diff --git "a/wikipedia_42.txt" "b/wikipedia_42.txt" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/wikipedia_42.txt" @@ -0,0 +1,10000 @@ + Columbus, North Carolina + Columbus, North Dakota + Columbus, Ohio, the largest city in the United States with this name + Columbus, Texas + Columbus, Wisconsin + Columbus (town), Wisconsin + Columbus Avenue (disambiguation) + Columbus Circle, a traffic circle in Manhattan, New York + Columbus City (disambiguation) + Columbus Township (disambiguation) + +Persons with the name + +Forename + Columbus Caldwell (1830–1908), American politician + Columbus Germain (1827–1880), American politician + Columbus Short (born 1982), American choreographer and actor + +Surname + Bartholomew Columbus (c. 1461–1515), Christopher Columbus's younger brother + Chris Columbus (filmmaker) (born 1958), American filmmaker + Diego Columbus (1479/80–1526), Christopher Columbus' eldest son + Ferdinand Columbus (1488–1539), Christopher Columbus' second son + Scott Columbus (1956–2011), long-time drummer for the heavy metal band Manowar + +Arts, entertainment, and media + +Films + Columbus (2015 film), an Indian comedy, subtitled "Discovering Love" + Columbus (2017 film), an American drama set amidst the architecture of Columbus, Indiana + Columbus (Star Trek), a shuttlecraft in the Star Trek series + +Music + +Opera + Columbus (Egk), German-language opera by Egk, 1943 +Columbus, 1855 opera by František Škroup + Christophe Colomb, French-language opera by Milhaud often referred to as Columbus in English sources + +Other uses in music + Columbus (Herzogenberg), large scale cantata by Heinrich von Herzogenberg 1870 +"Colombus", song by Mary Black from No Frontiers + "Columbus" (song), a song by the band Kent from their album Tillbaka till samtiden + Christopher Columbus, pastiche of music by Offenbach to a new English libretto by Don White recorded by the Opera Rara label in 1977 + +Other uses in arts, entertainment, and media + Columbus (novel), a 1941 novel about Christopher Columbus by Rafael Sabatini + Columbus (Bartholdi), a statue depicting Christopher Columbus by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, in Providence, Rhode Island, US + Columbus Edwards, the character known as Lum of Lum and Abner + +Brands and enterprises + COLUMBUS, ab initio quantum chemistry software + ColumBus, former name of Howard Transit in Howard County, Maryland + Columbus Communications, a cable television and broadband speed Internet service provider in the Caribbean region + Columbus Salame, an American food processing company + Columbus Tubing, an Italian manufacturer of bicycle frame tubing + Columbus Buggy Company, an American automotive manufacturer from 1875 to 1913 + +Ships + Columbus (1824), a disposable ship built to transport lumber from North America to Britain + MS Columbus, a cruise ship owned by Plantours & Partner GmbH + MV Columbus, a cruise ship owned by Seajets + SS Christopher Columbus, Great Lakes excursion liner (1893–1933) + SS City of Columbus, a passenger steamer that sailed from Boston to Savannah and sank off Martha's Vineyard in 1884 + SS Columbus (1873), an American merchantman converted in 1878 into the Russian cruiser Asia + SS Columbus (1924), a transatlantic ocean liner for the North German Lloyd steamship line + USS Columbus, various ships of the US Navy + +Other uses + Columbus hops, a variety of hops + Generation of Columbuses, a generation of Poles born ca. 1920, who had to fight twenty years later + Columbus (shopping centre), a shopping centre in Vuosaari, Helsinki, Finland + +See also + + Christopher Columbus (disambiguation) + Columbus City Hall (disambiguation) + Columba + Columbia (disambiguation) + Columbus Day + List of places named for Christopher Columbus +Cornwall (; ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations and is the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement is Falmouth, and the county town is Truro. + +The county is rural, with an area of and population of 568,210. The largest settlements are Falmouth (23,061), Newquay (20,342), St Austell (19,958), and Truro (18,766). Most of Cornwall forms a single unitary authority area, and the Isles of Scilly have a unique local authority. The Cornish nationalist movement disputes the constitutional status of Cornwall and seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom. + +Cornwall is the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula. Its coastline is characterised by steep cliffs and, to the south, several rias, including those at the mouths of the rivers Fal and Fowey. It includes the southernmost point on Great Britain, Lizard Point, and forms a large part of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The AONB also includes Bodmin Moor, an upland outcrop of the Cornubian batholith granite formation. The county contains many short rivers; the longest is the Tamar, which forms the border with Devon. + +Cornwall had a minor Roman presence, and later formed part of the Brittonic kingdom of Dumnonia. From the 7th century, the Britons in the South West increasingly came into conflict with the expanding Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, eventually being pushed west of the Tamar; by the Norman Conquest Cornwall was administered as part of England, though it retained its own culture. The remainder of the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period were relatively settled, with Cornwall developing its tin mining industry and becoming a duchy in 1337. During the Industrial Revolution, the tin and copper mines were expanded and then declined, with china clay extraction becoming a major industry. Railways were built, leading to a growth of tourism in the 20th century. The Cornish language became extinct as a living community language at the end of the 18th century, but is now being revived. + +Name + +The modern English name Cornwall is a compound of two terms coming from two different language groups: +Corn- originates from the Proto-Celtic "*karnu-" ("horn", presumed in reference to "headland"), and is cognate with the English word "horn" and Latin "cornu" (both deriving from the Proto-Indo-European *ker-). There may also have been an Iron Age group that occupied the Cornish peninsula known as the Cornovii (i.e. "people of the horn or headland"). +-wall derives from the Old English exonym "", meaning "foreigner", "slave" or "Brittonic-speaker" (as in Welsh). + +In the Cornish language, Cornwall is Kernow which stems from the same Proto-Celtic root. + +History + +Prehistory, Roman and post-Roman periods + +Humans reoccupied Britain after the last Ice Age. The area now known as Cornwall was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. It continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then by Bronze Age people. + +Cornwall in the Late Bronze Age formed part of a maritime trading-networked culture which researchers have dubbed the Atlantic Bronze Age system, and which extended over most of the areas of present-day Ireland, England, Wales, France, Spain, and Portugal. + +During the British Iron Age, Cornwall, like all of Britain (modern England, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man), was inhabited by a Celtic-speaking people known as the Britons with distinctive cultural relations to neighbouring Brittany. The Common Brittonic spoken at this time eventually developed into several distinct tongues, including Cornish, Welsh, Breton, Cumbric and Pictish. + +The first written account of Cornwall comes from the 1st-century BC Sicilian Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, supposedly quoting or paraphrasing the 4th-century BCE geographer Pytheas, who had sailed to Britain: + +The identity of these merchants is unknown. It has been theorised that they were Phoenicians, but there is no evidence for this. Professor Timothy Champion, discussing Diodorus Siculus's comments on the tin trade, states that "Diodorus never actually says that the Phoenicians sailed to Cornwall. In fact, he says quite the opposite: the production of Cornish tin was in the hands of the natives of Cornwall, and its transport to the Mediterranean was organised by local merchants, by sea and then overland through France, passing through areas well outside Phoenician control." Isotopic evidence suggests that tin ingots found off the coast of Haifa, Israel, may have from Cornwall. Tin, required for the production of bronze, was a relatively rare and precious commodity in the Bronze Age – hence the interest shown in Devon and Cornwall's tin resources. (For further discussion of tin mining see the section on the economy below.) + +In the first four centuries AD, during the time of Roman dominance in Britain, Cornwall was rather remote from the main centres of Romanisation – the nearest being Isca Dumnoniorum, modern-day Exeter. However, the Roman road system extended into Cornwall with four significant Roman sites based on forts: Tregear near Nanstallon was discovered in the early 1970s, two others were found at Restormel Castle, Lostwithiel in 2007, and a third fort near Calstock was also discovered early in 2007. In addition, a Roman-style villa was found at Magor Farm, Illogan in 1935. Ptolemy's Geographike Hyphegesis mentions four towns controlled by the Dumnonii, three of which may have been in Cornwall. However, after 410 AD, Cornwall appears to have reverted to rule by Romano-Celtic chieftains of the Cornovii tribe as part of the Brittonic kingdom of Dumnonia (which also included present-day Devonshire and the Scilly Isles), including the territory of one Marcus Cunomorus, with at least one significant power base at Tintagel in the early 6th century. + +"King" Mark of Cornwall is a semi-historical figure known from Welsh literature, from the Matter of Britain, and, in particular, from the later Norman-Breton medieval romance of Tristan and Yseult, where he appears as a close relative of King Arthur, himself usually considered to be born of the Cornish people in folklore traditions derived from Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae. + +Archaeology supports ecclesiastical, literary and legendary evidence for some relative economic stability and close cultural ties between the sub-Roman Westcountry, South Wales, Brittany, the Channel Islands, and Ireland through the fifth and sixth centuries. In Cornwall, the arrival of Celtic saints such as Nectan, Paul Aurelian, Petroc, Piran, Samson and numerous others reinforced the preexisting Roman christianity. + +Conflict with Wessex +The Battle of Deorham in 577 saw the separation of Dumnonia (and therefore Cornwall) from Wales, following which the Dumnonii often came into conflict with the expanding English kingdom of Wessex. Centwine of Wessex "drove the Britons as far as the sea" in 682, and by 690 St Bonifice, then a Saxon boy, was attending an abbey in Exeter, which was in turn ruled by a Saxon abbot. The Carmen Rhythmicum written by Aldhelm contains the earliest literary reference to Cornwall as distinct from Devon. Religious tensions between the Dumnonians (who celebrated celtic Christian traditions) and Wessex (who were Roman Catholic) are described in Aldhelm's letter to King Geraint. The Annales Cambriae report that in AD 722 the Britons of Cornwall won a battle at "Hehil". It seems likely that the enemy the Cornish fought was a West Saxon force, as evidenced by the naming of King Ine of Wessex and his kinsman Nonna in reference to an earlier Battle of Llongborth in 710. + +The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle stated in 815 (adjusted date) "and in this year king Ecgbryht raided in Cornwall from east to west." this has been interpreted to mean a raid from the Tamar to Land's End, and the end of Cornish independence. However, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that in 825 (adjusted date) a battle took place between the Wealas (Cornish) and the Defnas (men of Devon) at Gafulforda. The Cornish giving battle here, and the later battle at Hingston Down, casts doubt on any claims of control Wessex had at this stage. + +In 838, the Cornish and their Danish allies were defeated by Egbert in the Battle of Hingston Down at Hengestesdune. In 875, the last recorded king of Cornwall, Dumgarth, is said to have drowned. Around the 880s, Anglo-Saxons from Wessex had established modest land holdings in the north eastern part of Cornwall; notably Alfred the Great who had acquired a few estates. William of Malmesbury, writing around 1120, says that King Athelstan of England (924–939) fixed the boundary between English and Cornish people at the east bank of the River Tamar. While elements of William's story, like the burning of Exeter, have been cast in doubt by recent writers Athelstan did re-establish a separate Cornish Bishop and relations between Wessex and the Cornish elite improved from the time of his rule. + +Eventually King Edgar was able to issue charters the width of Cornwall, and frequently sent emissaries or visited personally as seen by his appearances in the Bodmin Manumissions. + +Breton–Norman period + +One interpretation of the Domesday Book is that by this time the native Cornish landowning class had been almost completely dispossessed and replaced by English landowners, particularly Harold Godwinson himself. However, the Bodmin manumissions show that two leading Cornish figures nominally had Saxon names, but these were both glossed with native Cornish names. In 1068, Brian of Brittany may have been created Earl of Cornwall, and naming evidence cited by medievalist Edith Ditmas suggests that many other post-Conquest landowners in Cornwall were Breton allies of the Normans, the Bretons being descended from Britons who had fled to what is today Brittany during the early years of the Anglo-Saxon conquest. She also proposed this period for the early composition of the Tristan and Iseult cycle by poets such as Béroul from a pre-existing shared Brittonic oral tradition. + +Soon after the Norman conquest most of the land was transferred to the new Breton–Norman aristocracy, with the lion's share going to Robert, Count of Mortain, half-brother of King William and the largest landholder in England after the king with his stronghold at Trematon Castle near the mouth of the Tamar. + +Later medieval administration and society +Subsequently, however, Norman absentee landlords became replaced by a new Cornish-Norman ruling class including scholars such as Richard Rufus of Cornwall. These families eventually became the new rulers of Cornwall, typically speaking Norman French, Breton-Cornish, Latin, and eventually English, with many becoming involved in the operation of the Stannary Parliament system, the Earldom and eventually the Duchy of Cornwall. The Cornish language continued to be spoken and acquired a number of characteristics establishing its identity as a separate language from Breton. + +Stannary parliaments + +The stannary parliaments and stannary courts were legislative and legal institutions in Cornwall and in Devon (in the Dartmoor area). The stannary courts administered equity for the region's tin-miners and tin mining interests, and they were also courts of record for the towns dependent on the mines. The separate and powerful government institutions available to the tin miners reflected the enormous importance of the tin industry to the English economy during the Middle Ages. Special laws for tin miners pre-date written legal codes in Britain, and ancient traditions exempted everyone connected with tin mining in Cornwall and Devon from any jurisdiction other than the stannary courts in all but the most exceptional circumstances. + +Piracy and smuggling +Cornish piracy was active during the Elizabethan era on the west coast of Britain. Cornwall is well known for its wreckers who preyed on ships passing Cornwall's rocky coastline. During the 17th and 18th centuries Cornwall was a major smuggling area. + +Heraldry + +In later times, Cornwall was known to the Anglo-Saxons as "West Wales" to distinguish it from "North Wales" (the modern nation of Wales). The name appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 891 as On Corn walum. In the Domesday Book it was referred to as Cornualia and in c. 1198 as Cornwal. Other names for the county include a latinisation of the name as Cornubia (first appears in a mid-9th-century deed purporting to be a copy of one dating from c. 705), and as Cornugallia in 1086. + +Physical geography + +Cornwall forms the tip of the south-west peninsula of the island of Great Britain, and is therefore exposed to the full force of the prevailing winds that blow in from the Atlantic Ocean. The coastline is composed mainly of resistant rocks that give rise in many places to tall cliffs. Cornwall has a border with only one other county, Devon, which is formed almost entirely by the River Tamar, and the remainder (to the north) by the Marsland Valley. + +Coastal areas +The north and south coasts have different characteristics. The north coast on the Celtic Sea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, is more exposed and therefore has a wilder nature. The prosaically named High Cliff, between Boscastle and St Gennys, is the highest sheer-drop cliff in Cornwall at . However, there are also many extensive stretches of fine golden sand which form the beaches important to the tourist industry, such as those at Bude, Polzeath, Watergate Bay, Perranporth, Porthtowan, Fistral Beach, Newquay, St Agnes, St Ives, and on the south coast Gyllyngvase beach in Falmouth and the large beach at Praa Sands further to the south-west. There are two river estuaries on the north coast: Hayle Estuary and the estuary of the River Camel, which provides Padstow and Rock with a safe harbour. The seaside town of Newlyn is a popular holiday destination, as it is one of the last remaining traditional Cornish fishing ports, with views reaching over Mount's Bay. + +The south coast, dubbed the "Cornish Riviera", is more sheltered and there are several broad estuaries offering safe anchorages, such as at Falmouth and Fowey. Beaches on the south coast usually consist of coarser sand and shingle, interspersed with rocky sections of wave-cut platform. Also on the south coast, the picturesque fishing village of Polperro, at the mouth of the Pol River, and the fishing port of Looe on the River Looe are both popular with tourists. + +Inland areas +The interior of the county consists of a roughly east–west spine of infertile and exposed upland, with a series of granite intrusions, such as Bodmin Moor, which contains the highest land within Cornwall. From east to west, and with approximately descending altitude, these are Bodmin Moor, Hensbarrow north of St Austell, Carnmenellis to the south of Camborne, and the Penwith or Land's End peninsula. These intrusions are the central part of the granite outcrops that form the exposed parts of the Cornubian batholith of south-west Britain, which also includes Dartmoor to the east in Devon and the Isles of Scilly to the west, the latter now being partially submerged. + +The intrusion of the granite into the surrounding sedimentary rocks gave rise to extensive metamorphism and mineralisation, and this led to Cornwall being one of the most important mining areas in Europe until the early 20th century. It is thought tin was mined here as early as the Bronze Age, and copper, lead, zinc and silver have all been mined in Cornwall. Alteration of the granite also gave rise to extensive deposits of China Clay, especially in the area to the north of St Austell, and the extraction of this remains an important industry. + +The uplands are surrounded by more fertile, mainly pastoral farmland. Near the south coast, deep wooded valleys provide sheltered conditions for flora that like shade and a moist, mild climate. These areas lie mainly on Devonian sandstone and slate. The north east of Cornwall lies on Carboniferous rocks known as the Culm Measures. In places these have been subjected to severe folding, as can be seen on the north coast near Crackington Haven and in several other locations. + +Lizard Peninsula + +The geology of the Lizard peninsula is unusual, in that it is mainland Britain's only example of an ophiolite, a section of oceanic crust now found on land. Much of the peninsula consists of the dark green and red Precambrian serpentinite, which forms spectacular cliffs, notably at Kynance Cove, and carved and polished serpentine ornaments are sold in local gift shops. This ultramafic rock also forms a very infertile soil which covers the flat and marshy heaths of the interior of the peninsula. This is home to rare plants, such as the Cornish Heath, which has been adopted as the county flower. + +Hills and high points + +Settlements and transport + +Cornwall's only city, and the home of the council headquarters, is Truro. Nearby Falmouth is notable as a port. St Just in Penwith is the westernmost town in England, though the same claim has been made for Penzance, which is larger. St Ives and Padstow are today small vessel ports with a major tourism and leisure sector in their economies. Newquay on the north coast is another major urban settlement which is known for its beaches and is a popular surfing destination, as is Bude further north, but Newquay is now also becoming important for its aviation-related industries. Camborne is the county's largest town and more populous than the capital Truro. Together with the neighbouring town of Redruth, it forms the largest urban area in Cornwall, and both towns were significant as centres of the global tin mining industry in the 19th century; nearby copper mines were also very productive during that period. St Austell is also larger than Truro and was the centre of the china clay industry in Cornwall. Until four new parishes were created for the St Austell area on 1 April 2009 St Austell was the largest settlement in Cornwall. + +Cornwall borders the county of Devon at the River Tamar. Major roads between Cornwall and the rest of Great Britain are the A38 which crosses the Tamar at Plymouth via the Tamar Bridge and the town of Saltash, the A39 road (Atlantic Highway) from Barnstaple, passing through North Cornwall to end in Falmouth, and the A30 which connects Cornwall to the M5 motorway at Exeter, crosses the border south of Launceston, crosses Bodmin Moor and connects Bodmin, Truro, Redruth, Camborne, Hayle and Penzance. Torpoint Ferry links Plymouth with Torpoint on the opposite side of the Hamoaze. A rail bridge, the Royal Albert Bridge built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1859), provides the other main land transport link. The city of Plymouth, a large urban centre in south west Devon, is an important location for services such as hospitals, department stores, road and rail transport, and cultural venues, particularly for people living in east Cornwall. + +Cardiff and Swansea, across the Bristol Channel, have at some times in the past been connected to Cornwall by ferry, but these do not operate now. + +The Isles of Scilly are served by ferry (from Penzance) and by aeroplane, having its own airport: St Mary's Airport. There are regular flights between St Mary's and Land's End Airport, near St Just, and Newquay Airport; during the summer season, a service is also provided between St Mary's and Exeter Airport, in Devon. + +Ecology + +Flora and fauna + +Cornwall has varied habitats including terrestrial and marine ecosystems. One noted species in decline locally is the Reindeer lichen, which species has been made a priority for protection under the national UK Biodiversity Action Plan. + +Botanists divide Cornwall and Scilly into two vice-counties: West (1) and East (2). The standard flora is by F. H. Davey Flora of Cornwall (1909). Davey was assisted by A. O. Hume and he thanks Hume, his companion on excursions in Cornwall and Devon, and for help in the compilation of that Flora, publication of which was financed by him. + +Climate + +Cornwall has a temperate Oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), with mild winters and cool summers. Cornwall has the mildest and one of the sunniest climates of the United Kingdom, as a result of its oceanic setting and the influence of the Gulf Stream. The average annual temperature in Cornwall ranges from on the Isles of Scilly to in the central uplands. Winters are among the warmest in the country due to the moderating effects of the warm ocean currents, and frost and snow are very rare at the coast and are also rare in the central upland areas. Summers are, however, not as warm as in other parts of southern England. The surrounding sea and its southwesterly position mean that Cornwall's weather can be relatively changeable. + +Cornwall is one of the sunniest areas in the UK. It has more than 1,541 hours of sunshine per year, with the highest average of 7.6 hours of sunshine per day in July. The moist, mild air coming from the southwest brings higher amounts of rainfall than in eastern Great Britain, at per year. However, this is not as much as in more northern areas of the west coast. The Isles of Scilly, for example, where there are on average fewer than two days of air frost per year, is the only area in the UK to be in the Hardiness zone 10. The islands have, on average, less than one day of air temperature exceeding 30 °C per year and are in the AHS Heat Zone 1. Extreme temperatures in Cornwall are particularly rare; however, extreme weather in the form of storms and floods is common. Due to climate change Cornwall faces more heatwaves and severe droughts, faster coastal erosion, stronger storms and higher wind speeds as well as the possibility of more high impact flooding. + +Culture + +Language + +Cornish language + + +Cornish, a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic language family, is a revived language that died out as a first language in the late 18th century. It is closely related to the other Brythonic languages, Breton and Welsh, and less so to the Goidelic languages. Cornish has no legal status in the UK. + +There has been a revival of the language by academics and optimistic enthusiasts since the mid-19th century that gained momentum from the publication in 1904 of Henry Jenner's Handbook of the Cornish Language. It is a social networking community language rather than a social community group language. Cornwall Council encourages and facilitates language classes within the county, in schools and within the wider community. + +In 2002, Cornish was named as a UK regional language in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. As a result, in 2005 its promoters received limited government funding. Several words originating in Cornish are used in the mining terminology of English, such as costean, gossan, gunnies, kibbal, kieve and vug. + +English dialect + +The Cornish language and culture influenced the emergence of particular pronunciations and grammar not used elsewhere in England. The Cornish dialect is spoken to varying degrees; however, someone speaking in broad Cornish may be practically unintelligible to one not accustomed to it. Cornish dialect has generally declined, as in most places it is now little more than a regional accent and grammatical differences have been eroded over time. Marked differences in vocabulary and usage still exist between the eastern and western parts of Cornwall. + +Flag + +Saint Piran's Flag is the national flag and ancient banner of Cornwall, and an emblem of the Cornish people. The banner of Saint Piran is a white cross on a black background (in terms of heraldry 'sable, a cross argent'). According to legend Saint Piran adopted these colours from seeing the white tin in the black coals and ashes during his discovery of tin. The Cornish flag is an exact reverse of the former Breton black cross national flag and is known by the same name "Kroaz Du". + +Arts and media + +Since the 19th century, Cornwall, with its unspoilt maritime scenery and strong light, has sustained a vibrant visual art scene of international renown. Artistic activity within Cornwall was initially centred on the art-colony of Newlyn, most active at the turn of the 20th century. This Newlyn School is associated with the names of Stanhope Forbes, Elizabeth Forbes, Norman Garstin and Lamorna Birch. Modernist writers such as D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf lived in Cornwall between the wars, and Ben Nicholson, the painter, having visited in the 1920s came to live in St Ives with his then wife, the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, at the outbreak of the Second World War. They were later joined by the Russian emigrant Naum Gabo, and other artists. These included Peter Lanyon, Terry Frost, Patrick Heron, Bryan Wynter and Roger Hilton. St Ives also houses the Leach Pottery, where Bernard Leach, and his followers championed Japanese inspired studio pottery. Much of this modernist work can be seen in Tate St Ives. The Newlyn Society and Penwith Society of Arts continue to be active, and contemporary visual art is documented in a dedicated online journal. + +Local television programmes are provided by BBC South West & ITV West Country. Radio programmes are produced by BBC Radio Cornwall in Truro for the entire county, Heart West, Source FM for the Falmouth and Penryn areas, Coast FM for west Cornwall, Radio St Austell Bay for the St Austell area, NCB Radio for north Cornwall & Pirate FM. + +Music + +Cornwall has a folk music tradition that has survived into the present and is well known for its unusual folk survivals such as Mummers Plays, the Furry Dance in Helston played by the famous Helston Town Band, and Obby Oss in Padstow. + +Newlyn is home to a food and music festival that hosts live music, cooking demonstrations, and displays of locally caught fish. + +As in other former mining districts of Britain, male voice choirs and brass bands, such as Brass on the Grass concerts during the summer at Constantine, are still very popular in Cornwall. Cornwall also has around 40 brass bands, including the six-times National Champions of Great Britain, Camborne Youth Band, and the bands of Lanner and St Dennis. + +Cornish players are regular participants in inter-Celtic festivals, and Cornwall itself has several inter-Celtic festivals such as Perranporth's Lowender Peran folk festival. + +Contemporary musician Richard D. James (also known as Aphex Twin) grew up in Cornwall, as did Luke Vibert and Alex Parks, winner of Fame Academy 2003. Roger Taylor, the drummer from the band Queen was also raised in the county, and currently lives not far from Falmouth. The American singer-songwriter Tori Amos now resides predominantly in North Cornwall not far from Bude with her family. The lutenist, composer and festival director Ben Salfield lives in Truro. Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac was born in Redruth. + +Literature +Cornwall's rich heritage and dramatic landscape have inspired numerous writers. + +Fiction + +Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, author of many novels and works of literary criticism, lived in Fowey: his novels are mainly set in Cornwall. Daphne du Maurier lived at Menabilly near Fowey and many of her novels had Cornish settings: The Loving Spirit, Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, The King's General (partially), My Cousin Rachel, The House on the Strand and Rule Britannia. She is also noted for writing Vanishing Cornwall. Cornwall provided the inspiration for The Birds, one of her terrifying series of short stories, made famous as a film by Alfred Hitchcock. + +Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Devil's Foot featuring Sherlock Holmes is set in Cornwall. Winston Graham's series Poldark, Kate Tremayne's Adam Loveday series, Susan Cooper's novels Over Sea, Under Stone and Greenwitch, and Mary Wesley's The Camomile Lawn are all set in Cornwall. Writing under the pseudonym of Alexander Kent, Douglas Reeman sets parts of his Richard Bolitho and Adam Bolitho series in the Cornwall of the late 18th and the early 19th centuries, particularly in Falmouth. Gilbert K. Chesterton placed the action of many of his stories there. + +Medieval Cornwall is the setting of the trilogy by Monica Furlong, Wise Child, Juniper and Colman, as well as part of Charles Kingsley's Hereward the Wake. + +Hammond Innes's novel, The Killer Mine; Charles de Lint's novel The Little Country; and Chapters 24–25 of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows take place in Cornwall (Shell Cottage, on the beach outside the fictional village of Tinworth). + +David Cornwell, who wrote espionage novels under the name John le Carré, lived and worked in Cornwall. Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Golding was born in St Columb Minor in 1911, and returned to live near Truro from 1985 until his death in 1993. D. H. Lawrence spent a short time living in Cornwall. Rosamunde Pilcher grew up in Cornwall, and several of her books take place there. + +St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall (under the fictional name of Mount Polbearne) is the setting of the Little Beach Street Bakery series by Jenny Colgan, who spent holidays in Cornwall as a child. The book series includes Little Beach Street Bakery (2014), Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery (2015), Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery (2016), and Sunrise by the Sea (2021). + +In the Paddington Bear novels by Michael Bond the title character is said to have landed at an unspecified port in Cornwall having travelled in a lifeboat aboard a cargo ship from darkest Peru. From here he travels to London on a train and eventually arrives at Paddington Station. + +Enid Blyton's 1953 novel Five Go Down to the Sea (the twelfth book in The Famous Five series) is set in Cornwall, near the fictional coastal village of Tremannon. + +Poetry + +The late Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman was famously fond of Cornwall and it featured prominently in his poetry. He is buried in the churchyard at St Enodoc's Church, Trebetherick. +Charles Causley, the poet, was born in Launceston and is perhaps the best known of Cornish poets. Jack Clemo and the scholar A. L. Rowse were also notable Cornishmen known for their poetry; The Rev. R. S. Hawker of Morwenstow wrote some poetry which was very popular in the Victorian period. The Scottish poet W. S. Graham lived in West Cornwall from 1944 until his death in 1986. + +The poet Laurence Binyon wrote "For the Fallen" (first published in 1914) while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point and The Rumps and a stone plaque was erected in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The plaque bears the inscription "FOR THE FALLEN / Composed on these cliffs, 1914". The plaque also bears below this the fourth stanza (sometimes referred to as "The Ode") of the poem: +They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old +Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn +At the going down of the sun and in the morning +We will remember them + +Other literary works +Cornwall produced a substantial number of passion plays such as the Ordinalia during the Middle Ages. Many are still extant, and provide valuable information about the Cornish language. See also Cornish literature + +Colin Wilson, a prolific writer who is best known for his debut work The Outsider (1956) and for The Mind Parasites (1967), lived in Gorran Haven, a small village on the southern Cornish coast. The writer D. M. Thomas was born in Redruth but lived and worked in Australia and the United States before returning to his native Cornwall. He has written novels, poetry, and other works, including translations from Russian. + +Thomas Hardy's drama The Queen of Cornwall (1923) is a version of the Tristan story; the second act of Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde takes place in Cornwall, as do Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas The Pirates of Penzance and Ruddigore. + +Clara Vyvyan was the author of various books about many aspects of Cornish life such as Our Cornwall. She once wrote: "The Loneliness of Cornwall is a loneliness unchanged by the presence of men, its freedoms a freedom inexpressible by description or epitaph. Your cannot say Cornwall is this or that. Your cannot describe it in a word or visualise it in a second. You may know the country from east to west and sea to sea, but if you close your eyes and think about it no clear-cut image rises before you. In this quality of changefulness have we possibly surprised the secret of Cornwall's wild spirit—in this intimacy the essence of its charm? Cornwall!". +A level of Tomb Raider: Legend, a game dealing with Arthurian Legend, takes place in Cornwall at a museum above King Arthur's tomb. The adventure game The Lost Crown is set in the fictional town of Saxton, which uses the Cornish settlements of Polperro, Talland and Looe as its model. + +The fairy tale Jack the Giant Killer takes place in Cornwall. + +The Mousehole Cat, a children's book written by Antonia Barber and illustrated by Nicola Bayley, is set in the Cornish village Mousehole and based on the legend of Tom Bawcock and the continuing tradition of Tom Bawcock's Eve. + +Sports + +The main sports played in Cornwall are rugby, football and cricket. Athletes from Truro have done well in Olympic and Commonwealth Games fencing, winning several medals. Surfing is popular, particularly with tourists, thousands of whom take to the water throughout the summer months. Some towns and villages have bowling clubs, and a wide variety of British sports are played throughout Cornwall. Cornwall is also one of the few places in England where shinty is played; the English Shinty Association is based in Penryn. + +The Cornwall County Cricket Club plays as one of the minor counties of English cricket. + +Truro, and all of the towns and some villages have football clubs belonging to the Cornwall County Football Association, and some clubs have teams competing higher within the English football league pyramid. Of these, the highest ranked — by two flights — is Truro City F.C., who will be playing in the National League South in the 2023–24 season. Other notable Cornish teams include Mousehole A.F.C., Helston Athletic F.C., and Falmouth Town F.C. + +Rugby football + +Viewed as an "important identifier of ethnic affiliation", rugby union has become a sport strongly tied to notions of Cornishness. and since the 20th century, rugby union has emerged as one of the most popular spectator and team sports in Cornwall (perhaps the most popular), with professional Cornish rugby footballers being described as a "formidable force", "naturally independent, both in thought and deed, yet paradoxically staunch English patriots whose top players have represented England with pride and passion". + +In 1985, sports journalist Alan Gibson made a direct connection between the love of rugby in Cornwall and the ancient parish games of hurling and wrestling that existed for centuries before rugby officially began. Among Cornwall's native sports are a distinctive form of Celtic wrestling related to Breton wrestling, and Cornish hurling, a kind of mediaeval football played with a silver ball (distinct from Irish Hurling). Cornish Wrestling is Cornwall's oldest sport and as Cornwall's native tradition it has travelled the world to places like Victoria, Australia and Grass Valley, California following the miners and gold rushes. Cornish hurling now takes place at St. Columb Major, St Ives, and less frequently at Bodmin. + +In rugby league, Cornwall R.L.F.C., founded in 2021, will represent the county in the professional league system. The semi-pro club will start in the third tier RFL League 1. At an amateur level, the county is represented by Cornish Rebels. + +Surfing and watersports + +Due to its long coastline, various maritime sports are popular in Cornwall, notably sailing and surfing. International events in both are held in Cornwall. Cornwall hosted the Inter-Celtic Watersports Festival in 2006. Surfing in particular is very popular, as locations such as Bude and Newquay offer some of the best surf in the UK. Pilot gig rowing has been popular for many years and the World championships takes place annually on the Isles of Scilly. On 2 September 2007, 300 surfers at Polzeath beach set a new world record for the highest number of surfers riding the same wave as part of the Global Surf Challenge and part of a project called Earthwave to raise awareness about global warming. + +Fencing +As its population is comparatively small, and largely rural, Cornwall's contribution to British national sport in the United Kingdom has been limited; the county's greatest successes have come in fencing. In 2014, half of the men's GB team fenced for Truro Fencing Club, and 3 Truro fencers appeared at the 2012 Olympics. + +Cuisine + +Cornwall has a strong culinary heritage. Surrounded on three sides by the sea amid fertile fishing grounds, Cornwall naturally has fresh seafood readily available; Newlyn is the largest fishing port in the UK by value of fish landed, and is known for its wide range of restaurants. Television chef Rick Stein has long operated a fish restaurant in Padstow for this reason, and Jamie Oliver chose to open his second restaurant, Fifteen, in Watergate Bay near Newquay. MasterChef host and founder of Smiths of Smithfield, John Torode, in 2007 purchased Seiners in Perranporth. One famous local fish dish is Stargazy pie, a fish-based pie in which the heads of the fish stick through the piecrust, as though "star-gazing". The pie is cooked as part of traditional celebrations for Tom Bawcock's Eve, but is not generally eaten at any other time. + +Cornwall is perhaps best known though for its pasties, a savoury dish made with pastry. Today's pasties usually contain a filling of beef steak, onion, potato and swede with salt and white pepper, but historically pasties had a variety of different fillings. "Turmut, 'tates and mate" (i.e. "Turnip, potatoes and meat", turnip being the Cornish and Scottish term for swede, itself an abbreviation of 'Swedish Turnip', the British term for rutabaga) describes a filling once very common. For instance, the licky pasty contained mostly leeks, and the herb pasty contained watercress, parsley, and shallots. Pasties are often locally referred to as oggies. Historically, pasties were also often made with sweet fillings such as jam, apple and blackberry, plums or cherries. +The wet climate and relatively poor soil of Cornwall make it unsuitable for growing many arable crops. However, it is ideal for growing the rich grass required for dairying, leading to the production of Cornwall's other famous export, clotted cream. This forms the basis for many local specialities including Cornish fudge and Cornish ice cream. Cornish clotted cream has Protected Geographical Status under EU law, and cannot be made anywhere else. Its principal manufacturer is A. E. Rodda & Son of Scorrier. + +Local cakes and desserts include Saffron cake, Cornish heavy (hevva) cake, Cornish fairings biscuits, figgy 'obbin, Cream tea and whortleberry pie. + +There are also many types of beers brewed in Cornwall—those produced by Sharp's Brewery, Skinner's Brewery, Keltek Brewery and St Austell Brewery are the best known—including stouts, ales and other beer types. There is some small scale production of wine, mead and cider. + +Politics and administration + +Cornish national identity + + Cornwall is recognised by Cornish and Celtic political groups as one of six Celtic nations, alongside Brittany, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales. (The Isle of Man Government and the Welsh Government also recognise Asturias and Galicia.) Cornwall is represented, as one of the Celtic nations, at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient, an annual celebration of Celtic culture held in Brittany. + +Cornwall Council consider Cornwall's unique cultural heritage and distinctiveness to be one of the area's major assets. They see Cornwall's language, landscape, Celtic identity, political history, patterns of settlement, maritime tradition, industrial heritage, and non-conformist tradition, to be among the features making up its "distinctive" culture. However, it is uncertain exactly how many of the people living in Cornwall consider themselves to be Cornish; results from different surveys (including the national census) have varied. In the 2001 census, 7 per cent of people in Cornwall identified themselves as Cornish, rather than British or English. However, activists have argued that this underestimated the true number as there was no explicit "Cornish" option included in the official census form. Subsequent surveys have suggested that as many as 44 per cent identify as Cornish. Many people in Cornwall say that this issue would be resolved if a Cornish option became available on the census. The question and content recommendations for the 2011 census provided an explanation of the process of selecting an ethnic identity which is relevant to the understanding of the often quoted figure of 37,000 who claimed Cornish identity. The 2021 census found that 17% of people in Cornwall identified as being Cornish (89,000), with 14% of people in Cornwall identifying as Cornish-only (80,000). Again there was no tick-box provided, and "Cornish" had to be written-in as "Other". + +On 24 April 2014 it was announced that Cornish people have been granted minority status under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. + +Local politics + +Cornwall forms two local government districts; Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The district of Cornwall is governed by Cornwall Council, a unitary authority based at Lys Kernow in Truro, and the Council of the Isles of Scilly governs the archipelago from Hugh Town. The Crown Court is based at the Courts of Justice in Truro. Magistrates' Courts are found in Truro (but at a different location to the Crown Court) and at Bodmin. + +The Isles of Scilly form part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, and have, at times, been served by the same county administration. Since 1890 they have been administered by their own unitary authority, the Council of the Isles of Scilly. They are grouped with Cornwall for other administrative purposes, such as the National Health Service and Devon and Cornwall Police. + +Before reorganisation on 1 April 2009, council functions throughout the rest of Cornwall were organised in two tiers, with Cornwall County Council and district councils for its six districts, Caradon, Carrick, Kerrier, North Cornwall, Penwith, and Restormel. While projected to streamline services, cut red tape and save around £17 million a year, the reorganisation was met with wide opposition, with a poll in 2008 showing 89% disapproval from Cornish residents. + +The first elections for the unitary authority were held on 4 June 2009. The council has 123 seats; the largest party (in 2017) is the Conservatives, with 46 seats. The Liberal Democrats are the second-largest party, with 37 seats, with the Independents the third-largest grouping with 30. + +Before the creation of the unitary council, the former county council had 82 seats, the majority of which were held by the Liberal Democrats, elected at the 2005 county council elections. The six former districts had a total of 249 council seats, and the groups with greatest numbers of councillors were Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Independents. + +Parliament and national politics +Following a review by the Boundary Commission for England taking effect at the 2010 general election, Cornwall is divided into six county constituencies to elect MPs to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. + +Before the 2010 boundary changes Cornwall had five constituencies, all of which were won by Liberal Democrats at the 2005 general election. In the 2010 general election Liberal Democrat candidates won three constituencies and Conservative candidates won three other constituencies. At the 2015 general election all six Cornish seats were won by Conservative candidates; all these Conservative MPs retained their seats at the 2017 general election, and the Conservatives won all six constituencies again at the 2019 general election. + +Until 1832, Cornwall had 44 MPs—more than any other county—reflecting the importance of tin to the Crown. Most of the increase in numbers of MPs came between 1529 and 1584 after which there was no change until 1832. + +Although Cornwall does not have a designated government department, in 2007 while Leader of the Opposition David Cameron created a Shadow Secretary of State for Cornwall. The position was not made into a formal UK Cabinet position when Cameron entered government following the 2010 United Kingdom general election + +Devolution movement + +Cornish nationalists have organised into two political parties: Mebyon Kernow, formed in 1951, and the Cornish Nationalist Party. In addition to the political parties, there are various interest groups such as the Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament and the Celtic League. The Cornish Constitutional Convention was formed in 2000 as a cross-party organisation including representatives from the private, public and voluntary sectors to campaign for the creation of a Cornish Assembly, along the lines of the National Assembly for Wales, Northern Ireland Assembly and the Scottish Parliament. Between 5 March 2000 and December 2001, the campaign collected the signatures of 41,650 Cornish residents endorsing the call for a devolved assembly, along with 8,896 signatories from outside Cornwall. The resulting petition was presented to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. + +Emergency services +Devon and Cornwall Police +Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service +South Western Ambulance Service +Cornwall Air Ambulance +HM Coastguard +Cornwall Search & Rescue Team +British Transport Police + +Economy + +Cornwall is one of the poorest parts of the United Kingdom in terms of per capita GDP and average household incomes. At the same time, parts of the county, especially on the coast, have high house prices, driven up by demand from relatively wealthy retired people and second-home owners. The GVA per head was 65% of the UK average for 2004. The GDP per head for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly was 79.2% of the EU-27 average for 2004, the UK per head average was 123.0%. In 2011, the latest available figures, Cornwall's (including the Isles of Scilly) measure of wealth was 64% of the European average per capita. + +Historically mining of tin (and later also of copper) was important in the Cornish economy. The first reference to this appears to be by Pytheas: see above. Julius Caesar was the last classical writer to mention the tin trade, which appears to have declined during the Roman occupation. The tin trade revived in the Middle Ages and its importance to the Kings of England resulted in certain privileges being granted to the tinners; the Cornish rebellion of 1497 is attributed to grievances of the tin miners. In the mid-19th century, however, the tin trade again fell into decline. Other primary sector industries that have declined since the 1960s include china clay production, fishing and farming. + +Today, the Cornish economy depends heavily on its tourist industry, which makes up around a quarter of the economy. The official measures of deprivation and poverty at district and 'sub-ward' level show that there is great variation in poverty and prosperity in Cornwall with some areas among the poorest in England and others among the top half in prosperity. For example, the ranking of 32,482 sub-wards in England in the index of multiple deprivation (2006) ranged from 819th (part of Penzance East) to 30,899th (part of Saltash Burraton in Caradon), where the lower number represents the greater deprivation. + +Cornwall was one of two UK areas designated as 'less developed regions' by the European Union, which, prior to Brexit, meant the area qualified for EU Cohesion Policy grants. It was granted Objective 1 status by the European Commission for 2000 to 2006, followed by further rounds of funding known as 'Convergence Funding' from 2007 to 2013 and 'Growth Programme' for 2014 to 2020. + +Tourism + +Cornwall has a tourism-based seasonal economy which is estimated to contribute up to 24% of Cornwall's gross domestic product. In 2011 tourism brought £1.85 billion into the Cornish economy. Cornwall's unique culture, spectacular landscape and mild climate make it a popular tourist destination, despite being somewhat distant from the United Kingdom's main centres of population. Surrounded on three sides by the English Channel and Celtic Sea, Cornwall has many miles of beaches and cliffs; the South West Coast Path follows a complete circuit of both coasts. Other tourist attractions include moorland, country gardens, museums, historic and prehistoric sites, and wooded valleys. Five million tourists visit Cornwall each year, mostly drawn from within the UK. Visitors to Cornwall are served by the airport at Newquay, whilst private jets, charters and helicopters are also served by Perranporth airfield; nightsleeper and daily rail services run between Cornwall, London and other regions of the UK. + +Newquay and Porthtowan are popular destinations for surfers. In recent years, the Eden Project near St Austell has been a major financial success, drawing one in eight of Cornwall's visitors in 2004. + +In the summer of 2018, due to the recognition of its beaches and weather through social media and the marketing of travel companies, Cornwall received about 20 per cent more visitors than the usual 4.5 million figure. The sudden rise and demand of tourism in Cornwall caused multiple traffic and safety issues in coastal areas. + +In October 2021, Cornwall was longlisted for the UK City of Culture 2025, but failed to make the March 2022 shortlist. + +Fishing + +Other industries include fishing, although this has been significantly re-structured by EU fishing policies ( the Southwest Handline Fishermen's Association has started to revive the fishing industry). + +Agriculture +Agriculture, once an important part of the Cornish economy, has declined significantly relative to other industries. However, there is still a strong dairy industry, with products such as Cornish clotted cream. + +Mining + +Mining of tin and copper was also an industry, but today the derelict mine workings survive only as a World Heritage Site. However, the Camborne School of Mines, which was relocated to Penryn in 2004, is still a world centre of excellence in the field of mining and applied geology and the grant of World Heritage status has attracted funding for conservation and heritage tourism. China clay extraction has also been an important industry in the St Austell area, but this sector has been in decline, and this, coupled with increased mechanisation, has led to a decrease in employment in this sector, although the industry still employs around 2,133 people in Cornwall, and generates over £80 million to the local economy. + +In March 2016, a Canadian company, Strongbow Exploration, had acquired, from administration, a 100% interest in the South Crofty tin mine and the associated mineral rights in Cornwall with the aim of reopening the mine and bringing it back to full production. Work is currently ongoing to build a water filtration plant in order to dewater the mine. + +Internet +Cornwall is the landing point for twenty-two of the world's fastest high-speed undersea and transatlantic fibre optic cables, making Cornwall an important hub within Europe's Internet infrastructure. The Superfast Cornwall project completed in 2015, and saw 95% of Cornish houses and businesses connected to a fibre-based broadband network, with over 90% of properties able to connect with speeds above 24 Mbit/s. + +Aerospace +The county's newest industry is aviation: Newquay Airport is the home of a growing business park with Enterprise Zone status, known as Aerohub. Also a space launch facility, Spaceport Cornwall, has been established at Newquay, in partnership with Goonhilly satellite tracking station near Helston in south Cornwall. + +Demographics + +Cornwall's population was 537,400 in the 2011 census, with a population density of 144 people per square kilometre, ranking it 40th and 41st, respectively, among the 47 counties of England. Cornwall's population was 95.7% White British and has a relatively high rate of population growth. At 11.2% in the 1980s and 5.3% in the 1990s, it had the fifth-highest population growth rate of the counties of England. The natural change has been a small population decline, and the population increase is due to inward migration into Cornwall. According to the 1991 census, the population was 469,800. + +Cornwall has a relatively high retired population, with 22.9% of pensionable age, compared with 20.3% for the United Kingdom as a whole. This may be due partly to Cornwall's rural and coastal geography increasing its popularity as a retirement location, and partly to outward migration of younger residents to more economically diverse areas. + +Education + +Over 10,000 students attend Cornwall's two universities, Falmouth University and the University of Exeter (including Camborne School of Mines). Falmouth University is a specialist public university for the creative industries and arts, while the University Of Exeter has two campuses in Cornwall, Truro and Penryn, the latter shared with Falmouth. Penryn campus is home to educational departments such as the rapidly growing Centre for Ecology and Conservation (CEC), the Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI), and the Institute of Cornish Studies. + +Cornwall has a comprehensive education system, with 31 state and eight independent secondary schools. There are three further education colleges: Truro and Penwith College, Cornwall College and Callywith College which opened in September 2017. The Isles of Scilly only has one school, while the former Restormel district has the highest school population, and school year sizes are around 200, with none above 270. Before the introduction of comprehensive schools there were a number of grammar schools and secondary modern schools, e.g. the schools that later became Sir James Smith's School and Wadebridge School. There are also primary schools in many villages and towns: e.g. St Mabyn Church of England Primary School. + +See also +Christianity in Cornwall + Index of Cornwall-related articles + Outline of Cornwall – overview of the wide range of topics covered by this subject + Tamar Valley AONB +Duchy of Cornwall + +Notes + +References + +Sources + + + A second edition was published in 2001 by the House of Stratus, Thirsk: the original text new illustrations and an afterword by Halliday's son + +Further reading + + + (illustrated edition Published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1981, , photographs by Christian Browning) + (Available online on Google Books). + (Available online on Digital Book Index) + (Available online on Google Books). + + + + + + (eleven chapters by various hands, including three previously published essays) + +External links + +Cornwall Council + + The History of Parliament: the House of Commons – Cornwall, County, 1386 to 1831 + + Images of daily life in late 19th century Cornwall + Images of Cornwall at the English Heritage Archive + + +Celtic nations +English unitary authorities created in 2009 +Local government districts of South West England +NUTS 2 statistical regions of the United Kingdom +Peninsulas of England +Unitary authority districts of England +Counties in South West England +Counties of England established in antiquity +Former kingdoms +Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. Constitutional monarchies differ from absolute monarchies (in which a monarch is the only decision-maker) in that they are bound to exercise powers and authorities within limits prescribed by an established legal framework. + +Constitutional monarchies range from countries such as Liechtenstein, Monaco, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Bhutan, where the constitution grants substantial discretionary powers to the sovereign, to countries such the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Lesotho, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Japan, where the monarch retains significantly less, if any, personal discretion in the exercise of their authority. On the surface level, this distinction may be hard to establish, with numerous liberal democracies restraining monarchic power in practice rather than written law, e.g., the constitution of the United Kingdom, which affords the monarch substantial, if limited, legislative and executive powers. + +Constitutional monarchy may refer to a system in which the monarch acts as a non-party political head of state under the constitution, whether codified or uncodified. While most monarchs may hold formal authority and the government may legally operate in the monarch's name, in the form typical in Europe the monarch no longer personally sets public policy or chooses political leaders. Political scientist Vernon Bogdanor, paraphrasing Thomas Macaulay, has defined a constitutional monarch as "A sovereign who reigns but does not rule". + +In addition to acting as a visible symbol of national unity, a constitutional monarch may hold formal powers such as dissolving parliament or giving royal assent to legislation. However, such powers generally may only be exercised strictly in accordance with either written constitutional principles or unwritten constitutional conventions, rather than any personal political preferences of the sovereign. In The English Constitution, British political theorist Walter Bagehot identified three main political rights which a constitutional monarch may freely exercise: the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn. Many constitutional monarchies still retain significant authorities or political influence, however, such as through certain reserve powers, and may also play an important political role. + +The Commonwealth realms share the same person as hereditary monarchy under the Westminster system of constitutional governance. Two constitutional monarchies – Malaysia and Cambodia – are elective monarchies, in which the ruler is periodically selected by a small electoral college. + +The concept of semi-constitutional monarch identifies constitutional monarchies where the monarch retains substantial powers, on a par with a president in a presidential or semi-presidential system. As a result, constitutional monarchies where the monarch has a largely ceremonial role may also be referred to as 'parliamentary monarchies' to differentiate them from semi-constitutional monarchies. Strongly limited constitutional monarchies, such as those of the United Kingdom and Australia, have been referred to as crowned republics by writers H. G. Wells and Glenn Patmore. + +History + +The oldest constitutional monarchy dating back to ancient times was that of the Hittites. They were an ancient Anatolian people that lived during the Bronze Age whose king had to share his authority with an assembly, called the Panku, which was the equivalent to a modern-day deliberative assembly or a legislature. Members of the Panku came from scattered noble families who worked as representatives of their subjects in an adjutant or subaltern federal-type landscape. + +Constitutional and absolute monarchy + +England, Scotland and the United Kingdom + +In the Kingdom of England, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 furthered the constitutional monarchy, restricted by laws such as the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701, although the first form of constitution was enacted with the Magna Carta of 1215. At the same time, in Scotland, the Convention of Estates enacted the Claim of Right Act 1689, which placed similar limits on the Scottish monarchy. + +Queen Anne was the last monarch to veto an Act of Parliament when, on 11 March 1708, she blocked the Scottish Militia Bill. However Hanoverian monarchs continued to selectively dictate government policies. For instance King George III constantly blocked Catholic Emancipation, eventually precipitating the resignation of William Pitt the Younger as prime minister in 1801. The sovereign's influence on the choice of prime minister gradually declined over this period. King William IV was the last monarch to dismiss a prime minister, when in 1834 he removed Lord Melbourne as a result of Melbourne's choice of Lord John Russell as Leader of the House of Commons. Queen Victoria was the last monarch to exercise real personal power, but this diminished over the course of her reign. In 1839, she became the last sovereign to keep a prime minister in power against the will of Parliament when the Bedchamber crisis resulted in the retention of Lord Melbourne's administration. By the end of her reign, however, she could do nothing to block the unacceptable (to her) premierships of William Gladstone, although she still exercised power in appointments to the Cabinet. For example in 1886 she vetoed Gladstone's choice of Hugh Childers as War Secretary in favour of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. + +Today, the role of the British monarch is by convention effectively ceremonial. The British Parliament and the Government – chiefly in the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – exercise their powers under "Royal (or Crown) Prerogative": on behalf of the monarch and through powers still formally possessed by the monarch. + +No person may accept significant public office without swearing an oath of allegiance to the King. With few exceptions, the monarch is bound by constitutional convention to act on the advice of the Government. + +Continental Europe +Poland developed the first constitution for a monarchy in continental Europe, with the Constitution of 3 May 1791; it was the second single-document constitution in the world just after the first republican Constitution of the United States. Constitutional monarchy also occurred briefly in the early years of the French Revolution, but much more widely afterwards. Napoleon Bonaparte is considered the first monarch proclaiming himself as an embodiment of the nation, rather than as a divinely appointed ruler; this interpretation of monarchy is germane to continental constitutional monarchies. German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, in his work Elements of the Philosophy of Right (1820), gave the concept a philosophical justification that concurred with evolving contemporary political theory and the Protestant Christian view of natural law. Hegel's forecast of a constitutional monarch with very limited powers whose function is to embody the national character and provide constitutional continuity in times of emergency was reflected in the development of constitutional monarchies in Europe and Japan. + +Executive monarchy versus ceremonial monarchy + +There exist at least two different types of constitutional monarchies in the modern world – executive and ceremonial. In executive monarchies, the monarch wields significant (though not absolute) power. The monarchy under this system of government is a powerful political (and social) institution. By contrast, in ceremonial monarchies, the monarch holds little or no actual power or direct political influence, though they frequently have a great deal of social and cultural influence. + +Ceremonial and executive monarchy should not be confused with democratic and non-democratic monarchical systems. For example, in Liechtenstein and Monaco, the ruling monarchs wield significant executive power. However, while they are theoretically very powerful within their small states, they are not absolute monarchs and have very limited de facto power compared to the Islamic monarchs, which is why their countries are generally considered to be liberal democracies. For instance, when Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein threatened to veto a referendum to legalize abortion in 2011, it came as a surprise because the prince had not vetoed any law for over 30 years (in the end, this referendum failed to make it to a vote). + +Modern constitutional monarchy +As originally conceived, a constitutional monarch was head of the executive branch and quite a powerful figure even though their power was limited by the constitution and the elected parliament. Some of the framers of the U.S. Constitution may have envisioned the president as an elected constitutional monarch, as the term was then understood, following Montesquieu's account of the separation of powers. + +The present-day concept of a constitutional monarchy developed in the United Kingdom, where the democratically elected parliaments, and their leader, the prime minister, exercise power, with the monarchs having ceded power and remaining as a titular position. In many cases the monarchs, while still at the very top of the political and social hierarchy, were given the status of "servants of the people" to reflect the new, egalitarian position. In the course of France's July Monarchy, Louis-Philippe I was styled "King of the French" rather than "King of France". + +Following the unification of Germany, Otto von Bismarck rejected the British model. In the constitutional monarchy established under the Constitution of the German Empire which Bismarck inspired, the Kaiser retained considerable actual executive power, while the Imperial Chancellor needed no parliamentary vote of confidence and ruled solely by the imperial mandate. However, this model of constitutional monarchy was discredited and abolished following Germany's defeat in the First World War. Later, Fascist Italy could also be considered a constitutional monarchy, in that there was a king as the titular head of state while actual power was held by Benito Mussolini under a constitution. This eventually discredited the Italian monarchy and led to its abolition in 1946. After the Second World War, surviving European monarchies almost invariably adopted some variant of the constitutional monarchy model originally developed in Britain. + +Nowadays a parliamentary democracy that is a constitutional monarchy is considered to differ from one that is a republic only in detail rather than in substance. In both cases, the titular head of statemonarch or presidentserves the traditional role of embodying and representing the nation, while the government is carried on by a cabinet composed predominantly of elected Members of Parliament. + +However, three important factors distinguish monarchies such as the United Kingdom from systems where greater power might otherwise rest with Parliament. These are: + The Royal Prerogative, under which the monarch may exercise power under certain very limited circumstances + Sovereign Immunity, under which the monarch may do no wrong under the law because the responsible government is instead deemed accountable + The immunity of the monarch from some taxation or restrictions on property use + +Other privileges may be nominal or ceremonial (e.g., where the executive, judiciary, police or armed forces act on the authority of or owe allegiance to the Crown). + +Today slightly more than a quarter of constitutional monarchies are Western European countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, Monaco, Liechtenstein and Sweden. However, the two most populous constitutional monarchies in the world are in Asia: Japan and Thailand. In these countries, the prime minister holds the day-to-day powers of governance, while the monarch retains residual (but not always insignificant) powers. The powers of the monarch differ between countries. In Denmark and in Belgium, for example, the monarch formally appoints a representative to preside over the creation of a coalition government following a parliamentary election, while in Norway the King chairs special meetings of the cabinet. + +In nearly all cases, the monarch is still the nominal chief executive, but is bound by convention to act on the advice of the Cabinet. Only a few monarchies (most notably Japan and Sweden) have amended their constitutions so that the monarch is no longer even the nominal chief executive. + +There are fifteen constitutional monarchies under King Charles III, which are known as Commonwealth realms. Unlike some of their continental European counterparts, the Monarch and his Governors-General in the Commonwealth realms hold significant "reserve" or "prerogative" powers, to be wielded in times of extreme emergency or constitutional crises, usually to uphold parliamentary government. For example, during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, the Governor-General dismissed the Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The Australian Senate had threatened to block the Government's budget by refusing to pass the necessary appropriation bills. On 11 November 1975, Whitlam intended to call a half-Senate election to try to break the deadlock. When he sought the Governor-General's approval of the election, the Governor-General instead dismissed him as Prime Minister. Shortly after that, he installed leader of the opposition Malcolm Fraser in his place. Acting quickly before all parliamentarians became aware of the government change, Fraser and his allies secured passage of the appropriation bills, and the Governor-General dissolved Parliament for a double dissolution election. Fraser and his government were returned with a massive majority. This led to much speculation among Whitlam's supporters as to whether this use of the Governor-General's reserve powers was appropriate, and whether Australia should become a republic. Among supporters of constitutional monarchy, however, the event confirmed the monarchy's value as a source of checks and balances against elected politicians who might seek powers in excess of those conferred by the constitution, and ultimately as a safeguard against dictatorship. + +In Thailand's constitutional monarchy, the monarch is recognized as the Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, Upholder of the Buddhist Religion, and Defender of the Faith. The immediate former King, Bhumibol Adulyadej, was the longest-reigning monarch in the world and in all of Thailand's history, before passing away on 13 October 2016. Bhumibol reigned through several political changes in the Thai government. He played an influential role in each incident, often acting as mediator between disputing political opponents. (See Bhumibol's role in Thai Politics.) Among the powers retained by the Thai monarch under the constitution, lèse majesté protects the image of the monarch and enables him to play a role in politics. It carries strict criminal penalties for violators. Generally, the Thai people were reverent of Bhumibol. Much of his social influence arose from this reverence and from the socioeconomic improvement efforts undertaken by the royal family. + +In the United Kingdom, a frequent debate centres on when it is appropriate for a British monarch to act. When a monarch does act, political controversy can often ensue, partially because the neutrality of the crown is seen to be compromised in favour of a partisan goal, while some political scientists champion the idea of an "interventionist monarch" as a check against possible illegal action by politicians. For instance, the monarch of the United Kingdom can theoretically exercise an absolute veto over legislation by withholding royal assent. However, no monarch has done so since 1708, and it is widely believed that this and many of the monarch's other political powers are lapsed powers. + +List of current constitutional monarchies + +There are currently 43 monarchies worldwide. + +Ceremonial constitutional monarchies + +Executive constitutional monarchies + +Former constitutional monarchies + + The Kingdom of Afghanistan was a constitutional monarchy under Mohammad Zahir Shah from 1964 to 1973. +Kingdom of Albania from 1928 until 1939, Albania was a Constitutional Monarchy ruled by the House of Zogu, King Zog I. + The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom was a brief period in the history of Corsica (1794–1796) when the island broke with Revolutionary France and sought military protection from Great Britain. Corsica became an independent kingdom under George III of the United Kingdom, but with its own elected parliament and a written constitution guaranteeing local autonomy and democratic rights. + Barbados from gaining its independence in 1966 until 2021, was a constitutional monarchy in the Commonwealth of Nations with a Governor-General representing the Monarchy of Barbados. After an extensive history of republican movements, a republic was declared on 30 November 2021. + Brazil from 1822, with the proclamation of independence and rise of the Empire of Brazil by Pedro I of Brazil to 1889, when Pedro II was deposed by a military coup. + Kingdom of Bulgaria until 1946 when Tsar Simeon was deposed by the communist assembly. + Many republics in the Commonwealth of Nations were constitutional monarchies for some period after their independence, including South Africa (1910–1961), Ceylon from 1948 to 1972 (now Sri Lanka), Fiji (1970–1987), Gambia (1965–1970), Ghana (1957–1960), Guyana (1966–1970), Trinidad and Tobago (1962–1976), and Barbados (1966–2021). + Egypt was a constitutional monarchy starting from the later part of the Khedivate, with parliamentary structures and a responsible khedival ministry developing in the 1860s and 1870s. The constitutional system continued through the Khedivate period and developed during the Sultanate and then Kingdom of Egypt, which established an essentially democratic liberal constitutional regime under the Egyptian Constitution of 1923. This system persisted until the declaration of a republic after the Free Officers Movement coup in 1952. For most of this period, however, Egypt was occupied by the United Kingdom, and overall political control was in the hands of British colonial officials nominally accredited as diplomats to the Egyptian royal court but actually able to overrule any decision of the monarch or elected government. + The Grand Principality of Finland was a constitutional monarchy though its ruler, Alexander I, was simultaneously an autocrat and absolute ruler in Russia. + France, several times from 1789 through the 19th century. The transformation of the Estates General of 1789 into the National Assembly initiated an ad-hoc transition from the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime to a new constitutional system. France formally became an executive constitutional monarchy with the promulgation of the French Constitution of 1791, which took effect on 1 October of that year. This first French constitutional monarchy was short-lived, ending with the overthrow of the monarchy and establishment of the French First Republic after the Insurrection of 10 August 1792. Several years later, in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor of the French in what was ostensibly a constitutional monarchy, though modern historians often call his reign as an absolute monarchy. The Bourbon Restoration (under Louis XVIII and Charles X), the July Monarchy (under Louis-Philippe), and the Second Empire (under Napoleon III) were also constitutional monarchies, although the power of the monarch varied considerably between them and sometimes within them. + The German Empire from 1871 to 1918, (as well as earlier confederations, and the monarchies it consisted of) was also a constitutional monarchy—see Constitution of the German Empire. + Greece until 1973 when Constantine II was deposed by the military government. The decision was formalized by a plebiscite 8 December 1974. + Hawaii, which was an absolute monarchy from its founding in 1810, transitioned to a constitutional monarchy in 1840 when King Kamehameha III promulgated the kingdom's first constitution. This constitutional form of government continued until the monarchy was overthrown in an 1893 coup. + The Kingdom of Hungary. In 1848–1849 and 1867–1918 as part of Austria-Hungary. In the interwar period (1920–1944) Hungary remained a constitutional monarchy without a reigning monarch. + Iceland. The Act of Union, a 1 December 1918 agreement with Denmark, established Iceland as a sovereign kingdom united with Denmark under a common king. Iceland abolished the monarchy and became a republic on 17 June 1944 after the Icelandic constitutional referendum, 24 May 1944. + India was a constitutional monarchy, with George VI as head of state and the Earl Mountbatten as governor-general, for a brief period between gaining its independence from the British on 15 August 1947 and becoming a republic when it adopted its constitution on 26 January 1950, henceforth celebrated as Republic Day. + Pahlavi Iran under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was a constitutional monarchy, which had been originally established during the Persian Constitutional Revolution in 1906. + Italy until 2 June 1946, when a referendum proclaimed the end of the Kingdom and the beginning of the Republic. + The Kingdom of Laos was a constitutional monarchy until 1975, when Sisavang Vatthana was forced to abdicate by the communist Pathet Lao. + Malta was a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta, represented by a Governor-General appointed by her, for the first ten years of independence from 21 September 1964 to the declaration of the Republic of Malta on 13 December 1974. + Mexico was twice an Empire. The First Mexican Empire lasted from 19 May 1822 to 19 March 1823, with Agustin I elected as emperor. Then, the Mexican monarchists and conservatives, with the help of the Austrian and Spanish crowns and Napoleon III of France, elected Maximilian of Austria as Emperor of Mexico. This constitutional monarchy lasted three years, from 1864 to 1867. + Montenegro until 1918 when it merged with Serbia and other areas to form Yugoslavia. + Nepal until 28 May 2008, when King Gyanendra was deposed, and the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal was declared. + Ottoman Empire from 1876 until 1878 and again from 1908 until the dissolution of the empire in 1922. +Pakistan was a constitutional monarchy for a brief period between gaining its independence from the British on 14 August 1947 and becoming a republic when it adopted the first Constitution of Pakistan on 23 March 1956. The Dominion of Pakistan had a total of two monarchs (George VI and Elizabeth II) and four Governor-Generals (Muhammad Ali Jinnah being the first). Republic Day (or Pakistan Day) is celebrated every year on 23 March to commemorate the adoption of its Constitution and the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. + The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formed after the Union of Lublin in 1569 and lasting until the final partition of the state in 1795, operated much like many modern European constitutional monarchies (into which it was officially changed by the establishment of the Constitution of 3 May 1791, which historian Norman Davies calls "the first constitution of its kind in Europe"). The legislators of the unified state truly did not see it as a monarchy at all, but as a republic under the presidency of the King . Poland–Lithuania also followed the principle of , had a bicameral parliament, and a collection of entrenched legal documents amounting to a constitution along the lines of the modern United Kingdom. The King was elected and had the duty of maintaining the people's rights. + Portugal was a monarchy since 1139 and a constitutional monarchy from 1822 to 1828, and again from 1834 until 1910, when Manuel II was overthrown by a military coup. From 1815 to 1825 it was part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves which was a constitutional monarchy for the years 1820–23. + Kingdom of Romania from its establishment in 1881 until 1947 when Michael I was forced to abdicate by the communists. + Kingdom of Serbia from 1882 until 1918, when it merged with the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs into the unitary Yugoslav Kingdom, that was led by the Serbian Karadjordjevic dynasty. + Trinidad and Tobago was a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II as Queen of Trinidad and Tobago, represented by a Governor-General appointed by her, for the first fourteen years of independence from 31 August 1962 to the declaration of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on 1 August 1976. Republic Day is celebrated every year on 24 September. + Yugoslavia from 1918 (as Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) until 1929 and from 1931 (as Kingdom of Yugoslavia) until 1944 when under pressure from the Allies Peter II recognized the communist government. + +Unusual constitutional monarchies + Andorra is a diarchy, being headed by two co-princes: the bishop of Urgell and the president of France. + Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein are the only countries with reigning princes. + Belgium is the only remaining explicit popular monarchy: the formal title of its king is King of the Belgians rather than King of Belgium. Historically, several defunct constitutional monarchies followed this model; the Belgian formulation is recognized to have been modelled on the title "King of the French" granted by the Charter of 1830 to monarch of the July Monarchy. + Japan is the only country remaining with an emperor. + Luxembourg is the only country remaining with a grand duke. + Malaysia is a federal country with an elective monarchy: the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is selected from among nine state rulers who are also constitutional monarchs themselves. + Papua New Guinea. Unlike in most other Commonwealth realms, sovereignty is constitutionally vested in the citizenry of Papua New Guinea and the preamble to the constitution states "that all power belongs to the people—acting through their duly elected representatives". The monarch has been, according to section 82 of the constitution, "requested by the people of Papua New Guinea, through their Constituent Assembly, to become [monarch] and Head of State of Papua New Guinea" and thus acts in that capacity. + Spain. The Constitution of Spain does not even recognize the monarch as sovereign, but just as the head of state (Article 56). Article 1, Section 2, states that "the national sovereignty is vested in the Spanish people". + United Arab Emirates is a federal country with an elective monarchy, the President or Ra'is, being selected from among the rulers of the seven emirates, each of whom is a hereditary absolute monarch in their own emirate. + +See also + Australian Monarchist League + Criticism of monarchy + Monarchism + Figurehead + Parliamentary republic + Reserve power + +References + +Citations + +Sources + + + + – excerpted from + + + + – originally published as Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel, Philosophie des Rechts. + + – England and the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries were parliamentary democracies. + +Further reading + + +Monarchy +Constitutional state types +British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke formulated three adages that are known as Clarke's three laws, of which the third law is the best known and most widely cited. They are part of his ideas in his extensive writings about the future. + +The laws +The laws are: + When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. + The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. + Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. + +Origins +One account stated that Clarke's laws were developed after the editor of his works in French started numbering the author's assertions. All three laws appear in Clarke's essay "Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination", first published in Profiles of the Future (1962); however, they were not all published at the same time. Clarke's first law was proposed in the 1962 edition of the essay, as "Clarke's Law" in Profiles of the Future. + +The second law is offered as a simple observation in the same essay but its status as Clarke's second law was conferred by others. It was initially a derivative of the first law and formally became Clarke's second law where the author proposed the third law in the 1973 revision of Profiles of the Future, which included an acknowledgement. It was also here that Clarke wrote about the third law in these words: "As three laws were good enough for Newton, I have modestly decided to stop there". + +The third law is the best known and most widely cited. It was published in a 1968 letter to Science magazine and eventually added to the 1973 revision of the "Hazards of Prophecy" essay. In 1952, Isaac Asimov in his book Foundation and Empire (part 1.1 Search for Magicians) wrote down a similar phrase "... an uninformed public tends to confuse scholarship with magicians..." It also echoes a statement in a 1942 story by Leigh Brackett: "Witchcraft to the ignorant, ... simple science to the learned". Even earlier examples of this sentiment may be found in Wild Talents (1932) by Charles Fort: "...a performance that may someday be considered understandable, but that, in these primitive times, so transcends what is said to be the known that it is what I mean by magic," and in the short story The Hound of Death (1933) by Agatha Christie: "The supernatural is only the nature of which the laws are not yet understood." Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography explicitly compares advanced technology to magic: + +Clarke gave an example of the third law when he said that while he "would have believed anyone who told him back in 1962 that there would one day exist a book-sized object capable of holding the content of an entire library, he would never have accepted that the same device could find a page or word in a second and then convert it into any typeface and size from Albertus Extra Bold to Zurich Calligraphic", referring to his memory of "seeing and hearing Linotype machines which slowly converted 'molten lead into front pages that required two men to lift them'". + +Variants of the third law +The third law has inspired many snowclones and other variations: + Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God. (Shermer's last law) + Any sufficiently advanced act of benevolence is indistinguishable from malevolence (referring to artificial intelligence) + Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice (Grey's law) + +Corollaries +Isaac Asimov's Corollary to Clarke's First Law: "When, however, the lay public rallies round an idea that is denounced by distinguished but elderly scientists and supports that idea with great fervour and emotion – the distinguished but elderly scientists are then, after all, probably right." + +A contrapositive of the third law is "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced." (Gehm's corollary) + +See also + + Asimov's + +References + +External links + + The origins of the Three Laws + "What's Your Law?" (lists some of the corollaries) + "A Gadget Too Far" at Infinity Plus + +Adages +Arthur C. Clarke +Technology folklore +Technology forecasting +Principles +Caspar David Friedrich (5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his allegorical landscapes, which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning mists, barren trees or Gothic ruins. His primary interest was the contemplation of nature, and his often symbolic and anti-classical work seeks to convey a subjective, emotional response to the natural world. Friedrich's paintings characteristically set a human presence in diminished perspective amid expansive landscapes, reducing the figures to a scale that, according to the art historian Christopher John Murray, directs "the viewer's gaze towards their metaphysical dimension". + +Friedrich was born in the town of Greifswald on the Baltic Sea in what was at the time Swedish Pomerania. He studied in Copenhagen until 1798, before settling in Dresden. He came of age during a period when, across Europe, a growing disillusionment with materialistic society was giving rise to a new appreciation of spirituality. This shift in ideals was often expressed through a reevaluation of the natural world, as artists such as Friedrich, J. M. W. Turner and John Constable sought to depict nature as a "divine creation, to be set against the artifice of human civilization". + +Friedrich's work brought him renown early in his career. Contemporaries such as the French sculptor David d'Angers spoke of him as having discovered "the tragedy of landscape". His work nevertheless fell from favour during his later years, and he died in obscurity. As Germany moved towards modernisation in the late 19th century, a new sense of urgency characterised its art, and Friedrich's contemplative depictions of stillness came to be seen as products of a bygone age. + +The early 20th century brought a renewed appreciation of his art, beginning in 1906 with an exhibition of thirty-two of his paintings in Berlin. His work influenced Expressionist artists and later Surrealists and Existentialists. The rise of Nazism in the early 1930s saw a resurgence in Friedrich's popularity, but this was followed by a sharp decline as his paintings were, by association with the Nazi movement, seen as promoting German nationalism. In the late 1970s Friedrich regained his reputation as an icon of the German Romantic movement and a painter of international importance. + +Life + +Early years and family + +Caspar David Friedrich was born on 5 September 1774, in Greifswald, Swedish Pomerania, on the Baltic coast of Germany. The sixth of ten children, he was raised in the strict Lutheran creed of his father Adolf Gottlieb Friedrich, a candle-maker and soap boiler. Records of the family's financial circumstances are contradictory; while some sources indicate the children were privately tutored, others record that they were raised in relative poverty. He became familiar with death from an early age. His mother, Sophie, died in 1781 when he was seven. A year later, his sister Elisabeth died, and a second sister, Maria, succumbed to typhus in 1791. Arguably the greatest tragedy of his childhood happened in 1787 when his brother Johann Christoffer died: at the age of thirteen, Caspar David witnessed his younger brother fall through the ice of a frozen lake, and drown. Some accounts suggest that Johann Christoffer perished while trying to rescue Caspar David, who was also in danger on the ice. + +Friedrich began his formal study of art in 1790 as a private student of artist Johann Gottfried Quistorp at the University of Greifswald in his home city, at which the art department is now named Caspar-David-Friedrich-Institut in his honour. Quistorp took his students on outdoor drawing excursions; as a result, Friedrich was encouraged to sketch from life at an early age. Through Quistorp, Friedrich met and was subsequently influenced by the theologian Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten, who taught that nature was a revelation of God. Quistorp introduced Friedrich to the work of the German 17th-century artist Adam Elsheimer, whose works often included religious subjects dominated by landscape, and nocturnal subjects. During this period he also studied literature and aesthetics with Swedish professor Thomas Thorild. Four years later Friedrich entered the prestigious Academy of Copenhagen, where he began his education by making copies of casts from antique sculptures before proceeding to drawing from life. + +Living in Copenhagen afforded the young painter access to the Royal Picture Gallery's collection of 17th-century Dutch landscape painting. At the Academy he studied under teachers such as Christian August Lorentzen and the landscape painter Jens Juel. These artists were inspired by the Sturm und Drang movement and represented a midpoint between the dramatic intensity and expressive manner of the budding Romantic aesthetic and the waning neo-classical ideal. Mood was paramount, and influence was drawn from such sources as the Icelandic legend of Edda, the poems of Ossian and Norse mythology. + +Move to Dresden + +Friedrich settled permanently in Dresden in 1798. During this early period, he experimented in printmaking with etchings and designs for woodcuts which his furniture-maker brother cut. By 1804 he had produced 18 etchings and four woodcuts; they were apparently made in small numbers and only distributed to friends. Despite these forays into other media, he gravitated toward working primarily with ink, watercolour and sepias. With the exception of a few early pieces, such as Landscape with Temple in Ruins (1797), he did not work extensively with oils until his reputation was more established. + +Landscapes were his preferred subject, inspired by frequent trips, beginning in 1801, to the Baltic coast, Bohemia, the Krkonoše and the Harz Mountains. Mostly based on the landscapes of northern Germany, his paintings depict woods, hills, harbors, morning mists and other light effects based on a close observation of nature. These works were modeled on sketches and studies of scenic spots, such as the cliffs on Rügen, the surroundings of Dresden and the river Elbe. He executed his studies almost exclusively in pencil, even providing topographical information, yet the subtle atmospheric effects characteristic of Friedrich's mid-period paintings were rendered from memory. These effects took their strength from the depiction of light, and of the illumination of sun and moon on clouds and water: optical phenomena peculiar to the Baltic coast that had never before been painted with such an emphasis. + +His reputation as an artist was established when he won a prize in 1805 at the Weimar competition organised by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. At the time, the Weimar competition tended to draw mediocre and now-forgotten artists presenting derivative mixtures of neo-classical and pseudo-Greek styles. The poor quality of the entries began to prove damaging to Goethe's reputation, so when Friedrich entered two sepia drawings—Procession at Dawn and Fisher-Folk by the Sea—the poet responded enthusiastically and wrote, "We must praise the artist's resourcefulness in this picture fairly. The drawing is well done, the procession is ingenious and appropriate ... his treatment combines a great deal of firmness, diligence and neatness ... the ingenious watercolour ... is also worthy of praise." + +Friedrich completed the first of his major paintings in 1808, at the age of 34. Cross in the Mountains, today known as the Tetschen Altar, is an altarpiece panel said to have been commissioned for a family chapel in Tetschen, Bohemia. The panel depicts a cross in profile at the top of a mountain, alone, and surrounded by pine trees. + +Although the altarpiece was generally coldly received, it was Friedrich's first painting to receive wide publicity. The artist's friends publicly defended the work, while art critic Basilius von Ramdohr published a long article challenging Friedrich's use of landscape in a religious context. He rejected the idea that landscape painting could convey explicit meaning, writing that it would be "a veritable presumption, if landscape painting were to sneak into the church and creep onto the altar". Friedrich responded with a programme describing his intentions in 1809, comparing the rays of the evening sun to the light of the Holy Father. This statement marked the only time Friedrich recorded a detailed interpretation of his own work, and the painting was among the few commissions the artist ever received. + +Following the purchase of two of his paintings by the Prussian Crown Prince, Friedrich was elected a member of the Berlin Academy in 1810. Yet in 1816, he sought to distance himself from Prussian authority and applied that June for Saxon citizenship. The move was not expected; the Saxon government was pro-French, while Friedrich's paintings were seen as generally patriotic and distinctly anti-French. Nevertheless, with the aid of his Dresden-based friend Graf Vitzthum von Eckstädt, Friedrich attained citizenship, and in 1818, membership in the Saxon Academy with a yearly dividend of 150 thalers. Although he had hoped to receive a full professorship, it was never awarded him as, according to the German Library of Information, "it was felt that his painting was too personal, his point of view too individual to serve as a fruitful example to students." Politics too may have played a role in stalling his career: Friedrich's decidedly Germanic subjects and costuming frequently clashed with the era's prevailing pro-French attitudes. + +Marriage + +On 21 January 1818, Friedrich married Caroline Bommer, the twenty-five-year-old daughter of a dyer from Dresden. The couple had three children, with their first, Emma, arriving in 1820. Physiologist and painter Carl Gustav Carus notes in his biographical essays that marriage did not impact significantly on either Friedrich's life or personality, yet his canvasses from this period, including Chalk Cliffs on Rügen—painted after his honeymoon—display a new sense of levity, while his palette is brighter and less austere. Human figures appear with increasing frequency in the paintings of this period, which Siegel interprets as a reflection that "the importance of human life, particularly his family, now occupies his thoughts more and more, and his friends, his wife, and his townspeople appear as frequent subjects in his art." + +Around this time, he found support from two sources in Russia. In 1820, the Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, at the behest of his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, visited Friedrich's studio and returned to Saint Petersburg with a number of his paintings, an exchange that began a patronage that continued for many years. Not long thereafter, the poet Vasily Zhukovsky, tutor to the Grand Duke's son (later Tsar Alexander II), met Friedrich in 1821 and found in him a kindred spirit. For decades Zhukovsky helped Friedrich both by purchasing his work himself and by recommending his art to the royal family; his assistance toward the end of Friedrich's career proved invaluable to the ailing and impoverished artist. Zhukovsky remarked that his friend's paintings "please us by their precision, each of them awakening a memory in our mind." + +Friedrich was acquainted with Philipp Otto Runge, another leading German painter of the Romantic period. He was also a friend of Georg Friedrich Kersting, and painted him at work in his unadorned studio, and of the Norwegian painter Johan Christian Clausen Dahl (1788–1857). Dahl was close to Friedrich during the artist's final years, and he expressed dismay that to the art-buying public, Friedrich's pictures were only "curiosities". While the poet Zhukovsky appreciated Friedrich's psychological themes, Dahl praised the descriptive quality of Friedrich's landscapes, commenting that "artists and connoisseurs saw in Friedrich's art only a kind of mystic, because they themselves were only looking out for the mystic ... They did not see Friedrich's faithful and conscientious study of nature in everything he represented". + +During this period Friedrich frequently sketched memorial monuments and sculptures for mausoleums, reflecting his obsession with death and the afterlife; he even created designs for some of the funerary art in Dresden's cemeteries. Some of these works were lost in the fire that destroyed Munich's Glass Palace (1931) and later in the 1945 bombing of Dresden. + +Later life +Friedrich's reputation steadily declined over the final fifteen years of his life. As the ideals of early Romanticism passed from fashion, he came to be viewed as an eccentric and melancholy character, out of touch with the times. Gradually his patrons fell away. By 1820, he was living as a recluse and was described by friends as the "most solitary of the solitary". Towards the end of his life he lived in relative poverty. He became isolated and spent long periods of the day and night walking alone through woods and fields, often beginning his strolls before sunrise. + +He suffered his first stroke in June 1835, which left him with minor limb paralysis and greatly reduced his ability to paint. As a result, he was unable to work in oil; instead he was limited to watercolour, sepia and reworking older compositions. Although his vision remained strong, he had lost the full strength of his hand. Yet he was able to produce a final 'black painting', Seashore by Moonlight (1835–1836), described by Vaughan as the "darkest of all his shorelines, in which richness of tonality compensates for the lack of his former finesse". Symbols of death appeared in his work from this period. Soon after his stroke, the Russian royal family purchased a number of his earlier works, and the proceeds allowed him to travel to Teplitz—in today's Czech Republic—to recover. + +During the mid-1830s, Friedrich began a series of portraits and he returned to observing himself in nature. As the art historian William Vaughan observed, however, "He can see himself as a man greatly changed. He is no longer the upright, supportive figure that appeared in Two Men Contemplating the Moon in 1819. He is old and stiff ... he moves with a stoop". By 1838, he was capable working in a small format only. He and his family were living in poverty and grew increasingly dependent for support on the charity of friends. + +Death + +Friedrich died in Dresden on 7 May 1840, and was buried in Dresden's Trinitatis-Friedhof (Trinity Cemetery) east of the city centre (the entrance to which he had painted some 15 years earlier). His simple flat gravestone lies north-west of the central roundel within the main avenue. + +By this time his reputation and fame had waned, and his passing was little noticed within the artistic community. His artwork had certainly been acknowledged during his lifetime, but not widely. While the close study of landscape and an emphasis on the spiritual elements of nature were commonplace in contemporary art, his interpretations were highly original and personal. By 1838, his work no longer sold or received attention from critics; the Romantic movement had moved away from the early idealism that the artist had helped found. + +Carl Gustav Carus later wrote a series of articles which paid tribute to Friedrich's transformation of the conventions of landscape painting. However, Carus' articles placed Friedrich firmly in his time, and did not place the artist within a continuing tradition. Only one of his paintings had been reproduced as a print, and that was produced in very few copies. + +Themes + +Landscape and the sublime + +The visualisation and portrayal of landscape in an entirely new manner was Friedrich's key innovation. He sought not just to explore the blissful enjoyment of a beautiful view, as in the classic conception, but rather to examine an instant of sublimity, a reunion with the spiritual self through the contemplation of nature. Friedrich was instrumental in transforming landscape in art from a backdrop subordinated to human drama to a self-contained emotive subject. Friedrich's paintings commonly employed the Rückenfigur—a person seen from behind, contemplating the view. The viewer is encouraged to place himself in the position of the Rückenfigur, by which means he experiences the sublime potential of nature, understanding that the scene is as perceived and idealised by a human. + +Friedrich created the idea of a landscape full of romantic feeling—die romantische Stimmungslandschaft. His art details a wide range of geographical features, such as rock coasts, forests and mountain scenes, and often used landscape to express religious themes. During his time, most of the best-known paintings were viewed as expressions of a religious mysticism. He wrote: "The artist should paint not only what he sees before him, but also what he sees within him. If, however, he sees nothing within him, then he should also refrain from painting that which he sees before him. Otherwise, his pictures will be like those folding screens behind which one expects to find only the sick or the dead." Expansive skies, storms, mist, forests, ruins and crosses bearing witness to the presence of God are frequent elements in Friedrich's landscapes. Though death finds symbolic expression in boats that move away from shore—a Charon-like motif—and in the poplar tree, it is referenced more directly in paintings like The Abbey in the Oakwood (1808–1810), in which monks carry a coffin past an open grave, toward a cross, and through the portal of a church in ruins. + +He was one of the first artists to portray winter landscapes in which the land is rendered as stark and dead. Friedrich's winter scenes are solemn and still—according to the art historian Hermann Beenken, Friedrich painted winter scenes in which "no man has yet set his foot. The theme of nearly all the older winter pictures had been less winter itself than life in winter. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was thought impossible to leave out such motifs as the crowd of skaters, the wanderer ... It was Friedrich who first felt the wholly detached and distinctive features of a natural life. Instead of many tones, he sought the one; and so, in his landscape, he subordinated the composite chord into one single basic note". + +Bare oak trees and tree stumps, such as those in Raven Tree (), Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon (), and Willow Bush under a Setting Sun (), are recurring elements of his paintings, and usually symbolise death. Countering the sense of despair are Friedrich's symbols for redemption: the cross and the clearing sky promise eternal life, and the slender moon suggests hope and the growing closeness of Christ. In his paintings of the sea, anchors often appear on the shore, also indicating a spiritual hope. In The Abbey in the Oakwood, the movement of the monks away from the open grave and toward the cross and the horizon imparts Friedrich's message that the final destination of man's life lies beyond the grave. + +With dawn and dusk constituting prominent themes of his landscapes, Friedrich's own later years were characterised by a growing pessimism. His work becomes darker, revealing a fearsome monumentality. The Wreck of the Hope—also known as The Polar Sea or The Sea of Ice (1823–1824)—perhaps best summarises Friedrich's ideas and aims at this point, though in such a radical way that the painting was not well received. Completed in 1824, it depicted a grim subject, a shipwreck in the Arctic Ocean; "the image he produced, with its grinding slabs of travertine-colored floe ice chewing up a wooden ship, goes beyond documentary into allegory: the frail bark of human aspiration crushed by the world's immense and glacial indifference." + +Friedrich's written commentary on aesthetics was limited to a collection of aphorisms set down in 1830, in which he explained the need for the artist to match natural observation with an introspective scrutiny of his own personality. His best-known remark advises the artist to "close your bodily eye so that you may see your picture first with the spiritual eye. Then bring to the light of day that which you have seen in the darkness so that it may react upon others from the outside inwards." + +Loneliness and death + +Both Friedrich's life and art have at times been perceived by some to have been marked with an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Art historians and some of his contemporaries attribute such interpretations to the losses suffered during his youth to the bleak outlook of his adulthood, while Friedrich's pale and withdrawn appearance helped reinforce the popular notion of the "taciturn man from the North". + +Friedrich suffered depressive episodes in 1799, 1803–1805, c. 1813, in 1816 and between 1824 and 1826. There are noticeable thematic shifts in the works he produced during these episodes, which see the emergence of such motifs and symbols as vultures, owls, graveyards and ruins. From 1826 these motifs became a permanent feature of his output, while his use of color became more dark and muted. Carus wrote in 1929 that Friedrich "is surrounded by a thick, gloomy cloud of spiritual uncertainty", though the noted art historian and curator Hubertus Gassner disagrees with such notions, seeing in Friedrich's work a positive and life-affirming subtext inspired by Freemasonry and religion. + +Germanic folklore + +Reflecting Friedrich's patriotism and resentment during the 1813 French occupation of the dominion of Pomerania, motifs from German folklore became increasingly prominent in his work. An anti-French German nationalist, Friedrich used motifs from his native landscape to celebrate Germanic culture, customs and mythology. He was impressed by the anti-Napoleonic poetry of Ernst Moritz Arndt and Theodor Körner, and the patriotic literature of Adam Müller and Heinrich von Kleist. Moved by the deaths of three friends killed in battle against France, as well as by Kleist's 1808 drama Die Hermannsschlacht, Friedrich undertook a number of paintings in which he intended to convey political symbols solely by means of the landscape—a first in the history of art. + +In Old Heroes' Graves (1812), a dilapidated monument inscribed "Arminius" invokes the Germanic chieftain, a symbol of nationalism, while the four tombs of fallen heroes are slightly ajar, freeing their spirits for eternity. Two French soldiers appear as small figures before a cave, lower and deep in a grotto surrounded by rock, as if farther from heaven. A second political painting, Fir Forest with the French Dragoon and the Raven (c. 1813), depicts a lost French soldier dwarfed by a dense forest, while on a tree stump a raven is perched—a prophet of doom, symbolizing the anticipated defeat of France. + +Legacy + +Influence +Alongside other Romantic painters, Friedrich helped position landscape painting as a major genre within Western art. Of his contemporaries, Friedrich's style most influenced the painting of Johan Christian Dahl (1788–1857). Among later generations, Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901) was strongly influenced by his work, and the substantial presence of Friedrich's works in Russian collections influenced many Russian painters, in particular Arkhip Kuindzhi (c. 1842–1910) and Ivan Shishkin (1832–1898). Friedrich's spirituality anticipated American painters such as Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847–1917), Ralph Blakelock (1847–1919), the painters of the Hudson River School and the New England Luminists. + +At the turn of the 20th century, Friedrich was rediscovered by the Norwegian art historian Andreas Aubert (1851–1913), whose writing initiated modern Friedrich scholarship, and by the Symbolist painters, who valued his visionary and allegorical landscapes. The Norwegian Symbolist Edvard Munch (1863–1944) would have seen Friedrich's work during a visit to Berlin in the 1880s. Munch's 1899 print The Lonely Ones echoes Friedrich's Rückenfigur (back figure), although in Munch's work the focus has shifted away from the broad landscape and toward the sense of dislocation between the two melancholy figures in the foreground. + +Friedrich's modern revival gained momentum in 1906, when thirty-two of his works were featured in an exhibition in Berlin of Romantic-era art. His landscapes exercised a strong influence on the work of German artist Max Ernst (1891–1976), and as a result other Surrealists came to view Friedrich as a precursor to their movement. In 1934, the Belgian painter René Magritte (1898–1967) paid tribute in his work The Human Condition, which directly echoes motifs from Friedrich's art in its questioning of perception and the role of the viewer. + +A few years later, the Surrealist journal Minotaure included Friedrich in a 1939 article by the critic Marie Landsberger, thereby exposing his work to a far wider circle of artists. The influence of The Wreck of Hope (or The Sea of Ice) is evident in the 1940–41 painting Totes Meer by Paul Nash (1889–1946), a fervent admirer of Ernst. Friedrich's work has been cited as an inspiration by other major 20th-century artists, including Mark Rothko (1903–1970), Gerhard Richter (b. 1932), Gotthard Graubner and Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945). Friedrich's Romantic paintings have also been singled out by writer Samuel Beckett (1906–89), who, standing before Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon, said "This was the source of Waiting for Godot, you know." + +In his 1961 article "The Abstract Sublime", originally published in ARTnews, the art historian Robert Rosenblum drew comparisons between the Romantic landscape paintings of both Friedrich and Turner with the Abstract Expressionist paintings of Mark Rothko. Rosenblum specifically describes Friedrich's 1809 painting The Monk by the Sea, Turner's The Evening Star and Rothko's 1954 Light, Earth and Blue as revealing affinities of vision and feeling. According to Rosenblum, "Rothko, like Friedrich and Turner, places us on the threshold of those shapeless infinities discussed by the aestheticians of the Sublime. The tiny monk in the Friedrich and the fisher in the Turner establish a poignant contrast between the infinite vastness of a pantheistic God and the infinite smallness of His creatures. In the abstract language of Rothko, such literal detail—a bridge of empathy between the real spectator and the presentation of a transcendental landscape—is no longer necessary; we ourselves are the monk before the sea, standing silently and contemplatively before these huge and soundless pictures as if we were looking at a sunset or a moonlit night." + +Critical opinion +Until 1890, and especially after his friends had died, Friedrich's work lay in near-oblivion for decades. Yet, by 1890, the symbolism in his work began to ring true with the artistic mood of the day, especially in central Europe. However, despite a renewed interest and an acknowledgment of his originality, his lack of regard for "painterly effect" and thinly rendered surfaces jarred with the theories of the time. + +During the 1930s, Friedrich's work was used in the promotion of Nazi ideology, which attempted to fit the Romantic artist within the nationalistic Blut und Boden. It took decades for Friedrich's reputation to recover from this association with Nazism. His reliance on symbolism and the fact that his work fell outside the narrow definitions of modernism contributed to his fall from favour. In 1949, art historian Kenneth Clark wrote that Friedrich "worked in the frigid technique of his time, which could hardly inspire a school of modern painting", and suggested that the artist was trying to express in painting what is best left to poetry. Clark's dismissal of Friedrich reflected the damage the artist's reputation sustained during the late 1930s. + +Friedrich's reputation suffered further damage when his imagery was adopted by a number of Hollywood directors, including Walt Disney, built on the work of such German cinema masters as Fritz Lang and F. W. Murnau, within the horror and fantasy genres. His rehabilitation was slow, but enhanced through the writings of such critics and scholars as Werner Hofmann, Helmut Börsch-Supan and Sigrid Hinz, who successfully rebutted the political associations ascribed to his work, developed a catalogue raisonné, and placed Friedrich within a purely art-historical context. + +By the 1970s, he was again being exhibited in major international galleries and found favour with a new generation of critics and art historians. Today, his international reputation is well established. He is a national icon in his native Germany, and highly regarded by art historians and connoisseurs across the Western World. He is generally viewed as a figure of great psychological complexity, and according to Vaughan, "a believer who struggled with doubt, a celebrator of beauty haunted by darkness. In the end, he transcends interpretation, reaching across cultures through the compelling appeal of his imagery. He has truly emerged as a butterfly—hopefully one that will never again disappear from our sight". + +Work + +Friedrich was a prolific artist who produced more than 500 attributed works. In line with the Romantic ideals of his time, he intended his paintings to function as pure aesthetic statements, so he was cautious that the titles given to his work were not overly descriptive or evocative. It is likely that some of today's more literal titles, such as The Stages of Life, were not given by the artist himself, but were instead adopted during one of the revivals of interest in Friedrich. Complications arise when dating Friedrich's work, in part because he often did not directly name or date his canvases. He kept a carefully detailed notebook on his output, however, which has been used by scholars to tie paintings to their completion dates. + +Notes + +References + +Sources + +External links + + Hermitage Museum Archive + CasparDavidFriedrich.org – 89 paintings by Caspar David Friedrich + Biographical timeline, Hamburg Kunsthalle + Caspar David Friedrich and the German romantic landscape + German masters of the nineteenth century: paintings and drawings from the Federal Republic of Germany, full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Caspar David Friedrich (no. 29-36) + + +German romantic painters +German landscape painters +People from Greifswald +German Lutherans +People from Swedish Pomerania +University of Greifswald alumni +18th-century German painters +18th-century German male artists +German male painters +19th-century German painters +19th-century male artists +Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni +People associated with the University of Greifswald +1774 births +1840 deaths +Artists of the Moravian Church +Academic staff of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts +19th-century mystics +Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989. Love has drawn public attention for her uninhibited live performances and confrontational lyrics, as well as her highly publicized personal life following her marriage to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. In 2020, NME named her one of the most influential singers in alternative culture of the last 30 years. + +Love had an itinerant childhood, but was primarily raised in Portland, Oregon, where she played in a series of short-lived bands and was active in the local punk scene. After briefly being in a juvenile hall, she spent a year living in Dublin and Liverpool before returning to the United States and pursuing an acting career. She appeared in supporting roles in the Alex Cox films Sid and Nancy (1986) and Straight to Hell (1987) before forming the band Hole in Los Angeles with guitarist Eric Erlandson. The group received critical acclaim from underground rock press for their 1991 debut album, produced by Kim Gordon, while their second release, Live Through This (1994), was met with critical accolades and multi-platinum sales. In 1995, Love returned to acting, earning a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance as Althea Leasure in Miloš Forman's The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), which established her as a mainstream actress. The following year, Hole's third album, Celebrity Skin (1998), was nominated for three Grammy Awards. + +Love continued to work as an actress into the early 2000s, appearing in big-budget pictures such as Man on the Moon (1999) and Trapped (2002), before releasing her first solo album, America's Sweetheart, in 2004. The subsequent several years were marred with publicity surrounding Love's legal troubles and drug relapse, which resulted in a mandatory lockdown rehabilitation sentence in 2005 while she was writing a second solo album. That project became Nobody's Daughter, released in 2010 as a Hole album but without the former Hole lineup. Between 2014 and 2015, Love released two solo singles and returned to acting in the network series Sons of Anarchy and Empire. In 2020, she confirmed she was writing new music. Love has also been active as a writer; she co-created and co-wrote three volumes of a manga, Princess Ai, between 2004 and 2006, and wrote a memoir, Dirty Blonde (2006). + +Life and career + +1964–1982: Childhood and education +Courtney Michelle Harrison was born July 9, 1964, at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, California, the first child of psychotherapist Linda Carroll (née Risi; born 1944) and Hank Harrison (1941–2022), a publisher and road manager for the Grateful Dead. Her parents met at a party held for Dizzy Gillespie in 1963, and the two married in Reno, Nevada after Carroll discovered she was pregnant. Carroll, who was adopted at birth, is the biological daughter of novelist Paula Fox. Love's matrilineal great-grandmother was Elsie Fox (née de Sola), a Cuban writer who co-wrote the film The Last Train from Madrid with Love's great-grandfather, Paul Hervey Fox, cousin of writer Faith Baldwin and actor Douglas Fairbanks. Phil Lesh, the founding bassist of the Grateful Dead, is Love's godfather. According to Love, she was named after Courtney Farrell, the protagonist of Pamela Moore's 1956 novel Chocolates for Breakfast. Love is of Cuban, English, German, Irish, and Welsh descent. Through her mother's subsequent marriages, Love has two younger half-sisters, three younger half-brothers (one of whom died in infancy), and one adopted brother. + +Love spent her early years in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, until her parents divorced in 1970. In a custody hearing, her mother, as well as one of her father's girlfriends, testified that Hank had dosed Courtney with LSD when she was a toddler. Carroll also alleged that Hank threatened to abduct his daughter and flee with her to a foreign country. Though Hank denied these allegations, his custody was revoked. In 1970, Carroll relocated with Love to the rural community of Marcola, Oregon where they lived along the Mohawk River while Carroll completed her psychology degree at the University of Oregon. There, Carroll remarried to schoolteacher Frank Rodríguez, who legally adopted Love. Though Love was baptized a Roman Catholic, her mother maintained an unorthodox home; according to Love, "There were hairy, wangly-ass hippies running around naked [doing] Gestalt therapy", and her mother raised her in a gender-free household with "no dresses, no patent leather shoes, no canopy beds, nothing". Love attended a Montessori school in Eugene, Oregon, where she struggled academically and socially. She has said that she began seeing psychiatrists at "like, [age] three. Observational therapy. TM for tots. You name it, I've been there." At age nine, a psychologist noted that she exhibited signs of autism, among them tactile defensiveness. Love commented in 1995: "When I talk about being introverted, I was diagnosed autistic. At an early age, I would not speak. Then I simply bloomed." + +In 1972, Love's mother divorced Rodríguez, remarried to sportswriter David Menely, and moved the family to Nelson, New Zealand. Love was enrolled at Nelson College for Girls, but soon expelled for misbehavior. In 1973, Carroll sent Love back to Portland, Oregon, to be raised by her former stepfather and other family friends. At age 14, Love was arrested for shoplifting from a Portland department store and remanded at Hillcrest Correctional Facility, a juvenile hall in Salem, Oregon. While at Hillcrest, she became acquainted with records by Patti Smith, the Runaways, and the Pretenders, who later inspired her to start a band. She was intermittently placed in foster care throughout late 1979 until becoming legally emancipated in 1980, after which she remained staunchly estranged from her mother. Shortly after her emancipation, Love spent two months in Japan working as a topless dancer, but was deported after her passport was confiscated. She returned to Portland and began working at the strip club Mary's Club, adopting the surname Love to conceal her identity; she later adopted Love as her surname. She worked odd jobs, including as a DJ at a gay disco. Love said she lacked social skills, and learned them while frequenting gay clubs and spending time with drag queens. During this period, she enrolled at Portland State University, studying English and philosophy. She later commented that, had she not found a passion for music, she would have sought a career working with children. + +In 1981, Love was granted a small trust fund that had been left by her maternal grandparents, which she used to travel to Dublin, Ireland, where her biological father was living. She audited courses at Trinity College, studying theology for two semesters. She later received honorary patronage from Trinity's University Philosophical Society in 2010. While in Dublin, Love met musician Julian Cope of the Teardrop Explodes at one of the band's concerts. Cope took a liking to Love and offered to let her stay at his Liverpool home in his absence. She traveled to London, where she was met by her friend and future bandmate, Robin Barbur, from Portland. Recalling Cope's offer, Love and Barbur moved into Cope's home with him and several other artists, including Pete de Freitas of Echo & the Bunnymen. De Freitas was initially hesitant to allow the girls to stay, but acquiesced as they were "alarmingly young and obviously had nowhere else to go". Love recalled: "They kind of took me in. I was sort of a mascot; I would get them coffee or tea during rehearsals." Cope writes of Love frequently in his 1994 autobiography, Head-On, in which he refers to her as "the adolescent". + +In July 1982, Love returned to the United States. In late 1982, she attended a Faith No More concert in San Francisco and convinced the members to let her join as a singer. The group recorded material with Love as a vocalist, but fired her; according to keyboardist Roddy Bottum, who remained Love's friend in the years after, the band wanted a "male energy". Love returned to working abroad as an erotic dancer, briefly in Taiwan, and then at a taxi dance hall in Hong Kong. By Love's account, she first used heroin while working at the Hong Kong dance hall, having mistaken it for cocaine. While still inebriated from the drug, Love was pursued by a wealthy male client who requested that she return with him to the Philippines, and gave her money to purchase new clothes. She used the money to purchase an airfare back to the United States. + +1983–1987: Early music projects and film +At age 19, through her then-boyfriend's mother, film costume designer Bernadene Mann, Love took a job at Paramount Studios cleaning out the wardrobe department of vintage pieces that had suffered dry rot or other damage. During this time, Love became interested in vintage fashion. She subsequently returned to Portland, where she formed short-lived musical projects with her friends Ursula Wehr and Robin Barbur (namely Sugar Babylon, later known as Sugar Babydoll). After meeting Kat Bjelland at the Satyricon nightclub in 1984, the two formed the group the Pagan Babies. Love asked Bjelland to start the band with her as a guitarist, and the two moved to San Francisco in June 1985, where they recruited bassist Jennifer Finch and drummer Janis Tanaka. According to Bjelland, "[Courtney] didn't play an instrument at the time" aside from keyboards, so Bjelland would transcribe Love's musical ideas on guitar for her. The group played several house shows and recorded one 4-track demo before disbanding in late 1985. After Pagan Babies, Love moved to Minneapolis, where Bjelland had formed the group Babes in Toyland, and briefly worked as a concert promoter before returning to California. Drummer Lori Barbero recalled Love's time in Minneapolis: + +Deciding to shift her focus to acting, Love enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute and studied film under experimental director George Kuchar, featuring in one of his short films, Club Vatican. She also took experimental theater courses in Oakland taught by Whoopi Goldberg. In 1985, Love submitted an audition tape for the role of Nancy Spungen in the Sid Vicious biopic Sid and Nancy (1986) and was given a minor supporting role by director Alex Cox. After filming Sid and Nancy in New York City, she worked at a peep show in Times Square and squatted at the ABC No Rio social center and Pyramid Club in the East Village. That year, Cox cast her in a leading role in his film Straight to Hell (1987), a Spaghetti Western starring Joe Strummer, Dennis Hopper, and Grace Jones, shot in Spain in 1986. The film was poorly reviewed by critics, but it caught the attention of Andy Warhol, who featured Love in an episode of Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes. She also had a part in the 1988 Ramones music video for "I Wanna Be Sedated", appearing as a bride among dozens of party guests. + +Displeased by the "celebutante" fame she had attained, Love abandoned her acting career in 1988 and resumed work as a stripper in Oregon, where she was recognized by customers at a bar in the small town of McMinnville. This prompted Love to go into isolation and relocate to Anchorage, Alaska, where she lived for three months to "gather her thoughts", supporting herself by working at a strip club frequented by local fishermen. "I decided to move to Alaska because I needed to get my shit together and learn how to work", she said in retrospect. "So I went on this sort of vision quest. I got rid of all my earthly possessions. I had my bad little strip clothes and some big sweaters, and I moved into a trailer with a bunch of other strippers." + +1988–1991: Beginnings of Hole + +At the end of 1988, Love taught herself to play guitar and relocated to Los Angeles, where she placed an ad in a local music zine: "I want to start a band. My influences are Big Black, Sonic Youth, and Fleetwood Mac." By 1989, Love had recruited guitarist Eric Erlandson; bassist Lisa Roberts, her neighbor; and drummer Caroline Rue, whom she met at a Gwar concert. Love named the band Hole after a line from Euripides' Medea ("There is a hole that pierces right through me") and a conversation in which her mother told her that she could not live her life "with a hole running through her". On July 23, 1989, Love married Leaving Trains vocalist James Moreland in Las Vegas; the marriage was annulled the same year. She later said that Moreland was a transvestite and that they had married "as a joke". After forming Hole, Love and Erlandson had a romantic relationship that lasted over a year. + +In Hole's formative stages, Love continued to work at strip clubs in Hollywood (including Jumbo's Clown Room and the Seventh Veil), saving money to purchase backline equipment and a touring van, while rehearsing at a Hollywood studio loaned to her by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Hole played their first show in November 1989 at Raji's, a rock club in central Hollywood. Their debut single, "Retard Girl", was issued in April 1990 through the Long Beach indie label Sympathy for the Record Industry and was played by Rodney Bingenheimer on local rock station KROQ. Hole appeared on the cover of Flipside, a Los Angeles-based punk fanzine. In early 1991, they released their second single, "Dicknail", through Sub Pop Records. + +With no wave, noise rock, and grindcore bands being major influences on Love, Hole's first studio album, Pretty on the Inside, captured an abrasive sound and contained disturbing, graphic lyrics, described by Q as "confrontational [and] genuinely uninhibited". The record was released in September 1991 on Caroline Records, produced by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth with assistant production from Gumball's Don Fleming; Love and Gordon had met when Hole opened for Sonic Youth during their promotional tour for Goo at the Whisky a Go Go in November 1990. In early 1991, Love sent Gordon a personal letter asking her to produce the record for the band, to which she agreed. + +Pretty on the Inside received generally positive critical reception from indie and punk rock critics and was named one of the 20 best albums of the year by Spin. It gained a following in the United Kingdom, charting at 59 on the UK Albums Chart, and its lead single, "Teenage Whore", entered the UK Indie Chart at number one. The album's feminist slant led many to tag the band as part of the riot grrrl movement, a movement with which Love did not associate. The band toured in support of the record, headlining with Mudhoney in Europe; in the United States, they opened for the Smashing Pumpkins, and performed at CBGB in New York City. + +During the tour, Love briefly dated Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and then the Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. The journalist Michael Azerrad states that Love and Cobain met in 1989 at the Satyricon nightclub in Portland, Oregon. However, the Cobain biographer Charles Cross gives the date as February 12, 1990; Cross said that Cobain playfully wrestled Love to the floor after she said that he looked like Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum. According to Love, she met Cobain at a Dharma Bums show in Portland, while Love's bandmate Eric Erlandson said that he and Love were introduced to Cobain in a parking lot after a concert at the Hollywood Palladium on May 17, 1991. In late 1991, Love and Cobain became re-acquainted through Jennifer Finch, one of Love's friends and former bandmates. Love and Cobain were a couple by 1992. + +1992–1995: Marriage to Kurt Cobain, Live Through This and breakthrough + +Shortly after completing the tour for Pretty on the Inside, Love married Cobain on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, on February 24, 1992. She wore a satin and lace dress once owned by actress Frances Farmer, and Cobain wore plaid pajamas. During Love's pregnancy, Hole recorded a cover of "Over the Edge" for a Wipers tribute album, and recorded their fourth single, "Beautiful Son", which was released in April 1993. On August 18, the couple's only child, a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, was born in Los Angeles. They relocated to Carnation, Washington, and then Seattle. + +Love's first major media exposure came in a September 1992 profile with Cobain for Vanity Fair by Lynn Hirschberg, entitled "Strange Love". Cobain had become a major public figure following the surprise success of Nirvana's album Nevermind. Love was urged by her manager to participate in the cover story. During the prior year, Love and Cobain had developed a heroin addiction; the profile painted them in an unflattering light, suggesting that Love had been addicted to heroin during her pregnancy. The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services investigated, and custody of Frances was temporarily awarded to Love's sister Jaimee. Love claimed she was misquoted by Hirschberg, and asserted that she had immediately quit heroin during her first trimester after she discovered she was pregnant. Love later said the article had serious implications for her marriage and Cobain's mental state, suggesting it was a factor in his suicide two years later. + +On September 8, 1993, Love and Cobain made their only public performance together at the Rock Against Rape benefit in Hollywood, performing two acoustic duets of "Pennyroyal Tea" and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". Love also performed electric versions of two new Hole songs, "Doll Parts" and "Miss World", both written for their upcoming second album. In October 1993, Hole recorded their second album, Live Through This, in Atlanta. The album featured a new lineup with bassist Kristen Pfaff and drummer Patty Schemel. + +In April 1994, Cobain killed himself in the Seattle home he shared with Love, who was in rehab in Los Angeles at the time. In the following months, Love was rarely seen in public, staying at her home with friends and family. Cobain's remains were cremated and his ashes divided into portions by Love, who kept some in a teddy bear and some in an urn. In June, she traveled to the Namgyal Buddhist Monastery in Ithaca, New York and had Cobain's ashes ceremonially blessed by Buddhist monks. Another portion was mixed into clay and made into memorial sculptures. + +Live Through This was released one week after Cobain's death on Geffen's subsidiary label DGC. On June 16, Pfaff died of a heroin overdose in Seattle. For Hole's impending tour, Love recruited the Canadian bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. Hole's performance on August 26, 1994, at the Reading Festival—Love's first public performance following Cobain's death—was described by MTV as "by turns macabre, frightening and inspirational". John Peel wrote in The Guardian that Love's disheveled appearance "would have drawn whistles of astonishment in Bedlam", and that her performance "verged on the heroic ... Love steered her band through a set which dared you to pity either her recent history or that of the band ... The band teetered on the edge of chaos, generating a tension which I cannot remember having felt before from any stage." + +Live Through This was certified platinum in April 1995 and received numerous accolades. The success combined with Cobain's suicide produced publicity for Love, and she was featured on Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People in 1995. Her erratic onstage behavior and various legal troubles during Hole's tour compounded the media coverage of her. Hole performed a series of riotous concerts over the following year, with Love frequently appearing hysterical onstage, flashing crowds, stage diving, and getting into fights with audience members. One journalist reported that at the band's show in Boston in December 1994: "Love interrupted the music and talked about her deceased husband Kurt Cobain, and also broke out into Tourette syndrome-like rants. The music was great, but the raving was vulgar and offensive, and prompted some of the audience to shout back at her." + +In January 1995, Love was arrested in Melbourne for disrupting a Qantas flight after getting into an argument with a stewardess. On July 4, 1995, at the Lollapalooza Festival in George, Washington, Love threw a lit cigarette at musician Kathleen Hanna before punching her in the face, alleging that she had made a joke about her daughter. She pleaded guilty to an assault charge and was sentenced to anger management classes. In November 1995, two male teenagers sued Love for allegedly punching them during a Hole concert in Orlando, Florida in March 1995. The judge dismissed the case on grounds that the teens "weren't exposed to any greater amount of violence than could reasonably be expected at an alternative rock concert". Love later said she had little memory of 1994 and 1995, as she had been using large quantities of heroin and Rohypnol at the time. + +1996–2002: Acting success and Celebrity Skin + +After Hole's world tour concluded in 1996, Love made a return to acting, first in small roles in the Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic Basquiat and the drama Feeling Minnesota (1996), and then a starring role as Larry Flynt's wife Althea in Miloš Forman's critically acclaimed 1996 film The People vs. Larry Flynt. Love went through rehabilitation and quit using heroin at the insistence of Forman; she was ordered to take multiple urine tests under the supervision of Columbia Pictures while filming, and passed all of them. Despite Columbia Pictures' initial reluctance to hire Love due to her troubled past, her performance received acclaim, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, and a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress. Critic Roger Ebert called her work in the film "quite a performance; Love proves she is not a rock star pretending to act, but a true actress." She won several other awards from various film critic associations for the film. During this time, Love maintained what the media noted as a more decorous public image, and she appeared in ad campaigns for Versace and in a Vogue Italia spread. Following the release of The People vs. Larry Flynt, she dated her co-star Edward Norton, with whom she remained until 1999. + +In late 1997, Hole released the compilations My Body, the Hand Grenade and The First Session, both of which featured previously recorded material. Love attracted media attention in May 1998 after punching journalist Belissa Cohen at a party; the suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. In September 1998, Hole released their third studio album, Celebrity Skin, which featured a stark power pop sound that contrasted with their earlier punk influences. Love divulged her ambition of making an album where "art meets commerce ... there are no compromises made, it has commercial appeal, and it sticks to [our] original vision." She said she was influenced by Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, and My Bloody Valentine when writing the album. Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan co-wrote several songs. Celebrity Skin was well received by critics; Rolling Stone called it "accessible, fiery and intimate—often at the same time ... a basic guitar record that's anything but basic." Celebrity Skin went multi-platinum, and topped "Best of Year" lists at Spin and The Village Voice. It garnered Hole's only number-one single on the Modern Rock Tracks chart with "Celebrity Skin". Hole promoted the album through MTV performances and at the 1998 Billboard Music Awards, and were nominated for three Grammy Awards at the 41st Grammy Awards ceremony. + +Before the release of Celebrity Skin, Love and Fender designed a low-priced Squier brand guitar, the Vista Venus. The instrument featured a shape inspired by Mercury, a little-known independent guitar manufacturer, Stratocaster, and Rickenbacker's solid body guitars. It had a single-coil and a humbucker pickup and was available in 6-string and 12-string versions. In an early 1999 interview, Love said about the Venus: "I wanted a guitar that sounded really warm and pop, but which required just one box to go dirty ... And something that could also be your first band guitar. I didn't want it all teched out. I wanted it real simple, with just one pickup switch." + +Hole toured with Marilyn Manson on the Beautiful Monsters Tour in 1999, but dropped out after nine performances; Love and Manson disagreed over production costs, and Hole was forced to open for Manson under an agreement with Interscope Records. Hole resumed touring with Imperial Teen. Love later said Hole also abandoned the tour due to Manson and Korn's (whom they also toured with in Australia) sexualized treatment of teenage female audience members. Love told interviewers at 99X.FM in Atlanta: "What I really don't like—there are certain girls that like us, or like me, who are really messed up ... they're very young, and they do not need to be taken and raped, or filmed having enema contests ... [they were] going out into the audience and picking up fourteen and fifteen-year-old girls who obviously cut themselves, and then [I had] to see them in the morning ... it's just uncool." + +In 1999, Love was awarded an Orville H. Gibson award for Best Female Rock Guitarist. During this time, she starred opposite Jim Carrey as his partner Lynne Margulies in the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon (1999), followed by a role as William S. Burroughs's wife Joan Vollmer in Beat (2000) alongside Kiefer Sutherland. Love was cast as the lead in John Carpenter's sci-fi horror film Ghosts of Mars, but backed out after injuring her foot. She sued the ex-wife of her then-boyfriend, James Barber, whom Love alleged had caused the injury by running over her foot with her Volvo. The following year, she returned to film opposite Lili Taylor in Julie Johnson (2001), in which she played a woman who has a lesbian relationship; Love won an Outstanding Actress award at L.A.'s Outfest. She was then cast in the thriller Trapped (2002), alongside Kevin Bacon and Charlize Theron. The film was a box-office flop. + +In the interim, Hole had become dormant. In March 2001, Love began a "punk rock femme supergroup", Bastard, enlisting Schemel, Veruca Salt co-frontwoman Louise Post, and bassist Gina Crosley. Post recalled: "[Love] was like, 'Listen, you guys: I've been in my Malibu, manicure, movie-star world for two years, alright? I wanna make a record. And let's leave all that grunge shit behind us, eh? We were being so improvisational, and singing together, and with a trust developing between us. It was the shit." The group recorded a demo tape, but by September 2001, Post and Crosley had left, with Post citing "unhealthy and unprofessional working conditions". In May 2002, Hole announced their breakup amid continuing litigation with Universal Music Group over their record contract. + +In 1997, Love and former Nirvana members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl formed a limited liability company, Nirvana LLC, to manage Nirvana's business dealings. In June 2001, Love filed a lawsuit to dissolve it, blocking the release of unreleased Nirvana material and delaying the release of the Nirvana compilation With the Lights Out. Grohl and Novoselic sued Love, calling her "irrational, mercurial, self-centered, unmanageable, inconsistent and unpredictable". She responded with a letter stating that "Kurt Cobain was Nirvana" and that she and his family were the "rightful heirs" to the Nirvana legacy. + +2003–2008: Solo work and legal troubles +In February 2003, Love was arrested at Heathrow Airport for disrupting a flight and was banned from Virgin Airlines. In October, she was arrested in Los Angeles after breaking several windows of her producer and then-boyfriend James Barber's home and was charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance; the ordeal resulted in her temporarily losing custody of her daughter. + +After the breakup of Hole, Love began composing material with songwriter Linda Perry, and in July 2003 signed a contract with Virgin Records. She began recording her debut solo album, America's Sweetheart, in France shortly after. Virgin Records released America's Sweetheart in February 2004; it received mixed reviews. Charles Aaron of Spin called it a "jaw-dropping act of artistic will and a fiery, proper follow-up to 1994's Live Through This" and awarded it eight out of ten, while Amy Phillips of The Village Voice wrote: "[Love is] willing to act out the dream of every teenage brat who ever wanted to have a glamorous, high-profile hissyfit, and she turns those egocentric nervous breakdowns into art. Sure, the art becomes less compelling when you've been pulling the same stunts for a decade. But, honestly, is there anybody out there who fucks up better?" The album sold fewer than 100,000 copies. Love later expressed regret over the record, blaming her drug problems at the time. Shortly after it was released, she told Kurt Loder on TRL: "I cannot exist as a solo artist. It's a joke." + +On March 17, 2004, Love appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman to promote America's Sweetheart. Her appearance drew media coverage when she lifted her shirt multiple times, flashed Letterman, and stood on his desk. The New York Times wrote: "The episode was not altogether surprising for Ms. Love, 39, whose most public moments have veered from extreme pathos—like the time she read the suicide note of her famous husband, Kurt Cobain, on MTV—to angry feminism to catfights to incoherent ranting." Hours later, in the early morning of March 18, Love was arrested in Manhattan for allegedly striking a fan with a microphone stand during a small concert in the East Village. She was released within hours and performed a scheduled concert the following evening at the Bowery Ballroom. Four days later, she called in multiple times to The Howard Stern Show, claiming in broadcast conversations with Stern that the incident had not occurred, and that actress Natasha Lyonne, who was at the concert, was told by the alleged victim that he had been paid $10,000 to file a false claim leading to Love's arrest. + +On July 9, 2004, her 40th birthday, Love was arrested for failing to make a court appearance for the March 2004 charges, and taken to Bellevue Hospital, allegedly incoherent, where she was placed on a 72-hour watch. According to police, she was believed to be a potential danger to herself, but deemed mentally sound and released to a rehab facility two days later. Amidst public criticism and press coverage, comedian Margaret Cho published an opinion piece, "Courtney Deserves Better from Feminists", arguing that negative associations of Love with her drug and personal problems (including from feminists) overshadowed her music and wellbeing. Love pleaded guilty in October 2004 to disorderly conduct over the incident in East Village. + +Love's appearance as a roaster on the Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson in August 2005, in which she appeared intoxicated and disheveled, attracted further media attention. One review said that Love "acted as if she belonged in an institution". Six days after the broadcast, Love was sentenced to a 28-day lockdown rehab program for being under the influence of a controlled substance, violating her probation. To avoid jail time, she accepted an additional 180-day rehab sentence in September 2005. In November 2005, after completing the program, Love was discharged from the rehab center under the provision that she complete further outpatient rehab. In subsequent interviews, Love said she had been addicted to substances including prescription drugs, cocaine, and crack cocaine. She said she had been sober since completing rehabilitation in 2007, and cited her Soka Gakkai Buddhist practice (which she began in 1988) as integral to her sobriety. + +In the midst of her legal troubles, Love had endeavors in writing and publishing. She co-wrote a semi-autobiographical manga, Princess Ai (Japanese: プリンセス·アイ物語), with Stu Levy, illustrated by Misaho Kujiradou and Ai Yazawa; it was released in three volumes in the United States and Japan between 2004 and 2006. In 2006, Love published a memoir, Dirty Blonde, and began recording her second solo album, How Dirty Girls Get Clean, collaborating again with Perry and Billy Corgan. Love had written several songs, including an anti-cocaine song titled "Loser Dust", during her time in rehab in 2005. She told Billboard: "My hand-eye coordination was so bad [after the drug use], I didn't even know chords anymore. It was like my fingers were frozen. And I wasn't allowed to make noise [in rehab] ... I never thought I would work again." Tracks and demos for the album leaked online in 2006, and a documentary, The Return of Courtney Love, detailing the making of the album, aired on the British television network More4 in the fall of that year. A rough acoustic version of "Never Go Hungry Again", recorded during an interview for The Times in November, was also released. Incomplete audio clips of the song "Samantha", originating from an interview with NPR, were distributed on the internet in 2007. + +2009–2012: Hole revival and visual art + +In March 2009, fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir brought a libel suit against Love concerning a defamatory post Love made on her Twitter account, which was eventually settled for $450,000. Several months later, in June 2009, NME published an article detailing Love's plan to reunite Hole and release a new album, Nobody's Daughter. In response, former Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson stated in Spin magazine that contractually no reunion could take place without his involvement; therefore Nobody's Daughter would remain Love's solo record, as opposed to a "Hole" record. Love responded to Erlandson's comments in a Twitter post, claiming "he's out of his mind, Hole is my band, my name, and my Trademark". Nobody's Daughter was released worldwide as a Hole album on April 27, 2010. For the new line-up, Love recruited guitarist Micko Larkin, Shawn Dailey (bass guitar), and Stu Fisher (drums, percussion). Nobody's Daughter featured material written and recorded for Love's unfinished solo album, How Dirty Girls Get Clean, including "Pacific Coast Highway", "Letter to God", "Samantha", and "Never Go Hungry", although they were re-produced in the studio with Larkin and engineer Michael Beinhorn. The album's subject matter was largely centered on Love's tumultuous life between 2003 and 2007, and featured a polished folk rock sound, and more acoustic guitar work than previous Hole albums. + +The first single from Nobody's Daughter was "Skinny Little Bitch", released to promote the album in March 2010. The album received mixed reviews. Robert Sheffield of Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five, saying Love "worked hard on these songs, instead of just babbling a bunch of druggy bullshit and assuming people would buy it, the way she did on her 2004 flop, America's Sweetheart". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine also gave the album three out of five: "It's Marianne Faithfull's substance-ravaged voice that comes to mind most often while listening to songs like 'Honey' and 'For Once in Your Life'. The latter track is, in fact, one of Love's most raw and vulnerable vocal performances to date ... the song offers a rare glimpse into the mind of a woman who, for the last 15 years, has been as famous for being a rock star as she's been for being a victim." Love and the band toured internationally from 2010 into late 2012 promoting the record, with their pre-release shows in London and at South by Southwest receiving critical acclaim. In 2011, Love participated in Hit So Hard, a documentary chronicling bandmate Schemel's time in Hole. + +In May 2012, Love debuted an art collection at Fred Torres Collaborations in New York titled "And She's Not Even Pretty", which contained over 40 drawings and paintings by Love composed in ink, colored pencil, pastels, and watercolors. Later in the year, she collaborated with Michael Stipe on the track "Rio Grande" for Johnny Depp's sea shanty album Son of Rogues Gallery, and in 2013, co-wrote and contributed vocals on "Rat A Tat" from Fall Out Boy's album Save Rock and Roll, also appearing in the song's music video. + +2013–2015: Return to acting; libel lawsuits +After dropping the Hole name and performing as a solo artist in late 2012, Love appeared in spring 2013 advertisements for Yves Saint Laurent alongside Kim Gordon and Ariel Pink. Love completed a solo tour of North America in mid-2013, which was purported to be in promotion of an upcoming solo album; however, it was ultimately dubbed a "greatest hits" tour, and featured songs from Love's and Hole's back catalogue. Love told Billboard at the time that she had recorded eight songs in the studio. + +Love was subject of a second landmark libel lawsuit brought against her in January 2014 by her former attorney Rhonda Holmes, who accused Love of online defamation, seeking $8 million in damages. It was the first case of alleged Twitter-based libel in U.S. history to make it to trial. The jury, however, found in Love's favor. A subsequent defamation lawsuit filed by fashion designer Simorangkir in February 2014, however, resulted in Love being ordered to pay a further $350,000 in recompense. + +On April 22, 2014, Love debuted the song "You Know My Name" on BBC Radio 6 to promote her tour of the United Kingdom. It was released as a double A-side single with the song "Wedding Day" on May 4, 2014, on her own label Cherry Forever Records via Kobalt Label Services. The tracks were produced by Michael Beinhorn, and feature Tommy Lee on drums. In an interview with the BBC, Love revealed that she and former Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson had reconciled, and had been rehearsing new material together, along with former bassist Melissa Auf der Maur and drummer Patty Schemel, though she did not confirm a reunion of the band. On May 1, 2014, in an interview with Pitchfork, Love commented further on the possibility of Hole reuniting, saying: +"I'm not going to commit to it happening, because we want an element of surprise. There's a lot of is to be dotted and ts to be crossed." + +Love was cast in several television series in supporting parts throughout 2014, including the FX series Sons of Anarchy, Revenge, and Lee Daniels' network series Empire in a recurring guest role as Elle Dallas. The track "Walk Out on Me", featuring Love, was included on the Empire: Original Soundtrack from Season 1 album, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised the track, saying: "The idea of Courtney Love singing a ballad with a group of gospel singers seems faintly terrifying ... The reality is brilliant. Love's voice fits the careworn lyrics, effortlessly summoning the kind of ravaged darkness that Lana Del Rey nearly ruptures herself trying to conjure up." + +In January 2015, Love starred in a New York City stage production, Kansas City Choir Boy, a "pop opera" conceived by and co-starring Todd Almond. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times praised her performance, noting a "soft-edged and bewitching" stage presence, and wrote: "Her voice, never the most supple or rangy of instruments, retains the singular sound that made her an electrifying front woman for the band Hole: a single sustained noted can seem to simultaneously contain a plea, a wound and a threat." The show toured later in the year, with performances in Boston and Los Angeles. In April 2015, the journalist Anthony Bozza sued Love, alleging a contractual violation regarding his co-writing of her memoir. Love performed as the opening act for Lana Del Rey on her Endless Summer Tour for eight West Coast shows in May and June 2015. During her tenure, Love debuted the single "Miss Narcissist", released on Wavves' independent label Ghost Ramp. She was also cast in a supporting role in James Franco's film The Long Home, based on the novel by William Gay, her first film role in over ten years; as of 2022, it remains unreleased. + +2016–present: Fashion and forthcoming music + +In January 2016, Love released a clothing line in collaboration with Sophia Amoruso, "Love, Courtney", featuring 18 pieces reflecting her personal style. In November 2016, she began filming the pilot for A Midsummer's Nightmare, a Shakespeare anthology series adapted for Lifetime. She starred as Kitty Menéndez in Menendez: Blood Brothers, a biopic television film based on the lives of Lyle and Erik Menéndez, which premiered on Lifetime in June 2017. + +In October 2017, shortly after the Harvey Weinstein scandal made news, a 2005 video of Love warning young actresses about Weinstein went viral. In the footage, while on the red carpet for the Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson, Love was asked by Natasha Leggero if she had any advice for "a young girl moving to Hollywood"; she responded, "If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party in the Four Seasons [hotel], don't go." She later tweeted, "Although I wasn't one of his victims, I was eternally banned by [Creative Artists Agency] for speaking out." + +In the same year, Love was cast in Justin Kelly's biopic JT LeRoy, portraying a film producer opposite Laura Dern. In March 2018, she appeared in the music video for Marilyn Manson's "Tattooed in Reverse", and in April she appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race. In December, Love was awarded a restraining order against Sam Lutfi, who had acted as her manager for the previous six years, alleging verbal abuse and harassment. Her daughter, Frances, and sister, Jaimee, were also awarded restraining orders against Lutfi. In January 2019, a Los Angeles County judge extended the three-year order to five years, citing Lutfi's tendency to "prey upon people". + +On August 18, 2019, Love performed a solo set at the Yola Día festival in Los Angeles, which also featured performances by Cat Power and Lykke Li. On September 9, Love garnered press attention when she publicly criticized Joss Sackler, an heiress to the Sackler family OxyContin fortune, after she allegedly offered Love $100,000 to attend her fashion show during New York Fashion Week. In the same statement, Love indicated that she had relapsed into opioid addiction in 2018, stating that she had recently celebrated a year of sobriety. In October 2019, Love relocated from Los Angeles to London. + +On November 21, 2019, Love recorded the song "Mother", written and produced by Lawrence Rothman, as part of the soundtrack for the horror film The Turning (2020). In January 2020, she received the Icon Award at the NME Awards; NME described her as "one of the most influential singers in alternative culture of the last 30 years". The following month, she confirmed she was writing a new record which she described as "really sad ... [I'm] writing in minor chords, and that appeals to my sadness." In March 2021, Love said she had been hospitalized with acute anemia in August 2020, which had nearly killed her and reduced her weight to ; she made a full recovery. + +In August 2022, Love revealed the completion of her memoir, The Girl with the Most Cake, after a nearly ten-year period of writing. + +It was announced on May 15, 2023, that Love had been cast in Assassination, a biographical film about the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, directed by David Mamet and co-starring Viggo Mortensen, Shia LaBeouf, Al Pacino, and John Travolta. + +Artistry + +Influences +Love has been candid about her diverse musical influences, the earliest being Patti Smith, The Runaways, and The Pretenders, artists she discovered while in juvenile hall as a young teenager. As a child, her first exposure to music was records that her parents received each month through Columbia Record Club. The first record Love owned was Leonard Cohen's Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), which she obtained from her mother: "He was so lyric-conscious and morbid, and I was a pretty morbid kid", she recalled. As a teenager, she named Flipper, Kate Bush, Soft Cell, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Lou Reed, and Dead Kennedys among her favorite artists. While in Dublin at age fifteen, Love attended a Virgin Prunes concert, an event she credited as being a pivotal influence: "I had never seen so much sex, snarl, poetry, evil, restraint, grace, filth, raw power and the very essence of rock and roll", she recalled. "[I had seen] U2 [who] gave me lashes of love and inspiration, and a few nights later the Virgin Prunes fuckedmeup." Decades later, in 2009, Love introduced the band's frontman Gavin Friday at a Carnegie Hall event, and performed a song with him. + +Though often associated with punk music, Love has noted that her most significant musical influences have been post-punk and new wave artists. Commenting in 2021, Love said: Over the years, Love has also named several other new wave and post-punk bands as influences, including The Smiths, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Television, and Bauhaus. + +Love's diverse genre interests were illustrated in a 1991 interview with Flipside, in which she stated: "There's a part of me that wants to have a grindcore band and another that wants to have a Raspberries-type pop band." Discussing the abrasive sound of Hole's debut album, she said she felt she had to "catch up with all my hip peers who'd gone all indie on me, and who made fun of me for liking R.E.M. and The Smiths." She has also embraced the influence of experimental artists and punk rock groups, including Sonic Youth, Swans, Big Black, Diamanda Galás, the Germs, and The Stooges. While writing Celebrity Skin, she drew influence from Neil Young and My Bloody Valentine. She has also cited her contemporary PJ Harvey as an influence, saying: "The one rock star that makes me know I'm shit is Polly Harvey. I'm nothing next to the purity that she experiences." + +Literature and poetry have often been a major influence on her songwriting; Love said she had "always wanted to be a poet, but there was no money in it." She has named the works of T.S. Eliot and Charles Baudelaire as influential, and referenced works by Dante Rossetti, William Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling, and Anne Sexton in her lyrics. + +Musical style and lyrics +Musically, Love's work with Hole and her solo efforts have been characterized as alternative rock; Hole's early material, however, was described by critics as being stylistically closer to grindcore and aggressive punk rock. Spins October 1991 review of Hole's first album noted Love's layering of harsh and abrasive riffs buried more sophisticated musical arrangements. In 1998, she stated that Hole had "always been a pop band. We always had a subtext of pop. I always talked about it, if you go back ... what'll sound like some weird Sonic Youth tuning back then to you was sounding like the Raspberries to me, in my demented pop framework." + +Love's lyrical content is composed from a female's point of view, and her lyrics have been described as "literate and mordant" and noted by scholars for "articulating a third-wave feminist consciousness." Simon Reynolds, in reviewing Hole's debut album, noted: "Ms. Love's songs explore the full spectrum of female emotions, from vulnerability to rage. The songs are fueled by adolescent traumas, feelings of disgust about the body, passionate friendships with women and the desire to escape domesticity. Her lyrical style could be described as emotional nudism." Journalist and critic Kim France, in critiquing Love's lyrics, referred to her as a "dark genius" and likened her work to that of Anne Sexton. + +Love has remarked that lyrics have always been the most important component of songwriting for her: "The important thing for me ... is it has to look good on the page. I mean, you can love Led Zeppelin and not love their lyrics ... but I made a big effort in my career to have what's on the page mean something." Common themes present in Love's lyrics during her early career included body image, rape, suicide, conformity, pregnancy, prostitution, and death. In a 1991 interview with Everett True, she said: "I try to place [beautiful imagery] next to fucked up imagery, because that's how I view things ... I sometimes feel that no one's taken the time to write about certain things in rock, that there's a certain female point of view that's never been given space." + +Critics have noted that Love's later musical work is more lyrically introspective. Celebrity Skin and America's Sweetheart are lyrically centered on celebrity life, Hollywood, and drug addiction, while continuing Love's interest in vanity and body image. Nobody's Daughter was lyrically reflective of Love's past relationships and her struggle for sobriety, with the majority of its lyrics written while she was in rehab in 2006. + +Performance + +Love has a contralto vocal range. According to Love, she never wanted to be a singer, but rather aspired to be a skilled guitarist: "I'm such a lazy bastard though that I never did that", she said. "I was always the only person with the nerve to sing, and so I got stuck with it." She has been regularly noted by critics for her husky vocals as well as her "banshee [-like]" screaming abilities. Her vocals have been compared to those of Johnny Rotten, and David Fricke of Rolling Stone described them as "lung-busting" and "a corrosive, lunatic wail". Upon the release of Hole's 2010 album, Nobody's Daughter, Amanda Petrusich of Pitchfork compared Love's raspy, unpolished vocals to those of Bob Dylan. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Love at number 130 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. + +She has played a variety of Fender guitars throughout her career, including a Jaguar and a vintage 1965 Jazzmaster; the latter was purchased by the Hard Rock Cafe and is on display in New York City. Between 1989 and 1991, Love primarily played a Rickenbacker 425 because she "preferred the 3/4 neck", but she destroyed the guitar onstage at a 1991 concert opening for the Smashing Pumpkins. In the mid-1990s, she often played a guitar made by Mercury, an obscure company that manufactured custom guitars, as well as a Univox Hi-Flier. Fender's Vista Venus, designed by Love in 1998, was partially inspired by Rickenbacker guitars as well as her Mercury. During tours after the release of Nobody's Daughter (post-2010), Love has played a Rickenbacker 360 onstage. Her setup has included Fender tube gear, Matchless, Ampeg, Silvertone and a solid-state 1976 Randall Commander. + +Love has referred to herself as "a shit guitar player", further commenting in a 2014 interview: "I can still write a song, but [the guitar playing] sounds like shit ... I used to be a good rhythm player but I am no longer dependable." Throughout her career, she has also garnered a reputation for unpredictable live shows. In the 1990s, her performances with Hole were characterized by confrontational behavior, with Love stage diving, smashing guitars or throwing them into the audience, wandering into the crowd at the end of sets, and engaging in sometimes incoherent rants. Critics and journalists have noted Love for her comical, often stream-of-consciousness-like stage banter. Music journalist Robert Hilburn wrote in 1993 that, "rather than simply scripted patter, Love's comments between songs [have] the natural feel of someone who is sharing her immediate feelings." In a review of a live performance published in 2010, it was noted that Love's onstage "one-liners [were] worthy of the Comedy Store." + +Philanthropy +In 1993, Love and husband Kurt Cobain performed an acoustic set together at the Rock Against Rape benefit in Los Angeles, which raised awareness and provided resources for victims of sexual abuse. In 2000, Love publicly advocated for reform of the record industry in a personal letter published by Salon. In the letter, Love said: "It's not piracy when kids swap music over the Internet using Napster or Gnutella or Freenet or iMesh or beaming their CDs into a My.MP3.com or MyPlay.com music locker. It's piracy when those guys that run those companies make side deals with the cartel lawyers and label heads so that they can be 'the label's friend', and not the artists'." In a subsequent interview with Carrie Fisher, she said that she was interested in starting a union for recording artists, and also discussed race relations in the music industry, advocating for record companies to "put money back into the black community [whom] white people have been stealing from for years." + +Love has been a long-standing supporter of LGBT causes. She has frequently collaborated with Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, taking part in the center's "An Evening with Women" events. The proceeds of the event help provide food and shelter for homeless youth; services for seniors; legal assistance; domestic violence services; health and mental health services, and cultural arts programs. Love participated with Linda Perry for the event in 2012, and performed alongside Aimee Mann and comedian Wanda Sykes. Speaking on her collaboration on the event, Love said: "Seven thousand kids in Los Angeles a year go out on the street, and forty percent of those kids are gay, lesbian, or transgender. They come out to their parents, and become homeless ... for whatever reason, I don't really know why, but gay men have a lot of foundations—I've played many of them—but the lesbian side of it doesn't have as much money and/or donors, so we're excited that this has grown to cover women and women's affairs." + +She has also contributed to AIDS organizations, partaking in benefits for amfAR and the RED Campaign. In May 2011, she donated six of her husband Cobain's personal vinyl records for auction at Mariska Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation event for victims of child abuse, rape, and domestic violence. She has also supported the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. + +Influence + +Love has had an impact on female-fronted alternative acts and performers. She has been cited as influential on young female instrumentalists in particular, having once infamously proclaimed: "I want every girl in the world to pick up a guitar and start screaming ... I strap on that motherfucking guitar and you cannot fuck with me. That's my feeling." In The Electric Guitar: A History of an American Icon, it is noted: + +With over 3 million records sold in the United States alone, Hole became one of the most successful rock bands of all time fronted by a woman. VH1 ranked Love 69 in their list of The 100 Greatest Women in Music History in 2012. In 2015, the Phoenix New Times declared Love the number one greatest female rock star of all time, writing: "To build a perfect rock star, there are several crucial ingredients: musical talent, physical attractiveness, tumultuous relationships, substance abuse, and public meltdowns, just to name a few. These days, Love seems to have rebounded from her epic tailspin and has leveled out in a slightly more normal manner, but there's no doubt that her life to date is the type of story people wouldn't believe in a novel or a movie." + +Among the alternative musicians who have cited Love as an influence are Scout Niblett; Brody Dalle of The Distillers; Dee Dee Penny of Dum Dum Girls; Victoria Legrand of Beach House; Annie Hardy of Giant Drag; and Nine Black Alps. Contemporary female pop artists Lana Del Rey, Avril Lavigne, Tove Lo, and Sky Ferreira have also cited Love as an influence. Love has frequently been recognized as the most high-profile contributor of feminist music during the 1990s, and for "subverting [the] mainstream expectations of how a woman should look, act, and sound." According to music journalist Maria Raha, "Hole was the highest-profile female-fronted band of the '90s to openly and directly sing about feminism." Patti Smith, a major influence of Love's, also praised her, saying: "I hate genderizing things ... [but] when I heard Hole, I was amazed to hear a girl sing like that. Janis Joplin was her own thing; she was into Big Mama Thornton and Bessie Smith. But what Courtney Love does, I'd never heard a girl do that." + +She has also been a gay icon since the mid-1990s, and has jokingly referred to her fanbase as consisting of "females, gay guys, and a few advanced, evolved heterosexual men." Love's aesthetic image, particularly in the early 1990s, also became influential and was dubbed "kinderwhore" by critics and media. The subversive fashion mainly consisted of vintage babydoll dresses accompanied by smeared makeup and red lipstick. MTV reporter Kurt Loder described Love as looking like "a debauched rag doll" onstage. Love later said she had been influenced by the fashion of Chrissy Amphlett of the Divinyls. Interviewed in 1994, Love commented "I would like to think–in my heart of hearts–that I'm changing some psychosexual aspects of rock music. Not that I'm so desirable. I didn't do the kinder-whore thing because I thought I was so hot. When I see the look used to make one more appealing, it pisses me off. When I started, it was a What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? thing. My angle was irony." + +Discography + +Hole discography + + Pretty on the Inside (1991) + Live Through This (1994) + Celebrity Skin (1998) + Nobody's Daughter (2010) + +Solo discography + America's Sweetheart (2004) + +Filmography + + Sid and Nancy (1986) + Straight to Hell (1987) + The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) + 200 Cigarettes (1999) + Man on the Moon (1999) + Julie Johnson (2001) + Trapped (2002) + +Bibliography + +Footnotes + +References + +Sources + +External links + + + + + + Works by or about Courtney Love (library search via WorldCat) + + +1964 births +Living people +American alternative rock musicians +Alternative rock guitarists +American punk rock guitarists +American women rock singers +Alternative rock singers +American punk rock singers +Women punk rock singers +American rock songwriters +American women singer-songwriters +Hole (band) members +Faith No More members +Sympathy for the Record Industry artists +Feminist musicians +Musicians from Portland, Oregon +Guitarists from San Francisco +Guitarists from Oregon +Singer-songwriters from Oregon +Singers from San Francisco +Songwriters from San Francisco +American film actresses +American television actresses +Actresses from Portland, Oregon +Actresses from San Francisco +American Buddhists +American contraltos +American feminists +American LGBT rights activists +American people of Cuban descent +American people of English descent +American people of German descent +American people of Irish descent +American people of Welsh descent +American people convicted of assault +American women painters +Artists with autism +Converts to Buddhism from Roman Catholicism +Converts to Sōka Gakkai +People educated at Nelson College for Girls +People from Lane County, Oregon +Portland State University alumni +Alumni of Trinity College Dublin +Singer-songwriters from California +20th-century squatters +Writers from San Francisco +20th-century American actresses +21st-century American actresses +20th-century American singer-songwriters +21st-century American singer-songwriters +20th-century American artists +20th-century American women guitarists +20th-century American women artists +21st-century American women artists +20th-century American writers +21st-century American writers +20th-century American women singers +20th-century American women writers +21st-century American women guitarists +20th-century American guitarists +21st-century American guitarists +21st-century American women writers +21st-century American women singers +American activists with disabilities +Actors with autism +American actors with disabilities +Cow is a colloquial term for cattle, and the name of female cattle. + +Cow, cows or COW may also refer to: + +Science and technology + + Cow, an adult female of several animals + AT2018cow, a large astronomical explosion also known as "The Cow" + Distillation cow, a piece of glassware that allows fractions to be collected without breaking vacuum + Cell on wheels, a means of providing temporary mobile phone network coverage + Copy-on-write, in computing + +Literature + Al-Baqara, the second and longest sura of the Qur'an, usually translated as "The Cow" + Cows, a 1998 novel by Matthew Stokoe + Cow, the English translation of Beat Sterchi's novel Blösch + "Cows!", a children's story from the Railway Series book Edward the Blue Engine by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry + "Cows", a poem from The Wiggles' album Big Red Car + +Film and television + The Cow (1969 film), an Iranian film + The Cow (1989 film), a Soviet animated short + Cow (2009 film), a Chinese film + Cow (2021 film), a British documentary film + Cow (public service announcement), an anti texting while driving public service announcement + Cows (TV series), a pilot and cancelled television sitcom produced by Eddie Izzard for Channel 4 in 1997 + Cow, a character in the animated series Cow and Chicken + Computer Originated World, referring to the globe ID the BBC1 TV network used from 1985 to 1991 + +Music + Cows (band), a noise rock band from Minneapolis + Cow (demo), a 1987 EP by Inspiral Carpets + "Cows", a song by Grandaddy from their 1992 album Prepare to Bawl + +Other uses + Cerritos On Wheels, municipal bus service operated by the City of Cerritos, California, United States + College of Wooster, liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio, United States + Cow Hell Swamp, Georgia, United States + Crude oil washing + Cows (ice cream), a Canadian ice cream brand + Cowdenbeath railway station, Scotland, National Rail station code + Cow, part of a cow-calf railroad locomotive set + COWS, a mnemonic for Cold Opposite, Warm Same in the caloric reflex test + +See also + + + Vacas (English: Cows), a 1991 Spanish film + Kráva (English: The Cow), a 1994 Czech film by Karel Kachyňa + Sacred cow (disambiguation) + Cow Run (disambiguation) + Cowes + Kow (disambiguation) +Human cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh or internal organs of other human beings. A person who practices cannibalism is called a cannibal. The meaning of "cannibalism" has been extended into zoology to describe an individual of a species consuming all or part of another individual of the same species as food, including sexual cannibalism. + +Neanderthals are believed to have practised cannibalism, and Neanderthals may have been eaten by anatomically modern humans. Cannibalism was also practised in ancient Egypt, Roman Egypt and during famines in Egypt such as the great famine of 1199–1202. The Island Carib people of the Lesser Antilles, from whom the word "cannibalism" is derived, acquired a long-standing reputation as cannibals after their legends were recorded in the 17th century. Some controversy exists over the accuracy of these legends and the prevalence of actual cannibalism in the culture. + +Cannibalism has been well documented in much of the world, including Fiji, the Amazon Basin, the Congo, and the Māori people of New Zealand. Cannibalism was also practised in New Guinea and in parts of the Solomon Islands, and human flesh was sold at markets in some parts of Melanesia. Fiji was once known as the "Cannibal Isles". + +Cannibalism has recently been both practised and fiercely condemned in several wars, especially in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was still practised in Papua New Guinea as of 2012, for cultural reasons and in ritual as well as in war in various Melanesian tribes. Cannibalism has been said to test the bounds of cultural relativism because it challenges anthropologists "to define what is or is not beyond the pale of acceptable human behavior". A few scholars argue that no firm evidence exists that cannibalism has ever been a socially acceptable practice anywhere in the world, at any time in history, but such views have been largely rejected as irreconcilable with the actual evidence. + +A form of cannibalism popular in early modern Europe was the consumption of body parts or blood for medical purposes. This practice was at its height during the 17th century, although as late as the second half of the 19th century some peasants attending an execution are recorded to have "rushed forward and scraped the ground with their hands that they might collect some of the bloody earth, which they subsequently crammed in their mouth, in hope that they might thus get rid of their disease." + +Cannibalism has occasionally been practised as a last resort by people suffering from famine. Famous examples include the ill-fated Donner Party (1846–1847) and, more recently, the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 (1972), after which some survivors ate the bodies of the dead. Additionally, there are cases of people engaging in cannibalism for sexual pleasure, such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Armin Meiwes, Issei Sagawa, and Albert Fish. There is resistance to formally labelling cannibalism a mental disorder. + +Etymology +The word "cannibal" is derived from Spanish caníbal or caríbal, originally used as a name for the Caribs, a people from the West Indies said to have eaten human flesh. The older term anthropophagy, meaning "eating humans", is also used for human cannibalism. + +Reasons and types + +Cannibalism has been practised under a variety of circumstances and for various motives. To adequately express this diversity, Shirley Lindenbaum suggests that "it might be better to talk about 'cannibalisms'" in the plural. + +Institutionalized, survival, and pathological cannibalism + +One major distinction is whether cannibal acts are accepted by the culture in which they occur – institutionalized cannibalism – or whether they are merely practised under starvation conditions to ensure one's immediate survival – survival cannibalism – or by isolated individuals considered criminal and often pathological by society at large – cannibalism as psychopathology or "aberrant behavior". + +Institutionalized cannibalism, sometimes also called "learned cannibalism", is the consumption of human body parts as "an institutionalized practice" generally accepted in the culture where it occurs. + +By contrast, survival cannibalism means "the consumption of others under conditions of starvation such as shipwreck, military siege, and famine, in which persons normally averse to the idea are driven [to it] by the will to live". Also known as famine cannibalism, such forms of cannibalism resorted to only in situations of extreme necessity have occurred in many cultures where cannibalism is otherwise clearly rejected. The survivors of the shipwrecks of the Essex and Méduse in the 19th century are said to have engaged in cannibalism, as did the members of Franklin's lost expedition and the Donner Party. Such cases often involve only necro-cannibalism (eating the corpse of someone already dead) as opposed to homicidal cannibalism (killing someone for food). In modern English law, the latter is always considered a crime, even in the most trying circumstances. The case of R v Dudley and Stephens, in which two men were found guilty of murder for killing and eating a cabin boy while adrift at sea in a lifeboat, set the precedent that necessity is no defence to a charge of murder. This decision outlawed and effectively ended the practice of shipwrecked sailors drawing lots in order to determine who would be killed and eaten to prevent the others from starving, a time-honoured practice formerly known as a "custom of the sea". + +In other cases, cannibalism is an expression of a psychopathology or mental disorder, condemned by the society in which it occurs and "considered to be an indicator of [a] severe personality disorder or psychosis". Well-known cases include Albert Fish, Issei Sagawa, and Armin Meiwes. + +Exo-, endo-, and autocannibalism + +Within institutionalized cannibalism, exocannibalism is often distinguished from endocannibalism. Endocannibalism refers to the consumption of a person from the same community. Often it is a part of a funerary ceremony, similar to burial or cremation in other cultures. The consumption of the recently deceased in such rites can be considered "an act of affection" and a major part of the grieving process. It has also been explained as a way of guiding the souls of the dead into the bodies of living descendants. + +In contrast, exocannibalism is the consumption of a person from outside the community. It is frequently "an act of aggression, often in the context of warfare", where the flesh of killed or captured enemies may be eaten to celebrate one's victory over them. + +Both types of cannibalism can also be fuelled by the belief that eating a person's flesh or internal organs will endow the cannibal with some of the characteristics of the deceased. However, several authors investigating exocannibalism in New Zealand, New Guinea, and the Congo Basin observe that such beliefs were absent in these regions. + +A further type, different from both exo- and endocannibalism, is autocannibalism (also called autophagy or self-cannibalism), "the act of eating parts of oneself". It does not ever seem to have been an institutionalized practice, but occasionally occurs as pathological behaviour, or due to other reasons such as curiosity. Also on record are instances of forced autocannibalism committed as acts of aggression, where individuals are forced to eat parts of their own bodies as a form of torture. + +Additional motives and explanations + +Exocannibalism is thus often associated with the consumption of enemies as an act of aggression, a practice also known as war cannibalism. Endocannibalism is often associated with the consumption of deceased relatives in funerary rites driven by affection – a practice known as funerary or mortuary cannibalism. But acts of institutionalized cannibalism can also be driven by various other motives, for which additional names have been coined. + +Medicinal cannibalism (also called medical cannibalism) means "the ingestion of human tissue ... as a supposed medicine or tonic". In contrast to other forms of cannibalism, which Europeans generally frowned upon, the "medicinal ingestion" of various "human body parts was widely practiced throughout Europe from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries", with early records of the practice going back to the first century CE. It was also frequently practised in China. + +Sacrificial cannibalism refers the consumption of the flesh of victims of human sacrifice, for example among the Aztecs. Human and animal remains excavated in Knossos, Crete, have been interpreted as evidence of a ritual in which children and sheep were sacrificed and eaten together during the Bronze Age. According to Ancient Roman reports, the Celts in Britain practised sacrificial cannibalism, and archaeological evidence backing these claims has by now been found. + +Human predation is the hunting of people from unrelated and possibly hostile groups in order to eat them. In parts of the Southern New Guinea lowland rain forests, hunting people "was an opportunistic extension of seasonal foraging or pillaging strategies", with human bodies just as welcome as those of animals as sources of protein, according to the anthropologist Bruce M. Knauft. As populations living near coasts and rivers were usually better nourished and hence often physically larger and stronger than those living inland, they "raided inland 'bush' peoples with impunity and often with little fear of retaliation". Cases of human predation are also on record for the neighbouring Bismarck Archipelago and for Australia. In the Congo Basin, there lived groups such as the Zappo Zaps who hunted humans for food even when game was plentiful. + +The term gastronomic cannibalism has been suggested for cases where human flesh is eaten to "provide a supplement to the regular diet" – thus essentially for its nutritional value – or, in an alternative definition, for cases where it is "eaten without ceremony (other than culinary), in the same manner as the flesh of any other animal". While the term has been criticized as being too vague to clearly identify a specific type of cannibalism, various records indicate that nutritional or culinary concerns could indeed play a role in such acts even outside of periods of starvation. Referring to the Congo Basin, where many of the eaten were butchered slaves rather than enemies killed in war, the anthropologist Emil Torday notes that "the most common [reason for cannibalism] was simply gastronomic: the natives loved 'the flesh that speaks' [as human flesh was commonly called] and paid for it". The historian Key Ray Chong observes that, throughout Chinese history, "learned cannibalism was often practiced ... for culinary appreciation". + +In his popular book Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond suggests that "protein starvation is probably also the ultimate reason why cannibalism was widespread in traditional New Guinea highland societies", and both in New Zealand and Fiji, cannibals explained their acts as due to a lack of animal meat. In Liberia, a former cannibal argued that it would have been wasteful to let the flesh of killed enemies spoil, and eaters of human flesh in the Bismarck Archipelago expressed the same sentiment. In many cases, human flesh was also described as particularly delicious, especially when it came from women, children, or both. Such statements are on record for various regions and peoples, including the Aztecs, today's Liberia and Nigeria, the Fang people in west-central Africa, the Congo Basin, 12th to 14th-century China, Sumatra, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. + +There is a debate among anthropologists on how important functionalist reasons are for the understanding of institutionalized cannibalism. Diamond is not alone in suggesting "that the consumption of human flesh was of nutritional benefit for some populations in New Guinea" and the same case has been made for other "tropical peoples ... exploiting a diverse range of animal foods", including human flesh. The materialist anthropologist Marvin Harris argued that a "shortage of animal protein" was also the underlying reason for Aztec cannibalism. The cultural anthropologist Marshall Sahlins, on the other hand, rejected such explanations as overly simplistic, stressing that cannibal customs must be regarded as "complex phenomen[a]" with "myriad attributes" which can only be understood if one considers "symbolism, ritual, and cosmology" in addition to their "practical function". + +While not a motive, the term innocent cannibalism has been suggested for cases of people eating human flesh without knowing what they are eating. It is a subject of myths, such as the myth of Thyestes who unknowingly ate the flesh of his own sons. There are also actual cases on record, for example from the Congo Basin, where cannibalism had been quite widespread and where even in the 1950s travellers were sometimes served a meat dish, learning only afterwards that the meat had been of human origin. + +In pre-modern medicine, an explanation given by the now-discredited theory of humorism for cannibalism was that it was caused by a black acrimonious humor, which, being lodged in the linings of the ventricles of the heart, produced a voracity for human flesh. On the other hand, the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne understood war cannibalism as a way of expressing vengeance and hatred towards one's enemies and celebrating one's victory over them, thus giving an interpretation that is close to modern explanations. He also pointed out that some acts of Europeans in his own time could be considered as equally barbarous, making his essay "Of Cannibals" () a precursor to later ideas of cultural relativism. + +Medical aspects +A well-known case of mortuary cannibalism is that of the Fore tribe in New Guinea, which resulted in the spread of the prion disease kuru. Although the Fore's mortuary cannibalism was well-documented, the practice had ceased before the cause of the disease was recognized. However, some scholars argue that although post-mortem dismemberment was the practice during funeral rites, cannibalism was not. Marvin Harris theorizes that it happened during a famine period coincident with the arrival of Europeans and was rationalized as a religious rite. + +In 2003, a publication in Science received a large amount of press attention when it suggested that early humans may have practised extensive cannibalism. According to this research, genetic markers commonly found in modern humans worldwide suggest that today many people carry a gene that evolved as protection against the brain diseases that can be spread by consuming human brain tissue. A 2006 reanalysis of the data questioned this hypothesis, because it claimed to have found a data collection bias, which led to an erroneous conclusion. This claimed bias came from incidents of cannibalism used in the analysis not being due to local cultures, but having been carried out by explorers, stranded seafarers or escaped convicts. The original authors published a subsequent paper in 2008 defending their conclusions. + +Myths, legends and folklore + +Cannibalism features in the folklore and legends of many cultures and is most often attributed to evil characters or as extreme retribution for some wrongdoing. Examples include the witch in "Hansel and Gretel", Lamia of Greek mythology and the witch Baba Yaga of Slavic folklore. + +A number of stories in Greek mythology involve cannibalism, in particular the eating of close family members, e.g., the stories of Thyestes, Tereus and especially Cronus, who became Saturn in the Roman pantheon. The story of Tantalus is another example, though here a family member is prepared for consumption by others. + +The wendigo is a creature appearing in the legends of the Algonquian people. It is thought of variously as a malevolent cannibalistic spirit that could possess humans or a monster that humans could physically transform into. Those who indulged in cannibalism were at particular risk, and the legend appears to have reinforced this practice as taboo. The Zuni people tell the story of the Átahsaia – a giant who cannibalizes his fellow demons and seeks out human flesh. + +The wechuge is a demonic cannibalistic creature that seeks out human flesh appearing in the mythology of the Athabaskan people. It is said to be half monster and half human-like; however, it has many shapes and forms. + +Scepticism +William Arens, author of The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology and Anthropophagy, questions the credibility of reports of cannibalism and argues that the description by one group of people of another people as cannibals is a consistent and demonstrable ideological and rhetorical device to establish perceived cultural superiority. Arens bases his thesis on a detailed analysis of various "classic" cases of cannibalism reported by explorers, missionaries, and anthropologists. He claims that all of them were steeped in racism, unsubstantiated, or based on second-hand or hearsay evidence. Though widely discussed, Arens's book generally failed to convince the academic community. Claude Lévi-Strauss observes that, in spite of his "brilliant but superficial book ... [n]o serious ethnologist disputes the reality of cannibalism". Shirley Lindenbaum notes that, while after "Arens['s] ... provocative suggestion ... many anthropologists ... reevaluated their data", the outcome was an improved and "more nuanced" understanding of where, why and under which circumstances cannibalism took place rather than a confirmation of his claims: "Anthropologists working in the Americas, Africa, and Melanesia now acknowledge that institutionalized cannibalism occurred in some places at some times. Archaeologists and evolutionary biologists are taking cannibalism seriously." + +Lindenbaum and others point out that Arens displays a "strong ethnocentrism". His refusal to admit that institutionalized cannibalism ever existed seems to be motivated by the implied idea "that cannibalism is the worst thing of all" – worse than any other behaviour people engaged in, and therefore uniquely suited to vilifying others. Kajsa Ekholm Friedman calls this "a remarkable opinion in a culture [the European/American one] that has been capable of the most extreme cruelty and destructive behavior, both at home and in other parts of the world." + +She observes that, contrary to European values and expectations, "in many parts of the Congo region there was no negative evaluation of cannibalism. On the contrary, people expressed their strong appreciation of this very special meat and could not understand the hysterical reactions from the white man's side." And why indeed, she goes on to ask, should they have had the same negative reactions to cannibalism as Arens and his contemporaries? Implicitly he assumes that everybody throughout human history must have shared the strong taboo placed by his own culture on cannibalism, but he never attempts to explain why this should be so, and "neither logic nor historical evidence justifies" this viewpoint, as Christian Siefkes commented. + +Accusations of cannibalism could be used to characterize indigenous peoples as "uncivilized", "primitive", or even "inhuman." While this means that the reliability of reports of cannibal practices must be carefully evaluated especially if their wording suggests such a context, many actual accounts do not fit this pattern. The earliest firsthand account of cannibal customs in the Caribbean comes from Diego Álvarez Chanca, who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage. His description of the customs of the Caribs of Guadeloupe includes their cannibalism (men killed or captured in war were eaten, while captured boys were "castrated [and used as] servants until they gr[e]w up, when they [were] slaughtered" for consumption), but he nevertheless notes "that these people are more civilized than the other islanders" (who did not practice cannibalism). Nor was he an exception. Among the earliest reports of cannibalism in the Caribbean and the Americas, there are some (like those of Amerigo Vespucci) that seem to mostly consist of hearsay and "gross exaggerations", but others (by Chanca, Columbus himself, and other early travellers) show "genuine interest and respect for the natives" and include "numerous cases of sincere praise". + +Reports of cannibalism from other continents follow similar patterns. Condescending remarks can be found, but many Europeans who described cannibal customs in Central Africa wrote about those who practised them in quite positive terms, calling them "splendid" and "the finest people" and not rarely, like Chanca, actually considering them as "far in advance of" and "intellectually and morally superior" to the non-cannibals around them. Writing from Melanesia, the missionary George Brown explicitly rejects the European prejudice of picturing cannibals as "particularly ferocious and repulsive", noting instead that many cannibals he met were "no more ferocious than" others and "indeed ... very nice people". + +Reports or assertions of cannibal practices could nevertheless be used to promote the use of military force as a means of "civilizing" and "pacifying" the "savages". During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and its earlier conquests in the Caribbean there were widespread reports of cannibalism, and cannibals became exempted from Queen Isabella's prohibition on enslaving the indigenous. Another example of the sensationalism of cannibalism and its connection to imperialism occurred during Japan's 1874 expedition to Taiwan. As Robert Eskildsen describes, Japan's popular media "exaggerated the aborigines' violent nature", in some cases by wrongly accusing them of cannibalism. + +This Horrid Practice: The Myth and Reality of Traditional Maori Cannibalism (2008) by New Zealand historian Paul Moon received a hostile reception by some Māori, who felt the book tarnished their whole people. However, the factual accuracy of the book was not seriously disputed and even critics such as Margaret Mutu grant that cannibalism was "definitely" practised and that it was "part of our [Māori] culture." + +History + +Among modern humans, cannibalism has been practised by various groups. It was practised by humans in Prehistoric Europe, Mesoamerica, South America, among Iroquoian peoples in North America, Maori in New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, parts of West Africa and Central Africa, some of the islands of Polynesia, New Guinea, Sumatra, and Fiji. Evidence of cannibalism has been found in ruins associated with the Ancestral Puebloans of the Southwestern United States as well (at Cowboy Wash in Colorado). + +Prehistory +There is evidence, both archaeological and genetic, that cannibalism has been practised for hundreds of thousands of years by early Homo sapiens and archaic hominins. Human bones that have been "de-fleshed" by other humans go back 600,000 years. The oldest Homo sapiens bones (from Ethiopia) show signs of this as well. Some anthropologists, such as Tim D. White, suggest that cannibalism was common in human societies prior to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic period. This theory is based on the large amount of "butchered human" bones found in Neanderthal and other Lower/Middle Paleolithic sites. + +It seems likely that not all instances of prehistoric cannibalism were due to the same reason, just as cannibalistic acts known from the historical record have been motivated by a variety of reasons. One suggested reason for cannibalism in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic have been food shortages. It has been also suggested that removing dead bodies through ritual (funerary) cannibalism was a means of predator control, aiming to eliminate predators' and scavengers' access to hominid (and early human) bodies. Jim Corbett proposed that after major epidemics, when human corpses are easily accessible to predators, there are more cases of man-eating leopards, so removing dead bodies through ritual cannibalism (before the cultural traditions of burying and burning bodies appeared in human history) might have had practical reasons for hominids and early humans to control predation. + +The oldest archaeological evidence of hominid cannibalism comes from the Gran Dolina cave in northern Spain. The remains of several individuals who died about 800,000 years ago and may have belongs to the Homo antecessor species show unmistakable signs of having been butchered and consumed in the same way as animals whose bones were also found at the site. They belong to at least eleven individuals, all of which were young (ranging from infancy to late teenhood). A study of this case considers it an instance of "nutritional" cannibalism, where individuals belonging to hostile or unrelated groups were hunted, killed, and eaten much like animals. Based on the placement and processing of human and animal remains, the authors conclude that cannibalism was likely a "repetitive behavior over time as part of a culinary tradition", not caused by starvation or other exceptional circumstances. They suggest that young individuals (more than half of which were children under ten) were targeted because they "posed a lower risk for hunters" and because this was an effective means for limiting the growth of competing groups. + +Several sites in Croatia, France, and Spain yield evidence that the Neanderthals sometimes practised cannibalism, though the interpretation of some of the finds remains controversial. + +Neanderthals could also fall victim to cannibalism by anatomically modern humans. Evidence found in southwestern France indicates that the latter butchered and ate a Neanderthal child about 30,000 years ago; it is unknown whether the child was killed by them or died of other reasons. The find has been considered as strengthening the conjecture that modern humans might have hunted Neanderthals and in this way contributed to their extinction. + +In Gough's Cave, England, remains of human bones and skulls, around 14,700 years old, suggest that cannibalism took place amongst the people living in or visiting the cave, and that they may have used human skulls as drinking vessels. + +The archaeological site of Herxheim in southwestern Germany was a ritual center and a mass grave formed by people of the Linear Pottery culture in Neolithic Europe. It contained the scattered remains of more than 1000 individuals from different, in some cases faraway regions, who died around 5000 BCE. Whether they were war captives or human sacrifices is unclear, but the evidence indicates that their corpses were spit-roasted whole and then consumed. + +At Fontbrégoua Cave in southeastern France, the remains of six people who lived about 7,000 years ago were found (two children, one adolescent, and three adults), in addition to animal bones. The patterns of cut marks indicate that both humans and animals were skinned and processed in similar ways. Since the human victims were all processed at the same time, the main excavator, Paola Villa, suspects that they all belonged to the same family or extended family and were killed and butchered together, probably during some kind of violent conflict. Others have argued that the traces were caused by defleshing rituals preceding a secondary burial, but the fact that both humans and wild and domestic animals were processed in the same way makes this unlikely; moreover, Villa argues that the observed traces better fit a typical butchering process than a secondary burial. + +Researchers have also found physical evidence of cannibalism from more recent times, including from Prehistoric Britain. In 2001, archaeologists at the University of Bristol found evidence of cannibalism practised around 2000 years ago in Gloucestershire, South West England. This is in agreement with Ancient Roman reports that the Celts in Britain practised human sacrifice, killing and eating captured enemies as well as convicted criminals. + +Early history + +Cannibalism is mentioned many times in early history and literature. The oldest written reference may be from the tomb of the ancient Egyptian king Unas (24th century BCE). It contained a hymn in praise of the king portraying him as a cannibal who eats both "men" and "gods", thus indicating an attitude towards cannibalism quite different from the modern one. + +Herodotus claimed in his Histories (5th century BCE) that after eleven days' voyage up the Borysthenes (Dnieper River) one reached a desolated land that extended for a long way, followed by a country of man-eaters (other than the Scythians), and beyond it by another desolated and uninhabited area. + +The Stoic philosopher Chrysippus approved of eating one's dead relatives in a funerary ritual, noting that such rituals were common among many peoples. + +Cassius Dio recorded cannibalism practised by the bucoli, Egyptian tribes led by Isidorus against Rome. They sacrificed and consumed two Roman officers in a ritualistic fashion, swearing an oath over their entrails. + +According to Appian, during the Roman siege of Numantia in the 2nd century BCE, the population of Numantia (in today's Spain) was reduced to cannibalism and suicide. Cannibalism was also reported by Josephus during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. + +Jerome, in his letter Against Jovinianus (written 393 CE), discusses how people came to their present condition as a result of their heritage, and lists several examples of peoples and their customs. In the list, he mentions that he has heard that the Attacotti (in Britain) eat human flesh and that the Massagetae and Derbices (two Central Asian peoples) kill and eat old people, considering this a more desirable fate than dying of old age and illness. + +Middle Ages + +The Americas + +There is universal agreement that some Mesoamerican people practised human sacrifice, but there is a lack of scholarly consensus as to whether cannibalism in pre-Columbian America was widespread. At one extreme, the anthropologist Marvin Harris, author of Cannibals and Kings, has suggested that the flesh of the victims was a part of an aristocratic diet as a reward, since the Aztec diet was lacking in proteins. While most historians of the pre-Columbian era accept that there was ritual cannibalism related to human sacrifices, they often reject suggestions that human flesh could have been a significant portion of the Aztec diet. Cannibalism was also associated with acts of warfare, and has been interpreted as an element of blood revenge in war. + +West Africa + +When the Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta visited the Mali Empire in the 1350s, he was surprised to see sultan Sulayman give "a slave girl as part of his reception-gift" to a group of warriors from a cannibal region who had come to visit his court. "They slaughtered her and ate her and smeared their faces and hands with her blood and came in gratitude to the sultan." He was told that the sultan did so every time he received the cannibal guests. Though a Muslim like Ibn Battuta himself, he apparently considered catering to his visitors' preferences more important than whatever reservations he may have had about the practice. Other Muslim authors writing around that time also report that cannibalism was practised in some West Africa regions and that slave girls were sometimes slaughtered for food, since "their flesh is the best thing we have to eat." + +Europe and Europeans + +Cases of cannibalism were recorded during the First Crusade, as there are various accounts of crusaders consuming the bodies of their dead opponents following the sieges of Antioch and of Ma'arra in 1097–1098. While the Christian sources all explain these acts as due to hunger, Amin Maalouf is sceptical of this justification, arguing that that the crusaders' behaviour indicates they might have been driven by "fanaticism" rather than, or in addition to "necessity". Thomas Asbridge states that, while the "cannibalism at Marrat is among the most infamous of all the atrocities perpetrated by the First Crusaders", it nevertheless had "some positive effects on the crusaders' short-term prospects", since reports of their brutality convinced many Muslim commanders to accept truces rather than trying to fight them. + +During Europe's Great Famine of 1315–1317, there were various reports of cannibalism among starving people. + +Western Asia + +Charges of cannibalism were levied against the Qizilbash of the Safavid Ismail I. + +China + +Cannibalism has been repeatedly recorded throughout China's well-documented history. The sinologist Bengt Pettersson found references to more than three hundred different episodes of cannibalism in the Official Dynastic Histories alone. Most episodes occurred in the context of famine or war, or were otherwise motivated by vengeance or medical reasons. More than half of the episodes recorded in the Official Histories describe cases motivated by food scarcity during famines or in times of war. Pettersson observes that the records of such events "neither encouraged nor condemned" the consumption of human flesh under such circumstances, rather accepting it as an unavoidable way of "coping with a life-threatening situation". + +In other cases, cannibalism was an element of vengeance or punishment – eating the hearts and livers, or sometimes the whole bodies, of killed enemies was a way of further humiliating them and sweetening the revenge. Both private individuals and state officials engaged in such acts, especially from the 4th to the 10th century CE, but in some cases right until the end of Imperial China (in 1912). More than 70 cases are listed in the Official Histories alone. In warfare, human flesh could be eaten out of a lack of other provisions, but also out of hatred against the enemy or to celebrate one's victory. Not just enemy fighters, but also their "servants and concubines were all steamed and eaten", according to one account. + +At least since the Tang dynasty (618–907), the consumption of human flesh was considered a highly effective medical treatment, recommended by the Bencao Shiyi, an influential medical reference book published in the early 8th century, as well as in similar later manuals. Together with the ethical ideal of filial piety, according to which young people were supposed to do everything in their power to support their parents and parents-in-law, this idea lead to a unique form of voluntary cannibalism, in which a young person cut some of the flesh out of their body and gave it to an ill parent or parent-in-law for consumption. The majority of the donors were women, frequently daughters-in-law of the patient. + +The Official Histories describe more than 110 cases of such voluntary offerings that took place between the early 7th and the early 20th century. While these acts were (at least nominally) voluntary and the donors usually (though not always) survived them, several sources also report of children and adolescents who were killed so that their flesh could be eaten for medical purposes. + +During the Tang dynasty, cannibalism was supposedly resorted to by rebel forces early in the period (who were said to raid neighbouring areas for victims to eat), and (on a large scale) by both soldiers and civilians during the siege of Suiyang, a decisive episode of the An Lushan Rebellion. Eating an enemy's heart and liver was also repeatedly mentioned as a feature of both official punishments and private vengeance. The final decades of the dynasty were marked by large-scale rebellions, during which both rebels and regular soldiers butchered prisoners for food and killed and ate civilians. Sometimes "the rebels captured by government troops were [even] sold as food", according to several of the Official Histories, while warlords likewise relied on the sale of human flesh to finance their rebellions. An Arab traveller visiting China during this time noted with surprise: "cannibalism [is] permissible for them according to their legal code, for they trade in human flesh in their markets." + +References to cannibalizing the enemy also appear in poetry written in the subsequent Song dynasty (960–1279) – for example, in Man Jiang Hong – although they are perhaps meant symbolically, expressing hatred towards the enemy. The Official Histories covering this period record various cases of rebels and bandits eating the flesh of their victims. + +The flesh of executed criminals was sometimes cut off and sold for consumption. During the Tang dynasty a law was enacted that forbade this practice, but whether the law was effectively enforced is unclear. The sale of human flesh is also repeatedly mentioned during famines, in accounts ranging from the 6th to the 15th century. Several of these accounts mention that animal flesh was still available, but had become so expensive that few could afford it. Dog meat was five times as expensive as human flesh, according to one such report. Sometimes, poor men sold their own wives or children to butchers who slaughtered them and sold their flesh. Cannibalism in famine situations seems to have been generally tolerated by the authorities, who did not intervene when such acts occurred. + +A number of accounts suggests that human flesh was occasionally eaten for culinary reasons. An anecdote told about Duke Huan of Qi (7th century BCE) claims that he was curious about the taste of "steamed child", having already eaten everything else. His cook supposedly killed his own son to prepare the dish, and Duke Huan judged it to be "the best food of all". In later times, wealthy men, among them a son of the 4th-century emperor Shi Hu and an "open and high-spirited" man who lived in the 7th century CE, served the flesh of purchased women or children during lavish feasts. The sinologist observes that while such acts were not common, they do not seem to have been rare exceptions, and the hosts apparently did not have to face ostracism or legal prosection. Key Ray Chong even concludes that "learned cannibalism was often practiced ... for culinary appreciation, and exotic dishes [of human flesh] were prepared for jaded upper-class palates". + +The Official Histories mention 10th-century officials who liked to eat the flesh of babies and children, and during the Jin dynasty (1115–1234), human flesh seems to have been readily available at the home of a general, who supposedly served it to one of his guests as a practical joke. Accounts from the 12th to 14th centuries indicate that both soldiers and writers praised this flesh as particularly delicious, considering especially children's flesh as unsurpassable in taste. + +Pettersson observes that people generally seem to have had less reservations about the consumption of human flesh than one might expect today. While survival cannibalism during famines was regarded a lamentable necessity, accounts explaining the practice as due to other reasons, such as vengeance or filial piety, were generally even positive. + +Early modern and colonial era + +The Americas + +European explorers and colonizers brought home many stories of cannibalism practised by the native peoples they encountered. In Spain's overseas expansion to the New World, the practice of cannibalism was reported by Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean islands, and the Caribs were greatly feared because of their supposed practice of it. Queen Isabel of Castile had forbidden the Spaniards to enslave the indigenous, unless they were "guilty" of cannibalism. The accusation of cannibalism became a pretext for attacks on indigenous groups and justification for the Spanish conquest. In Yucatán, shipwrecked Spaniard Jerónimo de Aguilar, who later became a translator for Hernán Cortés, reported to have witnessed fellow Spaniards sacrificed and eaten, but escaped from captivity where he was being fattened for sacrifice himself. In the Florentine Codex (1576) compiled by Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagún from information provided by indigenous eyewitnesses has questionable evidence of Mexica (Aztec) cannibalism. Franciscan friar Diego de Landa reported on Yucatán instances. + +In early Brazil, there is reportage of cannibalism among the Tupinamba. It is recorded about the natives of the captaincy of Sergipe in Brazil: "They eat human flesh when they can get it, and if a woman miscarries devour the abortive immediately. If she goes her time out, she herself cuts the navel-string with a shell, which she boils along with the secondine [i.e. placenta], and eats them both." (see human placentophagy). + +The 1913 Handbook of Indians of Canada (reprinting 1907 material from the Bureau of American Ethnology), claims that North American natives practising cannibalism included "... the Montagnais, and some of the tribes of Maine; the Algonkin, Armouchiquois, Iroquois, and Micmac; farther west the Assiniboine, Cree, Foxes, Chippewa, Miami, Ottawa, Kickapoo, Illinois, Sioux, and Winnebago; in the south the people who built the mounds in Florida, and the Tonkawa, Attacapa, Karankawa, Caddo, and Comanche; in the northwest and west, portions of the continent, the Thlingchadinneh and other Athapascan tribes, the Tlingit, Heiltsuk, Kwakiutl, Tsimshian, Nootka, Siksika, some of the Californian tribes, and the Ute. There is also a tradition of the practice among the Hopi, and mentions of the custom among other tribes of New Mexico and Arizona. The Mohawk, and the Attacapa, Tonkawa, and other Texas tribes were known to their neighbours as 'man-eaters.'" The forms of cannibalism described included both resorting to human flesh during famines and ritual cannibalism, the latter usually consisting of eating a small portion of an enemy warrior. From another source, according to Hans Egede, when the Inuit killed a woman accused of witchcraft, they ate a portion of her heart. + +As with most lurid tales of native cannibalism, these stories are treated with a great deal of scrutiny, as accusations of cannibalism were often used as justifications for the subjugation or destruction of "savages". The historian Patrick Brantlinger suggests that Indigenous peoples that were colonized were being dehumanized as part of the justification for the atrocities. + +Among settlers, sailors, and explorers +This period of time was also rife with instances of explorers and seafarers resorting to cannibalism for survival. There is archaeological and written evidence for English settlers' cannibalism in 1609 in the Jamestown Colony under famine conditions, during a period which became known as Starving Time. + +Sailors shipwrecked or lost at sea repeatedly resorted to cannibalism to face off starvation. The survivors of the sinking of the French ship Méduse in 1816 resorted to cannibalism after four days adrift on a raft. Their plight was made famous by Théodore Géricault's painting Raft of the Medusa. After a whale sank the Essex of Nantucket on November 20, 1820, the survivors, in three small boats, resorted, by common consent, to cannibalism in order for some to survive. This event became an important source of inspiration for Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. + +The case of R v Dudley and Stephens (1884) is an English criminal case which dealt with four crew members of an English yacht, the Mignonette, who were cast away in a storm some from the Cape of Good Hope. After several days, one of the crew, a seventeen-year-old cabin boy, fell unconscious due to a combination of the famine and drinking seawater. The others (one possibly objecting) decided to kill him and eat him. They were picked up four days later. Two of the three survivors were found guilty of murder. A significant outcome of this case was that necessity in English criminal law was determined to be no defence against a charge of murder. This was a break with the traditional understanding among sailors, which had been that selecting a victim for killing and consumption was acceptable in a starvation situation as long as lots were drawn so that all faced an equal risk of being killed. + +On land, travellers through sparsely inhabited regions and explorers of unknown areas sometimes ate human flesh after running out of other provisions. In a famous example from the 1840s, the members of Donner Party found themselves stranded by snow in the Donner Pass, a high mountain pass in California, without adequate supplies during the Mexican–American War, leading to several instances of cannibalism, including the murder of two young Native American men for food. Sir John Franklin's lost polar expedition, which took place at approximately the same time, is another example of cannibalism out of desperation. + +In frontier situations where there was no strong authority, some individuals got used to killing and eating others even in situations where other food would have been available. One notorious case was the mountain man Boone Helm, who become known as "The Kentucky Cannibal" for eating several of his fellow travellers, from 1850 until his eventual hanging in 1864. + +West Africa + +The Leopard Society was a cannibalistic secret society that existed until the mid-1900s and was active mostly in regions that today belong to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast. The Leopard men would dress in leopard skins and waylay travellers with sharp claw-like weapons in the form of leopards' claws and teeth. The victims' flesh would be cut from their bodies and distributed to members of the society. + +Central Africa + +Cannibalism was practised widely in the some parts of the Congo Basin, though it was by no means universal. Some peoples, such as the Bakongo, rejected the practice altogether. In some other regions human flesh was eaten "only occasionally to mark a particularly significant ritual occasion, but in other societies in the Congo, perhaps even a majority by the late nineteenth century, people ate human flesh whenever they could, saying that it was far tastier than other meat", notes the anthropologist Robert B. Edgerton. + +Many people not only freely admitted eating human flesh, but were surprised when they heard that Europeans did not eat it. Emil Torday observed: "They are not ashamed of cannibalism, and openly admit that they practise it because of their liking for human flesh", with the primary reason for cannibalism being a "gastronomic" preference for such dishes. Torday once received "a portion of a human thigh" sent as a well-intended gift, and other Europeans were offered pieces of human flesh in gestures of hospitality. People expected to be rewarded with fresh human flesh for services well performed and were disappointed when they received something else instead. + +In addition to enemies killed or captured in war, slaves were frequent victims. Many "healthy children" had to die "to provide a feast for their owners". Young slave children were at particular risk since they were in low demand for other purposes and since their flesh was widely praised as especially delicious, "just as many modern meat eaters prefer lamb over mutton and veal over beef". Such acts were not considered controversial – people did not understand why Europeans objected to the killing of slaves, while themselves killing and eating goats; they argued that both were the "property" of their owners, to be used as it pleased them. + +A third group of victims were persons from other ethnic groups, who in some areas were "hunt[ed] for food" just like animals. Many of the victims, who were usually killed with poisoned arrows or with clubs, were "women and children ... who had ventured too far from home while gathering firewood or fetching drinking water" and who were targeted "because they were easier to overpower" and also considered tastier than adult men. + +In some regions there was a regular trade in slaves destined to be eaten, and the flesh of recently butchered slaves was available for purchase as well. Some people fattened slave children to sell them for consumption; if such a child became ill and lost too much weight, their owner drowned them in the nearest river instead of wasting further food on them, as a French missionary once witnessed. Human flesh not sold the same day was smoked, so it could be "sold at leisure" during subsequent weeks. Europeans were often hesitant to buy smoked meat since they knew that the "smoking of human flesh to preserve it was ... widespread", but once meat was smoked, its origin was hard to determine. + +Instead of being killed quickly, "persons to be eaten often had both of their arms and legs broken and were made to sit up to their necks in a stream for [up to] three days, a practice said to make their flesh more tender, before they were killed and cooked." Both adults and children, and also animals such as birds and monkeys, were routinely submitted to this treatment prior to being slaughtered. + +Various reports indicate that living slaves were exposed on marketplaces, so that purchasers could choose which body parts to buy before the victim was butchered and the flesh distributed. + +This custom, reported around both the central Congo River and the Ubangi in the north, seem to have been motivated by a desire to get fresh rather than smoked flesh, since without refrigeration there was no other way to preserve flesh from spoiling quickly. + +Killed or captured enemies made another sort of victims, even during wars fought by the colonial state. During the 1892–1894 war between the Congo Free State and the Swahili–Arab city-states of Nyangwe and Kasongo in Eastern Congo, there were reports of widespread cannibalization of the bodies of defeated combatants by the Batetela allies of the Belgian commander Francis Dhanis. In April 1892, 10,000 Batetela, under the command of Gongo Lutete, joined forces with Dhanis in a campaign against the Swahili–Arab leaders Sefu and Mohara. After one early skirmish in the campaign, Dhanis's medical officer, Captain Sidney Langford Hinde, "noticed that the bodies of both the killed and wounded had vanished." When fighting broke out again, Hinde saw his Batetela allies drop human arms, legs and heads on the road; now he had to accept that they had really "carried them off for food", which he had initially doubted. + +According to Hinde, the conquest of Nyangwe was followed by "days of cannibal feasting" during which hundreds were eaten, with only their heads being kept as mementos. During this time, Lutete "hid himself in his quarters, appalled by the sight of thousands of men smoking human hands and human chops on their camp fires, enough to feed his army for many days." Hinde also noted that the Batetela town Ngandu had "at least 2,000 polished human skulls" as a "solid white pavement in front" of its gates, with human skulls crowning every post of the stockade. + +Soon after, Nyangwe's surviving population rose in a rebellion, during whose brutal suppression a thousand rioters were killed by the new government. One young Belgian officer wrote home: "Happily Gongo's men ... ate them up [in a few hours]. It's horrible but exceedingly useful and hygienic.... I should have been horrified at the idea in Europe! but it seems quite natural to me here. Don't show this letter to anyone indiscreet". Hinde too commented approvingly on the thoroughness with which the cannibals "disposed of all the dead, leaving nothing even for the jackals, and thus sav[ing] us, no doubt, from many an epidemic." Generally the Free State administration seems to have done little to suppress cannibal customs, sometimes even tolerating or facilitating them among its own auxiliary troops and allies. + +In August 1903, the UK diplomat Roger Casement wrote from Lake Tumba to a consular colleague: "The people round here are all cannibals.... There are also dwarfs (called Batwas) in the forest who are even worse cannibals than the taller human environment. They eat man flesh raw! It's a fact." He added that assailants would "bring down a dwarf on the way home, for the marital cooking pot.... The Dwarfs, as I say, dispense with cooking pots and eat and drink their human prey fresh cut on the battlefield while the blood is still warm and running. These are not fairy tales ..., but actual gruesome reality in the heart of this poor, benighted savage land." + +The origins of Congolese cannibalism are lost in time. The oldest known references to it can be found in Filippo Pigafetta's Report of the Kingdom of Congo, published in the late 16th century based on the memories of Duarte Lopez, a Portuguese trader who had lived for several years in the Kingdom of Kongo. Lopez reported that farther up the Congo River, there lived a people who ate both killed enemies and those of their slaves which they could not sell for a "good price". + +Oral records indicate that, already at a time when slavery was not widespread in the Congo Basin, people assumed that anyone sold as a slave would likely be eaten, "because cannibalism was common, and slaves were purchased especially for such purposes". In the 19th century, warfare and slave raids increased in the Congo Basin as a result of the international demand for slaves, who could no longer be so easily captured nearer to the coasts. As a result, the consumption of slaves increased as well, since most of those sold in the Atlantic slave trade were young and healthy individuals aged from 14 to 30, and similar preferences existed in the Arab–Swahili slave trade. However, many of the captives were younger, older, or otherwise considered less saleable, and such victims were often eaten by the slave raiders or sold to cannibals who purchased them as "meat". + +Most of the accounts of cannibalism in the Congo are from the late 19th century, when the Atlantic slave trade had come to a halt, but slavery still existed in Africa and the Arab world. Various reports indicate that around the Ubangi River, slaves were frequently exchanged against ivory, which was then exported to Europe or the Americas, while the slaves were eaten. Some European traders seem to have directly and knowingly taken part in these deadly transactions, while others turned a blind eye. The local elephant hunters preferred the flesh especially of young human beings – four to sixteen was the preferred age range, according to one trader – "because it was not only more tender, but also much quicker to cook" than the meat of elephants or other large animals. + +While sceptics such as William Arens sometimes claim that there are no credible eyewitness accounts of cannibal acts, there are numerous such accounts from the Congo. David Livingstone "saw human parts being cooked with bananas, and many other Europeans" – among them Hinde – "reported seeing cooked human remains lying around abandoned fires." Soldiers of the German explorer Hermann Wissmann saw how people captured and wounded in a slave raid were shot by a Swahili–Arab leader and then handed over "to his auxiliary troops, who ... cut them in pieces and dragged them to the fire to serve as their supper". Visiting a village near the Aruwimi River, the British artist Herbert Ward saw a man "carrying four large lumps of human flesh, with the skin still clinging to it, on a stick", and soon afterwards "a party of men squatting round a fire, before which this ghastly flesh, exposed on spits, was cooking"; he was told that the flesh came from a man who had been killed a few hours before. Another time, when "camping for the night with a party of Arab raiders and their followers", he and his companions felt "compelled to change the position of our tent owing to the offensive smell of human flesh, which was being cooked on all sides of us." + +The Belgian colonial officer Camille Coquilhat saw "the remaining half of [a] steamed man" – a slave who had been purchased for consumption and slaughtered a few hours earlier – "in an enormous pot" and discussed with the slave's owner, who at first thought that Coquilhat was joking when he objected to his cannibalistic customs. Near the Ubangi River, which formed the border between the Belgian and the French colonial enterprises, the French traveller saw local auxiliaries of the French troops kill "some women and some children" after a punitive expedition, then cooking their flesh in pots and "enjoy[ing]" it. + +Among the Mangbetu people in the north-east, Georg A. Schweinfurth saw a human arm being smoked over a fire. At other occasion, he watched a group of young women using boiling water for "scalding the hair off the lower half of a human body" in preparation for cooking it. A few years later, Gaetano Casati saw how the roasted leg of a slave woman was served at the court of the Mangbetu king. More eyewitness accounts could be added. + +Europe + +From the 16th century on, an unusual form of medical cannibalism became widespread in several European countries, for which thousands of Egyptian mummies were ground up and sold as medicine. Powdered human mummy – called mummia – was thought to stop internal bleeding and to have other healing properties. The practice developed into a widespread business that flourished until the early 18th century. The demand was much higher than the supply of ancient mummies, leading to much of the offered "mummia" being counterfeit, made from recent Egyptian or European corpses – often from the gallows – instead. In a few cases, mummia was still offered in medical catalogues in the early 20th century. + +Australia +Hundreds of accounts exist of cannibalism among Aboriginal Australians in all parts of Australia, with the possible exception of Tasmania, dating from the first European settlement to the 1930s and later. While it is generally accepted that some forms of cannibalism were practised in Australia in certain circumstances, the prevalence and meaning of such acts in pre-colonial Aboriginal societies are disputed. + +Before colonization, Aboriginal Australians were predominantly nomadic hunter-gatherers at times lacking in protein sources. Reported cases of cannibalism include killing and eating small children (infanticide was widely practised as a means of population control and because mothers had trouble carrying two young children not yet able to walk) and enemy warriors slain in battle. + +In the late 1920s, the anthropologist Géza Róheim heard from Aboriginals that infanticidal cannibalism had been practised especially during droughts. "Years ago it had been custom for every second child to be eaten" – the baby was roasted and consumed not only by the mother, but also by the older siblings, who benefited from this meat during times of food scarcity. One woman told him that her little sister had been roasted, but denied having eaten of her. Another "admitted having killed and eaten her small daughter", and several other people he talked to remembered having "eaten one of their brothers". The consumption of infants took two different forms, depending on where it was practised: + +Usually only babies who had not yet received a name (which happened around the first birthday) were consumed, but in times of severe hunger, older children (up to four years or so) could be killed and eaten too, though people tended to have bad feelings about this. Babies were killed by their mother, while a bigger child "would be killed by the father by being beaten on the head". But cases of women killing older children are on record too. In 1904 a parish priest in Broome, Western Australia, stated that infanticide was very common, including one case where a four-year-old was "killed and eaten by its mother", who later became a Christian. + +The journalist and anthropologist Daisy Bates, who spent a long time among Aboriginals and was well acquainted with their customs, knew an Aboriginal woman who one day left her village to give birth a mile away, taking only her daughter with her. She then "killed and ate the baby, sharing the food with the little daughter." After her return, Bates found the place and saw "the ashes of a fire" with the baby's "broken skull, and one or two charred bones" in them. She states that "baby cannibalism was rife among these central-western peoples, as it is west of the border in Central Australia." + +The Norwegian ethnographer Carl Sofus Lumholtz confirms that infants were commonly killed and eaten especially in times of food scarcity. He notes that people spoke of such acts "as an everyday occurrence, and not at all as anything remarkable." + +Some have interpreted the consumption of infants as a religious practice: "In parts of New South Wales ..., it was customary long ago for the first-born of every lubra [Aboriginal woman] to be eaten by the tribe, as part of a religious ceremony." However, there seems to be no direct evidence that such acts actually had a religious meaning, and the Australian anthropologist Alfred William Howitt rejects the idea that the eaten were human sacrifices as "absolutely without foundation", arguing that religious sacrifices of any kind were unknown in Australia. + +Another frequently reported practise was funerary endocannibalism, the cooking and consumption of the deceased as a funerary rite. + +According to Bates, exocannibalism was also practised in many regions. Foreigners and members of different ethnic groups were hunted and eaten much like animals. She met "fine sturdy fellows" who "frankly admitted the hunting and sharing of kangaroo and human meat as frequently as that of kangaroo and emu." The bodies of the killed were roasted whole in "a deep hole in the sand". There were also "killing vendettas", in which a hostile settlement was attacked and as many persons as possible killed, whose flesh was then shared according to well-defined rules: "The older men ate the soft and virile parts, and the brain; swift runners were given the thighs; hands, arms or shoulders went to the best spear-throwers, and so on." Referring to the coast of the Great Australian Bight, Bates writes: "Cannibalism had been rife for centuries in these regions and for a thousand miles north and east of them." Human flesh was not eaten for spiritual reasons and not only due to hunger; rather it was considered a "favourite food". + +Lumholtz similarly notes that "the greatest delicacy known to the Australian native is human flesh", even adding that the "appetite for human flesh" was the primary motive for killing. Unrelated individuals and isolated families were attacked just to be eaten and any stranger was at risk of being "pursued like a wild beast and slain and eaten". Acquiring human flesh is this manner was something to be proud of, not a reason for shame. He stresses that such flesh was nevertheless by no means a "daily food", since opportunities to capture victims were relatively rare. One specific instance of kidnapping for cannibal purposes was recorded in the 1840s by the English immigrant George French Angas, who stated that several children were kidnapped, butchered, and eaten near Lake Alexandrina in South Australia shortly before he arrived there. + +Polynesia and Melanesia +The first encounter between Europeans and Māori may have involved cannibalism of a Dutch sailor. In June 1772, the French explorer Marion du Fresne and 26 members of his crew were killed and eaten in the Bay of Islands. In an 1809 incident known as the Boyd massacre, about 66 passengers and crew of the Boyd were killed and eaten by Māori on the Whangaroa peninsula, Northland. Cannibalism was already a regular practice in Māori wars. In another instance, on July 11, 1821, warriors from the Ngapuhi tribe killed 2,000 enemies and remained on the battlefield "eating the vanquished until they were driven off by the smell of decaying bodies". Māori warriors fighting the New Zealand government in Titokowaru's War in New Zealand's North Island in 1868–69 revived ancient rites of cannibalism as part of the radical Hauhau movement of the Pai Marire religion. + +In parts of Melanesia, cannibalism was still practised in the early 20th century, for a variety of reasons – including retaliation, to insult an enemy people, or to absorb the dead person's qualities. One tribal chief, Ratu Udre Udre in Rakiraki, Fiji, is said to have consumed 872 people and to have made a pile of stones to record his achievement. Fiji was nicknamed the "Cannibal Isles" by European sailors, who avoided disembarking there. The dense population of the Marquesas Islands, in what is now French Polynesia, was concentrated in narrow valleys, and consisted of warring tribes, who sometimes practised cannibalism on their enemies. Human flesh was called "long pig". W. D. Rubinstein wrote: + +Early 20th century to present + +After World War I, cannibalism continued to occur as a ritual practice and in times of drought or famine. Occasional cannibal acts committed by individual criminals are documented as well throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. + +World War II +Many instances of cannibalism by necessity were recorded during World War II. For example, during the 872-day siege of Leningrad, reports of cannibalism began to appear in the winter of 1941–1942, after all birds, rats, and pets were eaten by survivors. Leningrad police even formed a special division to combat cannibalism. + +Some 2.8 million Soviet POWs died in Nazi custody in less than eight months during 1941–42. According to the USHMM, by the winter of 1941, "starvation and disease resulted in mass death of unimaginable proportions". This deliberate starvation led to many incidents of cannibalism. + +Following the Soviet victory at Stalingrad it was found that some German soldiers in the besieged city, cut off from supplies, resorted to cannibalism. Later, following the German surrender in January 1943, roughly 100,000 German soldiers were taken prisoner of war (POW). Almost all of them were sent to POW camps in Siberia or Central Asia where, due to being chronically underfed by their Soviet captors, many resorted to cannibalism. Fewer than 5,000 of the prisoners taken at Stalingrad survived captivity. + +Cannibalism took place in the concentration and death camps in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a Nazi German puppet state which was governed by the fascist Ustasha organization, who committed the Genocide of Serbs and the Holocaust in NDH. Some survivors testified that some of the Ustashas drank the blood from the slashed throats of the victims. + +The Australian War Crimes Section of the Tokyo tribunal, led by prosecutor William Webb (the future Judge-in-Chief), collected numerous written reports and testimonies that documented Japanese soldiers' acts of cannibalism among their own troops, on enemy dead, as well as on Allied prisoners of war in many parts of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. In September 1942, Japanese daily rations on New Guinea consisted of 800 grams of rice and tinned meat. However, by December, this had fallen to 50 grams. According to historian Yuki Tanaka, "cannibalism was often a systematic activity conducted by whole squads and under the command of officers". + +In some cases, flesh was cut from living people. A prisoner of war from the British Indian Army, Lance Naik Hatam Ali, testified that in New Guinea: "the Japanese started selecting prisoners and every day one prisoner was taken out and killed and eaten by the soldiers. I personally saw this happen and about 100 prisoners were eaten at this place by the Japanese. The remainder of us were taken to another spot away where 10 prisoners died of sickness. At this place, the Japanese again started selecting prisoners to eat. Those selected were taken to a hut where their flesh was cut from their bodies while they were alive and they were thrown into a ditch where they later died." + +Another well-documented case occurred in Chichi-jima in February 1945, when Japanese soldiers killed and consumed five American airmen. This case was investigated in 1947 in a war crimes trial, and of 30 Japanese soldiers prosecuted, five (Maj. Matoba, Gen. Tachibana, Adm. Mori, Capt. Yoshii, and Dr. Teraki) were found guilty and hanged. In his book Flyboys: A True Story of Courage, James Bradley details several instances of cannibalism of World War II Allied prisoners by their Japanese captors. The author claims that this included not only ritual cannibalization of the livers of freshly killed prisoners, but also the cannibalization-for-sustenance of living prisoners over the course of several days, amputating limbs only as needed to keep the meat fresh. + +There are more than 100 documented cases in Australia's government archives of Japanese soldiers practising cannibalism on enemy soldiers and civilians in New Guinea during the war. For instance, from an archived case, an Australian lieutenant describes how he discovered a scene with cannibalized bodies, including one "consisting only of a head which had been scalped and a spinal column" and that "in all cases, the condition of the remains were such that there can be no doubt that the bodies had been dismembered and portions of the flesh cooked". In another archived case, a Pakistani corporal (who was captured in Singapore and transported to New Guinea by the Japanese) testified that Japanese soldiers cannibalized a prisoner (some were still alive) per day for about 100 days. There was also an archived memo, in which a Japanese general stated that eating anyone except enemy soldiers was punishable by death. Toshiyuki Tanaka, a Japanese scholar in Australia, mentions that it was done "to consolidate the group feeling of the troops" rather than due to food shortage in many of the cases. Tanaka also states that the Japanese committed the cannibalism under supervision of their senior officers and to serve as a power projection tool. + +Jemadar Abdul Latif (VCO of the 4/9 Jat Regiment of the British Indian Army and POW rescued by the Australians at Sepik Bay in 1945) stated that the Japanese soldiers ate both Indian POWs and local New Guinean people. At the camp for Indian POWs in Wewak, where many died and 19 POWs were eaten, the Japanese doctor and lieutenant Tumisa would send an Indian out of the camp after which a Japanese party would kill and eat flesh from the body as well as cut off and cook certain body parts (liver, buttock muscles, thighs, legs, and arms), according to Captain R. U. Pirzai in a The Courier-Mail report of August 25, 1945. + +South America +When Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed on a glacier in the Andes on October 13, 1972, many survivors resorted to eating the deceased during their 72 days in the mountains. The experiences and memories of the survivors became the source of several books and films. In an account of the accident and aftermath, survivor Roberto Canessa described the decision to eat the pilots and their dead friends and family members: + +North America + +In 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was arrested after one of his intended victims managed to escape. Found in Dahmer's apartment were two human hearts, an entire torso, a bag full of human organs from his victims, and a portion of arm muscle. He stated that he planned to consume all of the body parts over the next few weeks. + +West Africa +In the 1980s, Médecins Sans Frontières, the international medical charity, supplied photographic and other documentary evidence of ritualized cannibal feasts among the participants in Liberia's internecine strife preceding the First Liberian Civil War to representatives of Amnesty International. Amnesty International declined to publicize this material; the Secretary-General of the organization, Pierre Sane, said at the time in an internal communication that "what they do with the bodies after human rights violations are committed is not part of our mandate or concern". The existence of cannibalism on a wide scale in Liberia was subsequently verified. + +A few years later, reported of cannibal acts committed during the Second Liberian Civil War and Sierra Leone Civil War emerged. + +Central Africa +Reports from the Belgian Congo indicate that cannibalism was still widely practised in some regions in the 1920s. Hermann Norden, an American who visited the Kasai region in 1923, found that "cannibalism was commonplace". People were afraid of walking outside of populated places because there was a risk of being attacked, killed, and eaten. Norden talked with a Belgian who "admitted that it was quite likely he had occasionally been served human flesh without knowing what he was eating" – it was simply a dish that appeared on the tables from time. + +Other travellers heard persistent rumours that there was still a certain underground trade in slaves, some of whom (adults and children alike) were regularly killed and then "cut up and cooked as ordinary meat", around both the Kasai and the Ubangi River. The colonial state seems to have done little to discourage or punish such acts. There are also reports that human flesh was sometimes sold at markets in both Kinshasa and Brazzaville, "right in the middle of European life." + +Norden observed that cannibalism was so common that people talked about it quite "casual[ly]": "No stress was put upon it, nor horror shown. This person had died of fever; that one had been eaten. It was all a matter of the way one's luck held." + +The culinary use of human flesh continued in some cases even after World War II. In 1950, a Belgian administrator ate a "remarkably delicious" dish, learning after he had finished "that the meat came from a young girl." A few years later, a Danish traveller was served a piece of the "soft and tender" flesh of a butchered woman. + +During the Congo Crisis, which followed the country's independence in 1960, body parts of killed enemies were eaten and the flesh of war victims was sometimes sold for consumption. In Luluabourg (today Kananga), an American journalist saw a truck smeared with blood. A police commissioner investigating the scene told her that "sixteen women and children" had been lured in a nearby village to enter the truck, kidnapped, and "butchered ... for meat." She also talked with a Presbyterian missionary, who excused this act as due to "protein need.... The bodies of their enemies are the only source of protein available." + +In conflict situations, cannibalism persisted into the 21st century. During the first decade of the new century, cannibal acts have been reported from the Second Congo War and the Ituri conflict in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to UN investigators, fighters belonging to several factions "grilled" human bodies "on a barbecue"; young girls were boiled "alive in ... big pots filled with boiling water and oil" or "cut into small pieces ... and then eaten." + +A UN human rights expert reported in July 2007 that sexual atrocities committed by rebel groups as well as by armed forces and national police against Congolese women go "far beyond rape" and include sexual slavery, forced incest, and cannibalism. In the Ituri region, much of the violence, which included "widespread cannibalism", was consciously directed against pygmies, who were believed to be relatively helpless and even considered subhuman by some other Congolese. + +UN investigators also collected eyewitness accounts of cannibalism during a violent conflict that shook the Kasai region in 2016/2017. Various parts of killed enemies and beheaded captives were cooked and eaten, including their heads, thighs, and penises. + +Cannibalism has also been reported from the Central African Republic, north of the Congo Basin. Jean-Bédel Bokassa ruled the country from 1966 to 1979 as dictator and finally as self-declared emperor. Tenacious rumours that he liked to dine on the flesh of opponents and political prisoners were substantiated by several testimonies during his eventual trial in 1986/1987. Bokassa's successor David Dacko stated that he had seen photographs of butchered bodies hanging in the cold-storage rooms of Bokassa's palace immediately after taking power in 1979. These or similar photos, said to show a walk-in freezer containing the bodies of schoolchildren arrested in April 1979 during protests and beat to death in the 1979 Ngaragba Prison massacre, were also published in Paris Match magazine. During the trial, Bokassa's former chef testified that he had repeatedly cooked human flesh from the palace's freezers for his boss's table. While Bokassa was found guilty of murder in at least twenty cases, the charge of cannibalism was nevertheless not taken into account for the final verdict, since the consumption of human remains is considered a misdemeanor under CAR law and all previously committed misdemeanors had been forgiven by a general amnesty declared in 1981. + +Further acts of cannibalism were reported to have targeted the Muslim minority during the Central African Republic Civil War which started in 2012. + +East Africa +In the 1970s the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was reputed to practice cannibalism. More recently, the Lord's Resistance Army has been accused of routinely engaging in ritual or magical cannibalism. It is also reported by some that witch doctors in the country sometimes use the body parts of children in their medicine. + +During the South Sudanese Civil War, cannibalism and forced cannibalism have been reported from South Sudan. + +Central and Western Europe + +Before 1931, The New York Times reporter William Seabrook, apparently disappointed that he had been unable to taste human flesh in West Africa, obtained from a hospital intern at the Sorbonne a chunk of this meat from the body of a healthy man killed in an accident, then cooked and ate it. He reported, + +Karl Denke, possible Carl Großmann and Fritz Haarmann, as well as Joachim Kroll were German murderers and cannibals active between the early 20th century and the 1970s. Armin Meiwes is a former computer repair technician who achieved international notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim in 2001, whom he had found via the Internet. After Meiwes and the victim jointly attempted to eat the victim's severed penis, Meiwes killed his victim and proceeded to eat a large amount of his flesh. He was arrested in December 2002. In January 2004, Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years and six months in prison. Despite the victim's undisputed consent, the prosecutors successfully appealed this decision, and in a retrial that ended in May 2006, Meiwes was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. + +On July 23, 1988, Rick Gibson ate the flesh of another person in public. Because England does not have a specific law against cannibalism, he legally ate a canapé of donated human tonsils in Walthamstow High Street, London. A year later, on April 15, 1989, he publicly ate a slice of human testicle. When he tried to eat another slice of human testicle as "hors d'oeuvre" at the Pitt International Galleries in Vancouver on July 14, 1989, the police confiscated the testicle. However, the charge of publicly exhibiting a disgusting object was dropped, and two months later he finally ate the piece of human testicle on the steps of the Vancouver court house. + +In 2008, a British model called Anthony Morley was imprisoned for the killing, dismemberment and partial cannibalisation of his lover, magazine executive Damian Oldfield. + +Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union + +In his book, The Gulag Archipelago, Soviet writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn described cases of cannibalism in 20th-century Soviet Union. Of the famine in Povolzhie (1921–1922) he wrote: "That horrible famine was up to cannibalism, up to consuming children by their own parents – the famine, which Russia had never known even in the Time of Troubles [in 1601–1603]". + +The historian Orlando Figes observes that "thousands of cases" of cannibalism were reported, while the number of cases that were never reported was doubtless even higher. In Pugachyov, "it was dangerous for children to go out after dark since there were known to be bands of cannibals and traders who killed them to eat or sell their tender flesh." An inhabitant of a nearby village stated: "There are several cafeterias in the village – and all of them serve up young children." This was no exception – Figes estimates "that a considerable proportion of the meat in Soviet factories in the Volga area ... was human flesh." Various gangs specialized in "capturing children, murdering them and selling the human flesh as horse meat or beef", with the buyers happy to have found a source of meat in a situation of extreme shortage and often willing not to "ask too many questions". + +Cannibalism was also widespread during the Holodomor, a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine between 1932 and 1933. + +Survival was a moral as well as a physical struggle. A woman doctor wrote to a friend in June 1933 that she had not yet become a cannibal, but was "not sure that I shall not be one by the time my letter reaches you". The good people died first. Those who refused to steal or to prostitute themselves died. Those who gave food to others died. Those who refused to eat corpses died. Those who refused to kill their fellow man died. ... At least 2,505 people were sentenced for cannibalism in the years 1932 and 1933 in Ukraine, though the actual number of cases was certainly much higher. + +Most cases of cannibalism were "necrophagy, the consumption of corpses of people who had died of starvation". But the murder of children for food was common as well. Many survivors told of neighbours who had killed and eaten their own children. One woman, asked why she had done this, "answered that her children would not survive anyway, but this way she would". She was arrested by the police. The police also documented cases of children being kidnapped, killed, and eaten, and "stories of children being hunted down as food" circulated in many areas. A man who lived through the famine in his youth later remembered that "the availability of human flesh at market[s] was an open and acknowledged secret. People were glad" if they could buy it since "there was no other means to survive." + +In March 1933 the secret police in Kiev Oblast collected "ten or more reports of cannibalism every day" but concluded that "in reality there are many more such incidents", most of which went unreported. Those found guilty of cannibalism were often "imprisoned, executed, or lynched". But while the authorities were well informed about the extent of cannibalism, they also tried to suppress this information from becoming widely known, the chief of the secret police warning "that written notes on the subject do not circulate among the officials where they might cause rumours". + +The Holodomor was part of the Soviet famine of 1930–1933, which devastated also other parts of the Soviet Union in the early 1930s. Multiple cases of cannibalism were also reported from Kazakhstan. + +A few years later, starving people again resorted to cannibalism during the siege of Leningrad (1941–1944). About this time, Solzhenitsyn writes: "Those who consumed human flesh, or dealt with the human liver trading from dissecting rooms ... were accounted as the political criminals". + +Of the building of Northern Railway Labor Camp ("Sevzheldorlag") Solzhenitsyn reports, "An ordinary hard working political prisoner almost could not survive at that penal camp. In the camp Sevzheldorlag (chief: colonel Klyuchkin) in 1946–47 there were many cases of cannibalism: they cut human bodies, cooked and ate." + +The Soviet journalist Yevgenia Ginzburg was a long-term political prisoner who spent time in the Soviet prisons, Gulag camps and settlements from 1938 to 1955. She described in her memoir, Harsh Route (or Steep Route), of a case which she was directly involved in during the late 1940s, after she had been moved to the prisoners' hospital. +The chief warder shows me the black smoked pot, filled with some food: "I need your medical expertise regarding this meat." I look into the pot, and hardly hold vomiting. The fibres of that meat are very small, and don't resemble me anything I have seen before. The skin on some pieces bristles with black hair ... A former smith from Poltava, Kulesh worked together with Centurashvili. At this time, Centurashvili was only one month away from being discharged from the camp ... And suddenly he surprisingly disappeared ... The wardens searched for two more days, and then assumed that it was an escape case, though they wondered why, since his imprisonment period was almost over ... The crime was there. Approaching the fireplace, Kulesh killed Centurashvili with an axe, burned his clothes, then dismembered him and hid the pieces in snow, in different places, putting specific marks on each burial place. ... Just yesterday, one body part was found under two crossed logs. + +India +The Aghori are Indian ascetics who believe that eating human flesh confers spiritual and physical benefits, such as prevention of ageing. They claim to only eat those who have voluntarily granted their body to the sect upon their death, but an Indian TV crew witnessed one Aghori feasting on a corpse discovered floating in the Ganges and a member of the Dom caste reports that Aghori often take bodies from cremation ghats (or funeral pyres). + +China +Cannibalism is documented to have occurred in rural China during the severe famine that resulted from the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962). + +During Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), local governments' documents revealed hundreds of incidents of cannibalism for ideological reasons, including large-scale cannibalism during the Guangxi Massacre. Cannibal acts occurred at public events organized by local Communist Party officials, with people taking part in them in order to prove their revolutionary passion. The writer Zheng Yi documented many of these incidents, especially those in Guangxi, in his 1993 book, Scarlet Memorial. + +Pills made of human flesh were said to be used by some Tibetan Buddhists, motivated by a belief that mystical powers were bestowed upon those who consumed Brahmin flesh. + +Southeast Asia +In Joshua Oppenheimer's film The Look of Silence, several of the anti-Communist militias active in the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66 claim that drinking blood from their victims prevented them from going mad. + +East Asia +Reports of widespread cannibalism began to emerge from North Korea during the famine of the 1990s and subsequent ongoing starvation. Kim Jong-il was reported to have ordered a crackdown on cannibalism in 1996, but Chinese travellers reported in 1998 that cannibalism had occurred. Three people in North Korea were reported to have been executed for selling or eating human flesh in 2006. Further reports of cannibalism emerged in early 2013, including reports of a man executed for killing his two children for food. + +There are conflicting claims about how widespread cannibalism was in North Korea. While refugees reported that it was widespread, Barbara Demick wrote in her book, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (2010), that it did not seem to be. + +Melanesia + +The Korowai tribe of south-eastern Papua could be one of the last surviving tribes in the world engaging in cannibalism. A local cannibal cult killed and ate victims as late as 2012. + +As in some other Papuan societies, the Urapmin people engaged in cannibalism in war. Notably, the Urapmin also had a system of food taboos wherein dogs could not be eaten and they had to be kept from breathing on food, unlike humans who could be eaten and with whom food could be shared. + +See also + + Alexander Pearce, alleged Irish cannibal + Alferd Packer, an American prospector, accused but not convicted of cannibalism + Androphagi, an ancient nation of cannibals + Asmat people, a Papua group with a reputation of cannibalism + Cannibal film + Cannibalism in literature + Cannibalism in popular culture + Cannibalism in poultry + Chijon family, a Korean gang that killed and ate rich people + Child cannibalism for children as victims of cannibalism (in myth and reality) + Custom of the sea, the practice of shipwrecked survivors drawing lots to see who would be killed and eaten so that the others might survive + Homo antecessor, an extinct human species providing some of the earliest known evidence for human cannibalism + Human fat has been applied in European pharmacopeia between the 16th and the 19th centuries. + Human placentophagy, the consumption of the placenta (afterbirth) + Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator who is alleged to have consumed humans + Issei Sagawa, a Japanese man who became a minor celebrity after killing and eating another student + List of incidents of cannibalism + Manifesto Antropófago (Cannibal Manifesto in English), a Brazilian poem + Medical cannibalism, the consumption of human body parts to treat or prevent diseases + Mummia, medicine made from human mummies + Noida serial murders, a widely publicized instance of alleged cannibalism in India + Placentophagy, the act of mammals eating the placenta of their young after childbirth + Pleistocene human diet, the eating habits of human ancestors in the Pleistocene + R v Dudley and Stephens, an important trial of two men accused of shipwreck cannibalism + Self-cannibalism, the practice of eating oneself (also called autocannibalism) + Traditional Chinese medicines derived from the human body + Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, a progressive condition that affect the brain and nervous system of many animals, including humans + Vorarephilia, a sexual fetish and paraphilia where arousal results from the idea of devouring others or being devoured + Wari’ people, an Amerindian tribe that practised cannibalism + +References + +Further reading + +Berdan, Frances F. The Aztecs of Central Mexico: An Imperial Society. New York 1982. + +Earle, Rebecca. The Body of the Conquistador: Food, Race, and the Colonial Experience in Spanish America, 1492–1700. New York: Cambridge University Press 2012. + +Jáuregui, Carlos. Canibalia: Canibalismo, calibanismo, antropofagía cultural y consumo en América Latina. Madrid: Vervuert 2008. +Lestringant, Frank. Cannibals: The Discovery and Representation of the Cannibal from Columbus to Jules Verne. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1997. + +Ortiz de Montellano, Bernard R. Aztec Medicine, Health, and Nutrition. New Brunswick 1990. +Read, Kay A. Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos. Bloomington 1998. +Sahlins, Marshall. "Cannibalism: An Exchange." New York Review of Books 26, no. 4 (March 22, 1979). +Schutt, Bill. Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books 2017. + +External links + + Is there a relation between cannibalism and amyloidosis? + All about Cannibalism: The Ancient Taboo in Modern Times (Cannibalism Psychology) at CrimeLibrary.com + Cannibalism, Víctor Montoya + The Straight Dope Notes arguing that routine cannibalism is myth + Did a mob of angry Dutch kill and eat their prime minister? (from The Straight Dope) + Harry J. Brown, 'Hans Staden among the Tupinambas.' +A chemical element is a chemical substance that cannot be broken down into other substances. The basic particle that constitutes a chemical element is the atom, and each chemical element is distinguished by the number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms, known as its atomic number. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8, meaning that each oxygen atom has 8 protons in its nucleus. This is in contrast to chemical compounds and mixtures, which contain atoms with more than one atomic number. + +Almost all of the baryonic matter of the universe is composed of chemical elements (among rare exceptions are neutron stars). When different elements undergo chemical reactions, atoms are rearranged into new compounds held together by chemical bonds. Only a minority of elements, such as silver and gold, are found uncombined as relatively pure native element minerals. Nearly all other naturally occurring elements occur in the Earth as compounds or mixtures. Air is primarily a mixture of the elements nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, though it does contain compounds including carbon dioxide and water. + +The history of the discovery and use of the elements began with primitive human societies that discovered native minerals like carbon, sulfur, copper and gold (though the concept of a chemical element was not yet understood). Attempts to classify materials such as these resulted in the concepts of classical elements, alchemy, and various similar theories throughout human history. Much of the modern understanding of elements developed from the work of Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist who published the first recognizable periodic table in 1869. This table organizes the elements by increasing atomic number into rows ("periods") in which the columns ("groups") share recurring ("periodic") physical and chemical properties. The periodic table summarizes various properties of the elements, allowing chemists to derive relationships between them and to make predictions about compounds and potential new ones. + +By November 2016, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry had recognized a total of 118 elements. The first 94 occur naturally on Earth, and the remaining 24 are synthetic elements produced in nuclear reactions. Save for unstable radioactive elements (radionuclides) which decay quickly, nearly all of the elements are available industrially in varying amounts. The discovery and synthesis of further new elements is an ongoing area of scientific study. + +Description +The lightest chemical elements are hydrogen and helium, both created by Big Bang nucleosynthesis during the first 20 minutes of the universe in a ratio of around 3:1 by mass (or 12:1 by number of atoms), along with tiny traces of the next two elements, lithium and beryllium. Almost all other elements found in nature were made by various natural methods of nucleosynthesis. On Earth, small amounts of new atoms are naturally produced in nucleogenic reactions, or in cosmogenic processes, such as cosmic ray spallation. New atoms are also naturally produced on Earth as radiogenic daughter isotopes of ongoing radioactive decay processes such as alpha decay, beta decay, spontaneous fission, cluster decay, and other rarer modes of decay. + +Of the 94 naturally occurring elements, those with atomic numbers 1 through 82 each have at least one stable isotope (except for technetium, element 43 and promethium, element 61, which have no stable isotopes). Isotopes considered stable are those for which no radioactive decay has yet been observed. Elements with atomic numbers 83 through 94 are unstable to the point that radioactive decay of all isotopes can be detected. Some of these elements, notably bismuth (atomic number 83), thorium (atomic number 90), and uranium (atomic number 92), have one or more isotopes with half-lives long enough to survive as remnants of the explosive stellar nucleosynthesis that produced the heavy metals before the formation of our Solar System. At over 1.9 years, over a billion times longer than the current estimated age of the universe, bismuth-209 (atomic number 83) has the longest known alpha decay half-life of any naturally occurring element, and is almost always considered on par with the 80 stable elements. The very heaviest elements (those beyond plutonium, element 94) undergo radioactive decay with half-lives so short that they are not found in nature and must be synthesized. + +There are now 118 known elements. In this context, "known" means observed well enough, even from just a few decay products, to have been differentiated from other elements. Most recently, the synthesis of element 118 (since named oganesson) was reported in October 2006, and the synthesis of element 117 (tennessine) was reported in April 2010. Of these 118 elements, 94 occur naturally on Earth. Six of these occur in extreme trace quantities: technetium, atomic number 43; promethium, number 61; astatine, number 85; francium, number 87; neptunium, number 93; and plutonium, number 94. These 94 elements have been detected in the universe at large, in the spectra of stars and also supernovae, where short-lived radioactive elements are newly being made. The first 94 elements have been detected directly on Earth as primordial nuclides present from the formation of the Solar System, or as naturally occurring fission or transmutation products of uranium and thorium. + +The remaining 24 heavier elements, not found today either on Earth or in astronomical spectra, have been produced artificially: these are all radioactive, with very short half-lives; if any atoms of these elements were present at the formation of Earth, they are extremely likely, to the point of certainty, to have already decayed, and if present in novae have been in quantities too small to have been noted. Technetium was the first purportedly non-naturally occurring element synthesized, in 1937, although trace amounts of technetium have since been found in nature (and also the element may have been discovered naturally in 1925). This pattern of artificial production and later natural discovery has been repeated with several other radioactive naturally occurring rare elements. + +List of the elements are available by name, atomic number, density, melting point, boiling point and by symbol, as well as ionization energies of the elements. The nuclides of stable and radioactive elements are also available as a list of nuclides, sorted by length of half-life for those that are unstable. One of the most convenient, and certainly the most traditional presentation of the elements, is in the form of the periodic table, which groups together elements with similar chemical properties (and usually also similar electronic structures). + +Atomic number + +The atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons in each atom, and defines the element. For example, all carbon atoms contain 6 protons in their atomic nucleus; so the atomic number of carbon is 6. Carbon atoms may have different numbers of neutrons; atoms of the same element having different numbers of neutrons are known as isotopes of the element. + +The number of protons in the atomic nucleus also determines its electric charge, which in turn determines the number of electrons of the atom in its non-ionized state. The electrons are placed into atomic orbitals that determine the atom's various chemical properties. The number of neutrons in a nucleus usually has very little effect on an element's chemical properties (except in the case of hydrogen and deuterium). Thus, all carbon isotopes have nearly identical chemical properties because they all have six protons and six electrons, even though carbon atoms may, for example, have 6 or 8 neutrons. That is why the atomic number, rather than mass number or atomic weight, is considered the identifying characteristic of a chemical element. + +The symbol for atomic number is Z. + +Isotopes + +Isotopes are atoms of the same element (that is, with the same number of protons in their atomic nucleus), but having different numbers of neutrons. Thus, for example, there are three main isotopes of carbon. All carbon atoms have 6 protons in the nucleus, but they can have either 6, 7, or 8 neutrons. Since the mass numbers of these are 12, 13 and 14 respectively, the three isotopes of carbon are known as carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14, often abbreviated to 12C, 13C, and 14C. Carbon in everyday life and in chemistry is a mixture of 12C (about 98.9%), 13C (about 1.1%) and about 1 atom per trillion of 14C. + +Most (66 of 94) naturally occurring elements have more than one stable isotope. Except for the isotopes of hydrogen (which differ greatly from each other in relative mass—enough to cause chemical effects), the isotopes of a given element are chemically nearly indistinguishable. + +All of the elements have some isotopes that are radioactive (radioisotopes), although not all of these radioisotopes occur naturally. The radioisotopes typically decay into other elements upon radiating an alpha or beta particle. If an element has isotopes that are not radioactive, these are termed "stable" isotopes. All of the known stable isotopes occur naturally (see primordial isotope). The many radioisotopes that are not found in nature have been characterized after being artificially made. Certain elements have no stable isotopes and are composed only of radioactive isotopes: specifically the elements without any stable isotopes are technetium (atomic number 43), promethium (atomic number 61), and all observed elements with atomic numbers greater than 82. + +Of the 80 elements with at least one stable isotope, 26 have only one single stable isotope. The mean number of stable isotopes for the 80 stable elements is 3.1 stable isotopes per element. The largest number of stable isotopes that occur for a single element is 10 (for tin, element 50). + +Isotopic mass and atomic mass + +The mass number of an element, A, is the number of nucleons (protons and neutrons) in the atomic nucleus. Different isotopes of a given element are distinguished by their mass numbers, which are conventionally written as a superscript on the left hand side of the atomic symbol (e.g. 238U). The mass number is always a whole number and has units of "nucleons". For example, magnesium-24 (24 is the mass number) is an atom with 24 nucleons (12 protons and 12 neutrons). + +Whereas the mass number simply counts the total number of neutrons and protons and is thus a natural (or whole) number, the atomic mass of a particular isotope (or "nuclide") of the element is the mass of a single atom of that isotope, and is typically expressed in daltons (symbol: Da), or univeral atomic mass units (symbol: u). Its relative atomic mass is a dimensionless number equal to the atomic mass divided by the atomic amass constant, which equals 1 Da. In general, the mass number of a given nuclide differs in value slightly from its relative atomic mass, since the mass of each proton and neutron is not exactly 1 Da; since the electrons contribute a lesser share to the atomic mass as neutron number exceeds proton number; and because of the nuclear binding energy and the electron binding energy. For example, the atomic mass of chlorine-35 to five significant digits is 34.969 Da and that of chlorine-37 is 36.966 Da. However, the relative atomic mass of each isotope is quite close to its mass number (always within 1%). The only isotope whose atomic mass is exactly a natural number is 12C, which has a mass of 12 Da because the dalton is defined as 1/12 of the mass of a free neutral carbon-12 atom in the ground state. + +The standard atomic weight (commonly called "atomic weight") of an element is the average of the atomic masses of all the chemical element's isotopes as found in a particular environment, weighted by isotopic abundance, relative to the atomic mass unit. This number may be a fraction that is not close to a whole number. For example, the relative atomic mass of chlorine is 35.453 u, which differs greatly from a whole number as it is an average of about 76% chlorine-35 and 24% chlorine-37. Whenever a relative atomic mass value differs by more than 1% from a whole number, it is due to this averaging effect, as significant amounts of more than one isotope are naturally present in a sample of that element. + +Chemically pure and isotopically pure +Chemists and nuclear scientists have different definitions of a pure element. In chemistry, a pure element means a substance whose atoms all (or in practice almost all) have the same atomic number, or number of protons. Nuclear scientists, however, define a pure element as one that consists of only one stable isotope. + +For example, a copper wire is 99.99% chemically pure if 99.99% of its atoms are copper, with 29 protons each. However it is not isotopically pure since ordinary copper consists of two stable isotopes, 69% 63Cu and 31% 65Cu, with different numbers of neutrons. However, a pure gold ingot would be both chemically and isotopically pure, since ordinary gold consists only of one isotope, 197Au. + +Allotropes + +Atoms of chemically pure elements may bond to each other chemically in more than one way, allowing the pure element to exist in multiple chemical structures (spatial arrangements of atoms), known as allotropes, which differ in their properties. For example, carbon can be found as diamond, which has a tetrahedral structure around each carbon atom; graphite, which has layers of carbon atoms with a hexagonal structure stacked on top of each other; graphene, which is a single layer of graphite that is very strong; fullerenes, which have nearly spherical shapes; and carbon nanotubes, which are tubes with a hexagonal structure (even these may differ from each other in electrical properties). The ability of an element to exist in one of many structural forms is known as 'allotropy'. + +The reference state of an element is defined by convention, usually as the thermodynamically most stable allotrope and physical state at a pressure of 1 bar and a given temperature (typically at 298.15K). However, for phosphorus, the reference state is white phosphorus even though it is not the most stable allotrope. In thermochemistry, an element is defined to have an enthalpy of formation of zero in its reference state. For example, the reference state for carbon is graphite, because the structure of graphite is more stable than that of the other allotropes. + +Properties +Several kinds of descriptive categorizations can be applied broadly to the elements, including consideration of their general physical and chemical properties, their states of matter under familiar conditions, their melting and boiling points, their densities, their crystal structures as solids, and their origins. + +General properties +Several terms are commonly used to characterize the general physical and chemical properties of the chemical elements. A first distinction is between metals, which readily conduct electricity, nonmetals, which do not, and a small group, (the metalloids), having intermediate properties and often behaving as semiconductors. + +A more refined classification is often shown in colored presentations of the periodic table. This system restricts the terms "metal" and "nonmetal" to only certain of the more broadly defined metals and nonmetals, adding additional terms for certain sets of the more broadly viewed metals and nonmetals. The version of this classification used in the periodic tables presented here includes: actinides, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, halogens, lanthanides, transition metals, post-transition metals, metalloids, reactive nonmetals, and noble gases. In this system, the alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and transition metals, as well as the lanthanides and the actinides, are special groups of the metals viewed in a broader sense. Similarly, the reactive nonmetals and the noble gases are nonmetals viewed in the broader sense. In some presentations, the halogens are not distinguished, with astatine identified as a metalloid and the others identified as nonmetals. + +States of matter +Another commonly used basic distinction among the elements is their state of matter (phase), whether solid, liquid, or gas, at a selected standard temperature and pressure (STP). Most of the elements are solids at conventional temperatures and atmospheric pressure, while several are gases. Only bromine and mercury are liquids at 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and normal atmospheric pressure; caesium and gallium are solids at that temperature, but melt at 28.4 °C (83.2 °F) and 29.8 °C (85.6 °F), respectively. + +Melting and boiling points +Melting and boiling points, typically expressed in degrees Celsius at a pressure of one atmosphere, are commonly used in characterizing the various elements. While known for most elements, either or both of these measurements is still undetermined for some of the radioactive elements available in only tiny quantities. Since helium remains a liquid even at absolute zero at atmospheric pressure, it has only a boiling point, and not a melting point, in conventional presentations. + +Densities + +The density at selected standard temperature and pressure (STP) is frequently used in characterizing the elements. Density is often expressed in grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm3). Since several elements are gases at commonly encountered temperatures, their densities are usually stated for their gaseous forms; when liquefied or solidified, the gaseous elements have densities similar to those of the other elements. + +When an element has allotropes with different densities, one representative allotrope is typically selected in summary presentations, while densities for each allotrope can be stated where more detail is provided. For example, the three familiar allotropes of carbon (amorphous carbon, graphite, and diamond) have densities of 1.8–2.1, 2.267, and 3.515 g/cm3, respectively. + +Crystal structures + +The elements studied to date as solid samples have eight kinds of crystal structures: cubic, body-centered cubic, face-centered cubic, hexagonal, monoclinic, orthorhombic, rhombohedral, and tetragonal. For some of the synthetically produced transuranic elements, available samples have been too small to determine crystal structures. + +Occurrence and origin on Earth + +Chemical elements may also be categorized by their origin on Earth, with the first 94 considered naturally occurring, while those with atomic numbers beyond 94 have only been produced artificially as the synthetic products of human-made nuclear reactions. + +Of the 94 naturally occurring elements, 83 are considered primordial and either stable or weakly radioactive. The remaining 11 naturally occurring elements possess half lives too short for them to have been present at the beginning of the Solar System, and are therefore considered transient elements. Of these 11 transient elements, 5 (polonium, radon, radium, actinium, and protactinium) are relatively common decay products of thorium and uranium. The remaining 6 transient elements (technetium, promethium, astatine, francium, neptunium, and plutonium) occur only rarely, as products of rare decay modes or nuclear reaction processes involving uranium or other heavy elements. + +No radioactive decay has been observed for elements with atomic numbers 1 through 82, except 43 (technetium) and 61 (promethium). Observationally stable isotopes of some elements (such as tungsten and lead), however, are predicted to be slightly radioactive with very long half-lives: for example, the half-lives predicted for the observationally stable lead isotopes range from 1035 to 10189 years. Elements with atomic numbers 43, 61, and 83 through 94 are unstable enough that their radioactive decay can readily be detected. Three of these elements, bismuth (element 83), thorium (element 90), and uranium (element 92) have one or more isotopes with half-lives long enough to survive as remnants of the explosive stellar nucleosynthesis that produced the heavy elements before the formation of the Solar System. For example, at over 1.9 years, over a billion times longer than the current estimated age of the universe, bismuth-209 has the longest known alpha decay half-life of any naturally occurring element. The very heaviest 24 elements (those beyond plutonium, element 94) undergo radioactive decay with short half-lives and cannot be produced as daughters of longer-lived elements, and thus are not known to occur in nature at all. + +Periodic table + +The properties of the chemical elements are often summarized using the periodic table, which powerfully and elegantly organizes the elements by increasing atomic number into rows ("periods") in which the columns ("groups") share recurring ("periodic") physical and chemical properties. The current standard table contains 118 confirmed elements as of 2021. + +Although earlier precursors to this presentation exist, its invention is generally credited to the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869, who intended the table to illustrate recurring trends in the properties of the elements. The layout of the table has been refined and extended over time as new elements have been discovered and new theoretical models have been developed to explain chemical behavior. + +Use of the periodic table is now ubiquitous within the academic discipline of chemistry, providing an extremely useful framework to classify, systematize and compare all the many different forms of chemical behavior. The table has also found wide application in physics, geology, biology, materials science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, nutrition, environmental health, and astronomy. Its principles are especially important in chemical engineering. + +Nomenclature and symbols + +The various chemical elements are formally identified by their unique atomic numbers, by their accepted names, and by their symbols. + +Atomic numbers +The known elements have atomic numbers from 1 through 118, conventionally presented as Arabic numerals. Since the elements can be uniquely sequenced by atomic number, conventionally from lowest to highest (as in a periodic table), sets of elements are sometimes specified by such notation as "through", "beyond", or "from ... through", as in "through iron", "beyond uranium", or "from lanthanum through lutetium". The terms "light" and "heavy" are sometimes also used informally to indicate relative atomic numbers (not densities), as in "lighter than carbon" or "heavier than lead", although technically the weight or mass of atoms of an element (their atomic weights or atomic masses) do not always increase monotonically with their atomic numbers. + +Element names + +The naming of various substances now known as elements precedes the atomic theory of matter, as names were given locally by various cultures to various minerals, metals, compounds, alloys, mixtures, and other materials, although at the time it was not known which chemicals were elements and which compounds. As they were identified as elements, the existing names for anciently known elements (e.g., gold, mercury, iron) were kept in most countries. National differences emerged over the names of elements either for convenience, linguistic niceties, or nationalism. For a few illustrative examples: German speakers use "Wasserstoff" (water substance) for "hydrogen", "Sauerstoff" (acid substance) for "oxygen" and "Stickstoff" (smothering substance) for "nitrogen", while English and some romance languages use "sodium" for "natrium" and "potassium" for "kalium", and the French, Italians, Greeks, Portuguese and Poles prefer "azote/azot/azoto" (from roots meaning "no life") for "nitrogen". + +For purposes of international communication and trade, the official names of the chemical elements both ancient and more recently recognized are decided by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), which has decided on a sort of international English language, drawing on traditional English names even when an element's chemical symbol is based on a Latin or other traditional word, for example adopting "gold" rather than "aurum" as the name for the 79th element (Au). IUPAC prefers the British spellings "aluminium" and "caesium" over the U.S. spellings "aluminum" and "cesium", and the U.S. "sulfur" over the British "sulphur". However, elements that are practical to sell in bulk in many countries often still have locally used national names, and countries whose national language does not use the Latin alphabet are likely to use the IUPAC element names. + +According to IUPAC, chemical elements are not proper nouns in English; consequently, the full name of an element is not routinely capitalized in English, even if derived from a proper noun, as in californium and einsteinium. Isotope names of chemical elements are also uncapitalized if written out, e.g., carbon-12 or uranium-235. Chemical element symbols (such as Cf for californium and Es for einsteinium), are always capitalized (see below). + +In the second half of the twentieth century, physics laboratories became able to produce nuclei of chemical elements with half-lives too short for an appreciable amount of them to exist at any time. These are also named by IUPAC, which generally adopts the name chosen by the discoverer. This practice can lead to the controversial question of which research group actually discovered an element, a question that delayed the naming of elements with atomic number of 104 and higher for a considerable amount of time. (See element naming controversy). + +Precursors of such controversies involved the nationalistic namings of elements in the late 19th century. For example, lutetium was named in reference to Paris, France. The Germans were reluctant to relinquish naming rights to the French, often calling it cassiopeium. Similarly, the British discoverer of niobium originally named it columbium, in reference to the New World. It was used extensively as such by American publications before the international standardization (in 1950). + +Chemical symbols + +Specific chemical elements +Before chemistry became a science, alchemists had designed arcane symbols for both metals and common compounds. These were however used as abbreviations in diagrams or procedures; there was no concept of atoms combining to form molecules. With his advances in the atomic theory of matter, John Dalton devised his own simpler symbols, based on circles, to depict molecules. + +The current system of chemical notation was invented by Berzelius. In this typographical system, chemical symbols are not mere abbreviations—though each consists of letters of the Latin alphabet. They are intended as universal symbols for people of all languages and alphabets. + +The first of these symbols were intended to be fully universal. Since Latin was the common language of science at that time, they were abbreviations based on the Latin names of metals. Cu comes from cuprum, Fe comes from ferrum, Ag from argentum. The symbols were not followed by a period (full stop) as with abbreviations. Later chemical elements were also assigned unique chemical symbols, based on the name of the element, but not necessarily in English. For example, sodium has the chemical symbol 'Na' after the Latin natrium. The same applies to "Fe" (ferrum) for iron, "Hg" (hydrargyrum) for mercury, "Sn" (stannum) for tin, "Au" (aurum) for gold, "Ag" (argentum) for silver, "Pb" (plumbum) for lead, "Cu" (cuprum) for copper, and "Sb" (stibium) for antimony. "W" (wolfram) for tungsten ultimately derives from German, "K" (kalium) for potassium ultimately from Arabic. + +Chemical symbols are understood internationally when element names might require translation. There have sometimes been differences in the past. For example, Germans in the past have used "J" (for the alternate name Jod) for iodine, but now use "I" and "Iod". + +The first letter of a chemical symbol is always capitalized, as in the preceding examples, and the subsequent letters, if any, are always lower case (small letters). Thus, the symbols for californium and einsteinium are Cf and Es. + +General chemical symbols +There are also symbols in chemical equations for groups of chemical elements, for example in comparative formulas. These are often a single capital letter, and the letters are reserved and not used for names of specific elements. For example, an "X" indicates a variable group (usually a halogen) in a class of compounds, while "R" is a radical, meaning a compound structure such as a hydrocarbon chain. The letter "Q" is reserved for "heat" in a chemical reaction. "Y" is also often used as a general chemical symbol, although it is also the symbol of yttrium. "Z" is also frequently used as a general variable group. "E" is used in organic chemistry to denote an electron-withdrawing group or an electrophile; similarly "Nu" denotes a nucleophile. "L" is used to represent a general ligand in inorganic and organometallic chemistry. "M" is also often used in place of a general metal. + +At least two additional, two-letter generic chemical symbols are also in informal usage, "Ln" for any lanthanide element and "An" for any actinide element. "Rg" was formerly used for any rare gas element, but the group of rare gases has now been renamed noble gases and the symbol "Rg" has now been assigned to the element roentgenium. + +Isotope symbols +Isotopes are distinguished by the atomic mass number (total protons and neutrons) for a particular isotope of an element, with this number combined with the pertinent element's symbol. IUPAC prefers that isotope symbols be written in superscript notation when practical, for example 12C and 235U. However, other notations, such as carbon-12 and uranium-235, or C-12 and U-235, are also used. + +As a special case, the three naturally occurring isotopes of the element hydrogen are often specified as H for 1H (protium), D for 2H (deuterium), and T for 3H (tritium). This convention is easier to use in chemical equations, replacing the need to write out the mass number for each atom. For example, the formula for heavy water may be written D2O instead of 2H2O. + +Origin of the elements + +Only about 4% of the total mass of the universe is made of atoms or ions, and thus represented by chemical elements. This fraction is about 15% of the total matter, with the remainder of the matter (85%) being dark matter. The nature of dark matter is unknown, but it is not composed of atoms of chemical elements because it contains no protons, neutrons, or electrons. (The remaining non-matter part of the mass of the universe is composed of the even less well understood dark energy). + +The 94 naturally occurring chemical elements were produced by at least four classes of astrophysical process. Most of the hydrogen, helium and a very small quantity of lithium were produced in the first few minutes of the Big Bang. This Big Bang nucleosynthesis happened only once; the other processes are ongoing. Nuclear fusion inside stars produces elements through stellar nucleosynthesis, including all elements from carbon to iron in atomic number. Elements higher in atomic number than iron, including heavy elements like uranium and plutonium, are produced by various forms of explosive nucleosynthesis in supernovae and neutron star mergers. The light elements lithium, beryllium and boron are produced mostly through cosmic ray spallation (fragmentation induced by cosmic rays) of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. + +During the early phases of the Big Bang, nucleosynthesis of hydrogen nuclei resulted in the production of hydrogen-1 (protium, 1H) and helium-4 (4He), as well as a smaller amount of deuterium (2H) and very minuscule amounts (on the order of 10−10) of lithium and beryllium. Even smaller amounts of boron may have been produced in the Big Bang, since it has been observed in some very old stars, while carbon has not. No elements heavier than boron were produced in the Big Bang. As a result, the primordial abundance of atoms (or ions) consisted of roughly 75% 1H, 25% 4He, and 0.01% deuterium, with only tiny traces of lithium, beryllium, and perhaps boron. Subsequent enrichment of galactic halos occurred due to stellar nucleosynthesis and supernova nucleosynthesis. However, the element abundance in intergalactic space can still closely resemble primordial conditions, unless it has been enriched by some means. + +On Earth (and elsewhere), trace amounts of various elements continue to be produced from other elements as products of nuclear transmutation processes. These include some produced by cosmic rays or other nuclear reactions (see cosmogenic and nucleogenic nuclides), and others produced as decay products of long-lived primordial nuclides. For example, trace (but detectable) amounts of carbon-14 (14C) are continually produced in the atmosphere by cosmic rays impacting nitrogen atoms, and argon-40 (40Ar) is continually produced by the decay of primordially occurring but unstable potassium-40 (40K). Also, three primordially occurring but radioactive actinides, thorium, uranium, and plutonium, decay through a series of recurrently produced but unstable radioactive elements such as radium and radon, which are transiently present in any sample of these metals or their ores or compounds. Three other radioactive elements, technetium, promethium, and neptunium, occur only incidentally in natural materials, produced as individual atoms by nuclear fission of the nuclei of various heavy elements or in other rare nuclear processes. + +In addition to the 94 naturally occurring elements, several artificial elements have been produced by human nuclear physics technology. , these experiments have produced all elements up to atomic number 118. + +Abundance + +The following graph (note log scale) shows the abundance of elements in our Solar System. The table shows the twelve most common elements in our galaxy (estimated spectroscopically), as measured in parts per million, by mass. Nearby galaxies that have evolved along similar lines have a corresponding enrichment of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. The more distant galaxies are being viewed as they appeared in the past, so their abundances of elements appear closer to the primordial mixture. As physical laws and processes appear common throughout the visible universe, however, scientist expect that these galaxies evolved elements in similar abundance. + +The abundance of elements in the Solar System is in keeping with their origin from nucleosynthesis in the Big Bang and a number of progenitor supernova stars. Very abundant hydrogen and helium are products of the Big Bang, but the next three elements are rare since they had little time to form in the Big Bang and are not made in stars (they are, however, produced in small quantities by the breakup of heavier elements in interstellar dust, as a result of impact by cosmic rays). Beginning with carbon, elements are produced in stars by buildup from alpha particles (helium nuclei), resulting in an alternatingly larger abundance of elements with even atomic numbers (these are also more stable). In general, such elements up to iron are made in large stars in the process of becoming supernovas. Iron-56 is particularly common, since it is the most stable element that can easily be made from alpha particles (being a product of decay of radioactive nickel-56, ultimately made from 14 helium nuclei). Elements heavier than iron are made in energy-absorbing processes in large stars, and their abundance in the universe (and on Earth) generally decreases with their atomic number. + +The abundance of the chemical elements on Earth varies from air to crust to ocean, and in various types of life. The abundance of elements in Earth's crust differs from that in the Solar System (as seen in the Sun and heavy planets like Jupiter) mainly in selective loss of the very lightest elements (hydrogen and helium) and also volatile neon, carbon (as hydrocarbons), nitrogen and sulfur, as a result of solar heating in the early formation of the solar system. Oxygen, the most abundant Earth element by mass, is retained on Earth by combination with silicon. Aluminium at 8% by mass is more common in the Earth's crust than in the universe and solar system, but the composition of the far more bulky mantle, which has magnesium and iron in place of aluminium (which occurs there only at 2% of mass) more closely mirrors the elemental composition of the solar system, save for the noted loss of volatile elements to space, and loss of iron which has migrated to the Earth's core. + +The composition of the human body, by contrast, more closely follows the composition of seawater—save that the human body has additional stores of carbon and nitrogen necessary to form the proteins and nucleic acids, together with phosphorus in the nucleic acids and energy transfer molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP) that occurs in the cells of all living organisms. Certain kinds of organisms require particular additional elements, for example the magnesium in chlorophyll in green plants, the calcium in mollusc shells, or the iron in the hemoglobin in vertebrate animals' red blood cells. + +History + +Evolving definitions +The concept of an "element" as an undivisible substance has developed through three major historical phases: Classical definitions (such as those of the ancient Greeks), chemical definitions, and atomic definitions. + +Classical definitions + +Ancient philosophy posited a set of classical elements to explain observed patterns in nature. These elements originally referred to earth, water, air and fire rather than the chemical elements of modern science. + +The term 'elements' (stoicheia) was first used by the Greek philosopher Plato in about 360 BCE in his dialogue Timaeus, which includes a discussion of the composition of inorganic and organic bodies and is a speculative treatise on chemistry. Plato believed the elements introduced a century earlier by Empedocles were composed of small polyhedral forms: tetrahedron (fire), octahedron (air), icosahedron (water), and cube (earth). + +Aristotle, , also used the term stoicheia and added a fifth element called aether, which formed the heavens. Aristotle defined an element as: + +Chemical definitions +In 1661, Robert Boyle proposed his theory of corpuscularism which favoured the analysis of matter as constituted by irreducible units of matter (atoms) and, choosing to side with neither Aristotle's view of the four elements nor Paracelsus' view of three fundamental elements, left open the question of the number of elements. The first modern list of chemical elements was given in Antoine Lavoisier's 1789 Elements of Chemistry, which contained thirty-three elements, including light and caloric. By 1818, Jöns Jakob Berzelius had determined atomic weights for forty-five of the forty-nine then-accepted elements. Dmitri Mendeleev had sixty-six elements in his periodic table of 1869. + +From Boyle until the early 20th century, an element was defined as a pure substance that could not be decomposed into any simpler substance. Put another way, a chemical element cannot be transformed into other chemical elements by chemical processes. Elements during this time were generally distinguished by their atomic weights, a property measurable with fair accuracy by available analytical techniques. + +Atomic definitions + +The 1913 discovery by English physicist Henry Moseley that the nuclear charge is the physical basis for an atom's atomic number, further refined when the nature of protons and neutrons became appreciated, eventually led to the current definition of an element based on atomic number (number of protons per atomic nucleus). The use of atomic numbers, rather than atomic weights, to distinguish elements has greater predictive value (since these numbers are integers), and also resolves some ambiguities in the chemistry-based view due to varying properties of isotopes and allotropes within the same element. Currently, IUPAC defines an element to exist if it has isotopes with a lifetime longer than the 10−14 seconds it takes the nucleus to form an electronic cloud. + +By 1914, seventy-two elements were known, all naturally occurring. The remaining naturally occurring elements were discovered or isolated in subsequent decades, and various additional elements have also been produced synthetically, with much of that work pioneered by Glenn T. Seaborg. In 1955, element 101 was discovered and named mendelevium in honor of D.I. Mendeleev, the first to arrange the elements in a periodic manner. + +Discovery and recognition of various elements + +Ten materials familiar to various prehistoric cultures are now known to be chemical elements: Carbon, copper, gold, iron, lead, mercury, silver, sulfur, tin, and zinc. Three additional materials now accepted as elements, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth, were recognized as distinct substances prior to 1500 AD. Phosphorus, cobalt, and platinum were isolated before 1750. + +Most of the remaining naturally occurring chemical elements were identified and characterized by 1900, including: + Such now-familiar industrial materials as aluminium, silicon, nickel, chromium, magnesium, and tungsten + Reactive metals such as lithium, sodium, potassium, and calcium + The halogens fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine + Gases such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, helium, argon, and neon + Most of the rare-earth elements, including cerium, lanthanum, gadolinium, and neodymium. + The more common radioactive elements, including uranium, thorium, radium, and radon + +Elements isolated or produced since 1900 include: + The three remaining undiscovered regularly occurring stable natural elements: hafnium, lutetium, and rhenium + Plutonium, which was first produced synthetically in 1940 by Glenn T. Seaborg, but is now also known from a few long-persisting natural occurrences + The three incidentally occurring natural elements (neptunium, promethium, and technetium), which were all first produced synthetically but later discovered in trace amounts in certain geological samples + Four scarce decay products of uranium or thorium (astatine, francium, actinium, and protactinium), and + Various synthetic transuranic elements, beginning with americium and curium + +Recently discovered elements +The first transuranium element (element with atomic number greater than 92) discovered was neptunium in 1940. Since 1999, claims for the discovery of new elements have been considered by the IUPAC/IUPAP Joint Working Party. As of January 2016, all 118 elements have been confirmed by IUPAC as being discovered. The discovery of element 112 was acknowledged in 2009, and the name copernicium and the atomic symbol Cn were suggested for it. The name and symbol were officially endorsed by IUPAC on 19 February 2010. The heaviest element that is believed to have been synthesized to date is element 118, oganesson, on 9 October 2006, by the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions in Dubna, Russia. Tennessine, element 117 was the latest element claimed to be discovered, in 2009. On 28 November 2016, scientists at the IUPAC officially recognized the names for the four newest chemical elements, with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118. + +List of the 118 known chemical elements + +The following sortable table shows the 118 known chemical elements. + Atomic number, Element, and Symbol all serve independently as unique identifiers. + Element names are those accepted by IUPAC. + Block indicates the periodic table block for each element: red = s-block, yellow = p-block, blue = d-block, green = f-block. + Group and period refer to an element's position in the periodic table. Group numbers here show the currently accepted numbering; for older numberings, see Group (periodic table). + +See also + + Biological roles of the elements + Chemical database + Discovery of the chemical elements + Element collecting + Fictional element + Goldschmidt classification + Island of stability + List of nuclides + List of the elements' densities + Mineral (nutrient) + Periodic Systems of Small Molecules + Prices of chemical elements + Systematic element name + Table of nuclides + Timeline of chemical element discoveries + Roles of chemical elements + +References + +Further reading + + + + + + + + XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins + +External links + Videos for each element by the University of Nottingham + "Chemical Elements", In Our Time, BBC Radio 4 discussion with Paul Strathern, Mary Archer and John Murrell (25 May 2000) + + +Chemistry +Centime (from ) is French for "cent", and is used in English as the name of the fraction currency in several Francophone countries (including Switzerland, Algeria, Belgium, Morocco and France). + +In France, the usage of centime goes back to the introduction of the decimal monetary system under Napoleon. This system aimed at replacing non-decimal fractions of older coins. A five-centime coin was known as a sou, i.e. a solidus or shilling. + +In Francophone Canada of a Canadian dollar is officially known as a cent (pronounced /sɛnt/) in both English and French. However, in practice, the form of cenne (pronounced /sɛn/) has completely replaced the official cent. Spoken and written use of the official form cent in Francophone Canada is exceptionally uncommon. +In the Canadian French vernacular sou, sou noir ( means "black" in French), cenne, and cenne noire are all widely known, used, and accepted monikers when referring to either of a Canadian dollar or the 1¢ coin (colloquially known as a "penny" in North American English). + +Subdivision of euro: cent or centime? +In the European community, cent is the official name for one hundredth of a euro. However, in French-speaking countries, the word centime is the preferred term. The Superior Council of the French language of Belgium recommended in 2001 the use of centime, since cent is also the French word for "hundred". An analogous decision was published in the Journal officiel in France (2 December 1997). + +In Morocco, dirhams are divided into 100 centimes and one may find prices in the country quoted in centimes rather than in dirhams. Sometimes centimes are known as francs or, in former Spanish areas, pesetas. + +Usage +A centime is one-hundredth of the following basic monetary units: + +Current + + Algerian dinar + Burundian franc + CFP franc + CFA franc + Comorian franc + Congolese franc + Djiboutian franc + Ethiopian birr (as santim) + Guinean franc + Haitian gourde + Moroccan dirham + Rwandan franc + Swiss franc (by French and English speakers only; Italian speakers use centesimo. See Rappen) + +Obsolete + + Algerian franc + Belgian franc (Dutch: ) + Cambodian franc + French Camerounian franc + French Guianan franc + French franc + Guadeloupe franc + Katangese franc + Latvian lats (Latvian: santīms) + Luxembourgish franc + Malagasy franc + Malian franc + Martinique franc + Monegasque franc + Moroccan franc + New Hebrides franc + Réunion franc + Spanish Peseta + Tunisian franc + Westphalian frank + +References + +Marianne (personification) +Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any other named day of the calendar, and ending on the day before this named day in the following year. This may be termed a "year's time", but not a "calendar year". To reconcile the calendar year with the astronomical cycle (which has a fractional number of days) certain years contain extra days ("leap days" or "intercalary days"). The Gregorian year, which is in use in most of the world, begins on January 1 and ends on December 31. It has a length of 365 days in an ordinary year, with 8760 hours, 525,600 minutes, or 31,536,000 seconds; but 366 days in a leap year, with 8784 hours, 527,040 minutes, or 31,622,400 seconds. With 97 leap years every 400 years, the year has an average length of 365.2425 days. Other formula-based calendars can have lengths which are further out of step with the solar cycle: for example, the Julian calendar has an average length of 365.25 days, and the Hebrew calendar has an average length of 365.2468 days. The Lunar Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 months in a year of 354 or 355 days. The astronomer's mean tropical year, which is averaged over equinoxes and solstices, is currently 365.24219 days, slightly shorter than the average length of the year in most calendars. + +Quarters +The calendar year can be divided into four quarters, often abbreviated as Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4. In the Gregorian calendar: +First quarter, Q1: 1 January – 31 March (90 days or 91 days in leap years) +Second quarter, Q2: 1 April – 30 June (91 days) +Third quarter, Q3: 1 July – 30 September (92 days) +Fourth quarter, Q4: 1 October – 31 December (92 days) + +While in the Chinese calendar, the quarters are traditionally associated with the 4 seasons of the year: +Spring: 1st to 3rd month +Summer: 4th to 6th month +Autumn: 7th to 9th month +Winter: 10th to 12th month + +See also + +Academic term +Calendar reform +Common year +Fiscal year +ISO 8601 +ISO week date +Leap year +Model year +Tropical year +Seasonal year + +References + +Year +Units of time +Types of year +The CFA franc (, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. Although separate, the two CFA franc currencies have always been at parity and are effectively interchangeable. The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc. On 22 December 2019, it was announced that the West African currency would be reformed and replaced by an independent currency to be called Eco. + +Both CFA francs have a fixed exchange rate (peg) to the euro: €1 = F.CFA 655.957 exactly, and member countries deposited half of their foreign exchange reserves with the French Treasury. The currency has been criticized for restricting the sovereignty of the African member states, effectively putting their monetary policy in the hands of the European Central Bank. Others argue that the CFA "helps stabilize the national currencies of Franc Zone member-countries and greatly facilitates the flow of exports and imports between France and the member-countries". + +In May 2020, the French National Assembly agreed to end the French engagement in the West African CFA franc, including the foreign reserve deposit requirements. The West African CFA franc is expected to be renamed as the "Eco" in the near future. + +Usage +CFA francs are used in fourteen countries: twelve nations formerly ruled by France in West and Central Africa (excluding Guinea and Mauritania, which withdrew), plus Guinea-Bissau (a former Portuguese colony), and Equatorial Guinea (a former Spanish colony). These fourteen countries have a combined population of 193.1 million people (as of 2021), and a combined GDP of US$283.0 billion (as of 2021). + +Name +Between 1945 and 1958, CFA stood for ("French colonies of Africa"); then for ("French Community of Africa") between 1958 (establishment of the French Fifth Republic) and the independence of these African countries at the beginning of the 1960s. Since independence, CFA is taken to mean (African Financial Community) or Coopération financière en Afrique centrale (see Institutions below). + +History + +Creation +The CFA franc was created on 26 December 1945, along with the CFP franc. The reason for their creation was the weakness of the French franc immediately after World War II. When France ratified the Bretton Woods Agreement in December 1945, the French franc was devalued in order to set a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. New currencies were created in the French colonies to spare them the strong devaluation, thereby making it easier for them to import goods from France (and simultaneously making it harder for them to export goods to France). French officials presented the decision as an act of generosity. René Pleven, the French Minister of Finance, was quoted as saying: + +Exchange rate +The CFA franc was created with a fixed exchange rate versus the French franc. This exchange rate was changed only twice, in 1948 and in 1994 (besides nominal adaptation to the new French franc in 1960 and the Euro in 1999). + +Exchange rate: + 26 December 1945 to 16 October 1948 – F.CFA 1 = 1.70 French franc. This 70 centime premium is the consequence of the creation of the CFA franc, which spared the French African colonies the devaluation of December 1945 (before December 1945, 1 local franc in these colonies was worth 1 French franc). + + 17 October 1948 to 31 December 1959 – F.CFA 1 = 2 French francs (the CFA franc had followed the French franc's devaluation versus the US dollar in January 1948, but on 18 October 1948, the French franc devalued again and this time the CFA franc was revalued against the French franc to offset almost all of this new devaluation of the French franc; after October 1948, the CFA followed all the successive devaluations of the French franc) + + 1 January 1960 to 11 January 1994– F.CFA 1 = NF 0.02 (1 January 1960: the French franc redenominated, with 100 old francs becoming 1 new franc) + + 12 January 1994 to 31 December 1998– F.CFA 1 = F 0.01. An overnight 50% devaluation. + + 1 January 1999 onwards – F.CFA 100 = €0.152449 or €1 euro = F.CFA 655.957. (1 January 1999: the euro replaced FRF at the rate of 6.55957 FRF for 1 euro) + +The 1960 and 1999 events merely reflect changes of currency in use in France: the actual relative value of the CFA franc versus the French franc/euro only changed in 1948 and 1994. + +Changes in countries using the franc +Over time, the number of countries and territories using the CFA franc has changed as some countries began introducing their own separate currencies. A couple of nations in West Africa have also chosen to adopt the CFA franc since its introduction, despite the fact that they had never been French colonies. + + 1960: Guinea leaves and begins issuing Guinean francs. + 1962: Mali leaves and begins issuing Malian francs. + 1973: Madagascar leaves (in 1972, according to another source) and begins issuing its own francs, the Malagasy franc, which ran concurrently with the Malagasy ariary (1 ariary = 5 Malagasy francs). + 1973: Mauritania leaves, replacing the franc with the Mauritanian ouguiya (1 ouguiya = 5 CFA francs). + 1974: Saint-Pierre and Miquelon leaves for French franc, which changed later to the Euro + 1975: Réunion leaves for French franc, which changed later to the Euro + 1976: Mayotte leaves for French franc, which changed later to the Euro + 1984: Mali rejoins (1 CFA franc = 2 Malian francs). + 1985: Equatorial Guinea joins (1 franc = 4 bipkwele) + 1997: Guinea-Bissau joins (1 franc = 65 pesos) + +European Monetary Union +In 1998, in anticipation of Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, the Council of the European Union addressed the monetary agreements France had with the CFA Zone and Comoros and ruled that: + The agreements are unlikely to have any material effect on the monetary and exchange rate policy of the Eurozone + In their present forms and states of implementation, the agreements are unlikely to present any obstacle to a smooth functioning of economic and monetary union + Nothing in the agreements can be construed as implying an obligation for the European Central Bank (ECB) or any national central bank to support the convertibility of the CFA and Comorian francs + Modifications to the existing agreements will not lead to any obligations for the European Central or any national central bank + The French Treasury will guarantee the free convertibility at a fixed parity between the euro and the CFA and Comorian francs + The competent French authorities shall keep the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Economic and Financial Committee informed about the implementation of the agreements and inform the Committee prior to changes of the parity between the euro and the CFA and Comorian francs + Any change to the nature or scope of the agreements would require Council approval on the basis of a Commission recommendation and ECB consultation + +Criticism and replacement in West Africa +The currency has been criticized for making national monetary policy for the developing countries of French West Africa all but impossible, since the CFA's value is pegged to the euro (whose monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank). Others disagree and argue that the CFA "helps stabilize the national currencies of Franc Zone member-countries and greatly facilitates the flow of exports and imports between France and the member-countries". The European Union's 2008 assessment of the CFA's link to the euro noted that "benefits from economic integration within each of the two monetary unions of the CFA franc zone, and even more so between them, remained remarkably low" but that "the peg to the French franc and, since 1999, to the euro as exchange rate anchor is usually found to have had favourable effects in the region in terms of macroeconomic stability". + +Critics point out that the currency is controlled by the French treasury, and in turn African countries channel more money to France than they receive in aid and have no sovereignty over their monetary policies. In January 2019, Italian ministers accused France of impoverishing Africa through the CFA franc, and criticism continued from various African organizations. On 21 December 2019, President Alassane Ouattara of the Ivory Coast and President Emmanuel Macron of France announced an initiative to replace the West African CFA Franc with the Eco. Subsequently, a reform of the West African CFA franc was initiated. In May 2020, the French National Assembly agreed to end the French engagement in the West African CFA franc. The countries using the currency will no longer have to deposit half of their foreign exchange reserves with the French Treasury. + +The broader Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which includes the members of UEMOA, plans to introduce its own common currency for its member states by 2027, for which they have also formally adopted the name Eco. + +Debate on ending the Central African CFA + +On April 25, 2023, the subject of the CFA franc was discussed at the ministerial meeting of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and France. The French perceive the guarantee provided to the CFA franc, and the assurance of its convertibility, as a pillar of economic stability for the region. France remains “open” and “available” to CEMAC proposals to reform monetary cooperation in Central Africa, as has happened in West Africa. + +Institutions +There are two different currencies called the CFA franc: the West African CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XOF), and the Central Africa CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XAF). They are distinguished in French by the meaning of the abbreviation CFA. These two CFA francs have the same exchange rate with the euro (1 euro = 655.957 XOF = 655.957 XAF), and they are both guaranteed by the French treasury (), but the two currencies are only legal tender in their respective member countries. + +West African + +The West African CFA franc (XOF) is known in French as the , where CFA stands for ('Financial Community of Africa') or ("African Financial Community"). It is issued by the BCEAO (, i.e., "Central Bank of the West African States"), located in Dakar, Senegal, for the eight countries of the UEMOA (, i.e., "West African Economic and Monetary Union"): + + + + + + + + + +These eight countries have a combined population of 134.7 million people (as of 2021), and a combined GDP of US$179.7 billion (as of 2021). + +Central African + +The Central Africa CFA franc (XAF) is known in French as the , where CFA stands for ("Financial Cooperation in Central Africa"). It is issued by the BEAC (, i.e., "Bank of the Central African States"), located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the six countries of the CEMAC (, i.e., "Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa"): + +These six countries have a combined population of 58.4 million people (as of 2021), and a combined GDP of US$103.3 billion (as of 2021). + +In 1975, Central African CFA banknotes were issued with an obverse unique to each participating country, and common reverse, in a fashion similar to euro coins. + +Equatorial Guinea, the only former Spanish colony in the zone, adopted the CFA in 1984. + +Gallery + +See also + +AM-Franc +Comorian franc +Currencies related to the euro +CFP franc +Réunion franc +Reichmark + +References + +External links + +History of the CFA franc +Franc zone information at Banque de France + (in French, but more extensive than the English version) +Decision of the Council of Europe on 23 November 1998 regarding the CFA and Comorian francs +"For better or worse: the euro and the CFA franc", Africa Recovery, Department of Public Information, United Nations (April 1999) + +Other +Central Bank of Madagascar + +The CFA franc zone and the EMU +Aubin Nzaou-Kongo, International Law and Monetary Sovereignty, African Review of Law, 2020 + +Economy of Benin +Economy of Chad +Currencies introduced in 1945 +Fixed exchange rate +French West Africa +Currencies of Cameroon +Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of internal and external existence. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debate by philosophers, theologians, and all of science. Opinions differ about what exactly needs to be studied or even considered consciousness. In some explanations, it is synonymous with the mind, and at other times, an aspect of mind. In the past, it was one's "inner life", the world of introspection, of private thought, imagination and volition. Today, it often includes any kind of cognition, experience, feeling or perception. It may be awareness, awareness of awareness, or self-awareness either continuously changing or not. The disparate range of research, notions and speculations raises a curiosity about whether the right questions are being asked. + +Examples of the range of descriptions, definitions or explanations are: simple wakefulness, one's sense of selfhood or soul explored by "looking within"; being a metaphorical "stream" of contents, or being a mental state, mental event or mental process of the brain. + +Etymology + +In the late 20th century, philosophers like Hamlyn, Rorty, and Wilkes have disagreed with Kahn, Hardie and Modrak as to whether Aristotle even had a concept of consciousness. Aristotle does not use any single word or terminology to name the phenomenon; it is used only much later, especially by John Locke. Caston contends that for Aristotle, perceptual awareness was somewhat the same as what modern philosophers call consciousness. + +The origin of the modern concept of consciousness is often attributed to Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding, published in 1690. Locke defined consciousness as "the perception of what passes in a man's own mind". His essay influenced the 18th-century view of consciousness, and his definition appeared in Samuel Johnson's celebrated Dictionary (1755). +"Consciousness" (French: conscience) is also defined in the 1753 volume of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie, as "the opinion or internal feeling that we ourselves have from what we do". + +The earliest English language uses of "conscious" and "consciousness" date back, however, to the 1500s. The English word "conscious" originally derived from the Latin conscius (con- "together" and scio "to know"), but the Latin word did not have the same meaning as the English word—it meant "knowing with", in other words, "having joint or common knowledge with another". There were, however, many occurrences in Latin writings of the phrase conscius sibi, which translates literally as "knowing with oneself", or in other words "sharing knowledge with oneself about something". This phrase had the figurative meaning of "knowing that one knows", as the modern English word "conscious" does. In its earliest uses in the 1500s, the English word "conscious" retained the meaning of the Latin conscius. For example, Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan wrote: "Where two, or more men, know of one and the same fact, they are said to be Conscious of it one to another." The Latin phrase conscius sibi, whose meaning was more closely related to the current concept of consciousness, was rendered in English as "conscious to oneself" or "conscious unto oneself". For example, Archbishop Ussher wrote in 1613 of "being so conscious unto myself of my great weakness". Locke's definition from 1690 illustrates that a gradual shift in meaning had taken place. + +A related word was conscientia, which primarily means moral conscience. In the literal sense, "conscientia" means knowledge-with, that is, shared knowledge. The word first appears in Latin juridical texts by writers such as Cicero. Here, conscientia is the knowledge that a witness has of the deed of someone else. René Descartes (1596–1650) is generally taken to be the first philosopher to use conscientia in a way that does not fit this traditional meaning. Descartes used conscientia the way modern speakers would use "conscience". In Search after Truth (, Amsterdam 1701) he says "conscience or internal testimony" (conscientiâ, vel interno testimonio). + +The problem of definition + +The dictionary definitions of the word consciousness extend through several centuries and reflect a range of seemingly related meanings, with some differences that have been controversial, such as the distinction between 'inward awareness' and 'perception' of the physical world, or the distinction between 'conscious' and 'unconscious', or the notion of a "mental entity" or "mental activity" that is not physical. + +The common usage definitions of consciousness in Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1966 edition, Volume 1, page 482) are as follows: + awareness or perception of an inward psychological or spiritual fact; intuitively perceived knowledge of something in one's inner self + inward awareness of an external object, state, or fact + concerned awareness; INTEREST, CONCERN—often used with an attributive noun [e.g. class consciousness] +the state or activity that is characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, or thought; mind in the broadest possible sense; something in nature that is distinguished from the physical +the totality in psychology of sensations, perceptions, ideas, attitudes, and feelings of which an individual or a group is aware at any given time or within a particular time span—compare STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS +waking life (as that to which one returns after sleep, trance, fever) wherein all one's mental powers have returned . . . +the part of mental life or psychic content in psychoanalysis that is immediately available to the ego—compare PRECONSCIOUS, UNCONSCIOUS + +The Cambridge Dictionary defines consciousness as "the state of understanding and realizing something." +The Oxford Living Dictionary defines consciousness as "The state of being aware of and responsive to one's surroundings.", "A person's awareness or perception of something." and "The fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world." + +Philosophers have attempted to clarify technical distinctions by using a jargon of their own. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy in 1998 defines consciousness as follows: + +Many philosophers and scientists have been unhappy about the difficulty of producing a definition that does not involve circularity or fuzziness. In The Macmillan Dictionary of Psychology (1989 edition), Stuart Sutherland expressed a skeptical attitude more than a definition: + +A partisan definition such as Sutherland's can hugely affect researchers' assumptions and the direction of their work: + +Many philosophers have argued that consciousness is a unitary concept that is understood by the majority of people despite the difficulty philosophers have had defining it. Others, though, have argued that the level of disagreement about the meaning of the word indicates that it either means different things to different people (for instance, the objective versus subjective aspects of consciousness), that it encompasses a variety of distinct meanings with no simple element in common, or that we should eliminate this concept from our understanding of the mind, a position known as consciousness semanticism. + +Inter-disciplinary perspectives +Western philosophers since the time of Descartes and Locke have struggled to comprehend the nature of consciousness and how it fits into a larger picture of the world. These questions remain central to both continental and analytic philosophy, in phenomenology and the philosophy of mind, respectively. + +Consciousness has also become a significant topic of interdisciplinary research in cognitive science, involving fields such as psychology, linguistics, anthropology, neuropsychology and neuroscience. The primary focus is on understanding what it means biologically and psychologically for information to be present in consciousness—that is, on determining the neural and psychological correlates of consciousness. + +In medicine, consciousness is assessed by observing a patient's arousal and responsiveness, and can be seen as a continuum of states ranging from full alertness and comprehension, through disorientation, delirium, loss of meaningful communication, and finally loss of movement in response to painful stimuli. Issues of practical concern include how the presence of consciousness can be assessed in severely ill, comatose, or anesthetized people, and how to treat conditions in which consciousness is impaired or disrupted. The degree of consciousness is measured by standardized behavior observation scales such as the Glasgow Coma Scale. + +Philosophy of mind +Most writers on the philosophy of consciousness have been concerned with defending a particular point of view, and have organized their material accordingly. For surveys, the most common approach is to follow a historical path by associating stances with the philosophers who are most strongly associated with them, for example, Descartes, Locke, Kant, etc. An alternative is to organize philosophical stances according to basic issues. + +Coherence of the concept +Philosophers differ from non-philosophers in their intuitions about what consciousness is. While most people have a strong intuition for the existence of what they refer to as consciousness, skeptics argue that this intuition is false, either because the concept of consciousness is intrinsically incoherent, or because our intuitions about it are based in illusions. Gilbert Ryle, for example, argued that traditional understanding of consciousness depends on a Cartesian dualist outlook that improperly distinguishes between mind and body, or between mind and world. He proposed that we speak not of minds, bodies, and the world, but of individuals, or persons, acting in the world. Thus, by speaking of "consciousness" we end up misleading ourselves by thinking that there is any sort of thing as consciousness separated from behavioral and linguistic understandings. + +Types +Ned Block argued that discussions on consciousness often failed to properly distinguish phenomenal (P-consciousness) from access (A-consciousness), though these terms had been used before Block. P-consciousness, according to Block, is raw experience: it is moving, colored forms, sounds, sensations, emotions and feelings with our bodies and responses at the center. These experiences, considered independently of any impact on behavior, are called qualia. A-consciousness, on the other hand, is the phenomenon whereby information in our minds is accessible for verbal report, reasoning, and the control of behavior. So, when we perceive, information about what we perceive is access conscious; when we introspect, information about our thoughts is access conscious; when we remember, information about the past is access conscious, and so on. Although some philosophers, such as Daniel Dennett, have disputed the validity of this distinction, others have broadly accepted it. David Chalmers has argued that A-consciousness can in principle be understood in mechanistic terms, but that understanding P-consciousness is much more challenging: he calls this the hard problem of consciousness. + +Some philosophers believe that Block's two types of consciousness are not the end of the story. William Lycan, for example, argued in his book Consciousness and Experience that at least eight clearly distinct types of consciousness can be identified (organism consciousness; control consciousness; consciousness of; state/event consciousness; reportability; introspective consciousness; subjective consciousness; self-consciousness)—and that even this list omits several more obscure forms. + +There is also debate over whether or not A-consciousness and P-consciousness always coexist or if they can exist separately. Although P-consciousness without A-consciousness is more widely accepted, there have been some hypothetical examples of A without P. Block, for instance, suggests the case of a "zombie" that is computationally identical to a person but without any subjectivity. However, he remains somewhat skeptical concluding "I don't know whether there are any actual cases of A-consciousness without P-consciousness, but I hope I have illustrated their conceptual possibility." + +Distinguishing consciousness from its contents +Sam Harris observes: "At the level of your experience, you are not a body of cells, organelles, and atoms; you are consciousness and its ever-changing contents". Seen in this way, consciousness is a subjectively experienced, ever-present field in which things (the contents of consciousness) come and go. + +Christopher Tricker argues that this field of consciousness is symbolized by the mythical bird that opens the Daoist classic the Zhuangzi. This bird’s name is Of a Flock (peng 鵬), yet its back is countless thousands of miles across and its wings are like clouds arcing across the heavens. "Like Of a Flock, whose wings arc across the heavens, the wings of your consciousness span to the horizon. At the same time, the wings of every other being’s consciousness span to the horizon. You are of a flock, one bird among kin." + +Mind–body problem + +Mental processes (such as consciousness) and physical processes (such as brain events) seem to be correlated, however the specific nature of the connection is unknown. + +The first influential philosopher to discuss this question specifically was Descartes, and the answer he gave is known as Cartesian dualism. Descartes proposed that consciousness resides within an immaterial domain he called res cogitans (the realm of thought), in contrast to the domain of material things, which he called res extensa (the realm of extension). He suggested that the interaction between these two domains occurs inside the brain, perhaps in a small midline structure called the pineal gland. + +Although it is widely accepted that Descartes explained the problem cogently, few later philosophers have been happy with his solution, and his ideas about the pineal gland have especially been ridiculed. However, no alternative solution has gained general acceptance. Proposed solutions can be divided broadly into two categories: dualist solutions that maintain Descartes's rigid distinction between the realm of consciousness and the realm of matter but give different answers for how the two realms relate to each other; and monist solutions that maintain that there is really only one realm of being, of which consciousness and matter are both aspects. Each of these categories itself contains numerous variants. The two main types of dualism are substance dualism (which holds that the mind is formed of a distinct type of substance not governed by the laws of physics) and property dualism (which holds that the laws of physics are universally valid but cannot be used to explain the mind). The three main types of monism are physicalism (which holds that the mind consists of matter organized in a particular way), idealism (which holds that only thought or experience truly exists, and matter is merely an illusion), and neutral monism (which holds that both mind and matter are aspects of a distinct essence that is itself identical to neither of them). There are also, however, a large number of idiosyncratic theories that cannot cleanly be assigned to any of these schools of thought. + +Since the dawn of Newtonian science with its vision of simple mechanical principles governing the entire universe, some philosophers have been tempted by the idea that consciousness could be explained in purely physical terms. The first influential writer to propose such an idea explicitly was Julien Offray de La Mettrie, in his book Man a Machine (L'homme machine). His arguments, however, were very abstract. The most influential modern physical theories of consciousness are based on psychology and neuroscience. Theories proposed by neuroscientists such as Gerald Edelman and Antonio Damasio, and by philosophers such as Daniel Dennett, seek to explain consciousness in terms of neural events occurring within the brain. Many other neuroscientists, such as Christof Koch, have explored the neural basis of consciousness without attempting to frame all-encompassing global theories. At the same time, computer scientists working in the field of artificial intelligence have pursued the goal of creating digital computer programs that can simulate or embody consciousness. + +A few theoretical physicists have argued that classical physics is intrinsically incapable of explaining the holistic aspects of consciousness, but that quantum theory may provide the missing ingredients. Several theorists have therefore proposed quantum mind (QM) theories of consciousness. Notable theories falling into this category include the holonomic brain theory of Karl Pribram and David Bohm, and the Orch-OR theory formulated by Stuart Hameroff and Roger Penrose. Some of these QM theories offer descriptions of phenomenal consciousness, as well as QM interpretations of access consciousness. None of the quantum mechanical theories have been confirmed by experiment. Recent publications by G. Guerreshi, J. Cia, S. Popescu, and H. Briegel could falsify proposals such as those of Hameroff, which rely on quantum entanglement in protein. At the present time many scientists and philosophers consider the arguments for an important role of quantum phenomena to be unconvincing. + +Apart from the general question of the "hard problem" of consciousness (which is, roughly speaking, the question of how mental experience can arise from a physical basis), a more specialized question is how to square the subjective notion that we are in control of our decisions (at least in some small measure) with the customary view of causality that subsequent events are caused by prior events. The topic of free will is the philosophical and scientific examination of this conundrum. + +Problem of other minds + +Many philosophers consider experience to be the essence of consciousness, and believe that experience can only fully be known from the inside, subjectively. But if consciousness is subjective and not visible from the outside, why do the vast majority of people believe that other people are conscious, but rocks and trees are not? This is called the problem of other minds. It is particularly acute for people who believe in the possibility of philosophical zombies, that is, people who think it is possible in principle to have an entity that is physically indistinguishable from a human being and behaves like a human being in every way but nevertheless lacks consciousness. Related issues have also been studied extensively by Greg Littmann of the University of Illinois, and by Colin Allen (a professor at the University of Pittsburgh) regarding the literature and research studying artificial intelligence in androids. + +The most commonly given answer is that we attribute consciousness to other people because we see that they resemble us in appearance and behavior; we reason that if they look like us and act like us, they must be like us in other ways, including having experiences of the sort that we do. There are, however, a variety of problems with that explanation. For one thing, it seems to violate the principle of parsimony, by postulating an invisible entity that is not necessary to explain what we observe. Some philosophers, such as Daniel Dennett in a research paper titled "The Unimagined Preposterousness of Zombies", argue that people who give this explanation do not really understand what they are saying. More broadly, philosophers who do not accept the possibility of zombies generally believe that consciousness is reflected in behavior (including verbal behavior), and that we attribute consciousness on the basis of behavior. A more straightforward way of saying this is that we attribute experiences to people because of what they can do, including the fact that they can tell us about their experiences. + +Scientific study +For many decades, consciousness as a research topic was avoided by the majority of mainstream scientists, because of a general feeling that a phenomenon defined in subjective terms could not properly be studied using objective experimental methods. In 1975 George Mandler published an influential psychological study which distinguished between slow, serial, and limited conscious processes and fast, parallel and extensive unconscious ones. The Science and Religion Forum 1984 annual conference, 'From Artificial Intelligence to Human Consciousness' identified the nature of consciousness as a matter for investigation; Donald Michie was a keynote speaker. Starting in the 1980s, an expanding community of neuroscientists and psychologists have associated themselves with a field called Consciousness Studies, giving rise to a stream of experimental work published in books, journals such as Consciousness and Cognition, Frontiers in Consciousness Research, Psyche, and the Journal of Consciousness Studies, along with regular conferences organized by groups such as the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness and the Society for Consciousness Studies. + +Modern medical and psychological investigations into consciousness are based on psychological experiments (including, for example, the investigation of priming effects using subliminal stimuli), and on case studies of alterations in consciousness produced by trauma, illness, or drugs. Broadly viewed, scientific approaches are based on two core concepts. The first identifies the content of consciousness with the experiences that are reported by human subjects; the second makes use of the concept of consciousness that has been developed by neurologists and other medical professionals who deal with patients whose behavior is impaired. In either case, the ultimate goals are to develop techniques for assessing consciousness objectively in humans as well as other animals, and to understand the neural and psychological mechanisms that underlie it. + +Measurement + +Experimental research on consciousness presents special difficulties, due to the lack of a universally accepted operational definition. In the majority of experiments that are specifically about consciousness, the subjects are human, and the criterion used is verbal report: in other words, subjects are asked to describe their experiences, and their descriptions are treated as observations of the contents of consciousness. For example, subjects who stare continuously at a Necker cube usually report that they experience it "flipping" between two 3D configurations, even though the stimulus itself remains the same. The objective is to understand the relationship between the conscious awareness of stimuli (as indicated by verbal report) and the effects the stimuli have on brain activity and behavior. In several paradigms, such as the technique of response priming, the behavior of subjects is clearly influenced by stimuli for which they report no awareness, and suitable experimental manipulations can lead to increasing priming effects despite decreasing prime identification (double dissociation). + +Verbal report is widely considered to be the most reliable indicator of consciousness, but it raises a number of issues. For one thing, if verbal reports are treated as observations, akin to observations in other branches of science, then the possibility arises that they may contain errors—but it is difficult to make sense of the idea that subjects could be wrong about their own experiences, and even more difficult to see how such an error could be detected. Daniel Dennett has argued for an approach he calls heterophenomenology, which means treating verbal reports as stories that may or may not be true, but his ideas about how to do this have not been widely adopted. Another issue with verbal report as a criterion is that it restricts the field of study to humans who have language: this approach cannot be used to study consciousness in other species, pre-linguistic children, or people with types of brain damage that impair language. As a third issue, philosophers who dispute the validity of the Turing test may feel that it is possible, at least in principle, for verbal report to be dissociated from consciousness entirely: a philosophical zombie may give detailed verbal reports of awareness in the absence of any genuine awareness. + +Although verbal report is in practice the "gold standard" for ascribing consciousness, it is not the only possible criterion. In medicine, consciousness is assessed as a combination of verbal behavior, arousal, brain activity and purposeful movement. The last three of these can be used as indicators of consciousness when verbal behavior is absent. The scientific literature regarding the neural bases of arousal and purposeful movement is very extensive. Their reliability as indicators of consciousness is disputed, however, due to numerous studies showing that alert human subjects can be induced to behave purposefully in a variety of ways in spite of reporting a complete lack of awareness. Studies of the neuroscience of free will have also shown that the experiences that people report when they behave purposefully sometimes do not correspond to their actual behaviors or to the patterns of electrical activity recorded from their brains. + +Another approach applies specifically to the study of self-awareness, that is, the ability to distinguish oneself from others. In the 1970s Gordon Gallup developed an operational test for self-awareness, known as the mirror test. The test examines whether animals are able to differentiate between seeing themselves in a mirror versus seeing other animals. The classic example involves placing a spot of coloring on the skin or fur near the individual's forehead and seeing if they attempt to remove it or at least touch the spot, thus indicating that they recognize that the individual they are seeing in the mirror is themselves. Humans (older than 18 months) and other great apes, bottlenose dolphins, orcas, pigeons, European magpies and elephants have all been observed to pass this test. + +Neural correlates + +A major part of the scientific literature on consciousness consists of studies that examine the relationship between the experiences reported by subjects and the activity that simultaneously takes place in their brains—that is, studies of the neural correlates of consciousness. The hope is to find that activity in a particular part of the brain, or a particular pattern of global brain activity, which will be strongly predictive of conscious awareness. Several brain imaging techniques, such as EEG and fMRI, have been used for physical measures of brain activity in these studies. + +Another idea that has drawn attention for several decades is that consciousness is associated with high-frequency (gamma band) oscillations in brain activity. This idea arose from proposals in the 1980s, by Christof von der Malsburg and Wolf Singer, that gamma oscillations could solve the so-called binding problem, by linking information represented in different parts of the brain into a unified experience. Rodolfo Llinás, for example, proposed that consciousness results from recurrent thalamo-cortical resonance where the specific thalamocortical systems (content) and the non-specific (centromedial thalamus) thalamocortical systems (context) interact in the gamma band frequency via synchronous oscillations. + +A number of studies have shown that activity in primary sensory areas of the brain is not sufficient to produce consciousness: it is possible for subjects to report a lack of awareness even when areas such as the primary visual cortex (V1) show clear electrical responses to a stimulus. Higher brain areas are seen as more promising, especially the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in a range of higher cognitive functions collectively known as executive functions. There is substantial evidence that a "top-down" flow of neural activity (i.e., activity propagating from the frontal cortex to sensory areas) is more predictive of conscious awareness than a "bottom-up" flow of activity. The prefrontal cortex is not the only candidate area, however: studies by Nikos Logothetis and his colleagues have shown, for example, that visually responsive neurons in parts of the temporal lobe reflect the visual perception in the situation when conflicting visual images are presented to different eyes (i.e., bistable percepts during binocular rivalry). Furthermore, top-down feedback from higher to lower visual brain areas may be weaker or absent in the peripheral visual field, as suggested by some experimental data and theoretical arguments; nevertheless humans can perceive visual inputs in the peripheral visual field arising from bottom-up V1 neural activities. Meanwhile, bottom-up V1 activities for the central visual fields can be vetoed, and thus made invisible to perception, by the top-down feedback, when these bottom-up signals are inconsistent with the brain's internal model of the visual world. + +Modulation of neural responses may correlate with phenomenal experiences. In contrast to the raw electrical responses that do not correlate with consciousness, the modulation of these responses by other stimuli correlates surprisingly well with an important aspect of consciousness: namely with the phenomenal experience of stimulus intensity (brightness, contrast). In the research group of Danko Nikolić it has been shown that some of the changes in the subjectively perceived brightness correlated with the modulation of firing rates while others correlated with the modulation of neural synchrony. An fMRI investigation suggested that these findings were strictly limited to the primary visual areas. This indicates that, in the primary visual areas, changes in firing rates and synchrony can be considered as neural correlates of qualia—at least for some type of qualia. + +In 2013, the perturbational complexity index (PCI) was proposed, a measure of the algorithmic complexity of the electrophysiological response of the cortex to transcranial magnetic stimulation. This measure was shown to be higher in individuals that are awake, in REM sleep or in a locked-in state than in those who are in deep sleep or in a vegetative state, making it potentially useful as a quantitative assessment of consciousness states. + +Assuming that not only humans but even some non-mammalian species are conscious, a number of evolutionary approaches to the problem of neural correlates of consciousness open up. For example, assuming that birds are conscious—a common assumption among neuroscientists and ethologists due to the extensive cognitive repertoire of birds—there are comparative neuroanatomical ways to validate some of the principal, currently competing, mammalian consciousness–brain theories. The rationale for such a comparative study is that the avian brain deviates structurally from the mammalian brain. So how similar are they? What homologs can be identified? The general conclusion from the study by Butler, et al., is that some of the major theories for the mammalian brain also appear to be valid for the avian brain. The structures assumed to be critical for consciousness in mammalian brains have homologous counterparts in avian brains. Thus the main portions of the theories of Crick and Koch, Edelman and Tononi, and Cotterill seem to be compatible with the assumption that birds are conscious. Edelman also differentiates between what he calls primary consciousness (which is a trait shared by humans and non-human animals) and higher-order consciousness as it appears in humans alone along with human language capacity. Certain aspects of the three theories, however, seem less easy to apply to the hypothesis of avian consciousness. For instance, the suggestion by Crick and Koch that layer 5 neurons of the mammalian brain have a special role, seems difficult to apply to the avian brain, since the avian homologs have a different morphology. Likewise, the theory of Eccles seems incompatible, since a structural homolog/analogue to the dendron has not been found in avian brains. The assumption of an avian consciousness also brings the reptilian brain into focus. The reason is the structural continuity between avian and reptilian brains, meaning that the phylogenetic origin of consciousness may be earlier than suggested by many leading neuroscientists. + +Joaquin Fuster of UCLA has advocated the position of the importance of the prefrontal cortex in humans, along with the areas of Wernicke and Broca, as being of particular importance to the development of human language capacities neuro-anatomically necessary for the emergence of higher-order consciousness in humans. + +A study in 2016 looked at lesions in specific areas of the brainstem that were associated with coma and vegetative states. A small region of the rostral dorsolateral pontine tegmentum in the brainstem was suggested to drive consciousness through functional connectivity with two cortical regions, the left ventral anterior insular cortex, and the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex. These three regions may work together as a triad to maintain consciousness. + +Models + +A wide range of empirical theories of consciousness have been proposed. Adrian Doerig and colleagues list 13 notable theories, while Anil Seth and Tim Bayne list 22 notable theories. + +Global workspace theory (GWT) is a cognitive architecture and theory of consciousness proposed by the cognitive psychologist Bernard Baars in 1988. Baars explains the theory with the metaphor of a theater, with conscious processes represented by an illuminated stage. This theater integrates inputs from a variety of unconscious and otherwise autonomous networks in the brain and then broadcasts them to unconscious networks (represented in the metaphor by a broad, unlit "audience"). The theory has since been expanded upon by other scientists including cognitive neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene and Lionel Naccache. + +Integrated information theory (IIT) postulates that consciousness resides in the information being processed and arises once the information reaches a certain level of complexity. Proponents of this model suggest that it may provide a physical grounding for consciousness in neurons, as they provide the mechanism by which information is integrated. + +Orchestrated objective reduction (Orch OR) postulates that consciousness originates at the quantum level inside neurons. The mechanism is held to be a quantum process called objective reduction that is orchestrated by cellular structures called microtubules. However the details of the mechanism would go beyond current quantum theory. + +In 2011, Graziano and Kastner proposed the "attention schema" theory of awareness. In that theory, specific cortical areas, notably in the superior temporal sulcus and the temporo-parietal junction, are used to build the construct of awareness and attribute it to other people. The same cortical machinery is also used to attribute awareness to oneself. Damage to these cortical regions can lead to deficits in consciousness such as hemispatial neglect. In the attention schema theory, the value of explaining the feature of awareness and attributing it to a person is to gain a useful predictive model of that person's attentional processing. Attention is a style of information processing in which a brain focuses its resources on a limited set of interrelated signals. Awareness, in this theory, is a useful, simplified schema that represents attentional states. To be aware of X is explained by constructing a model of one's attentional focus on X. + +The entropic brain is a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs. The theory suggests that the brain in primary states such as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, early psychosis and under the influence of psychedelic drugs, is in a disordered state; normal waking consciousness constrains some of this freedom and makes possible metacognitive functions such as internal self-administered reality testing and self-awareness. Criticism has included questioning whether the theory has been adequately tested. + +In 2017, work by David Rudrauf and colleagues, including Karl Friston, applied the active inference paradigm to consciousness, a model of how sensory data is integrated with priors in a process of projective transformation. The authors argue that, while their model identifies a key relationship between computation and phenomenology, it does not completely solve the hard problem of consciousness or completely close the explanatory gap. + +Biological function and evolution +Opinions are divided as to where in biological evolution consciousness emerged and about whether or not consciousness has any survival value. Some argue that consciousness is a byproduct of evolution. It has been argued that consciousness emerged (i) exclusively with the first humans, (ii) exclusively with the first mammals, (iii) independently in mammals and birds, or (iv) with the first reptiles. Other authors date the origins of consciousness to the first animals with nervous systems or early vertebrates in the Cambrian over 500 million years ago. Donald Griffin suggests in his book Animal Minds a gradual evolution of consciousness. Each of these scenarios raises the question of the possible survival value of consciousness. + +Thomas Henry Huxley defends in an essay titled On the Hypothesis that Animals are Automata, and its History an epiphenomenalist theory of consciousness according to which consciousness is a causally inert effect of neural activity—"as the steam-whistle which accompanies the work of a locomotive engine is without influence upon its machinery". To this William James objects in his essay Are We Automata? by stating an evolutionary argument for mind-brain interaction implying that if the preservation and development of consciousness in the biological evolution is a result of natural selection, it is plausible that consciousness has not only been influenced by neural processes, but has had a survival value itself; and it could only have had this if it had been efficacious. Karl Popper develops a similar evolutionary argument in the book The Self and Its Brain. + +Regarding the primary function of conscious processing, a recurring idea in recent theories is that phenomenal states somehow integrate neural activities and information-processing that would otherwise be independent. This has been called the integration consensus. Another example has been proposed by Gerald Edelman called dynamic core hypothesis which puts emphasis on reentrant connections that reciprocally link areas of the brain in a massively parallel manner. Edelman also stresses the importance of the evolutionary emergence of higher-order consciousness in humans from the historically older trait of primary consciousness which humans share with non-human animals (see Neural correlates section above). These theories of integrative function present solutions to two classic problems associated with consciousness: differentiation and unity. They show how our conscious experience can discriminate between a virtually unlimited number of different possible scenes and details (differentiation) because it integrates those details from our sensory systems, while the integrative nature of consciousness in this view easily explains how our experience can seem unified as one whole despite all of these individual parts. However, it remains unspecified which kinds of information are integrated in a conscious manner and which kinds can be integrated without consciousness. Nor is it explained what specific causal role conscious integration plays, nor why the same functionality cannot be achieved without consciousness. Obviously not all kinds of information are capable of being disseminated consciously (e.g., neural activity related to vegetative functions, reflexes, unconscious motor programs, low-level perceptual analyzes, etc.) and many kinds of information can be disseminated and combined with other kinds without consciousness, as in intersensory interactions such as the ventriloquism effect. Hence it remains unclear why any of it is conscious. For a review of the differences between conscious and unconscious integrations, see the article of Ezequiel Morsella. + +As noted earlier, even among writers who consider consciousness to be well-defined, there is widespread dispute about which animals other than humans can be said to possess it. Edelman has described this distinction as that of humans possessing higher-order consciousness while sharing the trait of primary consciousness with non-human animals (see previous paragraph). Thus, any examination of the evolution of consciousness is faced with great difficulties. Nevertheless, some writers have argued that consciousness can be viewed from the standpoint of evolutionary biology as an adaptation in the sense of a trait that increases fitness. In his article "Evolution of consciousness", John Eccles argued that special anatomical and physical properties of the mammalian cerebral cortex gave rise to consciousness ("[a] psychon ... linked to [a] dendron through quantum physics"). Bernard Baars proposed that once in place, this "recursive" circuitry may have provided a basis for the subsequent development of many of the functions that consciousness facilitates in higher organisms. Peter Carruthers has put forth one such potential adaptive advantage gained by conscious creatures by suggesting that consciousness allows an individual to make distinctions between appearance and reality. This ability would enable a creature to recognize the likelihood that their perceptions are deceiving them (e.g. that water in the distance may be a mirage) and behave accordingly, and it could also facilitate the manipulation of others by recognizing how things appear to them for both cooperative and devious ends. + +Other philosophers, however, have suggested that consciousness would not be necessary for any functional advantage in evolutionary processes. No one has given a causal explanation, they argue, of why it would not be possible for a functionally equivalent non-conscious organism (i.e., a philosophical zombie) to achieve the very same survival advantages as a conscious organism. If evolutionary processes are blind to the difference between function F being performed by conscious organism O and non-conscious organism O*, it is unclear what adaptive advantage consciousness could provide. As a result, an exaptive explanation of consciousness has gained favor with some theorists that posit consciousness did not evolve as an adaptation but was an exaptation arising as a consequence of other developments such as increases in brain size or cortical rearrangement. Consciousness in this sense has been compared to the blind spot in the retina where it is not an adaption of the retina, but instead just a by-product of the way the retinal axons were wired. Several scholars including Pinker, Chomsky, Edelman, and Luria have indicated the importance of the emergence of human language as an important regulative mechanism of learning and memory in the context of the development of higher-order consciousness (see Neural correlates section above). + +Altered states + +There are some brain states in which consciousness seems to be absent, including dreamless sleep or coma. There are also a variety of circumstances that can change the relationship between the mind and the world in less drastic ways, producing what are known as altered states of consciousness. Some altered states occur naturally; others can be produced by drugs or brain damage. Altered states can be accompanied by changes in thinking, disturbances in the sense of time, feelings of loss of control, changes in emotional expression, alternations in body image and changes in meaning or significance. + +The two most widely accepted altered states are sleep and dreaming. Although dream sleep and non-dream sleep appear very similar to an outside observer, each is associated with a distinct pattern of brain activity, metabolic activity, and eye movement; each is also associated with a distinct pattern of experience and cognition. During ordinary non-dream sleep, people who are awakened report only vague and sketchy thoughts, and their experiences do not cohere into a continuous narrative. During dream sleep, in contrast, people who are awakened report rich and detailed experiences in which events form a continuous progression, which may however be interrupted by bizarre or fantastic intrusions. Thought processes during the dream state frequently show a high level of irrationality. Both dream and non-dream states are associated with severe disruption of memory: it usually disappears in seconds during the non-dream state, and in minutes after awakening from a dream unless actively refreshed. + +Research conducted on the effects of partial epileptic seizures on consciousness found that patients who have partial epileptic seizures experience altered states of consciousness. In partial epileptic seizures, consciousness is impaired or lost while some aspects of consciousness, often automated behaviors, remain intact. Studies found that when measuring the qualitative features during partial epileptic seizures, patients exhibited an increase in arousal and became absorbed in the experience of the seizure, followed by difficulty in focusing and shifting attention. + +A variety of psychoactive drugs, including alcohol, have notable effects on consciousness. These range from a simple dulling of awareness produced by sedatives, to increases in the intensity of sensory qualities produced by stimulants, cannabis, empathogens–entactogens such as MDMA ("Ecstasy"), or most notably by the class of drugs known as psychedelics. LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, dimethyltryptamine, and others in this group can produce major distortions of perception, including hallucinations; some users even describe their drug-induced experiences as mystical or spiritual in quality. The brain mechanisms underlying these effects are not as well understood as those induced by use of alcohol, but there is substantial evidence that alterations in the brain system that uses the chemical neurotransmitter serotonin play an essential role. + +There has been some research into physiological changes in yogis and people who practise various techniques of meditation. Some research with brain waves during meditation has reported differences between those corresponding to ordinary relaxation and those corresponding to meditation. It has been disputed, however, whether there is enough evidence to count these as physiologically distinct states of consciousness. + +The most extensive study of the characteristics of altered states of consciousness was made by psychologist Charles Tart in the 1960s and 1970s. Tart analyzed a state of consciousness as made up of a number of component processes, including exteroception (sensing the external world); interoception (sensing the body); input-processing (seeing meaning); emotions; memory; time sense; sense of identity; evaluation and cognitive processing; motor output; and interaction with the environment. Each of these, in his view, could be altered in multiple ways by drugs or other manipulations. The components that Tart identified have not, however, been validated by empirical studies. Research in this area has not yet reached firm conclusions, but a recent questionnaire-based study identified eleven significant factors contributing to drug-induced states of consciousness: experience of unity; spiritual experience; blissful state; insightfulness; disembodiment; impaired control and cognition; anxiety; complex imagery; elementary imagery; audio-visual synesthesia; and changed meaning of percepts. + +Medical aspects +The medical approach to consciousness is scientifically oriented. It derives from a need to treat people whose brain function has been impaired as a result of disease, brain damage, toxins, or drugs. In medicine, conceptual distinctions are considered useful to the degree that they can help to guide treatments. The medical approach focuses mostly on the amount of consciousness a person has: in medicine, consciousness is assessed as a "level" ranging from coma and brain death at the low end, to full alertness and purposeful responsiveness at the high end. + +Consciousness is of concern to patients and physicians, especially neurologists and anesthesiologists. Patients may have disorders of consciousness or may need to be anesthetized for a surgical procedure. Physicians may perform consciousness-related interventions such as instructing the patient to sleep, administering general anesthesia, or inducing medical coma. Also, bioethicists may be concerned with the ethical implications of consciousness in medical cases of patients such as the Karen Ann Quinlan case, while neuroscientists may study patients with impaired consciousness in hopes of gaining information about how the brain works. + +Assessment +In medicine, consciousness is examined using a set of procedures known as neuropsychological assessment. There are two commonly used methods for assessing the level of consciousness of a patient: a simple procedure that requires minimal training, and a more complex procedure that requires substantial expertise. The simple procedure begins by asking whether the patient is able to move and react to physical stimuli. If so, the next question is whether the patient can respond in a meaningful way to questions and commands. If so, the patient is asked for name, current location, and current day and time. A patient who can answer all of these questions is said to be "alert and oriented times four" (sometimes denoted "A&Ox4" on a medical chart), and is usually considered fully conscious. + +The more complex procedure is known as a neurological examination, and is usually carried out by a neurologist in a hospital setting. A formal neurological examination runs through a precisely delineated series of tests, beginning with tests for basic sensorimotor reflexes, and culminating with tests for sophisticated use of language. The outcome may be summarized using the Glasgow Coma Scale, which yields a number in the range 3–15, with a score of 3 to 8 indicating coma, and 15 indicating full consciousness. The Glasgow Coma Scale has three subscales, measuring the best motor response (ranging from "no motor response" to "obeys commands"), the best eye response (ranging from "no eye opening" to "eyes opening spontaneously") and the best verbal response (ranging from "no verbal response" to "fully oriented"). There is also a simpler pediatric version of the scale, for children too young to be able to use language. + +In 2013, an experimental procedure was developed to measure degrees of consciousness, the procedure involving stimulating the brain with a magnetic pulse, measuring resulting waves of electrical activity, and developing a consciousness score based on the complexity of the brain activity. + +Disorders +Medical conditions that inhibit consciousness are considered disorders of consciousness. This category generally includes minimally conscious state and persistent vegetative state, but sometimes also includes the less severe locked-in syndrome and more severe chronic coma. Differential diagnosis of these disorders is an active area of biomedical research. Finally, brain death results in possible irreversible disruption of consciousness. While other conditions may cause a moderate deterioration (e.g., dementia and delirium) or transient interruption (e.g., grand mal and petit mal seizures) of consciousness, they are not included in this category. + +Medical experts increasingly view anosognosia as a disorder of consciousness. Anosognosia is a Greek-derived term meaning "unawareness of disease". This is a condition in which patients are disabled in some way, most commonly as a result of a stroke, but either misunderstand the nature of the problem or deny that there is anything wrong with them. The most frequently occurring form is seen in people who have experienced a stroke damaging the parietal lobe in the right hemisphere of the brain, giving rise to a syndrome known as hemispatial neglect, characterized by an inability to direct action or attention toward objects located to the left with respect to their bodies. Patients with hemispatial neglect are often paralyzed on the left side of the body, but sometimes deny being unable to move. When questioned about the obvious problem, the patient may avoid giving a direct answer, or may give an explanation that does not make sense. Patients with hemispatial neglect may also fail to recognize paralyzed parts of their bodies: one frequently mentioned case is of a man who repeatedly tried to throw his own paralyzed right leg out of the bed he was lying in, and when asked what he was doing, complained that somebody had put a dead leg into the bed with him. An even more striking type of anosognosia is Anton–Babinski syndrome, a rarely occurring condition in which patients become blind but claim to be able to see normally, and persist in this claim in spite of all evidence to the contrary. + +Outside human adults + +In children + +Of the eight types of consciousness in the Lycan classification, some are detectable in utero and others develop years after birth. Psychologist and educator William Foulkes studied children's dreams and concluded that prior to the shift in cognitive maturation that humans experience during ages five to seven, children lack the Lockean consciousness that Lycan had labeled "introspective consciousness" and that Foulkes labels "self-reflection." In a 2020 paper, Katherine Nelson and Robyn Fivush use "autobiographical consciousness" to label essentially the same faculty, and agree with Foulkes on the timing of this faculty's acquisition. Nelson and Fivush contend that "language is the tool by which humans create a new, uniquely human form of consciousness, namely, autobiographical consciousness." Julian Jaynes had staked out these positions decades earlier. Citing the developmental steps that lead the infant to autobiographical consciousness, Nelson and Fivush point to the acquisition of "theory of mind," calling theory of mind "necessary for autobiographical consciousness" and defining it as "understanding differences between one's own mind and others' minds in terms of beliefs, desires, emotions and thoughts." They write, "The hallmark of theory of mind, the understanding of false belief, occurs ... at five to six years of age." + +In animals + +The topic of animal consciousness is beset by a number of difficulties. It poses the problem of other minds in an especially severe form, because non-human animals, lacking the ability to express human language, cannot tell humans about their experiences. Also, it is difficult to reason objectively about the question, because a denial that an animal is conscious is often taken to imply that it does not feel, its life has no value, and that harming it is not morally wrong. Descartes, for example, has sometimes been blamed for mistreatment of animals due to the fact that he believed only humans have a non-physical mind. Most people have a strong intuition that some animals, such as cats and dogs, are conscious, while others, such as insects, are not; but the sources of this intuition are not obvious, and are often based on personal interactions with pets and other animals they have observed. + +Philosophers who consider subjective experience the essence of consciousness also generally believe, as a correlate, that the existence and nature of animal consciousness can never rigorously be known. Thomas Nagel spelled out this point of view in an influential essay titled What Is it Like to Be a Bat?. He said that an organism is conscious "if and only if there is something that it is like to be that organism—something it is like for the organism"; and he argued that no matter how much we know about an animal's brain and behavior, we can never really put ourselves into the mind of the animal and experience its world in the way it does itself. Other thinkers, such as Douglas Hofstadter, dismiss this argument as incoherent. Several psychologists and ethologists have argued for the existence of animal consciousness by describing a range of behaviors that appear to show animals holding beliefs about things they cannot directly perceive—Donald Griffin's 2001 book Animal Minds reviews a substantial portion of the evidence. + +On July 7, 2012, eminent scientists from different branches of neuroscience gathered at the University of Cambridge to celebrate the Francis Crick Memorial Conference, which deals with consciousness in humans and pre-linguistic consciousness in nonhuman animals. After the conference, they signed in the presence of Stephen Hawking, the 'Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness', which summarizes the most important findings of the survey: + +"We decided to reach a consensus and make a statement directed to the public that is not scientific. It's obvious to everyone in this room that animals have consciousness, but it is not obvious to the rest of the world. It is not obvious to the rest of the Western world or the Far East. It is not obvious to the society." + +"Convergent evidence indicates that non-human animals ..., including all mammals and birds, and other creatures, ... have the necessary neural substrates of consciousness and the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors." + +In artificial intelligence + +The idea of an artifact made conscious is an ancient theme of mythology, appearing for example in the Greek myth of Pygmalion, who carved a statue that was magically brought to life, and in medieval Jewish stories of the Golem, a magically animated homunculus built of clay. However, the possibility of actually constructing a conscious machine was probably first discussed by Ada Lovelace, in a set of notes written in 1842 about the Analytical Engine invented by Charles Babbage, a precursor (never built) to modern electronic computers. Lovelace was essentially dismissive of the idea that a machine such as the Analytical Engine could think in a humanlike way. She wrote: + +One of the most influential contributions to this question was an essay written in 1950 by pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, titled Computing Machinery and Intelligence. Turing disavowed any interest in terminology, saying that even "Can machines think?" is too loaded with spurious connotations to be meaningful; but he proposed to replace all such questions with a specific operational test, which has become known as the Turing test. To pass the test, a computer must be able to imitate a human well enough to fool interrogators. In his essay Turing discussed a variety of possible objections, and presented a counterargument to each of them. The Turing test is commonly cited in discussions of artificial intelligence as a proposed criterion for machine consciousness; it has provoked a great deal of philosophical debate. For example, Daniel Dennett and Douglas Hofstadter argue that anything capable of passing the Turing test is necessarily conscious, while David Chalmers argues that a philosophical zombie could pass the test, yet fail to be conscious. A third group of scholars have argued that with technological growth once machines begin to display any substantial signs of human-like behavior then the dichotomy (of human consciousness compared to human-like consciousness) becomes passé and issues of machine autonomy begin to prevail even as observed in its nascent form within contemporary industry and technology. Jürgen Schmidhuber argues that consciousness is the result of compression. As an agent sees representation of itself recurring in the environment, the compression of this representation can be called consciousness. + +In a lively exchange over what has come to be referred to as "the Chinese room argument", John Searle sought to refute the claim of proponents of what he calls "strong artificial intelligence (AI)" that a computer program can be conscious, though he does agree with advocates of "weak AI" that computer programs can be formatted to "simulate" conscious states. His own view is that consciousness has subjective, first-person causal powers by being essentially intentional due to the way human brains function biologically; conscious persons can perform computations, but consciousness is not inherently computational the way computer programs are. To make a Turing machine that speaks Chinese, Searle imagines a room with one monolingual English speaker (Searle himself, in fact), a book that designates a combination of Chinese symbols to be output paired with Chinese symbol input, and boxes filled with Chinese symbols. In this case, the English speaker is acting as a computer and the rulebook as a program. Searle argues that with such a machine, he would be able to process the inputs to outputs perfectly without having any understanding of Chinese, nor having any idea what the questions and answers could possibly mean. If the experiment were done in English, since Searle knows English, he would be able to take questions and give answers without any algorithms for English questions, and he would be effectively aware of what was being said and the purposes it might serve. Searle would pass the Turing test of answering the questions in both languages, but he is only conscious of what he is doing when he speaks English. Another way of putting the argument is to say that computer programs can pass the Turing test for processing the syntax of a language, but that the syntax cannot lead to semantic meaning in the way strong AI advocates hoped. + +In the literature concerning artificial intelligence, Searle's essay has been second only to Turing's in the volume of debate it has generated. Searle himself was vague about what extra ingredients it would take to make a machine conscious: all he proposed was that what was needed was "causal powers" of the sort that the brain has and that computers lack. But other thinkers sympathetic to his basic argument have suggested that the necessary (though perhaps still not sufficient) extra conditions may include the ability to pass not just the verbal version of the Turing test, but the robotic version, which requires grounding the robot's words in the robot's sensorimotor capacity to categorize and interact with the things in the world that its words are about, Turing-indistinguishably from a real person. Turing-scale robotics is an empirical branch of research on embodied cognition and situated cognition. + +In 2014, Victor Argonov has suggested a non-Turing test for machine consciousness based on a machine's ability to produce philosophical judgments. He argues that a deterministic machine must be regarded as conscious if it is able to produce judgments on all problematic properties of consciousness (such as qualia or binding) having no innate (preloaded) philosophical knowledge on these issues, no philosophical discussions while learning, and no informational models of other creatures in its memory (such models may implicitly or explicitly contain knowledge about these creatures' consciousness). However, this test can be used only to detect, but not refute the existence of consciousness. A positive result proves that a machine is conscious but a negative result proves nothing. For example, absence of philosophical judgments may be caused by lack of the machine's intellect, not by absence of consciousness. + +Stream of consciousness + +William James is usually credited with popularizing the idea that human consciousness flows like a stream, in his Principles of Psychology of 1890. + +According to James, the "stream of thought" is governed by five characteristics: + Every thought tends to be part of a personal consciousness. + Within each personal consciousness thought is always changing. + Within each personal consciousness thought is sensibly continuous. + It always appears to deal with objects independent of itself. + It is interested in some parts of these objects to the exclusion of others. + +A similar concept appears in Buddhist philosophy, expressed by the Sanskrit term Citta-saṃtāna, which is usually translated as mindstream or "mental continuum". Buddhist teachings describe that consciousness manifests moment to moment as sense impressions and mental phenomena that are continuously changing. The teachings list six triggers that can result in the generation of different mental events. These triggers are input from the five senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or touch sensations), or a thought (relating to the past, present or the future) that happen to arise in the mind. The mental events generated as a result of these triggers are: feelings, perceptions and intentions/behaviour. The moment-by-moment manifestation of the mind-stream is said to happen in every person all the time. It even happens in a scientist who analyzes various phenomena in the world, or analyzes the material body including the organ brain. The manifestation of the mindstream is also described as being influenced by physical laws, biological laws, psychological laws, volitional laws, and universal laws. The purpose of the Buddhist practice of mindfulness is to understand the inherent nature of the consciousness and its characteristics. + +Narrative form + +In the West, the primary impact of the idea has been on literature rather than science: "stream of consciousness as a narrative mode" means writing in a way that attempts to portray the moment-to-moment thoughts and experiences of a character. This technique perhaps had its beginnings in the monologs of Shakespeare's plays and reached its fullest development in the novels of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, although it has also been used by many other noted writers. + +Here, for example, is a passage from Joyce's Ulysses about the thoughts of Molly Bloom: + +Spiritual approaches + +To most philosophers, the word "consciousness" connotes the relationship between the mind and the world. To writers on spiritual or religious topics, it frequently connotes the relationship between the mind and God, or the relationship between the mind and deeper truths that are thought to be more fundamental than the physical world. The mystical psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke, author of the 1901 book Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind, +distinguished between three types of consciousness: 'Simple Consciousness', awareness of the body, possessed by many animals; 'Self Consciousness', awareness of being aware, possessed only by humans; and 'Cosmic Consciousness', awareness of the life and order of the universe, possessed only by humans who are enlightened. Many more examples could be given, such as the various levels of spiritual consciousness presented by Prem Saran Satsangi and Stuart Hameroff. + +Another thorough account of the spiritual approach is Ken Wilber's 1977 book The Spectrum of Consciousness, a comparison of western and eastern ways of thinking about the mind. Wilber described consciousness as a spectrum with ordinary awareness at one end, and more profound types of awareness at higher levels. + +See also + + Chaitanya (consciousness): Pure consciousness in Hindu philosophy. + Models of consciousness: Ideas for a scientific mechanism underlying consciousness. + Plant perception (paranormal): A pseudoscientific theory. + Sakshi (Witness): Pure awareness in Hindu philosophy. + Vertiginous question: On the uniqueness of a person's consciousness. + Reality + +References + +Further reading + +External links + + + + + + + +Cognitive neuroscience +Cognitive psychology +Concepts in epistemology +Metaphysical properties +Concepts in the philosophy of mind +Concepts in the philosophy of science +Emergence +Mental processes +Metaphysics of mind +Neuropsychological assessment +Ontology +Phenomenology +Theory of mind +A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. +A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use within a specific environment over time, especially for people in a nation state. Under this definition, the British Pound Sterling (£), euros (€), Japanese yen (¥), and U.S. dollars (US$) are examples of (government-issued) fiat currencies. Currencies may act as stores of value and be traded between nations in foreign exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are either chosen by users or decreed by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance; i.e., legal tender laws may require a particular unit of account for payments to government agencies. + +Other definitions of the term "currency" appear in the respective synonymous articles: banknote, coin, and money. This article uses the definition which focuses on the currency systems of countries. + +One can classify currencies into three monetary systems: fiat money, commodity money, and representative money, depending on what guarantees a currency's value (the economy at large vs. the government's physical metal reserves). Some currencies function as legal tender in certain jurisdictions, or for specific purposes, such as payment to a government (taxes), or government agencies (fees, fines). Others simply get traded for their economic value. + +The concept of digital currencies has arisen in recent years. Whether government-backed digital notes and coins (such as the digital renminbi in China, for example) will be successfully developed and implemented remains unknown. Digital currencies that are not issued by a government monetary authority, such as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, are different because their value is market-dependent and has no safety net. Various countries have expressed concern about the opportunities that cryptocurrencies create for illegal activities such as scams, ransomware (extortion), money laundering and terrorism. In 2014, the United States IRS advised that virtual currency is treated as property for Federal income-tax purposes, and it provides examples of how long-standing tax principles applicable to transactions involving property apply to virtual currency. + +History + +Early currency + +Originally, currency was a form of receipt, representing grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia and in Ancient Egypt. + +In this first stage of currency, metals were used as symbols to represent value stored in the form of commodities. This formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. However, the collapse of the Near Eastern trading system pointed to a flaw: in an era where there was no place that was safe to store value, the value of a circulating medium could only be as sound as the forces that defended that store. A trade could only reach as far as the credibility of that military. By the late Bronze Age, however, a series of treaties had established safe passage for merchants around the Eastern Mediterranean, spreading from Minoan Crete and Mycenae in the northwest to Elam and Bahrain in the southeast. It is not known what was used as a currency for these exchanges, but it is thought that oxhide-shaped ingots of copper, produced in Cyprus, may have functioned as a currency. + +It is thought that the increase in piracy and raiding associated with the Bronze Age collapse, possibly produced by the Peoples of the Sea, brought the trading system of oxhide ingots to an end. It was only the recovery of Phoenician trade in the 10th and 9th centuries BC that led to a return to prosperity, and the appearance of real coinage, possibly first in Anatolia with Croesus of Lydia and subsequently with the Greeks and Persians. In Africa, many forms of value store have been used, including beads, ingots, ivory, various forms of weapons, livestock, the manilla currency, and ochre and other earth oxides. The manilla rings of West Africa were one of the currencies used from the 15th century onwards to sell slaves. African currency is still notable for its variety, and in many places, various forms of barter still apply. + +Coinage + +The prevalence of metal coins possibly led to the metal itself being the store of value: first copper, then both silver and gold, and at one point also bronze. Today other non-precious metals are used for coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins. This was to assure the individual accepting the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but the existence of standard coins also created a new unit of account, which helped lead to banking. Archimedes' principle provided the next link: coins could now be easily tested for their fine weight of the metal, and thus the value of a coin could be determined, even if it had been shaved, debased or otherwise tampered with (see Numismatics). + +Most major economies using coinage had several tiers of coins of different values, made of copper, silver, and gold. Gold coins were the most valuable and were used for large purchases, payment of the military, and backing of state activities. Units of account were often defined as the value of a particular type of gold coin. Silver coins were used for midsized transactions, and sometimes also defined a unit of account, while coins of copper or silver, or some mixture of them (see debasement), might be used for everyday transactions. This system had been used in ancient India since the time of the Mahajanapadas. The exact ratios between the values of the three metals varied greatly between different eras and places; for example, the opening of silver mines in the Harz mountains of central Europe made silver relatively less valuable, as did the flood of New World silver after the Spanish conquests. However, the rarity of gold consistently made it more valuable than silver, and likewise silver was consistently worth more than copper. + +Paper money + +In premodern China, the need for lending and for a medium of exchange that was less physically cumbersome than large numbers of copper coins led to the introduction of paper money, i.e. banknotes. Their introduction was a gradual process that lasted from the late Tang dynasty (618–907) into the Song dynasty (960–1279). It began as a means for merchants to exchange heavy coinage for receipts of deposit issued as promissory notes by wholesalers' shops. These notes were valid for temporary use in a small regional territory. In the 10th century, the Song dynasty government began to circulate these notes amongst the traders in its monopolized salt industry. The Song government granted several shops the right to issue banknotes, and in the early 12th century the government finally took over these shops to produce state-issued currency. Yet the banknotes issued were still only locally and temporarily valid: it was not until the mid 13th century that a standard and uniform government issue of paper money became an acceptable nationwide currency. The already widespread methods of woodblock printing and then Bi Sheng's movable type printing by the 11th century were the impetus for the mass production of paper money in premodern China. + +At around the same time in the medieval Islamic world, a vigorous monetary economy was created during the 7th–12th centuries on the basis of the expanding levels of circulation of a stable high-value currency (the dinar). Innovations introduced by Muslim economists, traders and merchants include the earliest uses of credit, cheques, promissory notes, savings accounts, transaction accounts, loaning, trusts, exchange rates, the transfer of credit and debt, and banking institutions for loans and deposits. + +In Europe, paper currency was first introduced on a regular basis in Sweden in 1661 (although Washington Irving records an earlier emergency use of it, by the Spanish in a siege during the Conquest of Granada). As Sweden was rich in copper, many copper coins were in circulation, but its relatively low value necessitated extraordinarily big coins, often weighing several kilograms. + +The advantages of paper currency were numerous: it reduced the need to transport gold and silver, which was risky; it facilitated loans of gold or silver at interest, since the underlying specie (money in the form of gold or silver coins rather than notes) never left the possession of the lender until someone else redeemed the note; and it allowed a division of currency into credit- and specie-backed forms. It enabled the sale of investment in joint-stock companies and the redemption of those shares in a paper. + +But there were also disadvantages. First, since a note has no intrinsic value, there was nothing to stop issuing authorities from printing more notes than they had specie to back them with. Second, because this increased the money supply, it increased inflationary pressures, a fact observed by David Hume in the 18th century. Thus paper money would often lead to an inflationary bubble, which could collapse if people began demanding hard money, causing the demand for paper notes to fall to zero. The printing of paper money was also associated with wars, and financing of wars, and therefore regarded as part of maintaining a standing army. For these reasons, paper currency was held in suspicion and hostility in Europe and America. It was also addictive since the speculative profits of trade and capital creation were quite large. Major nations established mints to print money and mint coins, and branches of their treasury to collect taxes and hold gold and silver stock. + +At that time, both silver and gold were considered a legal tender and accepted by governments for taxes. However, the instability in the exchange rate between the two grew over the course of the 19th century, with the increases both in the supply of these metals, particularly silver, and in trade. The parallel use of both metals is called bimetallism, and the attempt to create a bimetallic standard where both gold and silver backed currency remained in circulation occupied the efforts of inflationists. Governments at this point could use currency as an instrument of policy, printing paper currency such as the United States greenback, to pay for military expenditures. They could also set the terms at which they would redeem notes for specie, by limiting the amount of purchase, or the minimum amount that could be redeemed. + +By 1900, most of the industrializing nations were on some form of gold standard, with paper notes and silver coins constituting the circulating medium. Private banks and governments across the world followed Gresham's law: keeping the gold and silver they received but paying out in notes. This did not happen all around the world at the same time, but occurred sporadically, generally in times of war or financial crisis, beginning in the early 20th century and continuing across the world until the late 20th century, when the regime of floating fiat currencies came into force. One of the last countries to break away from the gold standard was the United States in 1971, an action which was known as the Nixon shock. No country has an enforceable gold standard or silver standard currency system. + +Banknote era + +A banknote or a bill is a type of currency and it is commonly used as legal tender in many jurisdictions. Together with coins, banknotes make up the cash form of a currency. Banknotes were initially mostly paper, but Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation developed a polymer currency in the 1980s; it went into circulation on the nation's bicentenary in 1988. Polymer banknotes had already been introduced in the Isle of Man in 1983. polymer currency is used in over 20 countries (over 40 if counting commemorative issues), and dramatically increases the life span of banknotes and reduces counterfeiting. + +Modern currencies + +The currency used is based on the concept of lex monetae; that a sovereign state decides which currency it shall use. (See Fiat currency.) + +Currency codes and currency symbols + +In 1978 the International Organization for Standardization published a system of three-digit alphabetic codes (ISO 4217) to denote currencies. These codes are based on two initial letters allocated to a specific country and a final letter denoting a specific monetary unit of account. + +Many currencies use a currency symbol. These are not subject to international standards and are not unique: the dollar sign in particular has many uses. + +Alternative currencies + +Distinct from centrally controlled government-issued currencies, private decentralized trust-reduced networks support alternative currencies (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum's ether, which are classified as cryptocurrency since transference transactions are assured through cryptographic signatures validated by all users. With few exceptions, these currencies are not asset backed. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has declared Bitcoin (and, by extension, similar products) to be a commodity under the Commodity Exchange Act. + +There are also branded currencies, for example 'obligation' based stores of value, such as quasi-regulated BarterCard, Loyalty Points (Credit Cards, Airlines) or Game-Credits (MMO games) that are based on reputation of commercial products. + +Historically, pseudo-currencies have also included company scrip, a form of wages that could only be exchanged in company stores owned by the employers. Modern token money, such as the tokens operated by local exchange trading systems (LETS), is a form of barter rather than being a true currency. + +The currency may be Internet-based and digital, for instance, Bitcoin is not tied to any specific country, or the IMF's SDR that is based on a basket of currencies (and assets held). + +Possession and sale of alternative forms of currencies is often outlawed by governments in order to preserve the legitimacy of the constitutional currency for the benefit of all citizens. For example, Article I, section 8, clause 5 of the United States Constitution delegates to Congress the power to coin money and to regulate the value thereof. This power was delegated to Congress in order to establish and preserve a uniform standard of value and to insure a singular monetary system for all purchases and debts in the United States, public and private. Along with the power to coin money, the United States Congress has the concurrent power to restrain the circulation of money which is not issued under its own authority in order to protect and preserve the constitutional currency. It is a violation of federal law for individuals, or organizations to create private coin or currency systems to compete with the official coinage and currency of the United States. + +Control and production + +In most cases, a central bank has the exclusive power to issue all forms of currency, including coins and banknotes (fiat money), and to restrain the circulation alternative currencies for its own area of circulation (a country or group of countries); it regulates the production of currency by banks (credit) through monetary policy. + +An exchange rate is a price at which two currencies can be exchanged against each other. This is used for trade between the two currency zones. Exchange rates can be classified as either floating or fixed. In the former, day-to-day movements in exchange rates are determined by the market; in the latter, governments intervene in the market to buy or sell their currency to balance supply and demand at a static exchange rate. + +In cases where a country has control of its own currency, that control is exercised either by a central bank or by a Ministry of Finance. The institution that has control of monetary policy is referred to as the monetary authority. Monetary authorities have varying degrees of autonomy from the governments that create them. A monetary authority is created and supported by its sponsoring government, so independence can be reduced by the legislative or executive authority that creates it. + +Several countries can use the same name for their own separate currencies (for example, a dollar in Australia, Canada, and the United States). By contrast, several countries can also use the same currency (for example, the euro or the CFA franc), or one country can declare the currency of another country to be legal tender. For example, Panama and El Salvador have declared US currency to be legal tender, and from 1791 to 1857, Spanish dollars were legal tender in the United States. At various times countries have either re-stamped foreign coins or used currency boards, issuing one note of currency for each note of a foreign government held, as Ecuador currently does. + +Each currency typically has a main currency unit (the dollar, for example, or the euro) and a fractional unit, often defined as of the main unit: 100 cents = 1 dollar, 100 centimes = 1 franc, 100 pence = 1 pound, although units of or occasionally also occur. Some currencies do not have any smaller units at all, such as the Icelandic króna and the Japanese yen. + +Mauritania and Madagascar are the only remaining countries that have theoretical fractional units not based on the decimal system; instead, the Mauritanian ouguiya is in theory divided into 5 khoums, while the Malagasy ariary is theoretically divided into 5 iraimbilanja. In these countries, words like dollar or pound "were simply names for given weights of gold". Due to inflation khoums and iraimbilanja have in practice fallen into disuse. (See non-decimal currencies for other historic currencies with non-decimal divisions.) + +Currency convertibility + +Subject to variation around the world, local currency can be converted to another currency or vice versa with or without central bank/government intervention. Such conversions take place in the foreign exchange market. Based on the above restrictions or free and readily conversion features, currencies are classified as: + Fully convertible When there are no restrictions or limitations on the amount of currency that can be traded on the international market, and the government does not artificially impose a fixed value or minimum value on the currency in international trade. The US dollar is one of the main fully convertible currencies. + Partially convertible Central banks control international investments flowing into and out of a country. While most domestic transactions are handled without any special requirements, there are significant restrictions on international investing, and special approval is often required in order to convert into other currencies. The Indian rupee and the renminbi are examples of partially convertible currencies. + Nonconvertible A government neither participates in the international currency market nor allows the conversion of its currency by individuals or companies. These currencies are also known as blocked, e.g. the North Korean won and the Cuban peso. + +According to the three aspects of trade in goods and services, capital flows and national policies, the supply-demand relationship of different currencies determines the exchange ratio between currencies. + +Trade in goods and services + +Through cost transfer, goods and services circulating in the country (such as hotels, tourism, catering, advertising, household services) will indirectly affect the trade cost of goods and services and the price of export trade. Therefore, services and goods involved in international trade are not the only reason affecting the exchange rate. The large number of international tourists and overseas students has resulted in the flow of services and goods at home and abroad. It also represents that the competitiveness of global goods and services directly affects the change of international exchange rates. + +Capital flows + +National currencies will be traded on international markets for investment purposes. Investment opportunities in each country attract other countries into investment programs, so that these foreign currencies become the reserves of the central banks of each country. The exchange rate mechanism, in which currencies are quoted continuously between countries, is based on foreign exchange markets in which currencies are invested by individuals and traded or speculated by central banks and investment institutions. In addition, changes in interest rates, capital market fluctuations and changes in investment opportunities will affect the global capital inflows and outflows of countries around the world, and exchange rates will fluctuate accordingly. + +National policies + +The country's foreign trade, monetary and fiscal policies affect the exchange rate fluctuations. Foreign trade includes policies such as tariffs and import standards for commodity exports. The impact of monetary policy on the total amount and yield of money directly determines the changes in the international exchange rate. Fiscal policies, such as transfer payments, taxation ratios, and other factors, dominate the profitability of capital and economic development, and the ratio of national debt issuance to deficit determines the repayment capacity and credit rating of the country. Such policies determine the mechanism of linking domestic and foreign currencies and therefore have a significant impact on the generation of exchange rates. + +Currency convertibility is closely linked to economic development and finance. There are strict conditions for countries to achieve currency convertibility, which is a good way for countries to improve their economies. The currencies of some countries or regions in the world are freely convertible, such as the US dollar, Australian dollar and Japanese yen. The requirements for currency convertibility can be roughly divided into four parts: + Sound microeconomic agency +With a freely convertible currency, domestic firms will have to compete fiercely with their foreign counterparts. The development of competition among them will affect the implementation effect of currency convertibility. In addition, microeconomics is a prerequisite for macroeconomic conditions. + The macroeconomic situation and policies are stable +Since currency convertibility is the cross-border flow of goods and capital, it will have an impact on the macro economy. This requires that the national economy be in a normal and orderly state, that is, there is no serious inflation and economic overheating. In addition, the government should use macro policies to make mature adjustments to deal with the impact of currency exchange on the economy. + A reasonable and open economy +The maintainability of international balance of payments is the main performance of reasonable economic structure. Currency convertibility not only causes difficulties in the sustainability of international balance of payments but also affects the government's direct control over international economic transactions. To eliminate the foreign exchange shortage, the government needs adequate international reserves. + Appropriate exchange rate regime and level +The level of exchange rate is an important factor in maintaining exchange rate stability, both before and after currency convertibility. The exchange rate of freely convertible currency is too high or too low, which can easily trigger speculation and undermine the stability of macroeconomic and financial markets. Therefore, to maintain the level of exchange rate, a proper exchange rate regime is crucial. + +Local currency + +In economics, a local currency is a currency not backed by a national government and intended to trade only in a small area. Advocates such as Jane Jacobs argue that this enables an economically depressed region to pull itself up, by giving the people living there a medium of exchange that they can use to exchange services and locally produced goods (in a broader sense, this is the original purpose of all money). Opponents of this concept argue that local currency creates a barrier that can interfere with economies of scale and comparative advantage and that in some cases they can serve as a means of tax evasion. + +Local currencies can also come into being when there is economic turmoil involving the national currency. An example of this is the Argentinian economic crisis of 2002 in which IOUs issued by local governments quickly took on some of the characteristics of local currencies. + +One of the best examples of a local currency is the original LETS currency, founded on Vancouver Island in the early 1980s. In 1982, the Canadian Central Bank's lending rates ran up to 14% which drove chartered bank lending rates as high as 19%. The resulting currency and credit scarcity left island residents with few options other than to create a local currency. + +List of major world payment currencies + +The following table are estimates of the 20 most frequently used currencies in world payments in September 2023 by SWIFT. + +See also + +Related concepts + Counterfeit money + Currency band + Currency transaction tax + Debasement + Exchange rate + Fiscal localism + Foreign currency exchange + Foreign exchange reserves + Functional currency + History of banking + History of money + Mutilated currency + Optimum currency area + Slang terms for money + Virtual currency + World currency + +Accounting units + Currency pair + Currency symbol + Currency strength + European Currency Unit + Fictional currency + Franc Poincaré + Local currencies + Petrocurrency + Special drawing rights + +Lists + ISO 4217 + List of alternative names for currency + List of currencies + List of circulating currencies + List of proposed currencies + List of historical currencies + List of historical exchange rates + List of international trade topics + List of motifs on banknotes + +Notes + +References + +External links + + + + + + +Foreign exchange market +A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the monetary base. Many central banks also have supervisory or regulatory powers to ensure the stability of commercial banks in their jurisdiction, to prevent bank runs, and in some cases also to enforce policies on financial consumer protection and against bank fraud, money laundering, or terrorism financing. + +Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally independent from political interference, even though governments typically have governance rights over them and legislative bodies exercise scrutiny. + +Issues like central bank independence, central bank policies and rhetoric in central bank governors discourse or the premises of macroeconomic policies (monetary and fiscal policy) of the state are a focus of contention and criticism by some policymakers, researchers and specialized business, economics and finance media. + +Definition + +The notion of central banks as a separate category from other banks has emerged gradually, and only fully coalesced in the 20th century. In the aftermath of World War I, leading central bankers of the United Kingdom and the United States respectively, Montagu Norman and Benjamin Strong, agreed on a definition of central banks that was both positive and normative. Since that time, central banks have been generally distinguishable from other financial institutions, except in so-called single-tier communist systems such as Hungary's between 1950 and 1987, where the Hungarian National Bank operated alongside three other major state-owned banks. For earlier periods, what institutions do or do not count as central banks is often not univocal. + +Correlatively, different scholars have held different views about the timeline of emergence of the first central banks. A widely held view in the second half of the 20th century has been that Stockholms Banco (est. 1657), as the original issuer of banknotes, counted as the oldest central bank, and that consequently its successor the Sveriges Riksbank was the oldest central bank in continuous operation, with the Bank of England as second-oldest and direct or indirect model for all subsequent central banks. That view has persisted in some early-21st-century publications. In more recent scholarship, however, the issuance of banknotes has often been viewed as just one of several techniques to provide central bank money, defined as financial money (in contrast to commodity money) of the highest quality. Under that definition, municipal banks of the late medieval and early modern periods, such as the Taula de canvi de Barcelona (est. 1401) or Bank of Amsterdam (est. 1609), issued central bank money and count as early central banks. + +Naming + +There is no universal terminology for the name of a central bank. Early central banks were often the only or principal formal financial institution in their jurisdiction, and were consequently often named "bank of" the relevant city's or country's name, e.g. the Bank of Amsterdam, Bank of Hamburg, Bank of England, or Wiener Stadtbank. Naming practices subsequently evolved as more central banks were established. They include, with references to the date when the bank acquired its current name: + "Bank of [Country]": e.g. Bank of Spain (1782), Bank of the United States (1791), Bank of France (1800), Bank of Java (1828), Bank of Japan (1882), Bank of Italy (1893), Bank of China (1912), Bank of Mexico (1925), Bank of Canada (1934), Bank of Korea (1950). The Bank of England has kept its original name of 1694, even though the Act of Union 1707 and Acts of Union 1800 expanded its remit to the broader United Kingdom. + "National Bank": e.g. National Bank of Belgium (1850), Bulgarian National Bank (1879), Swiss National Bank (1907), National Bank of Poland (1945), National Bank of Ukraine (1991). + "Reserve Bank": in the U.S. Federal Reserve (1913) and thereafter British colonies or dominions, e.g. South African Reserve Bank (1921), Reserve Bank of New Zealand (1934), Reserve Bank of India (1935), Reserve Bank of Australia (1960), Reserve Bank of Fiji (1984) + "Central Bank": e.g. Central Bank of China (1924), Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (1930), Central Bank of Argentina (1935), Central Bank of Ireland (1943), Central Bank of Paraguay (1952), Central Bank of Brazil (1964), European Central Bank (1998). + "State Bank": e.g. State Bank of Pakistan (1948), State Bank of Vietnam (1951); also former central banks of Communist countries, e.g. the Soviet Gosbank (1922) or the State Bank of Czechoslovakia (1950). "People's Bank", also associated with Communism, is used by the People's Bank of China. + "Monetary Authority", e.g. Monetary Authority of Singapore (1971), Maldives Monetary Authority (1981), Hong Kong Monetary Authority (1993), Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (1997). The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (est. 1952) was renamed the Saudi Central Bank in 2020 but still uses the acronym SAMA. + +In some cases, the local-language name is used in English-language practice, e.g. Sveriges Riksbank (est. 1668, current name in use since 1866), De Nederlandsche Bank (est. 1814), Deutsche Bundesbank (est. 1957), or Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (est. 1993). + +Some commercial banks have names suggestive of central banks, even if they are not: examples are the State Bank of India and Central Bank of India, National Bank of Greece, Banco do Brasil, National Bank of Pakistan, Bank of China, Bank of Cyprus, or Bank of Ireland, as well as Deutsche Bank. Some but not all of these institutions had assumed central banking roles in the past. + +The leading executive of a central bank is usually known as the Governor, President, or Chair. + +History + +Background + +The use of money as a unit of account predates history. Government control of money is documented in the ancient Egyptian economy (2750–2150 BCE). The Egyptians measured the value of goods with a central unit called shat. Like many other currencies, the shat was linked to gold. The value of a shat in terms of goods was defined by government administrations. Other cultures in Asia Minor later materialized their currencies in the form of gold and silver coins. + +The issuance of paper currency is not to be equated with central banking, even though paper currency is a form of financial money (i.e. not commodity money). The difference is that government-issued paper currency, as present e.g. in China during the Yuan dynasty, is typically not freely convertible and thus of inferior quality, occasionally leading to hyperinflation. + +From the 12th century, a network of professional banks emerged primarily in Southern Europe (including Southern France, with the Cahorsins). Banks could use book money to create deposits for their customers. Thus, they had the possibility to issue, lend and transfer money autonomously without direct control from political authorities. + +Early municipal central banks + +The Taula de canvi de Barcelona, established in 1401, is the first example of municipal, mostly public banks which pioneered central banking on a limited scale. It was soon emulated by the Bank of Saint George in the Republic of Genoa, first established in 1407, and significantly later by the Banco del Giro in the Republic of Venice and by a network of institutions in Naples that later consolidated into Banco di Napoli. Notable municipal central banks were established in the early 17th century in leading northwestern European commercial centers, namely the Bank of Amsterdam in 1609 and the Hamburger Bank in 1619. These institutions offered a public infrastructure for cashless international payments. They aimed to increase the efficiency of international trade and to safeguard monetary stability. These municipal public banks thus fulfilled comparable functions to modern central banks. + +Early national central banks + +The Swedish central bank, known since 1866 as Sveriges Riksbank, was founded in Stockholm in 1664 from the remains of the failed Stockholms Banco and answered to the Riksdag of the Estates, Sweden's early modern parliament. One role of the Swedish central bank was lending money to the government. + +The establishment of the Bank of England was devised by Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, following a 1691 proposal by William Paterson. A royal charter was granted on through the passage of the Tonnage Act. The bank was given exclusive possession of the government's balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The early modern Bank of England, however, did not have all the functions of a today's central banks, e.g. to regulate the value of the national currency, to finance the government, to be the sole authorized distributor of banknotes, or to function as a lender of last resort to banks suffering a liquidity crisis. + +In the early 18th century, a major experiment in national central banking failed in France with John Law's Banque Royale in 1720-1721. Later in the century, France had other attempts with the Caisse d'Escompte first created in 1767, and King Charles III established the Bank of Spain in 1782. The Russian Assignation Bank, established in 1769 by Catherine the Great, was an outlier from the general pattern of early national central banks in that it was directly owned by the Imperial Russian government, rather than private individual shareholders. In the nascent United States, Alexander Hamilton, as Secretary of the Treasury in the 1790s, set up the First Bank of the United States despite heavy opposition from Jeffersonian Republicans. + +National central banks since 1800 + +Central banks were established in many European countries during the 19th century. Napoleon created the Banque de France in 1800, in order to stabilize and develop the French economy and to improve the financing of his wars. The Bank of France remained the most important Continental European central bank throughout the 19th century. The Bank of Finland was founded in 1812, soon after Finland had been taken over from Sweden by Russia to become a grand duchy. Simultaneously, a quasi-central banking role was played by a small group of powerful family-run banking networks, typified by the House of Rothschild, with branches in major cities across Europe, as well as Hottinguer in Switzerland and Oppenheim in Germany. + +The theory of central banking, even though the name was not yet widely used, evolved in the 19th century. Henry Thornton, an opponent of the real bills doctrine, was a defender of the bullionist position and a significant figure in monetary theory. Thornton's process of monetary expansion anticipated the theories of Knut Wicksell regarding the "cumulative process which restates the Quantity Theory in a theoretically coherent form". As a response to a currency crisis in 1797, Thornton wrote in 1802 An Enquiry into the Nature and Effects of the Paper Credit of Great Britain, in which he argued that the increase in paper credit did not cause the crisis. The book also gives a detailed account of the British monetary system as well as a detailed examination of the ways in which the Bank of England should act to counteract fluctuations in the value of the pound. + +In the United Kingdom until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, and notes issued by provincial banking companies were commonly in circulation. Many consider the origins of the central bank to lie with the passage of the Bank Charter Act 1844. Under the 1844 Act, bullionism was institutionalized in Britain, creating a ratio between the gold reserves held by the Bank of England and the notes that the bank could issue. The Act also placed strict curbs on the issuance of notes by the country banks. The Bank of England took over a role of lender of last resort in the 1870s after criticism of its lacklustre response to the failure of Overend, Gurney and Company. The journalist Walter Bagehot wrote on the subject in Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market, in which he advocated for the bank to officially become a lender of last resort during a credit crunch, sometimes referred to as "Bagehot's dictum". + +The 19th and early 20th centuries central banks in most of Europe and Japan developed under the international gold standard. Free banking or currency boards were common at the time. Problems with collapses of banks during downturns, however, led to wider support for central banks in those nations which did not as yet possess them, for example in Australia. In the United States, the role of a central bank had been ended in the so-called Bank War of the 1830s by President Andrew Jackson. In 1913, the U.S. created the Federal Reserve System through the passing of The Federal Reserve Act. + +Following World War I, the Economic and Financial Organization (EFO) of the League of Nations, influenced by the ideas of Montagu Norman and other leading policymakers and economists of the time, took an active role to promote the independence of central bank, a key component of the economic orthodoxy the EFO fostered at the Brussels Conference (1920). The EFO thus directed the creation of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank in Austria, Hungarian National Bank, Bank of Danzig, and Bank of Greece, as well as comprehensive reforms of the Bulgarian National Bank and Bank of Estonia. Similar ideas were emulated in other newly independent European countries, e.g. for the National Bank of Czechoslovakia. + +By 1935, the only significant independent nation that did not possess a central bank was Brazil, which subsequently developed a precursor thereto in 1945 and the present Central Bank of Brazil twenty years later. After gaining independence, numerous African and Asian countries also established central banks or monetary unions. The Reserve Bank of India, which had been established during British colonial rule as a private company, was nationalized in 1949 following India's independence. By the early 21st century, most of the world's countries had a national central bank set up as a public sector institution, albeit with widely varying degrees of independence. + +Colonial, extraterritorial and federal central banks + +Before the near-generalized adoption of the model of national public-sector central banks, a number of economies relied on a central bank that was effectively or legally run from outside their territory. The first colonial central banks, such as the Bank of Java (est. 1828 in Batavia), Banque de l'Algérie (est. 1851 in Algiers), or Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (est. 1865 in Hong Kong), operated from the colony itself. Following the generalization of the transcontinental use of the electrical telegraph using submarine communications cable, however, new colonial banks were typically headquartered in the colonial metropolis; prominent examples included the Paris-based Banque de l'Indochine (est. 1875), Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale (est. 1901), and Banque de Madagascar (est. 1925). The Banque de l'Algérie's head office was relocated from Algiers to Paris in 1900. + +In some cases, independent countries which did not have a strong domestic base of capital accumulation and were critically reliant on foreign funding found advantage in granting a central banking role to banks that were effectively or even legally foreign. A seminal case was the Imperial Ottoman Bank established in 1863 as a French-British joint venture, and a particularly egregious one was the Paris-based National Bank of Haiti (est. 1881) which captured significant financial resources from the economically struggling albeit independent nation of Haiti. Other cases include the London-based Imperial Bank of Persia, established in 1885, and the Rome-based National Bank of Albania, established in 1925. The State Bank of Morocco was established in 1907 with international shareholding and headquarters functions distributed between Paris and Tangier, a half-decade before the country lost its independence. In other cases, there have been organized currency unions such as the Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union established in 1921, under which Luxembourg had no central bank, but that was managed by a national central bank (in that case the National Bank of Belgium) rather than a supranational one. The present-day Common Monetary Area of Southern Africa has comparable features. + +Yet another pattern was set in countries where federated or otherwise sub-sovereign entities had wide policy autonomy that was echoed to varying degrees in the organization of the central bank itself. These included, for example, the Austro-Hungarian Bank from 1878 to 1918, the U.S. Federal Reserve in its first two decades, the Bank deutscher Länder between 1948 and 1957, or the National Bank of Yugoslavia between 1972 and 1993. Conversely, some countries that are politically organized as federations, such as today's Canada, Mexico, or Switzerland, rely on a unitary central bank. + +Supranational central banks + +In the second half of the 20th century, the dismantling of colonial systems left some groups of countries using the same currency even though they had achieved national independence. In contrast to the unraveling of Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire after World War I, some of these countries decided to keep using a common currency, thus forming a monetary union, and to entrust its management to a common central bank. Examples include the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority, the Central Bank of West African States, and the Bank of Central African States. + +The concept of supranational central banking took a globally significant dimension with the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union and the establishment of the European Central Bank (ECB) in 1998. In 2014, the ECB took an additional role of banking supervision as part of the newly established policy of European banking union. + +Central bank mandates + +Price stability +The primary role of central banks is usually to maintain price stability, as defined as a specific level of inflation. Inflation is defined either as the devaluation of a currency or equivalently the rise of prices relative to a currency. Most central banks currently have an inflation target close to 2%. + +Since inflation lowers real wages, Keynesians view inflation as the solution to involuntary unemployment. However, "unanticipated" inflation leads to lender losses as the real interest rate will be lower than expected. Thus, Keynesian monetary policy aims for a steady rate of inflation. + +Central banks as monetary authorities in representative states are intertwined through globalized financial markets. As a regulator of one of the most widespread currencies in the global economy, the US Federal Reserve plays an outsized role in the international monetary market. Being the main supplier and rate adjusted for US dollars, the Federal Reserve implements a set of requirements to control inflation and unemployment in the US. + +High employment +Frictional unemployment is the time period between jobs when a worker is searching for, or transitioning from one job to another. Unemployment beyond frictional unemployment is classified as unintended unemployment. + +For example, structural unemployment is a form of unemployment resulting from a mismatch between demand in the labour market and the skills and locations of the workers seeking employment. Macroeconomic policy generally aims to reduce unintended unemployment. + +Keynes labeled any jobs that would be created by a rise in wage-goods (i.e., a decrease in real-wages) as involuntary unemployment: + +Men are involuntarily unemployed if, in the event of a small rise in the price of wage-goods relatively to the money-wage, both the aggregate supply of labour willing to work for the current money-wage and the aggregate demand for it at that wage would be greater than the existing volume of employment.— John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money p1 + +Economic growth +Economic growth can be enhanced by investment in capital, such as more or better machinery. A low interest rate implies that firms can borrow money to invest in their capital stock and pay less interest for it. Lowering the interest is therefore considered to encourage economic growth and is often used to alleviate times of low economic growth. On the other hand, raising the interest rate is often used in times of high economic growth as a contra-cyclical device to keep the economy from overheating and avoid market bubbles. + +Further goals of monetary policy are stability of interest rates, of the financial market, and of the foreign exchange market. +Goals frequently cannot be separated from each other and often conflict. Costs must therefore be carefully weighed before policy implementation. + +Climate change +In the aftermath of the Paris agreement on climate change, a debate is now underway on whether central banks should also pursue environmental goals as part of their activities. In 2017, eight central banks formed the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) to evaluate the way in which central banks can use their regulatory and monetary policy tools to support climate change mitigation. Today more than 70 central banks are part of the NGFS. + +In January 2020, the European Central Bank has announced it will consider climate considerations when reviewing its monetary policy framework. + +Proponents of "green monetary policy" are proposing that central banks include climate-related criteria in their collateral eligibility frameworks, when conducting asset purchases and also in their refinancing operations. But critics such as Jens Weidmann are arguing it is not central banks' role to conduct climate policy. China is among the most advanced central banks when it comes to green monetary policy. It has given green bonds preferential status to lower their yield and uses window policy to direct green lending. + +Central bank operations + +The functions of a central bank may include: + + Monetary policy: by setting the official interest rate and controlling the money supply; +Financial stability: acting as a government's banker and as the bankers' bank ("lender of last resort"); + Reserve management: managing a country's foreign-exchange and gold reserves and government bonds; + Banking supervision: regulating and supervising the banking industry, and currency exchange; +Payments system: managing or supervising means of payments and inter-banking clearing systems; +Coins and notes issuance; +Other functions of central banks may include economic research, statistical collection, supervision of deposit guarantee schemes, advice to government in financial policy. + +Monetary policy + +Central banks implement a country's chosen monetary policy. + +Currency issuance +At the most basic level, monetary policy involves establishing what form of currency the country may have, whether a fiat currency, gold-backed currency (disallowed for countries in the International Monetary Fund), currency board or a currency union. When a country has its own national currency, this involves the issue of some form of standardized currency, which is essentially a form of promissory note: "money" under certain circumstances. Historically, this was often a promise to exchange the money for precious metals in some fixed amount. Now, when many currencies are fiat money, the "promise to pay" consists of the promise to accept that currency to pay for taxes. + +A central bank may use another country's currency either directly in a currency union, or indirectly on a currency board. In the latter case, exemplified by the Bulgarian National Bank, Hong Kong and Latvia (until 2014), the local currency is backed at a fixed rate by the central bank's holdings of a foreign currency. +Similar to commercial banks, central banks hold assets (government bonds, foreign exchange, gold, and other financial assets) and incur liabilities (currency outstanding). Central banks create money by issuing banknotes and loaning them to the government in exchange for interest-bearing assets such as government bonds. When central banks decide to increase the money supply by an amount which is greater than the amount their national governments decide to borrow, the central banks may purchase private bonds or assets denominated in foreign currencies. + +The European Central Bank remits its interest income to the central banks of the member countries of the European Union. The US Federal Reserve remits most of its profits to the U.S. Treasury. This income, derived from the power to issue currency, is referred to as seigniorage, and usually belongs to the national government. The state-sanctioned power to create currency is called the Right of Issuance. Throughout history, there have been disagreements over this power, since whoever controls the creation of currency controls the seigniorage income. +The expression "monetary policy" may also refer more narrowly to the interest-rate targets and other active measures undertaken by the monetary authority. + +Monetary policy instruments + +The primary tools available to central banks are open market operations (including repurchase agreements), reserve requirements, interest rate policy (through control of the discount rate), and control of the money supply. + +A central bank affects the monetary base through open market operations, if its country has a well developed market for its government bonds. This entails managing the quantity of money in circulation through the buying and selling of various financial instruments, such as treasury bills, repurchase agreements or "repos", company bonds, or foreign currencies, in exchange for money on deposit at the central bank. Those deposits are convertible to currency, so all of these purchases or sales result in more or less base currency entering or leaving market circulation. For example, if the central bank wishes to decrease interest rates (executing expansionary monetary policy), it purchases government debt, thereby increasing the amount of cash in circulation or crediting banks' reserve accounts. Commercial banks then have more money to lend, so they reduce lending rates, making loans less expensive. Cheaper credit card interest rates increase consumer spending. Additionally, when business loans are more affordable, companies can expand to keep up with consumer demand. They ultimately hire more workers, whose incomes increase, which in its turn also increases the demand. This method is usually enough to stimulate demand and drive economic growth to a healthy rate. Usually, the short-term goal of open market operations is to achieve a specific short-term interest rate target. In other instances, monetary policy might instead entail the targeting of a specific exchange rate relative to some foreign currency or else relative to gold. For example, in the case of the United States the Federal Reserve targets the federal funds rate, the rate at which member banks lend to one another overnight; however, the monetary policy of China (since 2014) is to target the exchange rate between the Chinese renminbi and a basket of foreign currencies. + +If the open market operations do not lead to the desired effects, a second tool can be used: the central bank can increase or decrease the interest rate it charges on discounts or overdrafts (loans from the central bank to commercial banks, see discount window). If the interest rate on such transactions is sufficiently low, commercial banks can borrow from the central bank to meet reserve requirements and use the additional liquidity to expand their balance sheets, increasing the credit available to the economy. + +A third alternative is to change the reserve requirements. The reserve requirement refers to the proportion of total liabilities that banks must keep on hand overnight, either in its vaults or at the central bank. Banks only maintain a small portion of their assets as cash available for immediate withdrawal; the rest is invested in illiquid assets like mortgages and loans. Lowering the reserve requirement frees up funds for banks to increase loans or buy other profitable assets. This is expansionary because it creates credit. However, even though this tool immediately increases liquidity, central banks rarely change the reserve requirement because doing so frequently adds uncertainty to banks' planning. The use of open market operations is therefore preferred. + +Unconventional monetary policy +Other forms of monetary policy, particularly used when interest rates are at or near 0% and there are concerns about deflation or deflation is occurring, are referred to as unconventional monetary policy. These include credit easing, quantitative easing, forward guidance, and signalling. In credit easing, a central bank purchases private sector assets to improve liquidity and improve access to credit. Signaling can be used to lower market expectations for lower interest rates in the future. For example, during the credit crisis of 2008, the US Federal Reserve indicated rates would be low for an "extended period", and the Bank of Canada made a "conditional commitment" to keep rates at the lower bound of 25 basis points (0.25%) until the end of the second quarter of 2010. + +Some have envisaged the use of what Milton Friedman once called "helicopter money" whereby the central bank would make direct transfers to citizens in order to lift inflation up to the central bank's intended target. Such policy option could be particularly effective at the zero lower bound. + +Central Bank Digital Currencies + +Since 2017, prospect of implementing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) has been in discussion. As of the end of 2018, at least 15 central banks were considering to implementing CBDC. Since 2014, the People's Bank of China has been working on a project for digital currency to make its own digital currency and electronic payment systems. + +Banking supervision and other activities + +In some countries a central bank, through its subsidiaries, controls and monitors the banking sector. In other countries banking supervision is carried out by a government department such as the UK Treasury, or by an independent government agency, for example, UK's Financial Conduct Authority. It examines the banks' balance sheets and behaviour and policies toward consumers. Apart from refinancing, it also provides banks with services such as transfer of funds, bank notes and coins or foreign currency. Thus it is often described as the "bank of banks". + +Many countries will monitor and control the banking sector through several different agencies and for different purposes. The Bank regulation in the United States for example is highly fragmented with 3 federal agencies, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and numerous others on the state and the private level. There is usually significant cooperation between the agencies. For example, money center banks, deposit-taking institutions, and other types of financial institutions may be subject to different (and occasionally overlapping) regulation. Some types of banking regulation may be delegated to other levels of government, such as state or provincial governments. + +Any cartel of banks is particularly closely watched and controlled. Most countries control bank mergers and are wary of concentration in this industry due to the danger of groupthink and runaway lending bubbles based on a single point of failure, the credit culture of the few large banks. + +Central bank governance and independence + +Numerous governments have opted to make central banks independent. The economic logic behind central bank independence is that when governments delegate monetary policy to an independent central bank (with an anti-inflationary purpose) and away from elected politicians, monetary policy will not reflect the interests of the politicians. When governments control monetary policy, politicians may be tempted to boost economic activity in advance of an election to the detriment of the long-term health of the economy and the country. As a consequence, financial markets may not consider future commitments to low inflation to be credible when monetary policy is in the hands of elected officials, which increases the risk of capital flight. An alternative to central bank independence is to have fixed exchange rate regimes. + +Governments generally have some degree of influence over even "independent" central banks; the aim of independence is primarily to prevent short-term interference. In 1951, the Deutsche Bundesbank became the first central bank to be given full independence, leading this form of central bank to be referred to as the "Bundesbank model", as opposed, for instance, to the New Zealand model, which has a goal (i.e. inflation target) set by the government. + +Central bank independence is usually guaranteed by legislation and the institutional framework governing the bank's relationship with elected officials, particularly the minister of finance. Central bank legislation will enshrine specific procedures for selecting and appointing the head of the central bank. Often the minister of finance will appoint the governor in consultation with the central bank's board and its incumbent governor. In addition, the legislation will specify banks governor's term of appointment. The most independent central banks enjoy a fixed non-renewable term for the governor in order to eliminate pressure on the governor to please the government in the hope of being re-appointed for a second term. Generally, independent central banks enjoy both goal and instrument independence. + +Despite their independence, central banks are usually accountable at some level to government officials, either to the finance ministry or to parliament. For example, the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve are nominated by the U.S. president and confirmed by the Senate, publishes verbatim transcripts, and balance sheets are audited by the Government Accountability Office. + +In the 1990s there was a trend towards increasing the independence of central banks as a way of improving long-term economic performance. While a large volume of economic research has been done to define the relationship between central bank independence and economic performance, the results are ambiguous. + +The literature on central bank independence has defined a cumulative and complementary number of aspects: + Institutional independence: The independence of the central bank is enshrined in law and shields central banks from political interference. In general terms, institutional independence means that politicians should refrain from seeking to influence monetary policy decisions, while symmetrically central banks should also avoid influencing government politics. + Goal independence: The central bank has the right to set its own policy goals, whether inflation targeting, control of the money supply, or maintaining a fixed exchange rate. While this type of independence is more common, many central banks prefer to announce their policy goals in partnership with the appropriate government departments. This increases the transparency of the policy-setting process and thereby increases the credibility of the goals chosen by providing assurance that they will not be changed without notice. In addition, the setting of common goals by the central bank and the government helps to avoid situations where monetary and fiscal policy are in conflict; a policy combination that is clearly sub-optimal. + Functional & operational independence: The central bank has the independence to determine the best way of achieving its policy goals, including the types of instruments used and the timing of their use. To achieve its mandate, the central bank has the authority to run its own operations (appointing staff, setting budgets, and so on.) and to organize its internal structures without excessive involvement of the government. This is the most common form of central bank independence. The granting of independence to the Bank of England in 1997 was, in fact, the granting of operational independence; the inflation target continued to be announced in the Chancellor's annual budget speech to Parliament. + Personal independence: The other forms of independence are not possible unless central bank heads have a high security of tenure. In practice, this means that governors should hold long mandates (at least longer than the electoral cycle) and a certain degree of legal immunity. One of the most common statistical indicators used in the literature as a proxy for central bank independence is the "turn-over-rate" of central bank governors. If a government is in the habit of appointing and replacing the governor frequently, it clearly has the capacity to micro-manage the central bank through its choice of governors. + Financial independence: central banks have full autonomy on their budget, and some are even prohibited from financing governments. This is meant to remove incentives from politicians to influence central banks. + Legal independence : some central banks have their own legal personality, which allows them to ratify international agreements without the government's approval (like the ECB), and to go to court. + +There is very strong consensus among economists that an independent central bank can run a more credible monetary policy, making market expectations more responsive to signals from the central bank. Both the Bank of England (1997) and the European Central Bank have been made independent and follow a set of published inflation targets so that markets know what to expect. Even the People's Bank of China has been accorded great latitude, though in China the official role of the bank remains that of a national bank rather than a central bank, underlined by the official refusal to "unpeg" the yuan or to revalue it "under pressure". The fact that the Communist Party is not elected also relieves the pressure to please people, increasing its independence. Populism can reduce de facto central bank independence. + +International organizations such as the World Bank, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) strongly support central bank independence. This results, in part, from a belief in the intrinsic merits of increased independence. The support for independence from the international organizations also derives partly from the connection between increased independence for the central bank and increased transparency in the policy-making process. The IMF's Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP) review self-assessment, for example, includes a number of questions about central bank independence in the transparency section. An independent central bank will score higher in the review than one that is not independent. + +Central bank independence indices +Central bank independence indices allow a quantitative analysis of central bank independence for individual countries over time. One central bank independence index is the Garriga CBI, where a higher index indicates higher central bank independence, shown below for individual countries. + +Statistics + +Collectively, central banks purchase less than 500 tonnes of gold each year, on average (out of an annual global production of 2,500-3,000 tonnes). In 2018, central banks collectively hold over 33,000 metric tons of the gold, about a fifth of all the gold ever mined, according to Bloomberg News. + +In 2016, 75% of the world's central-bank assets were controlled by four centers in China, the United States, Japan and the eurozone. The central banks of Brazil, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, the U.K., India and Russia, each account for an average of 2.5 percent. The remaining 107 central banks hold less than 13 percent. According to data compiled by Bloomberg News, the top 10 largest central banks owned $21.4 trillion in assets, a 10 percent increase from 2015. + +See also + + Fractional-reserve banking + Free banking + Full-reserve banking + National bank + State bank + Bank for International Settlements + History of central banking in the United States + List of central banks + +References + +Further reading + Acocella, N., Di Bartolomeo, G., and Hughes Hallett, A. [2012], "Central banks and economic policy after the crisis: what have we learned?", ch. 5 in: Baker, H. K. and Riddick, L. A. (eds.), Survey of International Finance, Oxford University Press. + +External links + List of central bank websites at the Bank for International Settlements + International Journal of Central Banking + "The Federal Reserve System: Purposes and Functions" – A publication of the U.S. Federal Reserve, describing its role in the macroeconomy +   – C E V Borio, Bank for International Settlements, Basel + + +Banks +Banking terms +Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is a yellow-green gas at room temperature. It is an extremely reactive element and a strong oxidising agent: among the elements, it has the highest electron affinity and the third-highest electronegativity on the revised Pauling scale, behind only oxygen and fluorine. + +Chlorine played an important role in the experiments conducted by medieval alchemists, which commonly involved the heating of chloride salts like ammonium chloride (sal ammoniac) and sodium chloride (common salt), producing various chemical substances containing chlorine such as hydrogen chloride, mercury(II) chloride (corrosive sublimate), and hydrochloric acid (in the form of ). However, the nature of free chlorine gas as a separate substance was only recognised around 1630 by Jan Baptist van Helmont. Carl Wilhelm Scheele wrote a description of chlorine gas in 1774, supposing it to be an oxide of a new element. In 1809, chemists suggested that the gas might be a pure element, and this was confirmed by Sir Humphry Davy in 1810, who named it after the Ancient Greek (, "pale green") because of its colour. + +Because of its great reactivity, all chlorine in the Earth's crust is in the form of ionic chloride compounds, which includes table salt. It is the second-most abundant halogen (after fluorine) and twenty-first most abundant chemical element in Earth's crust. These crustal deposits are nevertheless dwarfed by the huge reserves of chloride in seawater. + +Elemental chlorine is commercially produced from brine by electrolysis, predominantly in the chlor-alkali process. The high oxidising potential of elemental chlorine led to the development of commercial bleaches and disinfectants, and a reagent for many processes in the chemical industry. Chlorine is used in the manufacture of a wide range of consumer products, about two-thirds of them organic chemicals such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), many intermediates for the production of plastics, and other end products which do not contain the element. As a common disinfectant, elemental chlorine and chlorine-generating compounds are used more directly in swimming pools to keep them sanitary. Elemental chlorine at high concentration is extremely dangerous, and poisonous to most living organisms. As a chemical warfare agent, chlorine was first used in World War I as a poison gas weapon. + +In the form of chloride ions, chlorine is necessary to all known species of life. Other types of chlorine compounds are rare in living organisms, and artificially produced chlorinated organics range from inert to toxic. In the upper atmosphere, chlorine-containing organic molecules such as chlorofluorocarbons have been implicated in ozone depletion. Small quantities of elemental chlorine are generated by oxidation of chloride ions in neutrophils as part of an immune system response against bacteria. + +History +The most common compound of chlorine, sodium chloride, has been known since ancient times; archaeologists have found evidence that rock salt was used as early as 3000 BC and brine as early as 6000 BC. + +Early discoveries +Around 900, the authors of the Arabic writings attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan (Latin: Geber) and the Persian physician and alchemist Abu Bakr al-Razi ( 865–925, Latin: Rhazes) were experimenting with sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride), which when it was distilled together with vitriol (hydrated sulfates of various metals) produced hydrogen chloride. However, it appears that in these early experiments with chloride salts, the gaseous products were discarded, and hydrogen chloride may have been produced many times before it was discovered that it can be put to chemical use. One of the first such uses was the synthesis of mercury(II) chloride (corrosive sublimate), whose production from the heating of mercury either with alum and ammonium chloride or with vitriol and sodium chloride was first described in the De aluminibus et salibus ("On Alums and Salts", an eleventh- or twelfth century Arabic text falsely attributed to Abu Bakr al-Razi and translated into Latin in the second half of the twelfth century by Gerard of Cremona, 1144–1187). Another important development was the discovery by pseudo-Geber (in the De inventione veritatis, "On the Discovery of Truth", after c. 1300) that by adding ammonium chloride to nitric acid, a strong solvent capable of dissolving gold (i.e., aqua regia) could be produced. Although aqua regia is an unstable mixture that continually gives off fumes containing free chlorine gas, this chlorine gas appears to have been ignored until c. 1630, when its nature as a separate gaseous substance was recognised by the Brabantian chemist and physician Jan Baptist van Helmont. + +Isolation +The element was first studied in detail in 1774 by Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and he is credited with the discovery. Scheele produced chlorine by reacting MnO2 (as the mineral pyrolusite) with HCl: + +4 HCl + MnO2 → MnCl2 + 2 H2O + Cl2 + +Scheele observed several of the properties of chlorine: the bleaching effect on litmus, the deadly effect on insects, the yellow-green color, and the smell similar to aqua regia. He called it "dephlogisticated muriatic acid air" since it is a gas (then called "airs") and it came from hydrochloric acid (then known as "muriatic acid"). He failed to establish chlorine as an element. + +Common chemical theory at that time held that an acid is a compound that contains oxygen (remnants of this survive in the German and Dutch names of oxygen: sauerstoff or zuurstof, both translating into English as acid substance), so a number of chemists, including Claude Berthollet, suggested that Scheele's dephlogisticated muriatic acid air must be a combination of oxygen and the yet undiscovered element, muriaticum. + +In 1809, Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thénard tried to decompose dephlogisticated muriatic acid air by reacting it with charcoal to release the free element muriaticum (and carbon dioxide). They did not succeed and published a report in which they considered the possibility that dephlogisticated muriatic acid air is an element, but were not convinced. + +In 1810, Sir Humphry Davy tried the same experiment again, and concluded that the substance was an element, and not a compound. He announced his results to the Royal Society on 15 November that year. At that time, he named this new element "chlorine", from the Greek word χλωρος (chlōros, "green-yellow"), in reference to its color. The name "halogen", meaning "salt producer", was originally used for chlorine in 1811 by Johann Salomo Christoph Schweigger. This term was later used as a generic term to describe all the elements in the chlorine family (fluorine, bromine, iodine), after a suggestion by Jöns Jakob Berzelius in 1826. In 1823, Michael Faraday liquefied chlorine for the first time, and demonstrated that what was then known as "solid chlorine" had a structure of chlorine hydrate (Cl2·H2O). + +Later uses +Chlorine gas was first used by French chemist Claude Berthollet to bleach textiles in 1785. Modern bleaches resulted from further work by Berthollet, who first produced sodium hypochlorite in 1789 in his laboratory in the town of Javel (now part of Paris, France), by passing chlorine gas through a solution of sodium carbonate. The resulting liquid, known as "Eau de Javel" ("Javel water"), was a weak solution of sodium hypochlorite. This process was not very efficient, and alternative production methods were sought. Scottish chemist and industrialist Charles Tennant first produced a solution of calcium hypochlorite ("chlorinated lime"), then solid calcium hypochlorite (bleaching powder). These compounds produced low levels of elemental chlorine and could be more efficiently transported than sodium hypochlorite, which remained as dilute solutions because when purified to eliminate water, it became a dangerously powerful and unstable oxidizer. Near the end of the nineteenth century, E. S. Smith patented a method of sodium hypochlorite production involving electrolysis of brine to produce sodium hydroxide and chlorine gas, which then mixed to form sodium hypochlorite. This is known as the chloralkali process, first introduced on an industrial scale in 1892, and now the source of most elemental chlorine and sodium hydroxide. In 1884 Chemischen Fabrik Griesheim of Germany developed another chloralkali process which entered commercial production in 1888. + +Elemental chlorine solutions dissolved in chemically basic water (sodium and calcium hypochlorite) were first used as anti-putrefaction agents and disinfectants in the 1820s, in France, long before the establishment of the germ theory of disease. This practice was pioneered by Antoine-Germain Labarraque, who adapted Berthollet's "Javel water" bleach and other chlorine preparations. Elemental chlorine has since served a continuous function in topical antisepsis (wound irrigation solutions and the like) and public sanitation, particularly in swimming and drinking water. + +Chlorine gas was first used as a weapon on April 22, 1915 at the Second Battle of Ypres by the German Army. The effect on the allies was devastating because the existing gas masks were difficult to deploy and had not been broadly distributed. + +Properties + +Chlorine is the second halogen, being a nonmetal in group 17 of the periodic table. Its properties are thus similar to fluorine, bromine, and iodine, and are largely intermediate between those of the first two. Chlorine has the electron configuration [Ne]3s23p5, with the seven electrons in the third and outermost shell acting as its valence electrons. Like all halogens, it is thus one electron short of a full octet, and is hence a strong oxidising agent, reacting with many elements in order to complete its outer shell. Corresponding to periodic trends, it is intermediate in electronegativity between fluorine and bromine (F: 3.98, Cl: 3.16, Br: 2.96, I: 2.66), and is less reactive than fluorine and more reactive than bromine. It is also a weaker oxidising agent than fluorine, but a stronger one than bromine. Conversely, the chloride ion is a weaker reducing agent than bromide, but a stronger one than fluoride. It is intermediate in atomic radius between fluorine and bromine, and this leads to many of its atomic properties similarly continuing the trend from iodine to bromine upward, such as first ionisation energy, electron affinity, enthalpy of dissociation of the X2 molecule (X = Cl, Br, I), ionic radius, and X–X bond length. (Fluorine is anomalous due to its small size.) + +All four stable halogens experience intermolecular van der Waals forces of attraction, and their strength increases together with the number of electrons among all homonuclear diatomic halogen molecules. Thus, the melting and boiling points of chlorine are intermediate between those of fluorine and bromine: chlorine melts at −101.0 °C and boils at −34.0 °C. As a result of the increasing molecular weight of the halogens down the group, the density and heats of fusion and vaporisation of chlorine are again intermediate between those of bromine and fluorine, although all their heats of vaporisation are fairly low (leading to high volatility) thanks to their diatomic molecular structure. The halogens darken in colour as the group is descended: thus, while fluorine is a pale yellow gas, chlorine is distinctly yellow-green. This trend occurs because the wavelengths of visible light absorbed by the halogens increase down the group. Specifically, the colour of a halogen, such as chlorine, results from the electron transition between the highest occupied antibonding πg molecular orbital and the lowest vacant antibonding σu molecular orbital. The colour fades at low temperatures, so that solid chlorine at −195 °C is almost colourless. + +Like solid bromine and iodine, solid chlorine crystallises in the orthorhombic crystal system, in a layered lattice of Cl2 molecules. The Cl–Cl distance is 198 pm (close to the gaseous Cl–Cl distance of 199 pm) and the Cl···Cl distance between molecules is 332 pm within a layer and 382 pm between layers (compare the van der Waals radius of chlorine, 180 pm). This structure means that chlorine is a very poor conductor of electricity, and indeed its conductivity is so low as to be practically unmeasurable. + +Isotopes + +Chlorine has two stable isotopes, 35Cl and 37Cl. These are its only two natural isotopes occurring in quantity, with 35Cl making up 76% of natural chlorine and 37Cl making up the remaining 24%. Both are synthesised in stars in the oxygen-burning and silicon-burning processes. Both have nuclear spin 3/2+ and thus may be used for nuclear magnetic resonance, although the spin magnitude being greater than 1/2 results in non-spherical nuclear charge distribution and thus resonance broadening as a result of a nonzero nuclear quadrupole moment and resultant quadrupolar relaxation. The other chlorine isotopes are all radioactive, with half-lives too short to occur in nature primordially. Of these, the most commonly used in the laboratory are 36Cl (t1/2 = 3.0×105 y) and 38Cl (t1/2 = 37.2 min), which may be produced from the neutron activation of natural chlorine. + +The most stable chlorine radioisotope is 36Cl. The primary decay mode of isotopes lighter than 35Cl is electron capture to isotopes of sulfur; that of isotopes heavier than 37Cl is beta decay to isotopes of argon; and 36Cl may decay by either mode to stable 36S or 36Ar. 36Cl occurs in trace quantities in nature as a cosmogenic nuclide in a ratio of about (7–10) × 10−13 to 1 with stable chlorine isotopes: it is produced in the atmosphere by spallation of 36Ar by interactions with cosmic ray protons. In the top meter of the lithosphere, 36Cl is generated primarily by thermal neutron activation of 35Cl and spallation of 39K and 40Ca. In the subsurface environment, muon capture by 40Ca becomes more important as a way to generate 36Cl. + +Chemistry and compounds + +Chlorine is intermediate in reactivity between fluorine and bromine, and is one of the most reactive elements. Chlorine is a weaker oxidising agent than fluorine but a stronger one than bromine or iodine. This can be seen from the standard electrode potentials of the X2/X− couples (F, +2.866 V; Cl, +1.395 V; Br, +1.087 V; I, +0.615 V; At, approximately +0.3  V). However, this trend is not shown in the bond energies because fluorine is singular due to its small size, low polarisability, and inability to show hypervalence. As another difference, chlorine has a significant chemistry in positive oxidation states while fluorine does not. Chlorination often leads to higher oxidation states than bromination or iodination but lower oxidation states than fluorination. Chlorine tends to react with compounds including M–M, M–H, or M–C bonds to form M–Cl bonds. + +Given that E°(O2/H2O) = +1.229 V, which is less than +1.395 V, it would be expected that chlorine should be able to oxidise water to oxygen and hydrochloric acid. However, the kinetics of this reaction are unfavorable, and there is also a bubble overpotential effect to consider, so that electrolysis of aqueous chloride solutions evolves chlorine gas and not oxygen gas, a fact that is very useful for the industrial production of chlorine. + +Hydrogen chloride + +The simplest chlorine compound is hydrogen chloride, HCl, a major chemical in industry as well as in the laboratory, both as a gas and dissolved in water as hydrochloric acid. It is often produced by burning hydrogen gas in chlorine gas, or as a byproduct of chlorinating hydrocarbons. Another approach is to treat sodium chloride with concentrated sulfuric acid to produce hydrochloric acid, also known as the "salt-cake" process: +NaCl + H2SO4 NaHSO4 + HCl +NaCl + NaHSO4 Na2SO4 + HCl +In the laboratory, hydrogen chloride gas may be made by drying the acid with concentrated sulfuric acid. Deuterium chloride, DCl, may be produced by reacting benzoyl chloride with heavy water (D2O). + +At room temperature, hydrogen chloride is a colourless gas, like all the hydrogen halides apart from hydrogen fluoride, since hydrogen cannot form strong hydrogen bonds to the larger electronegative chlorine atom; however, weak hydrogen bonding is present in solid crystalline hydrogen chloride at low temperatures, similar to the hydrogen fluoride structure, before disorder begins to prevail as the temperature is raised. Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid (pKa = −7) because the hydrogen bonds to chlorine are too weak to inhibit dissociation. The HCl/H2O system has many hydrates HCl·nH2O for n = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. Beyond a 1:1 mixture of HCl and H2O, the system separates completely into two separate liquid phases. Hydrochloric acid forms an azeotrope with boiling point 108.58 °C at 20.22 g HCl per 100 g solution; thus hydrochloric acid cannot be concentrated beyond this point by distillation. + +Unlike hydrogen fluoride, anhydrous liquid hydrogen chloride is difficult to work with as a solvent, because its boiling point is low, it has a small liquid range, its dielectric constant is low and it does not dissociate appreciably into H2Cl+ and ions – the latter, in any case, are much less stable than the bifluoride ions () due to the very weak hydrogen bonding between hydrogen and chlorine, though its salts with very large and weakly polarising cations such as Cs+ and (R = Me, Et, Bun) may still be isolated. Anhydrous hydrogen chloride is a poor solvent, only able to dissolve small molecular compounds such as nitrosyl chloride and phenol, or salts with very low lattice energies such as tetraalkylammonium halides. It readily protonates electrophiles containing lone-pairs or π bonds. Solvolysis, ligand replacement reactions, and oxidations are well-characterised in hydrogen chloride solution: +Ph3SnCl + HCl ⟶ Ph2SnCl2 + PhH (solvolysis) +Ph3COH + 3 HCl ⟶ + H3O+Cl− (solvolysis) + + BCl3 ⟶ + HCl (ligand replacement) +PCl3 + Cl2 + HCl ⟶ (oxidation) + +Other binary chlorides + +Nearly all elements in the periodic table form binary chlorides. The exceptions are decidedly in the minority and stem in each case from one of three causes: extreme inertness and reluctance to participate in chemical reactions (the noble gases, with the exception of xenon in the highly unstable XeCl2 and XeCl4); extreme nuclear instability hampering chemical investigation before decay and transmutation (many of the heaviest elements beyond bismuth); and having an electronegativity higher than chlorine's (oxygen and fluorine) so that the resultant binary compounds are formally not chlorides but rather oxides or fluorides of chlorine. Even though nitrogen in NCl3 is bearing a negative charge, the compound is usually called nitrogen trichloride. + +Chlorination of metals with Cl2 usually leads to a higher oxidation state than bromination with Br2 when multiple oxidation states are available, such as in MoCl5 and MoBr3. Chlorides can be made by reaction of an element or its oxide, hydroxide, or carbonate with hydrochloric acid, and then dehydrated by mildly high temperatures combined with either low pressure or anhydrous hydrogen chloride gas. These methods work best when the chloride product is stable to hydrolysis; otherwise, the possibilities include high-temperature oxidative chlorination of the element with chlorine or hydrogen chloride, high-temperature chlorination of a metal oxide or other halide by chlorine, a volatile metal chloride, carbon tetrachloride, or an organic chloride. For instance, zirconium dioxide reacts with chlorine at standard conditions to produce zirconium tetrachloride, and uranium trioxide reacts with hexachloropropene when heated under reflux to give uranium tetrachloride. The second example also involves a reduction in oxidation state, which can also be achieved by reducing a higher chloride using hydrogen or a metal as a reducing agent. This may also be achieved by thermal decomposition or disproportionation as follows: + EuCl3 + H2 ⟶ EuCl2 + HCl + ReCl5 ReCl3 + Cl2 + AuCl3 AuCl + Cl2 + +Most metal chlorides with the metal in low oxidation states (+1 to +3) are ionic. Nonmetals tend to form covalent molecular chlorides, as do metals in high oxidation states from +3 and above. Both ionic and covalent chlorides are known for metals in oxidation state +3 (e.g. scandium chloride is mostly ionic, but aluminium chloride is not). Silver chloride is very insoluble in water and is thus often used as a qualitative test for chlorine. + +Polychlorine compounds +Although dichlorine is a strong oxidising agent with a high first ionisation energy, it may be oxidised under extreme conditions to form the cation. This is very unstable and has only been characterised by its electronic band spectrum when produced in a low-pressure discharge tube. The yellow cation is more stable and may be produced as follows: + +This reaction is conducted in the oxidising solvent arsenic pentafluoride. The trichloride anion, , has also been characterised; it is analogous to triiodide. + +Chlorine fluorides +The three fluorides of chlorine form a subset of the interhalogen compounds, all of which are diamagnetic. Some cationic and anionic derivatives are known, such as , , , and Cl2F+. Some pseudohalides of chlorine are also known, such as cyanogen chloride (ClCN, linear), chlorine cyanate (ClNCO), chlorine thiocyanate (ClSCN, unlike its oxygen counterpart), and chlorine azide (ClN3). + +Chlorine monofluoride (ClF) is extremely thermally stable, and is sold commercially in 500-gram steel lecture bottles. It is a colourless gas that melts at −155.6 °C and boils at −100.1 °C. It may be produced by the reaction of its elements at 225 °C, though it must then be separated and purified from chlorine trifluoride and its reactants. Its properties are mostly intermediate between those of chlorine and fluorine. It will react with many metals and nonmetals from room temperature and above, fluorinating them and liberating chlorine. It will also act as a chlorofluorinating agent, adding chlorine and fluorine across a multiple bond or by oxidation: for example, it will attack carbon monoxide to form carbonyl chlorofluoride, COFCl. It will react analogously with hexafluoroacetone, (CF3)2CO, with a potassium fluoride catalyst to produce heptafluoroisopropyl hypochlorite, (CF3)2CFOCl; with nitriles RCN to produce RCF2NCl2; and with the sulfur oxides SO2 and SO3 to produce ClSO2F and ClOSO2F respectively. It will also react exothermically with compounds containing –OH and –NH groups, such as water: +H2O + 2 ClF ⟶ 2 HF + Cl2O + +Chlorine trifluoride (ClF3) is a volatile colourless molecular liquid which melts at −76.3 °C and boils at 11.8  °C. It may be formed by directly fluorinating gaseous chlorine or chlorine monofluoride at 200–300 °C. One of the most reactive chemical compounds known, the list of elements it sets on fire is diverse, containing hydrogen, potassium, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, sulfur, selenium, tellurium, bromine, iodine, and powdered molybdenum, tungsten, rhodium, iridium, and iron. It will also ignite water, along with many substances which in ordinary circumstances would be considered chemically inert such as asbestos, concrete, glass, and sand. When heated, it will even corrode noble metals as palladium, platinum, and gold, and even the noble gases xenon and radon do not escape fluorination. An impermeable fluoride layer is formed by sodium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, tin, and silver, which may be removed by heating. Nickel, copper, and steel containers are usually used due to their great resistance to attack by chlorine trifluoride, stemming from the formation of an unreactive layer of metal fluoride. Its reaction with hydrazine to form hydrogen fluoride, nitrogen, and chlorine gases was used in experimental rocket engine, but has problems largely stemming from its extreme hypergolicity resulting in ignition without any measurable delay. Today, it is mostly used in nuclear fuel processing, to oxidise uranium to uranium hexafluoride for its enriching and to separate it from plutonium, as well as in the semiconductor industry, where it is used to clean chemical vapor deposition chambers. It can act as a fluoride ion donor or acceptor (Lewis base or acid), although it does not dissociate appreciably into and ions. + +Chlorine pentafluoride (ClF5) is made on a large scale by direct fluorination of chlorine with excess fluorine gas at 350 °C and 250 atm, and on a small scale by reacting metal chlorides with fluorine gas at 100–300  °C. It melts at −103 °C and boils at −13.1 °C. It is a very strong fluorinating agent, although it is still not as effective as chlorine trifluoride. Only a few specific stoichiometric reactions have been characterised. Arsenic pentafluoride and antimony pentafluoride form ionic adducts of the form [ClF4]+[MF6]− (M = As, Sb) and water reacts vigorously as follows: +2 H2O + ClF5 ⟶ 4 HF + FClO2 + +The product, chloryl fluoride, is one of the five known chlorine oxide fluorides. These range from the thermally unstable FClO to the chemically unreactive perchloryl fluoride (FClO3), the other three being FClO2, F3ClO, and F3ClO2. All five behave similarly to the chlorine fluorides, both structurally and chemically, and may act as Lewis acids or bases by gaining or losing fluoride ions respectively or as very strong oxidising and fluorinating agents. + +Chlorine oxides + +The chlorine oxides are well-studied in spite of their instability (all of them are endothermic compounds). They are important because they are produced when chlorofluorocarbons undergo photolysis in the upper atmosphere and cause the destruction of the ozone layer. None of them can be made from directly reacting the elements. + +Dichlorine monoxide (Cl2O) is a brownish-yellow gas (red-brown when solid or liquid) which may be obtained by reacting chlorine gas with yellow mercury(II) oxide. It is very soluble in water, in which it is in equilibrium with hypochlorous acid (HOCl), of which it is the anhydride. It is thus an effective bleach and is mostly used to make hypochlorites. It explodes on heating or sparking or in the presence of ammonia gas. + +Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) was the first chlorine oxide to be discovered in 1811 by Humphry Davy. It is a yellow paramagnetic gas (deep-red as a solid or liquid), as expected from its having an odd number of electrons: it is stable towards dimerisation due to the delocalisation of the unpaired electron. It explodes above −40 °C as a liquid and under pressure as a gas and therefore must be made at low concentrations for wood-pulp bleaching and water treatment. It is usually prepared by reducing a chlorate as follows: + + Cl− + 2 H+ ⟶ ClO2 + Cl2 + H2O +Its production is thus intimately linked to the redox reactions of the chlorine oxoacids. It is a strong oxidising agent, reacting with sulfur, phosphorus, phosphorus halides, and potassium borohydride. It dissolves exothermically in water to form dark-green solutions that very slowly decompose in the dark. Crystalline clathrate hydrates ClO2·nH2O (n ≈ 6–10) separate out at low temperatures. However, in the presence of light, these solutions rapidly photodecompose to form a mixture of chloric and hydrochloric acids. Photolysis of individual ClO2 molecules result in the radicals ClO and ClOO, while at room temperature mostly chlorine, oxygen, and some ClO3 and Cl2O6 are produced. Cl2O3 is also produced when photolysing the solid at −78 °C: it is a dark brown solid that explodes below 0 °C. The ClO radical leads to the depletion of atmospheric ozone and is thus environmentally important as follows: +Cl• + O3 ⟶ ClO• + O2 +ClO• + O• ⟶ Cl• + O2 + +Chlorine perchlorate (ClOClO3) is a pale yellow liquid that is less stable than ClO2 and decomposes at room temperature to form chlorine, oxygen, and dichlorine hexoxide (Cl2O6). Chlorine perchlorate may also be considered a chlorine derivative of perchloric acid (HOClO3), similar to the thermally unstable chlorine derivatives of other oxoacids: examples include chlorine nitrate (ClONO2, vigorously reactive and explosive), and chlorine fluorosulfate (ClOSO2F, more stable but still moisture-sensitive and highly reactive). Dichlorine hexoxide is a dark-red liquid that freezes to form a solid which turns yellow at −180 °C: it is usually made by reaction of chlorine dioxide with oxygen. Despite attempts to rationalise it as the dimer of ClO3, it reacts more as though it were chloryl perchlorate, [ClO2]+[ClO4]−, which has been confirmed to be the correct structure of the solid. It hydrolyses in water to give a mixture of chloric and perchloric acids: the analogous reaction with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride does not proceed to completion. + +Dichlorine heptoxide (Cl2O7) is the anhydride of perchloric acid (HClO4) and can readily be obtained from it by dehydrating it with phosphoric acid at −10 °C and then distilling the product at −35 °C and 1 mmHg. It is a shock-sensitive, colourless oily liquid. It is the least reactive of the chlorine oxides, being the only one to not set organic materials on fire at room temperature. It may be dissolved in water to regenerate perchloric acid or in aqueous alkalis to regenerate perchlorates. However, it thermally decomposes explosively by breaking one of the central Cl–O bonds, producing the radicals ClO3 and ClO4 which immediately decompose to the elements through intermediate oxides. + +Chlorine oxoacids and oxyanions + +Chlorine forms four oxoacids: hypochlorous acid (HOCl), chlorous acid (HOClO), chloric acid (HOClO2), and perchloric acid (HOClO3). As can be seen from the redox potentials given in the adjacent table, chlorine is much more stable towards disproportionation in acidic solutions than in alkaline solutions: +{| +|- +| Cl2 + H2O || HOCl + H+ + Cl− || Kac = 4.2 × 10−4 mol2 l−2 +|- +| Cl2 + 2 OH− || OCl− + H2O + Cl− || Kalk = 7.5 × 1015 mol−1 l +|} + +The hypochlorite ions also disproportionate further to produce chloride and chlorate (3 ClO− 2 Cl− + ) but this reaction is quite slow at temperatures below 70 °C in spite of the very favourable equilibrium constant of 1027. The chlorate ions may themselves disproportionate to form chloride and perchlorate (4 Cl− + 3 ) but this is still very slow even at 100 °C despite the very favourable equilibrium constant of 1020. The rates of reaction for the chlorine oxyanions increases as the oxidation state of chlorine decreases. The strengths of the chlorine oxyacids increase very quickly as the oxidation state of chlorine increases due to the increasing delocalisation of charge over more and more oxygen atoms in their conjugate bases. + +Most of the chlorine oxoacids may be produced by exploiting these disproportionation reactions. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is highly reactive and quite unstable; its salts are mostly used for their bleaching and sterilising abilities. They are very strong oxidising agents, transferring an oxygen atom to most inorganic species. Chlorous acid (HOClO) is even more unstable and cannot be isolated or concentrated without decomposition: it is known from the decomposition of aqueous chlorine dioxide. However, sodium chlorite is a stable salt and is useful for bleaching and stripping textiles, as an oxidising agent, and as a source of chlorine dioxide. Chloric acid (HOClO2) is a strong acid that is quite stable in cold water up to 30% concentration, but on warming gives chlorine and chlorine dioxide. Evaporation under reduced pressure allows it to be concentrated further to about 40%, but then it decomposes to perchloric acid, chlorine, oxygen, water, and chlorine dioxide. Its most important salt is sodium chlorate, mostly used to make chlorine dioxide to bleach paper pulp. The decomposition of chlorate to chloride and oxygen is a common way to produce oxygen in the laboratory on a small scale. Chloride and chlorate may comproportionate to form chlorine as follows: + + 5 Cl− + 6 H+ ⟶ 3 Cl2 + 3 H2O + +Perchlorates and perchloric acid (HOClO3) are the most stable oxo-compounds of chlorine, in keeping with the fact that chlorine compounds are most stable when the chlorine atom is in its lowest (−1) or highest (+7) possible oxidation states. Perchloric acid and aqueous perchlorates are vigorous and sometimes violent oxidising agents when heated, in stark contrast to their mostly inactive nature at room temperature due to the high activation energies for these reactions for kinetic reasons. Perchlorates are made by electrolytically oxidising sodium chlorate, and perchloric acid is made by reacting anhydrous sodium perchlorate or barium perchlorate with concentrated hydrochloric acid, filtering away the chloride precipitated and distilling the filtrate to concentrate it. Anhydrous perchloric acid is a colourless mobile liquid that is sensitive to shock that explodes on contact with most organic compounds, sets hydrogen iodide and thionyl chloride on fire and even oxidises silver and gold. Although it is a weak ligand, weaker than water, a few compounds involving coordinated are known. + +Organochlorine compounds + +Like the other carbon–halogen bonds, the C–Cl bond is a common functional group that forms part of core organic chemistry. Formally, compounds with this functional group may be considered organic derivatives of the chloride anion. Due to the difference of electronegativity between chlorine (3.16) and carbon (2.55), the carbon in a C–Cl bond is electron-deficient and thus electrophilic. Chlorination modifies the physical properties of hydrocarbons in several ways: chlorocarbons are typically denser than water due to the higher atomic weight of chlorine versus hydrogen, and aliphatic organochlorides are alkylating agents because chloride is a leaving group. + +Alkanes and aryl alkanes may be chlorinated under free-radical conditions, with UV light. However, the extent of chlorination is difficult to control: the reaction is not regioselective and often results in a mixture of various isomers with different degrees of chlorination, though this may be permissible if the products are easily separated. Aryl chlorides may be prepared by the Friedel-Crafts halogenation, using chlorine and a Lewis acid catalyst. The haloform reaction, using chlorine and sodium hydroxide, is also able to generate alkyl halides from methyl ketones, and related compounds. Chlorine adds to the multiple bonds on alkenes and alkynes as well, giving di- or tetrachloro compounds. However, due to the expense and reactivity of chlorine, organochlorine compounds are more commonly produced by using hydrogen chloride, or with chlorinating agents such as phosphorus pentachloride (PCl5) or thionyl chloride (SOCl2). The last is very convenient in the laboratory because all side products are gaseous and do not have to be distilled out. + +Many organochlorine compounds have been isolated from natural sources ranging from bacteria to humans. Chlorinated organic compounds are found in nearly every class of biomolecules including alkaloids, terpenes, amino acids, flavonoids, steroids, and fatty acids. Organochlorides, including dioxins, are produced in the high temperature environment of forest fires, and dioxins have been found in the preserved ashes of lightning-ignited fires that predate synthetic dioxins. In addition, a variety of simple chlorinated hydrocarbons including dichloromethane, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride have been isolated from marine algae. A majority of the chloromethane in the environment is produced naturally by biological decomposition, forest fires, and volcanoes. + +Some types of organochlorides, though not all, have significant toxicity to plants or animals, including humans. Dioxins, produced when organic matter is burned in the presence of chlorine, and some insecticides, such as DDT, are persistent organic pollutants which pose dangers when they are released into the environment. For example, DDT, which was widely used to control insects in the mid 20th century, also accumulates in food chains, and causes reproductive problems (e.g., eggshell thinning) in certain bird species. Due to the ready homolytic fission of the C–Cl bond to create chlorine radicals in the upper atmosphere, chlorofluorocarbons have been phased out due to the harm they do to the ozone layer. + +Occurrence and production + +Chlorine is too reactive to occur as the free element in nature but is very abundant in the form of its chloride salts. It is the twenty-first most abundant element in Earth's crust and makes up 126 parts per million of it, through the large deposits of chloride minerals, especially sodium chloride, that have been evaporated from water bodies. All of these pale in comparison to the reserves of chloride ions in seawater: smaller amounts at higher concentrations occur in some inland seas and underground brine wells, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah and the Dead Sea in Israel. + +Small batches of chlorine gas are prepared in the laboratory by combining hydrochloric acid and manganese dioxide, but the need rarely arises due to its ready availability. In industry, elemental chlorine is usually produced by the electrolysis of sodium chloride dissolved in water. This method, the chloralkali process industrialized in 1892, now provides most industrial chlorine gas. Along with chlorine, the method yields hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide, which is the most valuable product. The process proceeds according to the following chemical equation: + +2 NaCl + 2 H2O → Cl2 + H2 + 2 NaOH + +The electrolysis of chloride solutions all proceed according to the following equations: + +Cathode: 2 H2O + 2 e− → H2 + 2 OH− +Anode: 2 Cl− → Cl2 + 2 e− + +In diaphragm cell electrolysis, an asbestos (or polymer-fiber) diaphragm separates a cathode and an anode, preventing the chlorine forming at the anode from re-mixing with the sodium hydroxide and the hydrogen formed at the cathode. The salt solution (brine) is continuously fed to the anode compartment and flows through the diaphragm to the cathode compartment, where the caustic alkali is produced and the brine is partially depleted. Diaphragm methods produce dilute and slightly impure alkali, but they are not burdened with the problem of mercury disposal and they are more energy efficient. + +Membrane cell electrolysis employs permeable membrane as an ion exchanger. Saturated sodium (or potassium) chloride solution is passed through the anode compartment, leaving at a lower concentration. This method also produces very pure sodium (or potassium) hydroxide but has the disadvantage of requiring very pure brine at high concentrations. + +In the Deacon process, hydrogen chloride recovered from the production of organochlorine compounds is recovered as chlorine. The process relies on oxidation using oxygen: + 4 HCl + O2 → 2 Cl2 + 2 H2O + +The reaction requires a catalyst. As introduced by Deacon, early catalysts were based on copper. Commercial processes, such as the Mitsui MT-Chlorine Process, have switched to chromium and ruthenium-based catalysts. The chlorine produced is available in cylinders from sizes ranging from 450 g to 70 kg, as well as drums (865 kg), tank wagons (15 tonnes on roads; 27–90 tonnes by rail), and barges (600–1200 tonnes). + +Applications +Sodium chloride is the most common chlorine compound, and is the main source of chlorine for the demand by the chemical industry. About 15000 chlorine-containing compounds are commercially traded, including such diverse compounds as chlorinated methane, ethanes, vinyl chloride, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), aluminium trichloride for catalysis, the chlorides of magnesium, titanium, zirconium, and hafnium which are the precursors for producing the pure form of those elements. + +Quantitatively, of all elemental chlorine produced, about 63% is used in the manufacture of organic compounds, and 18% in the manufacture of inorganic chlorine compounds. About 15,000 chlorine compounds are used commercially. The remaining 19% of chlorine produced is used for bleaches and disinfection products. The most significant of organic compounds in terms of production volume are 1,2-dichloroethane and vinyl chloride, intermediates in the production of PVC. Other particularly important organochlorines are methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, vinylidene chloride, trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, allyl chloride, epichlorohydrin, chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzenes, and trichlorobenzenes. The major inorganic compounds include HCl, Cl2O, HOCl, NaClO3, chlorinated isocyanurates, AlCl3, SiCl4, SnCl4, PCl3, PCl5, POCl3, AsCl3, SbCl3, SbCl5, BiCl3, and ZnCl2. + +Sanitation, disinfection, and antisepsis + +Combating putrefaction + +In France (as elsewhere), animal intestines were processed to make musical instrument strings, Goldbeater's skin and other products. This was done in "gut factories" (boyauderies), and it was an odiferous and unhealthy process. In or about 1820, the Société d'encouragement pour l'industrie nationale offered a prize for the discovery of a method, chemical or mechanical, for separating the peritoneal membrane of animal intestines without putrefaction. The prize was won by Antoine-Germain Labarraque, a 44-year-old French chemist and pharmacist who had discovered that Berthollet's chlorinated bleaching solutions ("Eau de Javel") not only destroyed the smell of putrefaction of animal tissue decomposition, but also actually retarded the decomposition. + +Labarraque's research resulted in the use of chlorides and hypochlorites of lime (calcium hypochlorite) and of sodium (sodium hypochlorite) in the boyauderies. The same chemicals were found to be useful in the routine disinfection and deodorization of latrines, sewers, markets, abattoirs, anatomical theatres, and morgues. They were successful in hospitals, lazarets, prisons, infirmaries (both on land and at sea), magnaneries, stables, cattle-sheds, etc.; and they were beneficial during exhumations, embalming, outbreaks of epidemic disease, fever, and blackleg in cattle. + +Disinfection +Labarraque's chlorinated lime and soda solutions have been advocated since 1828 to prevent infection (called "contagious infection", presumed to be transmitted by "miasmas"), and to treat putrefaction of existing wounds, including septic wounds. In his 1828 work, Labarraque recommended that doctors breathe chlorine, wash their hands in chlorinated lime, and even sprinkle chlorinated lime about the patients' beds in cases of "contagious infection". In 1828, the contagion of infections was well known, even though the agency of the microbe was not discovered until more than half a century later. + +During the Paris cholera outbreak of 1832, large quantities of so-called chloride of lime were used to disinfect the capital. This was not simply modern calcium chloride, but chlorine gas dissolved in lime-water (dilute calcium hydroxide) to form calcium hypochlorite (chlorinated lime). Labarraque's discovery helped to remove the terrible stench of decay from hospitals and dissecting rooms, and by doing so, effectively deodorised the Latin Quarter of Paris. These "putrid miasmas" were thought by many to cause the spread of "contagion" and "infection" – both words used before the germ theory of infection. Chloride of lime was used for destroying odors and "putrid matter". One source claims chloride of lime was used by Dr. John Snow to disinfect water from the cholera-contaminated well that was feeding the Broad Street pump in 1854 London, though three other reputable sources that describe that famous cholera epidemic do not mention the incident. One reference makes it clear that chloride of lime was used to disinfect the offal and filth in the streets surrounding the Broad Street pump – a common practice in mid-nineteenth century England. + +Semmelweis and experiments with antisepsis + +Perhaps the most famous application of Labarraque's chlorine and chemical base solutions was in 1847, when Ignaz Semmelweis used chlorine-water (chlorine dissolved in pure water, which was cheaper than chlorinated lime solutions) to disinfect the hands of Austrian doctors, which Semmelweis noticed still carried the stench of decomposition from the dissection rooms to the patient examination rooms. Long before the germ theory of disease, Semmelweis theorized that "cadaveric particles" were transmitting decay from fresh medical cadavers to living patients, and he used the well-known "Labarraque's solutions" as the only known method to remove the smell of decay and tissue decomposition (which he found that soap did not). The solutions proved to be far more effective antiseptics than soap (Semmelweis was also aware of their greater efficacy, but not the reason), and this resulted in Semmelweis's celebrated success in stopping the transmission of childbed fever ("puerperal fever") in the maternity wards of Vienna General Hospital in Austria in 1847. + +Much later, during World War I in 1916, a standardized and diluted modification of Labarraque's solution containing hypochlorite (0.5%) and boric acid as an acidic stabilizer was developed by Henry Drysdale Dakin (who gave full credit to Labarraque's prior work in this area). Called Dakin's solution, the method of wound irrigation with chlorinated solutions allowed antiseptic treatment of a wide variety of open wounds, long before the modern antibiotic era. A modified version of this solution continues to be employed in wound irrigation in modern times, where it remains effective against bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics (see Century Pharmaceuticals). + +Public sanitation + +The first continuous application of chlorination to drinking U.S. water was installed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1908. By 1918, the US Department of Treasury called for all drinking water to be disinfected with chlorine. Chlorine is presently an important chemical for water purification (such as in water treatment plants), in disinfectants, and in bleach. Even small water supplies are now routinely chlorinated. + +Chlorine is usually used (in the form of hypochlorous acid) to kill bacteria and other microbes in drinking water supplies and public swimming pools. In most private swimming pools, chlorine itself is not used, but rather sodium hypochlorite, formed from chlorine and sodium hydroxide, or solid tablets of chlorinated isocyanurates. The drawback of using chlorine in swimming pools is that the chlorine reacts with the amino acids in proteins in human hair and skin. Contrary to popular belief, the distinctive "chlorine aroma" associated with swimming pools is not the result of elemental chlorine itself, but of chloramine, a chemical compound produced by the reaction of free dissolved chlorine with amines in organic substances including those in urine and sweat. As a disinfectant in water, chlorine is more than three times as effective against Escherichia coli as bromine, and more than six times as effective as iodine. Increasingly, monochloramine itself is being directly added to drinking water for purposes of disinfection, a process known as chloramination. + +It is often impractical to store and use poisonous chlorine gas for water treatment, so alternative methods of adding chlorine are used. These include hypochlorite solutions, which gradually release chlorine into the water, and compounds like sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione (dihydrate or anhydrous), sometimes referred to as "dichlor", and trichloro-s-triazinetrione, sometimes referred to as "trichlor". These compounds are stable while solid and may be used in powdered, granular, or tablet form. When added in small amounts to pool water or industrial water systems, the chlorine atoms hydrolyze from the rest of the molecule, forming hypochlorous acid (HOCl), which acts as a general biocide, killing germs, microorganisms, algae, and so on. + +Use as a weapon + +World War I + +Chlorine gas, also known as bertholite, was first used as a weapon in World War I by Germany on April 22, 1915, in the Second Battle of Ypres. As described by the soldiers, it had the distinctive smell of a mixture of pepper and pineapple. It also tasted metallic and stung the back of the throat and chest. Chlorine reacts with water in the mucosa of the lungs to form hydrochloric acid, destructive to living tissue and potentially lethal. Human respiratory systems can be protected from chlorine gas by gas masks with activated charcoal or other filters, which makes chlorine gas much less lethal than other chemical weapons. It was pioneered by a German scientist later to be a Nobel laureate, Fritz Haber of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, in collaboration with the German chemical conglomerate IG Farben, which developed methods for discharging chlorine gas against an entrenched enemy. After its first use, both sides in the conflict used chlorine as a chemical weapon, but it was soon replaced by the more deadly phosgene and mustard gas. + +Middle east + +Chlorine gas was also used during the Iraq War in Anbar Province in 2007, with insurgents packing truck bombs with mortar shells and chlorine tanks. The attacks killed two people from the explosives and sickened more than 350. Most of the deaths were caused by the force of the explosions rather than the effects of chlorine since the toxic gas is readily dispersed and diluted in the atmosphere by the blast. In some bombings, over a hundred civilians were hospitalized due to breathing difficulties. The Iraqi authorities tightened security for elemental chlorine, which is essential for providing safe drinking water to the population. + +On 23 October 2014, it was reported that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant had used chlorine gas in the town of Duluiyah, Iraq. Laboratory analysis of clothing and soil samples confirmed the use of chlorine gas against Kurdish Peshmerga Forces in a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack on 23 January 2015 at the Highway 47 Kiske Junction near Mosul. + +Another country in the middle east, Syria, has used chlorine as a chemical weapon delivered from barrel bombs and rockets. In 2016, the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism concluded that the Syrian government used chlorine as a chemical weapon in three separate attacks. Later investigations from the OPCW's Investigation and Identification Team concluded that the Syrian Air Force was responsible for chlorine attacks in 2017 and 2018. + +Biological role +The chloride anion is an essential nutrient for metabolism. Chlorine is needed for the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and in cellular pump functions. The main dietary source is table salt, or sodium chloride. Overly low or high concentrations of chloride in the blood are examples of electrolyte disturbances. Hypochloremia (having too little chloride) rarely occurs in the absence of other abnormalities. It is sometimes associated with hypoventilation. It can be associated with chronic respiratory acidosis. Hyperchloremia (having too much chloride) usually does not produce symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they tend to resemble those of hypernatremia (having too much sodium). Reduction in blood chloride leads to cerebral dehydration; symptoms are most often caused by rapid rehydration which results in cerebral edema. Hyperchloremia can affect oxygen transport. + +Hazards + +Chlorine is a toxic gas that attacks the respiratory system, eyes, and skin. Because it is denser than air, it tends to accumulate at the bottom of poorly ventilated spaces. Chlorine gas is a strong oxidizer, which may react with flammable materials. + +Chlorine is detectable with measuring devices in concentrations as low as 0.2 parts per million (ppm), and by smell at 3 ppm. Coughing and vomiting may occur at 30 ppm and lung damage at 60 ppm. About 1000 ppm can be fatal after a few deep breaths of the gas. The IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) concentration is 10 ppm. Breathing lower concentrations can aggravate the respiratory system and exposure to the gas can irritate the eyes. When chlorine is inhaled at concentrations greater than 30 ppm, it reacts with water within the lungs, producing hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl). + +When used at specified levels for water disinfection, the reaction of chlorine with water is not a major concern for human health. Other materials present in the water may generate disinfection by-products that are associated with negative effects on human health. + +In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set the permissible exposure limit for elemental chlorine at 1 ppm, or 3 mg/m3. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has designated a recommended exposure limit of 0.5 ppm over 15 minutes. + +In the home, accidents occur when hypochlorite bleach solutions come into contact with certain acidic drain-cleaners to produce chlorine gas. Hypochlorite bleach (a popular laundry additive) combined with ammonia (another popular laundry additive) produces chloramines, another toxic group of chemicals. + +Chlorine-induced cracking in structural materials +Chlorine is widely used for purifying water, especially potable water supplies and water used in swimming pools. Several catastrophic collapses of swimming pool ceilings have occurred from chlorine-induced stress corrosion cracking of stainless steel suspension rods. Some polymers are also sensitive to attack, including acetal resin and polybutene. Both materials were used in hot and cold water domestic plumbing, and stress corrosion cracking caused widespread failures in the US in the 1980s and 1990s. + +Chlorine-iron fire +The element iron can combine with chlorine at high temperatures in a strong exothermic reaction, creating a chlorine-iron fire. Chlorine-iron fires are a risk in chemical process plants, where much of the pipework that carries chlorine gas is made of steel. + +See also + + Chlorine cycle + Chlorine gas poisoning + Industrial gas + Polymer degradation + Reductive dechlorination + +References + +Explanatory notes + +General bibliography + +External links + + Chlorine at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham) + Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: Chlorine + Electrolytic production + Production and liquefaction of chlorine + Chlorine Production Using Mercury, Environmental Considerations and Alternatives + National Pollutant Inventory – Chlorine + National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – Chlorine Page + Chlorine Institute – Trade association representing the chlorine industry + Chlorine Online – the web portal of Eurochlor – the business association of the European chlor-alkali industry + + + +Chemical elements +Diatomic nonmetals +Gases with color +Halogens +Hazardous air pollutants +Industrial gases +Chemical hazards +Oxidizing agents +Pulmonary agents +Reactive nonmetals +Swimming pool equipment +Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to its heavier homologues strontium and barium. It is the fifth most abundant element in Earth's crust, and the third most abundant metal, after iron and aluminium. The most common calcium compound on Earth is calcium carbonate, found in limestone and the fossilised remnants of early sea life; gypsum, anhydrite, fluorite, and apatite are also sources of calcium. The name derives from Latin calx "lime", which was obtained from heating limestone. + +Some calcium compounds were known to the ancients, though their chemistry was unknown until the seventeenth century. Pure calcium was isolated in 1808 via electrolysis of its oxide by Humphry Davy, who named the element. Calcium compounds are widely used in many industries: in foods and pharmaceuticals for calcium supplementation, in the paper industry as bleaches, as components in cement and electrical insulators, and in the manufacture of soaps. On the other hand, the metal in pure form has few applications due to its high reactivity; still, in small quantities it is often used as an alloying component in steelmaking, and sometimes, as a calcium–lead alloy, in making automotive batteries. + +Calcium is the most abundant metal and the fifth-most abundant element in the human body. As electrolytes, calcium ions (Ca2+) play a vital role in the physiological and biochemical processes of organisms and cells: in signal transduction pathways where they act as a second messenger; in neurotransmitter release from neurons; in contraction of all muscle cell types; as cofactors in many enzymes; and in fertilization. Calcium ions outside cells are important for maintaining the potential difference across excitable cell membranes, protein synthesis, and bone formation. + +Characteristics + +Classification +Calcium is a very ductile silvery metal (sometimes described as pale yellow) whose properties are very similar to the heavier elements in its group, strontium, barium, and radium. A calcium atom has twenty electrons, arranged in the electron configuration [Ar]4s2. Like the other elements placed in group 2 of the periodic table, calcium has two valence electrons in the outermost s-orbital, which are very easily lost in chemical reactions to form a dipositive ion with the stable electron configuration of a noble gas, in this case argon. + +Hence, calcium is almost always divalent in its compounds, which are usually ionic. Hypothetical univalent salts of calcium would be stable with respect to their elements, but not to disproportionation to the divalent salts and calcium metal, because the enthalpy of formation of MX2 is much higher than those of the hypothetical MX. This occurs because of the much greater lattice energy afforded by the more highly charged Ca2+ cation compared to the hypothetical Ca+ cation. + +Calcium, strontium, barium, and radium are always considered to be alkaline earth metals; the lighter beryllium and magnesium, also in group 2 of the periodic table, are often included as well. Nevertheless, beryllium and magnesium differ significantly from the other members of the group in their physical and chemical behaviour: they behave more like aluminium and zinc respectively and have some of the weaker metallic character of the post-transition metals, which is why the traditional definition of the term "alkaline earth metal" excludes them. + +Physical properties +Calcium metal melts at 842 °C and boils at 1494 °C; these values are higher than those for magnesium and strontium, the neighbouring group 2 metals. It crystallises in the face-centered cubic arrangement like strontium; above 450 °C, it changes to an anisotropic hexagonal close-packed arrangement like magnesium. Its density of 1.55 g/cm3 is the lowest in its group. + +Calcium is harder than lead but can be cut with a knife with effort. While calcium is a poorer conductor of electricity than copper or aluminium by volume, it is a better conductor by mass than both due to its very low density. While calcium is infeasible as a conductor for most terrestrial applications as it reacts quickly with atmospheric oxygen, its use as such in space has been considered. + +Chemical properties + +The chemistry of calcium is that of a typical heavy alkaline earth metal. For example, calcium spontaneously reacts with water more quickly than magnesium and less quickly than strontium to produce calcium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. It also reacts with the oxygen and nitrogen in the air to form a mixture of calcium oxide and calcium nitride. When finely divided, it spontaneously burns in air to produce the nitride. In bulk, calcium is less reactive: it quickly forms a hydration coating in moist air, but below 30% relative humidity it may be stored indefinitely at room temperature. + +Besides the simple oxide CaO, the peroxide CaO2 can be made by direct oxidation of calcium metal under a high pressure of oxygen, and there is some evidence for a yellow superoxide Ca(O2)2. Calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, is a strong base, though it is not as strong as the hydroxides of strontium, barium or the alkali metals. All four dihalides of calcium are known. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and calcium sulfate (CaSO4) are particularly abundant minerals. Like strontium and barium, as well as the alkali metals and the divalent lanthanides europium and ytterbium, calcium metal dissolves directly in liquid ammonia to give a dark blue solution. + +Due to the large size of the calcium ion (Ca2+), high coordination numbers are common, up to 24 in some intermetallic compounds such as CaZn13. Calcium is readily complexed by oxygen chelates such as EDTA and polyphosphates, which are useful in analytic chemistry and removing calcium ions from hard water. In the absence of steric hindrance, smaller group 2 cations tend to form stronger complexes, but when large polydentate macrocycles are involved the trend is reversed. + +Although calcium is in the same group as magnesium and organomagnesium compounds are very commonly used throughout chemistry, organocalcium compounds are not similarly widespread because they are more difficult to make and more reactive, although they have recently been investigated as possible catalysts. Organocalcium compounds tend to be more similar to organoytterbium compounds due to the similar ionic radii of Yb2+ (102 pm) and Ca2+ (100 pm). + +Most of these compounds can only be prepared at low temperatures; bulky ligands tend to favor stability. For example, calcium dicyclopentadienyl, Ca(C5H5)2, must be made by directly reacting calcium metal with mercurocene or cyclopentadiene itself; replacing the C5H5 ligand with the bulkier C5(CH3)5 ligand on the other hand increases the compound's solubility, volatility, and kinetic stability. + +Isotopes + +Natural calcium is a mixture of five stable isotopes (40Ca, 42Ca, 43Ca, 44Ca, and 46Ca) and one isotope with a half-life so long that it can be considered stable for all practical purposes (48Ca, with a half-life of about 4.3 × 1019 years). Calcium is the first (lightest) element to have six naturally occurring isotopes. + +By far the most common isotope of calcium in nature is 40Ca, which makes up 96.941% of all natural calcium. It is produced in the silicon-burning process from fusion of alpha particles and is the heaviest stable nuclide with equal proton and neutron numbers; its occurrence is also supplemented slowly by the decay of primordial 40K. Adding another alpha particle leads to unstable 44Ti, which quickly decays via two successive electron captures to stable 44Ca; this makes up 2.806% of all natural calcium and is the second-most common isotope. + +The other four natural isotopes, 42Ca, 43Ca, 46Ca, and 48Ca, are significantly rarer, each comprising less than 1% of all natural calcium. The four lighter isotopes are mainly products of the oxygen-burning and silicon-burning processes, leaving the two heavier ones to be produced via neutron capture processes. 46Ca is mostly produced in a "hot" s-process, as its formation requires a rather high neutron flux to allow short-lived 45Ca to capture a neutron. 48Ca is produced by electron capture in the r-process in type Ia supernovae, where high neutron excess and low enough entropy ensures its survival. + +46Ca and 48Ca are the first "classically stable" nuclides with a six-neutron or eight-neutron excess respectively. Although extremely neutron-rich for such a light element, 48Ca is very stable because it is a doubly magic nucleus, having 20 protons and 28 neutrons arranged in closed shells. Its beta decay to 48Sc is very hindered because of the gross mismatch of nuclear spin: 48Ca has zero nuclear spin, being even–even, while 48Sc has spin 6+, so the decay is forbidden by the conservation of angular momentum. While two excited states of 48Sc are available for decay as well, they are also forbidden due to their high spins. As a result, when 48Ca does decay, it does so by double beta decay to 48Ti instead, being the lightest nuclide known to undergo double beta decay. + +The heavy isotope 46Ca can also theoretically undergo double beta decay to 46Ti as well, but this has never been observed. The lightest and most common isotope 40Ca is also doubly magic and could undergo double electron capture to 40Ar, but this has likewise never been observed. Calcium is the only element to have two primordial doubly magic isotopes. The experimental lower limits for the half-lives of 40Ca and 46Ca are 5.9 × 1021 years and 2.8 × 1015 years respectively. + +Apart from the practically stable 48Ca, the longest lived radioisotope of calcium is 41Ca. It decays by electron capture to stable 41K with a half-life of about a hundred thousand years. Its existence in the early Solar System as an extinct radionuclide has been inferred from excesses of 41K: traces of 41Ca also still exist today, as it is a cosmogenic nuclide, continuously reformed through neutron activation of natural 40Ca. + +Many other calcium radioisotopes are known, ranging from 35Ca to 60Ca. They are all much shorter-lived than 41Ca, the most stable among them being 45Ca (half-life 163 days) and 47Ca (half-life 4.54 days). The isotopes lighter than 42Ca usually undergo beta plus decay to isotopes of potassium, and those heavier than 44Ca usually undergo beta minus decay to isotopes of scandium, although near the nuclear drip lines, proton emission and neutron emission begin to be significant decay modes as well. + +Like other elements, a variety of processes alter the relative abundance of calcium isotopes. The best studied of these processes is the mass-dependent fractionation of calcium isotopes that accompanies the precipitation of calcium minerals such as calcite, aragonite and apatite from solution. Lighter isotopes are preferentially incorporated into these minerals, leaving the surrounding solution enriched in heavier isotopes at a magnitude of roughly 0.025% per atomic mass unit (amu) at room temperature. Mass-dependent differences in calcium isotope composition are conventionally expressed by the ratio of two isotopes (usually 44Ca/40Ca) in a sample compared to the same ratio in a standard reference material. 44Ca/40Ca varies by about 1% among common earth materials. + +History + +Calcium compounds were known for millennia, although their chemical makeup was not understood until the 17th century. Lime as a building material and as plaster for statues was used as far back as around 7000 BC. The first dated lime kiln dates back to 2500 BC and was found in Khafajah, Mesopotamia. + +At about the same time, dehydrated gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) was being used in the Great Pyramid of Giza. This material would later be used for the plaster in the tomb of Tutankhamun. The ancient Romans instead used lime mortars made by heating limestone (CaCO3). The name "calcium" itself derives from the Latin word calx "lime". + +Vitruvius noted that the lime that resulted was lighter than the original limestone, attributing this to the boiling of the water. In 1755, Joseph Black proved that this was due to the loss of carbon dioxide, which as a gas had not been recognised by the ancient Romans. + +In 1789, Antoine Lavoisier suspected that lime might be an oxide of a fundamental chemical element. In his table of the elements, Lavoisier listed five "salifiable earths" (i.e., ores that could be made to react with acids to produce salts (salis = salt, in Latin): chaux (calcium oxide), magnésie (magnesia, magnesium oxide), baryte (barium sulfate), alumine (alumina, aluminium oxide), and silice (silica, silicon dioxide)). About these "elements", Lavoisier reasoned: + +Calcium, along with its congeners magnesium, strontium, and barium, was first isolated by Humphry Davy in 1808. Following the work of Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Magnus Martin af Pontin on electrolysis, Davy isolated calcium and magnesium by putting a mixture of the respective metal oxides with mercury(II) oxide on a platinum plate which was used as the anode, the cathode being a platinum wire partially submerged into mercury. Electrolysis then gave calcium–mercury and magnesium–mercury amalgams, and distilling off the mercury gave the metal. However, pure calcium cannot be prepared in bulk by this method and a workable commercial process for its production was not found until over a century later. + +Occurrence and production + +At 3%, calcium is the fifth most abundant element in the Earth's crust, and the third most abundant metal behind aluminium and iron. It is also the fourth most abundant element in the lunar highlands. Sedimentary calcium carbonate deposits pervade the Earth's surface as fossilized remains of past marine life; they occur in two forms, the rhombohedral calcite (more common) and the orthorhombic aragonite (forming in more temperate seas). Minerals of the first type include limestone, dolomite, marble, chalk, and iceland spar; aragonite beds make up the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, and the Red Sea basins. Corals, sea shells, and pearls are mostly made up of calcium carbonate. Among the other important minerals of calcium are gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), anhydrite (CaSO4), fluorite (CaF2), and apatite ([Ca5(PO4)3X], X = OH, Cl, or F). + +The major producers of calcium are China (about 10000 to 12000 tonnes per year), Russia (about 6000 to 8000 tonnes per year), and the United States (about 2000 to 4000 tonnes per year). Canada and France are also among the minor producers. In 2005, about 24000 tonnes of calcium were produced; about half of the world's extracted calcium is used by the United States, with about 80% of the output used each year. + +In Russia and China, Davy's method of electrolysis is still used, but is instead applied to molten calcium chloride. Since calcium is less reactive than strontium or barium, the oxide–nitride coating that results in air is stable and lathe machining and other standard metallurgical techniques are suitable for calcium. In the United States and Canada, calcium is instead produced by reducing lime with aluminium at high temperatures. + +Geochemical cycling + +Calcium cycling provides a link between tectonics, climate, and the carbon cycle. In the simplest terms, uplift of mountains exposes calcium-bearing rocks such as some granites to chemical weathering and releases Ca2+ into surface water. These ions are transported to the ocean where they react with dissolved CO2 to form limestone (), which in turn settles to the sea floor where it is incorporated into new rocks. Dissolved CO2, along with carbonate and bicarbonate ions, are termed "dissolved inorganic carbon" (DIC). + +The actual reaction is more complicated and involves the bicarbonate ion (HCO) that forms when CO2 reacts with water at seawater pH: +Ca^2+ + 2 HCO3- -> CaCO3_v + CO2 + H2O +At seawater pH, most of the CO2 is immediately converted back into . The reaction results in a net transport of one molecule of CO2 from the ocean/atmosphere into the lithosphere. The result is that each Ca2+ ion released by chemical weathering ultimately removes one CO2 molecule from the surficial system (atmosphere, ocean, soils and living organisms), storing it in carbonate rocks where it is likely to stay for hundreds of millions of years. The weathering of calcium from rocks thus scrubs CO2 from the ocean and atmosphere, exerting a strong long-term effect on climate. + +Uses + +The largest use of metallic calcium is in steelmaking, due to its strong chemical affinity for oxygen and sulfur. Its oxides and sulfides, once formed, give liquid lime aluminate and sulfide inclusions in steel which float out; on treatment, these inclusions disperse throughout the steel and become small and spherical, improving castability, cleanliness and general mechanical properties. Calcium is also used in maintenance-free automotive batteries, in which the use of 0.1% calcium–lead alloys instead of the usual antimony–lead alloys leads to lower water loss and lower self-discharging. + +Due to the risk of expansion and cracking, aluminium is sometimes also incorporated into these alloys. These lead–calcium alloys are also used in casting, replacing lead–antimony alloys. Calcium is also used to strengthen aluminium alloys used for bearings, for the control of graphitic carbon in cast iron, and to remove bismuth impurities from lead. Calcium metal is found in some drain cleaners, where it functions to generate heat and calcium hydroxide that saponifies the fats and liquefies the proteins (for example, those in hair) that block drains. + +Besides metallurgy, the reactivity of calcium is exploited to remove nitrogen from high-purity argon gas and as a getter for oxygen and nitrogen. It is also used as a reducing agent in the production of chromium, zirconium, thorium, and uranium. It can also be used to store hydrogen gas, as it reacts with hydrogen to form solid calcium hydride, from which the hydrogen can easily be re-extracted. + +Calcium isotope fractionation during mineral formation has led to several applications of calcium isotopes. In particular, the 1997 observation by Skulan and DePaolo that calcium minerals are isotopically lighter than the solutions from which the minerals precipitate is the basis of analogous applications in medicine and in paleoceanography. In animals with skeletons mineralized with calcium, the calcium isotopic composition of soft tissues reflects the relative rate of formation and dissolution of skeletal mineral. + +In humans, changes in the calcium isotopic composition of urine have been shown to be related to changes in bone mineral balance. When the rate of bone formation exceeds the rate of bone resorption, the 44Ca/40Ca ratio in soft tissue rises and vice versa. Because of this relationship, calcium isotopic measurements of urine or blood may be useful in the early detection of metabolic bone diseases like osteoporosis. + +A similar system exists in seawater, where 44Ca/40Ca tends to rise when the rate of removal of Ca2+ by mineral precipitation exceeds the input of new calcium into the ocean. In 1997, Skulan and DePaolo presented the first evidence of change in seawater 44Ca/40Ca over geologic time, along with a theoretical explanation of these changes. More recent papers have confirmed this observation, demonstrating that seawater Ca2+ concentration is not constant, and that the ocean is never in a "steady state" with respect to calcium input and output. This has important climatological implications, as the marine calcium cycle is closely tied to the carbon cycle. + +Many calcium compounds are used in food, as pharmaceuticals, and in medicine, among others. For example, calcium and phosphorus are supplemented in foods through the addition of calcium lactate, calcium diphosphate, and tricalcium phosphate. The last is also used as a polishing agent in toothpaste and in antacids. Calcium lactobionate is a white powder that is used as a suspending agent for pharmaceuticals. In baking, calcium phosphate is used as a leavening agent. Calcium sulfite is used as a bleach in papermaking and as a disinfectant, calcium silicate is used as a reinforcing agent in rubber, and calcium acetate is a component of liming rosin and is used to make metallic soaps and synthetic resins. + +Calcium is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. + +Food sources +Foods rich in calcium include dairy products, such as yogurt and cheese, sardines, salmon, soy products, kale, and fortified breakfast cereals. + +Because of concerns for long-term adverse side effects, including calcification of arteries and kidney stones, both the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) for combined dietary and supplemental calcium. From the IOM, people of ages 9–18 years are not to exceed 3 g/day combined intake; for ages 19–50, not to exceed 2.5 g/day; for ages 51 and older, not to exceed 2 g/day. EFSA set the UL for all adults at 2.5 g/day, but decided the information for children and adolescents was not sufficient to determine ULs. + +Biological and pathological role + +Function +Calcium is an essential element needed in large quantities. The Ca2+ ion acts as an electrolyte and is vital to the health of the muscular, circulatory, and digestive systems; is indispensable to the building of bone; and supports synthesis and function of blood cells. For example, it regulates the contraction of muscles, nerve conduction, and the clotting of blood. As a result, intra- and extracellular calcium levels are tightly regulated by the body. Calcium can play this role because the Ca2+ ion forms stable coordination complexes with many organic compounds, especially proteins; it also forms compounds with a wide range of solubilities, enabling the formation of the skeleton. + +Binding +Calcium ions may be complexed by proteins through binding the carboxyl groups of glutamic acid or aspartic acid residues; through interacting with phosphorylated serine, tyrosine, or threonine residues; or by being chelated by γ-carboxylated amino acid residues. Trypsin, a digestive enzyme, uses the first method; osteocalcin, a bone matrix protein, uses the third. + +Some other bone matrix proteins such as osteopontin and bone sialoprotein use both the first and the second. Direct activation of enzymes by binding calcium is common; some other enzymes are activated by noncovalent association with direct calcium-binding enzymes. Calcium also binds to the phospholipid layer of the cell membrane, anchoring proteins associated with the cell surface. + +Solubility +As an example of the wide range of solubility of calcium compounds, monocalcium phosphate is very soluble in water, 85% of extracellular calcium is as dicalcium phosphate with a solubility of 2.00 mM, and the hydroxyapatite of bones in an organic matrix is tricalcium phosphate with a solubility of 1000 μM. + +Nutrition +Calcium is a common constituent of multivitamin dietary supplements, but the composition of calcium complexes in supplements may affect its bioavailability which varies by solubility of the salt involved: calcium citrate, malate, and lactate are highly bioavailable, while the oxalate is less. Other calcium preparations include calcium carbonate, calcium citrate malate, and calcium gluconate. The intestine absorbs about one-third of calcium eaten as the free ion, and plasma calcium level is then regulated by the kidneys. + +Hormonal regulation of bone formation and serum levels +Parathyroid hormone and vitamin D promote the formation of bone by allowing and enhancing the deposition of calcium ions there, allowing rapid bone turnover without affecting bone mass or mineral content. When plasma calcium levels fall, cell surface receptors are activated and the secretion of parathyroid hormone occurs; it then proceeds to stimulate the entry of calcium into the plasma pool by taking it from targeted kidney, gut, and bone cells, with the bone-forming action of parathyroid hormone being antagonised by calcitonin, whose secretion increases with increasing plasma calcium levels. + +Abnormal serum levels +Excess intake of calcium may cause hypercalcemia. However, because calcium is absorbed rather inefficiently by the intestines, high serum calcium is more likely caused by excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) or possibly by excessive intake of vitamin D, both of which facilitate calcium absorption. All these conditions result in excess calcium salts being deposited in the heart, blood vessels, or kidneys. Symptoms include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, memory loss, confusion, muscle weakness, increased urination, dehydration, and metabolic bone disease. + +Chronic hypercalcaemia typically leads to calcification of soft tissue and its serious consequences: for example, calcification can cause loss of elasticity of vascular walls and disruption of laminar blood flow—and thence to plaque rupture and thrombosis. Conversely, inadequate calcium or vitamin D intakes may result in hypocalcemia, often caused also by inadequate secretion of parathyroid hormone or defective PTH receptors in cells. Symptoms include neuromuscular excitability, which potentially causes tetany and disruption of conductivity in cardiac tissue. + +Bone disease +As calcium is required for bone development, many bone diseases can be traced to the organic matrix or the hydroxyapatite in molecular structure or organization of bone. Osteoporosis is a reduction in mineral content of bone per unit volume, and can be treated by supplementation of calcium, vitamin D, and bisphosphonates. Inadequate amounts of calcium, vitamin D, or phosphates can lead to softening of bones, called osteomalacia. + +Safety + +Metallic calcium + +Because calcium reacts exothermically with water and acids, calcium metal coming into contact with bodily moisture results in severe corrosive irritation. When swallowed, calcium metal has the same effect on the mouth, oesophagus, and stomach, and can be fatal. However, long-term exposure is not known to have distinct adverse effects. + +References + +Bibliography + + + + +Chemical elements +Alkaline earth metals +Dietary minerals +Dietary supplements +Reducing agents +Sodium channel blockers +World Health Organization essential medicines +Chemical elements with face-centered cubic structure +Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. + +Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardness. A major development in steel production was the discovery that steel could be made highly resistant to corrosion and discoloration by adding metallic chromium to form stainless steel. Stainless steel and chrome plating (electroplating with chromium) together comprise 85% of the commercial use. Chromium is also greatly valued as a metal that is able to be highly polished while resisting tarnishing. Polished chromium reflects almost 70% of the visible spectrum, and almost 90% of infrared light. The name of the element is derived from the Greek word χρῶμα, chrōma, meaning color, because many chromium compounds are intensely colored. + +Industrial production of chromium proceeds from chromite ore (mostly FeCr2O4) to produce ferrochromium, an iron-chromium alloy, by means of aluminothermic or silicothermic reactions. Ferrochromium is then used to produce alloys such as stainless steel. Pure chromium metal is produced by a different process: roasting and leaching of chromite to separate it from iron, followed by reduction with carbon and then aluminium. + +In the United States, trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) ion is considered an essential nutrient in humans for insulin, sugar, and lipid metabolism. However, in 2014, the European Food Safety Authority, acting for the European Union, concluded that there was insufficient evidence for chromium to be recognized as essential. + +While chromium metal and Cr(III) ions are considered non-toxic, hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), is toxic and carcinogenic. According to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), chromium trioxide that is used in industrial electroplating processes is a "substance of very high concern" (SVHC). + +Abandoned chromium production sites often require environmental cleanup. + +Physical properties + +Atomic +Chromium is the fourth transition metal found on the periodic table, and has an electron configuration of [Ar] 3d5 4s1. It is also the first element in the periodic table whose ground-state electron configuration violates the Aufbau principle. This occurs again later in the periodic table with other elements and their electron configurations, such as copper, niobium, and molybdenum. This occurs because electrons in the same orbital repel each other due to their like charges. In the previous elements, the energetic cost of promoting an electron to the next higher energy level is too great to compensate for that released by lessening inter-electronic repulsion. However, in the 3d transition metals, the energy gap between the 3d and the next-higher 4s subshell is very small, and because the 3d subshell is more compact than the 4s subshell, inter-electron repulsion is smaller between 4s electrons than between 3d electrons. This lowers the energetic cost of promotion and increases the energy released by it, so that the promotion becomes energetically feasible and one or even two electrons are always promoted to the 4s subshell. (Similar promotions happen for every transition metal atom but one, palladium.) + +Chromium is the first element in the 3d series where the 3d electrons start to sink into the nucleus; they thus contribute less to metallic bonding, and hence the melting and boiling points and the enthalpy of atomisation of chromium are lower than those of the preceding element vanadium. Chromium(VI) is a strong oxidising agent in contrast to the molybdenum(VI) and tungsten(VI) oxides. + +Bulk + +Chromium is extremely hard, and is the third hardest element behind carbon (diamond) and boron. Its Mohs hardness is 8.5, which means that it can scratch samples of quartz and topaz, but can be scratched by corundum. Chromium is highly resistant to tarnishing, which makes it useful as a metal that preserves its outermost layer from corroding, unlike other metals such as copper, magnesium, and aluminium. + +Chromium has a melting point of 1907 °C (3465 °F), which is relatively low compared to the majority of transition metals. However, it still has the second highest melting point out of all the Period 4 elements, being topped by vanadium by 3 °C (5 °F) at 1910 °C (3470 °F). The boiling point of 2671 °C (4840 °F), however, is comparatively lower, having the fourth lowest boiling point out of the Period 4 transition metals alone behind copper, manganese and zinc. The electrical resistivity of chromium at 20 °C is 125 nanoohm-meters. + +Chromium has a high specular reflection in comparison to other transition metals. In infrared, at 425 μm, chromium has a maximum reflectance of about 72%, reducing to a minimum of 62% at 750 μm before rising again to 90% at 4000 μm. When chromium is used in stainless steel alloys and polished, the specular reflection decreases with the inclusion of additional metals, yet is still high in comparison with other alloys. Between 40% and 60% of the visible spectrum is reflected from polished stainless steel. The explanation on why chromium displays such a high turnout of reflected photon waves in general, especially the 90% in infrared, can be attributed to chromium's magnetic properties. Chromium has unique magnetic properties - chromium is the only elemental solid that shows antiferromagnetic ordering at room temperature and below. Above 38 °C, its magnetic ordering becomes paramagnetic. The antiferromagnetic properties, which cause the chromium atoms to temporarily ionize and bond with themselves, are present because the body-centric cubic's magnetic properties are disproportionate to the lattice periodicity. This is due to the magnetic moments at the cube's corners and the unequal, but antiparallel, cube centers. From here, the frequency-dependent relative permittivity of chromium, deriving from Maxwell's equations and chromium's antiferromagnetism, leaves chromium with a high infrared and visible light reflectance. + +Passivation +Chromium metal left standing in air is passivated - it forms a thin, protective, surface layer of oxide. This layer has a spinel structure a few atomic layers thick; it is very dense and inhibits the diffusion of oxygen into the underlying metal. In contrast, iron forms a more porous oxide through which oxygen can migrate, causing continued rusting. Passivation can be enhanced by short contact with oxidizing acids like nitric acid. Passivated chromium is stable against acids. Passivation can be removed with a strong reducing agent that destroys the protective oxide layer on the metal. Chromium metal treated in this way readily dissolves in weak acids. + +Chromium, unlike iron and nickel, does not suffer from hydrogen embrittlement. However, it does suffer from nitrogen embrittlement, reacting with nitrogen from air and forming brittle nitrides at the high temperatures necessary to work the metal parts. + +Isotopes + +Naturally occurring chromium is composed of four stable isotopes; 50Cr, 52Cr, 53Cr and 54Cr, with 52Cr being the most abundant (83.789% natural abundance). 50Cr is observationally stable, as it is theoretically capable of decaying to 50Ti via double electron capture with a half-life of no less than 1.3 years. Twenty-five radioisotopes have been characterized, ranging from 42Cr to 70Cr; the most stable radioisotope is 51Cr with a half-life of 27.7 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 24 hours and the majority less than 1 minute. Chromium also has two metastable nuclear isomers. + +53Cr is the radiogenic decay product of 53Mn (half-life 3.74 million years). Chromium isotopes are typically collocated (and compounded) with manganese isotopes. This circumstance is useful in isotope geology. Manganese-chromium isotope ratios reinforce the evidence from 26Al and 107Pd concerning the early history of the Solar System. Variations in 53Cr/52Cr and Mn/Cr ratios from several meteorites indicate an initial 53Mn/55Mn ratio that suggests Mn-Cr isotopic composition must result from in-situ decay of 53Mn in differentiated planetary bodies. Hence 53Cr provides additional evidence for nucleosynthetic processes immediately before coalescence of the Solar System. + +The isotopes of chromium range in atomic mass from 43 u (43Cr) to 67 u (67Cr). The primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, 52Cr, is electron capture and the primary mode after is beta decay. 53Cr has been posited as a proxy for atmospheric oxygen concentration. + +Chemistry and compounds + +Chromium is a member of group 6, of the transition metals. The +3 and +6 states occur most commonly within chromium compounds, followed by +2; charges of +1, +4 and +5 for chromium are rare, but do nevertheless occasionally exist. + +Common oxidation states + +Chromium(0) +Many Cr(0) complexes are known. Bis(benzene)chromium and chromium hexacarbonyl are highlights in organochromium chemistry. + +Chromium(II) + +Chromium(II) compounds are uncommon, in part because they readily oxidize to chromium(III) derivatives in air. Water-stable chromium(II) chloride that can be made by reducing chromium(III) chloride with zinc. The resulting bright blue solution created from dissolving chromium(II) chloride is stable at neutral pH. Some other notable chromium(II) compounds include chromium(II) oxide , and chromium(II) sulfate . Many chromium(II) carboxylates are known. The red chromium(II) acetate (Cr2(O2CCH3)4) is somewhat famous. It features a Cr-Cr quadruple bond. + +Chromium(III) + +A large number of chromium(III) compounds are known, such as chromium(III) nitrate, chromium(III) acetate, and chromium(III) oxide. Chromium(III) can be obtained by dissolving elemental chromium in acids like hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid, but it can also be formed through the reduction of chromium(VI) by cytochrome c7. The ion has a similar radius (63 pm) to (radius 50 pm), and they can replace each other in some compounds, such as in chrome alum and alum. + +Chromium(III) tends to form octahedral complexes. Commercially available chromium(III) chloride hydrate is the dark green complex [CrCl2(H2O)4]Cl. Closely related compounds are the pale green [CrCl(H2O)5]Cl2 and violet [Cr(H2O)6]Cl3. If anhydrous violet chromium(III) chloride is dissolved in water, the violet solution turns green after some time as the chloride in the inner coordination sphere is replaced by water. This kind of reaction is also observed with solutions of chrome alum and other water-soluble chromium(III) salts. A tetrahedral coordination of chromium(III) has been reported for the Cr-centered Keggin anion [α-CrW12O40]5–. + +Chromium(III) hydroxide (Cr(OH)3) is amphoteric, dissolving in acidic solutions to form [Cr(H2O)6]3+, and in basic solutions to form . It is dehydrated by heating to form the green chromium(III) oxide (Cr2O3), a stable oxide with a crystal structure identical to that of corundum. + +Chromium(VI) + +Chromium(VI) compounds are oxidants at low or neutral pH. Chromate anions () and dichromate (Cr2O72−) anions are the principal ions at this oxidation state. They exist at an equilibrium, determined by pH: +2 [CrO4]2− + 2 H+ [Cr2O7]2− + H2O +Chromium(VI) oxyhalides are known also and include chromyl fluoride (CrO2F2) and chromyl chloride (). However, despite several erroneous claims, chromium hexafluoride (as well as all higher hexahalides) remains unknown, as of 2020. + +Sodium chromate is produced industrially by the oxidative roasting of chromite ore with sodium carbonate. The change in equilibrium is visible by a change from yellow (chromate) to orange (dichromate), such as when an acid is added to a neutral solution of potassium chromate. At yet lower pH values, further condensation to more complex oxyanions of chromium is possible. + +Both the chromate and dichromate anions are strong oxidizing reagents at low pH: + + 14 + 6 e− → 2 + 21 (ε0 = 1.33 V) + +They are, however, only moderately oxidizing at high pH: + + 4 + 3 e− → + 5 (ε0 = −0.13 V) + +Chromium(VI) compounds in solution can be detected by adding an acidic hydrogen peroxide solution. The unstable dark blue chromium(VI) peroxide (CrO5) is formed, which can be stabilized as an ether adduct . + +Chromic acid has the hypothetical formula . It is a vaguely described chemical, despite many well-defined chromates and dichromates being known. The dark red chromium(VI) oxide , the acid anhydride of chromic acid, is sold industrially as "chromic acid". It can be produced by mixing sulfuric acid with dichromate and is a strong oxidizing agent. + +Other oxidation states + +Compounds of chromium(V) are rather rare; the oxidation state +5 is only realized in few compounds but are intermediates in many reactions involving oxidations by chromate. The only binary compound is the volatile chromium(V) fluoride (CrF5). This red solid has a melting point of 30 °C and a boiling point of 117 °C. It can be prepared by treating chromium metal with fluorine at 400 °C and 200 bar pressure. The peroxochromate(V) is another example of the +5 oxidation state. Potassium peroxochromate (K3[Cr(O2)4]) is made by reacting potassium chromate with hydrogen peroxide at low temperatures. This red brown compound is stable at room temperature but decomposes spontaneously at 150–170 °C. + +Compounds of chromium(IV) are slightly more common than those of chromium(V). The tetrahalides, CrF4, CrCl4, and CrBr4, can be produced by treating the trihalides () with the corresponding halogen at elevated temperatures. Such compounds are susceptible to disproportionation reactions and are not stable in water. Organic compounds containing Cr(IV) state such as chromium tetra t-butoxide are also known. + +Most chromium(I) compounds are obtained solely by oxidation of electron-rich, octahedral chromium(0) complexes. Other chromium(I) complexes contain cyclopentadienyl ligands. As verified by X-ray diffraction, a Cr-Cr quintuple bond (length 183.51(4)  pm) has also been described. Extremely bulky monodentate ligands stabilize this compound by shielding the quintuple bond from further reactions. + +Occurrence + +Chromium is the 21st most abundant element in Earth's crust with an average concentration of 100 ppm. Chromium compounds are found in the environment from the erosion of chromium-containing rocks, and can be redistributed by volcanic eruptions. Typical background concentrations of chromium in environmental media are: atmosphere <10 ng/m3; soil <500 mg/kg; vegetation <0.5 mg/kg; freshwater <10 μg/L; seawater <1 μg/L; sediment <80 mg/kg. Chromium is mined as chromite (FeCr2O4) ore. + +About two-fifths of the chromite ores and concentrates in the world are produced in South Africa, about a third in Kazakhstan, while India, Russia, and Turkey are also substantial producers. Untapped chromite deposits are plentiful, but geographically concentrated in Kazakhstan and southern Africa. Although rare, deposits of native chromium exist. The Udachnaya Pipe in Russia produces samples of the native metal. This mine is a kimberlite pipe, rich in diamonds, and the reducing environment helped produce both elemental chromium and diamonds. + +The relation between Cr(III) and Cr(VI) strongly depends on pH and oxidative properties of the location. In most cases, Cr(III) is the dominating species, but in some areas, the ground water can contain up to 39 µg/L of total chromium, of which 30 µg/L is Cr(VI). + +History + +Early applications +Chromium minerals as pigments came to the attention of the west in the eighteenth century. On 26 July 1761, Johann Gottlob Lehmann found an orange-red mineral in the Beryozovskoye mines in the Ural Mountains which he named Siberian red lead. Though misidentified as a lead compound with selenium and iron components, the mineral was in fact crocoite with a formula of PbCrO4. In 1770, Peter Simon Pallas visited the same site as Lehmann and found a red lead mineral that was discovered to possess useful properties as a pigment in paints. After Pallas, the use of Siberian red lead as a paint pigment began to develop rapidly throughout the region. Crocoite would be the principal source of chromium in pigments until the discovery of chromite many years later. + +In 1794, Louis Nicolas Vauquelin received samples of crocoite ore. He produced chromium trioxide (CrO3) by mixing crocoite with hydrochloric acid. In 1797, Vauquelin discovered that he could isolate metallic chromium by heating the oxide in a charcoal oven, for which he is credited as the one who truly discovered the element. Vauquelin was also able to detect traces of chromium in precious gemstones, such as ruby and emerald. + +During the nineteenth century, chromium was primarily used not only as a component of paints, but in tanning salts as well. For quite some time, the crocoite found in Russia was the main source for such tanning materials. In 1827, a larger chromite deposit was discovered near Baltimore, United States, which quickly met the demand for tanning salts much more adequately than the crocoite that had been used previously. This made the United States the largest producer of chromium products until the year 1848, when larger deposits of chromite were uncovered near the city of Bursa, Turkey. With the development of metallurgy and chemical industries in the Western world, the need for chromium increased. + +Chromium is also famous for its reflective, metallic luster when polished. It is used as a protective and decorative coating on car parts, plumbing fixtures, furniture parts and many other items, usually applied by electroplating. Chromium was used for electroplating as early as 1848, but this use only became widespread with the development of an improved process in 1924. + +Production + +Approximately 28.8 million metric tons (Mt) of marketable chromite ore was produced in 2013, and converted into 7.5 Mt of ferrochromium. According to John F. Papp, writing for the USGS, "Ferrochromium is the leading end use of chromite ore, [and] stainless steel is the leading end use of ferrochromium." + +The largest producers of chromium ore in 2013 have been South Africa (48%), Kazakhstan (13%), Turkey (11%), and India (10%), with several other countries producing the rest of about 18% of the world production. + +The two main products of chromium ore refining are ferrochromium and metallic chromium. For those products the ore smelter process differs considerably. For the production of ferrochromium, the chromite ore (FeCr2O4) is reduced in large scale in electric arc furnace or in smaller smelters with either aluminium or silicon in an aluminothermic reaction. + +For the production of pure chromium, the iron must be separated from the chromium in a two step roasting and leaching process. The chromite ore is heated with a mixture of calcium carbonate and sodium carbonate in the presence of air. The chromium is oxidized to the hexavalent form, while the iron forms the stable Fe2O3. The subsequent leaching at higher elevated temperatures dissolves the chromates and leaves the insoluble iron oxide. The chromate is converted by sulfuric acid into the dichromate. + +4 FeCr2O4 + 8 Na2CO3 + 7 O2 → 8 Na2CrO4 + 2 Fe2O3 + 8 CO2 + +2 Na2CrO4 + H2SO4 → Na2Cr2O7 + Na2SO4 + H2O + +The dichromate is converted to the chromium(III) oxide by reduction with carbon and then reduced in an aluminothermic reaction to chromium. +Na2Cr2O7 + 2 C → Cr2O3 + Na2CO3 + CO +Cr2O3 + 2 Al → Al2O3 + 2 Cr + +Applications +The creation of metal alloys account for 85% of the available chromium's usage. The remainder of chromium is used in the chemical, refractory, and foundry industries. + +Metallurgy + +The strengthening effect of forming stable metal carbides at grain boundaries, and the strong increase in corrosion resistance made chromium an important alloying material for steel. High-speed tool steels contain between 3 and 5% chromium. Stainless steel, the primary corrosion-resistant metal alloy, is formed when chromium is introduced to iron in concentrations above 11%. For stainless steel's formation, ferrochromium is added to the molten iron. Also, nickel-based alloys have increased strength due to the formation of discrete, stable, metal, carbide particles at the grain boundaries. For example, Inconel 718 contains 18.6% chromium. Because of the excellent high-temperature properties of these nickel superalloys, they are used in jet engines and gas turbines in lieu of common structural materials. ASTM B163 relies on Chromium for condenser and heat-exchanger tubes, while castings with high strength at elevated temperatures that contain Chromium are standardised with ASTM A567. AISI type 332 is used where high temperature would normally cause carburization, oxidation or corrosion. Incoloy 800 "is capable of remaining stable and maintaining its austenitic structure even after long time exposures to high temperatures". Nichrome is used as resistance wire for heating elements in things like toasters and space heaters. These uses make chromium a strategic material. Consequently, during World War II, U.S. road engineers were instructed to avoid chromium in yellow road paint, as it "may become a critical material during the emergency." The United States likewise considered chromium "essential for the German war industry" and made intense diplomatic efforts to keep it out of the hands of Nazi Germany. + +The high hardness and corrosion resistance of unalloyed chromium makes it a reliable metal for surface coating; it is still the most popular metal for sheet coating, with its above-average durability, compared to other coating metals. A layer of chromium is deposited on pretreated metallic surfaces by electroplating techniques. There are two deposition methods: thin, and thick. Thin deposition involves a layer of chromium below 1 µm thickness deposited by chrome plating, and is used for decorative surfaces. Thicker chromium layers are deposited if wear-resistant surfaces are needed. Both methods use acidic chromate or dichromate solutions. To prevent the energy-consuming change in oxidation state, the use of chromium(III) sulfate is under development; for most applications of chromium, the previously established process is used. + +In the chromate conversion coating process, the strong oxidative properties of chromates are used to deposit a protective oxide layer on metals like aluminium, zinc, and cadmium. This passivation and the self-healing properties of the chromate stored in the chromate conversion coating, which is able to migrate to local defects, are the benefits of this coating method. Because of environmental and health regulations on chromates, alternative coating methods are under development. + +Chromic acid anodizing (or Type I anodizing) of aluminium is another electrochemical process that does not lead to the deposition of chromium, but uses chromic acid as an electrolyte in the solution. During anodization, an oxide layer is formed on the aluminium. The use of chromic acid, instead of the normally used sulfuric acid, leads to a slight difference of these oxide layers. +The high toxicity of Cr(VI) compounds, used in the established chromium electroplating process, and the strengthening of safety and environmental regulations demand a search for substitutes for chromium, or at least a change to less toxic chromium(III) compounds. + +Pigment +The mineral crocoite (which is also lead chromate PbCrO4) was used as a yellow pigment shortly after its discovery. After a synthesis method became available starting from the more abundant chromite, chrome yellow was, together with cadmium yellow, one of the most used yellow pigments. The pigment does not photodegrade, but it tends to darken due to the formation of chromium(III) oxide. It has a strong color, and was used for school buses in the United States and for the postal services (for example, the Deutsche Post) in Europe. The use of chrome yellow has since declined due to environmental and safety concerns and was replaced by organic pigments or other alternatives that are free from lead and chromium. Other pigments that are based around chromium are, for example, the deep shade of red pigment chrome red, which is simply lead chromate with lead(II) hydroxide (PbCrO4·Pb(OH)2). A very important chromate pigment, which was used widely in metal primer formulations, was zinc chromate, now replaced by zinc phosphate. A wash primer was formulated to replace the dangerous practice of pre-treating aluminium aircraft bodies with a phosphoric acid solution. This used zinc tetroxychromate dispersed in a solution of polyvinyl butyral. An 8% solution of phosphoric acid in solvent was added just before application. It was found that an easily oxidized alcohol was an essential ingredient. A thin layer of about 10–15 µm was applied, which turned from yellow to dark green when it was cured. There is still a question as to the correct mechanism. Chrome green is a mixture of Prussian blue and chrome yellow, while the chrome oxide green is chromium(III) oxide. + +Chromium oxides are also used as a green pigment in the field of glassmaking and also as a glaze for ceramics. Green chromium oxide is extremely lightfast and as such is used in cladding coatings. It is also the main ingredient in infrared reflecting paints, used by the armed forces to paint vehicles and to give them the same infrared reflectance as green leaves. + +Other uses + +Chromium(III) ions present in corundum crystals (aluminium oxide) cause them to be colored red; when corundum appears as such, it is known as a ruby. If the corundum is lacking in chromium(III) ions, it is known as a sapphire. A red-colored artificial ruby may also be achieved by doping chromium(III) into artificial corundum crystals, thus making chromium a requirement for making synthetic rubies. Such a synthetic ruby crystal was the basis for the first laser, produced in 1960, which relied on stimulated emission of light from the chromium atoms in such a crystal. Ruby has a laser transition at 694.3 nanometers, in a deep red color. + +Because of their toxicity, chromium(VI) salts are used for the preservation of wood. For example, chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is used in timber treatment to protect wood from decay fungi, wood-attacking insects, including termites, and marine borers. The formulations contain chromium based on the oxide CrO3 between 35.3% and 65.5%. In the United States, 65,300 metric tons of CCA solution were used in 1996. + +Chromium(III) salts, especially chrome alum and chromium(III) sulfate, are used in the tanning of leather. The chromium(III) stabilizes the leather by cross linking the collagen fibers. Chromium tanned leather can contain between 4 and 5% of chromium, which is tightly bound to the proteins. Although the form of chromium used for tanning is not the toxic hexavalent variety, there remains interest in management of chromium in the tanning industry. Recovery and reuse, direct/indirect recycling, and "chrome-less" or "chrome-free" tanning are practiced to better manage chromium usage. + +The high heat resistivity and high melting point makes chromite and chromium(III) oxide a material for high temperature refractory applications, like blast furnaces, cement kilns, molds for the firing of bricks and as foundry sands for the casting of metals. In these applications, the refractory materials are made from mixtures of chromite and magnesite. The use is declining because of the environmental regulations due to the possibility of the formation of chromium(VI). + +Several chromium compounds are used as catalysts for processing hydrocarbons. For example, the Phillips catalyst, prepared from chromium oxides, is used for the production of about half the world's polyethylene. Fe-Cr mixed oxides are employed as high-temperature catalysts for the water gas shift reaction. Copper chromite is a useful hydrogenation catalyst. + +Chromates of metals are used in humistor. + +Uses of compounds + Chromium(IV) oxide (CrO2) is a magnetic compound. Its ideal shape anisotropy, which imparts high coercivity and remnant magnetization, made it a compound superior to γ-Fe2O3. Chromium(IV) oxide is used to manufacture magnetic tape used in high-performance audio tape and standard audio cassettes. + Chromium(III) oxide (Cr2O3) is a metal polish known as green rouge. + Chromic acid is a powerful oxidizing agent and is a useful compound for cleaning laboratory glassware of any trace of organic compounds. It is prepared by dissolving potassium dichromate in concentrated sulfuric acid, which is then used to wash the apparatus. Sodium dichromate is sometimes used because of its higher solubility (50 g/L versus 200 g/L respectively). The use of dichromate cleaning solutions is now phased out due to the high toxicity and environmental concerns. Modern cleaning solutions are highly effective and chromium free. + Potassium dichromate is a chemical reagent, used as a titrating agent. + Chromates are added to drilling muds to prevent corrosion of steel under wet conditions. + Chrome alum is Chromium(III) potassium sulfate and is used as a mordant (i.e., a fixing agent) for dyes in fabric and in tanning. + +Biological role + +The biologically beneficial effects of chromium(III) are debated. Chromium is accepted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health as a trace element for its roles in the action of insulin, a hormone that mediates the metabolism and storage of carbohydrate, fat, and protein. The mechanism of its actions in the body, however, have not been defined, leaving in question the essentiality of chromium. + +In contrast, hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI) or Cr6+) is highly toxic and mutagenic. Ingestion of chromium(VI) in water has been linked to stomach tumors, and it may also cause allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). + +"Chromium deficiency", involving a lack of Cr(III) in the body, or perhaps some complex of it, such as glucose tolerance factor, is controversial. Some studies suggest that the biologically active form of chromium (III) is transported in the body via an oligopeptide called low-molecular-weight chromium-binding substance (LMWCr), which might play a role in the insulin signaling pathway. + +The chromium content of common foods is generally low (1–13 micrograms per serving). The chromium content of food varies widely, due to differences in soil mineral content, growing season, plant cultivar, and contamination during processing. Chromium (and nickel) leach into food cooked in stainless steel, with the effect being largest when the cookware is new. Acidic foods that are cooked for many hours also exacerbate this effect. + +Dietary recommendations + +There is disagreement on chromium's status as an essential nutrient. Governmental departments from Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, and the United States consider chromium essential while the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) of the European Union does not. + +The U.S. National Academy of Medicine (NAM) updated the Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for chromium in 2001. For chromium, there was insufficient information to set EARs and RDAs, so its needs are described as estimates for Adequate Intakes (AIs). The current AIs of chromium for women ages 14 through 50 is 25 μg/day, and the AIs for women ages 50 and above is 20 μg/day. The AIs for women who are pregnant are 30 μg/day, and for women who are lactating, the set AIs are 45 μg/day. The AIs for men ages 14 through 50 are 35 μg/day, and the AIs for men ages 50 and above are 30 μg/day. For children ages 1 through 13, the AIs increase with age from 0.2 μg/day up to 25 μg/day. As for safety, the NAM sets Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) for vitamins and minerals when the evidence is sufficient. In the case of chromium, there is not yet enough information, hence no UL has been established. Collectively, the EARs, RDAs, AIs, and ULs are the parameters for the nutrition recommendation system known as Dietary Reference Intake (DRI). Australia and New Zealand consider chromium to be an essential nutrient, with an AI of 35 μg/day for men, 25 μg/day for women, 30 μg/day for women who are pregnant, and 45 μg/day for women who are lactating. A UL has not been set due to the lack of sufficient data. India considers chromium to be an essential nutrient, with an adult recommended intake of 33 μg/day. Japan also considers chromium to be an essential nutrient, with an AI of 10 μg/day for adults, including women who are pregnant or lactating. A UL has not been set. The EFSA of the European Union however, does not consider chromium to be an essential nutrient; chromium is the only mineral for which the United States and the European Union disagree. + +Labeling +For U.S. food and dietary supplement labeling purposes, the amount of the substance in a serving is expressed as a percent of the Daily Value (%DV). For chromium labeling purposes, 100% of the Daily Value was 120 μg. As of May 27, 2016, the percentage of daily value was revised to 35 μg to bring the chromium intake into a consensus with the official Recommended Dietary Allowance. A table of the old and new adult daily values is provided at Reference Daily Intake. + +Food sources +Food composition databases such as those maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture do not contain information on the chromium content of foods. A wide variety of animal and vegetable foods contain chromium. Content per serving is influenced by the chromium content of the soil in which the plants are grown, by foodstuffs fed to animals, and by processing methods, as chromium is leached into foods if processed or cooked in stainless steel equipment. One diet analysis study conducted in Mexico reported an average daily chromium intake of 30 micrograms. An estimated 31% of adults in the United States consume multi-vitamin/mineral dietary supplements, which often contain 25 to 60 micrograms of chromium. + +Supplementation +Chromium is an ingredient in total parenteral nutrition (TPN), because deficiency can occur after months of intravenous feeding with chromium-free TPN. It is also added to nutritional products for preterm infants. Although the mechanism of action in biological roles for chromium is unclear, in the United States chromium-containing products are sold as non-prescription dietary supplements in amounts ranging from 50 to 1,000 μg. Lower amounts of chromium are also often incorporated into multi-vitamin/mineral supplements consumed by an estimated 31% of adults in the United States. Chemical compounds used in dietary supplements include chromium chloride, chromium citrate, chromium(III) picolinate, chromium(III) polynicotinate, and other chemical compositions. The benefit of supplements has not been proven. + +Approved and disapproved health claims +In 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved a qualified health claim for chromium picolinate with a requirement for very specific label wording: "One small study suggests that chromium picolinate may reduce the risk of insulin resistance, and therefore possibly may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. FDA concludes, however, that the existence of such a relationship between chromium picolinate and either insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes is highly uncertain." At the same time, in answer to other parts of the petition, the FDA rejected claims for chromium picolinate and cardiovascular disease, retinopathy or kidney disease caused by abnormally high blood sugar levels. In 2010, chromium(III) picolinate was approved by Health Canada to be used in dietary supplements. Approved labeling statements include: a factor in the maintenance of good health, provides support for healthy glucose metabolism, helps the body to metabolize carbohydrates and helps the body to metabolize fats. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approved claims in 2010 that chromium contributed to normal macronutrient metabolism and maintenance of normal blood glucose concentration, but rejected claims for maintenance or achievement of a normal body weight, or reduction of tiredness or fatigue. + +Given the evidence for chromium deficiency causing problems with glucose management in the context of intravenous nutrition products formulated without chromium, research interest turned to whether chromium supplementation would benefit people who have type 2 diabetes but are not chromium deficient. Looking at the results from four meta-analyses, one reported a statistically significant decrease in fasting plasma glucose levels (FPG) and a non-significant trend in lower hemoglobin A1C. A second reported the same, a third reported significant decreases for both measures, while a fourth reported no benefit for either. A review published in 2016 listed 53 randomized clinical trials that were included in one or more of six meta-analyses. It concluded that whereas there may be modest decreases in FPG and/or HbA1C that achieve statistical significance in some of these meta-analyses, few of the trials achieved decreases large enough to be expected to be relevant to clinical outcome. + +Two systematic reviews looked at chromium supplements as a mean of managing body weight in overweight and obese people. One, limited to chromium picolinate, a popular supplement ingredient, reported a statistically significant −1.1 kg (2.4 lb) weight loss in trials longer than 12 weeks. The other included all chromium compounds and reported a statistically significant −0.50 kg (1.1 lb) weight change. Change in percent body fat did not reach statistical significance. Authors of both reviews considered the clinical relevance of this modest weight loss as uncertain/unreliable. The European Food Safety Authority reviewed the literature and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support a claim. + +Chromium is promoted as a sports performance dietary supplement, based on the theory that it potentiates insulin activity, with anticipated results of increased muscle mass, and faster recovery of glycogen storage during post-exercise recovery. A review of clinical trials reported that chromium supplementation did not improve exercise performance or increase muscle strength. The International Olympic Committee reviewed dietary supplements for high-performance athletes in 2018 and concluded there was no need to increase chromium intake for athletes, nor support for claims of losing body fat. + +Fresh-water fish +Chromium is naturally present in the environment in trace amounts, but industrial use in rubber and stainless steel manufacturing, chrome plating, dyes for textiles, tanneries and other uses contaminates aquatic systems. In Bangladesh, rivers in or downstream from industrialized areas exhibit heavy metal contamination. Irrigation water standards for chromium are 0.1 mg/L, but some rivers are more than five times that amount. The standard for fish for human consumption is less than 1 mg/kg, but many tested samples were more than five times that amount. Chromium, especially hexavalent chromium, is highly toxic to fish because it is easily absorbed across the gills, readily enters blood circulation, crosses cell membranes and bioconcentrates up the food chain. In contrast, the toxicity of trivalent chromium is very low, attributed to poor membrane permeability and little biomagnification. + +Acute and chronic exposure to chromium(VI) affects fish behavior, physiology, reproduction and survival. Hyperactivity and erratic swimming have been reported in contaminated environments. Egg hatching and fingerling survival are affected. In adult fish there are reports of histopathological damage to liver, kidney, muscle, intestines, and gills. Mechanisms include mutagenic gene damage and disruptions of enzyme functions. + +There is evidence that fish may not require chromium, but benefit from a measured amount in diet. In one study, juvenile fish gained weight on a zero chromium diet, but the addition of 500 μg of chromium in the form of chromium chloride or other supplement types, per kilogram of food (dry weight), increased weight gain. At 2,000 μg/kg the weight gain was no better than with the zero chromium diet, and there were increased DNA strand breaks. + +Precautions + +Water-insoluble chromium(III) compounds and chromium metal are not considered a health hazard, while the toxicity and carcinogenic properties of chromium(VI) have been known for a long time. Because of the specific transport mechanisms, only limited amounts of chromium(III) enter the cells. Acute oral toxicity ranges between 50 and 150 mg/kg. A 2008 review suggested that moderate uptake of chromium(III) through dietary supplements poses no genetic-toxic risk. In the US, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has designated an air permissible exposure limit (PEL) in the workplace as a time-weighted average (TWA) of 1 mg/m3. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set a recommended exposure limit (REL) of 0.5 mg/m3, time-weighted average. The IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) value is 250 mg/m3. + +Chromium(VI) toxicity +The acute oral toxicity for chromium(VI) ranges between 1.5 and 3.3 mg/kg. In the body, chromium(VI) is reduced by several mechanisms to chromium(III) already in the blood before it enters the cells. The chromium(III) is excreted from the body, whereas the chromate ion is transferred into the cell by a transport mechanism, by which also sulfate and phosphate ions enter the cell. The acute toxicity of chromium(VI) is due to its strong oxidant properties. After it reaches the blood stream, it damages the kidneys, the liver and blood cells through oxidation reactions. Hemolysis, renal, and liver failure result. Aggressive dialysis can be therapeutic. + +The carcinogenity of chromate dust has been known for a long time, and in 1890 the first publication described the elevated cancer risk of workers in a chromate dye company. Three mechanisms have been proposed to describe the genotoxicity of chromium(VI). The first mechanism includes highly reactive hydroxyl radicals and other reactive radicals which are by products of the reduction of chromium(VI) to chromium(III). The second process includes the direct binding of chromium(V), produced by reduction in the cell, and chromium(IV) compounds to the DNA. The last mechanism attributed the genotoxicity to the binding to the DNA of the end product of the chromium(III) reduction. + +Chromium salts (chromates) are also the cause of allergic reactions in some people. Chromates are often used to manufacture, amongst other things, leather products, paints, cement, mortar and anti-corrosives. Contact with products containing chromates can lead to allergic contact dermatitis and irritant dermatitis, resulting in ulceration of the skin, sometimes referred to as "chrome ulcers". This condition is often found in workers that have been exposed to strong chromate solutions in electroplating, tanning and chrome-producing manufacturers. + +Environmental issues +Because chromium compounds were used in dyes, paints, and leather tanning compounds, these compounds are often found in soil and groundwater at active and abandoned industrial sites, needing environmental cleanup and remediation. Primer paint containing hexavalent chromium is still widely used for aerospace and automobile refinishing applications. + +In 2010, the Environmental Working Group studied the drinking water in 35 American cities in the first nationwide study. The study found measurable hexavalent chromium in the tap water of 31 of the cities sampled, with Norman, Oklahoma, at the top of list; 25 cities had levels that exceeded California's proposed limit. + +The more toxic hexavalent chromium form can be reduced to the less soluble trivalent oxidation state in soils by organic matter, ferrous iron, sulfides, and other reducing agents, with the rates of such reduction being faster under more acidic conditions than under more alkaline ones. In contrast, trivalent chromium can be oxidized to hexavalent chromium in soils by manganese oxides, such as Mn(III) and Mn(IV) compounds. Since the solubility and toxicity of chromium (VI) are greater that those of chromium (III), the oxidation-reduction conversions between the two oxidation states have implications for movement and bioavailability of chromium in soils, groundwater, and plants. + +Notes + +References + +General bibliography + +External links + + ATSDR Case Studies in Environmental Medicine: Chromium Toxicity U.S. Department of Health and Human Services + IARC Monograph "Chromium and Chromium compounds" + It's Elemental – The Element Chromium + The Merck Manual – Mineral Deficiency and Toxicity + National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – Chromium Page + Chromium at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham) + + + +Chemical elements +Dietary minerals +Native element minerals +Chemical hazards +Chemical elements with body-centered cubic structure +A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note (such as crotales). Cymbals are used in many ensembles ranging from the orchestra, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, heavy metal bands, and marching groups. Drum kits usually incorporate at least a crash, ride, or crash/ride, and a pair of hi-hat cymbals. A player of cymbals is known as a cymbalist. + +Etymology and names + +The word cymbal is derived from the Latin cymbalum, which is the latinisation of the Greek word kymbalon, "cymbal", which in turn derives from kymbē, "cup, bowl". + +In orchestral scores, cymbals may be indicated by the French cymbales; German Becken, Schellbecken, Teller, or Tschinellen; Italian piatti or cinelli; and Spanish platillos. Many of these derive from the word for plates. + +History + +Cymbals have existed since ancient times. Representations of cymbals may be found in reliefs and paintings from Armenian Highlands (7th century BC), Larsa, Babylon, Assyria, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome. References to cymbals also appear throughout the Bible, through many Psalms and songs of praise to God. Cymbals may have been introduced to China from Central Asia in the 3rd or 4th century AD. + +India +In India, cymbals have been in use since ancient times and are still used across almost all major temples and Buddhist sites. Gigantic aartis along the Ganges, which are revered by Hindus all over the world, are incomplete without large cymbals. + +Central Asia and Iran + +The Shahnameh (circa 977 and 1010 CE) mentions the use of cymbals at least 14 times in its text, most in the context of creating a loud din in war, to frighten the enemy or to celebrate. The Persian word is sanj or senj (Persian سنج), but the Shahnameh does not claim these to be Persian in origin. Several times it calls then "Indian cymbals." Other adjectives to describe them include "golden" and "brass," and to play them is to "clash" them. + +A different form is called sanj angshati (سنج انگشتی) or finger cymbals. These are zill. + +Ashura ceremony +Besides the original use in war, another use in Persian culture was the Ashura ceremony. +Originally in the ceremony, two pieces of stone were beaten on the sides of the mourner with special movements accompanied by a lamentation song. This has been replaced by beating Karbzani or Karebzani and playing sanj and ratchets. Cities where this has been performed include Lahijan and Aran of Kashan, as well as Semnan and Sabzevar. + +Etymology +See Zang +All theories about the etymology of the word Sanj, identify it as a Pahlavi word. By some accounts means weight; and it is possible that the original term was sanjkūb meaning ”striking weights” [against each other]. By some accounts the word is reform version of "Zang" (bell), referring to its bell-shaped plate. + +Turkey + +Cymbals were employed by Turkish janissaries in the 14th century or earlier. By the 17th century, such cymbals were used in European music, and more commonly played in military bands and orchestras by the mid 18th century. Since the 19th century, some composers have called for larger roles for cymbals in musical works, and a variety of cymbal shapes, techniques, and hardware have been developed in response. + +Anatomy +The anatomy of the cymbal plays a large part in the sound it creates. A hole is drilled in the center of the cymbal, which is used to either mount the cymbal on a stand or for tying straps through (for hand playing). The bell, dome, or cup is the raised section immediately surrounding the hole. The bell produces a higher "pinging" pitch than the rest of the cymbal. The bow is the rest of the surface surrounding the bell. The bow is sometimes described in two areas: the ride and crash area. The ride area is the thicker section closer to the bell while the crash area is the thinner tapering section near the edge. The edge or rim is the immediate circumference of the cymbal. + +Cymbals are measured by their diameter either in inches or centimeters. The size of the cymbal affects its sound, larger cymbals usually being louder and having longer sustain. The weight describes how thick the cymbal is. Cymbal weights are important to the sound they produce and how they play. Heavier cymbals have a louder volume, more cut, and better stick articulation (when using drum sticks). Thin cymbals have a fuller sound, lower pitch, and faster response. + +The profile of the cymbal is the vertical distance of the bow from the bottom of the bell to the cymbal edge (higher profile cymbals are more bowl-shaped). The profile affects the pitch of the cymbal: higher profile cymbals have higher pitch. + +Types + +Orchestral cymbals +Cymbals offer a composer nearly endless amounts of color and effect. Their unique timbre allows them to project even against a full orchestra and through the heaviest of orchestrations and enhance articulation and nearly any dynamic. Cymbals have been utilized historically to suggest frenzy, fury or bacchanalian revels, as seen in the Venus music in Wagner's Tannhäuser, Grieg's Peer Gynt suite, and Osmin's aria "O wie will ich triumphieren" from Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. + +Clash cymbals + +Orchestral clash cymbals are traditionally used in pairs, each one having a strap set in the bell of the cymbal by which they are held. Such a pair is known as clash cymbals, crash cymbals, hand cymbals, or plates. Certain sounds can be obtained by rubbing their edges together in a sliding movement for a "sizzle", striking them against each other in what is called a "crash", tapping the edge of one against the body of the other in what is called a "tap-crash", scraping the edge of one from the inside of the bell to the edge for a "scrape" or "zischen", or shutting the cymbals together and choking the sound in what is called a "hi-hat" or "crush". A skilled percussionist can obtain an enormous dynamic range from such cymbals. For example, in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the percussionist is employed to first play cymbals pianissimo, adding a touch of colour rather than loud crash. + +Crash cymbals are usually damped by pressing them against the percussionist's body. A composer may write laissez vibrer, or, "let vibrate" (usually abbreviated l.v.), secco (dry), or equivalent indications on the score; more usually, the percussionist must judge when to damp based on the written duration of a crash and the context in which it occurs. Crash cymbals have traditionally been accompanied by the bass drum playing an identical part. This combination, played loudly, is an effective way to accentuate a note since it contributes to both very low and very high-frequency ranges and provides a satisfying "crash-bang-wallop". In older music the composer sometimes provided one part for this pair of instruments, writing senza piatti or piatti soli () if only one is needed. This came from the common practice of having one percussionist play using one cymbal mounted to the shell of the bass drum. The percussionist would crash the cymbals with the left hand and use a mallet to strike the bass drum with the right. This method is nowadays often employed in pit orchestras and called for specifically by composers who desire a certain effect. Stravinsky calls for this in his ballet Petrushka, and Mahler calls for this in his Titan Symphony. The modern convention is for the instruments to have independent parts. However, in kit drumming, a cymbal crash is still most often accompanied by a simultaneous kick to the bass drum, which provides a musical effect and support to the crash. + +Hi hats + +Crash cymbals evolved into the low-sock and from this to the modern hi-hat. Even in a modern drum kit, they remain paired with the bass drum as the two instruments which are played with the player's feet. However, hi-hat cymbals tend to be heavy with little taper, more similar to a ride cymbal than to a clash cymbal as found in a drum kit, and perform a ride rather than a crash function. + +Suspended cymbal + +Another use of cymbals is the suspended cymbal. This instrument takes its name from the traditional method of suspending the cymbal by means of a leather strap or rope, thus allowing the cymbal to vibrate as freely as possible for maximum musical effect. Early jazz drumming pioneers borrowed this style of cymbal mounting during the early 1900s and later drummers further developed this instrument into the mounted horizontal or nearly horizontally mounted "crash" cymbals of a modern drum kit instead of a leather strap suspension system. Many modern drum kits use a mount with felt or otherwise dampening fabric to act as a barrier to hold the cymbals between metal clamps: thus forming the modern-day ride cymbal. Suspended cymbals can be played with yarn-, sponge-, or cord wrapped mallets. The first known instance of using a sponge-headed mallet on a cymbal is the final chord of Hector Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique. Composers sometimes specifically request other types of mallets like felt mallets or timpani mallets for different attack and sustain qualities. Suspended cymbals can produce bright and slicing tones when forcefully struck, and give an eerie transparent "windy" sound when played quietly. A tremolo, or roll (played with two mallets alternately striking on opposing sides of the cymbal) can build in volume from almost inaudible to an overwhelming climax in a satisfyingly smooth manner (as in Humperdinck's Mother Goose Suite). The edge of a suspended cymbal may be hit with the shoulder of a drum stick to obtain a sound somewhat akin to that of clash cymbals. Other methods of playing include scraping a coin or triangle beater rapidly across the ridges on the top of the cymbal, giving a "zing" sound (as some percussionists do in the fourth movement of Dvořák's Symphony No. 9). Other effects that can be used include drawing a bass bow across the edge of the cymbal for a sound like squealing car brakes. + +Ancient cymbals +Ancient, antique or tuned cymbals are much more rarely called for. Their timbre is entirely different, more like that of small hand-bells or of the notes of the keyed harmonica. They are not struck full against each other, but by one of their edges, and the note given in by them is higher in proportion as they are thicker and smaller. Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet calls for two pairs of cymbals, modeled on some old Pompeian instruments no larger than the hand (some are no larger than a large coin), and tuned to F and B flat. The modern instruments descended from this line are the crotales. + +List of cymbal types + +Cymbal types include: + Bell cymbal + China cymbal + Clash cymbal + Crash cymbal + Crash/ride cymbal + Finger cymbal + Flat ride cymbal + Hi-hat + Ride cymbal + Sizzle cymbal + Splash cymbal + Swish cymbal + Suspended cymbal + Taal – Indian cymbal (clash cymbal) + +See also + Cymbal making and Cymbal alloys + Cymbal manufacturers + Percussion instruments + Drum and Drum kit + Taal + Zill + +References + +Citations + +Bibliography + +External links + +Orchestral cymbal playing, with an excellent short history of cymbals +Cymbal Colour Exploration, A 3D binaural audio recording of different cymbal sound colours + + +Drum kit components +Early musical instruments +Idiophones +Metal percussion instruments +Military music +Orchestral percussion instruments +Unpitched percussion instruments +Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds, and like mercury, it has a lower melting point than the transition metals in groups 3 through 11. Cadmium and its congeners in group 12 are often not considered transition metals, in that they do not have partly filled d or f electron shells in the elemental or common oxidation states. The average concentration of cadmium in Earth's crust is between 0.1 and 0.5 parts per million (ppm). It was discovered in 1817 simultaneously by Stromeyer and Hermann, both in Germany, as an impurity in zinc carbonate. + +Cadmium occurs as a minor component in most zinc ores and is a byproduct of zinc production. Cadmium was used for a long time as a corrosion-resistant plating on steel, and cadmium compounds are used as red, orange, and yellow pigments, to color glass, and to stabilize plastic. Cadmium use is generally decreasing because it is toxic (it is specifically listed in the European Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) and nickel–cadmium batteries have been replaced with nickel–metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries. One of its few new uses is in cadmium telluride solar panels. + +Although cadmium has no known biological function in higher organisms, a cadmium-dependent carbonic anhydrase has been found in marine diatoms. + +Characteristics + +Physical properties +Cadmium is a soft, malleable, ductile, silvery-white divalent metal. It is similar in many respects to zinc but forms complex compounds. Unlike most other metals, cadmium is resistant to corrosion and is used as a protective plate on other metals. As a bulk metal, cadmium is insoluble in water and is not flammable; however, in its powdered form it may burn and release toxic fumes. + +Chemical properties + +Although cadmium usually has an oxidation state of +2, it also exists in the +1 state. Cadmium and its congeners are not always considered transition metals, in that they do not have partly filled d or f electron shells in the elemental or common oxidation states. Cadmium burns in air to form brown amorphous cadmium oxide (CdO); the crystalline form of this compound is a dark red which changes color when heated, similar to zinc oxide. Hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid dissolve cadmium by forming cadmium chloride (CdCl2), cadmium sulfate (CdSO4), or cadmium nitrate (Cd(NO3)2). The oxidation state +1 can be produced by dissolving cadmium in a mixture of cadmium chloride and aluminium chloride, forming the Cd22+ cation, which is similar to the Hg22+ cation in mercury(I) chloride. +Cd + CdCl2 + 2 AlCl3 → Cd2(AlCl4)2 +The structures of many cadmium complexes with nucleobases, amino acids, and vitamins have been determined. + +Isotopes + +Naturally occurring cadmium is composed of eight isotopes. Two of them are radioactive, and three are expected to decay but have not measurably done so under laboratory conditions. The two natural radioactive isotopes are 113Cd (beta decay, half-life is ) and 116Cd (two-neutrino double beta decay, half-life is ). The other three are 106Cd, 108Cd (both double electron capture), and 114Cd (double beta decay); only lower limits on these half-lives have been determined. At least three isotopes – 110Cd, 111Cd, and 112Cd – are stable. Among the isotopes that do not occur naturally, the most long-lived are 109Cd with a half-life of 462.6 days, and 115Cd with a half-life of 53.46 hours. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives of less than 2.5 hours, and the majority have half-lives of less than 5 minutes. Cadmium has 8 known meta states, with the most stable being 113mCd (t1⁄2 = 14.1 years), 115mCd (t1⁄2 = 44.6 days), and 117mCd (t1⁄2 = 3.36 hours). + +The known isotopes of cadmium range in atomic mass from 94.950 u (95Cd) to 131.946 u (132Cd). For isotopes lighter than 112 u, the primary decay mode is electron capture and the dominant decay product is element 47 (silver). Heavier isotopes decay mostly through beta emission producing element 49 (indium). + +One isotope of cadmium, 113Cd, absorbs neutrons with high selectivity: With very high probability, neutrons with energy below the cadmium cut-off will be absorbed; those higher than the cut-off will be transmitted. The cadmium cut-off is about 0.5 eV, and neutrons below that level are deemed slow neutrons, distinct from intermediate and fast neutrons. + +Cadmium is created via the s-process in low- to medium-mass stars with masses of 0.6 to 10 solar masses, over thousands of years. In that process, a silver atom captures a neutron and then undergoes beta decay. + +History + +Cadmium (Latin cadmia, Greek καδμεία meaning "calamine", a cadmium-bearing mixture of minerals that was named after the Greek mythological character Κάδμος, Cadmus, the founder of Thebes) was discovered in contaminated zinc compounds sold in pharmacies in Germany in 1817 by Friedrich Stromeyer. Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann simultaneously investigated the discoloration in zinc oxide and found an impurity, first suspected to be arsenic, because of the yellow precipitate with hydrogen sulfide. Additionally Stromeyer discovered that one supplier sold zinc carbonate instead of zinc oxide. Stromeyer found the new element as an impurity in zinc carbonate (calamine), and, for 100 years, Germany remained the only important producer of the metal. The metal was named after the Latin word for calamine, because it was found in this zinc ore. Stromeyer noted that some impure samples of calamine changed color when heated but pure calamine did not. He was persistent in studying these results and eventually isolated cadmium metal by roasting and reducing the sulfide. The potential for cadmium yellow as pigment was recognized in the 1840s, but the lack of cadmium limited this application. + +Even though cadmium and its compounds are toxic in certain forms and concentrations, the British Pharmaceutical Codex from 1907 states that cadmium iodide was used as a medication to treat "enlarged joints, scrofulous glands, and chilblains". + +In 1907, the International Astronomical Union defined the international ångström in terms of a red cadmium spectral line (1 wavelength = 6438.46963 Å). This was adopted by the 7th General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1927. In 1960, the definitions of both the metre and ångström were changed to use krypton. + +After the industrial scale production of cadmium started in the 1930s and 1940s, the major application of cadmium was the coating of iron and steel to prevent corrosion; in 1944, 62% and in 1956, 59% of the cadmium in the United States was used for plating. In 1956, 24% of the cadmium in the United States was used for a second application in red, orange and yellow pigments from sulfides and selenides of cadmium. + +The stabilizing effect of cadmium chemicals like the carboxylates cadmium laurate and cadmium stearate on PVC led to an increased use of those compounds in the 1970s and 1980s. The demand for cadmium in pigments, coatings, stabilizers, and alloys declined as a result of environmental and health regulations in the 1980s and 1990s; in 2006, only 7% of to total cadmium consumption was used for plating, and only 10% was used for pigments. +At the same time, these decreases in consumption were compensated by a growing demand for cadmium for nickel–cadmium batteries, which accounted for 81% of the cadmium consumption in the United States in 2006. + +Occurrence + +Cadmium makes up about 0.1 ppm of Earth's crust. It is much rarer than zinc, which makes up about 65 ppm. No significant deposits of cadmium-containing ores are known. The only cadmium mineral of importance, greenockite (CdS), is nearly always associated with sphalerite (ZnS). This association is caused by geochemical similarity between zinc and cadmium, with no geological process likely to separate them. Thus, cadmium is produced mainly as a byproduct of mining, smelting, and refining sulfidic ores of zinc, and, to a lesser degree, lead and copper. Small amounts of cadmium, about 10% of consumption, are produced from secondary sources, mainly from dust generated by recycling iron and steel scrap. Production in the United States began in 1907, but wide use began after World War I. + +Metallic cadmium can be found in the Vilyuy River basin in Siberia. + +Rocks mined for phosphate fertilizers contain varying amounts of cadmium, resulting in a cadmium concentration of as much as 300 mg/kg in the fertilizers and a high cadmium content in agricultural soils. Coal can contain significant amounts of cadmium, which ends up mostly in coal fly ash. + +Cadmium in soil can be absorbed by crops such as rice and cocoa. Chinese ministry of agriculture measured in 2002 that 28% of rice it sampled had excess lead and 10% had excess cadmium above limits defined by law. Consumer Reports tested 28 brands of dark chocolate sold in the United States in 2022, and found cadmium in all of them, with 13 exceeding the California Maximum Allowable Dose level. + +Some plants such as willow trees and poplars have been found to clean both lead and cadmium from soil. + +Typical background concentrations of cadmium do not exceed 5 ng/m3 in the atmosphere; 2 mg/kg in soil; 1 μg/L in freshwater and 50 ng/L in seawater. Concentrations of cadmium above 10 μg/L may be stable in water having low total solute concentrations and p H and can be difficult to remove by conventional water treatment processes. + +Production +Cadmium is a common impurity in zinc ores, and it is most often isolated during the production of zinc. Some zinc ores concentrates from zinc sulfate ores contain up to 1.4% of cadmium. In the 1970s, the output of cadmium was per ton of zinc. Zinc sulfide ores are roasted in the presence of oxygen, converting the zinc sulfide to the oxide. Zinc metal is produced either by smelting the oxide with carbon or by electrolysis in sulfuric acid. Cadmium is isolated from the zinc metal by vacuum distillation if the zinc is smelted, or cadmium sulfate is precipitated from the electrolysis solution. + +The British Geological Survey reports that in 2001, China was the top producer of cadmium with almost one-sixth of the world's production, closely followed by South Korea and Japan. + +Applications +Cadmium is a common component of electric batteries, pigments, coatings, and electroplating. + +Batteries + +In 2009, 86% of cadmium was used in batteries, predominantly in rechargeable nickel–cadmium batteries. Nickel–cadmium cells have a nominal cell potential of 1.2 V. The cell consists of a positive nickel hydroxide electrode and a negative cadmium electrode plate separated by an alkaline electrolyte (potassium hydroxide). The European Union put a limit on cadmium in electronics in 2004 of 0.01%, with some exceptions, and in 2006 reduced the limit on cadmium content to 0.002%. Another type of battery based on cadmium is the silver–cadmium battery. + +Electroplating + +Cadmium electroplating, consuming 6% of the global production, is used in the aircraft industry to reduce corrosion of steel components. This coating is passivated by chromate salts. A limitation of cadmium plating is hydrogen embrittlement of high-strength steels from the electroplating process. Therefore, steel parts heat-treated to tensile strength above 1300 MPa (200 ksi) should be coated by an alternative method (such as special low-embrittlement cadmium electroplating processes or physical vapor deposition). + +Titanium embrittlement from cadmium-plated tool residues resulted in banishment of those tools (and the implementation of routine tool testing to detect cadmium contamination) in the A-12/SR-71, U-2, and subsequent aircraft programs that use titanium. + +Nuclear fission +Cadmium is used in the control rods of nuclear reactors, acting as a very effective neutron poison to control neutron flux in nuclear fission. When cadmium rods are inserted in the core of a nuclear reactor, cadmium absorbs neutrons, preventing them from creating additional fission events, thus controlling the amount of reactivity. The pressurized water reactor designed by Westinghouse Electric Company uses an alloy consisting of 80% silver, 15% indium, and 5% cadmium. + +Televisions +QLED TVs have been starting to include cadmium in construction. Some companies have been looking to reduce the environmental impact of human exposure and pollution of the material in televisions during production. + +Anticancer drugs +Complexes based on heavy metals have great potential for the treatment of a wide variety of cancers but their use is often limited due to toxic side effects. However, scientists are advancing in the field and new promising cadmium complex compounds with reduced toxicity have been discovered. + +Compounds + +Cadmium oxide was used in black and white television phosphors and in the blue and green phosphors of color television cathode ray tubes. Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is used as a photoconductive surface coating for photocopier drums. + +Various cadmium salts are used in paint pigments, with CdS as a yellow pigment being the most common. Cadmium selenide is a red pigment, commonly called cadmium red. To painters who work with the pigment, cadmium provides the most brilliant and durable yellows, oranges, and reds – so much so that during production, these colors are significantly toned down before they are ground with oils and binders or blended into watercolors, gouaches, acrylics, and other paint and pigment formulations. Because these pigments are potentially toxic, users should use a barrier cream on the hands to prevent absorption through the skin even though the amount of cadmium absorbed into the body through the skin is reported to be less than 1%. + +In PVC, cadmium was used as heat, light, and weathering stabilizers. Currently, cadmium stabilizers have been completely replaced with barium-zinc, calcium-zinc and organo-tin stabilizers. Cadmium is used in many kinds of solder and bearing alloys, because it has a low coefficient of friction and fatigue resistance. It is also found in some of the lowest-melting alloys, such as Wood's metal. + +Semiconductors +Cadmium is an element in some semiconductor materials. Cadmium sulfide, cadmium selenide, and cadmium telluride are used in some photodetectors and solar cells. HgCdTe detectors are sensitive to mid-infrared light and used in some motion detectors. + +Laboratory uses + +Helium–cadmium lasers are a common source of blue or ultraviolet laser light. Lasers at wavelengths of 325, 354 and 442 nm are made using this gain medium; some models can switch between these wavelengths. They are notably used in fluorescence microscopy as well as various laboratory uses requiring laser light at these wavelengths. + +Cadmium selenide quantum dots emit bright luminescence under UV excitation (He–Cd laser, for example). The color of this luminescence can be green, yellow or red depending on the particle size. Colloidal solutions of those particles are used for imaging of biological tissues and solutions with a fluorescence microscope. + +In molecular biology, cadmium is used to block voltage-dependent calcium channels from fluxing calcium ions, as well as in hypoxia research to stimulate proteasome-dependent degradation of Hif-1α. + +Cadmium-selective sensors based on the fluorophore BODIPY have been developed for imaging and sensing of cadmium in cells. One powerful method for monitoring cadmium in aqueous environments involves electrochemistry. By employing a self-assembled monolayer one can obtain a cadmium selective electrode with a ppt-level sensitivity. + +Biological role and research +Cadmium has no known function in higher organisms and is considered toxic. Cadmium is considered an environmental pollutant that causes health hazard to living organisms. Administration of cadmium to cells causes oxidative stress and increases the levels of antioxidants produced by cells to protect against macro molecular damage. + +However a cadmium-dependent carbonic anhydrase has been found in some marine diatoms. The diatoms live in environments with very low zinc concentrations and cadmium performs the function normally carried out by zinc in other anhydrases. This was discovered with X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. + +Cadmium is preferentially absorbed in the kidneys of humans. Up to about 30 mg of cadmium is commonly inhaled throughout human childhood and adolescence. Cadmium is under research regarding its toxicity in humans, potentially elevating risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. + +Environment +The biogeochemistry of cadmium and its release to the environment has been the subject of review, as has the speciation of cadmium in the environment. + +Safety + +Individuals and organizations have been reviewing cadmium's bioinorganic aspects for its toxicity. The most dangerous form of occupational exposure to cadmium is inhalation of fine dust and fumes, or ingestion of highly soluble cadmium compounds. Inhalation of cadmium fumes can result initially in metal fume fever, but may progress to chemical pneumonitis, pulmonary edema, and death. + +Cadmium is also an environmental hazard. Human exposure is primarily from fossil fuel combustion, phosphate fertilizers, natural sources, iron and steel production, cement production and related activities, nonferrous metals production, and municipal solid waste incineration. Other sources of cadmium include bread, root crops, and vegetables. + +There have been a few instances of general population poisoning as the result of long-term exposure to cadmium in contaminated food and water. Research into an estrogen mimicry that may induce breast cancer is ongoing, . In the decades leading up to World War II, mining operations contaminated the Jinzū River in Japan with cadmium and traces of other toxic metals. As a consequence, cadmium accumulated in the rice crops along the riverbanks downstream of the mines. Some members of the local agricultural communities consumed the contaminated rice and developed itai-itai disease and renal abnormalities, including proteinuria and glucosuria. The victims of this poisoning were almost exclusively post-menopausal women with low iron and low body stores of other minerals. Similar general population cadmium exposures in other parts of the world have not resulted in the same health problems because the populations maintained sufficient iron and other mineral levels. Thus, although cadmium is a major factor in the itai-itai disease in Japan, most researchers have concluded that it was one of several factors. + +Cadmium is one of six substances banned by the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, which regulates hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, but allows for certain exemptions and exclusions from the scope of the law. + +The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified cadmium and cadmium compounds as carcinogenic to humans. Although occupational exposure to cadmium is linked to lung and prostate cancer, there is still uncertainty about the carcinogenicity of cadmium in low environmental exposure. Recent data from epidemiological studies suggest that intake of cadmium through diet is associated with a higher risk of endometrial, breast, and prostate cancer as well as with osteoporosis in humans. A recent study has demonstrated that endometrial tissue is characterized by higher levels of cadmium in current and former smoking females. + +Cadmium exposure is associated with a large number of illnesses including kidney disease, early atherosclerosis, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. Although studies show a significant correlation between cadmium exposure and occurrence of disease in human populations, a molecular mechanism has not yet been identified. One hypothesis holds that cadmium is an endocrine disruptor and some experimental studies have shown that it can interact with different hormonal signaling pathways. For example, cadmium can bind to the estrogen receptor alpha, and affect signal transduction along the estrogen and MAPK signaling pathways at low doses. + +The tobacco plant absorbs and accumulates heavy metals such as cadmium from the surrounding soil into its leaves. Following tobacco smoke inhalation, these are readily absorbed into the body of users. Tobacco smoking is the most important single source of cadmium exposure in the general population. An estimated 10% of the cadmium content of a cigarette is inhaled through smoking. Absorption of cadmium through the lungs is more effective than through the gut. As much as 50% of the cadmium inhaled in cigarette smoke may be absorbed. +On average, cadmium concentrations in the blood of smokers is 4 to 5 times greater than non-smokers and in the kidney, 2–3 times greater than in non-smokers. Despite the high cadmium content in cigarette smoke, there seems to be little exposure to cadmium from passive smoking. + +In a non-smoking population, food is the greatest source of exposure. High quantities of cadmium can be found in crustaceans, mollusks, offal, frog legs, cocoa solids, bitter and semi-bitter chocolate, seaweed, fungi and algae products. However, grains, vegetables, and starchy roots and tubers are consumed in much greater quantity in the U.S., and are the source of the greatest dietary exposure there. Most plants bio-accumulate metal toxins such as cadmium and when composted to form organic fertilizers, yield a product that often can contain high amounts (e.g., over 0.5 mg) of metal toxins for every kilogram of fertilizer. Fertilizers made from animal dung (e.g., cow dung) or urban waste can contain similar amounts of cadmium. The cadmium added to the soil from fertilizers (rock phosphates or organic fertilizers) become bio-available and toxic only if the soil pH is low (i.e., acidic soils). + +Zinc, copper, calcium, and iron ions, and selenium with vitamin C are used to treat cadmium intoxication, though it is not easily reversed. + +Regulations +Because of the adverse effects of cadmium on the environment and human health, the supply and use of cadmium is restricted in Europe under the REACH Regulation. + +The EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain specifies that 2.5 μg/kg body weight is a tolerable weekly intake for humans. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has declared 7 μg/kg body weight to be the provisional tolerable weekly intake level. The state of California requires a food label to carry a warning about potential exposure to cadmium on products such as cocoa powder. + +The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for cadmium at a time-weighted average (TWA) of 0.005 ppm. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has not set a recommended exposure limit (REL) and has designated cadmium as a known human carcinogen. The IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) level for cadmium is 9 mg/m3. + +In addition to mercury, the presence of cadmium in some batteries has led to the requirement of proper disposal (or recycling) of batteries. + +Product recalls +In May 2006, a sale of the seats from Arsenal F.C.'s old stadium, Highbury in London, England was cancelled when the seats were discovered to contain trace amounts of cadmium. Reports of high levels of cadmium use in children's jewelry in 2010 led to a US Consumer Product Safety Commission investigation. The U.S. CPSC issued specific recall notices for cadmium content in jewelry sold by Claire's and Wal-Mart stores. + +In June 2010, McDonald's voluntarily recalled more than 12 million promotional Shrek Forever After 3D Collectible Drinking Glasses because of the cadmium levels in paint pigments on the glassware. The glasses were manufactured by Arc International, of Millville, New Jersey, USA. + +See also + Red List building materials + Toxic heavy metal + +References + +Further reading + +External links + + Cadmium at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham) + ATSDR Case Studies in Environmental Medicine: Cadmium Toxicity U.S. Department of Health and Human Services + + National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – Cadmium Page + NLM Hazardous Substances Databank – Cadmium, Elemental + + +Chemical elements +Transition metals +Endocrine disruptors +IARC Group 1 carcinogens +Chemical hazards +Soil contamination +Testicular toxicants +Native element minerals +Chemical elements with hexagonal close-packed structure +Curium is a transuranic, radioactive chemical element with the symbol Cm and atomic number 96 and its made entirely from curry. This actinide element was named after eminent scientists Marie and Pierre Curie, both known for their research on radioactivity. Curium was first intentionally made by the team of Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James, and Albert Ghiorso in 1944, using the cyclotron at Berkeley. They bombarded the newly discovered element plutonium (the isotope 239Pu) with alpha particles. This was then sent to the Metallurgical Laboratory at University of Chicago where a tiny sample of curium was eventually separated and identified. The discovery was kept secret until after the end of World War II. The news was released to the public in November 1947. Most curium is produced by bombarding uranium or plutonium with neutrons in nuclear reactors – one tonne of spent nuclear fuel contains ~20 grams of curium. + +Curium is a hard, dense, silvery metal with a high melting and boiling point for an actinide. It is paramagnetic at ambient conditions, but becomes antiferromagnetic upon cooling, and other magnetic transitions are also seen in many curium compounds. In compounds, curium usually has valence +3 and sometimes +4; the +3 valence is predominant in solutions. Curium readily oxidizes, and its oxides are a dominant form of this element. It forms strongly fluorescent complexes with various organic compounds, but there is no evidence of its incorporation into bacteria and archaea. If it gets into the human body, curium accumulates in bones, lungs, and liver, where it promotes cancer. + +All known isotopes of curium are radioactive and have small critical mass for a nuclear chain reaction. They mostly emit α-particles; radioisotope thermoelectric generators can use the heat from this process, but this is hindered by the rarity and high cost of curium. Curium is used in making heavier actinides and the 238Pu radionuclide for power sources in artificial cardiac pacemakers and RTGs for spacecraft. It served as the α-source in the alpha particle X-ray spectrometers of several space probes, including the Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity Mars rovers and the Philae lander on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, to analyze the composition and structure of the surface. + +History + +Though curium had likely been produced in previous nuclear experiments as well as the natural nuclear fission reactor at Oklo, Gabon, it was first intentionally synthesized, isolated and identified in 1944, at University of California, Berkeley, by Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James, and Albert Ghiorso. In their experiments, they used a cyclotron. + +Curium was chemically identified at the Metallurgical Laboratory (now Argonne National Laboratory), University of Chicago. It was the third transuranium element to be discovered even though it is the fourth in the series – the lighter element americium was still unknown. + +The sample was prepared as follows: first plutonium nitrate solution was coated on a platinum foil of ~0.5 cm2 area, the solution was evaporated and the residue was converted into plutonium(IV) oxide (PuO2) by annealing. Following cyclotron irradiation of the oxide, the coating was dissolved with nitric acid and then precipitated as the hydroxide using concentrated aqueous ammonia solution. The residue was dissolved in perchloric acid, and further separation was done by ion exchange to yield a certain isotope of curium. The separation of curium and americium was so painstaking that the Berkeley group initially called those elements pandemonium (from Greek for all demons or hell) and delirium (from Latin for madness). + +Curium-242 was made in July–August 1944 by bombarding 239Pu with α-particles to produce curium with the release of a neutron: + ^{239}_{94}Pu + ^{4}_{2}He -> ^{242}_{96}Cm + ^{1}_{0}n + +Curium-242 was unambiguously identified by the characteristic energy of the α-particles emitted during the decay: + ^{242}_{96}Cm -> ^{238}_{94}Pu + ^{4}_{2}He +The half-life of this alpha decay was first measured as 150 days and then corrected to 162.8 days. + +Another isotope 240Cm was produced in a similar reaction in March 1945: + ^{239}_{94}Pu + ^{4}_{2}He -> ^{240}_{96}Cm + 3^{1}_{0}n +The α-decay half-life of 240Cm was correctly determined as 26.7 days. + +The discovery of curium and americium in 1944 was closely related to the Manhattan Project, so the results were confidential and declassified only in 1945. Seaborg leaked the synthesis of the elements 95 and 96 on the U.S. radio show for children, the Quiz Kids, five days before the official presentation at an American Chemical Society meeting on November 11, 1945, when one listener asked if any new transuranic element beside plutonium and neptunium had been discovered during the war. The discovery of curium (242Cm and 240Cm), its production, and its compounds was later patented listing only Seaborg as the inventor. + +The element was named after Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie, who are known for discovering radium and for their work in radioactivity. It followed the example of gadolinium, a lanthanide element above curium in the periodic table, which was named after the explorer of rare-earth elements Johan Gadolin: +"As the name for the element of atomic number 96 we should like to propose "curium", with symbol Cm. The evidence indicates that element 96 contains seven 5f electrons and is thus analogous to the element gadolinium, with its seven 4f electrons in the regular rare earth series. On this basis element 96 is named after the Curies in a manner analogous to the naming of gadolinium, in which the chemist Gadolin was honored." + +The first curium samples were barely visible, and were identified by their radioactivity. Louis Werner and Isadore Perlman made the first substantial sample of 30 µg curium-242 hydroxide at University of California, Berkeley in 1947 by bombarding americium-241 with neutrons. Macroscopic amounts of curium(III) fluoride were obtained in 1950 by W. W. T. Crane, J. C. Wallmann and B. B. Cunningham. Its magnetic susceptibility was very close to that of GdF3 providing the first experimental evidence for the +3 valence of curium in its compounds. Curium metal was produced only in 1951 by reduction of CmF3 with barium. + +Characteristics + +Physical + +A synthetic, radioactive element, curium is a hard, dense metal with a silvery-white appearance and physical and chemical properties resembling gadolinium. Its melting point of 1344 °C is significantly higher than that of the previous elements neptunium (637 °C), plutonium (639 °C) and americium (1176 °C). In comparison, gadolinium melts at 1312 °C. Curium boils at 3556 °C. With a density of 13.52 g/cm3, curium is lighter than neptunium (20.45 g/cm3) and plutonium (19.8 g/cm3), but heavier than most other metals. Of two crystalline forms of curium, α-Cm is more stable at ambient conditions. It has a hexagonal symmetry, space group P63/mmc, lattice parameters a = 365 pm and c = 1182 pm, and four formula units per unit cell. The crystal consists of double-hexagonal close packing with the layer sequence ABAC and so is isotypic with α-lanthanum. At pressure >23 GPa, at room temperature, α-Cm becomes β-Cm, which has face-centered cubic symmetry, space group Fmm and lattice constant a = 493 pm. On further compression to 43 GPa, curium becomes an orthorhombic γ-Cm structure similar to α-uranium, with no further transitions observed up to 52 GPa. These three curium phases are also called Cm I, II and III. + +Curium has peculiar magnetic properties. Its neighbor element americium shows no deviation from Curie-Weiss paramagnetism in the entire temperature range, but α-Cm transforms to an antiferromagnetic state upon cooling to 65–52 K, and β-Cm exhibits a ferrimagnetic transition at ~205 K. Curium pnictides show ferromagnetic transitions upon cooling: 244CmN and 244CmAs at 109 K, 248CmP at 73 K and 248CmSb at 162 K. The lanthanide analog of curium, gadolinium, and its pnictides, also show magnetic transitions upon cooling, but the transition character is somewhat different: Gd and GdN become ferromagnetic, and GdP, GdAs and GdSb show antiferromagnetic ordering. + +In accordance with magnetic data, electrical resistivity of curium increases with temperature – about twice between 4 and 60 K – and then is nearly constant up to room temperature. There is a significant increase in resistivity over time (~) due to self-damage of the crystal lattice by alpha decay. This makes uncertain the true resistivity of curium (~). Curium's resistivity is similar to that of gadolinium, and the actinides plutonium and neptunium, but significantly higher than that of americium, uranium, polonium and thorium. + +Under ultraviolet illumination, curium(III) ions show strong and stable yellow-orange fluorescence with a maximum in the range of 590–640 nm depending on their environment. The fluorescence originates from the transitions from the first excited state 6D7/2 and the ground state 8S7/2. Analysis of this fluorescence allows monitoring interactions between Cm(III) ions in organic and inorganic complexes. + +Chemical + +Curium ion in solution almost always has a +3 oxidation state, the most stable oxidation state for curium. A +4 oxidation state is seen mainly in a few solid phases, such as CmO2 and CmF4. Aqueous curium(IV) is only known in the presence of strong oxidizers such as potassium persulfate, and is easily reduced to curium(III) by radiolysis and even by water itself. Chemical behavior of curium is different from the actinides thorium and uranium, and is similar to americium and many lanthanides. In aqueous solution, the Cm3+ ion is colorless to pale green; Cm4+ ion is pale yellow. The optical absorption of Cm3+ ion contains three sharp peaks at 375.4, 381.2 and 396.5 nm and their strength can be directly converted into the concentration of the ions. The +6 oxidation state has only been reported once in solution in 1978, as the curyl ion (): this was prepared from beta decay of americium-242 in the americium(V) ion . Failure to get Cm(VI) from oxidation of Cm(III) and Cm(IV) may be due to the high Cm4+/Cm3+ ionization potential and the instability of Cm(V). + +Curium ions are hard Lewis acids and thus form most stable complexes with hard bases. The bonding is mostly ionic, with a small covalent component. Curium in its complexes commonly exhibits a 9-fold coordination environment, with a tricapped trigonal prismatic molecular geometry. + +Isotopes + +About 19 radioisotopes and 7 nuclear isomers, 233Cm to 251Cm, are known; none are stable. The longest half-lives are 15.6 million years (247Cm) and 348,000 years (248Cm). Other long-lived ones are 245Cm (8500 years), 250Cm (8300 years) and 246Cm (4760 years). Curium-250 is unusual: it mostly (~86%) decays by spontaneous fission. The most commonly used isotopes are 242Cm and 244Cm with the half-lives 162.8 days and 18.1 years, respectively. + +All isotopes 242Cm-248Cm, and 250Cm, undergo a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction and thus in principle can be a nuclear fuel in a reactor. As in most transuranic elements, nuclear fission cross section is especially high for the odd-mass curium isotopes 243Cm, 245Cm and 247Cm. These can be used in thermal-neutron reactors, whereas a mixture of curium isotopes is only suitable for fast breeder reactors since the even-mass isotopes are not fissile in a thermal reactor and accumulate as burn-up increases. The mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel, which is to be used in power reactors, should contain little or no curium because neutron activation of 248Cm will create californium. Californium is a strong neutron emitter, and would pollute the back end of the fuel cycle and increase the dose to reactor personnel. Hence, if minor actinides are to be used as fuel in a thermal neutron reactor, the curium should be excluded from the fuel or placed in special fuel rods where it is the only actinide present. + +The adjacent table lists the critical masses for curium isotopes for a sphere, without moderator or reflector. With a metal reflector (30 cm of steel), the critical masses of the odd isotopes are about 3–4 kg. When using water (thickness ~20–30 cm) as the reflector, the critical mass can be as small as 59 gram for 245Cm, 155 gram for 243Cm and 1550 gram for 247Cm. There is significant uncertainty in these critical mass values. While it is usually on the order of 20%, the values for 242Cm and 246Cm were listed as large as 371 kg and 70.1 kg, respectively, by some research groups. + +Curium is not currently used as nuclear fuel due to its low availability and high price. 245Cm and 247Cm have very small critical mass and so could be used in tactical nuclear weapons, but none are known to have been made. Curium-243 is not suitable for such, due to its short half-life and strong α emission, which would cause excessive heat. Curium-247 would be highly suitable due to its long half-life, which is 647 times longer than plutonium-239 (used in many existing nuclear weapons). + +Occurrence + +The longest-lived isotope, 247Cm, has half-life 15.6 million years; so any primordial curium, that is, present on Earth when it formed, should have decayed by now. Its past presence as an extinct radionuclide is detectable as an excess of its primordial, long-lived daughter 235U. Traces of curium may occur naturally in uranium minerals due to neutron capture and beta decay, though this has not been confirmed. Traces of 247Cm are also probably brought to Earth in cosmic rays, but again this has not been confirmed. + +Curium is made artificially in small amounts for research purposes. It also occurs as one of the waste products in spent nuclear fuel. Curium is present in nature in some areas used for nuclear weapons testing. Analysis of the debris at the test site of the United States' first thermonuclear weapon, Ivy Mike, (1 November 1952, Enewetak Atoll), besides einsteinium, fermium, plutonium and americium also revealed isotopes of berkelium, californium and curium, in particular 245Cm, 246Cm and smaller quantities of 247Cm, 248Cm and 249Cm. + +Atmospheric curium compounds are poorly soluble in common solvents and mostly adhere to soil particles. Soil analysis revealed about 4,000 times higher concentration of curium at the sandy soil particles than in water present in the soil pores. An even higher ratio of about 18,000 was measured in loam soils. + +The transuranium elements from americium to fermium, including curium, occurred naturally in the natural nuclear fission reactor at Oklo, but no longer do so. + +Curium, and other non-primordial actinides, have also been suspected to exist in the spectrum of Przybylski's Star. + +Synthesis + +Isotope preparation +Curium is made in small amounts in nuclear reactors, and by now only kilograms of 242Cm and 244Cm have been accumulated, and grams or even milligrams for heavier isotopes. Hence the high price of curium, which has been quoted at 160–185 USD per milligram, with a more recent estimate at US$2,000/g for 242Cm and US$170/g for 244Cm. In nuclear reactors, curium is formed from 238U in a series of nuclear reactions. In the first chain, 238U captures a neutron and converts into 239U, which via β− decay transforms into 239Np and 239Pu. + +Further neutron capture followed by β−-decay gives americium (241Am) which further becomes 242Cm: + +For research purposes, curium is obtained by irradiating not uranium but plutonium, which is available in large amounts from spent nuclear fuel. A much higher neutron flux is used for the irradiation that results in a different reaction chain and formation of 244Cm: + +Curium-244 alpha decays to 240Pu, but it also absorbs neutrons, hence a small amount of heavier curium isotopes. Of those, 247Cm and 248Cm are popular in scientific research due to their long half-lives. But the production rate of 247Cm in thermal neutron reactors is low because it is prone to fission due to thermal neutrons. Synthesis of 250Cm by neutron capture is unlikely due to the short half-life of the intermediate 249Cm (64 min), which β− decays to the berkelium isotope 249Bk. + +The above cascade of (n,γ) reactions gives a mix of different curium isotopes. Their post-synthesis separation is cumbersome, so a selective synthesis is desired. Curium-248 is favored for research purposes due to its long half-life. The most efficient way to prepare this isotope is by α-decay of the californium isotope 252Cf, which is available in relatively large amounts due to its long half-life (2.65 years). About 35–50 mg of 248Cm is produced thus, per year. The associated reaction produces 248Cm with isotopic purity of 97%. + +Another isotope, 245Cm, can be obtained for research, from α-decay of 249Cf; the latter isotope is produced in small amounts from β−-decay of 249Bk. + +Metal preparation + +Most synthesis routines yield a mix of actinide isotopes as oxides, from which a given isotope of curium needs to be separated. An example procedure could be to dissolve spent reactor fuel (e.g. MOX fuel) in nitric acid, and remove the bulk of the uranium and plutonium using a PUREX (Plutonium – URanium EXtraction) type extraction with tributyl phosphate in a hydrocarbon. The lanthanides and the remaining actinides are then separated from the aqueous residue (raffinate) by a diamide-based extraction to give, after stripping, a mixture of trivalent actinides and lanthanides. A curium compound is then selectively extracted using multi-step chromatographic and centrifugation techniques with an appropriate reagent. Bis-triazinyl bipyridine complex has been recently proposed as such reagent which is highly selective to curium. Separation of curium from the very chemically similar americium can also be done by treating a slurry of their hydroxides in aqueous sodium bicarbonate with ozone at elevated temperature. Both americium and curium are present in solutions mostly in the +3 valence state; americium oxidizes to soluble Am(IV) complexes, but curium stays unchanged and so can be isolated by repeated centrifugation. + +Metallic curium is obtained by reduction of its compounds. Initially, curium(III) fluoride was used for this purpose. The reaction was done in an environment free of water and oxygen, in an apparatus made of tantalum and tungsten, using elemental barium or lithium as reducing agents. + +Another possibility is reduction of curium(IV) oxide using a magnesium-zinc alloy in a melt of magnesium chloride and magnesium fluoride. + +Compounds and reactions + +Oxides +Curium readily reacts with oxygen forming mostly Cm2O3 and CmO2 oxides, but the divalent oxide CmO is also known. Black CmO2 can be obtained by burning curium oxalate (), nitrate (), or hydroxide in pure oxygen. Upon heating to 600–650 °C in vacuum (about 0.01 Pa), it transforms into the whitish Cm2O3: + 4CmO2 ->[\Delta T] 2Cm2O3 + O2. + +Or, Cm2O3 can be obtained by reducing CmO2 with molecular hydrogen: + 2CmO2 + H2 -> Cm2O3 + H2O + +Also, a number of ternary oxides of the type M(II)CmO3 are known, where M stands for a divalent metal, such as barium. + +Thermal oxidation of trace quantities of curium hydride (CmH2–3) has been reported to give a volatile form of CmO2 and the volatile trioxide CmO3, one of two known examples of the very rare +6 state for curium. Another observed species was reported to behave similar to a supposed plutonium tetroxide and was tentatively characterized as CmO4, with curium in the extremely rare +8 state; but new experiments seem to indicate that CmO4 does not exist, and have cast doubt on the existence of PuO4 as well. + +Halides +The colorless curium(III) fluoride (CmF3) can be made by adding fluoride ions into curium(III)-containing solutions. The brown tetravalent curium(IV) fluoride (CmF4) on the other hand is only obtained by reacting curium(III) fluoride with molecular fluorine: + + +A series of ternary fluorides are known of the form A7Cm6F31 (A = alkali metal). + +The colorless curium(III) chloride (CmCl3) is made by reacting curium hydroxide (Cm(OH)3) with anhydrous hydrogen chloride gas. It can be further turned into other halides such as curium(III) bromide (colorless to light green) and curium(III) iodide (colorless), by reacting it with the ammonia salt of the corresponding halide at temperatures of ~400–450°C: + + +Or, one can heat curium oxide to ~600°C with the corresponding acid (such as hydrobromic for curium bromide). Vapor phase hydrolysis of curium(III) chloride gives curium oxychloride: + +Chalcogenides and pnictides +Sulfides, selenides and tellurides of curium have been obtained by treating curium with gaseous sulfur, selenium or tellurium in vacuum at elevated temperature. Curium pnictides of the type CmX are known for nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic and antimony. They can be prepared by reacting either curium(III) hydride (CmH3) or metallic curium with these elements at elevated temperature. + +Organocurium compounds and biological aspects + +Organometallic complexes analogous to uranocene are known also for other actinides, such as thorium, protactinium, neptunium, plutonium and americium. Molecular orbital theory predicts a stable "curocene" complex (η8-C8H8)2Cm, but it has not been reported experimentally yet. + +Formation of the complexes of the type (BTP = 2,6-di(1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)pyridine), in solutions containing n-C3H7-BTP and Cm3+ ions has been confirmed by EXAFS. Some of these BTP-type complexes selectively interact with curium and thus are useful for separating it from lanthanides and another actinides. Dissolved Cm3+ ions bind with many organic compounds, such as hydroxamic acid, urea, fluorescein and adenosine triphosphate. Many of these compounds are related to biological activity of various microorganisms. The resulting complexes show strong yellow-orange emission under UV light excitation, which is convenient not only for their detection, but also for studying interactions between the Cm3+ ion and the ligands via changes in the half-life (of the order ~0.1 ms) and spectrum of the fluorescence. + +Curium has no biological significance. There are a few reports on biosorption of Cm3+ by bacteria and archaea, but no evidence for incorporation of curium into them. + +Applications + +Radionuclides + +Curium is one of the most radioactive isolable elements. Its two most common isotopes 242Cm and 244Cm are strong alpha emitters (energy 6 MeV); they have fairly short half-lives, 162.8 days and 18.1 years, and give as much as 120 W/g and 3 W/g of heat, respectively. Therefore, curium can be used in its common oxide form in radioisotope thermoelectric generators like those in spacecraft. This application has been studied for the 244Cm isotope, while 242Cm was abandoned due to its prohibitive price, around 2000 USD/g. 243Cm with a ~30-year half-life and good energy yield of ~1.6 W/g could be a suitable fuel, but it gives significant amounts of harmful gamma and beta rays from radioactive decay products. As an α-emitter, 244Cm needs much less radiation shielding, but it has a high spontaneous fission rate, and thus a lot of neutron and gamma radiation. Compared to a competing thermoelectric generator isotope such as 238Pu, 244Cm emits 500 times more neutrons, and its higher gamma emission requires a shield that is 20 times thicker— of lead for a 1 kW source, compared to for 238Pu. Therefore, this use of curium is currently considered impractical. + +A more promising use of 242Cm is for making 238Pu, a better radioisotope for thermoelectric generators such as in heart pacemakers. The alternate routes to 238Pu use the (n,γ) reaction of 237Np, or deuteron bombardment of uranium, though both reactions always produce 236Pu as an undesired by-product since the latter decays to 232U with strong gamma emission. Curium is a common starting material for making higher transuranic and superheavy elements. Thus, bombarding 248Cm with neon (22Ne), magnesium (26Mg), or calcium (48Ca) yields isotopes of seaborgium (265Sg), hassium (269Hs and 270Hs), and livermorium (292Lv, 293Lv, and possibly 294Lv). Californium was discovered when a microgram-sized target of curium-242 was irradiated with 35 MeV alpha particles using the cyclotron at Berkeley: + + → + +Only about 5,000 atoms of californium were produced in this experiment. + +The odd-mass curium isotopes 243Cm, 245Cm, and 247Cm are all highly fissile and can release additional energy in a thermal spectrum nuclear reactor. All curium isotopes are fissionable in fast-neutron reactors. This is one of the motives for minor actinide separation and transmutation in the nuclear fuel cycle, helping to reduce the long-term radiotoxicity of used, or spent nuclear fuel. + +X-ray spectrometer +The most practical application of 244Cm—though rather limited in total volume—is as α-particle source in alpha particle X-ray spectrometers (APXS). These instruments were installed on the Sojourner, Mars, Mars 96, Mars Exploration Rovers and Philae comet lander, as well as the Mars Science Laboratory to analyze the composition and structure of the rocks on the surface of planet Mars. APXS was also used in the Surveyor 5–7 moon probes but with a 242Cm source. + +An elaborate APXS setup has a sensor head containing six curium sources with a total decay rate of several tens of millicuries (roughly one gigabecquerel). The sources are collimated on a sample, and the energy spectra of the alpha particles and protons scattered from the sample are analyzed (proton analysis is done only in some spectrometers). These spectra contain quantitative information on all major elements in the sample except for hydrogen, helium and lithium. + +Safety +Due to its radioactivity, curium and its compounds must be handled in appropriate labs under special arrangements. While curium itself mostly emits α-particles which are absorbed by thin layers of common materials, some of its decay products emit significant fractions of beta and gamma rays, which require a more elaborate protection. If consumed, curium is excreted within a few days and only 0.05% is absorbed in the blood. From there, ~45% goes to the liver, 45% to the bones, and the remaining 10% is excreted. In bone, curium accumulates on the inside of the interfaces to the bone marrow and does not significantly redistribute with time; its radiation destroys bone marrow and thus stops red blood cell creation. The biological half-life of curium is about 20 years in the liver and 50 years in the bones. Curium is absorbed in the body much more strongly via inhalation, and the allowed total dose of 244Cm in soluble form is 0.3 μCi. Intravenous injection of 242Cm- and 244Cm-containing solutions to rats increased the incidence of bone tumor, and inhalation promoted lung and liver cancer. + +Curium isotopes are inevitably present in spent nuclear fuel (about 20 g/tonne). The isotopes 245Cm–248Cm have decay times of thousands of years and must be removed to neutralize the fuel for disposal. Such a procedure involves several steps, where curium is first separated and then converted by neutron bombardment in special reactors to short-lived nuclides. This procedure, nuclear transmutation, while well documented for other elements, is still being developed for curium. + +References + +Bibliography + + Holleman, Arnold F. and Wiberg, Nils Lehrbuch der Anorganischen Chemie, 102 Edition, de Gruyter, Berlin 2007, . + Penneman, R. A. and Keenan T. K. The radiochemistry of americium and curium, University of California, Los Alamos, California, 1960 + +External links + + Curium at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham) + NLM Hazardous Substances Databank – Curium, Radioactive + + +Chemical elements +Chemical elements with double hexagonal close-packed structure +Actinides +American inventions +Synthetic elements +Marie Curie +Pierre Curie +Californium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Cf and atomic number 98. The element was first synthesized in 1950 at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (then the University of California Radiation Laboratory), by bombarding curium with alpha particles (helium-4 ions). It is an actinide element, the sixth transuranium element to be synthesized, and has the second-highest atomic mass of all elements that have been produced in amounts large enough to see with the naked eye (after einsteinium). The element was named after the university and the U.S. state of California. + +Two crystalline forms exist for californium at normal pressure: one above and one below . A third form exists at high pressure. Californium slowly tarnishes in air at room temperature. Californium compounds are dominated by the +3 oxidation state. The most stable of californium's twenty known isotopes is californium-251, with a half-life of 898 years. This short half-life means the element is not found in significant quantities in the Earth's crust. 252Cf, with a half-life of about 2.645 years, is the most common isotope used and is produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States and Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Russia. + +Californium is one of the few transuranium elements with practical applications. Most of these applications exploit the property of certain isotopes of californium to emit neutrons. For example, californium can be used to help start up nuclear reactors, and it is employed as a source of neutrons when studying materials using neutron diffraction and neutron spectroscopy. Californium can also be used in nuclear synthesis of higher mass elements; oganesson (element 118) was synthesized by bombarding californium-249 atoms with calcium-48 ions. Users of californium must take into account radiological concerns and the element's ability to disrupt the formation of red blood cells by bioaccumulating in skeletal tissue. + +Characteristics + +Physical properties +Californium is a silvery-white actinide metal with a melting point of and an estimated boiling point of . The pure metal is malleable and is easily cut with a razor blade. Californium metal starts to vaporize above when exposed to a vacuum. Below californium metal is either ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic (it acts like a magnet), between 48 and 66 K it is antiferromagnetic (an intermediate state), and above it is paramagnetic (external magnetic fields can make it magnetic). It forms alloys with lanthanide metals but little is known about the resulting materials. + +The element has two crystalline forms at standard atmospheric pressure: a double-hexagonal close-packed form dubbed alpha (α) and a face-centered cubic form designated beta (β). The α form exists below 600–800 °C with a density of 15.10 g/cm3 and the β form exists above 600–800 °C with a density of 8.74 g/cm3. At 48 GPa of pressure the β form changes into an orthorhombic crystal system due to delocalization of the atom's 5f electrons, which frees them to bond. + +The bulk modulus of a material is a measure of its resistance to uniform pressure. Californium's bulk modulus is , which is similar to trivalent lanthanide metals but smaller than more familiar metals, such as aluminium (70 GPa). + +Chemical properties and compounds + +Californium exhibits oxidation states of 4, 3, or 2. It typically forms eight or nine bonds to surrounding atoms or ions. Its chemical properties are predicted to be similar to other primarily 3+ valence actinide elements and the element dysprosium, which is the lanthanide above californium in the periodic table. Compounds in the +4 oxidation state are strong oxidizing agents and those in the +2 state are strong reducing agents. + +The element slowly tarnishes in air at room temperature, with the rate increasing when moisture is added. Californium reacts when heated with hydrogen, nitrogen, or a chalcogen (oxygen family element); reactions with dry hydrogen and aqueous mineral acids are rapid. + +Californium is only water-soluble as the californium(III) cation. Attempts to reduce or oxidize the +3 ion in solution have failed. The element forms a water-soluble chloride, nitrate, perchlorate, and sulfate and is precipitated as a fluoride, oxalate, or hydroxide. Californium is the heaviest actinide to exhibit covalent properties, as is observed in the californium borate. + +Isotopes + +Twenty isotopes of californium are known (mass number ranging from 237 to 256); the most stable are 251Cf with half-life 898 years, 249Cf with half-life 351 years, 250Cf with half-life 13.08 years, and 252Cf with half-life 2.645 years. All other isotopes have half-life shorter than a year, and most of these have half-lives less than 20 minutes. + +249Cf is formed from beta decay of berkelium-249, and most other californium isotopes are made by subjecting berkelium to intense neutron radiation in a nuclear reactor. Though californium-251 has the longest half-life, its production yield is only 10% due to its tendency to collect neutrons (high neutron capture) and its tendency to interact with other particles (high neutron cross section). + +Californium-252 is a very strong neutron emitter, which makes it extremely radioactive and harmful. 252Cf, 96.9% of the time, alpha decays to curium-248; the other 3.1% of decays are spontaneous fission. One microgram (μg) of 252Cf emits 2.3 million neutrons per second, an average of 3.7 neutrons per spontaneous fission. Most other isotopes of californium, alpha decay to curium (atomic number 96). + +History + +Californium was first made at University of California Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley, by physics researchers Stanley Gerald Thompson, Kenneth Street Jr., Albert Ghiorso, and Glenn T. Seaborg, about February 9, 1950. It was the sixth transuranium element to be discovered; the team announced its discovery on March 17, 1950. + +To produce californium, a microgram-size target of curium-242 () was bombarded with 35 MeV alpha particles () in the cyclotron at Berkeley, which produced californium-245 () plus one free neutron (). + + + → + +To identify and separate out the element, ion exchange and adsorsion methods were undertaken. Only about 5,000 atoms of californium were produced in this experiment, and these atoms had a half-life of 44 minutes. + +The discoverers named the new element after the university and the state. This was a break from the convention used for elements 95 to 97, which drew inspiration from how the elements directly above them in the periodic table were named. However, the element directly above #98 in the periodic table, dysprosium, has a name that means "hard to get at", so the researchers decided to set aside the informal naming convention. They added that "the best we can do is to point out [that] ... searchers a century ago found it difficult to get to California". + +Weighable amounts of californium were first produced by the irradiation of plutonium targets at Materials Testing Reactor at National Reactor Testing Station, eastern Idaho; these findings were reported in 1954. The high spontaneous fission rate of californium-252 was observed in these samples. The first experiment with californium in concentrated form occurred in 1958. The isotopes 249Cf to 252Cf were isolated that same year from a sample of plutonium-239 that had been irradiated with neutrons in a nuclear reactor for five years. Two years later, in 1960, Burris Cunningham and James Wallman of Lawrence Radiation Laboratory of the University of California created the first californium compounds—californium trichloride, californium(III) oxychloride, and californium oxide—by treating californium with steam and hydrochloric acid. + +The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, started producing small batches of californium in the 1960s. By 1995, HFIR nominally produced of californium annually. Plutonium supplied by the United Kingdom to the United States under the 1958 US–UK Mutual Defence Agreement was used for making californium. + +The Atomic Energy Commission sold 252Cf to industrial and academic customers in the early 1970s for $10 per microgram, and an average of of 252Cf were shipped each year from 1970 to 1990. Californium metal was first prepared in 1974 by Haire and Baybarz, who reduced californium(III) oxide with lanthanum metal to obtain microgram amounts of sub-micrometer thick films. + +Occurrence +Traces of californium can be found near facilities that use the element in mineral prospecting and in medical treatments. The element is fairly insoluble in water, but it adheres well to ordinary soil; and concentrations of it in the soil can be 500 times higher than in the water surrounding the soil particles. + +Nuclear fallout from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing prior to 1980 contributed a small amount of californium to the environment. Californium isotopes with mass numbers 249, 252, 253, and 254 have been observed in the radioactive dust collected from the air after a nuclear explosion. Californium is not a major radionuclide at United States Department of Energy legacy sites since it was not produced in large quantities. + +Californium was once believed to be produced in supernovas, as their decay matches the 60-day half-life of 254Cf. However, subsequent studies failed to demonstrate any californium spectra, and supernova light curves are now thought to follow the decay of nickel-56. + +The transuranium elements from americium to fermium, including californium, occurred naturally in the natural nuclear fission reactor at Oklo, but no longer do so. + +Spectral lines of californium, along with those of several other non-primordial elements, were detected in Przybylski's Star in 2008. + +Production + +Californium is produced in nuclear reactors and particle accelerators. Californium-250 is made by bombarding berkelium-249 () with neutrons, forming berkelium-250 () via neutron capture (n,γ) which, in turn, quickly beta decays (β−) to californium-250 () in the following reaction: +(n,γ) → + β− +Bombardment of californium-250 with neutrons produces californium-251 and californium-252. + +Prolonged irradiation of americium, curium, and plutonium with neutrons produces milligram amounts of californium-252 and microgram amounts of californium-249. As of 2006, curium isotopes 244 to 248 are irradiated by neutrons in special reactors to produce primarily californium-252 with lesser amounts of isotopes 249 to 255. + +Microgram quantities of californium-252 are available for commercial use through the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Only two sites produce californium-252: the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States, and the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Dimitrovgrad, Russia. As of 2003, the two sites produce 0.25 grams and 0.025 grams of californium-252 per year, respectively. + +Three californium isotopes with significant half-lives are produced, requiring a total of 15 neutron captures by uranium-238 without nuclear fission or alpha decay occurring during the process. Californium-253 is at the end of a production chain that starts with uranium-238, includes several isotopes of plutonium, americium, curium, berkelium, and the californium isotopes 249 to 253 (see diagram). + +Applications + +Californium-252 has a number of specialized uses as a strong neutron emitter; it produces 139 million neutrons per microgram per minute. This property makes it useful as a startup neutron source for some nuclear reactors and as a portable (non-reactor based) neutron source for neutron activation analysis to detect trace amounts of elements in samples. Neutrons from californium are used as a treatment of certain cervical and brain cancers where other radiation therapy is ineffective. It has been used in educational applications since 1969 when Georgia Institute of Technology got a loan of 119 μg of 252Cf from the Savannah River Site. It is also used with online elemental coal analyzers and bulk material analyzers in the coal and cement industries. + +Neutron penetration into materials makes californium useful in detection instruments such as fuel rod scanners; neutron radiography of aircraft and weapons components to detect corrosion, bad welds, cracks and trapped moisture; and in portable metal detectors. Neutron moisture gauges use 252Cf to find water and petroleum layers in oil wells, as a portable neutron source for gold and silver prospecting for on-the-spot analysis, and to detect ground water movement. The main uses of 252Cf in 1982 were, reactor start-up (48.3%), fuel rod scanning (25.3%), and activation analysis (19.4%). By 1994, most 252Cf was used in neutron radiography (77.4%), with fuel rod scanning (12.1%) and reactor start-up (6.9%) as important but secondary uses. In 2021, fast neutrons from 252Cf were used for wireless data transmission. + +251Cf has a very small calculated critical mass of about , high lethality, and a relatively short period of toxic environmental irradiation. The low critical mass of californium led to some exaggerated claims about possible uses for the element. + +In October 2006, researchers announced that three atoms of oganesson (element 118) had been identified at Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, from bombarding 249Cf with calcium-48, making it the heaviest element ever made. The target contained about 10 mg of 249Cf deposited on a titanium foil of 32 cm2 area. Californium has also been used to produce other transuranium elements; for example, lawrencium was first synthesized in 1961 by bombarding californium with boron nuclei. + +Precautions +Californium that bioaccumulates in skeletal tissue releases radiation that disrupts the body's ability to form red blood cells. The element plays no natural biological role in any organism due to its intense radioactivity and low concentration in the environment. + +Californium can enter the body from ingesting contaminated food or drinks or by breathing air with suspended particles of the element. Once in the body, only 0.05% of the californium will reach the bloodstream. About 65% of that californium will be deposited in the skeleton, 25% in the liver, and the rest in other organs, or excreted, mainly in urine. Half of the californium deposited in the skeleton and liver are gone in 50 and 20 years, respectively. Californium in the skeleton adheres to bone surfaces before slowly migrating throughout the bone. + +The element is most dangerous if taken into the body. In addition, californium-249 and californium-251 can cause tissue damage externally, through gamma ray emission. Ionizing radiation emitted by californium on bone and in the liver can cause cancer. + +Notes + +References + +Bibliography + +External links + + Californium at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham) + NuclearWeaponArchive.org – Californium + Hazardous Substances Databank – Californium, Radioactive + + +Chemical elements +Chemical elements with double hexagonal close-packed structure +Actinides +Synthetic elements +Neutron sources +Ferromagnetic materials +The Christian Social Union in Bavaria (German: , CSU) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. Having a regionalist identity, the CSU operates only in Bavaria while its larger counterpart, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), operates in the other fifteen states of Germany. It differs from the CDU by being somewhat more conservative in social matters, following Catholic social teaching. The CSU is considered the de facto successor of the Weimar-era Catholic Bavarian People's Party. + +At the federal level, the CSU forms a common faction in the Bundestag with the CDU which is frequently referred to as the Union Faction (die Unionsfraktion) or simply CDU/CSU. The CSU has 45 seats in the Bundestag since the 2021 federal election, making it currently the second smallest of the seven parties represented. The CSU is a member of the European People's Party and the International Democrat Union. + +Party leader Markus Söder serves as Minister-President of Bavaria, a position that CSU representatives have held from 1946 to 1954 and again since 1957. + +History + +Franz Josef Strauß (1915–1988) had left behind the strongest legacy as a leader of the party, having led the party from 1961 until his death in 1988. His political career in the federal cabinet was unique in that he had served in four ministerial posts in the years between 1953 and 1969. From 1978 until his death in 1988, Strauß served as the Minister-President of Bavaria. Strauß was the first leader of the CSU to be a candidate for the German chancellery in 1980. In the 1980 federal election, Strauß ran against the incumbent Helmut Schmidt of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) but lost thereafter as the SPD and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) managed to secure an absolute majority together, forming a social-liberal coalition. + +The CSU has led the Bavarian state government since it came into existence in 1946, save from 1954 to 1957 when the SPD formed a state government in coalition with the Bavaria Party and the state branches of the GB/BHE and FDP. + +Initially, the separatist Bavaria Party (BP) successfully competed for the same electorate as the CSU, as both parties saw and presented themselves as successors to the BVP. The CSU was ultimately able to win this power struggle for itself. Among other things, the BP was involved in the "casino affair" under dubious circumstances by the CSU at the end of the 1950s and lost considerable prestige and votes. In the 1966 state election, the BP finally left the state parliament. + +Before the 2008 elections in Bavaria, the CSU perennially achieved absolute majorities at the state level by itself. This level of dominance is unique among Germany's 16 states. Edmund Stoiber took over the CSU leadership in 1999. He ran for Chancellor of Germany in 2002, but his preferred CDU/CSU–FDP coalition lost against the SPD candidate Gerhard Schröder's SPD–Green alliance. + +In the 2003 Bavarian state election, the CSU won 60.7% of the vote and 124 of 180 seats in the state parliament. This was the first time any party had won a two-thirds majority in a German state parliament. The Economist later suggested that this exceptional result was due to a backlash against Schröder's government in Berlin. The CSU's popularity declined in subsequent years. Stoiber stepped down from the posts of Minister-President and CSU chairman in September 2007. A year later, the CSU lost its majority in the 2008 Bavarian state election, with its vote share dropping from 60.7% to 43.4%. The CSU remained in power by forming a coalition with the FDP. In the 2009 general election, the CSU received only 42.5% of the vote in Bavaria in the 2009 election, which by then constituted its weakest showing in the party's history. + +The CSU made gains in the 2013 Bavarian state election and the 2013 federal election, which were held a week apart in September 2013. The CSU regained their majority in the Bavarian Landtag and remained in government in Berlin. They had three ministers in the Fourth Merkel cabinet, namely Horst Seehofer (Minister of the Interior, Building and Community), Andreas Scheuer (Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure) and Gerd Müller (Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development). + +The 2018 Bavarian state election yielded the worst result for the CSU in the state elections (top candidate Markus Söder) since 1950 with 37.2% of votes, a decline of over ten percentage points compared to the last result in 2013. After that, the CSU had to form a new coalition government with the minor partner Free Voters of Bavaria. + +The 2021 German federal election saw the worst election result ever for the Union. The CSU also had a weak showing with 5.2% of votes nationally and 31.7% of the total in Bavaria. + +Relationship with the CDU + +The CSU is the sister party of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Together, they are called the Union. The CSU operates only within Bavaria, and the CDU operates in all states other than Bavaria. While virtually independent, at the federal level the parties form a common CDU/CSU faction. No Chancellor has ever come from the CSU, although Strauß and Edmund Stoiber were CDU/CSU candidates for Chancellor in the 1980 federal election and the 2002 federal election, respectively, which were both won by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Below the federal level, the parties are entirely independent. + +Since its formation, the CSU has been more conservative than the CDU. CSU and the state of Bavaria decided not to sign the Grundgesetz of the Federal Republic of Germany as they could not agree with the division of Germany into two states after World War II. Although Bavaria like all German states has a separate police and justice system (distinctive and non-federal), the CSU has actively participated in all political affairs of the German Parliament, the German government, the German Bundesrat, the parliamentary elections of the German President, the European Parliament and meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia. + +Like the CDU, the CSU is pro-European, although some Eurosceptic tendencies were shown in the past. + +Leaders + +Party chairmen + +Ministers-president +The CSU has contributed eleven of the twelve Ministers-President of Bavaria since 1945, with only Wilhelm Hoegner (1945–1946, 1954–1957) of the SPD also holding the office. + +Election results + +Federal parliament (Bundestag) + +European Parliament + +Landtag of Bavaria + +See also + + List of Christian Social Union of Bavaria politicians + Politics of Germany + +Notes and references + +Further reading + Alf Mintzel (1975). Die CSU. Anatomie einer konservativen Partei 1945–1972 . Opladen. . + +External links +Christlich-Soziale Union – official website (English page) +Christian-Social Union (Bavaria, Germany) +Christian-Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) + +1945 establishments in Germany +Bavarian nationalism +Catholic political parties +Centre-right parties in Europe +Christian democratic parties in Germany +Conservative parties in Germany +International Democrat Union member parties +Member parties of the European People's Party +Parties represented in the European Parliament +Political parties established in 1945 +Politics of Bavaria +Pro-European political parties in Germany +Regional parties in Germany +Social conservative parties +Corporate titles or business titles are given to corporate officers to show what duties and responsibilities they have in the organization. Such titles are used by publicly and privately held for-profit corporations, cooperatives, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, partnerships, and sole proprietorships that also confer corporate titles. + +Variations + +There are considerable variations in the composition and responsibilities of corporate title. + +Within the corporate office or corporate center of a corporation, some corporations have a chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) as the top-ranking executive, while the number two is the president and chief operating officer (COO); other corporations have a president and CEO but no official deputy. Typically, senior managers are "higher" than vice presidents, although many times a senior officer may also hold a vice president title, such as executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). The board of directors is technically not part of management itself, although its chairman may be considered part of the corporate office if he or she is an executive chairman. + +A corporation often consists of different businesses, whose senior executives report directly to the CEO or COO, but that depends on the form of the business. If organized as a division then the top manager is often known as an executive vice president (EVP). If that business is a subsidiary which has considerably more independence, then the title might be chairman and CEO. + +In many countries, particularly in Europe and Asia, there is a separate executive board for day-to-day business and supervisory board (elected by shareholders) for control purposes. In these countries, the CEO presides over the executive board and the chairman presides over the supervisory board, and these two roles will always be held by different people. This ensures a distinction between management by the executive board and governance by the supervisory board. This seemingly allows for clear lines of authority. There is a strong parallel here with the structure of government, which tends to separate the political cabinet from the management civil service. + +In the United States and other countries that follow a single-board corporate structure, the board of directors (elected by the shareholders) is often equivalent to the European or Asian supervisory board, while the functions of the executive board may be vested either in the board of directors or in a separate committee, which may be called an operating committee (J.P. Morgan Chase), management committee (Goldman Sachs), executive committee (Lehman Brothers), executive council (Hewlett-Packard), or executive board (HeiG) composed of the division/subsidiary heads and senior officers that report directly to the CEO. + +United States + +State laws in the United States traditionally required certain positions to be created within every corporation, such as president, secretary and treasurer. Today, the approach under the Model Business Corporation Act, which is employed in many states, is to grant corporations discretion in determining which titles to have, with the only mandated organ being the board of directors. + +Some states that do not employ the MBCA continue to require that certain offices be established. Under the law of Delaware, where most large US corporations are established, stock certificates must be signed by two officers with titles specified by law (e.g. a president and secretary or a president and treasurer). Every corporation incorporated in California must have a chairman of the board or a president (or both), as well as a secretary and a chief financial officer. + +Limited liability company (LLC)-structured companies are generally run directly by their members, but the members can agree to appoint officers such as a CEO or to appoint "managers" to operate the company. + +American companies are generally led by a CEO. In some companies, the CEO also has the title of "president". In other companies, a president is a different person, and the primary duties of the two positions are defined in the company's bylaws (or the laws of the governing legal jurisdiction). Many companies also have a CFO, a chief operating officer (COO) and other senior positions such as chief legal officer (CLO), chief strategy officer (CSO), chief marketing officer (CMO), etc. that report to the president and CEO. The next level, which are not executive positions, is middle management and may be called "vice presidents", "directors" or "managers", depending on the size and required managerial depth of the company. + +United Kingdom + +In British English, the title of managing director is generally synonymous with that of chief executive officer. Managing directors do not have any particular authority under the Companies Act in the UK, but do have implied authority based on the general understanding of what their position entails, as well as any authority expressly delegated by the board of directors. + +Japan and South Korea + +In Japan, corporate titles are roughly standardized across companies and organizations; although there is variation from company to company, corporate titles within a company are always consistent, and the large companies in Japan generally follow the same outline. These titles are the formal titles that are used on business cards. Korean corporate titles are similar to those of Japan. + +Legally, Japanese and Korean companies are only required to have a board of directors with at least one representative director. In Japanese, a company director is called a torishimariyaku (取締役) and a representative director is called a daihyō torishimariyaku (代表取締役). The equivalent Korean titles are isa (이사, 理事) and daepyo-isa (대표이사, 代表理事). These titles are often combined with lower titles, e.g. senmu torishimariyaku or jōmu torishimariyaku for Japanese executives who are also board members. Most Japanese companies also have statutory auditors, who operate alongside the board of directors in supervisory roles. + +Under the commercial code in Japan, Jugyōin (従業員) meaning the "employee", is different from Kaishain (会社員), meaning the "stockholders". + +The typical structure of executive titles in large companies includes the following: +{| class="wikitable" +!English gloss +!Hanja +!Korean +!Comments +|- +|Chairman +|会長 +(會長) +|Hoejang(회장) +|Often a semi-retired president or company founder. Denotes a position with considerable power within the company exercised through behind-the-scenes influence via the active president. +|- +|Vice chairman +|副会長 +(副會長) +|Bu-hoejang(부회장) +|At Korean family-owned chaebol companies such as Samsung, the vice-chairman commonly holds the CEO title (i.e., vice chairman and CEO) +|- +|President +|社長 +|Sajang(사장) +|Often CEO of the corporation. Some companies do not have the "chairman" position, in which case the "president" is the top position that is equally respected and authoritative. +|- +|Deputy president +or senior executive vice president +|副社長 +|Bu-sajang(부사장) +|Reports to the president +|- +|Executive vice president +|専務 +|Jŏnmu(전무) +| +|- +|Senior vice president +|常務 +|Sangmu(상무) +| +|- +|Vice president +or general manager +or department head +|部長 +|Bujang(부장) +|Highest non-executive title; denotes a head of a division or department. There is significant variation in the official English translation used by different companies. +|- +|Deputy general manager +|次長 +|Chajang(차장) +|Direct subordinate to bujang +|- +|Manager +or section head +|課長 +|Gwajang(과장) +|Denotes a head of a team or section underneath a larger division or department +|- +|Assistant manager +or team leader +|係長 +(代理) +|Daeri'''(대리) +| +|- +|Staff +|社員 +|Sawon(사원) +|Staff without managerial titles are often referred to without using a title at all +|} + +The top management group, comprising jomu/sangmu and above, is often referred to collectively as "cadre" or "senior management" (幹部 or 重役; kambu or juyaku in Japanese; ganbu or jungyŏk in Korean). + +Some Japanese and Korean companies have also adopted American-style titles, but these are not yet widespread and their usage varies. For example, although there is a Korean translation for "chief operating officer" (최고운영책임자, choego unyŏng chaegimja), not many companies have yet adopted it with the exception of a few multi-national companies such as Samsung and CJ (a spin-off from Samsung), while the CFO title is often used alongside other titles such as bu-sajang (SEVP) or Jŏnmu (EVP). + +Since the late 1990s, many Japanese companies have introduced the title of shikkō yakuin (執行役員) or 'officer', seeking to emulate the separation of directors and officers found in American companies. In 2002, the statutory title of shikkō yaku (執行役) was introduced for use in companies that introduced a three-committee structure in their board of directors. The titles are frequently given to buchō and higher-level personnel. Although the two titles are very similar in intent and usage, there are several legal distinctions: shikkō yaku make their own decisions in the course of performing work delegated to them by the board of directors, and are considered managers of the company rather than employees, with a legal status similar to that of directors. Shikkō yakuin are considered employees of the company that follow the decisions of the board of directors, although in some cases directors may have the shikkō yakuin title as well. + +Senior management + +The highest-level executives in senior management usually have titles beginning with "chief" and ending with "officer", forming what is often called the "C-suite", or "CxO", where "x" is a variable that could be any functional area (not to be confused with CXO). The traditional three such officers are CEO, COO, and CFO. Depending on the management structure, titles may exist instead of, or be blended/overlapped with, other traditional executive titles, such as president, various designations of vice presidents (e.g. VP of marketing), and general managers or directors of various divisions (such as director of marketing); the latter may or may not imply membership of the board of directors. + +Certain other prominent positions have emerged, some of which are sector-specific. For example, chief audit executive (CAE), chief procurement officer (CPO) and chief risk officer (CRO) positions are often found in many types of financial services companies. Technology companies of all sorts now tend to have a chief technology officer (CTO) to manage technology development. A chief information officer (CIO) oversees information technology (IT) matters, either in companies that specialize in IT or in any kind of company that relies on it for supporting infrastructure. + +Many companies now also have a chief marketing officer (CMO), particularly mature companies in competitive sectors, where brand management is a high priority. A chief value officer (CVO) is introduced in companies where business processes and organizational entities are focused on the creation and maximization of value. Approximately 50% of the S&P 500 companies have created a chief strategy officer (CSO) in their top management team to lead strategic planning and manage inorganic growth, which provides a long range perspective versus the tactical view of the COO or CFO. This function often replaces a COO on the C-Suite team, in cases where the company wants to focus on growth rather than efficiency and cost containment. A chief administrative officer (CAO) may be found in many large complex organizations that have various departments or divisions. Additionally, many companies now call their top diversity leadership position the chief diversity officer (CDO). However, this and many other nontraditional and lower-ranking titles are not universally recognized as corporate officers, and they tend to be specific to particular organizational cultures or the preferences of employees. + +Specific corporate officer positions +Chairman of the board – presiding officer of the corporate board of directors. The chairman influences the board of directors, which in turn elects and removes the officers of a corporation and oversees the human, financial, environmental and technical operations of a corporation. + The CEO may also hold the title of "chairman", resulting in an executive chairman. In this case, the board frequently names an independent member of the board as a lead director. The C-suite is normally led by the CEO. + Executive chairman – the chairman's post may also exist as an office separate from that of CEO, and it is considered an executive chairman if that titleholder wields influence over company operations, such as Vince McMahon of WWE, Steve Case of AOL Time Warner, and Douglas Flint of HSBC. In particular, the group chairmanship of HSBC is considered the top position of that institution, outranking the chief executive, and is responsible for leading the board and representing the company in meetings with government figures. Prior to the creation of the group management board in 2006, HSBC's chairman essentially held the duties of a chief executive at an equivalent institution, while HSBC's chief executive served as the deputy. After the 2006 reorganization, the management cadre ran the business, while the chairman oversaw the controls of the business through compliance and audit and the direction of the business. + Non-executive chairman – also a separate post from the CEO, unlike an executive chairman, a non-executive chairman does not interfere in day-to-day company matters. Across the world, many companies have separated the roles of chairman and CEO, often resulting in a non-executive chairman, saying that this move improves corporate governance. +Chief business officer is a corporate senior executive who assumes full management responsibility for the company's deal making, provides leadership and executes a deal strategy that will allow the company to fulfill its scientific/technology mission and build shareholder value, provides managerial guidance to the company's product development staff as needed. +Chief of staff is a corporate director level manager who has overall responsibility for the staff activity within the company who often would have responsibility of hiring and firing of the highest level managers and sometimes directors. They can work with and report directly to managing directors and the chief executive officer. +Commissioner +Financial control officer, FCO or FC, also comptroller or controller – supervises accounting and financial reporting within an organization + Director or member of a board of directors – high-level official with a fiduciary responsibility of overseeing the operation of a corporation and elects or removes officers of a corporation; nominally, directors, other than the chairman are usually not considered to be employees of the company per se, although they may receive compensation, often including benefits; in publicly held companies. A board of directors is normally made up of members (directors) who are a mixture of corporate officials who are also management employees of the company (inside directors) and persons who are not employed by the company in any capacity (outside directors or non-executive directors). In privately held companies, the board of directors often only consists of the statutory corporate officials, and in sole proprietorship and partnerships, the board is entirely optional, and if it does exist, only operates in an advisory capacity to the owner or partners. Non-profit corporations' governing board members may be called directors like most for-profit corporations, or an alternative like trustees, governors, etc. +Director – a manager of managers within an organization who is often responsible for a major business function and who sometimes reports to a vice president (in some financial services companies the title vice president has a different meaning). Often used with name of a functional area; finance director, director of finance, marketing director, and so on. Not to be confused with a member of the board of directors, who is also referred to as a director. This is a middle management and not an executive level position, unless it is in the banking industry. Alternatively, a manager of managers is often referred to as a "senior manager' or as an "associate vice president", depending upon levels of management, and industry type. +President – legally recognized highest "titled" corporate officer, and usually a member of the board of directors. There is much variation; often the CEO also holds the title of president, while in other organizations if there is a separate CEO, the president is then second highest-ranking position. In such a case the president is often the COO and is considered to be more focused upon daily operations compared to the CEO, who is supposed to be the visionary. If the corporate president is not the COO (such as Richard Parsons of Time Warner from 1995 to 2001), then many division heads report directly to the CEO themselves, with the president taking on special assignments from the CEO. +Secretary or company secretary – legally recognized "titled" corporate officer who reports to the board of directors and is responsible for keeping the records of the board and the company. This title is often concurrently held by the treasurer in a dual position called secretary-treasurer; both positions may be concurrently held by the CFO. Note, however, that the secretary has a reporting line to the board of directors, regardless of any other reporting lines conferred by concurrent titles. +Treasurer – legally recognized corporate officer entrusted with the fiduciary responsibility of caring for company funds. Often this title is held concurrently with that of secretary in a dual role called secretary-treasurer. It can also be held concurrently with the title of CFO or fall under the jurisdiction of one, though the CFO tends to oversee the finance department instead, which deals with accounting and audits, while the treasurer deals directly with company funds. Note, however, that the treasurer has a reporting line to the board of directors, regardless of any other reporting lines conferred by concurrent titles. +Superintendent +Owner (sometimes proprietor or sole proprietor, for sole proprietorships) +Partner – Used in many different ways. This may indicate a co-owner as in a legal partnership or may be used in a general way to refer to a broad class of employees or temporary/contract workers who are often assigned field or customer service work. Associate is often used in a similar way. + Vice chair or vice chairman – officer of the board of directors who may stand in for the chairman in his or her absence. However, this type of vice chairman title on its own usually has only an advisory role and not an operational one (such as Ted Turner at Time Warner). An unrelated definition of vice chair describes an executive who is higher ranking or has more seniority than executive vice president. Sometimes, EVPs report to the vice chair, who in turn reports directly to the CEO (so vice chairs in effect constitute an additional layer of management), other vice chairs have more responsibilities but are otherwise on an equal tier with EVPs. Executive vice chairman are usually not on the board of directors. Royal Bank of Canada previously used vice chairs in their inner management circle until 2004 but have since renamed them as group heads. + +List of chief officer (CO) titles + +Middle management + Supervisor + Foreman + General manager or GM + Manager + Of counsel – A lawyer working on a part-time or temporary basis for a company or law firm. + Vice president – Middle or upper manager in a corporation. They often appear in various hierarchical layers such as executive vice president, senior vice president, associate vice president, or assistant vice president, with EVP usually considered the highest and usually reporting to the CEO or president. Many times, corporate officers such as the CFO, COO, CSO, CIO, CTO, secretary, or treasurer will concurrently hold vice president'' titles, commonly EVP or SVP. Vice presidents in small companies are also referred to as chiefs of a certain division, such as vice president for finance, or vice president for administration. In some financial contexts, the title of vice president is actually subordinate to a director. + +See also + + Corporate liability + Identification with corporation + International Executive Resources Group + List of corporate titles + Outline of management + +References + +External links + Taking Stock - Corporate Execs Get Scammed, Federal Bureau of Investigation + + +Title +. +Corporation-related lists +Lists of occupations +Management occupations +Positions of authority +Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is a major suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the most populous city in the county, the 4th most populous city in the state, behind Boston, Worcester, and Springfield, and ninth most populous city in New England. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, which was an important center of the Puritan theology that was embraced by the town's founders. + +Cambridge is known globally as home to two of the world's most prestigious universities. Harvard University, an Ivy League university founded in Cambridge in 1636, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and has routinely been ranked as one of the best universities in the world. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), founded in 1861, is also located in Cambridge and has been similarly ranked highly among the world's best universities. Lesley University and Hult International Business School also are based in Cambridge. Radcliffe College, an elite women's liberal arts college, also was based in Cambridge from its 1879 founding until its assimiliation into Harvard in 1999. + +Kendall Square, near MIT in the eastern part of Cambridge, has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet" due to the high concentration of startup companies that have emerged there since 2010. + +History + +Pre-colonization +Massachusett Tribe inhabited the area that would become Cambridge for thousands of years prior to European colonization of the Americas, most recently under the name Anmoughcawgen. At the time of European contact and exploration, the area was inhabited by Naumkeag or Pawtucket to the north and Massachusett to the south, and may have been inhabited by other groups such as the Totant not well described in later European narratives. The contact period introduced a number of European infectious diseases which would decimate native populations in virgin soil epidemics, leaving the area uncontested upon the arrival of large groups of English settlers in 1630. + +17th century and colonialism +In December 1630, the site of present-day Cambridge was chosen for settlement because it was safely upriver from Boston Harbor, making it easily defensible from attacks by enemy ships. The city was founded by Thomas Dudley, his daughter Anne Bradstreet, and his son-in-law Simon Bradstreet. The first houses were built in the spring of 1631. The settlement was initially referred to as "the newe towne". Official Massachusetts records show the name rendered as Newe Towne by 1632, and as Newtowne by 1638. + +Located at the first convenient Charles River crossing west of Boston, Newtowne was one of several towns, including Boston, Dorchester, Watertown, and Weymouth, founded by the 700 original Puritan colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony under Governor John Winthrop. Its first preacher was Thomas Hooker, who led many of its original inhabitants west in 1636 to found Hartford and the Connecticut Colony; before leaving, they sold their plots to more recent immigrants from England. The original village site is now within Harvard Square. The marketplace where farmers sold crops from surrounding towns at the edge of a salt marsh (since filled) remains within a small park at the corner of John F. Kennedy and Winthrop Streets. + +In 1636, Newe College, later renamed Harvard College after benefactor John Harvard, was founded as North America's first institution of higher learning. Its initial purpose was training ministers. According to Cotton Mather, Newtowne was chosen for the site of the college by the Great and General Court, then the legislature of Massachusetts Bay Colony, primarily for its proximity to the popular and highly respected Puritan preacher Thomas Shepard. In May 1638, the settlement's name was changed to Cambridge in honor of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. + +In 1639, the Massachusetts General Court purchased the land that became present-day Cambridge from the Naumkeag Squaw Sachem of Mistick. + +The town comprised a much larger area than the present city, with various outlying parts becoming independent towns over the years: Cambridge Village (later Newtown and now Newton) in 1688, Cambridge Farms (now Lexington) in 1712 or 1713, and Little or South Cambridge (now Brighton) and Menotomy or West Cambridge (now Arlington) in 1807. In the late 19th century, various schemes for annexing Cambridge to Boston were pursued and rejected. + +Newtowne's ministers, Hooker and Shepard, the college's first president, the college's major benefactor, and the first schoolmaster Nathaniel Eaton were all Cambridge alumni, as was the colony's governor John Winthrop. In 1629, Winthrop had led the signing of the founding document of the city of Boston, which was known as the Cambridge Agreement, after the university. In 1650, Governor Thomas Dudley signed the charter creating the corporation that still governs Harvard College. + +Cambridge grew slowly as an agricultural village by road from Boston, the colony's capital. By the American Revolution, most residents lived near the Common and Harvard College, with most of the town comprising farms and estates. Most inhabitants were descendants of the original Puritan colonists, but there was also a small elite of Anglican "worthies" who were not involved in village life, made their livings from estates, investments, and trade, and lived in mansions along "the Road to Watertown", present-day Brattle Street, which is still known as Tory Row. + +18th century and Revolutionary War +Coming south from Virginia, George Washington took command of the force of Patriot soldiers camped on Cambridge Common on July 3, 1775, which is now considered the birthplace of the Continental Army. + +On January 24, 1776, Henry Knox arrived with an artillery train captured from Fort Ticonderoga, which allowed Washington to force the British Army to evacuate Boston. Most of the Loyalist estates in Cambridge were confiscated after the Revolutionary War. + +19th century and industrialization +Between 1790 and 1840, Cambridge grew rapidly with the construction of West Boston Bridge in 1792 connecting Cambridge directly to Boston, making it no longer necessary to travel through the Boston Neck, Roxbury, and Brookline to cross the Charles River. A second bridge, the Canal Bridge, opened in 1809 alongside the new Middlesex Canal. The new bridges and roads made what were formerly estates and marshland into prime industrial and residential districts. + +In the mid-19th century, Cambridge was the center of a literary revolution. It was home to some of the famous Fireside poets, named because their poems would often be read aloud by families in front of their evening fires. The Fireside poets, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, were highly popular and influential in this era. + +Soon after, turnpikes were built: the Cambridge and Concord Turnpike (today's Broadway and Concord Ave.), the Middlesex Turnpike (Hampshire St. and Massachusetts Ave. northwest of Porter Square), and what are today's Cambridge, Main, and Harvard Streets connected various areas of Cambridge to the bridges. In addition, the town was connected to the Boston & Maine Railroad, leading to the development of Porter Square as well as the creation of neighboring Somerville from the formerly rural parts of Charlestown. + +Cambridge was incorporated as a city in 1846. The city's commercial center began to shift from Harvard Square to Central Square, which became the city's downtown around that time. + +Between 1850 and 1900, Cambridge took on much of its present character, featuring streetcar suburban development along the turnpikes and working class and industrial neighborhoods focused on East Cambridge, comfortable middle-class housing on the old Cambridgeport, and Mid-Cambridge estates and upper-class enclaves near Harvard University and on the minor hills. The arrival of the railroad in North Cambridge and Northwest Cambridge led to three major changes: the development of massive brickyards and brickworks between Massachusetts Avenue, Concord Avenue, and Alewife Brook; the ice-cutting industry launched by Frederic Tudor on Fresh Pond; and the carving up of the last estates into residential subdivisions to house the thousands of immigrants who arrived to work in the new industries. + +For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the city's largest employer was the New England Glass Company, founded in 1818. By the middle of the 19th century, it was the world's largest and most modern glassworks. In 1888, Edward Drummond Libbey moved all production to Toledo, Ohio, where it continues today under the name Owens-Illinois. The company's flint glassware with heavy lead content is prized by antique glass collectors, and the Toledo Museum of Art has a large collection. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Sandwich Glass Museum on Cape Cod also house several pieces. + +In 1895, Edwin Ginn, founder of Ginn and Company, built the Athenaeum Press Building for his publishing textbook empire. + +20th century +By 1920, Cambridge was one of New England's main industrial cities, with nearly 120,000 residents. Among the largest businesses in Cambridge during the period of industrialization was Carter's Ink Company, whose neon sign long adorned the Charles River and which was for many years the world's largest ink manufacturer. Next door was the Athenaeum Press. Confectionery and snack manufacturers in the Cambridgeport-Area 4-Kendall corridor included Kennedy Biscuit Factory, later part of Nabisco and originator of the Fig Newton, Necco, Squirrel Brands, George Close Company (1861–1930s), Page & Shaw, Daggett Chocolate (1892–1960s, recipes bought by Necco), Fox Cross Company (1920–1980, originator of the Charleston Chew, and now part of Tootsie Roll Industries), Kendall Confectionery Company, and James O. Welch (1927–1963, originator of Junior Mints, Sugar Daddies, Sugar Mamas, and Sugar Babies, now part of Tootsie Roll Industries). Main Street was nicknamed "Confectioner's Row". + +Only the Cambridge Brands subsidiary of Tootsie Roll Industries remains in town, still manufacturing Junior Mints in the old Welch factory on Main Street. The Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company (1886), the Kendall Boiler and Tank Company (1880, now in Chelmsford, Massachusetts), and the New England Glass Company (1818–1878) were among the industrial manufacturers in what are now Kendall Square and East Cambridge. + +In 1935, the Cambridge Housing Authority and the Public Works Administration demolished an integrated low-income tenement neighborhood with African Americans and European immigrants. In its place, it built the whites-only "Newtowne Court" public housing development and the adjoining, blacks-only "Washington Elms" project in 1940; the city required segregation in its other public housing projects as well. + +As industry in New England began to decline during the Great Depression and after World War II, Cambridge lost much of its industrial base. It also began to become an intellectual, rather than an industrial, center. Harvard University, which had always been important as both a landowner and an institution, began to play a more dominant role in the city's life and culture. When Radcliffe College was established in 1879, the town became a mecca for some of the nation's most academically talented female students. MIT's move from Boston to Cambridge in 1916 reinforced Cambridge's status as an intellectual center of the United States. + +After the 1950s, the city's population began to decline slowly as families tended to be replaced by single people and young couples. In Cambridge Highlands, the technology company Bolt, Beranek, & Newman produced the first network router in 1969 and hosted the invention of computer-to-computer email in 1971. The 1980s brought a wave of high technology startups. Those selling advanced minicomputers were overtaken by the microcomputer. Cambridge-based VisiCorp made the first spreadsheet software for personal computers, VisiCalc, and helped propel the Apple II to major consumer success. It was overtaken and purchased by Cambridge-based Lotus Development, maker of Lotus 1-2-3 (which was, in turn, replaced in by Microsoft Excel). + +The city continues to be home to many startups. Kendall Square was a major software hub through the dot-com boom and today hosts offices of such technology companies as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. The Square also now houses the headquarters of Akamai. + +In 1976, Harvard's plans to start experiments with recombinant DNA led to a three-month moratorium and a citizen review panel. In the end, Cambridge decided to allow such experiments but passed safety regulations in 1977. This led to regulatory certainty and acceptance when Biogen opened a lab in 1982, in contrast to the hostility that caused the Genetic Institute, a Harvard spinoff, to abandon Somerville and Boston for Cambridge. The biotech and pharmaceutical industries have since thrived in Cambridge, which now includes headquarters for Biogen and Genzyme; laboratories for Novartis, Teva, Takeda, Alnylam, Ironwood, Catabasis, Moderna Therapeutics, Editas Medicine; support companies such as Cytel; and many smaller companies. + +By the end of the 20th century, Cambridge had one of the most costly housing markets in the Northeastern United States. While considerable class, race, and age diversity existed, it became more challenging for those who grew up in the city to afford to remain. The end of rent control in 1994 prompted many Cambridge renters to move to more affordable housing in Somerville and other Massachusetts cities and towns. + +21st century +Cambridge's mix of amenities and proximity to Boston kept housing prices relatively stable despite the bursting of the United States housing bubble in 2008 and 2009. Cambridge has been a sanctuary city since 1985 and reaffirmed its status as such in 2006. + +Geography + +According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Cambridge has a total area of , of which is land and (9.82%) is water. + +Adjacent municipalities +Cambridge is located in eastern Massachusetts, bordered by: + the city of Boston to the south and east (across the Charles River) + the city of Somerville to the north + the town of Arlington to the northwest + the town of Belmont and + the city of Watertown to the west + +The border between Cambridge and the neighboring city of Somerville passes through densely populated neighborhoods, which are connected by the MBTA Red Line. Some of the main squares, Inman, Porter, and to a lesser extent, Harvard and Lechmere, are very close to the city line, as are Somerville's Union and Davis Squares. + +Through the City of Cambridge's exclusive municipal water system, the city further controls two exclave areas, one being Payson Park Reservoir and Gatehouse, a 2009 listed American Water Landmark located roughly one mile west of Fresh Pond and surrounded by the town of Belmont. The second area is the larger Hobbs Brook and Stony Brook watersheds, which share borders with neighboring towns and cities including Lexington, Lincoln, Waltham and Weston. + +Neighborhoods + +Squares +Cambridge has been called the "City of Squares", as most of its commercial districts are major street intersections known as squares. Each square acts as a neighborhood center. + +Kendall Square, formed by the junction of Broadway, Main Street, and Third Street, has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet", owing to its high concentration of entrepreneurial start-ups and quality of innovation which have emerged in the vicinity of the square since 2010. Technology Square is an office and laboratory building cluster in this neighborhood. Just over the Longfellow Bridge from Boston, at the eastern end of the MIT campus, it is served by the Kendall/MIT station on the MBTA Red Line subway. Most of Cambridge's large office towers are located in the Square. A biotech industry has developed in this area. The Cambridge Innovation Center, a large co-working space, is in Kendall Square at 1 Broadway. The Cambridge Center office complex is in Kendall Square, and not at the actual center of Cambridge. The "One Kendall Square" complex is nearby, but not actually in Kendall Square. + +Central Square is formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue. Containing a variety of ethnic restaurants, it was economically depressed as recently as the late 1990s; it underwent gentrification in recent years (in conjunction with the development of the nearby University Park at MIT), and continues to grow more costly. It is served by the Central Station stop on the MBTA Red Line subway. Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street, and Main Street, is considered part of the Central Square area. Cambridgeport is south of Central Square along Magazine Street and Brookline Street. + +Harvard Square is formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, Dunster Street, and JFK Street. This is the primary site of Harvard University and a major Cambridge shopping area. It is served by a Red Line station. Harvard Square was originally the Red Line's northwestern terminus and a major transfer point to streetcars that also operated in a short tunnel—which is still a major bus terminal, although the area under the Square was reconfigured dramatically in the 1980s when the Red Line was extended. The Harvard Square area includes Brattle Square and Eliot Square. A short distance away from the square lies the Cambridge Common, while the neighborhood north of Harvard and east of Massachusetts Avenue is known as Agassiz, after the famed scientist Louis Agassiz. + +Porter Square is about a mile north on Massachusetts Avenue from Harvard Square, at the junction of Massachusetts and Somerville Avenues. It includes part of the city of Somerville and is served by the Porter Square Station, a complex housing a Red Line stop and a Fitchburg Line commuter rail stop. Lesley University's University Hall and Porter campus are in Porter Square. + +Inman Square is at the junction of Cambridge and Hampshire streets in mid-Cambridge. It is home to restaurants, bars, music venues, and boutiques. Victorian streetlights, benches, and bus stops were added to the streets in the 2000s, and a new city park was installed. + +Lechmere Square is at the junction of Cambridge and First streets, adjacent to the CambridgeSide Galleria shopping mall. It is served by Lechmere station on the MBTA Green Line. + +Other neighborhoods +Cambridge's residential neighborhoods border but are not defined by the squares. + East Cambridge (Area 1) is bordered on the north by Somerville, on the east by the Charles River, on the south by Broadway and Main Street, and on the west by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks. It includes the NorthPoint development. + MIT Campus (Area 2) is bordered on the north by Broadway, on the south and east by the Charles River, and on the west by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks. + Wellington-Harrington (Area 3) is bordered on the north by Somerville, on the south and west by Hampshire Street, and on the east by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks. Referred to as "Mid-Block". + The Port, formerly known as Area 4, is bordered on the north by Hampshire Street, on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, on the west by Prospect Street, and on the east by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks. Residents of Area 4 often simply call their neighborhood "The Port" and the area of Cambridgeport and Riverside "The Coast". In October 2015, the Cambridge City Council officially renamed Area 4 "The Port", formalizing the longtime nickname, largely on the initiative of neighborhood native and then-Vice Mayor Dennis Benzan. The port is usually the busier part of the city. + Cambridgeport (Area 5) is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue, on the south by the Charles River, on the west by River Street, and on the east by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks. + Mid-Cambridge (Area 6) is bordered on the north by Kirkland and Hampshire Streets and Somerville, on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, on the west by Peabody Street, and on the east by Prospect Street. + Riverside (Area 7), an area sometimes called "The Coast", is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue, on the south by the Charles River, on the west by JFK Street, and on the east by River Street. + Baldwin (Area 8) is bordered on the north by Somerville, on the south and east by Kirkland Street, and on the west by Massachusetts Avenue. + Neighborhood Nine or Radcliffe (formerly called Peabody, until the recent relocation of a neighborhood school by that name) is bordered on the north by railroad tracks, on the south by Concord Avenue, on the west by railroad tracks, and on the east by Massachusetts Avenue. + +The Avon Hill sub-neighborhood consists of the higher elevations within the area bounded by Upland Road, Raymond Street, Linnaean Street and Massachusetts Avenue. + Brattle area/West Cambridge (Area 10) is bordered on the north by Concord Avenue and Garden Street, on the south by the Charles River and Watertown, on the west by Fresh Pond and the Collins Branch Library, and on the east by JFK Street. It includes the sub-neighborhoods of Brattle Street (formerly known as Tory Row) and Huron Village. + North Cambridge (Area 11) is bordered on the north by Arlington and Somerville, on the south by railroad tracks, on the west by Belmont, and on the east by Somerville. + Cambridge Highlands (Area 12) is bordered on the north and east by railroad tracks, on the south by Fresh Pond, and on the west by Belmont. + Strawberry Hill (Area 13) is bordered on the north by Fresh Pond, on the south by Watertown, on the west by Belmont, and on the east by the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway (formerly railroad tracks). + +Gallery + +Climate +In the Köppen-Geiger classification, Cambridge has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) with hot summers and cold winters, that can appear in the southern end of New England's interior. Abundant rain falls on the city (and in the winter often as snow); it has no dry season. The average January temperature is 26.6 °F (−3 °C), making Cambridge part of Group D, independent of the isotherm. There are four well-defined seasons. + +Demographics + +As of the census of 2010, there were 105,162 people, 44,032 households, and 17,420 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 47,291 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 66.60% White, 11.70% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 15.10% Asian (3.7% Chinese, 1.4% Asian Indian, 1.2% Korean, 1.0% Japanese), 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.10% from other races, and 4.30% from two or more races. 7.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race (1.6% Puerto Rican, 1.4% Mexican, 0.6% Dominican, 0.5% Colombian & Salvadoran, 0.4% Spaniard). Non-Hispanic Whites were 62.1% of the population in 2010, down from 89.7% in 1970. An individual resident of Cambridge is known as a Cantabrigian. + +In 2010, there were 44,032 households, out of which 16.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.9% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.4% were non-families. 40.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.76. + +In the city, the population was spread out, with 13.3% of the population under the age of 18, 21.2% from 18 to 24, 38.6% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males. + +The median income for a household in the city was $47,979, and the median income for a family was $59,423 (these figures had risen to $58,457 and $79,533 respectively ). Males had a median income of $43,825 versus $38,489 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,156. About 8.7% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over. + +Cambridge has been ranked as one of the most liberal cities in America. Locals living in and near the city jokingly refer to it as "The People's Republic of Cambridge". For 2016, the residential property tax rate in Cambridge was $6.99 per $1,000. Cambridge enjoys the highest possible bond credit rating, AAA, with all three Wall Street rating agencies. + +In 2000, 11.0% of city residents were of Irish ancestry; 7.2% were of English, 6.9% Italian, 5.5% West Indian and 5.3% German ancestry. 69.4% spoke only English at home, while 6.9% spoke Spanish, 3.2% Chinese or Mandarin, 3.0% Portuguese, 2.9% French Creole, 2.3% French, 1.5% Korean, and 1.0% Italian. + +Income + +Data is from the 2009–2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. + +Economy + +Manufacturing was an important part of Cambridge's economy in the late 19th and early 20th century, but educational institutions are its biggest employers today. Harvard and MIT together employ about 20,000. As a cradle of technological innovation, Cambridge was home to technology firms Analog Devices, Akamai, Bolt, Beranek, and Newman (BBN Technologies) (now part of Raytheon), General Radio (later GenRad), Lotus Development Corporation (now part of IBM), Polaroid, Symbolics, and Thinking Machines. + +In 1996, Polaroid, Arthur D. Little, and Lotus were Cambridge's top employers, with over 1,000 employees, but they faded out a few years later. Health care and biotechnology firms such as Genzyme, Biogen Idec, bluebird bio, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Pfizer and Novartis have significant presences in the city. Though headquartered in Switzerland, Novartis continues to expand its operations in Cambridge. + +Other major biotech and pharmaceutical firms expanding their presence in Cambridge include GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Shire, and Pfizer. Most of Cambridge's biotech firms are in Kendall Square and East Cambridge, which decades ago were the city's center of manufacturing. Some others are in University Park at MIT, a new development in another former manufacturing area. + +None of the high technology firms that once dominated the economy was among the 25 largest employers in 2005, but by 2008 Akamai and ITA Software were. Google, IBM Research, Microsoft Research, and Philips Research maintain offices in Cambridge. In late January 2012—less than a year after acquiring Billerica-based analytic database management company, Vertica—Hewlett-Packard announced it would also be opening its first offices in Cambridge. Also around that time, e-commerce giants Staples and Amazon.com said they would be opening research and innovation centers in Kendall Square. And LabCentral provides a shared laboratory facility for approximately 25 emerging biotech companies. + +The proximity of Cambridge's universities has also made the city a center for nonprofit groups and think tanks, including the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cultural Survival, and One Laptop per Child. + +In September 2011, Cambridge launched its Entrepreneur Walk of Fame initiative, recognizing people who have made contributions to innovation in global business. + +In 2021, Cambridge was one of approximately 27 US cities to receive a AAA rating from each of the three major credit rating agencies in the nation, Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings. 2021 marked the 22nd consecutive year that Cambridge had retained this distinction. + +Top employers +, the city's ten largest employers are: + +Arts and culture + +Museums + Harvard Art Museum, including the Busch-Reisinger Museum, a collection of Germanic art, the Fogg Art Museum, a comprehensive collection of Western art, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, a collection of Middle East and Asian art + Harvard Museum of Natural History, including the Glass Flowers collection + List Visual Arts Center, MIT + MIT Museum + Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard + Semitic Museum, Harvard + +Public art +Cambridge has a large and varied collection of permanent public art, on both city property, managed by the Cambridge Arts Council, Community Art Center, and the Harvard and MIT campuses. Temporary public artworks are displayed as part of the annual Cambridge River Festival on the banks of the Charles River during winter celebrations in Harvard and Central Squares and at Harvard University campus sites. Experimental forms of public artistic and cultural expression include the Central Square World's Fair, the annual Somerville-based Honk! Festival, and If This House Could Talk, a neighborhood art and history event. + +Street musicians and other performers entertain tourists and locals in Harvard Square during the warmer months. The performances are coordinated through a public process that has been developed collaboratively by the performers, city administrators, private organizations and business groups. The Cambridge public library contains four Works Progress Administration murals completed in 1935 by Elizabeth Tracy Montminy: Religion, Fine Arts, History of Books and Paper, and The Development of the Printing Press. + +Architecture +Despite intensive urbanization during the late 19th century and the 20th century, Cambridge has several historic buildings, including some from the 17th century. The city also has abundant contemporary architecture, largely built by Harvard and MIT. + +Notable historic buildings in the city include: + + The Asa Gray House (1810) + Austin Hall, Harvard University (1882–1884) + Cambridge City Hall (1888–1889) + Cambridge Public Library (1888) + Christ Church, Cambridge (1761) + Cooper-Frost-Austin House (1689–1817) + Elmwood House (1767), residence of the president of Harvard University + First Church of Christ, Scientist (1924–1930) + The First Parish in Cambridge (1833) + Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church (1891–1893) + Harvard Lampoon Building (1909) + The Hooper-Lee-Nichols House (1685–1850) + Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site (1759), former home of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and headquarters of George Washington + The Memorial Church of Harvard University (1932) + Memorial Hall, Harvard University (1870–1877) + Middlesex County Courthouse (1814–1848) + Urban Rowhouse (1875) + O'Reilly Spite House (1908), built to spite a neighbor who would not sell his adjacent land + +Contemporary architecture: + Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University, one of the few buildings in the U.S. by Pritzker Prize winner James Stirling + Baker House dormitory at MIT by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, one of only two Aalto buildings in the U.S. + Harvard Graduate Center/Harkness Commons by The Architects Collaborative with Walter Gropius + Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard, the only Le Corbusier building in North America + Design Research Building by Benjamin Thompson and Associates + Harvard Science Center, Holyoke Center, and Peabody Terrace by Catalan architect and Harvard Graduate School of Design Dean Josep Lluís Sert + Kresge Auditorium, MIT, by Eero Saarinen + Harvard Art Museums, renovation and major expansion of Fogg Museum building, completed in 2014 by Renzo Piano + MIT Chapel by Eero Saarinen + MIT Media Lab, two buildings by I. M. Pei and Fumihiko Maki + Simmons Hall at MIT by Steven Holl + Stata Center, home to the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the Department of Linguistics, and the Department of Philosophy by Frank Gehry + +Music + +The city has an active music scene, from classical performances to the latest popular bands. Beyond its colleges and universities, Cambridge has many music venues, including The Middle East, Club Passim, The Plough and Stars, The Lizard Lounge and the Nameless Coffeehouse. + +Parks and recreation + +Consisting largely of densely built residential space, Cambridge lacks significant tracts of public parkland. Easily accessible open space on the university campuses, including Harvard Yard, Radcliffe Yard, and MIT's Great Lawn, as well as the considerable open space of Mount Auburn Cemetery and Fresh Pond Reservation, partly compensates for this. At Cambridge's western edge, the cemetery is known as a garden cemetery because of its landscaping (the oldest planned landscape in the country) and arboretum. Although known as a Cambridge landmark, much of the cemetery lies within Watertown. It is also an Important Bird Area (IBA) in the Greater Boston area. Fresh Pond Reservation is the largest open green space in Cambridge with 162 acres (656,000 m2) of land around a 155-acre (627,000 m2) kettle hole lake. This land includes a 2.25-mile walking trail around the reservoir and a public 9-hole golf course. + +Public parkland includes the esplanade along the Charles River, which mirrors its Boston counterpart, Cambridge Common, Danehy Park, and Alewife Brook Reservation. + +Government + +Federal and state representation + +Cambridge is split between Massachusetts's 5th and 7th U.S. congressional districts. The 5th district seat is held by Democrat Katherine Clark, who replaced now-Senator Ed Markey in a 2013 special election; the 7th is represented by Democrat Ayanna Pressley, elected in 2018. The state's senior United States senator is Democrat Elizabeth Warren, elected in 2012, who lives in Cambridge. The governor of Massachusetts is Democrat Maura Healey, elected in 2022. + +Cambridge is represented in six districts in the Massachusetts House of Representatives: the 24th Middlesex (which includes parts of Belmont and Arlington), the 25th and 26th Middlesex (the latter of which includes a portion of Somerville), the 29th Middlesex (which includes a small part of Watertown), and the Eighth and Ninth Suffolk (both including parts of the City of Boston). The city is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the 2nd Middlesex, Middlesex and Suffolk, and 1st Suffolk and Middlesex districts. + +Politics +From 1860 to 1880, Republicans Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, and James Garfield each won Cambridge, Grant doing so by margins of over 20 points in both of his campaigns. Following that, from 1884 to 1892, Grover Cleveland won Cambridge in all three of his presidential campaigns, by less than ten points each time. + +Then from 1896 to 1924, Cambridge became something of a "swing" city with a slight Republican lean. GOP nominees carried the city in five of the eight presidential elections during that time frame, with five of the elections resulting in either a plurality or a margin of victory of fewer than ten points. + +The city of Cambridge is extremely Democratic in modern times, however. In the last 23 presidential elections dating back to the nomination of Al Smith in 1928, the Democratic nominee has carried Cambridge in every election. Every Democratic nominee since Massachusetts native John F. Kennedy in 1960 has received at least 70% of the vote, except for Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980. Since 1928, the only Republican nominee to come within ten points of carrying Cambridge is Dwight Eisenhower in his 1956 re-election bid. + +City government + +Cambridge has a city government led by a mayor and a nine-member city council. There is also a six-member school committee that functions alongside the superintendent of public schools. The councilors and school committee members are elected every two years using proportional representation. + +The mayor is elected by the city councilors from among themselves and serves as the chair of city council meetings. The mayor also sits on the school committee. The mayor is not the city's chief executive. Rather, the city manager, who is appointed by the city council, serves in that capacity. + +Under the city's Plan E form of government, the city council does not have the power to appoint or remove city officials who are under the direction of the city manager. The city council and its members are also forbidden from giving orders to any subordinate of the city manager. + +Yi-An Huang is the City Manager as of September 6, 2022, succeeding Owen O'Riordan (now the Deputy City Manager) who briefly served as the Acting City Manager after Louis DePasquale resigned on July 5, 2022, after six years in office. + +* = current mayor +** = former mayor + +On March 8, 2021, Cambridge City Council voted to recognize polyamorous domestic partnerships, becoming the second city in the United States following neighboring Somerville, which had done so in 2020. + +County government +Cambridge was a county seat of Middlesex County, along with Lowell, until the abolition of county government. Though the county government was abolished in 1997, the county still exists as a geographical and political region. The employees of Middlesex County courts, jails, registries, and other county agencies now work directly for the state. The county's registrars of Deeds and Probate remain in Cambridge, but the Superior Court and District Attorney have had their operations transferred to Woburn. Third District Court has shifted operations to Medford, and the county Sheriff's office awaits near-term relocation. + +Education + +Higher education +Cambridge is perhaps best known as an academic and intellectual center. Its colleges and universities include: + Cambridge School of Culinary Arts + Harvard University + Hult International Business School + Lesley University + Longy School of Music of Bard College + Massachusetts Institute of Technology + Radcliffe College (now merged with Harvard College) + +At least 258 of the world's total 962 Nobel Prize winners have at some point in their careers been affiliated with universities in Cambridge. + +Cambridge College is named for Cambridge and was based in Cambridge until 2017, when it consolidated to a new headquarters in neighboring Boston. + +The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation's oldest learned societies founded in 1780, is based in Cambridge. + +Primary and secondary public education +The city's schools constitute the Cambridge Public School District. Schools include: + Amigos School + Baldwin School (formerly the Agassiz School) + Cambridgeport School + Fletcher-Maynard Academy + Graham and Parks Alternative School + Haggerty School + Kennedy-Longfellow School + King Open School + Martin Luther King Jr. School + Morse School (a Core Knowledge school) + Peabody School + Tobin School (a Montessori school) + +Five upper schools offer grades 6–8 in some of the same buildings as the elementary schools: + Amigos School + Cambridge Street Upper School + Putnam Avenue Upper School + Rindge Avenue Upper School + Vassal Lane Upper School + +Cambridge has three district public high school programs, including Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS). + +Other public charter schools include Benjamin Banneker Charter School, which serves grades K–6; Community Charter School of Cambridge in Kendall Square, which serves grades 7–12; and Prospect Hill Academy, a charter school whose upper school is in Central Square though it is not a part of the Cambridge Public School District. + +Primary and secondary private education + +Cambridge also has several private schools, including: + + Boston Archdiocesan Choir School + Buckingham Browne & Nichols School + Cambridge Montessori school + Cambridge Friends School + Fayerweather Street School + International School of Boston (formerly École Bilingue) + Matignon High School + Shady Hill School + St. Peter School + +Media + +Newspapers +Cambridge is served by a single online newspaper, Cambridge Day. The last physical newspaper in the city, Cambridge Chronicle, ceased publication in 2022 and today only cross-posts regional stories from other Gannett properties. + +Radio +Cambridge is home to the following radio stations, including both commercially-licensed and student-run stations: + +Television and broadband +Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) has served the city since its inception in 1988. CCTV operates Cambridge's public access television facility and three television channels, 8, 9, and 96, on the Cambridge cable system (Comcast). The city has invited tenders from other cable providers, but Comcast remains its only fixed television and broadband utility, though services from American satellite TV providers are available. In October 2014, Cambridge City Manager Richard Rossi appointed a citizen Broadband Task Force to "examine options to increase competition, reduce pricing, and improve speed, reliability and customer service for both residents and businesses." + +Infrastructure + +Utilities +Cable television service is provided by XFINITY (Comcast Communications). +Parts of Cambridge are served by a district heating systems loop for industrial organizations that also cover Boston. +Electric service and natural gas are both provided by Eversource Energy. +Landline telecommunications service are provided by Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Verizon Communications. All phones in Cambridge are inter-connected to central office locations in the metropolitan area. +The city maintains its own Public, educational, and government access (PEG) known as Cambridge Community Television (CCTV). + +Water department +Cambridge obtains water from Hobbs Brook (in Lincoln and Waltham) and Stony Brook (Waltham and Weston), as well as an emergency connection to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. The city owns over of land in other towns that includes these reservoirs and portions of their watershed. Water from these reservoirs flows by gravity through an aqueduct to Fresh Pond in Cambridge. It is then treated in an adjacent plant and pumped uphill to an elevation of above sea level at the Payson Park Reservoir (Belmont). The water is then redistributed downhill via gravity to individual users in the city. A new water treatment plant opened in 2001. + +In October 2016, the city announced that, owing to drought conditions, they would begin buying water from the MWRA. On January 3, 2017, Cambridge announced that "As a result of continued rainfall each month since October 2016, we have been able to significantly reduce the need to use MWRA water. We have not purchased any MWRA water since December 12, 2016 and if 'average' rainfall continues this could continue for several months." + +Sewer service is available in Cambridge. The city is inter-connected with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA)'s sewage network with sewage treatment plant in the Boston Harbor. + +Transportation + +Road + +Cambridge is served by several major roads, including Route 2, Route 16, and the Route 28. The Massachusetts Turnpike does not pass through Cambridge but provides access by an exit in nearby Allston. Both U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 93 also provide additional access at the eastern end of Cambridge via Leverett Circle in Boston. Route 2A runs the length of the city, chiefly along Massachusetts Avenue. The Charles River forms the southern border of Cambridge and is crossed by 11 bridges connecting Cambridge to Boston, eight of which are open to motorized road traffic, including the Longfellow Bridge and the Harvard Bridge. + +Cambridge has an irregular street network because many of the roads date from the colonial era. Contrary to popular belief, the road system did not evolve from longstanding cow-paths. Roads connected various village settlements with each other and nearby towns and were shaped by geographic features, most notably streams, hills, and swampy areas. Today, the major "squares" are typically connected by long, mostly straight roads, such as Massachusetts Avenue between Harvard Square and Central Square or Hampshire Street between Kendall Square and Inman Square. + +On October 25, 2022, Cambridge City Council voted 8–1 to eliminate parking minimums from the city code, citing declining car ownership, with the aim of promoting housing construction. + +Mass transit + +Cambridge is served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, including Porter station on the regional Commuter Rail, Lechmere station on the Green Line, and Alewife, Porter, Harvard, Central, and Kendall Square/MIT stations on the Red Line. Alewife station, the terminus of the Red Line, has a large multi-story parking garage. + +The Harvard bus tunnel under Harvard Square connects to the Red Line underground. This tunnel was originally opened for streetcars in 1912 and served trackless trolleys, trolleybuses, and buses as the routes were converted; four lines of the MBTA trolleybus system continued to use it until their conversion to diesel in 2022. The tunnel was partially reconfigured when the Red Line was extended to Alewife in the early 1980s. + +Both Union Square station in Somerville on the Green Line and Community College station in Charlestown on the Orange Line are located just outside of Cambridge. + +Besides the state-owned transit agency, the city is also served by the Charles River Transportation Management Agency (CRTMA) shuttles which are supported by some of the largest companies operating in the city, in addition to the municipal government itself. + +Cycling +Cambridge has several bike paths, including one along the Charles River, and the Linear Park connecting the Minuteman Bikeway at Alewife with the Somerville Community Path. A connection to Watertown opened in 2022. Bike parking is common and there are bike lanes on many streets, although concerns have been expressed regarding the suitability of many of the lanes. On several central MIT streets, bike lanes transfer onto the sidewalk. Cambridge bans cycling on certain sections of sidewalk where pedestrian traffic is heavy. + +Bicycling Magazine in 2006 rated Boston as one of the worst cities in the nation for bicycling, but it has given Cambridge honorable mention as one of the best and was called "Boston's great hope" by the magazine. Boston has since then followed the example of Cambridge and made considerable efforts to improve bicycling safety and convenience. + +Walking + +Walking is a popular activity in Cambridge. In 2000, among U.S. cities with more than 100,000 residents, Cambridge had the highest percentage of commuters who walked to work. Cambridge's major historic squares have changed into modern walking neighborhoods, including traffic calming features based on the needs of pedestrians rather than of motorists. + +Intercity +The Boston intercity bus and train stations at South Station in Boston, and Logan International Airport in East Boston, both of which are accessible by subway. The Fitchburg Line rail service from Porter Square connects to some western suburbs. Since October 2010, there has also been intercity bus service between Alewife Station (Cambridge) and New York City. + +Police department + +In addition to the Cambridge Police Department, the city is patrolled by the Fifth (Brighton) Barracks of Troop H of the Massachusetts State Police. Owing, however, to proximity, the city also practices functional cooperation with the Fourth (Boston) Barracks of Troop H, as well. The campuses of Harvard and MIT are patrolled by the Harvard University Police Department and MIT Police Department, respectively. + +Fire department + +The city of Cambridge is protected by the Cambridge Fire Department. Established in 1832, the CFD operates eight engine companies, four ladder companies, one rescue company, and three paramedic squad companies from eight fire stations located throughout the city. The Acting Chief is Thomas F. Cahill Jr. + +Emergency medical services (EMS) +The city of Cambridge receives emergency medical services from PRO EMS, a privately contracted ambulance service. + +Public library services + +Further educational services are provided at the Cambridge Public Library. The large modern main building was built in 2009, and connects to the restored 1888 Richardson Romanesque building. It was founded as the private Cambridge Athenaeum in 1849 and was acquired by the city in 1858, and became the Dana Library. The 1888 building was a donation of Frederick H. Rindge. + +Sister cities and twin towns + +Cambridge's sister cities with active relationships are: + + Coimbra, Portugal (1982) + Gaeta, Italy (1982) + Tsukuba, Japan (1983) + San José Las Flores, El Salvador (1987) + Yerevan, Armenia (1987) + Galway, Ireland (1997) + Les Cayes, Haiti (2014) + +Cambridge has ten additional inactive sister city relationships: + + Dublin, Ireland (1983) + Ischia, Italy (1984) + Catania, Italy (1987) + Kraków, Poland (1989) + Florence, Italy (1992) + Santo Domingo Oeste, Dominican Republic (2003) + Southwark, England (2004) + Yuseong (Daejeon), Korea (2005) + Haidian (Beijing), China (2005) + Cienfuegos, Cuba (2005) + +Notes + +References + +Citations + +Sources + + + + + Cambridge article by Rev. Edward Abbott in Volume 1, pages 305–358. + Eliot, Samuel Atkins. A History of Cambridge, Massachusetts: 1630–1913. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Cambridge Tribune, 1913. + + Paige, Lucius. History of Cambridge, Massachusettse: 1630–1877. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1877. + Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: Mid Cambridge. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Historical Commission, 1967. . + Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: Cambridgeport. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Historical Commission, 1971. . + Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: Old Cambridge. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Historical Commission, 1973. . + Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: Northwest Cambridge. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Historical Commission, 1977. . + Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: East Cambridge (revised edition). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Historical Commission, 1988. + +External links + + + + + The Innovation Trail – History of invention in Cambridge and Boston + + +1630 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony +Charles River +Cities in Massachusetts +Cities in Middlesex County, Massachusetts +County seats in Massachusetts +Populated places established in 1630 +Cambridge is a city and the county town of Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, famous for being the location of the University of Cambridge. + +Cambridge may also refer to: + +Places + +Australia + Cambridge, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart + Town of Cambridge, a Western Australian local government area + +Barbados + Cambridge, Barbados, a populated place in the parish of Saint Joseph, Barbados + +Canada + Cambridge, Ontario, a city in Canada + Cambridge (federal electoral district), a federal electoral district corresponding to Cambridge, Ontario + Cambridge (provincial electoral district), a provincial electoral district corresponding to Cambridge, Ontario + + Cambridge, Hants County, Nova Scotia, a small community in Canada + Cambridge, Kings County, Nova Scotia, a small community in Canada + Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, a hamlet in Canada + Cambridge Parish, New Brunswick, a civil parish in Canada + Cambridge-Narrows, New Brunswick, a small community in Canada + +Jamaica + Cambridge, Jamaica + +Malta + Cambridge Battery/Fort Cambridge, an artillery battery + +New Zealand + Cambridge, New Zealand + +South Africa + Cambridge, Eastern Cape + +United Kingdom + Cambridge (ward), Southport + Cambridge, Gloucestershire + Cambridge, Scottish Borders, a location in the United Kingdom + Cambridge, West Yorkshire, a location in the United Kingdom + Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency) + County of Cambridge, another name for Cambridgeshire + Cambridge Heath, a place in the London borough of Tower Hamlets + Cambridge Town (disambiguation) or Camberley, Surrey, England + +United States + Cambridge, Idaho + Cambridge, Illinois + Cambridge, Iowa + Cambridge, Kansas + Cambridge, Kentucky + Cambridge, Maine + Cambridge, Maryland + Cambridge, Massachusetts + Cambridge, Minnesota + Cambridge, Missouri + Cambridge, Nebraska + Cambridge, New Hampshire, a township + Cambridge, Delran, New Jersey + Cambridge, Evesham, New Jersey + Cambridge (town), New York + Cambridge (village), New York + Cambridge, Ohio + Cambridge, Vermont + Cambridge (village), Vermont + Cambridge, Wisconsin + Cambridge City, Indiana + Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania + Cambridge Township, Ohio + Cambridge Township, Henry County, Illinois + Cambridge Township, Michigan + Cambridge Township, Minnesota + Cambridge Township, Pennsylvania + +Extraterrestrial + 2531 Cambridge, a stony Main Belt asteroid in the Solar System + +People + +Given name + Cambridge Jones, British celebrity photographer + +Surnames + Alice Cambridge (1762–1829), early Irish Methodist preacher + Alyson Cambridge (born 1980), American operatic soprano and classical music, jazz, and American popular song singer + Asuka Cambridge (born 1993), Japanese sprint athlete + Barrington Cambridge (born 1957), Guyanese boxer + Godfrey Cambridge (1933–1976), American stand-up comic and actor + Richard Owen Cambridge (1717–1802), British poet + +Titles + Duke of Cambridge + +Brands and enterprises + Cambridge (cigarette) + Cambridge Audio, a manufacturer of audio equipment + Cambridge Glass, a glass company of Cambridge, Ohio + Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company, founded 1881 in England + Cambridge SoundWorks, a manufacturer of audio equipment + Cambridge Theatre, a theatre in the West End of London + Cambridge University Press + +Educational institutions + Cambridge State University, US + The Cambridge School (disambiguation) + University of Cambridge, UK + +Other uses + Cambridge (book), 2005 book by Tim Rawle + Cambridge (ship), four merchant ships + Austin Cambridge, motor car range produced by the Austin Motor Company + Cambridge Circus (disambiguation) +Norman Colin Dexter (29 September 1930 – 21 March 2017) was an English crime writer known for his Inspector Morse series of novels, which were written between 1975 and 1999 and adapted as an ITV television series, Inspector Morse, from 1987 to 2000. His characters have spawned a sequel series, Lewis from 2006 to 2015, and a prequel series, Endeavour from 2012 to 2023. + +Early life and career +Dexter was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, to Alfred and Dorothy Dexter. He had an elder brother, John, a fellow classicist, who taught Classics at The King's School, Peterborough, and a sister, Avril. Alfred ran a small garage and taxi company from premises in Scotgate, Stamford. Dexter was educated at St John's Infants School and Bluecoat Junior School, from which he gained a scholarship to Stamford School, a boys' grammar school, where a younger contemporary was England cricket captain and England rugby player M. J. K. Smith. + +After leaving school, Dexter completed his national service with the Royal Corps of Signals and then read Classics at Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1953 and receiving a master's degree in 1958. + +In 1954, Dexter began his teaching career as assistant Classics master at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester. There he helped the school's Christian Union. However, in 2000 he stated that he shared the same views on politics and religion as Inspector Morse, who was portrayed in the final Morse novel, The Remorseful Day, as an atheist. A post at Loughborough Grammar School followed in 1957, then he took up the position of senior Classics teacher at Corby Grammar School, Northamptonshire, in 1959. + +In 1966, he was forced by the onset of deafness to retire from teaching and took up the post of senior assistant secretary at the University of Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations (UODLE) in Oxford, a job he held until his retirement in 1988. + +In November 2008, Dexter featured prominently in the BBC Four programme "How to Solve a Cryptic Crossword" as part of the Timeshift series, in which he recounted some of the crossword clues solved by Morse. + +Writing career +The initial books written by Dexter were general studies textbooks. He began writing mysteries in 1972 during a family holiday. Last Bus to Woodstock was published in 1975 and introduced the character of Inspector Morse, the irascible detective whose penchants for cryptic crosswords, English literature, cask ale, and music by Wagner reflected Dexter's own enthusiasms. Dexter's plots used false leads and other red herrings, "presenting Morse, and his readers, with fiendishly difficult puzzles to solve". + +The success of the 33 two-hour episodes of the ITV television series Inspector Morse, produced between 1987 and 2000, brought further attention to Dexter's writings. The show featured Inspector Morse, played by John Thaw, and his assistant Sergeant Robert Lewis, played by Kevin Whately. In the manner of Alfred Hitchcock, Dexter made a cameo appearance in almost all episodes. + +From 2006 to 2015, Morse's assistant Lewis was featured in a 33-episode ITV series titled Lewis (Inspector Lewis in the United States). Lewis is assisted by DS James Hathaway, played by Laurence Fox. A prequel series, Endeavour, features a young Morse and stars Shaun Evans and Roger Allam. Endeavour was first broadcast on the ITV network in 2012, ending with the ninth series in 2023, taking young Morse's career into 1972. Dexter was a consultant for Lewis and the first few years of Endeavour. As with Morse, Dexter occasionally made cameo appearances in both Lewis and Endeavour. + +Although Dexter's military service was as a Morse code operator in the Royal Corps of Signals, the character was named after his friend Sir Jeremy Morse, a crossword devotee like Dexter. The music for the television series, written by Barrington Pheloung, used a motif based on the Morse code for Morse's name. + +Awards and honours +Dexter received several Crime Writers' Association awards: two Silver Daggers for Service of All the Dead in 1979 and The Dead of Jericho in 1981; two Gold Daggers for The Wench is Dead in 1989 and The Way Through the Woods in 1992; and a Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in 1997. In 1996, Dexter received a Macavity Award for his short story "Evans Tries an O-Level". In 1980, he was elected a member of the by-invitation-only Detection Club. In 2005 Dexter became a Fellow by Special Election of St Cross College, Oxford. + +In the 2000 Birthday Honours Dexter was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature. In 2001 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of Oxford. In September 2011, the University of Lincoln awarded Dexter an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. + +Personal life +In 1956 he married Dorothy Cooper. They had a daughter, Sally, and a son, Jeremy. + +Death +On 21 March 2017 Dexter's publisher, Macmillan, said in a statement "With immense sadness, Macmillan announces the death of Colin Dexter who died peacefully at his home in Oxford this morning". + +Bibliography + +Inspector Morse novels + Last Bus to Woodstock (1975) + Last Seen Wearing (1976) + The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1977) + Service of All the Dead (1979) + The Dead of Jericho (1981) + The Riddle of the Third Mile (1983) + The Secret of Annexe 3 (1986) + The Wench is Dead (1989) + The Jewel That Was Ours (1991) + The Way Through the Woods (1992) + The Daughters of Cain (1994) + Death Is Now My Neighbour (1996) + The Remorseful Day (1999) + +Novellas and short story collections + The Inside Story (1993) + Neighbourhood Watch (1993) + Morse's Greatest Mystery (1993); also published as As Good as Gold + "As Good as Gold" (Morse) + "Morse's Greatest Mystery" (Morse) + "Evans Tries an O-Level" + "Dead as a Dodo" (Morse) + "At the Lulu-Bar Motel" + "Neighbourhood Watch" (Morse) + "A Case of Mis-Identity" (a Sherlock Holmes pastiche) + "The Inside Story" (Morse) + "Monty's Revolver" + "The Carpet-Bagger" + "Last Call" (Morse) + +Uncollected short stories + "The Burglar" in You, The Mail on Sunday (1994) + "The Double Crossing" in Mysterious Pleasures (2003) + "Between the Lines" in The Detection Collection (2005) + "The Case of the Curious Quorum" (featuring Inspector Lewis) in The Verdict of Us All (2006) + "The Other Half" in The Strand Magazine (February–May 2007) + "Morse and the Mystery of the Drunken Driver" in Daily Mail (December 2008) + "Clued Up" (a 4-page story featuring Lewis and Morse solving a crossword) in Cracking Cryptic Crosswords (2009) + +Other + Foreword to Chambers Crossword Manual (2001) + Chambers Book of Morse Crosswords (2006) + Foreword to Oxford: A Cultural and Literary History (2007) + Cracking Cryptic Crosswords: A Guide to Solving Cryptic Crosswords (2010) + Foreword to Oxford Through the Lens (2016) + +See also + Diogenes Small + +References + +External links + + + + +1930 births +2017 deaths +People from Stamford, Lincolnshire +People educated at Stamford School +Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge +Cartier Diamond Dagger winners +English crime fiction writers +English male novelists +English mystery writers +British detective fiction writers +Fellows of St Cross College, Oxford +Writers from Oxford +Inspector Morse +Macavity Award winners +Members of the Detection Club +Officers of the Order of the British Empire +Crossword creators +Royal Corps of Signals soldiers +20th-century British Army personnel +A college (Latin: collegium) is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school. + +In most of the world, a college may be a high school or secondary school, a college of further education, a training institution that awards trade qualifications, a higher-education provider that does not have university status (often without its own degree-awarding powers), or a constituent part of a university. In the United States, a college may offer undergraduate programs – either as an independent institution or as the undergraduate program of a university – or it may be a residential college of a university or a community college, referring to (primarily public) higher education institutions that aim to provide affordable and accessible education, usually limited to two-year associate degrees. The word is generally also used as a synonym for a university in the US. Colleges in countries such as France, Belgium, and Switzerland provide secondary education. + +Etymology + +The word "college" is from the Latin verb lego, legere, legi, lectum, "to collect, gather together, pick", plus the preposition cum, "with", thus meaning "selected together". Thus "colleagues" are literally "persons who have been selected to work together". In ancient Rome a collegium was a "body, guild, corporation united in colleagueship; of magistrates, praetors, tribunes, priests, augurs; a political club or trade guild". Thus a college was a form of corporation or corporate body, an artificial legal person (body/corpus) with its own legal personality, with the capacity to enter into legal contracts, to sue and be sued. In mediaeval England there were colleges of priests, for example in chantry chapels; modern survivals include the Royal College of Surgeons in England (originally the Guild of Surgeons Within the City of London), the College of Arms in London (a body of heralds enforcing heraldic law), an electoral college (to elect representatives); all groups of persons "selected in common" to perform a specified function and appointed by a monarch, founder or other person in authority. As for the modern "college of education", it was a body created for that purpose, for example Eton College was founded in 1440 by letters patent of King Henry VI for the constitution of a college of Fellows, priests, clerks, choristers, poor scholars, and old poor men, with one master or governor, whose duty it shall be to instruct these scholars and any others who may resort thither from any part of England in the knowledge of letters, and especially of grammar, without payment". + +Overview + +Higher education + +Within higher education, the term can be used to refer to: + A constituent part of a collegiate university, for example King's College, Cambridge, or of a federal university, for example King's College London. + A liberal arts college, an independent institution of higher education focusing on undergraduate education, such as Williams College or Amherst College. + A liberal arts division of a university whose undergraduate program does not otherwise follow a liberal arts model, such as the Yuanpei College at Peking University. + An institute providing specialised training, such as a college of further education, for example Belfast Metropolitan College, a teacher training college, or an art college. + A Catholic higher education institute which includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical universities. + In the United States, college is sometimes but rarely a synonym for a research university, such as Dartmouth College, one of the eight universities in the Ivy League. + In the United States, the undergraduate college of a university which also confers graduate degrees, such as Yale College, the undergraduate college within Yale University. + +Further education + +A sixth form college or college of further education is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, the Caribbean, Malta, Norway, Brunei, and Southern Africa, among others, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, BTEC, HND or its equivalent and the International Baccalaureate Diploma, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is known as a junior college. The municipal government of the city of Paris uses the phrase "sixth form college" as the English name for a lycée. + +Secondary education + +In some national education systems, secondary schools may be called "colleges" or have "college" as part of their title. + +In Australia the term "college" is applied to any private or independent (non-government) primary and, especially, secondary school as distinct from a state school. Melbourne Grammar School, Cranbrook School, Sydney and The King's School, Parramatta are considered colleges. + +There has also been a recent trend to rename or create government secondary schools as "colleges". In the state of Victoria, some state high schools are referred to as secondary colleges, although the pre-eminent government secondary school for boys in Melbourne is still named Melbourne High School. In Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, "college" is used in the name of all state high schools built since the late 1990s, and also some older ones. In New South Wales, some high schools, especially multi-campus schools resulting from mergers, are known as "secondary colleges". In Queensland some newer schools which accept primary and high school students are styled state college, but state schools offering only secondary education are called "State High School". In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, "college" refers to the final two years of high school (years 11 and 12), and the institutions which provide this. In this context, "college" is a system independent of the other years of high school. Here, the expression is a shorter version of matriculation college. + +In a number of Canadian cities, many government-run secondary schools are called "collegiates" or "collegiate institutes" (C.I.), a complicated form of the word "college" which avoids the usual "post-secondary" connotation. This is because these secondary schools have traditionally focused on academic, rather than vocational, subjects and ability levels (for example, collegiates offered Latin while vocational schools offered technical courses). Some private secondary schools (such as Upper Canada College, Vancouver College) choose to use the word "college" in their names nevertheless. Some secondary schools elsewhere in the country, particularly ones within the separate school system, may also use the word "college" or "collegiate" in their names. + +In New Zealand the word "college" normally refers to a secondary school for ages 13 to 17 and "college" appears as part of the name especially of private or integrated schools. "Colleges" most frequently appear in the North Island, whereas "high schools" are more common in the South Island. + +In the Netherlands, "college" is equivalent to HBO (Higher professional education). It is oriented towards professional training with clear occupational outlook, unlike universities which are scientifically oriented. + +In South Africa, some secondary schools, especially private schools on the English public school model, have "college" in their title, including six of South Africa's Elite Seven high schools. A typical example of this category would be St John's College. + +Private schools that specialize in improving children's marks through intensive focus on examination needs are informally called "cram-colleges". + +In Sri Lanka the word "college" (known as Vidyalaya in Sinhala) normally refers to a secondary school, which usually signifies above the 5th standard. During the British colonial period a limited number of exclusive secondary schools were established based on English public school model (Royal College Colombo, S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, Trinity College, Kandy) these along with several Catholic schools (St. Joseph's College, Colombo, St Anthony's College) traditionally carry their name as colleges. Following the start of free education in 1931 large group of central colleges were established to educate the rural masses. Since Sri Lanka gained Independence in 1948, many schools that have been established have been named as "college". + +Other + +As well as an educational institution, the term, in accordance with its etymology, may also refer to any formal group of colleagues set up under statute or regulation; often under a Royal Charter. Examples include an electoral college, the College of Arms, a college of canons, and the College of Cardinals. Other collegiate bodies include professional associations, particularly in medicine and allied professions. In the UK these include the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Physicians. Examples in the United States include the American College of Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, and the American College of Dentists. An example in Australia is the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. + +College by country + +The different ways in which the term "College" is used to describe educational institutions in various regions of the world is listed below: + +Americas + +Canada + +In Canadian English, the term "college" usually refers to a trades school, applied arts/science/technology/business/health school or community college. These are post-secondary institutions granting certificates, diplomas, associate degrees and (in some cases) bachelor's degrees. The French acronym specific to public institutions within Quebec's particular system of pre-university and technical education is CEGEP (Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, "college of general and professional education"). They are collegiate-level institutions that a student typically enrols in if they wish to continue onto university in the Quebec education system, or to learn a trade. In Ontario and Alberta, there are also institutions that are designated university colleges, which only grant undergraduate degrees. This is to differentiate between universities, which have both undergraduate and graduate programs and those that do not. + +In Canada, there is a strong distinction between "college" and "university". In conversation, one specifically would say either "they are going to university" (i.e., studying for a three- or four-year degree at a university) or "they are going to college" (i.e., studying at a technical/career training). + +Usage in a university setting +The term college also applies to distinct entities that formally act as an affiliated institution of the university, formally referred to as federated college, or affiliated colleges. A university may also formally include several constituent colleges, forming a collegiate university. Examples of collegiate universities in Canada include Trent University, and the University of Toronto. These types of institutions act independently, maintaining their own endowments, and properties. However, they remain either affiliated, or federated with the overarching university, with the overarching university being the institution that formally grants the degrees. For example, Trinity College was once an independent institution, but later became federated with the University of Toronto. Several centralized universities in Canada have mimicked the collegiate university model; although constituent colleges in a centralized university remains under the authority of the central administration. Centralized universities that have adopted the collegiate model to a degree includes the University of British Columbia, with Green College and St. John's College; and the Memorial University of Newfoundland, with Sir Wilfred Grenfell College. + +Occasionally, "college" refers to a subject specific faculty within a university that, while distinct, are neither federated nor affiliated—College of Education, College of Medicine, College of Dentistry, College of Biological Science among others. + +The Royal Military College of Canada is a military college which trains officers for the Canadian Armed Forces. The institution is a full-fledged university, with the authority to issue graduate degrees, although it continues to word the term college in its name. The institution's sister schools, Royal Military College Saint-Jean also uses the term college in its name, although it academic offering is akin to a CEGEP institution in Quebec. A number of post-secondary art schools in Canada formerly used the word college in their names, despite formally being universities. However, most of these institutions were renamed, or re-branded in the early 21st century, omitting the word college from its name. + +Usage in secondary education +The word college continues to be used in the names public separate secondary schools in Ontario. A number of independent schools across Canada also use the word college in its name. + +Public secular school boards in Ontario also refer to their secondary schools as collegiate institutes. However, usage of the word collegiate institute varies between school boards. Collegiate institute is the predominant name for secondary schools in Lakehead District School Board, and Toronto District School Board, although most school boards in Ontario use collegiate institute alongside high school, and secondary school in the names of their institutions. Similarly, secondary schools in Regina, and Saskatoon are referred to as Collegiate. + +Chile + +Officially, since 2009, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile incorporated the term "college" as the name of a tertiary education program as a bachelor's degree. The program features a Bachelor of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, a Bachelor of Social Science and a Bachelor of Arts and Humanities. It has the same system as the American universities, it combines majors and minors and finally, it let the students continue a higher degree in the same university once the program it is completed. + +But in Chile, the term "college" is not usually used for tertiary education, but is used mainly in the name of some private bilingual schools, corresponding to levels 0, 1 and 2 of the ISCED 2011. Some examples are they Santiago College, Saint George's College, among others. + +United States + +In the United States, there were 5,916 post-secondary institutions (universities and colleges) having peaked at 7,253 in 2012–13 and fallen every year since. A "college" in the US can refer to a constituent part of a university (which can be a residential college, the sub-division of the university offering undergraduate courses, or a school of the university offering particular specialized courses), an independent institution offering bachelor's-level courses, or an institution offering instruction in a particular professional, technical or vocational field. In popular usage, the word "college" is the generic term for any post-secondary undergraduate education. Americans "go to college" after high school, regardless of whether the specific institution is formally a college or a university. Some students choose to dual-enroll, by taking college classes while still in high school. The word and its derivatives are the standard terms used to describe the institutions and experiences associated with American post-secondary undergraduate education. + +Students must pay for college before taking classes. Some borrow the money via loans, and some students fund their educations with cash, scholarships, grants, or some combination of these payment methods. In 2011, the state or federal government subsidized $8,000 to $100,000 for each undergraduate degree. For state-owned schools (called "public" universities), the subsidy was given to the college, with the student benefiting from lower tuition. The state subsidized on average 50% of public university tuition. + +Colleges vary in terms of size, degree, and length of stay. Two-year colleges, also known as junior or community colleges, usually offer an associate degree, and four-year colleges usually offer a bachelor's degree. Often, these are entirely undergraduate institutions, although some have graduate school programs. + +Four-year institutions in the U.S. that emphasize a liberal arts curriculum are known as liberal arts colleges. Until the 20th century, liberal arts, law, medicine, theology, and divinity were about the only form of higher education available in the United States. These schools have traditionally emphasized instruction at the undergraduate level, although advanced research may still occur at these institutions. + +While there is no national standard in the United States, the term "university" primarily designates institutions that provide undergraduate and graduate education. A university typically has as its core and its largest internal division an undergraduate college teaching a liberal arts curriculum, also culminating in a bachelor's degree. What often distinguishes a university is having, in addition, one or more graduate schools engaged in both teaching graduate classes and in research. Often these would be called a School of Law or School of Medicine, (but may also be called a college of law, or a faculty of law). An exception is Vincennes University, Indiana, which is styled and chartered as a "university" even though almost all of its academic programs lead only to two-year associate degrees. Some institutions, such as Dartmouth College and The College of William & Mary, have retained the term "college" in their names for historical reasons. In one unique case, Boston College and Boston University, the former located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and the latter located in Boston, Massachusetts, are completely separate institutions. + +Usage of the terms varies among the states. In 1996, for example, Georgia changed all of its four-year institutions previously designated as colleges to universities, and all of its vocational technology schools to technical colleges. + +The terms "university" and "college" do not exhaust all possible titles for an American institution of higher education. Other options include "institute" (Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology), "academy" (United States Military Academy), "union" (Cooper Union), "conservatory" (New England Conservatory), and "school" (Juilliard School). In colloquial use, they are still referred to as "college" when referring to their undergraduate studies. + +The term college is also, as in the United Kingdom, used for a constituent semi-autonomous part of a larger university but generally organized on academic rather than residential lines. For example, at many institutions, the undergraduate portion of the university can be briefly referred to as the college (such as The College of the University of Chicago, Harvard College at Harvard, or Columbia College at Columbia) while at others, such as the University of California, Berkeley, "colleges" are collections of academic programs and other units that share some common characteristics, mission, or disciplinary focus (the "college of engineering", the "college of nursing", and so forth). There exist other variants for historical reasons, including some uses that exist because of mergers and acquisitions; for example, Duke University, which was called Trinity College until the 1920s, still calls its main undergraduate subdivision Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. + +Residential colleges + +Some American universities, such as Princeton, Rice, and Yale have established residential colleges (sometimes, as at Harvard, the first to establish such a system in the 1930s, known as houses) along the lines of Oxford or Cambridge. Unlike the Oxbridge colleges, but similarly to Durham, these residential colleges are not autonomous legal entities nor are they typically much involved in education itself, being primarily concerned with room, board, and social life. At the University of Michigan, University of California, San Diego and the University of California, Santa Cruz, each residential college teaches its own core writing courses and has its own distinctive set of graduation requirements. + +Many U.S. universities have placed increased emphasis on their residential colleges in recent years. This is exemplified by the creation of new colleges at Ivy League schools such as Yale University and Princeton University, and efforts to strengthen the contribution of the residential colleges to student education, including through a 2016 taskforce at Princeton on residential colleges. + +Origin of the U.S. usage +The founders of the first institutions of higher education in the United States were graduates of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The small institutions they founded would not have seemed to them like universities �� they were tiny and did not offer the higher degrees in medicine and theology. Furthermore, they were not composed of several small colleges. Instead, the new institutions felt like the Oxford and Cambridge colleges they were used to – small communities, housing and feeding their students, with instruction from residential tutors (as in the United Kingdom, described above). When the first students graduated, these "colleges" assumed the right to confer degrees upon them, usually with authority—for example, The College of William & Mary has a royal charter from the British monarchy allowing it to confer degrees while Dartmouth College has a charter permitting it to award degrees "as are usually granted in either of the universities, or any other college in our realm of Great Britain." + +The leaders of Harvard College (which granted America's first degrees in 1642) might have thought of their college as the first of many residential colleges that would grow up into a New Cambridge university. However, over time, few new colleges were founded there, and Harvard grew and added higher faculties. Eventually, it changed its title to university, but the term "college" had stuck and "colleges" have arisen across the United States. + +In U.S. usage, the word "college" not only embodies a particular type of school, but has historically been used to refer to the general concept of higher education when it is not necessary to specify a school, as in "going to college" or "college savings accounts" offered by banks. + +In a survey of more than 2,000 college students in 33 states and 156 different campuses, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found the average student spends as much as $1,200 each year on textbooks and supplies alone. By comparison, the group says that's the equivalent of 39 percent of tuition and fees at a community college, and 14 percent of tuition and fees at a four-year public university. + +Morrill Land-Grant Act + +In addition to private colleges and universities, the U.S. also has a system of government funded, public universities. Many were founded under the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862. A movement had arisen to bring a form of more practical higher education to the masses, as "...many politicians and educators wanted to make it possible for all young Americans to receive some sort of advanced education." The Morrill Act "...made it possible for the new western states to establish colleges for the citizens." Its goal was to make higher education more easily accessible to the citizenry of the country, specifically to improve agricultural systems by providing training and scholarship in the production and sales of agricultural products, and to provide formal education in "...agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other professions that seemed practical at the time." + +The act was eventually extended to allow all states that had remained with the Union during the American Civil War, and eventually all states, to establish such institutions. Most of the colleges established under the Morrill Act have since become full universities, and some are among the elite of the world. + +Benefits of college +Selection of a four-year college as compared to a two-year junior college, even by marginal students such as those with a C+ grade average in high school and SAT scores in the mid 800s, increases the probability of graduation and confers substantial economic and social benefits. + +Asia + +Bangladesh + +In Bangladesh, educational institutions offering higher secondary (11th–12th grade) education are known as colleges. + +Hong Kong + +In Hong Kong, the term 'college' is used by tertiary institutions as either part of their names or to refer to a constituent part of the university, such as the colleges in the collegiate The Chinese University of Hong Kong; or to a residence hall of a university, such as St. John's College, University of Hong Kong. Many older secondary schools have the term 'college' as part of their names. + +India + +The modern system of education was heavily influenced by the British starting in 1835. + +In India, the term "college" is commonly reserved for institutions that offer high school diplomas at year 12 ("Junior College", similar to American high schools), and those that offer the bachelor's degree; some colleges, however, offer programmes up to PhD level. Generally, colleges are located in different parts of a state and all of them are affiliated to a regional university. The colleges offer programmes leading to degrees of that university. Colleges may be either Autonomous or non-autonomous. Autonomous Colleges are empowered to establish their own syllabus, and conduct and assess their own examinations; in non-autonomous colleges, examinations are conducted by the university, at the same time for all colleges under its affiliation. There are several hundred universities and each university has affiliated colleges, often a large number. + +The first liberal arts and sciences college in India was "Cottayam College" or the "Syrian College", Kerala in 1815. The First inter linguistic residential education institution in Asia was started at this college. At present it is a Theological seminary which is popularly known as Orthodox Theological Seminary or Old Seminary. After that, CMS College, Kottayam, established in 1817, and the Presidency College, Kolkata, also 1817, initially known as Hindu College. The first college for the study of Christian theology and ecumenical enquiry was Serampore College (1818). The first Missionary institution to impart Western style education in India was the Scottish Church College, Calcutta (1830). The first commerce and economics college in India was Sydenham College, Mumbai (1913). + +In India a new term has been introduced that is Autonomous Institutes & Colleges. An autonomous Colleges are colleges which need to be affiliated to a certain university. These colleges can conduct their own admission procedure, examination syllabus, fees structure etc. However, at the end of course completion, they cannot issue their own degree or diploma. The final degree or diploma is issued by the affiliated university. +Also, some significant changes can pave way under the NEP (New Education Policy 2020) which may affect the present guidelines for universities and colleges. + +Israel + +In Israel, any non-university higher-learning facility is called a college. Institutions accredited by the Council for Higher Education in Israel (CHE) to confer a bachelor's degree are called "Academic Colleges" (; plural ). These colleges (at least 4 for 2012) may also offer master's degrees and act as Research facilities. There are also over twenty teacher training colleges or seminaries, most of which may award only a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree. + Academic colleges: Any educational facility that had been approved to offer at least bachelor's degree is entitled by CHE to use the term academic college in its name. + Engineering academic college: Any academic facility that offer at least bachelor's degree and most of it faculties are providing an Engineering degree and Engineering license. + Educational academic college: After an educational facility that had been approved for "Teachers seminar" status is then approved to provide a Bachelor of Education, its name is changed to include "Educational Academic college." + Technical college: A "Technical college" () is an educational facility that is approved to allow to provide P.E degree (הנדסאי) (14'th class) or technician (טכנאי) (13'th class) diploma and licenses. + Training College: A "Training College" ( or ) is an educational facility that provides basic training allowing a person to receive a working permit in a field such as alternative medicine, cooking, Art, Mechanical, Electrical and other professions. A trainee could receive the right to work in certain professions as apprentice (j. mechanic, j. Electrician etc.). After working in the training field for enough time an apprentice could have a license to operate (Mechanic, Electrician). This educational facility is mostly used to provide basic training for low tech jobs and for job seekers without any training that are provided by the nation's Employment Service (שירות התעסוקה). + +Macau +Following the Portuguese usage, the term "college" (colégio) in Macau has traditionally been used in the names for private (and non-governmental) pre-university educational institutions, which correspond to form one to form six level tiers. Such schools are usually run by the Roman Catholic church or missionaries in Macau. Examples include Chan Sui Ki Perpetual Help College, Yuet Wah College, and Sacred Heart Canossian College. + +Philippines + +In the Philippines, colleges usually refer to institutions of learning that grant degrees but whose scholastic fields are not as diverse as that of a university (University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, and AMA University), such as the San Beda College which specializes in law, AMA Computer College whose campuses are spread all over the Philippines which specializes in information and computing technologies, and the Mapúa Institute of Technology which specializes in engineering, or to component units within universities that do not grant degrees but rather facilitate the instruction of a particular field, such as a College of Science and College of Engineering, among many other colleges of the University of the Philippines. + +A state college may not have the word "college" on its name, but may have several component colleges, or departments. Thus, the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology is a state college by classification. + +Usually, the term "college" is also thought of as a hierarchical demarcation between the term "university", and quite a number of colleges seek to be recognized as universities as a sign of improvement in academic standards (Colegio de San Juan de Letran, San Beda College), and increase in the diversity of the offered degree programs (called "courses"). For private colleges, this may be done through a survey and evaluation by the Commission on Higher Education and accrediting organizations, as was the case of Urios College which is now the Fr. Saturnino Urios University. For state colleges, it is usually done by a legislation by the Congress or Senate. In common usage, "going to college" simply means attending school for an undergraduate degree, whether it's from an institution recognized as a college or a university. + +When it comes to referring to the level of education, college is the term more used to be synonymous to tertiary or higher education. A student who is or has studied his/her undergraduate degree at either an institution with college or university in its name is considered to be going to or have gone to college. + +Singapore +The term "college" in Singapore is generally only used for pre-university educational institutions called "Junior Colleges", which provide the final two years of secondary education (equivalent to sixth form in British terms or grades 11–12 in the American system). Since 1 January 2005, the term also refers to the three campuses of the Institute of Technical Education with the introduction of the "collegiate system", in which the three institutions are called ITE College East, ITE College Central, and ITE College West respectively. + +The term "university" is used to describe higher-education institutions offering locally conferred degrees. Institutions offering diplomas are called "polytechnics", while other institutions are often referred to as "institutes" and so forth. + +Sri Lanka +There are several professional and vocational institutions that offer post-secondary education without granting degrees that are referred to as "colleges". This includes the Sri Lanka Law College, the many Technical Colleges and Teaching Colleges. + +Turkey +In Turkey, the term "kolej" (college) refers to a private high school, typically preceded by one year of preparatory language education. Notable Turkish colleges include Robert College, Uskudar American Academy, American Collegiate Institute and Tarsus American College. + +Africa + +South Africa +Although the term "college" is hardly used in any context at any university in South Africa, some non-university tertiary institutions call themselves colleges. These include teacher training colleges, business colleges and wildlife management colleges. See: List of universities in South Africa#Private colleges and universities; List of post secondary institutions in South Africa. + +Zimbabwe + +The term college is mainly used by private or independent secondary schools with Advanced Level (Upper 6th formers) and also Polytechnic Colleges which confer diplomas only. A student can complete secondary education (International General Certificate of Secondary Education, IGCSE) at 16 years and proceed straight to a poly-technical college or they can proceed to Advanced level (16 to 19 years) and obtain a General Certificate of Education (GCE) certificate which enables them to enroll at a university, provided they have good grades. Alternatively, with lower grades, the GCE certificate holders will have an added advantage over their GCSE counterparts if they choose to enroll at a polytechnical college. Some schools in Zimbabwe choose to offer the International Baccalaureate studies as an alternative to the IGCSE and GCE. + +Europe + +Greece +Kollegio (in Greek Κολλέγιο) refers to the Centers of Post-Lyceum Education (in Greek Κέντρο Μεταλυκειακής Εκπαίδευσης, abbreviated as KEME), which are principally private and belong to the Greek post-secondary education system. Some of them have links to EU or US higher education institutions or accreditation organizations, such as the NEASC. Kollegio (or Kollegia in plural) may also refer to private non-tertiary schools, such as the Athens College. + +Ireland + +In Ireland the term "college" is normally used to describe an institution of tertiary education. University students often say they attend "college" rather than "university". Until 1989, no university provided teaching or research directly; they were formally offered by a constituent college of the university. + +There are number of secondary education institutions that traditionally used the word "college" in their names: these are either older, private schools (such as Belvedere College, Gonzaga College, Castleknock College, and St. Michael's College) or what were formerly a particular kind of secondary school. These secondary schools, formerly known as "technical colleges," were renamed "community colleges," but remain secondary schools. + +The country's only ancient university is the University of Dublin. Created during the reign of Elizabeth I, it is modelled on the collegiate universities of Cambridge and Oxford. However, only one constituent college was ever founded, hence the curious position of Trinity College Dublin today; although both are usually considered one and the same, the university and college are completely distinct corporate entities with separate and parallel governing structures. + +Among more modern foundations, the National University of Ireland, founded in 1908, consisted of constituent colleges and recognised colleges until 1997. The former are now referred to as constituent universities – institutions that are essentially universities in their own right. The National University can trace its existence back to 1850 and the creation of the Queen's University of Ireland and the creation of the Catholic University of Ireland in 1854. From 1880, the degree awarding roles of these two universities was taken over by the Royal University of Ireland, which remained until the creation of the National University in 1908 and Queen's University Belfast. + +The state's two new universities, Dublin City University and University of Limerick, were initially National Institute for Higher Education institutions. These institutions offered university level academic degrees and research from the start of their existence and were awarded university status in 1989 in recognition of this. + +Third level technical education in the state has been carried out in the Institutes of Technology, which were established from the 1970s as Regional Technical Colleges. These institutions have delegated authority which entitles them to give degrees and diplomas from Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) in their own names. + +A number of private colleges exist such as Dublin Business School, providing undergraduate and postgraduate courses validated by QQI and in some cases by other universities. + +Other types of college include colleges of education, such as the Church of Ireland College of Education. These are specialist institutions, often linked to a university, which provide both undergraduate and postgraduate academic degrees for people who want to train as teachers. + +A number of state-funded further education colleges exist – which offer vocational education and training in a range of areas from business studies and information and communications technology to sports injury therapy. These courses are usually one, two or less often three years in duration and are validated by QQI at Levels 5 or 6, or for the BTEC Higher National Diploma award, which is a Level 6/7 qualification, validated by Edexcel. There are numerous private colleges (particularly in Dublin and Limerick) which offer both further and higher education qualifications. These degrees and diplomas are often certified by foreign universities/international awarding bodies and are aligned to the National Framework of Qualifications at Levels 6, 7 and 8. + +Netherlands + +In the Netherlands there are 3 main educational routes after high school. + MBO (middle-level applied education), which is the equivalent of junior college. Designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in support roles in professions such as engineering, accountancy, business administration, nursing, medicine, architecture, and criminology or for additional education at another college with more advanced academic material. + HBO (higher professional education), which is the equivalent of college and has a professional orientation. After HBO (typically 4–6 years), pupils can enroll in a (professional) master's program (1–2 years) or enter the job market. The HBO is taught in vocational universities (hogescholen), of which there are over 40 in the Netherlands, each of which offers a broad variety of programs, with the exception of some that specialize in arts or agriculture. Note that the hogescholen are not allowed to name themselves university in Dutch. This also stretches to English and therefore HBO institutions are known as universities of applied sciences. + WO (Scientific education), which is the equivalent to university level education and has an academic orientation. + +HBO graduates can be awarded two titles, which are Baccalaureus (bc.) and Ingenieur (ing.). At a WO institution, many more bachelor's and master's titles can be awarded. Bachelor's degrees: Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB). Master's degrees: Master of Arts (MA), Master of Laws (LLM) and Master of Science (MSc). The PhD title is a research degree awarded upon completion and defense of a doctoral thesis. + +Portugal + +Presently in Portugal, the term colégio (college) is normally used as a generic reference to a private (non-government) school that provides from basic to secondary education. Many of the private schools include the term colégio in their name. Some special public schools – usually of the boarding school type – also include the term in their name, with a notable example being the Colégio Militar (Military College). The term colégio interno (literally "internal college") is used specifically as a generic reference to a boarding school. + +Until the 19th century, a colégio was usually a secondary or pre-university school, of public or religious nature, where the students usually lived together. A model for these colleges was the Royal College of Arts and Humanities, founded in Coimbra by King John III of Portugal in 1542. + +United Kingdom + +Secondary education and further education + +Further education (FE) colleges and sixth form colleges are institutions providing further education to students over 16. Some of these also provide higher education courses (see below). In the context of secondary education, 'college' is used in the names of some private schools, e.g. Eton College and Winchester College. + +Higher education + +In higher education, a college is normally a provider that does not hold university status, although it can also refer to a constituent part of a collegiate or federal university or a grouping of academic faculties or departments within a university. Traditionally the distinction between colleges and universities was that colleges did not award degrees while universities did, but this is no longer the case with NCG having gained taught degree awarding powers (the same as some universities) on behalf of its colleges, and many of the colleges of the University of London holding full degree awarding powers and being effectively universities. Most colleges, however, do not hold their own degree awarding powers and continue to offer higher education courses that are validated by universities or other institutions that can award degrees. + +In England, , over 60% of the higher education providers directly funded by HEFCE (208/340) are sixth-form or further education colleges, often termed colleges of further and higher education, along with 17 colleges of the University of London, one university college, 100 universities, and 14 other providers (six of which use 'college' in their name). Overall, this means over two-thirds of state-supported higher education providers in England are colleges of one form or another. Many private providers are also called colleges, e.g. the New College of the Humanities and St Patrick's College, London. + +Colleges within universities vary immensely in their responsibilities. The large constituent colleges of the University of London are effectively universities in their own right; colleges in some universities, including those of the University of the Arts London and smaller colleges of the University of London, run their own degree courses but do not award degrees; those at the University of Roehampton provide accommodation and pastoral care as well as delivering the teaching on university courses; those at Oxford and Cambridge deliver some teaching on university courses as well as providing accommodation and pastoral care; and those in Durham, Kent, Lancaster and York provide accommodation and pastoral care but do not normally participate in formal teaching. The legal status of these colleges also varies widely, with University of London colleges being independent corporations and recognised bodies, Oxbridge colleges, colleges of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and some Durham colleges being independent corporations and listed bodies, most Durham colleges being owned by the university but still listed bodies, and those of other collegiate universities not having formal recognition. When applying for undergraduate courses through UCAS, University of London colleges are treated as independent providers, colleges of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and UHI are treated as locations within the universities that can be selected by specifying a 'campus code' in addition to selecting the university, and colleges of other universities are not recognised. + +The UHI and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) both include further education colleges. However, while the UHI colleges integrate FE and HE provision, UWTSD maintains a separation between the university campuses (Lampeter, Carmarthen and Swansea) and the two colleges (Coleg Sir Gâr and Coleg Ceredigion; n.b. coleg is Welsh for college), which although part of the same group are treated as separate institutions rather than colleges within the university. + +A university college is an independent institution with the power to award taught degrees, but which has not been granted university status. University College is a protected title that can only be used with permission, although note that University College London, University College, Oxford and University College, Durham are colleges within their respective universities and not university colleges (in the case of UCL holding full degree awarding powers that set it above a university college), while University College Birmingham is a university in its own right and also not a university college. + +Oceania + +Australia +In Australia a college may be an institution of tertiary education that is smaller than a university, run independently or as part of a university. Following a reform in the 1980s many of the formerly independent colleges now belong to a larger universities. + +Referring to parts of a university, there are residential colleges which provide residence for students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, called university colleges. These colleges often provide additional tutorial assistance, and some host theological study. Many colleges have strong traditions and rituals, so are a combination of dormitory style accommodation and fraternity or sorority culture. + +Most technical and further education institutions (TAFEs), which offer certificate and diploma vocational courses, are styled "TAFE colleges" or "Colleges of TAFE". In some places, such as Tasmania, college refers to a type of school for Year 11 and 12 students, e.g. Don College. + +New Zealand + +The constituent colleges of the former University of New Zealand (such as Canterbury University College) have become independent universities. Some halls of residence associated with New Zealand universities retain the name of "college", particularly at the University of Otago (which although brought under the umbrella of the University of New Zealand, already possessed university status and degree awarding powers). The institutions formerly known as "Teacher-training colleges" now style themselves "College of education". + +Some universities, such as the University of Canterbury, have divided their university into constituent administrative "Colleges" – the College of Arts containing departments that teach Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Science containing Science departments, and so on. This is largely modelled on the Cambridge model, discussed above. + +Like the United Kingdom some professional bodies in New Zealand style themselves as "colleges", for example, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. + +In some parts of the country, secondary school is often referred to as college and the term is used interchangeably with high school. This sometimes confuses people from other parts of New Zealand. But in all parts of the country many secondary schools have "College" in their name, such as Rangitoto College, New Zealand's largest secondary. + +Notes + +References + +External links + +See also + + Community college + Residential college + University college + Vocational university + Madrasa + Ashrama (stage) + +Educational stages +Higher education +Types of university or college + +Youth +Chalmers University of Technology (, commonly referred to as Chalmers) is a private research university located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chalmers focuses on engineering and science, but more broadly it also conducts research and offers education in shipping, architecture and management. The university has approximately 3100 employees and 10,000 students. + +Chalmers is a highly reputable university internationally known for its engineering education +and research, and is consistently ranked among the world's top 100 universities in engineering and technology, +as well as considered one of Europe's leading technical universities. + +Chalmers is coordinating the Graphene Flagship, the European Union's biggest research initiative to bring graphene innovation out of the lab and into commercial applications, and leading the development of a Swedish quantum computer. + +Chalmers is a member of the UNITECH International program, the IDEA League, the Nordic Five Tech, +and the ENHANCE alliances as well as the EURECOM consortium and the CESAER network. + +History +Chalmers was founded in 1829 following a donation by William Chalmers, a director of the Swedish East India Company. He donated part of his fortune for the establishment of an "industrial school". The university was run as a private institution until 1937 when it became the second state-owned technical university. In 1994 the government of Sweden reorganised Chalmers into a private company (aktiebolag) owned by a government-controlled foundation. +Chalmers is one of only three universities in Sweden which are named after a person, the other two being Karolinska Institutet and Linnaeus University. + +Departments +Chalmers University of Technology has the following 13 departments: + Architecture and Civil Engineering + Chemistry and Chemical Engineering + Communication and Learning in Science + Computer Science and Engineering + Electrical Engineering + Industrial and Materials Science + Life Sciences + Mathematical Sciences + Mechanics and Maritime Sciences + Microtechnology and Nanoscience + Physics + Space, Earth and Environment + Technology Management and Economics + +Furthermore, Chalmers is home to six Areas of Advance and six national competence centers in key fields such as materials, mathematical modelling, environmental science, and vehicle safety. + +Research infrastructure +Chalmers University of Technology's research infrastructure includes everything from advanced real or virtual labs to large databases, computer capacity for large-scale calculations and research facilities. + Chalmers AI Research Centre, CHAIR + Chalmers Centre for Computational Science and Engineering, C3SE + Chalmers Mass Spectrometry Infrastructure, CMSI + Chalmers Power Central + Chalmers Materials Analysis Laboratory + Chalmers Simulator Centre + Chemical Imaging Infrastructure + Facility for Computational Systems Biology + HSB Living Lab + Nanofabrication Laboratory + Onsala Space Observatory + Revere – Chalmers Resource for Vehicle Research + The National laboratory in terahertz characterisation + SAFER - Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers + +Rankings and reputation + +Since 2012, Chalmers has achieved the highest reputation for Swedish Universities by the Kantar Sifo's Reputation Index. According to the survey, Chalmers is the most well-known university in Sweden regarded as a successful and competitive high-class institution with a large contribution to society and credibility in media. + +Moreover, the European Commission has recognized Chalmers as one of Europe's top universities, while based on the U-Multirank 2022, Chalmers characterized as a top performing university across various indicators (i.e., teaching & learning, research, knowledge transfer and international orientation) with the highest number of ‘A’ (very good) scores on the institutional level for Sweden. + +Additionally, in 2018, a benchmarking report from MIT ranked Chalmers top 10 in the world of engineering education, while in 2020, the World University Research Rankings placed Chalmers 12th in the world based on the evaluation of three key research aspects, namely research multi-disciplinarity, research impact, and research cooperativeness. + +Finally, in 2011, the International Professional Ranking of Higher Education Institutions, which is established on the basis of the number of alumni holding a post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or equivalent in one of the Fortune Global 500 companies, Chalmers ranked 38th in the world, ranking 1st in Sweden and 15th in Europe. + +Ties and partnerships +Chalmers is a member of the IDEA League network, a strategic alliance between five leading European universities of science and technology. The scope of the network is to provide the environment for students, researchers and staff to share knowledge, experience and resources. + +Moreover, Chalmers is a partner of the UNITECH International, an organization consisting of distinguished technical universities and multinational companies across Europe. UNITECH helps bridge the gap between the industrial and academic world offering exchange programs consisting of studies as well as an integrated internship at one of the corporate partners. + +Chalmers is also a member of the Nordic Five Tech network, a strategic alliance of the five leading technical universities in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The Nordic Five Tech universities are amongst the top international technical universities with the goal of creating synergies within education, research and innovation. + +Additionally, Chalmers is a member of the ENHANCE, an alliance of ten leading Universities of Technology shaping the future of Europe and driving transformation in science and society. The partner institutions have a history of solid cooperation in EU programmes and joint research projects. + +Furthermore, Chalmers is a member of CESAER, a European association of universities of science and technology. Among others, the requirements for a university to be a member of CESAER is to provide excellent science and technology research, education and innovation as well as to have a leading position in their region, their country and beyond. + +Additionally, Chalmers has established formal agreements with three leading materials science centers: University of California, Santa Barbara, ETH Zurich and Stanford University. Within the framework of the agreements, a yearly bilateral workshop is organized, and exchange of researchers is supported. + +Chalmers has general exchange agreements with many European and U.S. universities and maintains a special exchange program agreement with National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) in Taiwan where the exchange students from the two universities maintain offices for, among other things, helping local students with applying and preparing for an exchange year as well as acting as representatives. + +Finally, Chalmers has strong partnerships with major industries such as Ericsson, Volvo, Saab AB and AstraZeneca. + +Students +Approximately 40% of Sweden's graduate engineers and architects are educated at Chalmers. Each year, around 250 postgraduate degrees are awarded as well as 850 graduate degrees. About 1,000 post-graduate students attend programmes at the university, and many students are taking Master of Science engineering programmes and the Master of Architecture programme. Since 2007, all master's programmes are taught in English for both national and international students. This was a result of the adaptation to the Bologna process that started in 2004 at Chalmers (as the first technical university in Sweden). + +Currently, about 10% of all students at Chalmers come from countries outside Sweden to enrol in a master's or PhD program. + +Around 2,700 students also attend Bachelor of Science engineering programmes, merchant marine and other undergraduate courses at Campus Lindholmen. Chalmers also shares some students with Gothenburg University in the joint IT University project. The IT University focuses exclusively on information technology and offers bachelor's and master's programmes with degrees issued from either Chalmers or Gothenburg University, depending on the programme. + +Chalmers confers honorary doctoral degrees to people outside the university who have shown great merit in their research or in society. + +Organization +Chalmers is an aktiebolag with 100 shares à 1,000 SEK, all of which are owned by the Chalmers University of Technology Foundation, a private foundation, which appoints the university board and the president. The foundation has its members appointed by the Swedish government (4 to 8 seats), the departments appoint one member, the student union appoints one member and the president automatically gains one chair. Each department is led by a department head, usually a member of the faculty of that department. The faculty senate represents members of the faculty when decisions are taken. + +Campuses + +In 1937, the school moved from the city centre to the new Gibraltar Campus, named after the mansion which owned the grounds, where it is now located. The Lindholmen College Campus was created in the early 1990s and is located on the island Hisingen. Campus Johanneberg and Campus Lindholmen, as they are now called, are connected by bus lines. + +Student societies and traditions +Traditions include the graduation ceremony and the Cortège procession, an annual public event. + + Chalmers Students' Union + Chalmers Aerospace Club – founded in 1981. In Swedish frequently also referred to as Chalmers rymdgrupp (roughly Chalmers Space Group). Members of CAC led the ESA funded CACTEX (Chalmers Aerospace Club Thermal EXperiment) project where the thermal conductivity of alcohol at zero gravity was investigated using a sounding rocket. + Chalmers Alternative Sports – Student association organizing trips and other activities working to promote alternative sports. Every year the Chalmers Wake arranges a pond wakeboard contest in the fountain outside the architecture building at Chalmers. + Chalmersbaletten + Chalmers Ballong Corps + Chalmers Baroque Ensemble + Chalmers Business Society (CBS) + CETAC + Chalmers Choir + Chalmers Formula Student +ETA - (E-sektionens Teletekniska Avdelning) Founded in 1935, it's a student-run amateur radio society that also engages in hobby electronics. + Chalmers Film and Photography Committee (CFFC) + Chalmersspexet – Amateur theater group which has produced new plays since 1948 + Chalmers International Reception Committee (CIRC) + XP – Committee that is responsible for the experimental workshop, a workshop open for students + Chalmers Program Committee – PU + Chalmers Students for Sustainability (CSS) – promoting sustainable development among the students and runs projects, campaigns and lectures + Föreningen Chalmers Skeppsbyggare, Chalmers Naval Architecture Students' Society (FCS) + Chalmers Sailing Society + RANG – Chalmers Indian Association + Caster – Developing and operating a Driver in the Loop (DIL) simulator, which is used in various courses and projects + +Notable alumni + Christopher Ahlberg, computer scientist and entrepreneur, Spotfire and Recorded Future founder + Rune Andersson, Swedish Industrialist, owner of Mellby Gård AB and billionaire + Abbas Anvari, former chancellor of Sharif University of Technology + Linn Berggren, artist and former member of Ace of Base + Gustaf Dalén, Nobel Prize in Physics + Sigfrid Edström, director ASEA, president IOC + Claes-Göran Granqvist, physicist + Margit Hall, first female architect in Sweden + Harald Hammarström, linguist + Krister Holmberg, professor of Surface Chemistry at Chalmers University of Technology. + Mats Hillert, metallurgist + Ivar Jacobson, computer scientist + Erik Johansson, photographic surrealist + Jan Johansson, jazz musician + Leif Johansson, former CEO Volvo + Olav Kallenberg, probability theorist + Marianne Kärrholm, chemical engineer and Chalmers professor + Hjalmar Kumlien, architect + Abraham Langlet, chemist + Martin Lorentzon, Spotify and TradeDoubler founder + Ingemar Lundström, physicist, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics + Carl Magnusson, industrial designer and inventor + Semir Mahjoub, businessman and entrepreneur + Peter Nordin, computer scientist and entrepreneur + Åke Öberg, biomedical scientist + Leif Östling, CEO Scania AB + PewDiePie (Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg), YouTuber (no degree) + Carl Abraham Pihl, engineer and director of first Norwegian railroad (Hovedbanen) + Richard Soderberg, businessman, inventor and professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology + Hans Stråberg, former President and CEO of Electrolux + Ludvig Strigeus, computer scientist and entrepreneur + Per Håkan Sundell, computer scientist and entrepreneur + Jan Wäreby, businessman + Gert Wingårdh, architect + Vera Sandberg, engineer + Anna von Hausswolff, musician + Anita Schjøll Brede, entrepreneur + +Presidents +Although the official Swedish title for the head is "rektor", the university now uses "President" as the English translation. + +See also + Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship + IT University of Göteborg + List of universities in Sweden + Marie Rådbo, astronomer + The International Science Festival in Gothenburg + University of Gothenburg (Göteborg University) + +References + +External links + Chalmers University of Technology – official site + Chalmers Student Union + Chalmers Alumni Association + + +Educational institutions established in 1829 +Technical universities and colleges in Sweden +Higher education in Gothenburg +Engineering universities and colleges in Sweden +1829 establishments in Sweden +The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term codex is often used for ancient manuscript books, with handwritten contents. A codex, much like the modern book, is bound by stacking the pages and securing one set of edges by a variety of methods over the centuries, yet in a form analogous to modern bookbinding. Modern books are divided into paperback (or softback) and those bound with stiff boards, called hardbacks. Elaborate historical bindings are called treasure bindings. At least in the Western world, the main alternative to the paged codex format for a long document was the continuous scroll, which was the dominant form of document in the ancient world. Some codices are continuously folded like a concertina, in particular the Maya codices and Aztec codices, which are actually long sheets of paper or animal skin folded into pages. In Japan, concertina-style codices called orihon developed during the Heian period (794–1185) were made of paper. + +The Ancient Romans developed the form from wax tablets. The gradual replacement of the scroll by the codex has been called the most important advance in book making before the invention of the printing press. The codex transformed the shape of the book itself, and offered a form that has lasted ever since. The spread of the codex is often associated with the rise of Christianity, which early on adopted the format for the Bible. First described in the 1st century of the Common Era, when the Roman poet Martial praised its convenient use, the codex achieved numerical parity with the scroll around 300 CE, and had completely replaced it throughout what was by then a Christianized Greco-Roman world by the 6th century. + +Etymology and origins + +The word codex comes from the Latin word caudex, meaning "trunk of a tree", "block of wood" or "book". The codex began to replace the scroll almost as soon as it was invented, although new finds add three centuries to its history (see below). In Egypt, by the fifth century, the codex outnumbered the scroll by ten to one based on surviving examples. By the sixth century, the scroll had almost vanished as a medium for literature. The change from rolls to codices roughly coincides with the transition from papyrus to parchment as the preferred writing material, but the two developments are unconnected. In fact, any combination of codices and scrolls with papyrus and parchment is technically feasible and common in the historical record. + +Technically, even modern notebooks and paperbacks are codices, but publishers and scholars reserve the term for manuscript (hand-written) books produced from Late antiquity until the Middle Ages. The scholarly study of these manuscripts is sometimes called codicology. The study of ancient documents in general is called paleography. + +The codex provided considerable advantages over other book formats, primarily its compactness, sturdiness, economic use of materials by using both sides (recto and verso), and ease of reference (a codex accommodates random access, as opposed to a scroll, which uses sequential access). + +History + +The Romans used precursors made of reusable wax-covered tablets of wood for taking notes and other informal writings. Two ancient polyptychs, a pentaptych and octoptych excavated at Herculaneum, used a unique connecting system that presages later sewing on of thongs or cords. A first evidence of the use of papyrus in codex form comes from the Ptolemaic period in Egypt, as a find at the University of Graz shows. + +Julius Caesar may have been the first Roman to reduce scrolls to bound pages in the form of a note-book, possibly even as a papyrus codex. At the turn of the 1st century AD, a kind of folded parchment notebook called pugillares membranei in Latin became commonly used for writing in the Roman Empire. Theodore Cressy Skeat theorized that this form of notebook was invented in Rome and then spread rapidly to the Near East. + +Codices are described in certain works by the Classical Latin poet, Martial. He wrote a series of five couplets meant to accompany gifts of literature that Romans exchanged during the festival of Saturnalia. Three of these books are specifically described by Martial as being in the form of a codex; the poet praises the compendiousness of the form (as opposed to the scroll), as well as the convenience with which such a book can be read on a journey. In another poem by Martial, the poet advertises a new edition of his works, specifically noting that it is produced as a codex, taking less space than a scroll and being more comfortable to hold in one hand. According to Theodore Cressy Skeat, this might be the first recorded known case of an entire edition of a literary work (not just a single copy) being published in codex form, though it was likely an isolated case and was not a common practice until a much later time. + +In his discussion of one of the earliest parchment codices to survive from Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, Eric Turner seems to challenge Skeat's notion when stating, "its mere existence is evidence that this book form had a prehistory", and that "early experiments with this book form may well have taken place outside of Egypt." Early codices of parchment or papyrus appear to have been widely used as personal notebooks, for instance in recording copies of letters sent (Cicero Fam. 9.26.1). Early codices were not always cohesive. They often contained multiple languages, various topics and even multiple authors. "Such codices formed libraries in their own right." The parchment notebook pages were "more durable, and could withstand being folded and stitched to other sheets". Parchments whose writing was no longer needed were commonly washed or scraped for re-use, creating a palimpsest; the erased text, which can often be recovered, is older and usually more interesting than the newer text which replaced it. Consequently, writings in a codex were often considered informal and impermanent. Parchment (animal skin) was expensive, and therefore it was used primarily by the wealthy and powerful, who were also able to pay for textual design and color. "Official documents and deluxe manuscripts [in the late Middle Ages] were written in gold and silver ink on parchment...dyed or painted with costly purple pigments as an expression of imperial power and wealth." + +As early as the early 2nd century, there is evidence that a codex—usually of papyrus—was the preferred format among Christians. In the library of the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum (buried in AD 79), all the texts (of Greek literature) are scrolls (see Herculaneum papyri). However, in the Nag Hammadi library, hidden about AD 390, all texts (Gnostic) are codices. Despite this comparison, a fragment of a non-Christian parchment codex of Demosthenes' De Falsa Legatione from Oxyrhynchus in Egypt demonstrates that the surviving evidence is insufficient to conclude whether Christians played a major or central role in the development of early codices—or if they simply adopted the format to distinguish themselves from Jews. + +The earliest surviving fragments from codices come from Egypt, and are variously dated (always tentatively) towards the end of the 1st century or in the first half of the 2nd. This group includes the Rylands Library Papyrus P52, containing part of St John's Gospel, and perhaps dating from between 125 and 160. + +In Western culture, the codex gradually replaced the scroll. Between the 4th century, when the codex gained wide acceptance, and the Carolingian Renaissance in the 8th century, many works that were not converted from scroll to codex were lost. The codex improved on the scroll in several ways. It could be opened flat at any page for easier reading, pages could be written on both front and back (recto and verso), and the protection of durable covers made it more compact and easier to transport. + +The ancients stored codices with spines facing inward, and not always vertically. The spine could be used for the incipit, before the concept of a proper title developed in medieval times. Though most early codices were made of papyrus, papyrus was fragile and supplied from Egypt, the only place where papyrus grew. The more durable parchment and vellum gained favor, despite the cost. + +The codices of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America) had a similar appearance when closed to the European codex, but were instead made with long folded strips of either fig bark (amatl) or plant fibers, often with a layer of whitewash applied before writing. New World codices were written as late as the 16th century (see Maya codices and Aztec codices). Those written before the Spanish conquests seem all to have been single long sheets folded concertina-style, sometimes written on both sides of the amatl paper. There are significant codices produced in the colonial era, with pictorial and alphabetic texts in Spanish or an indigenous language such as Nahuatl. + +In East Asia, the scroll remained standard for far longer than in the Mediterranean world. There were intermediate stages, such as scrolls folded concertina-style and pasted together at the back and books that were printed only on one side of the paper. This replaced traditional Chinese writing mediums such as bamboo and wooden slips, as well as silk and paper scrolls. The evolution of the codex in China began with folded-leaf pamphlets in the 9th century, during the late Tang dynasty (618–907), improved by the 'butterfly' bindings of the Song dynasty (960–1279), the wrapped back binding of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), the stitched binding of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing dynasties (1644–1912), and finally the adoption of Western-style bookbinding in the 20th century. The initial phase of this evolution, the accordion-folded palm-leaf-style book, most likely came from India and was introduced to China via Buddhist missionaries and scriptures. + +Judaism still retains the Torah scroll, at least for ceremonial use. + +Preparation + +The first stage in creating a codex is to prepare the animal skin. The skin is washed with water and lime but not together. The skin is soaked in the lime for a couple of days. The hair is removed, and the skin is dried by attaching it to a frame, called a herse. The parchment maker attaches the skin at points around the circumference. The skin attaches to the herse by cords. To prevent it from being torn, the maker wraps the area of the skin attached to the cord around a pebble called a pippin. After completing that, the maker uses a crescent shaped knife called a lunarium or lunellum to remove any remaining hairs. Once the skin completely dries, the maker gives it a deep clean and processes it into sheets. The number of sheets from a piece of skin depends on the size of the skin and the final product dimensions. For example, the average calfskin can provide three-and-a-half medium sheets of writing material, which can be doubled when they are folded into two conjoint leaves, also known as a bifolium. Historians have found evidence of manuscripts in which the scribe wrote down the medieval instructions now followed by modern membrane makers. Defects can often be found in the membrane, whether they are from the original animal, human error during the preparation period, or from when the animal was killed. Defects can also appear during the writing process. Unless the manuscript is kept in perfect condition, defects can also appear later in its life. + +Preparation of pages for writing + +Firstly, the membrane must be prepared. The first step is to set up the quires. The quire is a group of several sheets put together. Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham point out, in "Introduction to Manuscript Studies", that "the quire was the scribe's basic writing unit throughout the Middle Ages": + +Pricking is the process of making holes in a sheet of parchment (or membrane) in preparation of it ruling. The lines were then made by ruling between the prick marks.... The process of entering ruled lines on the page to serve as a guide for entering text. Most manuscripts were ruled with horizontal lines that served as the baselines on which the text was entered and with vertical bounding lines that marked the boundaries of the columns. + +Forming quire +From the Carolingian period to the end of the Middle Ages, different styles of folding the quire came about. For example, in continental Europe throughout the Middle Ages, the quire was put into a system in which each side folded on to the same style. The hair side met the hair side and the flesh side to the flesh side. This was not the same style used in the British Isles, where the membrane was folded so that it turned out an eight-leaf quire, with single leaves in the third and sixth positions. The next stage was tacking the quire. Tacking is when the scribe would hold together the leaves in quire with thread. Once threaded together, the scribe would then sew a line of parchment up the "spine" of the manuscript to protect the tacking. + +Materials +The materials codices are made with are their support, and include papyrus, parchment (sometimes referred to as membrane or vellum), and paper. They are written and drawn on with metals, pigments and ink. The quality, size, and choice of support determine the status of a codex. Papyrus is found only in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Codices intended for display were bound with more durable materials than vellum. Parchment varied widely due to animal species and finish, and identification of animals used to make it has only begun to be studied in the 21st century. How manufacturing influenced the final products, technique, and style, is little understood. However, changes in style are underpinned more by variation in technique. Before the 14th and 15th century, paper was expensive, and its use may mark off the deluxe copy. + +Structure +The structure of a codex includes its size, format/ordinatio(its quires or gatherings), consisting of sheets folded a number of times, often twice- a bifolio), sewing, bookbinding and rebinding. A quire consisted of a number of folded sheets inserting into one another- at least three, but most commonly four bifolia, that is eight sheets and sixteen pages: Latin quaternio or Greek tetradion, which became a synonym for quires. Unless an exemplar (text to be copied) was copied exactly, format differed. In preparation for writing codices, ruling patterns were used that determined the layout of each page. Holes were prickled with a spiked lead wheel and a circle. Ruling was then applied separately on each page or once through the top folio. Ownership markings, decorations and illumination are also a part of it. They are specific to the scriptoria, or any production center, and libraries of codices. + +Pages +Watermarks may provide, although often approximate, dates for when the copying occurred. The layout– size of the margin and the number of lines– is determined. There may be textual articulations, running heads, openings, chapters and paragraphs. Space was reserved for illustrations and decorated guide letters. The apparatus of books for scholars became more elaborate during the 13th and 14th centuries when chapter, verse, page numbering, marginalia finding guides, indexes, glossaries and tables of contents were developed. + +The libraire +By a close examination of the physical attributes of a codex, it is sometimes possible to match up long-separated elements originally from the same book. In 13th-century book publishing, due to secularization, stationers or libraires emerged. They would receive commissions for texts, which they would contract out to scribes, illustrators, and binders, to whom they supplied materials. Due to the systematic format used for assembly by the libraire, the structure can be used to reconstruct the original order of a manuscript. However, complications can arise in the study of a codex. Manuscripts were frequently rebound, and this resulted in a particular codex incorporating works of different dates and origins, thus different internal structures. Additionally, a binder could alter or unify these structures to ensure a better fit for the new binding. Completed quires or books of quires might constitute independent book units- booklets, which could be returned to the stationer, or combined with other texts to make anthologies or miscellanies. Exemplars were sometimes divided into quires for simultaneous copying and loaned out to students for study. To facilitate this, catchwords were used- a word at the end of a page providing the next page's first word. + +See also + Grimoire + History of books + History of scrolls + List of codices + List of florilegia and botanical codices + List of New Testament papyri + List of New Testament uncials + Traditional Chinese bookbinding + Volume (bibliography) + Index (publishing) + +Citations + +General and cited references + +External links + + Centre for the History of the Book + The Codex and Canon Consciousness – Draft paper by Robert Kraft on the change from scroll to codex + The Construction of the Codex In Classic- and Postclassic-Period Maya Civilization Maya Codex and Paper Making + Encyclopaedia Romana: "Scroll and codex" + K. C. Hanson, Catalogue of New Testament Papyri & Codices 2nd—10th Centuries + Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, including Vulgates, Breviaries, Contracts, and Herbal Texts from 12 -17th century, Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Libraries + +1st-century introductions +Books by type +Codicology +Italian inventions +Manuscripts by type +A calf (: calves) is a young domestic cow or bull. Calves are reared to become adult cattle or are slaughtered for their meat, called veal, and their hide. + +The term calf is also used for some other species. See "Other animals" below. + +Terminology + +"Calf" is the term used from birth to weaning, when it becomes known as a weaner or weaner calf, though in some areas the term "calf" may be used until the animal is a yearling. The birth of a calf is known as calving. A calf that has lost its mother is an orphan calf, also known as a poddy or poddy-calf in British. Bobby calves are young calves which are to be slaughtered for human consumption. A vealer is a calf weighing less than about which is at about eight to nine months of age. A young female calf from birth until she has had a calf of her own is called a heifer +(). In the American Old West, a motherless or small, runty calf was sometimes referred to as a dodie. + +The term "calf" is also used for some other species. See "Other animals" below. + +Early development + +Calves may be produced by natural means, or by artificial breeding using artificial insemination or embryo transfer. + +Calves are born after nine months. They usually stand within a few minutes of calving, and suckle within an hour. However, for the first few days they are not easily able to keep up with the rest of the herd, so young calves are often left hidden by their mothers, who visit them several times a day to suckle them. By a week old the calf is able to follow the mother all the time. + +Some calves are ear tagged soon after birth, especially those that are stud cattle in order to correctly identify their dams (mothers), or in areas (such as the EU) where tagging is a legal requirement for cattle. Typically when the calves are about two months old they are branded, ear marked, castrated and vaccinated. + +Calf rearing systems + +The single suckler system of rearing calves is similar to that occurring naturally in wild cattle, where each calf is suckled by its own mother until it is weaned at about nine months old. This system is commonly used for rearing beef cattle throughout the world. + +Cows kept on poor forage (as is typical in subsistence farming) produce a limited amount of milk. A calf left with such a mother all the time can easily drink all the milk, leaving none for human consumption. For dairy production under such circumstances, the calf's access to the cow must be limited, for example by penning the calf and bringing the mother to it once a day after partly milking her. The small amount of milk available for the calf under such systems may mean that it takes a longer time to rear, and in subsistence farming it is therefore common for cows to calve only in alternate years. + +In more intensive dairy farming, cows can easily be bred and fed to produce far more milk than one calf can drink. In the multi-suckler system, several calves are fostered onto one cow in addition to her own, and these calves' mothers can then be used wholly for milk production. More commonly, calves of dairy cows are fed formula milk from soon after birth, usually from a bottle or bucket. + +Purebred female calves of dairy cows are reared as replacement dairy cows. Most purebred dairy calves are produced by artificial insemination (AI). By this method each bull can serve many cows, so only a very few of the purebred dairy male calves are needed to provide bulls for breeding. The remainder of the male calves may be reared for beef or veal; Only a proportion of purebred heifers are needed to provide replacement cows, so often some of the cows in dairy herds are put to a beef bull to produce crossbred calves suitable for rearing as beef. + +Veal calves may be reared entirely on milk formula and killed at about 18 or 20 weeks as "white" veal, or fed on grain and hay and killed at 22 to 35 weeks to produce red or pink veal. + +Growth + +A commercial steer or bull calf is expected to put on about per month. A nine-month-old steer or bull is therefore expected to weigh about . Heifers will weigh at least at eight months of age. + +Calves are usually weaned at about eight to nine months of age, but depending on the season and condition of the dam, they might be weaned earlier. They may be paddock weaned, often next to their mothers, or weaned in stockyards. The latter system is preferred by some as it accustoms the weaners to the presence of people and they are trained to take feed other than grass. Small numbers may also be weaned with their dams with the use of weaning nose rings or nosebands which results in the mothers rejecting the calves' attempts to suckle. Many calves are also weaned when they are taken to the large weaner auction sales that are conducted in the south eastern states of Australia. Victoria and New South Wales have (sale yard numbers) of up to 8,000 weaners (calves) for auction sale in one day. The best of these weaners may go to the butchers. Others will be purchased by re-stockers to grow out and fatten on grass or as potential breeders. In the United States these weaners may be known as feeders and would be placed directly into feedlots. + +At about 12 months old a beef heifer reaches puberty if she is well grown. + +Diseases +Calves suffer from few congenital abnormalities but the Akabane virus is widely distributed in temperate to tropical regions of the world. The virus is a teratogenic pathogen which causes abortions, stillbirths, premature births and congenital abnormalities, but occurs only during some years. + +Calves commonly face on-farm acquired diseases, often of infectious nature. Preweaned calves most commonly experience conditions such as diarrhea, omphalitis, lameness and respiratory diseases. Diarrhea, Omphalitis and Lameness are most common in calves aged up to two weeks, while the frequency of respiratory diseases tends to increase with age. These conditions also display seasonal patterns, with omphalitis being more common in the summer months, and respiratory diseases and diarrhea occurring more frequently in the fall. + +Uses +Calf meat for human consumption is called veal, and is usually produced from the male calves of Dairy cattle. Also eaten are calf's brains and calf liver. The hide is used to make calfskin, or tanned into leather and called calf leather, or sometimes in the US "novillo", the Spanish term. The fourth compartment of the stomach of slaughtered milk-fed calves is the source of rennet. The intestine is used to make Goldbeater's skin, and is the source of Calf Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase (CIP). + +Dairy cows can only produce milk after having calved, and dairy cows need to produce one calf each year in order to remain in production. Female calves will become a replacement dairy cow. Male dairy calves are generally reared for beef or veal; relatively few are kept for breeding purposes. + +Other animals + +In English the term "calf" is used by extension for the young of various other large species of mammal. In addition to other bovid species (such as bison, yak and water buffalo), these include the young of camels, dolphins, elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses, deer (such as moose, elk (wapiti) and red deer), rhinoceroses, porpoises, whales, walruses and larger seals. (Generally, the adult males of these same species are called "bulls" and the adult females "cows".) However, common domestic species tend to have their own specific names, such as lamb, foal used for all Equidae, or piglet used for all suidae. + +References + +External links + +Weaning-beef-calves +Calving on Ropin' the Web, Agriculture and Food, Government of Alberta, Canada +Winter Feeding Sites and Calf Scours, Kansas State University + +Cattle +Vertebrate developmental biology +Articles containing video clips +Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001) was an American mathematician, electrical engineer, computer scientist and cryptographer known as the "father of information theory". He is credited alongside George Boole for laying the foundations of the Information Age. + +As a 21-year-old master's degree student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he wrote his thesis demonstrating that electrical applications of Boolean algebra could construct any logical numerical relationship. Shannon contributed to the field of cryptanalysis for national defense of the United States during World War II, including his fundamental work on codebreaking and secure telecommunications, writing a paper which would be considered one of the foundational pieces of modern cryptography. + +His mathematical theory of information laid the foundations for the field of information theory, with his famous paper being called the "Magna Carta of the Information Age" by Scientific American. He also made contributions to artificial intelligence. His achievements are said to be on par with those of Albert Einstein and Alan Turing in their fields. + +Biography + +Childhood +The Shannon family lived in Gaylord, Michigan, and Claude was born in a hospital in nearby Petoskey. His father, Claude Sr. (1862–1934), was a businessman and, for a while, a judge of probate in Gaylord. His mother, Mabel Wolf Shannon (1890–1945), was a language teacher, who also served as the principal of Gaylord High School. Claude Sr. was a descendant of New Jersey settlers, while Mabel was a child of German immigrants. Shannon's family was active in their Methodist Church during his youth. + +Most of the first 16 years of Shannon's life were spent in Gaylord, where he attended public school, graduating from Gaylord High School in 1932. Shannon showed an inclination towards mechanical and electrical things. His best subjects were science and mathematics. At home, he constructed such devices as models of planes, a radio-controlled model boat and a barbed-wire telegraph system to a friend's house a half-mile away. While growing up, he also worked as a messenger for the Western Union company. + +Shannon's childhood hero was Thomas Edison, whom he later learned was a distant cousin. Both Shannon and Edison were descendants of John Ogden (1609–1682), a colonial leader and an ancestor of many distinguished people. + +Logic circuits +In 1932, Shannon entered the University of Michigan, where he was introduced to the work of George Boole. He graduated in 1936 with two bachelor's degrees: one in electrical engineering and the other in mathematics. + +In 1936, Shannon began his graduate studies in electrical engineering at MIT, where he worked on Vannevar Bush's differential analyzer, an early analog computer. While studying the complicated ad hoc circuits of this analyzer, Shannon designed switching circuits based on Boole's concepts. In 1937, he wrote his master's degree thesis, A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits. A paper from this thesis was published in 1938. In this work, Shannon proved that his switching circuits could be used to simplify the arrangement of the electromechanical relays that were used during that time in telephone call routing switches. Next, he expanded this concept, proving that these circuits could solve all problems that Boolean algebra could solve. In the last chapter, he presented diagrams of several circuits, including a 4-bit full adder. + +Using this property of electrical switches to implement logic is the fundamental concept that underlies all electronic digital computers. Shannon's work became the foundation of digital circuit design, as it became widely known in the electrical engineering community during and after World War II. The theoretical rigor of Shannon's work superseded the ad hoc methods that had prevailed previously. Howard Gardner called Shannon's thesis "possibly the most important, and also the most noted, master's thesis of the century." + +Shannon received his PhD in mathematics from MIT in 1940. Vannevar Bush had suggested that Shannon should work on his dissertation at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, in order to develop a mathematical formulation for Mendelian genetics. This research resulted in Shannon's PhD thesis, called An Algebra for Theoretical Genetics. + +In 1940, Shannon became a National Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. In Princeton, Shannon had the opportunity to discuss his ideas with influential scientists and mathematicians such as Hermann Weyl and John von Neumann, and he also had occasional encounters with Albert Einstein and Kurt Gödel. Shannon worked freely across disciplines, and this ability may have contributed to his later development of mathematical information theory. + +Wartime research +Shannon then joined Bell Labs to work on fire-control systems and cryptography during World War II, under a contract with section D-2 (Control Systems section) of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC). + +Shannon is credited with the invention of signal-flow graphs, in 1942. He discovered the topological gain formula while investigating the functional operation of an analog computer. + +For two months early in 1943, Shannon came into contact with the leading British mathematician Alan Turing. Turing had been posted to Washington to share with the U.S. Navy's cryptanalytic service the methods used by the British Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park to break the cyphers used by the Kriegsmarine U-boats in the north Atlantic Ocean. He was also interested in the encipherment of speech and to this end spent time at Bell Labs. Shannon and Turing met at teatime in the cafeteria. Turing showed Shannon his 1936 paper that defined what is now known as the "universal Turing machine". This impressed Shannon, as many of its ideas complemented his own. + +In 1945, as the war was coming to an end, the NDRC was issuing a summary of technical reports as a last step prior to its eventual closing down. Inside the volume on fire control, a special essay titled Data Smoothing and Prediction in Fire-Control Systems, coauthored by Shannon, Ralph Beebe Blackman, and Hendrik Wade Bode, formally treated the problem of smoothing the data in fire-control by analogy with "the problem of separating a signal from interfering noise in communications systems." In other words, it modeled the problem in terms of data and signal processing and thus heralded the coming of the Information Age. + +Shannon's work on cryptography was even more closely related to his later publications on communication theory. At the close of the war, he prepared a classified memorandum for Bell Telephone Labs entitled "A Mathematical Theory of Cryptography", dated September 1945. A declassified version of this paper was published in 1949 as "Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems" in the Bell System Technical Journal. This paper incorporated many of the concepts and mathematical formulations that also appeared in his A Mathematical Theory of Communication. Shannon said that his wartime insights into communication theory and cryptography developed simultaneously, and that "they were so close together you couldn't separate them". In a footnote near the beginning of the classified report, Shannon announced his intention to "develop these results … in a forthcoming memorandum on the transmission of information." + +While he was at Bell Labs, Shannon proved that the cryptographic one-time pad is unbreakable in his classified research that was later published in 1949. The same article also proved that any unbreakable system must have essentially the same characteristics as the one-time pad: the key must be truly random, as large as the plaintext, never reused in whole or part, and kept secret. + +Information theory + +In 1948, the promised memorandum appeared as "A Mathematical Theory of Communication", an article in two parts in the July and October issues of the Bell System Technical Journal. This work focuses on the problem of how best to encode the message a sender wants to transmit. Shannon developed information entropy as a measure of the information content in a message, which is a measure of uncertainty reduced by the message. In so doing, he essentially invented the field of information theory. + +The book The Mathematical Theory of Communication reprints Shannon's 1948 article and Warren Weaver's popularization of it, which is accessible to the non-specialist. Weaver pointed out that the word "information" in communication theory is not related to what you do say, but to what you could say. That is, information is a measure of one's freedom of choice when one selects a message. Shannon's concepts were also popularized, subject to his own proofreading, in John Robinson Pierce's Symbols, Signals, and Noise. + +Information theory's fundamental contribution to natural language processing and computational linguistics was further established in 1951, in his article "Prediction and Entropy of Printed English", showing upper and lower bounds of entropy on the statistics of English – giving a statistical foundation to language analysis. In addition, he proved that treating space as the 27th letter of the alphabet actually lowers uncertainty in written language, providing a clear quantifiable link between cultural practice and probabilistic cognition. + +Another notable paper published in 1949 is "Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems", a declassified version of his wartime work on the mathematical theory of cryptography, in which he proved that all theoretically unbreakable cyphers must have the same requirements as the one-time pad. He is also credited with the introduction of sampling theory, which is concerned with representing a continuous-time signal from a (uniform) discrete set of samples. This theory was essential in enabling telecommunications to move from analog to digital transmissions systems in the 1960s and later. + +He returned to MIT to hold an endowed chair in 1956. + +Teaching at MIT +In 1956 Shannon joined the MIT faculty to work in the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE). He continued to serve on the MIT faculty until 1978. + +Later life +Shannon developed Alzheimer's disease and spent the last few years of his life in a nursing home; he died in 2001, survived by his wife, a son and daughter, and two granddaughters. + +Hobbies and inventions + +Outside of Shannon's academic pursuits, he was interested in juggling, unicycling, and chess. He also invented many devices, including a Roman numeral computer called THROBAC, and juggling machines. He built a device that could solve the Rubik's Cube puzzle. + +Shannon designed the Minivac 601, a digital computer trainer to teach business people about how computers functioned. It was sold by the Scientific Development Corp starting in 1961. + +He is also considered the co-inventor of the first wearable computer along with Edward O. Thorp. The device was used to improve the odds when playing roulette. + +Personal life + +Shannon married Norma Levor, a wealthy, Jewish, left-wing intellectual in January 1940. The marriage ended in divorce after about a year. Levor later married Ben Barzman. + +Shannon met his second wife, Betty Shannon (née Mary Elizabeth Moore), when she was a numerical analyst at Bell Labs. They were married in 1949. Betty assisted Claude in building some of his most famous inventions. They had three children. + +Shannon presented himself as apolitical and an atheist. + +Tributes +There are six statues of Shannon sculpted by Eugene Daub: one at the University of Michigan; one at MIT in the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems; one in Gaylord, Michigan; one at the University of California, San Diego; one at Bell Labs; and another at AT&T Shannon Labs. The statue in Gaylord is located in the Claude Shannon Memorial Park. After the breakup of the Bell System, the part of Bell Labs that remained with AT&T Corporation was named Shannon Labs in his honor. + +According to Neil Sloane, an AT&T Fellow who co-edited Shannon's large collection of papers in 1993, the perspective introduced by Shannon's communication theory (now called information theory) is the foundation of the digital revolution, and every device containing a microprocessor or microcontroller is a conceptual descendant of Shannon's publication in 1948: "He's one of the great men of the century. Without him, none of the things we know today would exist. The whole digital revolution started with him." The cryptocurrency unit shannon (a synonym for gwei) is named after him. + +A Mind at Play, a biography of Shannon written by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman, was published in 2017. They described Shannon as "the most important genius you’ve never heard of, a man whose intellect was on par with Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton". + +On April 30, 2016, Shannon was honored with a Google Doodle to celebrate his life on what would have been his 100th birthday. + +The Bit Player, a feature film about Shannon directed by Mark Levinson premiered at the World Science Festival in 2019. Drawn from interviews conducted with Shannon in his house in the 1980s, the film was released on Amazon Prime in August 2020. + +The Mathematical Theory of Communication + +Weaver's Contribution +Shannon's The Mathematical Theory of Communication, begins with an interpretation of his own work by Warren Weaver. Although Shannon's entire work is about communication itself, Warren Weaver communicated his ideas in such a way that those not acclimated to complex theory and mathematics could comprehend the fundamental laws he put forth. The coupling of their unique communicational abilities and ideas generated the Shannon-Weaver model, although the mathematical and theoretical underpinnings emanate entirely from Shannon's work after Weaver's introduction. For the layman, Weaver's introduction better communicates The Mathematical Theory of Communication, but Shannon's subsequent logic, mathematics, and expressive precision was responsible for defining the problem itself. + +Other work + +Shannon's mouse +"Theseus", created in 1950, was a mechanical mouse controlled by an electromechanical relay circuit that enabled it to move around a labyrinth of 25 squares. The maze configuration was flexible and it could be modified arbitrarily by rearranging movable partitions. The mouse was designed to search through the corridors until it found the target. Having travelled through the maze, the mouse could then be placed anywhere it had been before, and because of its prior experience it could go directly to the target. If placed in unfamiliar territory, it was programmed to search until it reached a known location and then it would proceed to the target, adding the new knowledge to its memory and learning new behavior. Shannon's mouse appears to have been the first artificial learning device of its kind. + +Shannon's estimate for the complexity of chess + +In 1949 Shannon completed a paper (published in March 1950) which estimates the game-tree complexity of chess, which is approximately 10120. This number is now often referred to as the "Shannon number", and is still regarded today as an accurate estimate of the game's complexity. The number is often cited as one of the barriers to solving the game of chess using an exhaustive analysis (i.e. brute force analysis). + +Shannon's computer chess program +On March 9, 1949, Shannon presented a paper called "Programming a Computer for playing Chess". The paper was presented at the National Institute for Radio Engineers Convention in New York. He described how to program a computer to play chess based on position scoring and move selection. He proposed basic strategies for restricting the number of possibilities to be considered in a game of chess. In March 1950 it was published in Philosophical Magazine, and is considered one of the first articles published on the topic of programming a computer for playing chess, and using a computer to solve the game. + +His process for having the computer decide on which move to make was a minimax procedure, based on an evaluation function of a given chess position. Shannon gave a rough example of an evaluation function in which the value of the black position was subtracted from that of the white position. Material was counted according to the usual chess piece relative value (1 point for a pawn, 3 points for a knight or bishop, 5 points for a rook, and 9 points for a queen). He considered some positional factors, subtracting ½ point for each doubled pawn, backward pawn, and isolated pawn; mobility was incorporated by adding 0.1 point for each legal move available. + +Shannon's maxim +Shannon formulated a version of Kerckhoffs' principle as "The enemy knows the system". In this form it is known as "Shannon's maxim". + +Commemorations + +Shannon centenary + +The Shannon centenary, 2016, marked the life and influence of Claude Elwood Shannon on the hundredth anniversary of his birth on April 30, 1916. It was inspired in part by the Alan Turing Year. An ad hoc committee of the IEEE Information Theory Society including Christina Fragouli, Rüdiger Urbanke, Michelle Effros, Lav Varshney and Sergio Verdú, coordinated worldwide events. The initiative was announced in the History Panel at the 2015 IEEE Information Theory Workshop Jerusalem and the IEEE Information Theory Society newsletter. + +A detailed listing of confirmed events was available on the website of the IEEE Information Theory Society. + +Some of the planned activities included: + Bell Labs hosted the First Shannon Conference on the Future of the Information Age on April 28–29, 2016, in Murray Hill, New Jersey, to celebrate Claude Shannon and the continued impact of his legacy on society. The event includes keynote speeches by global luminaries and visionaries of the information age who will explore the impact of information theory on society and our digital future, informal recollections, and leading technical presentations on subsequent related work in other areas such as bioinformatics, economic systems, and social networks. There is also a student competition + Bell Labs launched a Web exhibit on April 30, 2016, chronicling Shannon's hiring at Bell Labs (under an NDRC contract with US Government), his subsequent work there from 1942 through 1957, and details of Mathematics Department. The exhibit also displayed bios of colleagues and managers during his tenure, as well as original versions of some of the technical memoranda which subsequently became well known in published form. + The Republic of Macedonia is planning a commemorative stamp. A USPS commemorative stamp is being proposed, with an active petition. + A documentary on Claude Shannon and on the impact of information theory, The Bit Player, is being produced by Sergio Verdú and Mark Levinson. + A trans-Atlantic celebration of both George Boole's bicentenary and Claude Shannon's centenary that is being led by University College Cork and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A first event was a workshop in Cork, When Boole Meets Shannon, and will continue with exhibits at the Boston Museum of Science and at the MIT Museum. + Many organizations around the world are holding observance events, including the Boston Museum of Science, the Heinz-Nixdorf Museum, the Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität Berlin, University of South Australia (UniSA), Unicamp (Universidade Estadual de Campinas), University of Toronto, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Cairo University, Telecom ParisTech, National Technical University of Athens, Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, University of Maryland, University of Illinois at Chicago, École Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), University of California Los Angeles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. + A logo that appears on this page was crowdsourced on Crowdspring. + The Math Encounters presentation of May 4, 2016, at the National Museum of Mathematics in New York, titled Saving Face: Information Tricks for Love and Life, focused on Shannon's work in information theory. A video recording and other material are available. + +Awards and honors list +The Claude E. Shannon Award was established in his honor; he was also its first recipient, in 1972. + + Stuart Ballantine Medal of the Franklin Institute, 1955 + Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1957 + Harvey Prize, the Technion of Haifa, Israel, 1972 +Alfred Noble Prize, 1939 (award of civil engineering societies in the US) + National Medal of Science, 1966, presented by President Lyndon B. Johnson + Kyoto Prize, 1985 +Morris Liebmann Memorial Prize of the Institute of Radio Engineers, 1949 + United States National Academy of Sciences, 1956 + Medal of Honor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1966 + Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, 1967 + Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), foreign member, 1975 + Member of the American Philosophical Society, 1983 + Basic Research Award, Eduard Rhein Foundation, Germany, 1991 + Marconi Society Lifetime Achievement Award, 2000 + Donnor Professor of Science, MIT, 1958–1979 + +Selected works + Claude E. Shannon: A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits, master's thesis, MIT, 1937. + Claude E. Shannon: "A Mathematical Theory of Communication", Bell System Technical Journal, Vol. 27, pp. 379–423, 623–656, 1948 (abstract). + Claude E. Shannon and Warren Weaver: The Mathematical Theory of Communication. The University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois, 1949. + +See also + +Entropy power inequality +Error-correcting codes with feedback +List of pioneers in computer science +Models of communication +n-gram +Noisy channel coding theorem +Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem +One-time pad +Product cipher +Pulse-code modulation +Rate distortion theory +Sampling +Shannon capacity +Shannon entropy +Shannon index +Shannon multigraph +Shannon security +Shannon switching game +Shannon–Fano coding +Shannon–Hartley law +Shannon–Hartley theorem +Shannon's expansion +Shannon's source coding theorem +Shannon-Weaver model of communication +Whittaker–Shannon interpolation formula + +References + +Further reading + Rethnakaran Pulikkoonattu — Eric W. Weisstein: Mathworld biography of Shannon, Claude Elwood (1916–2001) Shannon, Claude Elwood (1916–2001) – from Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography + Claude E. Shannon: Programming a Computer for Playing Chess, Philosophical Magazine, Ser.7, Vol. 41, No. 314, March 1950. (Available online under External links below) + David Levy: Computer Gamesmanship: Elements of Intelligent Game Design, Simon & Schuster, 1983. + Mindell, David A., "Automation's Finest Hour: Bell Labs and Automatic Control in World War II", IEEE Control Systems, December 1995, pp. 72–80. + Poundstone, William, Fortune's Formula, Hill & Wang, 2005, + Gleick, James, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood, Pantheon, 2011, + Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, Simon and Schuster, 2017, + Nahin, Paul J., The Logician and the Engineer: How George Boole and Claude Shannon Create the Information Age, Princeton University Press, 2013, + Everett M. Rogers, Claude Shannon's Cryptography Research During World War II and the Mathematical Theory of Communication, 1994 Proceedings of IEEE International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology, pp. 1–5, 1994. Claude Shannon's cryptography research during World War II and the mathematical theory of communication + +External links + + Guide to the Claude Elwood Shannon papers at the Library of Congress + + Claude Elwood Shannon (1916–2001) at the Notices of the American Mathematical Society + + +1916 births +2001 deaths +20th-century American engineers +20th-century American essayists +20th-century American male writers +20th-century American mathematicians +20th-century American non-fiction writers +20th-century atheists +21st-century atheists +American atheists +American electronics engineers +American geneticists +American information theorists +American male essayists +American male non-fiction writers +American people of World War II +Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery +Combinatorial game theorists +Communication theorists +Computer chess people +Control theorists +Deaths from Alzheimer's disease +Foreign Members of the Royal Society +Harvey Prize winners +IEEE Medal of Honor recipients +Information theory +Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars +Internet pioneers +Jugglers +Kyoto laureates in Basic Sciences +Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni +Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences +Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences +MIT School of Engineering faculty +Modern cryptographers +National Medal of Science laureates +Neurological disease deaths in Massachusetts +People from Petoskey, Michigan +People of the Cold War +Pre-computer cryptographers +Probability theorists +Scientists at Bell Labs +Unicyclists +University of Michigan alumni +Members of the American Philosophical Society +Scientists from Michigan +Mathematicians from Michigan +Cracking may refer to: + + Cracking, the formation of a fracture or partial fracture in a solid material studied as fracture mechanics + Performing a sternotomy + Fluid catalytic cracking, a catalytic process widely used in oil refineries for cracking large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller molecules + Cracking (chemistry), the decomposition of complex organic molecules into smaller ones + Cracking joints, the practice of manipulating one's bone joints to make a sharp sound + Cracking codes, see cryptanalysis + Whip cracking + Safe cracking + Crackin, band featuring Lester Abrams + Packing and cracking, a method of creating voting districts to give a political party an advantage + +In computing': + Another name for security hacking; the practice of defeating computer security. + Password cracking, the process of discovering the plaintext of an encrypted computer password. + Software cracking, the defeating of software copy protection. + +See also +Crack (disambiguation) +Cracker (disambiguation) +Cracklings (solid material remaining after rendering fat) +Cracker (pejorative) +A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with a shared socially significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, town, or neighbourhood) or in virtual space through communication platforms. Durable good relations that extend beyond immediate genealogical ties also define a sense of community, important to their identity, practice, and roles in social institutions such as family, home, work, government, TV network, society, or humanity at large. Although communities are usually small relative to personal social ties, "community" may also refer to large group affiliations such as national communities, international communities, and virtual communities. + +The English-language word "community" derives from the Old French (Modern French: ), which comes from the Latin communitas "community", "public spirit" (from Latin communis, "common"). + +Human communities may have intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, and risks in common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness. + +Perspectives of various disciplines + +Archaeology +Archaeological studies of social communities use the term "community" in two ways, paralleling usage in other areas. The first is an informal definition of community as a place where people used to live. In this sense it is synonymous with the concept of an ancient settlement—whether a hamlet, village, town, or city. The second meaning resembles the usage of the term in other social sciences: a community is a group of people living near one another who interact socially. Social interaction on a small scale can be difficult to identify with archaeological data. Most reconstructions of social communities by archaeologists rely on the principle that social interaction in the past was conditioned by physical distance. Therefore, a small village settlement likely constituted a social community and spatial subdivisions of cities and other large settlements may have formed communities. Archaeologists typically use similarities in material culture—from house types to styles of pottery—to reconstruct communities in the past. This classification method relies on the assumption that people or households will share more similarities in the types and styles of their material goods with other members of a social community than they will with outsiders. + +Sociology + +Ecology + +In ecology, a community is an assemblage of populations—potentially of different species—interacting with one another. Community ecology is the branch of ecology that studies interactions between and among species. It considers how such interactions, along with interactions between species and the abiotic environment, affect social structure and species richness, diversity and patterns of abundance. Species interact in three ways: competition, predation and mutualism: + Competition typically results in a double negative—that is both species lose in the interaction. + Predation involves a win/lose situation, with one species winning. + Mutualism sees both species co-operating in some way, with both winning. + +The two main types of ecological communities are major communities, which are self-sustaining and self-regulating (such as a forest or a lake), and minor communities, which rely on other communities (like fungi decomposing a log) and are the building blocks of major communities. Moreover, we can establish other non-taxonomic subdivisions of biocenosis, such as guilds. + +Semantics +The concept of "community" often has a positive semantic connotation, exploited rhetorically by populist politicians and by advertisers +to promote feelings and associations of mutual well-being, happiness and togetherness—veering towards an almost-achievable utopian community. + +In contrast, the epidemiological term "community transmission" can have negative implications, and instead of a "criminal community" one often speaks of a "criminal underworld" or of the "criminal fraternity". + +Key concepts + +Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft + +In (1887), German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies described two types of human association: (usually translated as "community") and ("society" or "association"). Tönnies proposed the – dichotomy as a way to think about social ties. No group is exclusively one or the other. stress personal social interactions, and the roles, values, and beliefs based on such interactions. stress indirect interactions, impersonal roles, formal values, and beliefs based on such interactions. + +Sense of community + +In a seminal 1986 study, McMillan and Chavis identify four elements of "sense of community": + + membership: feeling of belonging or of sharing a sense of personal relatedness, + influence: mattering, making a difference to a group and of the group mattering to its members + reinforcement: integration and fulfillment of needs, + shared emotional connection. + +A "sense of community index" (SCI) was developed by Chavis and colleagues, and revised and adapted by others. Although originally designed to assess sense of community in neighborhoods, the index has been adapted for use in schools, the workplace, and a variety of types of communities. + +Studies conducted by the APPA indicate that young adults who feel a sense of belonging in a community, particularly small communities, develop fewer psychiatric and depressive disorders than those who do not have the feeling of love and belonging. + +Socialization + +The process of learning to adopt the behavior patterns of the community is called socialization. The most fertile time of socialization is usually the early stages of life, during which individuals develop the skills and knowledge and learn the roles necessary to function within their culture and social environment. For some psychologists, especially those in the psychodynamic tradition, the most important period of socialization is between the ages of one and ten. But socialization also includes adults moving into a significantly different environment where they must learn a new set of behaviors. + +Socialization is influenced primarily by the family, through which children first learn community norms. Other important influences include schools, peer groups, people, mass media, the workplace, and government. The degree to which the norms of a particular society or community are adopted determines one's willingness to engage with others. The norms of tolerance, reciprocity, and trust are important "habits of the heart", as de Tocqueville put it, in an individual's involvement in community. + +Community development + +Community development is often linked with community work or community planning, and may involve stakeholders, foundations, governments, or contracted entities including non-government organisations (NGOs), universities or government agencies to progress the social well-being of local, regional and, sometimes, national communities. More grassroots efforts, called community building or community organizing, seek to empower individuals and groups of people by providing them with the skills they need to effect change in their own communities. These skills often assist in building political power through the formation of large social groups working for a common agenda. Community development practitioners must understand both how to work with individuals and how to affect communities' positions within the context of larger social institutions. Public administrators, in contrast, need to understand community development in the context of rural and urban development, housing and economic development, and community, organizational and business development. + +Formal accredited programs conducted by universities, as part of degree granting institutions, are often used to build a knowledge base to drive curricula in public administration, sociology and community studies. The General Social Survey from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and the Saguaro Seminar at the Harvard Kennedy School are examples of national community development in the United States. The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York State offers core courses in community and economic development, and in areas ranging from non-profit development to US budgeting (federal to local, community funds). In the United Kingdom, the University of Oxford has led in providing extensive research in the field through its Community Development Journal, used worldwide by sociologists and community development practitioners. + +At the intersection between community development and community building are a number of programs and organizations with community development tools. One example of this is the program of the Asset Based Community Development Institute of Northwestern University. The institute makes available downloadable tools to assess community assets and make connections between non-profit groups and other organizations that can help in community building. The Institute focuses on helping communities develop by "mobilizing neighborhood assets" – building from the inside out rather than the outside in. In the disability field, community building was prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s with roots in John McKnight's approaches. + +Community building and organizing + +In The Different Drum: Community-Making and Peace (1987) Scott Peck argues that the almost accidental sense of community that exists at times of crisis can be consciously built. Peck believes that conscious community building is a process of deliberate design based on the knowledge and application of certain rules. He states that this process goes through four stages: + + Pseudocommunity: When people first come together, they try to be "nice" and present what they feel are their most personable and friendly characteristics. + Chaos: People move beyond the inauthenticity of pseudo-community and feel safe enough to present their "shadow" selves. + Emptiness: Moves beyond the attempts to fix, heal and convert of the chaos stage, when all people become capable of acknowledging their own woundedness and brokenness, common to human beings. + True community: Deep respect and true listening for the needs of the other people in this community. + +In 1991, Peck remarked that building a sense of community is easy but maintaining this sense of community is difficult in the modern world. An interview with M. Scott Peck by Alan Atkisson. In Context #29, p. 26. +The three basic types of community organizing are grassroots organizing, coalition building, and "institution-based community organizing", (also called "broad-based community organizing", an example of which is faith-based community organizing, or Congregation-based Community Organizing). + +Community building can use a wide variety of practices, ranging from simple events (e.g., potlucks, small book clubs) to larger-scale efforts (e.g., mass festivals, construction projects that involve local participants rather than outside contractors). + +Community building that is geared toward citizen action is usually termed "community organizing". In these cases, organized community groups seek accountability from elected officials and increased direct representation within decision-making bodies. Where good-faith negotiations fail, these constituency-led organizations seek to pressure the decision-makers through a variety of means, including picketing, boycotting, sit-ins, petitioning, and electoral politics. + +Community organizing can focus on more than just resolving specific issues. Organizing often means building a widely accessible power structure, often with the end goal of distributing power equally throughout the community. Community organizers generally seek to build groups that are open and democratic in governance. Such groups facilitate and encourage consensus decision-making with a focus on the general health of the community rather than a specific interest group. + +If communities are developed based on something they share in common, whether location or values, then one challenge for developing communities is how to incorporate individuality and differences. Rebekah Nathan suggests in her book, My Freshman Year, we are drawn to developing communities totally based on sameness, despite stated commitments to diversity, such as those found on university websites. + +Types of community + +A number of ways to categorize types of community have been proposed. One such breakdown is as follows: + + Location-based Communities: range from the local neighbourhood, suburb, village, town or city, region, nation or even the planet as a whole. These are also called communities of place. + Identity-based Communities: range from the local clique, sub-culture, ethnic group, religious, multicultural or pluralistic civilisation, or the global community cultures of today. They may be included as communities of need or identity, such as disabled persons, or frail aged people. + Organizationally-based Communities: range from communities organized informally around family or network-based guilds and associations to more formal incorporated associations, political decision-making structures, economic enterprises, or professional associations at a small, national or international scale. + Intentional Communities: a mix of all three previous types, these are highly cohesive residential communities with a common social or spiritual purpose, ranging from monasteries and ashrams to modern ecovillages and housing cooperatives. + +The usual categorizations of community relations have a number of problems: (1) they tend to give the impression that a particular community can be defined as just this kind or another; (2) they tend to conflate modern and customary community relations; (3) they tend to take sociological categories such as ethnicity or race as given, forgetting that different ethnically defined persons live in different kinds of communities—grounded, interest-based, diasporic, etc. + +In response to these problems, Paul James and his colleagues have developed a taxonomy that maps community relations, and recognizes that actual communities can be characterized by different kinds of relations at the same time: + + Grounded community relations. This involves enduring attachment to particular places and particular people. It is the dominant form taken by customary and tribal communities. In these kinds of communities, the land is fundamental to identity. + Life-style community relations. This involves giving primacy to communities coming together around particular chosen ways of life, such as morally charged or interest-based relations or just living or working in the same location. Hence the following sub-forms: + community-life as morally bounded, a form taken by many traditional faith-based communities. + community-life as interest-based, including sporting, leisure-based and business communities which come together for regular moments of engagement. + community-life as proximately-related, where neighbourhood or commonality of association forms a community of convenience, or a community of place (see below). + Projected community relations. This is where a community is self-consciously treated as an entity to be projected and re-created. It can be projected as through thin advertising slogan, for example gated community, or can take the form of ongoing associations of people who seek political integration, communities of practice based on professional projects, associative communities which seek to enhance and support individual creativity, autonomy and mutuality. A nation is one of the largest forms of projected or imagined community. + +In these terms, communities can be nested and/or intersecting; one community can contain another—for example a location-based community may contain a number of ethnic communities. Both lists above can used in a cross-cutting matrix in relation to each other. + +Internet communities + +In general, virtual communities value knowledge and information as currency or social resource. What differentiates virtual communities from their physical counterparts is the extent and impact of "weak ties", which are the relationships acquaintances or strangers form to acquire information through online networks. Relationships among members in a virtual community tend to focus on information exchange about specific topics. A survey conducted by Pew Internet and The American Life Project in 2001 found those involved in entertainment, professional, and sports virtual-groups focused their activities on obtaining information. + +An epidemic of bullying and harassment has arisen from the exchange of information between strangers, especially among teenagers, in virtual communities. Despite attempts to implement anti-bullying policies, Sheri Bauman, professor of counselling at the University of Arizona, claims the "most effective strategies to prevent bullying" may cost companies revenue. + +Virtual Internet-mediated communities can interact with offline real-life activity, potentially forming strong and tight-knit groups such as QAnon. + +See also + Circles of Sustainability + Communitarianism + Community theatre + Engaged theory + Outline of community + Wikipedia community + +Notes + +References + + Barzilai, Gad. 2003. Communities and Law: Politics and Cultures of Legal Identities. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. + Beck, U. 1992. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage: 2000. What is globalization? Cambridge: Polity Press. + Chavis, D.M., Hogge, J.H., McMillan, D.W., & Wandersman, A. 1986. "Sense of community through Brunswick's lens: A first look." Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 24–40. + Chipuer, H.M., & Pretty, G.M.H. (1999). A review of the Sense of Community Index: Current uses, factor structure, reliability, and further development. Journal of Community Psychology, 27(6), 643–658. + Christensen, K., et al. (2003). Encyclopedia of Community. 4 volumes. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. + Cohen, A. P. 1985. The Symbolic Construction of Community. Routledge: New York. + Durkheim, Émile. 1950 [1895] The Rules of Sociological Method. Translated by S.A. Solovay and J.H. Mueller. New York: The Free Press. + Cox, F., J. Erlich, J. Rothman, and J. Tropman. 1970. Strategies of Community Organization: A Book of Readings. Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock Publishers. + Effland, R. 1998. The Cultural Evolution of Civilizations Mesa Community College. + Giddens, A. 1999. "Risk and Responsibility" Modern Law Review 62(1): 1–10. + + Lenski, G. 1974. Human Societies: An Introduction to Macrosociology. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. + Long, D.A., & Perkins, D.D. (2003). Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Sense of Community Index and Development of a Brief SCI. Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 279–296. + Lyall, Scott, ed. (2016). Community in Modern Scottish Literature. Brill | Rodopi: Leiden | Boston. + Nancy, Jean-Luc. La Communauté désœuvrée – philosophical questioning of the concept of community and the possibility of encountering a non-subjective concept of it + + Newman, D. 2005. Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, Chapter 5. "Building Identity: Socialization" Pine Forge Press. Retrieved: 2006-08-05. + Putnam, R.D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster + Sarason, S.B. 1974. The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 1986. "Commentary: The emergence of a conceptual center." Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 405–407. + Smith, M.K. 2001. Community. Encyclopedia of informal education. Last updated: January 28, 2005. Retrieved: 2006-07-15. + + +Types of organization +A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior secondary school or upper secondary school). The term usually refers to a higher educational institution that provides workforce education and college transfer academic programs. Some institutions maintain athletic teams and dormitories similar to their university counterparts. + +Australia + +In Australia, the term "community college" refers to small private businesses running short (e.g. 6 weeks) courses generally of a self-improvement or hobbyist nature. Equivalent to the American notion of community colleges are Tertiary and Further Education colleges or TAFEs; these are institutions regulated mostly at state and territory level. There are also an increasing number of private providers colloquially called "colleges". + +TAFEs and other providers carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around the mid-19th century, when evening classes were held to help adults enhance their numeracy and literacy skills. Most Australian universities can also be traced back to such forerunners, although obtaining a university charter has always changed their nature. In TAFEs and colleges today, courses are designed for personal development of an individual or for employment outcomes. Educational programs cover a variety of topics such as arts, languages, business and lifestyle. They usually are scheduled to run two, three or four days of the week, depending on the level of the course undertaken. A Certificate I may only run for 4 hours twice a week for a term of 9 weeks. A full-time Diploma course might have classes 4 days per week for a year (36 weeks). Some courses may be offered in the evenings or weekends to accommodate people working full-time. Funding for colleges may come from government grants and course fees. Many are not-for-profit organisations. Such TAFES are located in metropolitan, regional and rural locations of Australia. + +Education offered by TAFEs and colleges has changed over the years. By the 1980s, many colleges had recognised a community need for computer training. Since then thousands of people have increased skills through IT courses. The majority of colleges by the late 20th century had also become Registered Training Organisations. They offer individuals a nurturing, non-traditional education venue to gain skills that better prepare them for the workplace and potential job openings. TAFEs and colleges have not traditionally offered bachelor's degrees, instead providing pathway arrangements with universities to continue towards degrees. The American innovation of the associate degree is being developed at some institutions. Certificate courses I to IV, diplomas and advanced diplomas are typically offered, the latter deemed equivalent to an undergraduate qualification, albeit typically in more vocational areas. Recently, some TAFE institutes (and private providers) have also become higher education providers in their own right and are now starting to offer bachelor's degree programs. + +Canada + +In Canada, colleges are adult educational institutions that provide higher education and tertiary education, and grant certificates and diplomas. Alternatively, Canadian colleges are often called "institutes" or "polytechnic institutes". As well, in Ontario, the 24 colleges of applied arts and technology have been mandated to offer their own stand-alone degrees as well as to offer joint degrees with universities through "articulation agreements" that often result in students emerging with both a diploma and a degree. Thus, for example, the University of Guelph "twins" with Humber College and York University does the same with Seneca College. More recently, however, colleges have been offering a variety of their own degrees, often in business, technology, science, and other technical fields. Each province has its own educational system, as prescribed by the Canadian federalism model of governance. In the mid-1960s and early 1970s, most Canadian colleges began to provide practical education and training for the emerging and booming generation, and for immigrants from around the world who were entering Canada in increasing numbers at that time. A formative trend was the merging of the then separate vocational training and adult education (night school) institutions. + +Canadian colleges are either publicly funded or private post-secondary institutions (run for profit). + +In terms of academic pathways, Canadian colleges and universities collaborate with each other with the purpose of providing college students the opportunity to academically upgrade their education. Students can transfer their diplomas and earn transfer credits through their completed college credits towards undergraduate university degrees. + +The term associate degree is used in western Canada to refer to a two-year college arts or science degree, similar to how the term is used in the United States. In other parts of Canada, the term advanced degree is used to indicate a three- or four-year college program. + +In Quebec, three years is the norm for a university degree because a year of credit is earned in the CÉGEP (college) system. Even when speaking in English, people often refer to all colleges as Cégeps; however, the term is an acronym more correctly applied specifically to the French-language public system: Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP); in English: College of General and Vocational Education. The word "college" can also refer to a private high school in Quebec. + + Canadian community college systems + List of colleges in Canada + Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) – publicly funded educational institutions; formerly the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) + National Association of Career Colleges – privately funded educational institutions; formerly the Association of Canadian Career Colleges + +India +In India, 98 community colleges are recognized by the University Grants Commission. The courses offered by these colleges are diplomas, advance diplomas and certificate courses. The duration of these courses usually ranges from six months to two years. + +Malaysia + +Community colleges in Malaysia are a network of educational institutions whereby vocational and technical skills training could be provided at all levels for school leavers before they entered the workforce. The community colleges also provide an infrastructure for rural communities to gain skills training through short courses as well as providing access to a post-secondary education. + +At the moment, most community colleges award qualifications up to Level 3 in the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (Certificate 3) in both the Skills sector (Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia or the Malaysian Skills Certificate) as well as the Vocational and Training sector but the number of community colleges that are starting to award Level 4 qualifications (Diploma) are increasing. This is two levels below a bachelor's degree (Level 6 in the MQF) and students within the system who intend to further their studies to that level will usually seek entry into Advanced Diploma programs in public universities, polytechnics or accredited private providers. + +Philippines + +In the Philippines, a community school functions as elementary or secondary school at daytime and towards the end of the day convert into a community college. This type of institution offers night classes under the supervision of the same principal, and the same faculty members who are given part-time college teaching load. + +The concept of community college dates back to the time of the former Minister of Education, Culture and Sports (MECS) that had under its wings the Bureaus of Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Higher Education and Vocational-Technical Education. MECS Secretary, Cecilio Putong, who in 1971 wrote that a community school is a school established in the community, by the community, and for the community itself. Pedro T. Orata of Pangasinan shared the same idea, hence the establishment of a community college, now called the City College of Urdaneta. + +A community college like the one in Abuyog, Leyte can operate with only a PHP 124,000 annual budget in a two-story structure housing more than 700 students. + +United Kingdom + +Except for Scotland, this term is rarely used in the United Kingdom. When it is, a community college is a school which not only provides education for the school-age population (11–18) of the locality, but also additional services and education to adults and other members of the community. This education includes but is not limited to sports, adult literacy and lifestyle education. Usually when students finish their secondary school studies at age 16, they move on to a sixth form college where they study for their A-levels (although some secondary schools have integrated sixth forms). After the two-year A-level period, they may proceed to a college of further education or a university. The former is also known as a technical college. + +United States + +In the United States, community colleges, sometimes called junior colleges, technical colleges, two-year colleges, or city colleges, are primarily public institutions providing tertiary education, also known as continuing education, that focuses on certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees. After graduating from a community college, some students transfer to a liberal arts college or university for two to three years to complete a bachelor's degree. + +Before the 1970s, community colleges in the United States were more commonly referred to as junior colleges. That term is still used at some institutions. Public community colleges primarily attract and accept students from the local community and are usually supported by local tax revenue. They usually work with local and regional businesses to ensure students are being prepared for the local workforce. + +Research +Some research organizations and publications focus upon the activities of community college, junior college, and technical college institutions. Many of these institutions and organizations present the most current research and practical outcomes at annual community college conferences. + The American Association of Community Colleges has provided oversight on community college research since the 1920s. AACC publishes a research journal called the Community College Journal. + The Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, has been conducting research on community colleges since 1996 to identify barriers to students' post-secondary access and promising solutions. CCRC's publishes research reports, briefs, and resources geared toward a variety of community college stakeholders, including college and college system leaders, faculty and support staff, policymakers, and institutional researchers. + The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) has provided education for community college boards of directors and advocacy for community colleges since 1972. ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown published a book about the past, present, and future of community colleges, Charting a New Course for Community Colleges: Aligning Policies with Practice. + The Center for Community College Student Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin administers surveys and provides data analysis support to member colleges regarding various factors of student engagement and involvement in community colleges in the United States and Canada. + The Office of Community College Research and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign studies policies, programs, and practices designed to enhance outcomes for diverse youth and adults who seek to transition to and through college to employment. OCCRL's research spans the P-20 education continuum, with an intense focus on how community colleges impact education and employment outcomes for diverse learners. Results of OCCRL's studies of pathways and programs of study, extending from high school to community colleges and universities and to employment, are disseminated nationally and internationally. Reports and materials are derived from new knowledge captured and disseminated through OCCRL's website, scholarly publications, and other vehicles. + +Several peer-reviewed journals extensively publish research on community colleges: + Community College Journal of Research and Practice + Community College Review + The College Quarterly + Journal of Applied Research in the Community College + Journal of Transformative Leadership and Policy Studies + New Directions for Community Colleges + +See also + Articulation (education) + Distance learning + E-learning + Folk high school + Junior college + Lifelong learning + + In Australia + Technical and further education + Workers' Educational Association, also in the UK + + In the Philippines + Association of Local Colleges and Universities + Local college and university + + In the UK + Further education + +References + +Further reading + Baker, G. A. III (1994). A handbook on the community college in America: Its history, mission, and management. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. + Cohen, A.M., Brawer, F.B. (2003) The American Community College, 4th edition. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. + Dougherty, K. J. (1994). The contradictory college: The conflicting origins, impacts, and futures of the community college. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. + Frye, J. H. (1992). The vision of the public junior college, 1900–1940. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. + Kasper, H.T. (2002). The changing role of community college. Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 46(4), 14–21. + + +Types of university or college +Vocational education +The Civil Rights Memorial is an American memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, created by Maya Lin. The names of 41 people are inscribed on the granite fountain as martyrs who were killed in the civil rights movement. The memorial is sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center. + +Design +The names included in the memorial belong to those who were killed between 1955 and 1968. The dates chosen represent a time when legalized segregation was prominent. In 1956 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in schools was unlawful and 1968 is the year of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The monument was created by Maya Lin, who also created the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Civil Rights Memorial was dedicated in 1989. + +The concept of Lin's design is based on the soothing and healing effect of water. It was inspired by a passage from King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech "...we will not be satisfied "until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream..." The quotation in the passage, which is inscribed on the memorial, is a direct paraphrase of Amos 5:24, as translated in the American Standard Version of the Bible. The memorial is a fountain in the form of an asymmetric inverted stone cone. A film of water flows over the base of the cone, which contains the 41 names included. It is possible to touch the smooth film of water and to alter it temporarily, which quickly returns to smoothness. The memorial is designed in a timeline manner. It begins with Brown v. Board in 1954, and ends with Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968. + +Tours and location +The memorial is in downtown Montgomery, at 400 Washington Avenue, in an open plaza in front of the Civil Rights Memorial Center, which was the offices of the Southern Poverty Law Center until it moved across the street into a new building in 2001. The memorial may be visited freely 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. + +The Civil Rights Memorial Center offers guided group tours, lasting approximately one hour. Tours are available by appointment, Monday to Saturday. + +The memorial is only a few blocks from other historic sites, including the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, the Alabama State Capitol, the Alabama Department of Archives and History, the corners where Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks boarded buses in 1955 on which they would later refuse to give up their seats, and the Rosa Parks Library and Museum. + +Names included + +"Civil Rights Martyrs" +The 41 names included in the Civil Rights Memorial are those of: + + Louis Allen + Willie Brewster + Benjamin Brown + Johnnie Mae Chappell + James Chaney + Addie Mae Collins + Vernon Dahmer + Jonathan Daniels + Henry Hezekiah Dee + Roman Ducksworth Jr. + Willie Edwards + Medgar Evers + Andrew Goodman + Paul Guihard + Samuel Hammond Jr. + Jimmie Lee Jackson + Wharlest Jackson + Martin Luther King Jr. + Bruce W. Klunder + George W. Lee + Herbert Lee + Viola Liuzzo + Denise McNair + Delano Herman Middleton + Charles Eddie Moore + Oneal Moore + William Lewis Moore + Mack Charles Parker + Lemuel Penn + James Reeb + John Earl Reese + Carole Robertson + Michael Schwerner + Henry Ezekial Smith + Lamar Smith + Emmett Till + Clarence Triggs + Virgil Lamar Ware + Cynthia Wesley + Ben Chester White + Sammy Younge Jr. + +"The Forgotten" +"The Forgotten" are 74 people who are identified in a display at the Civil Rights Memorial Center. These names were not inscribed on the Memorial because there was insufficient information about their deaths at the time the Memorial was created. However, it is thought that these people were killed as a result of racially motivated violence between 1952 and 1968. + + Andrew Lee Anderson + Frank Andrews + Isadore Banks + Larry Bolden + James Brazier + Thomas Brewer + Hilliard Brooks + Charles Brown + Jessie Brown + Carrie Brumfield + Eli Brumfield + Silas (Ernest) Caston + Clarence Cloninger + Willie Countryman + Vincent Dahmon + Woodrow Wilson Daniels + Joseph Hill Dumas + Pheld Evans + J. E. Evanston + Mattie Greene + Jasper Greenwood + Jimmie Lee Griffith + A. C. Hall + Rogers Hamilton + Collie Hampton + Alphonso Harris + Izell Henry + Arthur James Hill + Ernest Hunter + Luther Jackson + Ernest Jells + Joe Franklin Jeter + Marshall Johnson + John Lee + Willie Henry Lee + Richard Lillard + George Love + Robert McNair + Maybelle Mahone + Sylvester Maxwell + Clinton Melton + James Andrew Miller + Booker T. Mixon + Nehemiah Montgomery + Frank Morris + James Earl Motley + Sam O'Quinn + Hubert Orsby + Larry Payne + C. H. Pickett + Albert Pitts + David Pitts + Ernest McPharland + Jimmy Powell + William Roy Prather + Johnny Queen + Donald Rasberry + Fred Robinson + Johnny Robinson + Willie Joe Sanford + Marshall Scott Jr. + Jessie James Shelby + W. G. Singleton + Ed Smith + Eddie James Stewart + Isaiah Taylor + Freddie Lee Thomas + Saleam Triggs + Hubert Varner + Clifton Walker + James Waymers + John Wesley Wilder + Rodell Williamson + Archie Wooden + +See also + Civil rights movement in popular culture + History of fountains in the United States + Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 + +References + +External links + Official Site + Civil Rights Martyrs + +1989 establishments in Alabama +1989 sculptures +Buildings and structures in Montgomery, Alabama +Fountains in Alabama +History of civil rights in the United States +History of Montgomery, Alabama +Monuments and memorials in Alabama +Monuments and memorials of the civil rights movement +Southern Poverty Law Center +Tourist attractions in Montgomery, Alabama +Martyrs' monuments and memorials +Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. + +Babbage is considered by some to be "father of the computer". Babbage is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine, that eventually led to more complex electronic designs, though all the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found in Babbage's Analytical Engine, programmed using a principle openly borrowed from the Jacquard loom. Babbage had a broad range of interests in addition to his work on computers covered in his 1832 book Economy of Manufactures and Machinery. His varied work in other fields has led him to be described as "pre-eminent" among the many polymaths of his century. + +Babbage, who died before the complete successful engineering of many of his designs, including his Difference Engine and Analytical Engine, remained a prominent figure in the ideating of computing. Parts of Babbage's incomplete mechanisms are on display in the Science Museum in London. In 1991, a functioning difference engine was constructed from Babbage's original plans. Built to tolerances achievable in the 19th century, the success of the finished engine indicated that Babbage's machine would have worked. + +Early life + +Babbage's birthplace is disputed, but according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography he was most likely born at 44 Crosby Row, Walworth Road, London, England. A blue plaque on the junction of Larcom Street and Walworth Road commemorates the event. + +His date of birth was given in his obituary in The Times as 26 December 1792; but then a nephew wrote to say that Babbage was born one year earlier, in 1791. The parish register of St. Mary's, Newington, London, shows that Babbage was baptised on 6 January 1792, supporting a birth year of 1791. + +Babbage was one of four children of Benjamin Babbage and Betsy Plumleigh Teape. His father was a banking partner of William Praed in founding Praed's & Co. of Fleet Street, London, in 1801. In 1808, the Babbage family moved into the old Rowdens house in East Teignmouth. Around the age of eight, Babbage was sent to a country school in Alphington near Exeter to recover from a life-threatening fever. For a short time, he attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Totnes, South Devon, but his health forced him back to private tutors for a time. + +Babbage then joined the 30-student Holmwood Academy, in Baker Street, Enfield, Middlesex, under the Reverend Stephen Freeman. The academy had a library that prompted Babbage's love of mathematics. He studied with two more private tutors after leaving the academy. The first was a clergyman near Cambridge; through him Babbage encountered Charles Simeon and his evangelical followers, but the tuition was not what he needed. He was brought home, to study at the Totnes school: this was at age 16 or 17. The second was an Oxford tutor, under whom Babbage reached a level in Classics sufficient to be accepted by the University of Cambridge. + +At the University of Cambridge +Babbage arrived at Trinity College, Cambridge, in October 1810. He was already self-taught in some parts of contemporary mathematics; he had read Robert Woodhouse, Joseph Louis Lagrange, and Marie Agnesi. As a result, he was disappointed in the standard mathematical instruction available at the university. + +Babbage, John Herschel, George Peacock, and several other friends formed the Analytical Society in 1812; they were also close to Edward Ryan. As a student, Babbage was also a member of other societies such as The Ghost Club, concerned with investigating supernatural phenomena, and the Extractors Club, dedicated to liberating its members from the madhouse, should any be committed to one. + +In 1812, Babbage transferred to Peterhouse, Cambridge. He was the top mathematician there, but did not graduate with honours. He instead received a degree without examination in 1814. He had defended a thesis that was considered blasphemous in the preliminary public disputation, but it is not known whether this fact is related to his not sitting the examination. + +After Cambridge +Considering his reputation, Babbage quickly made progress. He lectured to the Royal Institution on astronomy in 1815, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1816. After graduation, on the other hand, he applied for positions unsuccessfully, and had little in the way of a career. In 1816 he was a candidate for a teaching job at Haileybury College; he had recommendations from James Ivory and John Playfair, but lost out to Henry Walter. In 1819, Babbage and Herschel visited Paris and the Society of Arcueil, meeting leading French mathematicians and physicists. That year Babbage applied to be professor at the University of Edinburgh, with the recommendation of Pierre Simon Laplace; the post went to William Wallace. + +With Herschel, Babbage worked on the electrodynamics of Arago's rotations, publishing in 1825. Their explanations were only transitional, being picked up and broadened by Michael Faraday. The phenomena are now part of the theory of eddy currents, and Babbage and Herschel missed some of the clues to unification of electromagnetic theory, staying close to Ampère's force law. + +Babbage purchased the actuarial tables of George Barrett, who died in 1821 leaving unpublished work, and surveyed the field in 1826 in Comparative View of the Various Institutions for the Assurance of Lives. This interest followed a project to set up an insurance company, prompted by Francis Baily and mooted in 1824, but not carried out. Babbage did calculate actuarial tables for that scheme, using Equitable Society mortality data from 1762 onwards. + +During this whole period, Babbage depended awkwardly on his father's support, given his father's attitude to his early marriage, of 1814: he and Edward Ryan wedded the Whitmore sisters. He made a home in Marylebone in London and established a large family. On his father's death in 1827, Babbage inherited a large estate (value around £100,000, equivalent to £ or $ today), making him independently wealthy. After his wife's death in the same year he spent time travelling. In Italy he met Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, foreshadowing a later visit to Piedmont. In April 1828 he was in Rome, and relying on Herschel to manage the difference engine project, when he heard that he had become a professor at Cambridge, a position he had three times failed to obtain (in 1820, 1823 and 1826). + +Royal Astronomical Society +Babbage was instrumental in founding the Royal Astronomical Society in 1820, initially known as the Astronomical Society of London. Its original aims were to reduce astronomical calculations to a more standard form, and to circulate data. These directions were closely connected with Babbage's ideas on computation, and in 1824 he won its Gold Medal, cited "for his invention of an engine for calculating mathematical and astronomical tables". + +Babbage's motivation to overcome errors in tables by mechanisation had been a commonplace since Dionysius Lardner wrote about it in 1834 in the Edinburgh Review (under Babbage's guidance). The context of these developments is still debated. Babbage's own account of the origin of the difference engine begins with the Astronomical Society's wish to improve The Nautical Almanac. Babbage and Herschel were asked to oversee a trial project, to recalculate some part of those tables. With the results to hand, discrepancies were found. This was in 1821 or 1822, and was the occasion on which Babbage formulated his idea for mechanical computation. The issue of the Nautical Almanac is now described as a legacy of a polarisation in British science caused by attitudes to Sir Joseph Banks, who had died in 1820. + +Babbage studied the requirements to establish a modern postal system, with his friend Thomas Frederick Colby, concluding there should be a uniform rate that was put into effect with the introduction of the Uniform Fourpenny Post supplanted by the Uniform Penny Post in 1839 and 1840. Colby was another of the founding group of the Society. He was also in charge of the Survey of Ireland. Herschel and Babbage were present at a celebrated operation of that survey, the remeasuring of the Lough Foyle baseline. + +British Lagrangian School +The Analytical Society had initially been no more than an undergraduate provocation. During this period it had some more substantial achievements. In 1816 Babbage, Herschel and Peacock published a translation from French of the lectures of Sylvestre Lacroix, which was then the state-of-the-art calculus textbook. + +Reference to Lagrange in calculus terms marks out the application of what are now called formal power series. British mathematicians had used them from about 1730 to 1760. As re-introduced, they were not simply applied as notations in differential calculus. They opened up the fields of functional equations (including the difference equations fundamental to the difference engine) and operator (D-module) methods for differential equations. The analogy of difference and differential equations was notationally changing Δ to D, as a "finite" difference becomes "infinitesimal". These symbolic directions became popular, as operational calculus, and pushed to the point of diminishing returns. The Cauchy concept of limit was kept at bay. Woodhouse had already founded this second "British Lagrangian School" with its treatment of Taylor series as formal. + +In this context function composition is complicated to express, because the chain rule is not simply applied to second and higher derivatives. This matter was known to Woodhouse by 1803, who took from Louis François Antoine Arbogast what is now called Faà di Bruno's formula. In essence it was known to Abraham De Moivre (1697). Herschel found the method impressive, Babbage knew of it, and it was later noted by Ada Lovelace as compatible with the analytical engine. In the period to 1820 Babbage worked intensively on functional equations in general, and resisted both conventional finite differences and Arbogast's approach (in which Δ and D were related by the simple additive case of the exponential map). But via Herschel he was influenced by Arbogast's ideas in the matter of iteration, i.e. composing a function with itself, possibly many times. Writing in a major paper on functional equations in the Philosophical Transactions (1815/6), Babbage said his starting point was work of Gaspard Monge. + +Academic +From 1828 to 1839, Babbage was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge. Not a conventional resident don, and inattentive to his teaching responsibilities, he wrote three topical books during this period of his life. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1832. Babbage was out of sympathy with colleagues: George Biddell Airy, his predecessor as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge, thought an issue should be made of his lack of interest in lecturing. Babbage planned to lecture in 1831 on political economy. Babbage's reforming direction looked to see university education more inclusive, universities doing more for research, a broader syllabus and more interest in applications; but William Whewell found the programme unacceptable. A controversy Babbage had with Richard Jones lasted for six years. He never did give a lecture. + +It was during this period that Babbage tried to enter politics. Simon Schaffer writes that his views of the 1830s included disestablishment of the Church of England, a broader political franchise, and inclusion of manufacturers as stakeholders. He twice stood for Parliament as a candidate for the borough of Finsbury. In 1832 he came in third among five candidates, missing out by some 500 votes in the two-member constituency when two other reformist candidates, Thomas Wakley and Christopher Temple, split the vote. In his memoirs Babbage related how this election brought him the friendship of Samuel Rogers: his brother Henry Rogers wished to support Babbage again, but died within days. In 1834 Babbage finished last among four. In 1832, Babbage, Herschel and Ivory were appointed Knights of the Royal Guelphic Order, however they were not subsequently made knights bachelor to entitle them to the prefix Sir, which often came with appointments to that foreign order (though Herschel was later created a baronet). + +"Declinarians", learned societies and the BAAS + +Babbage now emerged as a polemicist. One of his biographers notes that all his books contain a "campaigning element". His Reflections on the Decline of Science and some of its Causes (1830) stands out, however, for its sharp attacks. It aimed to improve British science, and more particularly to oust Davies Gilbert as President of the Royal Society, which Babbage wished to reform. It was written out of pique, when Babbage hoped to become the junior secretary of the Royal Society, as Herschel was the senior, but failed because of his antagonism to Humphry Davy. Michael Faraday had a reply written, by Gerrit Moll, as On the Alleged Decline of Science in England (1831). On the front of the Royal Society Babbage had no impact, with the bland election of the Duke of Sussex to succeed Gilbert the same year. As a broad manifesto, on the other hand, his Decline led promptly to the formation in 1831 of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS). + +The Mechanics' Magazine in 1831 identified as Declinarians the followers of Babbage. In an unsympathetic tone it pointed out David Brewster writing in the Quarterly Review as another leader; with the barb that both Babbage and Brewster had received public money. + +In the debate of the period on statistics (qua data collection) and what is now statistical inference, the BAAS in its Statistical Section (which owed something also to Whewell) opted for data collection. This Section was the sixth, established in 1833 with Babbage as chairman and John Elliot Drinkwater as secretary. The foundation of the Statistical Society followed. Babbage was its public face, backed by Richard Jones and Robert Malthus. + +On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures + +Babbage published On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures (1832), on the organisation of industrial production. It was an influential early work of operational research. John Rennie the Younger in addressing the Institution of Civil Engineers on manufacturing in 1846 mentioned mostly surveys in encyclopaedias, and Babbage's book was first an article in the Encyclopædia Metropolitana, the form in which Rennie noted it, in the company of related works by John Farey Jr., Peter Barlow and Andrew Ure. From An essay on the general principles which regulate the application of machinery to manufactures and the mechanical arts (1827), which became the Encyclopædia Metropolitana article of 1829, Babbage developed the schematic classification of machines that, combined with discussion of factories, made up the first part of the book. The second part considered the "domestic and political economy" of manufactures. + +The book sold well, and quickly went to a fourth edition (1836). Babbage represented his work as largely a result of actual observations in factories, British and abroad. It was not, in its first edition, intended to address deeper questions of political economy; the second (late 1832) did, with three further chapters including one on piece rate. The book also contained ideas on rational design in factories, and profit sharing. + +"Babbage principle" +In Economy of Machinery was described what is now called the "Babbage principle". It pointed out commercial advantages available with more careful division of labour. As Babbage himself noted, it had already appeared in the work of Melchiorre Gioia in 1815. The term was introduced in 1974 by Harry Braverman. Related formulations are the "principle of multiples" of Philip Sargant Florence, and the "balance of processes". + +What Babbage remarked is that skilled workers typically spend parts of their time performing tasks that are below their skill level. If the labour process can be divided among several workers, labour costs may be cut by assigning only high-skill tasks to high-cost workers, restricting other tasks to lower-paid workers. He also pointed out that training or apprenticeship can be taken as fixed costs; but that returns to scale are available by his approach of standardisation of tasks, therefore again favouring the factory system. His view of human capital was restricted to minimising the time period for recovery of training costs. + +Publishing +Another aspect of the work was its detailed breakdown of the cost structure of book publishing. Babbage took the unpopular line, from the publishers' perspective, of exposing the trade's profitability. He went as far as to name the organisers of the trade's restrictive practices. Twenty years later he attended a meeting hosted by John Chapman to campaign against the Booksellers Association, still a cartel. + +Influence +It has been written that "what Arthur Young was to agriculture, Charles Babbage was to the factory visit and machinery". Babbage's theories are said to have influenced the layout of the 1851 Great Exhibition, and his views had a strong effect on his contemporary George Julius Poulett Scrope. Karl Marx argued that the source of the productivity of the factory system was exactly the combination of the division of labour with machinery, building on Adam Smith, Babbage and Ure. Where Marx picked up on Babbage and disagreed with Smith was on the motivation for division of labour by the manufacturer: as Babbage did, he wrote that it was for the sake of profitability, rather than productivity, and identified an impact on the concept of a trade. + +John Ruskin went further, to oppose completely what manufacturing in Babbage's sense stood for. Babbage also affected the economic thinking of John Stuart Mill. George Holyoake saw Babbage's detailed discussion of profit sharing as substantive, in the tradition of Robert Owen and Charles Fourier, if requiring the attentions of a benevolent captain of industry, and ignored at the time. + +Works by Babbage and Ure were published in French translation in 1830; On the Economy of Machinery was translated in 1833 into French by Édouard Biot, and into German the same year by Gottfried Friedenberg. The French engineer and writer on industrial organisation Léon Lalanne was influenced by Babbage, but also by the economist Claude Lucien Bergery, in reducing the issues to "technology". William Jevons connected Babbage's "economy of labour" with his own labour experiments of 1870. The Babbage principle is an inherent assumption in Frederick Winslow Taylor's scientific management. + +Mary Everest Boole claimed that there was profound influence – via her uncle George Everest – of Indian thought in general and Indian logic, in particular, on Babbage and on her husband George Boole, as well as on Augustus De Morgan: + +Think what must have been the effect of the intense Hinduizing of three such men as Babbage, De Morgan, and George Boole on the mathematical atmosphere of 1830–65. What share had it in generating the Vector Analysis and the mathematics by which investigations in physical science are now conducted? + +Natural theology +In 1837, responding to the series of eight Bridgewater Treatises, Babbage published his Ninth Bridgewater Treatise, under the title On the Power, Wisdom and Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation. In this work Babbage weighed in on the side of uniformitarianism in a current debate. He preferred the conception of creation in which a God-given natural law dominated, removing the need for continuous "contrivance". + +The book is a work of natural theology, and incorporates extracts from related correspondence of Herschel with Charles Lyell. Babbage put forward the thesis that God had the omnipotence and foresight to create as a divine legislator. In this book, Babbage dealt with relating interpretations between science and religion; on the one hand, he insisted that "there exists no fatal collision between the words of Scripture and the facts of nature;" on the other hand, he wrote that the Book of Genesis was not meant to be read literally in relation to scientific terms. Against those who said these were in conflict, he wrote "that the contradiction they have imagined can have no real existence, and that whilst the testimony of Moses remains unimpeached, we may also be permitted to confide in the testimony of our senses." + +The Ninth Bridgewater Treatise was quoted extensively in Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. The parallel with Babbage's computing machines is made explicit, as allowing plausibility to the theory that transmutation of species could be pre-programmed. + +Jonar Ganeri, author of Indian Logic, believes Babbage may have been influenced by Indian thought; one possible route would be through Henry Thomas Colebrooke. Mary Everest Boole argues that Babbage was introduced to Indian thought in the 1820s by her uncle George Everest: +Some time about 1825, [Everest] came to England for two or three years, and made a fast and lifelong friendship with Herschel and with Babbage, who was then quite young. I would ask any fair-minded mathematician to read Babbage's Ninth Bridgewater Treatise and compare it with the works of his contemporaries in England; and then ask himself whence came the peculiar conception of the nature of miracle which underlies Babbage's ideas of Singular Points on Curves (Chap, viii) – from European Theology or Hindu Metaphysic? Oh! how the English clergy of that day hated Babbage's book! + +Religious views +Babbage was raised in the Protestant form of the Christian faith, his family having inculcated in him an orthodox form of worship. He explained: + +Rejecting the Athanasian Creed as a "direct contradiction in terms", in his youth he looked to Samuel Clarke's works on religion, of which Being and Attributes of God (1704) exerted a particularly strong influence on him. Later in life, Babbage concluded that "the true value of the Christian religion rested, not on speculative [theology] … but … upon those doctrines of kindness and benevolence which that religion claims and enforces, not merely in favour of man himself but of every creature susceptible of pain or of happiness." + +In his autobiography Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864), Babbage wrote a whole chapter on the topic of religion, where he identified three sources of divine knowledge: + A priori or mystical experience + From Revelation + From the examination of the works of the Creator +He stated, on the basis of the design argument, that studying the works of nature had been the more appealing evidence, and the one which led him to actively profess the existence of God. Advocating for natural theology, he wrote: + +Like Samuel Vince, Babbage also wrote a defence of the belief in divine miracles. Against objections previously posed by David Hume, Babbage advocated for the belief of divine agency, stating "we must not measure the credibility or incredibility of an event by the narrow sphere of our own experience, nor forget that there is a Divine energy which overrides what we familiarly call the laws of nature." He alluded to the limits of human experience, expressing: "all that we see in a miracle is an effect which is new to our observation, and whose cause is concealed. The cause may be beyond the sphere of our observation, and would be thus beyond the familiar sphere of nature; but this does not make the event a violation of any law of nature. The limits of man's observation lie within very narrow boundaries, and it would be arrogance to suppose that the reach of man's power is to form the limits of the natural world." + +Later life + +The British Association was consciously modelled on the Deutsche Naturforscher-Versammlung, founded in 1822. It rejected romantic science as well as metaphysics, and started to entrench the divisions of science from literature, and professionals from amateurs. Belonging as he did to the "Wattite" faction in the BAAS, represented in particular by James Watt the younger, Babbage identified closely with industrialists. He wanted to go faster in the same directions, and had little time for the more gentlemanly component of its membership. Indeed, he subscribed to a version of conjectural history that placed industrial society as the culmination of human development (and shared this view with Herschel). A clash with Roderick Murchison led in 1838 to his withdrawal from further involvement. At the end of the same year he sent in his resignation as Lucasian professor, walking away also from the Cambridge struggle with Whewell. His interests became more focussed, on computation and metrology, and on international contacts. + +Metrology programme +A project announced by Babbage was to tabulate all physical constants (referred to as "constants of nature", a phrase in itself a neologism), and then to compile an encyclopaedic work of numerical information. He was a pioneer in the field of "absolute measurement". His ideas followed on from those of Johann Christian Poggendorff, and were mentioned to Brewster in 1832. There were to be 19 categories of constants, and Ian Hacking sees these as reflecting in part Babbage's "eccentric enthusiasms". Babbage's paper On Tables of the Constants of Nature and Art was reprinted by the Smithsonian Institution in 1856, with an added note that the physical tables of Arnold Henry Guyot "will form a part of the important work proposed in this article". + +Exact measurement was also key to the development of machine tools. Here again Babbage is considered a pioneer, with Henry Maudslay, William Sellers, and Joseph Whitworth. + +Engineer and inventor +Through the Royal Society Babbage acquired the friendship of the engineer Marc Brunel. It was through Brunel that Babbage knew of Joseph Clement, and so came to encounter the artisans whom he observed in his work on manufactures. Babbage provided an introduction for Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1830, for a contact with the proposed Bristol & Birmingham Railway. He carried out studies, around 1838, to show the superiority of the broad gauge for railways, used by Brunel's Great Western Railway. + +In 1838, Babbage invented the pilot (also called a cow-catcher), the metal frame attached to the front of locomotives that clears the tracks of obstacles; he also constructed a dynamometer car. His eldest son, Benjamin Herschel Babbage, worked as an engineer for Brunel on the railways before emigrating to Australia in the 1850s. + +Babbage also invented an ophthalmoscope, which he gave to Thomas Wharton Jones for testing. Jones, however, ignored it. The device only came into use after being independently invented by Hermann von Helmholtz. + +Cryptography +Babbage achieved notable results in cryptography, though this was still not known a century after his death. Letter frequency was category 18 of Babbage's tabulation project. Joseph Henry later defended interest in it, in the absence of the facts, as relevant to the management of movable type. + +As early as 1845, Babbage had solved a cipher that had been posed as a challenge by his nephew Henry Hollier, and in the process, he made a discovery about ciphers that were based on Vigenère tables. Specifically, he realised that enciphering plain text with a keyword rendered the cipher text subject to modular arithmetic. During the Crimean War of the 1850s, Babbage broke Vigenère's autokey cipher as well as the much weaker cipher that is called Vigenère cipher today. His discovery was kept a military secret, and was not published. Credit for the result was instead given to Friedrich Kasiski, a Prussian infantry officer, who made the same discovery some years later. However, in 1854, Babbage published the solution of a Vigenère cipher, which had been published previously in the Journal of the Society of Arts. In 1855, Babbage also published a short letter, "Cypher Writing", in the same journal. Nevertheless, his priority was not established until 1985. + +Public nuisances +Babbage involved himself in well-publicised but unpopular campaigns against public nuisances. He once counted all the broken panes of glass of a factory, publishing in 1857 a "Table of the Relative Frequency of the Causes of Breakage of Plate Glass Windows": Of 464 broken panes, 14 were caused by "drunken men, women or boys". + +Babbage's distaste for commoners (the Mob) included writing "Observations of Street Nuisances" in 1864, as well as tallying up 165 "nuisances" over a period of 80 days. He especially hated street music, and in particular the music of organ grinders, against whom he railed in various venues. The following quotation is typical: + +Babbage was not alone in his campaign. A convert to the cause was the MP Michael Thomas Bass. + +In the 1860s, Babbage also took up the anti-hoop-rolling campaign. He blamed hoop-rolling boys for driving their iron hoops under horses' legs, with the result that the rider is thrown and very often the horse breaks a leg. Babbage achieved a certain notoriety in this matter, being denounced in debate in Commons in 1864 for "commencing a crusade against the popular game of tip-cat and the trundling of hoops." + +Computing pioneer + +Babbage's machines were among the first mechanical computers. That they were not actually completed was largely because of funding problems and clashes of personality, most notably with George Biddell Airy, the Astronomer Royal. + +Babbage directed the building of some steam-powered machines that achieved some modest success, suggesting that calculations could be mechanised. For more than ten years he received government funding for his project, which amounted to £17,000, but eventually the Treasury lost confidence in him. + +While Babbage's machines were mechanical and unwieldy, their basic architecture was similar to that of a modern computer. The data and program memory were separated, operation was instruction-based, the control unit could make conditional jumps, and the machine had a separate I/O unit. + +Background on mathematical tables +In Babbage's time, printed mathematical tables were calculated by human computers; in other words, by hand. They were central to navigation, science and engineering, as well as mathematics. Mistakes were known to occur in transcription as well as calculation. + +At Cambridge, Babbage saw the fallibility of this process, and the opportunity of adding mechanisation into its management. His own account of his path towards mechanical computation references a particular occasion: + +There was another period, seven years later, when his interest was aroused by the issues around computation of mathematical tables. The French official initiative by Gaspard de Prony, and its problems of implementation, were familiar to him. After the Napoleonic Wars came to a close, scientific contacts were renewed on the level of personal contact: in 1819 Charles Blagden was in Paris looking into the printing of the stalled de Prony project, and lobbying for the support of the Royal Society. In works of the 1820s and 1830s, Babbage referred in detail to de Prony's project. + +Difference engine + +Babbage began in 1822 with what he called the difference engine, made to compute values of polynomial functions. It was created to calculate a series of values automatically. By using the method of finite differences, it was possible to avoid the need for multiplication and division. + +For a prototype difference engine, Babbage brought in Joseph Clement to implement the design, in 1823. Clement worked to high standards, but his machine tools were particularly elaborate. Under the standard terms of business of the time, he could charge for their construction, and would also own them. He and Babbage fell out over costs around 1831. + +Some parts of the prototype survive in the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. This prototype evolved into the "first difference engine". It remained unfinished and the finished portion is located at the Science Museum in London. This first difference engine would have been composed of around 25,000 parts, weighed , and would have been tall. Although Babbage received ample funding for the project, it was never completed. He later (1847–1849) produced detailed drawings for an improved version,"Difference Engine No. 2", but did not receive funding from the British government. His design was finally constructed in 1989–1991, using his plans and 19th-century manufacturing tolerances. It performed its first calculation at the Science Museum, London, returning results to 31 digits. + +Nine years later, in 2000, the Science Museum completed the printer Babbage had designed for the difference engine. + +Completed models +The Science Museum has constructed two Difference Engines according to Babbage's plans for the Difference Engine No 2. One is owned by the museum. The other, owned by the technology multimillionaire Nathan Myhrvold, went on exhibition at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California on 10 May 2008. The two models that have been constructed are not replicas. + +Analytical Engine + +After the attempt at making the first difference engine fell through, Babbage worked to design a more complex machine called the Analytical Engine. He hired C. G. Jarvis, who had previously worked for Clement as a draughtsman. The Analytical Engine marks the transition from mechanised arithmetic to fully-fledged general purpose computation. It is largely on it that Babbage's standing as computer pioneer rests. + +The major innovation was that the Analytical Engine was to be programmed using punched cards: the Engine was intended to use loops of Jacquard's punched cards to control a mechanical calculator, which could use as input the results of preceding computations. The machine was also intended to employ several features subsequently used in modern computers, including sequential control, branching and looping. It would have been the first mechanical device to be, in principle, Turing-complete. The Engine was not a single physical machine, but rather a succession of designs that Babbage tinkered with until his death in 1871. + +Ada Lovelace and Italian followers +Ada Lovelace, who corresponded with Babbage during his development of the Analytical Engine, is credited with developing an algorithm that would enable the Engine to calculate a sequence of Bernoulli numbers. Despite documentary evidence in Lovelace's own handwriting, some scholars dispute to what extent the ideas were Lovelace's own. For this achievement, she is often described as the first computer programmer; though no programming language had yet been invented. + +Lovelace also translated and wrote literature supporting the project. Describing the engine's programming by punch cards, she wrote: "We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves." + +Babbage visited Turin in 1840 at the invitation of Giovanni Plana, who had developed in 1831 an analog computing machine that served as a perpetual calendar. Here in 1840 in Turin, Babbage gave the only public explanation and lectures about the Analytical Engine. In 1842 Charles Wheatstone approached Lovelace to translate a paper of Luigi Menabrea, who had taken notes of Babbage's Turin talks; and Babbage asked her to add something of her own. Fortunato Prandi who acted as interpreter in Turin was an Italian exile and follower of Giuseppe Mazzini. + +Swedish followers +Per Georg Scheutz wrote about the difference engine in 1830, and experimented in automated computation. After 1834 and Lardner's Edinburgh Review article he set up a project of his own, doubting whether Babbage's initial plan could be carried out. This he pushed through with his son, Edvard Scheutz. Another Swedish engine was that of Martin Wiberg (1860). + +Legacy +In 2011, researchers in Britain proposed a multimillion-pound project, "Plan 28", to construct Babbage's Analytical Engine. Since Babbage's plans were continually being refined and were never completed, they intended to engage the public in the project and crowd-source the analysis of what should be built. It would have the equivalent of 675 bytes of memory, and run at a clock speed of about 7 Hz. They hoped to complete it by the 150th anniversary of Babbage's death, in 2021. + +Advances in MEMS and nanotechnology have led to recent high-tech experiments in mechanical computation. The benefits suggested include operation in high radiation or high temperature environments. These modern versions of mechanical computation were highlighted in The Economist in its special "end of the millennium" black cover issue in an article entitled "Babbage's Last Laugh". + +Due to his association with the town Babbage was chosen in 2007 to appear on the 5 Totnes pound note. An image of Babbage features in the British cultural icons section of the newly designed British passport in 2015. + +Family + +On 25 July 1814, Babbage married Georgiana Whitmore, sister of British parliamentarian William Wolryche-Whitmore, at St. Michael's Church in Teignmouth, Devon. The couple lived at Dudmaston Hall, Shropshire (where Babbage engineered the central heating system), before moving to 5 Devonshire Street, London in 1815. + +Charles and Georgiana had eight children, but only four – Benjamin Herschel, Georgiana Whitmore, Dugald Bromhead and Henry Prevost – survived childhood. Charles' wife Georgiana died in Worcester on 1 September 1827, the same year as his father, their second son (also named Charles) and their newborn son Alexander. + Benjamin Herschel Babbage (1815–1878) + Charles Whitmore Babbage (1817–1827) + Georgiana Whitmore Babbage (1818 – 26 September 1834) + Edward Stewart Babbage (1819–1821) + Francis Moore Babbage (1821–????) + Dugald Bromhead (Bromheald?) Babbage (1823–1901) + (Maj-Gen) Henry Prevost Babbage (1824–1918) + Alexander Forbes Babbage (1827–1827) + +His youngest surviving son, Henry Prevost Babbage (1824–1918), went on to create six small demonstration pieces for Difference Engine No. 1 based on his father's designs, one of which was sent to Harvard University where it was later discovered by Howard H. Aiken, pioneer of the Harvard Mark I. Henry Prevost's 1910 Analytical Engine Mill, previously on display at Dudmaston Hall, is now on display at the Science Museum. + +Death + +Babbage lived and worked for over 40 years at 1 Dorset Street, Marylebone, where he died, at the age of 79, on 18 October 1871; he was buried in London's Kensal Green Cemetery. According to Horsley, Babbage died "of renal inadequacy, secondary to cystitis." He had declined both a knighthood and baronetcy. He also argued against hereditary peerages, favouring life peerages instead. + +Autopsy report +In 1983, the autopsy report for Charles Babbage was discovered and later published by his great-great-grandson. A copy of the original is also available. Half of Babbage's brain is preserved at the Hunterian Museum in the Royal College of Surgeons in London. The other half of Babbage's brain is on display in the Science Museum, London. + +Memorials + +There is a black plaque commemorating the 40 years Babbage spent at 1 Dorset Street, London. Locations, institutions and other things named after Babbage include: + The Moon crater, Babbage + The Charles Babbage Institute, an information technology archive and research center at the University of Minnesota + Babbage River Falls, Yukon, Canada + The Charles Babbage Premium, an annual computing award + British Rail named a locomotive after Charles Babbage in the 1990s. + Babbage Island, Western Australia + The Babbage Building at the University of Plymouth, where the university's school of computing is based + The Babbage programming language for GEC 4000 series minicomputers + "Babbage", The Economist 's Science and Technology blog + The former chain retail computer and video-games store "Babbage's" (now GameStop) was named after him. + +In fiction and film +Babbage frequently appears in steampunk works; he has been called an iconic figure of the genre. Other works in which Babbage appears include: + The 2008 short film Babbage, screened at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, a 2009 finalist with Haydenfilms, and shown at the 2009 HollyShorts Film Festival and other international film festivals. The film shows Babbage at a dinner party, with guests discussing his life and work. + Sydney Padua created The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage, a cartoon alternate history in which Babbage and Lovelace succeed in building the Analytical Engine. It quotes heavily from the writings of Lovelace, Babbage and their contemporaries. + Kate Beaton, cartoonist of webcomic Hark! A Vagrant, devoted one of her comic strips to Charles and Georgiana Babbage. + The Doctor Who episode "Spyfall, Part 2" (Season 12, episode 2) features Charles Babbage and Ada Gordon as characters who assist the Doctor when she's stuck in the year 1834. + +Publications + + + + + + + (Reissued by Cambridge University Press 2009, .) + (The LOCOMAT site contains a reconstruction of this table.) + +See also + Babbage's congruence + IEEE Computer Society Charles Babbage Award + List of pioneers in computer science + +Notes + +References + . + +External links + + + + + + + The Babbage Papers The papers held by the Science Museum Library and Archives which relate mostly to Babbage's automatic calculating engines + The Babbage Engine: Computer History Museum, Mountain View CA, US. Multi-page account of Babbage, his engines and his associates, including a video of the Museum's functioning replica of the Difference Engine No 2 in action + Analytical Engine Museum John Walker's (of AutoCAD fame) comprehensive catalogue of the complete technical works relating to Babbage's machine. + Charles Babbage A history at the School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews Scotland. + Mr. Charles Babbage: obituary from The Times (1871) + The Babbage Pages + Charles Babbage, The Online Books Page, University of Pennsylvania + The Babbage Difference Engine: an overview of how it works +"On a Method of Expressing by Signs the Action of Machinery", 1826. Original edition + Charles Babbage Institute: pages on "Who Was Charles Babbage?" including biographical note, description of Difference Engine No. 2, publications by Babbage, archival and published sources on Babbage, sources on Babbage and Ada Lovelace + Babbage's Ballet by Ivor Guest, Ballet Magazine, 1997 + Babbage's Calculating Machine (1872) – full digital facsimile from Linda Hall Library + Author profile in the database zbMATH + The 'difference engine' built by Georg & Edvard Scheutz in 1843 + + +1791 births +1871 deaths +19th-century English mathematicians +Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge +Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge +British business theorists +Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery +Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences +English Christians +English computer scientists +English engineers +Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences +Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society +Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh +Fellows of the Royal Society +Lucasian Professors of Mathematics +People educated at Totnes Grammar School +People of the Industrial Revolution +Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society +Mathematicians from London +Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express oneself. + +Almost every human society throughout history has had expected norms for each gender relating to style, color, or type of clothing they are expected to wear, and likewise most societies have had a set of guidelines, views or even laws defining what type of clothing is appropriate for each gender. Therefore, cross-dressing allows individuals to express themselves by acting beyond guidelines, views, or even laws defining what type of clothing is expected and appropriate for each gender. + +The term "cross-dressing" refers to an action or a behavior, without attributing or implying any specific causes or motives for that behavior. Cross-dressing is not synonymous with being transgender. + +Terminology +The phenomenon of cross-dressing is seen throughout recorded history, being referred to as far back as the Hebrew Bible. The terms used to describe it have changed throughout history; the Anglo-Saxon-rooted term "cross-dresser" is viewed more favorably than the Latin-origin term "transvestite" in some circles, where it has come to be seen as outdated and derogatory. Its first mention originated in Magnus Hirschfeld's Die Transvestiten (The Transvestites) in 1910, originally associating cross-dressing with non-heterosexual behavior or derivations of sexual intent. Its connotations largely changed in the 20th century as its use was more frequently associated with sexual excitement, otherwise known as transvestic disorder. This term was historically used to diagnose psychiatric disorders (e.g. transvestic fetishism), but the former (cross-dressing) was coined by the transgender community. The Oxford English Dictionary gives 1911 as the earliest citation of the term "cross-dressing", by Edward Carpenter: "Cross-dressing must be taken as a general indication of, and a cognate phenomenon to, homosexuality". In 1928, Havelock Ellis used the two terms "cross-dressing" and "transvestism" interchangeably. The earliest citations for "cross-dress" and "cross-dresser" are 1966 and 1976, respectively. + +En femme +The term en femme is a lexical borrowing of a French phrase. It is used in the transgender and crossdressing community to describe the act of wearing feminine clothing or expressing a stereotypically feminine personality. The term is borrowed from the modern French phrase en femme meaning "as a woman." Most crossdressers also use a female name whilst en femme; that is their "femme name". In the cross-dressing community the persona a man adopts when he dresses as a woman is known as his "femme self". + +Between 1987 and 1991, JoAnn Roberts and CDS published a magazine called "En Femme" that was "for the transvestite, transsexual, crossdresser, and female impersonator." + +En homme +The term en homme is an anglicized adaptation of a French phrase. It is used in the transgender and crossdressing community to describe the act of wearing masculine clothing or expressing a stereotypically masculine personality. The term is derived from the modern colloquial French phrase en tant qu'homme meaning "as a man" and the anglicized adaptation en homme literally translates as "in man". Most crossdressers also use a homme (male) name whilst en homme. + +History + +Non-Western history + +Cross-dressing has been practiced throughout much of recorded history, in many societies, and for many reasons. Examples exist in Greek, Norse, and Hindu mythology. Cross-dressing can be found in theater and religion, such as kabuki, Noh, and Korean shamanism, as well as in folklore, literature, and music. For instance, in examining kabuki culture during Japan's edo period, cross-dressing was not only used for theater purposes but also because current societal trends: cross-dressing and the switching of genders was a familiar concept to the Japanese at the time which allowed them to interchange characters's genders easily and incorporate geisha fashion into men's wear. This was especially common in the story-telling of ancient stories such as the character Benten from Benten Kozō. He was a thief in the play cross-dressing as a woman. Cross-dressing was also exhibited in Japanese Noh for similar reasons. Societal standards at the time broke boundaries between gender. For example, ancient Japanese portraits of aristocrats have no clear differentiation in characteristics between male and female beauty. Thus, in Noh performance, the cross-dressing of actors was common; especially given the ease of disguising biological sex with the use of masks and heavy robes. In a non-entertainment context, cross-dressing is also exhibited in Korean shamanism for religious purposes. Specifically, this is displayed in chaesu-gut, a shamanistic rite gut in which a shaman offers a sacrifice to the spirits to intermediate in the fortunes of the intended humans for the gut. Here, cross-dressing serves many purposes. Firstly, the shaman (typically a woman) would cross-dress as both male and female spirits can occupy her. This allows her to represent the opposite sex and become a cross-sex icon in 75% of the time of the ritual. This also allows her to become a sexually liminal being. It is clear that in entertainment, literature, art, and religion, different civilizations have utilized cross-dressing for many different purposes. + +Western history +In the British and European context, theatrical troupes ("playing companies") were all-male, with the female parts undertaken by boy players. + +The Rebecca Riots took place between 1839 and 1843 in West and Mid Wales. They were a series of protests undertaken by local farmers and agricultural workers in response to unfair taxation. The rioters, often men dressed as women, took their actions against toll-gates, as they were tangible representations of high taxes and tolls. The riots ceased prior to 1844 due to several factors, including increased troop levels, a desire by the protestors to avoid violence and the appearance of criminal groups using the guise of the biblical character Rebecca for their own purposes. In 1844 an Act of Parliament to consolidate and amend the laws relating to turnpike trusts in Wales was passed. + +A variety of historical figures are known to have cross-dressed to varying degrees. Many women found they had to disguise themselves as men in order to participate in the wider world. For example, it is postulated that Margaret King cross-dressed in the early 19th century to attend medical school, as universities at that time accepted only male students. A century later, Vita Sackville-West dressed as a young soldier in order to "walk out" with her girlfriend Violet Keppel, to avoid the street harassment that two women would have faced. The prohibition on women wearing male garb, once strictly applied, still has echoes today in some Western societies which require girls and women to wear skirts, for example as part of school uniform or office dress codes. In some countries, even in casual settings, women are still prohibited from wearing traditionally male clothing. Sometimes all trousers, no matter how loose and long, are automatically considered "indecent", which may render their wearer subject to severe punishment, as in the case of Lubna al-Hussein in Sudan in 2009. + +Legal issues + +In many countries, cross-dressing was illegal under laws that identified it as indecent or immoral. Many such laws were challenged in the late 1900s giving people the right to freedom of gender expression with regard to their clothing. + +For instance, from 1840 forward, United States saw state and city laws forbidding people from appearing in public while dressed in clothes not commonly associated with their assigned sex. The goal of this wave of policies was to create a tool that would enforce a normative gender narrative, targeting multiple gender identities across the gender spectrum. With the progression of time, styles, and societal trends, it became even more difficult to draw the line between what was cross-dressing or not. Only recently have these laws changed. As recently as 2011, it was still possible for a man to get arrested for "impersonating a woman" — a vestige of the 19th century laws. Even with this, legal issues surrounding cross-dressing perpetuated all throughout the mid 20th century. During this time period, police would often reference laws that did not exist or laws that have been repealed in order to target the LGBTQ+ community. + +This extends beyond the United States: There still remains 13 UN member States that explicitly criminalize transgender individuals, and there exist even more countries that use a great deal of diverse laws to target them. The third edition of the Trans Legal Mapping Report, done by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association found that an especially common method to target these individuals is through cross-dressing regulations. For instance, only in 2014 did an appeal court in Malaysia finally overturned a state law prohibiting Muslim men from cross-dressing as women. + +In the Australian state of Tasmania, cross-dressing in public was made a criminal offence in 1935, and this law was only repealed in 2000. + +Varieties +There are many different kinds of cross-dressing and many different reasons why an individual might engage in cross-dressing behavior. Some people cross-dress as a matter of comfort or style, a personal preference for clothing associated with the opposite gender. Some people cross-dress to shock others or challenge social norms; others will limit their cross-dressing to underwear, so that it is not apparent. Some people attempt to pass as a member of the opposite gender in order to gain access to places or resources they would not otherwise be able to reach. + +Theater and performance +Single-sex theatrical troupes often have some performers who cross-dress to play roles written for members of the opposite sex (travesti and trouser roles). Cross-dressing, particularly the depiction of males wearing dresses, is often used for comic effect onstage and on-screen. + +Boy player refers to children who performed in Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the adult companies and performed the female roles as women did not perform on the English stage in this period. Others worked for children's companies in which all roles, not just the female ones, were played by boys.  + +In an effort to clamp down on kabuki's popularity, women's kabuki, known as , was banned in 1629 in Japan for being too erotic. Following this ban, young boys began performing in , which was also soon banned. Thus adult men play female roles in kabuki. + +Dan is the general name for female roles in Chinese opera, often referring to leading roles. They may be played by male or female actors. In the early years of Peking opera, all roles were played by men, but this practice is no longer common in any Chinese opera genre. + +Women have often been excluded from Noh, and men often play female characters in it. + +Drag is a special form of performance art based on the act of cross-dressing. A drag queen is usually a male-assigned person who performs as an exaggeratedly feminine character, in heightened costuming sometimes consisting of a showy dress, high-heeled shoes, obvious make-up, and wig. A drag queen may imitate famous female film or pop-music stars. A faux queen is a female-assigned person employing the same techniques. A drag king is a counterpart of the drag queen – a female-assigned person who adopts a masculine persona in performance or imitates a male film or pop-music star. Some female-assigned people undergoing gender reassignment therapy also self-identify as 'drag kings'.The modern activity of battle reenactments has raised the question of women passing as male soldiers. In 1989, Lauren Burgess dressed as a male soldier in a U.S. National Park Service reenactment of the Battle of Antietam, and was ejected after she was discovered to be a woman. Burgess sued the Park Service for sexual discrimination. The case spurred spirited debate among Civil War buffs. In 1993, a federal judge ruled in Burgess's favor. + +"Wigging" refers to the practice of male stunt doubles taking the place of an actress, parallel to "paint downs", where white stunt doubles are made up to resemble black actors. Female stunt doubles have begun to protest this norm of "historical sexism", saying that it restricts their already limited job possibilities. + +British pantomime, television and comedy + +Cross-dressing is a traditional popular trope in British comedy. The pantomime dame in British pantomime dates from the 19th century, which is part of the theatrical tradition of female characters portrayed by male actors in drag. Widow Twankey (Aladdin's mother) is a popular pantomime dame: in 2004 Ian McKellen played the role. + +The Monty Python comedy troupe donned frocks and makeup, playing female roles while speaking in falsetto. Character comics such as Benny Hill and Dick Emery drew upon several female identities. In the BBC's long-running sketch show The Dick Emery Show (broadcast from 1963 to 1981), Emery played Mandy, a busty peroxide blonde whose catchphrase, "Ooh, you are awful ... but I like you!", was given in response to a seemingly innocent remark made by her interviewer, but perceived by her as ribald double entendre. The popular tradition of cross dressing in British comedy extended to the 1984 music video for Queen's "I Want to Break Free" where the band parody several female characters from the soap opera Coronation Street. + +Sexual fetishes + +A transvestic fetishist is a person who cross-dresses as part of a sexual fetish. According to the fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, this fetishism was limited to heterosexual men; however, DSM-5 does not have this restriction, and opens it to women and men, regardless of their sexual orientation. + +Sometimes either member of a heterosexual couple will cross-dress in order to arouse the other. For example, the male might wear skirts or lingerie and/or the female will wear boxers or other male clothing. (See also forced feminization) + +Passing + +Some people who cross-dress may endeavor to project a complete impression of belonging to another gender, including mannerisms, speech patterns, and emulation of sexual characteristics. This is referred to as passing or "trying to pass", depending how successful the person is. An observer who sees through the cross-dresser's attempt to pass is said to have "read" or "clocked" them. There are videos, books, and magazines on how a man may look more like a woman. + +Others may choose to take a mixed approach, adopting some feminine traits and some masculine traits in their appearance. For instance, a man might wear both a dress and a beard. This is sometimes known as "genderfuck". In a broader context, cross-dressing may also refer to other actions undertaken to pass as a particular sex, such as packing (accentuating the male crotch bulge) or, the opposite, tucking (concealing the male crotch bulge). + +Gender disguise +Gender disguise has been used by women and girls to pass as male, and by men and boys to pass as female. Gender disguise has also been used as a plot device in storytelling, particularly in narrative ballads, and is a recurring motif in literature, theater, and film. Historically, some women have cross-dressed to take up male-dominated or male-exclusive professions, such as military service. Conversely, some men have cross-dressed to escape from mandatory military service or as a disguise to assist in political or social protest, as men in Wales did in the Rebecca Riots and when conducting Ceffyl Pren as a form of mob justice. + +Sports +Conversation surrounding exclusion and inequality in sports has been around for decades. While the fight for equality in sports has been going on, there are a couple of notable women who have dressed as men or hid their gender to insert themselves into the very gatekept world of sports. + +Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb +Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb is the first woman to have competed in the Boston Marathon. In 1966 Bobbi Gibb wrote a letter to the Boston Athletic Association asking to participate in the race happening that year. When Gibb received her letter back in the mail she was faced with the news that her entry to the race was denied due to her gender. Rather than just accept her fate, Gibb did not take no for an answer and decided to run the marathon anyways—however, she would do it hidden as a man. On the day of the race Gibb showed up in an oversized sweatshirt, her brother's shorts, and men's running shoes. Gibb hid in the bushes until the race started and then joined in with the crowd. Eventually her fellow runners figured out Gibb's real gender but stated that they would make sure that she finished the race. Gibb ended up finishing her first Boston Marathon in 3 hours, 27 minutes and 40 seconds. She crossed the finish line with blistered, bleeding feet from the men's running shoes she was wearing. Gibb's act of defiance influenced other women marathon runners of the time like Katherine Switzer, who also registered under an alias to be able to run the race in 1967. It would not be until 1972 until there was an official women's race within the Boston Marathon. + +Sam Kerr +Sam Kerr is a forward for the Australian Women's Soccer Team and Chelsea FC in the FA Women's Super League. Kerr has been regarded as one of the best forward players in the sport and has been one of the most highly paid players in women's soccer as well. While Kerr now shares the world state with other great women soccer players, as a young child she shared the field with young boys. Kerr grew up in a suburb of Perth where there was little to no access to young girls soccer teams in the direct area. Not having a girls team to play on did not bother Kerr though, she simply played on a youth boys team where all of her teammates just assumed she was also a boy. Kerr states in her book My Journey to the World Cup that she continued to hide her gender because she did not want to be treated any differently. In her book Kerr also reviled that when one of her teammates found out that she was, in fact a girl, he cried. While Kerr's act of hiding her gender was initially an accident, it is still an example of how women (and in the case a young girl) can create opportunities for themselves by looking or acting as a man. + +War +One of the most common instances of gender disguise is in the instance of war/militaristic situations. From Joan of Arc in the 15th century to Mulan from the animated Disney Mulan to young girls in World War II, there have been many different people of many different sexes that disguise themselves as men in order to be able to fight in wars. + +Joan of Arc +Born c. 1412, St Joan of Arc or the Maid of Orleans is one of the oldest examples of gender disguise. At 13, after receiving a revelation that she was supposed to lead the French to victory over the English in the 100 years war, Joan donned the clothing of a male soldier in the French army. Joan was able to convince King Charles the VIII to allow her to take the lead of some of the French armies in order to help him get his crown back. Ultimately, Joan of Arc was successful in claiming victory over the English but was captured in 1430 and found guilty of heretic, leading to her execution in 1431.The impact of her actions was seen even after Joan's death in 1431. During the suffragette movement, Joan of Arc was used as an inspiration for the movement, particularly in Britain where many used her actions as fuel for their fight for political reform. + +Deborah Sampson +Born in 1760 in Plympton, Massachusetts, Deborah Sampson was the first female soldier in the US Army. The only woman in the Revolution to receive a full military pension, at age 18 Deborah took the name “Robert Shirtleff” and enlisted in union forces. In her capacity as a soldier, she was very successful, being named captain and leading an infantry in the capture of 15 enemy soldiers among other things. One and a half years into service, her true sex was revealed when she had to receive medical care. Following an honorable discharge, Deborah petitioned congress for her full pay that was withheld on the grounds of being an “invalid soldier” and eventually received it. She died in 1827 at age 66. Even after her death, Deborah Sampson continues to be a "hero of the American Revolution". In 2019, a diary from corporal Abner Weston shares about Deborah Sampson's previously unknown first attempt to enlist in the Continental Army. + +These women are just a few among many who have disguised themselves as men in order to be able to fight in many different wars. Others who have used gender disguise for this purpose include Kit Kavanaugh/Christian Davies, Hannah Snell, Sarah Emma Edmonds, Frances Clayton, Dorothy Lawrence, Zoya Smirnow, Brita Olofsdotter, and Margaret Ann Bulkly/James Barry. + +Journalism and culture +In some instances, women in journalism deem is necessary to wear the identity of a man in order to gather information that is only accessible from the male point of view. In other cases, people cross-dress to cope with strict cultural norms and expectations. + +Norah Vincent +Norah Vincent, author of the book Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey Into Manhood and Back Again, used gender disguise in order to go undercover as a men to penetrate men’s social circles and experience life as a man. In 2003, Vincent put her life on pause to adopt a new masculine identity as Ned Vincent. She worked with a makeup artist and vocal coach in order to convincingly play the role of a biological man. She wore an undersized sports bra, a stuffed jock strap, and size 11½ shoes to deceive those around her. In her book, Vincent makes discoveries about socialization, romance, sex, and stress as a man that leads her to conclude that, “[Men] have different problems than women have, but they don't have it better.” However, Vincent developed controversial opinions about sex and gender, claiming that transgender people are not legitimate until they undergo hormone therapy and surgical intervention. After writing Self-Made Man, Vincent became a victim of depression; she died by medically assisted suicide in 2022. + +Bacha posh +Bacha posh, an Afghani tradition, involves the crossdressing of young Afghan girls by their families so that they present to the public as boys. Families engage in bacha posh so that their daughters may avoid the oppression that women face under Afghanistan's deeply patriarchal society. Other reasons for having a bacha posh daughter include economic pressure, as girls and women are generally prohibited from work in contemporary Afghanistan, and social pressure, as families with boys tend to be more well regarded in Afghan society. While there isn’t a law that prohibits bacha posh, girls are expected to revert to traditional gender norms upon reaching puberty. According to Thomas Barfield, an anthropology professor at Boston University, bacha posh is "one of the most under-investigated" topics in the realm of gender studies, making difficult to determine exactly how common the practice is in Afghan society. However, some prominent female figures in Afghan society have admitted to being bacha posh in their youth. A more famous example of this is Afghan parliament member Azita Rafaat. Rafaat claims that bacha posh was a positive experience that built her self-confidence in Afghanistan's heavily patriarchal society and gave her a more well rounded understanding of women's issues in Afghanistan. + +Clothes + +The actual determination of cross-dressing is largely socially constructed. For example, in Western society, trousers have long been adopted for usage by women, and it is no longer regarded as cross-dressing. In cultures where men have traditionally worn skirt-like garments such as the kilt or sarong, these are not seen as women's clothing, and wearing them is not seen as cross-dressing for men. As societies are becoming more global in nature, both men's and women's clothing are adopting styles of dress associated with other cultures. + +Cosplaying may also involve cross-dressing, for some females may wish to dress as a male, and vice versa (see Crossplay (cosplay)). Breast binding (for females) is not uncommon and is one of the things likely needed to cosplay a male character. + +In most parts of the world, it remains socially disapproved for men to wear clothes traditionally associated with women. Attempts are occasionally made, e.g. by fashion designers, to promote the acceptance of skirts as everyday wear for men. Cross-dressers have complained that society permits women to wear pants or jeans and other masculine clothing, while condemning any man who wants to wear clothing sold for women. + +While creating a more feminine figure, male cross-dressers will often utilize different types and styles of breast forms, which are silicone or foam prostheses traditionally used by women who have undergone mastectomies to recreate the visual appearance of a breast. Some male cross-dressers may also use hip or butt pads to create a profile that appears more stereotypically feminine. + +While most male cross-dressers utilize clothing associated with modern women, some are involved in subcultures that involve dressing as little girls or in vintage clothing. Some such men have written that they enjoy dressing as femininely as possible, so they wear frilly dresses with lace and ribbons, bridal gowns complete with veils, as well as multiple petticoats, corsets, girdles and/or garter belts with nylon stockings. + +The term underdressing is used by male cross-dressers to describe wearing female undergarments such as panties under their male clothes. The famous low-budget film-maker Edward D. Wood, Jr. (who also went out in public dressed in drag as "Shirley", his female alter ego) said he often wore women's underwear under his military uniform as a Marine during World War II. Female masking is a form of cross-dressing in which men wear masks that present them as female. + +Social issues + +Cross-dressers may begin wearing clothing associated with the opposite sex in childhood, using the clothes of a sibling, parent, or friend. Some parents have said they allowed their children to cross-dress and, in many cases, the child stopped when they became older. The same pattern often continues into adulthood, where there may be confrontations with a spouse, partner, family member or friend. Married cross-dressers can experience considerable anxiety and guilt if their spouse objects to their behavior. + +Sometimes because of guilt or other reasons cross-dressers dispose of all their clothing, a practice called "purging", only to start collecting the other gender's clothing again. + +Festivals +Celebrations of cross-dressing occur in widespread cultures. The Abissa festival in Côte d'Ivoire, Ofudamaki in Japan, and Kottankulangara Festival in India are all examples of this. + +Analysis +Advocacy for social change has done much to relax the constrictions of gender roles on men and women, but they are still subject to prejudice from some people. It is noticeable that as being transgender becomes more socially accepted as a normal human condition, the prejudices against cross-dressing are changing quite quickly, just as the similar prejudices against homosexuals have changed rapidly in recent decades. + +The reason it is so hard to have statistics for female cross-dressers is that the line where cross-dressing stops and cross-dressing begins has become blurred, whereas the same line for men is as well defined as ever. This is one of the many issues being addressed by third wave feminism as well as the modern-day masculist movement. + +The general culture has very mixed views about cross-dressing. A woman who wears her husband's shirt to bed is considered attractive, while a man who wears his wife's nightgown to bed may be considered transgressive. Marlene Dietrich in a tuxedo was considered very erotic; Jack Lemmon in a dress was considered ridiculous. All this may result from an overall gender role rigidity for males; that is, because of the prevalent gender dynamic throughout the world, men frequently encounter discrimination when deviating from masculine gender norms, particularly violations of heteronormativity. A man's adoption of feminine clothing is often considered a going down in the gendered social order whereas a woman's adoption of what are traditionally men's clothing (at least in the English-speaking world) has less of an impact because women have been traditionally subordinate to men, unable to affect serious change through style of dress. Thus when a male cross-dresser puts on his clothes, he transforms into the quasi-female and thereby becomes an embodiment of the conflicted gender dynamic. Following the work of Judith Butler, gender proceeds along through ritualized performances, but in male cross-dressing it becomes a performative "breaking" of the masculine and a "subversive repetition" of the feminine. + +Psychoanalysts today do not regard cross-dressing by itself as a psychological problem, unless it interferes with a person's life. "For instance," said Joseph Merlino, senior editor of Freud at 150: 21st Century Essays on a Man of Genius, "[suppose that]...I'm a cross-dresser and I don't want to keep it confined to my circle of friends, or my party circle, and I want to take that to my wife and I don't understand why she doesn't accept it, or I take it to my office and I don't understand why they don't accept it, then it's become a problem because it's interfering with my relationships and environment." + +Cross-dressing in the 21st century + +Fashion trends + +Cross-dressing today is much more common and normalized thanks to trends such as camp fashion and androgynous fashion. These trends have long histories but have recently been popularized thanks to major designers, fashion media, and celebrities today. +Camp is a style of fashion that has had a long history extending all the way back to the Victorian era to the modern era. During the Victorian era up until the mid-20th century, it was defined as an exaggerated and flamboyant style of dressing. This was typically associated with ideas of effeminacy, de-masculization, and homosexuality. As the trend entered the 20th century, it also developed an association with a lack of conduct, creating the connotation that those who engaged in Camp are unrefined, improper, distasteful, and, essentially, undignified. Though this was its former understanding, Camp has now developed a new role in the fashion industry. It is considered a fashion style that has "failed seriousness" and has instead become a fun way of self-expression. Thanks to its integration with high fashion and extravagance, Camp is now seen as a high art form of absurdity: including loud, vibrant, bold, fun, and empty frivolity. + +Camp is often used in drag culture as a method of exaggerating or inversing traditional conceptions of what it means to be feminine. In actuality, the QTPOC community has had a large impact on Camp. This is exhibited by ballroom culture, camp/glamour queens, Black '70s funk, Caribbean Carnival costumes, Blaxploitation movies, "pimp/player fashion", and more. This notion has also been materialized by camp icons such as Josephine Baker and RuPaul. + +Androgynous fashion is described as neither masculine nor feminine rather it is the embodiment of a gender inclusive and sexually neutral fashion of expression. The general understanding of androgynous fashion is mixing both masculine and feminine pieces with the goal of producing a look that has no visual differentiations between one gender or another. This look is achieved by masking the general body so that one cannot identify the biological sex of an individual given the silhouette of the clothing pieces: Therefore, many androgynous looks include looser, baggier clothing that can conceal curves in the female body or using more "feminine" fabrics and prints for men. + +Both of these style forms have been normalized and popularized by celebrities such as Harry Styles, Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Princess Diana, and more. + +Societal changes + +Beyond fashion, cross-dressing in non-Western countries have not fully outgrown the negative connotations that it has in the West. For instance, many Eastern and Southeastern Asian countries have a narrative of discrimination and stigma against LGBTQ and cross-dressing individuals. This is especially evident in the post-pandemic world. During this time, it was clear to see the failures of these governments to provide sufficient support to these individuals due to a lack of legal services, lack of job opportunity, and more. For instance, to be able to receive government aid, these individuals need to be able to quickly change their legal name, gender, and other information on official ID documents. This fault augmented the challenges of income loss, food insecurity, safe housing, healthcare, and more for many trans and cross-dressing individuals. This was especially pertinent as many of these individuals relied on entertainment and sex work for income. With the pandemic removing these job opportunities, the stigmatisation and discrimination against these individuals only increased, especially in Southeast Asian countries. +On the other hand, some Asian countries have grown to be more accepting of cross-dressing as modernization has increased. For instance, among Japan's niche communities there exists the otokonoko. This is a group of male-assigned individuals who engage in female cross-dressing as a form of gender expression. This trend originated with manga and grew with an increase in maid cafes, cosplaying, and more in the 2010s. With the normalization of this through cosplay, cross-dressing has become a large part of otaku and anime culture. + +Across media + +Women dressed as men, and less often men dressed as women, is a common trope in fiction and folklore. For example, in Norse myth, Thor disguised himself as Freya. These disguises were also popular in Gothic fiction, such as in works by Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, père, and Eugène Sue, and in a number of Shakespeare's plays, such as Twelfth Night. In The Wind in the Willows, Toad dresses as a washerwoman, and in The Lord of the Rings, Éowyn pretends to be a man. + +In science fiction, fantasy and women's literature, this literary motif is occasionally taken further, with literal transformation of a character from male to female or vice versa. Virginia Woolf's Orlando: A Biography focuses on a man who becomes a woman, as does a warrior in Peter S. Beagle's The Innkeeper's Song; while in Geoff Ryman's The Warrior Who Carried Life, Cara magically transforms herself into a man. + +Other popular examples of gender disguise include Madame Doubtfire (published as Alias Madame Doubtfire in the United States) and its movie adaptation Mrs. Doubtfire, featuring a man disguised as a woman. Similarly, the movie Tootsie features Dustin Hoffman disguised as a woman, while the movie The Associate features Whoopi Goldberg disguised as a man. + +Medical views +The 10th edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems lists dual-role transvestism (non-sexual cross-dressing) and fetishistic transvestism (cross-dressing for sexual pleasure) as disorders. Both listings were removed for the 11th edition. +Transvestic fetishism is a paraphilia and a psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM-5 version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. + +See also + + Androgyny + Breeches role + Breeching (boys) + Cross-dressing ball + Cross-gender acting + Drag (clothing) + Effeminacy + Femme + Femminiello + Gender bender + Gender identity + Gender variance + List of transgender-related topics + List of transgender-rights organizations + List of wartime crossdressers + Otokonoko, male crossdressing in Japan + Queer heterosexuality + Sex and gender distinction + Social construction of gender + Sexual orientation hypothesis + Transvestism + Travesti (theatre) + Tri-Ess + Womanless wedding + +Notes + +References + +Further reading + Anders, Charles. The Lazy Crossdresser, Greenery Press, 2002. . + Boyd, Helen. My Husband Betty, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2003 + + Clute, John & Grant, John. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, Orbit Books, 1997. + + + "Lynne". "A Cross-Dressing-Perspective" + +External links + + The Gender Centre (Australia) + Crossdressing Support Group (Canada) + The EnFemme Archives + En Femme Magazine No. 1, Digital Transgender Archive + + +Clothing controversies +The Channel Tunnel (), also known as the Chunnel, is a underwater railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland. At its lowest point, it is below the sea bed and below sea level. At , it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world and is the third longest railway tunnel in the world. The speed limit for trains through the tunnel is . The tunnel is owned and operated by the company Getlink, formerly "Groupe Eurotunnel". + +The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, LeShuttle services for road vehicles and freight trains. It connects end-to-end with high-speed railway lines: the LGV Nord in France and High Speed 1 in England. In 2017, rail services carried 10.3 million passengers and 1.22 million tonnes of freight, and the Shuttle carried 10.4 million passengers, 2.6 million cars, 51,000 coaches, and 1.6 million lorries (equivalent to 21.3 million tonnes of freight), compared with 11.7 million passengers, 2.6 million lorries and 2.2 million cars by sea through the Port of Dover. + +Plans to build a cross-Channel fixed link appeared as early as 1802, but British political and media pressure motivated by fears of compromising national security had disrupted attempts to build one. An early unsuccessful attempt was made in the late 19th century, on the English side, "in the hope of forcing the hand of the English Government". The eventual successful project, organised by Eurotunnel, began construction in 1988 and opened in 1994. Estimated to cost £5.5 billion in 1985, it was at the time the most expensive construction project ever proposed. The cost finally amounted to £9 billion (equivalent to £ billion in ), well over budget. + +Since its opening, the tunnel has experienced mechanical problems. Both fires and cold weather have temporarily disrupted its operation. Since at least 1997, aggregations of migrants around Calais seeking entry to the United Kingdom, such as through the tunnel, have prompted deterrence and countermeasures. + +Origins + +Earlier proposals + +In 1802, Albert Mathieu-Favier, a French mining engineer, put forward a proposal to tunnel under the English Channel, with illumination from oil lamps, horse-drawn coaches, and an artificial island positioned mid-Channel for changing horses. His design envisaged a bored two-level tunnel with the top tunnel used for transport and the bottom one for groundwater flows. + +In 1839, Aimé Thomé de Gamond, a Frenchman, performed the first geological and hydrographical surveys on the Channel between Calais and Dover. He explored several schemes and, in 1856, presented a proposal to Napoleon III for a mined railway tunnel from Cap Gris-Nez to East Wear Point with a port/airshaft on the Varne sandbank at a cost of 170 million francs, or less than £7 million. + +In 1865, a deputation led by George Ward Hunt proposed the idea of a tunnel to the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the day, William Ewart Gladstone. + +In 1866, Henry Marc Brunel made a survey of the floor of the Strait of Dover. By his results, he proved that the floor was composed of chalk, like the adjoining cliffs, and thus a tunnel was feasible. For this survey, he invented the gravity corer, which is still used in geology. + +Around 1866, William Low and Sir John Hawkshaw promoted tunnel ideas, but apart from preliminary geological studies, none were implemented. + +An official Anglo-French protocol was established in 1876 for a cross-Channel railway tunnel. + +In 1881, British railway entrepreneur Sir Edward Watkin and Alexandre Lavalley, a French Suez Canal contractor, were in the Anglo-French Submarine Railway Company that conducted exploratory work on both sides of the Channel. From June 1882 to March 1883, the British tunnel boring machine tunneled, through chalk, a total of , while Lavalley used a similar machine to drill from Sangatte on the French side. However, the cross-Channel tunnel project was abandoned in 1883, despite this success, after fears raised by the British military that an underwater tunnel might be used as an invasion route. Nevertheless, in 1883, this TBM was used to bore a railway ventilation tunnel— in diameter and long—between Birkenhead and Liverpool, England, through sandstone under the Mersey River. These early works were encountered more than a century later during the TML project. + +A 1907 film, Tunnelling the English Channel by pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès, depicts King Edward VII and President Armand Fallières dreaming of building a tunnel under the English Channel. + +In 1919, during the Paris Peace Conference, British prime minister David Lloyd George repeatedly brought up the idea of a Channel tunnel as a way of reassuring France about British willingness to defend against another German attack. The French did not take the idea seriously, and nothing came of the proposal. + +In the 1920s, Winston Churchill advocated for the Channel Tunnel, using that exact name in his essay "Should Strategists Veto The Tunnel?" It was published on 27 July 1924 in the Weekly Dispatch, and argued vehemently against the idea that the tunnel could be used by a Continental enemy in an invasion of Britain. Churchill expressed his enthusiasm for the project again in an article for the Daily Mail on 12 February 1936, "Why Not A Channel Tunnel?" + +There was another proposal in 1929, but nothing came of this discussion and the idea was shelved. Proponents estimated the construction cost at US$150 million. The engineers had addressed the concerns of both nations' military leaders by designing two sumps—one near the coast of each country—that could be flooded at will to block the tunnel but this did not appease military leaders, or dispel concerns about hordes of tourists who would disrupt English life. Military fears continued during the Second World War. After the fall of France, as Britain prepared for an expected German invasion, a Royal Navy officer in the Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development calculated that Hitler could use slave labour to build two Channel tunnels in 18 months. The estimate caused rumours that Germany had already begun digging. + +A British film from Gaumont Studios, The Tunnel (also called TransAtlantic Tunnel), was released in 1935 as a science-fiction project concerning the creation of a transatlantic tunnel. It referred briefly to its protagonist, a Mr. McAllan, as having completed a British Channel tunnel successfully in 1940, five years into the future of the film's release. + +By 1955, defence arguments had become less relevant due to the dominance of air power, and both the British and French governments supported technical and geological surveys. In 1958 the 1881 workings were cleared in preparation for a £100,000 geological survey by the Channel Tunnel Study Group. 30% of the funding came from Channel Tunnel Co Ltd, the largest shareholder of which was the British Transport Commission, as successor to the South Eastern Railway. A detailed geological survey was carried out in 1964 and 1965. + +Although the two countries agreed to build a tunnel in 1964, the phase 1 initial studies and signing of a second agreement to cover phase 2 took until 1973. The plan described a government-funded project to create two tunnels to accommodate car shuttle wagons on either side of a service tunnel. Construction started on both sides of the Channel in 1974. + +On 20 January 1975, to the dismay of their French partners, the then-governing Labour Party in Britain cancelled the project due to uncertainty about EEC membership, doubling cost estimates and the general economic crisis at the time. By this time the British tunnel boring machine was ready and the Ministry of Transport had conducted a experimental drive. (This short tunnel, called Adit A1, was eventually reused as the starting and access point for tunnelling operations from the British side, and remains an access point to the service tunnel.) The cancellation costs were estimated at £17 million. On the French side, a tunnel-boring machine had been installed underground in a stub tunnel. It lay there for 14 years until 1988, when it was sold, dismantled, refurbished and shipped to Turkey, where it was used to drive the Moda tunnel for the Istanbul Sewerage Scheme. + +Initiation of project + +In 1979, the "Mouse-hole Project" was suggested when the Conservatives came to power in Britain. The concept was a single-track rail tunnel with a service tunnel but without shuttle terminals. The British government took no interest in funding the project, but British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher did not object to a privately funded project, although she said she assumed it would be for cars rather than trains. In 1981, Thatcher and French president François Mitterrand agreed to establish a working group to evaluate a privately funded project. In June 1982 the Franco-British study group favoured a twin tunnel to accommodate conventional trains and a vehicle shuttle service. In April 1985 promoters were invited to submit scheme proposals. Four submissions were shortlisted: + Channel Tunnel, a rail proposal based on the 1975 scheme presented by Channel Tunnel Group/France–Manche (CTG/F–M). + Eurobridge, a suspension bridge with a series of spans with a roadway in an enclosed tube. + Euroroute, a tunnel between artificial islands approached by bridges. + Channel Expressway, a set of large-diameter road tunnels with mid-Channel ventilation towers. + +The cross-Channel ferry industry protested under the name "Flexilink". In 1975 there was no campaign protesting a fixed link, with one of the largest ferry operators (Sealink) being state-owned. Flexilink continued rousing opposition throughout 1986 and 1987. Public opinion strongly favoured a drive-through tunnel, but concerns about ventilation, accident management and driver mesmerisation led to the only shortlisted rail submission, CTG/F-M, being awarded the project in January 1986. Reasons given for the selection included that it caused least disruption to shipping in the Channel and least environmental disruption, was the best protected against terrorism, and was the most likely to attract sufficient private finance. + +Arrangement + +The British Channel Tunnel Group consisted of two banks and five construction companies, while their French counterparts, France–Manche, consisted of three banks and five construction companies. The banks' role was to advise on financing and secure loan commitments. On 2 July 1985, the groups formed Channel Tunnel Group/France–Manche (CTG/F–M). Their submission to the British and French governments was drawn from the 1975 project, including 11 volumes and a substantial environmental impact statement. + +The Anglo-French Treaty on the Channel Tunnel was signed by both governments in Canterbury Cathedral. The Treaty of Canterbury (1986) prepared the Concession for the construction and operation of the Fixed Link by privately owned companies and outlined arbitration methods to be used in the event of disputes. It set up the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC), responsible for monitoring all matters associated with the Tunnel's construction and operation on behalf of the British and French governments, and a Safety Authority to advise the IGC. +It drew a land frontier between the two countries in the middle of the Channel tunnel—the first of its kind. + +Design and construction were done by the ten construction companies in the CTG/F-M group. The French terminal and boring from Sangatte were done by the five French construction companies in the joint venture group GIE Transmanche Construction. The English Terminal and boring from Shakespeare Cliff were done by the five British construction companies in the Translink Joint Venture. The two partnerships were linked by a bi-national project organisation, TransManche Link (TML). The Maître d'Oeuvre was a supervisory engineering body employed by Eurotunnel under the terms of the concession that monitored the project and reported to the governments and banks. + +In France, with its long tradition of infrastructure investment, the project had widespread approval. The French National Assembly approved it unanimously in April 1987, and after a public inquiry, the Senate approved it unanimously in June. In Britain, select committees examined the proposal, making history by holding hearings away from Westminster, in Kent. In February 1987, the third reading of the Channel Tunnel Bill took place in the House of Commons, and passed by 94 votes to 22. The Channel Tunnel Act gained Royal assent and passed into law in July. Parliamentary support for the project came partly from provincial members of Parliament on the basis of promises of regional Eurostar through train services that never materialised; the promises were repeated in 1996 when the contract for construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link was awarded. + +Cost +The tunnel is a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) project with a concession. TML would design and build the tunnel, but financing was through a separate legal entity, Eurotunnel. Eurotunnel absorbed CTG/F-M and signed a construction contract with TML, but the British and French governments controlled final engineering and safety decisions, now in the hands of the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority. The British and French governments gave Eurotunnel a 55-year operating concession (from 1987; extended by 10 years to 65 years in 1993) to repay loans and pay dividends. A Railway Usage Agreement was signed between Eurotunnel, British Rail and SNCF guaranteeing future revenue in exchange for the railways obtaining half of the tunnel's capacity. + +Private funding for such a complex infrastructure project was of unprecedented scale. Initial equity of £45 million was raised by CTG/F-M, increased by £206 million private institutional placement, £770 million was raised in a public share offer that included press and television advertisements, a syndicated bank loan and letter of credit arranged £5 billion. Privately financed, the total investment costs at 1985 prices were £2.6 billion. At the 1994 completion actual costs were, in 1985 prices, £4.65 billion: an 80% cost overrun. The cost overrun was partly due to enhanced safety, security, and environmental demands. Financing costs were 140% higher than forecast. + +Construction + +Working from both the English and French sides of the Channel, eleven tunnel boring machines or TBMs cut through chalk marl to construct two rail tunnels and a service tunnel. The vehicle shuttle terminals are at Cheriton (part of Folkestone) and Coquelles, and are connected to the English M20 and French A16 motorways respectively. + +Tunnelling commenced in 1988, and the tunnel began operating in 1994. In 1985 prices, the total construction cost was £4.65 billion (equivalent to £ billion in 2015), an 80% cost overrun. At the peak of construction 15,000 people were employed with daily expenditure over £3 million. Ten workers, eight of them British, were killed during construction between 1987 and 1993, most in the first few months of boring. + +Completion + +A diameter pilot hole allowed the service tunnel to break through without ceremony on 30 October 1990. On 1 December 1990, Englishman Graham Fagg and Frenchman Phillippe Cozette broke through the service tunnel with the media watching. Eurotunnel completed the tunnel on time. (A BBC TV television commentator called Graham Fagg "the first man to cross the Channel by land for 8000 years".) The two tunnelling efforts met each other with an offset of only . A Paddington Bear soft toy was chosen by British tunnellers as the first item to pass through to their French counterparts when the two sides met. + +The tunnel was officially opened, one year later than originally planned, by Queen Elizabeth II and the French president, François Mitterrand, in a ceremony held in Calais on 6 May 1994. The Queen travelled through the tunnel to Calais on a Eurostar train, which stopped nose to nose with the train that carried President Mitterrand from Paris. Following the ceremony President Mitterrand and the Queen travelled on Le Shuttle to a similar ceremony in Folkestone. A full public service did not start for several months. The first freight train, however, ran on 1 June 1994 and carried Rover and Mini cars being exported to Italy. + +The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), now called High Speed 1, runs from St Pancras railway station in London to the tunnel portal at Folkestone in Kent. It cost £5.8 billion. On 16 September 2003 the prime minister, Tony Blair, opened the first section of High Speed 1, from Folkestone to north Kent. On 6 November 2007, the Queen officially opened High Speed 1 and St Pancras International station, replacing the original slower link to Waterloo International railway station. High Speed 1 trains travel at up to , the journey from London to Paris taking 2 hours 15 minutes, to Brussels 1 hour 51 minutes. + +In 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers elected the tunnel as one of the seven modern Wonders of the World. In 1995, the American magazine Popular Mechanics published the results. + +Opening dates +The opening was phased for various services offered as the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority, the IGC, gave permission for various services to begin at several dates over the period 1994/1995 but start-up dates were a few days later. + +Engineering + +Site investigation undertaken in the 20 years before construction confirmed earlier speculations that a tunnel could be bored through a chalk marl stratum. The chalk marl is conducive to tunnelling, with impermeability, ease of excavation and strength. The chalk marl runs along the entire length of the English side of the tunnel, but on the French side a length of has variable and difficult geology. The tunnel consists of three bores: two diameter rail tunnels, apart, in length with a diameter service tunnel in between. The three bores are connected by cross-passages and piston relief ducts. The service tunnel was used as a pilot tunnel, boring ahead of the main tunnels to determine the conditions. English access was provided at Shakespeare Cliff and French access from a shaft at Sangatte. The French side used five tunnel boring machines (TBMs), and the English side six. The service tunnel uses Service Tunnel Transport System (STTS) and Light Service Tunnel Vehicles (LADOGS). Fire safety was a critical design issue. + +Between the portals at Beussingue and Castle Hill the tunnel is long, with under land on the French side and on the UK side, and under sea. It is the third-longest rail tunnel in the world, behind the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland and the Seikan Tunnel in Japan, but with the longest under-sea section. The average depth is below the seabed. On the UK side, of the expected of spoil approximately was used for fill at the terminal site, and the remainder was deposited at Lower Shakespeare Cliff behind a seawall, reclaiming of land. This land was then made into the Samphire Hoe Country Park. Environmental impact assessment did not identify any major risks for the project, and further studies into safety, noise, and air pollution were overall positive. However, environmental objections were raised over a high-speed link to London. + +Geology + +Successful tunnelling required a sound understanding of topography and geology and the selection of the best rock strata through which to dig. The geology of this site generally consists of northeasterly dipping Cretaceous strata, part of the northern limb of the Wealden-Boulonnais dome. Characteristics include: + Continuous chalk on the cliffs on either side of the Channel containing no major faulting, as observed by Verstegan in 1605. + Four geological strata, marine sediments laid down 90–100 million years ago; pervious upper and middle chalk above slightly pervious lower chalk and finally impermeable Gault Clay. A sandy stratum, glauconitic marl (tortia), is in between the chalk marl and gault clay. + A layer of chalk marl (French: craie bleue) in the lower third of the lower chalk appeared to present the best tunnelling medium. The chalk has a clay content of 30–40% providing impermeability to groundwater yet relatively easy excavation with strength allowing minimal support. Ideally, the tunnel would be bored in the bottom of the chalk marl, allowing water inflow from fractures and joints to be minimised, but above the gault clay that would increase stress on the tunnel lining and swell and soften when wet. + +On the English side, the stratum dip is less than 5°; on the French side, this increases to 20°. Jointing and faulting are present on both sides. On the English side, only minor faults of displacement less than exist; on the French side, displacements of up to are present owing to the Quenocs anticlinal fold. The faults are of limited width, filled with calcite, pyrite and remolded clay. The increased dip and faulting restricted the selection of routes on the French side. To avoid confusion, microfossil assemblages were used to classify the chalk marl. On the French side, particularly near the coast, the chalk was harder, more brittle and more fractured than on the English side. This led to the adoption of different tunnelling techniques on the two sides. + +The Quaternary undersea valley Fosse Dangeard, and Castle Hill landslip at the English portal, caused concerns. Identified by the 1964–65 geophysical survey, the Fosse Dangeard is an infilled valley system extending below the seabed, south of the tunnel route in mid-channel. A 1986 survey showed that a tributary crossed the path of the tunnel, and so the tunnel route was made as far north and deep as possible. The English terminal had to be located in the Castle Hill landslip, which consists of displaced and tipping blocks of lower chalk, glauconitic marl and gault debris. Thus the area was stabilised by buttressing and inserting drainage adits. The service tunnel acted as a pilot preceding the main ones, so that the geology, areas of crushed rock, and zones of high water inflow could be predicted. Exploratory probing took place in the service tunnel, in the form of extensive forward probing, vertical downward probes and sideways probing. + +Site investigation +Marine soundings and samplings by Thomé de Gamond were carried out during 1833–67, establishing the seabed depth at a maximum of and the continuity of geological strata (layers). Surveying continued over many years, with 166 marine and 70 land-deep boreholes being drilled and over 4,000 line kilometres of the marine geophysical survey completed. Surveys were undertaken in 1958–1959, 1964–1965, 1972–1974 and 1986–1988. + +The surveying in 1958–59 catered for immersed tube and bridge designs, as well as a bored tunnel, and thus a wide area was investigated. At this time, marine geophysics surveying for engineering projects was in its infancy, with poor positioning and resolution from seismic profiling. The 1964–65 surveys concentrated on a northerly route that left the English coast at Dover harbour; using 70 boreholes, an area of deeply weathered rock with high permeability was located just south of Dover harbour. + +Given the previous survey results and access constraints, a more southerly route was investigated in the 1972–73 survey, and the route was confirmed to be feasible. Information for the tunnelling project also came from work before the 1975 cancellation. On the French side at Sangatte, a deep shaft with adits was made. On the English side at Shakespeare Cliff, the government allowed of diameter tunnel to be driven. The actual tunnel alignment, method of excavation and support were essentially the same as the 1975 attempt. In the 1986–87 survey, previous findings were reinforced, and the characteristics of the gault clay and the tunnelling medium (chalk marl that made up 85% of the route) were investigated. Geophysical techniques from the oil industry were employed. + +Tunnelling + +Tunnelling was a major engineering challenge, with the only precedent being the undersea Seikan Tunnel in Japan, which opened in 1988. A serious health and safety risk with building tunnels underwater is major water inflow due to the high hydrostatic pressure from the sea above, under weak ground conditions. The tunnel also had the challenge of time: being privately funded, the early financial return was paramount. + +The objective was to construct two rail tunnels, apart, in length; a service tunnel between the two main ones; pairs of -diameter cross-passages linking the rail tunnels to the service one at spacing; piston relief ducts in diameter connecting the rail tunnels apart; two undersea crossover caverns to connect the rail tunnels, with the service tunnel always preceding the main ones by at least to ascertain the ground conditions. There was plenty of experience with excavating through chalk in the mining industry, while the undersea crossover caverns were a complex engineering problem. The French one was based on the Mount Baker Ridge freeway tunnel in Seattle; the UK cavern was dug from the service tunnel ahead of the main ones, to avoid delay. + +Precast segmental linings in the main TBM drives were used, but two different solutions were used. On the French side, neoprene and grout sealed bolted linings made of cast iron or high-strength reinforced concrete were used; on the English side, the main requirement was for speed so bolting of cast-iron lining segments was only carried out in areas of poor geology. In the UK rail tunnels, eight lining segments plus a key segment were used; in the French side, five segments plus a key. On the French side, a diameter deep grout-curtained shaft at Sangatte was used for access. On the English side, a marshalling area was below the top of Shakespeare Cliff, the New Austrian Tunnelling method (NATM) was first applied in the chalk marl here. On the English side, the land tunnels were driven from Shakespeare Cliff—the same place as the marine tunnels—not from Folkestone. The platform at the base of the cliff was not large enough for all of the drives and, despite environmental objections, tunnel spoil was placed behind a reinforced concrete seawall, on condition of placing the chalk in an enclosed lagoon, to avoid wide dispersal of chalk fines. Owing to limited space, the precast lining factory was on the Isle of Grain in the Thames estuary, which used Scottish granite aggregate delivered by ship from the Foster Yeoman coastal super quarry at Glensanda in Loch Linnhe on the west coast of Scotland. + +On the French side, owing to the greater permeability to water, earth pressure balance TBMs with open and closed modes was used. The TBMs were of a closed nature during the initial , but then operated as open, boring through the chalk marl stratum. This minimised the impact to the ground, allowed high water pressures to be withstood and it also alleviated the need to grout ahead of the tunnel. The French effort required five TBMs: two main marine machines, one mainland machine (the short land drives of allowed one TBM to complete the first drive then reverse direction and complete the other), and two service tunnel machines. On the English side, the simpler geology allowed faster open-faced TBMs. Six machines were used; all commenced digging from Shakespeare Cliff, three marine-bound and three for the land tunnels. Towards the completion of the undersea drives, the UK TBMs were driven steeply downwards and buried clear of the tunnel. These buried TBMs were then used to provide an electrical earth. The French TBMs then completed the tunnel and were dismantled. A gauge railway was used on the English side during construction. + +In contrast to the English machines, which were given technical names, the French tunnelling machines were all named after women: Brigitte, Europa, Catherine, Virginie, Pascaline, Séverine. + +At the end of the tunnelling, one machine was on display at the side of the M20 motorway in Folkestone until Eurotunnel sold it on eBay for £39,999 to a scrap metal merchant. Another machine (T4 "Virginie") still survives on the French side, adjacent to Junction 41 on the A16, in the middle of the D243E3/D243E4 roundabout. On it are the words "hommage aux bâtisseurs du tunnel", meaning "tribute to the builders of the tunnel". + +Tunnel boring machines +The eleven tunnel boring machines were designed and manufactured through a joint venture between the Robbins Company of Kent, Washington, United States; Markham & Co. of Chesterfield, England; and Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan. The TBMs for the service tunnels and main tunnels on the UK side were designed and manufactured by James Howden & Company Ltd, Scotland. + +Railway design + +Loading gauge + +The loading gauge height is . + +Communications +There are three communication systems: + Concession radio (CR) for mobile vehicles and personnel within Eurotunnel's Concession (terminals, tunnels, coastal shafts) + Track-to-train radio (TTR) for secure speech and data between trains and the railway control centre + Shuttle internal radio (SIR) for communication between shuttle crew and to passengers over car radios + +Power supply +Power is delivered to the locomotives via an overhead line at . with a normal overhead clearance of . All tunnel services run on electricity, shared equally from English and French sources. There are two substations fed at 400 kV at each terminal, but in an emergency, the tunnel's lighting (about 20,000 light fittings) and the plant can be powered solely from either England or France. + +The traditional railway south of London uses a 750 V DC third rail to deliver electricity, but since the opening of High Speed 1 there is no longer any need for tunnel trains to use it. High Speed 1, the tunnel and the LGV Nord all have power provided via overhead catenary at 25 kV 50 Hz. The railways on "classic" lines in Belgium are also electrified by overhead wires, but at 3000 V DC. + +Signalling +A cab signalling system gives information directly to train drivers on a display. There is a train protection system that stops the train if the speed exceeds that indicated on the in-cab display. TVM430, as used on LGV Nord and High Speed 1, is used in the tunnel. The TVM signalling is interconnected with the signalling on the high-speed lines on either side, allowing trains to enter and exit the tunnel system without stopping. The maximum speed is . + +Signalling in the tunnel is coordinated from two control centres: The main control centre at the Folkestone terminal, and a backup at the Calais terminal, which is staffed at all times and can take over all operations in the event of a breakdown or emergency. + +Track system + +Conventional ballasted tunnel track was ruled out owing to the difficulty of maintenance and lack of stability and precision. The Sonneville International Corporation's track system was chosen based on reliability and cost-effectiveness based on a good performance in Swiss tunnels and worldwide. The type of track used is known as Low Vibration Track (LVT). Like a ballasted track, the LVT is of the free-floating type, held in place by gravity and friction. Reinforced concrete blocks of 100 kg support the rails every 60 cm and are held by 12 mm thick closed-cell polymer foam pads placed at the bottom of rubber boots. The latter separates the blocks' mass movements from the lean encasement concrete. The ballastless track provides extra overhead clearance necessary for the passage of larger trains. The corrugated rubber walls of the boots add a degree of isolation of horizontal wheel-rail vibrations and are insulators of the track signal circuit in the humid tunnel environment. UIC60 (60 kg/m) rails of 900A grade rest on rail pads, which fit the RN/Sonneville bolted dual leaf-springs. The rails, LVT-blocks and their boots with pads were assembled outside the tunnel, in a fully automated process developed by the LVT inventor, Mr. Roger Sonneville. About 334,000 Sonneville blocks were made on the Sangatte site. + +Maintenance activities are less than projected. Initially, the rails were ground on a yearly basis or after approximately 100MGT of traffic. Ride quality continues to be noticeably smooth and of low noise. Maintenance is facilitated by the existence of two tunnel junctions or crossover facilities, allowing for two-way operation in each of the six tunnel segments, and providing safe access for maintenance of one isolated tunnel segment at a time. The two crossovers are the largest artificial undersea caverns ever built, at150 m long, 10 m high and 18 m wide. The English crossover is from Shakespeare Cliff, and the French crossover is from Sangatte. + +Ventilation, cooling and drainage +The ventilation system maintains the air pressure in the service tunnel higher than in the rail tunnels, so that in the event of a fire, smoke does not enter the service tunnel from the rail tunnels. Two cooling water pipes in each rail tunnel circulate chilled water to remove heat generated by the rail traffic. Pumping stations remove water in the tunnels from rain, seepage, and so on. + +During the design stage of the tunnel, engineers found that its aerodynamic properties and the heat generated by high-speed trains as they passed through it would raise the temperature inside the tunnel to . As well as making the trains "unbearably warm" for passengers, this also presented a risk of equipment failure and track distortion. To cool the tunnel to below , engineers installed of diameter cooling pipes carrying of water. The network—Europe's largest cooling system—was supplied by eight York Titan chillers running on R22, a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerant gas. + +Due to R22's ozone depletion potential (ODP) and high global warming potential (GWP), its use is being phased out in developed countries. Since 1 January 2015, it has been illegal in Europe to use HCFCs to service air-conditioning equipment; broken equipment that used HCFCs must be replaced with equipment that does not use it. In 2016, Trane was selected to provide replacement chillers for the tunnel's cooling network. The York chillers were decommissioned and four "next generation" Trane Series E CenTraVac large-capacity (2600 kW to 14,000 kW) chillers were installed—two in Sangatte, France, and two at Shakespeare Cliff, UK. The energy-efficient chillers, using Honeywell's non-flammable, ultra-low GWP R1233zd(E) refrigerant, maintain temperatures at , and in their first year of operation generated savings of 4.8 GWh—approximately 33%, equating to €500,000 ($585,000)—for tunnel operator Getlink. + +Rolling stock + +Rolling stock used previously + +Operators + +LeShuttle + +Getlink operates the LeShuttle, a vehicle shuttle service, through the tunnel. + +Car shuttle sets have two separate halves: single and double deck. Each half has two loading/unloading wagons and 12 carrier wagons. Eurotunnel's original order was for nine car shuttle sets. + +Heavy goods vehicle (HGV) shuttle sets also have two halves, with each half containing one loading wagon, one unloading wagon and 14 carrier wagons. There is a club car behind the leading locomotive, where drivers must stay during the journey. Eurotunnel originally ordered six HGV shuttle sets. + +Initially 38 LeShuttle locomotives were commissioned, with one at each end of a shuttle train. + +Freight locomotives + +Forty-six Class 92 locomotives for hauling freight trains and overnight passenger trains (the Nightstar project, which was abandoned) were commissioned, running on both overhead AC and third-rail DC power. However, RFF does not let these run on French railways, so there are plans to certify Alstom Prima II locomotives for use in the tunnel. + +International passenger + +Thirty-one Eurostar trains, based on the French TGV, built to UK loading gauge with many modifications for safety within the tunnel, were commissioned, with ownership split between British Rail, French national railways (SNCF) and Belgian national railways (NMBS/SNCB). British Rail ordered seven more for services north of London. Around 2010, Eurostar ordered ten trains from Siemens based on its Velaro product. The Class 374 entered service in 2016 and has been operating through the Channel Tunnel ever since alongside the current Class 373. + +Germany (DB) has since around 2005 tried to get permission to run train services to London. At the end of 2009, extensive fire-proofing requirements were dropped and DB received permission to run German Intercity-Express (ICE) test trains through the tunnel. In June 2013 DB was granted access to the tunnel, but these plans were ultimately dropped. + +In October 2021, Renfe, the Spanish state railway company, expressed interest in operating a cross-Channel route between Paris and London using some of their existing trains with the intention of competing with Eurostar. No details have been revealed as to which trains would be used. + +Service locomotives +Diesel locomotives for rescue and shunting work are Eurotunnel Class 0001 and Eurotunnel Class 0031. + +Operation +The following chart presents the estimated number of passengers and tonnes of freight, respectively, annually transported through the Channel Tunnel since 1994 (M = million). + +Usage and services + +Transport services offered by the tunnel are as follows: + Eurotunnel Le Shuttle roll-on roll-off shuttle service for road vehicles and their drivers and passengers, + Eurostar passenger trains, + through freight trains. + +Both the freight and passenger traffic forecasts that led to the construction of the tunnel were overestimated; in particular, Eurotunnel's commissioned forecasts were over-predictions. Although the captured share of Channel crossings was forecast correctly, high competition (especially from budget airlines which expanded rapidly in the 1990s and 2000s) and reduced tariffs led to low revenue. Overall cross-Channel traffic was overestimated. + +With the EU's liberalisation of international rail services, the tunnel and High Speed 1 have been open to competition since 2010. There have been a number of operators interested in running trains through the tunnel and along High Speed 1 to London. In June 2013, after several years, DB obtained a license to operate Frankfurt – London trains, not expected to run before 2016 because of delivery delays of the custom-made trains. +Plans for the service to Frankfurt seem to have been shelved in 2018. + +Passenger traffic volumes +Cross-tunnel passenger traffic volumes peaked at 18.4 million in 1998, dropped to 14.9 million in 2003 and has increased substantially since then. + +At the time of the decision about building the tunnel, 15.9 million passengers were predicted for Eurostar trains in the opening year. In 1995, the first full year, actual numbers were a little over 2.9 million, growing to 7.1 million in 2000, then dropping to 6.3 million in 2003. Eurostar was initially limited by the lack of a high-speed connection on the British side. After the completion of High Speed 1 in two stages in 2003 and 2007, traffic increased. In 2008, Eurostar carried 9,113,371 passengers, a 10% increase over the previous year, despite traffic limitations due to the 2008 Channel Tunnel fire. Eurostar passenger numbers continued to increase. + +Freight traffic volumes +Freight volumes have been erratic, with a major decrease during 1997 due to a closure caused by a fire in a freight shuttle. Freight crossings increased over the period, indicating the substitutability of the tunnel by sea crossings. The tunnel has achieved a market share close to or above Eurotunnel's 1980s predictions but Eurotunnel's 1990 and 1994 predictions were overestimates. + +For through freight trains, the first year prediction was 7.2 million tonnes; the actual 1995 figure was 1.3M tonnes. Through freight volumes peaked in 1998 at 3.1M tonnes. This fell back to 1.21M tonnes in 2007, increasing slightly to 1.24M tonnes in 2008. Together with that carried on freight shuttles, freight growth has occurred since opening, with 6.4M tonnes carried in 1995, 18.4M tonnes recorded in 2003 and 19.6M tonnes in 2007. Numbers fell back in the wake of the 2008 fire. + +Eurotunnel's freight subsidiary is Europorte 2. In September 2006 EWS, the UK's largest rail freight operator, announced that owing to the cessation of UK-French government subsidies of £52 million per annum to cover the tunnel "Minimum User Charge" (a subsidy of around £13,000 per train, at a traffic level of 4,000 trains per annum), freight trains would stop running after 30 November. + +Economic performance +Shares in Eurotunnel were issued at £3.50 per share on 9 December 1987. By mid-1989 the price had risen to £11.00. Delays and cost overruns led to the price dropping; during demonstration runs in October 1994, it reached an all-time low. Eurotunnel suspended payment on its debt in September 1995 to avoid bankruptcy. In December 1997 the British and French governments extended Eurotunnel's operating concession by 34 years, to 2086. The financial restructuring of Eurotunnel occurred in mid-1998, reducing debt and financial charges. Despite the restructuring, The Economist reported in 1998 that to break even Eurotunnel would have to increase fares, traffic and market share for sustainability. A cost-benefit analysis of the tunnel indicated that there were few impacts on the wider economy and few developments associated with the project and that the British economy would have been better off if it had not been constructed. + +Under the terms of the Concession, Eurotunnel was obliged to investigate a cross-Channel road tunnel. In December 1999 road and rail tunnel proposals were presented to the British and French governments, but it was stressed that there was not enough demand for a second tunnel. A three-way treaty between the United Kingdom, France and Belgium governs border controls, with the establishment of control zones wherein the officers of the other nation may exercise limited customs and law enforcement powers. For most purposes, these are at either end of the tunnel, with the French border controls on the UK side of the tunnel and vice versa. For some city-to-city trains, the train is a control zone. A binational emergency plan coordinates UK and French emergency activities. + +In 1999 Eurostar posted its first net profit, having made a loss of £925m in 1995. In 2005 Eurotunnel was described as being in a serious situation. In 2013, operating profits rose 4 percent from 2012, to £54 million. + +Security +There is a need for full passport controls, as the tunnel acts as a border between the Schengen Area and the Common Travel Area. There are juxtaposed controls, meaning that passports are checked before boarding by officials of the departing country, and on arrival by officials of the destination country. These control points are only at the main Eurostar stations: French officials operate at London St Pancras, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International, while British officials operate at Calais-Fréthun, Lille-Europe, Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy, Brussels-South and Paris-Gare du Nord. There are security checks before boarding as well. For the shuttle road-vehicle trains, there are juxtaposed passport controls before boarding the trains. + +For Eurostar trains originating south of Paris, there is no passport and security check before departure, and those trains must stop in Lille at least 30 minutes to allow all passengers to be checked. No checks are performed on board. There have been plans for services from Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Cologne to London, but a major reason to cancel them was the need for a stop in Lille. Direct service from London to Amsterdam started on 4 April 2018; following the building of check-in terminals at Amsterdam and Rotterdam and the intergovernmental agreement, a direct service from the two Dutch cities to London started on 30 April 2020. + +Terminals + +The terminals' sites are at Cheriton (near Folkestone in the United Kingdom) and Coquelles (near Calais in France). The UK site uses the M20 motorway for access. The terminals are organised with the frontier controls juxtaposed with the entry to the system to allow travellers to go onto the motorway at the destination country immediately after leaving the shuttle. + +To achieve design output at the French terminal, the shuttles accept cars on double-deck wagons; for flexibility, ramps were placed inside the shuttles to provide access to the top decks. At Folkestone there are of the main-line track, 45 turnouts and eight platforms. At Calais there are of track and 44 turnouts. At the terminals, the shuttle trains traverse a figure eight to reduce uneven wear on the wheels. There is a freight marshalling yard west of Cheriton at Dollands Moor Freight Yard. + +Regional impact +A 1996 report from the European Commission predicted that Kent and Nord-Pas de Calais had to face increased traffic volumes due to the general growth of cross-Channel traffic and traffic attracted by the tunnel. In Kent, a high-speed rail line to London would transfer traffic from road to rail. Kent's regional development would benefit from the tunnel, but being so close to London restricts the benefits. Gains are in the traditional industries and are largely dependent on the development of Ashford International railway station, without which Kent would be totally dependent on London's expansion. Nord-Pas-de-Calais enjoys a strong internal symbolic effect of the Tunnel which results in significant gains in manufacturing. + +The removal of a bottleneck by means like the tunnel does not necessarily induce economic gains in all adjacent regions. The image of a region being connected to European high-speed transport and active political response is more important for regional economic development. Some small-medium enterprises located in the immediate vicinity of the terminal have used the opportunity to re-brand the profile of their business with positive effects, such as The New Inn at Etchinghill which was able to commercially exploit its unique selling point as being 'the closest pub to the Channel Tunnel'. Tunnel-induced regional development is small compared to general economic growth. The South East of England is likely to benefit developmentally and socially from faster and cheaper transport to continental Europe, but the benefits are unlikely to be equally distributed throughout the region. The overall environmental impact is almost certainly negative. + +Since the opening of the tunnel, small positive impacts on the wider economy have been felt, but it is difficult to identify major economic successes directly attributed to the tunnel. The Eurotunnel does operate profitably, offering an alternative transportation mode unaffected by poor weather. High costs of construction did delay profitability, however, and companies involved in the tunnel's construction and operation early in operation relied on government aid to deal with the accumulated debt. + +Illegal immigration + +Illegal immigrants and would-be asylum seekers have used the tunnel to attempt to enter Britain. By 1997, the problem had attracted international press attention, and by 1999, the French Red Cross opened the first migrant centre at Sangatte, using a warehouse once used for tunnel construction; by 2002, it housed up to 1,500 people at a time, most of them trying to get to the UK. In 2001, most came from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran, but African countries were also represented. + +Eurotunnel, the company that operates the crossing, said that more than 37,000 migrants were intercepted between January and July 2015. Approximately 3,000 migrants, mainly from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Afghanistan, were living in the temporary camps erected in Calais at the time of an official count in July 2015. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 migrants were waiting in Calais for a chance to get to England. + +Britain and France operate a system of juxtaposed controls on immigration and customs, where investigations happen before travel. France is part of the Schengen immigration zone, removing border checks in normal times between most EU member states; Britain and the Republic of Ireland form their own separate Common Travel Area immigration zone. + +Most illegal immigrants and would-be asylum seekers who got into Britain found some way to ride a freight train. Trucks are loaded onto freight trains. In a few instances, migrants stowed away in a liquid chocolate tanker and managed to survive, spread across several attempts. Although the facilities were fenced, airtight security was deemed impossible; migrants would even jump from bridges onto moving trains. In several incidents people were injured during the crossing; others tampered with railway equipment, causing delays and requiring repairs. Eurotunnel said it was losing £5m per month because of the problem. + +In 2001 and 2002, several riots broke out at Sangatte, and groups of migrants (up to 550 in a December 2001 incident) stormed the fences and attempted to enter en masse. + +Other migrants seeking permanent UK settlement use the Eurostar passenger train. They may purport to be visitors (whether to be issued with a required visit visa, or deny and falsify their true intentions to obtain a maximum of 6-months-in-a-year at-port stamp); purport to be someone else whose documents they hold, or used forged or counterfeit passports. Such breaches result in refusal of permission to enter the UK, affected by Border Force after such a person's identity is fully established, assuming they persist in their application to enter the UK. + +Diplomatic efforts +Local authorities in both France and the UK called for the closure of the Sangatte migrant camp, and Eurotunnel twice sought an injunction against the centre. As of 2006 the United Kingdom blamed France for allowing Sangatte to open, and France blamed both the UK for its then lax asylum rules/law, and the EU for not having a uniform immigration policy. The problem's cause célèbre nature even lead to journalists being detained as they followed migrants onto railway property. + +In 2002, the European Commission told France that it was in breach of European Union rules on the free transfer of goods because of the delays and closures as a result of its poor security. The French government built a double fence, at a cost of £5 million, reducing the numbers of migrants detected each week reaching Britain on goods trains from 250 to almost none. Other measures included CCTV cameras and increased police patrols. At the end of 2002, the Sangatte centre was closed after the UK agreed to absorb some migrants. + +On 23 and 30 June 2015, striking workers associated with MyFerryLink damaged sections of track by burning car tires, cancelling all trains and creating a backlog of vehicles. Hundreds seeking to reach Britain attempted to stow away inside and underneath transport trucks destined for the UK. Extra security measures included a £2 million upgrade of detection technology, £1 million extra for dog searches, and £12 million (over three years) towards a joint fund with France for security surrounding the Port of Calais. + +Illegal attempts to cross and deaths +In 2002, a dozen migrants died in crossing attempts. In the two months from June to July 2015, ten migrants died near the French tunnel terminal, during a period when 1,500 attempts to evade security precautions were being made each day. + +On 6 July 2015, a migrant died while attempting to climb onto a freight train while trying to reach Britain from the French side of the Channel. The previous month an Eritrean man was killed under similar circumstances. + +During the night of 28 July 2015, one person, aged 25–30, was found dead after a night in which 1,500–2,000 migrants had attempted to enter the Eurotunnel terminal. The body of a Sudanese migrant was subsequently found inside the tunnel. On 4 August 2015, another Sudanese migrant walked nearly the entire length of one of the tunnels. He was arrested close to the British side, after having walked about through the tunnel. + +Mechanical incidents + +Fires + +There have been three fires in the tunnel, all on the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) shuttles, that were significant enough to close the tunnel, as well as other minor incidents. + +On 9 December 1994, during an "invitation only" testing phase, a fire broke out in a Ford Escort car while its owner was loading it onto the upper deck of a tourist shuttle. The fire started at about 10:00, with the shuttle train stationary in the Folkestone terminal, and was put out about 40 minutes later with no passenger injuries. + +On 18 November 1996, a fire broke out on an HGV shuttle wagon in the tunnel, but nobody was seriously hurt. The exact cause is unknown, although it was neither a Eurotunnel equipment nor rolling stock problem; it may have been due to arson of a heavy goods vehicle. It is estimated that the heart of the fire reached , with the tunnel severely damaged over , with some affected to some extent. Full operation recommenced six months after the fire. + +On 21 August 2006, the tunnel was closed for several hours when a truck on an HGV shuttle train caught fire. + +On 11 September 2008, a fire occurred in the Channel Tunnel at 13:57 GMT. The incident started on an HGV shuttle train travelling towards France. The event occurred from the French entrance to the tunnel. No one was killed but several people were taken to hospitals suffering from smoke inhalation, and minor cuts and bruises. The tunnel was closed to all traffic, with the undamaged South Tunnel reopening for limited services two days later. Full service resumed on 9 February 2009 after repairs costing €60 million. + +On 29 November 2012, the tunnel was closed for several hours after a truck on an HGV shuttle caught fire. + +On 17 January 2015, both tunnels were closed following a lorry fire that filled the midsection of Running Tunnel North with smoke. Eurostar cancelled all services. The shuttle train had been heading from Folkestone to Coquelles and stopped adjacent to cross-passage CP 4418 just before 12:30 UTC. 38 passengers and four members of Eurotunnel staff were evacuated into the service tunnel and transported to France in special STTS road vehicles. They were taken to the Eurotunnel Fire/Emergency Management Centre close to the French portal. + +Train failures +On the night of 19/20 February 1996, about 1,000 passengers became trapped in the Channel Tunnel when Eurostar trains from London broke down owing to failures of electronic circuits caused by snow and ice being deposited and then melting on the circuit boards. + +On 3 August 2007, an electrical failure lasting six hours caused passengers to be trapped in the tunnel on a shuttle. + +On the evening of 18 December 2009, during the December 2009 European snowfall, five London-bound Eurostar trains failed inside the tunnel, trapping 2,000 passengers for approximately 16 hours, during the coldest temperatures in eight years. A Eurotunnel spokesperson explained that snow had evaded the train's winterisation shields, and the transition from cold air outside to the tunnel's warm atmosphere had melted the snow, resulting in electrical failures. One train was turned back before reaching the tunnel; two trains were hauled out of the tunnel by Eurotunnel Class 0001 diesel locomotives. The blocking of the tunnel led to the implementation of Operation Stack, the transformation of the M20 motorway into a linear car park. + +The occasion was the first time that a Eurostar train was evacuated inside the tunnel; the failing of four at once was described as "unprecedented". The Channel Tunnel reopened the following morning. Nirj Deva, Member of the European Parliament for South East England, had called for Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown to resign over the incidents. An independent report by Christopher Garnett (former CEO of Great North Eastern Railway) and Claude Gressier (a French transport expert) on the 18/19 December 2009 incidents was issued in February 2010, making 21 recommendations. + +On 7 January 2010, a Brussels–London Eurostar broke down in the tunnel. The train had 236 passengers on board and was towed to Ashford; other trains that had not yet reached the tunnel were turned back. + +Safety +The Channel Tunnel Safety Authority is responsible for some aspects of safety regulation in the tunnel; it reports to the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC). + +The service tunnel is used for access to technical equipment in cross-passages and equipment rooms, to provide fresh-air ventilation and for emergency evacuation. The Service Tunnel Transport System (STTS) allows fast access to all areas of the tunnel. The service vehicles are rubber-tired with a buried wire guidance system. The 24 STTS vehicles are used mainly for maintenance but also for firefighting and emergencies. "Pods" with different purposes, up to a payload of , are inserted into the side of the vehicles. The vehicles cannot turn around within the tunnel and are driven from either end. The maximum speed is when the steering is locked. A fleet of 15 Light Service Tunnel Vehicles (LADOGS) was introduced to supplement the STTSs. The LADOGS has a short wheelbase with a turning circle, allowing two-point turns within the service tunnel. Steering cannot be locked like the STTS vehicles, and maximum speed is . Pods up to can be loaded onto the rear of the vehicles. Drivers in the tunnel sit on the right, and the vehicles drive on the left. Owing to the risk of French personnel driving on their native right side of the road, sensors in the vehicles alert the driver if the vehicle strays to the right side. + +The three tunnels contain of air that needs to be conditioned for comfort and safety. Air is supplied from ventilation buildings at Shakespeare Cliff and Sangatte, with each building capable of providing 100% standby capacity. Supplementary ventilation also exists on either side of the tunnel. In the event of a fire, ventilation is used to keep smoke out of the service tunnel and move smoke in one direction in the main tunnel to give passengers clean air. The tunnel was the first main-line railway tunnel to have special cooling equipment. Heat is generated from traction equipment and drag. The design limit was set at , using a mechanical cooling system with refrigeration plants on both sides that run chilled water circulating in pipes within the tunnel. + +Trains travelling at high speed create piston effect pressure changes that can affect passenger comfort, ventilation systems, tunnel doors, fans and the structure of the trains, and which drag on the trains. Piston relief ducts of diameter were chosen to solve the problem, with 4 ducts per kilometre to give close to optimum results. However, this design led to extreme lateral forces on the trains, so a reduction in train speed was required and restrictors were installed in the ducts. + +The safety issue of a possible fire on a passenger-vehicle shuttle garnered much attention, with Eurotunnel noting that fire was the risk attracting the most attention in a 1994 safety case for three reasons: the opposition of ferry companies to passengers being allowed to remain with their cars; Home Office statistics indicating that car fires had doubled in ten years; and the long length of the tunnel. Eurotunnel commissioned the UK Fire Research Station—now part of the Building Research Establishment—to give reports of vehicle fires, and liaised with Kent Fire Brigade to gather vehicle fire statistics over one year. Fire tests took place at the French Mines Research Establishment with a mock wagon used to investigate how cars burned. The wagon door systems are designed to withstand fire inside the wagon for 30 minutes, longer than the transit time of 27 minutes. Wagon air conditioning units help to purge dangerous fumes from inside the wagon before travel. Each wagon has a fire detection and extinguishing system, with sensing of ions or ultraviolet radiation, smoke and gases that can trigger halon gas to quench a fire. Since the HGV wagons are not covered, fire sensors are located on the loading wagon and in the tunnel. A water main in the service tunnel provides water to the main tunnels at intervals. The ventilation system can control smoke movement. Special arrival sidings accept a train that is on fire, as the train is not allowed to stop whilst on fire in the tunnel unless continuing its journey would lead to a worse outcome. Eurotunnel has banned a wide range of hazardous goods from travelling in the tunnel. Two STTS (Service Tunnel Transportation System) vehicles with firefighting pods are on duty at all times, with a maximum delay of 10 minutes before they reach a burning train. + +Unusual traffic + +Trains + +In 1999, the Kosovo Train for Life passed through the tunnel en route to Pristina, in Kosovo. + +Other + +In 2009, former F1 racing champion John Surtees drove a Ginetta G50 EV electric sports car prototype from England to France, using the service tunnel, as part of a charity event. He was required to keep to the speed limit. To celebrate the 2014 Tour de France's transfer from its opening stages in Britain to France in July of that year, Chris Froome of Team Sky rode a bicycle through the service tunnel, becoming the first solo rider to do so. The crossing took under an hour, reaching speeds of —faster than most cross-channel ferries. + +Mobile network coverage +Since 2012, French operators Bouygues Telecom, Orange and SFR have covered Running Tunnel South, the tunnel bore normally used for travel from France to Britain. + +In January 2014, UK operators EE and Vodafone signed ten-year contracts with Eurotunnel for Running Tunnel North. The agreements will enable both operators' subscribers to use 2G and 3G services. Both EE and Vodafone planned to offer LTE services on the route; EE said it expected to cover the route with LTE connectivity by the summer of 2014. EE and Vodafone will offer Channel Tunnel network coverage for travellers from the UK to France. Eurotunnel said it also held talks with Three UK but has yet to reach an agreement with the operator. + +In May 2014, Eurotunnel announced that they had installed equipment from Alcatel-Lucent to cover Running Tunnel North and simultaneously to provide mobile service (GSM 900/1800 MHz and UMTS 2100 MHz) by EE, O2 and Vodafone. The service of EE and Vodafone commenced on the same date as the announcement. O2 service was expected to be available soon afterwards. + +In November 2014, EE announced that it had previously switched on LTE earlier in September 2014. O2 turned on 2G, 3G and 4G services in November 2014, whilst Vodafone's 4G was due to go live later. + +Other (non-transport) services +The tunnel also houses the 1,000 MW ElecLink interconnector to transfer power between the British and French electricity networks. During the night of 31 August/1 September 2021, the 51km-long 320 kV DC cable was switched into service for the first time. + +See also + France–UK border + British Rail Class 373 + Irish Sea tunnel + Japan–Korea Undersea Tunnel + List of transport megaprojects + Marmaray Tunnel + Samphire Hoe + Strait of Gibraltar crossing + +References + +Sources + +Further reading + + + + + + + Article on a post-WW1 plan for a tunnel that was scrapped by the Great Depression. A total cost figure of 150 million was given in 1929 + Autobiography of Sir John Stokes regarding 1882 deliberations + +External links + + UK website at eurotunnel.com + French website at eurotunnel.com/fr + Tribute website at chunnel.com + + Channel Tunnel on OpenStreetMap wiki + + + + +Tunnels completed in 1994 +Coastal construction +Eurostar +France–United Kingdom border crossings +Railway tunnels in England +Railway tunnels in France +Rail transport in France +Rail transport in England +Transport in Kent +Transport in Folkestone and Hythe +Undersea tunnels in Europe +International tunnels +International railway lines +Transport in Pas-de-Calais +Standard gauge railways in England +Standard gauge railways in France +Railway lines opened in 1994 +Buildings and structures in Pas-de-Calais +1994 establishments in France +1994 establishments in England +25 kV AC railway electrification +English Channel +Dual-tube railway tunnels +Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberware, juxtaposed with societal collapse, dystopia or decay. Much of cyberpunk is rooted in the New Wave science fiction movement of the 1960s and 1970s, when writers like Philip K. Dick, Michael Moorcock, Roger Zelazny, John Brunner, J. G. Ballard, Philip José Farmer and Harlan Ellison examined the impact of drug culture, technology, and the sexual revolution while avoiding the utopian tendencies of earlier science fiction. + +Comics exploring cyberpunk themes began appearing as early as Judge Dredd, first published in 1977. Released in 1984, William Gibson's influential debut novel Neuromancer helped solidify cyberpunk as a genre, drawing influence from punk subculture and early hacker culture. Frank Miller's Ronin is an example of a cyberpunk graphic novel. Other influential cyberpunk writers included Bruce Sterling and Rudy Rucker. The Japanese cyberpunk subgenre began in 1982 with the debut of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga series Akira, with its 1988 anime film adaptation (also directed by Otomo) later popularizing the subgenre. + +Early films in the genre include Ridley Scott's 1982 film Blade Runner, one of several of Philip K. Dick's works that have been adapted into films (in this case, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?). The "first cyberpunk television series" was the TV series Max Headroom from 1987, playing in a futuristic dystopia ruled by an oligarchy of television networks, and where computer hacking played a central role in many story lines. The films Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and New Rose Hotel (1998), both based upon short stories by William Gibson, flopped commercially and critically, while The Matrix trilogy (1999–2003) and Judge Dredd (1995) were some of the most successful cyberpunk films. + +Newer cyberpunk media includes Blade Runner 2049 (2017), a sequel to the original 1982 film; Dredd (2012), which was not a sequel to the original movie; Upgrade (2018); Alita: Battle Angel (2019), based on the 1990s Japanese manga Battle Angel Alita; the 2018 Netflix TV series Altered Carbon, based on Richard K. Morgan's 2002 novel of the same name; the 2020 remake of 1997 role-playing video game Final Fantasy VII; and the video game Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), based on R. Talsorian Games's 1988 tabletop role-playing game Cyberpunk. + +Background +Lawrence Person has attempted to define the content and ethos of the cyberpunk literary movement stating: + +Cyberpunk plots often center on conflict among artificial intelligences, hackers, and megacorporations, and tend to be set in a near-future Earth, rather than in the far-future settings or galactic vistas found in novels such as Isaac Asimov's Foundation or Frank Herbert's Dune. The settings are usually post-industrial dystopias but tend to feature extraordinary cultural ferment and the use of technology in ways never anticipated by its original inventors ("the street finds its own uses for things"). Much of the genre's atmosphere echoes film noir, and written works in the genre often use techniques from detective fiction. There are sources who view that cyberpunk has shifted from a literary movement to a mode of science fiction due to the limited number of writers and its transition to a more generalized cultural formation. + +History and origins +The origins of cyberpunk are rooted in the New Wave science fiction movement of the 1960s and 1970s, where New Worlds, under the editorship of Michael Moorcock, began inviting and encouraging stories that examined new writing styles, techniques, and archetypes. Reacting to conventional storytelling, New Wave authors attempted to present a world where society coped with a constant upheaval of new technology and culture, generally with dystopian outcomes. Writers like Roger Zelazny, J. G. Ballard, Philip José Farmer, Samuel R. Delany, and Harlan Ellison often examined the impact of drug culture, technology, and the sexual revolution with an avant-garde style influenced by the Beat Generation (especially William S. Burroughs's science fiction writing), Dadaism, and their own ideas. Ballard attacked the idea that stories should follow the "archetypes" popular since the time of Ancient Greece, and the assumption that these would somehow be the same ones that would call to modern readers, as Joseph Campbell argued in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Instead, Ballard wanted to write a new myth for the modern reader, a style with "more psycho-literary ideas, more meta-biological and meta-chemical concepts, private time systems, synthetic psychologies and space-times, more of the sombre half-worlds one glimpses in the paintings of schizophrenics." + +This had a profound influence on a new generation of writers, some of whom would come to call their movement "cyberpunk". One, Bruce Sterling, later said: + +Ballard, Zelazny, and the rest of New Wave was seen by the subsequent generation as delivering more "realism" to science fiction, and they attempted to build on this. + +Samuel R. Delanys 1968 novel Nova is also considered one of the major forerunners of the cyberpunk movement. It prefigures, for instance, cyberpunk's staple trope of humans interfacing with computers via implants. Writer William Gibson claimed to be greatly influenced by Delany, and his novel Neuromancer includes allusions to Nova. + +Similarly influential, and generally cited as proto-cyberpunk, is the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, first published in 1968. Presenting precisely the general feeling of dystopian post-economic-apocalyptic future as Gibson and Sterling later deliver, it examines ethical and moral problems with cybernetic, artificial intelligence in a way more "realist" than the Isaac Asimov Robot series that laid its philosophical foundation. Dick's protege and friend K. W. Jeter wrote a novel called Dr. Adder in 1972 that, Dick lamented, might have been more influential in the field had it been able to find a publisher at that time. It was not published until 1984, after which Jeter made it the first book in a trilogy, followed by The Glass Hammer (1985) and Death Arms (1987). Jeter wrote other standalone cyberpunk novels before going on to write three authorized sequels to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, named Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human (1995), Blade Runner 3: Replicant Night (1996), and Blade Runner 4: Eye and Talon. + +Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was made into the seminal movie Blade Runner, released in 1982. This was one year after William Gibson's story "Johnny Mnemonic" helped move proto-cyberpunk concepts into the mainstream. That story, which also became a film years later in 1995, involves another dystopian future, where human couriers deliver computer data, stored cybernetically in their own minds. + +Etymology +The term "cyberpunk" first appeared as the title of a short story by Bruce Bethke, written in 1980 and published in Amazing Stories in 1983. The name was picked up by Gardner Dozois, editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and popularized in his editorials. + +Bethke says he made two lists of words, one for technology, one for troublemakers, and experimented with combining them variously into compound words, consciously attempting to coin a term that encompassed both punk attitudes and high technology. He described the idea thus: + +Afterward, Dozois began using this term in his own writing, most notably in a Washington Post article where he said "About the closest thing here to a self-willed esthetic 'school' would be the purveyors of bizarre hard-edged, high-tech stuff, who have on occasion been referred to as 'cyberpunks'—Sterling, Gibson, Shiner, Cadigan, Bear." + +About that time in 1984, William Gibson's novel Neuromancer was published, delivering a glimpse of a future encompassed by what became an archetype of cyberpunk "virtual reality", with the human mind being fed light-based worldscapes through a computer interface. Some, perhaps ironically including Bethke himself, argued at the time that the writers whose style Gibson's books epitomized should be called "Neuromantics", a pun on the name of the novel plus "New Romantics", a term used for a New Wave pop music movement that had just occurred in Britain, but this term did not catch on. Bethke later paraphrased Michael Swanwick's argument for the term: "the movement writers should properly be termed neuromantics, since so much of what they were doing was clearly imitating Neuromancer". + +Sterling was another writer who played a central role, often consciously, in the cyberpunk genre, variously seen as either keeping it on track, or distorting its natural path into a stagnant formula. In 1986, he edited a volume of cyberpunk stories called Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology, an attempt to establish what cyberpunk was, from Sterling's perspective. + +In the subsequent decade, the motifs of Gibson's Neuromancer became formulaic, climaxing in the satirical extremes of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash in 1992. + +Bookending the cyberpunk era, Bethke himself published a novel in 1995 called Headcrash, like Snow Crash a satirical attack on the genre's excesses. Fittingly, it won an honor named after cyberpunk's spiritual founder, the Philip K. Dick Award. It satirized the genre in this way: + +The impact of cyberpunk, though, has been long-lasting. Elements of both the setting and storytelling have become normal in science fiction in general, and a slew of sub-genres now have -punk tacked onto their names, most obviously steampunk, but also a host of other cyberpunk derivatives. + +Style and ethos +Primary figures in the cyberpunk movement include William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling, Bruce Bethke, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker, and John Shirley. Philip K. Dick (author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, from which the film Blade Runner was adapted) is also seen by some as prefiguring the movement. + +Blade Runner can be seen as a quintessential example of the cyberpunk style and theme. Video games, board games, and tabletop role-playing games, such as Cyberpunk 2020 and Shadowrun, often feature storylines that are heavily influenced by cyberpunk writing and movies. Beginning in the early 1990s, some trends in fashion and music were also labeled as cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is also featured prominently in anime and manga (Japanese cyberpunk), with Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop being among the most notable. + +Setting + +Cyberpunk writers tend to use elements from crime fiction—particularly hardboiled detective fiction and film noir—and postmodernist prose to describe an often nihilistic underground side of an electronic society. The genre's vision of a troubled future is often called the antithesis of the generally utopian visions of the future popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Gibson defined cyberpunk's antipathy towards utopian science fiction in his 1981 short story "The Gernsback Continuum," which pokes fun at and, to a certain extent, condemns utopian science fiction. + +In some cyberpunk writing, much of the action takes place online, in cyberspace, blurring the line between actual and virtual reality. A typical trope in such work is a direct connection between the human brain and computer systems. Cyberpunk settings are dystopias with corruption, computers, and computer networks. Giant, multinational corporations have for the most part replaced governments as centers of political, economic, and even military power. + +The economic and technological state of Japan is a regular theme in the cyberpunk literature of the 1980s. Of Japan's influence on the genre, William Gibson said, "Modern Japan simply was cyberpunk." Cyberpunk is often set in urbanized, artificial landscapes, and "city lights, receding" was used by Gibson as one of the genre's first metaphors for cyberspace and virtual reality. The cityscapes of Hong Kong has had major influences in the urban backgrounds, ambiance and settings in many cyberpunk works such as Blade Runner and Shadowrun. Ridley Scott envisioned the landscape of cyberpunk Los Angeles in Blade Runner to be "Hong Kong on a very bad day". The streetscapes of the Ghost in the Shell film were based on Hong Kong. Its director Mamoru Oshii felt that Hong Kong's strange and chaotic streets where "old and new exist in confusing relationships", fit the theme of the film well. Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City is particularly notable for its disorganized hyper-urbanization and breakdown in traditional urban planning to be an inspiration to cyberpunk landscapes. Portrayals of East Asia and Asians in Western cyberpunk have been criticized as Orientalist and promoting racist tropes playing on American and European fears of East Asian dominance; this has been referred to as "techno-Orientalism". + +Society and government +Cyberpunk can be intended to disquiet readers and call them to action. It often expresses a sense of rebellion, suggesting that one could describe it as a type of cultural revolution in science fiction. In the words of author and critic David Brin: + +...a closer look [at cyberpunk authors] reveals that they nearly always portray future societies in which governments have become wimpy and pathetic ...Popular science fiction tales by Gibson, Williams, Cadigan and others do depict Orwellian accumulations of power in the next century, but nearly always clutched in the secretive hands of a wealthy or corporate elite. + +Cyberpunk stories have also been seen as fictional forecasts of the evolution of the Internet. The earliest descriptions of a global communications network came long before the World Wide Web entered popular awareness, though not before traditional science-fiction writers such as Arthur C. Clarke and some social commentators such as James Burke began predicting that such networks would eventually form. + +Some observers cite that cyberpunk tends to marginalize sectors of society such as women and people of colour. It is claimed that, for instance, cyberpunk depicts fantasies that ultimately empower masculinity using fragmentary and decentered aesthetic that culminate in a masculine genre populated by male outlaws. Critics also note the absence of any reference to Africa or black characters in the quintessential cyberpunk film Blade Runner while other films reinforce stereotypes. + +Media + +Literature + +Minnesota writer Bruce Bethke coined the term in 1983 for his short story "Cyberpunk", which was published in an issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories. The term was quickly appropriated as a label to be applied to the works of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan and others. Of these, Sterling became the movement's chief ideologue, thanks to his fanzine Cheap Truth. John Shirley wrote articles on Sterling and Rucker's significance. John Brunner's 1975 novel The Shockwave Rider is considered by many to be the first cyberpunk novel with many of the tropes commonly associated with the genre, some five years before the term was popularized by Dozois. + +William Gibson with his novel Neuromancer (1984) is arguably the most famous writer connected with the term cyberpunk. He emphasized style, a fascination with surfaces, and atmosphere over traditional science-fiction tropes. Regarded as ground-breaking and sometimes as "the archetypal cyberpunk work", Neuromancer was awarded the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards. Count Zero (1986) and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988) followed after Gibson's popular debut novel. According to the Jargon File, "Gibson's near-total ignorance of computers and the present-day hacker culture enabled him to speculate about the role of computers and hackers in the future in ways hackers have since found both irritatingly naïve and tremendously stimulating." + +Early on, cyberpunk was hailed as a radical departure from science-fiction standards and a new manifestation of vitality. Shortly thereafter, however, some critics arose to challenge its status as a revolutionary movement. These critics said that the science fiction New Wave of the 1960s was much more innovative as far as narrative techniques and styles were concerned. Furthermore, while Neuromancers narrator may have had an unusual "voice" for science fiction, much older examples can be found: Gibson's narrative voice, for example, resembles that of an updated Raymond Chandler, as in his novel The Big Sleep (1939). Others noted that almost all traits claimed to be uniquely cyberpunk could in fact be found in older writers' works—often citing J. G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, Stanisław Lem, Samuel R. Delany, and even William S. Burroughs. For example, Philip K. Dick's works contain recurring themes of social decay, artificial intelligence, paranoia, and blurred lines between objective and subjective realities. The influential cyberpunk movie Blade Runner (1982) is based on his book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Humans linked to machines are found in Pohl and Kornbluth's Wolfbane (1959) and Roger Zelazny's Creatures of Light and Darkness (1968). + +In 1994, scholar Brian Stonehill suggested that Thomas Pynchon's 1973 novel Gravity's Rainbow "not only curses but precurses what we now glibly dub cyberspace." Other important predecessors include Alfred Bester's two most celebrated novels, The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination, as well as Vernor Vinge's novella True Names. + +Reception and impact +Science-fiction writer David Brin describes cyberpunk as "the finest free promotion campaign ever waged on behalf of science fiction". It may not have attracted the "real punks", but it did ensnare many new readers, and it provided the sort of movement that postmodern literary critics found alluring. Cyberpunk made science fiction more attractive to academics, argues Brin; in addition, it made science fiction more profitable to Hollywood and to the visual arts generally. Although the "self-important rhetoric and whines of persecution" on the part of cyberpunk fans were irritating at worst and humorous at best, Brin declares that the "rebels did shake things up. We owe them a debt." + +Fredric Jameson considers cyberpunk the "supreme literary expression if not of postmodernism, then of late capitalism itself". + +Cyberpunk further inspired many later writers to incorporate cyberpunk ideas into their own works, such as George Alec Effinger's When Gravity Fails. Wired magazine, created by Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe, mixes new technology, art, literature, and current topics in order to interest today's cyberpunk fans, which Paula Yoo claims "proves that hardcore hackers, multimedia junkies, cyberpunks and cellular freaks are poised to take over the world". + +Film and television + +The film Blade Runner (1982) is set in 2019 in a dystopian future in which manufactured beings called replicants are slaves used on space colonies and are legal prey on Earth to various bounty hunters who "retire" (kill) them. Although Blade Runner was largely unsuccessful in its first theatrical release, it found a viewership in the home video market and became a cult film. Since the movie omits the religious and mythical elements of Dick's original novel (e.g. empathy boxes and Wilbur Mercer), it falls more strictly within the cyberpunk genre than the novel does. William Gibson would later reveal that upon first viewing the film, he was surprised at how the look of this film matched his vision for Neuromancer, a book he was then working on. The film's tone has since been the staple of many cyberpunk movies, such as The Matrix trilogy (1999–2003), which uses a wide variety of cyberpunk elements. A sequel to Blade Runner was released in 2017. + +The TV series Max Headroom (1987) is an iconic cyberpunk work, taking place in a futuristic dystopia ruled by an oligarchy of television networks. Computer hacking played a central role in many of the story lines. Max Headroom has been called "the first cyberpunk television series". + +The number of films in the genre has grown steadily since Blade Runner. Several of Philip K. Dick's works have been adapted to the silver screen. The films Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and New Rose Hotel (1998), both based on short stories by William Gibson, flopped commercially and critically. Other cyberpunk films include RoboCop (1987), Total Recall (1990), Hardware (1990), The Lawnmower Man (1992), 12 Monkeys (1995), Hackers (1995), and Strange Days (1995). Some cyberpunk films have been described as tech-noir, a hybrid genre combining neo-noir and science fiction or cyberpunk. + +Anime and manga + +The Japanese cyberpunk subgenre began in 1982 with the debut of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga series Akira, with its 1988 anime film adaptation, which Otomo directed, later popularizing the subgenre. Akira inspired a wave of Japanese cyberpunk works, including manga and anime series such as Ghost in the Shell, Battle Angel Alita, and Cowboy Bebop. Other early Japanese cyberpunk works include the 1982 film Burst City, the 1985 original video animation Megazone 23, and the 1989 film Tetsuo: The Iron Man. + +In contrast to Western cyberpunk which has roots in New Wave science fiction literature, Japanese cyberpunk has roots in underground music culture, specifically the Japanese punk subculture that arose from the Japanese punk music scene in the 1970s. The filmmaker Sogo Ishii introduced this subculture to Japanese cinema with the punk film Panic High School (1978) and the punk biker film Crazy Thunder Road (1980), both portraying the rebellion and anarchy associated with punk, and the latter featuring a punk biker gang aesthetic. Ishii's punk films paved the way for Otomo's seminal cyberpunk work Akira. + +Cyberpunk themes are widely visible in anime and manga. In Japan, where cosplay is popular and not only teenagers display such fashion styles, cyberpunk has been accepted and its influence is widespread. William Gibson's Neuromancer, whose influence dominated the early cyberpunk movement, was also set in Chiba, one of Japan's largest industrial areas, although at the time of writing the novel Gibson did not know the location of Chiba and had no idea how perfectly it fit his vision in some ways. The exposure to cyberpunk ideas and fiction in the 1980s has allowed it to seep into the Japanese culture. + +Cyberpunk anime and manga draw upon a futuristic vision which has elements in common with Western science fiction and therefore have received wide international acceptance outside Japan. "The conceptualization involved in cyberpunk is more of forging ahead, looking at the new global culture. It is a culture that does not exist right now, so the Japanese concept of a cyberpunk future, seems just as valid as a Western one, especially as Western cyberpunk often incorporates many Japanese elements." William Gibson is now a frequent visitor to Japan, and he came to see that many of his visions of Japan have become a reality: + +Modern Japan simply was cyberpunk. The Japanese themselves knew it and delighted in it. I remember my first glimpse of Shibuya, when one of the young Tokyo journalists who had taken me there, his face drenched with the light of a thousand media-suns—all that towering, animated crawl of commercial information—said, "You see? You see? It is Blade Runner town." And it was. It so evidently was. + +Influence +Akira (1982 manga) and its 1988 anime film adaptation have influenced numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television and video games. Akira has been cited as a major influence on Hollywood films such as The Matrix, Chronicle, Looper, Midnight Special, and Inception, as well as cyberpunk-influenced video games such as Hideo Kojima's Snatcher and Metal Gear Solid, Valve's Half-Life series and Dontnod Entertainment's Remember Me. Akira has also influenced the work of musicians such as Kanye West, who paid homage to Akira in the "Stronger" music video, and Lupe Fiasco, whose album Tetsuo & Youth is named after Tetsuo Shima. The popular bike from the film, Kaneda's Motorbike, appears in Steven Spielberg'''s film Ready Player One, and CD Projekt's video game Cyberpunk 2077.Ghost in the Shell (1995) influenced a number of prominent filmmakers, most notably the Wachowskis in The Matrix (1999) and its sequels. The Matrix series took several concepts from the film, including the Matrix digital rain, which was inspired by the opening credits of Ghost in the Shell and a sushi magazine the wife of the senior designer of the animation, Simon Witheley, had in the kitchen at the time., and the way characters access the Matrix through holes in the back of their necks. Other parallels have been drawn to James Cameron's Avatar, Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and Jonathan Mostow's Surrogates. James Cameron cited Ghost in the Shell as a source of inspiration, citing it as an influence on Avatar. + +The original video animation Megazone 23 (1985) has a number of similarities to The Matrix. Battle Angel Alita (1990) has had a notable influence on filmmaker James Cameron, who was planning to adapt it into a film since 2000. It was an influence on his TV series Dark Angel, and he is the producer of the 2019 film adaptation Alita: Battle Angel. + + Comics + +In 1975, artist Moebius collaborated with writer Dan O'Bannon on a story called The Long Tomorrow, published in the French magazine Métal Hurlant. One of the first works featuring elements now seen as exemplifying cyberpunk, it combined influences from film noir and hardboiled crime fiction with a distant sci-fi environment. Author William Gibson stated that Moebius' artwork for the series, along with other visuals from Métal Hurlant, strongly influenced his 1984 novel Neuromancer. The series had a far-reaching impact in the cyberpunk genre, being cited as an influence on Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) and Blade Runner. Moebius later expanded upon The Long Tomorrow's aesthetic with The Incal, a graphic novel collaboration with Alejandro Jodorowsky published from 1980 to 1988. The story centers around the exploits of a detective named John Difool in various science fiction settings, and while not confined to the tropes of cyberpunk, it features many elements of the genre. + +Concurrently with many other foundational cyberpunk works, DC Comics published Frank Miller's six-issue miniseries Rōnin from 1983 to 1984. The series, incorporating aspects of Samurai culture, martial arts films and manga, is set in a dystopian near-future New York. It explores the link between an ancient Japanese warrior and the apocalyptic, crumbling cityscape he finds himself in. The comic also bears several similarities to Akira, with highly powerful telepaths playing central roles, as well as sharing many key visuals.Rōnin would go on to influence many later works, including Samurai Jack and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as video games such as Cyberpunk 2077. Two years later, Miller himself would incorporate several toned-down elements of Rōnin into his acclaimed 1986 miniseries The Dark Knight Returns, in which a retired Bruce Wayne once again takes up the mantle of Batman in a Gotham that is increasingly becoming more dystopian. + +Paul Pope's Batman: Year 100, published in 2006, also exhibits several traits typical of cyberpunk fiction, such as a rebel protagonist opposing a future authoritarian state, and a distinct retrofuturist aesthetic that makes callbacks to both The Dark Knight Returns and Batman's original appearances in the 1940s. + + Games + +There are many cyberpunk video games. Popular series include Final Fantasy VII and its spin-offs and remake, the Megami Tensei series, Kojima's Snatcher and Metal Gear series, Deus Ex series, Syndicate series, and System Shock and its sequel. Other games, like Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, and the Matrix series, are based upon genre movies, or role-playing games (for instance the various Shadowrun games). + +Several RPGs called Cyberpunk exist: Cyberpunk, Cyberpunk 2020, Cyberpunk v3.0 and Cyberpunk Red written by Mike Pondsmith and published by R. Talsorian Games, and GURPS Cyberpunk, published by Steve Jackson Games as a module of the GURPS family of RPGs. Cyberpunk 2020 was designed with the settings of William Gibson's writings in mind, and to some extent with his approval, unlike the approach taken by FASA in producing the transgenre Shadowrun game and its various sequels, which mixes cyberpunk with fantasy elements such as magic and fantasy races such as orcs and elves. Both are set in the near future, in a world where cybernetics are prominent. In addition, Iron Crown Enterprises released an RPG named Cyberspace, which was out of print for several years until recently being re-released in online PDF form. CD Projekt Red released Cyberpunk 2077, a cyberpunk open world first-person shooter/role-playing video game (RPG) based on the tabletop RPG Cyberpunk 2020, on December 10, 2020. In 1990, in a convergence of cyberpunk art and reality, the United States Secret Service raided Steve Jackson Games's headquarters and confiscated all their computers. Officials denied that the target had been the GURPS Cyberpunk sourcebook, but Jackson would later write that he and his colleagues "were never able to secure the return of the complete manuscript; [...] The Secret Service at first flatly refused to return anything – then agreed to let us copy files, but when we got to their office, restricted us to one set of out-of-date files – then agreed to make copies for us, but said "tomorrow" every day from March 4 to March 26. On March 26 we received a set of disks which purported to be our files, but the material was late, incomplete and well-nigh useless." Steve Jackson Games won a lawsuit against the Secret Service, aided by the new Electronic Frontier Foundation. This event has achieved a sort of notoriety, which has extended to the book itself as well. All published editions of GURPS Cyberpunk have a tagline on the front cover, which reads "The book that was seized by the U.S. Secret Service!" Inside, the book provides a summary of the raid and its aftermath. + +Cyberpunk has also inspired several tabletop, miniature and board games such as Necromunda by Games Workshop. Netrunner is a collectible card game introduced in 1996, based on the Cyberpunk 2020 role-playing game. Tokyo NOVA, debuting in 1993, is a cyberpunk role-playing game that uses playing cards instead of dice.Cyberpunk 2077 set a new record for the largest number of simultaneous players in a single player game, with a record 1,003,262 playing just after the December 10th launch, according to Steam Database. That tops the previous Steam record of 472,962 players set by Fallout 4 back in 2015. + + Music + +Invariably the origin of cyberpunk music lies in the synthesizer-heavy scores of cyberpunk films such as Escape from New York (1981) and Blade Runner (1982). Some musicians and acts have been classified as cyberpunk due to their aesthetic style and musical content. Often dealing with dystopian visions of the future or biomechanical themes, some fit more squarely in the category than others. Bands whose music has been classified as cyberpunk include Psydoll, Front Line Assembly, Clock DVA, Angelspit and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. + +Some musicians not normally associated with cyberpunk have at times been inspired to create concept albums exploring such themes. Albums such as the British musician and songwriter Gary Numan's Replicas, The Pleasure Principle and Telekon were heavily inspired by the works of Philip K. Dick. Kraftwerk's The Man-Machine and Computer World albums both explored the theme of humanity becoming dependent on technology. Nine Inch Nails' concept album Year Zero also fits into this category. Fear Factory concept albums are heavily based upon future dystopia, cybernetics, clash between man and machines, virtual worlds. Billy Idol's Cyberpunk drew heavily from cyberpunk literature and the cyberdelic counter culture in its creation. 1. Outside, a cyberpunk narrative fueled concept album by David Bowie, was warmly met by critics upon its release in 1995. Many musicians have also taken inspiration from specific cyberpunk works or authors, including Sonic Youth, whose albums Sister and Daydream Nation take influence from the works of Philip K. Dick and William Gibson respectively. Madonna's 2001 Drowned World Tour opened with a cyberpunk section, where costumes, asethetics and stage props were used to accentuate the dystopian nature of the theatrical concert. Lady Gaga used a cyberpunk-persona and visual style for her sixth studio album Chromatica (2020). + +Vaporwave and synthwave are also influenced by cyberpunk. The former has been inspired by one of the messages of cyberpunk and is interpreted as a dystopian critique of capitalism in the vein of cyberpunk and the latter is more surface-level, inspired only by the aesthetic of cyberpunk as a nostalgic retrofuturistic revival of aspects of cyberpunk's origins. + + Social impact + Art and architecture + +Writers David Suzuki and Holly Dressel describe the cafes, brand-name stores and video arcades of the Sony Center in the Potsdamer Platz public square of Berlin, Germany, as "a vision of a cyberpunk, corporate urban future". + + Society and counterculture +Several subcultures have been inspired by cyberpunk fiction. These include the cyberdelic counter culture of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Cyberdelic, whose adherents referred to themselves as "cyberpunks", attempted to blend the psychedelic art and drug movement with the technology of cyberculture. Early adherents included Timothy Leary, Mark Frauenfelder and R. U. Sirius. The movement largely faded following the dot-com bubble implosion of 2000. + +Cybergoth is a fashion and dance subculture which draws its inspiration from cyberpunk fiction, as well as rave and Gothic subcultures. In addition, a distinct cyberpunk fashion of its own has emerged in recent years which rejects the raver and goth influences of cybergoth, and draws inspiration from urban street fashion, "post apocalypse", functional clothing, high tech sports wear, tactical uniform and multifunction. This fashion goes by names like "tech wear", "goth ninja" or "tech ninja". + +The Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong (demolished in 1994) is often referenced as the model cyberpunk/dystopian slum as, given its poor living conditions at the time coupled with the city's political, physical, and economic isolation has caused many in academia to be fascinated by the ingenuity of its spawning. + + Related genres + +As a wider variety of writers began to work with cyberpunk concepts, new subgenres of science fiction emerged, some of which could be considered as playing off the cyberpunk label, others which could be considered as legitimate explorations into newer territory. These focused on technology and its social effects in different ways. One prominent subgenre is "steampunk," which is set in an alternate history Victorian era that combines anachronistic technology with cyberpunk's bleak film noir world view. The term was originally coined around 1987 as a joke to describe some of the novels of Tim Powers, James P. Blaylock, and K.W. Jeter, but by the time Gibson and Sterling entered the subgenre with their collaborative novel The Difference Engine'' the term was being used earnestly as well. + +Another subgenre is "biopunk" (cyberpunk themes dominated by biotechnology) from the early 1990s, a derivative style building on biotechnology rather than informational technology. In these stories, people are changed in some way not by mechanical means, but by genetic manipulation. + +Cyberpunk works have been described as well situated within postmodern literature. + +Registered trademark status + +In the United States, the term "Cyberpunk" is a registered trademark by R. Talsorian Games Inc. for its tabletop role-playing game. + +Within the European Union, the "Cyberpunk" trademark is owned by two parties: CD Projekt SA for "games and online gaming services" (particularly for the video game adaptation of the former) and by Sony Music for use outside games. + +See also + + Corporate warfare + Cyborg + Digital dystopia + Postcyberpunk + Posthumanization + Steampunk + Solarpunk + Transhumanism + Type 1 civilization + Utopian and dystopian fiction + +References + +External links + + Cyberpunk on The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction + The Cyberpunk Directory—Comprehensive directory of cyberpunk resources + Cyberpunk Media Archive Archive of cyberpunk media + The Cyberpunk Project—A project dedicated toward maintaining a cyberpunk database, library, and other information + cyberpunks.com A website dedicated to cyberpunk themed news and media + + +Dystopian fiction +Subcultures +Postmodernism +Postmodern art +Science fiction culture +1960s neologisms +A comic strip is a sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, these have been published in newspapers and magazines, with daily horizontal strips printed in black-and-white in newspapers, while Sunday papers offered longer sequences in special color comics sections. With the advent of the internet, online comic strips began to appear as webcomics. + +Most strips are written and drawn by a comics artist, known as a cartoonist. As the word "comic" implies, strips are frequently humorous. Examples of these gag-a-day strips are Blondie, Bringing Up Father, Marmaduke, and Pearls Before Swine. In the late 1920s, comic strips expanded from their mirthful origins to feature adventure stories, as seen in Popeye, Captain Easy, Buck Rogers, Tarzan, and Terry and the Pirates. In the 1940s, soap-opera-continuity strips such as Judge Parker and Mary Worth gained popularity. Because "comic" strips are not always funny, cartoonist Will Eisner has suggested that sequential art would be a better genre-neutral name. + +Every day in American newspapers, for most of the 20th century, there were at least 200 different comic strips and cartoon panels, which makes 73,000 per year. Comic strips have appeared inside American magazines such as Liberty and Boys' Life, but also on the front covers, such as the Flossy Frills series on The American Weekly Sunday newspaper supplement. In the UK and the rest of Europe, comic strips are also serialized in comic book magazines, with a strip's story sometimes continuing over three pages. + +History +Storytelling using a sequence of pictures has existed through history. One medieval European example in textile form is the Bayeux Tapestry. Printed examples emerged in 19th-century Germany and in 18th-century England, where some of the first satirical or humorous sequential narrative drawings were produced. William Hogarth's 18th-century English cartoons include both narrative sequences, such as A Rake's Progress, and single panels. + +The Biblia pauperum ("Paupers' Bible"), a tradition of picture Bibles beginning in the Late Middle Ages, sometimes depicted Biblical events with words spoken by the figures in the miniatures written on scrolls coming out of their mouths—which makes them to some extent ancestors of the modern cartoon strips. + +In China, with its traditions of block printing and of the incorporation of text with image, experiments with what became lianhuanhua date back to 1884. + +Newspapers +The first newspaper comic strips appeared in North America in the late 19th century. The Yellow Kid is usually credited as one of the first newspaper strips. However, the art form combining words and pictures developed gradually and there are many examples which led up to the comic strip. + +The Glasgow Looking Glass was the first mass-produced publication to tell stories using illustrations and is regarded as the worlds first comic strip. It satirised the political and social life of Scotland in the 1820s. It was conceived and illustrated by William Heath. + +Swiss author and caricature artist Rodolphe Töpffer (Geneva, 1799–1846) is considered the father of the modern comic strips. His illustrated stories such as Histoire de M. Vieux Bois (1827), first published in the US in 1842 as The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck or Histoire de Monsieur Jabot (1831), inspired subsequent generations of German and American comic artists. In 1865, German painter, author, and caricaturist Wilhelm Busch created the strip Max and Moritz, about two trouble-making boys, which had a direct influence on the American comic strip. Max and Moritz was a series of seven severely moralistic tales in the vein of German children's stories such as Struwwelpeter ("Shockheaded Peter"). In the story's final act, the boys, after perpetrating some mischief, are tossed into a sack of grain, run through a mill, and consumed by a flock of geese (without anybody mourning their demise). Max and Moritz provided an inspiration for German immigrant Rudolph Dirks, who created the Katzenjammer Kids in 1897—a strip starring two German-American boys visually modelled on Max and Moritz. Familiar comic-strip iconography such as stars for pain, sawing logs for snoring, speech balloons, and thought balloons originated in Dirks' strip. + +Hugely popular, Katzenjammer Kids occasioned one of the first comic-strip copyright ownership suits in the history of the medium. When Dirks left William Randolph Hearst for the promise of a better salary under Joseph Pulitzer, it was an unusual move, since cartoonists regularly deserted Pulitzer for Hearst. In a highly unusual court decision, Hearst retained the rights to the name "Katzenjammer Kids", while creator Dirks retained the rights to the characters. Hearst promptly hired Harold Knerr to draw his own version of the strip. Dirks renamed his version Hans and Fritz (later, The Captain and the Kids). Thus, two versions distributed by rival syndicates graced the comics pages for decades. Dirks' version, eventually distributed by United Feature Syndicate, ran until 1979. + +In the United States, the great popularity of comics sprang from the newspaper war (1887 onwards) between Pulitzer and Hearst. The Little Bears (1893–96) was the first American comic strip with recurring characters, while the first color comic supplement was published by the Chicago Inter-Ocean sometime in the latter half of 1892, followed by the New York Journals first color Sunday comic pages in 1897. On January 31, 1912, Hearst introduced the nation's first full daily comic page in his New York Evening Journal. The history of this newspaper rivalry and the rapid appearance of comic strips in most major American newspapers is discussed by Ian Gordon. Numerous events in newspaper comic strips have reverberated throughout society at large, though few of these events occurred in recent years, owing mainly to the declining use of continuous storylines on newspaper comic strips, which since the 1970s had been waning as an entertainment form. From 1903 to 1905 Gustave Verbeek, wrote his comic series "The UpsideDowns of Old Man Muffaroo and Little Lady Lovekins". These comics were made in such a way that one could read the 6 panel comic, flip the book and keep reading. He made 64 such comics in total. + +The longest-running American comic strips are: + The Katzenjammer Kids (1897–2006; 109 years) + Gasoline Alley (1918–present) + Ripley's Believe It or Not! (1918–present) + Barney Google and Snuffy Smith (1919–present) + Thimble Theater/Popeye (1919–present) + Blondie (1930–present) + Dick Tracy (1931–present) + Alley Oop (1932–present) + Bringing Up Father (1913–2000; 87 years) + Little Orphan Annie (1924–2010; 86 years) + +Most newspaper comic strips are syndicated; a syndicate hires people to write and draw a strip and then distributes it to many newspapers for a fee. Some newspaper strips begin or remain exclusive to one newspaper. For example, the Pogo comic strip by Walt Kelly originally appeared only in the New York Star in 1948 and was not picked up for syndication until the following year. + +Newspaper comic strips come in two different types: daily strips and Sunday strips. In the United States, a daily strip appears in newspapers on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays. Daily strips usually are printed in black and white, and Sunday strips are usually in color. However, a few newspapers have published daily strips in color, and some newspapers have published Sunday strips in black and white. + +Popularity + +Making his first appearance in the British magazine Judy by writer and fledgling artist Charles H. Ross in 1867, Ally Sloper is one of the earliest comic strip characters and he is regarded as the first recurring character in comics. The highly popular character was spun off into his own comic, Ally Sloper's Half Holiday, in 1884. + +While in the early 20th century comic strips were a frequent target for detractors of "yellow journalism", by the 1920s the medium became wildly popular. While radio, and later, television surpassed newspapers as a means of entertainment, most comic strip characters were widely recognizable until the 1980s, and the "funny pages" were often arranged in a way they appeared at the front of Sunday editions. In 1931, George Gallup's first poll had the comic section as the most important part of the newspaper, with additional surveys pointing out that the comic strips were the second most popular feature after the picture page. During the 1930s, many comic sections had between 12 and 16 pages, although in some cases, these had up to 24 pages. + +The popularity and accessibility of strips meant they were often clipped and saved; authors including John Updike and Ray Bradbury have written about their childhood collections of clipped strips. Often posted on bulletin boards, clipped strips had an ancillary form of distribution when they were faxed, photocopied or mailed. The Baltimore Suns Linda White recalled, "I followed the adventures of Winnie Winkle, Moon Mullins and Dondi, and waited each fall to see how Lucy would manage to trick Charlie Brown into trying to kick that football. (After I left for college, my father would clip out that strip each year and send it to me just to make sure I didn't miss it.)" + +Production and format +The two conventional formats for newspaper comics are strips and single gag panels. The strips are usually displayed horizontally, wider than they are tall. Single panels are square, circular or taller than they are wide. Strips usually, but not always, are broken up into several smaller panels with continuity from panel to panel. A horizontal strip can also be used for a single panel with a single gag, as seen occasionally in Mike Peters' Mother Goose and Grimm. + +Early daily strips were large, often running the entire width of the newspaper, and were sometimes three or more inches high. Initially, a newspaper page included only a single daily strip, usually either at the top or the bottom of the page. By the 1920s, many newspapers had a comics page on which many strips were collected together. During the 1930s, the original art for a daily strip could be drawn as large as 25 inches wide by six inches high. Over decades, the size of daily strips became smaller and smaller, until by 2000, four standard daily strips could fit in an area once occupied by a single daily strip. As strips have become smaller, the number of panels have been reduced. + +Proof sheets were the means by which syndicates provided newspapers with black-and-white line art for the reproduction of strips (which they arranged to have colored in the case of Sunday strips). Michigan State University Comic Art Collection librarian Randy Scott describes these as "large sheets of paper on which newspaper comics have traditionally been distributed to subscribing newspapers. Typically each sheet will have either six daily strips of a given title or one Sunday strip. Thus, a week of Beetle Bailey would arrive at the Lansing State Journal in two sheets, printed much larger than the final version and ready to be cut apart and fitted into the local comics page." Comic strip historian Allan Holtz described how strips were provided as mats (the plastic or cardboard trays in which molten metal is poured to make plates) or even plates ready to be put directly on the printing press. He also notes that with electronic means of distribution becoming more prevalent printed sheets "are definitely on their way out." + +NEA Syndicate experimented briefly with a two-tier daily strip, Star Hawks, but after a few years, Star Hawks dropped down to a single tier. + +In Flanders, the two-tier strip is the standard publication style of most daily strips like Spike and Suzy and Nero. They appear Monday through Saturday; until 2003 there were no Sunday papers in Flanders. In the last decades, they have switched from black and white to color. + +Cartoon panels + +Single panels usually, but not always, are not broken up and lack continuity. The daily Peanuts is a strip, and the daily Dennis the Menace is a single panel. J. R. Williams' long-run Out Our Way continued as a daily panel even after it expanded into a Sunday strip, Out Our Way with the Willets. Jimmy Hatlo's They'll Do It Every Time was often displayed in a two-panel format with the first panel showing some deceptive, pretentious, unwitting or scheming human behavior and the second panel revealing the truth of the situation. + +Sunday comics + +Sunday newspapers traditionally included a special color section. Early Sunday strips (known colloquially as "the funny papers", shortened to "the funnies"), such as Thimble Theatre and Little Orphan Annie, filled an entire newspaper page, a format known to collectors as full page. Sunday pages during the 1930s and into the 1940s often carried a secondary strip by the same artist as the main strip. No matter whether it appeared above or below a main strip, the extra strip was known as the topper, such as The Squirrel Cage which ran along with Room and Board, both drawn by Gene Ahern. + +During the 1930s, the original art for a Sunday strip was usually drawn quite large. For example, in 1930, Russ Westover drew his Tillie the Toiler Sunday page at a size of 17" × 37". In 1937, the cartoonist Dudley Fisher launched the innovative Right Around Home, drawn as a huge single panel filling an entire Sunday page. + +Full-page strips were eventually replaced by strips half that size. Strips such as The Phantom and Terry and the Pirates began appearing in a format of two strips to a page in full-size newspapers, such as the New Orleans Times Picayune, or with one strip on a tabloid page, as in the Chicago Sun-Times. When Sunday strips began to appear in more than one format, it became necessary for the cartoonist to allow for rearranged, cropped or dropped panels. During World War II, because of paper shortages, the size of Sunday strips began to shrink. After the war, strips continued to get smaller and smaller because of increased paper and printing costs. The last full-page comic strip was the Prince Valiant strip for 11 April 1971. + +Comic strips have also been published in Sunday newspaper magazines. Russell Patterson and Carolyn Wells' New Adventures of Flossy Frills was a continuing strip series seen on Sunday magazine covers. Beginning January 26, 1941, it ran on the front covers of Hearst's American Weekly newspaper magazine supplement, continuing until March 30 of that year. Between 1939 and 1943, four different stories featuring Flossy appeared on American Weekly covers. + +Sunday comics sections employed offset color printing with multiple print runs imitating a wide range of colors. Printing plates were created with four or more colors—traditionally, the CMYK color model: cyan, magenta, yellow and "K" for black. With a screen of tiny dots on each printing plate, the dots allowed an image to be printed in a halftone that appears to the eye in different gradations. The semi-opaque property of ink allows halftone dots of different colors to create an optical effect of full-color imagery. + +Underground comic strips +The decade of the 1960s saw the rise of underground newspapers, which often carried comic strips, such as Fritz the Cat and The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Zippy the Pinhead initially appeared in underground publications in the 1970s before being syndicated. Bloom County and Doonesbury began as strips in college newspapers under different titles, and later moved to national syndication. Underground comic strips covered subjects that are usually taboo in newspaper strips, such as sex and drugs. Many underground artists, notably Vaughn Bode, Dan O'Neill, Gilbert Shelton, and Art Spiegelman went on to draw comic strips for magazines such as Playboy, National Lampoon, and Pete Millar's CARtoons. Jay Lynch graduated from undergrounds to alternative weekly newspapers to Mad and children's books. + +Webcomics + +Webcomics, also known as online comics and internet comics, are comics that are available to read on the Internet. Many are exclusively published online, but the majority of traditional newspaper comic strips have some Internet presence. King Features Syndicate and other syndicates often provide archives of recent strips on their websites. Some, such as Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, include an email address in each strip. + +Conventions and genres + +Most comic strip characters do not age throughout the strip's life, but in some strips, like Lynn Johnston's award-winning For Better or For Worse, the characters age as the years pass. The first strip to feature aging characters was Gasoline Alley. + +The history of comic strips also includes series that are not humorous, but tell an ongoing dramatic story. Examples include The Phantom, Prince Valiant, Dick Tracy, Mary Worth, Modesty Blaise, Little Orphan Annie, Flash Gordon, and Tarzan. Sometimes these are spin-offs from comic books, for example Superman, Batman, and The Amazing Spider-Man. + +A number of strips have featured animals as main characters. Some are non-verbal (Marmaduke, The Angriest Dog in the World), some have verbal thoughts but are not understood by humans, (Garfield, Snoopy in Peanuts), and some can converse with humans (Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes, Mutts, Citizen Dog, Buckles, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, and Pooch Cafe). Other strips are centered entirely on animals, as in Pogo and Donald Duck. Gary Larson's The Far Side was unusual, as there were no central characters. Instead The Far Side used a wide variety of characters including humans, monsters, aliens, chickens, cows, worms, amoebas, and more. John McPherson's Close to Home also uses this theme, though the characters are mostly restricted to humans and real-life situations. Wiley Miller not only mixes human, animal, and fantasy characters, but also does several different comic strip continuities under one umbrella title, Non Sequitur. Bob Thaves's Frank & Ernest began in 1972 and paved the way for some of these strips, as its human characters were manifest in diverse forms—as animals, vegetables, and minerals. + +Social and political influence + +The comics have long held a distorted mirror to contemporary society, and almost from the beginning have been used for political or social commentary. This ranged from the conservative slant of Harold Gray's Little Orphan Annie to the unabashed liberalism of Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury. Al Capp's Li'l Abner espoused liberal opinions for most of its run, but by the late 1960s, it became a mouthpiece for Capp's repudiation of the counterculture. + +Pogo used animals to particularly devastating effect, caricaturing many prominent politicians of the day as animal denizens of Pogo's Okeefenokee Swamp. In a fearless move, Pogo's creator Walt Kelly took on Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, caricaturing him as a bobcat named Simple J. Malarkey, a megalomaniac who was bent on taking over the characters' birdwatching club and rooting out all undesirables. Kelly also defended the medium against possible government regulation in the McCarthy era. At a time when comic books were coming under fire for supposed sexual, violent, and subversive content, Kelly feared the same would happen to comic strips. Going before the Congressional subcommittee, he proceeded to charm the members with his drawings and the force of his personality. The comic strip was safe for satire. + +During the early 20th century, comic strips were widely associated with publisher William Randolph Hearst, whose papers had the largest circulation of strips in the United States. Hearst was notorious for his practice of yellow journalism, and he was frowned on by readers of The New York Times and other newspapers which featured few or no comic strips. Hearst's critics often assumed that all the strips in his papers were fronts for his own political and social views. Hearst did occasionally work with or pitch ideas to cartoonists, most notably his continued support of George Herriman's Krazy Kat. An inspiration for Bill Watterson and other cartoonists, Krazy Kat gained a considerable following among intellectuals during the 1920s and 1930s. + +Some comic strips, such as Doonesbury and Mallard Fillmore, may be printed on the editorial or op-ed page rather than the comics page because of their regular political commentary. For example, the August 12, 1974 Doonesbury strip was awarded a 1975 Pulitzer Prize for its depiction of the Watergate scandal. Dilbert is sometimes found in the business section of a newspaper instead of the comics page because of the strip's commentary about office politics, and Tank McNamara often appears on the sports page because of its subject matter. Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse created an uproar when Lawrence, one of the strip's supporting characters, came out of the closet. + +Publicity and recognition +The world's longest comic strip is long and on display at Trafalgar Square as part of the London Comedy Festival. The London Cartoon Strip was created by 15 of Britain's best known cartoonists and depicts the history of London. + +The Reuben, named for cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is the most prestigious award for U.S. comic strip artists. Reuben awards are presented annually by the National Cartoonists Society (NCS). + +In 1995, the United States Postal Service issued a series of commemorative stamps, Comic Strip Classics, marking the comic-strip centennial. + +Today's strip artists, with the help of the NCS, enthusiastically promote the medium, which since the 1970s (and particularly the 1990s) has been considered to be in decline due to numerous factors such as changing tastes in humor and entertainment, the waning relevance of newspapers in general and the loss of most foreign markets outside English-speaking countries. One particularly humorous example of such promotional efforts is the Great Comic Strip Switcheroonie, held in 1997 on April Fool's Day, an event in which dozens of prominent artists took over each other's strips. Garfields Jim Davis, for example, switched with Blondies Stan Drake, while Scott Adams (Dilbert) traded strips with Bil Keane (The Family Circus). + +While the 1997 Switcheroonie was a one-time publicity stunt, an artist taking over a feature from its originator is an old tradition in newspaper cartooning (as it is in the comic book industry). In fact, the practice has made possible the longevity of the genre's more popular strips. Examples include Little Orphan Annie (drawn and plotted by Harold Gray from 1924 to 1944 and thereafter by a succession of artists including Leonard Starr and Andrew Pepoy), and Terry and the Pirates, started by Milton Caniff in 1934 and picked up by George Wunder. + +A business-driven variation has sometimes led to the same feature continuing under a different name. In one case, in the early 1940s, Don Flowers' Modest Maidens was so admired by William Randolph Hearst that he lured Flowers away from the Associated Press and to King Features Syndicate by doubling the cartoonist's salary, and renamed the feature Glamor Girls to avoid legal action by the AP. The latter continued to publish Modest Maidens, drawn by Jay Allen in Flowers' style. + +Issues in U.S. newspaper comic strips +As newspapers have declined, the changes have affected comic strips. Jeff Reece, lifestyle editor of The Florida Times-Union, wrote, "Comics are sort of the 'third rail' of the newspaper." + +Size +In the early decades of the 20th century, all Sunday comics received a full page, and daily strips were generally the width of the page. The competition between papers for having more cartoons than the rest from the mid-1920s, the growth of large-scale newspaper advertising during most of the thirties, paper rationing during World War II, the decline on news readership (as television newscasts began to be more common) and inflation (which has caused higher printing costs) beginning during the fifties and sixties led to Sunday strips being published on smaller and more diverse formats. As newspapers have reduced the page count of Sunday comic sections since the late 1990s (by the 2010s, most sections have only four pages, with the back page not always being destined for comics) has also led to further downsizes. + +Daily strips have suffered as well. Before the mid-1910s, there was not a "standard" size", with strips running the entire width of a page or having more than one tier. By the 1920s, strips often covered six of the eight columns occupied by a traditional broadsheet paper. During the 1940s, strips were reduced to four columns wide (with a "transition" width of five columns). As newspapers became narrower beginning in the 1970s, strips have gotten even smaller, often being just three columns wide, a similar width to the one most daily panels occupied before the 1940s. + +In an issue related to size limitations, Sunday comics are often bound to rigid formats that allow their panels to be rearranged in several different ways while remaining readable. Such formats usually include throwaway panels at the beginning, which some newspapers will omit for space. As a result, cartoonists have less incentive to put great efforts into these panels. Garfield and Mutts were known during the mid-to-late 80s and 1990s respectively for their throwaways on their Sunday strips, however both strips now run "generic" title panels. + +Some cartoonists have complained about this, with Walt Kelly, creator of Pogo, openly voicing his discontent about being forced to draw his Sunday strips in such rigid formats from the beginning. Kelly's heirs opted to end the strip in 1975 as a form of protest against the practice. Since then, Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson has written extensively on the issue, arguing that size reduction and dropped panels reduce both the potential and freedom of a cartoonist. After a lengthy battle with his syndicate, Watterson won the privilege of making half page-sized Sunday strips where he could arrange the panels any way he liked. Many newspaper publishers and a few cartoonists objected to this, and some papers continued to print Calvin and Hobbes at small sizes. Opus won that same privilege years after Calvin and Hobbes ended, while Wiley Miller circumvented further downsizes by making his Non Sequitur Sunday strip available only in a vertical arrangement. Most strips created since 1990, however, are drawn in the unbroken "third-page" format. Few newspapers still run half-page strips, as with Prince Valiant and Hägar the Horrible in the front page of the Reading Eagle Sunday comics section until the mid-2010s. + +Format +With the success of The Gumps during the 1920s, it became commonplace for strips (comedy- and adventure-laden alike) to have lengthy stories spanning weeks or months. The "Monarch of Medioka" story in Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse comic strip ran from September 8, 1937 to May 2, 1938. Between the 1960s and the late 1980s, as television news relegated newspaper reading to an occasional basis rather than daily, syndicators were abandoning long stories and urging cartoonists to switch to simple daily gags, or week-long "storylines" (with six consecutive (mostly unrelated) strips following a same subject), with longer storylines being used mainly on adventure-based and dramatic strips. Strips begun during the mid-1980s or after (such as Get Fuzzy, Over the Hedge, Monty, and others) are known for their heavy use of storylines, lasting between one and three weeks in most cases. + +The writing style of comic strips changed as well after World War II. With an increase in the number of college-educated readers, there was a shift away from slapstick comedy and towards more cerebral humor. Slapstick and visual gags became more confined to Sunday strips, because as Garfield creator Jim Davis put it, "Children are more likely to read Sunday strips than dailies." + +Second author +Many older strips are no longer drawn by the original cartoonist, who has either died or retired. Such strips are known as "zombie strips". A cartoonist, paid by the syndicate or sometimes a relative of the original cartoonist, continues writing the strip, a tradition that became commonplace in the early half of the 20th century. Hägar the Horrible and Frank and Ernest are both drawn by the sons of the creators. Some strips which are still in affiliation with the original creator are produced by small teams or entire companies, such as Jim Davis' Garfield, however there is some debate if these strips fall in this category. + +This act is commonly criticized by modern cartoonists including Watterson and Pearls Before Swine'''s Stephan Pastis. The issue was addressed in six consecutive Pearls strips in 2005. Charles Schulz, of Peanuts fame, requested that his strip not be continued by another cartoonist after his death. He also rejected the idea of hiring an inker or letterer, comparing it to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts. Schulz's family has honored his wishes and refused numerous proposals by syndicators to continue Peanuts with a new author. + +Assistants +Since the consolidation of newspaper comics by the first quarter of the 20th century, most cartoonists have used a group of assistants (with usually one of them credited). However, quite a few cartoonists (e.g.: George Herriman and Charles Schulz, among others) have done their strips almost completely by themselves; often criticizing the use of assistants for the same reasons most have about their editors hiring anyone else to continue their work after their retirement. + +Rights to the strips +Historically, syndicates owned the creators' work, enabling them to continue publishing the strip after the original creator retired, left the strip, or died. This practice led to the term "legacy strips", or more pejoratively "zombie strips". Most syndicates signed creators to 10- or even 20-year contracts. (There have been exceptions, however, such as Bud Fisher's Mutt and Jeff being an early—if not the earliest—case in which the creator retained ownership of his work.) Both these practices began to change with the 1970 debut of Universal Press Syndicate, as the company gave cartoonists a 50-percent ownership share of their work. Creators Syndicate, founded in 1987, granted artists full rights to the strips, something that Universal Press did in 1990, followed by King Features in 1995. By 1999 both Tribune Media Services and United Feature had begun granting ownership rights to creators (limited to new and/or hugely popular strips). + +Censorship +Starting in the late 1940s, the national syndicates which distributed newspaper comic strips subjected them to very strict censorship. Li'l Abner was censored in September 1947 and was pulled from the Pittsburgh Press by Scripps-Howard. The controversy, as reported in Time, centered on Capp's portrayal of the U.S. Senate. Said Edward Leech of Scripps, "We don't think it is good editing or sound citizenship to picture the Senate as an assemblage of freaks and crooks... boobs and undesirables." + +As comics are easier for children to access compared to other types of media, they have a significantly more rigid censorship code than other media. Stephan Pastis has lamented that the "unwritten" censorship code is still "stuck somewhere in the 1950s". Generally, comics are not allowed to include such words as "damn", "sucks", "screwed", and "hell", although there have been exceptions such as the September 22, 2010 Mother Goose and Grimm in which an elderly man says, "This nursing home food sucks," and a pair of Pearls Before Swine comics from January 11, 2011 with a character named Ned using the word "crappy". Naked backsides and shooting guns cannot be shown, according to Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams. Such comic strip taboos were detailed in Dave Breger's book But That's Unprintable (Bantam, 1955). + +Many issues such as sex, narcotics, and terrorism cannot or can very rarely be openly discussed in strips, although there are exceptions, usually for satire, as in Bloom County. This led some cartoonists to resort to double entendre or dialogue children do not understand, as in Greg Evans' Luann. Another example of wordplay to get around censorship is a July 27, 2016 Pearls Before Swine strip that features Pig talking to his sister, and says the phrase "I SIS!" repeatedly after correcting his sister's grammar. The strip then cuts to a scene of a NSA wiretap agent, following a scene of Pig being arrested by the FBI saying "Never correct your sister's grammar", implying that the CIA mistook the phrase "I SIS" with "ISIS". Younger cartoonists have claimed commonplace words, images, and issues should be allowed in the comics, considering that the pressure on "clean" humor has been a chief factor for the declining popularity of comic strips since the 1990s (Aaron McGruder, creator of The Boondocks, decided to end his strip partly because of censorship issues, while the Popeye daily comic strip ended in 1994 after newspapers objected to a storyline they considered to be a satire on abortion). Some of the taboo words and topics are mentioned daily on television and other forms of visual media. Webcomics and comics distributed primarily to college newspapers are much freer in this respect. + +See alsoBiblia pauperumBilly Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum +Comic book +Comics studies +History of American comics +List of British comic strips +List of cartoonists +List of newspaper comic strips +Military humor comic strips + +References + + Bibliography + + + + +Further reading +Blackbeard, Bill, ed. The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics. (1977) Smithsonian Institution Press/Harry N. Abrams +Castelli, Alfredo. Here We Are AgainGordon, Ian. Comic Strips and Consumer Culture (1998) Smithsonian Institution Press +Goulart, Ron. Encyclopedia of American ComicsGoulart, Ron. The FunniesGoulart, Ron. The Adventurous DecadeHoltz, Allan. American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. (2012) University of Michigan Press. +Horn, Maurice. The World Encyclopedia of Comics. (1976) Chelsea House, (1982) Avon. + Horn, Maurice. The World Encyclopedia of Cartoons (Chelsea House, 1979) – 6 volumes + Horn, Maurice. 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics (Gramercy Books, 1996) +Koenigsberg, Moses. King News, Moses Koenigsberg +Mott, Frank Luther. American JournalismRobbins, Trina. A Century of Women CartoonistsRobbins, Trina and Yronwode, Cat. Women and the ComicsRobinson, Jerry. The ComicsSheridan, Martin. Comics And Their CreatorsStein, Daniel and Jan-Noel Thon, eds. From Comic Strips to Graphic Novels. Contributions to the Theory and History of Graphic Narrative. Berlin/Boston 2015. +Tebbell. The Compact History of the American NewspaperStrickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and ArtistsWatson, Elmo Scott. A History of Newspaper Syndicates in the United States, Elmo Scott Watson +Waugh, Coulton. The Comics'' + +External links + +National Cartoonists Society + +Comic Art Collection at the University of Missouri +Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University + + +Comics formats +Comics terminology +In mathematics, specifically set theory, the continuum hypothesis (abbreviated CH) is a hypothesis about the possible sizes of infinite sets. It states that + +or equivalently, that + +In Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with the axiom of choice (ZFC), this is equivalent to the following equation in aleph numbers: , or even shorter with beth numbers: . + +The continuum hypothesis was advanced by Georg Cantor in 1878, and establishing its truth or falsehood is the first of Hilbert's 23 problems presented in 1900. The answer to this problem is independent of ZFC, so that either the continuum hypothesis or its negation can be added as an axiom to ZFC set theory, with the resulting theory being consistent if and only if ZFC is consistent. This independence was proved in 1963 by Paul Cohen, complementing earlier work by Kurt Gödel in 1940. + +The name of the hypothesis comes from the term the continuum for the real numbers. + +History +Cantor believed the continuum hypothesis to be true and for many years tried in vain to prove it. It became the first on David Hilbert's list of important open questions that was presented at the International Congress of Mathematicians in the year 1900 in Paris. Axiomatic set theory was at that point not yet formulated. +Kurt Gödel proved in 1940 that the negation of the continuum hypothesis, i.e., the existence of a set with intermediate cardinality, could not be proved in standard set theory. The second half of the independence of the continuum hypothesis – i.e., unprovability of the nonexistence of an intermediate-sized set – was proved in 1963 by Paul Cohen. + +Cardinality of infinite sets + +Two sets are said to have the same cardinality or cardinal number if there exists a bijection (a one-to-one correspondence) between them. Intuitively, for two sets S and T to have the same cardinality means that it is possible to "pair off" elements of S with elements of T in such a fashion that every element of S is paired off with exactly one element of T and vice versa. Hence, the set {banana, apple, pear} has the same cardinality as {yellow, red, green}. + +With infinite sets such as the set of integers or rational numbers, the existence of a bijection between two sets becomes more difficult to demonstrate. The rational numbers seemingly form a counterexample to the continuum hypothesis: the integers form a proper subset of the rationals, which themselves form a proper subset of the reals, so intuitively, there are more rational numbers than integers and more real numbers than rational numbers. However, this intuitive analysis is flawed; it does not take proper account of the fact that all three sets are infinite. It turns out the rational numbers can actually be placed in one-to-one correspondence with the integers, and therefore the set of rational numbers is the same size (cardinality) as the set of integers: they are both countable sets. + +Cantor gave two proofs that the cardinality of the set of integers is strictly smaller than that of the set of real numbers (see Cantor's first uncountability proof and Cantor's diagonal argument). His proofs, however, give no indication of the extent to which the cardinality of the integers is less than that of the real numbers. Cantor proposed the continuum hypothesis as a possible solution to this question. + +The continuum hypothesis states that the set of real numbers has minimal possible cardinality which is greater than the cardinality of the set of integers. That is, every set, S, of real numbers can either be mapped one-to-one into the integers or the real numbers can be mapped one-to-one into S. As the real numbers are equinumerous with the powerset of the integers, i.e. , the continuum hypothesis can be restated as follows: + +Assuming the axiom of choice, there is a unique smallest cardinal number greater than , and the continuum hypothesis is in turn equivalent to the equality . + +Independence from ZFC +The independence of the continuum hypothesis (CH) from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory (ZF) follows from combined work of Kurt Gödel and Paul Cohen. + +Gödel showed that CH cannot be disproved from ZF, even if the axiom of choice (AC) is adopted (making ZFC). Gödel's proof shows that CH and AC both hold in the constructible universe L, an inner model of ZF set theory, assuming only the axioms of ZF. The existence of an inner model of ZF in which additional axioms hold shows that the additional axioms are consistent with ZF, provided ZF itself is consistent. The latter condition cannot be proved in ZF itself, due to Gödel's incompleteness theorems, but is widely believed to be true and can be proved in stronger set theories. + +Cohen showed that CH cannot be proven from the ZFC axioms, completing the overall independence proof. To prove his result, Cohen developed the method of forcing, which has become a standard tool in set theory. Essentially, this method begins with a model of ZF in which CH holds, and constructs another model which contains more sets than the original, in a way that CH does not hold in the new model. Cohen was awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 for his proof. + +The independence proof just described shows that CH is independent of ZFC. Further research has shown that CH is independent of all known large cardinal axioms in the context of ZFC. Moreover, it has been shown that the cardinality of the continuum can be any cardinal consistent with König's theorem. A result of Solovay, proved shortly after Cohen's result on the independence of the continuum hypothesis, shows that in any model of ZFC, if is a cardinal of uncountable cofinality, then there is a forcing extension in which . However, per König's theorem, it is not consistent to assume is or or any cardinal with cofinality . + +The continuum hypothesis is closely related to many statements in analysis, point set topology and measure theory. As a result of its independence, many substantial conjectures in those fields have subsequently been shown to be independent as well. + +The independence from ZFC means that proving or disproving the CH within ZFC is impossible. However, Gödel and Cohen's negative results are not universally accepted as disposing of all interest in the continuum hypothesis. The continuum hypothesis remains an active topic of research; see Woodin and Peter Koellner for an overview of the current research status. + +The continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice were among the first genuinely mathematical statements shown to be independent of ZF set theory. Although the existence of some statements independent of ZFC had already been known more than two decades prior: for example, assuming good soundness properties and the consistency ZFC, Gödel's incompleteness theorems, which were published in 1931, establish that there is a formal statement (one for each appropriate Gödel numbering scheme) expressing the consistency of ZFC, that is also independent of it. The latter independence result indeed holds for many theories. + +Arguments for and against the continuum hypothesis +Gödel believed that CH is false, and that his proof that CH is consistent with ZFC only shows that the Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms do not adequately characterize the universe of sets. Gödel was a platonist and therefore had no problems with asserting the truth and falsehood of statements independent of their provability. Cohen, though a formalist, also tended towards rejecting CH. + +Historically, mathematicians who favored a "rich" and "large" universe of sets were against CH, while those favoring a "neat" and "controllable" universe favored CH. Parallel arguments were made for and against the axiom of constructibility, which implies CH. More recently, Matthew Foreman has pointed out that ontological maximalism can actually be used to argue in favor of CH, because among models that have the same reals, models with "more" sets of reals have a better chance of satisfying CH. + +Another viewpoint is that the conception of set is not specific enough to determine whether CH is true or false. This viewpoint was advanced as early as 1923 by Skolem, even before Gödel's first incompleteness theorem. Skolem argued on the basis of what is now known as Skolem's paradox, and it was later supported by the independence of CH from the axioms of ZFC since these axioms are enough to establish the elementary properties of sets and cardinalities. In order to argue against this viewpoint, it would be sufficient to demonstrate new axioms that are supported by intuition and resolve CH in one direction or another. Although the axiom of constructibility does resolve CH, it is not generally considered to be intuitively true any more than CH is generally considered to be false. + +At least two other axioms have been proposed that have implications for the continuum hypothesis, although these axioms have not currently found wide acceptance in the mathematical community. In 1986, Chris Freiling presented an argument against CH by showing that the negation of CH is equivalent to Freiling's axiom of symmetry, a statement derived by arguing from particular intuitions about probabilities. Freiling believes this axiom is "intuitively true" but others have disagreed. + +A difficult argument against CH developed by W. Hugh Woodin has attracted considerable attention since the year 2000. Foreman does not reject Woodin's argument outright but urges caution. Woodin proposed a new hypothesis that he labeled the , or "Star axiom". The Star axiom would imply that is , thus falsifying CH. The Star axiom was bolstered by an independent May 2021 proof showing the Star axiom can be derived from a variation of Martin's maximum. However, Woodin stated in the 2010s that he now instead believes CH to be true, based on his belief in his new "ultimate L" conjecture. + +Solomon Feferman has argued that CH is not a definite mathematical problem. He proposes a theory of "definiteness" using a semi-intuitionistic subsystem of ZF that accepts classical logic for bounded quantifiers but uses intuitionistic logic for unbounded ones, and suggests that a proposition is mathematically "definite" if the semi-intuitionistic theory can prove . He conjectures that CH is not definite according to this notion, and proposes that CH should, therefore, be considered not to have a truth value. Peter Koellner wrote a critical commentary on Feferman's article. + +Joel David Hamkins proposes a multiverse approach to set theory and argues that "the continuum hypothesis is settled on the multiverse view by our extensive knowledge about how it behaves in the multiverse, and, as a result, it can no longer be settled in the manner formerly hoped for". In a related vein, Saharon Shelah wrote that he does "not agree with the pure Platonic view that the interesting problems in set theory can be decided, that we just have to discover the additional axiom. My mental picture is that we have many possible set theories, all conforming to ZFC". + +The generalized continuum hypothesis +The generalized continuum hypothesis (GCH) states that if an infinite set's cardinality lies between that of an infinite set S and that of the power set of S, then it has the same cardinality as either S or . That is, for any infinite cardinal there is no cardinal such that . GCH is equivalent to: + for every ordinal (occasionally called Cantor's aleph hypothesis). + +The beth numbers provide an alternate notation for this condition: for every ordinal . The continuum hypothesis is the special case for the ordinal . GCH was first suggested by Philip Jourdain. For the early history of GCH, see Moore. + +Like CH, GCH is also independent of ZFC, but Sierpiński proved that ZF + GCH implies the axiom of choice (AC) (and therefore the negation of the axiom of determinacy, AD), so choice and GCH are not independent in ZF; there are no models of ZF in which GCH holds and AC fails. To prove this, Sierpiński showed GCH implies that every cardinality n is smaller than some aleph number, and thus can be ordered. This is done by showing that n is smaller than which is smaller than its own Hartogs number—this uses the equality ; for the full proof, see Gillman. + +Kurt Gödel showed that GCH is a consequence of ZF + V=L (the axiom that every set is constructible relative to the ordinals), and is therefore consistent with ZFC. As GCH implies CH, Cohen's model in which CH fails is a model in which GCH fails, and thus GCH is not provable from ZFC. W. B. Easton used the method of forcing developed by Cohen to prove Easton's theorem, which shows it is consistent with ZFC for arbitrarily large cardinals to fail to satisfy . Much later, Foreman and Woodin proved that (assuming the consistency of very large cardinals) it is consistent that holds for every infinite cardinal . Later Woodin extended this by showing the consistency of for every . Carmi Merimovich showed that, for each n ≥ 1, it is consistent with ZFC that for each κ, 2κ is the nth successor of κ. On the other hand, László Patai proved that if γ is an ordinal and for each infinite cardinal κ, 2κ is the γth successor of κ, then γ is finite. + +For any infinite sets A and B, if there is an injection from A to B then there is an injection from subsets of A to subsets of B. Thus for any infinite cardinals A and B, . If A and B are finite, the stronger inequality holds. GCH implies that this strict, stronger inequality holds for infinite cardinals as well as finite cardinals. + +Implications of GCH for cardinal exponentiation +Although the generalized continuum hypothesis refers directly only to cardinal exponentiation with 2 as the base, one can deduce from it the values of cardinal exponentiation in all cases. GCH implies that: + when α ≤ β+1; + when β+1 < α and , where cf is the cofinality operation; and + when β+1 < α and . + +The first equality (when α ≤ β+1) follows from: + , while: + ; + +The third equality (when β+1 < α and ) follows from: +, by König's theorem, while: + +Where, for every γ, GCH is used for equating and ; is used as it is equivalent to the axiom of choice. + +See also +Absolute Infinite +Beth number +Cardinality +Ω-logic +Wetzel's problem + +References + +Sources + +Further reading + + + + Gödel, K.: What is Cantor's Continuum Problem?, reprinted in Benacerraf and Putnam's collection Philosophy of Mathematics, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, 1983. An outline of Gödel's arguments against CH. + Martin, D. (1976). "Hilbert's first problem: the continuum hypothesis," in Mathematical Developments Arising from Hilbert's Problems, Proceedings of Symposia in Pure Mathematics XXVIII, F. Browder, editor. American Mathematical Society, 1976, pp. 81–92. + +External links + +Forcing (mathematics) +Independence results +Basic concepts in infinite set theory +Hilbert's problems +Infinity +Hypotheses +Cardinal numbers +Çevik Bir (born 1939) is a retired Turkish army general. He was a member of the Turkish General Staff in the 1990s. He took a major part in several important international missions in the Middle East and North Africa. He was born in Buca, Izmir Province, in 1939 and is married with one child. + +He graduated from the Turkish Military Academy as an engineer officer in 1958, from the Army Staff College in 1970 and from the Armed Forces College in 1971. He graduated from NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy in 1973. + +From 1983 to 1985, he served at SHAPE, NATO's headquarters in Belgium. He was promoted to brigadier general and commanded an armed brigade and division in Turkey. From 1987 to 1991, he served as major general, and then was promoted to lieutenant general. + +After the dictator Siad Barre’s ousting, conflicts between the General Mohammed Farah Aidid party and other clans in Somalia had led to famine and lawlessness throughout the country. An estimated 300,000 people had died from starvation. A combined military force of United States and United Nations (under the name "UNOSOM") were deployed to Mogadishu, to monitor the ceasefire and deliver food and supplies to the starving people of Somali. Çevik Bir, who was then a lieutenant-general of Turkey, became the force commander of UNOSOM II in April 1993. Despite the retreat of US and UN forces after several deaths due to local hostilities mainly led by Aidid, the introduction of a powerful military force opened the transportation routes, enabling the provision of supplies and ended the famine quickly. He was succeeded as Force Commander by a Malaysian general in January 1994. + +He became a four-star general and served three years as vice chairman of the Turkish Armed Forces, then appointed commander of the Turkish First Army, in Istanbul. While he was vice chairman of the TAF, he signed the Turkish-Israeli Military Coordination agreement in 1996. + +Çevik Bir became the Turkish army's deputy chief of general staff shortly after the Somali operation and played a vital role in establishing a Turkish-Israeli entente. He retired from the army on 30 August 1999. He is a former member of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA). + +On 12 April 2012, Bir and 30 other officers were taken in custody for their role in the 1997 military memorandum that forced the then Turkish government, led by the Refah Partisi (Welfare Party), to step down. On 11 September 2021, the General Staff Personnel Presidency reported to the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court, where the case was heard, that the administrative action was taken to demolish the 13 retired generals convicted in the February 28 trial. Thus, Çevik Bir was demoted. + +Çevik Bir, one of the generals who planned the process, said "In Turkey we have a marriage of Islam and democracy. (…) The child of this marriage is secularism. Now this child gets sick from time to time. The Turkish Armed Forces is the doctor which saves the child. Depending on how sick the kid is, we administer the necessary medicine to make sure the child recuperates". + +Distinctions + + United Nations Medal (1994) + US Medal of Merit (1994) + Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Service (1995) + German Medal of Honor (1996) + Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Merit (1996) + United Kingdom Distinguished Achievement Medal (1997) + United Kingdom Distinguished Service Medal (1997) + Jordanian Medal of Istihkak (1998) + French Medal of Merit (1999) + +References + + + + +1939 births +Military personnel from İzmir +Living people +Turkish Military Academy alumni +Army War College (Turkey) alumni +Turkish Army generals +Collectivism is the type of social organization. + +Collectivism may also refer to: + Bureaucratic collectivism, a theory of class society which is used to describe the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin + Collectivist anarchism, a socialist doctrine in which the workers own and manage the production + Collectivism (art), art which is created by a group of people rather than an individual + Communitarianism, a political position that emphasizes the importance of the community over the individual or attempts to integrate the two + Corporatism, a political ideology in which groups, rather than individuals, are the building blocks of society + +See also + Collective + Collective farming, aka collectivization + Collective security + Collective ownership + Collective agreement +Nepeta is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. The genus name, from Latin (“catnip”), is reportedly in reference to Nepete, an ancient Etruscan city. There are about 250 species. + +The genus is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, and has also naturalized in North America. + +Some members of this group are known as catnip or catmint because of their effect on house cats – the nepetalactone contained in some Nepeta species binds to the olfactory receptors of cats, typically resulting in temporary euphoria. + +Description +Most of the species are herbaceous perennial plants, but some are annuals. They have sturdy stems with opposite heart-shaped, green to gray-green leaves. Nepeta plants are usually aromatic in foliage and flowers. + +The tubular flowers can be lavender, blue, white, pink, or lilac, and spotted with tiny lavender-purple dots. The flowers are located in verticillasters grouped on spikes; or the verticillasters are arranged in opposite cymes, racemes, or panicles – toward the tip of the stems. + +The calyx is tubular or campanulate, they are slightly curved or straight, and the limbs are often 2-lipped with five teeth. The lower lip is larger, with 3-lobes, and the middle lobe is the largest. The flowers have 4 hairless stamens that are nearly parallel, and they ascend under the upper lip of the corolla. Two stamen are longer and stamens of pistillate flowers are rudimentary. The style protrudes outside of the mouth of the flowers. + +The fruits are nutlets, which are oblong-ovoid, ellipsoid, ovoid, or obovoid in shape. The surfaces of the nutlets can be slightly ribbed, smooth or warty. + +Selected species + Some species formerly classified as Nepeta are now in the genera Dracocephalum, Glechoma, and Calamintha . + +Species include: + +Nepeta adenophyta Hedge +Nepeta agrestis Loisel. +Nepeta alaghezi Pojark. +Nepeta alatavica Lipsky +Nepeta algeriensis Noë +Nepeta amicorum Rech.f. +Nepeta amoena Stapf +Nepeta anamurensis Gemici & Leblebici +Nepeta annua Pall. +Nepeta apuleji Ucria +Nepeta argolica Bory & Chaub. +Nepeta assadii Jamzad +Nepeta assurgens Hausskn. & Bornm. +Nepeta astorensis Shinwari & Chaudhri +Nepeta atlantica Ball +Nepeta autraniana Bornm. +Nepeta azurea R.Br. ex Benth. +Nepeta badachschanica Kudrjasch. +Nepeta bakhtiarica Rech.f. +Nepeta ballotifolia Hochst. ex A.Rich. +Nepeta balouchestanica Jamzad & Ingr. +Nepeta barfakensis Rech.f. +Nepeta baytopii Hedge & Lamond +Nepeta bazoftica Jamzad +Nepeta bellevii Prain +Nepeta betonicifolia C.A.Mey. +Nepeta binaloudensis Jamzad +Nepeta bodeana Bunge +Nepeta × boissieri Willk. +Nepeta bokhonica Jamzad +Nepeta bombaiensis Dalzell +Nepeta bornmuelleri Hausskn. ex Bornm. +Nepeta botschantzevii Czern. +Nepeta brachyantha Rech.f. & Edelb. +Nepeta bracteata Benth. +Nepeta brevifolia C.A.Mey. +Nepeta bucharica Lipsky +Nepeta caerulea Aiton +Nepeta caesarea Boiss. +Nepeta campestris Benth. +Nepeta camphorata Boiss. & Heldr. +Nepeta × campylantha Rech.f. +Nepeta cataria L. +Nepeta cephalotes Boiss. +Nepeta chionophila Boiss. & Hausskn. +Nepeta ciliaris Benth. +Nepeta cilicica Boiss. ex Benth. +Nepeta clarkei Hook.f. +Nepeta coerulescens Maxim. +Nepeta concolor Boiss. & Heldr. ex Benth. +Nepeta conferta Hedge & Lamond +Nepeta congesta Fisch. & C.A.Mey. +Nepeta connata Royle ex Benth. +Nepeta consanguinea Pojark. +Nepeta crinita Montbret & Aucher ex Benth. +Nepeta crispa Willd. +Nepeta curviflora Boiss. +Nepeta cyanea Steven +Nepeta cyrenaica Quézel & Zaffran +Nepeta czegemensis Pojark. +Nepeta daenensis Boiss. +Nepeta deflersiana Schweinf. ex Hedge +Nepeta densiflora Kar. & Kir. +Nepeta dentata C.Y.Wu & S.J.Hsuan +Nepeta denudata Benth. +Nepeta dirmencii Yild. & Dinç +Nepeta discolor Royle ex Benth. +Nepeta distans Royle +Nepeta duthiei Prain & Mukerjee +Nepeta elliptica Royle ex Benth. +Nepeta elymaitica Bornm. +Nepeta erecta (Royle ex Benth.) Benth. +Nepeta eremokosmos Rech.f. +Nepeta eremophila Hausskn. & Bornm. +Nepeta eriosphaera Rech.f. & Köie +Nepeta eriostachya Benth. +Nepeta ernesti-mayeri Diklic & V.Nikolic +Nepeta everardii S.Moore +Nepeta × faassenii Bergmans ex Stearn +Nepeta flavida Hub.-Mor. +Nepeta floccosa Benth. +Nepeta foliosa Moris +Nepeta fordii Hemsl. +Nepeta formosa Kudrjasch. +Nepeta freitagii Rech.f. +Nepeta glechomifolia (Dunn) Hedge +Nepeta gloeocephala Rech.f. +Nepeta glomerata Montbret & Aucher ex Benth. +Nepeta glomerulosa Boiss. +Nepeta glutinosa Benth. +Nepeta gontscharovii Kudrjasch. +Nepeta govaniana (Wall. ex Benth.) Benth. +Nepeta graciliflora Benth. +Nepeta granatensis Boiss. +Nepeta grandiflora M.Bieb. +Nepeta grata Benth. +Nepeta griffithii Hedge +Nepeta heliotropifolia Lam. +Nepeta hemsleyana Oliv. ex Prain +Nepeta henanensis C.S.Zhu +Nepeta hindostana (B.Heyne ex Roth) Haines +Nepeta hispanica Boiss. & Reut. +Nepeta hormozganica Jamzad +Nepeta humilis Benth. +Nepeta hymenodonta Boiss. +Nepeta isaurica Boiss. & Heldr. ex Benth. +Nepeta ispahanica Boiss. +Nepeta italica L. +Nepeta jakupicensis Micevski +Nepeta jomdaensis H.W.Li +Nepeta juncea Benth. +Nepeta knorringiana Pojark. +Nepeta koeieana Rech.f. +Nepeta kokamirica Regel +Nepeta kokanica Regel +Nepeta komarovii E.A.Busch +Nepeta kotschyi Boiss. +Nepeta kurdica Hausskn. & Bornm. +Nepeta kurramensis Rech.f. +Nepeta ladanolens Lipsky +Nepeta laevigata (D.Don) Hand.-Mazz. +Nepeta lagopsis Benth. +Nepeta lamiifolia Willd. +Nepeta lamiopsis Benth. ex Hook.f. +Nepeta lasiocephala Benth. +Nepeta latifolia DC. +Nepeta leucolaena Benth. ex Hook.f. +Nepeta linearis Royle ex Benth. +Nepeta lipskyi Kudrjasch. +Nepeta longibracteata Benth. +Nepeta longiflora Vent. +Nepeta longituba Pojark. +Nepeta ludlow-hewittii Blakelock +Nepeta macrosiphon Boiss. +Nepeta mahanensis Jamzad & M.Simmonds +Nepeta manchuriensis S.Moore +Nepeta mariae Regel +Nepeta maussarifii Lipsky +Nepeta melissifolia Lam. +Nepeta membranifolia C.Y.Wu +Nepeta menthoides Boiss. & Buhse +Nepeta meyeri Benth. +Nepeta micrantha Bunge +Nepeta minuticephala Jamzad +Nepeta mirzayanii Rech.f. & Esfand. +Nepeta mollis Benth. +Nepeta monocephala Rech.f. +Nepeta monticola Kudr. +Nepeta multibracteata Desf. +Nepeta multicaulis Mukerjee +Nepeta multifida L. +Nepeta natanzensis Jamzad +Nepeta nawarica Rech.f. +Nepeta nepalensis Spreng. +Nepeta nepetella L. +Nepeta nepetellae Forssk. +Nepeta nepetoides (Batt. ex Pit.) Harley +Nepeta nervosa Royle ex Benth. +Nepeta nuda L. +Nepeta obtusicrena Boiss. & Kotschy ex Hedge +Nepeta odorifera Lipsky +Nepeta olgae Regel +Nepeta orphanidea Boiss. +Nepeta pabotii Mouterde +Nepeta paktiana Rech.f. +Nepeta pamirensis Franch. +Nepeta parnassica Heldr. & Sart. +Nepeta paucifolia Mukerjee +Nepeta persica Boiss. +Nepeta petraea Benth. +Nepeta phyllochlamys P.H.Davis +Nepeta pilinux P.H.Davis +Nepeta podlechii Rech.f. +Nepeta podostachys Benth. +Nepeta pogonosperma Jamzad & Assadi +Nepeta polyodonta Rech.f. +Nepeta praetervisa Rech.f. +Nepeta prattii H.Lév. +Nepeta prostrata Benth. +Nepeta pseudokokanica Pojark. +Nepeta pubescens Benth. +Nepeta pungens (Bunge) Benth. +Nepeta racemosa Lam. +Nepeta raphanorhiza Benth. +Nepeta rechingeri Hedge +Nepeta rivularis Bornm. +Nepeta roopiana Bordz. +Nepeta rtanjensis Diklic & Milojevic +Nepeta rubella A.L.Budantzev +Nepeta rugosa Benth. +Nepeta saccharata Bunge +Nepeta santoana Popov +Nepeta saturejoides Boiss. +Nepeta schiraziana Boiss. +Nepeta schmidii Rech.f. +Nepeta schugnanica Lipsky +Nepeta scordotis L. +Nepeta septemcrenata Ehrenb. ex Benth. +Nepeta sessilis C.Y.Wu & S.J.Hsuan +Nepeta shahmirzadensis Assadi & Jamzad +Nepeta sheilae Hedge & R.A.King +Nepeta sibirica L. +Nepeta sorgerae Hedge & Lamond +Nepeta sosnovskyi Askerova +Nepeta souliei H.Lév. +Nepeta spathulifera Benth. +Nepeta sphaciotica P.H.Davis +Nepeta spruneri Boiss. +Nepeta stachyoides Coss. ex Batt. +Nepeta staintonii Hedge +Nepeta stenantha Kotschy & Boiss. +Nepeta stewartiana Diels +Nepeta straussii Hausskn. & Bornm. +Nepeta stricta (Banks & Sol.) Hedge & Lamond +Nepeta suavis Stapf +Nepeta subcaespitosa Jehan +Nepeta subhastata Regel +Nepeta subincisa Benth. +Nepeta subintegra Maxim. +Nepeta subsessilis Maxim. +Nepeta sudanica F.W.Andrews +Nepeta sulfuriflora P.H.Davis +Nepeta sulphurea C. Koch +Nepeta sungpanensis C.Y.Wu +Nepeta supina Steven +Nepeta taxkorganica Y.F.Chang +Nepeta tenuiflora Diels +Nepeta tenuifolia Benth. +Nepeta teucriifolia Willd. +Nepeta teydea Webb & Berthel. +Nepeta tibestica Maire +Nepeta × tmolea Boiss. +Nepeta trachonitica Post +Nepeta transiliensis Pojark. +Nepeta trautvetteri Boiss. & Buhse +Nepeta trichocalyx Greuter & Burdet +Nepeta tuberosa L. +Nepeta tytthantha Pojark. +Nepeta uberrima Rech.f. +Nepeta ucranica L. +Nepeta veitchii Duthie +Nepeta velutina Pojark. +Nepeta viscida Boiss. +Nepeta vivianii (Coss.) Bég. & Vacc. +Nepeta wettsteinii Heinr.Braun +Nepeta wilsonii Duthie +Nepeta woodiana Hedge +Nepeta yanthina Franch. +Nepeta yesoensis (Franch. & Sav.) B.D.Jacks. +Nepeta zandaensis H.W.Li +Nepeta zangezura Grossh. + +Gallery + +Uses + +Cultivation +Some Nepeta species are cultivated as ornamental plants. They can be drought tolerant – water conserving, often deer repellent, with long bloom periods from late spring to autumn. Some species also have repellent properties to insect pests, including aphids and squash bugs, when planted in a garden. + +Nepeta species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species including Coleophora albitarsella, and as nectar sources for pollinators, such as honey bees and hummingbirds. + +Selected ornamental species + Nepeta cataria (catnip, catswort) – the "true catnip", cultivated as an ornamental plant, has become an invasive species in some habitats. + Nepeta grandiflora (giant catmint, Caucasus catmint) – lusher than true catnip and has dark green leaves and dark blue flowers. + Nepeta × faassenii (garden catmint) – a hybrid of garden source with gray-green foliage and lavender flowers. It is drought-tolerant and deer-resistant. The cultivar 'Walker's Low' was named Perennial of the Year for 2007 by the Perennial Plant Association. + Nepeta racemosa (raceme catnip) – commonly used in landscaping. It is hardy, rated for USDA hardiness zone 5b. + +References + +Further reading + +External links + + GRIN Species Records of Nepeta + [http://www.efloras.org/browse.aspx?flora_id=110&start_taxon_id=122138 Flora of Nepal: Nepeta'] + Drugs.com: Catnip + "Nepetalactone: What is in catnip anyway?" + HowStuffWorks, Inc.: How does catnip work? + Sciencedaily.com: "Catnip Repels Mosquitoes More Effectively Than DEET" – reported at the 2001 American Chemical Society meeting''. + + +Lamiaceae genera +Perennial plants +Cat attractants +Drought-tolerant plants +Herbs +Medicinal plants +Garden plants of Africa +Garden plants of Asia +Garden plants of Europe +Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus +The Cornish Nationalist Party (CNP; ) is a political party, founded by Dr James Whetter, who campaigned for independence for Cornwall. + +History +It was formed by people who left Cornwall's main nationalist party Mebyon Kernow on 28 May 1975, but it is no longer for independence. + +A separate party with a similar name (Cornish National Party) existed from 1969. + +The split with Mebyon Kernow was based on the same debate that was occurring in most of the other political parties campaigning for autonomy from the United Kingdom at the time (such as the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru): whether to be a centre-left party, appealing to the electorate on a social democratic line, or whether to appeal emotionally on a centre-right cultural line. Originally, another subject of the split was whether to embrace devolution as a first step to full independence (or as the sole step if this was what the electorate wished) or for it to be "all or nothing". + +The CNP essentially represented a more right-wing outlook from those who disagree that economic arguments were more likely to win votes than cultural. The CNP worked to preserve the Celtic identity of Cornwall and improve its economy, and encouraged links with Cornish people overseas and with other regions with distinct identities. It also gave support to the Cornish language and commemorated Thomas Flamank, a leader of the Cornish Rebellion in 1497, at an annual ceremony at Bodmin on 27 June each year. + +The CNP was for some time seen as more of a pressure group, as it did not put up candidates for any elections, although its visibility and influence within Cornwall is negligible. In April 2009, a news story reported that the CNP had re-formed following a conference in Bodmin; however, it did not contest any elections that year. + +Dr Whetter was the founder and editor of the CNP quarterly journal, The Cornish Banner (An Baner Kernewek), within the actions of the Roseland Institute. Since his death in 2018 the CNP has been led by Androw Hawke. + +A newspaper article and a revamp of the party website in October 2014 state that the party is now to contest elections once more. + +John Le Bretton, vice-chairman of the party, said: "The CNP supports the retention of Cornwall Council as a Cornwall-wide authority running Cornish affairs and we call for the British government in Westminster to devolve powers to the council so that decisions affecting Cornwall can be made in Cornwall". + +The CNP polled 227 (0.4) votes in Truro during the 1979 UK General Election, 364 (0.67) in North Cornwall in the 1983 UK General Election, and 1,892 (1.0) at the European Parliament elections in the Cornwall and Plymouth constituency in 1984. The candidate on all three occasions was the founder and first leader of the CNP, Dr James Whetter. + +The CNP had one parish councillor, CNP leader Androw Hawke who was elected to Polperro Community Council for the second time on 4 May 2017. + +The reformed party was registered with the Electoral Commission in 2014, but ceased to be registered in 2017. + +Policy + +The Policy Statement and Programme of the CNP were published in 1975 and included the following points: + + To look after the interests of Cornish people. + To preserve and enhance the identity of Kernow, an essentially Celtic identity. + To achieve self-government for Kernow. + Total sovereignty will be exercised by the Cornish state over the land within its traditional border. + Kernow's official language will be Cornish. + Better job prospects for Cornish people. + Reduction of unemployment to an acceptable level (2.5%). + The protection of the self-employed and small businesses in Cornwall. + Cheaper housing and priority for Cornish people. + Discouragement of second homes. + Controls over tourism. + The Cornish state will have control over the number and nature of immigrants. + The establishment of a Cornish economic department to aid the basic industries of farming, fishing, china clay and mining and secondary industries developing from these. + Improved transport facilities in Cornwall with greater scope for private enterprise to operate. + Existing medical and welfare services for Cornish people will be developed and improved. + Protection of Cornish natural resources, including offshore resources. + Conservation of the Cornish landscape and the unique Cornish environment, culture and identity. + Courses on Cornish language and history should be made available in schools for those who want them. + Recognition of the Cornish flag of St Piran and the retention of the Tamar border with England. + The rule of law will be upheld by the Cornish state and the judiciary will be separate from the legislative and executive functions of the state. + The Cornish state will create a home defence force, linked to local communities and civil units of administration. + Young Cornish people will be given instruction as to world religions and secular philosophies but the greatest attention will be given to Christianity and early Celtic beliefs. + A far greater say in government for Cornish people (by referendums if necessary) and the decentralisation of considerable powers to a Cornish nation within a united Europe - special links being established with our Celtic brothers and sisters in Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Wales and Brittany. + +The party's policies include the following: + +Calling for more legislative powers to be given to Cornwall Council. The authority should effectively become the Cornish government, with town and parish councils acting as local government. +Cornwall council should have a reduction in councillors, with standardisation of electoral areas and constituencies in throughout Cornwall. +The Westminster government should appoint a Minister for Cornwall and confirm there will be no further plans to have any parliamentary constituency covering part of Cornwall and Devon. + +Image +There have been perceived image problems as the CNP has been seen as similarly styled to the BNP and NF (the nativist British National Party and National Front), and during the 1970s letters were published in the party magazine The Cornish Banner (An Baner Kernewek) sympathetic to the NF and critical of "Zionist" politicians. The CNP also formed a controversial uniformed wing known as the Greenshirts led by the CNP Youth Movement leader and Public Relations Officer, Wallace Simmons who also founded the pro-NF Cornish Front. (Although the CNP and CF were sympathetic to Irish republicanism while the NF was supportive of Ulster loyalism, with the exception of leading NF figures like Patrick Harrington, who refused to condemn the IRA during an interview for the Channel 4 TV documentary Disciples of Chaos). + +See also +List of topics related to Cornwall +Cornish self-government movement +Constitutional status of Cornwall + +References + +External links +The CNP at the Roseland Institute +The Cornish Banner website +2017 Spectator magazine article about Cornish Nationalism, Mebyon Kernow and the CNP + +Political parties established in 1975 +1975 establishments in the United Kingdom +Home rule in the United Kingdom +Conservative parties in the United Kingdom +Politics of Cornwall +Cornish nationalist parties +Right-wing parties in the United Kingdom +Cryptanalysis (from the Greek kryptós, "hidden", and analýein, "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic security systems and gain access to the contents of encrypted messages, even if the cryptographic key is unknown. + +In addition to mathematical analysis of cryptographic algorithms, cryptanalysis includes the study of side-channel attacks that do not target weaknesses in the cryptographic algorithms themselves, but instead exploit weaknesses in their implementation. + +Even though the goal has been the same, the methods and techniques of cryptanalysis have changed drastically through the history of cryptography, adapting to increasing cryptographic complexity, ranging from the pen-and-paper methods of the past, through machines like the British Bombes and Colossus computers at Bletchley Park in World War II, to the mathematically advanced computerized schemes of the present. Methods for breaking modern cryptosystems often involve solving carefully constructed problems in pure mathematics, the best-known being integer factorization. + +Overview +In encryption, confidential information (called the "plaintext") is sent securely to a recipient by the sender first converting it into an unreadable form ("ciphertext") using an encryption algorithm. The ciphertext is sent through an insecure channel to the recipient. The recipient decrypts the ciphertext by applying an inverse decryption algorithm, recovering the plaintext. To decrypt the ciphertext, the recipient requires a secret knowledge from the sender, usually a string of letters, numbers, or bits, called a cryptographic key. The concept is that even if an unauthorized person gets access to the ciphertext during transmission, without the secret key they cannot convert it back to plaintext. + +Encryption has been used throughout history to send important military, diplomatic and commercial messages, and today is very widely used in computer networking to protect email and internet communication. + +The goal of cryptanalysis is for a third party, a cryptanalyst, to gain as much information as possible about the original ("plaintext"), attempting to "break" the encryption to read the ciphertext and learning the secret key so future messages can be decrypted and read. A mathematical technique to do this is called a cryptographic attack. Cryptographic attacks can be characterized in a number of ways: + +Amount of information available to the attacker +Attacks can be classified based on what type of information the attacker has available. As a basic starting point it is normally assumed that, for the purposes of analysis, the general algorithm is known; this is Shannon's Maxim "the enemy knows the system" – in its turn, equivalent to Kerckhoffs' principle. This is a reasonable assumption in practice – throughout history, there are countless examples of secret algorithms falling into wider knowledge, variously through espionage, betrayal and reverse engineering. (And on occasion, ciphers have been broken through pure deduction; for example, the German Lorenz cipher and the Japanese Purple code, and a variety of classical schemes): + Ciphertext-only: the cryptanalyst has access only to a collection of ciphertexts or codetexts. + Known-plaintext: the attacker has a set of ciphertexts to which they know the corresponding plaintext. + Chosen-plaintext (chosen-ciphertext): the attacker can obtain the ciphertexts (plaintexts) corresponding to an arbitrary set of plaintexts (ciphertexts) of their own choosing. + Adaptive chosen-plaintext: like a chosen-plaintext attack, except the attacker can choose subsequent plaintexts based on information learned from previous encryptions, similarly to the Adaptive chosen ciphertext attack. + Related-key attack: Like a chosen-plaintext attack, except the attacker can obtain ciphertexts encrypted under two different keys. The keys are unknown, but the relationship between them is known; for example, two keys that differ in the one bit. + +Computational resources required +Attacks can also be characterised by the resources they require. Those resources include: + Time – the number of computation steps (e.g., test encryptions) which must be performed. + Memory – the amount of storage required to perform the attack. + Data – the quantity and type of plaintexts and ciphertexts required for a particular approach. + +It is sometimes difficult to predict these quantities precisely, especially when the attack is not practical to actually implement for testing. But academic cryptanalysts tend to provide at least the estimated order of magnitude of their attacks' difficulty, saying, for example, "SHA-1 collisions now 252." + +Bruce Schneier notes that even computationally impractical attacks can be considered breaks: "Breaking a cipher simply means finding a weakness in the cipher that can be exploited with a complexity less than brute force. Never mind that brute-force might require 2128 encryptions; an attack requiring 2110 encryptions would be considered a break...simply put, a break can just be a certificational weakness: evidence that the cipher does not perform as advertised." + +Partial breaks +The results of cryptanalysis can also vary in usefulness. Cryptographer Lars Knudsen (1998) classified various types of attack on block ciphers according to the amount and quality of secret information that was discovered: + Total break – the attacker deduces the secret key. + Global deduction – the attacker discovers a functionally equivalent algorithm for encryption and decryption, but without learning the key. + Instance (local) deduction – the attacker discovers additional plaintexts (or ciphertexts) not previously known. + Information deduction – the attacker gains some Shannon information about plaintexts (or ciphertexts) not previously known. + Distinguishing algorithm – the attacker can distinguish the cipher from a random permutation. + +Academic attacks are often against weakened versions of a cryptosystem, such as a block cipher or hash function with some rounds removed. Many, but not all, attacks become exponentially more difficult to execute as rounds are added to a cryptosystem, so it's possible for the full cryptosystem to be strong even though reduced-round variants are weak. Nonetheless, partial breaks that come close to breaking the original cryptosystem may mean that a full break will follow; the successful attacks on DES, MD5, and SHA-1 were all preceded by attacks on weakened versions. + +In academic cryptography, a weakness or a break in a scheme is usually defined quite conservatively: it might require impractical amounts of time, memory, or known plaintexts. It also might require the attacker be able to do things many real-world attackers can't: for example, the attacker may need to choose particular plaintexts to be encrypted or even to ask for plaintexts to be encrypted using several keys related to the secret key. Furthermore, it might only reveal a small amount of information, enough to prove the cryptosystem imperfect but too little to be useful to real-world attackers. Finally, an attack might only apply to a weakened version of cryptographic tools, like a reduced-round block cipher, as a step towards breaking the full system. + +History + +Cryptanalysis has coevolved together with cryptography, and the contest can be traced through the history of cryptography—new ciphers being designed to replace old broken designs, and new cryptanalytic techniques invented to crack the improved schemes. In practice, they are viewed as two sides of the same coin: secure cryptography requires design against possible cryptanalysis. + +Classical ciphers + +Although the actual word "cryptanalysis" is relatively recent (it was coined by William Friedman in 1920), methods for breaking codes and ciphers are much older. David Kahn notes in The Codebreakers that Arab scholars were the first people to systematically document cryptanalytic methods. + +The first known recorded explanation of cryptanalysis was given by Al-Kindi (c. 801–873, also known as "Alkindus" in Europe), a 9th-century Arab polymath, in Risalah fi Istikhraj al-Mu'amma (A Manuscript on Deciphering Cryptographic Messages). This treatise contains the first description of the method of frequency analysis. Al-Kindi is thus regarded as the first codebreaker in history. His breakthrough work was influenced by Al-Khalil (717–786), who wrote the Book of Cryptographic Messages, which contains the first use of permutations and combinations to list all possible Arabic words with and without vowels. + +Frequency analysis is the basic tool for breaking most classical ciphers. In natural languages, certain letters of the alphabet appear more often than others; in English, "E" is likely to be the most common letter in any sample of plaintext. Similarly, the digraph "TH" is the most likely pair of letters in English, and so on. Frequency analysis relies on a cipher failing to hide these statistics. For example, in a simple substitution cipher (where each letter is simply replaced with another), the most frequent letter in the ciphertext would be a likely candidate for "E". Frequency analysis of such a cipher is therefore relatively easy, provided that the ciphertext is long enough to give a reasonably representative count of the letters of the alphabet that it contains. + +Al-Kindi's invention of the frequency analysis technique for breaking monoalphabetic substitution ciphers was the most significant cryptanalytic advance until World War II. Al-Kindi's Risalah fi Istikhraj al-Mu'amma described the first cryptanalytic techniques, including some for polyalphabetic ciphers, cipher classification, Arabic phonetics and syntax, and most importantly, gave the first descriptions on frequency analysis. He also covered methods of encipherments, cryptanalysis of certain encipherments, and statistical analysis of letters and letter combinations in Arabic. An important contribution of Ibn Adlan (1187–1268) was on sample size for use of frequency analysis. + +In Europe, Italian scholar Giambattista della Porta (1535–1615) was the author of a seminal work on cryptanalysis, De Furtivis Literarum Notis. + +Successful cryptanalysis has undoubtedly influenced history; the ability to read the presumed-secret thoughts and plans of others can be a decisive advantage. For example, in England in 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots was tried and executed for treason as a result of her involvement in three plots to assassinate Elizabeth I of England. The plans came to light after her coded correspondence with fellow conspirators was deciphered by Thomas Phelippes. + +In Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries, the idea of a polyalphabetic substitution cipher was developed, among others by the French diplomat Blaise de Vigenère (1523–96). For some three centuries, the Vigenère cipher, which uses a repeating key to select different encryption alphabets in rotation, was considered to be completely secure (le chiffre indéchiffrable—"the indecipherable cipher"). Nevertheless, Charles Babbage (1791–1871) and later, independently, Friedrich Kasiski (1805–81) succeeded in breaking this cipher. During World War I, inventors in several countries developed rotor cipher machines such as Arthur Scherbius' Enigma, in an attempt to minimise the repetition that had been exploited to break the Vigenère system. + +Ciphers from World War I and World War II + +In World War I, the breaking of the Zimmermann Telegram was instrumental in bringing the United States into the war. In World War II, the Allies benefitted enormously from their joint success cryptanalysis of the German ciphers – including the Enigma machine and the Lorenz cipher – and Japanese ciphers, particularly 'Purple' and JN-25. 'Ultra' intelligence has been credited with everything between shortening the end of the European war by up to two years, to determining the eventual result. The war in the Pacific was similarly helped by 'Magic' intelligence. + +Cryptanalysis of enemy messages played a significant part in the Allied victory in World War II. F. W. Winterbotham, quoted the western Supreme Allied Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower, at the war's end as describing Ultra intelligence as having been "decisive" to Allied victory. Sir Harry Hinsley, official historian of British Intelligence in World War II, made a similar assessment about Ultra, saying that it shortened the war "by not less than two years and probably by four years"; moreover, he said that in the absence of Ultra, it is uncertain how the war would have ended. + +In practice, frequency analysis relies as much on linguistic knowledge as it does on statistics, but as ciphers became more complex, mathematics became more important in cryptanalysis. This change was particularly evident before and during World War II, where efforts to crack Axis ciphers required new levels of mathematical sophistication. Moreover, automation was first applied to cryptanalysis in that era with the Polish Bomba device, the British Bombe, the use of punched card equipment, and in the Colossus computers – the first electronic digital computers to be controlled by a program. + +Indicator +With reciprocal machine ciphers such as the Lorenz cipher and the Enigma machine used by Nazi Germany during World War II, each message had its own key. Usually, the transmitting operator informed the receiving operator of this message key by transmitting some plaintext and/or ciphertext before the enciphered message. This is termed the indicator, as it indicates to the receiving operator how to set his machine to decipher the message. + +Poorly designed and implemented indicator systems allowed first Polish cryptographers and then the British cryptographers at Bletchley Park to break the Enigma cipher system. Similar poor indicator systems allowed the British to identify depths that led to the diagnosis of the Lorenz SZ40/42 cipher system, and the comprehensive breaking of its messages without the cryptanalysts seeing the cipher machine. + +Depth +Sending two or more messages with the same key is an insecure process. To a cryptanalyst the messages are then said to be "in depth." This may be detected by the messages having the same indicator by which the sending operator informs the receiving operator about the key generator initial settings for the message. + +Generally, the cryptanalyst may benefit from lining up identical enciphering operations among a set of messages. For example, the Vernam cipher enciphers by bit-for-bit combining plaintext with a long key using the "exclusive or" operator, which is also known as "modulo-2 addition" (symbolized by ⊕ ): +Plaintext ⊕ Key = Ciphertext +Deciphering combines the same key bits with the ciphertext to reconstruct the plaintext: +Ciphertext ⊕ Key = Plaintext +(In modulo-2 arithmetic, addition is the same as subtraction.) When two such ciphertexts are aligned in depth, combining them eliminates the common key, leaving just a combination of the two plaintexts: +Ciphertext1 ⊕ Ciphertext2 = Plaintext1 ⊕ Plaintext2 +The individual plaintexts can then be worked out linguistically by trying probable words (or phrases), also known as "cribs," at various locations; a correct guess, when combined with the merged plaintext stream, produces intelligible text from the other plaintext component: +(Plaintext1 ⊕ Plaintext2) ⊕ Plaintext1 = Plaintext2 +The recovered fragment of the second plaintext can often be extended in one or both directions, and the extra characters can be combined with the merged plaintext stream to extend the first plaintext. Working back and forth between the two plaintexts, using the intelligibility criterion to check guesses, the analyst may recover much or all of the original plaintexts. (With only two plaintexts in depth, the analyst may not know which one corresponds to which ciphertext, but in practice this is not a large problem.) When a recovered plaintext is then combined with its ciphertext, the key is revealed: +Plaintext1 ⊕ Ciphertext1 = Key +Knowledge of a key then allows the analyst to read other messages encrypted with the same key, and knowledge of a set of related keys may allow cryptanalysts to diagnose the system used for constructing them. + +Development of modern cryptography +Governments have long recognized the potential benefits of cryptanalysis for intelligence, both military and diplomatic, and established dedicated organizations devoted to breaking the codes and ciphers of other nations, for example, GCHQ and the NSA, organizations which are still very active today. + +Even though computation was used to great effect in the cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher and other systems during World War II, it also made possible new methods of cryptography orders of magnitude more complex than ever before. Taken as a whole, modern cryptography has become much more impervious to cryptanalysis than the pen-and-paper systems of the past, and now seems to have the upper hand against pure cryptanalysis. The historian David Kahn notes: + +Kahn goes on to mention increased opportunities for interception, bugging, side channel attacks, and quantum computers as replacements for the traditional means of cryptanalysis. In 2010, former NSA technical director Brian Snow said that both academic and government cryptographers are "moving very slowly forward in a mature field." + +However, any postmortems for cryptanalysis may be premature. While the effectiveness of cryptanalytic methods employed by intelligence agencies remains unknown, many serious attacks against both academic and practical cryptographic primitives have been published in the modern era of computer cryptography: + The block cipher Madryga, proposed in 1984 but not widely used, was found to be susceptible to ciphertext-only attacks in 1998. + FEAL-4, proposed as a replacement for the DES standard encryption algorithm but not widely used, was demolished by a spate of attacks from the academic community, many of which are entirely practical. + The A5/1, A5/2, CMEA, and DECT systems used in mobile and wireless phone technology can all be broken in hours, minutes or even in real-time using widely available computing equipment. + Brute-force keyspace search has broken some real-world ciphers and applications, including single-DES (see EFF DES cracker), 40-bit "export-strength" cryptography, and the DVD Content Scrambling System. + In 2001, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), a protocol used to secure Wi-Fi wireless networks, was shown to be breakable in practice because of a weakness in the RC4 cipher and aspects of the WEP design that made related-key attacks practical. WEP was later replaced by Wi-Fi Protected Access. + In 2008, researchers conducted a proof-of-concept break of SSL using weaknesses in the MD5 hash function and certificate issuer practices that made it possible to exploit collision attacks on hash functions. The certificate issuers involved changed their practices to prevent the attack from being repeated. + +Thus, while the best modern ciphers may be far more resistant to cryptanalysis than the Enigma, cryptanalysis and the broader field of information security remain quite active. + +Symmetric ciphers + Boomerang attack + Brute-force attack + Davies' attack + Differential cryptanalysis + Impossible differential cryptanalysis + Improbable differential cryptanalysis + Integral cryptanalysis + Linear cryptanalysis + Meet-in-the-middle attack + Mod-n cryptanalysis + Related-key attack + Sandwich attack + Slide attack + XSL attack + +Asymmetric ciphers +Asymmetric cryptography (or public-key cryptography) is cryptography that relies on using two (mathematically related) keys; one private, and one public. Such ciphers invariably rely on "hard" mathematical problems as the basis of their security, so an obvious point of attack is to develop methods for solving the problem. The security of two-key cryptography depends on mathematical questions in a way that single-key cryptography generally does not, and conversely links cryptanalysis to wider mathematical research in a new way. + +Asymmetric schemes are designed around the (conjectured) difficulty of solving various mathematical problems. If an improved algorithm can be found to solve the problem, then the system is weakened. For example, the security of the Diffie–Hellman key exchange scheme depends on the difficulty of calculating the discrete logarithm. In 1983, Don Coppersmith found a faster way to find discrete logarithms (in certain groups), and thereby requiring cryptographers to use larger groups (or different types of groups). RSA's security depends (in part) upon the difficulty of integer factorization – a breakthrough in factoring would impact the security of RSA. + +In 1980, one could factor a difficult 50-digit number at an expense of 1012 elementary computer operations. By 1984 the state of the art in factoring algorithms had advanced to a point where a 75-digit number could be factored in 1012 operations. Advances in computing technology also meant that the operations could be performed much faster, too. Moore's law predicts that computer speeds will continue to increase. Factoring techniques may continue to do so as well, but will most likely depend on mathematical insight and creativity, neither of which has ever been successfully predictable. 150-digit numbers of the kind once used in RSA have been factored. The effort was greater than above, but was not unreasonable on fast modern computers. By the start of the 21st century, 150-digit numbers were no longer considered a large enough key size for RSA. Numbers with several hundred digits were still considered too hard to factor in 2005, though methods will probably continue to improve over time, requiring key size to keep pace or other methods such as elliptic curve cryptography to be used. + +Another distinguishing feature of asymmetric schemes is that, unlike attacks on symmetric cryptosystems, any cryptanalysis has the opportunity to make use of knowledge gained from the public key. + +Attacking cryptographic hash systems + + Birthday attack + Hash function security summary + Rainbow table + +Side-channel attacks + + Black-bag cryptanalysis + Man-in-the-middle attack + Power analysis + Replay attack + Rubber-hose cryptanalysis + Timing analysis + +Quantum computing applications for cryptanalysis +Quantum computers, which are still in the early phases of research, have potential use in cryptanalysis. For example, Shor's Algorithm could factor large numbers in polynomial time, in effect breaking some commonly used forms of public-key encryption. + +By using Grover's algorithm on a quantum computer, brute-force key search can be made quadratically faster. However, this could be countered by doubling the key length. + +See also + Economics of security + Global surveillance + Information assurance, a term for information security often used in government + Information security, the overarching goal of most cryptography + National Cipher Challenge + Security engineering, the design of applications and protocols + Security vulnerability; vulnerabilities can include cryptographic or other flaws + Topics in cryptography + Zendian Problem + +Historic cryptanalysts + Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander + Charles Babbage + Lambros D. Callimahos + Joan Clarke + Alastair Denniston + Agnes Meyer Driscoll + Elizebeth Friedman + William F. Friedman + Meredith Gardner + Friedrich Kasiski + Al-Kindi + Dilly Knox + Solomon Kullback + Marian Rejewski + Joseph Rochefort, whose contributions affected the outcome of the Battle of Midway + Frank Rowlett + Abraham Sinkov + Giovanni Soro, the Renaissance's first outstanding cryptanalyst + John Tiltman + Alan Turing + William T. Tutte + John Wallis – 17th-century English mathematician + William Stone Weedon – worked with Fredson Bowers in World War II + Herbert Yardley + +References + +Citations + +Sources + + Ibrahim A. Al-Kadi,"The origins of cryptology: The Arab contributions", Cryptologia, 16(2) (April 1992) pp. 97–126. + Friedrich L. Bauer: "Decrypted Secrets". Springer 2002. + + + + + + Helen Fouché Gaines, "Cryptanalysis", 1939, Dover. + David Kahn, "The Codebreakers – The Story of Secret Writing", 1967. + Lars R. Knudsen: Contemporary Block Ciphers. Lectures on Data Security 1998: 105–126 + + Abraham Sinkov, Elementary Cryptanalysis: A Mathematical Approach, Mathematical Association of America, 1966. + Christopher Swenson, Modern Cryptanalysis: Techniques for Advanced Code Breaking, + Friedman, William F., Military Cryptanalysis, Part I, + Friedman, William F., Military Cryptanalysis, Part II, + Friedman, William F., Military Cryptanalysis, Part III, Simpler Varieties of Aperiodic Substitution Systems, + Friedman, William F., Military Cryptanalysis, Part IV, Transposition and Fractionating Systems, + Friedman, William F. and Lambros D. Callimahos, Military Cryptanalytics, Part I, Volume 1, + Friedman, William F. and Lambros D. Callimahos, Military Cryptanalytics, Part I, Volume 2, + Friedman, William F. and Lambros D. Callimahos, Military Cryptanalytics, Part II, Volume 1, + Friedman, William F. and Lambros D. Callimahos, Military Cryptanalytics, Part II, Volume 2, + + + + Transcript of a lecture given by Prof. Tutte at the University of Waterloo + +Further reading + +External links + + Basic Cryptanalysis (files contain 5 line header, that has to be removed first) + Distributed Computing Projects + List of tools for cryptanalysis on modern cryptography + Simon Singh's crypto corner + The National Museum of Computing + UltraAnvil tool for attacking simple substitution ciphers + How Alan Turing Cracked The Enigma Code Imperial War Museums + +Cryptographic attacks +Applied mathematics +Arab inventions +Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans who have a non-Anglo self-image, embracing their Mexican Native ancestry. Chicano was originally a classist and racist slur used toward low-income Mexicans that was reclaimed in the 1940s among youth who belonged to the Pachuco and Pachuca subculture. In the 1960s, Chicano was widely reclaimed in the building of a movement toward political empowerment, ethnic solidarity, and pride in being of indigenous descent (with many using the Nahuatl language or names). Chicano developed its own meaning separate from Mexican American identity. Youth in barrios rejected cultural assimilation into whiteness and embraced their own identity and worldview as a form of empowerment and resistance. The community forged an independent political and cultural movement, sometimes working alongside the Black power movement. +The Chicano Movement faltered by the mid-1970s as a result of external and internal pressures. It was under state surveillance, infiltration, and repression by U.S. government agencies, informants, and agent provocateurs, such as through COINTELPRO. The Chicano Movement also had a fixation on masculine pride and machismo that fractured the community through sexism toward Chicanas and homophobia toward queer Chicana/os. In the 1980s, assimilation and economic mobility motivated many to embrace Hispanic identity in an era of conservatism. The term Hispanic emerged from a collaboration between the U.S. government and Mexican-American political elites in the Hispanic Caucus of Congress. They used the term to identify themselves and the community with mainstream American culture, depart from Chicanismo, and distance themselves from what they perceived as the "militant" Black Caucus.At the grassroots level, Chicana/os continued to build the feminist, gay and lesbian, and anti-apartheid movements, which kept the identity politically relevant. After a decade of Hispanic dominance, Chicana/o student activism in the early 1990s recession and the anti-Gulf War movement revived the identity with a demand to expand Chicana/o studies programs. Chicanas were active at the forefront, despite facing critiques from "movement loyalists", as they did in the Chicano Movement. Chicana feminists addressed employment discrimination, environmental racism, healthcare, sexual violence, and exploitation in their communities and in solidarity with the Third World. Chicanas worked to "liberate her entire people"; not to oppress men, but to be equal partners in the movement. Xicanisma, coined by Ana Castillo in 1994, called for Chicana/os to "reinsert the forsaken feminine into our consciousness", to embrace one's Indigenous roots, and support Indigenous sovereignty. + +In the 2000s, earlier traditions of anti-imperialism in the Chicano Movement were expanded. Building solidarity with undocumented immigrants became more important, despite issues of legal status and economic competitiveness sometimes maintaining distance between groups. U.S. foreign interventions abroad were connected with domestic issues concerning the rights of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Chicano/a consciousness increasingly became transnational and transcultural, thinking beyond and bridging with communities over political borders. The identity was renewed based on Indigenous and decolonial consciousness, cultural expression, resisting gentrification, defense of immigrants, and the rights of women and queer people. Xicanx identity also emerged in the 2010s, based on the Chicana feminist intervention of Xicanisma. + +Etymology + +The etymology of the term Chicano is the subject of some debate by historians. Some believe Chicano is a Spanish language derivative of an older Nahuatl word Mexitli ("Meh-shee-tlee"). Mexitli formed part of the expression Huitzilopochtlil Mexitli—a reference to the historic migration of the Mexica people from their homeland of Aztlán to the Oaxaca Valley. Mexitli is the root of the word Mexica, which refers to the Mexica people, and its singular form Mexihcatl (). The x in Mexihcatl represents an /ʃ/ or sh sound in both Nahuatl and early modern Spanish, while the glottal stop in the middle of the Nahuatl word disappeared. + +The word Chicano may derive from the loss of the initial syllable of Mexicano (Mexican). According to Villanueva, "given that the velar (x) is a palatal phoneme (S) with the spelling (sh)," in accordance with the Indigenous phonological system of the Mexicas ("Meshicas"), it would become "Meshicano" or "Mechicano." In this explanation, Chicano comes from the "xicano" in "Mexicano." Some Chicanos replace the Ch with the letter X, or Xicano, to reclaim the Nahuatl sh sound that the Spanish did not have a letter for and marked with the letter "x". The first two syllables of Xicano are therefore in Nahuatl while the last syllable is Castilian. + +In Mexico's Indigenous regions, Indigenous people refer to members of the non-indigenous majority as mexicanos, referring to the modern nation of Mexico. Among themselves, the speaker identifies by their (village or tribal) identity, such as Mayan, Zapotec, Mixtec, Huastec, or any of the other hundreds of indigenous groups. A newly emigrated Nahuatl speaker in an urban center might have referred to his cultural relatives in this country, different from himself, as , shortened to Chicanos or Xicanos. + +Usage of terms + +Early recorded use + +The town of Chicana was shown on the Gutiérrez 1562 New World map near the mouth of the Colorado River, and is probably pre-Columbian in origin. The town was again included on Desegno del Discoperto Della Nova Franza, a 1566 French map by Paolo Forlani. Roberto Cintli Rodríguez places the location of Chicana at the mouth of the Colorado River, near present-day Yuma, Arizona. An 18th century map of the Nayarit Missions used the name Xicana for a town near the same location of Chicana, which is considered to be the oldest recorded usage of that term. + +A gunboat, the Chicana, was sold in 1857 to Jose Maria Carvajal to ship arms on the Rio Grande. The King and Kenedy firm submitted a voucher to the Joint Claims Commission of the United States in 1870 to cover the costs of this gunboat's conversion from a passenger steamer. No explanation for the boat's name is known. + +The Chicano poet and writer Tino Villanueva traced the first documented use of the term as an ethnonym to 1911, as referenced in a then-unpublished essay by University of Texas anthropologist José Limón. Linguists Edward R. Simmen and Richard F. Bauerle report the use of the term in an essay by Mexican-American writer, Mario Suárez, published in the Arizona Quarterly in 1947. There is ample literary evidence to substantiate that Chicano is a long-standing endonym, as a large body of Chicano literature pre-dates the 1950s. + +Reclaiming the term + +In the 1940s, "Chicano" was reclaimed by Pachuco youth as an expression of defiance to Anglo-American society. At the time, Chicano was used among English and Spanish speakers as a classist and racist slur to refer to working class Mexican Americans in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. In Mexico, the term was used with Pocho "to deride Mexicans living in the United States, and especially their U.S.-born children, for losing their culture, customs, and language." Mexican anthropologist Manuel Gamio reported in 1930 that Chicamo (with an m) was used as a derogatory term by Hispanic Texans for recently arrived Mexican immigrants displaced during the Mexican Revolution in the beginning of the early 20th century. + +By the 1950s, Chicano referred to those who resisted total assimilation, while Pocho referred (often pejoratively) to those who strongly advocated for assimilation. In his essay "Chicanismo" in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures (2002), José Cuéllar, dates the transition from derisive to positive to the late 1950s, with increasing use by young Mexican-American high school students. These younger, politically aware Mexican Americans adopted the term "as an act of political defiance and ethnic pride", similar to the reclaiming of Black by African Americans. The Chicano Movement during the 1960s and early 1970s played a significant role in reclaiming "Chicano," challenging those who used it as a term of derision on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border. + +Demographic differences in the adoption of Chicano occurred at first. It was more likely to be used by males than females, and less likely to be used among those of higher socioeconomic status. Usage was also generational, with third-generation men more likely to use the word. This group was also younger, more political, and different from traditional Mexican cultural heritage. Chicana was a similar classist term to refer to "[a] marginalized, brown woman who is treated as a foreigner and is expected to do menial labor and ask nothing of the society in which she lives." Among Mexican Americans, Chicano and Chicana began to be viewed as a positive identity of self-determination and political solidarity. In Mexico, Chicano may still be associated with a Mexican American person of low importance, class, and poor morals (similar to the terms Cholo, Chulo and Majo), indicating a difference in cultural views. + +Chicano Movement + +Chicano was widely reclaimed in the 1960s and 1970s during the Chicano Movement to assert a distinct ethnic, political, and cultural identity that resisted assimilation into whiteness, systematic racism and stereotypes, colonialism, and the American nation-state. Chicano identity formed around seven themes: unity, economy, education, institutions, self-defense, culture, and political liberation, in an effort to bridge regional and class divisions. The notion of Aztlán, a mythical homeland claimed to be located in the southwestern United States, mobilized Mexican Americans to take social and political action. Chicano became a unifying term for mestizos. Xicano was also used in the 1970s. + +In the 1970s, Chicanos developed a reverence for machismo while also maintaining the values of their original platform. For instance, Oscar Zeta Acosta defined machismo as the source of Chicano identity, claiming that this "instinctual and mystical source of manhood, honor and pride... alone justifies all behavior." Armando Rendón wrote in Chicano Manifesto (1971) that machismo was "in fact an underlying drive of the gathering identification of Mexican Americans... the essence of machismo, of being macho, is as much a symbolic principle for the Chicano revolt as it is a guideline for family life." + +From the beginning of the Chicano Movement, some Chicanas criticized the idea that machismo must guide the people and questioned if machismo was "indeed a genuinely Mexican cultural value or a kind of distorted view of masculinity generated by the psychological need to compensate for the indignities suffered by Chicanos in a white supremacist society." Angie Chabram-Dernersesian found that most of the literature on the Chicano Movement focused on men and boys, while almost none focused on Chicanas. The omission of Chicanas and the machismo of the Chicano Movement led to a shift by the 1990s. + +Xicanisma + +Xicanisma was coined by Ana Castillo in Massacre of the Dreamers (1994) as a recognition of a shift in consciousness since the Chicano Movement and to reinvigorate Chicana feminism. The aim of Xicanisma is not to replace patriarchy with matriarchy, but to create "a nonmaterialistic and nonexploitive society in which feminine principles of nurturing and community prevail"; where the feminine is reinserted into our consciousness rather than subordinated by colonization. The X reflects the Sh sound in Mesoamerican languages that the Spanish could not pronounce (such as Tlaxcala, which is pronounced Tlash-KAH-lah), and so marked this sound with a letter X. More than a letter, the X in Xicanisma is also a symbol to represent being at a literal crossroads or otherwise embodying hybridity. + +Xicanisma acknowledges Indigenous survival after hundreds of years of colonization and the need to reclaim one's Indigenous roots while also being "committed to the struggle for liberation of all oppressed people", wrote Francesca A. López. Activists like Guillermo Gómez-Peña, issued "a call for a return to the Amerindian roots of most Latinos as well as a call for a strategic alliance to give agency to Native American groups." This can include one's Indigenous roots from Mexico "as well as those with roots centered in Central and South America," wrote Francisco Rios. Castillo argued that this shift in language was important because "language is the vehicle by which we perceive ourselves in relation to the world". + +Among a minority of Mexican Americans, the term Xicanx may be used to refer to gender non-conformity. Luis J. Rodriguez states that "even though most US Mexicans may not use this term," that it can be important for gender non-conforming Mexican Americans. Xicanx may destabilize aspects of the coloniality of gender in Mexican American communities. Artist Roy Martinez states that it is not "bound to the feminine or masculine aspects" and that it may be "inclusive to anyone who identifies with it". Some prefer the -e suffix Xicane in order to be more in-line with Spanish-speaking language constructs. + +Distinction from other terms + +Mexican American + +In the 1930s, "community leaders promoted the term Mexican American to convey an assimilationist ideology stressing white identity," as noted by legal scholar Ian Haney López. Lisa Y. Ramos argues that "this phenomenon demonstrates why no Black-Brown civil rights effort emerged prior to the 1960s." Chicano youth rejected the previous generation's racial aspirations to assimilate into Anglo-American society and developed a "Pachuco culture that fashioned itself neither as Mexican nor American." + +In the Chicano Movement, possibilities for Black–brown unity arose: "Chicanos defined themselves as proud members of a brown race, thereby rejecting, not only the previous generation's assimilationist orientation, but their racial pretensions as well." Chicano leaders collaborated with Black Power movement leaders and activists. Mexican Americans insisted that Mexicans were white, while Chicanos embraced being non-white and the development of brown pride. + +Mexican American continued to be used by a more assimilationist faction who wanted to define Mexican Americans "as a white ethnic group that had little in common with African Americans." Carlos Muñoz argues that the desire to separate themselves from Blackness and political struggle was rooted in an attempt to minimize "the existence of racism toward their own people, [believing] they could "deflect" anti-Mexican sentiment in society" through affiliating with whiteness. + +Hispanic + +Following the decline of the Chicano Movement, Hispanic was first defined by the U.S. Federal Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Directive No. 15 in 1977 as "a person of Mexican, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South America or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race." The term was promoted by Mexican American political elites to encourage cultural assimilation into whiteness and move away from Chicanismo. The rise of Hispanic identity paralleled the emerging era of political and cultural conservatism in the United States during the 1980s. + +Key members of the Mexican American political elite, all of whom were middle-aged men, helped popularize the term Hispanic among Mexican Americans. The term was picked up by electronic and print media. Laura E. Gómez conducted a series of interviews with these elites and found that one of the main reasons Hispanic was promoted was to move away from Chicano: "The Chicano label reflected the more radical political agenda of Mexican-Americans in the 1960s and 1970s, and the politicians who call themselves Hispanic today are the harbingers of a more conservative, more accomadationist politics." + +Gómez found that some of these elites promoted Hispanic to appeal to white American sensibilities, particularly in regard to separating themselves from Black political consciousness. Gómez records:Another respondent agreed with this position, contrasting his white colleagues' perceptions of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus with their perception of the Congressional Black Caucus. 'We certainly haven't been militant like the Black Caucus. We're seen as a power bloc—an ethnic power bloc striving to deal with mainstream issues.'In 1980, Hispanic was first made available as a self-identification on U.S. census forms. While Chicano also appeared on the 1980 U.S. census, it was only permitted to be selected as a subcategory underneath Spanish/Hispanic descent, which erased the possibility of Afro-Chicanos and of Chicanos being of Indigenous descent. Chicano did not appear on any subsequent census forms and Hispanic has remained. Since then, Hispanic has widely been used by politicians and the media. For this reason, many Chicanos reject the term Hispanic. + +Other terms +Instead of or in addition to identifying as Chicano or any of its variations, some may prefer: + Latino/a, also anglicized as "Latin." Some US Latinos use Latin as a gender neutral alternative. + Latin American (especially if immigrant). + Mexican; + "Brown" + Mestizo; [insert racial identity ] (e.g. ); . + (or ) / ; ; . + Part/member of . (Internal identifier, Spanish for "the Race") + American, solely. + +Identity + +Chicano and Chicana identity reflects elements of ethnic, political, cultural and Indigenous hybridity. These qualities of what constitutes Chicano identity may be expressed by Chicanos differently. Armando Rendón wrote in the Chicano Manifesto (1971), "I am Chicano. What it means to me may be different than what it means to you." Benjamin Alire Sáenz wrote "There is no such thing as the Chicano voice: there are only Chicano and Chicana voices." The identity can be somewhat ambiguous (e.g. in the 1991 Culture Clash play A Bowl of Beings, in response to Che Guevara's demand for a definition of "Chicano", an "armchair activist" cries out, "I still don't know!"). + +Many Chicanos understand themselves as being "neither from here, nor from there", as neither from the United States or Mexico. Juan Bruce-Novoa wrote in 1990: "A Chicano lives in the space between the hyphen in Mexican-American." Being Chicano/a may represent the struggle of being institutionally acculturated to assimilate into the Anglo-dominated society of the United States, yet maintaining the cultural sense developed as a Latin-American cultured U.S.-born Mexican child. Rafael Pérez-Torres wrote, "one can no longer assert the wholeness of a Chicano subject ... It is illusory to deny the nomadic quality of the Chicano community, a community in flux that yet survives and, through survival, affirms itself." + +Ethnic identity + +Chicano is a way for Mexican Americans to assert ethnic solidarity and Brown Pride. Boxer Rodolfo Gonzales was one of the first to reclaim the term in this way. This Brown Pride movement established itself alongside the Black is Beautiful movement. Chicano identity emerged as a symbol of pride in having a non-white and non-European image of oneself. It challenged the U.S. census designation "Whites with Spanish Surnames" that was used in the 1950s. Chicanos asserted ethnic pride at a time when Mexican assimilation into whiteness was being promoted by the U.S. government. Ian Haney López argues that this was to "serve Anglo self-interest", who claimed Mexicans were white to try to deny racism against them. + +Alfred Arteaga argues that Chicano as an ethnic identity is born out of the European colonization of the Americas. He states that Chicano arose as hybrid ethnicity or race amidst colonial violence. This hybridity extends beyond a previously generalized "Aztec" ancestry, since the Indigenous peoples of Mexico are a diverse group of nations and peoples. A 2011 study found that 85 to 90% of maternal mtDNA lineages in Mexican Americans are Indigenous. Chicano ethnic identity may involve more than just Indigenous and Spanish ancestry. It may also include African ancestry (as a result of Spanish slavery or runaway slaves from Anglo-Americans). Arteaga concluded that "the physical manifestation of the Chicano, is itself a product of hybridity."Robert Quintana Hopkins argues that Afro-Chicanos are sometimes erased from the ethnic identity "because so many people uncritically apply the 'one drop rule' in the U.S. [which] ignores the complexity of racial hybridity." Black and Chicano communities have engaged in close political movements and struggles for liberation, yet there have also been tensions between Black and Chicano communities. This has been attributed to racial capitalism and anti-Blackness in Chicano communities. Afro-Chicano rapper Choosey stated "there's a stigma that Black and Mexican cultures don't get along, but I wanted to show the beauty in being a product of both." + +Political identity + +Chicano political identity developed from a reverence of Pachuco resistance in the 1940s. Luis Valdez wrote that "Pachuco determination and pride grew through the 1950s and gave impetus to the Chicano Movement of the 1960s ... By then the political consciousness stirred by the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots had developed into a movement that would soon issue the Chicano Manifesto—a detailed platform of political activism." By the 1960s, the Pachuco figure "emerged as an icon of resistance in Chicano cultural production." The Pachuca was not regarded with the same status. Catherine Ramírez credits this to the Pachuca being interpreted as a symbol of "dissident femininity, female masculinity, and, in some instances, lesbian sexuality". + +The political identity was founded on the principle that the U.S. nation-state had impoverished and exploited the Chicano people and communities. Alberto Varon argued that this brand of Chicano nationalism focused on the machismo subject in its calls for political resistance. Chicano machismo was both a unifying and fracturing force. Cherríe Moraga argued that it fostered homophobia and sexism, which became obstacles to the Movement. As the Chicano political consciousness developed, Chicanas, including Chicana lesbians of color brought attention to "reproductive rights, especially sterilization abuse [sterilization of Latinas], battered women's shelters, rape crisis centers, [and] welfare advocacy." Chicana texts like Essays on La Mujer (1977), Mexican Women in the United States (1980), and This Bridge Called My Back (1981) have been relatively ignored even in Chicano Studies. Sonia Saldívar-Hull argued that even when Chicanas have challenged sexism, their identities have been invalidated. +Chicano political activist groups like the Brown Berets (1967–1972; 1992–Present) gained support in their protests of educational inequalities and demanding an end to police brutality. They collaborated with the Black Panthers and Young Lords, which were founded in 1966 and 1968 respectively. Membership in the Brown Berets was estimated to have reached five thousand in over 80 chapters (mostly centered in California and Texas). The Brown Berets helped organize the Chicano Blowouts of 1968 and the national Chicano Moratorium, which protested the high rate of Chicano casualties in the Vietnam War. Police harassment, infiltration by federal agents provacateur via COINTELPRO, and internal disputes led to the decline and disbandment of the Berets in 1972. Sánchez, then a professor at East Los Angeles College, revived the Brown Berets in 1992 prompted by the high number of Chicano homicides in Los Angeles County, hoping to replace the gang life with the Brown Berets. + +Reies Tijerina, who was a vocal claimant to the rights of Latin Americans and Mexican Americans and a major figure of the early Chicano Movement, wrote: "The Anglo press degradized the word 'Chicano.' They use it to divide us. We use it to unify ourselves with our people and with Latin America." + +Cultural identity + +Chicano represents a cultural identity that is neither fully "American" or "Mexican." Chicano culture embodies the "in-between" nature of cultural hybridity. Central aspects of Chicano culture include lowriding, hip hop, rock, graffiti art, theater, muralism, visual art, literature, poetry, and more. Notable subcultures include the Cholo, Pachuca, Pachuco, and Pinto subcultures. Chicano culture has had international influence in the form of lowrider car clubs in Brazil and England, music and youth culture in Japan, Māori youth enhancing lowrider bicycles and taking on cholo style, and intellectuals in France "embracing the deterritorializing qualities of Chicano subjectivity." + +As early as the 1930s, the precursors to Chicano cultural identity were developing in Los Angeles, California and the Southwestern United States. Former zoot suiter Salvador "El Chava" reflects on how racism and poverty forged a hostile social environment for Chicanos which led to the development of gangs: "we had to protect ourselves". Barrios and colonias (rural barrios) emerged throughout southern California and elsewhere in neglected districts of cities and outlying areas with little infrastructure. Alienation from public institutions made some Chicano youth susceptible to gang channels, who became drawn to their rigid hierarchical structure and assigned social roles in a world of government-sanctioned disorder. + +Pachuco culture, which probably originated in the El Paso-Juarez area, spread to the borderland areas of California and Texas as Pachuquismo, which would eventually evolve into Chicanismo. Chicano zoot suiters on the west coast were influenced by Black zoot suiters in the jazz and swing music scene on the East Coast. Chicano zoot suiters developed a unique cultural identity, as noted by Charles "Chaz" Bojórquez, "with their hair done in big pompadours, and "draped" in tailor-made suits, they were swinging to their own styles. They spoke Cálo, their own language, a cool jive of half-English, half-Spanish rhythms. [...] Out of the zootsuiter experience came lowrider cars and culture, clothes, music, tag names, and, again, its own graffiti language." San Antonio-based Chicano artist Adan Hernandez regarded pachucos as "the coolest thing to behold in fashion, manner, and speech.” As described by artist Carlos Jackson, "Pachuco culture remains a prominent theme in Chicano art because the contemporary urban cholo culture" is seen as its heir. + +Many aspects of Chicano culture like lowriding cars and bicycles have been stigmatized and policed by Anglo Americans who perceive Chicanos as "juvenile delinquents or gang members" for their embrace of nonwhite style and cultures, much as they did Pachucos. These negative societal perceptions of Chicanos were amplified by media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times. Luis Alvarez remarks how negative portrayals in the media served as a tool to advocate for increased policing of Black and Brown male bodies in particular: "Popular discourse characterizing nonwhite youth as animal-like, hypersexual, and criminal marked their bodies as "other" and, when coming from city officials and the press, served to help construct for the public a social meaning of African Americans and Mexican American youth [as, in their minds, justifiably criminalized]." +Chicano rave culture in southern California provided a space for Chicanos to partially escape criminalization in the 1990s. Artist and archivist Guadalupe Rosales states that "a lot of teenagers were being criminalized or profiled as criminals or gangsters, so the party scene gave access for people to escape that". Numerous party crews, such as Aztek Nation, organized events and parties would frequently take place in neighborhood backyards, particularly in East and South Los Angeles, the surrounding valleys, and Orange County. By 1995, it was estimated that over 500 party crews were in existence. They laid the foundations for "an influential but oft-overlooked Latin dance subculture that offered community for Chicano ravers, queer folk, and other marginalized youth." Ravers used map points techniques to derail police raids. Rosales states that a shift occurred around the late 1990s and increasing violence affected the Chicano party scene. + +Indigenous identity + +Chicano identity functions as a way to reclaim one's Indigenous American, and often Indigenous Mexican, ancestry—to form an identity distinct from European identity, despite some Chicanos being of partial European descent—as a way to resist and subvert colonial domination. Rather than part of European American culture, Alicia Gasper de Alba referred to Chicanismo as an "alter-Native culture, an Other American culture Indigenous to the land base now known as the West and Southwest of the United States." While influenced by settler-imposed systems and structures, Alba refers to Chicano culture as "not immigrant but native, not foreign but colonized, not alien but different from the overarching hegemony of white America." + +The Plan Espiritual de Aztlán (1969) drew from Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth (1961). In Wretched, Fanon stated: "the past existence of an Aztec civilization does not change anything very much in the diet of the Mexican peasant today", elaborating that "this passionate search for a national culture which existed before the colonial era finds its legitimate reason in the anxiety shared by native intellectuals to shrink away from that of Western culture in which they all risk being swamped ... the native intellectuals, since they could not stand wonderstruck before the history of today's barbarity, decided to go back further and to delve deeper down; and, let us make no mistake, it was with the greatest delight that they discovered that there was nothing to be ashamed of in the past, but rather dignity, glory, and solemnity." + +The Chicano Movement adopted this perspective through the notion of Aztlán—a mythic Aztec homeland which Chicanos used as a way to connect themselves to a precolonial past, before the time of the gringo' invasion of our lands." Chicano scholars have described how this functioned as a way for Chicanos to reclaim a diverse or imprecise Indigenous past; while recognizing how Aztlán promoted divisive forms of Chicano nationalism that "did little to shake the walls and bring down the structures of power as its rhetoric so firmly proclaimed". As stated by Chicano historian Juan Gómez-Quiñones, the Plan Espiritual de Aztlán was "stripped of what radical element it possessed by stressing its alleged romantic idealism, reducing the concept of Aztlán to a psychological ploy ... all of which became possible because of the Plan's incomplete analysis which, in turn, allowed it ... to degenerate into reformism." + +While acknowledging its romanticized and exclusionary foundations, Chicano scholars like Rafael Pérez-Torres state that Aztlán opened a subjectivity which stressed a connection to Indigenous peoples and cultures at a critical historical moment in which Mexican-Americans and Mexicans were "under pressure to assimilate particular standards—of beauty, of identity, of aspiration. In a Mexican context, the pressure was to urbanize and Europeanize ... "Mexican-Americans" were expected to accept anti-indigenous discourses as their own." As Pérez-Torres concludes, Aztlán allowed "for another way of aligning one's interests and concerns with community and with history ... though hazy as to the precise means in which agency would emerge, Aztlán valorized a Chicanismo that rewove into the present previously devalued lines of descent." Romanticized notions of Aztlán have declined among some Chicanos, who argue for a need to reconstruct the place of Indigeneity in relation to Chicano identity. + +Danza Azteca grew popular in the U.S. with the rise of the Chicano Movement, which inspired some "Latinos to embrace their ethnic heritage and question the Eurocentric norms forced upon them." The use of pre-contact Aztec cultural elements has been critiqued by some Chicanos who stress a need to represent the diversity of Indigenous ancestry among Chicanos. Patrisia Gonzales portrays Chicanos as descendants of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico who have been displaced by colonial violence, positioning them as "detribalized Indigenous peoples and communities." Roberto Cintli Rodríguez describes Chicanos as "de-Indigenized," which he remarks occurred "in part due to religious indoctrination and a violent uprooting from the land", detaching millions of people from maíz-based cultures throughout the greater Mesoamerican region. Rodríguez asks how and why "peoples who are clearly red or brown and undeniably Indigenous to this continent have allowed ourselves, historically, to be framed by bureaucrats and the courts, by politicians, scholars, and the media as alien, illegal, and less than human." + +Gloria E. Anzaldúa has addressed Chicano's detribalization: "In the case of Chicanos, being 'Mexican' is not a tribe. So in a sense Chicanos and Mexicans are 'detribalized'. We don't have tribal affiliations but neither do we have to carry ID cards establishing tribal affiliation." Anzaldúa recognized that "Chicanos, people of color, and 'whites have often chosen "to ignore the struggles of Native people even when it's right in our caras (faces)," expressing disdain for this "willful ignorance". She concluded that "though both "detribalized urban mixed bloods" and Chicanos are recovering and reclaiming, this society is killing off urban mixed bloods through cultural genocide, by not allowing them equal opportunities for better jobs, schooling, and health care." Inés Hernández-Ávila argued that Chicanos should recognize and reconnect with their roots "respectfully and humbly" while also validating "those peoples who still maintain their identity as original peoples of this continent" in order to create radical change capable of "transforming our world, our universe, and our lives". + +Political aspects + +Anti-imperialism and international solidarity + +During World War II, Chicano youth were targeted by white servicemen, who despised their "cool, measured indifference to the war, as well as an increasingly defiant posture toward whites in general". Historian Robin Kelley states that this "annoyed white servicemen to no end". During the Zoot Suit Riots (1943), white rage erupted in Los Angeles, which "became the site of racist attacks on Black and Chicano youth, during which white soldiers engaged in what amounted to a ritualized stripping of the zoot." Zoot suits were a symbol of collective resistance among Chicano and Black youth against city segregation and fighting in the war. Many Chicano and Black zoot-suiters engaged in draft evasion because they felt it was hypocritical for them to be expected to "fight for democracy" abroad yet face racism and oppression daily in the U.S. + +This galvanized Chicano youth to focus on anti-war activism, "especially influenced by the Third World movements of liberation in Asia, Africa, and Latin America." Historian Mario T. García reflects that "these anti-colonial and anti-Western movements for national liberation and self-awareness touched a historical nerve among Chicanos as they began to learn that they shared some similarities with these Third World struggles." Chicano poet Alurista argued that "Chicanos cannot be truly free until they recognize that the struggle in the United States is intricately bound with the anti-imperialist struggle in other countries." The Cuban Revolution (1953–1959) led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara was particularly influential to Chicanos, as noted by García, who notes that Chicanos viewed the revolution as "a nationalist revolt against 'Yankee imperialism' and neo-colonialism." + +In the 1960s, the Chicano Movement brought "attention and commitment to local struggles with an analysis and understanding of international struggles". Chicano youth organized with Black, Latin American, and Filipino activists to form the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF), which fought for the creation of a Third World college. During the Third World Liberation Front strikes of 1968, Chicano artists created posters to express solidarity. Chicano poster artist Rupert García referred to the place of artists in the movement: "I was critical of the police, of capitalist exploitation. I did posters of Che, of Zapata, of other Third World leaders. As artists, we climbed down from the ivory tower." Learning from Cuban poster makers of the post-revolutionary period, Chicano artists "incorporated international struggles for freedom and self-determination, such as those of Angola, Chile, and South Africa", while also promoting the struggles of Indigenous people and other civil rights movements through Black-brown unity. Chicanas organized with women of color activists to create the Third World Women's Alliance (1968-1980), representing "visions of liberation in third world solidarity that inspired political projects among racially and economically marginalized communities" against U.S. capitalism and imperialism. + +The Chicano Moratorium (1969–1971) against the Vietnam War was one of the largest demonstrations of Mexican-Americans in history, drawing over 30,000 supporters in East L.A. Draft evasion was a form of resistance for Chicano anti-war activists such as Rosalio Muñoz, Ernesto Vigil, and Salomon Baldengro. They faced a felony charge—a minimum of five years prison time, $10,000, or both. In response, Munoz wrote "I declare my independence of the Selective Service System. I accuse the government of the United States of America of genocide against the Mexican people. Specifically, I accuse the draft, the entire social, political, and economic system of the United States of America, of creating a funnel which shoots Mexican youth into Vietnam to be killed and to kill innocent men, women, and children...." Rodolfo Corky Gonzales expressed a similar stance: "My feelings and emotions are aroused by the complete disregard of our present society for the rights, dignity, and lives of not only people of other nations but of our own unfortunate young men who die for an abstract cause in a war that cannot be honestly justified by any of our present leaders." + +Anthologies such as This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (1981) were produced in the late 1970s and early 80s by writers who identified as lesbians of color, including Cherríe Moraga, Pat Parker, Toni Cade Bambara, Chrystos (self-identified claim of Menominee ancestry), Audre Lorde, Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Cheryl Clarke, Jewelle Gomez, Kitty Tsui, and Hattie Gossett, who developed a poetics of liberation. Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press and Third Woman Press, founded in 1979 by Chicana feminist Norma Alarcón, provided sites for the production of women of color and Chicana literatures and critical essays. While first world feminists focused "on the liberal agenda of political rights", Third World feminists "linked their agenda for women's rights with economic and cultural rights" and unified together "under the banner of Third World solidarity". Maylei Blackwell identifies that this internationalist critique of capitalism and imperialism forged by women of color has yet to be fully historicized and is "usually dropped out of the false historical narrative". + +In the 1980s and 90s, Central American activists influenced Chicano leaders. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC) supported the Esquipulas Peace Agreement in 1987, standing in opposition to Contra aid. Al Luna criticized Reagan and American involvement while defending Nicaragua's Sandinista-led government: "President Reagan cannot credibly make public speeches for peace in Central America while at the same time advocating for a three-fold increase in funding to the Contras." The Southwest Voter Research Initiative (SVRI), launched by Chicano leader Willie Velásquez, intended to educate Chicano youth about Central and Latin American political issues. In 1988, "there was no significant urban center in the Southwest where Chicano leaders and activists had not become involved in lobbying or organizing to change U.S. policy in Nicaragua." In the early 1990s, Cherríe Moraga urged Chicano activists to recognize that "the Anglo invasion of Latin America [had] extended well beyond the Mexican/American border" while Gloria E. Anzaldúa positioned Central America as the primary target of a U.S. interventionism that had murdered and displaced thousands. However, Chicano solidarity narratives of Central Americans in the 1990s tended to center themselves, stereotype Central Americans, and filter their struggles "through Chicana/o struggles, histories, and imaginaries." + +Chicano activists organized against the Gulf War (1990–91). Raul Ruiz of the Chicano Mexican Committee against the Gulf War stated that U.S. intervention was "to support U.S. oil interests in the region." Ruiz expressed, "we were the only Chicano group against the war. We did a lot of protesting in L.A. even though it was difficult because of the strong support for the war and the anti-Arab reaction that followed ... we experienced racist attacks [but] we held our ground." The end of the Gulf War, along with the Rodney King Riots, were crucial in inspiring a new wave of Chicano political activism. In 1994, one of the largest demonstrations of Mexican Americans in the history of the United States occurred when 70,000 people, largely Chicanos and Latinos, marched in Los Angeles and other cities to protest Proposition 187, which aimed to cut educational and welfare benefits for undocumented immigrants. + +In 2004, Mujeres against Militarism and the Raza Unida Coalition sponsored a Day of the Dead vigil against militarism within the Latino community, addressing the War in Afghanistan (2001–) and the Iraq War (2003–2011) They held photos of the dead and chanted "no blood for oil." The procession ended with a five-hour vigil at Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural. They condemned "the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) and other military recruitment programs that concentrate heavily in Latino and African American communities, noting that JROTC is rarely found in upper-income Anglo communities." Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara organized a benefit concert for Latin@s Against the War in Iraq and Mexamérica por la Paz at Self-Help Graphics against the Iraq War. Although the events were well-attended, Guevara stated that "the Feds know how to manipulate fear to reach their ends: world military dominance and maintaining a foothold in an oil-rich region were their real goals." + +Labor organizing against capitalist exploitation + +Chicano and Mexican labor organizers played an active role in notable labor strikes since the early 20th century including the Oxnard strike of 1903, Pacific Electric Railway strike of 1903, 1919 Streetcar Strike of Los Angeles, Cantaloupe strike of 1928, California agricultural strikes (1931–1941), and the Ventura County agricultural strike of 1941, endured mass deportations as a form of strikebreaking in the Bisbee Deportation of 1917 and Mexican Repatriation (1929–1936), and experienced tensions with one another during the Bracero program (1942–1964). Although organizing laborers were harassed, sabotaged, and repressed, sometimes through warlike tactics from capitalist owners who engaged in coervice labor relations and collaborated with and received support from local police and community organizations, Chicano and Mexican workers, particularly in agriculture, have been engaged in widespread unionization activities since the 1930s. + +Prior to unionization, agricultural workers, many of whom were undocumented aliens, worked in dismal conditions. Historian F. Arturo Rosales recorded a Federal Project Writer of the period, who stated: "It is sad, yet true, commentary that to the average landowner and grower in California the Mexican was to be placed in much the same category with ranch cattle, with this exception–the cattle were for the most part provided with comparatively better food and water and immeasurably better living accommodations." Growers used cheap Mexican labor to reap bigger profits and, until the 1930s, perceived Mexicans as docile and compliant with their subjugated status because they "did not organize troublesome labor unions, and it was held that he was not educated to the level of unionism". As one grower described, "We want the Mexican because we can treat them as we cannot treat any other living man ... We can control them by keeping them at night behind bolted gates, within a stockade eight feet high, surrounded by barbed wire ... We can make them work under armed guards in the fields." + +Unionization efforts were initiated by the Confederación de Uniones Obreras (Federation of Labor Unions) in Los Angeles, with twenty-one chapters quickly extending throughout southern California, and La Unión de Trabajadores del Valle Imperial (Imperial Valley Workers' Union). The latter organized the Cantaloupe strike of 1928, in which workers demanded better working conditions and higher wages, but "the growers refused to budge and, as became a pattern, local authorities sided with the farmers and through harassment broke the strike". Communist-led organizations such as the Cannery and Agricultural Workers' Industrial Union (CAWIU) supported Mexican workers, renting spaces for cotton pickers during the cotton strikes of 1933 after they were thrown out of company housing by growers. Capitalist owners used "red-baiting" techniques to discredit the strikes through associating them with communists. Chicana and Mexican working women showed the greatest tendency to organize, particularly in the Los Angeles garment industry with the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, led by anarchist Rose Pesotta. + +During World War II, the government-funded Bracero program (1942–1964) hindered unionization efforts. In response to the California agricultural strikes and the 1941 Ventura County strike of Chicano and Mexican, as well as Filipino, lemon pickers/packers, growers organized the Ventura County Citrus Growers Committee (VCCGC) and launched a lobbying campaign to pressure the U.S. government to pass laws to prohibit labor organizing. VCCGC joined with other grower associations, forming a powerful lobbying bloc in Congress, and worked to legislate for (1) a Mexican guest workers program, which would become the Bracero program, (2) laws prohibiting strike activity, and (3) military deferments for pickers. Their lobbying efforts were successful: unionization among farmworkers was made illegal, farmworkers were excluded from minimum wage laws, and the usage of child labor by growers was ignored. In formerly active areas, such as Santa Paula, union activity stopped for over thirty years as a result. + +When World War II ended, the Bracero program continued. Legal anthropologist Martha Menchaca states that this was "regardless of the fact that massive quantities of crops were no longer needed for the war effort ... after the war, the braceros were used for the benefit of the large-scale growers and not for the nation's interest." The program was extended for an indefinite period in 1951. In the mid-1940s, labor organizer Ernesto Galarza founded the National Farm Workers Union (NFWU) in opposition to the Bracero Program, organizing a large-scale 1947 strike against the Di Giorgio Fruit Company in Arvin, California. Hundreds of Mexican, Filipino, and white workers walked out and demanded higher wages. The strike was broken by the usual tactics, with law enforcement on the side of the owners, evicting strikers and bringing in undocumented workers as strikebreakers. The NFWU folded, but served as a precursor to the United Farm Workers Union led by César Chávez. By the 1950s, opposition to the Bracero program had grown considerably, as unions, churches, and Mexican-American political activists raised awareness about the effects it had on American labor standards. On December 31, 1964, the U.S. government conceded and terminated the program. + +Following the closure of the Bracero program, domestic farmworkers began to organize again because "growers could not longer maintain the peonage system" with the end of imported laborers from Mexico. Labor organizing formed part of the Chicano Movement via the struggle of farmworkers against depressed wages and working conditions. César Chávez began organizing Chicano farmworkers in the early 1960s, first through the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) and then merging the association with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), an organization of mainly Filipino workers, to form the United Farm Workers. The labor organizing of Chávez was central to the expansion of unionization throughout the United States and inspired the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), under the leadership of Baldemar Velásquez, which continues today. Farmworkers collaborated with local Chicano organizations, such as in Santa Paula, California, where farmworkers attended Brown Berets meetings in the 1970s and Chicano youth organized to improve working conditions and initiate an urban renewal project on the eastside of the city. + +Although Mexican and Chicano workers, organizers, and activists organized for decades to improve working conditions and increase wages, some scholars characterize these gains as minimal. As described by Ronald Mize and Alicia Swords, "piecemeal gains in the interests of workers have had very little impact on the capitalist agricultural labor process, so picking grapes, strawberries, and oranges in 1948 is not so different from picking those same crops in 2008." U.S. agriculture today remains totally reliant on Mexican labor, with Mexican-born individuals now constituting about 90% of the labor force. + +Struggles in the education system + +Chicanos often endure struggles in the U.S. education system, such as being erased in curriculums and devalued as students. Some Chicanos identify schools as colonial institutions that exercise control over colonized students by teaching Chicanos to idolize whiteness and develop a negative self-image of themselves and their worldviews. School segregation between Mexican and white students was not legally ended until the late 1940s. In Orange County, California, 80% of Mexican students could only attend schools that taught Mexican children manual education, or gardening, bootmaking, blacksmithing, and carpentry for Mexican boys and sewing and homemaking for Mexican girls. White schools taught academic preparation. When Sylvia Mendez was told to attend a Mexican school, her parents brought suit against the court in Mendez vs. Westminster (1947) and won. + +Although legal segregation had been successfully challenged, de facto or segregation-in-practice continued in many areas. Schools with primarily Mexican American enrollment were still treated as "Mexican schools" much as before the legal overturning of segregation. Mexican American students were still treated poorly in schools. Continued bias in the education system motivated Chicanos to protest and use direct action, such as walkouts, in the 1960s. On March 5, 1968, the Chicano Blowouts at East Los Angeles High School occurred as a response to the racist treatment of Chicano students, an unresponsive school board, and a high dropout rate. It became known as "the first major mass protest against racism undertaken by Mexican-Americans in the history of the United States." + +Sal Castro, a Chicano social science teacher at the school was arrested and fired for inspiring the walkouts. It was led by Harry Gamboa Jr. who was named "one of the hundred most dangerous and violent subversives in the United States" for organizing the student walkouts. The day prior, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover sent out a memo to law enforcement to place top priority on "political intelligence work to prevent the development of nationalist movements in minority communities". Chicana activist Alicia Escalante protested Castro's dismissal: "We in the Movement will at least be able to hold our heads up and say that we haven't submitted to the gringo or to the pressures of the system. We are brown and we are proud. I am at least raising my children to be proud of their heritage, to demand their rights, and as they become parents they too will pass this on until justice is done." + +In 1969, Plan de Santa Bárbara was drafted as a 155-page document that outlined the foundation of Chicano Studies programs in higher education. It called for students, faculty, employees and the community to come together as "central and decisive designers and administrators of these programs". Chicano students and activists asserted that universities should exist to serve the community. However, by the mid-1970s, much of the radicalism of earlier Chicano studies became deflated by the education system, aimed to alter Chicano Studies programs from within. Mario García argued that one "encountered a deradicalization of the radicals". Some opportunistic faculty avoided their political responsibilities to the community. University administrators co-opted oppositional forces within Chicano Studies programs and encouraged tendencies that led "to the loss of autonomy of Chicano Studies programs." At the same time, "a domesticated Chicano Studies provided the university with the facade of being tolerant, liberal, and progressive." + +Some Chicanos argued that the solution was to create "publishing outlets that would challenge Anglo control of academic print culture with its rules on peer review and thereby publish alternative research," arguing that a Chicano space in the colonial academy could "avoid colonization in higher education". In an attempt to establish educational autonomy, they worked with institutions like the Ford Foundation, but found that "these organizations presented a paradox". Rodolfo Acuña argued that such institutions "quickly became content to only acquire funding for research and thereby determine the success or failure of faculty". Chicano Studies became "much closer [to] the mainstream than its practitioners wanted to acknowledge." Others argued that Chicano Studies at UCLA shifted from its earlier interests in serving the Chicano community to gaining status within the colonial institution through a focus on academic publishing, which alienated it from the community.In 2012, the Mexican American Studies Department Programs (MAS) in Tucson Unified School District were banned after a campaign led by Anglo-American politician Tom Horne accused it of working to "promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, promote resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals." Classes on Latino literature, American history/Mexican-American perspectives, Chicano art, and an American government/social justice education project course were banned. Readings of In Lak'ech from Luis Valdez's poem Pensamiento Serpentino were also banned. + +Seven books, including Paulo Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed and works covering Chicano history and critical race theory, were banned, taken from students, and stored away. The ban was overturned in 2017 by Judge A. Wallace Tashima, who ruled that it was unconstitutional and motivated by racism by depriving Chicano students of knowledge, thereby violating their Fourteenth Amendment right. The Xicanx Institute for Teaching & Organizing (XITO) emerged to carry on the legacy of the MAS programs. Chicanos continue to support the institution of Chicano studies programs. In 2021, students at Southwestern College, the closest college to the Mexico-United States Border urged for the creation of a Chicanx Studies Program to service the predominately Latino student body. + +Rejection of borders + +The Chicano concept of sin fronteras rejects the idea of borders. Some argued that the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo transformed the Rio Grande region from a rich cultural center to a rigid border poorly enforced by the United States government. At the end of the Mexican-American War, 80,000 Spanish-Mexican-Indian people were forced into sudden U.S. habitation. Some Chicanos identified with the idea of Aztlán as a result, which celebrated a time preceding land division and rejected the "immigrant/foreigner" categorization by Anglo society. Chicano activists have called for unionism between both Mexicans and Chicanos on both sides of the border. + +In the early 20th century, the border crossing had become a site of dehumanization for Mexicans. Protests in 1910 arose along the Santa Fe Bridge from abuses committed against Mexican workers while crossing the border. The 1917 Bath riots erupted after Mexicans crossing the border were required to strip naked and be disinfected with chemical agents like gasoline, kerosene, sulfuric acid, and Zyklon B, the latter of which was the fumigation of choice and would later notoriously be used in the gas chambers of Nazi Germany. Chemical dousing continued into the 1950s. During the early 20th century, Chicanos used corridos "to counter Anglocentric hegemony." Ramón Saldivar stated that "corridos served the symbolic function of empirical events and for creating counterfactual worlds of lived experience (functioning as a substitute for fiction writing)."Newspaper Sin Fronteras (1976–1979) openly rejected the Mexico-United States border. The newspaper considered it "to be only an artificial creation that in time would be destroyed by the struggles of Mexicans on both sides of the border" and recognized that "Yankee political, economic, and cultural colonialism victimized all Mexicans, whether in the U.S. or in Mexico." Similarly, the General Brotherhood of Workers (CASA), important to the development of young Chicano intellectuals and activists, identified that, as "victims of oppression, Mexicanos could achieve liberation and self-determination only by engaging in a borderless struggle to defeat American international capitalism." + +Chicana theorist Gloria E. Anzaldúa notably emphasized the border as a "1,950 mile-long wound that does not heal". In referring to the border as a wound, writer Catherine Leen suggests that Anzaldúa recognizes "the trauma and indeed physical violence very often associated with crossing the border from Mexico to the US, but also underlies the fact that the cyclical nature of this immigration means that this process will continue and find little resolution." Anzaldúa writes that la frontera signals "the coming together of two self-consistent but habitually incompatible frames of reference [which] cause un choque, a cultural collision" because "the U.S.-Mexican border es una herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds." Chicano and Mexican artists and filmmakers continue to address "the contentious issues of exploitation, exclusion, and conflict at the border and attempt to overturn border stereotypes" through their work. Luis Alberto Urrea writes "the border runs down the middle of me. I have a barbed wire fence neatly bisecting my heart." + +Sociological aspects + +Criminalization + +The 19th-century and early-20th-century image of the Mexican in the U.S. was "that of the greasy Mexican bandit or bandito," who was perceived as criminal because of Mestizo ancestry and "Indian blood." This rhetoric fueled anti-Mexican sentiment among whites, which led to many lynchings of Mexicans in the period as an act of racist violence. One of the largest massacres of Mexicans was known as La Matanza in Texas, where hundreds of Mexicans were lynched by white mobs. Many whites viewed Mexicans as inherently criminal, which they connected to their Indigenous ancestry. White historian Walter P. Webb wrote in 1935, "there is a cruel streak in the Mexican nature ... this cruelty may be a heritage from the Spanish and of the Inquisition; it may, and doubtless should be, attributed partly to Indian blood." The "greasy bandito" stereotype of the old West evolved into images of "crazed Zoot-Suiters and pachuco killers in the 1940s, to contemporary cholos, gangsters, and gang members." Pachucos were portrayed as violent criminals in American mainstream media, which fueled the Zoot Suit Riots; initiated by off-duty policemen conducting a vigilante-hunt, the riots targeted Chicano youth who wore the zoot suit as a symbol of empowerment. On-duty police supported the violence against Chicano zoot suiters; they "escorted the servicemen to safety and arrested their Chicano victims." Arrest rates of Chicano youth rose during these decades, fueled by the "criminal" image portrayed in the media, by politicians, and by the police. Not aspiring to assimilate in Anglo-American society, Chicano youth were criminalized for their defiance to cultural assimilation: "When many of the same youth began wearing what the larger society considered outlandish clothing, sporting distinctive hairstyles, speaking in their own language (Caló), and dripping with attitude, law enforcement redoubled their efforts to rid [them from] the streets." +In the 1970s and subsequent decades, there was a wave of police killings of Chicanos. One of the most prominent cases was Luis "Tato" Rivera, who was a 20-year-old Chicano shot in the back by officer Craig Short in 1975. 2,000 Chicano demonstrators showed up to the city hall of National City, California in protest. Short was indicted for manslaughter by district attorney Ed Miller and was acquitted of all charges. Short was later appointed acting chief of police of National City in 2003. Another high-profile case was the murder of Ricardo Falcón, a student at the University of Colorado and leader of the United Latin American Students (UMAS), by Perry Brunson, a member of the far-right American Independent Party, at a gas station. Bruson was tried for manslaughter and was "acquitted by an all-White jury". Falcón became a martyr for the Chicano Movement as police violence increased in the subsequent decades. Similar cases led sociologist Alfredo Mirandé to refer to the U.S. criminal justice system as gringo justice, because "it reflected one standard for Anglos and another for Chicanos." + +The criminalization of Chicano youth in the barrio remains omnipresent. Chicano youth who adopt a cholo or chola identity endure hyper-criminalization in what has been described by Victor Rios as the youth control complex. While older residents initially "embraced the idea of a chola or cholo as a larger subculture not necessarily associated with crime and violence (but rather with a youthful temporary identity), law enforcement agents, ignorant or disdainful of barrio life, labeled youth who wore clean white tennis shoes, shaved their heads, or long socks, as deviant." Community members were convinced by the police of cholo criminality, which led to criminalization and surveillance "reminiscent of the criminalization of Chicana and Chicano youth during the Zoot-Suit era in the 1940s." + +Sociologist José S. Plascencia-Castillo refers to the barrio as a panopticon that leads to intense self-regulation, as Cholo youth are both scrutinized by law enforcement to "stay in their side of town" and by the community who in some cases "call the police to have the youngsters removed from the premises". The intense governance of Chicano youth, especially of cholo identity, has deep implications on youth experience, affecting their physical and mental health as well as their outlook on the future. Some youth feel they "can either comply with the demands of authority figures, and become obedient and compliant, and suffer the accompanying loss of identity and self-esteem, or, adopt a resistant stance and contest social invisibility to command respect in the public sphere." + +Gender and sexuality + +Chicanas + +Chicanas often confront objectification in Anglo society, being perceived as "exotic", "lascivious", and "hot" at a very young age while also facing denigration as "barefoot", "pregnant", "dark", and "low-class". These perceptions in society create numerous negative sociological and psychological effects, such as excessive dieting and eating disorders. Social media may enhance these stereotypes of Chicana women and girls. Numerous studies have found that Chicanas experience elevated levels of stress as a result of sexual expectations by society, as well as their parents and families. + +Although many Chicana youth desire open conversation of these gender roles and sexuality, as well as mental health, these issues are often not discussed openly in Chicano families, which perpetuates unsafe and destructive practices. While young Chicanas are objectified, middle-aged Chicanas discuss feelings of being invisible, saying they feel trapped in balancing family obligations to their parents and children while attempting to create a space for their own sexual desires. The expectation that Chicanas should be "protected" by Chicanos may also constrict the agency and mobility of Chicanas. + +Chicanas are often relegated to a secondary and subordinate status in families. Cherrie Moraga argues that this issue of patriarchal ideology in Chicano and Latino communities runs deep, as the great majority of Chicano and Latino men believe in and uphold male supremacy. Moraga argues that this ideology is not only upheld by men in Chicano families, but also by mothers in their relationship to their children: "the daughter must constantly earn the mother's love, prove her fidelity to her. The son—he gets her love for free." + +Chicanos +Chicanos develop their manhood within a context of marginalization in white society. Some argue that "Mexican men and their Chicano brothers suffer from an inferiority complex due to the conquest and genocide inflicted upon their Indigenous ancestors," which leaves Chicano men feeling trapped between identifying with the so-called "superior" European and the so-called "inferior" Indigenous sense of self. This conflict may manifest itself in the form of hypermasculinity or machismo, in which a "quest for power and control over others in order to feel better" about oneself is undertaken. This may result in men developing abusive behaviors, the development of an impenetrable "cold" persona, alcohol abuse, and other destructive and self-isolating behaviors. + +The lack of discussion of what it means to be a Chicano man between Chicano male youth and their fathers or their mothers creates a search for identity that often leads to self-destructive behaviors. Chicano male youth tend to learn about sex from their peers as well as older male family members who perpetuate the idea that as men they have "a right to engage in sexual activity without commitment". The looming threat of being labeled a joto (gay) for not engaging in sexual activity also conditions many Chicanos to "use" women for their own sexual desires. Gabriel S. Estrada argues that the criminalization of Chicanos proliferates further homophobia among Chicano boys and men who may adopt hypermasculine personas to escape such association. + +Heteronormativity +Heteronormative gender roles are typically enforced in Chicano families. Any deviation from gender and sexual conformity is commonly perceived as a weakening or attack of la familia. However, Chicano men who retain a masculine or machismo performance are afforded some mobility to discreetly engage in homosexual behaviors, as long as it remains on the fringes. Effeminacy in Chicanos, Chicana lesbianism, and any deviation is understood as an attack on the family. + +Queer Chicana/os may seek refuge in their families, if possible, because it is difficult for them to find spaces where they feel safe in the dominant and hostile white gay culture. Chicano machismo, religious traditionalism, and homophobia creates challenges for them to feel accepted by their families. Gabriel S. Estrada argues that upholding "Judeo-Christian mandates against homosexuality that are not native to [Indigenous Mexico]," exiles queer Chicana/o youth. + +Mental health + +Chicanos may seek out both Western biomedical healthcare and Indigenous health practices when dealing with trauma or illness. The effects of colonization are proven to produce psychological distress among Indigenous communities. Intergenerational trauma, along with racism and institutionalized systems of oppression, have been shown to adversely impact the mental health of Chicanos and Latinos. Mexican Americans are three times more likely than European Americans to live in poverty. Chicano adolescent youth experience high rates of depression and anxiety. Chicana adolescents have higher rates of depression and suicidal ideation than their European-American and African-American peers. Chicano adolescents experience high rates of homicide, and suicide. Chicanos ages ten to seventeen are at a greater risk for mood and anxiety disorders than their European-American and African-American peers. Scholars have determined that the reasons for this are unclear due to the scarcity of studies on Chicano youth, but that intergenerational trauma, acculturative stress, and family factors are believed to contribute. + +Among Mexican immigrants who have lived in the United States for less than thirteen years, lower rates of mental health disorders were found in comparison to Mexican-Americans and Chicanos born in the United States. Scholar Yvette G. Flores concludes that these studies demonstrate that "factors associated with living in the United States are related to an increased risk of mental disorders." Risk factors for negative mental health include historical and contemporary trauma stemming from colonization, marginalization, discrimination, and devaluation. The disconnection of Chicanos from their Indigeneity has been cited as a cause of trauma and negative mental health:Loss of language, cultural rituals, and spiritual practices creates shame and despair. The loss of culture and language often goes unmourned, because it is silenced and denied by those who occupy, conquer, or dominate. Such losses and their psychological and spiritual impact are passed down across generations, resulting in depression, disconnection, and spiritual distress in subsequent generations, which are manifestations of historical or intergenerational trauma.Psychological distress may emerge from Chicanos being "othered" in society since childhood and is linked to psychiatric disorders and symptoms which are culturally bound—susto (fright), nervios (nerves), mal de ojo (evil eye), and ataque de nervios (an attack of nerves resembling a panic attack). Manuel X. Zamarripa discusses how mental health and spirituality are often seen as disconnected subjects in Western perspectives. Zamarripa states "in our community, spirituality is key for many of us in our overall wellbeing and in restoring and giving balance to our lives". For Chicanos, Zamarripa recognizes that identity, community, and spirituality are three core aspects which are essential to maintaining good mental health. + +Spirituality + +Chicano spirituality has been described as a process of engaging in a journey to unite one's consciousness for the purposes of cultural unity and social justice. It brings together many elements and is therefore hybrid in nature. Scholar Regina M Marchi states that Chicano spirituality "emphasizes elements of struggle, process, and politics, with the goal of creating a unity of consciousness to aid social development and political action". Lara Medina and Martha R. Gonzales explain that "reclaiming and reconstructing our spirituality based on non-Western epistemologies is central to our process of decolonization, particularly in these most troubling times of incessant Eurocentric, heteronormative patriarchy, misogyny, racial injustice, global capitalist greed, and disastrous global climate change." As a result, some scholars state that Chicano spirituality must involve a study of Indigenous Ways of Knowing (IWOK). The Circulo de Hombres group in San Diego, California spiritually heals Chicano, Latino, and Indigenous men "by exposing them to Indigenous-based frameworks, men of this cultural group heal and rehumanize themselves through Maya-Nahua Indigenous-based concepts and teachings", helping them process intergenerational trauma and dehumanization that has resulted from colonization. A study on the group reported that reconnecting with Indigenous worldviews was overwhelmingly successful in helping Chicano, Latino, and Indigenous men heal. As stated by Jesus Mendoza, "our bodies remember our indigenous roots and demand that we open our mind, hearts, and souls to our reality". + +Chicano spirituality is a way for Chicanos to listen, reclaim, and survive while disrupting coloniality. While historically Catholicism was the primary way for Chicanos to express their spirituality, this is changing rapidly. According to a Pew Research Center report in 2015, "the primary role of Catholicism as a conduit to spirituality has declined and some Chicanos have changed their affiliation to other Christian religions and many more have stopped attending church altogether." Increasingly, Chicanos are considering themselves spiritual rather than religious or part of an organized religion. A study on spirituality and Chicano men in 2020 found that many Chicanos indicated the benefits of spirituality through connecting with Indigenous spiritual beliefs and worldviews instead of Christian or Catholic organized religion in their lives. Dr. Lara Medina defines spirituality as (1) Knowledge of oneself—one's gifts and one's challenges, (2) Co-creation or a relationship with communities (others), and (3) A relationship with sacred sources of life and death 'the Great Mystery' or Creator. Jesus Mendoza writes that, for Chicanos, "spirituality is our connection to the earth, our pre-Hispanic history, our ancestors, the mixture of pre-Hispanic religion with Christianity ... a return to a non-Western worldview that understands all life as sacred." In her writing on Gloria Anzaldua's idea of spiritual activism, AnaLouise Keating states that spirituality is distinct from organized religion and New Age thinking. Leela Fernandes defines spirituality as follows:When I speak of spirituality, at the most basic level I am referring to an understanding of the self as encompassing body and mind, as well as spirit. I am also referring to a transcendent sense of interconnection that moves beyond the knowable, visible material world. This sense of interconnection has been described variously as divinity, the sacred, spirit, or simply the universe. My understanding is also grounded in a form of lived spirituality, which is directly accessible to all and which does not need to be mediated by religious experts, institutions or theological texts; this is what is often referred to as the mystical side of spirituality... Spirituality can be as much about practices of compassion, love, ethics, and truth defined in nonreligious terms as it can be related to the mystical reinterpretations of existing religious traditions. + +David Carrasco states that Mesoamerican spiritual or religious beliefs have historically always been evolving in response to the conditions of the world around them: "These ritual and mythic traditions were not mere repetitions of ancient ways. New rituals and mythic stories were produced to respond to ecological, social, and economic changes and crises." This was represented through the art of the Olmecs, Maya, and Mexica. European colonizers sought and worked to destroy Mesoamerican worldviews regarding spirituality and replace these with a Christian model. The colonizers used syncreticism in art and culture, exemplified through practices such as the idea presented in the Testerian Codices that "Jesus ate tortillas with his disciples at the last supper" or the creation of the Virgen de Guadalupe (mirroring the Christian Mary) in order to force Christianity into Mesoamerican cosmology. + +Chicanos can create new spiritual traditions by recognizing this history or "by observing the past and creating a new reality". Gloria Anzaldua states that this can be achieved through nepantla spirituality or a space where, as stated by Jesus Mendoza, "all religious knowledge can coexist and create a new spirituality ... where no one is above the other ... a place where all is useful and none is rejected." Anzaldua and other scholars acknowledge that this is a difficult process that involves navigating many internal contradictions in order to find a path towards spiritual liberation. Cherrie Moraga calls for a deeper self-exploration of who Chicanos are in order to reach "a place of deeper inquiry into ourselves as a people ... possibly, we must turn our eyes away from racist America and take stock at the damages done to us. Possibly, the greatest risks yet to be taken are entre nosotros, where we write, paint, dance, and draw the wound for one another to build a stronger pueblo. The women artist seemed disposed to do this, their work often mediating the delicate area between cultural affirmation and criticism." Laura E. Pérez states in her study of Chicana art that "the artwork itself [is] altar-like, a site where the disembodied—divine, emotional, or social—[is] acknowledged, invoked, meditated upon, and released as a shared offering." + +Cultural aspects + +The diversity of Chicano cultural production is vast. Guillermo Gómez-Peña wrote that the complexity and diversity of the Chicano community includes influences from Central American, Caribbean, Africans, and Asian Americans who have moved into Chicano communities as well as queer people of color. Many Chicano artists continue to question "conventional, static notions of Chicanismo," while others conform to more conventional cultural traditions. + +Film + +Chicano film has been marginalized since its inception and was established in the 1960s. The generally marginal status of Chicanos in the film industry has meant that many Chicano films are not released with wide theatrical distribution. Chicano film emerged from the creation of political plays and documentaries. This included El Teatro Campesino's Yo Soy Joaquín (1969), Luis Valdez's El Corrido (1976), and Efraín Gutiérrez's Please, Don't Bury Me Alive! (1976), the latter of which is referred to as the first full-length Chicano film. + +Docudramas then emerged like Esperanza Vasquez's Agueda Martínez (1977), Jesús Salvador Treviño's Raíces de Sangre (1977), and Robert M. Young's ¡Alambrista! (1977). Luis Valdez's Zoot Suit (1981), Young's The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982), Gregory Nava's, My Family/Mi familia (1995) and Selena (1997), and Josefina López's Real Women Have Curves (2002). Chicana/o films continue to be regarded as a small niche in the film industry that has yet to receive mainstream commercial success. However, Chicana/o films have been influential in shaping how Chicana/os see themselves. + +Literature + +Chicano literature tends to focus on challenging the dominant narrative, while embracing notions of hybridity, including the use of Spanglish, as well as the blending of genre forms, such as fiction and autobiography. José Antonio Villarreal's Pocho (1959) is widely recognized as the first major Chicano novel. Poet Alurista wrote that Chicano literature served an important role to push back against narratives by white Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture that sought to "keep Mexicans in their place." + +Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales's "Yo Soy Joaquin" is one of the first examples of explicitly Chicano poetry. Other early influential poems included "El Louie" by José Montoya and Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado's poem "Stupid America." In 1967, Octavio Romano founded Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol Publications, which was the first dedicated Chicano publication houses. The novel Chicano (1970) by Richard Vasquez, was the first novel about Mexican Americans to be released by a major publisher. It was widely read in high schools and universities during the 1970s and is now recognized as a breakthrough novel. + +Chicana feminist writers have tended to focus on themes of identity, questioning how identity is constructed, who constructs it, and for what purpose in a racist, classist, and patriarchal structure. Characters in books such as Victuum (1976) by Isabella Ríos, The House on Mango Street (1983) by Sandra Cisneros, Loving in the War Years: lo que nunca pasó por sus labios (1983) by Cherríe Moraga, The Last of the Menu Girls (1986) by Denise Chávez, Margins (1992) by Terri de la Peña, and Gulf Dreams (1996) by Emma Pérez have also been read regarding how they intersect with themes of gender and sexuality. Catrióna Rueda Esquibel performs a queer reading of Chicana literature in With Her Machete in Her Hand (2006) to demonstrate how some of the intimate relationships between girls and women contributed to a discourse on homoeroticism and queer sexuality in Chicana/o literature. + +Chicano characters who were gay tended to be removed from the barrio and were typically portrayed with negative attributes, such as the character of "Joe Pete" in Pocho and the unnamed protagonist of John Rechy's City of Night (1963). Other characters in the Chicano canon may also be read as queer, including the unnamed protagonist of Tomás Rivera's ...y no se lo tragó la tierra (1971), and "Antonio Márez" in Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima (1972). Juan Bruce-Novoa wrote that homosexuality was "far from being ignored during the 1960s and 1970s," despite homophobia restricting representations: "our community is less sexually repressive than we might expect". + +Music +Lalo Guerrero has been lauded as the "father of Chicano music." Beginning in the 1930s, he wrote songs in the big band and swing genres and expanded into traditional genres of Mexican music. During the farmworkers' rights campaign, he wrote music in support of César Chávez and the United Farm Workers. Other notable musicians include Selena, who sang a mixture of Mexican, Tejano, and American popular music, and died in 1995 at the age of 23; Zack de la Rocha, social activist and lead vocalist of Rage Against the Machine; and Los Lonely Boys, a Texas-style country rock band. + +Chicano electro + +Chicano techno and electronic music artists DJ Rolando, Santiago Salazar, DJ Tranzo, and Esteban Adame have released music through independent labels like Underground Resistance, Planet E, Krown Entertainment, and Rush Hour. In the 1990s, house music artists such as DJ Juanito (Johnny Loopz), Rudy "Rude Dog" Gonzalez, and Juan V. released numerous tracks through Los Angeles-based house labels Groove Daddy Records and Bust A Groove. + +DJ Rolando's techno track "Knights of the Jaguar," released on the UR label in 1999, became the most well-known Chicano techno track after charting at #43 in the UK in 2000. Mixmag commented: "after it was released, it spread like wildfire all over the world. It's one of those rare tracks that feels like it can play for an eternity without anyone batting an eyelash." It's consistently placed on Best Songs lists. The official video for the track features various portraits of Chicana/os in Detroit among several Chicano murals, lowrider cars and lowrider bicycles, and lifestyle. + +Salazar and Adame are also affiliated with Underground Resistance and have collaborated with Nomadico. Salazar founded music labels Major People, Ican (as in Mex-Ican, with Esteban Adame) and Historia y Violencia (with Juan Mendez a.k.a. Silent Servant) and released his debut album Chicanismo in 2015 to positive reviews. Nomadico's label Yaxteq, founded in 2015, has released tracks by veteran Los Angeles techno producer Xavier De Enciso and Honduran producer Ritmos. + +Chicano folk +A growing Tex-Mex polka band trend influenced by the and music of Mexican immigrants, has in turn influenced much new Chicano folk music, especially on large-market Spanish language radio stations and on television music video programs in the U.S. Some of these artists, like the band Quetzal, are known for the political content of political songs. + +Chicano rap + +Hip hop culture, which is cited as having formed in the 1980s street culture of African American, West Indian (especially Jamaican), and Puerto Rican New York City Bronx youth and characterized by DJing, rap music, graffiti, and breakdancing, was adopted by many Chicano youth by the 1980s as its influence moved westward across the United States. Chicano artists were beginning to develop their own style of hip hop. Rappers such as Ice-T and Eazy-E shared their music and commercial insights with Chicano rappers in the late 1980s. Chicano rapper Kid Frost, who is often cited as "the godfather of Chicano rap" was highly influenced by Ice-T and was even cited as his protégé. Chicano rap is a unique style of hip hop music which started with Kid Frost, who saw some mainstream exposure in the early 1990s. While Mellow Man Ace was the first mainstream rapper to use Spanglish, Frost's song "La Raza" paved the way for its use in American hip hop. Chicano rap tends to discuss themes of importance to young urban Chicanos. Some of the most prominent Chicano artists include A.L.T., Lil Rob, Psycho Realm, Baby Bash, Serio, A Lighter Shade of Brown, and Funky Aztecs. Chicano rap artists with less mainstream exposure, yet with popular underground followings include Cali Life Style, Ese 40'z, Sleepy Loka, Ms. Sancha, Mac Rockelle, Sir Dyno, and Choosey. + +Chicano R&B artists include Paula DeAnda, Amanda Perez, Frankie J, and Victor Ivan Santos (early member of the Kumbia Kings and associated with Baby Bash). + +Chicano jazz +Although Latin jazz is most popularly associated with artists from the Caribbean (particularly Cuba) and Brazil, young Mexican Americans have played a role in its development over the years, going back to the 1930s and early 1940s, the era of the zoot suit, when young Mexican-American musicians in Los Angeles and San Jose, such as Jenni Rivera, began to experiment with , a jazz-like fusion genre that has grown recently in popularity among Mexican Americans + +Chicano rock + +In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, a wave of Chicano pop music surfaced through innovative musicians Carlos Santana, Johnny Rodriguez, Ritchie Valens and Linda Ronstadt. Joan Baez, who is also of Mexican-American descent, included Hispanic themes in some of her protest folk songs. Chicano rock is rock music performed by Chicano groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. + +There are two undercurrents in Chicano rock. One is a devotion to the original rhythm and blues roots of Rock and roll including Ritchie Valens, Sunny and the Sunglows, and ? and the Mysterians. Groups inspired by this include Sir Douglas Quintet, Thee Midniters, Los Lobos, War, Tierra, and El Chicano, and, of course, the Chicano Blues Man himself, the late Randy Garribay. The second theme is the openness to Latin American sounds and influences. Trini Lopez, Santana, Malo, Azteca, Toro, Ozomatli and other Chicano Latin rock groups follow this approach. Chicano rock crossed paths of other Latin rock genres (Rock en español) by Cubans, Puerto Ricans, such as Joe Bataan and Ralphi Pagan and South America (Nueva canción). Rock band The Mars Volta combines elements of progressive rock with traditional Mexican folk music and Latin rhythms along with Cedric Bixler-Zavala's Spanglish lyrics. + +Chicano punk is a branch of Chicano rock. There were many bands that emerged from the California punk scene, including The Zeros, Bags, Los Illegals, The Brat, The Plugz, Manic Hispanic, and the Cruzados; as well as others from outside of California including Mydolls from Houston, Texas and Los Crudos from Chicago, Illinois. Some music historians argue that Chicanos of Los Angeles in the late 1970s might have independently co-founded punk rock along with the already-acknowledged founders from European sources when introduced to the US in major cities. The rock band ? and the Mysterians, which was composed primarily of Mexican-American musicians, was the first band to be described as punk rock. The term was reportedly coined in 1971 by rock critic Dave Marsh in a review of their show for Creem magazine. + +Performance arts + +El Teatro Campesino (The Farmworkers' Theater) was founded by Luis Valdez and Agustin Lira in 1965 as the cultural wing of the United Farm Workers (UFW) as a result of the Great Delano Grape Strike in 1965. All of the actors were farmworkers and involved in organizing for farmworkers' rights. Its first performances sought to recruit members for the UFW and dissuade strikebreakers. Many early performances were not scripted and were rather conceived through the direction of Valdez and others through actos, in which a scenario would be proposed for a scene and then dialogue would simply be improvised.Chicano performance art continued with the work of Los Angeles' comedy troupe Culture Clash, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, and Nao Bustamante, known internationally for her conceptual art pieces and as a participant in Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. Chicano performance art became popular in the 1970s, blending humor and pathos for tragicomic effect. Groups such as Asco and the Royal Chicano Air Force illustrated this aspect of performance art through their work. Asco (Spanish for naseau or disgust), composed of Willie Herón, Gronk, Harry Gamboa Jr., and Patssi Valdez, created performance pieces such as the Walking Mural, walking down Whittier Boulevard dressed as "a multifaceted mural, a Christmas tree, and the Virgin of Guadalupe. Asco continued its conceptual performance piece until 1987. + +In the 1990s, San Diego-based artist cooperative of David Avalos, Louis Hock, and Elizabeth Sisco used their National Endowment for the Arts $5,000 fellowship subversively, deciding to circulate money back to the community: "handing 10-dollar bills to undocumented workers to spend as they please." Their piece Arte Reembolsa (Art Rebate) created controversy among the art establishment, with the documentation of the piece featuring "footage of U.S. House and Senate members questioning whether the project was, in fact, art." + +One of the most well-known performance art troupes is La Pocha Nostra, which has been covered in numerous articles for various performance art pieces. The troupe has been active since 1993 yet has remained relevant into the 2010s and 2020s due to its political commentary, including anti-corporate stances. The troupe regularly uses parody and humor in their performances to make complex commentary on various social issues. Creating thought-provoking performances that challenge the audience to think differently is often their intention with each performance piece. + +Visual arts + +The Chicano visual art tradition, like the identity, is grounded in community empowerment and resisting assimilation and oppression. Prior to the introduction of spray cans, paint brushes were used by Chicano "shoeshine boys [who] marked their names on the walls with their daubers to stake out their spots on the sidewalk" in the early 20th century. Pachuco graffiti culture in Los Angeles was already "in full bloom" by the 1930s and 1940s, pachucos developed their placa, "a distinctive calligraphic writing style" which went on to influence contemporary graffiti tagging. Paño, a form of pinto arte (a caló term for male prisoner) using pen and pencil, developed in the 1930s, first using bed sheets and pillowcases as canvases. Paño has been described as rasquachismo, a Chicano worldview and artmaking method which makes the most from the least. + +Graffiti artists, such as Charles "Chaz" Bojórquez, developed an original style of graffiti art known as West Coast Cholo style influenced by Mexican murals and pachuco placas (tags which indicate territorial boundaries) in the mid-20th century. In the 1960s, Chicano graffiti artists from San Antonio to L.A. (especially in East LA, Whittier, and Boyle Heights) used the art form to challenge authority, tagging police cars, buildings, and subways as "a demonstration of their bravado and anger", understanding their work as "individual acts of pride or protest, gang declarations of territory or challenge, and weapons in a class war." Chicano graffiti artists wrote C/S as an abbreviation for con safos or the variant con safo (loosely meaning "don't touch this" and expressing a "the same to you" attitude)—a common expression among Chicanos on the eastside of Los Angeles and throughout the Southwest. + +The Chicano Movement and political identity had heavily influenced Chicano artists by the 1970s. Alongside the Black arts movement, this led to the development of institutions such as Self-Help Graphics, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, and Plaza de la Raza. Artists such as Harry Gamboa Jr., Gronk, and Judith Baca created art which "stood in opposition to the commercial galleries, museums, and civic institutional mainstream". This was exemplified with Asco's tagging of LACMA after "a curator refused to even entertain the idea of a Chicano art show within its walls" in 1972. Chicano art collectives such as the Royal Chicano Air Force, founded in 1970 by Ricardo Favela, José Montoya and Esteban Villa, supported the United Farm Workers movement through art activism, using art to create and inspire social change. Favela believed that it was important to keep the culture alive through their artwork. Favela stated "I was dealing with art forms very foreign to me, always trying to do western art, but there was always something lacking... it was very simple: it was just my Chicano heart wanting to do Chicano art." Other Chicano visual art collectives included Con Safo in San Antonio, which included Felipe Reyes, José Esquivel, Roberto Ríos, Jesse Almazán, Jesse "Chista" Cantú, Jose Garza, Mel Casas, Rudy Treviño, César Martínez, Kathy Vargas, Amado Peña, Jr., Robando Briseño, and Roberto Gonzalez. The Mujeres Muralistas in the Mission District, San Francisco included Patricia Rodriguez, Graciela Carrillo, Consuelo Mendez, and Irene Perez. + +Chicano muralism, which began in the 1960s, became a state-sanctioned artform in the 1970s as an attempt by outsiders to "prevent gang violence and dissuade graffiti practices". This led to the creation of murals at Estrada Courts and other sites throughout Chicano communities. In some instances, these murals were covered with the placas they were instituted by the state to prevent. Marcos Sanchez-Tranquilino states that "rather than vandalism, the tagging of one's own murals points toward a complex sense of wall ownership and a social tension created by the uncomfortable yet approving attentions of official cultural authority." This created a division between established Chicano artists who celebrated inclusion and acceptance by the dominant culture and younger Chicano artists who "saw greater power in renegade muralism and barrio calligraphy than in state-sanctioned pieces." Chicano poster art became prominent in the 1970s as a way to challenge political authority, with pieces such as Rupert García's Save Our Sister (1972), depicting Angela Davis, and Yolanda M. López's Who's the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim? (1978) addressing settler colonialism. + +The oppositional current of Chicano art was bolstered in the 1980s by a rising hip hop culture. The Olympic freeway murals, including Frank Romero's Going to the Olympics, created for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles became another site of contestation, as Chicano and other graffiti artists tagged the state-sanctioned public artwork. Government officials, muralists, and some residents were unable to understand the motivations for this, described it "as "mindless", "animalistic" vandalism perpetrated by "kids" who simply lack respect." L.A. had developed a distinct graffiti culture by the 1990s and, with the rise of drugs and violence, Chicano youth culture gravitated towards graffiti to express themselves and to mark their territory amidst state-sanctioned disorder. Following the Rodney King riots and the murder of Latasha Harlins, which exemplified an explosion of racial tensions bubbling under in American society, racialized youth in L.A., "feeling forgotten, angry, or marginalized, [embraced] graffiti's expressive power [as] a tool to push back." + +Chicano art, although accepted into some institutional art spaces in shows like Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation, was still largely excluded from many mainstream art institutions in the 1990s. By the 2000s, attitudes towards graffiti by white hipster culture were changing, as it became known as "street art". In academic circles, "street art" was termed "post-graffiti". By the 2000s, where the LAPD once deployed CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) units in traditionally Chicano neighborhoods like Echo Park and "often brutalized suspected taggers and gang members", street art was now being mainstreamed by the white art world in those same neighborhoods.Despite this shift, Chicano artists continued to challenge what was acceptable to both insiders and outsiders of their communities. Controversy surrounding Chicana artist Alma López's "Our Lady" at the Museum of International Folk Art in 2001 erupted when "local demonstrators demanded the image be removed from the state-run museum". Previously, López's digital mural "Heaven" (2000), which depicted two Latina women embracing, had been vandalized. López received homophobic slurs, threats of physical violence, and over 800 hate mail inquiries for "Our Lady." Santa Fe Archbishop Michael J Sheehan referred to the woman in López's piece as "a tart or a street woman". López stated that the response came from the conservative Catholic Church, "which finds women's bodies inherently sinful, and thereby promot[es] hatred of women's bodies." The art was again protested in 2011. + +Manuel Paul's mural "Por Vida" (2015) at Galeria de la Raza in Mission District, San Francisco, which depicted queer and trans Chicanos, was targeted multiple times after its unveiling. Paul, a queer DJ and artist of the Maricón Collective, received online threats for the work. Ani Rivera, director of Galeria de la Raza, attributed the anger towards the mural to gentrification, which has led "some people [to] associate LGBT people with non-Latino communities." The mural was meant to challenge "long-held assumptions regarding the traditional exclusivity of heterosexuality in lowrider culture". Some credited the negative response to the mural's direct challenging of machismo and heteronormativity in the community. + +Xandra Ibarra's video art Spictacle II: La Tortillera (2004) was censored by San Antonio's Department of Arts and Culture in 2020 from "XicanX: New Visions", a show which aimed to challenge "previous and existing surveys of Chicano and Latino identity-based exhibitions" through highlighting "the womxn, queer, immigrant, indigenous and activist artists who are at the forefront of the movement". Ibarra stated "the video is designed to challenge normative ideals of Mexican womanhood and is in alignment with the historical lineage of LGBTQAI+ artists' strategies to intervene in homophobic and sexist violence." + +International influence + +Chicano culture has become popular in some areas internationally, most prominently in Japan, Brazil, and Thailand. Chicano ideas such as Chicano hybridity and borderlands theory have found influence as well, such as in decoloniality. In São Paulo, Chicano cultural influence has formed the "Cho-Low" (combination of Cholo and Lowrider) subculture that has formed a sense of cultural pride among youth. + +Chicano cultural influence is strong in Japan, where Chicano culture took hold in the 1980s and continued to grow with contributions from Shin Miyata, Junichi Shimodaira, Miki Style, Night Tha Funksta, and MoNa (Sad Girl). Miyata owns a record label, Gold Barrio Records, that re-releases Chicano music. Chicano fashion and other cultural aspects have also been adopted in Japan. There has been debate over whether this is cultural appropriation, with most arguing that it is appreciation rather than appropriation. In an interview asking why Chicano culture is popular in Japan, two long-time proponents of Chicano culture in Japan agreed that "it's not about Mexico or about America: it's an alluring quality unique to the hybrid nature of Chicano and imprinted in all its resulting art forms, from lowriders in the '80s to TikTok videos today, that people relate to and appreciate, not only in Japan but around the world." + +Most recently, Chicano culture has found influence in Thailand among working-class men and women that is called "Thaino" culture. They state that they have disassociated the violence that Hollywood portrays of Chicanos from the Chicano people themselves. They have adopted rules of no cocaine or amphetamines, and only marijuana, which is legal in Thailand. The leader of one group stated that he was inspired by how Chicanos created a culture out of defiance "to fight against people who were racist toward them" and that this inspired him, since he was born in a slum in Thailand. He also stated "if you look closely at [Chicano] culture, you'll notice how gentle it is. You can see this in their Latin music, dances, clothes, and how they iron their clothes. It's both neat and gentle." + +See also + + Caló + Casta + Chicana feminism + Chicano Moratorium + Chicano nationalism + Chicano Park + Cosmic race + Josefa Segovia + Latino punk + Mexican Americans + Race (U.S. Census) + +References + +Further reading + Maylei Blackwell, ¡Chicana Power!: Contested Histories of Feminism in the Chicano Movement.Austin: University of Texas Press, 2011. + Rodolfo Acuña, Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, Longman, 2006. + John R. Chavez, "The Chicano Image and the Myth of Aztlan Rediscovered", in Patrick Gerster and Nicholas Cords (eds.), Myth America: A Historical Anthology, Volume II. St. James, New York: Brandywine Press, 1997. + John R. Chavez, The Lost Land: A Chicano Image of the American Southwest, Las Cruces: New Mexico State University Publications, 1984. + Lorena Oropeza, Raza Si, Guerra No: Chicano Protest and Patriotism during the Viet Nam War Era. Los Angeles:University of California Press, 2005. . + Ignacio López-Calvo, Latino Los Angeles in Film and Fiction: The Cultural Production of Social Anxiety. University of Arizona Press, 2011. + Natalia Molina, Fit to Be Citizens?: Public Health and Race in Los Angeles, 1879–1940. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2006. + Michael A. Olivas, Colored Men and Hombres Aquí: Hernandez V. Texas and the Emergence of Mexican American Lawyering. Arte Público Press, 2006. + Randy J. Ontiveros, In the Spirit of a New People: The Cultural Politics of the Chicano Movement. New York University Press, 2014. + Gregorio Riviera and Tino Villanueva (eds.), MAGINE: Literary Arts Journal. Special Issue on Chicano Art. Vol. 3, Nos. 1 & 2. Boston: Imagine Publishers. 1986. + F. Arturo Rosales, Chicano! The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. Houston, Texas: Arte Publico Press, 1996. + Lorena Oropeza, The King of Adobe: Reies López Tijerina, Lost Prophet of the Chicano Movement. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 2019. + +External links + + California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives – In the Chicano/Latino Collections + California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives – Digital Chicano Art + Chicano Studies Research Center + Chicano tattoo gallery + Education and the Mexican-American; Racism in America : past, present, future symposium 1968-10-03, National Records and Archives Administration, American Archive of Public Broadcasting + El Centro Chicano y Latino + ImaginArte – Interpreting and Re-imaging Chican@Art + + +Mexican American +Latin American culture +Mexican-American culture +Hispanic and Latino American +Hispanic and Latino American history +The Canary Islands (; , ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union. + +The eight main islands are (from largest to smallest in area) Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa. The archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets, including Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste, and Roque del Este. It also includes a number of rocks, including Garachico and Anaga. In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles". The Canary Islands are the southernmost region of Spain, and the largest and most populous archipelago of Macaronesia. Because of their location, the Canary Islands have historically been considered a link between the four continents of Africa, North America, South America, and Europe. + +In 2019, the Canary Islands had a population of 2,153,389, with a density of 287.39 inhabitants per km2, making it the eighth most populous autonomous community of Spain. The population is mostly concentrated in the two capital islands: around 43% on the island of Tenerife and 40% on the island of Gran Canaria. + +The Canary Islands, especially Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, are a major tourist destination, with over 12 million visitors per year. This is due to their beaches, subtropical climate, and important natural attractions, especially Maspalomas in Gran Canaria and Mount Teide (a World Heritage Site) in Tenerife. Mount Teide is the highest peak in Spain and the 4th tallest volcano in the world, measured from its base on the ocean floor. The islands have warm summers and winters warm enough for the climate to be technically tropical at sea level. The amount of precipitation and the level of maritime moderation vary depending on location and elevation. The archipelago includes green areas as well as desert. The islands' high mountains are ideal for astronomical observation, because they lie above the temperature inversion layer. As a result, the archipelago boasts two professional observatories: the Teide Observatory on Tenerife, and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma. + +In 1927, the Province of Canary Islands was split into two provinces. In 1982, the autonomous community of the Canary Islands was established. The cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are, jointly, the capitals of the islands. Those cities are also, respectively, the capitals of the provinces of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has been the largest city in the Canaries since 1768, except for a brief period in the 1910s. Between the 1833 territorial division of Spain and 1927, Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the sole capital of the Canary Islands. In 1927, it was ordered by decree that the capital of the Canary Islands would be shared between two cities, and this arrangement persists to the present day. The third largest city in the Canary Islands is San Cristóbal de La Laguna (another World Heritage Site) on Tenerife. + +During the Age of Sail, the islands were the main stopover for Spanish galleons during the Spanish colonisation of the Americas, which sailed that far south in order to catch the prevailing northeasterly trade winds. + +Etymology +The name Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin name Canariae Insulae, meaning "Islands of the Dogs", a name that was evidently generalized from the ancient name of one of these islands, Canaria – presumably Gran Canaria. According to the historian Pliny the Elder, the island Canaria contained "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size". The connection to dogs is retained in their depiction on the islands' coat-of-arms. + +Other theories speculate that the name comes from the Nukkari Berber tribe living in the Moroccan Atlas, named in Roman sources as Canarii, though Pliny again mentions the relation of this term with dogs. + +The name of the islands is not derived from the canary bird; rather, the birds are named after the islands. + +Physical geography + +Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the archipelago. Gran Canaria, with 865,070 inhabitants, is both the Canary Islands' second most populous island, and the third most populous one in Spain after Tenerife (966,354 inhabitants) and Majorca (896,038 inhabitants). The island of Fuerteventura is the second largest in the archipelago and located from the African coast. + +The islands form the Macaronesia ecoregion with the Azores, Cape Verde, Madeira, and the Savage Isles. The Canary Islands is the largest and most populated archipelago of the Macaronesia region. The archipelago consists of seven large and several smaller islands, all of which are volcanic in origin. + +According to the position of the islands with respect to the north-east trade winds, the climate can be mild and wet or very dry. Several native species form laurisilva forests. + +As a consequence, the individual islands in the Canary archipelago tend to have distinct microclimates. Those islands such as El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera lying to the west of the archipelago have a climate which is influenced by the moist Canary Current. They are well vegetated even at low levels and have extensive tracts of sub-tropical laurisilva forest. As one travels east toward the African coast, the influence of the current diminishes, and the islands become increasingly arid. Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, the islands which are closest to the African mainland, are effectively desert or semi desert. Gran Canaria is known as a "continent in miniature" for its diverse landscapes like Maspalomas and Roque Nublo. In terms of its climate Tenerife is particularly interesting. The north of the island lies under the influence of the moist Atlantic winds and is well vegetated, while the south of the island around the tourist resorts of Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos is arid. The island rises to almost above sea level, and at altitude, in the cool relatively wet climate, forests of the endemic pine Pinus canariensis thrive. Many of the plant species in the Canary Islands, like the Canary Island pine and the dragon tree, Dracaena draco are endemic, as noted by Sabin Berthelot and Philip Barker Webb in their work, L'Histoire Naturelle des Îles Canaries (1835–50). + +Climate +The climate is warm subtropical and generally semidesertic, moderated by the sea and in summer by the trade winds. There are a number of microclimates and the classifications range mainly from semi-arid to desert. According to Köppen, the majority of the Canary Islands have a hot desert climate (BWh) and a hot semi-arid climate (BSh), caused partly due to the cool Canary Current. There also exists a subtropical humid climate which is very influenced by the ocean in the middle of the islands of La Gomera, Tenerife and La Palma, where laurisilva cloud forests grow. + +Geology + +The seven major islands, one minor island, and several small islets were originally volcanic islands, formed by the Canary hotspot. The Canary Islands is the only place in Spain where volcanic eruptions have been recorded during the Modern Era, with some volcanoes still active (El Hierro, 2011). +Volcanic islands such as those in the Canary chain often have steep ocean cliffs caused by catastrophic debris avalanches and landslides. The island chain's most recent eruption occurred at Cumbre Vieja, a volcanic ridge on La Palma, in 2021. + +The Teide volcano on Tenerife is the highest mountain in Spain, and the third tallest volcano on Earth on a volcanic ocean island. All the islands except La Gomera have been active in the last million years; four of them (Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro) have historical records of eruptions since European discovery. The islands rise from Jurassic oceanic crust associated with the opening of the Atlantic. Underwater magmatism commenced during the Cretaceous, and continued to the present day. The current islands reached the ocean's surface during the Miocene. The islands were once considered as a distinct physiographic section of the Atlas Mountains province, which in turn is part of the larger African Alpine System division, but are nowadays recognized as being related to a magmatic hot spot. + +In the summer of 2011 a series of low-magnitude earthquakes occurred beneath El Hierro. These had a linear trend of northeast–southwest. In October a submarine eruption occurred about south of Restinga. This eruption produced gases and pumice, but no explosive activity was reported. + +The following table shows the highest mountains in each of the islands: + +Natural symbols + +The official natural symbols associated with Canary Islands are the bird Serinus canaria (canary) and the Phoenix canariensis palm. + +National parks + +Four of Spain's thirteen national parks are located in the Canary Islands, more than any other autonomous community. Two of these have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the other two are part of Biosphere Reserves. The parks are: + +Teide National Park is the oldest and largest national park in the Canary Islands and one of the oldest in Spain. Located in the geographic centre of the island of Tenerife, it is the most visited national park in Spain. In 2010, it became the most visited national park in Europe and second worldwide. The park's highlight is the Teide volcano; standing at an altitude of , it is the highest elevation of the country and the third largest volcano on Earth from its base. In 2007, the Teide National Park was declared one of the 12 Treasures of Spain. + +Politics + +Governance +The regional executive body, the Parliament of the Canary Islands, is presided over by Fernando Clavijo Batlle (Canarian Coalition), the current President of the Canary Islands. The latter is invested by the members of the regional legislature, the Parliament of the Canary Islands, that consists of 70 elected legislators. The last regional election took place in May 2023. + +The islands have 14 seats in the Spanish Senate. Of these, 11 seats are directly elected (3 for Gran Canaria, 3 for Tenerife, and 1 each for Lanzarote (including La Graciosa), Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro) while the other 3 are appointed by the regional legislature. + +Political geography +The Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands consists of two provinces (), Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, whose capitals (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife) are capitals of the autonomous community. Each of the seven major islands is ruled by an island council named Cabildo Insular. Each island is subdivided into smaller municipalities (municipios); Las Palmas is divided into 34 municipalities, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife is divided into 54 municipalities. + +The international boundary of the Canaries is one subject of dispute in the Morocco-Spain relations. Moreover, in 2022 the UN has declared the Canary Island's territorial waters as Moroccan coast and Morocco has authorised gas and oil exploration in what the Canary Islands states to be Canarian territorial waters and Western Sahara waters. Morocco's official position is that international laws regarding territorial limits do not authorise Spain to claim seabed boundaries based on the territory of the Canaries, since the Canary Islands enjoy a large degree of autonomy. In fact, the islands do not enjoy any special degree of autonomy as each one of the Spanish regions is considered an autonomous community with equal status to the European ones. + +Canarian nationalism + +There are some pro-independence political parties, like the National Congress of the Canaries (CNC) and the Popular Front of the Canary Islands, but their popular support is almost insignificant, with no presence in either the autonomous parliament or the cabildos insulares. According to a 2012 study by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, when asked about national identity, the majority of respondents from the Canary Islands (53.8%) consider themselves Spanish and Canarian in equal measures, followed by 24% who consider themselves more Canarian than Spanish. Only 6.1% of the respondents consider themselves only Canarian while 7% consider themselves only Spanish. + +Defence + +The defence of the territory is the responsibility of the Spanish Armed Forces. As such, various components of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Civil Guard are based in the territory. + +History + +Ancient and pre-Hispanic times + +Before the arrival of humans, the Canaries were inhabited by prehistoric animals; for example, the giant lizard (Gallotia goliath), the Tenerife and Gran Canaria giant rats, and giant prehistoric tortoises, Geochelone burchardi and Geochelone vulcanica. + +Although the original settlement of what are now called the Canary Islands is not entirely clear, linguistic, genetic, and archaeological analyses indicate that indigenous peoples were living on the Canary Islands at least 2000 years ago but possibly one thousand years or more before, and that they shared a common origin with the Berbers on the nearby North African coast. Reaching the islands may have taken place using several small boats, landing on the easternmost islands Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. These groups came to be known collectively as the Guanches, although Guanches had been the name for only the indigenous inhabitants of Tenerife. + +As José Farrujia describes, 'The indigenous Canarians lived mainly in natural caves, usually near the coast, 300–500m above sea level. These caves were sometimes isolated but more commonly formed settlements, with burial caves nearby'. Archaeological work has uncovered a rich culture visible through artefacts of ceramics, human figures, fishing, hunting and farming tools, plant fibre clothing and vessels, as well as cave paintings. At Lomo de los Gatos on Gran Canaria, a site occupied from 1,600 years ago up until the 1960s, round stone houses, complex burial sites, and associated artefacts have been found. Across the islands are thousands of Libyco-Berber alphabet inscriptions scattered and they have been extensively documented by many linguists. + +The social structure of indigenous Canarians encompassed 'a system of matrilineal descent in most of the islands, in which inheritance was passed on via the female line. Social status and wealth were hereditary and determined the individual's position in the social pyramid, which consisted of the king, the relatives of the king, the lower nobility, villeins, plebeians, and finally executioners, butchers, embalmers, and prisoners'. Their religion was animist, centring on the sun and moon, as well as natural features such as mountains. + +Exploration + +The islands may have been visited by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Carthaginians. King Juba II, Caesar Augustus's Numidian protégé, is credited with discovering the islands for the Western world. According to Pliny the Elder, Juba found the islands uninhabited, but found "a small temple of stone" and "some traces of buildings". Juba dispatched a naval contingent to re-open the dye production facility at Mogador in what is now western Morocco in the early first century AD. That same naval force was subsequently sent on an exploration of the Canary Islands, using Mogador as their mission base. + +The names given by Romans to the individual islands were Ninguaria or Nivaria (Tenerife), Canaria (Gran Canaria), Pluvialia or Invale (Lanzarote), Ombrion (La Palma), Planasia (Fuerteventura), Iunonia or Junonia (El Hierro) and Capraria (La Gomera). + +From the 14th century onward, numerous visits were made by sailors from Majorca, Portugal and Genoa. Lancelotto Malocello settled on Lanzarote in 1312. The Majorcans established a mission with a bishop in the islands that lasted from 1350 to 1400. + +Castilian conquest + +In 1402, the Castilian colonisation of the islands began with the expedition of the French explorers Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle, nobles and vassals of Henry III of Castile, to Lanzarote. From there, they went on to conquer Fuerteventura (1405) and El Hierro. These invasions were "brutal cultural and military clashes between the indigenous population and the Castilians" lasting over a century due to formidable resistance by indigenous Canarians. Professor Mohamed Adhikari has defined the conquest of the islands as a genocide of the Guanches. + +Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands, but still recognised King Henry III as his overlord. It was not a simple military enterprise, given the aboriginal resistance on some islands. Neither was it politically, since the particular interests of the nobility (determined to strengthen their economic and political power through the acquisition of the islands) conflicted with those of the states, particularly Castile, which were in the midst of territorial expansion and in a process of strengthening of the Crown against the nobility. + +Historians distinguish two periods in the conquest of the Canary Islands: + +Aristocratic conquest (Conquista señorial). This refers to the early conquests carried out by the nobility, for their own benefit and without the direct participation of the Crown of Castile, which merely granted rights of conquest in exchange for pacts of vassalage between the noble conqueror and the Crown. One can identify within this period an early phase known as the Betancurian or Norman Conquest, carried out by Jean de Bethencourt (who was originally from Normandy) and Gadifer de la Salle between 1402 and 1405, which involved the islands of Lanzarote, El Hierro and Fuerteventura. The subsequent phase is known as the Castilian Conquest, carried out by Castilian nobles who acquired, through purchases, assignments and marriages, the previously conquered islands and also incorporated the island of La Gomera around 1450. + +Royal conquest (Conquista realenga). This defines the conquest between 1478 and 1496, carried out directly by the Crown of Castile, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, who armed and partly financed the conquest of those islands which were still unconquered: Gran Canaria, La Palma and Tenerife. This phase of the conquest came to an end in the year 1496, with the dominion of the island of Tenerife, bringing the entire Canarian Archipelago under the control of the Crown of Castile. + +Béthencourt also established a base on the island of La Gomera, but it would be many years before the island was fully conquered. The natives of La Gomera, and of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Palma, resisted the Castilian invaders for almost a century. In 1448 Maciot de Béthencourt sold the lordship of Lanzarote to Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator, an action that was accepted by neither the natives nor the Castilians. Despite Pope Nicholas V ruling that the Canary Islands were under Portuguese control, the crisis swelled to a revolt which lasted until 1459 with the final expulsion of the Portuguese. In 1479, Portugal and Castile signed the Treaty of Alcáçovas, which settled disputes between Castile and Portugal over the control of the Atlantic. This treaty recognized Castilian control of the Canary Islands but also confirmed Portuguese possession of the Azores, Madeira, and the Cape Verde islands, and gave the Portuguese rights to any further islands or lands in the Atlantic that might be discovered. + +The Castilians continued to dominate the islands, but due to the topography and the resistance of the native Guanches, they did not achieve complete control until 1496, when Tenerife and La Palma were finally subdued by Alonso Fernández de Lugo. As a result of this 'the native pre-Hispanic population declined quickly due to war, epidemics, and slavery'. The Canaries were incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile. + +After the conquest and the introduction of slavery + +After the conquest, the Castilians imposed a new economic model, based on single-crop cultivation: first sugarcane; then wine, an important item of trade with England. Gran Canaria was conquered by the Crown of Castile on 6 March 1480, and Tenerife was conquered in 1496, and each had its own governor. There has been speculation that the abundance of Roccella tinctoria on the Canary Islands offered a profit motive for Jean de Béthencourt during his conquest of the islands. Lichen has been used for centuries to make dyes. This includes royal purple colors derived from roccella tinctoria, also known as orseille. + +The objective of the Spanish Crown to convert the islands into a powerhouse of cultivation required a much larger labour force. This was attained through a brutal practice of enslavement, not only of indigenous Canarians but large numbers of Africans who were forcibly taken from North and Sub-Saharan Africa. Whilst the first slave plantations in the Atlantic region were across Madeira, Cape Verde, and the Canary Islands, it was only the Canary Islands which had an indigenous population and were therefore invaded rather than newly occupied. + +This agriculture industry was largely based on sugarcane and the Castilians converted large swaths of the landscape for sugarcane production, and the processing and manufacturing of sugar, facilitated by enslaved labourers. The cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria became a stopping point for the Spanish traders, as well as conquistadors, and missionaries on their way to the New World. This trade route brought great wealth to the Castilian social sectors of the islands and soon were attracting merchants and adventurers from all over Europe. As the wealth grew, enslaved African workers were also forced into demeaning domestic roles for the rich Castilians on the islands such as servants in their houses. Research on the skeletons of some of these enslaved workers from the burial site of Finca Clavijo on Gran Canaria have showed that 'all of the adults buried in Finca Clavijo undertook extensive physical activity that involved significant stress on the spine and appendicular skeleton' that result from relentless hard labour, akin to the physical abnormalities found with enslaved peoples from other sugarcane plantations around the world. These findings of the physical strain that the enslaved at Finca Clavijo were subjected to in order to provide wealth for the Spanish elite has inspired a poem by British writer Ralph Hoyte, entitled Close to the Bone. + +As a result of the huge wealth generated, magnificent palaces and churches were built on La Palma during this busy, prosperous period. The Church of El Salvador survives as one of the island's finest examples of the architecture of the 16th century. Civilian architecture survives in forms such as Casas de los Sánchez-Ochando or Casa Quintana. + +The Canaries' wealth invited attacks by pirates and privateers. Ottoman Turkish admiral and privateer Kemal Reis ventured into the Canaries in 1501, while Murat Reis the Elder captured Lanzarote in 1585. + +The most severe attack took place in 1599, during the Dutch Revolt. A Dutch fleet of 74 ships and 12,000 men, commanded by Pieter van der Does, attacked the capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (the city had 3,500 of Gran Canaria's 8,545 inhabitants). The Dutch attacked the Castillo de la Luz, which guarded the harbor. The Canarians evacuated civilians from the city, and the Castillo surrendered (but not the city). The Dutch moved inland, but Canarian cavalry drove them back to Tamaraceite, near the city. + +The Dutch then laid siege to the city, demanding the surrender of all its wealth. They received 12 sheep and 3 calves. Furious, the Dutch sent 4,000 soldiers to attack the Council of the Canaries, who were sheltering in the village of Santa Brígida. 300 Canarian soldiers ambushed the Dutch in the village of Monte Lentiscal, killing 150 and forcing the rest to retreat. The Dutch concentrated on Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, attempting to burn it down. The Dutch pillaged Maspalomas, on the southern coast of Gran Canaria, San Sebastián on La Gomera, and Santa Cruz on La Palma, but eventually gave up the siege of Las Palmas and withdrew. + +In 1618 the Barbary pirates from North Africa attacked Lanzarote and La Gomera taking 1000 captives to be sold as slaves. Another noteworthy attack occurred in 1797, when Santa Cruz de Tenerife was attacked by a British fleet under Horatio Nelson on 25 July. The British were repulsed, losing almost 400 men. It was during this battle that Nelson lost his right arm. + +18th to 19th century + +The sugar-based economy of the islands faced stiff competition from Spain's Caribbean colonies. Low sugar prices in the 19th century caused severe recessions on the islands. A new cash crop, cochineal (cochinilla), came into cultivation during this time, reinvigorating the islands' economy. During this time the Canarian-American trade was developed, in which Canarian products such as cochineal, sugarcane and rum were sold in American ports such as Veracruz, Campeche, La Guaira and Havana, among others. + +By the end of the 18th century, Canary Islanders had already emigrated to Spanish American territories, such as Havana, Veracruz, and Santo Domingo, San Antonio, Texas and St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. These economic difficulties spurred mass emigration during the 19th and first half of the 20th century, primarily to the Americas. Between 1840 and 1890 as many as 40,000 Canary Islanders emigrated to Venezuela. Also, thousands of Canarians moved to Puerto Rico where the Spanish monarchy felt that Canarians would adapt to island life better than other immigrants from the mainland of Spain. Deeply entrenched traditions, such as the Mascaras Festival in the town of Hatillo, Puerto Rico, are an example of Canarian culture still preserved in Puerto Rico. Similarly, many thousands of Canarians emigrated to the shores of Cuba. During the Spanish–American War of 1898, the Spanish fortified the islands against a possible American attack, but no such event took place. + +Romantic period and scientific expeditions + +Sirera and Renn (2004) distinguish two different types of expeditions, or voyages, during the period 1770–1830, which they term "the Romantic period": + +First are "expeditions financed by the States, closely related with the official scientific Institutions. characterised by having strict scientific objectives (and inspired by) the spirit of Illustration and progress". In this type of expedition, Sirera and Renn include the following travellers: + J. Edens, whose 1715 ascent and observations of Mt. Teide influenced many subsequent expeditions. + Louis Feuillée (1724), who was sent to measure the meridian of El Hierro and to map the islands. + Jean-Charles de Borda (1771, 1776) who more accurately measured the longitudes of the islands and the height of Mount Teide + the Baudin-Ledru expedition (1796) which aimed to recover a valuable collection of natural history objects. + +The second type of expedition identified by Sirera and Renn is one that took place starting from more or less private initiatives. Among these, the key exponents were the following: + Alexander von Humboldt (1799) + Buch and Smith (1815) + Broussonet + Webb + Sabin Berthelot. + +Sirera and Renn identify the period 1770–1830 as one in which "In a panorama dominated until that moment by France and England enters with strength and brio Germany of the Romantic period whose presence in the islands will increase". + +Early 20th century + +At the beginning of the 20th century, the British introduced a new cash-crop, the banana, the export of which was controlled by companies such as Fyffes. + +30 November 1833 the Province of Canary Islands had been created with the capital being declared as Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The rivalry between the cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife for the capital of the islands led to the division of the archipelago into two provinces on 23 September 1927. + +During the time of the Second Spanish Republic, Marxist and anarchist workers' movements began to develop, led by figures such as Jose Miguel Perez and Guillermo Ascanio. However, outside of a few municipalities, these organisations were a minority and fell easily to Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. + +Franco regime + +In 1936, Francisco Franco was appointed General Commandant of the Canaries. He joined the military revolt of 17 July which began the Spanish Civil War. Franco quickly took control of the archipelago, except for a few points of resistance on La Palma and in the town of Vallehermoso, on La Gomera. Though there was never a war in the islands, the post-war suppression of political dissent on the Canaries was most severe. + +During the Second World War, Winston Churchill prepared plans for the British seizure of the Canary Islands as a naval base, in the event of Gibraltar being invaded from the Spanish mainland. The planned operation was known as Operation Pilgrim. + +Opposition to Franco's regime did not begin to organise until the late 1950s, which experienced an upheaval of parties such as the Communist Party of Spain and the formation of various nationalist, leftist parties. + +During the Ifni War, the Franco regime set up concentration camps on the islands to extrajudicially imprison those in Western Sahara suspected of disloyalty to Spain, many of whom were colonial troops recruited on the spot but were later deemed to be potential fifth columnists and deported to the Canary Islands. These camps were characterised by the use of forced labour for infrastructure projects and highly unsanitary conditions resulting in the widespread occurrence of tuberculosis. + +Self-governance + +After the death of Franco, there was a pro-independence armed movement based in Algeria, the Movement for the Independence and Self-determination of the Canaries Archipelago (MAIAC). In 1968, the Organisation of African Unity recognized the MAIAC as a legitimate African independence movement, and declared the Canary Islands as an African territory still under foreign rule. + +After the establishment of a democratic constitutional monarchy in Spain, autonomy was granted to the Canaries via a law passed in 1982, with a newly established autonomous devolved government and parliament. In 1983, the first autonomous elections were held. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won. In the 2007 elections, the PSOE gained a plurality of seats, but the nationalist Canarian Coalition and the conservative Partido Popular (PP) formed a ruling coalition government. + +Capitals +At present, the Canary Islands is the only autonomous community in Spain that has two capitals: Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, since the was created in 1982. + +The political capital of the archipelago did not exist as such until the nineteenth century. The first cities founded by the Europeans at the time of the conquest of the Canary Islands in the 15th century were: Telde (in Gran Canaria), San Marcial del Rubicón (in Lanzarote) and Betancuria (in Fuerteventura). These cities boasted the first European institutions present in the archipelago, including Catholic bishoprics. Although, because the period of splendor of these cities developed before the total conquest of the archipelago and its incorporation into the Crown of Castile never had a political and real control of the entire Canary archipelago. + +The function of a Canarian city with full jurisdiction for the entire archipelago only exists after the conquest of the Canary Islands, although originally de facto, that is, without legal and real meaning and linked to the headquarters of the Canary Islands General Captaincy. + +Las Palmas de Gran Canaria was the first city that exercised this function. This is because the residence of the Captain General of the Canary Islands was in this city during part of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In May 1661, the Captain General of the Canary Islands, Jerónimo de Benavente y Quiñones, moved the headquarters of the captaincy to the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna on the island of Tenerife. This was due to the fact that this island since the conquest was the most populated, productive and with the highest economic expectations. La Laguna would be considered the de facto capital of the archipelago until the official status of the capital of Canary Islands in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was confirmed in the 19th century, due in part to the constant controversies and rivalries between the bourgeoisies of San Cristóbal de La Laguna and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the economic, political and institutional hegemony of the archipelago. + +Already in 1723, the Captain General of the Canary Islands Lorenzo Fernandez de Villavicencio had moved the headquarters of the General Captaincy of the Canary Islands from San Cristóbal de La Laguna to Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This decision continued without pleasing the society of the island of Gran Canaria. It would be after the creation of the Province of Canary Islands in November 1833 in which Santa Cruz would become the first fully official capital of the Canary Islands (De jure and not of de facto as happened previously). Santa Cruz de Tenerife would be the capital of the Canary archipelago until during the Government of General Primo de Rivera in 1927 the Province of Canary Islands was split in two provinces: Las Palmas with capital in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife with capital in the homonymous city. + +Finally, with the Statute of Autonomy of the Canary Islands in 1982 and the creation of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, the capital of the archipelago between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife is fixed, which is how it remains today. + +Demographics + +The Canary Islands have a population of 2,153,389 inhabitants (2019), making it the eighth most populous of Spain's autonomous communities. The total area of the archipelago is , resulting in a population density of 287.4 inhabitants per square kilometre. + +The population of the islands according to the 2019 data are: + Tenerife – 917,841 + Gran Canaria – 851,231 + Lanzarote – 152,289 (including the population of La Graciosa) + Fuerteventura – 116,886 + La Palma – 82,671 + La Gomera – 21,503 + El Hierro – 10,968 +The Canary Islands have become home to many European residents, mainly coming from Italy, Germany and the UK. Because of the vast immigration to Venezuela and Cuba during the second half of the 20th century and the later return to the Canary Islands of these people along with their families, there are many residents whose country of origin was Venezuela (66,593) or Cuba (41,807). Since the 1990s, many illegal migrants have reached the Canary Islands, Melilla and Ceuta, using them as entry points to the EU. + +Religion + +The Catholic Church has been the majority religion in the archipelago for more than five centuries, ever since the Conquest of the Canary Islands. There are also several other religious communities. + +Roman Catholic Church +The overwhelming majority of native Canarians are Roman Catholic (76.7%) with various smaller foreign-born populations of other Christian beliefs such as Protestants. + +The appearance of the Virgin of Candelaria (Patron of Canary Islands) was credited with moving the Canary Islands toward Christianity. Two Catholic saints were born in the Canary Islands: Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur and José de Anchieta. Both born on the island of Tenerife, they were respectively missionaries in Guatemala and Brazil. + +The Canary Islands are divided into two Catholic dioceses, each governed by a bishop: + Diócesis Canariense: Includes the islands of the Eastern Province: Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Its capital was San Marcial El Rubicón (1404) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1483–present). There was a previous bishopric which was based in Telde, but it was later abolished. + Diócesis Nivariense: Includes the islands of the western province: Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. Its capital is San Cristóbal de La Laguna (1819–present). + +Other religions +Separate from the overwhelming Christian majority are a minority of Muslims. Among the followers of Islam, the Islamic Federation of the Canary Islands exists to represent the Islamic community in the Canary Islands as well as to provide practical support to members of the Islamic community. For its part, there is also the Evangelical Council of the Canary Islands in the archipelago. + +Other religious faiths represented include Jehovah's Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as Hinduism. Minority religions are also present such as the Church of the Guanche People which is classified as a neo-pagan native religion. Also present are Buddhism, Judaism, Baháʼí, African religion, and Chinese religions. + +According to Statista in 2019, there are 75,662 Muslims in Canary Islands. + +Statistics +The distribution of beliefs in 2012 according to the CIS Barometer Autonomy was as follows: + Catholic 84.9% + Atheist/Agnostic/Unbeliever 12.3% + Other religions 1.7% + +Population genetics + +Islands +Ordered from west to east, the Canary Islands are El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote. In addition, north of Lanzarote are the islets of La Graciosa, Montaña Clara, Alegranza, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste, belonging to the Chinijo Archipelago, and northeast of Fuerteventura is the islet of Lobos. There are also a series of small adjacent rocks in the Canary Islands: the Roques de Anaga, Garachico and Fasnia in Tenerife, and those of Salmor and Bonanza in El Hierro. + +El Hierro + +El Hierro, the westernmost island, covers , making it the second smallest of the major islands, and the least populous with 10,798 inhabitants. The whole island was declared Reserve of the Biosphere in 2000. Its capital is Valverde. Also known as Ferro, it was once believed to be the westernmost land in the world. + +Fuerteventura + +Fuerteventura, with a surface of , is the second largest island of the archipelago. It has been declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. It has a population of 113,275. The oldest of the islands, it is more eroded. Its highest point is the Peak of the Bramble, at a height of . Its capital is Puerto del Rosario. + +Gran Canaria + +Gran Canaria has 846,717 inhabitants. The capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (377,203 inhabitants), is the most populous city and shares the status of capital of the Canaries with Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Gran Canaria's surface area is . Roque Nublo and Pico de las Nieves ("Peak of Snow") are located in the center of the island. On the south of the island are the Maspalomas Dunes (Gran Canaria). + +La Gomera + +La Gomera has an area of and is the second least populous island with 21,136 inhabitants. Geologically it is one of the oldest of the archipelago. The insular capital is San Sebastian de La Gomera. Garajonay National Park is located on the island. + +Lanzarote + +Lanzarote is the easternmost island and one of the oldest of the archipelago, and it has shown evidence of recent volcanic activity. It has a surface of , and a population of 149,183 inhabitants, including the adjacent islets of the Chinijo Archipelago. The capital is Arrecife, with 56,834 inhabitants. + +Chinijo Archipelago + +The Chinijo Archipelago includes the islands La Graciosa, Alegranza, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste. It has a surface of , and only La Graciosa is populated, with 658 inhabitants. With , La Graciosa, is the largest island of the Chinijo Archipelago but also the smallest inhabited island of the Canaries. + +La Palma + +La Palma, with 81,863 inhabitants covering an area of , is in its entirety a biosphere reserve. For long it showed no signs of volcanic activity, even though the volcano Teneguía entered into eruption last in 1971. On September 19, 2021, the volcanic Cumbre Vieja on the island erupted. It is the second-highest island of the Canaries, with the Roque de los Muchachos at as its highest point. Santa Cruz de La Palma (known to those on the island as simply "Santa Cruz") is its capital. + +Tenerife + +Tenerife is, with its area of , the most extensive island of the Canary Islands. In addition, with 904,713 inhabitants it is the most populated island of the archipelago and Spain. Two of the islands' principal cities are located on it: the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna (a World Heritage Site). San Cristóbal de La Laguna, the second city of the island is home to the oldest university in the Canary Islands, the University of La Laguna. Teide, with its is the highest peak of Spain and also a World Heritage Site. Tenerife is the site of the worst air disaster in the history of aviation, in which 583 people were killed in the collision of two Boeing 747s on 27 March 1977. + +La Graciosa + +Graciosa Island or commonly La Graciosa is a volcanic island in the Canary Islands of Spain, located 2 km (1.2 mi) north of the island of Lanzarote across the Strait of El Río. It was formed by the Canary hotspot. The island is part of the Chinijo Archipelago and the Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park (Parque Natural del Archipiélago Chinijo). It is administered by the municipality of Teguise. In 2018 La Graciosa officially became the eighth Canary Island. Before then, La Graciosa had the status of an islet, administratively dependent on the island of Lanzarote. It is the smallest and least populated of the main islands, with a population of about 700 people. + +Data + +Economy and environment + +The economy is based primarily on tourism, which makes up 32% of the GDP. The Canaries receive about 12 million tourists per year. Construction makes up nearly 20% of the GDP and tropical agriculture, primarily bananas and tobacco, are grown for export to Europe and the Americas. Ecologists are concerned that the resources, especially in the more arid islands, are being overexploited but there are still many agricultural resources like tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cochineal, sugarcane, grapes, vines, dates, oranges, lemons, figs, wheat, barley, maize, apricots, peaches and almonds. + +Water resources are also being overexploited, due to the high water usage by tourists. Also, some islands (such as Gran Canaria and Tenerife) overexploit the ground water. This is done in such degree that, according to European and Spanish legal regulations, the current situation is not acceptable. To address the problems, good governance and a change in the water use paradigm have been proposed. These solutions depend largely on controlling water use and on demand management. As this is administratively difficult and politically unpalatable, most action is currently directed at increasing the public offer of water through import from outside; a decision which is economically, politically and environmentally questionable. + +To bring in revenue for environmental protection, innovation, training and water sanitation a tourist tax was considered in 2018, along with a doubling of the ecotax and restrictions on holiday rents in the zones with the greatest pressure of demand. + +The economy is € 25 billion (2001 GDP figures). The islands experienced continuous growth during a 20-year period, up until 2001, at a rate of approximately 5% annually. This growth was fueled mainly by huge amounts of foreign direct investment, mostly to develop tourism real estate (hotels and apartments), and European Funds (near €11 billion in the period from 2000 to 2007), since the Canary Islands are labelled Region Objective 1 (eligible for euro structural funds). Additionally, the EU allows the Canary Islands Government to offer special tax concessions for investors who incorporate under the Zona Especial Canaria (ZEC) regime and create more than five jobs. + +Spain gave permission in August 2014 for Repsol and its partners to explore oil and natural gas prospects off the Canary Islands, involving an investment of €7.5 billion over four years, to commence at the end of 2016. Repsol at the time said the area could ultimately produce 100,000 barrels of oil a day, which would meet 10 percent of Spain's energy needs. However, the analysis of samples obtained did not show the necessary volume nor quality to consider future extraction, and the project was scrapped. + +Despite currently having very high dependence on fossil fuels, research on the renewable energy potential concluded that a high potential for renewable energy technologies exists on the archipelago. This, in such extent even that a scenario pathway to 100% renewable energy supply by 2050 has been put forward. + +The Canary Islands have great natural attractions, climate and beaches make the islands a major tourist destination, being visited each year by about 12 million people (11,986,059 in 2007, noting 29% of Britons, 22% of Spanish (from outside the Canaries), and 21% of Germans). Among the islands, Tenerife has the largest number of tourists received annually, followed by Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The archipelago's principal tourist attraction is the Teide National Park (in Tenerife) where the highest mountain in Spain and third largest volcano in the world (Mount Teide), receives over 2.8 million visitors annually. + +The combination of high mountains, proximity to Europe, and clean air has made the Roque de los Muchachos peak (on La Palma island) a leading location for telescopes like the Grantecan. + +The islands, as an autonomous region of Spain, are in the European Union and the Schengen Area. They are in the European Union Customs Union but outside the VAT area. Instead of VAT there is a local Sales Tax (IGIC) which has a general rate of 7%, an increased tax rate of 13.5%, a reduced tax rate of 3% and a zero tax rate for certain basic need products and services. Consequently, some products are subject to additional VAT if being exported from the islands into mainland Spain or the rest of the EU. + +Canarian time is Western European Time (WET) (or GMT; in summer one hour ahead of GMT). So Canarian time is one hour behind that of mainland Spain and the same as that of the UK, Ireland and mainland Portugal all year round. + +Tourism statistics +The number of tourists who visited the Canary Islands had been in 2018 16,150,054 and in the year 2019 15,589,290. + +GDP statistics +The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Canary Islands in 2015 was , per capita. The figures by island are as follows: + +Transport + +The Canary Islands have eight airports altogether, two of the main ports of Spain, and an extensive network of autopistas (highways) and other roads. For a road map see multimap. Traffic congestion is sometimes a problem in Tenerife and on Grand Canaria. + +Large ferry boats and fast ferries link most of the islands. Both types can transport large numbers of passengers, cargo, and vehicles. Fast ferries are made of aluminium and powered by modern and efficient diesel engines, while conventional ferries have a steel hull and are powered by heavy oil. Fast ferries travel in excess of ; conventional ferries travel in excess of , but are slower than fast ferries. A typical ferry ride between La Palma and Tenerife may take up to eight hours or more while a fast ferry takes about two and a half hours and between Tenerife and Gran Canaria can be about one hour. + +The largest airport is the Gran Canaria Airport. Tenerife has two airports, Tenerife North Airport and Tenerife South Airport. The island of Tenerife gathers the highest passenger movement of all the Canary Islands through its two airports. The two main islands (Tenerife and Gran Canaria) receive the greatest number of passengers. Tenerife 6,204,499 passengers and Gran Canaria 5,011,176 passengers. + +The port of Las Palmas is first in freight traffic in the islands, while the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the first fishing port with approximately 7,500 tons of fish caught, according to the Spanish government publication Statistical Yearbook of State Ports. Similarly, it is the second port in Spain as regards ship traffic, only surpassed by the Port of Algeciras Bay. The port's facilities include a border inspection post (BIP) approved by the European Union, which is responsible for inspecting all types of imports from third countries or exports to countries outside the European Economic Area. The port of Los Cristianos (Tenerife) has the greatest number of passengers recorded in the Canary Islands, followed by the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The Port of Las Palmas is the third port in the islands in passengers and first in number of vehicles transported. + +The SS America was beached at the Canary islands on 18 January 1994. However, the ocean liner broke apart after the course of several years and eventually sank beneath the surface. + +Rail transport +The Tenerife Tram opened in 2007 and is currently the only one in the Canary Islands, travelling between the cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna. + +Three more railway lines are being planned for the Canary Islands: + +Airports + Tenerife South Airport – Tenerife + Tenerife North Airport – Tenerife + César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport – Lanzarote + Fuerteventura Airport – Fuerteventura + Gran Canaria Airport – Gran Canaria + La Palma Airport – La Palma + La Gomera Airport – La Gomera + El Hierro Airport – El Hierro + +Ports + + Port of Puerto del Rosario – Fuerteventura + Port of Arrecife – Lanzarote + Port of Playa Blanca—Lanzarote + Port of Santa Cruz de La Palma – La Palma + Port of San Sebastián de La Gomera – La Gomera + Port of La Estaca – El Hierro + Port of Las Palmas – Gran Canaria + Port of Arinaga – Gran Canaria + Port of Agaete – Gran Canaria + Port of Los Cristianos – Tenerife + Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife – Tenerife + Port of Garachico – Tenerife + Port of Granadilla – Tenerife + +Health + +The Servicio Canario de Salud is an autonomous body of administrative nature attached to the Ministry responsible for Health of the Government of the Canary Islands. The majority of the archipelago's hospitals belong to this organization: + + Hospital Nuestra Señora de los Reyes – El Hierro + Hospital General de La Palma – La Palma + Hospital Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe – La Gomera + Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria – Tenerife + Hospital Universitario de Canarias – Tenerife + Hospital del Sur de Tenerife – Tenerife + Hospital del Norte de Tenerife – Tenerife + Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria Doctor Negrín – Gran Canaria + Hospital Universitario Insular de Gran Canaria – Gran Canaria + Hospital General de Lanzarote Doctor José Molina Orosa – Lanzarote + Hospital General de Fuerteventura – Fuerteventura + +Wildlife + +Extinct fauna + +The Canary Islands were previously inhabited by a variety of endemic animals, such as extinct giant lizards (Gallotia goliath), giant tortoises (Centrochelys burchardi and C. vulcanica), and Tenerife and Gran Canaria giant rats (Canariomys bravoi and C. tamarani), among others. Extinct birds known only from Pleistocene and Holocene age bones include the Canary Islands quail (Coturnix gomerae), Dune shearwater (Puffinus holeae), Lava shearwater (P. olsoni), Trias greenfinch (Chloris triasi), Slender-billed greenfinch (C. aurelioi) and the Long-legged bunting (Emberiza alcoveri). + +Current fauna + +The bird life includes European and African species, such as the black-bellied sandgrouse, Canary, Graja, a subspecies of red-billed chough endemic to La Palma, Gran Canaria blue chaffinch, Tenerife blue chaffinch, Canary Islands chiffchaff, Fuerteventura chat, Tenerife goldcrest, La Palma chaffinch, Canarian Egyptian vulture, Bolle's pigeon, Laurel pigeon, Plain swift, and Houbara bustard. + +Terrestrial fauna includes the El Hierro giant lizard, La Gomera giant lizard, and the La Palma giant lizard. Mammals include the Canarian shrew, Canary big-eared bat, the Algerian hedgehog, and the more recently introduced mouflon. + +Marine life + +The marine life found in the Canary Islands is also varied, being a combination of North Atlantic, Mediterranean and endemic species. In recent years, the increasing popularity of both scuba diving and underwater photography have provided biologists with much new information on the marine life of the islands. + +Fish species found in the islands include many species of shark, ray, moray eel, bream, jack, grunt, scorpionfish, triggerfish, grouper, goby, and blenny. In addition, there are many invertebrate species, including sponge, jellyfish, anemone, crab, mollusc, sea urchin, starfish, sea cucumber and coral. + +There are a total of five different species of marine turtle that are sighted periodically in the islands, the most common of these being the endangered loggerhead sea turtle. The other four are the green sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle and Kemp's ridley sea turtle. Currently, there are no signs that any of these species breed in the islands, and so those seen in the water are usually migrating. However, it is believed that some of these species may have bred in the islands in the past, and there are records of several sightings of leatherback sea turtle on beaches in Fuerteventura, adding credibility to the theory. + +Marine mammals include the large varieties of cetaceans including rare and not well-known species (see more details in the Marine life of the Canary Islands). Hooded seals have also been known to be vagrant in the Canary Islands every now and then. The Canary Islands were also formerly home to a population of the rarest pinniped in the world, the Mediterranean monk seal. + +Native flora gallery + +Holidays + +Some holidays of those celebrated in the Canary Islands are international and national, others are regional holidays and others are of insular character. The official day of the autonomous community is Canary Islands Day on 30 May. The anniversary of the first session of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, based in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, held on 30 May 1983, is commemorated with this day. + +The common festive calendar throughout the Canary Islands is as follows: + +In addition, each of the islands has an island festival, in which it is a holiday only on that specific island. These are the festivities of island patrons saints of each island. Organized chronologically are: + +The most famous festivals of the Canary Islands is the carnival. It is the most famous and international festival of the archipelago. The carnival is celebrated in all the islands and all its municipalities, perhaps the two busiest are those of the two Canarian capitals; the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tourist Festival of International Interest) and the Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It is celebrated on the streets between the months of February and March. But the rest of the islands of the archipelago have their carnivals with their own traditions among which stand out: The Festival of the Carneros of El Hierro, the Festival of the Diabletes of Teguise in Lanzarote, Los Indianos de La Palma, the Carnival of San Sebastián de La Gomera and the Carnival of Puerto del Rosario in Fuerteventura. + +Science and technology + +In the 1960s, Gran Canaria was selected as the location for one of the 14 ground stations in the Manned Space Flight Network (MSFN) to support the NASA space program. Maspalomas Station, located in the south of the island, took part in a number of space missions including the Apollo 11 Moon landings and Skylab. Today it continues to support satellite communications as part of the ESA network. + +Because of the remote location, a number of astronomical observatories are located in the archipelago, including the Teide Observatory on Tenerife, the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, and the Temisas Astronomical Observatory on Gran Canaria. + +Tenerife is the home of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Astrophysical Institute of the Canaries). There is also an Instituto de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González (Antonio González Bio-Organic Institute) at the University of La Laguna. Also at that university are the Instituto de Lingüística Andrés Bello (Andrés Bello Institute of Linguistics), the Centro de Estudios Medievales y Renacentistas (Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies), the Instituto Universitario de la Empresa (University Institute of Business), the Instituto de Derecho Regional (Regional Institute of Law), the Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales (University Institute of Political and Social Sciences) and the Instituto de Enfermedades Tropicales (Institute of Tropical Diseases). The latter is one of the seven institutions of the Red de Investigación de Centros de Enfermedades Tropicales (RICET, "Network of Research of Centers of Tropical Diseases"), located in various parts of Spain. The Instituto Volcanológico de Canarias (Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands) is based in Tenerife. + +Sports + +A unique form of wrestling known as Canarian wrestling (lucha canaria) has opponents stand in a special area called a "terrero" and try to throw each other to the ground using strength and quick movements. + +Another sport is the "game of the sticks" (palo canario) where opponents fence with long sticks. This may have come about from the shepherds of the islands who would challenge each other using their long walking sticks. + +Furthermore, there is the shepherd's jump (salto del pastor). This involves using a long stick to vault over an open area. This sport possibly evolved from the shepherd's need to occasionally get over an open area in the hills as they were tending their sheep. + +The two main football teams in the archipelago are: the CD Tenerife (founded in 1912) and UD Las Palmas (founded in 1949). As of the 2023/2024 season, UD Las Palmas plays in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. CD Tenerife however plays in The Segunda Divisón. When in the same division, the clubs contest the Canary Islands derby. There are smaller clubs also playing in the mainland Spanish football league system, most notably UD Lanzarote and CD Laguna, although no other Canarian clubs have played in the top flight. + +The mountainous terrain of the Canary Islands also caters to the growing popularity of ultra running and ultramarathons as host of annual competitive long-distance events including CajaMar Tenerife Bluetrail on Tenerife, Transvulcania on La Palma, Transgrancanaria on Gran Canaria, and the Half Marathon des Sables on Fuerteventura. A yearly Ironman Triathlon has been taking place on Lanzarote since 1992. + +Notable athletes + Paco Campos, (1916–1995); a footballer who played as a forward. With 127 goals, 120 of which were for Atlético Madrid, he is the highest scoring player from the Canary Islands in La Liga. + Nicolás García Hemme, born 20 June 1988 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, 2012 London Olympics, Taekwondo Silver Medalist in Men's Welterweight category (−80 kg). + Alfredo Cabrera, (1881–1964); shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1913 + Sergio Rodríguez, born in San Cristóbal de La Laguna in 1986, played point guard for the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and New York Knicks. + David Silva, born in Arguineguín in 1986, plays association football for Real Sociedad, member of the 2010 FIFA World Cup champion Spain national football team + Juan Carlos Valerón, born in Arguineguín in 1975, played association football for Deportivo la Coruna and Las Palmas. + Pedro, born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1987, plays association football for Lazio, member of the 2010 FIFA World Cup champion Spain national football team + Carla Suárez Navarro, born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1988, professional tennis player + Paola Tirados, born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1980, synchronized swimmer, who participated in the Olympic Games of 2000, 2004 and 2008. She won the silver medal in Beijing in 2008 in the team competition category. + Jesé, born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1993, plays association football for Las Palmas. + Christo Bezuidenhout, born in Tenerife in 1970, played rugby union for Gloucester and South Africa. + Pedri, born in Tegueste in 2002, plays association football for Barcelona. + +See also + +History + Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797) + First Battle of Acentejo + Pyramids of Güímar + Second Battle of Acentejo + Tanausu + Tenerife airport disaster; the deadliest commercial aviation disaster in history. + +Geography + Cumbre Vieja, a volcano on La Palma + Guatiza (Lanzarote) + La Matanza de Acentejo + Los Llanos de Aridane + Orotava Valley + San Andrés +Islands of Macaronesia +Azores +Madeira +Cabo Verde + +Culture + Canarian cuisine + Canarian Spanish + Religion in Canary Islands + Isleños + Military of the Canary Islands + Music of the Canary Islands + Silbo Gomero, a whistled language, is an indigenous variant of Spanish + Tortilla canaria + Virgin of Candelaria (Patron saint of Canary Islands) + +References + +Notes + +Citations + +Sources + Alfred Crosby, Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900–1900 (Cambridge University Press) + Felipe Fernández-Armesto, The Canary Islands after the Conquest: The Making of a Colonial Society in the Early-Sixteenth Century, Oxford U. Press, 1982. ; + Sergio Hanquet, Diving in Canaries, Litografía A. ROMERO, 2001. + Martin Wiemers: The butterflies of the Canary Islands. – A survey on their distribution, biology and ecology (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) – Linneana Belgica 15 (1995): 63–84 & 87–118 + +Further reading + + + + * + +External links + + Canary Islands Government + Official Tourism Website of the Canary Islands +Cloud vortices near the Canaries, March 2023 NASA Earth Observatory POTD for April 15, 2023 + + +Archipelagoes of Spain +Autonomous communities of Spain +Archipelagoes of Africa +North Africa +NUTS 1 statistical regions of the European Union +NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union +Outermost regions of the European Union +Physiographic sections +Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a member of the rock supergroup Prophets of Rage. He has released several solo albums, most notably Autobiography of Mistachuck (1996). + +His work with Public Enemy helped create politically and socially conscious hip hop music in the mid-1980s. The Source ranked him at No. 12 on its list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Lyricists of All Time. Chuck D has been nominated for six Grammys throughout his career, and has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of Public Enemy. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 as a member of Public Enemy. + +Early life +Ridenhour was born on August 1, 1960, on Long Island, New York. When he was a child, his mother played Motown and showtunes in the home and his father belonged to the Columbia Record Club. He began writing lyrics after the New York City blackout of 1977. He attended W. Tresper Clarke High School, where he was offered no formal education in music. He then went to Adelphi University on Long Island to study graphic design, where he met William Drayton (Flavor Flav). He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Adelphi in 1984 and later received an honorary doctorate from Adelphi in 2013. + +While at Adelphi, Ridenhour co-hosted hip hop radio show the Super Spectrum Mix Hour as Chuck D on Saturday nights at Long Island rock radio station WLIR, designed flyers for local hip-hop events, and drew a cartoon called Tales of the Skind for Adelphi student newspaper The Delphian. + +Career + +Ridenhour (using the nickname Chuck D) formed Public Enemy in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Upon hearing Ridenhour's demo track "Public Enemy Number One", fledgling producer/upcoming music-mogul Rick Rubin insisted on signing him to his Def Jam Records. Their major label releases were Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987), It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988), Fear of a Black Planet (1990), Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991), the compilation album Greatest Misses (1992), and Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994). They also released a full-length album soundtrack for the film He Got Game in 1998. + +Ridenhour also contributed (as Chuck D) to several episodes of the documentary series The Blues. He has appeared as a featured artist on many other songs and albums, having collaborated with artists such as Janet Jackson, Kool Moe Dee, The Dope Poet Society, Run–D.M.C., Ice Cube, Boom Boom Satellites, Rage Against the Machine, Anthrax, John Mellencamp and many others. In 1990, he appeared on "Kool Thing", a song by the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, and along with Flavor Flav, he sang on George Clinton's song "Tweakin'", which appears on his 1989 album The Cinderella Theory. In 1993, he was the executive producer for Got 'Em Running Scared, an album by Ichiban Records group Chief Groovy Loo and the Chosen Tribe. + +Later career +In 1996, Ridenhour released Autobiography of Mistachuck on Mercury Records. Chuck D made a rare appearance at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, presenting the Video Vanguard Award to the Beastie Boys, commending their musicianship. In November 1998, he settled out of court with Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace's estate over the latter's sampling of his voice in the song "Ten Crack Commandments". The specific sampling is Ridenhour counting off the numbers one to nine on the track "Shut 'Em Down". He later described the decision to sue as "stupid". + +In September 1999, he launched a multi-format "supersite" on the web site Rapstation.com. The site includes a TV and radio station with original programming, prominent hip hop DJs, celebrity interviews, free MP3 downloads (the first was contributed by rapper Coolio), downloadable ringtones by ToneThis, social commentary, current events, and regular features on turning rap careers into a viable living. Since 2000, he has been one of the most vocal supporters of peer-to-peer file sharing in the music industry. + +He loaned his voice to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as DJ Forth Right MC for the radio station Playback FM. In 2000, he collaborated with Public Enemy's Gary G-Whiz and MC Lyte on the theme music to the television show Dark Angel. He appeared with Henry Rollins in a cover of Black Flag's "Rise Above" for the album Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three. In 2003, he was featured in the PBS documentary Godfathers and Sons in which he recorded a version of Muddy Waters' song "Mannish Boy" with Common, Electrik Mud Cats, and Kyle Jason. He was also featured on Z-Trip's album Shifting Gears on a track called "Shock and Awe"; a 12-inch of the track was released featuring artwork by Shepard Fairey. In 2008 he contributed a chapter to Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture (The MIT Press, 2008) edited by Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky, and also turned up on The Go! Team's album Proof of Youth on the track "Flashlight Fight." He also fulfilled his childhood dreams of being a sports announcer by performing the play-by-play commentary in the video game NBA Ballers: Chosen One on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. + +In 2009, Ridenhour wrote the foreword to the book The Love Ethic: The Reason Why You Can't Find and Keep Beautiful Black Love by Kamau and Akilah Butler. He also appeared on Brother Ali's album Us. + +In March 2011, Chuck D re-recorded vocals with The Dillinger Escape Plan for a cover of "Fight the Power". + +Chuck D duetted with Rock singer Meat Loaf on his 2011 album Hell in a Handbasket on the song "Mad Mad World/The Good God Is a Woman and She Don't Like Ugly". + +In 2016 Chuck D joined the band Prophets of Rage along with B-Real and former members of Rage Against the Machine. + +In July 2019, Ridenhour sued Terrordome Music Publishing and Reach Music Publishing for $1 million for withholding royalties. + +In 2023, Chuck D released a four-part documentary on PBS entitled "Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World." + +Rapping technique and creative process + +Chuck D is known for his powerful rapping. How to Rap says he "has a powerful, resonant voice that is often acclaimed as one of the most distinct and impressive in hip-hop". Chuck says this was based on listening to Melle Mel and sportscasters such as Marv Albert. + +Chuck often comes up with a title for a song first. He writes on paper, though sometimes edits using a computer. He prefers to not punch in or overdub vocals. + +Chuck listed his favourite rap albums in Hip Hop Connection in March 2000: + + N.W.A, Straight Outta Compton + Boogie Down Productions, Criminal Minded + Run-DMC, Tougher Than Leather + Big Daddy Kane, Looks Like a Job For... + Stetsasonic, In Full Gear + Ice Cube, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted + + Dr. Dre, The Chronic + De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising + Eric B. & Rakim, Follow the Leader + Run-DMC, Raising Hell ("It was the first record that made me realise this was an album-oriented genre") + +Politics +Chuck D identifies as Black, as opposed to African or African-American. In a 1993 issue of DIRT Magazine covering a taping of In the Mix hosted by Alimi Ballard at the Apollo, Dan Field writes, At one point, Chuck bristles a bit at the term "African-American." He thinks of himself as Black and sees nothing wrong with the term. Besides, he says, having been born in the United States and lived his whole life here, he doesn't consider himself African. Being in Public Enemy has given him the chance to travel around the world, an experience that really opened his eyes and his mind. He says visiting Africa and experiencing life on a continent where the majority of people are Black gave him a new perspective and helped him get in touch with his own history. He also credits a trip to the ancient Egyptian pyramids at Giza with helping him appreciate the relative smallness of man. +Ridenhour is politically active; he co-hosted Unfiltered on Air America Radio, testified before the United States Congress in support of peer-to-peer MP3 sharing, and was involved in a 2004 rap political convention. He has continued to be an activist, publisher, lecturer, and producer. + +Addressing the negative views associated with rap music, he co-wrote the essay book Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality with Yusuf Jah. He argues that "music and art and culture is escapism, and escapism sometimes is healthy for people to get away from reality", but sometimes the distinction is blurred and that's when "things could lead a young mind in a direction." He also founded the record company Slam Jamz and acted as narrator in Kareem Adouard's short film Bling: Consequences and Repercussions, which examines the role of conflict diamonds in bling fashion. Despite Chuck D and Public Enemy's success, Chuck D claims that popularity or public approval was never a driving motivation behind their work. He is admittedly skeptical of celebrity status, revealing in a 1999 interview with BOMB Magazine that "The key for the record companies is to just keep making more and more stars, and make the ones who actually challenge our way of life irrelevant. The creation of celebrity has clouded the minds of most people in America, Europe and Asia. It gets people off the path they need to be on as individuals." + +In an interview with Le Monde, published January 29, 2008, Chuck D stated that rap is devolving so much into a commercial enterprise, that the relationship between the rapper and the record label is that of slave to a master. He believes that nothing has changed for African-Americans since the debut of Public Enemy and, although he thinks that an Obama-Clinton alliance is great, he does not feel that the establishment will allow anything of substance to be accomplished. He stated that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is like any other European elite: he has profited through the murder, rape, and pillaging of those less fortunate and he refuses to allow equal opportunity for those men and women from Africa. In this article, he defended a comment made by Professor Griff in the past that he says was taken out of context by the media. The real statement was a critique of the Israeli government and its treatment of the Palestinian people. Chuck D stated that it is Public Enemy's belief that all human beings are equal. + +In an interview with the magazine N'Digo published in June 2008, he spoke of today's mainstream urban music seemingly relishing the addictive euphoria of materialism and sexism, perhaps being the primary cause of many people harboring resentment towards the genre and its future. However, he has expressed hope for its resurrection, saying "It's only going to be dead if it doesn't talk about the messages of life as much as the messages of death and non-movement", citing artists such as NYOil, M.I.A. and The Roots as socially conscious artists who push the envelope creatively. "A lot of cats are out there doing it, on the Web and all over. They're just not placing their career in the hands of some major corporation." + +In 2010, Chuck D released the track "Tear Down That Wall." He said "I talked about the wall not only just dividing the U.S. and Mexico but the states of California, New Mexico and Texas. But Arizona, it's like, come on. Now they're going to enforce a law that talks about basically racial profiling." + +He is on the board of the TransAfrica Forum, a Pan African organization that is focused on African, Caribbean and Latin American issues. + +He has been an activist with projects of The Revcoms, such as Refuse Fascism and Stop Mass Incarceration Network. Carl Dix interviewed Chuck D on The Revcoms' YouTube program The RNL – Revolution, Nothing Less! – Show. + +In 2022, he endorsed Conrad Tillard, formerly the Nation of Islam Minister known as Conrad Muhammad and subsequently a Baptist Minister, in his campaign for New York State Senate in District 25 (covering part of eastern and north-central Brooklyn). + +Personal life +Chuck D has claimed on Twitter to be a maternal great-grandson of architect George Washington Foster. + +As of June 2023, he has three children aged 34, 30, and 10. The two oldest by his first ex-wife Deborah McClendon and the youngest by his ex-wife Gaye Theresa Johnson. + +Chuck D lives in California and lost his home in the Thomas Fire that occurred from December 2017 to January 2018. + +TV appearances + Narrated and appeared on-camera for the 2005 PBS documentary Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World. + Appeared on-camera for the PBS program Independent Lens: Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. + Appeared in an episode of NewsRadio as himself. + He appeared on The Henry Rollins Show. + He was a featured panelist (with Lars Ulrich) on the May 12, 2000, episode of the Charlie Rose show. Host Charlie Rose was discussing the Internet, copyright infringement, Napster Inc., and the future of the music industry. + He appeared on an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast with Pat Boone. While there, Space Ghost tried (and failed) to show he was "hip" to rap, saying his favorite rapper was M. C. Escher. + He appeared on an episode of Johnny Bravo. + He appeared via satellite to the UK, as a panelist on BBC's Newsnight on January 20, 2009, following Barack Obama's Inauguration. + He appeared on a Christmas episode of Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force. + He appeared on VH1 Ultimate Albums Blood Sugar Sex Magik talking about the Red Hot Chili Peppers. + He appeared on Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways in the episode talking about the beginnings of the hip-hop scene in New York City + +Music appearances +In 1990, Chuck featured on Sonic Youth single Kool Thing. +In 1993, Chuck rapped on "New Agenda" from Janet Jackson's janet. "I loved his work, but I'd never met him," said Jackson. "I called Chuck up and told him how much I admired their work. When I hear Chuck, it's like I'm hearing someone teaching, talking to a whole bunch of people. And instead of just having the rap in the bridge, as usual, I wanted him to do stuff all the way through. I sent him a tape. He said he loved the song, but he was afraid he was going to mess it up. I said 'Are you kidding?'" +In 1999, Chuck D appeared on Prince's hit "Undisputed" on the album Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. +In 2001, Chuck D appeared on the Japanese electronic duo Boom Boom Satellites track "Your Reality's a Fantasy but Your Fantasy Is Killing Me" on the album Umbra. +In 2001, Chuck D provided vocals for Public Domain's Rock Da Funky Beats. +In 2010, Chuck D made an appearance on the track "Transformação" (Portuguese for "Transformation") from Brazilian rapper MV Bill's album Causa E Efeito (meaning Cause and Effect). +In 2003 he was featured on the track "Access to the Excess" in Junkie XL's album Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin. +In 2011 Chuck D made an appearance on the track "Mad Mad World/The Good God Is a Woman and She Don't Like Ugly" from Meat Loaf's 2011 album Hell in a Handbasket. +In 2013, he has appeared in Mat Zo's single "Pyramid Scheme". +In 2013 he performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Music Masters concert tribute to The Rolling Stones. +In 2014 he performed with Jahi on "People Get Ready" and "Yo!" from the first album by Public Enemy spin-off project PE 2.0. +In 2016 he appeared in ASAP Ferg's album "Always Strive and Prosper" on the track "Beautiful People". +In 2017 he was featured on the track "America" on Logic's album "Everybody". +In 2019, he appeared on "Story of Everything", a song on Threads, an album by Sheryl Crow. The track also features Andra Day and Gary Clark Jr. + +Discography + +with Public Enemy + +Studio albums + Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987) + It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) + Fear of a Black Planet (1990) + Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991) + Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994) + He Got Game (1998) + There's a Poison Goin' On (1999) + Revolverlution (2002) + New Whirl Odor (2005) + How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? (2007) + Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp (2012) + The Evil Empire of Everything (2012) + Man Plans God Laughs (2015) + Nothing Is Quick in the Desert (2017) + What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down? (2020) + +with Confrontation Camp +Studio albums +Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear (2001) + +with Prophets of Rage +Studio albums + Prophets of Rage (2017) + +Studio EPs + The Party's Over (2016) + +Solo +Studio albums + Autobiography of Mistachuck (1996) + The Black in Man (2014) + If I Can't Change the People Around Me I Change the People Around Me (2016) + Celebration of Ignorance (2018) + +Compilation albums + Action (DJ Matheos Worldwide International Remix) – Most*hifi (featuring Chuck D. and Huggy) (2010) + Don't Rhyme for the Sake of Riddlin' (as Mistachuck) (2012) + +References + +Other sources + +Selected publications + +External links + +Public Enemy website + +1960 births +Living people +Adelphi University alumni +American talk radio hosts +African-American male rappers +American male rappers +African-American male singers +American male singers +African-American television producers +Television producers from New York (state) +Mercury Records artists +Rappers from Queens, New York +Singers from New York (state) +People from Roosevelt, New York +Public Enemy (band) members +Rappers from New York (state) +Prophets of Rage members +Rap metal musicians +21st-century American rappers +In film and video, a cutaway is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually followed by a cut back to the first shot. A cutaway scene is the interruption of a scene with the insertion of another scene, generally unrelated or only peripherally related to the original scene. The interruption is usually quick, and is usually, although not always, ended by a return to the original scene. The effect is of commentary to the original scene, frequently comic in nature. + +Usage +The most common use of cutaway shots in dramatic films is to adjust the pace of the main action, to conceal the deletion of some unwanted part of the main shot, or to allow the joining of parts of two versions of that shot. For example, a scene may be improved by cutting a few frames out of an actor's pause; a brief view of a listener can help conceal the break. Or the actor may fumble some of his lines in a group shot; rather than discarding a good version of the shot, the director may just have the actor repeat the lines for a new shot, and cut to that alternate view when necessary. + +Cutaways are also used often in older horror films in place of special effects. For example, a shot of a zombie getting its head cut off may, for instance, start with a view of an axe being swung through the air, followed by a close-up of the actor swinging it, then followed by a cut back to the now severed head. George A. Romero, creator of the Dead Series, and Tom Savini pioneered effects that removed the need for cutaways in horror films. + +In news broadcasting and documentary work, the cutaway is used much as it would be in fiction. On location, there is usually just one camera to film an interview, and it is usually trained on the interviewee. Often, there is also only one microphone. After the interview, the interviewer usually repeats his questions while he is being filmed, with pauses that act as if the answers are listened to. These shots can be used as cutaways. Cutaways to the interviewer, called noddies, can also be used to cover cuts. + +The cutaway does not necessarily contribute any dramatic content of its own, but is used to help the editor assemble a longer sequence. For that reason, editors choose cutaways related to the main action, such as another action or object in the same location. For example, if the main shot is of a man walking down an alley, possible cutaways may include a shot of a cat on a nearby dumpster or a shot of a person watching from a window overhead. + +See also + Buffer shot + Cross-cutting + Dissolve (filmmaking) + Fast cutting + Flashback + Jump cut + L cut + Match cut + Shot reverse shot + Slow cutting + Cutscene + Cutaway gag + +References + +Cinematography +Cinematic techniques +Film editing +A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. The person may experience respiratory and circulatory problems due to the body's inability to maintain normal bodily functions. People in a coma often require extensive medical care to maintain their health and prevent complications such as pneumonia or blood clots. Coma patients exhibit a complete absence of wakefulness and are unable to consciously feel, speak or move. Comas can be derived by natural causes, or can be medically induced. + +Clinically, a coma can be defined as the consistent inability to follow a one-step command. It can also be defined as a score of ≤ 8 on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) lasting ≥ 6 hours. For a patient to maintain consciousness, the components of wakefulness and awareness must be maintained. Wakefulness describes the quantitative degree of consciousness, whereas awareness relates to the qualitative aspects of the functions mediated by the cortex, including cognitive abilities such as attention, sensory perception, explicit memory, language, the execution of tasks, temporal and spatial orientation and reality judgment. From a neurological perspective, consciousness is maintained by the activation of the cerebral cortex—the gray matter that forms the outer layer of the brain—and by the reticular activating system (RAS), a structure located within the brainstem. + +Etymology +The term 'coma', from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep, had already been used in the Hippocratic corpus (Epidemica) and later by Galen (second century AD). Subsequently, it was hardly used in the known literature up to the middle of the 17th century. The term is found again in Thomas Willis' (1621–1675) influential De anima brutorum (1672), where lethargy (pathological sleep), 'coma' (heavy sleeping), carus (deprivation of the senses) and apoplexy (into which carus could turn and which he localized in the white matter) are mentioned. The term carus is also derived from Greek, where it can be found in the roots of several words meaning soporific or sleepy. It can still be found in the root of the term 'carotid'. Thomas Sydenham (1624–89) mentioned the term 'coma' in several cases of fever (Sydenham, 1685). + +Signs and symptoms +General symptoms of a person in a comatose state are: + Inability to voluntarily open the eyes + A non-existent sleep-wake cycle + Lack of response to physical (painful) or verbal stimuli + Depressed brainstem reflexes, such as pupils not responding to light + Abnormal, difficulty, or irregular breathing or no breathing at all when coma was caused by cardiac arrest + Scores between 3 and 8 on the Glasgow Coma Scale + +Causes +Many types of problems can cause a coma. Forty percent of comatose states result from drug poisoning. Certain drug use under certain conditions can damage or weaken the synaptic functioning in the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) and keep the system from properly functioning to arouse the brain. Secondary effects of drugs, which include abnormal heart rate and blood pressure, as well as abnormal breathing and sweating, may also indirectly harm the functioning of the ARAS and lead to a coma. Given that drug poisoning is the cause for a large portion of patients in a coma, hospitals first test all comatose patients by observing pupil size and eye movement, through the vestibular-ocular reflex. (See Diagnosis below.) + +The second most common cause of coma, which makes up about 25% of cases, is lack of oxygen, generally resulting from cardiac arrest. The Central Nervous System (CNS) requires a great deal of oxygen for its neurons. Oxygen deprivation in the brain, also known as hypoxia, causes sodium and calcium from outside of the neurons to decrease and intracellular calcium to increase, which harms neuron communication. Lack of oxygen in the brain also causes ATP exhaustion and cellular breakdown from cytoskeleton damage and nitric oxide production. + +Twenty percent of comatose states result from an ischemic stroke, brain hemorrhage, or brain tumor. During a stroke, blood flow to part of the brain is restricted or blocked. An ischemic stroke, brain hemorrhage, or brain tumor may cause restriction of blood flow. Lack of blood to cells in the brain prevents oxygen from getting to the neurons, and consequently causes cells to become disrupted and die. As brain cells die, brain tissue continues to deteriorate, which may affect the functioning of the ARAS, causing unconsciousness and coma. + +Comatose cases can also result from traumatic brain injury, excessive blood loss, malnutrition, hypothermia, hyperthermia, hyperammonemia, abnormal glucose levels, and many other biological disorders. Furthermore, studies show that 1 out of 8 patients with traumatic brain injury experience a comatose state. + +Heart-related causes of coma include cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, heart failure, arrhythmia when severe, cardiogenic shock, myocarditis, and pericarditis. Respiratory arrest is the only lung condition to cause coma, but many different lung conditions can cause decreased level of consciousness, but don't reach coma. + +Other causes of coma include severe or persistent seizures, kidney failure, liver failure, hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and infections involving the brain, like meningitis and encephalitis. + +Pathophysiology +Injury to either or both of the cerebral cortex or the reticular activating system (RAS) is sufficient to cause a person to enter coma. + +The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain. The cerebral cortex is composed of gray matter which consists of the nuclei of neurons, whereas the inner portion of the cerebrum is composed of white matter and is composed of the axons of neuron. White matter is responsible for perception, relay of the sensory input via the thalamic pathway, and many other neurological functions, including complex thinking. + +The RAS, on the other hand, is a more primitive structure in the brainstem which includes the reticular formation (RF). The RAS has two tracts, the ascending and descending tract. The ascending tract, or ascending reticular activating system (ARAS), is made up of a system of acetylcholine-producing neurons, and works to arouse and wake up the brain. Arousal of the brain begins from the RF, through the thalamus, and then finally to the cerebral cortex. Any impairment in ARAS functioning, a neuronal dysfunction, along the arousal pathway stated directly above, prevents the body from being aware of its surroundings. Without the arousal and consciousness centers, the body cannot awaken, remaining in a comatose state. + +The severity and mode of onset of coma depends on the underlying cause. There are two main subdivisions of a coma: structural and diffuse neuronal. A structural cause, for example, is brought upon by a mechanical force that brings about cellular damage, such as physical pressure or a blockage in neural transmission. While a diffuse cause is limited to aberrations of cellular function, that fall under a metabolic or toxic subgroup. Toxin-induced comas are caused by extrinsic substances, whereas metabolic-induced comas are caused by intrinsic processes, such as body thermoregulation or ionic imbalances(e.g. sodium). For instance, severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or hypercapnia (increased carbon dioxide levels in the blood) are examples of a metabolic diffuse neuronal dysfunction. Hypoglycemia or hypercapnia initially cause mild agitation and confusion, but progress to obtundation, stupor, and finally, complete unconsciousness. In contrast, coma resulting from a severe traumatic brain injury or subarachnoid hemorrhage can be instantaneous. The mode of onset may therefore be indicative of the underlying cause. + +Structural and diffuse causes of coma are not isolated from one another, as one can lead to the other in some situations. For instance, coma induced by a diffuse metabolic process, such as hypoglycemia, can result in a structural coma if it is not resolved. Another example is if cerebral edema, a diffuse dysfunction, leads to ischemia of the brainstem, a structural issue, due to the blockage of the circulation in the brain. + +Diagnosis +Although diagnosis of coma is simple, investigating the underlying cause of onset can be rather challenging. As such, after gaining stabilization of the patient's airways, breathing and circulation (the basic ABCs) various diagnostic tests, such as physical examinations and imaging tools (CT scan, MRI, etc.) are employed to access the underlying cause of the coma. + +When an unconscious person enters a hospital, the hospital utilizes a series of diagnostic steps to identify the cause of unconsciousness. According to Young, the following steps should be taken when dealing with a patient possibly in a coma: + Perform a general examination and medical history check + Make sure the patient is in an actual comatose state and is not in a locked-in state or experiencing psychogenic unresponsiveness. Patients with locked-in syndrome present with voluntary movement of their eyes, whereas patients with psychogenic comas demonstrate active resistance to passive opening of the eyelids, with the eyelids closing abruptly and completely when the lifted upper eyelid is released (rather than slowly, asymmetrically and incompletely as seen in comas due to organic causes). + Find the site of the brain that may be causing coma (e.g., brainstem, back of brain...) and assess the severity of the coma with the Glasgow Coma Scale + Take blood work to see if drugs were involved or if it was a result of hypoventilation/hyperventilation + Check for levels of serum glucose, calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphate, urea, and creatinine + Perform brain scans to observe any abnormal brain functioning using either CT or MRI scans + Continue to monitor brain waves and identify seizures of patient using EEGs + +Initial evaluation + +In the initial assessment of coma, it is common to gauge the level of consciousness on the AVPU (alert, vocal stimuli, painful stimuli, unresponsive) scale by spontaneously exhibiting actions and, assessing the patient's response to vocal and painful stimuli. More elaborate scales, such as the Glasgow Coma Scale, quantify an individual's reactions such as eye opening, movement and verbal response in order to indicate their extent of brain injury. The patient's score can vary from a score of 3 (indicating severe brain injury and death) to 15 (indicating mild or no brain injury). + +In those with deep unconsciousness, there is a risk of asphyxiation as the control over the muscles in the face and throat is diminished. As a result, those presenting to a hospital with coma are typically assessed for this risk ("airway management"). If the risk of asphyxiation is deemed high, doctors may use various devices (such as an oropharyngeal airway, nasopharyngeal airway or endotracheal tube) to safeguard the airway. + +Imaging and testing +Imaging basically encompasses computed tomography (CAT or CT) scan of the brain, or MRI for example, and is performed to identify specific causes of the coma, such as hemorrhage in the brain or herniation of the brain structures. Special tests such as an EEG can also show a lot about the activity level of the cortex such as semantic processing, presence of seizures, and are important available tools not only for the assessment of the cortical activity but also for predicting the likelihood of the patient's awakening. The autonomous responses such as the skin conductance response may also provide further insight on the patient's emotional processing. + +In the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI), there are 4 examination methods that have proved useful: skull x-ray, angiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The skull x-ray can detect linear fractures, impression fractures (expression fractures) and burst fractures. Angiography is used on rare occasions for TBIs i.e. when there is suspicion of an aneurysm, carotid sinus fistula, traumatic vascular occlusion, and vascular dissection. A CT can detect changes in density between the brain tissue and hemorrhages like subdural and intracerebral hemorrhages. MRIs are not the first choice in emergencies because of the long scanning times and because fractures cannot be detected as well as CT. MRIs are used for the imaging of soft tissues and lesions in the posterior fossa which cannot be found with the use of CT. + +Body movements +Assessment of the brainstem and cortical function through special reflex tests such as the oculocephalic reflex test (doll's eyes test), oculovestibular reflex test (cold caloric test), corneal reflex, and the gag reflex. Reflexes are a good indicator of what cranial nerves are still intact and functioning and is an important part of the physical exam. Due to the unconscious status of the patient, only a limited number of the nerves can be assessed. These include the cranial nerves number 2 (CN II), number 3 (CN III), number 5 (CN V), number 7 (CN VII), and cranial nerves 9 and 10 (CN IX, CN X). + +Assessment of posture and physique is the next step. It involves general observation about the patient's positioning. There are often two stereotypical postures seen in comatose patients. Decorticate posturing is a stereotypical posturing in which the patient has arms flexed at the elbow, and arms adducted toward the body, with both legs extended. Decerebrate posturing is a stereotypical posturing in which the legs are similarly extended (stretched), but the arms are also stretched (extended at the elbow). The posturing is critical since it indicates where the damage is in the central nervous system. A decorticate posturing indicates a lesion (a point of damage) at or above the red nucleus, whereas a decerebrate posturing indicates a lesion at or below the red nucleus. In other words, a decorticate lesion is closer to the cortex, as opposed to a decerebrate posturing which indicates that the lesion is closer to the brainstem. + +Pupil size +Pupil assessment is often a critical portion of a comatose examination, as it can give information as to the cause of the coma; the following table is a technical, medical guideline for common pupil findings and their possible interpretations: + +Severity + +A coma can be classified as (1) supratentorial (above Tentorium cerebelli), (2) infratentorial (below Tentorium cerebelli), (3) metabolic or (4) diffused. This classification is merely dependent on the position of the original damage that caused the coma, and does not correlate with severity or the prognosis. The severity of coma impairment however is categorized into several levels. Patients may or may not progress through these levels. In the first level, the brain responsiveness lessens, normal reflexes are lost, the patient no longer responds to pain and cannot hear. + +The Rancho Los Amigos Scale is a complex scale that has eight separate levels, and is often used in the first few weeks or months of coma while the patient is under closer observation, and when shifts between levels are more frequent. + +Treatment + +Treatment for people in a coma will depend on the severity and cause of the comatose state. Upon admittance to an emergency department, coma patients will usually be placed in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) immediately, where maintenance of the patient's respiration and circulation become a first priority. Stability of their respiration and circulation is sustained through the use of intubation, ventilation, administration of intravenous fluids or blood and other supportive care as needed. + +Continued care +Once a patient is stable and no longer in immediate danger, there may be a shift of priority from stabilizing the patient to maintaining the state of their physical wellbeing. Moving patients every 2–3 hours by turning them side to side is crucial to avoiding bed sores as a result of being confined to a bed. Moving patients through the use of physical therapy also aids in preventing atelectasis, contractures or other orthopedic deformities which would interfere with a coma patient's recovery. + +Pneumonia is also common in coma patients due to their inability to swallow which can then lead to aspiration. A coma patient's lack of a gag reflex and use of a feeding tube can result in food, drink or other solid organic matter being lodged within their lower respiratory tract (from the trachea to the lungs). This trapping of matter in their lower respiratory tract can ultimately lead to infection, resulting in aspiration pneumonia. + +Coma patients may also deal with restlessness or seizures. As such, soft cloth restraints may be used to prevent them from pulling on tubes or dressings and side rails on the bed should be kept up to prevent patients from falling. + +Caregivers +Coma has a wide variety of emotional reactions from the family members of the affected patients, as well as the primary care givers taking care of the patients. Research has shown that the severity of injury causing coma was found to have no significant impact compared to how much time has passed since the injury occurred. Common reactions, such as desperation, anger, frustration, and denial are possible. The focus of the patient care should be on creating an amicable relationship with the family members or dependents of a comatose patient as well as creating a rapport with the medical staff. Although there is heavy importance of a primary care taker, secondary care takers can play a supporting role to temporarily relieve the primary care taker's burden of tasks. + +Prognosis +Comas can last from several days to, in particularly extreme cases, years. Some patients eventually gradually come out of the coma, some progress to a vegetative state or a minimally conscious state, and others die. Some patients who have entered a vegetative state go on to regain a degree of awareness; and in some cases may remain in vegetative state for years or even decades (the longest recorded period is 42 years). + +Predicted chances of recovery will differ depending on which techniques were used to measure the patient's severity of neurological damage. Predictions of recovery are based on statistical rates, expressed as the level of chance the person has of recovering. Time is the best general predictor of a chance of recovery. For example, after four months of coma caused by brain damage, the chance of partial recovery is less than 15%, and the chance of full recovery is very low. + +The outcome for coma and vegetative state depends on the cause, location, severity and extent of neurological damage. A deeper coma alone does not necessarily mean a slimmer chance of recovery; similarly, a milder coma does not indicate a higher chance of recovery. The most common cause of death for a person in a vegetative state is secondary infection such as pneumonia, which can occur in patients who lie still for extended periods. + +Recovery +People may emerge from a coma with a combination of physical, intellectual, and psychological difficulties that need special attention. It is common for coma patients to awaken in a profound state of confusion and experience dysarthria, the inability to articulate any speech. Recovery is usually gradual. In the first days, the patient may only awaken for a few minutes, with increased duration of wakefulness as their recovery progresses, and they may eventually recover full awareness. That said, some patients may never progress beyond very basic responses. + +There are reports of people coming out of a coma after long periods of time. After 19 years in a minimally conscious state, Terry Wallis spontaneously began speaking and regained awareness of his surroundings. + +A man with brain-damage and trapped in a coma-like state for six years was brought back to consciousness in 2003 by doctors who planted electrodes deep inside his brain. The method, called deep brain stimulation (DBS), successfully roused communication, complex movement and eating ability in the 38-year-old American man with a traumatic brain injury. His injuries left him in a minimally conscious state, a condition akin to a coma but characterized by occasional, but brief, evidence of environmental and self-awareness that coma patients lack. + +Society and culture +Research by Eelco Wijdicks on the depiction of comas in movies was published in Neurology in May 2006. Wijdicks studied 30 films (made between 1970 and 2004) that portrayed actors in prolonged comas, and he concluded that only two films accurately depicted the state of a coma patient and the agony of waiting for a patient to awaken: Reversal of Fortune (1990) and The Dreamlife of Angels (1998). The remaining 28 were criticized for portraying miraculous awakenings with no lasting side effects, unrealistic depictions of treatments and equipment required, and comatose patients remaining muscular and tanned. + +Bioethics +A person in a coma is said to be in an unconscious state. Perspectives on personhood, identity and consciousness come into play when discussing the metaphysical and bioethical views on comas. + +It has been argued that unawareness should be just as ethically relevant and important as a state of awareness and that there should be metaphysical support of unawareness as a state. + +In the ethical discussions about disorders of consciousness (DOCs), two abilities are usually considered as central: experiencing well-being and having interest. Well-being can broadly be understood as the positive effect related to what makes life good (according to specific standards) for the individual in question. The only condition for well-being broadly considered is the ability to experience its 'positiveness'. That said, because experiencing positiveness is a basic emotional process with phylogenetic roots, it is likely to occur at a completely unaware level and therefore, introduces the idea of an unconscious well-being. As such, the ability of having interests, is crucial for describing two abilities which those with comas are deficient in. Having an interest in a certain domain can be understood as having a stake in something that can affect what makes our life good in that domain. An interest is what directly and immediately improves life from a certain point of view or within a particular domain, or greatly increases the likelihood of life improvement enabling the subject to realize some good. That said, sensitivity to reward signals is a fundamental element in the learning process, both consciously and unconsciously. Moreover, the unconscious brain is able to interact with its surroundings in a meaningful way and to produce meaningful information processing of stimuli coming from the external environment, including other people. + +According to Hawkins, "1. A life is good if the subject is able to value, or more basically if the subject is able to care. Importantly, Hawkins stresses that caring has no need for cognitive commitment, i.e. for high-level cognitive activities: it requires being able to distinguish something, track it for a while, recognize it over time, and have certain emotional dispositions vis-à-vis something. 2. A life is good if the subject has the capacity for relationship with others, i.e. for meaningfully interacting with other people." This suggests that unawareness may (at least partly) fulfill both conditions identified by Hawkins for life to be good for a subject, thus making the unconscious ethically relevant. + +See also + + Brain death, lack of activity in both cortex, and lack of brainstem function + Coma scale, a system to assess the severity of coma + Locked-in syndrome, paralysis of most muscles, except ocular muscles of the eyes, while patient is conscious + Near-death experience, type of experience registered by people in a state of coma. + Persistent vegetative state (vegetative coma), deep coma without detectable awareness. Damage to the cortex, with an intact brainstem. + Process Oriented Coma Work, for an approach to working with residual consciousness in comatose patients. + Suspended animation, the inducement of a temporary cessation or decay of main body functions. + +References + +External links + + +Intensive care medicine +Emergency medicine +Symptoms and signs of mental disorders +Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos. The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium; it was first released in 1981 and is in its seventh edition, with licensed foreign language editions available as well. Its game system is based on Chaosium's Basic Role-Playing (BRP) with additions for the horror genre. These include special rules for sanity and luck. + +Gameplay + +Setting +Call of Cthulhu is set in a darker version of our world based on H. P. Lovecraft's observation (from his essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature") that "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." The original edition, first published in 1981, uses Basic Role-Playing as its basis and is set in the 1920s, the setting of many of Lovecraft's stories. The Cthulhu by Gaslight supplement blends the occult and Holmesian mystery and is mostly set in England during the 1890s. Cthulhu Now and Delta Green are set in a modern/1980s era and deal with conspiracies. Recent settings include 1000 AD (Cthulhu: Dark Ages), the 23rd century (Cthulhu Rising) and Ancient Rome (Cthulhu Invictus). The protagonists may also travel to places that are not of this earth, such as the Dreamlands (which can be accessed through dreams as well as being physically connected to the earth), other planets, or the voids of space. In keeping with the Lovecraftian theme, the gamemaster is called the Keeper of Arcane Lore ("the keeper"), while player characters are called Investigators of the Unknown ("investigators"). + +While predominantly focused on Lovecraftian fiction and horror, playing in the Cthulhu Mythos is not required. The system also includes ideas for non-Lovecraft games, such as using folk horror or the settings of other authors and horror movies, or with entirely custom settings and creatures by the gamemaster and/or players. + +Mechanics + +CoC uses the Basic Role-Playing system first developed for RuneQuest and used in other Chaosium games. It is skill-based, with player characters getting better with their skills by succeeding at using them for as long as they stay functionally healthy and sane. They do not, however, gain hit points and do not become significantly harder to kill. The game does not use levels. + +CoC uses percentile dice (with results ranging from 1 to 100) to determine success or failure. Every player statistic is intended to be compatible with the notion that there is a probability of success for a particular action given what the player is capable of doing. For example, an artist may have a 75% chance of being able to draw something (represented by having 75 in Art skill), and thus rolling a number under 75 would yield a success. Rolling or less of the skill level (1-15 in the example) would be a "special success" (or an "impale" for combat skills) and would yield some extra bonus to be determined by the keeper. For example, the artist character might draw especially well or especially fast, or catch some unapparent detail in the drawing. + +The players take the roles of ordinary people drawn into the realm of the mysterious: detectives, criminals, scholars, artists, war veterans, etc. Often, happenings begin innocently enough, until more and more of the workings behind the scenes are revealed. As the characters learn more of the true horrors of the world and the irrelevance of humanity, their sanity (represented by "Sanity Points", abbreviated SAN) inevitably withers away. The game includes a mechanism for determining how damaged a character's sanity is at any given point; encountering the horrific beings usually triggers a loss of SAN points. To gain the tools they need to defeat the horrors – mystic knowledge and magic – the characters may end up losing some of their sanity, though other means such as pure firepower or simply outsmarting one's opponents also exist. CoC has a reputation as a game in which it is quite common for a player character to die in gruesome circumstances or end up in a mental institution. Eventual triumph of the players is not guaranteed. + +History +The original conception of Call of Cthulhu was Dark Worlds, a game commissioned by the publisher Chaosium but never published. Sandy Petersen contacted them regarding writing a supplement for their popular fantasy game RuneQuest set in Lovecraft's Dreamlands. He took over the writing of Call of Cthulhu, and the game was released in 1981. Petersen oversaw the first four editions with only minor changes to the system. Once he left, development was continued by Lynn Willis, who was credited as co-author in the fifth and sixth editions. After the death of Willis, Mike Mason became Call of Cthulhu line editor in 2013, continuing its development with Paul Fricker. Together they made the most significant rules alterations than in any previous edition, culminating in the release of the 7th edition in 2014. + +Editions + +Early releases +For those grounded in the RPG tradition, the very first release of Call of Cthulhu created a brand new framework for table-top gaming. Rather than the traditional format established by Dungeons & Dragons, which often involved the characters wandering through caves or tunnels and fighting different types of monsters, Sandy Petersen introduced the concept of the Onion Skin: Interlocking layers of information and nested clues that lead the player characters from seemingly minor investigations into a missing person to discovering mind-numbingly awful, global conspiracies to destroy the world. Unlike its predecessor games, CoC assumed that most investigators would not survive, alive or sane, and that the only safe way to deal with the vast majority of nasty things described in the rule books was to run away. A well-run CoC campaign should engender a sense of foreboding and inevitable doom in its players. The style and setting of the game, in a relatively modern time period, created an emphasis on real-life settings, character research, and thinking one's way around trouble. + +The first book of Call of Cthulhu adventures was Shadows of Yog-Sothoth. In this work, the characters come upon a secret society's foul plot to destroy mankind, and pursue it first near to home and then in a series of exotic locations. This template was to be followed in many subsequent campaigns, including Fungi from Yuggoth (later known as Curse of Cthulhu and Day of the Beast), Spawn of Azathoth, and possibly the most highly acclaimed, Masks of Nyarlathotep. + +Shadows of Yog-Sothoth is important not only because it represents the first published addition to the boxed first edition of Call of Cthulhu, but because its format defined a new way of approaching a campaign of linked RPG scenarios involving actual clues for the would-be detectives amongst the players to follow and link in order to uncover the dastardly plots afoot. Its format has been used by every other campaign-length Call of Cthulhu publication. The standard of CoC scenarios was well received by independent reviewers. The Asylum and Other Tales, a series of stand alone articles released in 1983, rated an overall 9/10 in Issue 47 of White Dwarf magazine. + +The standard of the included 'clue' material varies from scenario to scenario, but reached its zenith in the original boxed versions of the Masks of Nyarlathotep and Horror on the Orient Express campaigns. Inside these one could find matchbooks and business cards apparently defaced by non-player characters, newspaper cuttings and (in the case of Orient Express) period passports to which players could attach their photographs, increasing the sense of immersion. Indeed, during the period that these supplements were produced, third party campaign publishers strove to emulate the quality of the additional materials, often offering separately-priced 'deluxe' clue packages for their campaigns. + +Additional milieux were provided by Chaosium with the release of Dreamlands, a boxed supplement containing additional rules needed for playing within the Lovecraft Dreamlands, a large map and a scenario booklet, and Cthulhu By Gaslight, another boxed set which moved the action from the 1920s to the 1890s. + +Cthulhu Now +In 1987, Chaosium issued the supplement titled Cthulhu Now, a collection of rules, supplemental source materials and scenarios for playing Call of Cthulhu in the present day. This proved to be a very popular alternative milieu, so much so that much of the supplemental material is now included in the core rule book. + +Lovecraft Country +Lovecraft Country was a line of supplements for Call of Cthulhu released in 1990. These supplements were overseen by Keith Herber and provided backgrounds and adventures set in Lovecraft's fictional towns of Arkham, Kingsport, Innsmouth, Dunwich, and their environs. The intent was to give investigators a common base, as well as to center the action on well-drawn characters with clear motivations. + +Terror Australis + +In 1987, Terror Australis: Call of Cthulhu in the Land Down Under was published. In 2018, a revised and updated version of the 1987 game was reissued, with about triple the content and two new games. It requires the Call of Cthulhu Keeper's Rulebook (7th Edition) and is usable with Pulp Cthulhu. + +Recent history +In the years since the collapse of the Mythos collectible card game (production ceased in 1997), the release of CoC books has been very sporadic, with up to a year between releases. Chaosium struggled with near bankruptcy for many years before finally starting their upward climb again. + +2005 was Chaosium's busiest year for many years, with 10 releases for the game. Chaosium took to marketing "monographs"—short books by individual writers with editing and layout provided out-of-house—directly to the consumer, allowing the company to gauge market response to possible new works. The range of times and places in which the horrors of the Mythos can be encountered was also expanded in late 2005 onward with the addition of Cthulhu Dark Ages by Stéphane Gesbert, which gives a framework for playing games set in 11th century Europe, Secrets of Japan by Michael Dziesinski for gaming in modern-day Japan, and Secrets of Kenya by David Conyers for gaming in interwar period Africa. + +In July 2011, Chaosium announced it would re-release a 30th anniversary edition of the CoC 6th edition role-playing game. This 320-page book features thick (3 mm) leatherette hardcovers with the front cover and spine stamped with gold foil. The interior pages are printed in black ink, on 90 gsm matte art paper. The binding is thread sewn, square backed. Chaosium offered a one-time printing of this Collector's Edition. + +On May 28, 2013, a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for the 7th edition of Call of Cthulhu was launched with a goal of $40,000; it ended on June 29 of the same year having collected $561,836. It included many more major revisions than any previous edition, and also split the core rules into two books, a Player's Guide and Keeper's Guide. Problems and delays fulfilling the Kickstarters for the 7th edition of Call of Cthulhu led Greg Stafford and Sandy Petersen (who had both left in 1998) to return to an active role at Chaosium in June 2015. + +The available milieux were also expanded with the release of Cthulhu Through the Ages, a supplement containing additional rules needed for playing within the Roman Empire, Mythic Iceland, a futuristic micro-setting, and the End Times, where the monsters of the mythos attempt to subjugate or destroy the world. + +Licenses +Chaosium has licensed other publishers to create supplements, video, card and board games using the setting and the Call of Cthulhu brand. Many, such as Delta Green by Pagan Publishing and Arkham Horror by Fantasy Flight, have moved away completely from Call of Cthulhu. Other licensees have included Infogrames, Miskatonic River Press, Theater of the Mind Enterprises, Triad Entertainment, Games Workshop, RAFM, Goodman Games, Grenadier Models Inc. and Yog-Sothoth.com. These supplements may be set in different time frames or even different game universes from the original game. + +Trail of Cthulhu + +In February 2008, Pelgrane Press published Trail of Cthulhu, a stand-alone game created by Kenneth Hite using the GUMSHOE System developed by Robin Laws. GUMSHOE is specifically designed to be used in investigative games. + +Shadows of Cthulhu +In September 2008, Reality Deviant Publications published Shadows of Cthulhu, a supplement that brings Lovecraftian gaming to Green Ronin's True20 system. + +Realms of Cthulhu +In October 2009, Reality Blurs published Realms of Cthulhu, a supplement for Pinnacle Entertainment's Savage Worlds system. + +Delta Green + +Pagan Publishing published Delta Green, a series of supplements originally set in the 1990s, although later supplements add support for playing closer to the present day. In these, player characters are agents of a secret agency known as Delta Green, which fights against creatures from the Mythos and conspiracies related to them. Arc Dream Publishing released a new version of Delta Green in 2016 as a standalone game, partially using the mechanics from Call of Cthulhu. + +d20 Call of Cthulhu +In 2001, a stand-alone version of Call of Cthulhu was released by Wizards of the Coast, for the d20 system. Intended to preserve the feeling of the original game, the d20 conversion of the game rules were supposed to make the game more accessible to the large D&D player base. The d20 system also made it possible to use Dungeons & Dragons characters in Call of Cthulhu, as well as to introduce the Cthulhu Mythos into Dungeons & Dragons games. The d20 version of the game is no longer supported by Wizards as per their contract with Chaosium. Chaosium included d20 stats as an appendix in three releases (see Lovecraft Country), but have since dropped the "dual stat" idea. + +Card games + +Mythos was a collectible card game (CCG) based on the Cthulhu Mythos that Chaosium produced and marketed during the mid-1990s. While generally praised for its fast gameplay and unique mechanics, it ultimately failed to gain a very large market presence. It bears mention because its eventual failure brought the company to hard times that affected its ability to produce material for Call of Cthulhu. Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game is a second collectible card game, produced by Fantasy Flight Games. + +Miniatures +The first licensed Call of Cthulhu gaming miniatures were sculpted by Andrew Chernack and released by Grenadier Models in boxed sets and blister packs in 1983. The license was later transferred to RAFM. As of 2011, RAFM still produce licensed Call of Cthulhu models sculpted by Bob Murch. Both lines include investigator player character models and the iconic monsters of the Cthulhu mythos. +As of July 2015, Reaper Miniatures started its third "Bones Kickstarter", a Kickstarter intended to help the company migrate some miniatures from metal to plastic, and introducing some new ones. Among the stretch goals was the second $50 expansion, devoted to the Mythos, with miniatures such as Cultists, Deep Ones, Mi'Go, and an extra $15 Shub-Niggurath "miniature" (it is, at least, 6x4 squares). It is expected for those miniatures to remain in the Reaper Miniatures catalogue after the Kickstarter project finishes. In 2020 Chaosium announced a license agreement with Ardacious for Call of Cthulhu virtual miniatures to be released on their augmented reality app Ardent Roleplay. + +Video games + +Shadow of the Comet + +Shadow of the Comet (later repackaged as Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet) is an adventure game developed and released by Infogrames in 1993. The game is based on H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and uses many elements from Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror and The Shadow Over Innsmouth. A follow-up game, Prisoner of Ice, is not a direct sequel. + +Prisoner of Ice + +Prisoner of Ice (also Call of Cthulhu: Prisoner of Ice) is an adventure game developed and released by Infogrames for the PC and Macintosh computers in 1995 in America and Europe. It is based on H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, particularly At the Mountains of Madness, and is a follow-up to Infogrames' earlier Shadow of the Comet. In 1997, the game was ported to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation exclusively in Japan. + +Dark Corners of the Earth + +A licensed first-person shooter adventure game by Headfirst Productions, based on Call of Cthulhu campaign Escape from Innsmouth and released by Bethesda Softworks in 2005/2006 for the PC and Xbox. + +The Wasted Land + +In April 2011, Chaosium and new developer Red Wasp Design announced a joint project to produce a mobile video game based on the Call of Cthulhu RPG, entitled Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land. The game was released on January 30, 2012. + +Cthulhu Chronicles +In 2018, Metarcade produced Cthulhu Chronicles, a game for iOS with a campaign of nine mobile interactive fiction stories set in 1920s England based on Call of Cthulhu. The first five stories were released on July 10, 2018. + +Call of Cthulhu + +Call of Cthulhu is a survival horror role-playing video game developed by Cyanide and published by Focus Home Interactive for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows. The game features a semi-open world environment and incorporates themes of Lovecraftian and psychological horror into a story which includes elements of investigation and stealth. It is inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The Call of Cthulhu". + +Reception +Multiple reviews of various editions appeared in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer. + In the March 1982 edition (No. 49), William A. Barton noted that there were some shortcomings resulting from an assumption by the designers that players would have access to rules from RuneQuest that were not in Call of Cthulhu, but otherwise Barton called the game "an excellent piece of work.... The worlds of H. P. Lovecraft are truly open for the fantasy gamer." + In the October–November 1987 edition (No. 80), Lisa Cohen reviewed the 3rd edition, saying, ""This book can be for collectors of art, players, or anyone interested in knowledge about old time occult. It is the one reprint that is worth the money." + +Multiple reviews of various editions appeared in White Dwarf. + In the August 1982 edition (Issue 32), Ian Bailey admired much about the first edition of the game; his only criticism was that the game was too "U.S. orientated and consequently any Keeper... who wants to set his game in the UK will have a lot of research to do." Bailey gave the game an above average rating of 9 out of 10, saying, "Call of Cthulhu is an excellent game and a welcome addition to the world of role-playing." + In the August 1986 edition (Issue 80), Ashley Shepherd thought the inclusion of much material in the 3rd edition that had been previously published as supplementary books "makes the game incredibly good value." He concluded, "This package is going to keep Call of Cthulhu at the front of the fantasy game genre." + +Several reviews of various editions and supplements also appeared in Dragon. + In the May 1982 edition (Issue 61), David Cook thought the rules were too complex for new gamers, but said, "It is a good game for experienced role-playing gamers and ambitious judges, especially if they like Lovecraft’s type of story." + In the August 1987 edition (Issue 124), Ken Rolston reviewed the Terror Australis supplement for 3rd edition that introduced an Australian setting in the 1920s. Bambra thought that "Literate, macabre doom shambles from each page. Good reading, and a good campaign setting for COC adventures." + In the October 1988 edition (Issue 138), Ken Rolston gave an overview of the 3rd edition, and placed it ahead of its competitors due to superior campaign setting, tone and atmosphere, the player characters as investigators, and the use of realistic player handouts such as authentic-looking newspaper clippings. Rolston concluded, "CoC is one of role-playing’s acknowledged classics. Its various supplements over the years have maintained an exceptional level of quality; several, including Shadows of Yog-Sothoth and Masks of Nyarlathotep, deserve consideration among the greatest pinnacles of the fantasy role-playing game design." + In the June 1990 edition (Issue 158), Jim Bambra liked the updated setting of the 4th edition, placing the game firmly in Lovecraft's 1920s. He also liked the number of adventures included in the 192-page rulebook: "The fourth edition contains enough adventures to keep any group happily entertained and sanity blasted." However, while Cook questioned whether owners of the 2nd or 3rd edition would get good value for their money — "You lack only the car-chase rules and the improved layout of the three books in one. The rest of the material has received minor editing but no substantial changes" — Cook strongly recommended the new edition to newcomers, saying, "If you don’t already play CoC, all I can do is urge you to give it a try.... discover for yourself why it has made so many converts since its release." + In the October 1992 edition (Issue 186), Rick Swan admitted that he was skeptical that the 5th edition would offer anything new, but instead found that the new edition benefited from "fresh material, judicious editing, and thorough polishes." He concluded, "Few RPGs exceed the CoC game’s scope or match its skillful integration of background and game systems. And there’s no game more fun." + +In his 1990 book The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games, game critic Rick Swan gave the game a top rating of 4 out of 4, calling it "a masterpiece, easily the best horror RPG ever published and possibly the best RPG, period ... breathtaking in scope and as richly textured as a fine novel. All role-players owe it to themselves to experience this truly remarkable game." + +In Issue 68 of Challenge, Craig Sheeley reviewed the fifth edition and liked the revisions. "The entire character generation process is highly streamlined and easily illustrated on a two-page flowchart." DeJong also liked the inclusion of material from all three of CoCs settings (1890s, 1920s, 1990s), calling it "One of the best features of this edition." And he was very impressed with the layout of the book, commenting, "The organization and format of this book deserve special mention. I hold that every game company should study this book to learn what to do right." DeJong concluded, "I am seriously impressed with this product. From cover to cover, it’s well done." + +In a reader poll conducted by UK magazine Arcane in 1996 to determine the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all time, Call of Cthulhu was ranked 1st. Editor Paul Pettengale commented: "Call of Cthulhu is fully deserved of the title as the most popular roleplaying system ever - it's a game that doesn't age, is eminently playable, and which hangs together perfectly. The system, even though it's over ten years old, it still one of the very best you'll find in any roleplaying game. Also, there's not a referee in the land who could say they've read every Lovecraft inspired book or story going, so there's a pretty-well endless supply of scenario ideas. It's simply marvellous." + +Scott Taylor for Black Gate in 2013 rated Call of Cthulhu as #4 in the top ten role-playing games of all time, saying "With various revisions, but never a full rewrite of its percentile-based system, Call of Cthulhu might be antiquated by today's standards, but remember it is supposed to be set in the 1920s, so to me that seems more than appropriate." + +Awards +The game has won multiple awards: + + 1982, Origins Awards, Best Role Playing Game + 1981, Game Designer's Guild, Select Award + 1985, Games Day Award, Best Role Playing Game + 1986, Games Day Award, Best Contemporary Role Playing Game + 1987, Games Day Award, Best Other Role Playing Game + 1993, Leeds Wargame Club, Best Role Playing Game + 1994, Gamer's Choice Award, Hall of Fame + 1995, Origins Award, Hall of Fame + 2001, Origins Award, Best Graphic Presentation of a Book Product (for Call of Cthulhu 20th anniversary edition) + 2002 Gold Ennie Award for "Best Graphic Design and Layout". + 2003, GamingReport.com readers voted it as the number-one Gothic/Horror RPG + 2014, ENNIE Awards - Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition Quickstart - 'Best Free Product (Silver)' + 2016, UK Games Expo Awards - 'Best Roleplaying Game' + 2017, Beasts of War Awards - 'Best RPG' + 2017, Dragon Con Awards - 'Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures/Collectible Card/Role Playing Game' (for Pulp Cthulhu rules) + 2017, ENNIE Awards - 'Best Supplement (Gold)' (for Pulp Cthulhu rules) + 2017, ENNIE Awards - 'Best Cover Art (Gold)' (for Call of Cthulhu Investigator Handbook) + 2017, ENNIE Awards - 'Best Cartography (Gold)' (for Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen Pack) + 2017, ENNIE Awards - 'Best Aid/Accessory (Gold)' (for Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen Pack) + 2017, ENNIE Awards - 'Best Production Values (Gold)' (for Call of Cthulhu Slipcase Set) + 2018, Tabletop Gaming Magazine 'Top 150 Greatest Games of All Time' - Call of Cthulhu - Ranked #3 (Reader Poll) + 2019, ENNIE Awards - 'Best Rules (Gold)' (for Call of Cthulhu Starter Set) + +See also + + Arkham Horror - a cooperative board game based on the Mythos. + Cthulhu Live - a live action role-playing game version of Call of Cthulhu. + CthulhuTech - another role-playing game, conceived for a "Cthulhu science-fiction setting". + List of Call of Cthulhu books + +References + +Sources + + Review + +Further reading + +External links + + + +American role-playing games +Basic Role-Playing System +Cthulhu Mythos role-playing games +D20 System +ENnies winners +Historical role-playing games +Horror role-playing games +Origins Award winners +Role-playing games based on novels +Role-playing games introduced in 1981 +Sandy Petersen games +Works based on The Call of Cthulhu +Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of critical post-Marxist and democratic theory and successor of Praxis International. It is currently edited by Simone Chambers, Cristina Lafont, and Hubertus Buchstein. Ertug Tombus is the managing editor of the journal since 2009. Seyla Benhabib, Nancy Fraser and Andrew Arato are the co-founding former editors. With an international editorial contribution, it is based at the New School in New York. + +Nadia Urbinati, Amy Allen, Jean L.Cohen, and Andreas Kalyvas are former co-editors. + +References + +External links + + +Sociology journals +Academic journals established in 1994 +Quarterly journals +Wiley-Blackwell academic journals +English-language journals +Cape Breton Island (, formerly ; or ; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. + +The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although the island is physically separated from the Nova Scotia peninsula by the Strait of Canso, the long Canso Causeway connects it to mainland Nova Scotia. The island is east-northeast of the mainland with its northern and western coasts fronting on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with its western coast forming the eastern limits of the Northumberland Strait. The eastern and southern coasts front the Atlantic Ocean with its eastern coast also forming the western limits of the Cabot Strait. Its landmass slopes upward from south to north, culminating in the highlands of its northern cape. One of the world's larger saltwater lakes, ("Arm of Gold" in French), dominates the island's centre. + +The total population at the 2016 census numbered 132,010 Cape Bretoners, which is approximately 15% of the provincial population. Cape Breton Island has experienced a decline in population of approximately 2.9% since the 2011 census. Approximately 75% of the island's population is in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM), which includes all of Cape Breton County and is often referred to as Industrial Cape Breton. + +Toponymy +Cape Breton Island takes its name from its easternmost point, Cape Breton. At least two theories for this name have been put forward. The first connects it to the Bretons of northwestern France which discovered Canada. A Portuguese mappa mundi of 1516–1520 includes the label "terra q(ue) foy descuberta por Bertomes" in the vicinity of the Gulf of St Lawrence, which means "land discovered by Bretons". + +The second connects it to the Gascon fishing port of Capbreton. Basque whalers and fishermen traded with the Miꞌkmaq of this island from the early sixteenth century. + +The name "Cape Breton" first appears on a map of 1516, as C(abo) dos Bretoes, and became the general name for both the island and the cape toward the end of the 16th century. + +William Francis Ganong argued that the Portuguese term Bertomes referred to Britons, and that the name should be interpreted as "Cape of the English". This theory is nowadays disagreed upon, due to the Portuguese etymology of Bertomes, meaning the Brittonic speaking people of Wales, Cornwall, Brittany and Galicia, who has close ties to Portugal. + +History + +Cape Breton Island's first residents were likely archaic maritime natives, ancestors of the Mi'kmaq people. These peoples and their progeny inhabited the island (known as Unama'ki) for several thousand years and continue to live there to this day. Their traditional lifestyle centred around hunting and fishing because of the unfavourable agricultural conditions of their maritime home. This ocean-centric lifestyle did, however, make them among the first Indigenous peoples to discover European explorers and sailors fishing in the St Lawrence Estuary. Italian explorer (sailing for the British crown) John Cabot reportedly visited the island in 1497. However, European histories and maps of the period are of too poor quality to be sure whether Cabot first visited Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island. This discovery is commemorated by Cape Breton's Cabot Trail, and by the Cabot's Landing Historic Site & Provincial Park, near the village of Dingwall. + +The local Mi'kmaq peoples began trading with European fishermen when the fishermen began landing in their territories as early as the 1520s. In about 1521–22, the Portuguese under João Álvares Fagundes established a fishing colony on the island. As many as two hundred settlers lived in a village, the name of which is not known, located according to some historians at what is now Ingonish on the island's northeastern peninsula. These fishermen traded with the local population but did not maintain a permanent settlement. This Portuguese colony's fate is unknown, but it is mentioned as late as 1570. + +During the Anglo-French War of 1627 to 1629, under King Charles I, the Kirkes took Quebec City, James Stewart, 4th Lord Ochiltree, planted a colony on Unama'ki at Baleine, Nova Scotia, and Alexander's son, William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling, established the first incarnation of "New Scotland" at Port Royal. These claims, and larger ideals of European colonization were the first time the island was incorporated as European territory, though it would be several decades later that treaties would actually be signed. However, no copies of these treaties exist. + +These Scottish triumphs, which left Cape Sable as the only major French holding in North America, did not last. Charles I's haste to make peace with France on the terms most beneficial to him meant the new North American gains would be bargained away in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which established which European power had laid claim over the territories. + +The French quickly defeated the Scots at Baleine, and established the first European settlements on Île Royale, which is present-day Englishtown (1629) and St. Peter's (1630). These settlements lasted only one generation, until Nicolas Denys left in 1659. The island did not have any European settlers for another fifty years before those communities along with Louisbourg were re-established in 1713, after which point European settlement was permanently established on the island. + +Île Royale + +Known as Île Royale ("Royal Island") to the French, the island also saw active settlement by France. After the French ceded their claims to Newfoundland and the Acadian mainland to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the French relocated the population of Plaisance, Newfoundland, to Île Royale and the French garrison was established in the central eastern part at Sainte Anne. As the harbour at Sainte Anne experienced icing problems, it was decided to build a much larger fortification at Louisbourg to improve defences at the entrance to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and to defend France's fishing fleet on the Grand Banks. The French also built the Louisbourg Lighthouse in 1734, the first lighthouse in Canada and one of the first in North America. In addition to Cape Breton Island, the French colony of Île Royale also included Île Saint-Jean, today called Prince Edward Island, and Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine. + +Seven Years' War + +Louisbourg itself was one of the most important commercial and military centres in New France. Louisbourg was captured by New Englanders with British naval assistance in the Siege of Louisbourg (1745) and by British forces in 1758. The French population of Île Royale was deported to France after each siege. While French settlers returned to their homes in Île Royale after the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed in 1748, the fortress was demolished after the second siege in 1758. Île Royale remained formally part of New France until it was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. It was then merged with the adjacent British colony of Nova Scotia (present-day peninsular Nova Scotia and New Brunswick). Acadians who had been expelled from Nova Scotia and Île Royale were permitted to settle in Cape Breton beginning in 1764, and established communities in northwestern Cape Breton, near Chéticamp, and southern Cape Breton, on and near Isle Madame. + +Some of the first British-sanctioned settlers on the island following the Seven Years' War were Irish, although upon settlement they merged with local French communities to form a culture rich in music and tradition. From 1763 to 1784, the island was administratively part of the colony of Nova Scotia and was governed from Halifax. + +The first permanently settled Scottish community on Cape Breton Island was Judique, settled in 1775 by Michael Mor MacDonald. He spent his first winter using his upside-down boat for shelter, which is reflected in the architecture of the village's Community Centre. He composed a song about the area called "O 's àlainn an t-àite", or "O, Fair is the Place." + +American Revolution + +During the American Revolution, on 1 November 1776, John Paul Jones, the father of the American Navy, set sail in command of Alfred to free hundreds of American prisoners working in the area's coal mines. Although winter conditions prevented the freeing of the prisoners, the mission did result in the capture of Mellish, a vessel carrying a vital supply of winter clothing intended for John Burgoyne's troops in Canada. + +Major Timothy Hierlihy and his regiment on board HMS Hope worked in and protected the coal mines at Sydney Cape Breton from privateer attacks. Sydney, Cape Breton provided a vital supply of coal for Halifax throughout the war. The British began developing the mining site at Sydney Mines in 1777. On 14 May 1778, Major Hierlihy arrived at Cape Breton. While there, Hierlihy reported that he "beat off many piratical attacks, killed some and took other prisoners." + +A few years into the war, there was also a naval engagement between French ships and a British convoy off Sydney, Nova Scotia, near Spanish River (1781), Cape Breton. French ships, fighting with the Americans, were re-coaling and defeated a British convoy. Six French and 17 British sailors were killed, with many more wounded. + +Colony of Cape Breton +In 1784, Britain split the colony of Nova Scotia into three separate colonies: New Brunswick, Cape Breton Island, and present-day peninsular Nova Scotia, in addition to the adjacent colonies of St. John's Island (renamed Prince Edward Island in 1798) and Newfoundland. The colony of Cape Breton Island had its capital at Sydney on its namesake harbour fronting on Spanish Bay and the Cabot Strait. Its first Lieutenant-Governor was Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres (1784–1787) and his successor was William Macarmick (1787). + +A number of United Empire Loyalists emigrated to the Canadian colonies, including Cape Breton. David Mathews, the former Mayor of New York City during the American Revolution, emigrated with his family to Cape Breton in 1783. He succeeded Macarmick as head of the colony and served from 1795 to 1798. + +From 1799 to 1807, the military commandant was John Despard, brother of Edward. + +An order forbidding the granting of land in Cape Breton, issued in 1763, was removed in 1784. The mineral rights to the island were given over to the Duke of York by an order-in-council. The British government had intended that the Crown take over the operation of the mines when Cape Breton was made a colony, but this was never done, probably because of the rehabilitation cost of the mines. The mines were in a neglected state, caused by careless operations dating back at least to the time of the final fall of Louisbourg in 1758. + +Large-scale shipbuilding began in the 1790s, beginning with schooners for local trade, moving in the 1820s to larger brigs and brigantines, mostly built for British ship owners. Shipbuilding peaked in the 1850s, marked in 1851 by the full-rigged ship Lord Clarendon, which was the largest wooden ship ever built in Cape Breton. + +Merger with Nova Scotia + +In 1820, the colony of Cape Breton Island was merged for the second time with Nova Scotia. This development is one of the factors which led to large-scale industrial development in the Sydney Coal Field of eastern Cape Breton County. By the late 19th century, as a result of the faster shipping, expanding fishery and industrialization of the island, exchanges of people between the island of Newfoundland and Cape Breton increased, beginning a cultural exchange that continues to this day. + +The 1920s were some of the most violent times in Cape Breton. They were marked by several severe labour disputes. The famous murder of William Davis by strike breakers, and the seizing of the New Waterford power plant by striking miners led to a major union sentiment that persists to this day in some circles. William Davis Miners' Memorial Day continues to be celebrated in coal mining towns to commemorate the deaths of miners at the hands of the coal companies. + +20th century + +The turn of the 20th century saw Cape Breton Island at the forefront of scientific achievement with the now-famous activities launched by inventors Alexander Graham Bell and Guglielmo Marconi. + +Following his successful invention of the telephone and being relatively wealthy, Bell acquired land near Baddeck in 1885. He chose the land, which he named Beinn Bhreagh, largely due to its resemblance to his early surroundings in Scotland. He established a summer estate complete with research laboratories, working with deaf people including Helen Keller, and continued to invent. Baddeck would be the site of his experiments with hydrofoil technologies as well as the Aerial Experiment Association, financed by his wife Mabel Gardiner Hubbard. These efforts resulted in the first powered flight in Canada when the AEA Silver Dart took off from the ice-covered waters of Bras d'Or Lake. Bell also built the forerunner to the iron lung and experimented with breeding sheep. + +Marconi's contributions to Cape Breton Island were also quite significant, as he used the island's geography to his advantage in transmitting the first North American trans-Atlantic radio message from a station constructed at Table Head in Glace Bay to a receiving station at Poldhu in Cornwall, England. Marconi's pioneering work in Cape Breton marked the beginning of modern radio technology. Marconi's station at Marconi Towers, on the outskirts of Glace Bay, became the chief communication centre for the Royal Canadian Navy in World War I through to the early years of World War II. + +Promotions for tourism beginning in the 1950s recognized the importance of the Scottish culture to the province, as the provincial government started encouraging the use of Gaelic once again. The establishment of funding for the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts and formal Gaelic language courses in public schools are intended to address the near-loss of this culture to assimilation into Anglophone Canadian culture. + +In the 1960s, the Fortress of Louisbourg was partially reconstructed by Parks Canada, using the labour of unemployed coal miners. Since 2009, this National Historic Site of Canada has attracted an average of 90 000 visitors per year. + +Geography + +The irregularly-shaped rectangular island is about 100 km wide and 150 long, for a total of in area. + +It lies in the southeastern extremity of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Cape Breton is separated from the Nova Scotia peninsula by the very deep Strait of Canso. The island is joined to the mainland by the Canso Causeway. + +Cape Breton Island is composed of rocky shores, rolling farmland, glacial valleys, barren headlands, highlands, woods and plateaus. + +Geology +The island is characterized by a number of elevations of ancient crystalline and metamorphic rock rising up from the south to the north, and contrasted with eroded lowlands. The bedrock of blocks that developed in different places around the globe, at different times, and then were fused together via tectonics. + +Cape Breton is formed from three terranes. These are fragments of the earth's crust formed on a tectonic plate and attached by accretion or suture to crust lying on another plate. Each of these has its own distinctive geologic history, which is different from that of the surrounding areas. The southern half of the island formed from the Avalon terrane, which was once a microcontinent in the Paleozoic era. It is made up of volcanic rock that formed near what is now called Africa. Most of the northern half of the island is on the Bras d'Or terrane (part of the Ganderia terrane). It contains volcanic and sedimentary rock formed off the coast of what is now South America. The third terrane is the relatively small Blair River inlier on the far northwestern tip. It contains the oldest rock in the Maritimes, formed up to 1.6 billion years ago. These rocks, which can be seen in the Polletts Cove - Aspy Fault Wilderness Area north of Pleasant Bay, are likely part of the Canadian Shield, a large area of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rock that forms the core of the North American continent. + +The Avalon and Bras d'Or terranes were pushed together about 500 million years ago when the supercontinent Gondwana was formed. The Blair River inlier was sandwiched in between the two when Laurussia was formed 450-360 million years ago, at which time the land was found in the tropics. This collision also formed the Appalachian Mountains. Associated rifting and faulting is now visible as the canyons of the Cape Breton Highlands. Then, during the Carboniferous period, the area was flooded, which created sedimentary rock layers such as sandstone, shale, gypsum, and conglomerate. Later, most of the island was tropical forest which later formed coal deposits. + +Much later, the land was shaped by repeated ice ages which left striations, till, U-shaped valleys, and carved the Bras d'Or Lake from the bedrock. Examples of U-shaped valleys are those of the Chéticamp, Grande Anse, and Clyburn River valleys. Other valleys have been eroded by water, forming V-shaped valleys and canyons. Cape Breton has many fault lines but few earthquakes. Since the North American continent is moving westward, earthquakes tend to occur on the western edge of the continent. + +Climate + +The warm summer humid continental climate is moderated by the proximity of the cold, oftentimes polar Labrador Current and its warmer counterpart the Gulf Stream, both being dominant currents in the North Atlantic Ocean. + +Ecology + +Lowlands +There are lowland areas in along the western shore, around Lake Ainslie, the Bras d'Or watershed, Boularderie Island, and the Sydney coalfield. They include salt marshes, coastal beaches, and freshwater wetlands. + +Starting in the 1800s, many areas were cleared for farming or timber. Many farms were abandoned from the 1920s to the 1950s with fields being reclaimed by white spruce, red maple, white birch, and balsam fir. Higher slopes are dominated by yellow birch and sugar maple. In sheltered areas with sun and drainage, Acadian forest is found. Wetter areas have tamarack, and black spruce. The weather station at Ingonish records more rain than anywhere else in Nova Scotia. + +Behind barrier beaches and dunes at Aspy Bay are salt marshes. The Aspy, Clyburn, and Ingonish rivers have all created floodplains which support populations of black ash, fiddle head fern, swamp loosestrife, swamp milkweed, southern twayblade, and bloodroot. + +Red sandstone and white gypsum cliffs can be observed throughout this area. Bedrock is Carboniferous sedimentary with limestone, shale, and sandstone. Many fluvial remains from are glaciation found here. Mining has been ongoing for centuries, and more than 500 mine openings can be found, mainly in the east. + +Karst topography is found in Dingwall, South Harbour, Plaster Provincial Park, along the Margaree and Middle Rivers, and along the north shore of Lake Ainslie. The presence of gypsum and limestone increases soil pH and produces some rich wetlands which support giant spear, tufted fen, and other mosses, as well as vascular plants like sedges. + +Cape Breton Hills +This ecosystem is spread throughout Cape Breton and is defined as hills and slopes 150-300m above sea level, typically covered with Acadian forest. + +It includes North Mountain, Kellys Mountain, and East Bay Hills. + +Forests in this area were cleared for timber and agriculture and are now a mosaic of habitats depending on the local terrain, soils and microclimate. Typical species include ironwood, white ash, beech, sugar maple, red maple, and yellow birch. The understory can include striped maple, beaked hazelnut, fly honeysuckle, club mosses and ferns. Ephemerals are visible in the spring, such as Dutchman's breeches and spring beauty. + +In ravines, shade tolerant trees like hemlock, white pine, red spruce are found. Less well-drained areas are forested with balsam fir and black spruce. + +Highlands and the Northern Plateau +The Highlands comprise a tableland in the northern portions of Inverness and Victoria counties. + +An extension of the Appalachian mountain chain, elevations average 350 metres at the edges of the plateau and rise to more than 500 metres at the centre. The area has broad, gently rolling hills bisected with deep valleys and steep-walled canyons. A majority of the land is a taiga of balsam fir, with some white birch, white spruce, mountain ash, and heart-leaf birch. + +The northern and western edges of the plateau, particularly at high elevations, resemble arctic tundra. Trees 30–90 high, overgrown with reindeer lichens, can be 150 years old. At very high elevations some areas are exposed bedrock without any vegetation apart from Cladonia lichens. There are many barrens, or heaths, dominated by bushy species of the Ericaceae family. + +Spruce, killed by spruce budworm in the late 1970s, has reestablished at lower elevations, but not at higher elevations due to moose browsing. Decomposition is slow, leaving thick layers of plant litter. Ground cover includes wood aster, twinflower, liverworts, wood sorrel, bluebead lily, goldthread, various ferns, and lily-of-the-valley, with bryophyte and large-leaved goldenrod at higher elevations. The understory can include striped maple, mountain ash, ferns, and mountain maple. + +Near water, bog birch, alder, and mountain-ash are found. There are many open wetlands populated with stunted tamarack and black spruce. Poor drainage has led to the formation of peatlands which can support tufted clubrush, Bartram's serviceberry, coastal sedge, and bakeapple. + +Cape Breton coastal +The eastern shore is unique in that while not at a high elevation, it has a cool climate with much rain and fog, strong winds, and low summer temperatures. It is dominated by a boreal forest of black spruce and balsam fir. Sheltered areas support tolerant hardwoods such as white birch and red maple. Many salt marshes, fens, and bogs are found there. + +There are many beaches on the highly crenelated coastline. Unlike elsewhere on the island, these are rocky and support plants unlike those of sandy beaches. The coast provides habitat for common coast bird species like common eider, black legged kittiwake, black guillemot, whimbrel, and great cormorant. + +Hydrology +Land is drained into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence via the rivers Aspy, Sydney, Mira, Framboise, Margaree, and Chéticamp. The largest freshwater lake is Lake Ainslie. + +Government +Local government on the island is provided by the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, the Municipality of the County of Inverness, the Municipality of the County of Richmond, and the Municipality of the County of Victoria, along with the Town of Port Hawkesbury. + +The island has five Miꞌkmaq Indian reserves: Eskasoni (the largest in population and land area), Membertou, Wagmatcook, Waycobah, and Potlotek. + +Demographics + +The island's residents can be grouped into five main cultures: Scottish, Mi'kmaq, Acadian, Irish, English, with respective languages Scottish Gaelic, Mi'kmaq, French, and English. English is now the primary language, including a locally distinctive Cape Breton accent, while Mi'kmaq, Scottish Gaelic and Acadian French are still spoken in some communities. + +Later migrations of Black Loyalists, Italians, and Eastern Europeans mostly settled in the island's eastern part around the industrial Cape Breton region. Cape Breton Island's population has been in decline two decades with an increasing exodus in recent years due to economic conditions. + +Population trend + +Religious groups +Statistics Canada in 2001 reported a "religion" total of 145,525 for Cape Breton, including 5,245 with "no religious affiliation." Major categories included: +Roman Catholic: 96,260 (includes Eastern Catholic, Polish National Catholic Church, Old Catholic) +Protestant: 42,390 +Christian, not included elsewhere: 580 +Orthodox: 395 +Jewish: 250 +Muslim: 145 + +Economy + +Much of the recent economic history of Cape Breton Island can be tied to the coal industry. + +The island has two major coal deposits: + +the Sydney Coal Field in the southeastern part of the island along the Atlantic Ocean drove the Industrial Cape Breton economy throughout the 19th and 20th centuries—until after World War II, its industries were the largest private employers in Canada. +the Inverness Coal Field in the western part of the island along the Gulf of St. Lawrence is significantly smaller but hosted several mines. + +Sydney has traditionally been the main port, with facilities in a large, sheltered, natural harbour. It is the island's largest commercial centre and home to the Cape Breton Post daily newspaper, as well as one television station, CJCB-TV (CTV), and several radio stations. The Marine Atlantic terminal at North Sydney is the terminal for large ferries traveling to Channel-Port aux Basques and seasonally to Argentia, both on the island of Newfoundland. + +Point Edward on the west side of Sydney Harbour is the location of Sydport, a former navy base () now converted to commercial use. The Canadian Coast Guard College is nearby at Westmount. Petroleum, bulk coal, and cruise ship facilities are also in Sydney Harbour. + +Glace Bay, the second largest urban community in population, was the island's main coal mining centre until its last mine closed in the 1980s. Glace Bay was the hub of the Sydney & Louisburg Railway and a major fishing port. At one time, Glace Bay was known as the largest town in Nova Scotia, based on population. + +Port Hawkesbury has risen to prominence since the completion of the Canso Causeway and Canso Canal created an artificial deep-water port, allowing extensive petrochemical, pulp and paper, and gypsum handling facilities to be established. The Strait of Canso is completely navigable to Seawaymax vessels, and Port Hawkesbury is open to the deepest-draught vessels on the world's oceans. Large marine vessels may also enter Bras d'Or Lake through the Great Bras d'Or channel, and small craft can use the Little Bras d'Or channel or St. Peters Canal. While commercial shipping no longer uses the St. Peters Canal, it remains an important waterway for recreational vessels. + +The industrial Cape Breton area faced several challenges with the closure of the Cape Breton Development Corporation's (DEVCO) coal mines and the Sydney Steel Corporation's (SYSCO) steel mill. In recent years, the Island's residents have tried to diversify the area economy by investing in tourism developments, call centres, and small businesses, as well as manufacturing ventures in fields such as auto parts, pharmaceuticals, and window glazings. + +While the Cape Breton Regional Municipality is in transition from an industrial to a service-based economy, the rest of Cape Breton Island outside the industrial area surrounding Sydney-Glace Bay has been more stable, with a mixture of fishing, forestry, small-scale agriculture, and tourism. + +Tourism in particular has grown throughout the post-Second World War era, especially the growth in vehicle-based touring, which was furthered by the creation of the Cabot Trail scenic drive. The scenery of the island is rivalled in northeastern North America by only Newfoundland; and Cape Breton Island tourism marketing places a heavy emphasis on its Scottish Gaelic heritage through events such as the Celtic Colours Festival, held each October, as well as promotions through the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts. + +Whale-watching is a popular attraction for tourists. Whale-watching cruises are operated by vendors from Baddeck to Chéticamp. The most popular species of whale found in Cape Breton's waters is the pilot whale. + +The Cabot Trail is a scenic road circuit around and over the Cape Breton Highlands with spectacular coastal vistas; over 400,000 visitors drive the Cabot Trail each summer and fall. Coupled with the Fortress of Louisbourg, it has driven the growth of the tourism industry on the island in recent decades. The Condé Nast travel guide has rated Cape Breton Island as one of the world's best island destinations. + +Transport +The island's primary east–west road is Highway 105, the Trans-Canada Highway, although Trunk 4 is also heavily used. Highway 125 is an important arterial route around Sydney Harbour in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. The Cabot Trail, circling the Cape Breton Highlands, and Trunk 19, along the island's western coast, are important secondary roads. The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway maintains railway connections between the port of Sydney to the Canadian National Railway in Truro. + +Cape Breton Island is served by several airports, the largest, the JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport, situated on Trunk 4 between the communities of Sydney and Glace Bay, as well as smaller airports at Port Hawksbury, Margaree, and Baddeck. + +Culture + +Language +Gaelic speakers in Cape Breton, as elsewhere in Nova Scotia, constituted a large proportion of the local population from the 18th century on. They brought with them a common culture of poetry, traditional songs and tales, music and dance, and used this to develop distinctive local traditions. + +Most Gaelic settlement in Nova Scotia happened between 1770 and 1840, with probably over 50,000 Gaelic speakers emigrating from the Scottish Highlands and the Hebrides to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Such emigration was facilitated by changes in Gaelic society and the economy, with sharp increases in rents, confiscation of land and disruption of local customs and rights. In Nova Scotia, poetry and song in Gaelic flourished. George Emmerson argues that an "ancient and rich" tradition of storytelling, song, and Gaelic poetry emerged during the 18th century and was transplanted from the Highlands of Scotland to Nova Scotia, where the language similarly took root there. The majority of those settling in Nova Scotia from the end of the 18th century through to middle of the next were from the Scottish Highlands, rather than the Lowlands, making the Highland tradition's impact more profound on the region. Gaelic settlement in Cape Breton began in earnest in the early nineteenth century. + +The Gaelic language became dominant from Colchester County in the west of Nova Scotia into Cape Breton County in the east. It was reinforced in Cape Breton in the first half of the 19th century with an influx of Highland Scots numbering approximately 50,000 as a result of the Highland Clearances. + +From 1892 to 1904, Jonathon MacKinnon published the Scottish Gaelic-language biweekly newspaper () in Sydney, Nova Scotia. During the 1920s, several Scottish Gaelic-language newspapers were printed in Sydney for distribution primarily on Cape Breton, including the (), which included Gaelic-language lessons; the United Church-affiliated (); and MacKinnon's later endeavor, (). + +Gaelic speakers, however, tended to be poor; they were largely illiterate and had little access to education. This situation persisted into the early days of the twentieth century. In 1921 Gaelic was approved as an optional subject in the curriculum of Nova Scotia, but few teachers could be found and children were discouraged from using the language in schools. By 1931 the number of Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia had fallen to approximately 25,000, mostly in discrete pockets. In Cape Breton it was still a majority language, but the proportion was falling. Children were no longer being raised with Gaelic. + +From 1939 on, attempts were made to strengthen its position in the public school system in Nova Scotia, but funding, official commitment and the availability of teachers continued to be a problem. By the 1950s the number of speakers was less than 7,000. The advent of multiculturalism in Canada in the 1960s meant that new educational opportunities became available, with a gradual strengthening of the language at secondary and tertiary level. At present several schools in Cape Breton offer Gaelic Studies and Gaelic language programs, and the language is taught at Cape Breton University. + +The 2016 Canadian Census shows that there are only 40 reported speakers of Gaelic as a mother tongue in Cape Breton. On the other hand, there are families and individuals who have recommenced intergenerational transmission. They include fluent speakers from Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland and speakers who became fluent in Nova Scotia and who in some cases studied in Scotland. Other revitalization activities include adult education, community cultural events and publishing. + +Traditional music + +Cape Breton is well known for its traditional fiddle music, which was brought to North America by Scottish immigrants during the Highland Clearances. The traditional style has been well preserved in Cape Breton, and cèilidhs have become a popular attraction for tourists. Inverness County in particular has a heavy concentration of musical activity, with regular performances in communities such as Mabou and Judique. Judique is recognized as "" () or the 'Home of Celtic Music', featuring the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre. The traditional fiddle music of Cape Breton is studied by musicians around the world, where its global recognition continues to rise. + +Local performers who have received significant recognition outside of Cape Breton include Angus Chisholm; Buddy MacMaster; Joseph Cormier, the first Cape Breton fiddler to record an album made available in Europe (1974); Lee Cremo; Bruce Guthro; Natalie MacMaster; Ashley MacIsaac; The Rankin Family; Aselin Debison; Gordie Sampson; John Allan Cameron; and the Barra MacNeils. + +The Men of the Deeps are a male choral group of current and former miners from the industrial Cape Breton area. + +Film and television +My Bloody Valentine: 1981 slasher film shot on location in Sydney Mines. +The Bay Boy: 1984 semi-autobiographical drama film about growing up in Glace Bay. +Margaret's Museum 1995 drama film which tells the story of a young girl living in a coal mining town where the death of men from accidents in "the pit" (the mines) has become almost routine. +Pit Pony 1999 TV series about small-town life in Glace Bay in 1904. The plot line revolves around the lives of the families of the men and boys who work in the coal mines. + +Photo gallery + +See also +Canadian Gaelic +Cape Breton accent +Cape Breton Labour Party +Cape Breton Regional Municipality +Provinces and territories of Canada +Province of Cape Breton Island +Sydney Tar Ponds +Cape Breton Highlands National Park +List of people from Cape Breton + +Notes + +References + +Further reading + +External links + +Cape Breton Island Official Travel Guide + + +British North America +Canadian Gaelic +Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas +Geographic regions of Nova Scotia +Islands of Nova Scotia +The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identify the settings, tropes, and lore that were employed by Lovecraft and his literary successors. The name "Cthulhu" derives from the central creature in Lovecraft's seminal short story "The Call of Cthulhu", first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. + +Richard L. Tierney, a writer who also wrote Mythos tales, later applied the term "Derleth Mythos" to distinguish Lovecraft's works from Derleth's later stories, which modify key tenets of the Mythos. Authors of Lovecraftian horror in particular frequently use elements of the Cthulhu Mythos. + +History + +In his essay "H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos", Robert M. Price described two stages in the development of the Cthulhu Mythos. Price called the first stage the "Cthulhu Mythos proper". This stage was formulated during Lovecraft's lifetime and was subject to his guidance. The second stage was guided by August Derleth who, in addition to publishing Lovecraft's stories after his death, attempted to categorize and expand the Mythos. + +First stage +An ongoing theme in Lovecraft's work is the complete irrelevance of mankind in the face of the cosmic horrors that apparently exist in the universe. Lovecraft made frequent references to the "Great Old Ones", a loose pantheon of ancient, powerful deities from space who once ruled the Earth and have since fallen into a deathlike sleep. While these monstrous deities were present in almost all of Lovecraft's published work (his second short story "Dagon", published in 1919, is considered the start of the Mythos), the first story to really expand the pantheon of Great Old Ones and its themes is "The Call of Cthulhu", which was published in 1928. + +Lovecraft broke with other pulp writers of the time by having his main characters' minds deteriorate when afforded a glimpse of what exists outside their perceived reality. He emphasized the point by stating in the opening sentence of the story that "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." + +Writer Dirk W. Mosig noted that Lovecraft was a "mechanistic materialist" who embraced the philosophy of cosmic indifferentism and believed in a purposeless, mechanical, and uncaring universe. Human beings, with their limited faculties, can never fully understand this universe, and the cognitive dissonance caused by this revelation leads to insanity, in his view. + +There have been attempts at categorizing this fictional group of beings. Phillip A. Schreffler argues that by carefully scrutinizing Lovecraft's writings, a workable framework emerges that outlines the entire "pantheon"from the unreachable "Outer Ones" (e.g., Azathoth, who occupies the centre of the universe) and "Great Old Ones" (e.g., Cthulhu, imprisoned on Earth in the sunken city of R'lyeh) to the lesser castes (the lowly slave shoggoths and the Mi-Go). + +David E. Schultz said Lovecraft never meant to create a canonical Mythos but rather intended his imaginary pantheon to serve merely as a background element. Lovecraft himself humorously referred to his Mythos as "Yog Sothothery" (Dirk W. Mosig coincidentally suggested the term Yog-Sothoth Cycle of Myth be substituted for Cthulhu Mythos). At times, Lovecraft even had to remind his readers that his Mythos creations were entirely fictional. + +The view that there was no rigid structure is expounded upon by S. T. Joshi, who said + +Price said Lovecraft's writings could at least be divided into categories and identified three distinct themes: the "Dunsanian" (written in a similar style as Lord Dunsany), "Arkham" (occurring in Lovecraft's fictionalized New England setting), and "Cthulhu" (the cosmic tales) cycles. Writer Will Murray noted that while Lovecraft often used his fictional pantheon in the stories he ghostwrote for other authors, he reserved Arkham and its environs exclusively for those tales he wrote under his own name. + +Although the Mythos was not formalized or acknowledged between them, Lovecraft did correspond, meet in person, and share story elements with other contemporary writers including Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Robert Bloch, Frank Belknap Long, Henry Kuttner, Henry S. Whitehead, and Fritz Leibera group referred to as the "Lovecraft Circle." + +For example, Robert E. Howard's character Friedrich Von Junzt reads Lovecraft's Necronomicon in the short story "The Children of the Night" (1931), and in turn Lovecraft mentions Howard's Unaussprechlichen Kulten in the stories "Out of the Aeons" (1935) and "The Shadow Out of Time" (1936). Many of Howard's original unedited Conan stories also involve parts of the Cthulhu Mythos. + +Second stage +Price denotes the second stage's commencement with August Derleth, with the principal difference between Lovecraft and Derleth being Derleth's use of hope and development of the idea that the Cthulhu Mythos essentially represented a struggle between good and evil. Derleth is credited with creating the "Elder Gods". He stated: + +Price said the basis for Derleth's system is found in Lovecraft: "Was Derleth's use of the rubric 'Elder Gods' so alien to Lovecraft's in At the Mountains of Madness? Perhaps not. In fact, this very story, along with some hints from "The Shadow over Innsmouth", provides the key to the origin of the 'Derleth Mythos'. For in At the Mountains of Madness is shown the history of a conflict between interstellar races, first among them the Elder Ones and the Cthulhu-spawn. + +Derleth said Lovecraft wished for other authors to actively write about the Mythos as opposed to it being a discrete plot device within Lovecraft's own stories. Derleth expanded the boundaries of the Mythos by including any passing reference to another author's story elements by Lovecraft as part of the genre. Just as Lovecraft made passing reference to Clark Ashton Smith's Book of Eibon, Derleth in turn added Smith's Ubbo-Sathla to the Mythos. + +Derleth also attempted to connect the deities of the Mythos to the four elements (air, earth, fire, and water), creating new beings representative of certain elements in order to legitimize his system of classification. He created "Cthugha" as a sort of fire elemental when a fan, Francis Towner Laney, complained that he had neglected to include the element in his schema. Laney, the editor of The Acolyte, had categorized the Mythos in an essay that first appeared in the Winter 1942 issue of the magazine. + +Impressed by the glossary, Derleth asked Laney to rewrite it for publication in the Arkham House collection Beyond the Wall of Sleep (1943). Laney's essay ("The Cthulhu Mythos") was later republished in Crypt of Cthulhu #32 (1985). In applying the elemental theory to beings that function on a cosmic scale (e.g., Yog-Sothoth) some authors created a fifth element that they termed aethyr. + +Fictional cults +A number of fictional cults appear in the Cthulhu Mythos, the loosely connected series of horror stories written by Lovecraft and other writers inspired by his creations. Many of these cults serve the Outer God Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, a protean creature that appears in myriad guises. Other cults are dedicated to the cause of the Great Old Ones, a group of powerful alien beings currently imprisoned or otherwise resting in a deathlike sleep. These fictional cults have in some ways taken on a life of their own beyond the pages of Lovecraft's works. According to author John Engle, "The very real world of esoteric magical and occult practices has adopted Lovecraft and his works into its canon, which have informed the ritual practices, or even formed the bedrock, of certain cabals and magical circles". + +Significance +The Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft is considered to have been highly influential for the speculative fiction genre. It has been called "the official fictional religion of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, a grab bag for writers in need of unthinkably vast, and unthinkably indifferent, eldritch entities". + +See also + +References + +Further reading + + Dziemianowicz, Stefan. "The Cthulhu Mythos: Chronicle of a Controversy". In The Lovecraft Society of New England (ed) Necronomicon: The Cthulhu Mythos Convention 1993 (convention book). Boston: NecronomiCon, 1993, pp. 25–31 + +External links + + Lovecraft Archive + + The Virtual World of H. P. Lovecraft a mapping of Lovecraft's imaginary version of New England + Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown – full documentary at the Snagfilms company YouTube channel + Schema on Lovecraft's »The Call of Ctuhulhu« and the Cthulhu Mythos + + +American novels adapted into films +American novels adapted into plays +Fictional universes +Horror genres +Mythopoeia +Novels adapted into video games +Shared universes +In filmmaking and video production, a crane shot is a shot taken by a camera on a moving crane or jib. Filmmaker D. W. Griffith created the first crane for his 1916 epic film Intolerance, with famed special effects pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya later constructing the first iron camera crane which is still adapted worldwide today. Most cranes accommodate both the camera and an operator, but some can be moved by remote control. Crane shots are often found in what are supposed to be emotional or suspenseful scenes. One example of this technique is the shots taken by remote cranes in the car-chase sequence of the 1985 film To Live and Die in L.A. Some filmmakers place the camera on a boom arm simply to make it easier to move around between ordinary set-ups. + +History + +D. W. Griffith designed the first camera crane for his 1916 epic film Intolerance. His crane measured 140 feet tall and ascended on six four-wheeled railroad trucks. In 1929, future special effects pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya constructed a smaller replica of Griffith's wooden camera crane without blueprints or manuals. Although his wooden crane collapsed shortly after its completion, Tsuburaya created the first-ever iron shooting crane in October 1934, and an adaptation of this crane is still used worldwide today. + +Camera crane types + +Camera cranes may be small, medium, or large, depending on the load capacity and length of the loading arm. Historically, the first camera crane provided for lifting the camera together with the operator, and sometimes an assistant. The range of motion of the boom was restricted because of the high load capacity and the need to ensure operator safety. In recent years a camera crane boom tripod with a remote control has become popular. It carries on the boom only a movie or television camera without an operator and allows shooting from difficult positions as a small load capacity makes it possible to achieve a long reach of the crane boom and relative freedom of movement. The operator controls the camera from the ground through a motorized panoramic head, using remote control and video surveillance by watching the image on the monitor. A separate category consists of telescopic camera cranes. These devices allow setting an arbitrary trajectory of the camera, eliminating the characteristic jib crane radial displacement that comes with traditional spanning shots. + +Large camera cranes are almost indistinguishable from the usual boom-type cranes, with the exception of special equipment for smoothly moving the boom and controlling noise. Small camera cranes and crane-trucks have a lightweight construction, often without a mechanical drive. The valves are controlled manually by balancing the load-specific counterweight, facilitating manipulation. To improve usability and repeatability of movement of the crane in different takes, the axis of rotation arrows are provided with limbs and a pointer. In some cases, the camera crane is mounted on a dolly for even greater camera mobility. Such devices are called crane trolleys. In modern films robotic cranes allow use of multiple actuators for high-accuracy repeated movement of the camera in trick photography. These devices are called tap-robots; some sources use the term motion control. + +Manufacturers +The major supplier of cranes in the cinema of the United States throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s was the Chapman Company (later Chapman-Leonard of North Hollywood), supplanted by dozens of similar manufacturers around the world. The traditional design provided seats for both the director and the camera operator, and sometimes a third seat for the cinematographer as well. Large weights on the back of the crane compensate for the weight of the people riding the crane and must be adjusted carefully to avoid the possibility of accidents. During the 1960s, the tallest crane was the Chapman Titan crane, a massive design over 20 feet high that won an Academy Scientific & Engineering award. + +During the last few years, camera cranes have been miniaturized and costs have dropped so dramatically that most aspiring film makers have access to these tools. What was once a "Hollywood" effect is now available for under $400. Manufacturers of camera cranes include ABC-Products, Cambo, Filmotechnic, Polecam, Panther and Matthews Studio Equipment, Sevenoak, and Newton Nordic. + +Camera crane technique +Most such cranes were manually operated, requiring an experienced boom operator who knew how to vertically raise, lower, and "crab" the camera alongside actors while the crane platform rolled on separate tracks. The crane operator and camera operator had to precisely coordinate their moves so that focus, pan, and camera position all started and stopped at the same time, requiring great skill and rehearsal. On the back of the crane is a counter weight. This allows the crane to smooth action while in motion with minimal effort. + +Notable usage + + D. W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916) featured the first ever crane shot for a film. + Atsuo Tomioka's 1935 film The Chorus of a Million featured the first iron camera crane, which was created and employed in the film in 1934 by Eiji Tsuburaya. + Leni Riefenstahl had a cameraman shoot a half-circle pan shot from a crane for the 1935 Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will. + A crane shot was used in Orson Welles' 1941 film Citizen Kane. Welles also used a crane camera during the iconic opening of Touch of Evil (1958). The camera perched on a Chapman crane begins on a close-up of a ticking time bomb and ends three-plus minutes later with a blinding explosion. + The Western High Noon (1952) had a famous crane shot. The shot backs up and rises, in order to show Marshal Will Kane totally alone and isolated on the street. + The 1964 film by Mikhail Kalatozov, I Am Cuba contains two of the most astonishing tracking shots ever attempted. + In his film Sympathy for the Devil, Jean-Luc Godard used a crane for almost every shot in the movie, giving each scene a 360-degree tour of the tableau Godard presented to the viewer. In the final scene, he even shows the crane he was able to rent on his limited budget by including it in the scene. This was one of his traits as a filmmaker — showing off his budget — as he did with Brigitte Bardot in Le Mepris (Contempt). + The closing take of Richard Attenborough's film version of Oh! What a Lovely War begins with a single war grave, gradually pulling back to reveal hundreds of identical crosses. + The 1980 comedy-drama film The Stunt Man featured a crane throughout the production of the fictitious film-within-a-film (with the director played by Peter O'Toole). + The television comedy Second City Television (SCTV) uses the concept of the crane shot as comedic material. After using a crane shot in one of the first NBC-produced episodes, the network complained about the exorbitant cost of renting the crane. SCTV writers responded by making the "crane shot" a ubiquitous symbol of production excess while also lampooning network executives who care nothing about artistic vision and everything about the bottom line. At the end of the second season, an inebriated Johnny LaRue (John Candy) is given his very own crane by Santa Claus, implying he would be able to have a crane shot whenever he wanted it. + Director Dario Argento included an extensive scene in Tenebrae where the camera seemingly crawled over the walls and up a house wall, all in one seamless take. Due to its length, the tracking shot ended up being the production's most difficult and complex part to complete. + The 2004 Johnnie To film Breaking News opens with an elaborate seven-minute single-take crane shot. + Director Dennis Dugan frequently uses top-to-bottom crane shots in his comedy films. + A camera crane panoramic master interior live shot opens The Late Late Show with James Corden after the pre-recorded exterior aerial-shot. + Jeopardy! uses a crane to pan the camera over the audience. + +See also + Technocrane, a telescopic camera crane + U-crane, a gyro-stabilized car-mounted telescopic camera crane + +References + +Articles containing video clips +Cinematic techniques +Film and video technology +Cranes (machines) +Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice. Ben Cross and Ian Charleson star as Abrahams and Liddell, alongside Nigel Havers, Ian Holm, John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, Cheryl Campbell, Alice Krige, Brad Davis and Dennis Christopher in supporting roles. Kenneth Branagh makes his debut in a minor role. + +Chariots of Fire was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Score for Vangelis' electronic theme tune. At the 35th British Academy Film Awards, the film was nominated in 11 categories and won in three, including Best Film. It is ranked 19th in the British Film Institute's list of Top 100 British films. + +The film's title was inspired by the line "Bring me my Chariot of fire!" from the William Blake poem adapted into the British hymn and unofficial English anthem "Jerusalem"; the hymn is heard at the end of the film. The original phrase "chariot(s) of fire" is from 2 Kings 2:11 and 6:17 in the Bible. + +Plot +During a 1978 funeral service in London in honour of the life of Harold Abrahams, headed by his former colleague Lord Andrew Lindsay, there is a flashback to when he was young and in a group of athletes running along a beach. + +In 1919, Harold Abrahams enters the University of Cambridge, where he experiences antisemitism from the staff but enjoys participating in the Gilbert and Sullivan club. He becomes the first person ever to complete the Trinity Great Court Run, running around the college courtyard in the time it takes for the clock to strike 12, and achieves an undefeated string of victories in various national running competitions. Although focused on his running, he falls in love with Sybil Gordon, a leading Gilbert and Sullivan soprano. + +Eric Liddell, born in China to Scottish missionary parents, is in Scotland. His devout sister Jennie disapproves of Liddell's plans to pursue competitive running. Still, Liddell sees running as a way of glorifying God before returning to China to work as a missionary. When they first race against each other, Liddell beats Abrahams. Abrahams takes it poorly, but Sam Mussabini, a professional trainer he had approached earlier, offers to take him on to improve his technique. This attracts criticism from the Cambridge college masters, who allege it is not gentlemanly for an amateur to "play the tradesman" by employing a professional coach. Abrahams dismisses this concern, interpreting it as cover for antisemitic and class-based prejudice. When Liddell accidentally misses a church prayer meeting because of his running, Jennie upbraids him and accuses him of no longer caring about God. Eric tells her that though he intends to return eventually to the China mission, he feels divinely inspired when running and that not to run would be to dishonour God. + +After years of training and racing, the two athletes are accepted to represent Great Britain in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Also accepted are Abrahams' Cambridge friends, Andrew Lindsay, Aubrey Montague, and Henry Stallard. While boarding the boat to France for the Olympics, Liddell discovers the heats for his 100-metre race will be on a Sunday. Despite intense pressure from the Prince of Wales and the British Olympic Committee, he refuses to run the race because his Christian convictions prevent him from running on the Lord's Day. A solution is found thanks to Liddell's teammate Lindsay, who, having already won a silver medal in the 400 metres hurdles, offers to give his place in the 400-metre race on the following Thursday to Liddell, who gratefully accepts. Liddell's religious convictions in the face of national athletic pride make headlines around the world; he delivers a sermon at the Paris Church of Scotland that Sunday, and quotes from Isaiah 40. + +Abrahams is badly beaten by the heavily favoured United States runners in the 200 metre race. He knows his last chance for a medal will be the 100 metres. He competes in the race and wins. His coach Mussabini, who was barred from the stadium, is overcome that the years of dedication and training have paid off with an Olympic gold medal. Now Abrahams can get on with his life and reunite with his girlfriend Sybil, whom he had neglected for the sake of running. Before Liddell's race, the American coach remarks dismissively to his runners that Liddell has little chance of doing well in his now, far longer, 400 metre race. But one of the American runners, Jackson Scholz, hands Liddell a note of support that quotes . Liddell defeats the American favourites and wins the gold medal. The British team returns home triumphant. + +A textual epilogue reveals that Abrahams married Sybil and became the elder statesman of British athletics while Liddell went on to do missionary work and was mourned by all of Scotland following his death in Japanese-occupied China. + +Cast + +Other actors in smaller roles include John Young as Eric and Jennie's father Reverend J.D. Liddell, Yvonne Gilan as their mother Mary, Benny Young as their older brother Rob, Yves Beneyton as French runner Géo André, Philip O'Brien as American coach George Collins, Patrick Doyle as Jimmie, and Ruby Wax as Bunty. Kenneth Branagh, who worked as a set gofer, appears as an extra in the Cambridge Society Day sequence. Stephen Fry has a likewise uncredited role as a Gilbert-and-Sullivan Club singer. + +Production + +Screenplay + +Producer David Puttnam was looking for a story in the mould of A Man for All Seasons (1966), regarding someone who follows his conscience, and felt that sport provided clear situations in this sense. He discovered Eric Liddell's story by accident in 1977, when he happened upon An Approved History of the Olympic Games, a reference book on the Olympics, while housebound from the flu, in a rented house in Malibu. + +Screenwriter Colin Welland, commissioned by Puttnam, did an enormous amount of research for his Academy Award-winning script. Among other things, he took out advertisements in London newspapers seeking memories of the 1924 Olympics, went to the National Film Archives for pictures and footage of the 1924 Olympics, and interviewed everyone involved who was still alive. Welland just missed Abrahams, who died on 14 January 1978, but he did attend Abrahams' February 1978 memorial service, which inspired the present-day framing device of the film. Aubrey Montague's son saw Welland's newspaper ad and sent him copies of the letters his father had sent home – which gave Welland something to use as a narrative bridge in the film. Except for changes in the greetings of the letters from "Darling Mummy" to "Dear Mum" and the change from Oxford to Cambridge, all of the readings from Montague's letters are from the originals. + +Welland's original script also featured, in addition to Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, a third protagonist, 1924 Olympic gold medallist Douglas Lowe, who was presented as a privileged aristocratic athlete. However, Lowe refused to have anything to do with the film, and his character was written out and replaced by the fictional character of Lord Andrew Lindsay. + +Initial financing towards development costs was provided by Goldcrest Films, who then sold the project to Mohamed Al-Fayed's Allied Stars, but kept a percentage of the profits. + +Ian Charleson wrote Eric Liddell's speech to the post-race workingmen's crowd at the Scotland v. Ireland races. Charleson, who had studied the Bible intensively in preparation for the role, told director Hugh Hudson that he didn't feel the portentous and sanctimonious scripted speech was either authentic or inspiring. Hudson and Welland allowed him to write words he personally found inspirational instead. + +Puttnam chose Hugh Hudson, a multiple award-winning advertising and documentary filmmaker who had never helmed a feature film, to direct Chariots of Fire. Hudson and Puttnam had known each other since the 1960s when Puttnam was an advertising executive and Hudson was making films for ad agencies. In 1977, Hudson had also been second-unit director on the Puttnam-produced film Midnight Express. + +Casting +Director Hugh Hudson was determined to cast young, unknown actors in all the major roles of the film, and to back them up by using veterans like John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, and Ian Holm as their supporting cast. Hudson and producer David Puttnam did months of fruitless searching for the perfect actor to play Eric Liddell. They then saw Scottish stage actor Ian Charleson performing the role of Pierre in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Piaf, and knew immediately they had found their man. Unbeknownst to them, Charleson had heard about the film from his father, and desperately wanted to play the part, feeling it would "fit like a kid glove". + +Ben Cross, who plays Harold Abrahams, was discovered while playing Billy Flynn in Chicago. In addition to having a natural pugnaciousness, he had the desired ability to sing and play the piano. Cross was thrilled to be cast, and said he was moved to tears by the film's script. + +20th Century-Fox, which put up half of the production budget in exchange for distribution rights outside of North America, insisted on having a couple of notable American names in the cast. Thus the small parts of the two American champion runners, Jackson Scholz and Charley Paddock, were cast with recent headliners: Brad Davis had recently starred in Midnight Express (also produced by Puttnam), and Dennis Christopher had recently starred, as a young bicycle racer, in the popular indie film Breaking Away. +