Game of Thrones, Season 1 (co-executive producer) 2012 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement 2013 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 9, "Blackwater" (screenwriter) 2014 Locus Award for Best Original Anthology for Old Mars (co-edited with Gardner Dozois) 2014 World Fantasy Award for Best Original Anthology for Dangerous Women (co-edited with Gardner Dozois) 2015 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series — Game of Thrones, Season 5 (co-executive producer) 2015 Northwestern University Medill Hall of Achievement Award 2015 Locus Award for Best Original Anthology for Rogues (co-edited with Gardner Dozois) 2016 Locus Award for Best Original Anthology for Old Venus (co-edited with Gardner Dozois) 2016 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series — Game of Thrones, Season 6 (co-executive producer) 2018 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series — Game of Thrones, Season 7 (co-executive producer) 2019 New Jersey Hall of Fame induction 2019 An Post International Recognition Award 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series — Game of Thrones, Season 8 (co-executive producer) 2021 Honorary Doctorate, Northwestern University Nominations 1988 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for Beauty and the Beast (as producer) 1989 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for Beauty and the Beast (as producer) 1997 Nebula Award for Best Novel for A Game of Thrones 1999 Nebula Award for Best Novel for A Clash of Kings 2001 Nebula Award for Best Novel for A Storm of Swords 2001 Hugo Award for Best Novel for A Storm of Swords 2006 Hugo Award for Best Novel for A Feast for Crows 2006 Quill Award for A Feast for Crows British Fantasy Award for A Feast for Crows 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for Game of Thrones, Season 1 (co-executive producer) 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel for A Dance with Dragons 2012 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for Game of Thrones, Season 2 (co-executive producer) 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for Game of Thrones, Season 3 (co-executive producer) 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for Game of Thrones, Season 4 (co-executive producer) Bibliography Editor New Voices in Science Fiction (1977: new stories by the John W. Campbell Award winners) New Voices in Science Fiction 2 (1979: more new stories by the John W. Campbell Award winners) New Voices in Science Fiction 3 (1980: more new stories by the John W. Campbell Award winners) New Voices in Science Fiction 4 (1981: more new stories by the John W. Campbell Award winners) The Science Fiction Weight Loss Book (1983) edited with Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg ("Stories by the Great Science Fiction Writers on Fat, Thin, and Everything in Between") The John W. Campbell Awards, Volume 5 (1984, continuation of the New Voices in Science Fiction series) Night Visions 3 (1986) Wild Cards series editor (also contributor to many volumes) Wild Cards (1987; contents expanded in 2010 edition with three new stories/authors) Wild Cards II: Aces High (1987) Wild Cards III: Jokers Wild (1987) Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad (1988; Book I of the Puppetman Quartet; contents expanded in 2015 edition with two new stories/authors) Wild Cards V: Down & Dirty (1988; Book II of the Puppetman Quartet) Wild Cards VI: Ace in the Hole (1990; Book III of the Puppetman Quartet) Wild Cards VII: Dead Man's Hand (1990; Book IV of the Puppetman Quartet) Wild Cards VIII: One-Eyed Jacks (1991; Book I of the Rox Triad) Wild Cards IX: Jokertown Shuffle (1991; Book II of the Rox Triad) Wild Cards X: Double Solitaire (1992) Wild Cards XI: Dealer's Choice (1992; Book III of the Rox Triad) Wild Cards XII: Turn of the Cards (1993) Wild Cards XIII: Card Sharks (1993; Book I of the Card Shark Triad) Wild Cards XIV: Marked Cards (1994; Book II of the Card Shark Triad) Wild Cards XV: Black Trump (1995; Book III of the Card Shark Triad) Wild Cards XVI: Deuces Down (2002) Wild Cards XVII: Death Draws Five (2006; solo novel by John J. Miller) Wild Cards XVIII: Inside Straight (2008; Book I of The Committee triad) Wild Cards XIX: Busted Flush (2008; Book II of The Committee triad) Wild Cards XX: Suicide Kings (2009; Book III of The Committee triad) Wild Cards XXI: Fort Freak (2011; Book I of the Mean Streets Triad) Wild Cards XXII: Lowball (2014; Book II of the Mean Streets Triad) Wild Cards XXIII: High Stakes (2016; Book III of the Mean Streets Triad) Wild Cards XXIV: Mississippi Roll (2017; Book I of the American Triad) Wild Cards XXV: Low Chicago (2018; Book II of the American Triad) Wild Cards XXVI: Texas Hold 'Em (2018; Book III of the American Triad) Wild Cards XXVII: Knaves Over Queens (2019; Book I of the British Arc) Wild Cards XXVIII: Three Kings (2020; Book II of the British Arc) Wild Cards XXIX: Joker Moon (2021) Wild Cards XXX: Full House (2022) Wild Cards XXXI: Pairing Up (TBA) Cross-genre anthologies edited (with Gardner Dozois) Songs of the Dying Earth (2009; a tribute anthology to Jack Vance's Dying Earth series, first published by Subterranean Press) Warriors (2010; a cross-genre anthology featuring stories about war and warriors; winner of the 2011 Locus Poll Award for Best Original Anthology) Songs of Love and Death (2010; a cross-genre anthology featuring stories of romance in fantasy and science fiction settings, originally entitled Star Crossed Lovers) Down These Strange Streets (2011; a cross-genre anthology that blends classic detective stories with fantasy and science fiction) Old Mars (2013; a science fiction anthology featuring all new, retro-themed stories about the Red Planet) Dangerous Women (2013; a cross-genre anthology focusing on women warriors and strong female characters, originally titled Femmes Fatale) Rogues (2014; a cross-genre anthology featuring new stories about assorted rogues) Old Venus (2015 publication; an anthology of all new, retro-themed Venus science fiction stories) Filmography Film Television Video games References External links George R. R. Martin at the Encyclopedia of Fantasy George R. R. Martin at the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction 1948 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American agnostics American bloggers American conscientious objectors American entertainment industry businesspeople American fantasy writers American horror writers American science fiction writers American television writers American people of English descent American people of French descent American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American people of Jewish descent Hugo Award-winning writers Inkpot Award winners Nebula Award winners World Fantasy Award-winning writers New Mexico Democrats American male television writers Medill School of Journalism alumni Writers from Bayonne, New Jersey Writers from Santa Fe, New Mexico People from Bernalillo County, New Mexico Science fiction fans Former Roman Catholics Clarke University faculty Theatre owners American male novelists American male screenwriters American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Novelists from New Jersey Novelists from New Mexico Screenwriters from New Mexico American male bloggers Weird fiction writers 20th-century American male writers Television producers from New Jersey

In mathematics, the gamma function (represented by , the capital letter gamma from the Greek alphabet) is one commonly used extension of the factorial function to complex numbers. The gamma function is defined for all complex numbers except the non-positive integers. For any positive integer , Derived by Daniel Bernoulli, for complex numbers with a positive real part, the gamma function is defined via a convergent improper integral: The gamma function then is defined as the analytic continuation of this integral function to a meromorphic function that is holomorphic in the whole complex plane except zero and the negative integers, where the function has simple poles. The gamma function has no zeroes, so the reciprocal gamma function is an entire function. In fact, the gamma function corresponds to the Mellin transform of the negative exponential function: Other extensions of the factorial function do exist, but the gamma function is the most popular and useful. It is a component in various probability-distribution functions, and as such it is applicable in the fields of probability and statistics, as well as combinatorics. Motivation The gamma function can be seen as a solution to the following interpolation problem: "Find a smooth curve that connects the points  given by at the positive integer values for ." A plot of the first few factorials makes clear that such a curve can be drawn, but it would be preferable to have a formula that precisely describes the curve, in which the number of operations does not depend on the size of . The simple formula for the factorial, , cannot be used directly for fractional values of since it is only valid when is a natural number (or positive integer). There are, relatively speaking, no such simple solutions for factorials; no finite combination of sums, products, powers, exponential functions, or logarithms will suffice to express ; but it is possible to find a general formula for factorials using tools such as integrals and limits from calculus. A good solution to this is the gamma function. There are infinitely many continuous extensions of the factorial to non-integers: infinitely many curves can be drawn through any set of isolated points. The gamma function is the most useful solution in practice, being analytic (except at the non-positive integers), and it can be defined in several equivalent ways. However, it is not the only analytic function which extends the factorial, as adding to it any analytic function which is zero on the positive integers, such as for an integer , will give another function with that property. A more restrictive property than satisfying the above interpolation is to satisfy the recurrence relation defining a translated version of the factorial function, for any positive real number . But this would allow for multiplication by any function satisfying both for all real numbers and , such as the function . One of several ways to finally resolve the ambiguity comes from the Bohr–Mollerup theorem. It states that when the condition that be logarithmically convex (or "super-convex," meaning that is convex) is added, it uniquely determines for positive, real inputs. From there, the gamma function can be extended to all real and complex values (except the negative integers and zero) by using the unique analytic continuation of . Definition Main definition The notation is due to Legendre. If the real part of the complex number  is strictly positive (), then the integral converges absolutely, and is known as the Euler integral of the second kind. (Euler's integral of the first kind is the beta function.) Using integration by parts, one sees that: Recognizing that as We can calculate Given that and for all positive integers . This can be seen as an example of proof by induction. The identity can be used (or, yielding the same result, analytic continuation can be used) to uniquely extend the integral formulation for to a meromorphic function defined for all complex numbers , except integers less than or equal to zero. It is this extended version that is commonly referred to as the gamma function. Alternative definitions Euler's definition as an infinite product When seeking to approximate for a complex number , it is effective to first compute for some large integer . Use that to approximate a value for , and then use the recursion relation backwards times, to unwind it to an approximation for . Furthermore, this approximation is exact in the limit as goes to infinity. Specifically, for a fixed integer , it is the case that If is not an integer then it is not possible to say whether this equation is true because we have not yet (in this section) defined the factorial function for non-integers. However, we do get a unique extension of the factorial function to the non-integers by insisting that this equation continue to hold when the arbitrary integer is replaced by an arbitrary complex number . Multiplying both sides by gives This infinite product converges for all complex numbers  except the negative integers, which fail because trying to use the recursion relation backwards through the value involves a division by zero. Similarly for the gamma function, the definition as an infinite product due to Euler is valid for all complex numbers except the non-positive integers: By this construction, the gamma function is the unique function that simultaneously satisfies , for all complex numbers except the non-positive integers, and for all complex numbers . Weierstrass's definition The definition for the gamma function due to Weierstrass is also valid for all complex numbers  except the non-positive integers: where is the Euler–Mascheroni constant. This is the Hadamard Product of in a rewritten form. Indeed, since is entire of genus 1 with a simple zero at , we have the product representation where the product is over the zeros of . Since has simple poles at the non-positive integers, it follows has simple zeros at the nonpositive integers, and so the equation above becomes Weierstrass's formula with in place of . The derivation of the constants and is somewhat technical, but can be accomplished by using some identities involving the Riemann zeta function (see this identity, for instance). See also the Weierstrass factorization theorem. In terms of generalized Laguerre polynomials A representation of the incomplete gamma function in terms of generalized Laguerre polynomials is which converges for and . Properties General Other important functional equations for the gamma function are Euler's reflection formula which implies and the Legendre duplication formula Since the gamma function can be represented as Integrating by parts times yields which is equal to This can be rewritten as We can use this to evaluate the left-hand side of the reflection formula: It can be proved that Then Euler's reflection formula follows: The beta function can be represented as Setting yields After the substitution we get The function is even, hence Now assume Then This implies Since the Legendre duplication formula follows: The duplication formula is a special case of the multiplication theorem (See, Eq. 5.5.6) A simple but useful property, which can be seen from the limit definition, is: In particular, with , this product is If the real part is an integer or a half-integer, this can be finitely expressed in closed form: First, consider the reflection formula applied to . Applying the recurrence relation to the second term, we have which with simple rearrangement gives Second, consider the reflection formula applied to . Formulas for other values of for which the real part is integer or half-integer quickly follow by induction using the recurrence relation in the positive and negative directions. Perhaps the best-known value of the gamma function at a non-integer argument is which can be found by setting in the reflection or duplication formulas, by using the relation to the beta function given below with , or simply by making the substitution in the integral definition of the gamma function, resulting in a Gaussian integral. In general, for non-negative integer values of we have: where the double factorial . See Particular values of the gamma function for calculated values. It might be tempting to generalize the result that by looking for a formula for other individual values where is rational, especially because according to Gauss's digamma theorem, it is possible to do so for the closely related digamma function at every rational value. However, these numbers are not known to be expressible by themselves in terms of elementary functions. It has been proved that is a transcendental number and algebraically independent of for any integer and each of the fractions . In general, when computing values of the gamma function, we must settle for numerical approximations. The derivatives of the gamma function are described in terms of the polygamma function. For example: For a positive integer  the derivative of the gamma function can be calculated as follows (here  is the Euler–Mascheroni constant): For the th derivative of the gamma function is: (This can be derived by differentiating the integral form of the gamma function with respect to , and using the technique of differentiation under the integral sign.) Using the identity where is the Riemann zeta function, and is a partition of given by we have in particular Inequalities When restricted to the positive real numbers, the gamma function is a strictly logarithmically convex function. This property may be stated in any of the following three equivalent ways: For any two positive real numbers and , and for any , For any two positive real numbers and with , For any positive real number , The last of these statements is, essentially by definition, the same as the statement that , where is the polygamma function of order 1. To prove the logarithmic convexity of the gamma function, it therefore suffices to observe that has a series representation which, for positive real , consists of only positive terms. Logarithmic convexity and Jensen's inequality together imply, for any positive real numbers and , There are also bounds on ratios of gamma functions. The best-known is Gautschi's inequality, which says that for any positive real number and any , Stirling's formula The behavior of for an increasing positive real variable is given by Stirling's formula where the symbol means asymptotic convergence; the ratio of the two sides converges to 1 in the limit This growth is faster than exponential, , for any fixed value of . Another useful limit for asymptotic approximations for is: Residues The behavior for non-positive is more intricate. Euler's integral does not converge for but the function it defines in the positive complex half-plane has a unique analytic continuation to the negative half-plane. One way to find that analytic continuation is to use Euler's integral for positive arguments and extend the domain to negative numbers by repeated application of the recurrence formula, choosing such that is positive. The product in the denominator is zero when equals any of the integers . Thus, the gamma function must be undefined at those points to avoid division by zero; it is a meromorphic function with simple poles at the non-positive integers. For a function of a complex variable , at a simple pole , the residue of is given by: For the simple pole we rewrite recurrence formula as: The numerator at is and the denominator So the residues of the gamma function at those points are: The gamma function is non-zero everywhere along the real line, although it comes arbitrarily close to zero as . There is in fact no complex number for which , and hence the reciprocal gamma function is an entire function, with zeros at . Minima The gamma function has a local minimum at (truncated) where it attains the value (truncated). The gamma function rises to either side of this minimum. The positive real solution to is . The positive real solution to is , the golden ratio. The gamma function must alternate sign between its poles at the non-positive integers because the product in the forward recurrence contains an odd number of negative factors if the number of poles between and is odd, and an even number if the number of poles is even. Integral representations There are many formulas, besides the Euler integral of the second kind, that express the gamma function as an integral. For instance, when the real part of is positive, where denotes the complex logarithm. Binet's first integral formula for the gamma function states that, when the real part of is positive, then: The integral on the right-hand side may be interpreted as a Laplace transform. That is, Binet's second integral formula states that, again when the real part of is positive, then: Let be a Hankel contour, meaning a path that begins and ends at the point on the Riemann sphere, whose unit tangent vector converges to at the start of the path and to at the end, which has winding number 1 around , and which does not cross . Fix a branch of by taking a branch cut along and by taking to be real when is on the negative real axis. Assume is not an integer. Then Hankel's formula for the gamma function is: where is interpreted as . The reflection formula leads to the closely related expression again valid whenever is not an integer. Fourier series expansion The logarithm of the gamma function has the following Fourier series expansion for which was for a long time attributed to Ernst Kummer, who derived it in 1847. However, Iaroslav Blagouchine discovered that Carl Johan Malmsten first derived this series in 1842. Raabe's formula In 1840 Joseph Ludwig Raabe proved that In particular, if then The latter can be derived taking the logarithm in the above multiplication formula, which gives an expression for the Riemann sum of the integrand. Taking the limit for gives the formula. Pi function An alternative notation which was originally introduced by Gauss and which was sometimes used is the -function, which in terms of the gamma function is so that for every non-negative integer . Using the pi function the reflection formula takes on the form where is the normalized sinc function, while the multiplication theorem takes on the form We also sometimes find which is an entire function, defined for every complex number, just like the reciprocal gamma function. That is entire entails it has no poles, so , like , has no zeros. The volume of an -ellipsoid with radii can be expressed as Relation to other functions In the first integral above, which defines the gamma function, the limits of integration are fixed. The upper and lower incomplete gamma functions are the functions obtained by allowing the lower or upper (respectively) limit of integration to vary. The gamma function is related to the beta function by the formula The logarithmic derivative of the gamma function is called the digamma function; higher derivatives are the polygamma functions. The analog of the gamma function over a finite field or a finite ring is the Gaussian sums, a type of exponential sum. The reciprocal gamma function is an entire function and has been studied as a specific topic. The gamma function also shows up in an important relation with the Riemann zeta function, . It also appears in the following formula: which is valid only for . The logarithm of the gamma function satisfies the following formula due to Lerch: where is the Hurwitz zeta function, is the Riemann zeta function and the prime () denotes differentiation in the first variable. The gamma function is related to the stretched exponential function. For instance, the moments of that function are Particular values Including up to the first 20 digits after the decimal point, some particular values of the gamma function are: The complex-valued gamma function is undefined for non-positive integers, but in these cases the value can be defined in the Riemann sphere as . The reciprocal gamma function is well defined and analytic at these values (and in the entire complex plane): The log-gamma function Because the gamma and factorial functions grow so rapidly for moderately large arguments, many computing environments include a function that returns the natural logarithm of the gamma function (often given the name lgamma or lngamma in programming environments or gammaln in spreadsheets); this grows much more slowly, and for combinatorial calculations allows adding and subtracting logs instead of multiplying and dividing very large values. It is often defined as The digamma function, which is the derivative of this function, is also commonly seen. In the context of technical and physical applications, e.g. with wave propagation, the functional equation is often used since it allows one to determine function values in one strip of width 1 in from the neighbouring strip. In particular, starting with a good approximation for a  with large real part one may go step by step down to the desired . Following an indication of Carl Friedrich Gauss, Rocktaeschel (1922) proposed for an approximation for large : This can be used to accurately approximate for with a smaller via (P.E.Böhmer, 1939) A more accurate approximation can be obtained by using more terms from the asymptotic expansions of and , which are based on Stirling's approximation. as at constant . In a more "natural" presentation: as at constant . The coefficients of the terms with of in the last expansion are simply where the are the Bernoulli numbers. Properties The Bohr–Mollerup theorem states that among all functions extending the factorial functions to the positive real numbers, only the gamma function is log-convex, that is, its natural logarithm is convex on the positive real axis. Another characterisation is given by the Wielandt theorem. In a certain sense, the function is the more natural form; it makes some intrinsic attributes of the function clearer. A striking example is the Taylor series of around 1: with denoting the Riemann zeta function at . So, using the following property: we can find an integral representation for the function: or, setting to obtain an integral for , we can replace the term with its integral and incorporate that into the above formula, to get: There also exist special formulas for the logarithm of the gamma function for rational . For instance, if and are integers with and then see. This formula is sometimes used for numerical computation, since the integrand decreases very quickly. Integration over log-gamma The integral can be expressed in terms of the Barnes -function (see Barnes -function for a proof): where . It can also be written in terms of the Hurwitz zeta function: When it follows that and this is a consequence of Raabe's formula as well. O. Espinosa and V. Moll derived a similar formula for the integral of the square of : where is . D. H. Bailey and his co-authors gave an evaluation for when in terms of the Tornheim-Witten zeta function and its derivatives. In addition, it is also known that Approximations Complex values of the gamma function can be approximated using Stirling's approximation or the Lanczos approximation, This is precise in the sense that the ratio of the approximation to the true value approaches 1 in the limit as goes to infinity. The gamma function can be computed to fixed precision for by applying integration by parts to Euler's integral. For any positive number  the gamma function can be written When and , the absolute value of the last integral is smaller than . By choosing a large enough , this last expression can be made smaller than for any desired value . Thus, the gamma function can be evaluated to bits of precision with the above series. A fast algorithm for calculation of the Euler gamma function for any algebraic argument (including rational) was constructed by E.A. Karatsuba, For arguments that are integer multiples of , the gamma function can also be evaluated quickly using arithmetic–geometric mean iterations (see particular values of the gamma function and ). Applications One author describes the gamma function as "Arguably, the most common special function, or the least 'special' of them. The other transcendental functions […] are called 'special' because you could conceivably avoid some of them by staying away from many specialized mathematical topics. On the other hand, the gamma function is most difficult to avoid." Integration problems The gamma function finds application in such diverse areas as quantum physics, astrophysics and fluid dynamics. The gamma distribution, which is formulated in terms of the gamma function, is used in statistics to model a wide range of processes; for example, the time between occurrences of earthquakes. The primary reason for the gamma function's usefulness in such contexts is the prevalence of expressions of the type which describe processes that decay exponentially in time or space. Integrals of such expressions can occasionally be solved in terms of the gamma function when no elementary solution exists. For example, if is a power function and is a linear function, a simple change of variables gives the evaluation The fact that the integration is performed along the entire positive real line might signify that the gamma function describes the cumulation of a time-dependent process that continues indefinitely, or the value might be the total of a distribution in an infinite space. It is of course frequently useful to take limits of integration other than 0 and to describe the cumulation of a finite process, in which case the ordinary gamma function is no longer a solution; the solution is then called an incomplete gamma function. (The ordinary gamma function, obtained by integrating across the entire positive real line, is sometimes called the complete gamma function for contrast.) An important category of exponentially decaying functions is that of Gaussian functions and integrals thereof, such as the error function. There are many interrelations between these functions and the gamma function; notably, the factor obtained by evaluating is the "same" as that found in the normalizing factor of the error function and the normal distribution. The integrals we have discussed so far involve transcendental functions, but the gamma function also arises from integrals of purely algebraic functions. In particular, the arc lengths of ellipses and of the lemniscate, which are curves defined by algebraic equations, are given by elliptic integrals that in special cases can be evaluated in terms of the gamma function. The gamma function can also be used to calculate "volume" and "area" of -dimensional hyperspheres. Calculating products The gamma function's ability to generalize factorial products immediately leads to applications in many areas of mathematics; in combinatorics, and by extension in areas such as probability theory and the calculation of power series. Many expressions involving products of successive integers can be written as some combination of factorials, the most important example perhaps being that of the binomial coefficient The example of binomial coefficients motivates why the properties of the gamma function when extended to negative numbers are natural. A binomial coefficient gives the number of ways to choose elements from a set of elements; if , there are of course no ways. If , is the factorial of a negative integer and hence infinite if we use the gamma function definition of factorials—dividing by infinity gives the expected value of 0. We can replace the factorial by a gamma function to extend any such formula to the complex numbers. Generally, this works for any product wherein each factor is a rational function of the index variable, by factoring the rational function into linear expressions. If and are monic polynomials of degree and with respective roots and , we have If we have a way to calculate the gamma function numerically, it is a breeze to calculate numerical values of such products. The number of gamma functions in the right-hand side depends only on the degree of the polynomials, so it does not matter whether equals 5 or 105. By taking the appropriate limits, the equation can also be made to hold even when the left-hand product contains zeros or poles. By taking limits, certain rational products with infinitely many factors can be evaluated in terms of the gamma function as well. Due to the Weierstrass factorization theorem, analytic functions can be written as infinite products, and these can sometimes be represented as finite products or quotients of the gamma function. We have already seen one striking example: the reflection formula essentially represents the sine function as the product of two gamma functions. Starting from this formula, the exponential function as well as all the trigonometric and hyperbolic functions can be expressed in terms of the gamma function. More functions yet, including the hypergeometric function and special cases thereof, can be represented by means of complex contour integrals of products and quotients of the gamma function, called Mellin–Barnes integrals. Analytic number theory An application of the gamma function is the study of the Riemann zeta function. A fundamental property of the Riemann zeta function is its functional equation: Among other things, this provides an explicit form for the analytic continuation of the zeta function to a meromorphic function in the complex plane and leads to an immediate proof that the zeta function has infinitely many so-called "trivial" zeros on the real line. Borwein et al. call this formula "one of the most beautiful findings in mathematics". Another contender for that title might be Both formulas were derived by Bernhard Riemann in his seminal 1859 paper "Über die Anzahl der Primzahlen unter einer gegebenen Größe" ("On the Number of Prime Numbers less than a Given Quantity"), one of the milestones in the development of analytic number theory—the branch of mathematics that studies prime numbers using the tools of mathematical analysis. Factorial numbers, considered as discrete objects, are an important concept in classical number theory because they contain many prime factors, but Riemann found a use for their continuous extension that arguably turned out to be even more important. History The gamma function has caught the interest of some of the most prominent mathematicians of all time. Its history, notably documented by Philip J. Davis in an article that won him the 1963 Chauvenet Prize, reflects many of the major developments within mathematics since the 18th century. In the words of Davis, "each generation has found something of interest to say about the gamma function. Perhaps the next generation will also." 18th century: Euler and Stirling The problem of extending the factorial to non-integer arguments was apparently first considered by Daniel Bernoulli and Christian Goldbach in the 1720s, and was solved at the end of the same decade by Leonhard Euler. Euler gave two different definitions: the first was not his integral but an infinite product, of which he informed Goldbach in a letter dated 13 October 1729. He wrote to Goldbach again on 8 January 1730, to announce his discovery of the integral representation which is valid for . By the change of variables , this becomes the familiar Euler integral. Euler published his results in the paper "De progressionibus transcendentibus seu quarum termini generales algebraice dari nequeunt" ("On transcendental progressions, that is, those whose general terms cannot be given algebraically"), submitted to the St. Petersburg Academy on 28 November 1729. Euler further discovered some of the gamma function's important functional properties, including the reflection formula. James Stirling, a contemporary of Euler, also attempted to find a continuous expression for the factorial and came up with what is now known as Stirling's formula. Although Stirling's formula gives a good estimate of , also for non-integers, it does not provide the exact value. Extensions of his formula that correct the error were given by Stirling himself and by Jacques Philippe Marie Binet. 19th century: Gauss, Weierstrass and Legendre Carl Friedrich Gauss rewrote Euler's product as and used this formula to discover new properties of the gamma function. Although Euler was a pioneer in the theory of complex variables, he does not appear to have considered the factorial of a complex number, as instead Gauss first did. Gauss also proved the multiplication theorem of the gamma function and investigated the connection between the gamma function and elliptic integrals. Karl Weierstrass further established the role of the gamma function in complex analysis, starting from yet another product representation, where is the Euler–Mascheroni constant. Weierstrass originally wrote his product as one for , in which case it is taken over the function's zeros rather than its poles. Inspired by this result, he proved what is known as the Weierstrass factorization theorem—that any entire function can be written as a product over its zeros in the complex plane; a generalization of the fundamental theorem of algebra. The name gamma function and the symbol were introduced by Adrien-Marie Legendre around 1811; Legendre also rewrote Euler's integral definition in its modern form. Although the symbol is an upper-case Greek gamma, there is no accepted standard for whether the function name should be written "gamma function" or "Gamma function" (some authors simply write "-function"). The alternative "pi function" notation due to Gauss is sometimes encountered in older literature, but Legendre's notation is dominant in modern works. It is justified to ask why we distinguish between the "ordinary factorial" and the gamma function by using distinct symbols, and particularly why the gamma function should be normalized to instead of simply using "". Consider that the notation for exponents, , has been generalized from integers to complex numbers without any change. Legendre's motivation for the normalization does not appear to be known, and has been criticized as cumbersome by some (the 20th-century mathematician Cornelius Lanczos, for example, called it "void of any rationality" and would instead use ). Legendre's normalization does simplify a few formulae, but complicates most others. From a modern point of view, the Legendre normalization of the Gamma function is the integral of the additive character against the multiplicative character with respect to the Haar measure on the Lie group . Thus this normalization makes it clearer that the gamma function is a continuous analogue of a Gauss sum. 19th–20th centuries: characterizing the gamma function It is somewhat problematic that a large number of definitions have been given for the gamma function. Although they describe the same function, it is not entirely straightforward to prove the equivalence. Stirling never proved that his extended formula corresponds exactly to Euler's gamma function; a proof was first given by Charles Hermite in 1900. Instead of finding a specialized proof for each formula, it would be desirable to have a general method of identifying the gamma function. One way to prove would be to find a differential equation that characterizes the gamma function. Most special functions in applied mathematics arise as solutions to differential equations, whose solutions are unique. However, the gamma function does not appear to satisfy any simple differential equation. Otto Hölder proved in 1887 that the gamma function at least does not satisfy any algebraic differential equation by showing that a solution to such an equation could not satisfy the gamma function's recurrence formula, making it a transcendentally transcendental function. This result is known as Hölder's theorem. A definite and generally applicable characterization of the gamma function was not given until 1922. Harald Bohr and Johannes Mollerup then proved what is known as the Bohr–Mollerup theorem: that the gamma function is the unique solution to the factorial recurrence relation that is positive and logarithmically convex for positive and whose value at 1 is 1 (a function is logarithmically convex if its logarithm is convex). Another characterisation is given by the Wielandt theorem. The Bohr–Mollerup theorem is useful because it is relatively easy to prove logarithmic convexity for any of the different formulas used to define the gamma function. Taking things further, instead of defining the gamma function by any particular formula, we can choose the conditions of the Bohr–Mollerup theorem as the definition, and then pick any formula we like that satisfies the conditions as a starting point for studying the gamma function. This approach was used by the Bourbaki group. Borwein & Corless review three centuries of work on the gamma function. Reference tables and software Although the gamma function can be calculated virtually as easily as any mathematically simpler function with a modern computer—even with a programmable pocket calculator—this was of course not always the case. Until the mid-20th century, mathematicians relied on hand-made tables; in the case of the gamma function, notably a table computed by Gauss in 1813 and one computed by Legendre in 1825. Tables of complex values of the gamma function, as well as hand-drawn graphs, were given in Tables of Functions With Formulas and Curves by Jahnke and , first published in Germany in 1909. According to Michael Berry, "the publication in J&E of a three-dimensional graph showing the poles of the gamma function in the complex plane acquired an almost iconic status." There was in fact little practical need for anything but real values of the gamma function until the 1930s, when applications for the complex gamma function were discovered in theoretical physics. As electronic computers became available for the production of tables in the 1950s, several extensive tables for the complex gamma function were published to meet the demand, including a table accurate to 12 decimal places from the U.S. National Bureau of Standards. Double-precision floating-point implementations of the gamma function and its logarithm are now available in most scientific computing software and special functions libraries, for example TK Solver, Matlab, GNU Octave, and the GNU Scientific Library. The gamma function was also added to the C standard library (math.h). Arbitrary-precision implementations are available in most computer algebra systems, such as Mathematica and Maple. PARI/GP, MPFR and MPFUN contain free arbitrary-precision implementations. The Windows Calculator accepts fractional values as input to the factorial function and returns the equivalent gamma function value. See also Ascending factorial Cahen–Mellin integral Elliptic gamma function Gauss's constant Hadamard's gamma function Multiple gamma function Multivariate gamma function -adic gamma function Pochhammer -symbol -gamma function Ramanujan's master theorem Spouge's approximation Notes Further reading External links NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions:Gamma function Pascal Sebah and Xavier Gourdon. Introduction to the Gamma Function. In PostScript and HTML formats. C++ reference for std::tgamma Examples of problems involving the gamma function can be found at Exampleproblems.com. Wolfram gamma function evaluator (arbitrary precision) Volume of n-Spheres and the Gamma Function at MathPages Gamma and related functions Special hypergeometric functions Meromorphic functions

A GMO is a genetically modified organism. GMO may also refer to: Genetically modified food Gell-Mann–Okubo mass formula in particle physics Generalised molecular orbital theory, in chemistry Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad, a U.S. railroad carrier corporation U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee (formerly Greater Milwaukee Open), a golfing competition Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC ("GMO"), a Boston-based asset management firm led by Jeremy Grantham GMO Internet, Inc, a Japanese internet services company, and parent of web security company GlobalSign Music The Glenn Miller Orchestra, a U.S. jazz group Green Mountain Orchestra, a band from Hong Kong

A gopher, also known as a "pocket gopher" (family Geomyidae), is a burrowing rodent native to North America and Central America. Gopher may also refer to: Nature Some species of ground squirrels (tribe Marmotini) of North America, particularly those formerly classified as Spermophilus, are informally referred to as "gophers" Gopher snake – common name of several species of genus Pituophis endemic to west or southwest of North America Gopher tortoise (genus Gopherus), distributed in North America Gopher wood, of unclear meaning, mentioned in the Bible as the building material for Noah's ark Gopher Plant or Paper Spurge (Euphorbia lathyris) Entertainment Gophers!, a British children's television programme "Gopher", real name Burl Smith, a character on TV show The Love Boat Gopher (Winnie-the-Pooh), a character in Walt Disney's Winnie The Pooh franchise Technology The SA-13 "Gopher", or 9K35 Strela-10, a Soviet surface-to-air missile system Gopher (protocol), an early distributed hypertext protocol Go gopher, a mascot of Go programming language Slang term for a mobility scooter Other Minnesota, the "Gopher State" Minnesota Golden Gophers, University of Minnesota sports teams Gopher (train), a passenger train operated by the Great Northern Railway, USA Gopher (video game), an Atari 2600 game Gofer, also spelled "gopher", an errand-runner Gopher Gang, early 20th-century New York street gang See also Gofer (disambiguation) Gaufre, French term for a flat cake similar to waffles

The genetic code is the set of rules used by living cells to translate information encoded within genetic material (DNA or mRNA sequences of nucleotide triplets, or codons) into proteins. Translation is accomplished by the ribosome, which links proteinogenic amino acids in an order specified by messenger RNA (mRNA), using transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules to carry amino acids and to read the mRNA three nucleotides at a time. The genetic code is highly similar among all organisms and can be expressed in a simple table with 64 entries. The codons specify which amino acid will be added next during protein synthesis. With some exceptions, a three-nucleotide codon in a nucleic acid sequence specifies a single amino acid. The vast majority of genes are encoded with a single scheme (see the RNA codon table). That scheme is often referred to as the canonical or standard genetic code, or simply the genetic code, though variant codes (such as in mitochondria) exist. History Efforts to understand how proteins are encoded began after DNA's structure was discovered in 1953. George Gamow postulated that sets of three bases must be employed to encode the 20 standard amino acids used by living cells to build proteins, which would allow a maximum of 64 amino acids. Codons The Crick, Brenner, Barnett and Watts-Tobin experiment first demonstrated that codons consist of three DNA bases. Marshall Nirenberg and Heinrich J. Matthaei were the first to reveal the nature of a codon in 1961. They used a cell-free system to translate a poly-uracil RNA sequence (i.e., UUUUU...) and discovered that the polypeptide that they had synthesized consisted of only the amino acid phenylalanine. They thereby deduced that the codon UUU specified the amino acid phenylalanine. This was followed by experiments in Severo Ochoa's laboratory that demonstrated that the poly-adenine RNA sequence (AAAAA...) coded for the polypeptide poly-lysine and that the poly-cytosine RNA sequence (CCCCC...) coded for the polypeptide poly-proline. Therefore, the codon AAA specified the amino acid lysine, and the codon CCC specified the amino acid proline. Using various copolymers most of the remaining codons were then determined. Subsequent work by Har Gobind Khorana identified the rest of the genetic code. Shortly thereafter, Robert W. Holley determined the structure of transfer RNA (tRNA), the adapter molecule that facilitates the process of translating RNA into protein. This work was based upon Ochoa's earlier studies, yielding the latter the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1959 for work on the enzymology of RNA synthesis. Extending this work, Nirenberg and Philip Leder revealed the code's triplet nature and deciphered its codons. In these experiments, various combinations of mRNA were passed through a filter that contained ribosomes, the components of cells that translate RNA into protein. Unique triplets promoted the binding of specific tRNAs to the ribosome. Leder and Nirenberg were able to determine the sequences of 54 out of 64 codons in their experiments. Khorana, Holley and Nirenberg received the 1968 Nobel for their work. The three stop codons were named by discoverers Richard Epstein and Charles Steinberg. "Amber" was named after their friend Harris Bernstein, whose last name means "amber" in German. The other two stop codons were named "ochre" and "opal" in order to keep the "color names" theme. Expanded genetic codes (synthetic biology) In a broad academic audience, the concept of the evolution of the genetic code from the original and ambiguous genetic code to a well-defined ("frozen") code with the repertoire of 20 (+2) canonical amino acids is widely accepted. However, there are different opinions, concepts, approaches and ideas, which is the best way to change it experimentally. Even models are proposed that predict "entry points" for synthetic amino acid invasion of the genetic code. Since 2001, 40 non-natural amino acids have been added into protein by creating a unique codon (recoding) and a corresponding transfer-RNA:aminoacyl – tRNA-synthetase pair to encode it with diverse physicochemical and biological properties in order to be used as a tool to exploring protein structure and function or to create novel or enhanced proteins. H. Murakami and M. Sisido extended some codons to have four and five bases. Steven A. Benner constructed a functional 65th (in vivo) codon. In 2015 N. Budisa, D. Söll and co-workers reported the full substitution of all 20,899 tryptophan residues (UGG codons) with unnatural thienopyrrole-alanine in the genetic code of the bacterium Escherichia coli. In 2016 the first stable semisynthetic organism was created. It was a (single cell) bacterium with two synthetic bases (called X and Y). The bases survived cell division. In 2017, researchers in South Korea reported that they had engineered a mouse with an extended genetic code that can produce proteins with unnatural amino acids. In May 2019, researchers reported the creation of a new "Syn61" strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli. This strain has a fully synthetic genome that is refactored (all overlaps expanded), recoded (removing the use of three out of 64 codons completely), and further modified to remove the now unnecessary tRNAs and release factors. It is fully viable and grows 1.6× slower than its wild-type counterpart "MDS42". Features Reading frame A reading frame is defined by the initial triplet of nucleotides from which translation starts. It sets the frame for a run of successive, non-overlapping codons, which is known as an "open reading frame" (ORF). For example, the string 5'-AAATGAACG-3' (see figure), if read from the first position, contains the codons AAA, TGA, and ACG ; if read from the second position, it contains the codons AAT and GAA ; and if read from the third position, it contains the codons ATG and AAC. Every sequence can, thus, be read in its 5' → 3' direction in three reading frames, each producing a possibly distinct amino acid sequence: in the given example, Lys (K)-Trp (W)-Thr (T), Asn (N)-Glu (E), or Met (M)-Asn (N), respectively (when translating with the vertebrate mitochondrial code). When DNA is double-stranded, six possible reading frames are defined, three in the forward orientation on one strand and three reverse on the opposite strand. Protein-coding frames are defined by a start codon, usually the first AUG (ATG) codon in the RNA (DNA) sequence. In eukaryotes, ORFs in exons are often interrupted by introns. Start and stop codons Translation starts with a chain-initiation codon or start codon. The start codon alone is not sufficient to begin the process. Nearby sequences such as the Shine-Dalgarno sequence in E. coli and initiation factors are also required to start translation. The most common start codon is AUG, which is read as methionine or, in bacteria, as formylmethionine. Alternative start codons depending on the organism include "GUG" or "UUG"; these codons normally represent valine and leucine, respectively, but as start codons they are translated as methionine or formylmethionine. The three stop codons have names: UAG is amber, UGA is opal (sometimes also called umber), and UAA is ochre. Stop codons are also called "termination" or "nonsense" codons. They signal release of the nascent polypeptide from the ribosome because no cognate tRNA has anticodons complementary to these stop signals, allowing a release factor to bind to the ribosome instead. Effect of mutations During the process of DNA replication, errors occasionally occur in the polymerization of the second strand. These errors, mutations, can affect an organism's phenotype, especially if they occur within the protein coding sequence of a gene. Error rates are typically 1 error in every 10–100 million bases—due to the "proofreading" ability of DNA polymerases. Missense mutations and nonsense mutations are examples of point mutations that can cause genetic diseases such as sickle-cell disease and thalassemia respectively. Clinically important missense mutations generally change the properties of the coded amino acid residue among basic, acidic, polar or non-polar states, whereas nonsense mutations result in a stop codon. Mutations that disrupt the reading frame sequence by indels (insertions or deletions) of a non-multiple of 3 nucleotide bases are known as frameshift mutations. These mutations usually result in a completely different translation from the original, and likely cause a stop codon to be read, which truncates the protein. These mutations may impair the protein's function and are thus rare in in vivo protein-coding sequences. One reason inheritance of frameshift mutations is rare is that, if the protein being translated is essential for growth under the selective pressures the organism faces, absence of a functional protein may cause death before the organism becomes viable. Frameshift mutations may result in severe genetic diseases such as Tay–Sachs disease. Although most mutations that change protein sequences are harmful or neutral, some mutations have benefits. These mutations may enable the mutant organism to withstand particular environmental stresses better than wild type organisms, or reproduce more quickly. In these cases a mutation will tend to become more common in a population through natural selection. Viruses that use RNA as their genetic material have rapid mutation rates, which can be an advantage, since these viruses thereby evolve rapidly, and thus evade the immune system defensive responses. In large populations of asexually reproducing organisms, for example, E. coli, multiple beneficial mutations may co-occur. This phenomenon is called clonal interference and causes competition among the mutations. Degeneracy Degeneracy is the redundancy of the genetic code. This term was given by Bernfield and Nirenberg. The genetic code has redundancy but no ambiguity (see the codon tables below for the full correlation). For example, although codons GAA and GAG both specify glutamic acid (redundancy), neither specifies another amino acid (no ambiguity). The codons encoding one amino acid may differ in any of their three positions. For example, the amino acid leucine is specified by YUR or CUN (UUA, UUG, CUU, CUC, CUA, or CUG) codons (difference in the first or third position indicated using IUPAC notation), while the amino acid serine is specified by UCN or AGY (UCA, UCG, UCC, UCU, AGU, or AGC) codons (difference in the first, second, or third position). A practical consequence of redundancy is that errors in the third position of the triplet codon cause only a silent mutation or an error that would not affect the protein because the hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity is maintained by equivalent substitution of amino acids; for example, a codon of NUN (where N = any nucleotide) tends to code for hydrophobic amino acids. NCN yields amino acid residues that are small in size and moderate in hydropathicity; NAN encodes average size hydrophilic residues. The genetic code is so well-structured for hydropathicity that a mathematical analysis (Singular Value Decomposition) of 12 variables (4 nucleotides x 3 positions) yields a remarkable correlation (C = 0.95) for predicting the hydropathicity of the encoded amino acid directly from the triplet nucleotide sequence, without translation. Note in the table, below, eight amino acids are not affected at all by mutations at the third position of the codon, whereas in the figure above, a mutation at the second position is likely to cause a radical change in the physicochemical properties of the encoded amino acid. Nevertheless, changes in the first position of the codons are more important than changes in the second position on a global scale. The reason may be that charge reversal (from a positive to a negative charge or vice versa) can only occur upon mutations in the first position of certain codons, but not upon changes in the second position of any codon. Such charge reversal may have dramatic consequences for the structure or function of a protein. This aspect may have been largely underestimated by previous studies. Codon usage bias The frequency of codons, also known as codon usage bias, can vary from species to species with functional implications for the control of translation. The codon varies by organism; for example, most common proline codon in E. coli is CCG, whereas in humans this is the least used proline codon. Alternative genetic codes Non-standard amino acids In some proteins, non-standard amino acids are substituted for standard stop codons, depending on associated signal sequences in the messenger RNA. For example, UGA can code for selenocysteine and UAG can code for pyrrolysine. Selenocysteine came to be seen as the 21st amino acid, and pyrrolysine as the 22nd. Unlike selenocysteine, pyrrolysine-encoded UAG is translated with the participation of a dedicated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase. Both selenocysteine and pyrrolysine may be present in the same organism. Although the genetic code is normally fixed in an organism, the achaeal prokaryote Acetohalobium arabaticum can expand its genetic code from 20 to 21 amino acids (by including pyrrolysine) under different conditions of growth. Variations There was originally a simple and widely accepted argument that the genetic code should be universal: namely, that any variation in the genetic code would be lethal to the organism (although Crick had stated that viruses were an exception). This is known as the "frozen accident" argument for the universality of the genetic code. However, in his seminal paper on the origins of the genetic code in 1968, Francis Crick still stated that the universality of the genetic code in all organisms was an unproven assumption, and was probably not true in some instances. He predicted that "The code is universal (the same in all organisms) or nearly so". The first variation was discovered in 1979, by researchers studying human mitochondrial genes. Many slight variants were discovered thereafter, including various alternative mitochondrial codes. These minor variants for example involve translation of the codon UGA as tryptophan in Mycoplasma species, and translation of CUG as a serine rather than leucine in yeasts of the "CTG clade" (such as Candida albicans). Because viruses must use the same genetic code as their hosts, modifications to the standard genetic code could interfere with viral protein synthesis or functioning. However, viruses such as totiviruses have adapted to the host's genetic code modification. In bacteria and archaea, GUG and UUG are common start codons. In rare cases, certain proteins may use alternative start codons. Surprisingly, variations in the interpretation of the genetic code exist also in human nuclear-encoded genes: In 2016, researchers studying the translation of malate dehydrogenase found that in about 4% of the mRNAs encoding this enzyme the stop codon is naturally used to encode the amino acids tryptophan and arginine. This type of recoding is induced by a high-readthrough stop codon context and it is referred to as functional translational readthrough. Despite these differences, all known naturally occurring codes are very similar. The coding mechanism is the same for all organisms: three-base codons, tRNA, ribosomes, single direction reading and translating single codons into single amino acids. The most extreme variations occur in certain ciliates where the meaning of stop codons depends on their position within mRNA. When close to the 3’ end they act as terminators while in internal positions they either code for amino acids as in Condylostoma magnum or trigger ribosomal frameshifting as in Euplotes. The origins and variation of the genetic code, including the mechanisms behind the evolvability of the genetic code, have been widely studied, and some studies have been done experimentally evolving the genetic code of some organisms. Inferrence Variant genetic codes used by an organism can be inferred by identifying highly conserved genes encoded in that genome, and comparing its codon usage to the amino acids in homologous proteins of other organisms. For example, the program FACIL infers a genetic code by searching which amino acids in homologous protein domains are most often aligned to every codon. The resulting amino acid (or stop codon) probabilities for each codon are displayed in a genetic code logo. As of January 2022, the most complete survey of genetic codes is done by Shulgina and Eddy, who screened 250,000 prokaryotic genomes using their Codetta tool. This tool uses a similar appproach to FACIL with a larger Pfam database. Despite the NCBI already providing 33 translation tables, the authors were able to find new 5 genetic code variations (corroborated by tRNA mutations) and correct several misattributions. Origin The genetic code is a key part of the history of life, according to one version of which self-replicating RNA molecules preceded life as we know it. This is the RNA world hypothesis. Under this hypothesis, any model for the emergence of the genetic code is intimately related to a model of the transfer from ribozymes (RNA enzymes) to proteins as the principal enzymes in cells. In line with the RNA world hypothesis, transfer RNA molecules appear to have evolved before modern aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, so the latter cannot be part of the explanation of its patterns. A hypothetical randomly evolved genetic code further motivates a biochemical or evolutionary model for its origin. If amino acids were randomly assigned to triplet codons, there would be 1.5 × 1084 possible genetic codes. This number is found by calculating the number of ways that 21 items (20 amino acids plus one stop) can be placed in 64 bins, wherein each item is used at least once. However, the distribution of codon assignments in the genetic code is nonrandom. In particular, the genetic code clusters certain amino acid assignments. Amino acids that share the same biosynthetic pathway tend to have the same first base in their codons. This could be an evolutionary relic of an early, simpler genetic code with fewer amino acids that later evolved to code a larger set of amino acids. It could also reflect steric and chemical properties that had another effect on the codon during its evolution. Amino acids with similar physical properties also tend to have similar codons, reducing the problems caused by point mutations and mistranslations. Given the non-random genetic triplet coding scheme, a tenable hypothesis for the origin of genetic code could address multiple aspects of the codon table, such as absence of codons for D-amino acids, secondary codon patterns for some amino acids, confinement of synonymous positions to third position, the small set of only 20 amino acids (instead of a number approaching 64), and the relation of stop codon patterns to amino acid coding patterns. Three main hypotheses address the origin of the genetic code. Many models belong to one of them or to a hybrid: Random freeze: the genetic code was randomly created. For example, early tRNA-like ribozymes may have had different affinities for amino acids, with codons emerging from another part of the ribozyme that exhibited random variability. Once enough peptides were coded for, any major random change in the genetic code would have been lethal; hence it became "frozen". Stereochemical affinity: the genetic code is a result of a high affinity between each amino acid and its codon or anti-codon; the latter option implies that pre-tRNA molecules matched their corresponding amino acids by this affinity. Later during evolution, this matching was gradually replaced with matching by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Optimality: the genetic code continued to evolve after its initial creation, so that the current code maximizes some fitness function, usually some kind of error minimization. Hypotheses have addressed a variety of scenarios: Chemical principles govern specific RNA interaction with amino acids. Experiments with aptamers showed that some amino acids have a selective chemical affinity for their codons. Experiments showed that of 8 amino acids tested, 6 show some RNA triplet-amino acid association. Biosynthetic expansion. The genetic code grew from a simpler earlier code through a process of "biosynthetic expansion". Primordial life "discovered" new amino acids (for example, as by-products of metabolism) and later incorporated some of these into the machinery of genetic coding. Although much circumstantial evidence has been found to suggest that fewer amino acid types were used in the past, precise and detailed hypotheses about which amino acids entered the code in what order are controversial. However, several studies have suggested that Gly, Ala, Asp, Val, Ser, Pro, Glu, Leu, Thr may belong to a group of early-addition amino acids, whereas Cys, Met, Tyr, Trp, His, Phe may belong to a group of later-addition amino acids. Natural selection has led to codon assignments of the genetic code that minimize the effects of mutations. A recent hypothesis suggests that the triplet code was derived from codes that used longer than triplet codons (such as quadruplet codons). Longer than triplet decoding would increase codon redundancy and would be more error resistant. This feature could allow accurate decoding absent complex translational machinery such as the ribosome, such as before cells began making ribosomes. Information channels: Information-theoretic approaches model the process of translating the genetic code into corresponding amino acids as an error-prone information channel. The inherent noise (that is, the error) in the channel poses the organism with a fundamental question: how can a genetic code be constructed to withstand noise while accurately and efficiently translating information? These "rate-distortion" models suggest that the genetic code originated as a result of the interplay of the three conflicting evolutionary forces: the needs for diverse amino acids, for error-tolerance and for minimal resource cost. The code emerges at a transition when the mapping of codons to amino acids becomes nonrandom. The code's emergence is governed by the topology defined by the probable errors and is related to the map coloring problem. Game theory: Models based on signaling games combine elements of game theory, natural selection and information channels. Such models have been used to suggest that the first polypeptides were likely short and had non-enzymatic function. Game theoretic models suggested that the organization of RNA strings into cells may have been necessary to prevent "deceptive" use of the genetic code, i.e. preventing the ancient equivalent of viruses from overwhelming the RNA world. Stop codons: Codons for translational stops are also an interesting aspect to the problem of the origin of the genetic code. As an example for addressing stop codon evolution, it has been suggested that the stop codons are such that they are most likely to terminate translation early in the case of a frame shift error. In contrast, some stereochemical molecular models explain the origin of stop codons as "unassignable". See also List of genetic engineering software Codon tables References Further reading External links The Genetic Codes: Genetic Code Tables The Codon Usage Database — Codon frequency tables for many organisms History of deciphering the genetic code Gene expression Genetics Molecular genetics Molecular biology Protein biosynthesis

Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards for both comic and serious opera before retiring from large-scale composition while still in his thirties, at the height of his popularity. Born in Pesaro to parents who were both musicians (his father a trumpeter, his mother a singer), Rossini began to compose by the age of 12 and was educated at music school in Bologna. His first opera was performed in Venice in 1810 when he was 18 years old. In 1815 he was engaged to write operas and manage theatres in Naples. In the period 1810–1823 he wrote 34 operas for the Italian stage that were performed in Venice, Milan, Ferrara, Naples and elsewhere; this productivity necessitated an almost formulaic approach for some components (such as overtures) and a certain amount of self-borrowing. During this period he produced his most popular works, including the comic operas L'italiana in Algeri, Il barbiere di Siviglia (known in English as The Barber of Seville) and La Cenerentola, which brought to a peak the opera buffa tradition he inherited from masters such as Domenico Cimarosa and Giovanni Paisiello. He also composed opera seria works such as Otello, Tancredi and Semiramide. All of these attracted admiration for their innovation in melody, harmonic and instrumental colour, and dramatic form. In 1824 he was contracted by the Opéra in Paris, for which he produced an opera to celebrate the coronation of Charles X, Il viaggio a Reims (later cannibalised for his first opera in French, Le comte Ory), revisions of two of his Italian operas, Le siège de Corinthe and Moïse, and in 1829 his last opera, Guillaume Tell. Rossini's withdrawal from opera for the last 40 years of his life has never been fully explained; contributary factors may have been ill-health, the wealth his success had brought him, and the rise of spectacular grand opera under composers such as Giacomo Meyerbeer. From the early 1830s to 1855, when he left Paris and was based in Bologna, Rossini wrote relatively little. On his return to Paris in 1855 he became renowned for his musical salons on Saturdays, regularly attended by musicians and the artistic and fashionable circles of Paris, for which he wrote the entertaining pieces Péchés de vieillesse. Guests included Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Giuseppe Verdi, Meyerbeer and Joseph Joachim. Rossini's last major composition was his Petite messe solennelle (1863). He died in Paris in 1868. Life and career Early life Rossini was born in 1792 in Pesaro, a town on the Adriatic coast of Italy that was then part of the Papal States. He was the only child of Giuseppe Rossini, a trumpeter and horn player, and his wife Anna, née Guidarini, a seamstress by trade, daughter of a baker. Giuseppe Rossini was charming but impetuous and feckless; the burden of supporting the family and raising the child fell mainly on Anna, with some help from her mother and mother-in-law. Stendhal, who published a colourful biography of Rossini in 1824, wrote: Giuseppe was imprisoned at least twice: first in 1790 for insubordination to local authorities in a dispute about his employment as town trumpeter; and in 1799 and 1800 for republican activism and support of the troops of Napoleon against the Pope's Austrian backers. In 1798, when Rossini was aged six, his mother began a career as a professional singer in comic opera, and for a little over a decade was a considerable success in cities including Trieste and Bologna, before her untrained voice began to fail. In 1802 the family moved to Lugo, near Ravenna, where Rossini received a good basic education in Italian, Latin and arithmetic as well as music. He studied the horn with his father and other music with a priest, Giuseppe Malerbe, whose extensive library contained works by Haydn and Mozart, both little known in Italy at the time, but inspirational to the young Rossini. He was a quick learner, and by the age of twelve he had composed a set of six sonatas for four stringed instruments, which were performed under the aegis of a rich patron in 1804. Two years later he was admitted to the recently opened Liceo Musicale, Bologna, initially studying singing, cello and piano, and joining the composition class soon afterwards. He wrote some substantial works while a student, including a mass and a cantata, and after two years he was invited to continue his studies. He declined the offer: the strict academic regime of the Liceo had given him a solid compositional technique, but as his biographer Richard Osborne puts it, "his instinct to continue his education in the real world finally asserted itself". While still at the Liceo, Rossini had performed in public as a singer and worked in theatres as a répétiteur and keyboard soloist. In 1810 at the request of the popular tenor Domenico Mombelli he wrote his first operatic score, a two-act operatic dramma serio, Demetrio e Polibio, to a libretto by Mombelli's wife. It was publicly staged in 1812, after the composer's first successes. Rossini and his parents concluded that his future lay in composing operas. The main operatic centre in north eastern Italy was Venice; under the tutelage of the composer Giovanni Morandi, a family friend, Rossini moved there in late 1810, when he was eighteen. First operas: 1810–1815 Rossini's first opera to be staged was La cambiale di matrimonio, a one-act comedy, given at the small Teatro San Moisè in November 1810. The piece was a great success, and Rossini received what then seemed to him a considerable sum: "forty scudi – an amount I had never seen brought together". He later described the San Moisè as an ideal theatre for a young composer learning his craft – "everything tended to facilitate the début of a novice composer": it had no chorus, and a small company of principals; its main repertoire consisted of one-act comic operas (farse), staged with modest scenery and minimal rehearsal. Rossini followed the success of his first piece with three more farse for the house: L'inganno felice (1812), La scala di seta (1812), and Il signor Bruschino (1813). Rossini maintained his links with Bologna, where in 1811 he had a success directing Haydn's The Seasons, and a failure with his first full-length opera, L'equivoco stravagante. He also worked for opera houses in Ferrara and Rome. In mid-1812 he received a commission from La Scala, Milan, where his two-act comedy La pietra del paragone ran for fifty-three performances, a considerable run for the time, which brought him not only financial benefits, but exemption from military service and the title of maestro di cartello – a composer whose name on advertising posters guaranteed a full house. The following year his first opera seria, Tancredi, did well at La Fenice in Venice, and even better at Ferrara, with a rewritten, tragic ending. The success of Tancredi made Rossini's name known internationally; productions of the opera followed in London (1820) and New York (1825). Within weeks of Tancredi, Rossini had another box-office success with his comedy L'italiana in Algeri, composed in great haste and premiered in May 1813. 1814 was a less remarkable year for the rising composer, neither Il turco in Italia or Sigismondo pleasing the Milanese or Venetian public, respectively. 1815 marked an important stage in Rossini's career. In May he moved to Naples, to take up the post of director of music for the royal theatres. These included the Teatro di San Carlo, the city's leading opera house; its manager Domenico Barbaia was to be an important influence on the composer's career there. Naples and Il barbiere: 1815–1820 The musical establishment of Naples was not immediately welcoming to Rossini, who was seen as an intruder into its cherished operatic traditions. The city had once been the operatic capital of Europe; the memory of Cimarosa was revered and Paisiello was still living, but there were no local composers of any stature to follow them, and Rossini quickly won the public and critics round. Rossini's first work for the San Carlo, Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra was a dramma per musica in two acts, in which he reused substantial sections of his earlier works, unfamiliar to the local public. The Rossini scholars Philip Gossett and Patricia Brauner write, "It is as if Rossini wished to present himself to the Neapolitan public by offering a selection of the best music from operas unlikely to be revived in Naples." The new opera was received with tremendous enthusiasm, as was the Neapolitan premiere of L'italiana in Algeri, and Rossini's position in Naples was assured. For the first time, Rossini was able to write regularly for a resident company of first-rate singers and a fine orchestra, with adequate rehearsals, and schedules that made it unnecessary to compose in a rush to meet deadlines. Between 1815 and 1822 he composed eighteen more operas: nine for Naples and nine for opera houses in other cities. In 1816, for the Teatro Argentina in Rome, he composed the opera that was to become his best-known: Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville). There was already a popular opera of that title by Paisiello, and Rossini's version was originally given the same title as its hero, Almaviva. Despite an unsuccessful opening night, with mishaps on stage and many pro-Paisiello and anti-Rossini audience members, the opera quickly became a success, and by the time of its first revival, in Bologna a few months later, it was billed by its present Italian title, and rapidly eclipsed Paisiello's setting. Rossini's operas for the Teatro San Carlo were substantial, mainly serious pieces. His Otello (1816) provoked Lord Byron to write, "They have been crucifying Othello into an opera: music good, but lugubrious – but as for the words!" Nonetheless the piece proved generally popular, and held the stage in frequent revivals until it was overshadowed by Verdi's version, seven decades later. Among his other works for the house were Mosè in Egitto, based on the biblical story of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt (1818), and La donna del lago, from Sir Walter Scott's poem The Lady of the Lake (1819). For La Scala he wrote the opera semiseria La gazza ladra (1817), and for Rome his version of the Cinderella story, La Cenerentola (1817). In 1817 came the first performance of one of his operas (L'Italiana) at the Theâtre-Italien in Paris; its success led to others of his operas being staged there, and eventually to his contract in Paris from 1824 to 1830. Rossini kept his personal life as private as possible, but he was known for his susceptibility to singers in the companies he worked with. Among his lovers in his early years were Ester Mombelli (Domenico's daughter) and Maria Marcolini of the Bologna company. By far the most important of these relationships – both personal and professional – was with Isabella Colbran, prima donna of the Teatro San Carlo (and former mistress of Barbaia). Rossini had heard her sing in Bologna in 1807, and when he moved to Naples he wrote a succession of important roles for her in opere serie. Vienna and London: 1820–1824 By the early 1820s Rossini was beginning to tire of Naples. The failure of his operatic tragedy Ermione the previous year convinced him that he and the Neapolitan audiences had had enough of each other. An insurrection in Naples against the monarchy, though quickly crushed, unsettled Rossini; when Barbaia signed a contract to take the company to Vienna, Rossini was glad to join them, but did not reveal to Barbaia that he had no intention of returning to Naples afterwards. He travelled with Colbran, in March 1822, breaking their journey at Bologna, where they were married in the presence of his parents in a small church in Castenaso a few miles from the city. The bride was thirty-seven, the groom thirty. In Vienna, Rossini received a hero's welcome; his biographers describe it as "unprecedentedly feverish enthusiasm", "Rossini fever", and "near hysteria". The authoritarian chancellor of the Austrian Empire, Metternich, liked Rossini's music, and thought it free of all potential revolutionary or republican associations. He was therefore happy to permit the San Carlo company to perform the composer's operas. In a three-month season they played six of them, to audiences so enthusiastic that Beethoven's assistant, Anton Schindler, described it as "an idolatrous orgy". While in Vienna Rossini heard Beethoven's Eroica symphony, and was so moved that he determined to meet the reclusive composer. He finally managed to do so, and later described the encounter to many people, including Eduard Hanslick and Richard Wagner. He recalled that although conversation was hampered by Beethoven's deafness and Rossini's ignorance of German, Beethoven made it plain that he thought Rossini's talents were not for serious opera, and that "above all" he should "do more Barbiere" (Barbers). After the Vienna season Rossini returned to Castenaso to work with his librettist, Gaetano Rossi, on Semiramide, commissioned by La Fenice. It was premiered in February 1823, his last work for the Italian theatre. Colbran starred, but it was clear to everyone that her voice was in serious decline, and Semiramide ended her career in Italy. The work survived that one major disadvantage, and entered the international operatic repertory, remaining popular throughout the 19th century; in Richard Osborne's words, it brought "[Rossini's] Italian career to a spectacular close." In November 1823 Rossini and Colbran set off for London, where a lucrative contract had been offered. They stopped for four weeks en route in Paris. Although he was not as feverishly acclaimed by the Parisians as he had been in Vienna, he nevertheless had an exceptionally welcoming reception from the musical establishment and the public. When he attended a performance of Il barbiere at the Théâtre-Italien he was applauded, dragged onto the stage, and serenaded by the musicians. A banquet was given for him and his wife, attended by leading French composers and artists, and he found the cultural climate of Paris congenial. Once in England, Rossini was received and made much of by the king, George IV, although the composer was by now unimpressed by royalty and aristocracy. Rossini and Colbran had signed contracts for an opera season at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket. Her vocal shortcomings were a serious liability, and she reluctantly retired from performing. Public opinion was not improved by Rossini's failure to provide a new opera, as promised. The impresario, Vincenzo Benelli, defaulted on his contract with the composer, but this was not known to the London press and public, who blamed Rossini. In a 2003 biography of the composer, Gaia Servadio comments that Rossini and England were not made for each other. He was prostrated by the Channel crossing, and was unlikely to be enthused by the English weather or English cooking. Although his stay in London was financially rewarding – the British press reported disapprovingly that he had earned over £30,000 – he was happy to sign a contract at the French embassy in London to return to Paris, where he had felt much more at home. Paris and final operas: 1824–1829 Rossini's new, and highly remunerative, contract with the French government was negotiated under Louis XVIII, who died in September 1824, soon after Rossini's arrival in Paris. It had been agreed that the composer would produce one grand opera for the Académie Royale de Musique and either an opera buffa or an opera semiseria for the Théâtre-Italien. He was also to help run the latter theatre and revise one of his earlier works for revival there. The death of the king and the accession of Charles X changed Rossini's plans, and his first new work for Paris was Il viaggio a Reims, an operatic entertainment given in June 1825 to celebrate Charles's coronation. It was Rossini's last opera with an Italian libretto. He permitted only four performances of the piece, intending to reuse the best of the music in a less ephemeral opera. About half the score of Le comte Ory (1828) is from the earlier work. Colbran's enforced retirement put a strain on the Rossinis' marriage, leaving her unoccupied while he continued to be the centre of musical attention and constantly in demand. She consoled herself with what Servadio describes as "a new pleasure in shopping"; for Rossini, Paris offered continual gourmet delights, as his increasingly rotund shape began to reflect. The first of the four operas Rossini wrote to French librettos were Le siège de Corinthe (1826) and Moïse et Pharaon (1827). Both were substantial reworkings of pieces written for Naples: Maometto II and Mosè in Egitto. Rossini took great care before beginning work on the first, learning to speak French and familiarising himself with traditional French operatic ways of declaiming the language. As well as dropping some of the original music that was in an ornate style unfashionable in Paris, Rossini accommodated local preferences by adding dances, hymn-like numbers and a greater role for the chorus. Rossini's mother, Anna, died in 1827; he had been devoted to her, and he felt her loss deeply. She and Colbran had never got on well, and Servadio suggests that after Anna died Rossini came to resent the surviving woman in his life. In 1828 Rossini wrote Le comte Ory, his only French-language comic opera. His determination to reuse music from Il viaggio a Reims caused problems for his librettists, who had to adapt their original plot and write French words to fit existing Italian numbers, but the opera was a success, and was seen in London within six months of the Paris premiere, and in New York in 1831. The following year Rossini wrote his long-awaited French grand opera, Guillaume Tell, based on Friedrich Schiller's 1804 play which drew on the William Tell legend. Early retirement: 1830–1855 Guillaume Tell was well received. The orchestra and singers gathered outside Rossini's house after the premiere and performed the rousing finale to the second act in his honour. The newspaper Le Globe commented that a new era of music had begun. Gaetano Donizetti remarked that the first and last acts of the opera were written by Rossini, but the middle act was written by God. The work was an undoubted success, without being a smash hit; the public took some time in getting to grips with it, and some singers found it too demanding. It nonetheless was produced abroad within months of the premiere, and there was no suspicion that it would be the composer's last opera. Jointly with Semiramide, Guillaume Tell is Rossini's longest opera, at three hours and forty-five minutes, and the effort of composing it left him exhausted. Although within a year he was planning an operatic treatment of the Faust story, events and ill health overtook him. After the opening of Guillaume Tell the Rossinis had left Paris and were staying in Castenaso. Within a year events in Paris had Rossini hurrying back. Charles X was overthrown in a revolution in July 1830, and the new administration, headed by Louis Philippe I, announced radical cutbacks in government spending. Among the cuts was Rossini's lifetime annuity, won after hard negotiation with the previous regime. Attempting to restore the annuity was one of Rossini's reasons for returning. The other was to be with his new mistress, Olympe Pélissier. He left Colbran in Castenaso; she never returned to Paris and they never lived together again. The reasons for Rossini's withdrawal from opera have been continually discussed during and since his lifetime. Some have supposed that aged thirty-seven and in variable health, having negotiated a sizeable annuity from the French government, and having written thirty-nine operas, he simply planned to retire and kept to that plan. In a 1934 study of the composer, the critic Francis Toye coined the phrase "The Great Renunciation", and called Rossini's retirement a "phenomenon unique in the history of music and difficult to parallel in the whole history of art": The poet Heine compared Rossini's retirement with Shakespeare's withdrawal from writing: two geniuses recognising when they had accomplished the unsurpassable and not seeking to follow it. Others, then and later, suggested that Rossini had retired because of pique at the successes of Giacomo Meyerbeer and Fromental Halévy in the genre of grand opéra. Modern Rossini scholarship has generally discounted such theories, maintaining that Rossini had no intention of renouncing operatic composition, and that circumstances rather than personal choice made Guillaume Tell his last opera. Gossett and Richard Osborne suggest that illness may have been a major factor in Rossini's retirement. From about this time, Rossini had intermittent bad health, both physical and mental. He had contracted gonorrhoea in earlier years, which later led to painful side-effects, from urethritis to arthritis; he suffered from bouts of debilitating depression, which commentators have linked to several possible causes: cyclothymia, or bipolar disorder, or reaction to his mother's death. For the next twenty-five years following Guillaume Tell Rossini composed little, although Gossett comments that his comparatively few compositions from the 1830s and 1840s show no falling-off in musical inspiration. They include the Soirées musicales (1830–1835: a set of twelve songs for solo or duet voices and piano) and his Stabat Mater (begun in 1831 and completed in 1841). After winning his fight with the government over his annuity in 1835 Rossini left Paris and settled in Bologna. His return to Paris in 1843 for medical treatment by Jean Civiale sparked hopes that he might produce a new grand opera – it was rumoured that Eugène Scribe was preparing a libretto for him about Joan of Arc. The Opéra was moved to present a French version of Otello in 1844 which also included material from some of the composer's earlier operas. It is unclear to what extent – if at all – Rossini was involved with this production, which was in the event poorly received. More controversial was the pasticcio opera of Robert Bruce (1846), in which Rossini, by then returned to Bologna, closely cooperated by selecting music from his past operas which had not yet been performed in Paris, notably La donna del lago. The Opéra sought to present Robert as a new Rossini opera. But although Othello could at least claim to be genuine, canonic, Rossini, the historian Mark Everist notes that detractors argued that Robert was simply "fake goods, and from a bygone era at that"; he cites Théophile Gautier regretting that "the lack of unity could have been masked by a superior performance; unfortunately the tradition of Rossini's music was lost at the Opéra a long time ago." The period after 1835 saw Rossini's formal separation from his wife, who remained at Castenaso (1837), and the death of his father at the age of eighty (1839). In 1845 Colbran became seriously ill, and in September Rossini travelled to visit her; a month later she died. The following year Rossini and Pélissier were married in Bologna. The events of the Year of Revolution in 1848 led Rossini to move away from the Bologna area, where he felt threatened by insurrection, and to make Florence his base, which it remained until 1855. By the early 1850s Rossini's mental and physical health had deteriorated to the point where his wife and friends feared for his sanity or his life. By the middle of the decade it was clear that he needed to return to Paris for the most advanced medical care then available. In April 1855 the Rossinis set off for their final journey from Italy to France. Rossini returned to Paris aged sixty-three and made it his home for the rest of his life. Sins of old age: 1855–1868 Gossett observes that although an account of Rossini's life between 1830 and 1855 makes depressing reading, it is "no exaggeration to say that, in Paris, Rossini returned to life". He recovered his health and joie de vivre. Once settled in Paris he maintained two homes: a flat in the rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin, a smart central area, and a neo-classical villa built for him in Passy, a commune now absorbed into the city, but then semi-rural. He and his wife established a salon that became internationally famous. The first of their Saturday evening gatherings – the samedi soirs – was held in December 1858, and the last, two months before he died in 1868. Rossini began composing again. His music from his final decade was not generally intended for public performance, and he did not usually put dates of composition on the manuscripts. Consequently, musicologists have found it difficult to give definite dates for his late works, but the first, or among the first, was the song cycle Musique anodine, dedicated to his wife and presented to her in April 1857. For their weekly salons he produced more than 150 pieces, including songs, solo piano pieces, and chamber works for many different combinations of instruments. He referred to them as his Péchés de vieillesse – "sins of old age". The salons were held both at Beau Séjour – the Passy villa – and, in the winter, at the Paris flat. Such gatherings were a regular feature of Parisian life – the writer James Penrose has observed that the well-connected could easily attend different salons almost every night of the week – but the Rossinis' samedi soirs quickly became the most sought after: "an invitation was the city's highest social prize." The music, carefully chosen by Rossini, was not only his own, but included works by Pergolesi, Haydn and Mozart and modern pieces by some of his guests. Among the composers who attended the salons, and sometimes performed, were Auber, Gounod, Liszt, Rubinstein, Meyerbeer and Verdi. Rossini liked to call himself a fourth-class pianist, but the many famous pianists who attended the samedi soirs were dazzled by his playing. Violinists such as Pablo Sarasate and Joseph Joachim, and the leading singers of the day were regular guests. In 1860, Wagner visited Rossini via an introduction from Rossini's friend Edmond Michotte who some forty-five years later wrote his account of the genial conversation between the two composers. One of Rossini's few late works intended to be given in public was his Petite messe solennelle, first performed in 1864. In the same year Rossini was made a grand officer of the Legion of Honour by Napoleon III. After a short illness, and an unsuccessful operation to treat colorectal cancer, Rossini died at Passy on 13 November 1868 at the age of seventy-six. He left Olympe a life interest in his estate, which after her death, ten years later, passed to the Commune of Pesaro for the establishment of a Liceo Musicale, and funded a home for retired opera singers in Paris. After a funeral service attended by more than four thousand people at the church of Sainte-Trinité, Paris, Rossini's body was interred at the Père Lachaise Cemetery. In 1887 his remains were moved to the church of Santa Croce, Florence. Music "The Code Rossini" The writer Julian Budden, noting the formulas adopted early on by Rossini in his career and consistently followed by him thereafter as regards overtures, arias, structures and ensembles, has called them "the Code Rossini" in a reference to the Code Napoléon, the legal system established by the French Emperor. Rossini's overall style may indeed have been influenced more directly by the French: the historian John Rosselli suggests that French rule in Italy at the start of the 19th century meant that "music had taken on new military qualities of attack, noise and speed – to be heard in Rossini." Rossini's approach to opera was inevitably tempered by changing tastes and audience demands. The formal "classicist" libretti of Metastasio which had underpinned late 18th century opera seria were replaced by subjects more to the taste of the age of Romanticism, with stories demanding stronger characterisation and quicker action; a jobbing composer needed to meet these demands or fail. Rossini's strategies met this reality. A formulaic approach was logistically indispensable for Rossini's career, at least at the start: in the seven years 1812–1819, he wrote 27 operas, often at extremely short notice. For La Cenerentola (1817), for example, he had just over three weeks to write the music before the première. Such pressures led to a further significant element of Rossini's compositional procedures, not included in Budden's "Code", namely, recycling. The composer often transferred a successful overture to subsequent operas: thus the overture to La pietra del paragone was later used for the opera seria Tancredi (1813), and (in the other direction) the overture to Aureliano in Palmira (1813) ended as (and is today known as) the overture to the comedy Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville). He also liberally re-employed arias and other sequences in later works. Spike Hughes notes that of the twenty-six numbers of Eduardo e Cristina, produced in Venice in 1817, nineteen were lifted from previous works. "The audience ... were remarkably good-humoured  ... and asked slyly why the libretto had been changed since the last performance". Rossini expressed his disgust when the publisher Giovanni Ricordi issued a complete edition of his works in the 1850s: "The same pieces will be found several times, for I thought I had the right to remove from my fiascos those pieces which seemed best, to rescue them from shipwreck ... A fiasco seemed to be good and dead, and now look they've resuscitated them all!" Overtures Philip Gossett notes that Rossini "was from the outset a consummate composer of overtures." His basic formula for these remained constant throughout his career: Gossett characterises them as "sonata movements without development sections, usually preceded by a slow introduction" with "clear melodies, exuberant rhythms [and] simple harmonic structure" and a crescendo climax. Richard Taruskin also notes that the second theme is always announced in a woodwind solo, whose "catchiness" "etch[es] a distinct profile in the aural memory", and that the richness and inventiveness of his handling of the orchestra, even in these early works, marks the start of "[t]he great nineteenth-century flowering of orchestration." Arias Rossini's handling of arias (and duets) in cavatina style marked a development from the eighteenth-century commonplace of recitative and aria. In the words of Rosselli, in Rossini's hands "the aria became an engine for releasing emotion". Rossini's typical aria structure involved a lyrical introduction ("cantabile") and a more intensive, brilliant, conclusion ("cabaletta"). This model could be adapted in various ways so as to forward the plot (as opposed to the typical eighteenth-century handling which resulted in the action coming to a halt as the requisite repeats of the da capo aria were undertaken). For example, they could be punctuated by comments from other characters (a convention known as "pertichini"), or the chorus could intervene between the cantabile and the cabaletta so as to fire up the soloist. If such developments were not necessarily Rossini's own invention, he nevertheless made them his own by his expert handling of them. A landmark in this context is the cavatina "Di tanti palpiti" from Tancredi, which both Taruskin and Gossett (amongst others) single out as transformative, "the most famous aria Rossini ever wrote", with a "melody that seems to capture the melodic beauty and innocence characteristic of Italian opera." Both writers point out the typical Rossinian touch of avoiding an "expected" cadence in the aria by a sudden shift from the home key of F to that of A flat (see example); Taruskin notes the implicit pun, as the words talk of returning, but the music moves in a new direction. The influence was lasting; Gossett notes how the Rossinian cabaletta style continued to inform Italian opera as late as Giuseppe Verdi's Aida (1871). Structure Such structural integration of the forms of vocal music with the dramatic development of the opera meant a sea-change from the Metastasian primacy of the aria; in Rossini's works, solo arias progressively take up a smaller proportion of the operas, in favour of duets (also typically in cantabile-caballetta format) and ensembles. During the late 18th-century, creators of opera buffa had increasingly developed dramatic integration of the finales of each act. Finales began to "spread backwards", taking an ever larger proportion of the act, taking the structure of a musically continuous chain, accompanied throughout by orchestra, of a series of sections, each with its own characteristics of speed and style, mounting to a clamorous and vigorous final scene. In his comic operas Rossini brought this technique to its peak, and extended its range far beyond his predecessors. Of the finale to the first act of L'italiana in Algeri, Taruskin writes that "[r]unning through almost a hundred pages of vocal score in record time, it is the most concentrated single dose of Rossini that there is." Of greater consequence for the history of opera was Rossini's ability to progress this technique in the genre of opera seria. Gossett in a very detailed analysis of the first-act finale of Tancredi identifies several the elements in Rossini's practice. These include the contrast of "kinetic" action sequences, often characterised by orchestral motifs, with "static" expressions of emotion, the final "static" section in the form of a caballetta, with all the characters joining in the final cadences. Gossett claims that it is "from the time of Tancredi that the caballetta ... becomes the obligatory closing section of each musical unit in the operas of Rossini and his contemporaries." Early works With extremely few exceptions, all Rossini's compositions before the Péchés de vieillesse of his retirement involve the human voice. His very first surviving work (apart from a single song) is however a set of string sonatas for two violins, cello and double-bass, written at the age of 12, when he had barely begun instruction in composition. Tuneful and engaging, they indicate how remote the talented child was from the influence of the advances in musical form evolved by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven; the accent is on cantabile melody, colour, variation and virtuosity rather than transformational development. These qualities are also evident in Rossini's early operas, especially his farse (one-act farces), rather than his more formal opere serie. Gossett notes that these early works were written at a time when "[t]he deposited mantles of Cimarosa and Paisiello were unfilled" – these were Rossini's first, and increasingly appreciated, steps in trying them on. The Teatro San Moisè in Venice, where his farse were first performed, and the La Scala Theatre of Milan which premiered his two-act opera La pietra del paragone (1812), were seeking works in that tradition; Gossett notes that in these operas "Rossini's musical personality began to take shape ... many elements emerge that remain throughout his career" including "[a] love of sheer sound, of sharp and effective rhythms". The unusual effect employed in the overture of Il signor Bruschino, (1813) deploying violin bows tapping rhythms on music stands, is an example of such witty originality. Italy, 1813–1823 The great success in Venice of the premieres of both Tancredi and the comic opera L'italiana in Algeri within a few weeks of each other (6 February 1813 and 22 May 1813 respectively) set the seal on Rossini's reputation as the rising opera composer of his generation. From the end of 1813 to mid-1814 he was in Milan creating two new operas for La Scala, Aureliano in Palmira and Il Turco in Italia. Arsace in Aureliano was sung by the castrato Giambattista Velluti; this was the last opera role Rossini wrote for a castrato singer as the norm became to use contralto voices – another sign of change in operatic taste. Rumour had it that Rossini was displeased by Velluti's ornamentation of his music; but in fact throughout his Italian period, up to Semiramide (1823), Rossini's written vocal lines become increasingly florid, and this is more appropriately credited to the composer's own changing style. Rossini's work in Naples contributed to this stylistic development. The city, which was the cradle of the operas of Cimarosa and Paisiello, had been slow to acknowledge the composer from Pesaro, but Domenico Barbaia invited him in 1815 on a seven-year contract to manage his theatres and compose operas. For the first time, Rossini was able to work over a long period with a company of musicians and singers, including amongst the latter Isabella Colbran, Andrea Nozzari, Giovanni David and others, who as Gossett notes "all specialized in florid singing" and "whose vocal talents left an indelible and not wholly positive mark on Rossini's style". Rossini's first operas for Naples, Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra and La gazzetta were both largely recycled from earlier works, but Otello (1816) is marked not only by its virtuoso vocal lines but by its masterfully integrated last act, with its drama underlined by melody, orchestration and tonal colour; here, in Gossett's opinion "Rossini came of age as a dramatic artist." He further comments: By now, Rossini's career was arousing interest across Europe. Others came to Italy to study the revival of Italian opera and used its lessons to advance themselves; amongst these was the Berlin-born Giacomo Meyerbeer who arrived in Italy in 1816, a year after Rossini's establishment at Naples, and lived and worked there until following him to Paris in 1825; he used one of Rossini's librettists, Gaetano Rossi, for five of his seven Italian operas, which were produced at Turin, Venice and Milan. In a letter to his brother of September 1818, he includes a detailed critique of Otello from the point of view of a non-Italian informed observer. He is scathing about the self-borrowings in the first two acts, but concedes that the third act "so firmly established Rossini's reputation in Venice that even a thousand follies could not rob him of it. But this act is divinely beautiful, and what is so strange is that [its] beauties ... are blatantly un-Rossinian: outstanding, even passionate recitatives, mysterious accompaniments, lots of local colour." Rossini's contract did not prevent him from undertaking other commissions, and before Otello, Il barbiere di Siviglia, a grand culmination of the opera buffa tradition, had been premiered in Rome (February 1816). Richard Osborne catalogues its excellencies:Beyond the physical impact of ... Figaro's "Largo al factotum", there is Rossini's ear for vocal and instrumental timbres of a peculiar astringency and brilliance, his quick-witted word-setting, and his mastery of large musical forms with their often brilliant and explosive internal variations. Add to that what Verdi called the opera's "abundance of true musical ideas", and the reasons for the work's longer-term emergence as Rossini's most popular opera buffa are not hard to find. Apart from La Cenerentola (Rome, 1817), and the "pen-and-ink sketch" farsa Adina (1818, not performed until 1826), Rossini's other works during his contract with Naples were all in the opera seria tradition. Amongst the most notable of these, all containing virtuoso singing roles, were Mosè in Egitto (1818), La donna del lago (1819), Maometto II (1820) all staged in Naples, and Semiramide, his last opera written for Italy, staged at La Fenice in Venice in 1823. The three versions of the opera semiseria Matilde di Shabran were written in 1821/1822. Both Mosè and Maometto II were later to undergo significant reconstruction in Paris (see below). France, 1824–1829 Already in 1818, Meyerbeer had heard rumours that Rossini was seeking a lucrative appointment at the Paris Opéra – "Should [his proposals] be accepted, he will go to the French capital, and we will perhaps experience curious things." Some six years were to pass before this prophecy came true. In 1824 Rossini, under a contract with the French government, became director of the Théâtre-Italien in Paris, where he introduced Meyerbeer's opera Il crociato in Egitto, and for which he wrote Il viaggio a Reims to celebrate the coronation of Charles X (1825). This was his last opera to an Italian libretto, and was later cannibalised to create his first French opera, Le comte Ory (1828). A new contract in 1826 meant he could concentrate on productions at the Opéra and to this end he substantially revised Maometto II as Le siège de Corinthe (1826) and Mosé as Moïse et Pharaon (1827). Meeting French taste, the works are extended (each by one act), the vocal lines in the revisions are less florid and the dramatic structure is enhanced, with the proportion of arias reduced. One of the most striking additions was the chorus at the end of Act III of Moïse, with a crescendo repetition of a diatonic ascending bass line, rising first by a minor third, then by a major third, at each appearance, and a descending chromatic top line, which roused the excitement of audiences. Rossini's government contract required him to create at least one new "grand opėra", and Rossini settled on the story of William Tell, working closely with the librettist Étienne de Jouy. The story in particular enabled him to indulge "an underlying interest in the related genres of folk music, pastoral and the picturesque". This becomes clear from the overture, which is explicitly programmatic in describing weather, scenery and action, and presents a version of the ranz des vaches, the Swiss cowherd's call, which "undergoes a number of transformations during the opera" and gives it in Richard Osborne's opinion "something of the character of a leitmotif". In the opinion of the music historian Benjamin Walton, Rossini "saturate[s] the work with local colour to such a degree that there is room for little else." Thus, the role of the soloists is significantly reduced compared to other Rossini operas, the hero not even having an aria of his own, whilst the chorus of the Swiss people is consistently in the musical and dramatic foregrounds. Guillaume Tell premiered in August 1829. Rossini also provided for the Opéra a shorter, three-act version, which incorporated the pas redoublé (quick march) final section of the overture in its finale; it was first performed in 1831 and became the basis of the Opéra's future productions. Tell was very successful from the start and was frequently revived – in 1868 the composer was present at its 500th performance at the Opéra. The Globe had reported enthusiastically at its opening that "a new epoch has opened not only for French opera, but for dramatic music elsewhere." This was an era, it transpired, in which Rossini was not to participate. Withdrawal, 1830–1868 Rossini's contract required him to provide five new works for the Opéra over 10 years. After the première of Tell he was already considering some opera subjects, including Goethe's Faust, but the only significant works he completed before abandoning Paris in 1836 were the Stabat Mater, written for a private commission in 1831 (later completed and published in 1841), and the collection of salon vocal music Soirées musicales published in 1835. Living in Bologna, he occupied himself teaching singing at the Liceo Musicale, and also created a pasticcio of Tell, Rodolfo di Sterlinga, for the benefit of the singer , for which Giuseppe Verdi provided some new arias. Continuing demand in Paris resulted in the productions of a "new" French version of Otello in 1844 (with which Rossini was not involved) and a "new" opera Robert Bruce for which Rossini cooperated with Louis Niedermeyer and others to recast music for La donna del lago and others of his works which were little-known in Paris to fit a new libretto. The success of both of these was qualified, to say the least. Not until Rossini returned to Paris in 1855 were there signs of a revival of his musical spirits. A stream of pieces, for voices, choir, piano, and chamber ensembles, written for his soirées, the Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of old age) were issued in thirteen volumes from 1857 to 1868; of these volumes 4 to 8 comprise "56 semi-comical piano pieces .... dedicated to pianists of the fourth class, to which I have the honour of belonging." These include a mock funeral march, Marche et reminiscences pour mon dernier voyage (March and reminiscences for my last journey). Gossett writes of the Péchés "Their historical position remains to be assessed but it seems likely that their effect, direct or indirect, on composers like Camille Saint-Saëns and Erik Satie was significant." The most substantial work of Rossini's last decade, the Petite messe solennelle (1863), was written for small forces (originally voices, two pianos and harmonium), and therefore unsuited to concert hall performance; and as it included women's voices it was unacceptable for church performances at the time. For these reasons, Richard Osborne suggests, the piece has been somewhat overlooked among Rossini's compositions. It is neither especially petite (little) nor entirely solennelle (solemn), but is notable for its grace, counterpoint and melody. At the end of the manuscript, the composer wrote Dear God, here it is finished, this poor little Mass. Is it sacred music I have written, or damned music? I was born for opera buffa, as you know well. A little technique, a little heart, that's all. Be blessed then, and grant me Paradise. Influence and legacy The popularity of Rossini's melodies led many contemporary virtuosi to create piano transcriptions or fantasies based on them. Examples include Sigismond Thalberg's fantasy on themes from Moïse, the sets of variations on "Non più mesta" from La Cenerentola by Henri Herz, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Hünten, Anton Diabelli and Friedrich Burgmüller, and Liszt's transcriptions of the William Tell overture (1838) and the Soirées musicales. The continuing popularity of his comic operas (and the decline in staging his opere serie), the overthrow of the singing and staging styles of his period, and the emerging concept of the composer as "creative artist" rather than craftsman, diminished and distorted Rossini's place in music history even though the forms of Italian opera continued up to the period of verismo to be indebted to his innovations. Rossini's status amongst his contemporary Italian composers is indicated by the Messa per Rossini, a project initiated by Verdi within a few days of Rossini's death, which he and a dozen other composers created in collaboration. If Rossini's principal legacy to Italian opera was in vocal forms and dramatic structure for serious opera, his legacy to French opera was to provide a bridge from opera buffa to the development of opéra comique (and thence, via Jacques Offenbach's opéras bouffes to the genre of operetta). Opéras comiques showing a debt to Rossini's style include François-Adrien Boieldieu's La dame blanche (1825) and Daniel Auber's Fra Diavolo (1830), as well as works by Ferdinand Hérold, Adolphe Adam and Fromental Halévy. Critical of Rossini's style was Hector Berlioz, who wrote of his "melodic cynicism, his contempt for dramatic and good sense, his endless repetition of a single form of cadence, his eternal puerile crescendo and his brutal bass drum". It was perhaps inevitable that the formidable reputation which Rossini had built in his lifetime would fade thereafter. In 1886, less than twenty years after the composer's death, Bernard Shaw wrote: "The once universal Rossini, whose Semiramide appeared to our greener grandfathers a Ninevesque wonder, came at last to be no longer looked upon as a serious musician." In an 1877 review of Il barbiere, he noted that Adelina Patti sang as an encore in the lesson scene "Home, Sweet Home" but that "the opera proved so intolerably wearisome that some of her audience had already displayed their appreciation of the sentiment of the ballad in the most practical way." In the early 20th century Rossini received tributes from both Ottorino Respighi, who had orchestrated excerpts from the Péchés de viellesse both in his ballet la boutique fantasque (1918) and in his 1925 suite Rossiniana, and from Benjamin Britten, who adapted music by Rossini for two suites, Soirées musicales (Op. 9) in 1937 and Matinées musicales (Op. 24) in 1941. Richard Osborne singles out the three-volume biography of Rossini by Giuseppe Radiciotti (1927–1929) as an important turning-point towards positive appreciation, which may also have been assisted by the trend of neoclassicism in music. A firm re-evaluation of Rossini's significance began only later in the 20th century in the light of study, and the creation of critical editions, of his works. A prime mover in these developments was the "Fondazione G. Rossini" which was created by the city of Pesaro in 1940 using the funds which had been left to the city by the composer. Since 1980 the "Fondazione" has supported the annual Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. In the 21st century, the Rossini repertoire of opera houses around the world remains dominated by Il barbiere, La Cenerentola being the second most popular. Several other operas are regularly produced, including Le comte Ory, La donna del lago, La gazza ladra, Guillaume Tell, L'italiana in Algeri, La scala di seta, Il turco in Italia and Il viaggio a Reims. Other Rossini pieces in the current international repertory, given from time to time, include Adina, Armida, Elisabetta regina d'Inghilterra, Ermione, Mosé in Egitto and Tancredi. The Rossini in Wildbad festival specialises in producing the rarer works. The Operabase performance-listing website records 2,319 performances of 532 productions of Rossini operas in 255 venues across the world in the three years 2017–2019. All of Rossini's operas have been recorded. Notes, references and sources Notes References Sources Books Journals and articles Newspapers Liner notes Web External links Fondazione Gioachino Rossini, Pesaro The Center for Italian Opera Studies: Rossini critical edition Sheet music 1792 births 1868 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Italian male musicians Burials at Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Catholic liturgical composers Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini alumni Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini faculty Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Italian Classical-period composers Italian emigrants to France Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Italian Romantic composers Male opera composers People from Pesaro Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)

Google Search (also known simply as Google), is a search engine provided by Google. Handling more than 3.5 billion searches per day, it has a 92% share of the global search engine market. It is also the most-visited website in the world. The order of search results returned by Google is based, in part, on a priority rank system called "PageRank". Google Search also provides many different options for customized searches, using symbols to include, exclude, specify or require certain search behavior, and offers specialized interactive experiences, such as flight status and package tracking, weather forecasts, currency, unit, and time conversions, word definitions, and more. The main purpose of Google Search is to search for text in publicly accessible documents offered by web servers, as opposed to other data, such as images or data contained in databases. It was originally developed in 1997 by Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Scott Hassan. In June 2011, Google introduced "Google Voice Search" to search for spoken, rather than typed, words. In May 2012, Google introduced a Knowledge Graph semantic search feature in the U.S. Analysis of the frequency of search terms may indicate economic, social and health trends. Data about the frequency of use of search terms on Google can be openly inquired via Google Trends and have been shown to correlate with flu outbreaks and unemployment levels, and provide the information faster than traditional reporting methods and surveys. As of mid-2016, Google's search engine has begun to rely on deep neural networks. Search indexing Google indexes hundreds of terabytes of information from web pages. For websites that are currently down or otherwise not available, Google provides links to cached versions of the site, formed by the search engine's latest indexing of that page. Additionally, Google indexes some file types, being able to show users PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, certain Flash multimedia content, and plain text files. Users can also activate "SafeSearch", a filtering technology aimed at preventing explicit and pornographic content from appearing in search results. Despite Google search's immense index, sources generally assume that Google is only indexing less than 5% of the total Internet, with the rest belonging to the deep web, inaccessible through its search tools. In 2012, Google changed its search indexing tools to demote sites that had been accused of piracy. In October 2016, Gary Illyes, a webmaster trends analyst with Google, announced that the search engine would be making a separate, primary web index dedicated for mobile devices, with a secondary, less up-to-date index for desktop use. The change was a response to the continued growth in mobile usage, and a push for web developers to adopt a mobile-friendly version of their websites. In December 2017, Google began rolling out the change, having already done so for multiple websites. "Caffeine" search architecture upgrade In August 2009, Google invited web developers to test a new search architecture, codenamed "Caffeine", and give their feedback. The new architecture provided no visual differences in the user interface, but added significant speed improvements and a new "under-the-hood" indexing infrastructure. The move was interpreted in some quarters as a response to Microsoft's recent release of an upgraded version of its own search service, renamed Bing, as well as the launch of Wolfram Alpha, a new search engine based on "computational knowledge". Google announced completion of "Caffeine" on June 8, 2010, claiming 50% fresher results due to continuous updating of its index. With "Caffeine", Google moved its back-end indexing system away from MapReduce and onto Bigtable, the company's distributed database platform. "Medic" search algorithm update In August 2018, Danny Sullivan from Google announced a broad core algorithm update. As per current analysis done by the industry leaders Search Engine Watch and Search Engine Land, the update was to drop down the medical and health-related websites that were not user friendly and were not providing good user experience. This is why the industry experts named it "Medic". Google reserves very high standards for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) pages. This is because misinformation can affect users financially, physically, or emotionally. Therefore, the update targeted particularly those YMYL pages that have low-quality content and misinformation. This resulted in the algorithm targeting health and medical-related websites more than others. However, many other websites from other industries were also negatively affected. Performing a search Google Search consists of a series of localized websites. The largest of those, the google.com site, is the top most-visited website in the world. Some of its features include a definition link for most searches including dictionary words, the number of results you got on your search, links to other searches (e.g. for words that Google believes to be misspelled, it provides a link to the search results using its proposed spelling), and many more. Search syntax Google search accepts queries as normal text, as well as individual keywords. It automatically corrects misspelled words, and yields the same results regardless of capitalization. For more customized results, one can use a wide variety of operators, including, but not limited to: OR – Search for webpages containing one of two similar queries, such as marathon OR race - (minus sign) – Exclude a word or a phrase, so that "apple -tree" searches where word "tree" is not used "" – Force inclusion of a word or a phrase, such as "tallest building" * – Placeholder symbol allowing for any substitute words in the context of the query, such as "largest * in the world" .. – Search within a range of numbers, such as "camera $50..$100" site: – Search within a specific website, such as "site:youtube.com" define: – See a definition of a word, such as "define:phrase" stocks: – See the stock price of investments, such as "stocks:googl" related: – Find webpages related to specific URL addresses, such as "related:www.wikipedia.org" cache: – Highlights the search-words within the cached pages, so that "cache:www.google.com xxx" shows cached content with word "xxx" highlighted. @ – Search for a specific word on social media networks, such as "@twitter" Query expansion Google applies query expansion to submitted search queries, using techniques to deliver results that it considers "smarter" than the query users actually submitted. This technique involves several steps, including: Word stemming – Certain words can be reduced so other, similar terms, are also found in results, so that "translator" can also search for "translation" Acronyms – Searching for abbreviations can also return results about the name in its full length, so that "NATO" can show results for "North Atlantic Treaty Organization" Misspellings – Google will often suggest correct spellings for misspelled words Synonyms – In most cases where a word is incorrectly used in a phrase or sentence, Google search will show results based on the correct synonym Translations – The search engine can, in some instances, suggest results for specific words in a different language Ignoring words – In some search queries containing extraneous or insignificant words, Google search will simply drop those specific words from the query In 2008, Google started to give users autocompleted search suggestions in a list below the search bar while typing, originally with the approximate result count previewed for each listed search suggestion. "I'm Feeling Lucky" Google's homepage includes a button labeled "I'm Feeling Lucky". This feature originally allowed users to type in their search query, click the button and be taken directly to the first result, bypassing the search results page. With the 2010 announcement of Google Instant, an automatic feature that immediately displays relevant results as users are typing in their query, the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button disappears, requiring that users opt-out of Instant results through search settings to keep using the "I'm Feeling Lucky" functionality. In 2012, "I'm Feeling Lucky" was changed to serve as an advertisement for Google services; users hover their computer mouse over the button, it spins and shows an emotion ("I'm Feeling Puzzled" or "I'm Feeling Trendy", for instance), and, when clicked, takes users to a Google service related to that emotion. Tom Chavez of "Rapt", a firm helping to determine a website's advertising worth, estimated in 2007 that Google lost $110 million in revenue per year due to use of the button, which bypasses the advertisements found on the search results page. Special interactive features Besides the main text-based search-engine features of Google search, it also offers multiple quick, interactive experiences. These include, but are not limited to: Calculator Time zone, currency, and unit conversions Word translations Flight status Local film showings Weather forecasts Population and unemployment rates Package tracking Word definitions Metronome Roll a die "Do a barrel roll" (search page spins) "Askew" (results show up sideways) "OK Google" conversational search During Google's developer conference, Google I/O, in May 2013, the company announced that users on Google Chrome and Chrome OS would be able to have the browser initiate an audio-based search by saying "OK Google", with no button presses required. After having the answer presented, users can follow up with additional, contextual questions; an example include initially asking "OK Google, will it be sunny in Santa Cruz this weekend?", hearing a spoken answer, and reply with "how far is it from here?" An update to the Chrome browser with voice-search functionality rolled out a week later, though it required a button press on a microphone icon rather than "OK Google" voice activation. Google released a browser extension for the Chrome browser, named with a "beta" tag for unfinished development, shortly thereafter. In May 2014, the company officially added "OK Google" into the browser itself; they removed it in October 2015, citing low usage, though the microphone icon for activation remained available. In May 2016, 20% of search queries on mobile devices were done through voice. Search results Page layout At the top of the search page, the approximate result count and the response time two digits behind decimal is noted. Of search results, page titles and URLs, dates, and a preview text snippet for each result appears. Along with web search results, sections with images, news, and videos may appear. The length of the previewed text snipped was experimented with in 2015 and 2017. Universal search "Universal search" was launched by Google on May 16, 2007, as an idea that merged the results from different kinds of search types into one. Prior to Universal search, a standard Google search would consist of links only to websites. Universal search, however, incorporates a wide variety of sources, including websites, news, pictures, maps, blogs, videos, and more, all shown on the same search results page. Marissa Mayer, then-vice president of search products and user experience, described the goal of Universal search as "we're attempting to break down the walls that traditionally separated our various search properties and integrate the vast amounts of information available into one simple set of search results. In June 2017, Google expanded its search results to cover available job listings. The data is aggregated from various major job boards and collected by analyzing company homepages. Initially only available in English, the feature aims to simplify finding jobs suitable for each user. Rich snippets In May 2009, Google announced that they would be parsing website microformats to populate search result pages with "Rich snippets". Such snippets include additional details about results, such as displaying reviews for restaurants and social media accounts for individuals. In May 2016, Google expanded on the "Rich snippets" format to offer "Rich cards", which, similarly to snippets, display more information about results, but shows them at the top of the mobile website in a swipeable carousel-like format. Originally limited to movie and recipe websites in the United States only, the feature expanded to all countries globally in 2017. Now the web publishers can have greater control over the rich snippets. Preview settings from these meta tags will become effective in mid-to-late October 2019 and may take about a week for the global rollout to complete. Knowledge Graph The Knowledge Graph is a knowledge base used by Google to enhance its search engine's results with information gathered from a variety of sources. This information is presented to users in a box to the right of search results. Knowledge Graph boxes were added to Google's search engine in May 2012, starting in the United States, with international expansion by the end of the year. The information covered by the Knowledge Graph grew significantly after launch, tripling its original size within seven months, and being able to answer "roughly one-third" of the 100 billion monthly searches Google processed in May 2016. The information is often used as a spoken answer in Google Assistant and Google Home searches. The Knowledge Graph has been criticized for providing answers without source attribution. Google Search has been accused of using a so-called zero-click search to prevent a large part of the traffic leaving its page to third-party publishers. As a result, 71% of searches end on the Google search page. In case of one specific query out of 890,000 searches on Google, only 30,000 resulted in the user clicking on the results website. Personal tab In May 2017, Google enabled a new "Personal" tab in Google Search, letting users search for content in their Google accounts' various services, including email messages from Gmail and photos from Google Photos. Google Discover Google Discover, previously known as Google Feed, is a personalized stream of articles, videos, and other news-related content. The feed contains a "mix of cards" which show topics of interest based on users' interactions with Google, or topics they choose to follow directly. Cards include, "links to news stories, YouTube videos, sports scores, recipes, and other content based on what [Google] determined you're most likely to be interested in at that particular moment." Users can also tell Google they're not interested in certain topics to avoid seeing future updates. Google Discover launched in December 2016 and received a major update in July 2017. Another major update was released in September 2018, which renamed the app from Google Feed to Google Discover, updated the design, and adding more features. Discover can be found on a tab in the Google app and by swiping left on the home screen of certain Android devices. As of 2019, Google will not allow political campaigns worldwide to target their advertisement to people to make them vote. Ranking of results PageRank Google's rise was largely due to a patented algorithm called PageRank which helps rank web pages that match a given search string. When Google was a Stanford research project, it was nicknamed BackRub because the technology checks backlinks to determine a site's importance. Other keyword-based methods to rank search results, used by many search engines that were once more popular than Google, would check how often the search terms occurred in a page, or how strongly associated the search terms were within each resulting page. The PageRank algorithm instead analyzes human-generated links assuming that web pages linked from many important pages are also important. The algorithm computes a recursive score for pages, based on the weighted sum of other pages linking to them. PageRank is thought to correlate well with human concepts of importance. In addition to PageRank, Google, over the years, has added many other secret criteria for determining the ranking of resulting pages. This is reported to comprise over 250 different indicators, the specifics of which are kept secret to avoid difficulties created by scammers and help Google maintain an edge over its competitors globally. PageRank was influenced by a similar page-ranking and site-scoring algorithm earlier used for RankDex, developed by Robin Li in 1996. Larry Page's patent for PageRank filed in 1998 includes a citation to Li's earlier patent. Li later went on to create the Chinese search engine Baidu in 2000. In a potential hint of Google's future direction of their Search algorithm, Google's then chief executive Eric Schmidt, said in a 2007 interview with the Financial Times: "The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as 'What shall I do tomorrow?' and 'What job shall I take?'". Schmidt reaffirmed this during a 2010 interview with the Wall Street Journal: "I actually think most people don't want Google to answer their questions, they want Google to tell them what they should be doing next." In 2013 the European Commission found that Google Search favored Google's own products, instead of the best result for consumers' needs. In February 2015 Google announced a major change to its mobile search algorithm which would favor mobile friendly over other websites. Nearly 60% of Google searches come from mobile phones. Google says it wants users to have access to premium quality websites. Those websites which lack a mobile-friendly interface would be ranked lower and it is expected that this update will cause a shake-up of ranks. Businesses who fail to update their websites accordingly could see a dip in their regular websites traffic. Google optimization Because Google is the most popular search engine, many webmasters attempt to influence their website's Google rankings. An industry of consultants has arisen to help websites increase their rankings on Google and other search engines. This field, called search engine optimization, attempts to discern patterns in search engine listings, and then develop a methodology for improving rankings to draw more searchers to their clients' sites. Search engine optimization encompasses both "on page" factors (like body copy, title elements, H1 heading elements and image alt attribute values) and Off Page Optimization factors (like anchor text and PageRank). The general idea is to affect Google's relevance algorithm by incorporating the keywords being targeted in various places "on page", in particular the title element and the body copy (note: the higher up in the page, presumably the better its keyword prominence and thus the ranking). Too many occurrences of the keyword, however, cause the page to look suspect to Google's spam checking algorithms. Google has published guidelines for website owners who would like to raise their rankings when using legitimate optimization consultants. It has been hypothesized, and, allegedly, is the opinion of the owner of one business about which there have been numerous complaints, that negative publicity, for example, numerous consumer complaints, may serve as well to elevate page rank on Google Search as favorable comments. The particular problem addressed in The New York Times article, which involved DecorMyEyes, was addressed shortly thereafter by an undisclosed fix in the Google algorithm. According to Google, it was not the frequently published consumer complaints about DecorMyEyes which resulted in the high ranking but mentions on news websites of events which affected the firm such as legal actions against it. Google Search Console helps to check for websites that use duplicate or copyright content. "Hummingbird" search algorithm upgrade In 2013, Google significantly upgraded its search algorithm with "Hummingbird". Its name was derived from the speed and accuracy of the hummingbird. The change was announced on September 26, 2013, having already been in use for a month. "Hummingbird" places greater emphasis on natural language queries, considering context and meaning over individual keywords. It also looks deeper at content on individual pages of a website, with improved ability to lead users directly to the most appropriate page rather than just a website's homepage. The upgrade marked the most significant change to Google search in years, with more "human" search interactions and a much heavier focus on conversation and meaning. Thus, web developers and writers were encouraged to optimize their sites with natural writing rather than forced keywords, and make effective use of technical web development for on-site navigation. Google Doodles On certain occasions, the logo on Google's webpage will change to a special version, known as a "Google Doodle". This is a picture, drawing, animation, or interactive game that includes the logo. It is usually done for a special event or day although not all of them are well known. Clicking on the Doodle links to a string of Google search results about the topic. The first was a reference to the Burning Man Festival in 1998, and others have been produced for the birthdays of notable people like Albert Einstein, historical events like the interlocking Lego block's 50th anniversary and holidays like Valentine's Day. Some Google Doodles have interactivity beyond a simple search, such as the famous "Google Pacman" version that appeared on May 21, 2010. Smartphone apps Google offers a "Google Search" mobile app for Android and iOS devices. The mobile apps exclusively feature Google Discover and a "Collections" feature, in which the user can save for later perusal any type of search result like images, bookmarks or map locations into groups. Android devices were introduced to a preview of the feed in December 2016, while it was made official on both Android and iOS in July 2017. In April 2016, Google updated its Search app on Android to feature "Trends"; search queries gaining popularity appeared in the autocomplete box along with normal query autocompletion. The update received significant backlash, due to encouraging search queries unrelated to users' interests or intentions, prompting the company to issue an update with an opt-out option. In September 2017, the Google Search app on iOS was updated to feature the same functionality. In December 2017, Google released "Google Go", an app designed to enable use of Google Search on physically smaller and lower-spec devices in multiple languages. A Google blog post about designing "India-first" products and features explains that it is "tailor-made for the millions of people in [India and Indonesia] coming online for the first time". Discontinued features Translate foreign pages Until May 2013, Google Search had offered a feature to translate search queries into other languages. A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land that "Removing features is always tough, but we do think very hard about each decision and its implications for our users. Unfortunately, this feature never saw much pick up". Instant search was announced in September 2010 as a feature that displayed suggested results while the user typed in their search query, initially only in select countries or to registered users. The primary advantage of the new system was its ability to save time, with Marissa Mayer, then-vice president of search products and user experience, proclaiming that the feature would save 2–5 seconds per search, elaborating that "That may not seem like a lot at first, but it adds up. With Google Instant, we estimate that we'll save our users 11 hours with each passing second!" Matt Van Wagner of Search Engine Land wrote that "Personally, I kind of like Google Instant and I think it represents a natural evolution in the way search works", and also praised Google's efforts in public relations, writing that "With just a press conference and a few well-placed interviews, Google has parlayed this relatively minor speed improvement into an attention-grabbing front-page news story". The upgrade also became notable for the company switching Google Search's underlying technology from HTML to AJAX. Instant Search could be disabled via Google's "preferences" menu for those who didn't want its functionality. The publication 2600: The Hacker Quarterly compiled a list of words that Google Instant did not show suggested results for, with a Google spokesperson giving the following statement to Mashable: PC Magazine discussed the inconsistency in how some forms of the same topic are allowed; for instance, "lesbian" was blocked, while "gay" was not, and "cocaine" was blocked, while "crack" and "heroin" were not. The report further stated that seemingly normal words were also blocked due to pornographic innuendos, most notably "scat", likely due to having two completely separate contextual meanings, one for music and one for a sexual practice. On July 26, 2017, Google removed Instant results, due to a growing number of searches on mobile devices, where interaction with search, as well as screen sizes, differ significantly from a computer. "Instant previews" allowed previewing screenshots of search results' web pages without having to open them. The feature was introduced in November 2010 to the desktop website and removed in April 2013 citing low usage. Dedicated encrypted search page Various search engines provide encrypted Web search facilities. In May 2010 Google rolled out SSL-encrypted web search. The encrypted search was accessed at encrypted.google.com However, the web search is encrypted via Transport Layer Security (TLS) by default today, thus every search request should be automatically encrypted if TLS is supported by the web browser. On its support website, Google announced that the address encrypted.google.com would be turned off April 30, 2018, stating that all Google products and most new browsers use HTTPS connections as the reason for the discontinuation. Real-Time Search Google Real-Time Search was a feature of Google Search in which search results also sometimes included real-time information from sources such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and news websites. The feature was introduced on December 7, 2009 and went offline on July 2, 2011, after the deal with Twitter expired. Real-Time Search included Facebook status updates beginning on February 24, 2010. A feature similar to Real-Time Search was already available on Microsoft's Bing search engine, which showed results from Twitter and Facebook. The interface for the engine showed a live, descending "river" of posts in the main region (which could be paused or resumed), while a bar chart metric of the frequency of posts containing a certain search term or hashtag was located on the right hand corner of the page above a list of most frequently reposted posts and outgoing links. Hashtag search links were also supported, as were "promoted" tweets hosted by Twitter (located persistently on top of the river) and thumbnails of retweeted image or video links. In January 2011, geolocation links of posts were made available alongside results in Real-Time Search. In addition, posts containing syndicated or attached shortened links were made searchable by the link: query option. In July 2011 Real-Time Search became inaccessible, with the Real-Time link in the Google sidebar disappearing and a custom 404 error page generated by Google returned at its former URL. Google originally suggested that the interruption was temporary and related to the launch of Google+; they subsequently announced that it was due to the expiry of a commercial arrangement with Twitter to provide access to tweets. Privacy Searches made by search engines, including Google, leave traces. This raises concerns about privacy. In principle, if details of a user's searches are found, those with access to the information—principally state agencies responsible for law enforcement and similar matters—can make deductions about the user's activities. This has been used for the detection and prosecution of lawbreakers; for example a murderer was found and convicted after searching for terms such as "tips with killing with a baseball bat". A search may leave traces both on a computer used to make the search, and in records kept by the search provider. When using a search engine through a browser program on a computer, search terms and other information may be stored on the computer by default, unless the browser is set not to do this, or they are erased. Saved terms may be discovered on forensic analysis of the computer. An Internet service provider (ISP) or search engine provider (e.g. Google) may store records which relate search terms to an IP address and a time. Whether such logs are kept, and access to them by law enforcement agencies, is subject to legislation in different jurisdictions and working practices; the law may mandate, prohibit, or say nothing about logging of various types of information. Some search engines, located in jurisdictions where it is not illegal, make a feature of not storing user search information. The keywords suggested by the Autocomplete feature show a population of users' research which is made possible by an identity management system. Volumes of personal data are collected via Eddystone web and proximity beacons. Google has been criticized for placing long-term cookies on users' machines to store these preferences, a tactic which also enables them to track a user's search terms and retain the data for more than a year. Since 2012, Google Inc. has globally introduced encrypted connections for most of its clients, to bypass governative blockings of the commercial and IT services. Redesign In late June 2011, Google introduced a new look to the Google home page in order to boost the use of the Google+ social tools. One of the major changes was replacing the classic navigation bar with a black one. Google's digital creative director Chris Wiggins explains: "We're working on a project to bring you a new and improved Google experience, and over the next few months, you'll continue to see more updates to our look and feel." The new navigation bar has been negatively received by a vocal minority. In November 2013, Google started testing yellow labels for advertisements displayed in search results, to improve user experience. The new labels, highlighted in yellow color, and aligned to the left of each sponsored link help users differentiate between organic and sponsored results. On December 15, 2016, Google rolled out a new desktop search interface that mimics their modular mobile user interface. The mobile design consists of a tabular design that highlights search features in boxes. and works by imitating the desktop Knowledge Graph real estate, which appears in the right-hand rail of the search engine result page, these featured elements frequently feature Twitter carousels, People Also Search For, and Top Stories (vertical and horizontal design) modules. The Local Pack and Answer Box were two of the original features of the Google SERP that were primarily showcased in this manner, but this new layout creates a previously unseen level of design consistency for Google results. Search products In addition to its tool for searching web pages, Google also provides services for searching images, Usenet newsgroups, news websites, videos (Google Videos), searching by locality, maps, and items for sale online. Google Videos allows searching the World Wide Web for video clips. The service evolved from Google Video, Google's discontinued video hosting service that also allowed to search the web for video clips. In 2012, Google has indexed over 30 trillion web pages, and received 100 billion queries per month. It also caches much of the content that it indexes. Google operates other tools and services including Google News, Google Shopping, Google Maps, Google Custom Search, Google Earth, Google Docs, Picasa (discontinued), Panoramio (discontinued), YouTube, Google Translate, Google Blog Search and Google Desktop Search (discontinued). There are also products available from Google that are not directly search-related. Gmail, for example, is a webmail application, but still includes search features; Google Browser Sync does not offer any search facilities, although it aims to organize your browsing time. Energy consumption In 2009, Google claimed that a search query requires altogether about 1 kJ or 0.0003 kW·h, which is enough to raise the temperature of one liter of water by 0.24 °C. According to green search engine Ecosia, the industry standard for search engines is estimated to be about 0.2 grams of CO2 emission per search. Google's 40,000 searches per second translate to 8 kg CO2 per second or over 252 million kilos of CO2 per year. Criticism Complaints about indexing In 2003, The New York Times complained about Google's indexing, claiming that Google's caching of content on its site infringed its copyright for the content. In both Field v. Google and Parker v. Google, the United States District Court of Nevada ruled in favor of Google. January 2009 malware bug Google flags search results with the message "This site may harm your computer" if the site is known to install malicious software in the background or otherwise surreptitiously. For approximately 40 minutes on January 31, 2009, all search results were mistakenly classified as malware and could therefore not be clicked; instead a warning message was displayed and the user was required to enter the requested URL manually. The bug was caused by human error. The URL of "/" (which expands to all URLs) was mistakenly added to the malware patterns file. Possible misuse of search results In 2007, a group of researchers observed a tendency for users to rely on Google Search exclusively for finding information, writing that "With the Google interface the user gets the impression that the search results imply a kind of totality. ... In fact, one only sees a small part of what one could see if one also integrates other research tools." In 2011, Google Search query results have been shown by Internet activist Eli Pariser to be tailored to users, effectively isolating users in what he defined as a filter bubble. Pariser holds algorithms used in search engines such as Google Search responsible for catering "a personal ecosystem of information". Although contrasting views have mitigated the potential threat of "informational dystopia" and questioned the scientific nature of Pariser's claims, filter bubbles have been mentioned to account for the surprising results of the U.S. presidential election in 2016 alongside fake news and echo chambers, suggesting that Facebook and Google have designed personalized online realities in which "we only see and hear what we like". FTC fines In 2012, the US Federal Trade Commission fined Google US$22.5 million for violating their agreement not to violate the privacy of users of Apple's Safari web browser. The FTC was also continuing to investigate if Google's favoring of their own services in their search results violated antitrust regulations. Big Data and human bias Google search engine robots are programmed to use algorithms that understand and predict human behavior. The book, Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code by Ruha Benjamin talks about human bias as a behavior that the Google search engine can recognize. In 2016, some users google searched "three Black teenagers" and images of criminal mugshots of young African American teenagers came up. Then, the users searched "three White teenagers" and were presented with photos of smiling, happy teenagers. They also searched for "three Asian teenagers", and very revealing photos of Asian girls and women appeared. Benjamin concluded that these results reflect human prejudice and views on different ethnic groups. A group of analysts explained the concept of a racist computer program: "The idea here is that computers, unlike people, can't be racist but we're increasingly learning that they do in fact take after their makers...Some experts believe that this problem might stem from the hidden biases in the massive piles of data that the algorithms process as they learn to recognize patterns...reproducing our worst values". Trademark As people talk about "googling" rather than searching, the company has taken some steps to defend its trademark, in an effort to prevent it from becoming a generic trademark. This has led to lawsuits, threats of lawsuits, and the use of euphemisms, such as calling Google Search a famous web search engine. See also Timeline of Google Search Censorship by Google § Google Search Google (verb) Dragonfly (search engine) Google bomb Google Panda Google Penguin Googlewhack Halalgoogling Reunion List of search engines Comparison of web search engines History of Google List of Google products References Further reading Google Hacks from O'Reilly is a book containing tips about using Google effectively. Now in its third edition (2006). . Google: The Missing Manual by Sarah Milstein and Rael Dornfest (O'Reilly, 2004). How to Do Everything with Google by Fritz Schneider, Nancy Blachman, and Eric Fredricksen (McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2003). Google Power by Chris Sherman (McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2005). External links The Original Google! Google search trends Internet search engines Alphabet Inc. Search Multilingual websites Internet properties established in 1997 Computer-related introductions in 1997 1997 establishments in the United States Websites which mirror Wikipedia

The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )) is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India, where it receives the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for the bulk of its flow. In West Bengal state, India, a feeder canal taking off from its right bank diverts 50% of its flow southwards, artificially connecting it to the Hooghly river. The Ganges continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma. It is then joined by the Jamuna, the lower stream of the Brahmaputra, and eventually the Meghna, forming the major estuary of the Ganges Delta, and emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna system is the third largest river on earth by discharge. The main stem of the Ganges begins at the town of Devprayag, at the confluence of the Alaknanda, which is the source stream in hydrology on account of its greater length, and the Bhagirathi, which is considered the source stream in Hindu mythology. The Ganges is a lifeline to millions of people who live in its basin and depend on it for their daily needs. It has been important historically, with many former provincial or imperial capitals such as Pataliputra, Kannauj, Kara, Munger, Kashi, Patna, Hajipur, Delhi, Bhagalpur, Murshidabad, Baharampur, Kampilya, and Kolkata located on its banks or the banks of tributaries and connected waterways. The river is home to approximately 140 species of fish, 90 species of amphibians, and also reptiles and mammals, including critically endangered species such as the gharial and South Asian river dolphin. The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus. It is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism. The Ganges is threatened by severe pollution. This poses a danger not only to humans but also to animals. The levels of fecal coliform bacteria from human waste in the river near Varanasi are more than a hundred times the Indian government's official limit. The Ganga Action Plan, an environmental initiative to clean up the river, has been considered a failure which is variously attributed to corruption, a lack of will in the government, poor technical expertise, environmental planning and a lack of support from religious authorities. Course The upper phase of the river Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers in the town of Devprayag in the Garhwal division of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Bhagirathi is considered to be the source in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer, and therefore, hydrologically the source stream. The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snow melt from peaks such as Nanda Devi, Trisul, and Kamet. The Bhagirathi rises at the foot of Gangotri Glacier, at Gomukh, at an elevation of and being mythologically referred to as residing in the matted locks of Shiva; symbolically Tapovan, which is a meadow of ethereal beauty at the feet of Mount Shivling, just away. Although many small streams comprise the headwaters of the Ganges, the six longest and their five confluences are considered sacred. The six headstreams are the Alaknanda, Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini and Bhagirathi. Their confluences, known as the Panch Prayag, are all along the Alaknanda. They are, in downstream order, Vishnuprayag, where the Dhauliganga joins the Alaknanda; Nandprayag, where the Nandakini joins; Karnaprayag, where the Pindar joins; Rudraprayag, where the Mandakini joins; and finally, Devprayag, where the Bhagirathi joins the Alaknanda to form the Ganges. After flowing for through its narrow Himalayan valley, the Ganges emerges from the mountains at Rishikesh, then debouches onto the Gangetic Plain at the pilgrimage town of Haridwar. At Haridwar, a dam diverts some of its waters into the Ganges Canal, which irrigates the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, whereas the river, whose course has been roughly southwest until this point, now begins to flow southeast through the plains of northern India. The Ganges river follows a arching course passing through the cities of Kannauj, Farukhabad, and Kanpur. Along the way it is joined by the Ramganga, which contributes an average annual flow of about to the river. The Ganges joins the long River Yamuna at the Triveni Sangam at Allahabad, (now Prayagraj) a confluence considered holy in Hinduism. At their confluence the Yamuna is larger than the Ganges contributing about 58.5% of the combined flow, with an average flow of . Now flowing east, the river meets the long Tamsa River (also called Tons), which flows north from the Kaimur Range and contributes an average flow of about . After the Tamsa, the long Gomti River joins, flowing south from the Himalayas. The Gomti contributes an average annual flow of about . Then the long Ghaghara River (Karnali River), also flowing south from the Himalayas of Tibet through Nepal joins. The Ghaghara (Karnali), with its average annual flow of about , is the largest tributary of the Ganges by discharge. After the Ghaghara confluence, the Ganges is joined from the south by the long Son River, which contributes about . The long Gandaki River, then the long Kosi River, join from the north flowing from Nepal, contributing about and , respectively. The Kosi is the third largest tributary of the Ganges by discharge, after Ghaghara (Karnali) and Yamuna. The Kosi merges into the Ganges near Kursela in Bihar. Along the way between Allahabad and Malda, West Bengal, the Ganges river passes the towns of Chunar, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Ara, Patna, Chapra, Hajipur, Mokama, Munger, Sahibganj, Rajmahal, Bhagalpur, Ballia, Buxar, Simaria, Sultanganj, and Farakka. At Bhagalpur, the river begins to flow south-southeast and at Farakka, it begins its attrition with the branching away of its first distributary, the long Bhāgirathi-Hooghly, which goes on to become the Hooghly River. Just before the border with Bangladesh the Farakka Barrage controls the flow of Ganges, diverting some of the water into a feeder canal linked to the Hooghly for the purpose of keeping it relatively silt-free. The Hooghly River is formed by the confluence of the Bhagirathi River and Ajay River at Katwa, and Hooghly has a number of tributaries of its own. The largest is the Damodar River, which is long, with a drainage basin of . The Hooghly River empties into the Bay of Bengal near Sagar Island. Between Malda and the Bay of Bengal, the Hooghly river passes the towns and cities of Murshidabad, Nabadwip, Kolkata and Howrah. After entering Bangladesh, the main branch of the Ganges river is known as the Padma. The Padma is joined by the Jamuna River, the largest distributary of the Brahmaputra. Further downstream, the Padma joins the Meghna River, the converged flow of Surma-Meghna River System taking on the Meghna's name as it enters the Meghna Estuary, which empties into the Bay of Bengal. Here it forms the Bengal Fan, the world's largest submarine fan, which alone accounts for 10–20% of the global burial of organic carbon. The Ganges Delta, formed mainly by the large, sediment-laden flows of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is the world's largest delta, at about . It stretches along the Bay of Bengal. Only the Amazon and Congo rivers have a greater average discharge than the combined flow of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Surma-Meghna river system. In full flood only the Amazon is larger. Geology The Indian subcontinent lies atop the Indian tectonic plate, a minor plate within the Indo-Australian Plate. Its defining geological processes commenced seventy-five million years ago, when, as a part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, it began a northeastwards drift—lasting fifty million years—across the then unformed Indian Ocean. The subcontinent's subsequent collision with the Eurasian Plate and subduction under it, gave rise to the Himalayas, the planet's highest mountain ranges. In the former seabed immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast trough, which, having gradually been filled with sediment borne by the Indus and its tributaries and the Ganges and its tributaries, now forms the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The Indo-Gangetic Plain is geologically known as a foredeep or foreland basin. Hydrology Major left-bank tributaries include the Gomti River, Ghaghara River, Gandaki River and Kosi River; major right-bank tributaries include the Yamuna River, Son River, Punpun and Damodar. The hydrology of the Ganges River is very complicated, especially in the Ganges Delta region. One result is different ways to determine the river's length, its discharge, and the size of its drainage basin. The name Ganges is used for the river between the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers, in the Himalayas, and the first bifurcation of the river, near the Farakka Barrage and the India-Bangladesh Border. The length of the Ganges is frequently said to be slightly over long, about , or . In these cases the river's source is usually assumed to be the source of the Bhagirathi River, Gangotri Glacier at Gomukh and its mouth being the mouth of the Meghna River on the Bay of Bengal. Sometimes the source of the Ganges is considered to be at Haridwar, where its Himalayan headwater streams debouch onto the Gangetic Plain. In some cases, the length of the Ganges is given by its Hooghly River distributary, which is longer than its main outlet via the Meghna River, resulting in a total length of about , if taken from the source of the Bhagirathi, or , if from Haridwar to the Hooghly's mouth. In other cases the length is said to be about , from the source of the Bhagirathi to the Bangladesh border, where its name changes to Padma. For similar reasons, sources differ over the size of the river's drainage basin. The basin covers parts of four countries, India, Nepal, China, and Bangladesh; eleven Indian states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Delhi. The Ganges basin, including the delta but not the Brahmaputra or Meghna basins, is about , of which is in India (about 80%), in Nepal (13%), in Bangladesh (4%), and in China (3%). Sometimes the Ganges and Brahmaputra–Meghna drainage basins are combined for a total of about or . The combined Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin (abbreviated GBM or GMB) drainage basin is spread across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and China. The Ganges basin ranges from the Himalaya and the Transhimalaya in the north, to the northern slopes of the Vindhya range in the south, from the eastern slopes of the Aravalli in the west to the Chota Nagpur plateau and the Sunderbans delta in the east. A significant portion of the discharge from the Ganges comes from the Himalayan mountain system. Within the Himalaya, the Ganges basin spreads almost 1,200 km from the Yamuna-Satluj divide along the Simla ridge forming the boundary with the Indus basin in the west to the Singalila Ridge along the Nepal-Sikkim border forming the boundary with the Brahmaputra basin in the east. This section of the Himalaya contains 9 of the 14 highest peaks in the world over 8,000m in height, including Mount Everest which is the high point of the Ganges basin. The other peaks over 8,000m in the basin are Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Annapurna and Shishapangma. The Himalayan portion of the basin includes the south-eastern portion of the state of Himachal Pradesh, the entire state of Uttarakhand, the entire country of Nepal and the extreme north-western portion of the state of West Bengal. The discharge of the Ganges also differs by source. Frequently, discharge is described for the mouth of the Meghna River, thus combining the Ganges with the Brahmaputra and Meghna. This results in a total average annual discharge of about , or . In other cases the average annual discharges of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna are given separately, at about for the Ganges, about for the Brahmaputra, and about for the Meghna. The maximum peak discharge of the Ganges, as recorded at Hardinge Bridge in Bangladesh, exceeded . The minimum recorded at the same place was about , in 1997. The hydrologic cycle in the Ganges basin is governed by the Southwest Monsoon. About 84% of the total rainfall occurs in the monsoon from June to September. Consequently, streamflow in the Ganges is highly seasonal. The average dry season to monsoon discharge ratio is about 1:6, as measured at Hardinge Bridge. This strong seasonal variation underlies many problems of land and water resource development in the region. The seasonality of flow is so acute it can cause both drought and floods. Bangladesh, in particular, frequently experiences drought during the dry season and regularly suffers extreme floods during the monsoon. In the Ganges Delta, many large rivers come together, both merging and bifurcating in a complicated network of channels. The two largest rivers, the Ganges and Brahmaputra, both split into distributary channels, the largest of which merge with other large rivers before themselves joining the Bay of Bengal. But this current channel pattern was not always the case. Over time the rivers in Ganges Delta have often changed course, sometimes altering the network of channels in significant ways. Before the late 12th century the Bhagirathi-Hooghly distributary was the main channel of the Ganges and the Padma was only a minor spill-channel. The main flow of the river reached the sea not via the modern Hooghly River but rather by the Adi Ganga. Between the 12th and 16th centuries, the Bhagirathi-Hooghly and Padma channels were more or less equally significant. After the 16th century, the Padma grew to become the main channel of the Ganges. It is thought that the Bhagirathi-Hooghly became increasingly choked with silt, causing the main flow of the Ganges to shift to the southeast and the Padma River. By the end of the 18th century, the Padma had become the main distributary of the Ganges. One result of this shift to the Padma was that the Ganges now joined the Meghna and Brahmaputra rivers before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The present confluence of the Ganges and Meghna was formed very recently, about 150 years ago. Also near the end of the 18th century, the course of the lower Brahmaputra changed dramatically, significantly altering its relationship with the Ganges. In 1787 there was a great flood on the Teesta River, which at the time was a tributary of the Ganges-Padma River. The flood of 1787 caused the Teesta to undergo a sudden change course, an avulsion, shifting east to join the Brahmaputra and causing the Brahmaputra to shift its course south, cutting a new channel. This new main channel of the Brahmaputra is called the Jamuna River. It flows south to join the Ganges-Padma. During ancient times, the main flow of the Brahmaputra was more easterly, passing by the city of Mymensingh and joining the Meghna River. Today this channel is a small distributary but retains the name Brahmaputra, sometimes Old Brahmaputra. The site of the old Brahmaputra-Meghna confluence, in the locality of Langalbandh, is still considered sacred by Hindus. Near the confluence is a major early historic site called Wari-Bateshwar. In the rainy season of 1809, the lower channel of the Bhagirathi, leading to Kolkata, had been entirely shut; but in the following year it opened again and was nearly of the same size as the upper channel but both however suffered a considerable diminution, owing probably to the new communication opened below the Jalanggi on the upper channel. History The first European traveller to mention the Ganges was the Greek envoy Megasthenes (ca. 350–290 BCE). He did so several times in his work Indica: "India, again, possesses many rivers both large and navigable, which, having their sources in the mountains which stretch along the northern frontier, traverse the level country, and not a few of these, after uniting with each other, fall into the river called the Ganges. Now this river, which at its source is 30 stadia broad, flows from north to south, and empties its waters into the ocean forming the eastern boundary of the Gangaridai, a nation which possesses a vast force of the largest-sized elephants." (Diodorus II.37). In 1951 a water sharing dispute arose between India and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after India declared its intention to build the Farakka Barrage. The original purpose of the barrage, which was completed in 1975, was to divert up to of water from the Ganges to the Bhagirathi-Hooghly distributary to restore navigability at the Port of Kolkata. It was assumed that during the worst dry season the Ganges flow would be around , thus leaving for the then East Pakistan. East Pakistan objected and a protracted dispute ensued. In 1996 a 30-year treaty was signed with Bangladesh. The terms of the agreement are complicated, but in essence, they state that if the Ganges flow at Farakka was less than then India and Bangladesh would each receive 50% of the water, with each receiving at least for alternating ten-day periods. However, within a year the flow at Farakka fell to levels far below the historic average, making it impossible to implement the guaranteed sharing of water. In March 1997, flow of the Ganges in Bangladesh dropped to its lowest ever, . Dry season flows returned to normal levels in the years following, but efforts were made to address the problem. One plan is for another barrage to be built in Bangladesh at Pangsha, west of Dhaka. This barrage would help Bangladesh better utilize its share of the waters of the Ganges. Religious and cultural significance Embodiment of sacredness The Ganges is a sacred river to Hindus along every fragment of its length. All along its course, Hindus bathe in its waters, paying homage to their ancestors and their gods by cupping the water in their hands, lifting it, and letting it fall back into the river; they offer flowers and rose petals and float shallow clay dishes filled with oil and lit with wicks (diyas). On the journey back home from the Ganges, they carry small quantities of river water with them for use in rituals; Ganga Jal, literally "the water of the Ganges". The Ganges is the embodiment of all sacred waters in Hindu mythology. Local rivers are said to be like the Ganges and are sometimes called the local Ganges. The Godavari River of Maharashtra in Western India is called the Ganges of the South or the 'Dakshin Ganga'; the Godavari is the Ganges that was led by the sage Gautama to flow through Central India. The Ganges is invoked whenever water is used in Hindu ritual and is therefore present in all sacred waters. Despite this, nothing is more stirring for a Hindu than a dip in the actual river, which is thought to remit sins, especially at one of the famous tirthas such as Gangothri, Haridwar, Triveni Sangam at Allahabad, or Varanasi. The symbolic and religious importance of the Ganges is one of the few things that Hindus, even their skeptics, have agreed upon. Jawaharlal Nehru, a religious iconoclast himself, asked for a handful of his ashes to be thrown into the Ganges. "The Ganga," he wrote in his will, "is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are intertwined her racial memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of India's age-long culture and civilization, ever-changing, ever-flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga." Avatarana - Descent of Ganges In late May or early June every year, Hindus celebrate the karunasiri and the rise of the Ganges from earth to heaven. The day of the celebration, Ganga Dashahara, the Dashami (tenth day) of the waxing moon of the Hindu calendar month Jyestha, brings throngs of bathers to the banks of the river. A dip in the Ganges on this day is said to rid the bather of ten sins (dasha = Sanskrit "ten"; hara = to destroy) or ten lifetimes of sins. Those who cannot journey to the river, however, can achieve the same results by bathing in any nearby body of water, which, for the true believer, takes on all the attributes of the Ganges. The karunasiri is an old theme in Hinduism with a number of different versions of the story. In the Vedic version, Indra, the Lord of Swarga (Heaven) slays the celestial serpent, Vritra, releasing the celestial liquid, soma, or the nectar of the gods which then plunges to the earth and waters it with sustenance. In the Vaishnava version of the myth, the heavenly waters were then a river called Vishnupadi (Sanskrit: "from the foot of Vishnu"). As Lord Vishnu as the avatar Vamana completes his celebrated three strides —of earth, sky, and heaven— he stubs his toe on the vault of heaven, punches open a hole and releases the Vishnupadi, which until now had been circling the cosmic egg. Flowing out of the vault, she plummets down to Indra's heaven, where she is received by Dhruva, once a steadfast worshipper of Vishnu, now fixed in the sky as the Pole star. Next, she streams across the sky forming the Milky Way and arrives on the moon. She then flows down earthwards to Brahma's realm, a divine lotus atop Mount Meru, whose petals form the earthly continents. There, the divine waters break up, with one stream, the Bhagirathi, flowing down one petal into Bharatvarsha (India) as the Ganges. It is Shiva, however, among the major deities of the Hindu pantheon, who appears in the most widely known version of the avatarana story. Told and retold in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and several Puranas, the story begins with a sage, Kapila, whose intense meditation has been disturbed by the sixty thousand sons of King Sagara. Livid at being disturbed, Kapila sears them with his angry gaze, reduces them to ashes, and dispatches them to the netherworld. Only the waters of the Ganges, then in heaven, can bring the dead sons their salvation. A descendant of these sons, King Bhagiratha, anxious to restore his ancestors, undertakes rigorous penance and is eventually granted the prize of Ganges's descent from heaven. However, since her turbulent force would also shatter the earth, Bhagiratha persuades Shiva in his abode on Mount Kailash to receive the Ganges in the coils of his tangled hair and break her fall. The Ganges descends is tamed in Shiva's locks, and arrives in the Himalayas. She is then led by the waiting Bhagiratha down into the plains at Haridwar, across the plains first to the confluence with the Yamuna at Prayag and then to Varanasi, and eventually to Ganges Sagar (Ganges delta), where she meets the ocean, sinks to the netherworld, and saves the sons of Sagara. In honour of Bhagirath's pivotal role in the avatarana, the source stream of the Ganges in the Himalayas is named Bhagirathi, (Sanskrit, "of Bhagiratha"). Redemption of the Dead As the Ganges had descended from heaven to earth, she is also considered the vehicle of ascent, from earth to heaven. As the Triloka-patha-gamini, (Sanskrit: triloka= "three worlds", patha = "road", gamini = "one who travels") of the Hindu tradition, she flows in heaven, earth, and the netherworld, and, consequently, is a "tirtha" or crossing point of all beings, the living as well as the dead. It is for this reason that the story of the avatarana is told at Shraddha ceremonies for the deceased in Hinduism, and Ganges water is used in Vedic rituals after death. Among all hymns devoted to the Ganges, there are none more popular than the ones expressing the worshipper's wish to breathe his last surrounded by her waters. The Gangashtakam expresses this longing fervently: O Mother! ... Necklace adorning the worlds! Banner rising to heaven! I ask that I may leave of this body on your banks, Drinking your water, rolling in your waves, Remembering your name, bestowing my gaze upon you. No place along her banks is more longed for at the moment of death by Hindus than Varanasi, the Great Cremation Ground, or Mahashmshana. Those who are lucky enough to die in Varanasi, are cremated on the banks of the Ganges, and are granted instant salvation. If the death has occurred elsewhere, salvation can be achieved by immersing the ashes in the Ganges. If the ashes have been immersed in another body of water, a relative can still gain salvation for the deceased by journeying to the Ganges, if possible during the lunar "fortnight of the ancestors" in the Hindu calendar month of Ashwin (September or October), and performing the Shraddha rites. Hindus also perform pinda pradana, a rite for the dead, in which balls of rice and sesame seed are offered to the Ganges while the names of the deceased relatives are recited. Every sesame seed in every ball thus offered, according to one story, assures a thousand years of heavenly salvation for each relative. Indeed, the Ganges is so important in the rituals after death that the Mahabharata, in one of its popular ślokas, says, "If only (one) bone of a (deceased) person should touch the water of the Ganges, that person shall dwell honoured in heaven." As if to illustrate this truism, the Kashi Khanda (Varanasi Chapter) of the Skanda Purana recounts the remarkable story of Vahika, a profligate and unrepentant sinner, who is killed by a tiger in the forest. His soul arrives before Yama, the Lord of Death, to be judged for the afterworld. Having no compensating virtue, Vahika's soul is at once dispatched to hell. While this is happening, his body on earth, however, is being picked at by vultures, one of whom flies away with a foot bone. Another bird comes after the vulture, and in fighting him off, the vulture accidentally drops the bone into the Ganges below. Blessed by this event, Vahika, on his way to hell, is rescued by a celestial chariot which takes him instead to heaven. The Purifying Ganges Hindus consider the waters of the Ganges to be both pure and purifying. Regardless of all scientific understanding of its waters, the Ganges is always ritually and symbolically pure in Hindu culture. Nothing reclaims order from disorder more than the waters of the Ganga. Moving water, as in a river, is considered purifying in Hindu culture because it is thought to both absorb impurities and take them away. The swiftly moving Ganga, especially in its upper reaches, where a bather has to grasp an anchored chain to not be carried away, is especially purifying. What the Ganges removes, however, is not necessarily physical dirt, but symbolic dirt; it wipes away the sins of the bather, not just of the present, but of a lifetime. A popular paean to the Ganga is the Ganga Lahiri composed by a seventeenth-century poet Jagannatha who, legend has it, was turned out of his Hindu Brahmin caste for carrying on an affair with a Muslim woman. Having attempted futilely to be rehabilitated within the Hindu fold, the poet finally appeals to Ganga, the hope of the hopeless, and the comforter of last resort. Along with his beloved, Jagannatha sits at the top of the flight of steps leading to the water at the famous Panchganga Ghat in Varanasi. As he recites each verse of the poem, the water of the Ganges rises one step until in the end it envelops the lovers and carries them away. "I come to you as a child to his mother," begins the Ganga Lahiri. I come as an orphan to you, moist with love. I come without refuge to you, giver of sacred rest. I come a fallen man to you, uplifter of all. I come undone by disease to you, the perfect physician. I come, my heart dry with thirst, to you, ocean of sweet wine. Do with me whatever you will. Consort, Shakti, and Mother Ganga is a consort to all three major male deities of Hinduism. As Brahma's partner she always travels with him in the form of water in his kamandalu (water-pot). She is also Vishnu's consort. Not only does she emanate from his foot as Vishnupadi in the avatarana story, but is also, with Sarasvati and Lakshmi, one of his co-wives. In one popular story, envious of being outdone by each other, the co-wives begin to quarrel. While Lakshmi attempts to mediate the quarrel, Ganga and Sarasvati, heap misfortune on each other. They curse each other to become rivers, and to carry within them, by washing, the sins of their human worshippers. Soon their husband, Vishnu, arrives and decides to calm the situation by separating the goddesses. He orders Sarasvati to become the wife of Brahma, Ganga to become the wife of Shiva, and Lakshmi, as the blameless conciliator, to remain as his own wife. Ganga and Sarasvati, however, are so distraught at this dispensation, and wail so loudly, that Vishnu is forced to take back his words. Consequently, in their lives as rivers they are still thought to be with him. It is Shiva's relationship with Ganga, that is the best-known in Ganges mythology. Her descent, the avatarana is not a one-time event, but a continuously occurring one in which she is forever falling from heaven into his locks and being forever tamed. Shiva, is depicted in Hindu iconography as Gangadhara, the "Bearer of the Ganga," with Ganga, shown as spout of water, rising from his hair. The Shiva-Ganga relationship is both perpetual and intimate. Shiva is sometimes called Uma-Ganga-Patiswara ("Husband and Lord of Uma (Parvati) and Ganga"), and Ganga often arouses the jealousy of Shiva's better-known consort. Ganga is the shakti or the moving, restless, rolling energy in the form of which the otherwise recluse and unapproachable Shiva appears on earth. As water, this moving energy can be felt, tasted, and absorbed. The war-god Skanda addresses the sage Agastya in the Kashi Khand of the Skanda Purana in these words: One should not be amazed ... that this Ganges is really Power, for is she not the Supreme Shakti of the Eternal Shiva, taken in the form of water? This Ganges, filled with the sweet wine of compassion, was sent out for the salvation of the world by Shiva, the Lord of the Lords. Good people should not think this Triple-Pathed River to be like the thousand other earthly rivers, filled with water. The Ganga is also the mother, the Ganga Mata (mata="mother") of Hindu worship and culture, accepting all and forgiving all. Unlike other goddesses, she has no destructive or fearsome aspect, destructive though she might be as a river in nature. She is also a mother to other gods. She accepts Shiva's incandescent seed from the fire-god Agni, which is too hot for this world and cools it in her waters. This union produces Skanda, or Kartikeya, the god of war. In the Mahabharata, she is the wife of Shantanu, and the mother of heroic warrior-patriarch, Bhishma. When Bhishma is mortally wounded in battle, Ganga comes out of the water in human form and weeps uncontrollably over his body. The Ganges is the distilled lifeblood of the Hindu tradition, of its divinities, holy books, and enlightenment. As such, her worship does not require the usual rites of invocation (avahana) at the beginning and dismissal (visarjana) at the end, required in the worship of other gods. Her divinity is immediate and everlasting. Ganges in classical Indian iconography Early in ancient Indian culture, the river Ganges was associated with fecundity, its redeeming waters, and its rich silt providing sustenance to all who lived along its banks. A counterpoise to the dazzling heat of the Indian summer, the Ganges came to be imbued with magical qualities and to be revered in anthropomorphic form. By the 5th century CE, an elaborate mythology surrounded the Ganges, now a goddess in her own right, and a symbol for all rivers of India. Hindu temples all over India had statues and reliefs of the goddess carved at their entrances, symbolically washing the sins of arriving worshippers and guarding the gods within. As protector of the sanctum sanctorum, the goddess soon came to be depicted with several characteristic accessories: the makara (a crocodile-like undersea monster, often shown with an elephant-like trunk), the kumbha (an overfull vase), various overhead parasol-like coverings, and a gradually increasing retinue of humans. Central to the goddess's visual identification is the makara, which is also her vahana, or mount. An ancient symbol in India, it pre-dates all appearances of the goddess Ganga in art. The makara has a dual symbolism. On the one hand, it represents the life-affirming waters and plants of its environment; on the other, it represents fear, both fear of the unknown which it elicits by lurking in those waters, and real fear which it instils by appearing in sight. The earliest extant unambiguous pairing of the makara with Ganga is at the Udayagiri Caves in Central India (circa 400 CE). Here, in the Cave V, flanking the main figure of Vishnu shown in his boar incarnation, two river goddesses, Ganga and Yamuna appear atop their respective mounts, makara and kurma (a turtle or tortoise). The makara is often accompanied by a gana, a small boy or child, near its mouth, as, for example, shown in the Gupta period relief from Besnagar, Central India, in the left-most frame above. The gana represents both posterity and development (udbhava). The pairing of the fearsome, life-destroying makara with the youthful, life-affirming gana speaks to two aspects of the Ganges herself. Although she has provided sustenance to millions, she has also brought hardship, injury, and death by causing major floods along her banks. The goddess Ganga is also accompanied by a dwarf attendant, who carries a cosmetic bag, and on whom she sometimes leans, as if for support. (See, for example, frames 1, 2, and 4 above.) The purna kumbha or full pot of water is the second most discernible element of the Ganga iconography. Appearing first also in the relief in the Udayagiri Caves (5th century), it gradually appeared more frequently as the theme of the goddess matured. By the seventh century it had become an established feature, as seen, for example, in the Dashavatara temple, Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh (seventh century), the Trimurti temple, Badoli, Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, and at the Lakshmaneshwar temple, Kharod, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, (ninth or tenth century), and seen very clearly in frame 3 above and less clearly in the remaining frames. Worshipped even today, the full pot is emblematic of the formless Brahman, as well as of woman, of the womb, and of birth. Furthermore, The river goddesses Ganga and Saraswati were both born from Brahma's pot, containing the celestial waters. In her earliest depictions at temple entrances, the goddess Ganga appeared standing beneath the overhanging branch of a tree, as seen as well in the Udayagiri caves. However, soon the tree cover had evolved into a chatra or parasol held by an attendant, for example, in the seventh-century Dasavatara temple at Deogarh. (The parasol can be clearly seen in frame 3 above; its stem can be seen in frame 4, but the rest has broken off.) The cover undergoes another transformation in the temple at Kharod, Bilaspur (ninth or tenth century), where the parasol is lotus-shaped, and yet another at the Trimurti temple at Badoli where the parasol has been replaced entirely by a lotus. As the iconography evolved, sculptors, especially in central India, were producing animated scenes of the goddess, replete with an entourage and suggestive of a queen en route to a river to bathe. A relief similar to the depiction in frame 4 above, is described in as follows: <blockquote> A typical relief of about the ninth century that once stood at the entrance of a temple, the river goddess Ganga is shown as a voluptuously endowed lady with a retinue. Following the iconographic prescription, she stands gracefully on her composite makara mount and holds a water pot. The dwarf attendant carries her cosmetic bag, and a ... female holds the stem of a giant lotus leaf that serves as her mistress's parasol. The fourth figure is a male guardian. Often in such reliefs, the makara'''s tail is extended with great flourish into a scrolling design symbolizing both vegetation and water.</blockquote> Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage in which Hindus gather at the Ganges River. The normal Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 3 years, the Ardh (half) Kumbh is celebrated every six years at Haridwar and Allahabad, the Purna (complete) Kumbh takes place every twelve years at four places (Triveni Sangam (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik). The Maha (great) Kumbh Mela which comes after 12 'Purna Kumbh Melas', or 144 years, is held at Allahabad. The major event of the festival is ritual bathing at the banks of the river. Other activities include religious discussions, devotional singing, mass feeding of holy men and women and the poor, and religious assemblies where doctrines are debated and standardized. Kumbh Mela is the most sacred of all the pilgrimages. Thousands of holy men and women attend, and the auspiciousness of the festival is in part attributable to this. The sadhus are seen clad in saffron sheets with ashes and powder dabbed on their skin per the requirements of ancient traditions. Some called naga sanyasis, may not wear any clothes. Irrigation The Ganges and its all tributaries, especially the Yamuna, have been used for irrigation since ancient times. Dams and canals were common in the Gangetic plain by the fourth century BCE. The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin has a huge hydroelectric potential, on the order of 200,000 to 250,000 megawatts, nearly half of which could easily be harnessed. As of 1999, India tapped about 12% of the hydroelectric potential of the Ganges and just 1% of the vast potential of the Brahmaputra. Canals Megasthenes, a Greek ethnographer who visited India during the third century BCE when Mauryans ruled India described the existence of canals in the Gangetic plain. Kautilya (also known as Chanakya), an advisor to Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of Maurya Empire, included the destruction of dams and levees as a strategy during the war. Firuz Shah Tughlaq had many canals built, the longest of which, , was built in 1356 on the Yamuna River. Now known as the Western Yamuna Canal, it has fallen into disrepair and been restored several times. The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built an irrigation canal on the Yamuna River in the early 17th century. It fell into disuse until 1830, when it was reopened as the Eastern Yamuna Canal, under British control. The reopened canal became a model for the Upper Ganges Canal and all following canal projects. The first British canal in India (which did not have Indian antecedents) was the Ganges Canal built between 1842 and 1854. Contemplated first by Col. John Russell Colvin in 1836, it did not at first elicit much enthusiasm from its eventual architect Sir Proby Thomas Cautley, who balked at the idea of cutting a canal through extensive low-lying land to reach the drier upland destination. However, after the Agra famine of 1837–38, during which the East India Company's administration spent Rs. 2,300,000 on famine relief, the idea of a canal became more attractive to the company's budget-conscious Court of Directors. In 1839, the Governor General of India, Lord Auckland, with the Court's assent, granted funds to Cautley for a full survey of the swath of land that underlay and fringed the projected course of the canal. The Court of Directors, moreover, considerably enlarged the scope of the projected canal, which, in consequence of the severity and geographical extent of the famine, they now deemed to be the entire Doab region. The enthusiasm, however, proved to be short-lived. Auckland's successor as Governor-General, Lord Ellenborough, appeared less receptive to large-scale public works, and for the duration of his tenure, withheld major funds for the project. Only in 1844, when a new Governor-General, Lord Hardinge, was appointed, did official enthusiasm and funds return to the Ganges canal project. Although the intervening impasse had seemingly affected Cautley's health and required him to return to Britain in 1845 for recuperation, his European sojourn gave him an opportunity to study contemporary hydraulic works in the United Kingdom and Italy. By the time of his return to India even more supportive men were at the helm, both in the North-Western Provinces, with James Thomason as Lt. Governor, and in British India with Lord Dalhousie as Governor-General. Canal construction, under Cautley's supervision, now went into full swing. A long canal, with another of branch lines, eventually stretched between the headworks in Haridwar, splitting into two branches below Aligarh, and its two confluences with the Yamuna (Jumna in map) mainstem in Etawah and the Ganges in Kanpur (Cawnpore in map). The Ganges Canal, which required a total capital outlay of £2.15 million, was officially opened in 1854 by Lord Dalhousie. According to historian Ian Stone: It was the largest canal ever attempted in the world, five times greater in its length than all the main irrigation lines of Lombardy and Egypt put together, and longer by a third than even the largest USA navigation canal, the Pennsylvania Canal. Dams and barrages A major barrage at Farakka was opened on 21 April 1975, It is located close to the point where the main flow of the river enters Bangladesh, and the tributary Hooghly (also known as Bhagirathi) continues in West Bengal past Kolkata. This barrage, which feeds the Hooghly branch of the river by a long feeder canal, and its water flow management has been a long-lingering source of dispute with Bangladesh. Indo-Bangladesh Ganges Water Treaty signed in December 1996 addressed some of the water sharing issues between India and Bangladesh. There is Lav Khush Barrage across the River Ganges in Kanpur. Tehri Dam was constructed on Bhagirathi River, a tributary of the Ganges. It is located 1.5 km downstream of Ganesh Prayag, the place where Bhilangana meets Bhagirathi. Bhagirathi is called the Ganges after Devprayag. Construction of the dam in an earthquake-prone area was controversial. Bansagar Dam was built on the Sone River, a tributary of the Ganges for both irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. Ganges floodwaters along with Brahmaputra waters can be supplied to most of its right side basin area along with central and south India by constructing a coastal reservoir to store water on the Bay of Bengal sea area. Economy The Ganges Basin with its fertile soil is instrumental to the agricultural economies of India and Bangladesh. The Ganges and its tributaries provide a perennial source of irrigation to a large area. Chief crops cultivated in the area include rice, sugarcane, lentils, oil seeds, potatoes, and wheat. Along the banks of the river, the presence of swamps and lakes provides a rich growing area for crops such as legumes, chillies, mustard, sesame, sugarcane, and jute. There are also many fishing opportunities along the river, though it remains highly polluted. Also, the major industrial towns of Unnao and Kanpur, situated on the banks of the river with the predominance of tanning industries add to the pollution. Kanpur is the largest city on the Ganges. Tourism Tourism is another related activity. Three towns holy to Hinduism—Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayagraj), and Varanasi—attract millions of pilgrims to its waters to take a dip in the Ganges, which is believed to cleanse oneself of sins and help attain salvation. The rapids of the Ganges also are popular for river rafting in Rishikesh town, attracting adventure seekers in the summer months. Also, several cities such as Kanpur, Kolkata and Patna have developed riverfront walkways along the banks to attract tourists. Ecology and environment Human development, mostly agriculture, has replaced nearly all of the original natural vegetation of the Ganges basin. More than 95% of the upper Gangetic Plain has been degraded or converted to agriculture or urban areas. Only one large block of relatively intact habitat remains, running along the Himalayan foothills and including Rajaji National Park, Jim Corbett National Park, and Dudhwa National Park. As recently as the 16th and 17th centuries the upper Gangetic Plain harboured impressive populations of wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), Bengal tigers (Panthera t. tigris), Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), gaurs (Bos gaurus), barasinghas (Rucervus duvaucelii), sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) and Indian lions (Panthera leo leo). In the 21st century there are few large wild animals, mostly deer, wild boars, wildcats, and small numbers of Indian wolves, golden jackals, and red and Bengal foxes. Bengal tigers survive only in the Sundarbans area of the Ganges Delta. The Sundarbands freshwater swamp ecoregion, however, is nearly extinct. Threatened mammals in the upper Gangetic Plain include the tiger, elephant, sloth bear, and four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis). Many types of birds are found throughout the basin, such as myna, Psittacula parakeets, crows, kites, partridges, and fowls. Ducks and snipes migrate across the Himalayas during the winter, attracted in large numbers to wetland areas. There are no endemic birds in the upper Gangetic Plain. The great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) and lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus) are considered globally threatened. The natural forest of the upper Gangetic Plain has been so thoroughly eliminated it is difficult to assign a natural vegetation type with certainty. There are a few small patches of forest left, and they suggest that much of the upper plains may have supported a tropical moist deciduous forest with sal (Shorea robusta) as a climax species. A similar situation is found in the lower Gangetic Plain, which includes the lower Brahmaputra River. The lower plains contain more open forests, which tend to be dominated by Bombax ceiba in association with Albizzia procera, Duabanga grandiflora, and Sterculia vilosa. There are early seral forest communities that would eventually become dominated by the climax species sal (Shorea robusta) if forest succession was allowed to proceed. In most places forests fail to reach climax conditions due to human causes. The forests of the lower Gangetic Plain, despite thousands of years of human settlement, remained largely intact until the early 20th century. Today only about 3% of the ecoregion is under natural forest and only one large block, south of Varanasi, remains. There are over forty protected areas in the ecoregion, but over half of these are less than . The fauna of the lower Gangetic Plain is similar to the upper plains, with the addition of a number of other species such as the smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and the large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha). Fish It has been estimated that about 350 fish species live in the entire Ganges drainage, including several endemics. In a major 2007–2009 study of fish in the Ganges basin (including the river itself and its tributaries, but excluding the Brahmaputra and Meghna basins), a total of 143 fish species were recorded, including 10 non-native introduced species. The most diverse orders are Cypriniformes (barbs and allies), Siluriformes (catfish) and Perciformes (perciform fish), each comprising about 50%, 23% and 14% of the total fish species in the drainage. There are distinct differences between the different sections of the river basin, but Cyprinidae is the most diverse throughout. In the upper section (roughly equalling the basin parts in Uttarakhand) more than 50 species have been recorded and Cyprinidae alone accounts for almost 80% those, followed by Balitoridae (about 15.6%) and Sisoridae (about 12.2%). Sections of the Ganges basin at altitudes above above sea level are generally without fish. Typical genera approaching this altitude are Schizothorax, Tor, Barilius, Nemacheilus and Glyptothorax. About 100 species have been recorded from the middle section of the basin (roughly equalling the sections in Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar) and more than 55% of these are in family Cyprinidae, followed by Schilbeidae (about 10.6%) and Clupeidae (about 8.6%). The lower section (roughly equalling the basin in parts of Bihar and West Bengal) includes major floodplains and is home to almost 100 species. About 46% of these are in the family Cyprinidae, followed by Schilbeidae (about 11.4%) and Bagridae (about 9%). The Ganges basin supports major fisheries, but these have declined in recent decades. In the Allahabad region in the middle section of the basin, catches of carp fell from 424.91 metric tons in 1961–1968 to 38.58 metric tons in 2001–2006, and catches of catfish fell from 201.35 metric tons in 1961–1968 to 40.56 metric tons in 2001–2006. In the Patna region in the lower section of the basin, catches of carp fell from 383.2 metric tons to 118, and catfish from 373.8 metric tons to 194.48. Some of the fish commonly caught in fisheries include catla (Catla catla), golden mahseer (Tor putitora), tor mahseer (Tor tor), rohu (Labeo rohita), walking catfish (Clarias batrachus), pangas catfish (Pangasius pangasius), goonch catfish (Bagarius), snakeheads (Channa), bronze featherback (Notopterus notopterus) and milkfish (Chanos chanos). The Ganges basin is home to about 30 fish species that are listed as threatened with the primary issues being overfishing (sometimes illegal), pollution, water abstraction, siltation and invasive species. Among the threatened species is the critically endangered Ganges shark (Glyphis gangeticus). Several fish species migrate between different sections of the river, but these movements may be prevented by the building of dams. Crocodilians and turtles The main sections of the Ganges River are home to the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris), and the Ganges delta is home to the saltwater crocodile (C. porosus). Among the numerous aquatic and semi-aquatic turtles in the Ganges basin are the northern river terrapin (Batagur baska; only in the lowermost section of the basin), three-striped roofed turtle (B. dhongoka), red-crowned roofed turtle (B. kachuga), black pond turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii), Brahminy river turtle (Hardella thurjii), Indian black turtle (Melanochelys trijuga), Indian eyed turtle (Morenia petersi), brown roofed turtle (Pangshura smithii), Indian roofed turtle (Pangshura tecta), Indian tent turtle (Pangshura tentoria), Indian flapshell turtle (Lissemys punctata), Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle (Chitra indica), Indian softshell turtle (Nilssonia gangetica), Indian peacock softshell turtle (N. hurum) and Cantor's giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantorii; only in the lowermost section of Ganges basin). Most of these are seriously threatened. Ganges river dolphin The river's most famed faunal member is the freshwater Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica), which has been declared India's national aquatic animal. This dolphin used to exist in large schools near urban centres in both the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers but is now seriously threatened by pollution and dam construction. Their numbers have now dwindled to a quarter of their numbers of fifteen years before, and they have become extinct in the Ganges' main tributaries. A recent survey by the World Wildlife Fund found only 3,000 left in the water catchment of both river systems. The Ganges river dolphin is one of only five true freshwater dolphins in the world. The other four are the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) of the Yangtze River in China, now likely extinct; the Indus River dolphin of the Indus River in Pakistan; the Amazon river dolphin of the Amazon River in South America; and the Araguaian river dolphin (not considered a separate species until 2014) of the Araguaia–Tocantins basin in Brazil. There are several marine dolphins whose ranges include some freshwater habitats, but these five are the only dolphins who live only in freshwater rivers and lakes. Effects of climate change The Tibetan Plateau contains the world's third-largest store of ice. Qin Dahe, the former head of the China Meteorological Administration, said that the recent fast pace of melting and warmer temperatures will be good for agriculture and tourism in the short term; but issued a strong warning: In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its Fourth Report, stated that the Himalayan glaciers which feed the river were at risk of melting by 2035. The IPCC has now withdrawn that prediction, as the original source admitted that it was speculative and the cited source was not a peer-reviewed finding. In its statement, the IPCC stands by its general findings relating to the Himalayan glaciers being at risk from global warming (with consequent risks to water flow into the Gangetic basin). Many studies have suggested that climate change will affect the water resources in the Ganges river basin including increased summer (monsoon) flow, and peak runoff could result in an increased risk of flooding. Pollution and environmental concerns The Ganges suffers from extreme pollution levels, caused by the 400 million people who live close to the river. Sewage from many cities along the river's course, industrial waste and religious offerings wrapped in non-degradable plastics add large amounts of pollutants to the river as it flows through densely populated areas. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many poorer people rely on the river on a daily basis for bathing, washing, and cooking. The World Bank estimates that the health costs of water pollution in India equal three percent of India's GDP. It has also been suggested that eighty percent of all illnesses in India and one-third of deaths can be attributed to water-borne diseases. Varanasi, a city of one million people that many pilgrims visit to take a "holy dip" in the Ganges, releases around 200 million liters of untreated human sewage into the river each day, leading to large concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria. According to official standards, water safe for bathing should not contain more than 500 fecal coliforms per 100 ml, yet upstream of Varanasi's ghats the river water already contains 120 times as much, 60,000 fecal coliform bacteria per 100 ml. After the cremation of the deceased at Varanasi's ghats, the bones and ashes are thrown into the Ganges. However, in the past thousands of uncremated bodies were thrown into the Ganges during cholera epidemics, spreading the disease. Even today, holy men, pregnant women, people with leprosy or chicken pox, people who have been bitten by snakes, people who have committed suicide, the poor, and children under 5 are not cremated at the ghats but are left to float free, to decompose in the waters. In addition, those who cannot afford the large amount of wood needed to incinerate the entire body, leave behind a lot of half-burned body parts. After passing through Varanasi, and receiving 32 streams of raw sewage from the city, the concentration of fecal coliforms in the river's waters rises from 60,000 to 1.5 million, with observed peak values of 100 million per 100 ml. Drinking and bathing in its waters therefore carries a high risk of infection. Between 1985 and 2000, Rs. 10 billion, around US$226 million, or less than 4 cents per person per year, were spent on the Ganga Action Plan, an environmental initiative that was "the largest single attempt to clean up a polluted river anywhere in the world." The Ganga Action Plan has been described variously as a "failure", a "major failure". According to one study, The Ganga Action Plan, which was taken on priority and with much enthusiasm, was delayed for two years. The expenditure was almost doubled. But the result was not very appreciable. Much expenditure was done on political propaganda. The concerning governments and the related agencies were not very prompt to make it a success. The public of the areas was not taken into consideration. The release of urban and industrial wastes in the river was not controlled fully. The flowing of dirty water through drains and sewers were not adequately diverted. The continuing customs of burning dead bodies, throwing carcasses, washing of dirty clothes by washermen, and immersion of idols and cattle wallowing were not checked. Very little provision of public latrines was made and the open defecation of lakhs of people continued along the riverside. All these made the Action Plan a failure. The failure of the Ganga Action Plan has also been variously attributed to "environmental planning without proper understanding of the human-environment interactions," Indian "traditions and beliefs," "corruption and a lack of technical knowledge" and "lack of support from religious authorities." In December 2009 the World Bank agreed to loan India US$1 billion over the next five years to help save the river. According to 2010 Planning Commission estimates, an investment of almost Rs. 70 billion (Rs. 70 billion, approximately US$1.5 billion) is needed to clean up the river. In November 2008, the Ganges, alone among India's rivers, was declared a "National River", facilitating the formation of a National Ganga River Basin Authority that would have greater powers to plan, implement and monitor measures aimed at protecting the river. In July 2014, the Government of India announced an integrated Ganges-development project titled Namami Gange Programme and allocated 2,037 crore for this purpose. The main objectives of the Namami Gange project is to improve the water quality by the abatement of pollution and rejuvenation of river Ganga by creating infrastructures like sewage treatment plants, river surface cleaning, biodiversity conservation, afforestation, and public awareness. In March 2017 the High Court of Uttarakhand declared the Ganges River a legal "person", in a move that according to one newspaper, "could help in efforts to clean the pollution-choked rivers." , the ruling has been commented on in Indian newspapers to be hard to enforce, that experts do not anticipate immediate benefits, that the ruling is "hardly game changing," that experts believe "any follow-up action is unlikely," and that the "judgment is deficient to the extent it acted without hearing others (in states outside Uttarakhand) who have stakes in the matter." The incidence of water-borne and enteric diseases—such as gastrointestinal disease, cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid—among people who use the river's waters for bathing, washing dishes and brushing teeth is high, at an estimated 66% per year. Recent studies by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) say that the river is so full of killer pollutants that those living along its banks in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal are more prone to cancer than anywhere else in the country. Conducted by the National Cancer Registry Programme under the ICMR, the study throws up shocking findings indicating that the river is thick with heavy metals and lethal chemicals that cause cancer. According to Deputy Director-General of NCRP A. Nandkumar, the incidence of cancer was highest in the country in areas drained by the Ganges and stated that the problem would be studied deeply and with the findings presented in a report to the health ministry. Apart from that, many NGOs have come forward to rejuvenate the river Ganges. Vikrant Tongad, an Environmental specialist from SAFE Green filed a petition against Simbhaoli Sugar Mill (Hapur UP) to NGT. NGT slapped a fine of Rs. 5 crores to Sugar Mill also, a fine of 25 Lakhs to Gopaljee Dairy for discharging untreated effluents into the Simbhaoli drain. Water shortages Along with ever-increasing pollution, water shortages are getting noticeably worse. Some sections of the river are already completely dry. Around Varanasi, the river once had an average depth of , but in some places, it is now only . Mining Illegal mining in the Ganges river bed for stones and sand for construction work has long been a problem in Haridwar district, Uttarakhand, where it touches the plains for the first time. This is despite the fact that quarrying has been banned in Kumbh Mela area zone covering 140 km2 area in Haridwar. See also Environmental personhood Fair river sharing Ganga Pushkaram Gangaputra Brahmin Ganga Talao Ganga Lake (Mongolia) List of rivers by discharge List of rivers by length List of rivers of India Mahaweli Ganga National Waterway 1 Pollution of the Ganges River bank erosion along the Ganges in Malda and Murshidabad districts Sankat Mochan Foundation Ganga (goddess) Notes References Sources Further reading Christopher de Bellaigue, "The River" (the Ganges; review of Sunil Amrith, Unruly Waters: How Rains, Rivers, Coasts, and Seas Have Shaped Asia's History; Sudipta Sen, Ganges: The Many Pasts of an Indian River; and Victor Mallet, River of Life, River of Death: The Ganges and India's Future), The New York Review of Books'', vol. LXVI, no. 15 (10 October 2019), pp. 34–36. "[I]n 1951 the average Indian [inhabitant of India] had access annually to 5,200 cubic meters of water. The figure today is 1,400... and will probably fall below 1,000 cubic meters – the UN's definition of 'water scarcity' – at some point in the next few decades. Compounding the problem of lower summer rainfall... India's water table is in freefall [due] to an increase in the number of tube wells... Other contributors to India's seasonal dearth of water are canal leaks [and] the continued sowing of thirsty crops..." (p. 35.) External links Ganga in the Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909 Melting Glaciers Threaten Ganga The impacts of water infrastructure and climate change on the hydrology of the Upper Ganga River Basin IWMI research report The Ganges: A Journey into India (NPR) . International rivers of Asia Rivers of Bangladesh Rivers of India Bangladesh–India border Border rivers Sacred rivers Rivers of Bihar Rivers of Jharkhand Rivers of Delhi Rivers of Uttarakhand Rivers of Uttar Pradesh Rivers of West Bengal National symbols of India Rigvedic rivers Rivers in Buddhism Environmental personhood Braided rivers in India

A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly deform and flow under stresses induced by their weight, creating crevasses, seracs, and other distinguishing features. They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques, moraines, or fjords. Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that forms on the surface of bodies of water. On Earth, 99% of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets (also known as "continental glaciers") in the polar regions, but glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on every continent other than the Australian mainland, including Oceania's high-latitude oceanic island countries such as New Zealand. Between latitudes 35°N and 35°S, glaciers occur only in the Himalayas, Andes, and a few high mountains in East Africa, Mexico, New Guinea and on Zard Kuh in Iran. With more than 7,000 known glaciers, Pakistan has more glacial ice than any other country outside the polar regions. Glaciers cover about 10% of Earth's land surface. Continental glaciers cover nearly or about 98% of Antarctica's , with an average thickness of . Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers. The volume of glaciers, not including the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, has been estimated at 170,000 km3. Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, holding with ice sheets about 69 percent of the world's freshwater. Many glaciers from temperate, alpine and seasonal polar climates store water as ice during the colder seasons and release it later in the form of meltwater as warmer summer temperatures cause the glacier to melt, creating a water source that is especially important for plants, animals and human uses when other sources may be scant. However, within high-altitude and Antarctic environments, the seasonal temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater. Since glacial mass is affected by long-term climatic changes, e.g., precipitation, mean temperature, and cloud cover, glacial mass changes are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change and are a major source of variations in sea level. A large piece of compressed ice, or a glacier, appears blue, as large quantities of water appear blue. This is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue. The other reason for the blue color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles. Air bubbles, which give a white color to ice, are squeezed out by pressure increasing the created ice's density. Etymology and related terms The word glacier is a loanword from French and goes back, via Franco-Provençal, to the Vulgar Latin , derived from the Late Latin , and ultimately Latin , meaning "ice". The processes and features caused by or related to glaciers are referred to as glacial. The process of glacier establishment, growth and flow is called glaciation. The corresponding area of study is called glaciology. Glaciers are important components of the global cryosphere. Types Classification by size, shape and behavior Glaciers are categorized by their morphology, thermal characteristics, and behavior. Alpine glaciers form on the crests and slopes of mountains. A glacier that fills a valley is called a valley glacier, or alternatively, an alpine glacier or mountain glacier. A large body of glacial ice astride a mountain, mountain range, or volcano is termed an ice cap or ice field. Ice caps have an area less than by definition. Glacial bodies larger than are called ice sheets or continental glaciers. Several kilometers deep, they obscure the underlying topography. Only nunataks protrude from their surfaces. The only extant ice sheets are the two that cover most of Antarctica and Greenland. They contain vast quantities of freshwater, enough that if both melted, global sea levels would rise by over . Portions of an ice sheet or cap that extend into water are called ice shelves; they tend to be thin with limited slopes and reduced velocities. Narrow, fast-moving sections of an ice sheet are called ice streams. In Antarctica, many ice streams drain into large ice shelves. Some drain directly into the sea, often with an ice tongue, like Mertz Glacier. Tidewater glaciers are glaciers that terminate in the sea, including most glaciers flowing from Greenland, Antarctica, Baffin, Devon, and Ellesmere Islands in Canada, Southeast Alaska, and the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Fields. As the ice reaches the sea, pieces break off or calve, forming icebergs. Most tidewater glaciers calve above sea level, which often results in a tremendous impact as the iceberg strikes the water. Tidewater glaciers undergo centuries-long cycles of advance and retreat that are much less affected by climate change than other glaciers. Classification by thermal state Thermally, a temperate glacier is at a melting point throughout the year, from its surface to its base. The ice of a polar glacier is always below the freezing threshold from the surface to its base, although the surface snowpack may experience seasonal melting. A subpolar glacier includes both temperate and polar ice, depending on the depth beneath the surface and position along the length of the glacier. In a similar way, the thermal regime of a glacier is often described by its basal temperature. A cold-based glacier is below freezing at the ice-ground interface and is thus frozen to the underlying substrate. A warm-based glacier is above or at freezing at the interface and is able to slide at this contact. This contrast is thought to a large extent to govern the ability of a glacier to effectively erode its bed, as sliding ice promotes plucking at rock from the surface below. Glaciers which are partly cold-based and partly warm-based are known as polythermal. Formation Glaciers form where the accumulation of snow and ice exceeds ablation. A glacier usually originates from a cirque landform (alternatively known as a "corrie" or as a "cwm") – a typically armchair-shaped geological feature (such as a depression between mountains enclosed by arêtes) – which collects and compresses through gravity the snow that falls into it. This snow accumulates and the weight of the snow falling above compacts it, forming névé (granular snow). Further crushing of the individual snowflakes and squeezing the air from the snow turns it into "glacial ice". This glacial ice will fill the cirque until it "overflows" through a geological weakness or vacancy, such as a gap between two mountains. When the mass of snow and ice reaches sufficient thickness, it begins to move by a combination of surface slope, gravity, and pressure. On steeper slopes, this can occur with as little as 15 m (50  ft) of snow-ice. In temperate glaciers, snow repeatedly freezes and thaws, changing into granular ice called firn. Under the pressure of the layers of ice and snow above it, this granular ice fuses into denser firn. Over a period of years, layers of firn undergo further compaction and become glacial ice. Glacier ice is slightly more dense than ice formed from frozen water because glacier ice contains fewer trapped air bubbles. Glacial ice has a distinctive blue tint because it absorbs some red light due to an overtone of the infrared OH stretching mode of the water molecule. (Liquid water appears blue for the same reason. The blue of glacier ice is sometimes misattributed to Rayleigh scattering of bubbles in the ice.) Structure A glacier originates at a location called its glacier head and terminates at its glacier foot, snout, or terminus. Glaciers are broken into zones based on surface snowpack and melt conditions. The ablation zone is the region where there is a net loss in glacier mass. The upper part of a glacier, where accumulation exceeds ablation, is called the accumulation zone. The equilibrium line separates the ablation zone and the accumulation zone; it is the contour where the amount of new snow gained by accumulation is equal to the amount of ice lost through ablation. In general, the accumulation zone accounts for 60–70% of the glacier's surface area, more if the glacier calves icebergs. Ice in the accumulation zone is deep enough to exert a downward force that erodes underlying rock. After a glacier melts, it often leaves behind a bowl- or amphitheater-shaped depression that ranges in size from large basins like the Great Lakes to smaller mountain depressions known as cirques. The accumulation zone can be subdivided based on its melt conditions. The dry snow zone is a region where no melt occurs, even in the summer, and the snowpack remains dry. The percolation zone is an area with some surface melt, causing meltwater to percolate into the snowpack. This zone is often marked by refrozen ice lenses, glands, and layers. The snowpack also never reaches the melting point. Near the equilibrium line on some glaciers, a superimposed ice zone develops. This zone is where meltwater refreezes as a cold layer in the glacier, forming a continuous mass of ice. The wet snow zone is the region where all of the snow deposited since the end of the previous summer has been raised to 0 °C. The health of a glacier is usually assessed by determining the glacier mass balance or observing terminus behavior. Healthy glaciers have large accumulation zones, more than 60% of their area is snow-covered at the end of the melt season, and they have a terminus with a vigorous flow. Following the Little Ice Age's end around 1850, glaciers around the Earth have retreated substantially. A slight cooling led to the advance of many alpine glaciers between 1950 and 1985, but since 1985 glacier retreat and mass loss has become larger and increasingly ubiquitous. Motion Glaciers move, or flow, downhill by the force of gravity and the internal deformation of ice. Ice behaves like a brittle solid until its thickness exceeds about 50 m (160 ft). The pressure on ice deeper than 50 m causes plastic flow. At the molecular level, ice consists of stacked layers of molecules with relatively weak bonds between layers. When the stress on the layer above exceeds the inter-layer binding strength, it moves faster than the layer below. Glaciers also move through basal sliding. In this process, a glacier slides over the terrain on which it sits, lubricated by the presence of liquid water. The water is created from ice that melts under high pressure from frictional heating. Basal sliding is dominant in temperate or warm-based glaciers. Although evidence in favor of glacial flow was known by the early 19th century, other theories of glacial motion were advanced, such as the idea that meltwater, refreezing inside glaciers, caused the glacier to dilate and extend its length. As it became clear that glaciers behaved to some degree as if the ice were a viscous fluid, it was argued that "regelation", or the melting and refreezing of ice at a temperature lowered by the pressure on the ice inside the glacier, was what allowed the ice to deform and flow. James Forbes came up with the essentially correct explanation in the 1840s, although it was several decades before it was fully accepted. Fracture zone and cracks The top of a glacier are rigid because they are under low pressure. This upper section is known as the fracture zone and moves mostly as a single unit over the plastic-flowing lower section. When a glacier moves through irregular terrain, cracks called crevasses develop in the fracture zone. Crevasses form because of differences in glacier velocity. If two rigid sections of a glacier move at different speeds or directions, shear forces cause them to break apart, opening a crevasse. Crevasses are seldom more than deep but, in some cases, can be at least deep. Beneath this point, the plasticity of the ice prevents the formation of cracks. Intersecting crevasses can create isolated peaks in the ice, called seracs. Crevasses can form in several different ways. Transverse crevasses are transverse to flow and form where steeper slopes cause a glacier to accelerate. Longitudinal crevasses form semi-parallel to flow where a glacier expands laterally. Marginal crevasses form near the edge of the glacier, caused by the reduction in speed caused by friction of the valley walls. Marginal crevasses are largely transverse to flow. Moving glacier ice can sometimes separate from the stagnant ice above, forming a bergschrund. Bergschrunds resemble crevasses but are singular features at a glacier's margins. Crevasses make travel over glaciers hazardous, especially when they are hidden by fragile snow bridges. Below the equilibrium line, glacial meltwater is concentrated in stream channels. Meltwater can pool in proglacial lakes on top of a glacier or descend into the depths of a glacier via moulins. Streams within or beneath a glacier flow in englacial or sub-glacial tunnels. These tunnels sometimes reemerge at the glacier's surface. Speed The speed of glacial displacement is partly determined by friction. Friction makes the ice at the bottom of the glacier move more slowly than ice at the top. In alpine glaciers, friction is also generated at the valley's sidewalls, which slows the edges relative to the center. Mean glacial speed varies greatly but is typically around per day. There may be no motion in stagnant areas; for example, in parts of Alaska, trees can establish themselves on surface sediment deposits. In other cases, glaciers can move as fast as per day, such as in Greenland's Jakobshavn Isbræ. Glacial speed is affected by factors such as slope, ice thickness, snowfall, longitudinal confinement, basal temperature, meltwater production, and bed hardness. A few glaciers have periods of very rapid advancement called surges. These glaciers exhibit normal movement until suddenly they accelerate, then return to their previous movement state. These surges may be caused by the failure of the underlying bedrock, the pooling of meltwater at the base of the glacier — perhaps delivered from a supraglacial lake — or the simple accumulation of mass beyond a critical "tipping point". Temporary rates up to per day have occurred when increased temperature or overlying pressure caused bottom ice to melt and water to accumulate beneath a glacier. In glaciated areas where the glacier moves faster than one km per year, glacial earthquakes occur. These are large scale earthquakes that have seismic magnitudes as high as 6.1. The number of glacial earthquakes in Greenland peaks every year in July, August, and September and increased rapidly in the 1990s and 2000s. In a study using data from January 1993 through October 2005, more events were detected every year since 2002, and twice as many events were recorded in 2005 as there were in any other year. Ogives Ogives (or Forbes bands) are alternating wave crests and valleys that appear as dark and light bands of ice on glacier surfaces. They are linked to seasonal motion of glaciers; the width of one dark and one light band generally equals the annual movement of the glacier. Ogives are formed when ice from an icefall is severely broken up, increasing ablation surface area during summer. This creates a swale and space for snow accumulation in the winter, which in turn creates a ridge. Sometimes ogives consist only of undulations or color bands and are described as wave ogives or band ogives. Geography Glaciers are present on every continent and in approximately fifty countries, excluding those (Australia, South Africa) that have glaciers only on distant subantarctic island territories. Extensive glaciers are found in Antarctica, Argentina, Chile, Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Iceland. Mountain glaciers are widespread, especially in the Andes, the Himalayas, the Rocky Mountains, the Caucasus, Scandinavian mountains, and the Alps. Snezhnika glacier in Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria with a latitude of 41°46′09″ N is the southernmost glacial mass in Europe. Mainland Australia currently contains no glaciers, although a small glacier on Mount Kosciuszko was present in the last glacial period. In New Guinea, small, rapidly diminishing, glaciers are located on Puncak Jaya. Africa has glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on Mount Kenya, and in the Rwenzori Mountains. Oceanic islands with glaciers include Iceland, several of the islands off the coast of Norway including Svalbard and Jan Mayen to the far north, New Zealand and the subantarctic islands of Marion, Heard, Grande Terre (Kerguelen) and Bouvet. During glacial periods of the Quaternary, Taiwan, Hawaii on Mauna Kea and Tenerife also had large alpine glaciers, while the Faroe and Crozet Islands were completely glaciated. The permanent snow cover necessary for glacier formation is affected by factors such as the degree of slope on the land, amount of snowfall and the winds. Glaciers can be found in all latitudes except from 20° to 27° north and south of the equator where the presence of the descending limb of the Hadley circulation lowers precipitation so much that with high insolation snow lines reach above . Between 19˚N and 19˚S, however, precipitation is higher, and the mountains above usually have permanent snow. Even at high latitudes, glacier formation is not inevitable. Areas of the Arctic, such as Banks Island, and the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are considered polar deserts where glaciers cannot form because they receive little snowfall despite the bitter cold. Cold air, unlike warm air, is unable to transport much water vapor. Even during glacial periods of the Quaternary, Manchuria, lowland Siberia, and central and northern Alaska, though extraordinarily cold, had such light snowfall that glaciers could not form. In addition to the dry, unglaciated polar regions, some mountains and volcanoes in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina are high () and cold, but the relative lack of precipitation prevents snow from accumulating into glaciers. This is because these peaks are located near or in the hyperarid Atacama Desert. Glacial geology Glaciers erode terrain through two principal processes: abrasion and plucking. As glaciers flow over bedrock, they soften and lift blocks of rock into the ice. This process, called plucking, is caused by subglacial water that penetrates fractures in the bedrock and subsequently freezes and expands. This expansion causes the ice to act as a lever that loosens the rock by lifting it. Thus, sediments of all sizes become part of the glacier's load. If a retreating glacier gains enough debris, it may become a rock glacier, like the Timpanogos Glacier in Utah. Abrasion occurs when the ice and its load of rock fragments slide over bedrock and function as sandpaper, smoothing and polishing the bedrock below. The pulverized rock this process produces is called rock flour and is made up of rock grains between 0.002 and 0.00625 mm in size. Abrasion leads to steeper valley walls and mountain slopes in alpine settings, which can cause avalanches and rock slides, which add even more material to the glacier. Glacial abrasion is commonly characterized by glacial striations. Glaciers produce these when they contain large boulders that carve long scratches in the bedrock. By mapping the direction of the striations, researchers can determine the direction of the glacier's movement. Similar to striations are chatter marks, lines of crescent-shape depressions in the rock underlying a glacier. They are formed by abrasion when boulders in the glacier are repeatedly caught and released as they are dragged along the bedrock. The rate of glacier erosion varies. Six factors control erosion rate: Velocity of glacial movement Thickness of the ice Shape, abundance and hardness of rock fragments contained in the ice at the bottom of the glacier Relative ease of erosion of the surface under the glacier Thermal conditions at the glacier base Permeability and water pressure at the glacier base When the bedrock has frequent fractures on the surface, glacial erosion rates tend to increase as plucking is the main erosive force on the surface; when the bedrock has wide gaps between sporadic fractures, however, abrasion tends to be the dominant erosive form and glacial erosion rates become slow. Glaciers in lower latitudes tend to be much more erosive than glaciers in higher latitudes, because they have more meltwater reaching the glacial base and facilitate sediment production and transport under the same moving speed and amount of ice. Material that becomes incorporated in a glacier is typically carried as far as the zone of ablation before being deposited. Glacial deposits are of two distinct types: Glacial till: material directly deposited from glacial ice. Till includes a mixture of undifferentiated material ranging from clay size to boulders, the usual composition of a moraine. Fluvial and outwash sediments: sediments deposited by water. These deposits are stratified by size. Larger pieces of rock that are encrusted in till or deposited on the surface are called "glacial erratics". They range in size from pebbles to boulders, but as they are often moved great distances, they may be drastically different from the material upon which they are found. Patterns of glacial erratics hint at past glacial motions. Moraines Glacial moraines are formed by the deposition of material from a glacier and are exposed after the glacier has retreated. They usually appear as linear mounds of till, a non-sorted mixture of rock, gravel, and boulders within a matrix of fine powdery material. Terminal or end moraines are formed at the foot or terminal end of a glacier. Lateral moraines are formed on the sides of the glacier. Medial moraines are formed when two different glaciers merge and the lateral moraines of each coalesce to form a moraine in the middle of the combined glacier. Less apparent are ground moraines, also called glacial drift, which often blankets the surface underneath the glacier downslope from the equilibrium line. The term moraine is of French origin. It was coined by peasants to describe alluvial embankments and rims found near the margins of glaciers in the French Alps. In modern geology, the term is used more broadly and is applied to a series of formations, all of which are composed of till. Moraines can also create moraine-dammed lakes. Drumlins Drumlins are asymmetrical, canoe-shaped hills made mainly of till. Their heights vary from 15 to 50 meters, and they can reach a kilometer in length. The steepest side of the hill faces the direction from which the ice advanced (stoss), while a longer slope is left in the ice's direction of movement (lee). Drumlins are found in groups called drumlin fields or drumlin camps. One of these fields is found east of Rochester, New York; it is estimated to contain about 10,000 drumlins. Although the process that forms drumlins is not fully understood, their shape implies that they are products of the plastic deformation zone of ancient glaciers. It is believed that many drumlins were formed when glaciers advanced over and altered the deposits of earlier glaciers. Glacial valleys, cirques, arêtes, and pyramidal peaks Before glaciation, mountain valleys have a characteristic "V" shape, produced by eroding water. During glaciation, these valleys are often widened, deepened and smoothed to form a "U"-shaped glacial valley or glacial trough, as it is sometimes called. The erosion that creates glacial valleys truncates any spurs of rock or earth that may have earlier extended across the valley, creating broadly triangular-shaped cliffs called truncated spurs. Within glacial valleys, depressions created by plucking and abrasion can be filled by lakes, called paternoster lakes. If a glacial valley runs into a large body of water, it forms a fjord. Typically glaciers deepen their valleys more than their smaller tributaries. Therefore, when glaciers recede, the valleys of the tributary glaciers remain above the main glacier's depression and are called hanging valleys. At the start of a classic valley glacier is a bowl-shaped cirque, which has escarped walls on three sides but is open on the side that descends into the valley. Cirques are where ice begins to accumulate in a glacier. Two glacial cirques may form back to back and erode their backwalls until only a narrow ridge, called an arête is left. This structure may result in a mountain pass. If multiple cirques encircle a single mountain, they create pointed pyramidal peaks; particularly steep examples are called horns. Roches moutonnées Passage of glacial ice over an area of bedrock may cause the rock to be sculpted into a knoll called a roche moutonnée, or "sheepback" rock. Roches moutonnées may be elongated, rounded and asymmetrical in shape. They range in length from less than a meter to several hundred meters long. Roches moutonnées have a gentle slope on their up-glacier sides and a steep to vertical face on their down-glacier sides. The glacier abrades the smooth slope on the upstream side as it flows along, but tears rock fragments loose and carries them away from the downstream side via plucking. Alluvial stratification As the water that rises from the ablation zone moves away from the glacier, it carries fine eroded sediments with it. As the speed of the water decreases, so does its capacity to carry objects in suspension. The water thus gradually deposits the sediment as it runs, creating an alluvial plain. When this phenomenon occurs in a valley, it is called a valley train. When the deposition is in an estuary, the sediments are known as bay mud. Outwash plains and valley trains are usually accompanied by basins known as "kettles". These are small lakes formed when large ice blocks that are trapped in alluvium melt and produce water-filled depressions. Kettle diameters range from 5 m to 13 km, with depths of up to 45 meters. Most are circular in shape because the blocks of ice that formed them were rounded as they melted. Glacial deposits When a glacier's size shrinks below a critical point, its flow stops and it becomes stationary. Meanwhile, meltwater within and beneath the ice leaves stratified alluvial deposits. These deposits, in the forms of columns, terraces and clusters, remain after the glacier melts and are known as "glacial deposits". Glacial deposits that take the shape of hills or mounds are called kames. Some kames form when meltwater deposits sediments through openings in the interior of the ice. Others are produced by fans or deltas created by meltwater. When the glacial ice occupies a valley, it can form terraces or kames along the sides of the valley. Long, sinuous glacial deposits are called eskers. Eskers are composed of sand and gravel that was deposited by meltwater streams that flowed through ice tunnels within or beneath a glacier. They remain after the ice melts, with heights exceeding 100 meters and lengths of as long as 100 km. Loess deposits Very fine glacial sediments or rock flour is often picked up by wind blowing over the bare surface and may be deposited great distances from the original fluvial deposition site. These eolian loess deposits may be very deep, even hundreds of meters, as in areas of China and the Midwestern United States. Katabatic winds can be important in this process. Climate change Glaciers are a valuable resource for tracking climate change over long periods of time because they can be hundreds of thousands of years old. To study the patterns over time through glaciers, ice cores are taken, providing continuous information including evidence for climate change, trapped in the ice for scientists to break down and study. Glaciers are studied to give information about the history of climate change due to natural or human causes. Human activity has caused an increase in greenhouse gases creating a global warming trend, causing these valuable glaciers to melt. Glaciers have an albedo effect and the melting of glaciers means less albedo. In the Alps the summer of 2003 was compared to the summer of 1988. Between 1998 and 2003 the albedo value is 0.2 lower in 2003. When glaciers begin to melt, they also cause a rise in sea level, "which in turn increases coastal erosion and elevates storm surge as warming air and ocean temperatures create more frequent and intense coastal storms like hurricanes and typhoons." Thus, human causes to climate change creates a positive feedback loop with the glaciers: The rise in temperature causes more glacier melt, leading to less albedo, higher sea levels and many other climate issues to follow. From 1972 all the way up to 2019 NASA has used a Landsat satellite that has been used to record glaciers in Alaska, Greenland and Antarctica. This Landsat project has found that since around 2000, glacier retreat has increased substantially. Isostatic rebound Large masses, such as ice sheets or glaciers, can depress the crust of the Earth into the mantle. The depression usually totals a third of the ice sheet or glacier's thickness. After the ice sheet or glacier melts, the mantle begins to flow back to its original position, pushing the crust back up. This post-glacial rebound, which proceeds very slowly after the melting of the ice sheet or glacier, is currently occurring in measurable amounts in Scandinavia and the Great Lakes region of North America. A geomorphological feature created by the same process on a smaller scale is known as dilation-faulting. It occurs where previously compressed rock is allowed to return to its original shape more rapidly than can be maintained without faulting. This leads to an effect similar to what would be seen if the rock were hit by a large hammer. Dilation faulting can be observed in recently de-glaciated parts of Iceland and Cumbria. On Mars The polar ice caps of Mars show geologic evidence of glacial deposits. The south polar cap is especially comparable to glaciers on Earth. Topographical features and computer models indicate the existence of more glaciers in Mars' past. At mid-latitudes, between 35° and 65° north or south, Martian glaciers are affected by the thin Martian atmosphere. Because of the low atmospheric pressure, ablation near the surface is solely caused by sublimation, not melting. As on Earth, many glaciers are covered with a layer of rocks which insulates the ice. A radar instrument on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter found ice under a thin layer of rocks in formations called lobate debris aprons (LDAs). The pictures below illustrate how landscape features on Mars closely resemble those on the Earth. Maps location of glaciers according to GLIMS ID, identifier assigned to glaciers by the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space service at NSIDC. See also Notes References An excellent less-technical treatment of all aspects, with superb photographs and firsthand accounts of glaciologists' experiences. All images of this book can be found online (see Weblinks: Glaciers-online) An undergraduate-level textbook. A textbook for undergraduates avoiding mathematical complexities A textbook devoted to explaining the geography of our planet. A comprehensive reference on the physical principles underlying formation and behavior. Further reading Moon, Twila. Saying goodbye to glaciers, Science, 12 May 2017, Vol. 356, Issue 6338, pp. 580–581, External links , a report in the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) series. Glacial structures – photo atlas NOW on PBS "On Thin Ice" Photo project tracks changes in Himalayan glaciers since 1921 Short radio episode California Glaciers from The Mountains of California by John Muir, 1894. California Legacy Project Dynamics of Glaciers GletscherVergleiche.ch – Before/After Images by Simon Oberli Glaciology Bodies of ice Montane ecology

Giulio Alberoni (30 May 1664 OS – 26 June NS 1752) was an Italian cardinal and statesman in the service of Philip V of Spain. He is known also for being a remarkable soldier and great gourmet who advised the Spanish court on table manners and menus. Early years He was born near Piacenza, probably at the village of Fiorenzuola d'Arda in the Duchy of Parma. His father was a gardener, and he himself became first connected with the church in the humble position of a bellringer and verger in the Duomo of Piacenza; he was twenty-one when the judge Ignazio Gardini, of Ravenna, was banished, and he followed Gardini to Ravenna, where he met the vice-legate Giorgio Barni, who was made bishop of Piacenza in 1688 and appointed Alberoni chamberlain of his household. Alberoni took priest's orders, and afterwards accompanied the son of his patron to Rome. During the War of the Spanish Succession Alberoni laid the foundation of his political success by the services he rendered to Louis-Joseph, duc de Vendôme, commander of the French forces in Italy, to whom the duke of Parma had sent him. That a low-ranking priest was used as envoy was due to the duke's rude manners: the previous envoy, the bishop of Parma, had quit because the duke had wiped his buttocks in front of him: Saint-Simon in his Mémoires relates that Alberoni gained Vendôme's favor when he was received in the same way, but reacted adroitly by kissing the duke's buttocks and crying "O culo di angelo!". The duke was amused, and this joke started Alberoni's brilliant career. When the French forces were recalled in 1706, he accompanied the duke to Paris, where he was favourably received by Louis XIV. Middle years Alberoni accompanied Vendôme to Spain as his secretary and became very active in promoting the cause of the French candidate Philip V. Following Vendôme's death, in 1713 he was made a Count and appointed Consular agent for Parma at Philip's court where he was a Royal favourite. Under the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, Philip became King of Spain but the Spanish Empire was effectively partitioned. The Southern Netherlands and their Italian possessions were ceded to the Austrian Habsburgs and Savoy, Menorca and Gibraltar went to Britain while British merchants gained trading rights in the previously closed market of the Spanish Americas. At this time, the key powerbroker at the Spanish court was Marie-Anne de la Trémoille, princesse des Ursins who dominated Phillip and his wife Maria Luisa of Savoy. Alberoni worked with her and when Maria Luisa died in 1714 they arranged for Philip to marry Elisabetta Farnese, daughter of the Duke of Parma. Elisabetta was a strong personality herself and formed an alliance with Alberoni, their first action being to banish the Princesse des Ursins. By the end of 1715, Alberoni had been made a Duke and Grandee of Spain, a member of the King's council, Bishop of Málaga and Chief Minister of the Hispanic Monarchy. In July 1717, Pope Clement XI appointed him Cardinal, allegedly because of his assistance in resolving several ecclesiastical disputes between Rome and Madrid in favour of Rome. One outcome of the war was to reduce the powers of Castile and Aragon and create a Spanish state similar to the centralised French system. This allowed Alberoni to copy the economic reforms of Colbert and he passed a series of decrees aimed at restoring the Spanish economy. These abolished internal custom-houses, promoted trade with the Americas, instituted a regular mail service to the colonies and reorganised state finances along lines established by the French economist Jean Orry. Some attempts were made to satisfy Spanish conservatives e.g. a new School of Navigation was reserved for the sons of the nobility. These reforms made Spain confident enough to attempt the recovery of territories in Italy ceded to Savoy and Charles VI of Austria. In 1717, a Spanish force occupied Sardinia unopposed; neither Austria or Savoy had significant naval forces and Austria was engaged in the Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18. This assumed the British would not intervene but when 38,000 Spanish troops landed on Sicily in 1718, Britain declared it a violation of Utrecht. On 2 August 1718, Britain, France, the Netherlands and the Austrians formed the Quadruple Alliance and on 11 August the Royal Navy destroyed a Spanish fleet off Sicily at the Battle of Cape Passaro. Alberoni now attempted to offset British in the Mediterranean by sponsoring a Jacobite landing to divert their naval resources; he also sought to end the 1716 Anglo-French Alliance by using the Cellamare conspiracy to replace the current French Regent the Duke of Orleans with Phillip of Spain. However, he failed to appreciate that Britain was now powerful enough to maintain naval superiority in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic while France declared war on Spain in December 1718 on discovery of the Conspiracy. France invaded eastern Spain and in October 1719 a British naval expedition captured the Spanish port of Vigo; they landed 6,000 troops, held Vigo for ten days, destroyed vast quantities of stores and equipment and then re-embarked unopposed. The nearby city of Santiago de Compostela even paid £40,000 in return for being left alone. As intended, this was a crushing demonstration of British naval power and showed the Spanish Britain could land anywhere along their coastline and leave when they wanted to. The failure of his policy meant Alberoni was dismissed on 5 December 1719 and ordered to leave Spain, with the Treaty of The Hague in 1720 confirming the outcome of Utrecht. Later years He went to Italy, escaped from arrest at Genoa, and had to take refuge among the Apennines, Pope Clement XI, who was his bitter enemy, having given strict orders for his arrest. On the death of Clement in 1721, Alberoni boldly appeared at the conclave, and took part in the election of Innocent XIII, after which he was for a short time imprisoned by the new pontiff on the demand of Spain on charges including sodomy (Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatine noted in her diaries that he was a pederast). He was ultimately cleared by a commission of his fellow Cardinals. At the next election (1724) he was himself proposed for the papal chair, and secured ten votes at the conclave that elected Benedict XIII. Benedict's successor, Clement XII (elected 1730), named him legate of Ravenna, where he erected the Porta Alberoni (1739), a magnificent gateway that formerly provided access to the city's dockyards, and has since been moved to the entrance of the Teatro Rasi. That same year, the strong and unwarrantable measures he adopted to subject the grand republic of San Marino to the papal states incurred the pope's displeasure, and left a historical scar in that place's memory. He was soon replaced by another legate in 1740, and he retired to Piacenza, where in 1730 Clement XII appointed him administrator of the hospital of San Lazzaro, a medieval foundation for the benefit of lepers. Since leprosy had nearly disappeared in Italy, Alberoni obtained the consent of the pope to suppress the hospital, which had fallen into great disorder, and replaced it with a seminary for the priestly education of seventy poor boys, under the name of the Collegio Alberoni, which it still bears. The Cardinal's collections of art gathered in Rome and Piacenza, housed in his richly appointed private apartments, have been augmented by the Collegio. There are remarkable suites of Flemish tapestries, and paintings, among which the most famous is the Ecce Homo by Antonello da Messina (1473), but which also include panels by Jan Provoost and other Flemish artists, oil paintings by Domenico Maria Viani and Francesco Solimena. Alberoni was a gourmet. Interspersed in his official correspondence with Parma are requests for local delicacies triffole (truffles), salame, robiola cheeses, and agnolini (kind of pasta). The pork dish "Coppa del Cardinale", a specialty of Piacenza, is named for him. A "timballo Alberoni" combines maccaroni, shrimp sauce, mushrooms, butter and cheese. Death and legacy He died leaving a sum of 600,000 ducats to endow the seminary he had founded. He left the rest of the immense wealth he had acquired in Spain to his nephew. Alberoni produced many manuscripts. The genuineness of the Political Testament, published in his name at Lausanne in 1753, has been questioned. References and sources References Sources Kuethe, Allan J. "Cardinal Alberoni and Reform in the American Empire." in Francisco A. Eissa-Barroso y Ainara Vázquez Varela, eds. Early Bourbon Spanish America. Politics and Society in a forgotten Era (1700–1759) (Brill, 2013): 23–38. Catholic Encyclopedia: Giulio Alberoni Catholic Hierarchy: Giulio Cardinal Alberoni Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Conclave of 31 March – 8 May 1724 Collegio Alberoni, Piacenza The San Marino event of 1739–40 1664 births 1752 deaths People from Fiorenzuola d'Arda 18th-century Italian cardinals Grandees of Spain

The Gospel according to Matthew (), also called the Gospel of Matthew or simply Matthew, is the first book of the New Testament and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and forms a community of disciples, of how he taught the people through such events as the Sermon on the Mount and its Beatitudes, and how Israel becomes divided and how Jesus condemns this hostile Israel. This culminates in his departure from the Temple and his execution. At this point the whole people reject Jesus, and on his resurrection he instead sends the disciples to the gentiles. Matthew seems to emphasize that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile. The gospel reflects the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees with the position that through their rejection of Christ, the Kingdom of God has been taken away from them and given instead to the church. The divine nature of Jesus was a major issue for the Matthaean community, the crucial element separating the early Christians from their Jewish neighbors; while Mark begins with Jesus' baptism and temptations, Matthew goes back to Jesus' origins, showing him as the Son of God from his birth, the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The title Son of David identifies Jesus as the healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel (it is used exclusively in relation to miracles), sent to Israel alone. As Son of Man he will return to judge the world, an expectation which his disciples recognize but of which his enemies are unaware. As Son of God, God is revealing himself through his son, and Jesus proving his sonship through his obedience and example. Most scholars believe the gospel was composed between AD 80 and 90, with a range of possibility between AD 70 to 110; a pre-70 date remains a minority view. The work does not identify its author, and the early tradition attributing it to the apostle Matthew is rejected by modern scholars. He was probably a male Jew, standing on the margin between traditional and non-traditional Jewish values, and familiar with technical legal aspects of scripture being debated in his time. Writing in a polished Semitic "synagogue Greek", he drew on the Gospel of Mark as a source, plus the hypothetical collection of sayings known as the Q source (material shared with Luke but not with Mark) and material unique to his own community, called the M source or "Special Matthew". Composition Composition The traditional attribution to the apostle Matthew is rejected by modern scholars, and the majority view today is that the author was an anonymous male Jew writing in the last quarter of the 1st century familiar with technical legal aspects of scripture, and standing on the margin between traditional and non-traditional Jewish values. The majority also believe that Mark was the first gospel to be composed and that Matthew (who includes some 600 of Mark's 661 verses) and Luke both drew upon it as a major source for their works. The author of Matthew did not, however, simply copy Mark, but used it as a base, emphasizing Jesus' place in the Jewish tradition and including details not found in Mark. Early Christian tradition, first attested by Papias of Hierapolis (attestation dated c. 125 AD), attributes the gospel to the apostle Matthew, but this is rejected by modern scholars. There are an additional 220 (approximately) verses, shared by Matthew and Luke but not found in Mark, from a second source, a hypothetical collection of sayings to which scholars give the name "Quelle" ("source" in the German language), or the Q source. This view, known as the two-source hypothesis (Mark and Q), allows for a further body of tradition known as "Special Matthew", or the M source, meaning material unique to Matthew; this may represent a separate source, or it may come from the author's church, or he may have composed these verses himself. The author also had the Greek scriptures at his disposal, both as book-scrolls (Greek translations of Isaiah, the Psalms etc.) and in the form of "testimony collections" (collections of excerpts), and the oral stories of his community. Setting The majority view argues that the gospel of Matthew is a work of the second generation of Christians, for whom the defining event was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans in AD 70 in the course of the First Jewish–Roman War (AD 66–73); from this point on, what had begun with Jesus of Nazareth as a Jewish messianic movement became an increasingly gentile phenomenon evolving in time into a separate religion. The community to which Matthew belonged, like many 1st-century Christians, was still part of the larger Jewish community: hence the designation Jewish Christian to describe them. The relationship of Matthew to this wider world of Judaism remains a subject of study and contention, the principal question being to what extent, if any, Matthew's community had cut itself off from its Jewish roots. Certainly there was conflict between Matthew's group and other Jewish groups, and it is generally agreed that the root of the conflict was the Matthew community's belief in Jesus as the Messiah and authoritative interpreter of the law, as one risen from the dead and uniquely endowed with divine authority. The author wrote for a community of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians located probably in Syria (Antioch, the largest city in Roman Syria and the third-largest in the empire, is often mentioned). Unlike Mark, Matthew never bothers to explain Jewish customs, since his intended audience was a Jewish one; unlike Luke, who traces Jesus' ancestry back to Adam, father of the human race, he traces it only to Abraham, father of the Jews; of his three presumed sources only "M", the material from his own community, refers to a "church" (ecclesia), an organised group with rules for keeping order; and the content of "M" suggests that this community was strict in keeping the Jewish law, holding that they must exceed the scribes and the Pharisees in "righteousness" (adherence to Jewish law). Writing from within a Jewish-Christian community growing increasingly distant from other Jews and becoming increasingly gentile in its membership and outlook, Matthew put down in his gospel his vision "of an assembly or church in which both Jew and Gentile would flourish together". Structure and content Structure: narrative and discourses Matthew, alone among the gospels, alternates five blocks of narrative with five of discourse, marking each off with the phrase "When Jesus had finished..." (see Five Discourses of Matthew). Some scholars see in this a deliberate plan to create a parallel to the first five books of the Old Testament; others see a three-part structure based around the idea of Jesus as Messiah; or a set of weekly readings spread out over the year; or no plan at all. Davies and Allison, in their widely used commentary, draw attention to the use of "triads" (the gospel groups things in threes), and R. T. France, in another influential commentary, notes the geographic movement from Galilee to Jerusalem and back, with the post-resurrection appearances in Galilee as the culmination of the whole story. Prologue: genealogy, Nativity and infancy (Mat. 1–2) The Gospel of Matthew begins with the words "The Book of Genealogy [in Greek, "Genesis"] of Jesus Christ", deliberately echoing the words of Genesis 2:4 in the Old Testament in Greek. The genealogy tells of Jesus' descent from Abraham and King David and the miraculous events surrounding his virgin birth, and the infancy narrative tells of the massacre of the innocents, the flight into Egypt, and eventual journey to Nazareth. First narrative and Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 3:1–8:1) The first narrative section begins. John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, and the Holy Spirit descends upon him. Jesus prays and meditates in the wilderness for forty days, and is tempted by Satan. His early ministry by word and deed in Galilee meets with much success, and leads to the Sermon on the Mount, the first of the discourses. The sermon presents the ethics of the kingdom of God, introduced by the Beatitudes ("Blessed are..."). It concludes with a reminder that the response to the kingdom will have eternal consequences, and the crowd's amazed response leads into the next narrative block. Second narrative and discourse (Mat. 8:2–11:1) From the authoritative words of Jesus, the gospel turns to three sets of three miracles interwoven with two sets of two discipleship stories (the second narrative), followed by a discourse on mission and suffering. Jesus commissions the Twelve Disciples and sends them to preach to the Jews, perform miracles, and prophesy the imminent coming of the Kingdom, commanding them to travel lightly, without staff or sandals. Third narrative and discourse (Mat. 11:2–13:53) Opposition to Jesus comes to a head with accusations that his deeds are done through the power of Satan. Jesus in turn accuses his opponents of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The discourse is a set of parables emphasizing the sovereignty of God, and concluding with a challenge to the disciples to understand the teachings as scribes of the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew avoids using the holy word God in the expression "Kingdom of God"; instead he prefers the term "Kingdom of Heaven", reflecting the Jewish tradition of not speaking the name of God). Fourth narrative and discourse (Mat. 13:54–19:1) The fourth narrative section reveals that the increasing opposition to Jesus will result in his crucifixion in Jerusalem, and that his disciples must therefore prepare for his absence. The instructions for the post-crucifixion church emphasize responsibility and humility. This section contains the two feedings of the multitude (Matthew 14:13–21 and 15:32–39) along with the narrative in which Simon, newly renamed Peter (Πέτρος, Petros, meaning "stone"), calls Jesus "the Christ, the son of the living God", and Jesus states that on this "bedrock" (πέτρα, petra) he will build his church (Matthew 16:13–19). Matthew 16:13–19 forms the foundation for the papacy's claim of authority. Fifth narrative and discourse (Mat. 19:2–26:1) Jesus travels toward Jerusalem, and the opposition intensifies: he is tested by Pharisees as soon as he begins to move towards the city, and when he arrives he is soon in conflict with the Temple's traders and religious leaders. He teaches in the Temple, debating with the chief priests and religious leaders and speaking in parables about the Kingdom of God and the failings of the chief priests and the Pharisees. The Herodian caucus also become involved in a scheme to entangle Jesus, but Jesus' careful response to their enquiry, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's", leaves them marveling at his words. The disciples ask about the future, and in his final discourse (the Olivet Discourse) Jesus speaks of the coming end. There will be false Messiahs, earthquakes, and persecutions, the sun, moon, and stars will fail, but "this generation" will not pass away before all the prophecies are fulfilled. The disciples must steel themselves for ministry to all the nations. At the end of the discourse, Matthew notes that Jesus has finished all his words, and attention turns to the crucifixion. Conclusion: Passion, Resurrection and Great Commission (Mat. 26:2–28:20) The events of Jesus' last week occupy a third of the content of all four gospels. Jesus enters Jerusalem in triumph and drives the money changers from the temple, holds a last supper, prays to be spared the coming agony (but concludes "if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done"), and is betrayed. He is tried by the Jewish leaders (the Sanhedrin) and before Pontius Pilate, and Pilate washes his hands to indicate that he does not assume responsibility. Jesus is crucified as king of the Jews, mocked by all. On his death there is an earthquake, the veil of the Temple is rent, and saints rise from their tombs. Mary Magdalene and another Mary discover the empty tomb, guarded by an angel, and Jesus himself tells them to tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee. After the resurrection the remaining disciples return to Galilee, "to the mountain that Jesus had appointed", where he comes to them and tells them that he has been given "all authority in heaven and on Earth." He gives the Great Commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you". Jesus will be with them "to the very end of the age". Theology Christology Christology is the theological doctrine of Christ, "the affirmations and definitions of Christ's humanity and deity". There are a variety of Christologies in the New Testament, albeit with a single centre—Jesus is the figure in whom God has acted for mankind's salvation. Matthew has taken over his key Christological texts from Mark, but sometimes he has changed the stories he found in Mark, giving evidence of his own concerns. The title Son of David identifies Jesus as the healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel (it is used exclusively in relation to miracles), and the Jewish messiah is sent to Israel alone. As Son of Man he will return to judge the world, a fact his disciples recognise but of which his enemies are unaware. As Son of God he is named Immanuel (God with us), God revealing himself through his son, and Jesus proving his sonship through his obedience and example. Relationship with the Jews Matthew's prime concern was that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile. This concern lies behind the frequent citations of Jewish scripture, the evocation of Jesus as the new Moses along with other events from Jewish history, and the concern to present Jesus as fulfilling, not destroying, the Law. Matthew must have been aware of the tendency to distort Paul's teaching of the law no longer having power over the New Testament Christian into antinomianism, and addressed Christ's fulfilling of what the Israelites expected from the "Law and the Prophets" in an eschatological sense, in that he was all that the Old Testament had predicted in the Messiah. The gospel has been interpreted as reflecting the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees. It tells how Israel's Messiah, rejected and executed in Israel, pronounces judgment on Israel and its leaders and becomes the salvation of the gentiles. Prior to the crucifixion of Jesus, the Jews are referred to as Israelites — the honorific title of God's chosen people. After it, they are called Ioudaios(Jews), a sign that — due to their rejection of the Christ — the "Kingdom of Heaven" has been taken away from them and given instead to the church. Comparison with other writings Christological development The divine nature of Jesus was a major issue for the community of Matthew, the crucial element marking them from their Jewish neighbors. Early understandings of this nature grew as the gospels were being written. Before the gospels, that understanding was focused on the revelation of Jesus as God in his resurrection, but the gospels reflect a broadened focus extended backwards in time. Matthew is a creative reinterpretation of Mark, stressing Jesus' teachings as much as his acts, and making subtle changes in order to stress his divine nature: for example, Mark's "young man" who appears at Jesus' tomb becomes "a radiant angel" in Matthew. The miracle stories in Mark do not demonstrate the divinity of Jesus, but rather confirm his status as an emissary of God (which was Mark's understanding of the Messiah). Chronology There is a broad disagreement over chronology between Matthew, Mark and Luke on one hand and John on the other: all four agree that Jesus' public ministry began with an encounter with John the Baptist, but Matthew, Mark and Luke follow this with an account of teaching and healing in Galilee, then a trip to Jerusalem where there is an incident in the Temple, climaxing with the crucifixion on the day of the Passover holiday. John, by contrast, puts the Temple incident very early in Jesus' ministry, has several trips to Jerusalem, and puts the crucifixion immediately before the Passover holiday, on the day when the lambs for the Passover meal were being sacrificed in Temple. Canonical positioning The early patristic scholars regarded Matthew as the earliest of the gospels and placed it first in the canon, and the early Church mostly quoted from Matthew, secondarily from John, and only distantly from Mark. See also Notes References Citations Sources , in , in External links Biblegateway.com (opens at Matt.1:1, NIV) A textual commentary on the Gospel of Matthew Detailed text-critical discussion of the 300 most important variants of the Greek text (PDF, 438 pages). Early Christian Writings Gospel of Matthew: introductions and e-texts. Various versions Matthew Works of uncertain authorship Texts in Koine Greek Synoptic Gospels

Gerald Lawrence Schroeder is an Orthodox Jewish physicist, author, lecturer and teacher at College of Jewish Studies Aish HaTorah's Discovery Seminar, Essentials and Fellowships programs and Executive Learning Center, who focuses on what he perceives to be an inherent relationship between science and spirituality. Education Schroeder received his BSc in 1959, his MSc in 1961, and his PhD in nuclear physics and earth and planetary sciences in 1965, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He worked seven years on the staff of the MIT physics department. He was a member of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Aliyah to Israel After emigrating to Israel in 1971, Schroeder was employed as a researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Volcani Research Institute, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He currently teaches at Aish HaTorah College of Jewish Studies. Religious views and scientific theories His works frequently cite Talmudic, Midrashic and medieval commentaries on biblical creation accounts, such as commentaries written by the Jewish philosopher Nachmanides. Among other things, Schroeder attempts to reconcile a six-day creation as described in Genesis with the scientific evidence that the world is billions of years old using the idea that the perceived flow of time for a given event in an expanding universe varies with the observer's perspective of that event. He attempts to reconcile the two perspectives numerically, calculating the effect of the stretching of space-time, based on Albert Einstein's general relativity. Namely, that from the perspective of the point of origin of the Big Bang, according to Einstein's equations of the 'stretching factor', time dilates by a factor of roughly 1,000,000,000,000, meaning one trillion days on earth would appear to pass as one day from that point, due to the stretching of space. When applied to the estimated age of the universe at 13.8 billion years, from the perspective of the point of origin, the universe today would appear to have just begun its sixth day of existence, or if the universe is 15 billion years old from the perspective of earth, it would appear to have just completed its sixth day. Antony Flew, an academic philosopher who promoted atheism for most of his adult life indicated that the arguments of Gerald Schroeder had influenced his decision to become a deist. His theories to reconcile faith and science have drawn some criticism from both religious and non-religious scientists, and his works remain controversial in scientific circles. Personal Schroeder's wife Barbara Sofer is a columnist for the English language Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post. The couple have five children. Prizes In 2012, Schroeder was awarded the Trotter Prize by Texas A&M University's College of Science. Works Genesis and the Big Bang (1990), The Science of God: The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom, (1997), The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth, (2002), . God According to God: A Physicist Proves We've Been Wrong About God All Along, (2009), . References External links Gerald Schroeder (official website) MIT Alumni Association. News and Views: Nuclear Scientist Sees No God-Science Conflict Dr. Schroeder speaking on cosmology: a 30 min. clip from the documentary, "Has Science Discovered God?" "The Age of the Universe", aish.com Critiques of Schroeder's books by Mark Perakh at the site Talk Reason 1999, 2005, 2007 Critique of Genesis & the Big Bang, authored by Rabbi Yoram Bogacz. Articles by Gerald L. Schroeder God and the laws of natures The Origins of Life An Atheist Turns Evolution: Rationality vs. Randomness Age of the Universe American Orthodox Jews Jewish scientists Jewish physicists 21st-century American physicists Israeli physicists American nuclear physicists Israeli nuclear physicists Judaism and science Aish HaTorah American emigrants to Israel Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Israeli Orthodox Jews Jewish creationists Old Earth creationism Writers about religion and science MIT Department of Physics alumni

Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and the largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kong and north of Macau, Guangzhou has a history of over 2,200 years and was a major terminus of the maritime Silk Road, and continues to serve as a major port and transportation hub, as well as one of China's three largest cities. Long the only Chinese port accessible to most foreign traders, Guangzhou was captured by the British during the First Opium War. No longer enjoying a monopoly after the war, it lost trade to other ports such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, but continued to serve as a major transshipment port. Due to a high urban population and large volumes of port traffic, Guangzhou is classified as a Large-Port Megacity, the largest type of port-city in the world. Guangzhou is at the heart of the most-populous built-up metropolitan area in mainland China, which extends into the neighboring cities of Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen and part of Jiangmen, Huizhou, Zhuhai and Macao, forming the largest urban agglomeration on Earth with approximately 47.6 million inhabitants and part of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. Administratively, the city holds subprovincial status and is one of China's nine National Central Cities. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, nationals of sub-Saharan Africa who had initially settled in the Middle East and Southeast Asia moved in unprecedented numbers to Guangzhou in response to the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. The domestic migrant population from other provinces of China in Guangzhou was 40% of the city's total population in 2008. Together with Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, Guangzhou has one of the most expensive real estate markets in China. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city's expansive administrative area was 18,676,605 inhabitants (up to 47% from the previous census in 2010) whom 16,492,590 lived in 9 urban districts (all but Conghua and Zengcheng). In modern commerce, Guangzhou is best known for its annual Canton Fair, the oldest and largest trade fair in China. For three consecutive years (2013–2015), Forbes ranked Guangzhou as the best commercial city in mainland China. Guangzhou is highly ranked as an Alpha- (global first-tier) city together with San Francisco and Stockholm. As an important international city, Guangzhou has hosted numerous international and national sporting events, the most notable being the 2010 Asian Games, the 2010 Asian Para Games, and the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The city also hosts 65 foreign representatives, and ranks 10th in the world and 5th in China (after Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen) in terms of the number of billionaire residents according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2020. Guangzhou has a high level of scientific research output, ranking 14th globally and 4th in China (after Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing), and is home to many of china's most prestigious universities, including Sun Yat-sen University, South China University of Technology, Jinan University, South China Normal University, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou University, Southern Medical University, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. Toponymy Guǎngzhōu is the official romanization of the Chinese name . The name of the city is taken from the ancient "Guang Province" after it had become the prefecture's seat of government, which is how some other Chinese cities, including Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Fuzhou got their names. The character or —which also appears in the names of the provinces Guangdong and Guangxi, together called the Liangguang—means "broad" or "expansive" and refers to the intention to dispense imperial grace broadly in the region with the founding of the county of Guangxin in the Han Dynasty. Before acquiring its current name, the town was known as Panyu (Punyü; ), a name still borne by one of Guangzhou's districts not far from the main city. The origin of the name is still uncertain, with 11 various explanations being offered, including that it may have referred to two local mountains. The city has also sometimes been known as Guangzhou Fu or Guangfu after its status as the capital of a prefecture. From this latter name, Guangzhou was known to medieval Persians such as Al-Masudi and Ibn Khordadbeh as Khanfu (). Under the Southern Han, the city was renamed Xingwang Fu (). The Chinese abbreviation for Guangzhou is "," pronounced Seoi6 in Cantonese and Suì in Mandarin (although the abbreviation on car license plates, as with the rest of the province, is ), after its nickname "City of Rice" (). The city has long borne the nickname () or () from the five stones at the old Temple of the Five Immortals said to have been the sheep or goats ridden by the Taoist culture heroes credited with introducing rice cultivation to the area around the time of the city's foundation. The former name "City of the Immortals" (/) came from the same story. The more recent () is usually taken as a simple reference to the area's fine greenery. The English name "Canton" derived from Portuguese or , a blend of dialectical pronunciations of "Guangdong" (e.g., Cantonese Gwong2-dung1). Although it originally and chiefly applied to the walled city, it was occasionally conflated with Guangdong by some authors. It was adopted as the Postal Map Romanization of Guangzhou, and remained the official name until its name change to "Guangzhou." As an adjective, it is still used in describing the people, language, cuisine and culture of Guangzhou and the surrounding Liangguang region. The 19th-century name "" derived from Nanjing dialect of Mandarin and the town's status as a prefectural capital. History Prehistory A settlement now known as Nanwucheng was present in the area by . Some traditional Chinese histories placed Nanwucheng's founding during the reign of Ji Yan, king of Zhou from 314 to 256 BC. It was said to have consisted of little more than a stockade of bamboo and mud. Nanyue Guangzhou, then known as Panyu, was founded on the eastern bank of the Pearl River in 214 BC. It was the seat of Qin Empire's Nanhai Commandery, and served as a base for the first invasion of the Baiyue lands in southern China. Legendary accounts claimed that the soldiers at Panyu were so vigilant that they did not remove their armor for three years. Upon the fall of the Qin, General Zhao Tuo established the kingdom of Nanyue and made Panyu its capital in 204 BC. It remained independent throughout the Chu-Han Contention, although Zhao negotiated recognition of his independence in exchange for his nominal submission to the Han in 196 BC. Archeological evidence shows that Panyu was an expansive commercial center: in addition to items from central China, archeologists have found remains originating from Southeast Asia, India, and even Africa. Zhao Tuo was succeeded by Zhao Mo and then Zhao Yingqi. Upon Zhao Yingqi's death in , his younger son Zhao Xing was named as his successor in violation of Chinese primogeniture. By , his chinese mother, the Empress Dowager Jiu () had prevailed upon him to submit Nanyue as a formal part of the Han Empire. The native prime minister Lü Jia () launched a coup, killing Han ambassadors along with the king, his mother, and their supporters. A successful ambush then annihilated a Han force which had been sent to arrest him. Emperor Wu took offense and launched a massive river- and seaborne war: six armies under Lu Bode and Yang Pu took Panyu and annexed Nanyue by the end of 111 BC. Imperial China Incorporated into the Han Dynasty, Panyu became a provincial capital. In AD 226, it became the seat of Guang Prefecture, which gave it its modern name. The Old Book of Tang described Guangzhou as an important port in southern China. Direct routes connected the Middle East and China, as shown in the records of a Chinese prisoner returning home from Iraq twelve years after his capture at Talas. Relations were often strained: Arab and Persian pirates sacked the city on October 30, 758 and came to an end under the revenge of Chinese rebel Huang Chao in 878, along with the city's Jews, Christians, and Parsis. The port was closed for fifty years after its destruction. Amid the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms that followed the collapse of the Tang dynasty, the Later Liang governor Liu Yan used his base at Panyu to establish a "Great Yue" or "Southern Han" empire, which lasted from 917 to 971. The region enjoyed considerable cultural and economic success in this period. From the 10th to 12th century, there are records that the large foreign communities were not exclusively male, but included "Persian women". According to Odoric of Pordenone, Guangzhou was as large as three Venices in terms of area, and rivaled all of Italy in the amount of crafts produced. He also noted the large amount of ginger available as well as large geese and snakes. Guangzhou was visited by the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta during his 14th-century journey around the world; he detailed the process by which the Chinese constructed their large ships in the port's shipyards. Shortly after the Hongwu Emperor's declaration of the Ming dynasty, he reversed his earlier support of foreign trade and imposed the first of a series of sea bans (). These banned private foreign trade upon penalty of death for the merchant and exile for his family and neighbors. The Yuan-era maritime intendancies of Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Ningbo were closed in 1384 and legal trade became limited to the tribute delegations sent to or by official representatives of foreign governments. Following the Portuguese conquest of the Melaka Sultanate, Rafael Perestrello traveled to Guangzhou as a passenger on a native junk in 1516. His report induced Fernão Pires de Andrade to sail to the city with eight ships the next year, but De Andrade's exploration was understood as spying and his brother Simão and others began attempting to monopolize trade, enslaving Chinese women and children, engaging in piracy, and fortifying the island of Tamão. Rumors even circulated that Portuguese were eating the children. The Guangzhou administration was charged with driving them off: they bested the Portuguese at the Battle of Tunmen and in Xicao Bay; held a diplomatic mission hostage in a failed attempt to pressure the restoration of the sultan of Malacca, who had been accounted a Ming vassal; and, after placing them in cangues and keeping them for most of a year, ultimately executed 23 by lingchi. With the help of local pirates, the "Folangji" then carried out smuggling at Macao, Lampacau, and Island (now Shangchuan), until Leonel de Sousa legalized their trade with bribes to Admiral Wang Bo () and the 1554 Luso-Chinese Accord. The Portuguese undertook not to raise fortifications and to pay customs dues; three years later, after providing the Chinese with assistance suppressing their former pirate allies, the Portuguese were permitted to warehouse their goods at Macau instead of Guangzhou itself. In October 1646, the Longwu Emperor's brother, Zhu Yuyue fled by sea to Guangzhou, the last stronghold of the Ming empire. On December 11, he declared himself the Shaowu Emperor, borrowing his imperial regalia from local theater troupes. He led a successful offense against his cousin Zhu Youlang but was deposed and executed on 20 January 1647 when the Ming turncoat Li Chengdong () sacked the city on behalf of the Qing. The Qing became somewhat more receptive to foreign trade after gaining control of Taiwan in 1683. The Portuguese from Macau and Spaniards from Manila returned, as did private Muslim, Armenian, and English traders. From 1699 to 1714, the French and British East India Companies sent a ship or two each year; the Austrian Ostend General India Co. arrived in 1717, the Dutch East India Co. in 1729, the Danish Asiatic Co. in 1731, and the Swedish East India Co. the next year. These were joined by the occasional Prussian or Trieste Company vessel. The first independent American ship arrived in 1784, and the first colonial Australian one in 1788. By that time, Guangzhou was one of the world's great ports, organized under the Canton System. The main exports were tea and porcelain. As a meeting place of merchants from all over the world, Guangzhou became a major contributor to the rise of the modern global economy. In the 19th century, most of the city's buildings were still only one or two stories. However, there were notable exceptions such as the Flower Pagoda of the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, and the guard tower known as the Five-Story Pagoda. The subsequently urbanized northern hills were bare and covered with traditional graves. The brick city walls were about in circumference, high, and wide. Its eight main gates and two water gates all held guards during the day and were closed at night. The wall rose to incorporate a hill on its northern side and was surrounded on the other three by a moat which, along with the canals, functioned as the city's sewer, emptied daily by the river's tides. A partition wall with four gates divided the northern "old town" from the southern "new town" closer to the river; the suburb of Xiguan (Saikwan; "West Gate") stretched beyond and the boats of fishers, traders, and Tanka ("boat people") almost entirely concealed the riverbank for about . It was common for homes to have a storefront facing the street and to treat their courtyards as a kind of warehouse. The city was part of a network of signal towers so effective that messages could be relayed to Beijing—about away—in less than 24 hours. The Canton System was maintained until the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1839. Following a series of battles in the Pearl River Delta, the British captured Canton on March 18, 1841. The Second Battle of Canton was fought two months later. Following the Qing's 1842 treaty with Great Britain, Guangzhou lost its privileged trade status as more and more treaty ports were opened to more and more countries, usually including extraterritorial enclaves. Amid the decline of Qing prestige and the chaos of the Red Turban Rebellion (1854–1856), the Punti and Hakka waged a series of clan wars from 1855 to 1867 in which one million people died. The foreign trade facilities were destroyed by local Chinese in the Arrow War (1856–1858). The international community relocated to the outskirts and most international trade moved through Shanghai. The concession for the Canton–Hankow railway was awarded to the American China Development Co. in 1898. It completed its branch line west to Foshan and Sanshui before being engulfed in a diplomatic crisis after a Belgian consortium bought a controlling interest and the Qing subsequently canceled its concession. J.P. Morgan was awarded millions in damages and the line to Wuchang was not completed until 1936 and the completion of a unified Beijing–Guangzhou Railway waited until the completion of Wuhan's Yangtze River Bridge in 1957. Modern China Revolutions During the late Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou was the site of revolutionary attempts such as the Uprisings of 1895 and 1911 that were the predecessors of the successful Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty. The 72 revolutionaries whose bodies were found after the latter uprising are honored as the city's 72 Martyrs at the Huanghuagang ("Yellow Flower Mound") Mausoleum. Republic of China After the assassination of Sung Chiao-jen and Yuan Shihkai's attempts to remove the Nationalist Party of China from power, the leader of Guangdong Hu Hanmin joined the 1913 Second Revolution against him but was forced to flee to Japan with Sun Yat-sen after its failure. The city came under national spotlight again in 1917, when Prime Minister Duan Qirui's abrogation of the constitution triggered the Constitutional Protection Movement. Sun Yat-sen came to head the Guangzhou Military Government supported by the members of the dissolved parliament and the Southwestern warlords. The Guangzhou government fell apart as the warlords withdrew their support. Sun fled to Shanghai in November 1918 until the Guangdong warlord Chen Jiongming restored him in October 1920 during the Yuegui Wars. On 16 June 1922, Sun was ousted in a coup and fled on the warship Yongfeng after Chen sided with the Zhili Clique's Beijing government. In the following months Sun mounted a counterattack into Guangdong by rallying supporters from Yunnan and Guangxi, and in January established a government in the city for the third time. From 1923 to 1926 Sun and the Kuomintang used the city as a base to prosecute a renewed revolution in China by conquering the warlords in the north. Although Sun was previously dependent on opportunistic warlords who hosted him in the city, with the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, the KMT developed its own military power to serve its ambition. The Canton years saw the evolution of the KMT into a revolutionary movement with a strong military focus and ideological commitment, setting the tone of the KMT rule of China beyond 1927. In 1924, the KMT made the momentous decision to ally with the Communist Party and the USSR. With Soviet help, KMT reorganized itself along the Leninist line and adopted a pro-labor and pro-peasant stance. The Kuomintang-CCP cooperation was confirmed in the First Congress of the KMT and the communists were instructed to join the KMT. The allied government set up the Peasant Movement Training Institute in the city, of which Mao Zedong was a director for one term. Sun and his military commander Chiang used Soviet funds and weapons to build an armed force staffed by communist commissars, training its cadres in the Whampoa Military Academy. In August, the fledgling army suppressed the Canton Merchants' Corps Uprising. The next year the anti-imperialist May Thirtieth Movement swept the country, and the KMT government called for strikes in Canton and Hong Kong. The tensions of the massive strikes and protests led to the Shakee Massacre. After the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925 the mood was changing in the party toward the communists. In August the left-wing KMT leader Liao Zhongkai was assassinated and the right-wing leader Hu Hanmin, the suspected mastermind, was exiled to the Soviet Union, leaving the pro-communist Wang Jingwei in charge. Opposing communist encroachment, the right-wing Western Hills Group vowed to expel the communists from the KMT. The "Canton Coup" on 20 March 1926 saw Chiang solidify his control over the Nationalists and their army against Wang Jingwei, the party's left wing, its Communist allies, and its Soviet advisors. By May, he had ended civilian control of the military and begun his Northern Expedition against the warlords of the north. Its success led to the split of the KMT between Wuhan and Nanking and the purge of the communists in the April 12 Incident. Immediately afterwards Canton joined the purge under the auspice of Li Jishen, resulting in the arrest of communists and the suspension of left wing KMT apparatuses and labor groups. Later in 1927 when Zhang Fakui, a general supportive of the Wuhan faction seized Canton and installed Wang Jingwei's faction in the city, the communists saw an opening and launched the Guangzhou Uprising. Prominent communist military leaders Ye Ting and Ye Jianying led the failed defense of the city. Soon, control of the city reverted to Li Jishen. Li was deposed during a war between Chiang and the Kwangsi Clique. By 1929, Chen Jitang had established himself as the powerholder of Guangdong. In 1931 he threw his weight behind the anti-Chiang schism by hosting a separate Nationalist government in Guangzhou. Opposing Chiang's alleged dictatorship, the separatists included KMT leaders like Wang Ching-wei, Sun Fo and others from diverse factions. The peace negotiations amid the armed standoff led to the 4th National Congress of Kuomintang being held separately by three factions in Nanjing, Shanghai and Canton. Resigning all his posts, Chiang pulled off a political compromise that reunited all factions. While the intraparty division was resolved, Chen kept his power until he was defeated by Chiang in 1936. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the "Canton Operation" subjected the city to Japanese occupation by the end of December 1938. People's Republic of China Amid the closing months of the Chinese Civil War, Guangzhou briefly served as the capital of the Republic of China after the taking of Nanjing by the PLA in April 1949. The People's Liberation Army entered the city on 14 October 1949. Amid a massive exodus to Hong Kong and Macau, the Nationalists blew up the Haizhu Bridge across the Pearl River in retreat. The Cultural Revolution had a large effect on the city with much of its temples, churches and other monuments destroyed during this chaotic period. The People's Republic of China initiated building projects including new housing on the banks of the Pearl River to adjust the city's boat people to life on land. Since the 1980s, the city's close proximity to Hong Kong and Shenzhen and its ties to overseas Chinese have made it one of the first beneficiaries of China's opening up under Deng Xiaoping. Beneficial tax reforms in the 1990s have also helped the city's industrialization and economic development. The municipality was expanded in the year 2000, with Huadu and Panyu joining the city as urban districts and Conghua and Zengcheng as more rural counties. The former districts of Dongshan and Fangcun were abolished in 2005, merged into Yuexiu and Liwan respectively. The city acquired Nansha and Luogang. The former was carved out of Panyu, the latter from parts of Baiyun, Tianhe, Zengcheng, and an exclave within Huangpu. The National People's Congress approved a development plan for the Pearl River Delta in January 2009; on March 19 the same year, the Guangzhou and Foshan municipal governments agreed to establish a framework to merge the two cities. In 2014, Luogang merged into Huangpu and both Conghua and Zengcheng counties were upgraded to districts. Gallery Geography The old town of Guangzhou was near Baiyun Mountain on the east bank of the Pearl River (Zhujiang) about from its junction with the South China Sea and about below its head of navigation. It commanded the rich alluvial plain of the Pearl River Delta, with its connection to the sea protected at the Humen Strait. The present city spans on both sides of the river from to longitude and to latitude in south-central Guangdong. The Pearl is the 4th-largest river of China. Intertidal ecosystems exist on the tidal flat lining the river estuary, however, many of the tidal flats have been reclaimed for agriculture. Baiyun Mountain is now locally referred to as the city's "lung" (). The elevation of the prefecture generally increases from southwest to northeast, with mountains forming the backbone of the city and the ocean comprising the front. Tiantang Peak (, "Heavenly Peak") is the highest point of elevation at above sea level. Natural resources There are 47 different types of minerals and also 820 ore fields in Guangzhou, including 18 large and medium-sized oil deposits. The major minerals are granite, cement limestone, ceramic clay, potassium, albite, salt mine, mirabilite, nepheline, syenite, fluorite, marble, mineral water, and geothermal mineral water. Since Guangzhou is located in the water-rich area of southern China, it has a wide water area with many rivers and water systems, accounting for 10% of the total land area. The rivers and streams improve the landscape and keep the ecological environment of the city stable. Climate Despite being located just south of the Tropic of Cancer, Guangzhou has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa/Cwa) influenced by the East Asian monsoon. Summers are wet with high temperatures, high humidity, and a high heat index. Winters are mild and comparatively dry. Guangzhou has a lengthy monsoon season, spanning from April through September. Monthly averages range from in January to in July, while the annual mean is . Autumn, from October to December, is very moderate, cool and windy, and is the best travel time. The relative humidity is approximately 68 percent, whereas annual rainfall in the metropolitan area is over . With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 17 percent in March and April to 52 percent in November, the city receives 1,628 hours of bright sunshine annually, considerably less than nearby Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Extreme temperatures have ranged from to . The last recorded snowfall in the city was on 24 January 2016, 87 years after the second last recorded snowfall. Administrative divisions Guangzhou is a sub-provincial city. It has direct jurisdiction over eleven districts: Economy Guangzhou is the main manufacturing hub of the Pearl River Delta, one of mainland China's leading commercial and manufacturing regions. In 2017, the GDP reached ¥2,150 billion (US$318 billion), per capita was ¥150,678 (US$22,317). Guangzhou is considered one of the most prosperous cities in China. Guangzhou ranks 10th in the world and 5th in China (after Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen) in terms of the number of billionaires according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2020. Guangzhou is projected to be among the world top 10 largest cities in terms of nominal GDP in 2035 (together with Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen in China) according to a study by Oxford Economics, and its nominal GDP per capita will reach above US$42,000 in 2030. Guangzhou also ranks 21st globally (between Washington, D.C. and Amsterdam) and 8th in the whole Asia & Oceania region (behind Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Shenzhen and Dubai) in the 2020 Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI). Owing to rapid industrialization, it was once also considered a rather polluted city. After green urban planning was implemented, it is now one of the most livable cities in China. Canton Fair The Canton Fair, formally the "China Import and Export Fair", is held every year in April and October by the Ministry of Trade. Inaugurated in the spring of 1957, the fair is a major event for the city. It is the trade fair with the longest history, highest level, and largest scale in China. From the 104th session onwards, the fair moved to the new Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center () in Pazhou, from the older complex in Liuhua. The GICEC is served by two stations on Line 8 and three stations on Tram Line THZ1. Since the 104th session, the Canton Fair has been arranged in three phases instead of two phases. Local products Cantonese is one of China's most famous and popular regional cuisines, with a saying stating simply to "Eat in Guangzhou" (). Cantonese sculpture includes work in jade, wood, and (now controversially) ivory. Canton porcelain developed over the past three centuries as one of the major forms of exportware. It is now known within China for its highly colorful style. Cantonese embroidery is one of china's four main styles of the embroidery, and is represented in Guangzhou, although the industry is mainly centered in Chaozhou. Zhujiang Beer, a pale lager, is one of China's most successful brands. It is made in Guangzhou from water piped directly to the brewery from a natural spring. Industry GAC Group Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone Guangzhou Nansha Export Processing Zone The Export Processing Zone was founded in 2005. Its total planned area is . It is located in Nansha District and it belongs to the provincial capital, Guangzhou. The major industries encouraged in the zone include automobile assembly, biotechnology and heavy industry. It is situated (a 70 minutes drive) south of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and close to Nansha Port. It also has the advantage of Guangzhou Metro line 4 which is being extended to Nansha Ferry Terminal. Guangzhou Free Trade Zone The zone was founded in 1992. It is located in the east of Huangpu District and near to Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. It is also very close to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. The major industries encouraged in the zone include international trade, logistics, processing and computer software. Recently the Area has been rebranded and is now being marketed under the name Huangpu District. Next to the industries above, new sectors are being introduced to the business environment, including new energy, AI, new mobility, new materials, information and communication technology and new transport. It is also Home to the Guangzhou IP Court. Guangzhou Science City Business Environment Guangzhou is a hub for international businesses. According to an article by China Briefing, over 30,000 foreign-invested companies had settled in Guangzhou by 2018, including 297 Fortune Global 500 companies with projects and 120 Fortune Global 500 companies with headquarters or regional headquarters in the city. Demographics The 2010 census found Guangzhou's population to be 12.78 million. , it was estimated at 13,080,500, with 11,264,800 urban residents. Its population density is thus around 1,800 people per km2. The built-up area of the Guangzhou proper connects directly to several other cities. The built-up area of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone covers around and has been estimated to house 22 million people, including Guangzhou's nine urban districts, Shenzhen (5.36m), Dongguan (3.22m), Zhongshan (3.12m), most of Foshan (2.2m), Jiangmen (1.82m), Zhuhai (890k), and Huizhou's Huiyang District (760k). The total population of this agglomeration is over 28 million after including the population of the adjacent Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The area's fast-growing economy and high demand for labor has produced a huge "floating population" of migrant workers; thus, up to 10 million migrants reside in the area least six months each year. In 2008, about five million of Guangzhou's permanent residents were hukouless migrants. Ethnicity and language Most of Guangzhou's population is Han Chinese. Almost all Cantonese people speak Cantonese as their first language, while most migrants speak forms of Mandarin. In 2010, each language was the native tongue of roughly half of the city's population, although minor but substantial numbers speak other varieties as well. In 2018, He Huifeng of the South China Morning Post stated that younger residents have increasingly favored using Mandarin instead of Cantonese in their daily lives, causing their Cantonese-speaking grandparents and parents to use Mandarin to communicate with them. He Huifeng stated that factors included local authorities discouraging the use of Cantonese in schools and the rise in prestige of Mandarin-speaking Shenzhen. Jinan University released a survey result of the Guangzhou youths born in the year 2000 or after that were part of this educational study showed that 69% could still speak and understand Cantonese, 20% can understand Cantonese, but unable to speak it, and 11% completely had no knowledge of Cantonese. Jinan University's study of these Guangzhou youths also indicated when it came to the daily recreational use of Cantonese, roughly 40%-50% of them participated in these recreational functions with the usage of Cantonese with 51.4% of them in mobile games, 47% in Social Platforms, 44.1% in TV shows, and 39.8% in Books and Newspapers. Despite some decline in the use of Cantonese, it is faring better in survival, popularity, and prestige than other Chinese languages due to the historical pride in the language and culture, as well as the wide popularity and availability of mainstream Cantonese entertainment, which encourages locals to retain the Cantonese language. Guangzhou has an even more unbalanced gender ratio than the rest of the country. While most areas of China have 112–120 boys per 100 girls, the Guangdong province that houses Guangzhou has more than 130 boys for every 100 girls. Recent years have seen a huge influx of migrants, with up to 30 million additional migrants living in the Guangzhou area for at least six months out of every year with the majority being female migrants and many becoming local Guangzhou people. This huge influx of people from other areas, called the floating population, is due to the city's fast-growing economy and high labor demands. Guangzhou Mayor Wan Qingliang told an urban planning seminar that Guangzhou is facing a very serious population problem stating that, while the city had 10.33 million registered residents at the time with targets and scales of land use based on this number, the city actually had a population with migrants of nearly 15 million. According to the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences researcher Peng Peng, the city is almost at its maximum capacity of just 15 million, which means the city is facing a great strain, mostly due to a high population of unregistered people. According to the 2000 National Census, marriage is one of the top two reasons for permanent migration and particular important for women as 29.3% of the permanent female migrants migrate for marriage [Liang et al.,2004]. Many of the female economic migrants marry men from Guangzhou in hopes of a better life. but like elsewhere in the People's Republic of China, the household registration system (hukou) limits migrants' access to residences, educational institutions and other public benefits. It has been noted that many women end up in prostitution. In May 2014, legally employed migrants in Guangzhou were permitted to receive a hukou card allowing them to marry and obtain permission for their pregnancies in the city, rather than having to return to their official hometowns as previously. Historically, the Cantonese people have made up a sizable part of the 19th- and 20th-century Chinese diaspora; in fact, many overseas Chinese have ties to Guangzhou. This is particularly true in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Demographically, the only significant immigration into China has been by overseas Chinese, but Guangzhou sees many foreign tourists, workers, and residents from the usual locations such as the United States. Notably, it is also home to thousands of African immigrants, including people from Nigeria, Somalia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Metropolitan area The encompassing metropolitan area was estimated by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) to have, , a population of 25 million. Transportation Urban mass transit When the first line of the Guangzhou Metro opened in 1997, Guangzhou was the fourth city in Mainland China to have an underground railway system, behind Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai. Currently the metro network is made up of thirteen lines, covering a total length of . A long-term plan is to make the city's metro system expand to over by 2020 with 15 lines in operation. In addition to the metro system there is also the Haizhu Tram line which opened on 31 December 2014. The Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit (GBRT) system which was introduced in 2010 along Zhongshan Road. It has several connections to the metro and is the world's 2nd-largest bus rapid transit system with 1,000,000 passenger trips daily. It handles 26,900 pphpd during the peak hour a capacity second only to the TransMilenio BRT system in Bogota. The system averages one bus every 10 seconds or 350 per hour in a single direction and contains the world's longest BRT stations—around including bridges. Motor transport In the 19th century, the city already had over 600 long, straight streets; these were mostly paved but still very narrow. In June 1919, work began on demolishing the city wall to make way for wider streets and the development of tramways. The demolition took three years in total. In 2009, it was reported that all 9,424 buses and 17,695 taxis in Guangzhou would be operating on LPG-fuel by 2010 to promote clean energy for transport and improve the environment ahead of the 2010 Asian Games which were held in the city. At present, Guangzhou is the city that uses the most LPG-fueled vehicles in the world, and at the end of 2006, 6,500 buses and 16,000 taxis were using LPG, taking up 85 percent of all buses and taxis. Effective January 1, 2007, the municipal government banned motorcycles in Guangdong's urban areas. Motorcycles found violating the ban are confiscated. The Guangzhou traffic bureau claimed to have reported reduced traffic problems and accidents in the downtown area since the ban. Airports Guangzhou's main airport is the Baiyun International Airport in Baiyun District; it opened on August 5, 2004. This airport is the second busiest airport in terms of traffic movements in China. It replaced the old Baiyun International Airport, which was very close to the city center but failed to meet the city's rapidly growing air traffic demand. The old Baiyun International Airport was in operation for 72 years. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport now has three runways, with two more planned. Terminal 2 opened on April 26, 2018. Another airport located in Zengcheng District is under planning. Guangzhou is served by Hong Kong International Airport; ticketed passengers can take ferries from the Lianhuashan Ferry Terminal and Nansha Ferry Port in Nansha District to the HKIA Skypier. There are also coach bus services connecting Guangzhou with HKIA. Railways Guangzhou is the terminus of the Beijing–Guangzhou, Guangzhou–Shenzhen, Guangzhou–Maoming and Guangzhou–Meizhou–Shantou conventional speed railways. In late 2009, the Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway started service, with multiple unit trains covering at a top speed of . In December 2014, the Guiyang–Guangzhou high-speed railway and Nanning-Guangzhou railway began service with trains running at top speeds of and , respectively. The Guangdong Through Train departs from the Guangzhou East railway station and arrives at the Hung Hom station in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The route is approximately in length and the ride takes less than two hours. Frequent coach services are also provided with coaches departing every day from different locations (mostly major hotels) around the city. A number of regional railways radiating from Guangzhou started operating such as the Guangzhou–Zhuhai intercity railway and the Guangzhou-Foshan-Zhaoqing intercity railway. Water transport There are daily high-speed catamaran services between Nansha Ferry Terminal and Lianhua Shan Ferry Terminal in Guangzhou and the Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal, as well as between Nansha Ferry Terminal and Macau Ferry Pier in Hong Kong. Culture Within China, the culture of the Cantonese people is a subset of the larger "Southern" or "Lingnan" cultural areas. Notable aspects of Guangzhou's cultural heritage include: Cantonese language, the local and prestige variant of Yue Chinese Cantonese cuisine, one of China's eight major culinary traditions Cantonese opera, usually divided into martial and literary performances Xiguan (Saikwan), the area west of the former walled city The Guangzhou Opera House & Symphony Orchestra also perform classical Western music and Chinese compositions in their style. Cantonese music is a traditional style of Chinese instrumental music, while Cantopop is the local form of pop music and rock-and-roll which developed from neighboring Hong Kong. Religions Qing-era Guangzhou had around 124 religious pavilions, halls, and temples. Today, in addition to the Buddhist Association, Guangzhou also has a Taoist Association, a Jewish community, as well as a history with Christianity, reintroduced to China by colonial powers. Taoism Taoism and Chinese folk religion are still represented at a few of the city's temples. Among the most important is the Temple of the Five Immortals, honoring the five immortals credited with introducing rice cultivation at the foundation of the city. The five rams they rode were supposed to have turned into stones upon their departure and gave the city several of its nicknames. Other places of worship include the City God Temple and Sanyuan Palace. Guangzhou, like most of southern China, is also notably observant concerning ancestral veneration during occasions like the Tomb Sweeping and Ghost Festivals. Buddhism Buddhism is the most prominent religion in Guangzhou. The Zhizhi Temple was founded in AD 233 from the estate of a Wu official; it is said to comprise the residence of Zhao Jiande, the last of the Nanyue kings, and has been known as the Guangxiao Temple ("Temple of Bright Filial Piety") since the Ming. The missionary Bodhidharma is traditionally said to have visited Panyu during the Liu Song or Liang dynasties (5th or 6th century). Around AD 520, Emperor Wu of the Liang ordered the construction of the Baozhuangyan Temple and the Xilai Monastery to store the relics of Cambodian Buddhist saints which had been brought to the city and to house the monks beginning to assemble there. The Baozhuangyan is now known as the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, after a famous poem composed by Su Shi after a visit during the Northern Song. The Xilai Monastery was renamed the Hualin Temple ("Flowery Forest Temple") after its reconstruction during the Qing. The temples were damaged by both the Republican campaign to "Promote Education with Temple Property" () and the Maoist Cultural Revolution but have been renovated since the opening up that began in the 1980s. The Ocean Banner Temple on Henan Island, once famous in the west as the only tourist spot in Guangzhou accessible to foreigners, has been reopened as the Hoi Tong Monastery. Christianity Nestorian christians first arrived in China via the overland Silk Road, but suffered during Emperor Wuzong's 845 persecution and were essentially extinct by the year 1000. The Qing-era ban on foreigners limited missionaries until it was abolished following the First Opium War, although the Protestant Robert Morrison was able to perform some work through his service with the British factory. The Catholic archdiocese of Guangzhou is housed at Guangzhou's Sacred Heart Cathedral, known locally as the "Stone House". A Gothic Revival edifice which was built by hand from 1861 to 1888 under French direction, its original Latin and French stained-glass windows were destroyed during the wars and amid the Cultural Revolution; they have since been replaced by English ones. The Canton Christian College (1888) and Hackett Medical College for Women (1902) were both founded by missionaries and now form part of Guangzhou's Lingnan University. Since the opening up of China in the 1980s, there has been renewed interest in Christianity, but Guangzhou maintains pressure on underground churches which avoid registration with government officials. The Catholic archbishop Dominic Tang was imprisoned without trial for 22 years; however, his present successor is recognized by both the Vatican and China's Patriotic Church. Islam Guangzhou has had ties with the Islamic world since the Tang Dynasty. Relations were often strained: Arab and Persian pirates sacked the city on October 30, 758; the port was subsequently closed for fifty years. Their presence came to an end under the revenge of Chinese rebel Huang Chao in 878, along with that of the Jews, christians, and Parsis. Nowadays, the city is home to halal restaurants. Sport The 11,468 seat Guangzhou Gymnasium was one of the venues for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. From 12 to 27 November 2010, Guangzhou hosted the 16th Asian Games. The same year, it hosted the first Asian Para Games from December 12 to 19. Combined, these were the major sporting events the city ever hosted. Guangzhou also hosted the following major sporting events: 1987 The 6th National Games of China 1991 The 1st FIFA Women's World Cup 2001 The 2001 National Games of China 2007 The 8th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities of the People's Republic of China 2008 The 49th World Table Tennis Championships 2009 The 11th Sudirman Cup: the world badminton mixed team championships Current professional sports clubs based in Guangzhou include: In the 2010s, Guangzhou has risen to be a football powerhouse of China, having won eight national titles between 2011 and 2019. The team has also won the AFC Champions League in 2013 and 2015. The club has competed at the 2013 and 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, where it lost 3–0 in the semifinal stage to the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League winners FC Bayern Munich and the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona, respectively. Destinations Eight Views The Eight Views of Ram City are Guangzhou's eight most famous tourist attractions. They have varied over time since the Song dynasty, with some being named or demoted by emperors. The following modern list was chosen through public appraisal in 2011: "Towers Shining through the New Town" "The Pearl River Flowing and Shining": The Pearl River from Bai'etan to Pazhou "Cloudy Mountain Green and Tidy": Baiyun Mountain Scenic Area "Yuexiu's Grandeur": Yuexiu Hill and Park "The Ancient Academy's Lingering Fame": The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall and its folk art museum "Liwan's Wonderful Scenery": Liwan Lake "Science City, Splendid as Brocade" "Wetlands Singing at Night": Nansha Wetlands Park Parks and gardens Baiyun Mountain Nansha Wetland Park People's Park South China Botanical Garden Yuexiu Park Dongshanhu Park () Liuhuahu Park () Liwanhu Park () Luhu Park () Martyrs' Park () Pearl River Park () Yuntai Garden () Shimen National Forest Park() Haizhu Lake Park() Tourist attractions Guangzhou attracts more than 223 million visitors each year, and the total revenue of the tourism exceeded 400 billion in 2018. There are many tourist attractions, including: Canton Tower Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, housing Guangzhou's folk art museum Chime-Long Paradise Chime-Long Waterpark () Guangdong Provincial Museum Guangzhou Zoo Mulberry Park, public center which demonstrates mulberry growing and silk making Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King Peasant Movement Training Institute, an important Maoist site Sacred Heart Cathedral (Stone House) Temple of Bright Filial Piety (Guangxiao) Temple of the Six Banyan Trees (Liurong), site of the Flowery Pagoda Shamian or Shameen Island, the old trading compound Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, site of Guangzhou's former presidential palace Xiguan(Saikwan), the western suburbs of the old city Pedestrian streets In every district there are many shopping areas where people can walk on the sidewalks; however most of them are not set as pedestrian streets. The popular pedestrian streets are: Beijing Road pedestrian street Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street Huacheng Square (Flower City Square) Malls and shopping centers There are many malls and shopping centers in Guangzhou. The majority of the new malls are located in the Tianhe district. 101 Dynamics China Plaza Liwan Plaza Teem Plaza Victory Plaza Wanguo Plaza Grandview Mall (Grandview Mall Aquarium) Wanda square Happy Valley (Guangzhou) TaiKoo Hui Parc Central OneLinkWalk Rock Square Aeon Mall GT Land Plaza IFC Plaza IGC Mall Mall of the World K11 Fashion Tianhe Major buildings CITIC Plaza Canton Tower Guangzhou Circle Mansion Guangdong Olympic Stadium Guangzhou Opera House Guangzhou TV Tower Pearl River Tower The Twin Towers: Guangzhou International Finance Center (West) The CTF Guangzhou (East) Media Guangzhou has two local radio stations: the provincial Radio Guangdong and the municipal Radio Guangzhou. Together they broadcast in more than a dozen channels. The primary language of both stations is Cantonese. Traditionally only one channel of Radio Guangdong is dedicated to Mandarin Chinese. However, in recent years there has been an increase in Mandarin programs on most Cantonese channels. Radio stations from cities around Guangzhou mainly broadcast in Cantonese and can be received in different parts of the city, depending on the radio stations' locations and transmission power. The Beijing-based China National Radio also broadcasts Mandarin programs in the city. Radio Guangdong has a 30-minute weekly English programs, Guangdong Today, which is broadcast globally through the World Radio Network. Daily English news programs are also broadcast by Radio Guangdong. Guangzhou has some of the most notable Chinese-language newspapers and magazines in mainland China, most of which are published by three major newspaper groups in the city, the Guangzhou Daily Press Group, Nanfang Press Corporation, and the Yangcheng Evening News Group. The two leading newspapers of the city are Guangzhou Daily and Southern Metropolis Daily. The former, with a circulation of 1.8 million, has been China's most successful newspaper for 14 years in terms of advertising revenue, while Southern Metropolis Daily is considered one of the most liberal newspapers in mainland China. In addition to Guangzhou's Chinese-language publications, there are a few English magazines and newspapers. The most successful is That's Guangzhou, which started more than a decade ago and has since blossomed into That's PRD, producing expatriate magazines in Beijing and Shanghai as well. It also produces In the Red. Education The Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, also known as Guangzhou University Town (), is a large tertiary education complex located in the southeast suburbs of Guangzhou. It occupies the entirety of Xiaoguwei Island in Panyu District, covering an area of about . The complex accommodates campuses from ten higher education institutions and can eventually accommodate up to 200,000 students, 20,000 teachers, and 50,000 staff. The Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center's higher education campuses are as follows: Guangdong Pharmaceutical University Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Guangdong University of Technology Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts Guangzhou University Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine South China Normal University South China University of Technology Sun Yat-sen University Xinghai Conservatory of Music Guangzhou's other fully accredited and degree-granting universities and colleges include: Guangdong Institute of Science and Technology Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University Guangdong University of Finance & Economics Guangdong University of Finance Guangzhou College of South China University of Technology Guangzhou Medical University Guangzhou Sports University Jinan University South China Agricultural University Southern Medical University Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering The two main comprehensive libraries are Guangzhou Library and Sun Yat-sen Library of Guangdong Province. Guangzhou Library is a public library in Guangzhou. The library has moved to a new building in Zhujiang New Town, which fully opened on 23 June 2013. Sun Yat-sen Library of Guangdong Province has the largest collection of ancient books in Southern China. International relations Twin towns and sister cities Consulates General/consulates As of October 2020, Guangzhou hosts 65 foreign consulates-general/consulates, excluding the Hong Kong and Macao trade office, making it one of the major cities to host more than 50 foreign representatives in China after Beijing and Shanghai. Honours Guangzhou Peninsula in Antarctica is named after the city, which was a major market and processing centre for the nineteenth-century Antarctic sealing industry. See also Canton System and Old China Trade World's largest cities Historical capitals of China Mezitli Producer Women's Market#Guangzhou Innovation Award 2021 Guangzhou bombing Notes References Citations Sources . . . . . . Fairbank, John King. Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast: The Opening of the treaty ports, 1842-1854 (Cambridge, Harvard U. P, 1953) online. Farris, Johnathan Andrew. Enclave to Urbanity: Canton, Foreigners, and Architecture from the Late Eighteenth to the Early Twentieth Centuries (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2016) online review . Further reading Chan, May Caroline. "Canton, 1857." Victorian Review 36.1 (2010): 31–35. online Guangzhou Statistical Yearbook 2016 External links Guangzhou International: Official website of government of Guangzhou municipality Guangzhou, China Network 214 BC 210s BC establishments Populated places established in the 1st century BC Provincial capitals in China Sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China National Forest Cities in China Articles containing video clips Prefectures of the Sui dynasty Prefectures of the Tang dynasty Prefectures of the Song dynasty Prefectures of the Yuan dynasty Prefectures of the Ming dynasty Prefectures of the Qing dynasty Former prefectures in Guangdong Metropolitan areas of China

Gymnastics is a sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination,dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, and abdominal muscle groups. Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse, and from circus performance skills. The most common form of competitive gymnastics is artistic gymnastics (AG), which consists of, for women (WAG), the events floor, vault, uneven bars, and beam; and for men (MAG), the events floor, vault, rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, and horizontal bar. The governing body for gymnastics throughout the world is the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). Eight sports are governed by the FIG, which include Gymnastics for All, Men's and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Trampoline (including Double Mini-trampoline), Tumbling, Acrobatic, Aerobic and Parkour. Disciplines not currently recognized by FIG include Wheel gymnastics, Aesthetic group gymnastics, Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics, TeamGym, and Mallakhamba. Participants in gymnastics-related sports can include young children, recreational-level athletes, and competitive athletes at varying levels of skill, including world-class athletes. Etymology The word gymnastics derives from the common Greek adjective γυμνός (), by way of the related verb γυμνάζω (gymnazo), whose meaning is to "train naked", "train in gymnastic exercise", generally "to train, to exercise". The verb had this meaning because athletes in ancient times exercised and competed without clothing. History Gymnastics can be traced to exercise in ancient Greece- in Sparta and Athens. That exercise for that time was documented by Philostratus' work Gymnastics. Exercise in the gymnasium in later periods prepared men for war. The original term for the practice of gymnastics is from the related Greek verb γυμνάζω (gumnázō), which translates as "to train naked or nude" because young men exercising trained without clothing. In ancient Greece, physical fitness was a highly valued attribute in both men and women. It wasn't until after the Romans conquered Greece in 146BC that gymnastics became more formalized and used to train men in warfare. Based on Philostratus' claim that gymnastics is a form of wisdom, comparable to philosophy, poetry, music, geometry, and astronomy, Athens combined this more physical training with the education of the mind. At the Palestra, a physical education training center, the discipline of educating the body and educating the mind were combined allowing for a form of gymnastics that was more aesthetic and individual and which left behind the form that focused on strictness, discipline, the emphasis on defeating records, and focus on strength. Don Francisco Amorós y Ondeano, was born on February 19, 1770, in Valencia and died on August 8, 1848, in Paris. He was a Spanish colonel, and the first person to introduce educative gymnastics in France . The German Friedrich Ludwig Jahn started the German gymnastics movement in 1811 which led to the invention of the parallel bars, rings, high bar, the pommel horse and the vault horse. Germans Charles Beck and Charles Follen and American John Neal brought the first wave of gymnastics to the United States in the 1820s. Beck opened the first gymnasium in the US in 1825 at the Round Hill School in Northampton, Massachusetts. Follen opened the first college gymnasium and the first public gymnasium in the US in 1826 at Harvard College and in Boston, Massachusetts, respectively. Neal was the first American to open a public gymnasium in the US in Portland, Maine in 1827. He also documented and promoted these early efforts in the American Journal of Education and The Yankee, helping to establish the American branch of the movement. The Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) was founded in Liege in 1881. By the end of the nineteenth century, men's gymnastics competition was popular enough to be included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. From then on until the early 1950s, both national and international competitions involved a changing variety of exercises gathered under the rubric, gymnastics, that included, for example, synchronized team floor calisthenics, rope climbing, high jumping, running, and horizontal ladder. During the 1920s, women organized and participated in gymnastics events. The first women's Olympic competition was limited, only involving synchronized calisthenics and track and field. These games were held in 1928, in Amsterdam. By 1954, Olympic Games apparatus and events for both men and women had been standardized in modern format, and uniform grading structures (including a point system from 1 to 15) had been agreed upon. At this time, Soviet gymnasts astounded the world with highly disciplined and difficult performances, setting a precedent that continues. Television has helped publicize and initiate a modern age of gymnastics. Both men's and women's gymnastics now attract considerable international interest, and excellent gymnasts can be found on every continent. In 2006, a new points system for Artistic gymnastics was put into play. With an A Score (or D score) being the difficulty score, which as of 2009 is based on the top 8 high scoring elements in a routine (excluding Vault). The B Score (or E Score), is the score for execution and is given for how well the skills are performed. FIG-recognized disciplines The following disciplines are governed by FIG. Artistic gymnastics Artistic Gymnastics is usually divided into Men's and Women's Gymnastics. Men compete on six events: Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, and Horizontal Bar, while women compete on four: Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise. In some countries, women at one time competed on the rings, high bar, and parallel bars (for example, in the 1950s in the USSR). In 2006, FIG introduced a new point system for Artistic gymnastics in which scores are no longer limited to 10 points. The system is used in the US for elite level competition. Unlike the old code of points, there are two separate scores, an execution score and a difficulty score. In the previous system, the execution score was the only score. It was and still is out of 10.00, except for short exercises. During the gymnast's performance, the judges deduct this score only. A fall, on or off the event, is a 1.00 deduction, in elite level gymnastics. The introduction of the difficulty score is a significant change. The gymnast's difficulty score is based on what elements they perform and is subject to change if they do not perform or complete all the skills, or they do not connect a skill meant to be connected to another. Connection bonuses are where deviation happens most common between the intended and actual difficulty scores, as it can be difficult to connect multiple flight elements. It is very hard to connect skills if the first skill is not performed correctly. The new code of points allows the gymnasts to gain higher scores based on the difficulty of the skills they perform as well as their execution. There is no maximum score for difficulty, as it can keep increasing as the difficulty of the skills increase. Competitive events for women in artistic gymnastics Vault In the vaulting events, gymnasts sprint down a runway, to take off onto a vault board (or perform a roundoff or handspring entry onto a vault board), to land momentarily inverted on the hands on the vaulting horse or vaulting table (pre-flight segment), then propel themselves forward or backward off that platform to a two-footed landing (post-flight segment). Every gymnast starts at a different point on the vault runway depending on their height and strength. The post-flight segment may include one or more multiple saltos, or twisting movements. A round-off entry vault, called a Yurchenko, is a commonly performed vault in the higher levels in gymnastics. When performing a Yurchenko, gymnasts round-off so their hands are on the runway while their feet land on the vault board. From the round-off position, the gymnast travels backward so that the hands land on the vaulting table. The gymnast then blocks off the vaulting platform into various twisting and/or somersaulting combinations. The post-flight segment brings the gymnast to her feet. Less difficult vaults include taking off from the vault board with both feet at the same time and either doing a front handspring or round-off onto the vaulting table. In 2001, the traditional vaulting horse was replaced with a new apparatus, sometimes known as a tongue, horse, or vaulting table. The new apparatus is more stable, wider, and longer than the older vaulting horse, approximately 1 m in length and 1 m in width, giving gymnasts a larger blocking surface. This apparatus is thus considered safer than the vaulting horse used in the past. With the addition of this new, safer vaulting table, gymnasts are attempting more difficult vaults. Uneven bars On the uneven bars, the gymnast performs a timed routine on two parallel horizontal bars set at different heights. These bars are made of fiberglass covered in wood laminate, to prevent them from breaking. In the past, bars were made of wood, but the bars were prone to breaking, providing an incentive to switch to newer technologies. The width and height of the bars may be adjusted to the size needed by individual gymnasts. In the past, the uneven parallel bars were closer together. The bars have been moved increasingly further apart, allowing gymnasts to perform swinging, circling, transitional, and release moves that may pass over, under, and between the two bars. At the Elite level, movements must pass through the handstand. Gymnasts often mount the uneven bars using a springboard or a small mat. Gymnasts may use chalk (MgCO3) and grips (a leather strip with holes for fingers to protect hands and improve performance) when performing this event. The chalk helps take the moisture out of gymnasts' hands to decrease friction and prevent rips (tears to the skin of the hands); dowel grips help gymnasts grip the bar. Balance beam The gymnast performs a choreographed routine of up to 90 seconds in length consisting of leaps, acrobatic skills, somersaults, turns and dance elements on a padded beam. The beam is from the ground, long, and wide. This stationary object can also be adjusted, to be raised higher or lower. The event requires balance, flexibility, grace, poise, and strength. Floor The event in gymnastics performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is FX. In the past, the floor exercise event was executed on the bare floor or mats such as wrestling mats. The floor event now occurs on a carpeted 12m × 12m square, usually consisting of hard foam over a layer of plywood, which is supported by springs generally called a spring floor. This provides a firm surface that provides extra bounce or spring when compressed, allowing gymnasts to achieve greater height and a softer landing after the composed skill. Gymnasts perform a choreographed routine for up to 90 seconds in the floor exercise event. Depending on the level, the gymnast may choose their own routine; however some levels have compulsory routines, where default music must be played. Levels three to six the music is the same for each levels along with the skills within the routine. However, recently, the levels have switched. Now, levels 6–10 are optional levels and they get to have custom routines made. In the optional levels (levels six to ten) there are skill requirements for the routine but the athlete is able to pick her own music without any words. The routine should consist of tumbling passes, series of jumps, leaps, dance elements, acrobatic skills, and turns, or pivots, on one foot. A gymnast can perform up to four tumbling passes, each of which usually includes at least one flight element without hand support. Each level of gymnastics requires the athlete to perform a different number of tumbling passes. In level 7 in the United States, a gymnast is required to do 2–3, and in levels 8–10, at least 3–4 tumbling passes are required. Scoring Scoring for both Junior Olympic and NCAA level gymnastics uses a 10.0 scale. Levels below Level 9 start from a 10.0 automatically if all requirements for an event are met. Levels 9 and 10, and NCAA gymnastics all start below a 10.0 and require gymnastics to acquire bonus points through connections and skills to increase their start value to a 10.0. During a routine, deductions will be made by the judges for flaws in the form of the technique of a skill. For example, steps on landings or flexed feet can range from .05-.1 off, depending on the severity of the mistake. Competitive events for men in artistic gymnastics Floor Male gymnasts also perform on a 12meter x 12meter spring floor. A series of tumbling passes are performed to demonstrate flexibility, strength, and balance. Strength skills include circles, scales, and press handstands. Men's floor routines usually have multiple passes that have to total between 60–70 seconds and are performed without music, unlike the women's event. Rules require that male gymnasts touch each corner of the floor at least once during their routine. Pommel horse A typical pommel horse exercise involves both single leg and double leg work. Single leg skills are generally found in the form of scissors, an element often done on the pommels. Double leg work, however, is the main staple of this event. The gymnast swings both legs in a circular motion (clockwise or counterclockwise depending on preference) and performs such skills on all parts of the apparatus. To make the exercise more challenging, gymnasts will often include variations on a typical circling skill by turning (moores and spindles) or by straddling their legs (Flares). Routines end when the gymnast performs a dismount, either by swinging his body over the horse or landing after a handstand variation. Still rings The rings are suspended on wire cable from a point 5.75 meters from the floor. The gymnasts must perform a routine demonstrating balance, strength, power, and dynamic motion while preventing the rings themselves from swinging. At least one static strength move is required, but some gymnasts may include two or three. A routine ends with a dismount. Vault Gymnasts sprint down a runway, which is a maximum of 25 meters in length, before hurdling onto a springboard. The gymnast is allowed to choose where they start on the runway. The body position is maintained while punching (blocking using only a shoulder movement) the vaulting platform. The gymnast then rotates to a standing position. In advanced gymnastics, multiple twists and somersaults may be added before landing. Successful vaults depend on the speed of the run, the length of the hurdle, the power the gymnast generates from the legs and shoulder girdle, the kinesthetic awareness in the air, how well they stuck the landing, and the speed of rotation in the case of more difficult and complex vaults. Parallel bars Men perform on two bars executing a series of swings, balances, and releases that require great strength and coordination. The width between the bars is adjustable depending upon the actual needs of the gymnasts and usually 2m high. Horizontal bar A 2.8  cm thick steel or fiberglass bar raised 2.5 m above the landing area is all the gymnast has to hold onto as he performs giant swings or giants (forward or backward revolutions around the bar in the handstand position), release skills, twists, and changes of direction. By using all of the momentum from giants and then releasing at the proper point, enough height can be achieved for spectacular dismounts, such as a triple-back salto. Leather grips are usually used to help maintain a grip on the bar. As with women, male gymnasts are also judged on all of their events including their execution, degree of difficulty, and overall presentation skills. Rhythmic gymnastics According to FIG rules, only women compete in rhythmic gymnastics. This is a sport that combines elements of ballet, gymnastics, dance, and apparatus manipulation. The sport involves the performance of five separate routines with the use of five apparatus; ball, ribbon, hoop, clubs, rope—on a floor area, with a much greater emphasis on the aesthetic rather than the acrobatic. There are also group routines consisting of 5 gymnasts and 5 apparatuses of their choice. Rhythmic routines are scored out of a possible 30 points; the score for artistry (choreography and music) is averaged with the score for the difficulty of the moves and then added to the score for execution. International competitions are split between Juniors, under sixteen by their year of birth; and Seniors, for women sixteen and over again by their year of birth. Gymnasts in Russia and Europe typically start training at a very young age and those at their peak are typically in their late teens (15–19) or early twenties. The largest events in the sport are the Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships, World Cup and Grand-Prix Series. The first World Championships were held in 1963 with its first appearance at the Olympics in 1984. Rhythmic gymnastics apparatus BallThe ball is made of either rubber or synthetic material (pliable plastic) provided it possesses the same elasticity as rubber. It is from 18 to 20  cm in diameter and must have a minimum weight of 400g. The ball can be of any color and should rest in the gymnast's hand, not the wrist. Fundamental elements of a ball routine include throwing, bouncing, and rolling. The gymnast must use both hands and work on the whole floor area while showing continuous flowing movement. The ball is to emphasize the gymnast's flowing lines and body difficulty. Hoop A hoop is an apparatus in rhythmic gymnastics and may be made of plastic or wood, provided that it retains its shape during the routine. The interior diameter is from 51 to 90  cm and the hoop must weigh a minimum of 300g. The hoop may be of natural color or be part of fully covered by one or several colors, and it may be covered with adhesive tape either of the same or different colors as the hoop. Fundamental requirements of a hoop routine include rotation around the hand or body and rolling, as well as swings, circles, throws, and passes through and over the hoop. The routines in hoop involve mastery in both apparatus handling and body difficulties like leaps, jumps, and pivots. Ribbon The ribbon is made of satin or another similar material cloth of any color and may be multi-colored as well as have designs on it. The ribbon itself must be at least 35g (1 oz), 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4") in width and for senior category a minimum length of 6m (20') (5m (16.25') for juniors). The ribbon must be in one piece. The end that is attached to the stick is doubled for a maximum length of 1m (3'). This is stitched down both sides. At the top, a very thin reinforcement or rows of machine stitching for a maximum length of 5  cm is authorized. This extremity may end in a strap, or have an eyelet (a small hole, edged with buttonhole stitch or a metal circle), to permit attaching the ribbon. The ribbon is fixed to the stick by means of a supple attachment such as thread, nylon cord, or a series of articulated rings. The attachment has a maximum length of 7 cm (2.8"), not counting the strap or metal ring at the end of the stick where it will be fastened. Compulsory elements for the ribbon include flicks, circles, snakes and spirals, and throws. It requires a high degree of co-ordination to form the spirals and circles as any knots which may accidentally form in the ribbon are penalised. During a ribbon routine, large, smooth and flowing movements are looked for. Clubs Multi-piece clubs are the most popular clubs. The club is built along an internal rod, providing a base on which a handle made of polyolefin plastic is wrapped, providing an airspace between it and the internal rod. This airspace provides flex, cushioning impact, making the club softer on the hands. Foam ends and knobs further cushion the club. Multi-piece clubs are made in both a thin European style or larger bodied American style and in various lengths, generally ranging from 19 to 21 inches (480 to 530 mm). The handles and bodies are typically wrapped with decorative plastics and tapes. The skills involved are apparatus mastery and body elements, Clubs are thrown from alternate hands; each passes underneath the other clubs and is caught in the opposite hand to the one from which it was thrown. At its simplest, each club rotates once per throw, the handle moving down and away from the throwing hand at first. However, double and triple spins are frequently performed, allowing the club to be thrown higher for more advanced patterns and to allow tricks such as 360s to be performed underneath. Rope This apparatus may be made of hemp or a synthetic material which retains the qualities of lightness and suppleness. Its length is in proportion to the size of the gymnast. The rope should, when held down by the feet, reach both of the gymnasts' armpits. One or two knots at each end are for keeping hold of the rope while doing the routine. At the ends (to the exclusion of all other parts of the rope) an anti-slip material, either coloured or neutral may cover a maximum of 10 cm (3.94 in). The rope must be coloured, either all or partially and may either be of a uniform diameter or be progressively thicker in the center provided that this thickening is of the same material as the rope. The fundamental requirements of a rope routine include leaps and skipping. Other elements include swings, throws, circles, rotations and figures of eight. In 2011, the FIG decided to remove the use of rope from the program of senior individual competitions. It is still used in junior competitions and occasionally on the program for senior group competitions (eg. 2017–2018). Trampolining Trampolining Trampolining and tumbling consists of four events, individual and synchronized trampoline, double mini trampoline, and tumbling (also known as power tumbling or rod floor). Since 2000, individual trampoline has been included in the Olympic Games. The first World Championships were held in 1964. Individual trampoline Individual routines in trampolining involve a build-up phase during which the gymnast jumps repeatedly to achieve height, followed by a sequence of ten bounces without pause during which the gymnast performs a sequence of aerial skills. Routines are marked out of a maximum score of 10 points. Additional points (with no maximum at the highest levels of competition) can be earned depending on the difficulty of the moves and the length of time taken to complete the ten skills which is an indication of the average height of the jumps. In high level competitions, there are two preliminary routines, one which has only two moves scored for difficulty and one where the athlete is free to perform any routine. This is followed by a final routine which is optional. Some competitions restart the score from zero for the finals, other add the final score to the preliminary results. Synchronized trampoline Synchronized trampoline is similar except that both competitors must perform the routine together and marks are awarded for synchronization as well as the form and difficulty of the moves. Double-mini trampoline Double mini trampoline involves a smaller trampoline with a run-up, two scoring moves are performed per routine. Moves cannot be repeated in the same order on the double-mini during a competition. Skills can be repeated if a skill is competed as a mounter in one routine and a dismount in another. The scores are marked in a similar manner to individual trampoline. Tumbling In Tumbling, athletes perform an explosive series of flips and twists down a sprung tumbling track. Scoring is similar to trampolining. Tumbling was originally contested as one of the events in Men's Artistic Gymnastics at the 1932 Summer Olympics, and in 1955 and 1959 at the Pan American Games. From 1974 to 1998 it was included as an event for both genders at the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships. The event has also been contested since 1976 at the Trampoline and Tumbling World Championships. Tumbling is competed along a 25 metre sprung tack with a 10 metre run up. A tumbling pass or run is a combination of 8 skills, with an entry skill, normally a round-off, to whips and into an end skill. Usually the end skill is the hardest skill of the pass. At the highest level, gymnasts with perform transitions skills, these are skills which are not whips, instead they are double or triple somersaults normally competed at the end of the run, now competed in the middle of the run connected before and after by either a whip or a flick. Competition is made up of a qualifying round and a finals round. There are two different types of competition in tumbling, individual and team. In the team event three gymnasts out of a team of four compete one run each, if one run fails the final member of the team is allowed to compete with the three highest scores being counted. In the individual event qualification, the competitor will compete two runs, one a straight pass (including double and triple somersaults) and a twisting pass (including full twisting whips and combination skills such as a full twisting double straight ’full in back’). In the final of the individual event, the competitor must compete two different runs which can be either twisting or straight but each run normally uses both types (using transition skills). Acrobatic gymnastics Acrobatic gymnastics (formerly Sport Acrobatics), often referred to as acro if involved with the sport, acrobatic sports or simply sports acro, is a group gymnastic discipline for both men and women. Acrobats in groups of two, three and four perform routines with the heads, hands and feet of their partners. They may, subject to regulations (e.g. no lyrics), pick their own music. There are four international age categories: 11–16, 12–18, 13–19, and Senior (15+), which are used in the World Championships and many other events around the world, including the European Championships and the World Games. All levels require a balance and dynamic routine; 12–18, 13–19, and Seniors are also required to perform a final (combined) routine. Currently, acrobatic gymnastics score is marked out of 30.00 for juniors, and can be higher at Senior FIG level based on difficulty: Difficulty – An open score, which is the sum of the difficulty values of elements (valued from the tables of difficulties) successfully performed in an exercise, divided by 100. This score is unlimited in senior competitions. Execution – Judges give a score out of 10.00 for technical performance (how well the skills are executed), which is then doubled to emphasize its importance. Artistic – Judges give a score out of 10.00 for artistry (the overall performance of the routine, namely choreography) There are five competitive event categories: Women's Pairs Mixed Pairs Men's Pairs Women's Groups (3 Woman) Men's Groups (4 Men) The World Championships have been held since 1974. Aerobic gymnastics Aerobic gymnastics (formally Sport Aerobics) involves the performance of routines by individuals, pairs, trios, groups with 5 people, and aerobic dance and aerobic step(8 people). Strength, flexibility, and aerobic fitness rather than acrobatic or balance skills are emphasized. Routines are performed for all individuals on a 7x7m floor and also for 12–14 and 15–17 trios and mixed pairs. From 2009, all senior trios and mixed pairs were required to be on the larger floor (10x10m), all groups also perform on this floor. Routines generally last 60–90 seconds depending on age of participant and routine category. The World Championships have been held since 1995. The events consist of: Individual Women Individual Men Mixed Pairs Trios Groups Dance Step Parkour On January 28, 2018 Parkour was given the go ahead to begin development as a FIG sport. The FIG is planning to run World Cup competitions from 2018 onwards and will hold the first Parkour World Championships in 2020. The events consist of: Speedrun Freestyle Other disciplines The following disciplines are not currently recognized by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique. Aesthetic group gymnastics Aesthetic Group Gymnastics (AGG) was developed from the Finnish "naisvoimistelu". It differs from Rhythmic Gymnastics in that body movement is large and continuous and teams are larger. Athletes do not use apparatus in international AGG competitions compared to Rhythmic Gymnastics where ball, ribbon, hoop and clubs are used on the floor area. The sport requires physical qualities such as flexibility, balance, speed, strength, coordination and sense of rhythm where movements of the body are emphasized through the flow, expression and aesthetic appeal. A good performance is characterized by uniformity and simultaneity. The competition program consists of versatile and varied body movements, such as body waves, swings, balances, pivots, jumps and leaps, dance steps, and lifts. The International Federation of Aesthetic Group Gymnastics (IFAGG) was established in 2003. The first Aesthetic Group Gymnastics World Championships was held in 2000. Men's rhythmic gymnastics Men's rhythmic gymnastics is related to both men's artistic gymnastics and wushu martial arts. It emerged in Japan from stick gymnastics. Stick gymnastics has been taught and performed for many years with the aim of improving physical strength and health. Male athletes are judged on some of the same physical abilities and skills as their female counterparts, such as hand/body-eye co-ordination, but tumbling, strength, power, and martial arts skills are the main focus, as opposed to flexibility and dance in women's rhythmic gymnastics. There are a growing number of participants, competing alone and on a team; it is most popular in Asia, especially in Japan where high school and university teams compete fiercely. , there were 1000 men's rhythmic gymnasts in Japan. The technical rules for the Japanese version of men's rhythmic gymnastics came around the 1970s. For individuals, only four types of apparatus are used: the double rings, the stick, the rope, and the clubs. Groups do not use any apparatus. The Japanese version includes tumbling performed on a spring floor. Points are awarded based a 10-point scale that measures the level of difficulty of the tumbling and apparatus handling. On November 27–29, 2003, Japan hosted first edition of the Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championship. The events consist of: Stick Clubs Rope Double Rings Group Along with the Japanese version of Men's Rhythmic there is a Spanish version which uses the same format and rules as the FIG recognized form of Women's Rhythmic Gymnastics. TeamGym TeamGym is a form of competition created by the European Union of Gymnastics, named originally EuroTeam. The first official competition was held in Finland in 1996. TeamGym events consist of three sections: women, men and mixed teams. Athletes compete in three different disciplines: floor, tumbling and trampette. In common for the performance is effective teamwork, good technique in the elements and spectacular acrobatic skills. There is no World Championships however there has been a European Championships held since 2010. Wheel gymnastics Wheel gymnasts do exercises in a large wheel known as the Rhönrad, gymnastics wheel, gym wheel, or German wheel, in the beginning also known as ayro wheel, aero wheel, and Rhon rod. There are four core categories of exercise: straight line, spiral, vault and cyr wheel. The first World Championships was held in 1995. Mallakhamba Mallakhamba (Marathi: मल्लखम्ब) is a traditional Indian sport in which a gymnast performs feats and poses in concert with a vertical wooden pole or rope. The word also refers to the pole used in the sport. Mallakhamba derives from the terms malla which denotes a wrestler and khamba which means a pole. Mallakhamba can therefore be translated to English as "pole gymnastics". On April 9, 2013, the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh declared mallakhamba as the state sport. In February 2019 the first Mallahkhamb World Championship was held in Mumbai Non-competitive gymnastics General gymnastics also known as Gymnastics for All enables people of all ages and abilities to participate in performance groups of 6 to more than 150 athletes. They can perform synchronized, choreographed routines. Troupes may consist of both genders and are separated into age divisions. The largest general gymnastics exhibition is the quadrennial World Gymnaestrada which was first held in 1939. In 1984 Gymnastics for All was officially recognized first as a Sport Program by the FIG (International Gymnastic Federation), and subsequently by national gymnastic federations worldwide with participants that now number 30 million. Non-competitive gymnastics is considered useful for its health benefits. Levels In the US, gymnastics levels for women called the Junior Olympic (JO) Program begins at 1 and goes to 10. Elite can follow 10 and is generally considered Olympic level. Men's gymnastics or The Junior Olympic Program consists of ten levels of training or competition with multiple age groups at each level creating opportunities for athletes and coaches to participate and or compete. Since 2015, Canada has adopted the women’s JO Program, with some modifications, for use in the Provinces and Territories. Scoring (code of points) An artistic gymnast's score comes from deductions taken from the start value of a routine's elements. The start value of a routine is based on the difficulty of the elements the gymnast attempts and whether or not the gymnast meets composition requirements. The composition requirements are different for each apparatus. This score is called the D score. Deductions in execution and artistry are taken from a maximum of 10.0. This score is called the E score. The final score is calculated by adding the D and E score. The current method of scoring, by adding D and E score to give the final score has been in place since 2006. The current method is called "open-end" scoring because there is no theoretical cap (although there is practical cap) to the D-score and hence the total possible score for a routine. Before 2006, a gymnast's final score is deducted from a possible maximum of 10 for a routine. A Code of Points or guidelines of scoring a routine's difficulty and execution, is slightly revised for each quadrennium, or period of four years culminating in the Olympics year. Landing In a tumbling pass, dismount or vault, landing is the final phase, following take off and flight This is a critical skill in terms of execution in competition scores, general performance, and injury occurrence. Without the necessary magnitude of energy dissipation during impact, the risk of sustaining injuries during somersaulting increases. These injuries commonly occur at the lower extremities such as cartilage lesions, ligament tears, and bone bruises/fractures. To avoid such injuries, and to receive a high-performance score, proper technique must be used by the gymnast. "The subsequent ground contact or impact landing phase must be achieved using a safe, aesthetic and well-executed double foot landing." A successful landing in gymnastics is classified as soft, meaning the knee and hip joints are at greater than 63 degrees of flexion. A higher flight phase results in a higher vertical ground reaction force. Vertical ground reaction force represents an external force which the gymnasts have to overcome with their muscle force and affects the gymnasts' linear and angular momentum. Another important variable that affects linear and angular momentum is the time the landing takes. Gymnasts can decrease the impact force by increasing the time taken to perform the landing. Gymnasts can achieve this by increasing hip, knee and ankle amplitude. Former apparatus and events Rope climbing Generally, competitors climbed either a 6m (6.1m = 20 ft in US) or an 8m (7.6m = 25 ft in US), 38 mm diameter (1.5-inch) natural fiber rope for speed, starting from a seated position on the floor and using only the hands and arms. Kicking the legs in a kind of "tride was normally permitted. Many gymnasts can do this in the straddle or pike position, which eliminates the help generated from the legs though it can be done with legs as well. Flying rings Flying rings was an event similar to still rings, but with the performer executing a series of stunts while swinging. It was a gymnastic event sanctioned by both the NCAA and the AAU until the early 1960s. Club swinging Club swinging, a.k.a. Indian clubs, was an event in Men's Artistic Gymnastics sometime up until the 1950s. It was similar to the clubs in both Women's and Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics but much simpler with few throws allowed. It was practice. It was included in the 1904 and 1932 Summer Olympic Games. Other (men's artistic) Team horizontal bar and parallel bar in the 1896 Summer Olympics Team free and Swedish system in the 1912 and 1920 Summer Olympics Combined and triathlon in the 1904 Summer Olympics Side horse vault in 1924 Summer Olympics Tumbling in the 1932 Summer Olympics Other (women's artistic) Team exercise at the 1928, 1936, and 1948 Summer Olympics Parallel bars at the 1938 World Championships Team portable apparatus at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics Health and safety Gymnastics is one of the most dangerous sports, with a very high injury rate seen in girls age 11 to 18. Compared to athletes who play other sports, gymnasts are at higher than average risk of overuse injuries and injuries caused by early sports specialization among children and young adults. Gymnasts are at particular risk of foot and wrist injuries. Strength training can help prevent injuries. In addition to physical injuries, engaging in competitive gymnastics has been linked to eating disorders, and in some cases emotional and sexual abuse. Gymnasts tend to have short stature, but it is unlikely that the sport affects their growth. Parents of gymnasts tend also to be shorter than average. Some gymnastic skills are banned for safety reasons. Popular culture Books Little Girls in Pretty Boxes The Spirit of Gymnastics: The Biography of Hartley D'Oyley Price, by Tom Conkling (1982) Films A 2nd Chance American Anthem Chalk It Up Flying Full Out The Gabby Douglas Story Gymkata The Gymnast (Dreya Weber film) Little Girls in Pretty Boxes McKenna Shoots for the Stars Nadia Peaceful Warrior Perfect Body Raising the Bar The Simone Biles Story: Courage To Soar A State of Mind Stick It Television Make It or Break It My Perfect Landing Video games Athens 2004 Barbie Team Gymnastics Beijing 2008 Capcom's Gold Medal Challenge '92 Dance Aerobics Ener-G Gym Rockets Imagine: Gymnast London 2012 Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Shawn Johnson Gymnastics Summer Games See also Acro dance Acrobatics Cheerleading Glossary of gymnastics terms Gymnasium (ancient Greece) International Gymnastics Hall of Fame List of gymnastics competitions List of gymnastics terms List of gymnasts Major achievements in gymnastics by nation Majorettes NCAA Men's Gymnastics championship (US) NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship (US) Turners Uniform (gymnastics) Wheel gymnastics World Gymnastics Championships References Citations Sources External links International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) official website International Federation of Aesthetic Group Gymnastics official website USA Gymnastics, the governing body for gymnastics in the US British Gymnastics, the governing body for gymnastics in the UK Brazilian Gymnastics, the governing body for gymnastics in the Brazil Summer Olympic sports Individual sports Sports rules and regulations Acrobatic sports

George Mason University (Mason or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia. The university was originally founded in 1949 as a northern branch of the University of Virginia. Named after Founding Father of the United States George Mason in 1959, it became an independent university in 1972. The school has since grown into the largest public university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Mason operates four campuses in Virginia (Fairfax, Arlington, Front Royal, and Prince William), as well as a campus in Incheon, South Korea. The flagship campus is in Fairfax. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Two George Mason professors have won the Nobel Prize, both in economics: James M. Buchanan in 1986 and Vernon L. Smith in 2002. EagleBank Arena, a 10,000-seat arena and concert venue operated by the university, is located on the Fairfax campus. The university recognizes 500 student groups as well as 41 fraternities and sororities. History Timeline from center to university University of Virginia (1949–1972) In 1949, the University of Virginia created an extension center to serve Northern Virginia. The extension center offered both for credit and non-credit informal classes in the evenings at various pre-existing venues. The first for credit classes offered were: "Government in the Far East, Introduction to International Politics, English Composition, Principles of Economics, Mathematical Analysis, Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, and Principles of Lip Reading." By the end of 1952, enrollment was 1,192 students. A resolution of the Virginia General Assembly in January 1956 changed the extension center into University College, the Northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia. John Norville Gibson Finley served as director. Seventeen freshmen students attended classes at University College in a small renovated elementary school building in Bailey's Crossroads starting in September 1957. In 1958 University College became George Mason College. The City of Fairfax purchased and donated of land just south of the city limits to the University of Virginia for the college's new site, which is now referred to as the Fairfax Campus. In 1959, the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia selected a permanent name for the college: George Mason College of the University of Virginia. The Fairfax campus construction planning that began in early 1960 showed visible results when the development of the first of Fairfax Campus began in 1962. In the Fall of 1964 the new campus welcomed 356 students. During the 1966 Session of the Virginia General Assembly, Alexandria delegate James M. Thomson, with the backing of the University of Virginia, introduced a bill in the General Assembly to make George Mason College a four-year institution under the University of Virginia's direction. The measure, known as H 33, passed the Assembly easily and was approved on March 1, 1966, making George Mason College a degree-granting institution. During that same year, the local jurisdictions of Fairfax County, Arlington County, and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church agreed to appropriate $3 million to purchase land adjacent to Mason to provide for a Fairfax Campus with the intention that the institution would expand into a regional university of major proportions, including the granting of graduate degrees. George Mason University (1972–present) In 1972, Virginia separated George Mason College from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville and renamed it George Mason University. In 1978, George W. Johnson was appointed to serve as the fourth president. Under his eighteen-year tenure, the university expanded both its physical size and program offerings at a tremendous rate. Shortly before Johnson's inauguration in April 1979, Mason acquired the School of Law and the new Arlington Campus. The university also became a doctoral institution. Toward the end of Johnson's term, Mason would be deep in planning for a third campus in Prince William County at Manassas. Major campus facilities, such as Student Union Building II, EagleBank Arena, Center for the Arts, and the Johnson Learning Center, were all constructed over the course of Johnson's eighteen years as University President. Enrollment once again more than doubled from 10,767 during the fall of 1978 to 24,368 in the spring of 1996. Dr. Alan G. Merten was appointed president in 1996. He believed that the university's location made it responsible for both contributing to and drawing from its surrounding communities—local, national, and global. George Mason was becoming recognized and acclaimed in all of these spheres. During Merten's tenure, the university hosted the World Congress of Information Technology in 1998, celebrated a second Nobel Memorial Prize-winning faculty member in 2002, and cheered the Men's Basketball team in their NCAA Final Four appearance in 2006. Enrollment increased from just over 24,000 students in 1996 to approximately 33,000 during the spring semester of 2012, making Mason Virginia's largest public university and gained prominence at the national level. Dr. Ángel Cabrera officially took office on July 1, 2012. Both Cabrera and the board were well aware that Mason was part of a rapidly changing academia, full of challenges to the viability of higher education. In a resolution on August 17, 2012, the board asked Dr. Cabrera to create a new strategic vision that would help Mason remain relevant and competitive in the future. The drafting of the Vision for Mason, from conception to official outline, created a new mission statement that defines the university. On March 25, 2013, university president Ángel Cabrera held a press conference to formally announce the university's decision to leave the Colonial Athletic Association to join the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). The announcement came just days after the Board of Visitors' approval of the university's Vision document that Dr. Cabrera had overseen. Mason began competition in the A-10 during the 2013–2014 academic year, and Mason's association with the institutions that comprise the A-10 started a new chapter in Mason athletics, academics, and other aspects of university life. The Chronicle of Higher Education listed Mason as one of the "Great Colleges to Work For" from 2010 to 2014. The Washington Post listed Mason as one of the "Top Workplaces" in 2014. The WorldatWork Alliance for Work-Life Progress awarded Mason the Seal of Distinction in 2015. The AARP listed Mason as one of the Best Employers for Workers Over 50 in 2013. Phi Beta Kappa established a chapter at the university in 2013. In 2018, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit revealed that conservative donors, including the Charles Koch Foundation and Federalist Society, were given direct influence over faculty hiring decisions at the university's law and economics schools. GMU President Ángel Cabrera acknowledged that the revelations raised questions about the university's academic integrity and pledged to prohibit donors from sitting on faculty selection committees in the future. Dr. Ángel Cabrera resigned his position on July 31, 2019, and became president of Georgia Tech. Following Cabrera's resignation, Anne B. Holton served as interim president until June 30, 2020. On February 24, 2020, the Board of Visitors appointed Gregory Washington as the eighth president. He started at George Mason on July 1, 2020. Washington is the university's first African-American president. On March 23, 2020, George Mason shifted to exclusively online instruction during the COVID pandemic. Hybrid instruction occurred for the Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Fall 2021 semesters. The university offered a combination of online and in-person instruction. Campuses George Mason University has four campuses in the United States, all within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Three are in the Northern Virginia suburbs of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and one is in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. The university also has one campus in South Korea, in the Songdo International Business District of Incheon. The between 2005 and 2009 the university had a campus at Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The Blue Ridge campus, just outside Front Royal, is run in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution. Fairfax The university's Fairfax Campus is situated on of landscaped land with a large pond in a suburban environment in George Mason, Virginia, just south of the City of Fairfax in central Fairfax County. Off-campus amenities are within walking distance and Washington, D.C. is approximately from campus. Notable buildings include the student union building, the Johnson Center; the Center for the Arts, a 2,000-seat concert hall; the Long and Kimmy Nguyen Engineering Building; Exploratory Hall for science, new in 2013; an astronomy observatory and telescope; the Art and Design Building; the newly expanded Fenwick Library, the Krasnow Institute; and three fully appointed gyms and an aquatic center for student use. The stadiums for indoor and outdoor track and field, baseball, softball, tennis, soccer and lacrosse are also on the Fairfax campus, as is Masonvale, a housing community for faculty, staff and graduate students. The smallest building on the campus is the information booth. Transportation This campus is served by the Washington Metro Orange Line at the Vienna, Fairfax, GMU station as well as Metrobus routes. The CUE Bus Green One, Green Two, Gold One, and Gold Two lines all provide service to this campus at . This campus is served by the Virginia Railway Express Manassas Line at the Burke Center station. Fairfax Connector Route 306: GMU–Pentagon provides service to this campus. Mason provides shuttle service between this campus and Vienna, Fairfax, GMU Metro station, the Burke Center VRE station, the Science and Technology Campus, West Campus, and downtown City of Fairfax. George Mason statue The bronze statue of George Mason on campus was created by Wendy M. Ross and dedicated on April 12, 1996. The 7 foot statue shows George Mason presenting his first draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights which was later the basis for the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights. Beside Mason is a model of a writing table that is still in the study of Gunston Hall, Mason's Virginia estate. The books on the table—volumes of Hume, Locke and Rousseau—represent influences in his thought. Arlington The Arlington Campus is situated on in Virginia Square, a bustling urban environment on the edge of Arlington, Virginia's Clarendon business district and from downtown Washington, D.C. The campus was founded in 1979 with the acquisition of a law school. In 1998, Hazel Hall opened to house the George Mason University School of Law (now Antonin Scalia Law School); subsequent development created Van Metre Hall (formerly Founders Hall), home of the Schar School of Policy and Government, the Center for Regional Analysis, and the graduate-level administrative offices for the School of Business. Vernon Smith Hall houses the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the Mercatus Center, and the Institute for Humane Studies. The campus also houses the 300-seat Founders Hall Auditorium. The Arlington Campus is also the future home of the Mason School of Computing, a plan intended to double the number of computer science students to 15,000 over the next five years. As part of Amazon's HQ2 development in nearby Crystal City, Mason announced a slew of new changes to be made to the Arlington Campus. It committed to expanding the campus and replacing Original Building with a 400,000sq ft mixed use high rise which would developed in a public private partnership to allow for mixed use commercial space on lower levels. The university also announced the development of an Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA) to include labs, coworking and public programming spaces, ground-floor retail, a parking garage and a public plaza The university has said they will invest $250 million at the Arlington Campus in the next five years, adding 1,000 faculty members and enlarging the campus to 1.2 million square feet, with an emphasis on computing programs and advanced research in high-tech fields. Transportation This campus is served by the Washington Metro Orange Line at the Virginia Square-GMU station, a campus shuttle service, and Metrobus route 38B. The rail station is located one block west of the campus. Arlington Rapid Transit or ART Bus routes 41, 42, and 75 also provide service at this location. The campus offers one electric vehicle charging station, five disabled permit automotive parking locations, three bicycle parking locations, and one Capitol Bikeshare location. Science and Technology campus The Science and Technology campus opened on August 25, 1997, as the Prince William campus in Manassas, Virginia, on of land, some still currently undeveloped. More than 4,000 students are enrolled in classes in bioinformatics, biotechnology, information technology, and forensic biosciences educational and research programs. There are undergraduate programs in health, fitness and recreation. There are graduate programs in exercise, fitness, health, geographic information systems, and facility management. Much of the research takes place in the high-security Biomedical Research Laboratory. The 1,123-seat Merchant Hall and the 300-seat Verizon Auditorium in the Hylton Performing Arts Center opened in 2010. The 110,000-square-foot Freedom Aquatic and Fitness Center is operated by the Mason Enterprise Center. The Mason Center for Team and Organizational Learning stylized as EDGE is an experiential education facility open to the public. The Sports Medicine Assessment Research and Testing lab stylized as SMART Lab is located within the Freedom center. The SMART Lab is most known for its concussion research. On April 23, 2015, the campus was renamed to the Science and Technology Campus. In 2019, the university engaged in a feasibility study of creating a medical school at the Prince William Campus. The proposed medical school would be completed in 2022. Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation The campus in Front Royal, Virginia is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the university. Open to students in August 2012 after breaking ground on the project on June 29, 2011, the primary focus of the campus is global conservation training. The Volgenau Academic Center includes three teaching laboratories, four classrooms, and 18 offices. Shenandoah National Park is visible from the dining facility's indoor and outdoor seating. Living quarters include 60 double occupancy rooms, an exercise facility, and study space. Mason Korea (Songdo, South Korea) Opened in March 2014, the Songdo campus is in South Korea's Incheon Free Economic Zone, a site designed for 850,000 people. It's from Seoul and a two-hour flight from China and Japan, and is connected to the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. The Commonwealth of Virginia considers the Songdo campus legally no different from any other Mason campus, "... board of visitors shall have the same powers with respect to operation and governance of its branch campus in Korea as are vested in the board by the Code of Virginia with respect to George Mason University in Virginia ..." Mason Korea students will spend the sixth and seventh semesters (one year) on the Fairfax Campus, with all other course work to be completed in Songdo. George Mason University Korea offers seven undergraduate programs: Management, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Global Affairs, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and Computer Game Design. Mason Korea also has two graduate programs: Systems Engineering and IB & ESOL. Mason Korea's first commencement class graduated in December 2017. Students from Mason Korea earn the same diploma as home campus students, with English as the language of instruction. Academics Rankings Mason offers undergraduate, master's, law, and doctoral degrees. The student-faculty ratio is 17:1; 58 percent of undergraduate classes have fewer than 30 students and 30 percent of undergraduate classes have fewer than 20 students. Colleges and schools College of Health and Human Services The college is located in the Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall on the Fairfax, Virginia campus. Currently, the college is home to approximately 3,000 students. The college offers 5 undergraduate degrees, 12 graduate degrees, and 11 certificates. Academic programs in the college are accredited by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA), Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM), and Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Admissions Between 2009 and 2013, George Mason saw a 21% increase in the number of applications, has enrolled 4% more new degree-seeking students, and has seen the percentage of undergraduate and graduate applications accepted each decrease by 4%. Law applications accepted increased by 10%. Mason enrolled 33,917 students for Fall 2013, up 956 (+3%) from Fall 2012. Undergraduate students made up 65% (21,990) of the fall enrollment, graduate students 34% (11,399), and law students 2% (528). Undergraduate headcount was 1,337 higher than Fall 2012 (+7%); graduate headcount was 262 lower (−2%); and law student headcount was 119 lower (−18%). Matriculated students come from all 50 states and 122 foreign countries. As of fall 2014, the university had 33,791 students enrolled, including 21,672 undergraduates, 7,022 seeking master's degrees, 2,264 seeking doctoral degrees and 493 seeking law degrees. Enrollment As of 2017, the university enrolled 34,904 students, making it the largest university by head count in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Accreditation George Mason University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. Research George Mason University, an institution dedicated to research of consequence, hosts $149 million in sponsored research projects annually, as of 2019. In 2016, Mason was classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education among the U.S. universities that receive the most research funding and award research/scholarship doctorates. Mason moved into this classification based on a review of its 2013–2014 data that was performed by the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University. The research is focused on health, sustainability and security. In health, researchers focus is on wellness, disease prevention, advanced diagnostics and biomedical analytics. Sustainability research examines climate change, natural disaster forecasting, and risk assessment. Mason's security experts study domestic and international security as well as cyber security. Centers and institutes The university is home to numerous research centers and institutes. Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine Center for Clean Water and Sustainable Technologies (CCWST) Center for Climate Change Communication (4C) Center for Collision Safety and Analysis Center for Excellence in Command, Control, Communications, Computing and Intelligence (C4I) Center for History and New Media (CHNM) Center for Location Science Center for Neural Informatics Center for Peacemaking Practice Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship Center for Regional Analysis Center for Social Complexity Center for Study of Public Choice Center for Neural Informatics, Structures, and Plasticity (CN3) Center for Well-Being Institute for Advanced Biomedical Research Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study Mercatus Center National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases SMART Lab (Sports Medicine Assessment, Research & Testing) Stephen S. Fuller Institute Partners Mason has established far-reaching research partnerships with many government agencies, non-profits, health systems, and international finance organizations. Among others, Mason researches computer systems and networks with the Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA); investigates climate issues with the National Aeronautics and Space administration (NASA); explores underwater archaeology with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); partners on conservation and biological matters with the Smithsonian institution; studies brain neurons with The Allen Institute; conducts economic research with the International Monetary Fund; and examines chronic illnesses and disabilities with the Inova Health System. Student life Traditions Students will decorate the George Mason statue on the Fairfax campus for events, some rub the statue toe to bring good luck, and many pose with the statue for graduation photographs. Between 1988 and 1990 Anthony Maiello wrote the original George Mason Fight Song, which was edited by Michael Nickens in 2009. Each spring, student organizations at Mason compete to paint one of the 38 benches located on the Quad in front of Fenwick Library. For years, student organizations have painted those benches that line the walkway to gain recognition for their group. With more than 300 student organizations, there is much competition to paint one of the benches. Painting takes place in the spring. Housing On the Fairfax campus the northernmost housing is technically on campus, but about a mile from the center of campus, about a half mile from the edge of the majority of the Fairfax campus in the housing area known as the Townhouses. On the eastern edge of the Fairfax campus lies Masonvale, houses intended for graduate students and visiting faculty. On the southern edge of the Fairfax campus you will find President's Park, Liberty Square, and Potomac Heights. On the western side of the Fairfax campus, near Ox Road/Rt 123, are the Mason Global Center, Whitetop, and Rogers. The Student Apartments off Aquia Creek Lane were torn down in 2019. Closer to the center of the Fairfax campus are the residence halls along Chesapeake Lane, named: Northern Neck, Commonwealth, Blue Ridge, Sandbridge, Piedmont, and Tidewater, as well as Hampton Roads, Dominion, Eastern Shore, and the Commons. At the Science and Technology (SciTech) campus near Manassas, Virginia, west of Fairfax, Beacon Hall was designed for graduate student housing. west of Fairfax, the G.T. Halpin Family Living & Learning Community is on the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation campus. west of Fairfax, Student's Hall and Guest House are on the Songdo campus. On-campus robot food delivery George Mason University's Fairfax Campus is the first U.S. campus to include robot food delivery in its meal plans. 25 autonomous robots were provided by the Estonian robotics company Starship Technologies to carry out meal deliveries. Student organizations Student organizations can have an academic, social, athletic, religious/irreligious, career, or just about any other focus. The university recognizes 500 such groups. Student media Mason sponsors several student-run media outlets through the Office of Student Media. The Fourth Estate: Website and weekly student newspaper, available on Mondays The George Mason Review: A cross-disciplinary, undergraduate journal. Hispanic Culture Review: Publishes creative writing, book reviews, narratives, and essays in both Spanish and English. Published annually. Mason Cable Network: A television outlet run by the students, for the students, that provides analytical, and entertaining programming. Phoebe: A journal that annually publishes original works of literature and art. So to Speak: A feminist journal that publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art each semester. Volition: Formerly known as Apathy, is George Mason University's undergraduate creative literature and art magazine. WGMU Radio: Broadcasts a wide array of music, talk, sports, and news programming. WGMU is also the flagship station for George Mason's Men's and Women's Basketball team, part of the Go Mason Digital Network. Greek life Mason has 42 fraternities and sororities recognized by the university, with a total Greek population of about 1,800. Mason does not have a traditional "Greek Row" of housing specifically for fraternities, although recruitment, charitable events—including a spring Greek Week—and other chapter activities take place on the Fairfax Campus. Spiritual and religious community fellowships, ministries, and associations George Mason University is a public government-funded university that has to comply with the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The university, as being part of the government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, cannot endorse or establish a religion, nor can it impede the "free exercise of religion" of its students. Therefore, independent religious student-led organizations can register with the university in order to minister to the students at their own choosing. The registered student religious organizations are as follows: Athletics Division I teams The George Mason Patriots are the athletic teams of George Mason University located in Fairfax, Virginia. The Patriots compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. About 485 student-athletes compete in 22 men's and women's Division I sports – baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. Intercollegiate men's and women's teams are members of the National Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, the Atlantic 10, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL), and the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A). Intramural club sports In addition to its NCAA Division I teams, George Mason University has several club sports. The club sports offer students a chance to compete at a high level without the time commitment of a D-I/Varsity team in sports including – badminton, baseball, basketball (women's), crew, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, football, ice hockey (men's and women's), lacrosse (men's and women's), powerlifting, quidditch, rugby (men's and women's), running, soccer (men's and women's), swimming, tae kwon do, trap & skeet, triathlon, ultimate frisbee (men's and women's), volleyball (men's and women's), and underwater hockey. Clubs have a competitive range from regional competition to yearly participation in U.S. National College Club Level Championships Performing arts Mason Players The Mason Players is a faculty lead student organization that produces six productions. This season includes two "Main Stage" productions, which are directed by faculty members or guest artists. As well as "Studio" productions, which are directed by students through an application process within Mason Players. There is also an annual production of "Originals", which consists of 10 minute original plays written by students. Full time students of George Mason University, both outside and a part of the School of Theater are allowed to audition for these productions. Controversies Koch Foundation funding George Mason University has been subject to controversy surrounding donations from the Charles Koch Foundation. University documents revealed that the Koch brothers were given the ability to pick candidates as a condition of monetary donations. George Mason University altered its donor rules following the controversy. Sexual misconduct George Mason University has been subject to many accusations of mishandling sexual assault and misconduct allegations. In 2016 a male student won an appeal overturning his suspension for sexual assault. The courts found that Brent Ericson, who had prior knowledge of this and previous cases against the student, did not give the student the ability to defend himself, as he suspended the student for prior, unrelated incidences. Brent Ericson has also been accused of sharing home addresses in a sexual misconduct case. The Title IX process (which investigates sex discrimination) at George Mason University has continued to be subject to controversy. Following the hiring of Brett Kavanaugh as a visiting professor in the law school in 2019, students circulated a petition demanding not only the removal of Kavanaugh, but to increase the number of Title IX Coordinators on campus. The petition received 10,000 signatures and resulted in approval for funding for two more Title IX Coordinator positions. However, as of 2020, George Mason University only has one Title IX Coordinator. At least one student has publicly alleged that George Mason University mishandles Title IX investigations. In 2018, Peter Pober was alleged to have committed sexual misconduct during his tenure as a Competitive Speech Coach. He retired while being investigated for misconduct. Name of law school In 2016, George Mason's law school was briefly named the Antonin Scalia School of Law. Following the realization that this would lead to a vulgar acronym ("ASSLaw"), the school was quickly renamed to the Antonin Scalia Law School. Notable faculty and alumni Faculty Vasily Aksyonov, Russian novelist, poet, and anti-totalitarian dissident, author of the "Generations of Winter," taught Russian literature at GMU during a period of exile in the 1980s-90s Donald J. Boudreaux, economist, contributor of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and the Cafe Hayek blog, and author of the books Globalization and Hypocrites and Half-Wits James M. Buchanan, 1986 Nobel Memorial Prize winner for Economics Bryan Caplan, economist, blogger at EconTalk, author of The Myth of the Rational Voter and The Case Against Education. Tyler Cowen, economist, director of the Mercatus Center at Mason and founder of the blog Marginal Revolution Christopher d'Amboise, danseur, choreographer, Tony Award nominee. Helen C. Frederick, artist and printmaker Jack Goldstone, sociologist and political scientist specializing in revolutions; nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; 2014 winner of Guggenheim Award Hugh Heclo, political scientist, Guggenheim Fellow, and Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Public Affairs Jonathan Katz, cryptographer and co-author of Introduction to Modern Cryptography Brett Kavanaugh, Supreme Court Justice Steven Pearlstein, Pulitzer Prize winner for economics in the Washington Post Russ Roberts, economist and host of EconTalk Roy Rosenzweig, Fulbright scholar, historian, founded Center for History and New Media Louise Shelley, 2015 Andrew Carnegie Fellow from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Martin Sherwin, Pulitzer Prize winner for his biography of Robert Oppenheimer Vernon L. Smith, 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize-winning economist. Gordon Tullock, co-founder of public choice economics. Roger Wilkins, Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History and American Culture, Pulitzer Prize winner, journalist, civil rights leader and former Assistant Attorney General of the United States Walter E. Williams, John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics Alumni Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, President of Puntland and Prime Minister of Somalia Bryon Allen (born 1992), basketball player for Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Basketball Premier League Anousheh Ansari, Iranian-American engineer, co-founder of Prodea Systems and the first Muslim woman in space Justin Bour, professional baseball player with the Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim Callie Brownson, American football coach Anna E. Cabral, Treasurer of the United States under President George W. Bush Shawn Camp, baseball player, Toronto Blue Jays Kathleen L. Casey, Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rabia Chaudry, Pakistani-American attorney, author of New York Times best-seller Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial and podcast host Carla Dove, ornithologist and leading expert of bird-aircraft strikes Chad Dukes, radio personality Erden Eruç, president and CEO of the non-profit Around-n-Over and the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the globe Hala Gorani, anchor and senior correspondent for CNN International Jim Hagedorn, congressman from Minnesota's first congressional district Nikki Hornsby, Grammy Voting Recording Artist, Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Founder of CJP-NHRecords.com, carrying on the Hornsby Family Music Tradition Internationally. Elsa Jean, prominent American pornographic actress in the German adult film industry David Jolly, former member of the United States House of Representatives Jake Kalish, baseball player Archie Kao, actor best known for Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, Chicago P.D., and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, former Poet Laureate of Virginia Peter G. Levine, stroke recovery researcher, author of Stronger After Stroke. Cameron Long (born 1988), basketball player in the Israeli Premier League January Makamba, Tanzanian politician Darryl Monroe, professional basketball player, 2016 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP Dayton Moore, general manager, senior VP of the Kansas City Royals Sareh Nouri, Persian luxury bridal designer Steve Ricchetti, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton Denise Turner Roth, Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush Rhea Seehorn, actress best known for playing Kim Wexler on Better Call Saul Martin Andrew Taylor, former senior executive Corporate VP of Windows Live and MSN, Chief of Staff to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Ian Weakley, Olympic hurdler Chris Widger, former Major League Baseball player Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox See also George Mason University's historical hoaxes Northern Virginia Community College Explanatory notes References External links Educational institutions established in 1949 1949 establishments in Virginia George Mason Public universities and colleges in Virginia Education in Fairfax County, Virginia Universities and colleges in South Korea Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in Arlington County, Virginia Education in Prince William County, Virginia Education in Loudoun County, Virginia