question
stringlengths 18
1.2k
| facts
stringlengths 44
500k
| answer
stringlengths 1
147
|
|---|---|---|
Which veteran performer in rock music began his hit-making career in the mid 1960's with the Belfast quartet named 'Them'? | Influential Blues Performers
Influential Blues Performers
(Click on individual Musician's Biography section to visit Musician's Home Page)
Throughout the history of music individual performers have had a major impact on the music scene. These influential/notable musicians have left their mark by expanding the envelope of their respective genres, either through technical proficiency, experimentation/exploration, or persona. The following list of notable/influential blues musicians is by no means complete. The influential blues performers listed are those that readily came to mind, and any additions to the list can be sent using the link at the bottom of the page. The individual home pages for the musicians listed can be reached by clicking on their name in the bio section.
Taj Mahal - T-Bone Walker - Teenie Hodges - Tinsley Ellis - Tommy Castro - Tommy McClennan - Willie Brown - Willie Dixon - Z. Z.Hill
Albert Collins - Born Oct. 1, 1932, Leona, Texas, died Nov. 24, 1993, Las Vegas, Nev. Albert Collins was a passionate instrumentalist and singer who became known as the "Master of the Telecaster" for the distinctively pure "icy" tone he produced from his Fender Telecaster electric guitar. Collins learned piano and guitar as a teenager in Houston, Texas, and played in local clubs as a band musician and pickup guitarist for other performers. ' Artist Discography '
Albert King - (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992) was an American blues guitarist and singer. One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B.B. King and Freddie King), he stood at least 6' 4" (192 cm), weighed in at least 260 lbs (118 kg) and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born Albert Nelson on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi. During his childhood he would sing at a family gospel group at a church. He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys, in Osceola, Arkansas. He also briefly played drums for Jimmy Reed's band and on several early Reed recordings. Influenced by Blues musicians Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson, but also interestingly Hawaiian music, the electric guitar became his signature instrument, his preference being the Gibson Flying V, which he named "Lucy". King was a left-handed "upside-down/backwards" guitarist. He was left-handed, but usually played right-handed guitars flipped over upside-down so the low E string was on the bottom. In later years he played a custom-made guitar that was basically left-handed, but had the strings reversed (as he was used to playing). He also used very unorthodox tunings (i.e., tuning as low as C to allow him to make sweeping string bends). A "less is more" type blues player, he was known for his expressive "bending" of notes, a technique characteristic of blues guitarists. ' Artist Discography '
Alvin "Youngblood" Hart - born 2 March 1963, is an American musician. Though born in Oakland, California, Hart had family connections with Carroll County, Mississippi, and spent time there in his childhood, hearing his relatives stories of Charlie Patton, "being around these people who were there when this music was going on". Thus influenced by the country blues, Hart is known as one of the world's foremost practitioners of that genre. Hart is also known as a faithful torchbearer for the 1960s and 1970s guitar rock of his youth, as well as Western Swing and vintage country. His music has been compared to a list of diverse artists ranging from Leadbelly, Spade Cooley to Led Zeppelin and Thin Lizzy. Hart plays acoustic and electric guitar as well as banjo and sometimes the mandolin. Bluesman Taj Mahal once said about Hart that "The boy has got thunder in his hands." Hart himself said "I guess my big break came when I opened for Taj Mahal for four nights at Yoshi's. In 1996 he made a powerful and individual album debut, Big Mama's Door, playing street, slide and standard guitars and banjo on a mixture of dug-up and new-grown blues. In 2003, Hart's album Down in the Alley was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. In 2005, Hart received a Grammy Award for his contribution to Beautiful Dreamer - The Songs of Stephen Foster. Hart was featured in the 2003 Wim Wenders film "The Soul of a Man," which was featured in Martin Scorsese's film series "The Blues." Hart was also featured in the documentary "Last of the Mississippi Jukes." ' Artist Discography '
Amos Milburn - (April 1, 1927 – January 3, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues singer, and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born and died in Houston, Texas. Born in Houston, one of thirteen children, by the age of five Milburn was playing tunes on the piano. He enlisted in the United States Navy when he was fifteen and earned thirteen battle stars in the Philippines, before returning to Houston and organizing a sixteen-piece band playing in Houston clubs, and mixing with the Houston jazz and blues scene. He was a polished pianist and performer and in 1946 attracted the attention of an enterprising woman who arranged a recording session with Aladdin Records in Los Angeles. Milburn's relationship with Aladdin lasted eight years during which he cut over seventy-five sides. His cover of "Down the Road a Piece" (1946), a blues with a rocking Texas boogie beat that bordered on rock, was ahead of its time. However, none caught on until 1949 when seven of his singles got the attention of the R&B audience. "Hold Me Baby" and "Chicken Shack Boogie" landed numbers eight and nine on Billboard's survey of 1949's R&B Bestsellers. He became one of the leading performers associated with the Central Avenue music scene of Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood. Among his best known songs was "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer". In 1950 Milburn's "Bad, Bad, Whiskey" reached the top of the R&B charts and began a string of drinking songs (none written by Milburn, but several penned by Rudy Toombs). ' Artist Discography '
Anson Funderburgh - born November 15, 1954, is a blues guitar player and band leader. He has led Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets since 1979. Their style incorporates both Chicago blues and Texas blues. In 1981, Funderburgh released the Rockets' debut album Talk to You By Hand from the New Orleans, Louisiana, based Black Top Records, with Darrell Nulisch on vocals and harmonica. The album included a cover version of Earl King's song, "Come On". Talk to You By Hand was also the first ever release by the record label. The outfit appeared on the bill at the 1984 San Francisco Blues Festival. When Nulisch left the band in 1985, Funderburgh invited the blues harmonica player Sam Myers from Jackson, Mississippi to fill in the spot. The first Rockets' recording featuring Myers was My Love Is Here To Stay which came out in 1986. He stayed with the band until his death on July 17, 2006, appearing on eight albums with them. As well as the studio recordings, Funderburgh and his band has played live at the Zoo Bar, in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1990 the band was on the bill at the Long Beach Blues Festival. ' Artist Discography '
Anthony Gomes - born in 1970, is a Canadian blues and blues-rock guitarist and singer. He was born in Toronto to a Portuguese father and a Canadian mother. After his 1997 debut album release Blues in Technicolor he began touring the United States and Canada and he has since recorded two more albums. He and his band are a hard working outfit, with an innovative style. Anthony Gomes resided in Chicago fusing his blues with rock and soul, powerful vocal skills and an energetic live experience with the Anthony Gomes Band that has been touring North America also Europe. ' Artist Discography '
B. B. King - B. B. King (born Riley B. King, September 16, 1925) is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. Critical acclaim and widespread popularity have cemented his reputation as one of the most respected and influential blues musicians. Rolling Stone magazine named him the third-greatest guitarist of "the 100 greatest guitarists of all time". B. B. King arrived in Memphis for the first time in 1946 to work as a musician, but after a few months of hardship he left, going back to Mississippi. There he decided to prepare himself better for the next visit and returned to Memphis two years later. Initially he worked at the local R&B radio channel WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, where he gained the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", later shortened to "B. B.". It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker - "Once I'd heard him for the first time, I knew I'd have to have an electric guitar myself. Had to have one, short of stealing!" In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records. Many of King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records. ' Artist Discography '
Big Bill Broonzy - ( June 26,1898 – August 14, 1958) was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played Country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences. In the 1950s a return to his traditional folk-blues roots made him one of the leading figures of the emerging American folk music revival and an international star. His long and varied career marks him as one of the key figures in the development of blues music in the 20th century. Broonzy copyrighted more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including both adaptations of traditional folk songs and original blues songs. As a blues composer, he was unique in that his compositions reflected the many vantage points of his rural-to-urban experiences. ' Artist Discography '
Big Joe Williams - (October 16, 1903 - December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter, known for his characteristic style of guitar-playing, his nine-string guitar, and his bizarre, cantankerous personality. Born in Crawford, Mississippi, Williams as a youth began wandering across the United States busking and playing stores, bars, alleys and work camps. In the early 1920s he worked in the Rabbit Foot Minstrels revue and recorded with the Birmingham Jug Band in 1930 for the Okeh label. In 1934 he was in St. Louis, where he met record producer Lester Melrose who signed him to a contract with Bluebird Records in 1935. He stayed with Bluebird for ten years, recording such blues hits as "Baby, Please Don't Go" (1935) and "Crawlin' King Snake" (1941), both songs later covered by many other performers. He also recorded with other blues singers, including John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Robert Nighthawk and Peetie Wheatstraw. Williams remained a noted blues artist in the 1950s and 1960s, with his guitar style and vocals becoming popular with folk-blues fans. He recorded for the Trumpet, Delmark, Prestige and Vocalion labels, among others. He became a regular on the concert and coffeehouse circuits, touring Europe and Japan in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and performing at major U.S. festivals. ' Artist Discography '
Big Mama Thornton - Willie Mae ("Big Mama") Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984) was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952. The song was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks. The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the single sold almost two million copies. Three years later, Elvis Presley recorded his version, based on a version performed by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. In a similar occurrence, she wrote and recorded "Ball 'n' Chain," which became a hit for her. Janis Joplin later recorded "Ball and Chain," and was a huge success in the late 1960s. Thornton was born in Montgomery, Alabama. Her introduction to music started in the Baptist church. Her father was a minister and her mother was a church singer. She and her six siblings began to sing at a very early age. Thornton's musical aspirations led her to leave Montgomery in 1941, after her mother's death, when she was just fourteen, and she joined the Georgia-based Hot Harlem Revue. Her seven-year tenure with the Revue gave her valuable singing and stage experience and enabled her to tour the South. In 1948, she settled in Houston, Texas, where she hoped to further her career as a singer. Willa Mae was also a self-taught drummer and harmonica player and frequently played both instruments onstage. ' Artist Discography '
Big Walter Horton - ( April 6, 1917 - December 8, 1981), Big Walter "Shakey" Horton is one of the all-time great blues harp (harmonica) players. Along with Little Walter, Horton defined modern amplified Chicago-style harmonica. There is no harp player (and that includes Little Walter) with Horton's big tone and spacious sense of time. Horton (who is said to have been somewhat shy) was not a natural group leader and therefore has produced few solo albums. His best work is as a sideman; his backup harmonica and virtuoso harp solos have graced many great Chicago blues recordings -- turning an otherwise good cut into a dynamite jam.Walter was the master of the single note and his characteristic walking bass line (usually with a deep tone and selection of notes that is unsurpassed) is instantly recognizable. As an accompanist, he had few equals. His backup harp was always unobtrusive yet bright and fresh -- enhancing whatever else is going on. Give Big Walter a chance to solo and you were in for some of the most tasteful lines Chicago-style harp has ever produced. ' Artist Discography '
Blind Lemon Jefferson - (September 24, 1893?– December 1929), was an influential blues singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and has been titled "Father of the Texas Blues." His musical style was individualistic, and Jefferson's singing and self-accompaniment were distinctive as a result of his high-pitched voice and originality on the guitar. He was not influential on some younger blues singers of his generation, as they did not seek to imitate him as they did other commercially successful artists. However, later blues and rock and roll musicians attempted to imitate both his songs and his musical style. Jefferson was born blind near Coutchman, Texas in Freestone County, near present-day Wortham, Texas. Jefferson was one of eight children born to sharecroppers Alex and Clarissa Jefferson. Disputes regarding his exact birth date derive from contradictory census records and draft registration records. Jefferson began playing the guitar in his early teens, and soon after he began performing at picnics and parties. He also became a street musician, playing in East Texas towns in front of barbershops and on corners. Unlike many artists who were "discovered" and recorded in their normal venues, in December 1925 or January 1926, he was taken to Chicago, Illinois, to record his first tracks. Jefferson's first two recordings from this session were gospel songs ("I Want to be like Jesus in my Heart" and "All I Want is that Pure Religion"), released under the name Deacon L. J. Bates. This led to a second recording session in March 1926. His first releases under his own name, "Booster Blues" and "Dry Southern Blues," were hits; this led to the release of the other two songs from that session, "Got the Blues" and "Long Lonesome Blues," which became a runaway success, with sales in six figures. He recorded about 100 tracks between 1926 and 1929; 43 records were issued, all but one for Paramount Records. ' Artist Discography '
Billie Holiday - (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Billie Holiday was a true artist of her day and rose as a social phenomenon in the 1950s. Her soulful, unique singing voice and her ability to boldly turn any material that she confronted into her own music made her a superstar of her time. Today, Holiday is remembered for her masterpieces, creativity and vivacity, as many of Holiday's songs are as well known today as they were decades ago. Holiday's poignant voice is still considered to be one of the greatest jazz voices of all time. As a young teenager, Holiday served the beginning part of her so-called "apprenticeship" by singing along with records by Bessie Smith or Louis Armstrong in after-hours jazz clubs. When Holiday's mother, Sadie Fagan, moved to New York in search of a better job, Billie eventually went with her. She made her true singing debut in obscure Harlem nightclubs and borrowed her professional name - Billie Holiday - from screen star Billie Dove. Although she never underwent any technical training and never even so much as learned how to read music, Holiday quickly became an active participant in what was then one of the most vibrant jazz scenes in the country. ' Artist Discography'
Blind Willie McTell - Born William Samuel McTell in 1901, Blind Willie lost his sight in late childhood, yet earned the status as one of the most accomplished guitarists and lyrical storytellers in Blues history. Blind Willie became an accomplished musical theorist, able to both read and write music in Braille, through an encouraging family and strong faith. While few of his recordings ever earned mainstream popularity, his influence on the modern music and art scene is widely known. His songs (Statesboro Blues, Broke Down Engine Blues, etc...) have been recorded by famous artists such as the Allman Brothers, Taj Mahal and others. He left the music scene for the pulpit in later life and the details of Blind Willie's death remain nebulous; nonetheless, his legacy grows exponentially each year. ' Artist Discography '
Bo Diddley - (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008, born Ellas Otha Bates), was an original and influential American rock & roll singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was known as "The Originator" because of his key role in the transition from blues music to rock & roll, influencing a host of legendary acts including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He introduced more insistent, driving rhythms and a hard-edged guitar sound on a wide-ranging catalog of songs. Accordingly, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and also received the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award." He was also known for his technical innovations, including his trademark rectangular guitar. Bo Diddley received an honorary degree from the University of Florida in August 2008 that was accepted by his daughter, Evelyn Kelly, on his behalf. ' Artist Discography '
Bonnie Raitt - Born to a musical family, the nine-time Grammy winner is the daughter of celebrated Broadway singer John Raitt (Carousel, Oklahoma!, The Pajama Game) and accomplished pianist/singer Marge Goddard. She was raised in Los Angeles in a climate of respect for the arts, Quaker traditions, and a commitment to social activism. A Stella guitar given to her as a Christmas present launched Bonnie on her creative journey at the age of eight. While growing up, though passionate about music from the start, she never considered that it would play a greater role than as one of her many growing interests. In the late '60s, restless in Los Angeles, she moved east to Cambridge, Massachusetts. As a Harvard/Radcliffe student majoring in Social Relations and African Studies, she attended classes and immersed herself in the city's turbulent cultural and political activities. Raitt was already deeply involved with folk music and the blues at that time.
Exposure to the album Blues at Newport 1963 at age 14 had kindled her interest in blues and slide guitar, and between classes at Harvard she explored these and other styles in local coffeehouse gigs. Three years after entering college, Bonnie left to commit herself full-time to music, and shortly afterward found herself opening for surviving giants of the blues. From Mississippi Fred McDowell, Sippie Wallace, Son House, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker she learned first-hand lessons of life as well as invaluable techniques of performance. Word spread quickly of the young redhaired blueswoman, her soulful, unaffected way of singing, and her uncanny insights into blues guitar. Warner Bros. tracked her down, signed her up, and in 1971 released her debut album, "Bonnie Raitt". ' Artist Discography '
Buddy Guy - George "Buddy" Guy, born July 30, 1936, is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American blues and rock guitarist and singer. Known as an inspiration to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and other guitarists, Guy is considered an important exponent of Chicago blues. He is the father of female rapper Shawnna and son Michael. He is the older brother of late blues guitarist Phil Guy. Guy is known for his showmanship: for example, he plays his guitar with drumsticks, or strolls into the audience while jamming and trailing a long guitar chord. Born in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Guy grew up in Louisiana learning guitar on a two string diddley bow he made. Later he was given a Harmony acoustic guitar, which he later donated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the early '50s he began performing with bands in Baton Rouge. Soon after moving to Chicago in 1957, Guy fell under the influence of Muddy Waters. In 1958, a competition with West Side guitarists Magic Sam and Otis Rush gave Guy a record contract. Soon afterwards he recorded for Cobra Records. He recorded sessions with Junior Wells for Delmark Records under the pseudonym Friendly Chap in 1965 and 1966. Guy’s early career was supposedly held back by both conservative business choices made by his record company (Chess Records) and "the scorn, diminishments and petty subterfuge from a few jealous rivals". Chess, Guy’s record label from 1959 to 1968, refused to record Buddy Guy’s novel style that was similar to his live shows. Leonard Chess (Chess founder and 1987 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee) denounced Guy’s playing as "noise". In the early 1960s, Chess tried recording Guy as a solo artist with R&B ballads, jazz instrumentals, soul and novelty dance tunes, but none were released as singles. Guy’s only Chess album, "Left My Blues in San Francisco", was finally issued in 1967. Most of the songs belong stylistically to the era's soul boom, with orchestrations by Gene Barge and Charlie Stepney. Chess used Guy mainly as a session guitarist to back Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor and others. ' Artist Discography '
Champion Jack Dupree - William Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died January 21, 1992 Champion Jack Dupree was the embodiment of the New Orleans blues and boogie woogie pianist, a true barrelhouse "professor". His father was from the Belgian Congo and his mother was African American and Cherokee. He was orphaned at the age of 2 and sent to the New Orleans Home for Colored Waifs (also the alma mater of Louis Armstrong). He taught himself piano there and later apprenticed with Tuts Washington and the legendary Drive'em Down, whom he called his "father" and from whom he learned "Junker's Blues". He was also "spy boy" for the Yellow Pochahantas tribe of Mardi Gras Indians and soon began playing in barrelhouses, drinking establishments organized around barrels of booze. As a young man he began his life of travelling, living in Chicago, where he worked with Georgia Tom, and Indianapolis, Indiana, where he hooked up with Scrapper Blackwell and Leroy Carr. While he was always playing piano, he also worked as a cook, and in Detroit he met Joe Louis, who encouraged him to become a boxer. He ultimately fought in 107 bouts and winning Golden Gloves and other championships, and picking up the nickname Champion Jack, which he used the rest of his life. ' Artist Discography '
Charles Brown - (September 13, 1922 – January 21, 1999), born in Texas City, Texas was an American blues singer and pianist whose soft-toned, slow-paced blues-club style influenced the development of blues performance during the 1940s and 1950s. He had several hit recordings, including "Drifting Blues" and "Merry Christmas Baby". In the late 1940s a rising demand for blues was driven by an increasing white teenage audience in the South which quickly spread north and west. Blues shouters got the attention, but also greatly influential was what writer Charles Keil dubbs "the postwar Texas clean-up movement in blues" led by stylists such as T-Bone Walker, Amos Milburn and Charles Brown. Their singing was lighter, more relaxed and they worked with bands and combos that had saxophone sections and used arrangements. As a child Brown demonstrated his love of music and took classical piano lessons. Early on, Brown moved out to Los Angeles, where the great influx of blacks created an integrated nightclub scene in which black performers tended to minimize the rougher blues elements of their style. ' Artist Discography
Charley Patton - (May 1, 1891 – April 28, 1934), is best known as an American Delta blues musician. He is considered by many to be the "Father of Delta Blues" and therefore one of the oldest known figures of American popular music. He is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta blues man (Palmer, 1995). Musicologist Robert Palmer considers him among the most important musicians that America produced in the twentieth century. Many sources, including musical releases and his gravestone, spell his name “Charley” even though the musician himself spelled his name "Charlie." He was extremely popular across the Southern United States, and, in contrast to the itinerant wandering of most of the notable blues musicians of the era, played scheduled engagements at plantations and taverns. Long before Jimi Hendrix impressed audiences with flashy guitar playing, Patton gained notoriety for his showmanship, often playing with the guitar down on his knees, behind his head, or behind his back. Although Patton was a small man at about 5 foot 5 and 135 pounds, his gravelly voice was rumored to have been loud enough to carry 500 yards without amplification. Patton's gritty bellowing was a major influence on the singing style of his young friend Chester Burnett, who went on to gain fame in Chicago as Howlin' Wolf. ' Artist Discography '
Charlie Musselwhite - born January 31, 1944, in Kosciusko, Mississippi) is an American blues-harp player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American and Thai heritage. Musselwhite was born in the rural hill country of Mississippi. He has said that he is of Choctaw descent, and he was born in a region originally inhabited by the Choctaw. However, in a 2005 interview, he said his mother had told him he was actually Cherokee. His family considered it normal to play music, with his father playing guitar and harmonica, his mother playing piano, and a relative who was a one-man band. At the age of three, Musselwhite moved to Memphis, Tennessee. When he was a teenager, Memphis experienced the period when rockabilly, western swing, electric blues, and some forms of African American music were combining to give birth to rock and roll. The period featured legendary figures such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, as well as minor legends such as Gus Cannon, Furry Lewis, Will Shade, Royal Bell, Memphis Willie B., Johnny Burnette, Red Roby, Abe McNeal, and Slim Rhodes. Musselwhite supported himself by digging ditches, laying concrete and running moonshine in a 1950 Lincoln. This environment was Musselwhite's school for music as well as life, and he acquired the nickname "Memphis Charlie." ' Artist Discography '
Colin James - Colin James Munn, born August 17, 1964, is a Canadian singer, guitarist, and songwriter who plays in the blues, rock, and swing genres. At a young age, Little Colin, as he was called, was a fixture on the Regina folk music scene, sitting in with various local and touring musicians, playing a preternaturally fast and delightful mandolin. He would often jump up on stage between sets to play his own sets, which were always entertaining. Summers, he would tour with local music revue, Sod Hut and The Buffalo Chips, with Connie Protz on saxophone. Colin taught guitar lessons on a local Aboriginal reserve, and he was introduced to the Texas Blues of various artists by his stepfather. ' Artist Discography '
David Honeyboy Edwards - born June 28, 1915, is an American delta blues guitarist and singer. Edwards was a friend to the legendary musician Robert Johnson and was present on the fateful night Johnson drank the poisoned whiskey that took his life. Folklorist Alan Lomax recorded Edwards in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1942 for the Library of Congress. Edwards recorded a total of fifteen sides of music. The songs included "Wind Howlin' Blues" and "The Army Blues." He did not record again commercially until 1951, when he recorded "Who May Your Regular Be" for Arc Records under the name of Mr Honey.Edwards is still touring the country performing and is the author of one book, The World Don't Owe Me Nothin', published in 1997 by Chicago Review Press. The book recounts his life from childhood, his journeys through the South and his arrival in Chicago in the early 1950s. A companion CD by the same title was released by Earwig Records shortly afterwards. He has also recorded at a church-turned-studio in Salina, Kansas and released albums on the APO record label. Honeyboy has written several blues hits, including "Long Tall Woman Blues" and "Just Like Jesse James". His discography for the 1950s and 1960s amounts to nine songs from seven sessions. Edwards is one of, if not the last, original delta blues guitarists still performing. In October 2004, the last four original delta blues musicians gathered together in Dallas, Texas for a once-in-a-lifetime concert. The line-up consisted of: Honeyboy Edwards, Pinetop Perkins, Henry Townsend, and Robert Lockwood, Jr. But two years later in 2006, Townsend died aged 96, and Lockwood also died aged 91. Pinetop Perkins still continues to tour, mainly in the USA. ' Artist Discography '
Deacon John Moore - born 23 June 1941, is a blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll musician, singer, and bandleader. He grew up in New Orleans' 8th Ward. He plays guitar and is the brother of the Creole scholar Sybil Kein. He was active on the New Orleans R&B scene since his teens, and became a session man on many hit recordings of the late 1950s and the 1960s, including those by Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Lee Dorsey, Ernie K-Doe, and others. His band at New Orleans' Dew Drop Inn attracted an enthusiastic following, sometimes upstaging visiting national acts Moore was hired to open for. While highly regarded locally and by his fellow musicians, lack of hit records under his own name kept him from the national fame achieved by a number of his peers. In 2000 Moore was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame. He is featured in the film Deacon John's Jump Blues. As of 2006 he remains a local favorite on the New Orleans music scene. On 25 July 2006 Moore became president of the local branch of the American Federation of Musicians. ' Artist Discography '
Dick Heckstall-Smith - ( September 16, 1934 – December 17, 2004) was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most important English blues-rock and jazz-rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Heckstall-Smith was born Richard Malden Heckstall-Smith in Ludlow, England (his father then being headmaster of the local Grammar School), and brought up in Knighton, Powys. He learned to play piano, clarinet and alto saxophone in childhood. Heckstall-Smith was an active member of the London jazz scene from the late 1950s. He joined Blues Incorporated, Alexis Korner's groundbreaking blues group, in 1962, recording the album R&B from the Marquee. The following year, he was a founding member of that band's breakaway unit, the Graham Bond Organisation; the lineup also included two future members of the blues-rock supergroup Cream: bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. In 1967, Heckstall-Smith became a member of keyboardist-vocalist John Mayall's prominent group the Bluesbreakers. That jazz-skewed edition of the band, which also included drummer Jon Hiseman and future Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, released the album Bare Wires in 1968. ' Artist Discography '
Dr.John - the stage name of Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., born November 21, 1940, is a pianist, singer, and songwriter, whose music spans, and often combines, blues, boogie woogie, and rock and roll.Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, his professional musical career began in New Orleans in the 1950s. He originally concentrated on guitar and he gigged with local bands included Mac Rebennack and the Skyliners, Frankie Ford and the Thunderbirds, and Jerry Byrnes and the Loafers. He had a regional hit with a Bo Diddley influenced instrumental called "Storm Warning" on Rex Records in 1959. Rebennack's career as a guitarist came to an end when his left ring finger was injured by a gunshot while he was defending singer/keyboardist Ronnie Barron, his bandmate, Jesuit High School classmate, and longtime friend. After the injury, Rebennack concentrated on bass guitar before making piano his main instrument; pianist Professor Longhair was an important influence on Rebennack's piano stylings. He moved to Los Angeles in 1963 where, as a session musician, he provided backing for Sonny & Cher, Canned Heat and many other acts of the mid to late 1960s. Rebennack gained fame beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with music that combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues with psychedelic rock and elaborate stage shows that bordered on voodoo religious ceremonies, including elaborate costumes and headdress. For a time he was billed as "Doctor John, The Night Tripper". The name "Dr. John" came from a legendary Louisiana voodoo practitioner of the early 1800s. ' Artist Discography '
Earl Hooker - (January 15, 1929 – April 21, 1970 ), was an American blues guitarist. Hooker was a Chicago slide guitarist in the same league as Elmore James, Hound Dog Taylor, and his mentor, Robert Nighthawk. Some Chicago blues guitarists even consider Hooker to have been the greatest slide player ever. Born Earl Zebedee Hooker in Clarksdale, Mississippi, from a music-inclined family (he was a cousin of John Lee Hooker), taught himself to play guitar around the age of 10 and shortly thereafter his family migrated to Chicago where he began attending the Lyon & Healy Music School in 1941. From the knowledge he gained there Hooker eventually became proficient on the drums and piano as well as on such stringed instruments as the banjo and mandolin. While a teen, Hooker performed on Chicago street corners, occasionally with Bo Diddley. He also developed a friendship with slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk, which led to Hooker's interest in slide guitar and some performances with Nighthawk's group outside of Chicago. In 1949, Hooker moved to Memphis, joined Ike Turner's band, and toured the South. Being in Memphis led to some performances with harmonica ace Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) on his KFFA radio program, "King Biscuit Time," and to Hooker's first recording dates. By the mid-'50s Hooker was back in Chicago and fronting his own band. He became a steady figure on the Chicago blues scene, and regularly traveled to cities such as Gary and Indianapolis, Indiana, playing blues clubs. ' Artist Discography '
Earl King - (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003), was a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, most active in blues music. Being a composer of well known standards such as "Come On" (covered by Jimi Hendrix), and Professor Longhair's "Big Chief", he is considered to be one of the most important figures in New Orleans R&B music and beyond. King was born with the name Earl Silas Johnson IV in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, a local piano player, died when King was still a baby, and he was brought up by his mother. With his mother, he started going to church at an early age. In his youth he sang gospel music, but took the advice of a friend to switch to blues to make a better living. King started to play guitar at age 15. Soon he started entering talent contests at local clubs including the Dew Drop Inn. It was at one of those clubs where he met his idol Guitar Slim. King started imitating Slim, and his presence gave a big impact on his musical directions. In 1954, when Slim was injured in an automobile accident (right around the time Slim had the #1 R&B hit with "The Things That I Used To Do"), King was deputized to continue Slim's band tour, representing himself as Slim. After succeeding in this role, King became a regular at the Dew Drop Inn . His first recording came in 1953. He released a 78 "Have you Gone Crazy b/w Begging At Your Mercy" on Savoy label as Earl Johnson. The following year, talent scout Johnny Vincent introduced King to Specialty label and he recorded some sides including "Mother's Love" which created a little stir locally. In 1955, King signed with Johnny Vincent's label, Ace. His first single from the label "Those Lonely, Lonely Nights" become huge hit reaching #7 on the R&B chart. He continued to record during his stay at the label which lasted for 5 years, and during the time, he also he started writing songs for other artists such as Roland Stone and Jimmy Clanton. ' Artist Discography '
Elmore James - (January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963), was an American blues guitarist, singer, song writer and band leader. He was known as The King of the Slide Guitar and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice. James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in Holmes County, Mississippi, (not to be confused with two other locations of the same name in Mississippi, one in Humphreys County and the other in Rankin County). He was the illegitimate son of 15-year-old Leola Brooks, a field hand. His father was probably Joe Willie "Frost" James, who moved in with Leola, and so Elmore took this as his name. His parents adopted an orphaned boy, Robert Holston, at some point. Elmore began making music at age 12 using a simple one-string instrument ('diddley bow' or 'jitterbug') strung up on a shack wall. As a teen he was playing at local dances under the names Cleanhead and Joe Willie James. Other well-known musicians of that time, with whom he played, included the 'second' Sonny Boy Williamson, and the legendary Robert Johnson. Although Robert Johnson was murdered in 1938, James (like many other musicians) was strongly influenced by him, and also by Kokomo Arnold and Tampa Red. Elmore recorded several of Tampa's songs, and even inherited from his band two of his famous 'Broomdusters', 'Little' Johnny Jones (piano) and Odie Payne (drums). There is a dispute as to whether Robert Johnson or Elmore wrote James's trademark song, "Dust My Broom".. Elmore was still under 20 when Johnson had recorded his version of the song. ' Artist Discography '
Eric Clapton - born 30 March 1945, is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. He is "probably most famous for his mastery of the Stratocaster guitar."Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer. Often viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Clapton was ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #53 on their list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Although Clapton has varied his musical style throughout his career, it has always remained grounded in the blues. Yet, in spite of this focus, he is credited as an innovator in a wide variety of genres. These include blues-rock (with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and The Yardbirds) and psychedelic rock (with Cream). Additionally, Clapton's chart success was not limited to the blues, with chart-toppers in Delta blues (Me and Mr. Johnson), pop ("Change the World") and reggae (Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff"). One of his most successful recordings was the hit love song "Layla," which he played with the band Derek and the Dominos. Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England, the son of 16-year-old Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Walter Fryer, a 24-year-old soldier from Montreal, Quebec, Canada; the two were not married. Fryer shipped off to war prior to Clapton's birth and then returned to Canada. Clapton grew up with his grandmother, Rose, and her second husband Jack, believing they were his parents and that his mother was his older sister. Their surname was Clapp, which has given rise to the widespread but erroneous belief that Clapton's real surname is Clapp (Reginald Cecil Clapton is the name of Rose's first husband, Eric Clapton's maternal grandfather). Years later, his mother married another Canadian soldier, moved to Canada and left young Eric with his grandparents. ' Artist Discography '
Floyd Council - (September 2, 1911–May 9, 1976), was an American blues guitarist and singer. He became a well-known practitioner of the Piedmont blues sound from that area, popular throughout the southeastern region of the US in the 1930s. Born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina to Harrie and Lizzie Council, Floyd began his musical career on the streets of Chapel Hill in the 1920s, performing with two brothers, Leo and Thomas Strowd as "The Chapel Hillbillies". He recorded twice for ARC at sessions with Blind Boy Fuller in the mid-thirties, all fine examples of the Piedmont style in full bloom. Council suffered a stroke in the late 1960s which partially paralyzed his throat muscles and slowed his motor skills, but didn't cause any damage to his brain. Folklorist Peter B. Lowry attempted to record him one afternoon in 1970 - the results are of historical note only - but he never regained his singing or playing abilities. Accounts say that he remained "quite sharp in mind". Council died in 1976 of a heart attack, after moving to Sanford, North Carolina. ' Artist Discography '
Fred McDowell - (January 12, 1904 - July 3, 1972), often known as Mississippi Fred McDowell, was a blues singer and guitar player in the North Mississippi style. McDowell was born in Rossville, Tennessee, near Memphis. His parents, who were farmers, died when McDowell was a youth. He started playing guitar at the age of 14 and played at dances around Rossville. Wanting a change from ploughing fields, he moved to Memphis in 1926 where he worked in a number of jobs and played music for tips. He settled in Como, Mississippi, about 40 miles south of Memphis, in 1940 or 1941, and worked steadily as a farmer, continuing to perform music at dances, and picnics. Initially he played slide guitar using a pocket knife and then a slide made from a beef rib bone, later switching to a glass slide for its clearer sound. He played with the slide on his ring finger. While commonly lumped together with "Delta Blues singers," McDowell actually may be considered the first of the bluesmen from the North Mississippi region - parallel to, but somewhat east of the Delta region - to achieve widespread recognition for his work. A version of the state’s signature musical form somewhat closer in structure to its African roots (often eschewing the chord change for the hypnotic effect of the droning, single chord vamp), the North Mississippi style (or at least its aesthetic) may be heard to have been carried on in the music of such figures as Junior Kimbrough and R. L. Burnside; as well as the jam band The North Mississippi Allstars, while serving as the original impetus behind creation of the Fat Possum record label out of Oxford, Mississippi. ' Artist Discography '
Freddie King - (September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976), was an influential American blues guitarist and singer best known for his recordings from early 1960s including "Hide Away" and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman". King was born Frederick Christian in Gilmer, Texas on September 3, 1934. His mother was Ella May King, his father J.T. Christian. His mother and uncle, who both played the guitar, began teaching Freddie to play at the age of six. He moved with his family from Texas to the South Side of Chicago in 1950. There, at age 16 he used to sneak in to local clubs, where he heard blues music performed by the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James, and Sonny Boy Williamson. Howlin' Wolf took him under his wing, and Freddie also began jamming with Muddy Waters' sidemen, who included Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood, Jr. and Little Walter. By 1952 he had married a Texas girl, Jessie Burnett. He gigged at night and worked days in a steel mill. He got occasional work as a sideman on recording sessions. Two bands that he played with during this period were the Sonny Cooper Band, and Early Payton's Blues Cats. He formed the first band of his own, the Every Hour Blues Boys, with guitarist Jimmy Lee Robinson and drummer Sonny Scott. In 1953 he made some recordings for Parrot. In 1956 he recorded "Country Boy", a duet with, Margaret Whitfield, and "That's What You Think", an uptempo shuffle. This was for a local label, El-Bee. Robert Lockwood, Jr. appeared as a sideman on guitar. ' Artist Discography '
Furry Lewis - (March 6, 1893 - September 14, 1981), was a country blues guitarist and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. Lewis was one of the first of the old-time blues musicians of the 1920s to be brought out of retirement, and given a new lease of recording life, by the folk blues revival of the 1960s. Walter E. Lewis was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, but his family moved to Memphis when he was aged seven. Lewis acquired the nickname "Furry" from childhood playmates. But by the time he was re-discovered in the 1950s not even Furry himself could remember why. By 1908, he was playing solo for parties, in taverns, and on the street. He also was invited to play several dates with W. C. Handy's Orchestra. The loss of a leg in a railroad accident in 1917 does not seem to have slowed his life or career down — in fact, it hastened his entry into professional music, because he assumed that there was no gainful employment open to crippled, uneducated blacks in Memphis. His travels exposed him to a wide variety of performers including Bessie Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Slow Blind Driveway, and Texas Alexander. Like his contemporary Frank Stokes, he tired of the road and took a permanent job in 1922. His position as a street sweeper for the City of Memphis, a job he would hold until his retirement in 1966, allowed him to remain active in the Memphis music scene. In 1927, Lewis cut his first records in Chicago for the Vocalion label. A year later he recorded for the Victor label at the Memphis Auditorium in a session that saw sides waxed by the Memphis Jug Band, Jim Jackson, Frank Stokes, and others. He again recorded for Vocalion in Memphis in 1929. The tracks were mostly blues but included two-part versions of "Casey Jones" and "John Henry". He sometimes fingerpicked, sometimes played with a slide. Lewis' style of Memphis blues was in many ways typical of the songsters who operated in and around Memphis in the 1920s, for whom the value of a song was the story it told, and who tended to back their words with hypnotic repetitive riffs and subtle slide guitars. ' Artist Discography '
Gary Davis - Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, (April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), was a blues and gospel singer and guitarist. His unique finger-picking style influenced many other artists and his students in New York City included Stefan Grossman, David Bromberg, Roy Book Binder, Woody Mann, Nick Katzman, Dave Van Ronk, Tom Winslow, and Ernie Hawkins. He has influenced the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Wizz Jones, Jorma Kaukonen, Keb Mo, Ollabelle and Resurrection Band. Born in Laurens, South Carolina, Davis became blind at a very young age. He took to the guitar and assumed a unique multi-voice style produced solely with his thumb and index finger, playing not only ragtime and blues tunes, but also traditional and original tunes in four-part harmony. Bull City Blues, Durham, North Carolina In the mid-1920s, Davis migrated to Durham, North Carolina, a major center for black culture at the time. There he collaborated with a number of other artists in the Piedmont blues scene including Blind Boy Fuller and Bull City Red. In 1935, J. B. Long, a store manager with a reputation for supporting local artists, introduced Davis, Fuller and Red to the American Record Company. The subsequent recording sessions marked the real beginning of Davis' career. During his time in Durham, Davis converted to Christianity; he would later become ordained as a Baptist minister. Following his conversion and especially his ordination, Davis began to express a preference for inspirational gospel music. In the 1940s, the blues scene in Durham began to decline and Davis migrated to New York City. By the 1960s, he had become known as the "Harlem Street Singer" and also acquired a reputation as the person to see if you wanted to learn to play guitar. As a teacher, Davis was exceptionally patient and thorough, making sure students would learn and adapt his original left-hand fingerings. ' Artist Discography '
Gary Moore - (April 1952 - February 2011), is a Northern Irish guitarist. In a career dating back to the 1960s, he has played with artists including Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, Greg Lake and the Blues-rock band Skid Row, as well as having a successful solo career. Among many cameo appearances over the years, he performed the lead guitar solo on "She's My Baby" from Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3. Moore grew up on a road opposite Stormont, off the Upper Newtownards Road in east Belfast and started performing at a young age, having picked up a battered acoustic guitar at the age of eight, and got his first quality guitar at the age of fourteen, learning to play the right-handed instrument in the standard way despite being left-handed. Like so many others, Moore's early influences were artists such as Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Later, having seen Jimi Hendrix and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in his home town of Belfast, his own style was developing into a blues-rock sound that would come to dominate his career. His largest influence in the early days came from Peter Green, of Fleetwood Mac fame, who acted as a mentor when Moore was playing in Dublin. Green continued to influence Moore, and Moore later paid tribute to Green in his 1995 album Blues for Greeny, an album consisting entirely of Peter Green compositions. On the album Moore played Peter Green's celebrated 1959 Les Paul standard guitar which Green had loaned to Moore after leaving Fleetwood Mac. Moore ultimately purchased the guitar, at Green's request, so that "it would have a good home". Gary Moore has remained relatively unknown in the US, although his work has "brought substantial acclaim and commercial success in most other parts of the world - especially in Europe". ' Artist Discography '
Hound Dog Taylor - Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor (April 12, 1915 - December 17, 1975) was an American blues guitarist and singer. "Hound Dog" Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi, around 1915 . He originally played piano, but began playing guitar when he was 20 and moved to Chicago in 1942. He became a full-time musician around 1957 but remained unknown outside of the Chicago area, where he played small clubs in the black neighborhoods and also at the open-air Maxwell Street Market. He was known for his electrified slide guitar playing, his cheap Japanese guitars, and his raucous boogie beats. He was also famed among guitar players for having six fingers on his left hand. After hearing Taylor with his band, the HouseRockers (consisting of Brewer Phillips, second guitar, and Ted Harvey, drums) in 1970 at Florence's Lounge on Chicago's South Side, an idealistic young white man named Bruce Iglauer attempted unsuccessfully to get him signed by his employer, Delmark Records. Iglauer then decided to form a small record label with a $2500 inheritance and recorded Taylor's debut album, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, on his fledgling Alligator Records in 1971. It was the first release on Alligator records, now a major blues label. It was recorded live in studio in just two nights. Iglauer began managing and booking the band, which toured nationwide and performed with stars like Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornton. The band became particularly popular in the Boston area, where Hound Dog inspired a young protege named George Thorogood. ' Artist Discography '
Howlin' Wolf - Chester Arthur Burnett has probably had more impact worldwide than the 19th-century American president after whom he was named. With a musical influence that extends from the rockabilly singers of the 1950s and the classic rock stars of the 1960s to the grunge groups of the 1990s and the punk-blues bands of the 21st century, plus a legion of imitators to rival Elvis’s, he was one of the greatest and most influential blues singers ever. Chester Burnett was born to Leon “Dock” Burnett and Gertrude Jones on June 10, 1910, in White Station, Mississippi, a tiny railroad stop between Aberdeen and West Point in the Mississippi hill country, many miles away from the Delta. Fascinated by music as a boy, he would often beat on pans with a stick and imitate the whistle of the railroad trains that ran nearby. He also sang in the choir at the White Station Baptist church. ' Artist Discography '
JJ Cale - born John W. Cale on December 5, 1938, is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter and musician best known for writing two songs that Eric Clapton made famous, "After Midnight" and "Cocaine", as well as the Lynyrd Skynyrd hits "Call Me the Breeze" and " I Got the Same Old Blues". Some sources incorrectly give his real name as "Jean Jacques Cale". In fact, a Sunset Strip nightclub owner employing Cale in the mid-1960s came up with the "J.J." moniker to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground's John Cale. In the 2006 documentary, To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J. J. Cale, Rocky Frisco tells the same version of the story mentioning the other John Cale but without further detail. Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a very loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has often been described as "laid back", and is characterized by shuffle rhythms, simple chord changes, understated vocals, and clever, incisive lyrics. Cale is also a very distinctive and idiosyncratic guitarist, incorporating both Travis-like fingerpicking and gentle, meandering electric solos. His recordings also reflect his stripped-down, laid-back ethos; his album versions are usually quite succinct and often recorded entirely by Cale alone, using drum machines for rhythm accompaniment. Live, however, as evidenced on his 2001 Live album and 2006 To Tulsa And Back film, he and his band regularly stretch the songs out and improvise heavily. ' Artist Discography '
Jackie Neal - Jacqueline "Jazzy Jackie" Neal, (July 7, 1967 – March 10, 2005), was a Southern Soul/Blues singer who was very popular in Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama and all surrounding Southern states. Prior to her very untimely death, she had completed four albums: The Blues Won't Let You Go (1995), Lookin For a Sweet Thang (2000), Money Can't Buy Me Love (2002) and Down In Da Club (2005). Flamboyant and full of life, Jackie was a crowdpleaser like no other and she is greatly missed by family and fans alike.. She was fatally shot by a scorned ex-boyfriend in March of 2005. ' Artist Discography '
Jackie Washington - born 12 November 1919, is a legendary Canadian blues musician. In addition to his own albums, he has appeared on recordings by Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot. He has also been a regular performer at many Canadian folk and blues festivals, several of which have named awards in his honour. Jackie comes from a large family of musicians, including his brothers Reg (Hammond B3) and Dickie (drums) Washington (now both deceased), who played with saxophonist Freddie Purser for many years during the 1970s and 1980s at the Windsor and Royal taverns in Hamilton. He was nominated for a Juno Award in 1993 for Best Roots & Traditional Album, along with Ken Whiteley and Mose Scarlett, for their album Where Old Friends Meet. In 1995 Washington was inducted into Hamilton's Gallery of Distinction. ' Artist Discography '
James Cotton - born July 1, 1935, is an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter who is the bandleader for the James Cotton Blues Band. He also writes songs alone, and his solo career continues to this day. His work includes the following genres: blues, delta blues, harmonica blues, and electric harmonica blues. Cotton became interested in music when he first heard Sonny Boy Williamson II on the radio. He left home to find Williamson in West Helena, Arkansas. For many years Cotton claimed that he told Williamson that he was an orphan, and that Williamson Boy took him in and raised him; a story he admitted in recent years is not true. Williamson did however mentor Cotton during his early years. When Williamson left the south to live with his estranged wife in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he left his band in Cotton's hands. Cotton was quoted as saying, "He just gave it to me. But I couldn't hold it together 'cause I was too young and crazy in those days an' everybody in the band was grown men, so much older than me." While he played a few instruments, Cotton was famous for his work on the harmonica. Cotton began his professional career playing the blues harp in Howling Wolf's band in the early 1950s. He made his first recordings as a solo artist for the Sun Records label in Memphis, Tennessee in 1953. Cotton began to work with the Muddy Waters Band around 1955. He performed songs such as "Got My Mojo Working" and "She's Nineteen Years Old", although he did not appear on the original recordings; long-time Muddy Waters harmonica player Little Walter was utilized on most of Muddy's recording sessions in the 1950s. Cotton's first recording session with Waters took place in June 1957, and he would alternate with Little Walter on Muddy's recording sessions until the end of the decade, and thereafter until he left to form his own band. In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, utilizing Otis Spann on piano to record between gigs with Waters' band. Their performances were captured by producer Samuel Charters on volume two of the Vanguard recording Chicago/The Blues/Today!. After leaving Muddy's band in 1966, Cotton toured with Janis Joplin while pursuing a solo career. He formed the James Cotton Blues Band in 1967. They mainly performed their own arrangements of popular blues and R&B material from the 1950s and 1960s. Two albums were recorded live in Montreal that year. ' Artist Discography '
Janis Joplin - Janis Lyn Joplin was born January 19, 1943 and died October 4, 1970. Joplin was born at St. Mary's Hospital in Port Arthur, Texas. The daughter of Seth Joplin, a worker of Texaco, she had two younger siblings, Michael and Laura. She grew up listening to blues musicians such as Bessie Smith, Odetta, and Big Mama Thornton and singing in the local choir. Joplin graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur in 1960 and went to college at the University of Texas in Austin, though she never completed a degree. It was at Thomas Jefferson High that she started listening to and singing blues with her friends. Joplin styled herself in part after her female blues heroines, and in part after the beat poets. She joined Big Brother and The Holding Company in 1966,a band that was gaining some popularity with the Haight Ashbury crowd.. The band signed a deal with independent Mainstream Records and recorded an album in 1967. However, the lack of success of their early singles led to the album being withheld until after their subsequent success. The band's big break came with their performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, which included a version of Big Mama Thornton's "Ball and Chain". Their 1968 album Cheap Thrills featured more raw emotional performances and together with the Monterey performance, it made Joplin into one of the leading musical stars of the late Sixties.
After splitting from Big Brother, she formed a new backup group, modeled on the classic soul revue bands, named the Kozmic Blues Band, which backed her on I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969: the year she played at Woodstock). The Kozmic Blues Band was indifferently received and soon broke up, and Joplin then formed what was probably her best backing group, Full Tilt Boogie. The result was the posthumously released Pearl (1971). It became the biggest selling album of her short career and featured her biggest hit single, the definitive cover version of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee", as well as the a capella "Mercedes-Benz", written by Joplin and beat poet Michael McClure. ' Artist Discography '
Jay McShann - (January 12 1916 – December 7 2006), was an American blues and swing pianist, bandleader, and singer. He was born James Columbus McShann in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Musically, his 'real education came from Earl Hines' late-night broadcasts from Chicago's Grand Terrace Ballroom. . He began working as a professional musician in 1931, performing around Tulsa, Oklahoma and neighboring Arkansas. He moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1936, and set up his own big band, which featured Charlie Parker (from 1937 to 1942), Bernard Anderson, Ben Webster and Walter Brown. Although they included both swing and blues numbers, the band played blues on most of its records; its most popular recording was "Confessin' the Blues." The group disbanded when McShann was drafted into the Army in 1944, and he was unable to successfully restart it when he got out. After World War II McShann began to lead small groups featuring blues shouter Jimmy Witherspoon. Witherspoon started recording with McShann in 1945, and fronting McShann's band, and had a hit in 1949 with "Ain't Nobody's Business." As well as writing much material, Witherspoon continued recording with McShann's band, which also featured Ben Webster, until 1951, whence McShann then played in obscurity until 1969. McShann then became popular as a singer as well as a pianist, often performing with Claude Williams. He continued recording and touring through the 1990s. Well into his 80's, McShann still performed occasionally, particularly in the Kansas City area and Toronto, Ontario. ' Artist Discography '
Jeff Healey - ( March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008), was a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock guitarist and vocalist. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Jeff Healey was raised in the city's west end. He was adopted as an infant; his adoptive father was a firefighter. When he was eight months old, Healey lost his sight to retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes. His eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given artificial replacements. After living cancer-free for 38 years, he developed sarcoma in his legs. Despite surgery for this, the sarcoma spread to his lungs and ultimately was the cause of his death. Healey began playing guitar when he was three, developing his unique style of playing the instrument flat on his lap. When he was 17, he formed the band Blue Direction, a four-piece band which primarily played bar-band cover tunes. Among the other musicians were bassist Jeremy Littler, drummer Graydon Chapman, and a schoolmate, Rob Quail on second guitar. This band played various local clubs in Toronto, including the Colonial Tavern. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to two musicians, bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen, with whom he formed a trio. This new band made their first public appearance at The Birds Nest, located upstairs at Chicago's Diner on Queen Street West in Toronto. They received a write-up in Toronto's NOW magazine, and soon were playing almost nightly in local clubs, such as Grossman's Tavern and the famed blues club Albert's Hall (where Jeff Healey was discovered by guitar virtuosos Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins). On March 2, 2008 Healey died of cancer at St. Joseph's Health Centre in his home town of Toronto; he was 41. His death came a month before the release of his new album, Mess of Blues, which was his first rock album in 8 years. ' Artist Discography '
Jesse Fuller - (March 12, 1896 — January 29, 1976), was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues". Fuller was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, near to Atlanta. He was sent by his mother to live with foster parents when he was a young child, in a rural setting where he was badly mistreated. Growing up, he worked a multitude of jobs: grazing cows for ten cents a day, working in a barrel factory, a broom factory, a rock quarry, on a railroad and a streetcar company, shining shoes, and even peddling hand-carved wooden snakes. He came west and in the 1920s worked briefly as a film extra in The Thief of Bagdad and East of Suez. Eventually he settled in Oakland, California, across the bay from San Francisco, where he worked for the Southern Pacific railroad. During World War II, he worked as a shipyard welder, but when the war ended he found it increasingly difficult to find work, especially because of being black. Around the early 1950s, Fuller's thoughts turned toward the possibility of making a living playing music. Up to this point, Fuller had never worked professionally as a musician, but had certainly been exposed to music, and had learned to play guitar and picked up quite a number of songs: country blues, work songs, ballads, spirituals and instrumentals. And he had carried his guitar with him and played for money by passing the hat. When he decided to try to work as a professional, he found it hard to find other musicians to work with: thus was his one-man-band act born. Starting locally, in clubs and bars in San Francisco and across the bay in Oakland and Berkeley, Fuller became more widely known when he performed on television in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and in 1958 his recording career started with his first album on the Good Time Jazz record label. Fuller's instruments included 12-string guitar, harmonica, kazoo, cymbal (high-hat) and fotdella, several of which could be played simultaneously. ' Artist Discography '
Jimmy Reed - ( September 6, 1925 - August 29, 1976), There's simply no sound in the blues as easily digestible, accessible, instantly recognizable and as easy to play and sing as the music of Jimmy Reed. His best-known songs -- "Baby, What You Want Me to Do," "Bright Lights, Big City," "Honest I Do," "You Don't Have to Go," "Going to New York," "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" and "Big Boss Man" -- have become such an integral part of the standard blues repertoire, it's almost as if they have existed forever. Because his style was simple and easily imitated, his songs were accessible to just about everyone from high school garage bands having a go at it to Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Lou Rawls, Hank Williams, Jr., and the Rolling Stones, making him -- in the long run -- perhaps the most influential bluesman of all. ' Artist Discography '
Jimmy Rogers - (June 3, 1924 – December 19,1997), was a blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters' band of the 1950s. Jimmy Rogers was born James A. Lane in Ruleville, Mississippi, and was raised in Atlanta and Memphis. He adapted the professional surname "Rogers" from his stepfather's last name. Rogers learned the harmonica alongside his childhood friend Snooky Pryor, and as a teenager took up the guitar and played professionally in East St. Louis, Illinois (where he played with Robert Lockwood, Jr., among others), before moving to Chicago in the mid 1940s. By 1946 he had recorded his first record as a harmonica player and singer for the local Harlem record label (not to be confused with the New York based label of the same name), although his name was not included on the label — the record was issued under the names "Memphis Slim and his Houserockers". Rogers joined Muddy Waters the next year, with whom he helped shape the sound of the nascent Chicago Blues style. Although he had several successful releases of his own on Chess Records beginning in 1950 with "That's Alright", he stayed with Waters' until leaving his band for a solo career in 1954. In the mid 1950s he enjoyed several successful record releases on the Chess label, most notably "Walking By Myself", but as the 1950s drew to a close and interest in the blues waned, he gradually withdrew from the music industry. In the early 1960s he worked as a member of Howling Wolf's band, before finally withdrawing from the music business altogether for almost a decade. He worked as a cab driver and owned a clothing store, until his store was burned in the Chicago riots that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. He gradually began performing in public again, and in 1971 when fashions made him a reasonable draw in Europe, Rogers began occasionally touring and recording again, including a 1977 reunion session with his old bandleader Waters. By 1982, Rogers was again a full-time solo artist. In 1995 Rogers was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. He continued touring and recording albums until his death in 1997, in Chicago. ' Artist Discography '
Jimmy Witherspoon - (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997), was an American blues singer. James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during World War II. Witherspoon made his first records with Jay McShann's band in 1945. In 1949, recording under his own name with the McShann band, he had his first hit, "Ain't Nobody's Business", a song which came to be regarded as his signature tune. In 1950 he had hits with two more songs closely identified with him: "No Rollin' Blues" and "Big Fine Girl". Another classic Witherspoon composition is "Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough". Witherspoon's style of blues - that of the "blues shouter" - became unfashionable in the mid-1950s, but he returned to popularity with his 1959 album, Jimmy Witherspoon at the Monterey Jazz Festival. ' Artist Discography '
John Chatman (Memphis Slim) - (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), was a blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump-blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. His 1952 composition "Every Day I Have the Blues" was recorded by Joe Williams, and Lowell Fulson, B. B. King, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Mahalia Jackson, Sarah Vaughan, Carlos Santana, Lou Rawls, John Mayer to name a few. He cut over 500 recordings and influenced blues pianists that followed him for decades. His birth name was John Len Chatman, although he claimed to have been born Peter Chatman. His father Peter Chatman sang, played piano and guitar, and operated juke joints. It is commonly believed, though, that he took the name to honor his father, Peter Chatman Sr., when he first recorded for Okeh Records in 1940. Although he performed under the name Memphis Slim for most of his career, he continued to publish songs under the name Peter Chatman. He spent most of the 1930s performing in honky-tonks, dance halls, and gambling joints in Memphis, Arkansas, and southern Missouri. He settled in Chicago in 1937, shortly after teamed with Big Bill Broonzy in clubs. In the late 1940s he recorded two songs for Bluebird Records that became part of his repertoire for decades, "Beer Drinking Woman," and "Grinder Man Blues," which were released under the name "Memphis Slim," given to him by Bluebird's producer, Lester Melrose. Slim became a regular session musician for Bluebird, and his piano talents supported established stars such as John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Washboard Sam, and Jazz Gillum. In particular, many of Slim's recordings and performances until the mid-1940s were with guitarist and singer Broonzy, who had recruited Slim to be his piano player after Josh Altheimer's death in 1940. ' Artist Discography '
John Lee Hooker - (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001), was an influential American post-war blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter born in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi. From a musical family, he was a cousin of Earl Hooker. John was also influenced by his stepfather, a local blues guitarist, who learned in Shreveport, Louisiana to play a droning, one-chord blues that was strikingly different from the Delta blues of the time. John developed a half-spoken style that was his trademark. Though similar to the early Delta blues, his music was rhythmically free. John Lee Hooker could be said to embody his own unique genre of the blues, often incorporating the boogie-woogie piano style and a driving rhythm into his masterful and idiosyncratic blues guitar and singing. His best known songs include "Boogie Chillen" (1948) and "Boom Boom" (1962). Hooker was born on August 22, 1917 in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi, the youngest of the eleven children of William Hooker (1871–1923), a sharecropper and a Baptist preacher, and Minnie Ramsey . Hooker and his siblings were home-schooled. They were permitted to listen only to religious songs, with his earliest musical exposure being the spirituals sung in church. In 1921, his parents separated. The next year, his mother married William Moore, a blues singer who provided John's first introduction to the guitar (and whom John would later credit for his distinctive playing style). The year after that (1923), John's natural father died; and at age 15, John ran away from home, never to see his mother and stepfather again. Throughout the 1930s, Hooker lived in Memphis where he worked on Beale Street and occasionally performed at house parties. He worked in factories in various cities during World War II, drifting until he found himself in Detroit in 1948 working at Ford Motor Company. He felt right at home near the blues venues and saloons on Hastings Street, the heart of black entertainment on Detroit's east side. In a city noted for its piano players, guitar players were scarce. Performing in Detroit clubs, his popularity grew quickly, and seeking a louder instrument than his crude acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar. ' Artist Discography '
John P. Hammond - John P. Hammond (born John Paul Hammond, 13 November 1942, New York, is a blues singer and guitarist. He is the son of the famed record producer and talent scout John Henry Hammond, Jr, which makes him a great-great-grandson of William Henry Vanderbilt and a member of the Vanderbilt family. Hammond usually plays acoustic and National Reso-Phonic guitars and sings in a barrelhouse style. Since 1962, when he made his debut on Vanguard Records, Hammond has made twenty nine albums. In the 1990s he recorded for the Pointblank record label. Hammond has earned one Grammy Award and been nominated for four others. Although critically acclaimed, Hammond has received only moderate commercial success. Nonetheless, he enjoys a strong fan base and has earned respect from the likes of John Lee Hooker, Roosevelt Sykes, Duane Allman, Robbie Robertson, and Charlie Musselwhite, all of whom have contributed their musical talents to Hammond's records. In addition, he is the only person who ever had both Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix in his band at the same time, even if it was only for five days in the 1960s when Hammond played The Gaslight Cafe in New York. To his regret, they never recorded together. Hammond also deserves some credit for helping boost The Band to wider recognition: he recorded with several of their musicians in 1965, and recommended them to Bob Dylan, with whom they undertook a famed and tumultuous world tour. ' Artist Discography '
John Mayall - born 29 November 1933, is a pioneering English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His musical career spans over fifty years but the most notable episode in it occurred during the late '60s. He was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and has been influential in the careers of many instrumentalists, including Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor, Aynsley Dunbar, Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser, Johnny Almond, Jon Mark, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, and Buddy Whittington. Mayall's father was Murray Mayall, a guitarist and jazz music enthusiast. From an early age, he was drawn to the sounds of American blues players such as Leadbelly, Albert Ammons, Pinetop Smith, and Eddie Lang, and taught himself to play the piano, guitars, and harmonica. Mayall served three years of national service in Korea and, during a period of leave, he bought his first electric guitar. Back in Manchester he enrolled at Manchester College of Art, now part of Manchester Metropolitan University, and started playing with semi-professional bands. After graduation he obtained a job as an art designer but continued to play with local musicians. In 1963 he opted for a full time musical career and moved to London. His previous craft was put to good use in the designing of covers for many of his own albums. John Mayall married twice and has six grand-children. Mrs Maggie Mayall is an American blues performer and since the early 1980s takes an active part in the management of her husband's career. In 2005 Mayall was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Honours List. ' Artist Discography '
Johnny "Guitar" Watson - (February 3, 1935 - May 17, 1996) was an American musician whose long career influenced the development of blues, soul music, rhythm & blues, funk, rock music, and hip-hop music. John Watson, Jr. was born in Houston, Texas. His father John Sr. was a pianist, and taught his son the instrument. But young Watson was immediately attracted to the sound of the guitar, in particular the electric guitar as practiced by the "axe men" of Texas: T-Bone Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. His grandfather, a preacher, was also musical. "My grandfather used to sing while he'd play guitar in church, man," Watson reflected many years later. When Johnny was 11, his grandfather offered to give him a guitar if, and only if, the boy didn't play any of the "devil's music"--blues. Watson agreed, but "that was the first thing I did." A musical prodigy, Watson played with Texas bluesmen Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland. His parents separated in 1950, when he was 15. His mother moved to Los Angeles, and took Johnny with her. In his new city, Watson won several local talent shows. This led to his employment, while still a teenager, with Jump blues style bands such as Chuck Higgins's Mellotones and Amos Milburn. He worked as a vocalist, pianist, and guitarist. He quickly made a name for himself in the African-American juke joints of the West Coast, where he was billed as "Young John Watson" until 1954. That year, he saw the Sterling Hayden film "Johnny Guitar," and a new stage name was born. He affected a swaggering, yet humorous personality, indulging a taste for flashy clothes and wild showmanship on stage. His "attacking" style of playing, without a plectrum, resulted in him often needing to change the strings on his guitar once or twice a show. ' Artist Discography '
Johnny Otis - (born John Alexander Veliotes on December 28, 1921 ) is an American blues and rhythm and blues pianist, vibraphonist, drummer, singer, bandleader, and impresario. Johnny Otis was one of the most prominent white figures in the history of Rhythm and Blues. After playing in a variety of swing orchestras, including Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders, he founded his own band in 1945 and had one of the most enduring hits of the big band era, "Harlem Nocturne". This band played with Wynonie Harris and Charles Brown. In 1947 he and Bardu Ali opened the Barrelhouse Club in the Watts district of Los Angeles. He reduced the size of his band and hired singers Mel Walker, Little Esther Phillips and the Robins (who later became the Coasters). He discovered the teenaged Phillips when she won one of the Barrelhouse Club's talent shows. With this band, which toured extensively throughout the United States as the California Rhythm and Blues Caravan, he had a long string of rhythm and blues hits through 1950. He has remained active in his recording studio and has put out 6 CD's on his label since the mid-nineties. ' Artist Discography '
Johnny Shines - (April 26, 1915 – April 20, 1992) was an American blues singer and guitarist. He was born John Ned Shines in Frayser, Tennessee. He spent most of his childhood in Memphis playing slide guitar at an early age in local “jukes” and for tips on the streets. His first musical influences were Blind Lemon Jefferson and Howlin’ Wolf, but he was taught to play the guitar by his mother. Shines moved to Hughes, Arkansas in 1932 and worked on farms for three years putting his musical career on hold. Shines began traveling with Johnson, touring the south and heading as far north as Ontario where they appeared on a local radio program. The two went their separate ways in 1937, one year before Johnson's death. Shines played throughout the U.S. South until 1941 when he decided to return to Canada and then to Africa. He never made it past Chicago. In Chicago, Shines found work in the construction trade and continued to play in local bars. He made his first recording in 1946 for Columbia Records, but the takes were never released. He later recorded for Chess and was once again denied release. He kept playing with notable blues musicians in the Chicago area for several more years. In 1952, Shines recorded what is considered his best work for the J.O.B. Records record label. The recordings were a commercial failure and Shines, frustrated with the music industry, sold his equipment and returned to construction. ' Artist Discography '
Johnny Winter - John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III (born on 23 February 1944 in Beaumont, Texas, USA) is an American blues guitarist, singer and producer. He is the first son of John and Edwina Winter who were very much responsible for both Johnny's and younger brother Edgar Winter's early musical awareness. Both Johnny and Edgar have albinism. Johnny began performing at an early age with Edgar. His recording career began at the age of 15, when their band Johnny and the Jammers released "School Day Blues" on a Houston record label. During this same period, he was able to see performances by classic blues artists such as Muddy Waters, B. B. King and Bobby Bland. In 1968, Winter began playing in a trio with bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Uncle John Turner. An article in Rolling Stone magazine written by Larry Sepulvado helped generate interest in the group. The album Johnny Winter was released near the end of that year. ' Artist Discography '
Jonny Lang - born Jon Gordon Langseth, Jr., January 29, 1981, is a Grammy Award-winning American blues and gospel singer. Lang released his first album, Smokin, in 1995 at the age of 13, under the name Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang. The following year, Lang released his debut solo album, Lie to Me. Lang's music is noted for his singing, which has been compared to that of a 40 year old blues veteran, and for his guitar solos. Lang is a popular live performer as well as a recording artist. Lang started playing the guitar at the age of twelve, after his father took him to see the Bad Medicine Blues Band, one of the few blues bands in Fargo. Lang soon started taking guitar lessons from Ted Larsen, the Bad Medicine Blues Band's guitar player. Several months after Lang started guitar lessons, he joined the Bad Medicine Blues Band, which was then renamed Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang. The band moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and independently released the album Smokin. Lang was signed to A&M Records in 1996. He released the critically acclaimed multi-platinum Lie to Me on January 28, 1997. The next album, Wander This World, was released on October 20, 1998 and earned a Grammy nomination. This was followed by the more soulful Long Time Coming on October 14, 2003. Lang also made a cover of Edgar Winter's "Dying to Live." Lang's newest album, the gospel-influenced Turn Around, was released in 2006, and most recently won Lang his first Grammy Award. In more than ten years on the road, Lang has toured with the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, B.B. King, Blues Traveler, Jeff Beck, and Sting. In 1999, he was invited to play for a White House audience including President and Mrs. Clinton. Lang also makes a cameo appearance in the film Blues Brothers 2000 as a janitor. In 2004 Eric Clapton asked Lang to play at the Crossroads Guitar Festival to raise money for the Crossroads Centre Antigua. ' Artist Discography '
Joseph Spence - ( August, 1910 - died March 18, 1984), was a Bahamian guitarist and singer. He is well known for his vocalizations and humming while performing on guitar. Several modern folk, blues and jazz musicians, including Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, Woody Mann, Olu Dara, and John Renbourn were influenced by and have recorded variations of his arrangements of gospel and Bahamian songs. The earliest recordings of Joseph Spence were made on Spence's porch by folk musicologist Samuel Charters. These were released by Folkways Records. Spence played a steel-string acoustic guitar, and nearly all of his recorded songs employ guitar accompaniment in a Drop D tuning, where the sixth string is tuned to a D below the normal E, so that the guitar sounds, from sixth to first D A D G B E. The power of his playing derives from moving bass lines and interior voices and a driving beat that he emphasizes with foot tapping. To this mix he adds blues coloration and calypso rhythms to achieve a unique and easily identifiable sound. ' Artist Discography '
Junior Lockwood - (March 27, 1915 - November 21, 2006), in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, a farming hamlet about 25 miles west of Helena. 1915 was remarkable because several other monumental blues artists were born within a 100-mile radius that year; notably Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Little Walter Jacobs, Memphis Slim, Johnny Shines, and Honeyboy Edwards. They would all meet up in the future. His first musical lessons were on the family pump organ. He learned the guitar, at age eleven, from Robert Johnson, the mysterious delta bluesman, who was living with his mother. From Johnson, Lockwood learned chords, timing, and stage presence. By the age of fifteen, Robert was playing professionally, often with Johnson; sometimes with Johnny Shines or Rice Miller, who would soon be calling himself Sonny Boy Williamson II. They would play fish fries, juke joints, and street corners. Once Johnson played one side of the Sunflower River, while Lockwood manned the other bank. The people of Clarksville, Mississippi were milling around the bridge; they couldn’t tell which guitarist was Robert Johnson. Young Lockwood had learned Johnson’s techniques very well. In the late 1960s Lockwood would gig all around Cleveland, playing whenever he got the chance. Long-forgotten clubs like Pirates Cove and Brothers Lounge were places where Lockwood taught his blues to generations of local musicians and fans. Lockwood’s solo recording career, exclusive of the 1941 Bluebird Sessions, began in 1970 with Delmark’s Steady Rollin’ Man, backed by old friends Louis Myers, his brother Dave Myers, and Fred Below, collectively known as The Aces. ' Artist Discography '
Junior Parker - (May 27, 1932–November 18, 1971), was a successful and influential Memphis blues singer and musician. He is best remembered for his unique voice which has been described as "honeyed," and "velvet-smooth". He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. Parker was exceptionally versatile -- whether delivering "Mother-in-Law Blues" and "Sweet Home Chicago" in faithful down-home fashion, courting the teenage market with "Barefoot Rock," or tastefully howling Harold Burrage's "Crying for My Baby" (another hit for him in 1965) in front of a punchy horn section, Parker was the consummate modern blues artist, with one foot planted in Southern blues and the other in uptown R&B. ' Artist Discography '
Junior Wells - (December 9, 1934 – January 15, 1998), born Amos Blakemore, was a blues vocalist and harmonica player based in Chicago who was famous for playing with Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones and Van Morrison among others.Born in Memphis, Wells learned his earliest harp licks from another future legend, Little Junior Parker, before he came to Chicago at age 12. In 1950, the teenager passed an impromptu audition for guitarists Louis and David Myers at a house party on the South side, and the Deuces were born. When drummer Fred Below came aboard, they changed their name to the Aces. ' Artist Discography '
Kansas Joe McCoy - (May 11, 1905–January 28, 1950), was an African American blues musician. Joe McCoy played music under a variety of stage names but is best known as "Kansas Joe McCoy." Born in Raymond, Mississippi, he was the older brother of blues accompanist Papa Charlie McCoy. As a young man, he was drawn to the music scene in Memphis, Tennessee where he played guitar and sang vocals during the 1920s. He teamed up with future wife Lizzie Douglas, a brilliant guitarist known as Memphis Minnie, and their 1929 recording of a song called "Bumble Bee" on the Columbia Records label was a hit. In 1930, the couple moved to Chicago where they were an important part of the burgeoning blues scene. Following their divorce, McCoy teamed up with his brother to form a band known as the "Harlem Hamfats" that performed and recorded during the second half of the 1930s. At the outbreak of World War II Charlie McCoy entered the military but a heart condition kept Joe McCoy from service. Out on his own, he created a band known as "Big Joe and His Rhythm" that performed together throughout most of the 1940s. In 1950, at the age of 44, Joe McCoy died of heart disease only a few months before his brother Charlie. They are buried in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. ' Artist Discography '
Kenny Neal - Neal, born in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge, began playing music at a very young age, learning the basics from his father, singer and blues harmonica player, Raful Neal. Family friends like Lazy Lester, Buddy Guy and Slim Harpo also contributed to Kenny’s early musical education. In fact, it was Harpo who gave the crying three-year-old a harmonica to pacify him. Kenny stopped crying that day, and eventually learned to play the harmonica. Along the way, he also mastered the bass, trumpet, piano and guitar. At 13, he joined his father’s band and began paying his musical dues. Four years later, he was recruited and toured extensively as Buddy Guy’s bass player. Signing with Alligator Records in 1988, Kenny began releasing a series of consistently lauded albums featuring his laid-back, Baton Rouge blues, with a modern spin on the Louisiana sound he grew up with. After his impressive run with Alligator, Kenny switched to Telarc, and continued to release albums highlighting his developing skills as a songwriter. ' Artist Discography '
Keri Leigh - born Apr 21, 1969 in Birmingham, Alabama, Texas blues maven Keri Leigh has spent the better part of her young life as a revivalist of the blues, whether by singing them, writing about them, or just plain living them. She can take traditional blues from the Mississippi Delta, Texas, or Chicago and through her unique interpretation, bring a contemporary, modern feel to each style. Keri sings passionately from her heart and soul, in a time-honored tradition of blues greats before her. She can best be described as the best thing to come out of aTexas since Janis Joplin. ' Artist Discography '
Kenny Wayne Shepherd - born Kenny Wayne Brobst Jr., June 12, 1977, is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Shepherd attended Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana. Self-taught, he began playing at age seven, learning Muddy Waters licks from his father's record collection. At the age of 13, he was invited onstage by the New Orleans bluesman Bryan Lee. After proving his abilities, he decided on music as a career. Early on, Kenny was linked by his father, Ken Sr., to National Artists Management in Los Angeles, California. National Artists was part of a North American radio marketing agency that worked with hundreds of major label acts. The management team carried Shepherd's demo on cassette to Warner Brothers that signed him into his first major label record deal. Kenny's father joined the same team some time later, and closed or sold his one hour photo businesses and his radio station (KTUX) in Shreveport Louisiana in 2001. Shepherd took six singles into the top 10, making him one of the best represented blues players today. ' Artist Discography '
Kim Wilson -born 1951, is a U.S. blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known singing lead vocals with the The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s; "Tuff Enuff" and "Wrap It Up". Kim Wilson first came to national prominence in the late '70s when he and his band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, came roaring out of Austin, Texas. His authoritative singing and karmonica virtuosity not only enthrall the crowds that flock to his performances, but also have set a standard, which continues to inspire and challenge musicians around the world. Born in Detroit in 1951, he grew up in California and fell under the sway of the blues in the late '60s, honing his chops under the tutelage of people like George Smith, Luther Tucker and Peewee Crayton. After a brief time leading a band of his own around the Minneapolis area, he moved to Austin, Texas in 1974 and formed The Fabulous Thunderbirds with guitarist Jimmy Vaughan. ' Artist Discography '
Koko Taylor - born September 28, 1928, is an American blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She is known primarily for her rough and powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings. Born in Shelby County, Tennessee, Taylor left Memphis for Chicago, Illinois in 1954 with her husband, truck driver Robert "Pops" Taylor. In the late 1950s she began singing in Chicago blues clubs. She was spotted by Willie Dixon in 1962, and this led to wider performances and her first recording contract. In 1965, Taylor was signed by Chess Records, for which her single "Wang Dang Doodle" became a major hit, reaching number four on the R&B charts in 1966, and selling a million copies. Taylor has recorded many versions of this Dixon-penned song over the past few decades and has added more material, both original and covers, but has never repeated that initial chart success. National touring in the late 1960s and early 1970s improved her fan base, and she became accessible to a wider record-buying public when she signed with Alligator Records in 1975. She has since recorded over a dozen albums for that label, many nominated for Grammy Awards, and come to dominate the female blues singer ranks, winning twenty five W. C. Handy Awards (more than any other artist). After her recovery from a near-fatal car crash in 1989, the 1990s found Taylor in films such as Blues Brothers 2000, and she opened a blues club on Division St. in Chicago in 1994, but it closed in 1999. Taylor has influenced musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, Janis Joplin, Shannon Curfman, and Susan Tedeschi. She currently performs over 70 concerts a year and resides just south of Chicago in Country Club Hills, Illinois. ' Artist Discography '
Kokomo Arnold - (February 15, 1901 — November 8, 1968) was an American blues musician. Born James Arnold in Lovejoy's Station, Georgia, Arnold received his nickname in 1934 after releasing "Old Original Kokomo Blues" for the Decca label; it was a cover of the Scrapper Blackwell blues song about the Kokomo brand of coffee. A left-handed slide guitarist, his intense slide style of playing and rapid-fire vocal style set him apart from his contemporaries.Having learned the basics of the guitar from his cousin, John Wiggs, Arnold began playing in the early 1920s as a sideline while he worked as a farmhand in Buffalo, New York, and as a steelworker in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1929 he moved to Chicago and set up a bootlegging business, an activity he continued throughout Prohibition. In 1930 Arnold moved south briefly, and made his first recordings, "Rainy Night Blues" and "Paddlin' Madeline Blues", under the name Gitfiddle Jim for the Victor label in Memphis, Tennessee. He soon moved back to the bootlegging center of Chicago, though he was forced to make a living as a musician after the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution ending Prohibition in 1933. Kansas Joe McCoy heard him and introduced him to Mayo Williams who was producing records for Decca. From his first recording for Decca on 10 September 1934 until his last on 12 May 1938, Arnold made eighty-eight sides, seven of which remain lost. Along with Peetie Wheatstraw and Bumble Bee Slim, he was a dominant figure in Chicago blues circles. His major influence upon modern music is, along with Peetie Wheatstraw, upon the seminal delta blues artist Robert Johnson, a musical contemporary. Johnson turned "Old Original Kokomo Blues" into "Sweet Home Chicago", while another Arnold song, "Sagefield Woman Blues", introduced the terminology "dust my broom", which Johnson used as a song title himself. ' Artist Discography '
Huddie "leadbelly" Ledbetter - (January 1888 – December 6, 1949), was an American folk and blues musician, notable for his clear and forceful singing, his virtuosity on the twelve string guitar, and the rich songbook of folk standards he introduced. Lead Belly was the only child of Wesley and Sally Ledbetter. Lead Belly first tried his hand at playing music when he was only two years old. As a young man he was introduced to the guitar by his Uncle Terrell Ledbetter and from that moment on he was electrified by the guitar. He mastered that instrument and just about any instrument he laid his hands on. He learned to play the accordion, mandolin and piano. The topics of Lead Belly's music covered a wide range of subjects, including gospel songs; blues songs about women, liquor and racism; and folk songs about cowboys, prison, work, sailors, cattle herding and dancing. He also wrote songs concerning the newsmakers of the day, such as President Franklin Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Jean Harlow, the Scottsboro Boys, and Howard Hughes. ' Artist Discography '
Lee McBee - born March 23, 1951 , is an American blues musician, singer and harmonica player. Though he is primarily a regional blues act in the midwest, McBee gained national attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s for his work with Mike Morgan and the Crawl and for his band the Passions. These bands toured the United States, Canada and Europe and recorded on major blues labels. McBee grew up in Kansas City, MO and collected blues and soul records throughout the 1960s. In 1969, he moved to Lawrence, Kansas and worked in many blues and blues-rock bands, including Tide and Lynch-McBee Band, until 1978. From 1978 through 1982 Lee moved to music scenes in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles and recorded and performed with Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Rogers, Doug Sahm and Johnny Winter. By the mid 1980s, he settled in Dallas and met guitarist Mike Morgan in 1985. They formed the Crawl and they would be together for the next twelve years. In 1994, McBee began a side project with The Passions. This band would be relocated to Kansas City as its base and soon evolved into Lee McBee and the Confessors. Throughout the 2000s, McBee and his band tour northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri and have released two albums.
Lightnin' Hopkins - Sam "Lightnin’" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 — January 30, 1982), was a country blues guitarist, from Houston, Texas, United States. Born in Centerville, Texas, Hopkins love for the blues was sparked at the age of 8 when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas. That day, Hopkins felt the blues was "in him" and went on to learn from his older cousin, country blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander. In the mid 1930s, Hopkins was sent to Houston County Prison Farm for an unknown offence. In the late 1930s Hopkins moved to Houston with Alexander in an unsuccessful attempt to break into the music scene there. By the early 1940s he was back in Centerville working as a farm hand. Hopkins took at second shot at Houston in 1946. While singing on Dowling St., he was discovered by Lola Anne Cullum from the Los Angeles based record label, Aladdin Records. She convinced Hopkins to travel to L.A. where he accompanied pianist Wilson Smith. The duo recorded twelve tracks in their first sessions in 1946. Hopkins' style was born from spending many hours playing informally without a backing band. His distinctive fingerstyle playing often included playing, in effect, bass, rhythm, lead, percussion, and vocals, all at the same time. He played both "alternating" and "monotonic" bass styles incorporating imaginative, often chromatic turnarounds and single note lead lines. Tapping or slapping the body of his guitar added rhythmic accompaniment. Much of Hopkins' music follows the standard 12-bar blues template but his phrasing was very free and loose. Many of his songs were in the talking blues style, but he was a powerful and confident singer. Lyrically his songs chronicled the problems of life in the segregated south, bad luck in love and other usual subjects of the blues idiom. He did however deal with these subjects with humor and good nature. Many of his songs are filled with double entendres and he was known for his humorous introductions. ' Artist Discography '
Little Hatch - (October 25, 1921 – January 16, 2003), was a blues singer, musician and harmonica player. Born Provine Hatch Jr. in Sledge, Mississippi, he learned to play harmonica from his father. Hearing blues and gospel music, Hatch knew he wanted to make music for a living. At age 14, his family moved to Helena, Arkansas and the blues scene caught his attention. In the early 1950s, Hatch began jamming in blues clubs of Kansas City. He closed his business in 1954 and took a job with Hallmark. in 1955, he formed and fronted his own band, playing on the weekends and a few nights a week. This act would continue for more than 20 years. By the late 1950s, Hatch's harmonica style became influenced by Chicago blues players such as Little Walter, Snooky Pryor and Junior Wells. In 1971 German exchange university students recorded a Little Hatch performance. This became an album entitled The Little Hatchet Band, but distribution was limited to Germany and Belgium. He retired from Hallmark in 1986 and his band Little Hatch and the House Rockers were hired as the house band of the Grand Emporium. A cassette of blues performances at Kansas City's popular Grand Emporium was released in 1988. In 1992, the Modern Blues label released Well, All Right and became his first nationally distributed album. In 1997, Chad Kassem had opened Blue Heaven Studios and founded the APO label. Kassem had befriended Little Hatch in the mid 1980s and asked him to be his first signed recording artist. In 1998, the album Goin' Back was released and was followed by Rock with Me Baby in 2000. From 1999 to 2001, Hatch occasionally toured other parts of the US, and twice toured Europe. He settled back as a Kansas City performer, frequently playing at BB's Lawnside Bar-B-Q and other venues. In the summer of 2002 Hatch was diagnosed with cancer. He died in January 2003. ' Artist Discography '
Little Walter - Marion Walter Jacobs, (May 1, 1930 - February 15, 1968), was a blues singer, harmonica player, and guitarist. Jacobs revolutionary harmonica technique has earned comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix in its impact: There were great musicians before and after, but Jacobs' virtuosity and musical innovations reached heights of expression never previously imagined, and fundamentally altered many listeners' expectations of what was possible on blues harmonica. . His body of work earned Little Walter a spot in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the sideman category on March 10, 2008 making him the only artist ever to be inducted specifically for his work as a harmonica player. Jacobs made his first released recordings in 1947 for Bernard Abram's tiny Ora-Nelle label, which operated out of the back room of the Abrams' Maxwell Radio and Records store in the heart of the Maxwell Street market area in Chicago. These and several other early Little Walter recordings, like many blues harp recordings of the era, owed a strong stylistic debt to pioneering blues harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson I . Little Walter joined Muddy Waters' band in 1948, and by 1950 he was playing on Muddy's recordings for Chess Records; Little Walter's harmonica is featured on most of Muddy's classic recordings from the 1950s. As a guitarist, Little Walter recorded for the small Parkway label, as well as on a session for Chess backing pianist Eddie Ware; his guitar work was also featured occasionally on early Chess sessions with Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers. ' Artist Discography '
Lonnie Johnson - Johnson was a pioneering Blues and Jazz guitarist and banjoist. He started playing in cafes in New Orleans and in 1917 he traveled in Europe, playing in revues and briefly with Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra. When he returned home to New Orleans in 1918 he discovered that his entire family had been killed by a flu epidemic except for one brother. He and his surviving brother, James "Steady Roll" Johnson moved to St. Louis in 1920 where Lonnie played with Charlie Creath's Jazz-O-Maniacs and with Fate Marable in their Mississippi riverboat bands. In 1925 Johnson married Blues singer Mary Johnson and won a Blues contest sponsored by the Okeh record company. Part of the prize was a recording deal with the company. Throughout the rest of the 1920s he recorded with a variety of bands and musicians, including Eddie Lang, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the 1930s Johnson moved to Cleveland, Ohio and worked with the Putney Dandridge Orchestra, and then in a tire factory and steel mill. In 1937 he moved back to Chicago and played with Johnny Dodds, and Jimmie Noone. Johnson continued to play for the rest of his life, but was often forced to leave the music business for periods to make a living. In 1963 he once again appeared briefly with Duke Ellington. ' Artist Discography '
Luther Allison - (August 17, 1939 — August 12, 1997), was an American blues guitarist.Luther Allison (the 14th of 15 musically gifted children) first connected to the blues at age ten, when he began playing the diddley bow. His family migrated to Chicago in 1951, and Luther began soaking in the sounds of Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Robert Nighthawk. He was classmates with Muddy Waters' son and occasionally stopped in the Waters' house to watch the master rehearse. It wasn't until he was 18 already in Chicago for seven years that Luther began playing blues on a real guitar and jamming with his brother Ollie's band. Allison signed with Motown Records in 1972 as the label's only blues act. His three records led to numerous concert dates and both national and international festival appearances. After gaining immkense popularity in Europe and releasing a dozen European records, he was absent from the American blues scene until the release of Soul Fixin' Man in 1994, his first domestic album in 20 years. Allison was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in July of 1997, and died just four weeks later. ' Artist Discography '
Luckey Roberts - Charles Luckeyeth Roberts, (August 7,, 1887 – February 5, 1968) was a composer and stride pianist who worked in the jazz, ragtime, and blues styles. Luckey Roberts was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was playing piano and acting professionally with traveling African American minstrel shows in his childhood. He settled in New York City about 1910 and became one of the leading pianists in Harlem, and started publishing some of his original rags. Roberts toured France and the UK with James Reese Europe during World War I, then returned to New York where he wrote music for various shows and recorded piano rolls. With James P. Johnson, Roberts developed the stride piano style of playing about 1919. Robert's reach on the keyboard was unusually large (he could reach a fourteenth), leading to a rumor that he had the webbing between his fingers surgically cut, which those who knew him and saw him play live denounce as false; Roberts simply had naturally large hands with wide finger spread. ' Artist Discography '
Magic Sam - Samuel Gene Maghett (February 14, 1937 – December 1, 1969), was an American blues musician. Maghett was born in Grenada and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter. After moving to Chicago at the age of nineteen, he was signed by Cobra Records and became well known as a bluesman after his first record, "All Your Love" in 1957. He had several more hits and became very popular. He was known for his distinctive tremolo guitar playing. Sam recorded for the Cobra label from 1957 to 1959, recording singles, including "All Your Love" and "Easy Baby." They never appeared on the charts yet they had a profoud influence, far beyond Chicago's guitarists and singers. Together with the records of Otis Rush (also a Cobra artist) and Buddy Guy, they made a manifesto for a new kind of blues. Around this time Sam also worked briefly with Homesick James Williamson. Sam gained a following before being drafted into the Army. Not a natural soldier, Sam deserted after a couple of weeks' service and was subsequently caught and sentenced to six months imprisonment. He was given a dishonourable discharge on release, but the experience had undermined his confidence and immediate recordings for Mel London's Chief Records lacked the purpose of their predecessors. In 1963, he gained national attention for his single "Feelin' Good (We're Gonna Boogie)". After successful touring of the United States, UK and Germany, he was signed to Delmark Records in 1967, where he recorded West Side Soul and Black Magic. He also continued performing live and toured with blues harp player Charlie Musselwhite. Sam's breakthrough performance was at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1969, which won him many bookings in the United States and Europe. His life and career was cut short when he suddenly died of a heart attack in December of the same year. He was 32 years old. He was buried in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. ' Artist Discography '
Memphis Minnie - Lizzie Douglas, (June 3, 1897 - August 6, 1973), was an American Blues guitarist, vocalist, and composer. The oldest of 13 brothers and sisters. She grew up in Walls Mississippi, about 20 miles from Memphis on Route 61, in a time before rural electrification and national media created a mass culture. Music (like most things) was still homemade: for entertainment, people threw parties--suppers where roast shoat, custard pies and candy sticks dipped in corn whiskey got worked off dancing the "shoofly", the "scratch" and the "shimmy-she-wobble." Minnie started playing banjo when she was seven years old, and was influenced by the string bands which played for dancers who partied all night and hit the fields at dawn. She got her first guitar at age ten or 11. The wretchedness of hitting the fields at dawn led some to try life with "the starvation box", as Roosevelt Sykes called the guitar. A musicians' life was an escape from endless labor, looked on with both admiration and resentment by the field hands and workers in the audience. The official job prospects for black women were limited to domestic service and farm work both of which demanded grueling labor and subservience for low pay. Memphis Minnie was never interested in physical labor and she began to play on the streets of Memphis and the towns surrounding Walls soon after getting her first guitar. As a working musician, Minnie's guitar style evolved partly in response to the kind of places she played and the people for whom she played. Her recorded output includes over two hundred sides. ' Artist Discography '
Mississippi John Hurt - (July 3, 1893, or March 8, 1892) was an influential blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar at age 9. He spent much of his youth playing old time music for friends and dances, earning a living as a farm hand into the 1920s. In 1923 he often partnered with the fiddle player Willie Narmour (Carroll County Blues) as a substitute for his regular partner Shell Smith. When Narmour got a chance to record for Okeh Records in reward for winning first place in a 1928 fiddle contest, Narmour recommended John Hurt to OKeh Records producer Tommy Rockwell. After auditioning "Monday Morning Blues" at his home, he took part in two recording sessions, in Memphis and New York City (See Discography below). The "Mississippi" tag was added by OKeh as a sales gimmick. After the commercial failure of the resulting disc and OKeh records going out of business during the depression, Hurt returned to Avalon and obscurity, working as a sharecropper and playing local parties and dances. In 1963, however, a folk musicologist named Tom Hoskins, inspired by the recordings, was able to locate John Hurt near Avalon, Mississippi. In fact, in an early recording, Hurt sang of "Avalon, my home town." Seeing that Hurt's guitar playing skills were still intact, Hoskins encouraged him to move to Washington, DC, and begin performing on a wider stage. Whereas his first releases had coincided with the Great Depression, his new career could hardly have been better timed. A stellar performance at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival saw his star rise amongst the new "folk revival" audience, and before his death in 1966 he played extensively in colleges, concert halls, coffee houses and even the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, as well as recording three further albums for Vanguard Records. John Hurt's influence spans several music genres including blues, country, bluegrass, folk and contemporary rock and roll. A soft-spoken man, his nature was reflected in the work, which remained a mellow mix of country, blues and old time music to the end. ' Artist Discography '
Muddy Waters - McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered "the Father of Chicago blues". He is also the actual father of blues musicians Big Bill Morganfield and Larry 'Muddy Junior' Williams. Considered one of the greatest bluesmen of all time, Muddy Waters was a huge inspiration for the British beat explosion in the 1960s and considered by many to be one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. In 2004 Waters was ranked #17 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Waters started out on harmonica but by age seventeen he was playing the guitar at parties emulating two blues artists who were extremely popular in the south, Son House and Robert Johnson. Muddy Waters is, in many ways, the archetypal bluesman. He was raised as a sharecropper in the Mississippi Delta, where he learned to play an acoustic guitar. He went to Chicago in 1943, and the band he assembled established the electric blues sound. Over the next three and a half-decades, his band became a springboard for many of his sidemen, launching a prominent school of blues performers. ' Artist Discography '
Otis Rush - born April 29, 1934, is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound, jazz-style arpeggios and long bent notes. With similar qualities to Luther Allison, Magic Sam, Buddy Guy and Albert King, his sound became known as West Side Chicago blues and became an influence on Michael Bloomfield, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Rush is left-handed and, unlike many left-handed guitarists, plays a right-handed instrument upside-down without restringing it. It is widely believed that this contributes to his distinctive sound. Other guitarists who use this method include Albert King, Dick Dale, Doyle Bramhall II, Coco Montoya and Lefty Dizz. He has a wide-ranging, powerful tenor voice. ' Artist Discography '
Otis Spann - (March 21, 1930 – April 24, 1970), was an American blues musician. Many aficionados considered him then, and now, as Chicago's leading postwar blues pianist. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Spann became known for his distinct piano style. Born to Frank Houston Spann and Josephine Erby. One of five children - three boys and two girls. His father played piano, non professionally, whilst his mother had played guitar with Memphis Millie Lawlars. Spann began playing piano by age of eight, influenced by his local ivories stalwart, Friday Ford. At 14, he was playing in bands around Jackson, finding more inspiration in the 78s of Big Maceo Merriweather, who took the young pianist under his wing once Spann migrated to Chicago in 1946. Other sources say that he moved to Chicago when his mother died in 1947 playing the Chicago club circuit and working as a plasterer. Spann gigged on his own, and with guitarist Morris Pejoe, working a regualr spot at the Tic Toc Lounge. before hooking up with Muddy Waters in 1952. Although he recorded periodically as a solo artist beginning in the mid 1950s, Spann was a full-time member of Waters' band from 1952 to 1968 before leaving to form his own band. In that period he also did session work with other Chess artists like Howlin' Wolf and Bo Diddley. ' Artist Discography '
Papa Charlie McCoy - (May 26, 1909, Jackson, Mississippi - July 26, 1950, was an African American delta blues musician and songwriter. Charlie McCoy ranked among the great blues accompanists of his era and his accomplished mandolin and guitar work can be heard on numerous recordings in a wide variety of settings from the late 1920’s through the early 40’s. The years 1927-31 saw the first commercial recordings of many of the Jackson musicians. Most extensively recorded were the Chatmons, Walter Vincson and Joe and Charlie McCoy. McCoy first recorded in 1928, strictly as an accompanist, backing singer Rosie Mae Moore, Tommy Johnson and Ishman Bracey. Between 1928-1931 he played on a variety of sides, many string band related, in the company of Walter Vincson and Bo Carter. Between 1929-1936 Charlie McCoy cut scattered sides under his own name or as lead in various bands. Joe McCoy was well known for his association with his wife Memphis Minnie where he played the part of Kansas Joe. The two made many popular recordings between 1929-1932 and after they separated he occupied himself in small bands, singing with the Harlem Hamfats, working as a songwriter and working with his brother Charlie. ' Artist Discography '
Paul Butterfield - ( December 17, 1942 - May 4, 1987), was an American blues harmonica player and singer, and one of the earliest white proponents of the Chicago originated electric blues style. Butterfield was culturally sophisticated. His father was a well-known attorney in the Hyde Park area, and his mother was an artist -- a painter. Butterfield took music lessons (flute) from an early age and by the time he reached high school, was studying with the first-chair flautist of the Chicago Symphony. He was exposed to both classical music and jazz from an early age. He developed a love for the blues harmonica, and hooked up with Elvin Bishop and started hanging around influential blues performers such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Junior Wells. Butterfield and Bishop soon formed a band with Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay (both of Howlin' Wolf's band). In 1963, a watershed event in introducing blues to a white audience in Chicago occurred when this racially mixed ensemble was made the house band at Big John's, a folk music club in the Old Town district on Chicago's north side. Butterfield was still underage (as was guitarist Mike Bloomfield, who was already working there in his own band). The late 1970s and early 1980s saw Butterfield as a solo act and a session musician, doing occasional television appearances and releasing a couple of albums. He also toured as a duo with Rick Danko, formerly of The Band, with whom he performed for the last time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He also toured with another member of The Band, Levon Helm, as a member of Helm's "RCO All Stars", which also included most of the members of Booker T and the MGs, in 1977. In 1986 Butterfield released his final studio album, The Legendary Paul Butterfield Rides Again. Paul Butterfield died in his home in North Hollywood, California, in May 1987 from a heart attack, just one week after his final concert. ' Artist Discography '
Paul Pena - (January 26, 1950 – October 1, 2005), was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist As a young child, Paul soon showed his talent for music. His mother heard him picking out melodies and chords on a baby grand piano that had been found in the town dump and brought home, 'as a toy that a blind child might enjoy.' He developed 'perfect pitch.' Soon Paul was studying the piano, guitar, upright bass, violin and 'a little trumpet.' He played and sang popular jazz and Cape Verdian ballads with his father, a professional jazz musician, and also sang in his school choruses. Paul appeared in a talent show, and while in college, performed in coffeehouses in Worcester. In 1969, Paul played in the Newport Folk Festival 'in the Contemporary Composer's Workshop with such people as James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Kris Kristofferson.' In 1971, Paul moved to San Francisco and recorded his first marketed record for Capital Records, which was released in 1973. In his musical career Paul played with many of the blues greats, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell, 'Big Bones,' and T. Bone Walker. His song, 'Jet Airliner,' recorded by the Steve Miller Band, was a hit in the 1970s. ' Artist Discography '
Piano Red - William "Willie" Lee Perryman (October 19, 1911 - July 25, 1985), who was usually known professionally as Piano Red and later in life as Dr. Feelgood, was an American blues musician, the first to hit the pop music charts. He was a self-taught pianist who played in the barrelhouse blues style. His simple, hard-pounding left hand and his percussive right hand, coupled with his cheerful shout brought him considerable success over three decades. On Okeh Records, in 1961, he began using the name Dr. Feelgood and the Interns, releasing several hits, including the much-covered "Doctor Feel-Good". The persona was one he had initially adopted on his radio shows. The new career was short-lived, though, and Piano Red was never able to regain his former stature. In 1966, the popular folk-rock group The Lovin' Spoonful, recorded his song "Bald Headed Lena" on their second album, Daydream. He continued to be a popular performer in Underground Atlanta, and had several European tours late in his career, including appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's inauguration, and on BBC Radio. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1984 and died the following year. Among those who attended his funeral were the Governor of Georgia and the Mayor of Atlanta. ' Artist Discography '
Pinetop Perkins - Joe Willie Perkins; July 7, 1913, is an American blues musician. Perkins was born in Belzoni, Mississippi. He began his career as a guitarist, but then injured the tendons in his left arm in a fight with a choirgirl in Helena, Arkansas. Unable to play guitar, Perkins switched to the piano, and also switched from Robert Nighthawk's KFFA radio program to Sonny Boy Williamson's King Biscuit Time. He continued working with Nighthawk, however, accompanying him on 1950's "Jackson Town Gal". In the 1950s, Perkins joined Earl Hooker and began touring, stopping to record "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" (written by Pinetop Smith) at Sam Phillips' studio in Memphis, Tennessee. ("They used to call me Pinetop," he recalled, "because I played that song."). Perkins then relocated to Illinois and left music until Hooker convinced him to record again in 1968. When Otis Spann left the Muddy Waters band in 1969, Perkins was chosen to replace him. He stayed for more than a decade, then left with several other musicians to form the Legendary Blues Band with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, recording through the late 1970s, 80s and early 90s. Although he has appeared as a sideman on countless recordings, Perkins never had an album devoted solely to his artistry, until the release of After Hours on Blind Pig Records in 1988. Perkins now lives in Austin, Texas. He usually performs a couple nights a week at Nuno's on Sixth ST. In 2005, Perkins received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. ' Artist Discography '
Pinetop Smith - Clarence Smith, better known as Pinetop Smith or Pine Top Smith, (June 11, 1904 - March 15, 1929), was an influential American boogie-woogie style blues pianist. He is a 1991 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Smith was born in Troy, Alabama and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. He received his nickname as a child from his liking for climbing trees . In 1920 he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he worked as an entertainer before touring on the T. O. B. A. vaudeville circuit, performing as a singer and comedian as well as a pianist. For a time he worked as accompanist for blues singer Ma Rainey and Butterbeans and Susie. In the mid 1920s he was recommended by Cow Cow Davenport to J. Mayo Williams at Vocalion Records, and in 1928 he moved, with his wife and young son, to Chicago to record. For a time he, Albert Ammons, and Meade Lux Lewis lived in the same rooming house. On 29 December 1928 he recorded his influential "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie," one of the first "boogie woogie" style recordings to make a hit, and which cemented the name for the style. Pine Top talks over the recording, telling how to dance to the number. He said he originated the number at a house-rent party in St. Louis, Missouri. Pinetop was the first ever to direct "the girl with the red dress on" to "not move a peg" until told to "shake that thing" and "mess around". Pinetop Smith was scheduled to make another recording session for Vocalion in 1929, but died from a gunshot wound in a dance-hall fight in Chicago the day before the session. Sources differ as to whether he was the intended recipient of the bullet. "I saw Pinetop spit blood" was the famous headline in Down Beat magazine.
Professor Longhair - Henry Roeland Byrd, (December 19, 1918 - January 30, 1980), was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist. He was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana. He was noted for his unique piano style, which he described as "a combination of rumba, mambo, and Calypso", and his unusual, expressive voice, described once as "freak unique". He was called the Bach of Rock and Roll for the clarity, varied and extremely accurate and "funky" syncopation, and the beautiful tone of his piano playing. Byrd is noteworthy for having been active in two distinct periods, both in the heyday of early rhythm and blues, and in the resurgence of interest in various forms of traditional jazz after the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was created. At that time Byrd became a New Orleans icon. Professor Longhair had only one national commercial hit, "Bald Head" in 1950, and he lacked the crossover appeal for the white audience of Fats Domino. But his rollicking, idiosyncratic, rumba-based piano and exuberant singing made him one of New Orleans biggest rock stars. Professor Longhair began his career in New Orleans near the end of the 1940s but was not well known outside of the city at that time. Throughout the 1950s he recorded for Atlantic Records, Federal Records and other, local labels. In the 1960s his career faltered and he became a janitor and gambled. But he was rediscovered in 1969 as the large white blues audience began to appreciate him and he was referred to as the "Father of New Orleans R&B. ' Artist Discography '
R. L. Burnside - ( November 23, 1926 - September 1, 2005), was a Delta blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist who lived much of his life in and around Holly Springs, Mississippi. He played music for much of his life, but did not receive much attention until the early 1990s. In the latter half of the '90s, Burnside repeatedly recorded with Jon Spencer, garnering crossover appeal and introducing his music to a new fanbase within the underground punk blues music scene. Burnside was born in Harmontown, Mississippi, in Lafayette County. Burnside spent most of his life in the rural hill country of northern Mississippi, working as a sharecropper and a commercial fisherman, as well as playing guitar at weekend house parties. He was first inspired to pick up the guitar in his early twenties, after hearing the 1948 John Lee Hooker single, "Boogie Chillen" (which inspired numerous other rural bluesmen, among them Buddy Guy, to start playing). He learned music largely from Mississippi Fred McDowell, who lived nearby in an adjoining county. He also cited his cousin-in-law, Muddy Waters, as an influence. ' Artist Discography '
Rabbit Brown - Richard "Rabbit" Brown (c1880–c1937) was a United States blues guitarist and composer. His music was characterized by a mixture of blues, pop songs, and original topical ballads. He recorded six record sides for Victor Records on May 11, 1927. Rabbit Brown was most likely born around 1880 in or near New Orleans, Louisiana. He did live in New Orleans from his youth on, and eventually moved to a rough district called the Battlefield. Here, several events inspired some of his future songs. Rabbit Brown mainly performed at nightclubs and street corners. He also earned extra money as a singing boatman on Lake Pontchartrain. A couple of his most popular songs were his topical ballads, "The Downfall of the Lion" and "Gyp the Blood", which were based on actual events that occurred in New Orleans. They were never recorded, however, and only a verse from one of them has endured. The songs Brown recorded in 1927 have been extensively re-released. His "James Alley Blues" is included in the Harry Smith "Anthology of American Folk Music" and has been covered by dozens of modern musicians, including Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn. His topical "event songs" "Mystery of the Dunbar's Child" and "Sinking of the Titanic" also remain popular -- and the latter contained within its verses a beautiful, if truncated, rendition of the old gospel music standard "Nearer My God to Thee," demonstrating the further versatility of his repertoire. Not much is known about Rabbit Brown after 1930 other than that he died in 1937, probably in New Orleans.
Raful Neal - ( June 6, 1936 – September 1, 2004) was a blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter. Neal took up the blues harp at age 14, tutored by a local player named Ike Brown and influenced by Little Walter. Neal's first band, the Clouds, also included the guitarist, Buddy Guy. Neal debuted on vinyl in 1958 with a single for Don Robey's Houston, Texas based Peacock Records. But "Sunny Side of Love" was not successful. Neal's debut album, Louisiana Legend, first emerged on King Snake Records and was picked up by Alligator Records in 1990. I Been Mistreated, Neal's follow-up, was released on Ichiban Records the following year. Neal toured around the world and in 1997 he contributed harp to a couple of tracks on Tab Benoit's Live: Swampland Jam record. Neal's next long-player, Old Friends, appeared in 1998. After a long bout with cancer, Raful Neal died in September 2004. Nine of his eleven children are also blues musicians, and several performed with him on his later releases on the Alligator label. ' Artist Discography '
Robben Ford - born December 16, 1951, is an American blues, jazz and rock guitarist. Robben was the third of four sons in a musical family. His father Charles was a country and western singer and guitarist before entering the army and marrying Kathryn, who played piano and had a lovely singing voice. Robben’s first chosen instrument was the saxophone, which he began to play at age ten and continued to play until his early twenties. He began to teach himself guitar at age thriteen upon hearing the two guitarists from The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Michael Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop. In the late 1960’s, Ford frequented the Filmore and Winterland Auditoriums in San Francisco to see Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Albert King, B.B. King and all of the progenitors of blues. ' Artist Discography '
Robert Cray - born August 1, 1953, is an American blues musician, guitarist, and singer. Cray started playing guitar in his early teens. At Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia, his love of blues and soul music flourished as he started collecting records. Originally, he wanted to become an architect, but around the same time he began to study architectural design, he formed a local band "Steakface", described as "the best band from Lakewood you never heard of". Cray's guitar and vocals contributed greatly to Steakface's set list of songs by Jimi Hendrix, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Fleetwood Mac, The Grease Band, Blodwyn Pig, Jethro Tull, Spirit and The Faces. By the age of twenty, Cray had seen his heroes Albert Collins, Freddie King and Muddy Waters in concert and decided to form his own band; they began playing college towns on the West Coast. After several years of regional success, Cray was signed to Mercury Records in 1982. His third album release, Strong Persuader, produced by Dennis Walker, received a Grammy Award, while the crossover single "Smokin' Gun" gave him wider appeal and name recognition. Cray continues to record and tour. He appeared at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, and supported 'Slowhand' on his 2006-2007 world tour. In Fargo, ND, he joined Clapton on backup guitar for the classic Cream song "Crossroads". ' Artist Discography '
Robert Johnson - (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) is among the most famous of Delta blues musicians. His landmark recordings from 1936–1937 display a remarkable combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given rise to much legend. Considered by some to be the "Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll", his vocal phrasing, original songs, and guitar style have influenced a broad range of musicians, including Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Jack White and Eric Clapton, who called Johnson "the most important blues singer that ever lived". He was also ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He is an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Johnson's records were greatly admired by white jazz record collectors from the time of their first release, and efforts were made to discover his biography, with virtually no success. In 1941 Alan Lomax learned from a very shy Muddy Waters that Johnson had performed in the Clarksdale, Mississippi area. By 1959, Samuel Charters could only add that Will Shade of the Memphis Jug Band remembered Johnson had once briefly played with him in West Memphis, Arkansas. In 1961 the sleeve notes to the album King of the Delta Blues Singers included reminiscences of Don Law who had recorded Johnson in 1936. Law added to the mystique surrounding Johnson, representing him as very young and extraordinarily shy. The success of the album led blues scholars and enthusiasts to question every veteran blues musician who might have known Johnson or seen him in performance. A relatively full account of Johnson's brief musical career emerged in the 1960s, largely from accounts by Son House, Johnny Shines, David Honeyboy Edwards and Robert Lockwood. ' Artist Discography '
Robert Lockwood Jr. - also known as Robert Junior Lockwood, (March 27, 1915 – November 21, 2006), was an American blues guitarist who recorded for Chess Records among other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known as a longtime collaborator with Alec "Rice" Miller, a/k/a Sonny Boy Williamson II, and for his work in the mid 1950s with Little Walter Jacobs. An important session guitarist with many Chicago labels, especially Chess Records (w. Williamson, Jacobs, Eddie Boyd, The Moonglows, et al), Lockwood influenced many who had no idea who the guitarist was on these tracks. Robert Lockwood was born in Turkey Scratch, a hamlet west of Helena, Arkansas. He started playing the organ in his father's church at the age of 8. The famous bluesman Robert Johnson lived with Lockwood's mother for 10 years off and on after his parents' divorce. Lockwood learned from Johnson not only how to play guitar, but timing and stage presence as well. Because of his personal and professional association with the music of Robert Johnson, he became known as "Robert Junior" Lockwood, a nickname by which he was known among fellow musicians for the rest of his life, although he later frequently professed his dislike for this appellation. In 2004, Lockwood appeared at Eric Clapton's first Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas, Texas. A live recording with three other blues legends in Dallas October, 2004 – Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas – was awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. His last known recording session was carried out at Ante Up Audio studios in Cleveland; where he performed on the album The Way Things Go, with long time collaborator Cleveland Fats for Honeybee Entertainment. Lockwood died at the age of 91 in Cleveland, having earlier suffered a cerebral aneurysm and a stroke. ' Artist Discography '
Rod Piazza - born December 18, 1947, is a blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. Piazza's infatuation with blues began at a time when many of the masters were still in their prime years, and in the mid 1960s when the first blues revival was picking up steam, he was in the thick of it. By the 1970s, he'd already released five albums, and was one of the leading lights of the West Coast Blues scene. In the early '70s he joined forces with Otis Spann disciple Honey Alexander (now his wife) on piano, and when they formed the Mighty Flyers over three decades ago, his career really hit its stride. Since then Piazza and the Mighty Flyers have won or been nominated for just about every award that can be bestowed upon a blues band, played literally thousands of gigs around the world, recorded over a dozen highly acclaimed releases, and along the way virtually created a new style of blues - a combination of low-down Chicago grit, suave West Coast swing and jazz, and the rhythmic drive of the best early R&B and rock & roll. Quite simply, Rod Piazza and The Mighty Flyers are one of the best, most experienced, and most distinctive bands in blues today. ' Artist Discography '
Ronnie Earl - born Ronald Horvath in Queens, New York, on March 10, 1953. After picking up his first guitar twenty years later, he went on to stretch the boundaries of electric blues guitar. Earl collected blues, jazz, rock and soul records while growing up. He studied American History at C.W. Post College on Long Island for a year and a half, then moved to Boston to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Special Education and Education at Boston University where he would graduate in 1975. He spent a short time teaching handicapped children. It was during his college years that he attended a Muddy Waters concert at the Jazz Workshop in Boston. After seeing Waters perform in a close setting, Earl took a serious interest in the guitar, which he had first picked up in 1973. His first job was as a rhythm guitarist at The Speakeasy , a blues club in Cambridge, MA. In addition to playing in the Boston blues scene, Earl traveled twice by Greyhound Bus to Chicago, where he was introduced to the Chicago blues scene by Koko Taylor. Later he would travel down South to New Orleans and Austin Texas, where he would spend time with Kim Wilson, Jimmy Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. In 1979 he joined The Roomful of Blues as lead guitarist for the Providence, Rhode Island band. It was also around this time that he adopted the last name of "Earl". As he put it, "Muddy Waters would invite me onstage, but he could never say my last name. So because I liked Earl Hooker, I took the last name of "Earl". ' Artist Discography '
Rory Gallagher - Born in 1948 in Ballyshannon and raised in Cork, Gallagher's rock 'n roll odyssey began at an early age when he saw Elvis Presley on TV and became inspired to get his first guitar. Rory would listen and learn from the likes of Lonnie Donegan, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis, many of whom Rory went on to record with. While still at school during his early teens, Rory began playing with professional show bands throughout Ireland, whose repertoires included all the popular hits of the day. Not musically satisfied with this, Rory converted his latter showband The Impact into a six-piece R'n'B outfit and headed for Hamburg in the mid-1960s. On arrival, this line-up was soon trimmed down to his first trio. Rory went on to form Taste in 1967 a band who soon met with wide acclaim, and subsequently headed for London where they were an immediate success at London's famed Marquee Club, counting among their fans John Lennon.
Rory Gallagher is the man who, without question, spearheaded and influenced the entire Irish rock movement. Remarkably, nearly 11 years after his untimely passing in June 1995, Rory's music is as popular as ever with his legion on faithful followers. ' Artist Discography '
Ry Cooder - Ryland "Ry" Peter Cooder (born 15 March 1947, in Los Angeles, California) is an American guitarist, singer, and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in the American roots music, and, more recently, for his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries. Cooder was ranked number 8 on Rolling Stone's "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Throughout the 1970s, Cooder released a series of Warner Bros. Records albums that showcased his guitar work, to some degree. Cooder has been compared to a musicologist, exploring bygone musical genres with personalized and sensitive, updated reworking of revered originals. ' Artist Discography '
Roosevelt Sykes - (January 31, 1906 – July 17, 1983), was an American blues musician also known as "Honeydripper". He was a successful and prolific cigar-chomping blues piano player who influenced blues piano playing with his rollicking thundering boogie. Sykes grew up near Helena, Arkansas but at age 15, began playing piano with a barrelhouse style of blues at various places until ending up in the St. Louis, Missouri area where he met St. Louis Jimmy Oden. He started recording in the 1920s, signing with multiple labels and recording under various names including "Easy Papa Johnson", "Dobby Bragg", and "Willie Kelly". After he and Oden moved to Chicago he found his first period of great fame when he signed with Decca Records in 1935. In 1943, he signed to Bluebird Records and recorded with "The Honeydrippers". Sykes, like bluesmen of his time, travelled around playing to all-male audiences in sawmill, turpentine and levee camps along the Mississippi River, and gathering a repertoire of raw, sexually explicit material. In 1929 he was spotted by a talent scout and sent to New York City to record for Okeh Records. His first release was "'44' Blues" which became a blues classic and his trademark. He settled in Chicago and began to display an increasing urbanity in his lyric-writing, using an 8-bar blues pop gospel structure instead of the traditional 12-bar blues. However, despite the growing urbanity of his outlook, he could not compete in the post-World War II music scene, though he did continue to record for small labels until he stopped recording in the 1950s . When he returned to recording in the 1960s it was to label like Delmark Records, Bluesville Records, Storyville Records and Folkways Records, labels that were documenting the quickly passing blues history. Roosevelt left Chicago in 1954 for New Orleans as electric blues took over the Chicago blues clubs. He lived out his final years in New Orleans until he died on July 17, 1983. ' Artist Discography '
Sam Chatmon - (January 10, 1897 - February 2, 1983), was a Delta blues guitarist and singer. He was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks and half-brother to Charlie Patton. Chatmon was born in Bolton, Mississippi. Chatmon's family was well-known in Mississippi for their musical talents; Chatmon was a member of the family's string band when he was young. He performed on a regular basis for white audiences in the 1900s. The Chatmon band played rags, ballads, and popular dance tunes. Two of Sam's brothers, fiddler Lonnie Chatmon and guitarist Bo Carter, performed with guitarist Walter Vinson as the Mississippi Sheiks. Chatmon played the banjo, mandolin, and harmonica in addition to the guitar. He performed at parties and on street corners throughout Mississippi for small pay and tips. In the 1930s he recorded both with the Sheiks, as well as with sibling Lonnie as the Chatman Brothers. Chatmon moved to Hollandale, Mississippi in the early 1940s and worked on plantations in Hollandale. He was re-discovered in 1960 and started a new chapter of his career as folk-blues artist. In the same year Chatmon recorded for the Arhoolie record label. He toured extensively during the 1960s and 1970s. He played many of the largest and best-known folk festivals, including the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife in Washington, D.C. in 1972, the Mariposa Fest in Toronto in 1974, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1976. A headstone memorial to Chatmon with the inscription "Sitting on top of the World" was paid for by Bonnie Raitt, through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund and placed in Sanders Memorial Cemetery, Hollandale, Mississippi on March 14, 1998. ' Artist Discography '
Smokin' Joe Kubek - Smokin Joe Kubek was born on November 30, 1956 in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Shortly after he was born his family moved to Irving, Texas where he grew up. Kubek was playing in Dallas clubs at the age of 14. Three years later, he took a deeper interest in blues, prompted by Eric Clapton and Peter Green, and formed his first band. Shortly afterwards, he played rhythm guitar behind Freddie King until King's death in December 1976. After a short spell with Robert Whitfield's Last Combo, he joined Al Braggs" band. Examples of his work can be heard on Braggs" 1979 production of tracks by R. L. Griffin. He also recorded with Charlie Robinson, Big Ray Anderson and Ernie Johnson, and on Little Joe Blue's album, "It's My Turn Now". In 1989, he teamed up with singer/guitarist Bnois King, from Monroe, Louisiana, whose soul-tinged vocals and jazz-orientated style contrasted well with Kubek's more strident finger and slide techniques. "The Axe Man" is an album of covers recorded before their Bullseye Blues debut. Subsequent releases have consolidated their reputation as a solid, entertaining band.
Smokin' Joe Kubek is one of those people who was born to play the guitar. Kubek has the technique and the chops to burn up any stage and has been doing so for the past 27 years. A guitar prodigy at the age of 14 the Texas born guitar slinger frequented the Dallas bar scene during the 1970's and early 80's playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan and people like the three Kings, B. B., Albert and Freddie. A personal favorite, whose style embodies that raw driving force that epitomizes what the blues is all about. ' Artist Discography '
Sippie Wallace - (November 1, 1898 - November 1, 1986), Beulah "Sippie" Thomas grew up in Houston, Texas where she sang and played the piano in her father's church. While still in her early teens she and her younger brother Hersal and older brother George began playing and singing the Blues in tent shows that travelled throughout Texas. In 1915 she moved to New Orleans and lived with her older brother George and got married to Matt Wallace in 1917. During her stay there she met many of the great Jazz musicians like King Oliver and Louis Armstrong who were friends of her brother George. During the early 1920s she toured the TOBA vaudeville circuit where she was billed as "The Texas Nightingale". In 1923 she followed her brothers to Chicago and began performing in the cafes and cabarets around town. In 1923 she recorded her first records for Okeh and went on to record over forty songs for them between 1923 and 1929. Her brother Hersal died of food poisoning in 1926 at age sixteen. Wallace was unique among the Classic Blues singers in that she wrote a great deal of her own material, often with her brothers supplying the music. ' Artist Discography '
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - (March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was a pioneering Gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist who attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and early rock accompaniment. She became the first great recording star of Gospel music in the late 1930s and also became known as the "original soul sister" of recorded music. Willing to cross the line between sacred and secular by performing her inspirational music of 'light' in the 'darkness' of the nightclubs and concert halls with big bands behind her, her witty, idiosyncratic style also left a lasting mark on more conventional gospel artists, such as Ira Tucker, Sr., of the Dixie Hummingbirds. While she offended some conservative churchgoers with her forays into the world of pop music, she never left gospel music. Rosetta also crossed over to secular music in other ways. After marrying COGIC preacher Thomas Thorpe (from which "Tharpe" is a misspelling) in 1934, they moved to New York City. On October 31, 1938, she recorded for the first time — four sides with Decca Records backed by "Lucky" Millinder's jazz orchestra. Her records caused an immediate furor: many churchgoers were shocked by the mixture of sacred and secular music, but secular audiences loved them. Appearances in John Hammond's extravaganza "From Spirituals To Swing" later that year, at the Cotton Club and Café Society and with Cab Calloway and Benny Goodman made her even more popular. Songs like "This Train" and "Rock Me", which combined gospel themes with bouncy up-tempo arrangements, became smash hits among audiences with little previous exposure to gospel music. ' Artist Discography '
Skip James - Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 21, 1902 – October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. James was born near Bentonia, Mississippi. His father was a converted bootlegger turned preacher. As a youth, James heard local musicians such as Henry Stuckey and brothers Charlie and Jesse Sims and began playing the organ in his teens. He worked on road construction and levee-building crews in his native Mississippi in the early 1920s, and wrote what is perhaps his earliest song, "Illinois Blues", about his experiences as a laborer. Later in the '20s he sharecropped and made bootleg whiskey in the Bentonia area. He began playing guitar in open D-minor tuning and developed a three-finger picking technique that he would use to great effect on his recordings. In addition, he began to practice piano-playing, drawing inspiration from the Mississippi blues pianist Little Brother Montgomery. As is typical of his era, James recorded a variety of material — blues and spirituals, cover versions and original compositions — frequently blurring the lines between genres and sources. For example, "I'm So Glad" was derived from a 1927 song by Art Sizemore and George A. Little entitled "So Tired", which had been recorded in 1928 by both Gene Austin and Lonnie Johnson (the latter under the title "I'm So Tired of Livin' All Alone"). James changed the song's lyrics, transforming it with his virtuoso technique, moaning delivery, and keen sense of tone. Biographer Stephen Calt, echoing the opinion of several critics, considered the finished product totally original, "one of the most extraordinary examples of fingerpicking found in guitar music." ' Artist Discography '
Slim Harpo - ( January 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970) was a blues musician. Born James Moore in Lobdell, Louisiana, the eldest in an orphaned family, Moore worked as a longshoreman and building worker during the late 1930s and early 1940s. One of the foremost proponents of post-war rural blues, he began performing in Baton Rouge bars under the name Harmonica Slim. He later accompanied Lightnin' Slim, his brother-in-law, both live and in the studio, before commencing his own recording career in 1957. Named Slim Harpo by producer Jay Miller, the artist's solo debut coupled "I'm a King Bee" with "I Got Love If You Want It." Influenced by Jimmy Reed, he began recording for Excello Records, and enjoyed a string of popular R&B singles which combined a drawling vocal with incisive harmonica passages. Among them were "Rainin' In My Heart" (1961), "I Love The Life I Live", "Buzzin'" (instrumental) and "Little Queen Bee" (1964). On these hits he was accompanied by understated electric backing from the regular stable of Excello musicians — including Lazy Lester, whom Harpo influenced. The singer was known as one of the masters of the blues harmonica; the name "Slim Harpo" was a humorous takeoff on "harp," the popular nickname for the harmonica in blues circles. Harpo was the point man of the 1950s Louisiana Swamp/Blues movement. Harpo, along with Lightnin' Slim, Lazy Lester, Lonesome Sundown, and a dozen other downhome artists, recorded for A&R man J.D. Miller in Crowley, Louisiana. The records were then issued on the Excello label, based in Nashville. Harpo's relaxed, almost lazy, performances set the tone for his subsequent work. ' Artist Discography '
Solomon Burke - (March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010), is an American Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter. During the half-century that he has performed, he has drawn from his roots: gospel, soul, and blues, as well as developing his own style in a time when R&B, and rock were still in their infancy. Burke is revered by some of the most respected big acts as a pioneer and member of the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Solomon Burke was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 21, 1940. Some sources claim that he was born in 1936, others say 1938, but in a 2002 interview with Philadelphia Weekly Burke stated himself that he was indeed born in 1940. He began his adult life as a preacher in Philadelphia, and soon moved on to hosting a gospel radio show. In the 1960s, he signed with Atlantic Records and began moving towards more secular music. His first hit was "Just Out Of Reach Of My Open Arms", a cover of a country song. Though well-received by both peers and critics, and attaining a few moderate pop and several major R&B hits, Burke never could quite break through into the mainstream as did Sam Cooke or Otis Redding, who covered Burke's "Down in the Valley" for 1965's Otis Blue. His best known song is Cry to Me, used in the dance and seduction scene in the film Dirty Dancing. ' Artist Discography '
Son House - Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988), was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music. The middle of seventeen brothers, House was born in Riverton, two miles from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Around age seven or eight, he was brought by his mother to Tallulah, Louisiana, after his parents separated. The young Son House was determined to become a Baptist preacher, and at age 15 began his preaching career. Despite the church's firm stand against blues music and the sinful world which revolved around it, House became attracted to it and taught himself guitar in his mid 20s, after moving back to the Clarksdale area, inspired by the work of Willie Wilson. He began playing alongside Charley Patton, Willie Brown, Robert Johnson and Fiddlin' Joe Martin around Robinsonville, Mississippi, and north to Memphis, Tennessee, until 1942. House's innovative style featured strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of a bottleneck, coupled with singing that owed more than a nod to the hollers of the chain gangs. The music of Son House, in contrast to that of, say, Blind Lemon Jefferson, was emphatically a dance music, meant to be heard in the noisy atmosphere of a barrelhouse or other dance hall. House was the primary influence on Muddy Waters and also an important influence on Robert Johnson, who would later take his music to new levels. It was House who, speaking to awe-struck young blues fans in the 1960s, spread the legend that Johnson had sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his musical powers. ' Artist Discography '
Son Seals - Frank "Son" Seals (August 13, 1942 - December 20, 2004) was an American blues guitarist and singer. He was born in 1942 in Osceola, Arkansas where his father, Jim "Son" Seals, owned a small club. He began performing professionally by the age of 13, first as a drummer with Robert Nighthawk, and later as a guitarist. In 1959, he formed his own band which performed locally and he also toured with Albert King. In 1971, he moved to Chicago. His career took off after he was discovered by Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records at the Flamingo Club in Chicago's South Side. His debut, The Son Seals Blues Band, was released in 1973. The album included "Your Love Is Like a Cancer" and "Hot Sauce". Seals followed up with 1976's Midnight Son and 1978's Live and Burning. He continued releasing albums throughout the next two decades, all but one on Alligator Records. These included Chicago Fire (1980), Bad Axe (1984), Living In The Danger Zone (1991), Nothing But The Truth and Live-Spontaneous Combustion (1996). He received the W.C. Handy Award, an honor for best blues recording of the year, in 1985, 1987, and 2001. ' Artist Discography '
Sonny Boy Williamson I - John Lee Curtis Williamson, (March 30, 1914 —June 1, 1948) was an American blues harmonica player, and the first to use the name Sonny Boy Williamson. He was born near Jackson, Tennessee in 1914. His original harmonica recordings were considered to be in the country blues style, but he soon demonstrated skill at making harmonica a lead instrument for the blues, and popularized the instrument for the first time in a more urban blues setting. He has been called "the father of modern blues harp". His very first recording, "Good Morning, School Girl", was a major hit on the 'race records' market in 1937. He was hugely popular among black audiences throughout the whole southern U.S. as well as in the midwestern industrial cities such as Detroit and his home base in Chicago, and his name was synonymous with the blues harmonica for the next decade. Other well-known recordings of his include "Shake the Boogie", "You Better Cut that Out", "Sloppy Drunk", and "Early in the Morning". Williamson's style influenced a large number of blues harmonica performers, including Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells, Sonny Terry, Little Walter, and Snooky Pryor among many others. He was easily the most widely heard and influential blues harmonica player of his generation. His music was also influential on many of his non-harmonica playing contemporaries and successors, including Muddy Waters (who had played with Williamson in the mid-1940s) and Jimmy Rogers (whose first recording in 1946 was as a harmonica player, performing an uncanny imitation of Williamson's style); Rogers later recorded Williamson's songs "My Little Machine" and "Sloppy Drunk" on Chess, and Waters recorded "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" in September 1963 for his Chess LP Folk Singer and again in the 70s when he moved to Johnny Winter's Blue Sky label on CBS. ' Artist Discography '
Sonny Boy Williamson II - Aleck "Rice" Miller (December 5, 1899 – May 25, 1965), was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. Aleck Ford was born on the Sara Jones Plantation near Glendora, Mississippi in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The date and year of his birth are a matter of some uncertainty. He claimed to have been born on December 5, 1899, but one researcher, David Evans, claims to have found census record evidence that he was born around 1912. Miller's gravestone has his birthdate as March 11, 1908. He lived and worked with his sharecropper stepfather, Jim Miller, whose last name he soon adopted, and mother, Millie Ford, until the early 1930s. Beginning in the 1930s, he traveled around Mississippi and Arkansas and encountered Big Joe Williams, Elmore James and Robert Lockwood, Jr., also known as Robert Junior Lockwood, who would play guitar on his later Checker Records sides. He was also associated with Robert Johnson during this period. Miller developed his style and raffish stage persona during these years. Willie Dixon recalled seeing Lockwood and Miller playing for tips in Greenville, Mississippi in the 1930s. He entertained audiences with novelties such inserting one end of the harmonica into his mouth and playing with no hands.
Sonny Terry - Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry ( October 24, 1911 - March 11, 1986) was a blind blues musician. He was most widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts. His father, a farmer, taught him to play basic blues harp as a youth. He sustained injuries to his eyes and lost his sight by the time he was 16, which prevented him from doing farm work himself. In order to earn a living Terry was forced to play music. He began playing in Shelby, North Carolina. After his father died he began playing in the trio of Piedmont-style guitarist Blind Boy Fuller. When Fuller died in 1941, he established a long-standing musical relationship with Brownie McGhee, and the pair recorded numerous tracks together. The duo became well-known, even among white audiences, as they joined the growing folk movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This included collaborations with Styve Homnick, Woody Guthrie and Moses Asch, producing Folkways Records (now Smithsonian/Folkways) classic recordings. ' Artist Discography '
St. Louis Jimmy Oden - James Burke "St. Louis Jimmy" Oden (June 26, 1903 - December 30, 1977), was an American blues vocalist and songwriter. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Jimmy Oden sang and taught himself to play the piano in childhood. In his teens, he left home to go to St. Louis, Missouri where piano-based blues was prominent. He was able to develop his vocal talents and began performing with the gifted pianist, Roosevelt Sykes. After more than ten years playing in and around St. Louis, in 1933 he and Sykes decided to move on to Chicago. In Chicago he was dubbed St. Louis Jimmy and there he would enjoy a solid performing and recording career for the next four decades. While Chicago became his home base, Oden traveled with a group of blues players to various places throughout the United States. He recorded a large number of records, his best known coming in 1941 on the Bluebird Records label called "Goin' Down Slow." Oden wrote a number of songs, two of which, "Take the Bitter with the Sweet" and "Soon Forgotten," were recorded by his friend, Muddy Waters. In 1948 on Aristocrat Records Oden cut "Florida Hurricane", accompanied by the pianist Sunnyland Slim and the guitarist Muddy Waters. In 1949, Oden partnered with Joe Brown to form a small recording company called J.O.B. Records that remained in business for twenty-five years. After a serious road accident in 1957 he devoted himself to writing and placed material with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf ("What a Woman!") and John Lee Hooker. In 1960 he made an album with Bluesville Records, and sang on a Candid Records session with Robert Lockwood, Jr. and Otis Spann. Oden died, at the age of 74, in 1977 and was interred in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, near Chicago. ' Artist Discography '
Stevie Ray Vaughan - (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American blues-rock guitarist, whose broad appeal made him an influential electric blues guitarist. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stevie Ray Vaughan #7 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, and Classic Rock Magazine ranked him #3 in their list of the 100 Wildest Guitar Heroes in 2007. Vaughan was born on October 3, 1954, in Dallas, Texas, and was raised in the city's Oak Cliff neighborhood. Neither of his parents had any strong musical talent but were avid music fans. They would take Vaughan and his older brother Jimmie to concerts to see Fats Domino, Johnny Williamson III, Jimmy Reed, and Bob Wills. Even though Vaughan initially wanted to play the drums as his primary instrument, Michael Quinn gave him a guitar when he was seven years old. Vaughan's brother, Jimmie Vaughan, gave him his first guitar lessons. Vaughan was later quoted in Guitar Player as saying, "My brother Jimmie actually was one of the biggest influences on my playing. He really was the reason I started to play, watching him and seeing what could be done." He played entirely by ear and never learned how to read sheet music. By the time he was thirteen years old he was playing in clubs where he met many of his blues idols. A few years later he dropped out of Justin F. Kimball High School in Oak Cliff and moved to Austin to pursue music. Vaughan's talent caught the attention of guitarist Johnny Winter and blues-club owner Clifford Antone. In the early 1980s, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger saw Vaughan and Double Trouble playing at a club, and invited them to play at a private party in New York. This led to their acquaintance with producer Jerry Wexler, who managed to get them their first big break performing at the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival. As a result they were able to meet Jackson Browne, who gave the band free time in his Los Angeles studio, and David Bowie, who had Vaughan play lead guitar on his next album, Let's Dance. Soon a record contract with Epic followed, as well as their first album release in 1983, the successful Texas Flood, which charted at number 38 and gained positive reviews. After a successful tour, their second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, charted at number 31 in 1984 and went gold in 1985. Their third album, Soul to Soul, charted at number 34 in 1985.
On August 25 and August 26, 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble finished the summer portion of the In Step Tour with shows at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, just outside of East Troy, Wisconsin. The show also featured The Robert Cray Band (with the Memphis Horns, Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love) and Eric Clapton, who played the closing set, then brought all the musicians back onstage for an encore jam. Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton later recalled his last conversation with Vaughan, and remembered Vaughan saying backstage that he had to call his girlfriend, Janna Lapidus, before heading out the door to board a helicopter for the flight back to Chicago, Illinois, where Lapidus was staying. The musicians had expected a long bus ride back to Chicago. However, Vaughan was informed by a member of Clapton's crew that three seats were open on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago with Clapton's crew, enough for Vaughan, his brother Jimmie, and Jimmie's wife Connie. It turned out there was only one seat left; Vaughan requested it from his brother, who obliged. At 12:44 a.m. pilot Jeffrey Browne guided the helicopter off the ground. Shortly after takeoff the helicopter crashed into a ski slope and all five on board were killed. Although the crash occurred only 0.6 miles from the takeoff point, it went unnoticed by those at the concert site. ' Artist Discography '
Susan Tedeschi - born November 9, 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, is an American blues and soul artist, who has risen to fame with multiple Grammy Award nominations, powerful singing voice, and her marriage to Derek Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band and The Derek Trucks Band. She is also known for the "Soul Stew Revival", a conglomeration of both her band, that of The Derek Trucks Band, and assorted other personnel.Growing up in the Boston suburb of Norwell, Massachusetts, she began singing with local bands at the age of 13, and subsequently pursued her passion for music while studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. After establishing herself as one of New England’s top–drawing live acts, and making her recording debut with her embryonic 1995 album Better Days, Tedeschi achieved an impressive musical and commercial breakthrough with her 1998 indie release Just Won’t Burn. The album became a massive grass–roots success, with a minimum of hype and plenty of old–fashioned word of mouth. Just Won’t Burn achieved Gold sales status and won Tedeschi a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. ' Artist Discography '
Taj Mahal - born Henry St. Claire Fredericks in Harlem on May 17, 1942, Taj grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father was a jazz pianist, composer and arranger of Caribbean descent, and his mother was a gospel singing schoolteacher from South Carolina. Both parents encouraged their children to take pride in their diverse ethnic and cultural roots. His father had an extensive record collection and a shortwave radio that brought sounds from near and far into the home. His parents also started him on classical piano lessons, but after only two weeks, young Henry already had other plans about what and how he wanted to play. Early on he developed an interest in African music, which he studied assiduously as a young man. His parents also encouraged him to pursue music, starting him out with classical piano lessons. He also studied the clarinet, trombone and harmonica. At age eleven Mahal's father was killed in an accident at his own construction company, crushed by a tractor when it flipped over. This was an extremely traumatic experience for him. His mother would later remarry. His stepfather owned a guitar which he began using at age 13 or 14, receiving his first lessons from a new neighbor from North Carolina of his own age that played acoustic blues guitar. His name was Lynwood Perry, the nephew of the famous bluesman Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. In high school Mahal sang in a doo-wop group. Throughout his career, Mahal has performed his brand of blues (an African American artform) for a predominantly white audience. This has been a disappointment at times for Mahal, who recognizes there is a general lack of interest in blues music among many African Americans today. ' Artist Discography '
T-Bone Walker - Aaron Thibeaux Walker or T-Bone Walker or Oak Cliff T-Bone (May 26, 1910 — March 15, 1975), was an American blues guitarist, singer, pianist and songwriter who was one of the most important pioneers of the electric guitar. His electric guitar solos were among the first heard on modern blues recordings and helped set a standard that is still followed. Walker was born in Linden, Texas of African and Cherokee descent. His parents, Rance Walker and Movelia Jimerson were both musicians. Walker married Vida Lee in 1935 and had three children with her. He died of pneumonia March 16, 1975. His distinctive sound developed in 1942 when Walker recorded "Mean Old World" for Capitol Records. Much of his output was recorded from 1946–1948 on Black & White Records, including 1947's "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad)", with its famous opening line, "They call it stormy Monday, but Tuesday's just as bad". He followed up with his "T-Bone Shuffle" and "Let Your Hair Down, Baby, Let's Have a Natural Ball". Both are considered blues classics. B. B. King says "Stormy Monday" first inspired him to take up the guitar. The song was also a favorite live number for The Allman Brothers Band. Throughout his career Walker worked with the top quality musicians, including Teddy Buckner (trumpet), Lloyd Glenn (piano), Billy Hadnott (bass), and Jack McVea (tenor sax). Following his work with Black & White, he recorded from 1950-54 for Imperial Records (backed by Dave Bartholomew). Walker's only record in the next five years was T-Bone Blues, recorded over three widely separated sessions in 1955, 1956 and 1959, and finally released by Atlantic Records in 1960. ' Artist Discography '
Teenie Hodges - Mabon "Teenie" Hodges is a Memphis musician best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter on many of Al Green's popular soul hits of the 1970s. Born in 1946, the Memphis, TN guitarist and his brothers played on sessions for the artists on Hi, and "Teenie"'s guitar was one of the most familiar sounds of the 1970s. His compositions "Take Me to the River" and "Love and Happiness," both cowritten with Green, have been covered by numerous other international artists, including Al Jarreau, Amazing Rhythm Aces, Talking Heads, O.V. Wright, David Sanborn, Toots & the Maytals, Canned Heat, Foghat, Levon Helm, Syl Johnson, Annie Lennox, Delbert McClinton, Mitch Ryder, Tom Jones, Graham Central Station, Living Colour, blues artist Willie Cobbs, Denise La Salle, and others. He also cowrote several other popular hits with songwriters like Isaac Hayes, Willie Mitchell, and Al Green, including "I Take What I Want," "Oh Me, Oh My," "Here I Am, Come and Take Me," and "Full of Fire." Hodges recorded and toured for years as guitarist with his talented brothers, bassist Leroy Hodges and organist Charles Hodges, in the Hi Rhythm Section, which was the backing band on most Hi Records label hits of the 1970s for numerous popular soul artists, including Al Green and Ann Peebles. Hodges toured internationally and recorded with major soul acts like Syl Johnson and O.V. Wright for a number of years and continues performing in blues and soul groups today, based out of his home in Memphis. ' Artist Discography '
Tinsley Ellis - (1957- ), a blues musician, was born in Atlanta, Georgia and spent his early years in Florida. Inspired by his idol, B.B. King, he was determined to become a blues guitarist. In 1975 he returned to Atlanta and joined his first band. He graduated from Emory University in 1979 with a degree in history. Ellis grew up in southern Florida and first played guitar at age eight. He found the blues through the backdoor of the British Invasion bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream, and The Rolling Stones. He especially loved the Kings--Freddie, B.B. and Albert--and spent hours immersing himself in their music. His love for the blues solidified when he was 14. At a B.B. King performance, Tinsley sat mesmerized in the front row. When B.B. broke a string on Lucille, he changed it without missing a beat, and handed the broken string to Ellis. After the show, B.B. came out and talked with fans, further impressing Tinsley with his warmth and down-to-earth attitude. By now Tinsley's fate was sealed; he had to become a blues guitarist. And yes, he still has that string. Already an accomplished teenaged musician, Ellis left Florida and returned to Atlanta in 1975. He soon joined the Alley Cats, a gritty blues band that included Preston Hubbard (of Fabulous Thunderbirds fame). In 1981, along with veteran blues singer and harpist Chicago Bob Nelson, Tinsley formed The Heartfixers, a group that would become Atlanta's top-drawing blues band. ' Artist Discography '
Tommy Castro - Tommy Castro (born in 1955 in San Jose, California) is a blues guitarist and singer. He began playing guitar at a young age and was influenced and inspired by electric blues, Chicago blues, west coast blues, soul music, '60's rock and roll and Southern rock. His style has always been a hybrid of all his favorite genres. Since the late 1980s he has led bands featuring a drummer, bass guitar player and saxophone player and they have been a prominent feature in the Bay Area blues scene. In 1994, he was signed to Blind Pig Records label and released his first album the following year. He has gained national and international attention ever since due to his touring, fun live performances and releasing six additional albums. His album Guilty of Love featured the last recording session for John Lee Hooker. In 2002 he was featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album Hey Bo Diddley - A Tribute!, performing the song "I Can Tell". Castro and his band released Soul Shaker in February 2005. ' Artist Discography '
Tommy McClennan - (April 8, 1908 - 1962?) was a delta blues singer and guitarist. McClennan was born on a farm near Yazoo City, Mississippi and grew up in the town. He played and sang blues in a rough, energetic style. He made a series of recordings for Bluebird Records from 1939 through 1942 and regularly played with his friend Robert Petway. He can be heard shouting in the background on Petway's 1942 recording "Boogie Woogie Woman". McClennan made an immediate impact in 1940 with his recordings of "Shake 'Em On Down", "Bottle It Up and Go", "Whiskey Head Woman" and "New Highway No.51". He left a powerful legacy that included "Bottle It Up and Go," "Cross Cut Saw Blues" (covered by Albert King), "Deep Blue Sea Blues" (aka "Catfish Blues"), and others whose lasting power has been evidenced through the repertoires and re-recordings of other artists. Although nothing is known of what happened to Petway, McClennan was occasionally seen in Chicago with Elmore James and Little Walter, two other artists who came from the Delta. McClennan is reported to have died from alcoholism in poverty in Chicago, Illinois, in 1962. ' Artist Discography '
Willie Brown - (August 6, 1900 – December 30, 1952), was an American delta blues guitarist and singer. Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Brown played with such notables as Charley Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson. He was not known to be a self-promoting frontman, preferring to accompany other musicians. Little is known for certain of the man whom Robert Johnson called "my friend-boy, Willie Brown" (in his prophetic "Cross Road Blues") and whom Johnson indicated should be notified in event of his death. Brown is heard with Patton on the Paramount label sessions of 1930, playing "M & O Blues," and "Future Blues." Apart from playing with Son House and Charlie Patton it has also been said that he played with artists such as Luke Thomson and Thomas "Clubfoot" Coles. At least four other songs he recorded for Paramount have never been found. "Rowdy Blues", a 1929 song credited to Kid Bailey, is disputed to have Brown on backup, or Brown himself using the name of Kid Bailey. Willie Brown does his song "Future Blues" on the album Son House & The Great Delta Blues Singers (1994), recorded between 1928 and 1930, on the Document Records label. ' Artist Discography '
Willie Dixon - William James "Willie" Dixon (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) was a well-known American blues bassist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. His songs, including "Little Red Rooster", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Evil", "Spoonful", "Back Door Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "I Ain't Superstitious", "My Babe", "Wang Dang Doodle", and "Bring It on Home", written during the peak of Chess Records, 1950-1965, and performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter, influenced a worldwide generation of musicians. Next to Muddy Waters, he was the most influential person in shaping the post-World War II sound of the Chicago blues. He also was an important link between the blues and rock and roll, working with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the late-1950s, and his songs were covered by some of the biggest bands of the 1960s and 1970s, including Bob Dylan, Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Allman Brothers Band, and the Grateful Dead. He is also the grandfather of writer/musician Alex Dixon. Dixon began performing around Chicago and with Baby Doo, helped to form the Five Breezes, a group that blended blues, jazz, and vocal harmonies. Dixon's progress in learning to play the bass was halted when he resisted the draft during World War II as a conscientious objector and was imprisoned for ten months. After the war, he formed the group Four Jumps of Jive and then reunited with Caston, forming the Big Three Trio, who went on to record for Columbia Records. Dixon signed to Chess Records as a recording artist, but began performing less and became more involved with the label. By 1951, he was a full time employee at Chess where he acted as producer, A&R talent scout, session musician, and staff songwriter. His relationship with the label was sometimes strained, although his spell there covered the years from 1948 to the early 1960s. During this time his output, and influence was prodigious. ' Artist Discography '
Z. Z.Hill - Arziel Hill (September 30, 1935-April 27, 1984), known popularly as Z. Z. Hill, was an African American blues singer, in the soul blues tradition, known for his 1970s and 1980s recordings for Malaco. His Down Home Blues album (1982) stayed on the Billboard soul album chart for nearly two years. The title track was the best-known blues song of the 1980s. This track, plus the songs, "Someone Else Is Steppin In" and "Open House" have become R&B/Southern soul standards. Hill began his singing career in the late 1950s as part of a gospel group called The Spiritual Five, touring Texas. Around 1960, he started collecting records by B. B. King, Freddie King, Sam Cooke, Bobby "Blue" Bland and Wilson Pickett and began singing and writing songs influenced by these styles. ' Artist Discography '
Additions to the list? Contact us here .
Influential Musicians
| Van Morrison |
Who won the 2010 Man-Booker Prize with the novel The Finkler Question ? | The 100 Best Rock Bands Of All Time: 25 Through 1 | The Best Schools
The 100 Best Rock Bands Of All Time: 25 Through 1
25. Run D.M.C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hblmoI-JfTI
There is no group deserving of more credit for helping hip hop move from the city streets to suburban households than RUN D.M.C. Marking the point of transition from Old School to New School and setting the course for hip hop’s sound and fashion in the 1980s, Run D.M.C. helped define rap while demonstrating its theretofore unseen commercial power.
Related Articles
Subscribe & Stay Informed
Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels and Jam Master Jay grew up together in the Hollis neighborhood of Queens and first began performing as a unit in 1981. As the younger brother of future Def Jam honcho Russell, Joseph Simmons was well-connected from the start. Some of his earliest performances were as the DJ for Old School hero Kurtis Blow. But it wasn’t until the aspiring rappers had completed high school and enrolled in college that Russell was willing to help his younger brother’s group produce their debut single.
“It’s Like That/Sucker MCs” launched Run D.M.C. in 1983, reaching #15 on the R&B charts and securing the trio a growing underground following. Their self-titled debut , the following year, unveiled the group’s guiding formula. Sampling hard-rock guitar riffs and merging them with the tough, lean vamps that would become Def Jam’s trademark, tunes like “Rock Box” gained immediate attention. So too did their Adidas sneakers and leather jackets, a far tougher image than the glammy post-disco proclivities of Grandmaster Flash and other old schoolers.
In both their street attire and the harder edge of their music, Run D.M.C. had initiated the graduation to New School. Legions followed in their wake, with artists like the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and L.L. Cool J also matriculating. By 1985, Run D.M.C. had achieved substantial cultural importance, with its “Rock Box” becoming the very first rap song ever to play on MTV.
The next year, teaming with Rick Rubin, Run D.M.C. produced Raising Hell , a triple platinum release that convinced all who doubted it to this point that hip hop was a potent commercial force. Driven by a critically vaunted cover of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” and a video collaboration with the classic rockers, Run D.M.C. tallied a list of first-time accomplishments for its genre.
“Walk This Way” became the first rap song to make the Billboard Top 5, peaking at #4, and the album became the very first rap record to top the R&B charts. Critics then and today regard this as one of hip hop’s milestone recording events, arguably the launchpad for the genre’s Golden Age. Their 1987 support tour alongside the Beastie Boys was similarly instrumental in the genre’s history.
As the decade wore on, and particularly as commercial attention turned toward New Jack Swing and West Coast G-Funk in the early ‘90s, Run D.M.C.’s relevance began to fade. Personal problems contributed to the group’s decline through the rest of the decade, leading Jam Master Jay to pursue outside projects such as an ultra-successful collaboration with Onyx on 1993’s nasty smash hit, “Slam.”
Though Run D.M.C. continued to enjoy high regard, it was now as elder statesmen. By the end of the decade, the trio called it quits. Jam Master Jay’s shocking shooting death in 2002 ended any chance of a true reunion, though in 2009, Run D.M.C. became only the second hip hop group, after Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
24. The Band
The Band began its existence as a rough-and-tumble Canadian backing unit and ended its run as an American institution. For a group of guys from above the northern border–excepting Arkansas-born drummer Levon Helm–the Band seemed to command an unparalleled grasp of America’s rural mystique. Helm joined Rick Danko (bass), Garth Hudson (keyboards), Richard Manuel (piano), and Robbie Robertson (guitar) in the late ‘50s to support rockabilly madman Ronnie Hawkins. It was thus that they were dubbed the Hawks, touring Canada’s dive bar scene and earning a reputation as among the roughest, rowdiest, and most authentic rock and roll combos in the game.
In 1964, determining that they had graduated from backing service, the group stepped out from behind Ronnie Hawkins, first billing themselves as Levon and the Hawks, then as the Canadian Squires. Touring the U.S. on the strength of a lofty underground reputation, the Hawks met ascending Greenwich Village bard, Bob Dylan. Over the next two years, Bob Dylan electrified the music world (literally), by plugging in his amp and veering from protest folk into speed-fueled rock surrealism. As audiences intermittently cheered or booed Dylan, the members of his backing group stood alongside him and absorbed the abuse.
Of course, now that history views this era of Dylan’s career as being of landmark importance, it likewise smiles upon his backing band for its bold contributions thereto. The former Hawks earned the name The Band for their singularity within Dylan’s touring retinue. After two solid years of audience abuse and critical misinterpretation, Dylan and the Band retired to a house in Saugerties, New York dubbed Big Pink. There within, the musicians entered into a period of unparalleled fertility, improvising and recording a seemingly endless batch of songs inspired by lost history, ancient headlines, sea shanties, murder ballads, and a host of sepia-toned memories that are of a distinctly forgotten and extinct American life. The authenticity of their recordings was underscored by the fact that they never expected any of them to be heard. This was merely a sustained exercise in creative interchange.
Over the next year, an audience desperate for a followup to Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, gobbled up bootleg copies (which became known as The Basement Tapes ) with such ferocity that its sessions were finally anthologized by way of an official release a decade later. As for the Band, they finally had the chance to strike out on their own in 1968. Their debut, Music from Big Pink , established their image as a cast of displaced Civil War veterans. Rooted by the road-weary “The Weight” and rounded out by a trio of Dylan-penned masterpieces, Big Pink celebrated Americana with bucolic majesty.
In 1969, the Band appeared at the Woodstock music festival, an easy trip given that it was practically held in their backyard. That same year’s The Band deepened their pastoral image with a batch of songs drenched in backwoods mythology and populated by country gentlemen, most notably the mournful “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and the buoyant “Up On Cripple Creek,” the latter of which landed the out-of-time band at #25 on the charts.
The Band solidified its reputation and earned its eventual passage into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame over the course of the next decade, both as a stable recording and touring unit. On Stage Fright (1970), Cahoots (1971) and Northern Lights – Southern Cross (1976), the Band achieved the remarkable and unlikely balance between steady forward momentum and faithful commitment to the strains of American history. Their influence is perhaps best celebrated, as is the excess of the era in general, in The Last Waltz , a Martin Scorsese directed documentary showcasing the Band’s farewell performance. Filmed in 1976 and released two years later, The Last Waltz would feature appearances by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison, and even old Ronnie Hawkins. To date, it remains a standard-bearer among live concert releases.
Though the Band would reunite at various points thereafter, today only Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson are still with us.
23. Talking Heads
The Talking Heads were the most literate, intelligent, and playfully quirky of the CBGB set. Led by idiosyncratic singer, songwriter, and giant-floppy-suit-wearer, David Byrne, the Talking Heads may be among the greatest influences coursing through today’s rock radio consciousness, best representing the nervy arthouse ethos of New Wave, the lyrical obscurity of alternative, and the hookiness of today’s beardly hipster bands. All owe a debt to the Talking Heads for their right to be weird and successful all at once.
The Talking Heads formed in 1975, joining Byrne’s off-kilter vocals and quirky songwriting with Jerry Harrison’s layered keyboards, Tina Weymouth’s funky bass, and Chris Frantz’s staccato time signatures. The group rose to recognition as part of the New York punk scene that birthed legends like the Ramones, Television, and Blondie. Among them, the Talking Heads stood out for their intelligence and conscious artiness. In 1977, their breakthrough hit, “Psycho Killer,” burned up the charts while the Son of Sam terrorized New York.
Over the course of eight albums, David Byrne was responsible for the lion’s share of writing as well as for his band’s musical eclecticism. Albums like Fear of Music (1979) and Speaking in Tongues (1985) produced substantial charting hits while incorporating elements of Brazilian music, African poly-rhythms, and the synthesizers that would define new wave. As to the latter, the Talking Heads were the most essential trailblazer in a genre that shot the Police, Duran Duran, and the Cars to megastardom. Byrne’s contributions to the MTV era may best be captured in the band’s groundbreaking Stop Making Sense (1984), an ingenious concert documentary (not to mention album) directed by Jonathan Demme. Its imagery and performance aesthetics make it a template-setting document in the music video medium.
Though the Talking Heads disbanded at the end of the ‘80s, Byrne’s solo career continues to distinguish him. Starting with 1981’s highly influential ambient record, My Life the Bush of Ghosts (1981), Byrne has lent his name to a series of solo works that touch on all manner of world, electronic, and even dance music. The Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
22. Iggy Pop And The Stooges
The Stooges were the brainchild of rock and roll’s wildest child, Iggy Pop. The Ann Arbor combo played a special brand of apocalyptic garage rock that prefigured punk music’s attitude and aesthetic by a decade. Today, their work offers us an ingenious study in controlled chaos.
Joining local friends and brothers, Ron and Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander, Iggy formed the Psychedelic Stooges in 1967 (They eventually dropped the ‘Psychedelic’ from their handle). The Stooges pulled in elements of psychedelia, electric blues, and surf rock, churning their ingredients in a blender and splattering them all over audiences.
Iggy Pop proved a natural innovator in the field of performance art, taking a cue from Jim Morrison and embarking on some of the most aggressive and confrontational music ever thrust before an audience. While the Stooges bludgeoned listeners with their savage instrumental attack and deliriously loud arrangements, Iggy would shatter bottles and cut himself with the broken glass, strip down to nothing and dive into the crowd. In fact, legend has it that Mr. Pop invented the stage dive and, consequently, the crowd surf, both eventual staples of the punk, grunge, and alternative concert experience.
More importantly, the band’s studied primitivism, musical minimalism, and show-stopping insanity verily wrote the book on punk rock roughly a decade before the term entered music’s popular lexicon. As par for the punk course, the Stooges recorded two landmark albums that nobody bought before completely imploding. But with The Stooges (1969) and Fun House (1970), Iggy and his band scribed the preamble for the future punk revolution.
Though neither of these records reached a mainstream audience, Iggy’s legend as a terrifying and exhilarating performer did grow. So too did his heroin addiction, a fact which led to the group’s demise in 1971. In the same year, Iggy met David Bowie, who was just then on the path to massive success. Bowie offered to share this success with his new friend and produced an Iggy and the Stooges reunion, minus Dave Alexander. 1973’s Raw Power was the result. Once again, Iggy upped the ante, producing an album of gritty, howling intensity that sold very few copies but had career-making influence on those who did buy it.
This was also the beginning of an incredibly valuable association with David Bowie. Iggy and the Stooges broke up a second time, again due to Pop’s heroin addiction. It was thus that he sought treatment at a mental institution, a time in which Bowie was one of his few constant visitors. Future collaborations with Bowie would produce Iggy’s finest solo work when, in 1977, he released both The Idiot and Lust for Life .
Iggy also got the chance to reunite with his old buddies from the Stooges, embarking on a triumphant reunion tour in the early and mid-2000s that allowed the band to bask in the glow of a reputation 30 years in the making while exposing its music to a whole new generation of listeners. Though verging on 60 years of age at the time, Iggy’s performances were as artistically destructive and confrontational as ever, living proof that he is punk’s first wild child.
In 2010, Iggy Pop and the Stooges were collectively inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
21. Creedence Clearwater Revival
If you ever meet somebody who doesn’t like Creedence Clearwater Revival , be wary. This person may well be a cyborg sent from the future to destroy humanity. There’s really no other explanation. Everybody loves Creedence.
John Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford met in their Bay Area high school as teens and began jamming together after class as well as backing John’s older brother Tom during local gigs. Originally performing under the name The Blue Velvets and peddling in rock and roll standards, they scored a contract with a jazz label called Fantasy in 1964. Shortly thereafter, John discovered his signature choogling vocal and they took the name The Golliwogs to reflect the swampier garage rock that this seemed to accommodate.
In 1966, with the Vietnam War in full-swing, John and Doug Clifford were drafted into service. Both entered into reserve units but the intrusion effectively ended their productivity until 1968. Reunited, they adopted their new name, with “Revival” implying their intensified commitment to the band’s future. Their eponymous debut launched them to immediate success in 1968 with a cover of Dale Hawkins’ “Suzie Q.”
It would also begin a three year run of excellence borne out in a string of perfect full length records and a consequent flood of FM classics. Creedence created an utterly original backwood bayou sound that was nonetheless brilliantly predisposed to charting success. They were also stunningly prolific during their short lifespan, releasing no fewer than three records in 1969 ( Bayou Country ; Green River ; Willy and the Poor Boys ) and headlining Woodstock that summer.
All were hits, yielding some of the finest songs to enter the universal book of rock standards, including one of the era’s more incisive protest songs in “Fortunate Son,” the celebratory jug-band shuffle of “Down On the Corner,” and, in “Proud Mary,” one of the most important compositions of the 20th Century. After setting the record for most #2 charting records on the Billboard Hot 100, Creedence landed their first #1 with 1970’s Cosmo’s Factory .
By this time, however, tensions between John Fogerty and his bandmates were coming to a head. Fogerty was the band’s singular talent, and made it known to the others by ruling with an iron fist. This, and the increasingly onerous terms of its deal with Fantasy, led to Tom’s departure in 1970 and, after two consequent albums, the dissolution of the band in 1972. Though Tom Fogerty passed away in 1990, Cook and Clifford have toured under the name Creedence Clearwater Revisited while John continues to enjoy success as a solo musician.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, purveyors of roughly 26 million records in the U.S., and inventors of the swamp rock genre, CCR made a mighty imprint in their four years on this earth.
20. Mothers of Invention
It’s hard to think of a man whose weirdness and talent came in such equally enormous proportion as did Frank Zappa’s. It was only fair, then, that the Baltimore-born guitar virtuoso should have a band capable of similar brilliance and oddness. He found it when he joined the members of an underground California rock band called the Soul Giants. Changing their name to the Mothers of Invention , they transformed into a vehicle for Zappa’s deconstructionist and avant garde predilections.
In the Mothers, Zappa had a band capable of veering effortlessly between greasy blues riffs, bubbly psychedelic hard rock, cartoonish prog, and tongue-in-cheek folk farce. Combining their forces in 1966, the Mothers of Invention released a series of critically acclaimed records that lampooned the musical and cultural conceits of the 1960s while simultaneously indulging in and expanding upon the decade’s sonic mores. On Freak Out! (1966), Absolutely Free (1967), and We’re Only In It For the Money (1968), Zappa demonstrated stunningly virtuosic skills as a guitarist and distinguished his records with a goofily stentorian voice that seemed always to be drenched in sarcasm.
Behind Zappa, the Mothers of Invention endured three dramatic shifts in their lineup during one decade of existence. At all times, Zappa, a famously stern workaholic, surrounded himself with a combination of top-flight musicians and first-rate weirdos. Among the most famous individuals to fall into the latter category was gruff-voiced singer Captain Beefheart, who would thereafter go on to record several deeply influential avant rock albums with his Magic Band.
Other famous Mothers include Roy Estrada and Lowell George, who would go on to found dixie oddballs, Little Feat; Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, formerly of the Turtles and, thereafter, principals of Flo & Eddie; fusion master George Duke; noted solo electric violinist Jean Luc-Ponty; Henry Vestine, thereafter of Canned Heat; and jazz-rock drummer extraordinaire, Terry Bozzio.
These various incarnations did something particularly unlikely for a band as off-the-wall, in-your-face, and out-of-left field as the Mothers. They had hits, sort of. After nearly a decade as one of the world’s most critically acclaimed and commercial misunderstood groups, Zappa’s embrace of prog-rock stylings yielded an unlikely top-ten hit with Apostrophe (‘) (1974) and its equally unlikely hit single “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow.”
The following year, Zappa disbanded the Mothers as a going concern but continued to discover and showcase stellar young musicians like the Brecker Brothers and Steve Vai. His work dealt the same savage satirical eye and inscrutable musical dexterity to experiments in hard rock, fusion, new wave, and classical music, gradually building a case for Zappa as one of the most profound, profane, and prolific artists in the world. His reputation as a decidedly well-spoken representative of his industry was reinforced by a 1987 Congressional appearance, alongside John Denver and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, in opposition to government efforts at music censorship.
Even as Zappa sharply critiqued the material excess and musical superficiality of his rock and roll peers, he defended their right to be thus. Zappa died of cancer in 1993 and entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years later.
19. The Who
50 years ago, Roger Daltrey famously sang that he hoped to die before he got old. Boy, would he live to regret that statement, or what?
At age 71, Daltrey and his musical foil, Pete Townshend, have just embarked on yet another world tour. Along with bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon, the group began performing as the Who in 1964. They distinguished themselves from their blues-obsessed peers like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds by instead probing American soul and R&B in their earliest sets. Combined with their distinctively mod appeal, the lean and loud quartet would also prove one of rock’s most ambitious and accomplished artists in the coming decades.
From the start, the Who attracted audiences with its penchant for punctuating performances by smashing its equipment to bits. Given how expensive such a performance habit could be, it’s fortunate that the Who gained success relatively quickly. It also helped that Townshend immediately proved himself a clever songwriter. “I Can’t Explain” earned the group a Decca release, which ultimately became popular on Britain’s famous pirate station, Radio Caroline.
It was the group’s 1965 release “My Generation” however, that made the Who famous. Reaching #2 on the U.K. charts, the speed-addled vocal stutter, the menacing bass solo, and the song’s anthemic declaration immediately inserted the Who into the thick of a British Invasion already underway. As the Who played on increasingly larger stages, they’re songwriting became ever-more sophisticated, moving from mod classics like “The Kids Are Alright” to the multi-part suite “A Quick One While He’s Away” in a matter of two years.
By 1967, the Who had also firmly established its reputation for destructive live performances, backstage scuffling, and chemical appetites, most especially that of nutbar drummer Keith Moon. It was this same year that the Who made its American debut at the Monterey Pop Festival. Though their violent antics were not entirely in-step with America’s raging hippie revolution, their next move would endear them to the free love generation. Pete Townshend’s songwriting vision was growing in scope, a fact realized on 1969’s Tommy . The so-called ‘rock opera’ offered listeners the musical narrative about a deaf, dumb and blind boy who goes on to become a religious demigod.
In addition to substantially expanding notions about what could be done either within the LP medium or the rock milieu, Tommy became the centerpiece of Who performances for the next two years, including gigs at Woodstock and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. Both are considered career-expanding performances, and would help Tommy ultimately sell 20 million copies while spawning countless Broadway adaptations and a campy but rock-star laden 1975 film.
In the coming decade, The Who would dive headlong into its swelling fame, as well as into the harder, louder rock tendencies that were increasingly in fashion. As rock music moved from clubs and dive bars into arenas and stadiums, the Who proved more than equal to the task. This transition was significantly aided by the 1971 release of Who’s Next , a classic rock record par excellence. Providing the Who with perennial concert centerpieces in “Baba O’Riley,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and “Bargain,” Who’s Next would go on to receive triple platinum certification.
Over the course of the ‘70s, the Who embraced their role as stadium rockers with big, blustery tunes like “Who Are You” and “Eminence Front.” But Keith Moon’s behavior became increasingly legendary, and not in a good way. The ever-excellent drummer was also declining deeper into alcoholism, a habit which worsened considerably when he accidentally ran over and killed his chauffeur and best friend Neil Boland during a fan-fueled melee in 1970. In 1978, ironically after completing alcohol rehabilitation, Moon overdosed on his detox medication.
Though their classic period was over, the Who pushed on for another few years with Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones at the kit. With the exception of a 1989 reunion tour, the Who was largely on hiatus between 1982 and 1996. In the intervening time, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, even in spite of bassist John Entwistle’s death in 2002, verily refuse to stop touring.
Who can blame them, with more than 100 million records moved and tickets selling out for summer 2015 tour dates? Not bad for a few geezers who planned on being dead by now.
18. The Funk Brothers
The Funk Brothers have played on more #1 hits than the Beatles, Elvis Presley, and the Rolling Stones combined and it’s entirely possible that you’ve never even heard of them. Such is the fate of the greatest house band popular music has ever known. The collection of studio musicians who held court at Detroit’s Motown records from 1959 to 1972 gave life to the label’s unrivaled silo of hits. Smokey Robinson, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson Five, the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Four Tops; all were beneficiaries of the tightest, tautest, most tasteful backing band in the game.
If Booker T. and the M.G.s embodied the gritty soul of the South, the Funk Brothers defined Northern polish with bright, chiming brilliance. Remarkably, their work went largely uncredited throughout the ‘60s, even as they provided architectural foundation to Hitsville on songs like “My Girl” (The Temptations), “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” (Stevie Wonder), and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Tyrell). As a result, the 13 musicians who are officially regarded as Funk Brothers by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences are not at all household names.
Most famous among them are likely the alliterative twins of Motown backbeat, drummer Benny Benjamin and bassist James Jamerson. Other notables include piano player Earl Van Dyke, guitarist Eddie “Chank” Willis and guitarist Dennis Coffey, the latter of whom provided some of the most searing riffs of the label’s late psychedelic-soul period. By extension, the true list of players in the Motown house is far longer. And the sum of its accomplishments is fairly staggering, with its musical output all but defining American soul, R&B, and rock in the decade of their greatest artistic growth. Motown’s songs and artists are, more than any other single body of work, the soundtrack to the 1960s.
From the debonair delights of early Temptations to the social call to action of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On? (1971), from the urgency of Diana Ross and the Supremes to the longing of Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Funk Brothers remained famously anonymous, standing, as a 2002 documentary on their contributions would say, “in the shadows of love.” Though Benny Benjamin and James Jamerson are both deceased, each was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The core 13 Funk Brothers have also been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Their contributions to the sound and musical vocabulary of popular song is absolutely incalculable.
17. Booker T. & the M.G.s
When you think of Southern Soul, you probably think of guys like Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, and Otis Redding. You’d be right to think that. But these guys all had something in common. They all recorded with the greatest house band in the world. As the backing group for the remarkable roster of talents that roamed the halls of Soulsville (Stax Records in Memphis), Booker T. Jones (organ), Al Jackson, Jr. (drums), Steve Cropper (guitar), and Donald “Duck” Dunn (bass) did nothing less than build the sound of Southern Soul.
Formed in 1962, the original lineup featured Lewie Steinberg, rather than Dunn, on bass. It was this lineup that gathered for the first time together at Stax to back rockabilly wild man Billy Lee Riley. In between takes, with tape still rolling, they improvised a slow, grooving instrumental that came to be called “Green Onions.” Released as a single, “Green Onions” gave the band a #1 R&B/#3 Pop Billboard entry. Booker T. effectively and repeatedly followed the formula of the million-seller with a decade’s worth of smoky, organ-driven instrumental hits.
Their success as a charting act was merely icing on the cake though. In reality, their contributions to popular music during the mid and late ‘60s have few equals. Working on the black side of the tracks, Booker T., and Stax on the whole, represented an island of racial harmony in a turbulent time. Indeed, the band itself was integrated, a fact which lent Stax to bold, inventive, and boundary-crushing soul music. Especially with the departure of Steinberg and the beginning of Dunn’s tenure in 1965, the M.G.s became the engine behind the Memphis soul machine.
In addition to the aforementioned soul men, Booker T. performed on hundreds of records by artists including Johnny Taylor, Albert King, William Bell, and Rufus Thomas. Future badass Isaac Hayes also performed frequently with the M.G.s. Their work stands out on classic recording like Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” Rufus Thomas’ “Walking the Dog,” and Redding’s breathless “Try and Little Tenderness.” Their role also earned them a spot as Redding’s supporting band during his famously triumphant 1967 appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival.
As Stax collapsed internally at the turn of the decade, the house band began to splinter. Still, the M.G.s did continue to release records under their own name, including the stellar Abbey Road tribute, McLemore Avenue (1970) and Melting Pot (1971), a minor soul-funk classic with heavy future implications for hip hop samplers.
In 1975, as the band prepared for another release, the great drummer Al Jackson, Jr. was gunned down in his own home. His fellow M.G.s toured and recorded every few years with a rotating cast of drummers. Their most notable work during the next decade came as the backing band for John Belushi and Dan Akroyd. Indeed, Dunn and Cropper were themselves official Blues Brothers and showed off their acting chops in the hit 1980 film.
Its vaunted reputation, in fact, would earn Booker T. & the M.G.s the somewhat de facto role as house band for many of rock and roll’s greatest historical celebrations, including the Atlantic Records’ 40th Anniversary Celebration (1986), Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary Concert (1992), and the opening ceremonies for Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum (1995). They themselves had been enshrined into the work-in-progress museum just 3 years earlier.
16. The JBs
James Brown invented funk but he didn’t do it alone. Already firmly cemented in his role as the Godfather of Soul, Brown was also well-known for accepting only the highest caliber of musician into the various bands that backed him over his career. The man was a brutal taskmaster who did not accept mistakes lightly. This is why he assembled the J.B.s in 1970.
Well, this and the fact that his entire previous band walked out on him over pay dispute. But things turned out pretty well for James since the next band he assembled was comprised of the best, tightest, funkiest, nastiest musicians in the business; Collins brothers Catfish and Booty on guitar and bass respectively, Brown’s old friend Bobby Byrd on organ, Jabo Starks on drums, Fred Wesley on trombone, and Maceo Parker and St. Clair Pinckney on saxophones.
With Brown up front, the J.B.s made a lean, sweaty funk whose intensity and oddness were without precedent. Recordings like “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine,” and “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing” established a new type of funk minimalism, with its rapid-fire, staccato rhythms clearly prefiguring hip hop.
Indeed, not just with Brown, but on its own LPs, the J.B.s would provide a billion samples to future DJs. Tunes like “Pass the Peas,” “The Grunt,” and “Doing it to Death,” the latter a #1 R&B charting hit, would prove the J.B.s more than capable of commanding attention without the help of the hardest working man in showbiz. Naturally, said man was behind the knobs as a producer for each of their recordings.
With the decline of Brown’s fortunes in the 1980s, so too would the J.B.s see diminishing returns. But the careers of its best contributors would be colorful indeed, with Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley, and Maceo Parker all beaming aboard the mothership to join George Clinton and his Parliament/Funkadelic empire in the mid-1970s.
15. Sly and the Family Stone
In the late 1960s, the hippie movement dreamed of a utopia of harmonious racial and gender equality propelled by peace, love, and music without boundaries. If ever a band embodied these ideals, it was Sly and the Family Stone . Multiracial, multigendered, and multilateral in its musical experimentation, Sly and the Family Stone was among the most daring, exciting, and downright fun ensembles of their time. Blending funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic experimentation into a single flower power package, Sly harbored the good vibes we associate with the hippie movement at its very best.
Formed in 1967, Sly and the Family Stone was the brainchild of Bay Area producer (of lite-psych fare like the Beau Brummels and Mojo Men) and DJ, Sly Stone. Teaming with brother Freddie (guitar), sister Rose (keys), Cynthia Robinson (trumpet), Gregg Enrico (drums), Ronnie Crawford (sax), and Larry Graham (bass), Stone formed a band that, much like his radio show, blended white rock and psychedelia with gospel, funk, and soul. The result was an utterly original sound and message that turned popular music on its ear.
Though their 1967 debut, A Whole New Thing , attracted considerable praise from journalists and fellow musicians, it was not until 1968’s “Dance to the Music” that the band broke through to national attention. The song reached #8 on the charts and though it was only their first hit, it touched off a significant transformation of black music. Even for established hit factories like Motown and Stax, Sly and the Family Stone signaled a new and progressive deconstruction of musical boundaries. The labels famous for leading innovation followed in Sly Stone’s footsteps, pairing artists like the Temptations (in the case of Motown) and Isaac Hayes (in the case of Stax), with big fuzzy guitars. Psychedelic soul had been invented, eventually clearing a path for Funkadelic and all that would come thereafter.
In 1969, Sly reached even greater heights with the record Stand! and attendant single “Everyday People.” Its egalitarian message captured as succinctly as anything the mood of peace and unity permeating the counterculture. Its acclaimed spot on the stage at Woodstock underscored this message with its integrated and coed lineup making for a striking site at the watershed festival. Tunes like “I Want to Take You Higher” stood out as milestone musical moments both at the festival and within the broader era.
As the glory days of the ‘60s turned to the ‘70s, the band moved toward a grittier and more funk-driven sound. Though it more than likely hinted at the growing drug use within the band, it also produced a body of highly regarded post-hippie work, much of it frequently sampled in hip hop circles. Classic records like There’s a Riot Goin’ On replaced the optimism of the previous era with a far darker and bluesier foreboding that nonetheless debuted at the top of the charts upon its 1971 release. Sly Stone’s cocaine addiction led increasingly to tension within the band, culminating in the departure of the band’s virtuosic and influential bassist. Larry Graham left to form the funk outfit, Graham Central Station.
After an additional two albums, drug abuse had ruptured the band’s unity, performance consistency, and concert attendance. By 1975, the Sly and the Family Stone was finished, with many of its members going on to work steadily as session and touring musicians. As for their visionary leader, his life since fame has been one long story of destitution and drug addiction, though he did make a surprise appearance before stunned audience members and bandmates at the band’s 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
14. Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are the most famous and culturally pivotal of the many folk combos to emerge from Greenwich Village in the mid-60s. Alongside Bob Dylan, North Jersey-born Paul Simon and Queens-bred Art Garfunkel produced a body of music that remains as symbolically representative of the 1960s as tie-dye and marijuana. Their gorgeously complimentary voices and their neatly articulated observations often transcended the political invective peddled by their fellow scenesters in favor of a more universal folk rock.
Simon and Garfunkel grew up only blocks from one another and attended the same junior high school. In fact, their first performance together was technically in their respective roles during a sixth grade class rendition of Alice in Wonderland. It was as the Everly Brothers-inspired duo Tom & Jerry, however, that they first began writing and recording together in 1956. In spite of a minor regional hit with “Hey Schoolgirl,” followup recordings yielded little traction. The duo split and pursued solo opportunities, with Simon spending some time apprenticing as a songwriter under the tutelage of Carole King and Gerry Goffin.
In 1963, with the folk movement now a dominant force in New York, the two reunited and recorded their debut for Columbia Records. 1964’s Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. fared poorly as did the pair’s first set of live shows under the name Simon & Garfunkel. They split once again and Simon traveled to England to commune with British folk scene leaders like Bert Jansch and the future members of Fairport Convention. While Simon was away, a U.S. DJ pulled the majestic “The Sound of Silence” from Wednesday Morning and featured it on his show. Other FM radio stations soon followed suit, prompting producer Tom Wilson to overdub a slightly poppier version of the tune without authorization from the artists.
By the start of 1966, the remixed version of “The Sound of Silence” topped the charts. Once again, it was incumbent upon Simon & Garfunkel to reunite. This time, audiences immediately embraced the acoustic arrangements and aching harmonies on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), with songs like “Homeward Bound” establishing Paul Simon as among the period’s most emotive lyricists. In 1967, Simon & Garfunkel provided the music for Mike Nichols’ generationally essential film, The Graduate, resulting in an even higher profile for the rising stars.
This helped to propel 1968’s Bookends into the top spot on the charts when it was released, on the same April 1968 week, it happens, that Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Against a backdrop of street riots and protests, Bookends became the duo’s biggest hit, anchored by “Mrs. Robinson,” “America,” and “A Hazy Shade of Winter.” Though the lifelong friends were now at the height of their success, they both began to strain at the reins of their partnership. Simon & Garfunkel’s final statement would be perhaps their most musically ambitious as well, with Bridge Over Troubled Water featuring the grandiose production of the title track and the sweeping “The Boxer.” Bridge would go on to sell roughly 25 million copies, though the duo would be no more.
Simon & Garfunkel have reunited on numerous occasions since their split, most famously for a free Central Park performance in 1981 that attracted 500,000 spectators.
They were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Their partnership has been frequently overshadowed by Paul Simon’s substantial and critically important solo output in the decades since, but there are few acts that evoke the storied 1960s with as much grace and yearning as Simon & Garfunkel.
13. Black Sabbath
It’s hard to think of a band that was more critically derided in its time and simultaneously more influential in our time. If the future vision of the world as depicted in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is true, and heavy metal does indeed lead the way to the enlightenment of civilization, we will have Black Sabbath to thank. Though the lineup has seen numerous shifts over the band’s 40+ years of operation, its founding four members are the reason for its inclusion here. Birmingham, England musicians Tommy Iommi (guitar), Bill Ward (drums), Geezer Butler (bass), and Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), formed the inauspiciously named Polka Tulk Blues Band in 1968.
Though the band began as a standard heavy blues rock combo, they took a sharp left turn in 1969 after observing that a horror film screening across the street was drawing a larger crowd than was their gig. Employing a musical tritone known as the “Devil’s Interval” for its dark and ominous resonance, the band changed its name to correspond with its first doom-laded composition, “Black Sabbath.”
The band embraced the decidedly low-budget horror conceit in its music and image, most particularly Ozzy Osbourne, whose howling incantations channeled a decidedly necromantic vision. Playing their first gig under this new approach in the summer of ’69, they had a record deal with Philips by that fall. Their self-titled debut dropped appropriately enough, on Friday the 13th, in February of 1970. The permeating gloom and pummeling riffs came in stark contrast to the hippie love-in that dominated rock music in the preceding years.
Critics absolutely hated the album but it rapidly sold a million copies and spent more than a year on America’s Billboard 200 charts. Indeed, it was such a surprise success that the band delayed the release of its followup, Paranoid (1971) so as not to detract from the debut’s continued sales. With Paranoid , Sabbath established the formula that would take it largely through Osbourne’s stint, flanking tight riff rockers like the title track (the band’s only top ten hit), with long, heavy, pyrotechnic jams. Like its predecessor and those that would come immediately thereafter, Paranoid was reviled by critics and gobbled up by a growing metalhead subculture.
The mid-‘70s saw the release of an additional four classic LPs— Master of Reality (1971), Vol. 4 (1972), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973), and Sabotage (1975). All but the last would be certified platinum in their first year. Though Sabbath doggedly overcame critical disregard, its growing popularity would also give the band’s members access to all the drugs and alcohol they could consume. They ran with the opportunity, with each album’s sessions more disjointed than the last. The cracks began to show visibly on the two final albums of the decade featuring Osbourne. Though all were pretty far gone at this juncture, Osbourne had become the most deeply dysfunctional. The band’s disintegration was highlighted by a 1978 tour in which its lumbering and dispirited performances were largely upstaged by the energy of young openers, Van Halen.
The band fired Osbourne, who descended deeper into his own addictions before eventually emerging to massive solo success. Sabbath continued its run by recruiting a series of singers, most notable among them Ronnie James Dio (formerly of Rainbow) and Ian Gillian (famously of Deep Purple). Though Black Sabbath remained a successful touring and recording unit among metal enthusiasts, every era since Osbourne’s first departure is essentially a non-classic period.
In 1996, capitalizing on the pale of influence cast by his band, Osbourne founded OzzFest, an annual touring festival featuring the day’s top acts in metal, thrash, hardcore, and all related subgenres. These festivals not only demonstrate how far and wide the shadow of Sabbath’s original works still stretches, but 1997’s affair also served as a forum for the long-awaiting reunion of Osbourne and his fellow founding members.
Today, Sabbath continues to tour intermittently as allowed by the ailing health of its former hard-living members. Not only are Sabbath responsible for moving 70 million records worldwide, but the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers ultimately won over critical consensus in the years since their largely maligned and misunderstood metal burrowed its way up from the depths of hell.
12. Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin embody the very best and worst of Rock and Roll. Their music was wildly creative, experimental, bold, and powerful. It was also indulgent, arrogant, and by many accounts, the product of some intellectual dishonesty. Still, these guys were the original Gods of Thunder, playing with a sonic enormity that essentially prefigures all other hard rock bands of note. For better or worse, Led Zeppelin is the first name in hard rock, hair metal, and the many, many genre offshoots in which the guitar served in its most phallic capacity thereafter. But behind the bluster, blues, and bravado, Led Zeppelin would actually prove itself a band capable of great beauty, gentle harmony, and an intuitive melding of Eastern, Celtic, and Isles-folk influences.
Led Zeppelin was hatched when guitarist Jimmy Page’s fellow Yardbirds flew the coop in 1968. Exhausted by constant touring, the original Yardbirds authorized their latter-day recruit to use the band’s name in order to fulfill several live contractual obligations. It was thus that Page set about in search of members for his new supergroup. Though Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood, Steve Marriott and the Who’s rhythm section were all approached, the New Yardbirds would ultimately be comprised of established session-ace John Paul Jones (bass), and Band of Joy partners Robert Plant (vocals) and John Bonham (drums).
After one Scandinavian tour as the New Yardbirds, the band returned home to press its live repertoire in the studio. From the start, their intent was to produce a new kind of heavy electric blues, beginning with a songbook of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf tunes. Taking the name Led Zeppelin and earning a deal with Atlantic sight-unseen, they released their self-titled debut in 1969. Tunes like “Dazed and Confused” and “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” offered a theretofore unheard blend of plodding, psychedelic blues and furious extended jamming. Page’s fast, loose, and satisfyingly sloppy soloing, Plant’s banshee wail, Jones’ steady rhythm, and Bonham’s Jurassic beats helped make the band an immediate success.
So too did constant touring and a driving work ethic that saw the band crisscross the U.S. and the U.K. no fewer than four times each in that first year. They ended that same year by releasing Led Zeppelin II which, on the strength of single “Whole Lotta Love,” hit #1 in both markets. II would begin to solidify several dimensions of Led Zeppelin’s reputation.
First and foremost, the sheer heaviness of the band’s approach made this a landmark recording paralleled only by the debut of Black Sabbath for its role in nurturing heavy metal. Second, the U.S. tours that followed would introduce audiences to a band capable of new heights of chemical debauchery, sexual depravity, and wanton property destruction. In essence, they were the model for every hair metal cliche on the horizon. Finally, Led Zeppelin II reinforced the less-than-admirable tendency for Page and Plant to slap their stamp of authorship on songs that had clearly been previously recorded or performed in some manner by another artist.
“Whole Lotta Love,” for instance, made the band quite wealthy but contained more than a liberal selection of lyrics and chords from Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters’ 1962 “You Need Love.” Ultimately, the band would settle with the estate and share authorship but it highlighted a habit that has blighted the band’s reputation since for co-opting significantly from others.
Putting this matter aside, the band’s recorded output and concert appearances, especially in the U.S., rapidly reinforced their reputation as the hardest, heaviest, and hottest band in the world. The release of their untitled fourth album in 1971 took the band to even greater heights, with its centerpiece “Stairway To Heaven” becoming arguably the single most popular and influential song of the classic rock era. Its layered soloing, medieval imagery, and suite-like structure would set a template that British prog-rockers took to the hilt over the next decade. Most often referred to as Led Zeppelin IV , the record went on to sell 37 million copies worldwide. To date, it is the fourth highest selling album in U.S. history.
The band’s next two records, Houses of the Holy (1973) and Physical Graffiti (1975) explored a wider range of influences, adding Indian, Arab, British, and Celtic folk colors to its heavy blues palette. An extended passage through the Orient called “Kashmir” marked a new level of drama and sophistication in hard rock. As the biggest band in the world by this point, routinely shattering stadium attendance records previously held by the Beatles, Zeppelin veered into more straight ahead pop territory on its final records.
When drummer John Bonham–the hardest partier in a group of notoriously hard-living vikings–choked to death on his own vomit in 1980, the close-knit Zeppelin was grounded. Aside from a very well-received Page and Plant reunion in the mid-90s and a 1995 Hall of Fame induction, the three surviving members have largely focused on successful solo careers. Robert Plant in particular continues not just to tour but, with his current focus on American bluegrass, country and folk, also continues to explore new musical ground.
Zeppelin moved anywhere between 200 and 300 million records in its day, casting an influence in the 1970s every bit as wide as that cast by the Beatles in the previous decade. And much like the Beatles, their time was up when their decade was over.
11. The Ramones
All the Ramones needed to change the world were three chords and a really bad attitude. Theirs was the simplest and most satisfying of revolutions, even if the band itself never truly enjoyed commercial success on equal footing with the admiration heaped upon it and the influence spread out before it. Though our list of bands must necessarily include seminal proto-punk influences like the Stooges and the New York Dolls, the Ramones are the first true punk band. The Queens quartet formed in 1974 and abandoned their respective surnames in favor of the band’s (though an awesome and apocryphal story tells that the four original members actually met in an elevator, realized they all had the same name, and decided to start a band).
Whatever the case, Joey Ramone (vocals), Johnny Ramone (guitarist), Dee Dee Ramone (bassist), and Tommy Ramone (drummer) were an absolutely unique enterprise from the day of their inception. Draped in leather jackets and ripped jeans, instruments slung low so that they stooped like cavemen, the Ramones bludgeoned audiences with an attack that was as loud, fast, and raw as anything yet heard or seen. Their songs, short and severe though they were, also owed a tuneful debt to early rock and roll, girl group, garage rock, and bubble gum music. Condensing all of these elements into songs that rarely crested the two-minute mark, The Ramones quickly became one of the most exciting and talked-about acts in the burgeoning and as-yet unnamed New York scene.
The word punk would stick right around the time the Ramones were sonically assaulting their first audience at the famed punk club, CBGB. The band played no fewer than 70 gigs at the landmark venue that year before ultimately landing a contract with Sire and releasing their self-titled debut in 1976. Though it contained future punk classics like “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Beat on the Brat,” and though it earned lavish critical attention, it was largely ignored by listeners.
It wasn’t until a tour in England the following year that the Ramones learned how big an impact their first record and their attendant image had made. During a London show attended by the young and impressionable members of the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Damned, and the Jam, the Ramones all but christened the U.K. punk explosion of the coming year. The next two records saw the Ramones’ profile rising in the U.S., though still with little money to show for it.
Often regarded as their most classic record, Rocket to Russia would mark their highest charting success to that point, reaching #49 and yielding the band’s biggest U.S. hit, “Rockaway Beach.” Russia perhaps best embodies the dynamic that made the Ramones the perfect punk unit, offering a rapid-fire collection of songs that paired minimalist intensity with infectious hookiness. Replacing drummer Tommy with Marky Ramone, the group entered the studio with legendary but now increasingly unstable producer Phil Spector in order to capitalize on their emergent success.
Released in 1980, End of the Century would rank as the band’s biggest charting success, reaching #44, but Specter’s dense production was a poor fit for the band. Contributing to this negative impression was probably the fact that Phil Spector pulled a gun on Johnny Ramone during the sessions, something which the producer was not unknown to do on occasion.
Though the Ramones would continue to record, and to enjoy the adulation of a new generation of musicians during the punk-fueled alternative boom, they never recaptured the magic of their days at the CBGB nor did they ever achieve the commercial success that seemed inevitably to be their birthright. Sadly, as other bands of their ilk have enjoyed lucrative reunion tours in their golden years, the Ramones will have no golden years. Joey died of lymphoma in 1999. The four living Ramones all appeared together upon their 2002 induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but Dee Dee would be dead from a heroin overdose 2 months later, Johnny felled by prostate cancer two years hence, and Tommy from bile duct cancer just last year.
Perhaps their greatest legacy as punk’s premier act, however, is the living proof that any kid can start a revolution with a guitar and three chords.
10. The Supremes
They weren’t the first. That title belongs to the Shirelles. And they weren’t the best. One might argue that singers like Gladys Knight and Martha Reeves could readily put Diana Ross to shame. But the Supremes were invariably and unarguably, the most successful of the girl-groups, outfitted with the best material, and ultimately, destined for the brightest star. Beyond that, the Supremes are the single most successful vocal harmony group in history.
Their history coincides with that of history’s other most successful vocal harmony group. As Detroit natives Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks began singing in a group called the Primes (one day to become the Temptations), friends Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Diana Ross formed the Primetttes in 1959. Ross reached out to her friend and neighbor Smokey Robinson, asking him to pass a demo to Motown magnate Berry Gordy. Though Gordy liked the girls, he felt they were too young for his label.
Unrelenting, the newly-dubbed Supremes persisted on showing up at the studio on a near-daily basis, forcing Gordy to employ their services as back-up singers and hand-clappers on hits by the likes of Marvin Gaye. By 1963, the Supremes had released a series of Robinson and Gordy-authored go-nowhere singles. But the group’s tenacity, the rising reputation of Diana Ross, and a partnership with ace songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland would lead to a huge break in 1964. That year, “Where Did Our Love Go” took the Supremes to the top spot on the charts and crossed over to #3 in the U.K.
Four consecutive #1 hits followed with “Baby Love,” “Come See About Me,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” and “Back In My Arms Again.” The Supremes were quickly becoming Motown’s most prominent act, with their elegant and polished image underscoring Motown’s strategy for attracting integrated audiences. As the Beatles scaled up the charts, the Supremes emerged as one of the few American acts capable not just of surviving but of actually competing with the British Invasion.
As the chart-toppers continued into the mid-1960s, with hits like “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” all but defining the Motown sound, the Supremes were global stars who inherently dismantled racial barriers by way of primetime television appearances and international headlining gigs. It was their success that would ultimately help Motown soundtrack the decade by way of future superstars like the Temptations and the Jackson 5.
Trouble began to brew within the group however, much of it owing to Diana Ross’s ever-growing fame. As Gordy quietly schemed to advance the leader’s solo career, jealousy fomented within. Florence Ballard, feeling her role increasingly marginalized, descended into alcoholism before ultimately being replaced by former Patti Labelle & the Blue Notes singer, Cindy Birdsong. It was also at this time, in 1967, that the group officially began taking billing as Diana Ross & the Supremes.
Even within the larger Motown community, artists grumbled that Gordy’s favoritism for his beloved Supremes often earned the group the label’s very best songwriting output. Their pairing with some of the greatest pop songs ever composed has as much if not more to do with the Supremes’ success than did their own talents. Indeed, as evidence of this fact, the contractual dispute with and departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland from Motown would impact the Supremes directly.
As the perfect pop compositions dried up, so too did the relevance of the Supremes in an era where black music was becoming increasingly radical, revolutionary, and racially explicit. In 1969, the group had its final #1 of the decade with the ironically-titled “Someday We’ll be Together.” Indeed, by the start of the next year, they no longer were.
Diana Ross departed for an enormously successful solo career and the Supremes enjoyed chart success on name recognition through much of the remaining decade, finally disbanding in 1977. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, the Supremes easily top all other vocal combo acts with 12 #1 pop chart hits.
9. The Temptations
In the early 1960s, male vocal combos were a dime a dozen, especially in Detroit. But the members of two rival groups, the Primes and the Distants, would combine to achieve unparalleled fame and success. Of course, the Temptations have experienced success almost regardless of the singers performing under the well-traveled name. However, the five men who saw the group through its classic mid-60s hits, and the slightly adjusted line-up that would transition them into the 1970s, possessed among the most magically compatible voices in the business.
In 1961, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams joined Otis Williams, Elbridge Bryant and Melvin Franklin in the Motown stable. They recorded and performed tirelessly for the following two years but saw little return for their efforts. Frustrated by their slow ascent, Bryant became disillusioned and, following a conflict in which he bludgeoned Paul Williams with a beer bottle, was dismissed over the 1963 Christmas holiday. It was with his replacement, David Ruffin, that the Temptations broke through in a huge way.
This lineup is largely considered the Temptations’ most important. Teaming with songwriter and producer Smokey Robinson, the Temps increasingly dealt in material compatible with Ruffin’s raw but soothing vocal style. Thus, the group had its first Top 20 single with the inscrutable pop gem, “The Way You Do The Things You Do.” Robinson and company repeated the formula on “My Girl” in December of 1964. By spring of the following year, it had become the Temptations’ first chart-topper.
As the Temptations emerged from unknowns to lead horses in the Motown stable, the label paired them with songwriter Norman Whitfield, helping the Temps to transition from the pop conventions of their earlier work into more complex and densely layered material like “I Wish It Would Rain.” The start of this partnership would also coincide with the end of Ruffin’s run. A combination of cocaine and ego, two things which seem always in the company of one another, led to Ruffin’s ouster. Dennis Edwards of the Countours was hired as his replacement, though this didn’t stop Ruffin from stalking the group through its 1968 tour and popping on stage without invitation, stealing the microphone, and performing “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” on several dates.
Nonetheless, Ruffin faded into a solo career while Edwards took over lead duties for a band probing new territory. Increasingly influenced by the psychedelic soul produced by the likes of Sly and the Family Stone, and increasingly, at Stax in Memphis, Motown saw the Temps as the perfect outlet for its tripped out, fuzz-heavy productions. With Whitfield at the pen, the Temps enjoyed hits with “Cloud Nine,” “Psychedelic Shack,” and, most importantly, 1972’s “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.”
Just as the Temptations had soundtracked a more innocent era with perfectly pitched love songs, the group’s new material was aptly suited to the heady and chaotic early 1970s. Their focus increasingly turned to songs addressing the troubling realities of black urban life, a far cry from the matching suits and choreographed dances of their early days. So different was the material that Eddie Kendricks, increasingly uncomfortable with the shift in focus, departed for a successful solo career in the early ‘70s.
By 1974, the remaining Temptations had parted ways with Whitfield, moving into a more contemporary disco sound. This would mark the end of their days as one of popular music’s must irrepressible hit-making operations, with a few charting exceptions in the ‘80s and ’90s. Like pretty much every other vocal combo of note, their name ultimately became far more important than the individual members of the group, with revival and oldies acts touring almost constantly for the past 40 years. Today, the group that calls itself the Temptations boasts a single original member in Otis Williams.
Both the classic Ruffin lineup and Dennis Edwards were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, with four #1 pop singles and 14 #1 R&B singles to their credit.
8. Bob Marley & The Wailers
No entity did more to proliferate Jamaican music than Bob Marley & The Wailers. Owing to a background steeped heavily in American R&B and soul, the Wailers would create their own highly spiritual, deeply moving, and readily accessible brand of reggae. Their sound would, in turn, steward the future direction both of reggae and western popular music, the latter of which made its loping rhythms and dub production techniques part of its own melting pot tradition. Though the Wailers are best known for their charismatic and highly mythologized frontman, their roster is filled with reggae luminaries.
Indeed, the band’s roots begin in 1963, when Trenchtown teenagers Peter Tosh (keyboard), Bunny Wailer (drums), and Bob Marley began playing together as the Wailers. Late that year, the group recorded an anti-violence plea called “Simmer Down,” backed by The Skatalites. The result was a #1 hit in Jamaica.
Still, for a brief time in the mid-‘60s, the Wailers career would be sidelined by Bob’s marriage and a relocation to Wilmington, Delaware. Though Marley worked unhappily on a Chrysler assembly line, the short stay would not be without value. Marley’s more direct exposure to American soul music would forever color his musical approach. Upon his return to Jamaica, Marley added his wife Rita on backup vocals and reconvened with his old mates.
Soul Rebels , produced by studio visionary Lee “Scratch” Perry, would be the first Wailers record released outside of Jamaica. The group’s rising profile on the island would also give Marley a chance to tour alongside American R&B hitmaker Johnny Nash. It was during their 1972 visit to the U.K. that Marley helped bring reggae to a far wider audience than had previously seen it. The reaction was considerable, producing an opportunity for the group to sign with Island Records.
Adding the Barrett brothers, Aston (bass) and Carlton (drums), the Wailers entered into a period of stunning progress, with Burnin’ (1973) and Catch a Fire (1973) elevating the prominence and expansiveness of the reggae genre. Songs like “Concrete Jungle,” and “Get Up, Stand Up” helped to establish the Wailers, and Marley in particular, as philosophical and spiritual leaders of their nation. Marley’s adoption of the Rastafarian way of life contributed to a pronounced ideological pacifism, not to mention his well-known penchant for marijuana.
In 1974, Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh would depart for their respective solo careers, leading to an important change in direction. As Marley’s international star grew, his music turned toward the market. Changing their name to Bob Marley & the Wailers, the group released Natty Dread and with it, reached #92 on the American charts.
As Marley’s fame continued to grow, so too did his political involvement. Two days prior to a planned 1976 appearance at a unity rally designed to bring peace between two warring Jamaican factions, Marley and several of his bandmates were wounded in an attack by armed gunmen. Famously, the Wailers were not deterred from their performance, owing largely to Marley’s unshakable commitment to peace.
It did, however, lead to a two-and-a-half year self-imposed exile to the U.K., where the Wailers subsequently recorded Exodus (1977) and Kaya (1978). With singles “Jamming,” “Waiting in Vain,” and the omnipresent “One Love,” Bob Marley had become a superstar in Britain. Suddenly, every punk and new wave band in the land was working up its own take on Jamaican music (see The Police, The Clash, Madness, The Specials, etc. etc.)
Marley would eventually return to Jamaica, but he would do so with ailing health. Though he had been given a diagnosis of melanoma for a growth on one of his toes, his religious beliefs prevented him from allowing amputation. As a result, Marley’s cancer slowly gathered over three years while his fame grew to even greater heights. He had become a national hero in his home country and one of the world’s most electrifying live performers. He also worked tirelessly, often well past the point of physical exhaustion, aggressively touring the U.S. in support of Uprising (1980)—anchored by the aching “Redemption Song” and the #5 U.K. hit, “Could You Be Loved?”.
In May of 1981, Marley succumbed to his illness while flying between Germany and Jamaica. He was given a statesman’s burial, with Prime Minister Edward Seaga delivering his final eulogy. With 75 million records sold, Bob Marley & the Wailers are by far the most successful reggae group in history. Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
7. Nirvana
Nirvana’s success so profoundly changed the course of popular music that it’s easy to forget just how brief the period of their fame was. Their debut album dropped in the summer of 1991. By the spring of 1994, we were mourning the band’s death. But Nirvana’s colossal and unexpected success helped to make the world of popular music increasingly safe for the strange, wonderful, and wild sounds of the ‘90s alternative boom. Typically lumped under the grunge sobriquet, Nirvana was actually a punk-pop band, centered around a front man whose charisma was largely inextricable from his misery.
Nirvana began in 1987 when high school friends Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic began playing together in the area around their native Aberdeen, Washington. Influenced by hardcore punk icons like the Melvins and the Butthole Surfers, the two (along with a drummer named Chad Channing), recorded a 1989 debut called Bleach on the highly influential indie rock label, Sub Pop. The album made Nirvana an underground sensation, demonstrating an uncommon sense of melody for a hardcore band. Finding itself at the center of major label attention, Nirvana replaced Channing with the powerful Dave Grohl and recorded Nevermind for Geffen in 1991.
At the time of its release, the charts were dominated by a dayglo mix of hair metal bands (Poison et al) and faceless, spandex wearing club acts (C&C Music Factory et al). It’s understandable, therefore, that Geffen anticipated moving somewhere in the range of 250,000 copies, similar to the respectable showing it had enjoyed with Sonic Youth’s Goo the year before. So it was something of a surprise when it knocked Michael Jackson’s Dangerous off the top spot of the charts on its way to 30 million in worldwide sales.
It would also become one of the most important recordings of all time, powered by the single and MTV video “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It came to be seen as an anthem for a disillusioned and cynical Generation X, making Cobain its decidedly reluctant and less-than-articulate spokesperson. Nevermind boasted a punk intensity but its glossy production and Cobain’s own fully-formed hooks helped to usher in a new wave of alternative stars, Pearl Jam, Green Day, and Radiohead tops among them.
Even as Nirvana rose to the top of the music industry, its increasingly famous lead singer bristled at his celebrity. Cobain seemed incapable of reconciling his stardom with his underground credibility, much less with his lifelong depressive tendencies. His growing heroin use only magnified his internal struggles. In a largely unsuccessful effort to shed some portion of their growing audience, Nirvana released the more abrasive and experimental In Utero in 1993. It too, would become a massive success with critics and listeners alike. Record labels continued their scramble to pin down the next alternative superstar, saturating MTV and radio playlists with an evermore diverse array of modern rock acts.
By April of 1994, with Cobain’s addiction worsening and Nirvana’s success at a height comparable to that of Guns ’N Roses in the previous decade, the lead singer killed himself with a shotgun. The band’s final release was the posthumous MTV Unplugged in New York , as heartrending and elegiac a swan song as has ever been recorded.
Shortly after the dissolution of alternative music’s most important band, Dave Grohl formed the Foo Fighters and achieved lasting fame as a frontman. Krist Novoselic became active in politics and, today, is an elected Committeeman for Washington State. 20 years after Cobain’s suicide, Nirvana was inducted into the Hall of Fame in its first year of eligibility.
6. Pink Floyd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arXEDRZHyvg
Pink Floyd is the first name in British psychedelia, the U.K.’s relative equivalent to the Grateful Dead, not that their music had music in common aside from LSD. Indeed, the Dead proved that when you dose in Northern California, surrounded by rolling green hills and towering redwoods, you tend to sing about sunshine and flowers. Pink Floyd proved that when you dose in London, surrounded by soot, fog, and many century’s evidence of bloodshed, you tend to sing about losing your freaking mind. One wonders if any artist in any medium ever explored madness with such expansive insight as did Pink Floyd across its fifteen year run.
Beginning as a quartet composed of Roger Waters (bass), Nick Mason (drums), Rick Wright (piano), and Syd Barrett (vocals), Pink Floyd was one of many British psych groups with a fixation on Tolkein-esque themes of wizardry and magic. Barrett’s childlike persona colored the band’s early work, as showcased on the tripped out debut Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). The record coincided with the band’s first tour of the U.S. and was met with high critical praise for its bold exploration of new sonic territory. Tunes like “Astronomy Domine” and “Interstellar Overdrive,” staples of their lysergic early sets, placed much of that sonic territory in the far reaches of outer space.
By the time recording began on Saucerful of Secrets , now with guitarist David Gilmour on board, lead singer Syd Barrett’s frequent celestial voyages had begun to take their toll. Already of questionable mental constitution, Barrett’s constant LSD use reduced him to a state of psychotic detachment that persisted for the rest of his life. He was ousted from the band before the release of their 1968 sophomore effort. However, the experience of watching their friend and bandmate descend into madness would have a permanent impact on the band’s psyche.
Roger Waters assumed duties as the band’s artistic leader, guided by his preoccupation with mental illness, with Barrett, and with the horrors of post-War England into which he and many of his contemporaries had been born. These themes fed the musical endeavor that would take Pink Floyd into increasingly sophisticated compositional territory by the turn of the 1970s. Its unrestrained psychedelic tangents were now evolving into more fully realized musical suites, concept albums that were truly meant to be heard in full.
1973’s Dark Side of the Moon is unquestionably among the most important recordings of the 20th century, a concept record that meditates intuitively on death, insanity and a host of other dark subject matter that you wouldn’t think might produce a 50 million seller. But that’s precisely what happened. Dark Side became immediately and perpetually one of the best-selling and highest regarded works in the rock canon. Its seamless transition between movements and its disciplined restraint within the psychedelic milieu would place Dark Side on equal intellectual footing with classical music while songs like “Money” and “Time” were improbably scooped out for FM radio play.
In the coming years, Roger Waters would pursue an ever-widening ambition, carried out not just in a series of classic concept records like Wish You Were Here (1975) and Animals (1977), but also in the mind-bending stage spectacles which accompanied them. The giant, hovering inflatable pig added during the Animals tour, for instance, became a permanent fixture of future Floyd shows.
Both the band’s musical ambition and its stage show reached a peak with 1979s double-wide The Wall , in which a giant white-bricked wall was actually constructed and destroyed over the course of a two hour performance. The accompanying tour is well-remembered in history for generally blowing the minds of those in attendance but for also losing roughly £400,000 and imposing an irreconcilable strain upon relations within the band. Though The Wall would go on to sell roughly 23 million copies, it would be the last statement of importance from Pink Floyd.
Power struggle within the band led to Waters’ departure in 1981. Though Pink Floyd would undertake a number of tours and produce new charting hits in the following decades as a trio, a solo Roger Waters has actually proven more convincing at channeling his old band’s magic by recreating the Dark Side and Wall tours of yesteryear.
Pink Floyd is enshrined in both the Rock and Roll and UK Music Halls of Fame and has sold an insane (no pun intended) 250 million records.
5. Velvet Underground
It was once famously said about the Velvet Underground that only 30,000 people bought their earth-shattering first record but that every single one of them went out and started a band the next day. Velvet Underground’s commercial impact was basically nil during its existence but the band’s legacy is inescapable. Their bold marriage of avant garde predilections and rock and roll song structure produced some of the most provocative and confrontational music in either milieu. Indeed, the artistic bent, risqué bohemian themes, and musical aggression were nothing short of revolutionary, prefiguring nearly every extrapolation of punk, college-radio, hardcore, indie, and alternative music thereafter.
Velvet Underground began as The Primitives, a collaboration between New York guitarist Lou Reed and Welsh-born viola player John Cale, the latter of whom had cut his teeth alongside avant-classical mentor La Monte Young. Adding guitarist Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker (the only female drummer from the ‘60s that I can think of), and subsequently becoming acquainted with pop artist and scene-maker Andy Warhol, the group became The Velvet Underground in 1965.
Acting as the group’s manager, Warhol played a significant role in helping the Velvets gain visibility, first by locking them down as the house band for his way-out-there New York Factory parties, and subsequently by employing them as part of a touring art installation called the Exploding Plastic Inevitable. It was in this context that the group developed its early material, drone-laden rockers and tribal funeral dirges about sadomasochism, drug use, cross-dressing and pretty much everything else that flourished around them in the Warhol scene.
Warhol also introduced the band to German chanteuse Nico, whose detached and icy vocals proved the perfect foil to Reed’s deadpan delivery on 1967’s Verve-released Velvet Underground & Nico . Mostly because the jazz label had no idea what to make of it, they had delayed release on the record for nearly a year. When it was finally released, it registered lightly on the bottom of the charts before a dispute over the use of an actor’s image on the back cover resulted in a temporary halt of distribution. The record never recovered from the disruption, in spite of its eye-catching and iconic Warhol-designed banana cover.
Today, this debut is rightly seen as among the most important records ever produced, a challenging collection of songs that careens from the drug-deal rocker “I’m Waiting for the Man,” to the gentle “Sunday Morning,” from the terrifying viola squall of “Heroin” to the chugging acidic energy of “European Son.” So unprecedented was the music on this debut that Verve was more than reluctant to release it, relenting only because of Nico’s already-established reputation.
Whatever the label lacked in vision, they were not wrong from a commercial standpoint. The first record was a flop, as was its followup. White Light/White Heat entered the lowest reaches of the charts before falling out of the bottom. Its even more abrasive, wall-of-feedback approach alienated record buyers but basically laid out the blueprint for future lo-fi heroes like Sonic Youth. Frustrated by their lack of success, Reed and Cale strained to move the band in separate directions. The former favored a more accessible and pop-friendly approach while the latter advocated an even deeper probing of the band’s experimental side.
The fracture led to Cale’s firing in 1968. Replacing him with Doug Yule, Reed assumed unchallenged leadership of the group and directed the band’s final two albums in a far more conventional but no less influential direction. Velvet Underground (1969) was driven by a more delicate approach on lovely bedroom folk like “Candy Says” and “Pale Blue Eyes.” Loaded (1970), recorded with the understanding that Reed would shortly be departing for a solo career, was a straight-ahead rock record.
In spite of containing two of the band’s most popular songs in “Sweet Jane” and “Rock and Roll,” the highly listenable Loaded lacked for any promotional support. With Reed departed, Velvet Underground’s original lineup disbanded, essentially leaving latter-day recruit Doug Yule holding the bag. He pushed on for a relatively pointless three years before calling it a day.
Both John Cale and Lou Reed, the latter of whom passed away in 2013, went on to enjoy compelling and provocative solo careers. Reed would earn two entires into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his own work and for his world-changing role as the leader of the Velvet Underground.
4. The Grateful Dead
This summer, the surviving members of the Grateful Dead gathered together to celebrate their 50th year as a going concern. Perhaps no group will ever occupy the hole left in their absence, just as no individual performer could ever fill the gap left by Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995. For a band that has charted one lonely Top 40 Billboard entry throughout its long, strange trip, the Grateful Dead’s impact on popular music, culture, and live performance ethics can not be overstated.
The Grateful Dead were born around the same time LSD blotted its way into the San Francisco Bay. It is hardly coincidence that Northern California emerged as ground zero for the decade’s flower power revolution. Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters began holding their famous acid test parties in 1965 and the wildly experimental house band for these events was the Grateful Dead. Its founding members were Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (keys), Phil Lesh (bass), Bob Weir (guitar), Bill Kreutzman (drums), and Jerry Garcia (guitar). (Second drummer Mickey Hart would join in 1967.)
Forming from the ashes of an electric jug band combo called Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions and making their debut under the name The Warlocks, their first performance as the Grateful Dead came at a December 1965 Acid Test. Over the next two years, the band became the warm musical center of a scene that also gave birth to Santana, the Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Big Brother and The Holding Company. Their communal lifestyle and unfettered live improvisation helped to bring the psychedelic movement to its greatest realization and visibility. This was reinforced by their performance at the 1966 TRIPS festival, an oft-forgotten forerunner to Monterey and Woodstock.
As the acid test parties gave way to the Summer of Love, the Grateful Dead became the leading flagbearers for the mind-bending sonic exploration that necessarily accompanied the heavy ingestion of psychotropic and psychedelic substances. But the reason for their singular success in the genre is based on a great deal more than how far out they were willing to go. Their music was grounded (most of the time) by the considerable musical pedigree of its contributors, with Phil Lesh’s jazz and classical training, Pigpen’s background in the blues, and Jerry Garcia’s sweeping literacy of roots music, the Dead infused their own material with a deeply American and surprisingly authentic sampling of country, bluegrass, gospel, R&B, and much more.
With their first several releases on Warner Brothers— The Grateful Dead (1967), Anthem of the Sun (1968), and Aoxomoxoa (1969)—the Grateful Dead attempted to capture in the studio what made them so transcendent in the live setting. Though they did so with varying degrees of success, it was their never-ending live enterprise which truly helped to make the band a musical institution. As fellow Woodstock performers overdosed, splintered apart, or simply fell by the wayside, the Grateful Dead undertook the nomadic musical quest which would define them for decades hence.
Touring constantly to support a growing family of roadies and crew members as well as their own habits, the Dead were at once emblematic of the hedonistic tendencies of the hippie lifestyle and driven by a tremendous collective work ethic. Even as their live performances came increasingly to be the stuff of legend, they kicked off the ‘70s with some of their finest studio work as well.
On American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead , both released in 1970, the band had shifted its focus from recreating the live experience in studio to actually composing and recording excellent songs. Some of the most important pieces of the band’s live repertoire emerged here from a songwriting partnership between Garcia and Bay Area buddy Robert Hunter. Most substantial among these would be sunny nuggets like “Sugar Magnolia,” “Friend of the Devil,” and “Truckin’,” the last of which served both as an autobiographical reflection on the band’s never-ending tour and even reached into the lower register of the Billboard charts at #64.
Still, there is nothing to compete with the live experience. As the ‘70s wore on, the Grateful Dead evolved into an extended family with decidedly tribal tendencies. Its followers, Deadheads, were known to follow the band on tour—many for months at a time, some even still—living out of tents and bartering burritos for concert tickets. For many, the culture that accumulated around the Grateful Dead represented a bubble within which the 1960s hippie dream of peace, love, and music still thrived.
It succeeded in thriving, even after Pigpen’s 1973 death by cirrhosis of the liver. Thereafter, the Grateful Dead developed an unfortunate and Spinal Tap-esque habit of using their keyboard players to death (three others have died since). In every instance though, the members of the Dead endeavored to breathe new life into the dream. Touring yielded constant success for the band but they rarely managed to achieve any kind of lasting commercial impact on the recording industry. They did enjoy one major hit with 1987’s “Touch of Grey,” even producing a memorable MTV video in accompaniment.
Then, in 1995, the band was dealt a sudden and devastating blow when Jerry Garcia died of a heart attack. The bearded and impish Jerry Garcia had been a spiritual leader and father figure to the hippie movement and to the many thousands that followed his band to the ends of the earth. Most would agree that Jerry Garcia’s passing left a void without remedy, but the surviving members have toured constantly in various incarnations with and without one another. And naturally, the Dead are also members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Today, the entire touring jam band religion, wherein young listeners seek out that elusive hippie utopia, worships at the alter of the Grateful Dead.
3. The Beach Boys
This is what summer sounds like. The candy hooks, the deceptively bittersweet vocal harmonies, the Chuck Berry riffs, and an endless trove of songs about cars, girls, and teenage blues. The Beach Boys formed around the Wilson brothers (Brian, Carl, and Dennis), their cousin Mike Love and their buddy Al Jardine. Holding their first sessions in Brian Wilson’s bedroom in 1960, the group dubbed itself the Pendletones and presciently combined the vocal harmony arrangements of the pre-rock era with R&B driven paeans to the burgeoning Southern California surf culture.
They succeeded in landing their first demo, “Surfin” with Candix Records. It was not until they received advanced copies of their very first 45 that they found the label had taken the liberty of renaming them the Beach Boys. They scored a sizable regional hit with the release, and with its followup, “Surfin’ Safari.” The success earned them a contract with Capitol Records and by late 1962, they had a charting album with Surfin’ Safari .
In short order, the Beach Boys established themselves as the leading force of the next generation of American rock and rollers. Their tight, sunny harmonies offered a take on rock and roll that was at once empathetic to youth culture and non-threatening to parents. Songs like “Little Deuce Coup” and “Fun Fun Fun” became the perfect top-down soundtrack for kids exploring, for the very first time, the freedom implied by four wheels and a license.
Even as the Beach Boys enjoyed their ascent, 1964 brought about new pressure. The British Invasion forced the Beach Boys to up their game, a challenge to which the ever more ambitious and fragile Brian Wilson rose. The bubblegum qualities of their early work gave way to an increasingly sophisticated set of arrangements, reflected in hits that were at once infectious and quietly foreboding. Brian Wilson was struggling with his own internal demons, which included deep depression and stage fright.
As the Beach Boys continued an uninterrupted string of million-selling teenage anthems, Wilson retreated into his own psyche in order to create one of the great musical masterpieces of the 20th century. In Pet Sounds (1966), the Beach Boys graduated into a dense sonic fog that elegantly merged baroque instrumentation, slapback echoes, and their most lush harmonies to date. Pet Sounds was not a major commercial success in the U.S., in spite of gorgeous hits like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “God Only Knows.”
Its critical reception, however, would be increasingly universal. And on the subject of its impact, it is often said that Paul McCartney was inspired, or possibly pressured, by the accomplishment of Pet Sounds, to create Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band . It bears noting that a 2003 Rolling Stone Magazine feature on “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” ranks the above-mentioned albums at #2 and #1 respectively.
Sadly, the demons that made Pet Sounds so brilliant also led to Brian Wilson’s decline into mental instability. Its modest commercial impact, followed by the legendary shelving of its followup (Smile was eventually released in 2011), and combined with Wilson’s own use of psychedelic drugs, led the singer to a mental breakdown in the latter part of the decade. Indeed, the late ‘60s were a bad time for the Beach Boys, who were increasingly seen as passé. It didn’t help much that Dennis Wilson had befriended an aspiring but troubled musician named Charles Manson.
All of this aside, the Beach Boys did manage to come through the decade as its best selling American band. Though they would go on to record several critically acclaimed records in the early ‘70s, they had largely become a nostalgia act by the middle of the decade, with stage shows focusing on their surf-ditty heyday.
Though Dennis Wilson drowned while diving off a boat in the San Marino Bay in 1983, the remaining members have, in some incarnation or another, toured persistently in the ensuing decades. They even landed in the Guinness Book of World Records for playing to a crowd of 1 million in Philadelphia on an afternoon in 1985 and subsequently playing to an additional 750,000 in Washington, D.C. later that evening.
Today, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers can boast no fewer than 36 Top 40 hits and 100 million records sold worldwide. And perhaps most importantly, their catalog remains as evocative of summer as the roar of the ocean itself.
2. The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are often tagged as “the greatest rock and roll band in the world.”
Even if this statement sounds just a bit hyperbolic, one would be pretty hard-pressed to mount a convincing argument against it. On sheer survival and stubborn relevance alone, the Rolling Stones have no equal in rock music. But the fact that they remain one of the highest grossing concert draws in existence, even with their members now well past the age of collecting social security checks, is a testament to more than just will power. When the Rolling Stones do one day strut off into the sunset, they will leave behind one of the great songbooks and discographies produced by Western Civilization. Alongside the Beatles, the Rolling Stones are a tower both of British rock and music history in general.
The Stones got their start together some 53 years ago when Mick Jagger (vocals) and Keith Richards (guitar) joined Brian Jones (guitar) in blues magnate Alexis Korner’s venerable Blues Incorporated. Korner’s backing band added pianist Ian Stewart, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts, playing their very first show as The Rollin’ Stones in the summer of 1962. (The earliest lineup also included bassist Dick Taylor who would later that year leave to form the excellent and underrated Pretty Things).
The Stones were brought together by their shared love for the Chicago blues produced by Chess and Atlantic Records in the U.S. Their affection was particularly strong for Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, whose work provided much of their early live repertoire. When the group landed a 1963 residency at the Crawdaddy Club, they quickly touched off a new obsession with the blues among Britain’s young and hungry musicians. Signing with manager Andrew Loog Oldham, the group had already begun to command a loyal live audience.
With Oldham’s oversight, they replaced the apostrophe with a “G” and became the Rolling Stones. They also dumped Stewart from the original lineup because, reportedly, his look didn’t conform to the lean and dangerous image of his bandmates. Stewart, along with Nicky Hopkins of the Jeff Beck Group, would both go on to provide keys for countless Stones recordings over the next two decades.
Because of their growing live reputation, the Stones earned a highly favorable contract with Decca Records and, with Oldham’s help, effectively presented themselves as a rougher, dirtier, and more menacing antecedent to the Beatles. Like other British bands of the time, the Stones began by recording records largely comprised of covers, scoring their first U.K. charting hits with Chuck Berry’s “Come On,” the Lennon/McCartney-gifted “I Wanna Be Your Man,” and Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.”
As the Stones gained a larger audience in the U.K., they ventured to the U.S. for their first tour. Though the tour began inauspiciously, the release of their 1965 record 12X5 produced their first U.S. Top Ten hit with “Time Is On My Side.” One month into the tour, the Stones were suddenly a hot enough commodity to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, where their lusty performance caused enough of a fervor that Old Man Sullivan was forced to verbally discipline his own audience.
Under Oldham’s urging, the Stones began writing their own material, which turned out pretty good. With 1965’s “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” the Stones had their first international #1 smash and with it, they had authored arguably the most quintessential and imitated riff in rock history. For their next record, 1966’s Aftermath , Jagger and Richards evolved into a songwriting partnership on par with McCartney and Lennon, stretching their blues palette into decidedly new territory on the eastern inflected chart-topper “Paint It Black.”
The Stones were quickly becoming one of the biggest bands in the world. They were also becoming increasingly notorious for hard-partying and drug-related arrests. Still, the late ‘60s saw the release of some of the band’s most complete and compelling full-length players, including Beggar’s Banquet (1968) and the grimy, country-tinged Let It Bleed (1969). With tunes like “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Brown Sugar,” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” the Stones had come to dominate FM playlists while striking boldly out into new sonic territory.
Tragedy surfaced when founding guitarist Brian Jones, recently booted from the band for his excesses, was found drowned in his pool in the summer of 1969. Cited as ‘death by misadventure,’ the mysterious circumstances surrounding the 27 year old’s death remain a subject of debate and conspiracy theories.
Former Bluesbreaker Mick Taylor jumped into the fray and joined the Stones for their next stage of classic records, including 1971’s Sticky Fingers (with its famous Warhol-designed zipper cover) and 1972 druggy double-wide, Exile on Main Street . The latter of these is frequently regarded as the very best of the Stones’ classic records. In 1975, Taylor departed, making way for the Faces’ Ronnie Wood, who has been a Rolling Stone ever since.
As the hard-rock and blues favored by the Stones fell out of fashion, the band proved remarkably adaptable. Gleaning from the glam and disco around them, the Stones hit again with 1979’s danceable Some Girls and its immediate followup, Emotional Rescue (1980).
Over the next several decades, the Stones relevance as a recording act began to diminish, even as the band steadfastly produced a new record every few years. By the end of the decade and the release of 1989’s Steel Wheels , however, albums had become of secondary relevance. Instead, the Stones had grown into the biggest, most powerful, and most reliable touring rock and roll show in the business. Even as we have mocked them for their resistance to graceful aging, their performance prowess simply cannot be denied.
Since being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989, the Rolling Stones are responsible for four of the five most lucrative tours ever undertaken. No doubt, as they set out for yet another trip around the globe in the summer of 2015, they will add to their record book, which also includes 250 million records sold.
#1. The Beatles
You were expecting somebody else?
Few things (let alone musicians) come close to the Beatles for their impact on popular culture or for the momentous effect they had on the world during their time. No band has ever been or likely will ever be as singularly popular, important, or pervasive as were the Beatles during the decade that they defined. Even today, at a time when album sales are anemic and the music industry has no concept of how to market older bands, anything that bears the Beatles stamp of approval will sell. They redefined fashion, attitude, and youth culture, impacted politics, inflamed religion, and sought spiritual enlightenment.
Historians might well argue that the 1960s (as a cultural period rather than a formal decade) truly began when the mop tops landed at New York’s JFK Airport in the winter of 1964. The band itself began in 1957, when teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney became acquainted at a church-sponsored concert event. Both were enthusiasts of a British offshoot of American rockabilly called skiffle. They formed a combo that, by 1959, included George Harrison and performed as the Quarry Men. The following year, in tribute to the recently deceased Buddy Holly and his band, the Crickets, they dubbed themselves the Beatals, then the Silver Beetles, then just the Beatles. A residency in Hamburg, Germany over the next two years brought the lads increased attention and an ever-growing song repertoire.
They also saw their popularity swell at home, with regular appearances at Liverpool’s Cavern Club making them a leading force in the growing Merseybeat movement. For translation, Merseybeat is what we, as the invaded country, typically refer to as British Invasion. When a record store owner named Brian Epstein witnessed one such Cavern performance, he offered his services as manager. Soon replacing somewhat unreliable drummer Pete Best with industry veteran Ringo Starr (previously of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes), the famous foursome signed a deal with EMI and entered Abbey Road Studios in London for the first time.
In their first 1962 sessions, the Beatles recorded “Love Me Do” and “Please Please Me,” the latter of which quickly became the band’s first #1. They released a debut UK-only record of the same name in 1963, which also shot to the top of the charts, as would the next 17 singles they would release. Dashing across the U.K. throughout the next year, the funny, fast-talking, irreverent young men touched off Beatlemania, a movement of riotous, emotionally unhinged fandom that seemed to spring up everywhere they went.
Indeed, the Beatles were greeted by 3000 screaming admirers when they landed at JFK in February of 1964. From their subsequent performances on The Ed Sullivan Show, which is said to have attracted some 73 million viewers, to their stadium-trotting conquest of America, the Beatles changed everything. Musically and culturally, they represented a seismic shift in what could be done.
They ran with that shift over the ensuing years, releasing a sequence of records that continued to light the way forward for contemporaries and descendants alike. Beginning with the film soundtrack A Hard Day’s Night , the Beatles vertically invented the concept of the Long Player (LP). Where the generation of rock and roll artists who preceded them lived on the strength of the 45, the Beatles became truly possessed with an interest in using the album to say something of greater length and substance, both in its content and its visual presentation.
What ensued may simultaneously be the most boldly experimental and commercially undeniable output in recorded history, including Help! (1965), Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album) (1967), and Abbey Road (1969).
When the Beatles announced their split in 1970, it shocked the world. But in truth, the relationships between individual members were increasingly strained by tensions in the studio and a growing desire for each to indulge in a personal life.
All four advanced to lucrative and successful solo careers, with McCartney’s body of work even continuing to grow and diversify to present day. Sadly, we know that John Lennon was lost to us at the hands of a deranged Catcher in the Rye-toting gunman named Mark David Chapman in December of 1980. George Harrison also passed on in 2001. Happily, at the time of writing, both Ringo and Paul are on tour.
The Beatles leave behind a legacy that will never be equaled. With more than 178 million units moved in the U.S. alone, they are this country’s best selling artist of all time. Likewise, they hold the record for most number one hits on both the British and American charts, having sold more singles worldwide than any other British act, and, as the biggest selling band in the world, have moved an estimated 600 million records globally. The band itself and all four individual members are Hall of Fame inductees and their impact on the course of popular music is incalculable but omnipresent.
They are, without competition, the #1 rock band of all time.
| i don't know |
In the endocrine system in the human body, what name is given to the pair of glands situated at the top of the kidneys? | Human Physiology/The endocrine system - Wikibooks, open books for an open world
Human Physiology/The endocrine system
9 References
Introduction To The Endocrine System[ edit ]
The endocrine system is a control system of ductless glands that secrete hormones within specific organs. Hormones act as "messengers," and are carried by the bloodstream to different cells in the body, which interpret these messages and act on them.
It seems like a far fetched idea that a small chemical can enter the bloodstream and cause an action at a distant location in the body. Yet this occurs in our bodies everyday of our lives. The ability to maintain homeostasis and respond to stimuli is largely due to hormones secreted within the body. Without hormones, you could not grow, maintain a constant temperature, produce offspring, or perform the basic actions and functions that are essential for life.
The endocrine system provides an electrochemical connection from the hypothalamus of the brain to all the organs that control the body metabolism, growth and development, and reproduction.
There are two types of hormones secreted in the endocrine system: Steroidal (or lipid based) and non-steroidal, (or protein based) hormones.
The endocrine system regulates its hormones through negative feedback, except in very specific cases like childbirth. Increases in hormone activity decrease the production of that hormone. The immune system and other factors contribute as control factors also, altogether maintaining constant levels of hormones.
Types of Glands[ edit ]
Major endocrine glands. (Male left, female on the right.) 1. Pineal gland 2. Pituitary gland 3. Thyroid gland 4. Thymus 5. Adrenal gland 6. Pancreas 7. Ovary 8. Testis
Exocrine Glands are those which release their cellular secretions through a duct which empties to the outside or into the lumen (empty internal space) of an organ. These include certain sweat glands, salivary and pancreatic glands, and mammary glands. They are not considered a part of the endocrine system.
Endocrine Glands are those glands which have no duct and release their secretions directly into the intercellular fluid or into the blood. The collection of endocrine glands makes up the endocrine system.
1, The main endocrine glands are the pituitary (anterior and posterior lobes), thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal (cortex and medulla), pancreas and gonads.
2, The pituitary gland is attached to the hypothalamus of the lower forebrain.
3, The thyroid gland consists of two lateral masses, connected by a cross bridge, that are attached to the trachea. They are slightly inferior to the larynx.
4, The parathyroid glands are four masses of tissue, two embedded posterior in each lateral mass of the thyroid gland.
5, One adrenal gland is located on top of each kidney. The cortex is the outer layer of the adrenal gland. The medulla is the inner core.
6, The pancreas is along the lower curvature of the stomach, close to where it meets the first region of the small intestine, the duodenum.
7, The gonads (ovaries and testes) are found in the pelvic cavity.
Hormones and Types[ edit ]
A hormone is a type of chemical signal. They are a means of communication between cells.
The endocrine system produces hormones that are instrumental in maintaining homeostasis and regulating reproduction and development. A hormone is a chemical messenger produced by a cell that effects specific change in the cellular activity of other cells (target cells). Unlike exocrine glands (which produce substances such as saliva, milk, stomach acid and digestive enzymes), endocrine glands do not secrete substances into ducts (tubes). Instead, endocrine glands secrete their hormones directly into the surrounding extra cellular space. The hormones then diffuse into nearby capillaries and are transported throughout the body in the blood.
The endocrine and nervous systems often work toward the same goal. Both influence other cells with chemicals (hormones and neurotransmitters). However, they attain their goals differently. Neurotransmitters act immediately (within milliseconds) on adjacent muscle, gland, or other nervous cells, and their effect is short-lived. In contrast, hormones take longer to produce their intended effect (seconds to days), may affect any cell, nearby or distant, and produce effects that last as long as they remain in the blood, which could be up to several hours.
In the following table there are the major hormones, their target and their function once in the target cell.
Endocrine Gland
Controls circadian and circannual rhythms, possibly involved in maturation of sexual organs
Hormones can be chemically classified into four groups:
Amino acid-derived: Hormones that are modified amino acids.
Polypeptide and proteins: Hormones that are chains of amino acids of less than or more than about 100 amino acids, respectively. Some protein hormones are actually glycoproteins, containing glucose or other carbohydrate groups.
Steroids: Hormones that are lipids synthesized from cholesterol. Steroids are characterized by four interlocking carbohydrate rings.
Eicosanoids: Are lipids synthesized from the fatty acid chains of phospholipids found in plasma membrane.
Hormones circulating in the blood diffuse into the interstitial fluids surrounding the cell. Cells with specific receptors for a hormone respond with an action that is appropriate for the cell. Because of the specificity of hormone and target cell, the effects produced by a single hormone may vary among different kinds of target cells.
Hormones activate target cells by one of two methods, depending upon the chemical nature of the hormone.
Lipid-soluble hormones (steroid hormones and hormones of the thyroid gland) diffuse through the cell membranes of target cells. The lipid-soluble hormone then binds to a receptor protein that, in turn, activates a DNA segment that turns on specific genes. The proteins produced as result of the transcription of the genes and subsequent translation of mRNA act as enzymes that regulate specific physiological cell activity.
Water-soluble hormones (polypeptide, protein, and most amino acid hormones) bind to a receptor protein on the plasma membrane of the cell. The receptor protein, in turn, stimulates the production of one of the following second messengers:
Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is produced when the receptor protein activates another membrane-bound protein called a G protein. The G protein activates adenylate cyclase, the enzyme that catalyzes the production of cAMP from ATP. Cyclic AMP then triggers an enzyme that generates specific cellular changes.
Inositol triphosphate (IP3) is produced from membrane phospholipids. IP3, in turn, triggers the release of CA2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum, which then activates enzymes that generate cellular changes.
Endocrine glands release hormones in response to one or more of the following stimuli:
Hormones from other endocrine glands.
Chemical characteristics of the blood (other than hormones).
Neural stimulation.
Most hormone production is managed by a negative feedback system. The nervous system and certain endocrine tissues monitor various internal conditions of the body. If action is required to maintain homeostasis, hormones are released, either directly by an endocrine gland or indirectly through the action of the hypothalamus of the brain, which stimulates other endocrine glands to release hormones. The hormones activate target cells, which initiate physiological changes that adjust the body conditions. When normal conditions have been recovered, the corrective action - the production of hormones - is discontinued. Thus, in negative feedback, when the original (abnormal) condition has been repaired, or negated, corrective actions decrease or discontinue. For example, the amount of glucose in the blood controls the secretion of insulin and glucagons via negative feedback.
The production of some hormones is controlled by positive feedback. In such a system, hormones cause a condition to intensify, rather than decrease. As the condition intensifies, hormone production increases. Such positive feedback is uncommon, but does occur during childbirth, where hormone levels build with increasingly intense labor contractions. Also in lactation, hormone levels increase in response to nursing, which causes an increase in milk production. The hormone produced by the hypothalamus causing the milk let down and uterine contraction is oxytocin.
Pituitary gland[ edit ]
The hypothalamus makes up the lower region of the diencephalons and lies just above the brain stem. The pituitary gland (hypophysis) is attached to the bottom of the hypothalamus by a slender stalk called the infundibulum. The pituitary gland consists of two major regions, the anterior pituitary gland (anterior lobe or adenohypophysis) and the posterior pituitary gland (posterior lobe or neurohypophysis). The hypothalamus also controls the glandular secretion of the pituitary gland.
The hypothalamus oversees many internal body conditions. It receives nervous stimuli from receptors throughout the body and monitors chemical and physical characteristics of the blood, including temperature, blood pressure, and nutrient, hormone, and water content. When deviations from homeostasis occur or when certain developmental changes are required, the hypothalamus stimulates cellular activity in various parts of the body by directing the release of hormones from the anterior and posterior pituitary glands. The hypothalamus communicates directives to these glands by one of the following two pathways: The pituitary gland is found in the inferior part of the brain and is connected by the pituitary stalk. It can be referred to as the master gland because it is the main place for everything that happens within the endocrine system. It is divided into two sections: the anterior lobe (adenohypophysis) and the posterior lobe (neurohypophysis). The Anterior pituitary is involved in sending hormones that control all other hormones of the body.
Posterior pituitary[ edit ]
Communication between the hypothalamus and the posterior pituitary occurs through neurosecretory cells that span the short distance between the hypothalamus and the posterior pituitary. Hormones produced by the cell bodies of the neurosecretory cells are packaged in vesicles and transported through the axon and stored in the axon terminals that lie in the posterior pituitary. When the neurosecretory cells are stimulated, the action potential generated triggers the release of the stored hormones from the axon terminals to a capillary network within the posterior pituitary. Two hormones, oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone (ADH), are produced and released this way. Decreased ADH release or decreased renal sensitivity to ADH produces a condition known as diabetes insipidus. Diabetes insipidus is characterized by polyuria (excess urine production), hypernatremia (increased blood sodium content) and polydipsia (thirst). Oxytosin is secreted by paraventricular nucleus and a small quantity is secreted by supraoptic nucleus in hypothalamus.oxytocin is secreted in both males and females.in female acts on mammary glands and uterus.in males facilitates release of sperm in to urethra by causing contraction of vas deferens.
The posterior lobe is composed of neural tissue [neural ectoderm] and is derived from hypothalamus. Its function is to store oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone. When the hypothalamic neurons fire these hormones are release into the capillaries of the posterior lobe.
The posterior pituitary is, in effect, a projection of the hypothalamus. It does not produce its own hormones, but only stores and releases the hormones oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone. ADH is also known as arginine vasopressin (AVP) or simply vasopressin.
Anterior pituitary[ edit ]
The anterior lobe is derived from oral ectoderm and is composed of glandular epithelium. Communication between the hypothalamus and the anterior pituitary (adenohypophysis) occurs through hormones (releasing hormones and inhibiting hormones) produced by the hypothalamus and delivered to the anterior pituitary via a portal network of capillaries. It consists of three divisions: 1. pars distalis, 2. pars tuberalis, 3. pars intermedia. The releasing and inhibiting hormones are produced by specialized neurons of the hypothalamus called neurosecretory cells. The hormones are released into a capillary network or primary plexus, and transported through veins or hypophyseal portal veins, to a second capillary network or secondary plexus that supplies the anterior pituitary. The hormones then diffuse from the secondary plexus aunshine into the anterior pituitary, where they initiate the production of specific hormones by the anterior pituitary. Many of the hormones produced by the anterior pituitary are tropic hormones or tropins, which are hormones that stimulate other endocrine glands to secrete their hormones.
The anterior pituitary lobe receives releasing hormones from the hypothalamus via a portal vein system known as the hypothalamic-hypophyseal portal system.
The anterior pituitary secretes:
endorphins
and other hormones
It does this in response to a variety of chemical signals from the hypothalamus, which travels to the anterior lobe by way of a special capillary system from the hypothalamus, down the median eminence, to the anterior lobe. These include:
thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)
dopamine (DA), also called 'prolactin inhibiting factor' (PIF)
gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)
growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH)
These hormones from the hypothalamus cause release of the respective hormone from the pituitary. The control of release of hormones from the pituitary is via negative feedback from the target gland. For example homeostasis of thyroid hormones is achieved by the following mechanism; TRH from the hypothalamus stimulates the release of TSH from the anterior pituitary. The TSH, in turn, stimulates the release of thyroid hormones form the thyroid gland. The thyroid hormones then cause negative feedback, suppressing the release of TRH and TSH.
The heart, gastrointestinal tract, the placenta, the kidneys and the skin, whose major function is not the secretion of hormones, also contain some specialized cells that produce hormones.
In addition, all cells, except red blood cells secrete a class of hormones called eicosanoids. These hormones are paracrines, or local hormones, that primarily affect neighboring cells. Two groups of eicosanoids, the prostaglandins (PGs) and the leukotrienes (LTs), have a wide range of varying effects that depend upon the nature of the target cell. Eicosanoid activity, for example, may impact blood pressure, blood clotting, immune and inflammatory responses, reproductive processes, and the contraction of smooth muscles.
Antagonistic Hormones[ edit ]
Maintaining homeostasis often requires conditions to be limited to a narrow range. When conditions exceed the upper limit of homeostasis, specific action, usually the production of a hormone is triggered. When conditions return to normal, hormone production is discontinued. If conditions exceed the lower limits of homeostasis, a different action, usually the production of a second hormone is triggered. Hormones that act to return body conditions to within acceptable limits from opposite extremes are called antagonistic hormones. The two glands that are the most responsible for homeostasis is the thyroid and the parathyroid.
The regulation of blood glucose concentration (through negative feedback) illustrates how the endocrine system maintains homeostasis by the action of antagonistic hormones. Bundles of cells in the pancreas called the islets of Langerhans contain two kinds of cells, alpha cells and beta cells. These cells control blood glucose concentration by producing the antagonistic hormones insulin and glucagon.
Beta cells secrete insulin. When the concentration of blood glucose raises such in after eating, beta cells secret insulin into the blood. Insulin stimulates the liver and most other body cells to absorb glucose. Liver and muscle cells convert glucose to glycogen, for short term storage, and adipose cells convert glucose to fat. In response, glucose concentration decreases in the blood, and insulin secretion discontinues through negative feedback from declining levels of glucose.
Alpha cells secrete glucagon. When the concentration of blood glucose drops such as during exercise, alpha cells secrete glucagon into the blood. Glucagon stimulates the liver to release glucose. The glucose in the liver originates from the breakdown of glycogen. Glucagon also stimulates the production of ketone bodies from amino acids and fatty acids. Ketone bodies are an alternative energy source to glucose for some tissues. When blood glucose levels return to normal, glucagon secretion discontinues through negative feedback.
Another example of antagonistic hormones occurs in the maintenance of Ca2+ ion concentration in the blood. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) from the parathyroid glands increases Ca2+ in the blood by increasing Ca2+ absorption in the intestines and reabsorption in the kidneys and stimulating Ca2+ release from bones. Calcitonin (CT) produces the opposite effect by inhibiting the breakdown of bone matrix and decreasing the release of calcium in the blood.
Thyroid gland[ edit ]
The Thyroid gland is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body. It is positioned on the neck just below the Larynx and has two lobes with one on either side of the trachea. It is involved in the production of the hormones T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine). These hormones increase the metabolic activity of the body‘s cells. The thyroid also produces and releases the hormone calcitonin (thyrocalcitonin) which contributes to the regulation of blood calcium levels. Thyrocalcitonin or calcitonin decreases the concentration of calcium in the blood. Most of the calcium removed from the blood is stored in the bones.
The thyroid hormone consists of two components, thyroxine and iodine. This hormone increases the metabolism of most body cells. A deficiency of iodine in the diet leads to the enlargement of the thyroid gland, known as a simple goiter. Hypothyroidism during early development leads to cretinism. In adults, it produces myxedema, characterized by obesity and lethargy. Hyperthyroidism leads to a condition known as exophthalmic goiter, characterized by weight loss as well as hyperactive and irritable behavior.
The thyroid gland is a two-lobed gland that manifests a remarkably powerful active transport mechanism for up-taking iodide ions from the blood. As blood flows through the gland, iodide is converted to an active form of iodine. This iodine combines with an amino acid called tyrosine. Two molecules of iodinated tyrosine then combine to form thryroxine. Following its formation, the thyroxine becomes bound to a polysaccharide-protein material called thyroglobulin. The normal thyroid gland may store several weeks supply of thyroxine in this bound form. An enzymatic splitting of the thyroxine from the thyroglobulin occurs when a specific hormone is released into the blood. This hormone, produced by the pituitary gland, is known as thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). TSH stimulates certain major rate-limiting steps in thyroxine secretion, and thereby alters its rate of release. A variety of bodily defects, either dietary, hereditary, or disease induced, may decrease the amount of thyroxine released into the blood. The most popular of these defects is one that results from dietary iodine deficiency. The thyroid gland enlarges, in the continued presence of TSH from the pituitary, to form a goiter. This is a futile attempt to synthesize thyroid hormones, for iodine levels that are too low. Normally, thyroid hormones act via a negative feedback loop on the pituitary to decrease stimulation of the thyroid. In goiter, the feedback loop cannot be in operation - hence continual stimulation of the thyroid and the inevitable protuberance on the neck. Formerly, the principal source of iodine came from seafood. As a result, goiter was prevalent amongst inland areas far removed from the sea. Today, the incidence of goiter has been drastically reduced by adding iodine to table salt.
Thyroxine serves to stimulate oxidative metabolism in cells; it increases the oxygen consumption and heat production of most body tissues, a notable exception being the brain. Thyroxine is also necessary for normal growth. The most likely explanation being that thyroxine promotes the effects of growth hormone on protein synthesis. The absence of thyroxine significantly reduces the ability of growth hormone to stimulate amino acid uptake and RNA synthesis. Thyroxine also plays a crucial role in the closely related area of organ development, particularly that of the central nervous system.
If there is an insufficient amount of thyroxine, a condition referred to as hypothyroidism results. Symptoms of hypothyroidism stem from the fact that there is a reduction in the rate of oxidative energy-releasing reactions within the body cells. Usually the patient shows puffy skin, sluggishness, and lowered vitality. Other symptoms of hypothyroidism include weight gain, decreased libido, inability to tolerate cold, muscle pain and spasm, and brittle nails. Hypothyroidism in children, a condition known as cretinism, can result in mental retardation, dwarfism, and permanent sexual immaturity. Sometimes the thyroid gland produces too much thyroxine, a condition known as hyperthyroidism. This condition produces symptoms such as an abnormally high body temperature, profuse sweating, high blood pressure, loss of weight, irritability, insomnia and muscular pain and weakness. It also causes the characteristic symptom of the eyeballs protruding from the skull called exopthalmia. This is surprising because it is not a symptom usually related to a fast metabolism. Hyperthyroidism has been treated by partial removal or by partial radiation destruction of the gland. More recently, several drugs that inhibit thyroid activity have been discovered, and their use is replacing the former surgical procedures. Unfortunately thyroid conditions require lifetime treatment and because of the body's need for a sensitive balance of thyroid hormone both supplementing and suppressing thyroid function can take months or even years to regulate.
T3 and T4 Function within the body[ edit ]
Iodine and T4 stimulate the spectacular apoptosis (programmed cell death) of the cells of the larval gills, tail and fins Transforming the aquatic, vegetarian tadpole into the terrestrial, carnivorous frog with better neurological, visuospatial, olfactory and cognitive abilities for hunting. Contrary to amphibian metamorphosis, thyroidectomy and hypothyroidism in mammals may be considered a sort of phylogenetic and metabolic regression to a former stage of reptilian life. Indeed, many disorders that seem to afflict hypothyroid humans have reptilian-like features, such as dry, hairless, scaly, cold skin and a general slowdown of metabolism, digestion, heart rate and nervous reflexes, with lethargic cerebration, hyperuricemia and hypothermia ( Venturi, 2000).
The Production of T3 and T4 are regulated by thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), released by the pituitary gland. TSH Production is increased when T3 and T4 levels are too low. The thyroid hormones are released throughout the body to direct the body's metabolism. They stimulate all cells within the body to work at a better metabolic rate. Without these hormones the body's cells would not be able to regulate the speed at which they performed chemical actions. Their release will be increased under certain situations such as cold temperatures when a higher metabolism is needed to generate heat. When children are born with thyroid hormone deficiency they have problems with physical growth and developmental problems. Brain development can also be severely impaired
The significance of iodine[ edit ]
Thyroid hormone cannot be produced without an abundant source of iodine. The iodine concentration within the body, although significant, can be as little as 1/25th the concentration within the thyroid itself. When the thyroid is low on iodine the body will try harder to produce T3 and T4 which will often result in a swelling of the thyroid gland, resulting in a goiter.
Extrathyroidal iodine[ edit ]
Sequence of 123-iodide human scintiscans after an intravenous injection, (from left) after 30 minutes, 20 hours, and 48 hours. A high and rapid concentration of radio-iodide is evident in the periencephalic and cerebrospinal fluid (left), salivary glands, oral mucosa and the stomach. In the thyroid gland, I-concentration is more progressive, also in the reservoir (from 1% after 30 minutes, to 5.8 % after 48 hours, of the total injected dose. Highest iodide-concentration by the mammary gland is evident only in pregnancy and lactation. High excretion of radio-iodide is observed in the urine. [1]
Iodine accounts for 65% of the molecular weight of T4 and 59% of the T3. 15–20 mg of iodine is concentrated in thyroid tissue and hormones, but 70% of the body's iodine is distributed in other tissues, including mammary glands, eyes, gastric mucosa, the cervix, and salivary glands. In the cells of these tissues iodide enters directly by sodium-iodide symporter (NIS). Its role in mammary tissue is related to fetal and neonatal development, but its role in the other tissues is unknown. It has been shown to act as an antioxidant in these tissues.
The US Food and Nutrition Board and Institute of Medicine recommended daily allowance of iodine ranges from 150 micrograms /day for adult humans to 290 micrograms /day for lactating mothers. However, the thyroid gland needs no more than 70 micrograms /day to synthesize the requisite daily amounts of T4 and T3. These higher recommended daily allowance levels of iodine seem necessary for optimal function of a number of body systems, including lactating breast, gastric mucosa, salivary glands, oral mucosa, thymus, epidermis, choroid plexus, etc. [2] [3] [4] Moreover, iodine can add to double bonds of docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid of cellular membranes, making them less reactive to free oxygen radicals. [5]
Calcitonin[ edit ]
Calcitonin is a 32 amino acid polypeptide hormone. It is an additional hormone produced by the thyroid, and contributes to the regulation of blood calcium levels. Thyroid cells produce calcitonin in response to high calcium levels in the blood. This hormone will stimulate movement of calcium into the bone structure. It can also be used therapeutically for the treatment of hypercalcemia or osteoporosis. Without this hormone calcium will stay within the blood instead of moving into bones to keep them strong and growing. Its importance in humans has not been as well established as its importance in other animals.
Parathyroid gland[ edit ]
There are four parathyroid glands. They are small, light-colored lumps that stick out from the surface of the thyroid gland. All four glands are located on the thyroid gland. They are butterfly-shaped and located inside the neck, more specifically on both sides of the windpipe. One of the parathyroid glands most important functions is to regulate the body's calcium and phosphorus levels. Another function of the parathyroid glands is to secrete parathyroid hormone, which causes the release of the calcium present in bone to extracellular fluid. PTH does this by depressing the production of osteoblasts, special cells of the body involved in the production of bone and activating osteoclasts, other specialized cells involved in the removal of bone.
There are two major types of cells that make up parathyroid tissue:
One of the major cells is called oxyphil cells. Their function is basically unknown.
The second type are called chief cells. Chief cells produce parathyroid hormone.
The structure of a parathyroid gland is very different from that of a thyroid gland. The chief cells that produce parathyroid hormone are arranged in tightly-packed nests around small blood vessels, quite unlike the thyroid cells that produce thyroid hormones, which are arranged in spheres called the thyroid follicles.
PTH or Parathyroid Hormone is secreted from these four glands. It is released directly into the bloodstream and travels to its target cells which are often quite far away. It then binds to a structure called a receptor, that is found either inside or on the surface of the target cells.
Receptors bind a specific hormone and the result is a specific physiologic response, meaning a normal response of the body.
PTH finds its major target cells in bone, kidneys, and the gastrointestinal system.
Calcitonin, a hormone produced by the thyroid gland that also regulates ECF calcium levels and serves to counteract the calcium-producing effects of PTH.
The adult body contains as much as 1 kg of calcium. Most of this calcium is found in bone and teeth.
The four parathyroid glands secrete the parathyroid hormone (PTH). It opposes the effect of thyrocalcitonin. It does this by removing calcium from its storage sites in bones, releasing it into the bloodstream. It also signals the kidneys to reabsorb more of this mineral, transporting it into the blood. It also signals the small intestine to absorb more of this mineral, transporting it from the diet into the blood.
Calcium is important for steps of body metabolism. Blood cannot clot without sufficient calcium. Skeletal muscles require this mineral in order to contract. A deficiency of PTH can lead to tetany, muscle weakness due to lack of available calcium in the blood.
The parathyroid glands were long thought to be part of the thyroid or to be functionally associated with it. We now know that their close proximity to the thyroid is misleading: both developmentally and functionally, they are totally distinct from the thyroid.
The parathyroid hormone, called parathormone, regulates the calcium-phosphate balance between the blood and other tissues. Production of this hormone is directly controlled by the calcium concentration of the extracellular fluid bathing the cells of these glands. Parathormone exerts at least the following five effects: (1) it increases gastrointestinal absorption of calcium by stimulating the active transport system and moves calcium from the gut lumen into the blood; (2) it increases the movement of calcium and phosphate from bone into extracellular fluid. This is accomplished by stimulating osteoclasts to break down bone structure, thus liberating calcium phosphate into the blood. In this way, the store of calcium contained in bone is tapped; (3) it increases re-absorption of calcium by the renal tubules, thereby decreasing urinary calcium excretion; (4) it reduces the re-absorption of phosphate by the renal tubules (5)it stimulates the synthesis of 1,25-dihydrixycholecalciferol by the kidney.
The first three effects result in a higher extracellular calcium concentration. The adaptive value of the fourth is to prevent the formation of kidney stones.
If parathyroid glands are removed accidentally during surgery on the thyroid, there would be a rise in the phosphate concentration in the blood. There would also be a drop in the calcium concentration as more calcium is excreted by the kidneys and intestines, and more incorporated into the bone. This can produce serious disturbances, particularly in the muscles and nerves, which use calcium ions for normal functioning. Over activity of the parathyroid glands, which can result from a tumor on the glands, produces a weakening of the bones. This is a condition that makes them much more vulnerable to fracturing because of excessive withdrawal of calcium from the bones.
Adrenal glands[ edit ]
Adrenal glands are a pair of ductless glands located above the kidneys. Through hormonal secretions, the adrenal glands regulate many essential functions in the body, including biochemical balances that influence athletic training and general stress response. The glucocorticoids include corticosterone, cortisone, and hydrocortisone or cortisol. These hormones serve to stimulate the conversion of amino acids into carbohydrates which is a process known as gluconeogenesis, and the formation of glycogen by the liver. They also stimulate the formation of reserve glycogen in the tissues, such as in the muscles. The glucocorticoids also participate in lipid and protein metabolism. The cortex of the adrenal gland is known to produce over 20 hormones, but their study can be simplified by classifying them into three categories: glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, and sex hormones.
They are triangular-shaped glands located on top of the kidneys. They produce hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, steroids, cortisol, and cortisone, and chemicals such as adrenalin (epinephrine), norepinephrine, and dopamine. When the glands produce more or less hormones than required by the body, disease conditions may occur.
The adrenal cortex secretes at least two families of hormones, the glucocorticoids and mineral corticoids. The adrenal medulla secretes the hormones epinephrine (adrenalin) and norepinephrine (noradrenalin).
Adrenal Cortex: The hormones made by the Adrenal Cortex supply long-term responses to stress. The two major hormones produced are the Mineral Corticoids and the Glucocorticoids. The Mineral Corticoids regulate the salt and water balance, leading to the increase of blood volume and blood pressure. The Glucocorticoids are monitoring the ACTH, in turn regulating carbohydrates, proteins, and fat metabolism. This causes an increase in blood glucose. Glucocorticoids also reduce the body's inflammatory response.
Cortisol is one of the most active glucocorticoids. It usually reduces the effects of inflammation or swelling throughout the body. It also stimulates the production of glucose from fats and proteins, which is a process referred to as gluconeogenesis.
Aldosterone is one example of a mineralocorticoid. It signals the tubules in the kidney nephrons to reabsorb sodium while secreting or eliminating potassium. If sodium levels are low in the blood, the kidney secretes more renin, which is an enzyme that stimulates the formation of angiotensin from a molecule made from the liver. Angiotensin stimulates aldosterone secretion. As a result, more sodium is reabsorbed as it enters the blood.
Aldosterone, the major mineralocorticoid, stimulates the cells of the distal convoluted tubules of the kidneys to decrease re-absorption of potassium and increase re-absorption of sodium. This in turn leads to an increased re-absorption of chloride and water. These hormones, together with such hormones as insulin and glucagon, are important regulators of the ionic environment of the internal fluid.
The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone mechanism can raise blood pressure if it tends to drop. It does this in two ways. Angiotensin is a vasoconstrictor, decreasing the diameter of blood vessels. As vessels constrict, blood pressure increases. In addition, as sodium is reabsorbed, the blood passing through the kidney becomes more hypertonic. Water follows the sodium into the hypertonic blood by osmosis. This increases the amount of volume in the blood and also increases the blood pressure.
Adrenal Medulla The hypothalamus starts nerve impulses that travel the path from the bloodstream, spinal cord, and sympathetic nerve fibers to the Adrenal Medulla, which then releases hormones. The effects of these hormones provide a short-term response to stress
Excessive secretion of the glucocorticoids causes Cushing's syndrome, characterized by muscle atrophy or degeneration and hypertension or high blood pressure. Under secretion of these substances produces Addison's disease, characterized by low blood pressure and stress.
Epinephrine and norepinephrine produce the "fight or flight" response, similar to the effect from the sympathetic nervous system. Therefore, they increase heart rate, breathing rate, blood flow to most skeletal muscles, and the concentration of glucose in the blood. They decrease blood flow to the digestive organs and diminish most digestive processes.
Suprarenal glands viewed from the front.
Suprarenal glands viewed from behind.
The adrenal sex hormones consist mainly of male sex hormones (androgens) and lesser amounts of female sex hormones (estrogens and progesterone). Normally, the sex hormones released from the adrenal cortex are insignificant due to the low concentration of secretion. However, in cases of excess secretion, masculine or feminine effects appear. The most common syndrome of this sort is "virilism" of the female.
Should there be an insufficient supply of cortical hormones, a condition known as Addison's disease would result. This disease is characterized by an excessive excretion of sodium ions, and hence water, due to lack of mineralocorticoids. Accompanying this is a decreased blood glucose level due to a deficient supply of glucocorticoids. The effect of a decreased androgen supply cannot be observed immediately. Injections of adrenal cortical hormones promptly relieve these symptoms.
Hormonal production in the adrenal cortex is directly controlled by the anterior pituitary hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH).
The two adrenal glands lie very close to the kidneys. Each adrenal gland is actually a double gland, composed of an inner core like medulla and an outer cortex. Each of these is functionally unrelated.
The adrenal medulla secretes two hormone, adrenalin or epinephrine and noradrenalin or norepinephrine, whose functions are very similar but not identical. The adrenal medulla is derived embryologically from neural tissue. It has been likened to an overgrown sympathetic ganglion whose cell bodies do not send out nerve fibers, but release their active substances directly into the blood, thereby fulfilling the criteria for an endocrine gland. In controlling epinephrine secretion, the adrenal medulla behaves just like any sympathetic ganglion, and is dependent upon stimulation by sympathetic preganglionic fibers.
Epinephrine promotes several responses, all of which are helpful in coping with emergencies: the blood pressure rises, the heart rate increases, the glucose content of the blood rises because of glycogen breakdown, the spleen contracts and squeezes out a reserve supply of blood, the clotting time decreases, the pupils dilate, the blood flow to skeletal muscles increase, the blood supply to intestinal smooth muscle decreases and hairs become erect. These adrenal functions, which mobilize the resources of the body in emergencies, have been called the fight-or-flight response. Norepinephrine stimulates reactions similar to those produced by epinephrine, but is less effective in conversion of glycogen to glucose.
The significance of the adrenal medulla may seem questionable since the complete removal of the gland causes few noticeable changes; humans can still exhibit the flight-or-fight response. This occurs because the sympathetic nervous system complements the adrenal medulla in stimulating the fight-or-flight response, and the absence of the hormonal control will be compensated for by the nervous system.
Pancreas[ edit ]
The pancreas is very important organ in the digestion system and the circulatory system because it helps to maintain our blood sugar levels. The pancreas is considered to be part of the gastrointestinal system. It produces digestive enzymes to be released into the small intestine to aid in reducing food particles to basic elements that can be absorbed by the intestine and used by the body. It has another very different function in that it forms insulin, glucagon and other hormones to be sent into the bloodstream to regulate blood sugar levels and other activities throughout the body.
It has a pear-shape to it and is approximately 6 inches long. It is located in the middle and back portion of the abdomen. The pancreas is connected to the first part of the small intestine, the duodenum, and lies behind the stomach. The pancreas is made up of glandular tissue: any substance secreted by the cells of the pancreas will be secreted outside of the organ.
The digestive juices produced by the pancreas are secreted into the duodenum via a Y-shaped duct, at the point where the common bile duct from the liver and the pancreatic duct join just before entering the duodenum. The digestive enzymes carried into the duodenum are representative of the exocrine function of the pancreas, in which specific substances are made to be passed directly into another organ.
Note:
The pancreas is both an exocrine and an endocrine organ.
The pancreas is unusual among the body's glands in that it also has a very important endocrine function. Small groups of special cells called islet cells throughout the organ make the hormones of insulin and glucagon. These, of course, are hormones that are critical in regulating blood sugar levels. These hormones are secreted directly into the bloodstream to affect organs all over the body.
No organ except the pancreas makes significant amounts of insulin or glucagon.
Insulin acts to lower blood sugar levels by allowing the sugar to flow into cells. Glucagon acts to raise blood sugar levels by causing glucose to be released into the circulation from its storage sites. Insulin and glucagon act in an opposite but balanced fashion to keep blood sugar levels stable.
A healthy working pancreas in the human body is important for maintaining good health by preventing malnutrition, and maintaining normal levels of blood sugar. The digestive tract needs the help of the enzymes produced by the pancreas to reduce food particles to their simplest elements, or the nutrients cannot be absorbed. Carbohydrates must be broken down into individual sugar molecules. Proteins must be reduced to simple amino acids. Fats must be broken down into fatty acids. The pancreatic enzymes are important in all these transformations. The basic particles can then easily be transported into the cells that line the intestine, and from there they can be further altered and transported to different tissues in the body as fuel sources and construction materials. Similarly, the body cannot maintain normal blood sugar levels without the balanced action of insulin and glucagon.
The pancreas contains exocrine and endocrine cells. Groups of endocrine cells, the islets of Langerhans, secrete two hormones. The beta cells secrete insulin; the alpha cells secrete glucagon. The level of sugar in the blood depends on the opposing action of these two hormones.
Insulin decreases the concentration of glucose in the blood. Most of the glucose enters the cells of the liver and skeletal muscles. In these cells, this monosaccharide is converted to the polysaccharide glycogen. Therefore, insulin promotes glycogenesis or glycogen synthesis, in which glucose molecules are added to chains of glycogen. Excess glucose is also stored as fat in adipose tissue cells in response to insulin.
Insulin deficiency leads to the development of diabetes mellitus, specifically type I, juvenile diabetes. As the pancreas does not produce sufficient insulin, it is treated by insulin injections. In type II or maturity onset diabetes, the pancreas does produce enough insulin, but the target cells do not respond to it.
As already stated, the pancreas is a mixed gland having both endocrine and exocrine functions. The exocrine portion secretes digestive enzymes into the duodenum via the pancreatic duct. The endocrine portion secretes two hormones, insulin and glucagon, into the blood.
Insulin is a hormone that acts directly or indirectly on most tissues of the body, with the exception of the brain. The most important action of insulin is the stimulation of the uptake of glucose by many tissues, particularly the liver, muscle and fat. The uptake of glucose by the cells decreases blood glucose and increases the availability of glucose for the cellular reactions in which glucose participates. Thus, glucose oxidation, fat synthesis, and glycogen synthesis are all accentuated by an uptake of glucose. It is important to note that insulin does not alter glucose uptake by the brain, nor does it influence the active transport of glucose across the renal tubules and gastrointestinal epithelium.
As stated, insulin stimulates glycogen synthesis. In addition, it also increases the activity of the enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in glycogen synthesis. Insulin also increases triglyceride levels by inhibiting triglyceride breakdown, and by stimulating production of triglyceride through fatty acid and glycerophosphate synthesis. The net protein synthesis is also increased by insulin, which stimulates the active membrane transport of amino acids, particularly into muscle cells. Insulin also has effects on other liver enzymes, but the precise mechanisms by which insulin induces these changes are not well understood.
Insulin is secreted by beta cells, which are located in the part of the pancreas known as the islets of Langerhans. These groups of cells, which are located randomly throughout the pancreas, also consist of other secretory cells called alpha cells. It is these alpha cells that secrete glucagon. Glucagon is a hormone that has the following major effects: it increases hepatic synthesis of glucose from pyruvate, lactate, glycerol, and amino acids (a process called gluconeogenesis, which also raises the plasma glucose level); and it increases the breakdown of adipose tissue triglyceride, thereby raising the plasma levels of fatty acids and glycerol. The glucagon secreting alpha cells in the pancreas, like the beta cells, respond to changes in the concentration of glucose in the blood flowing through the pancreas; no other nerves or hormones are involved.
It should be noted that glucagon has the opposite effects of insulin. Glucagon elevates the plasma glucose, whereas insulin stimulates its uptake and thereby reduces plasma glucose levels; glucagon elevates fatty acid concentrations, whereas insulin converts fatty acids and glycerol into triglycerides, thereby inhibiting triglyceride breakdown.
The alpha and beta cells of the pancreas make up a push-pull system for regulating the plasma glucose level.
Sex organs[ edit ]
The Sex organs (Gonads) are the testes in the male, and the ovaries in the female. Both of these organs produce and secrete hormones that are balanced by the hypothalamus and pituitary glands.
The main hormones from the reproductive organs are:
Testosterone is more prominent in males. It belongs to the family of androgens, which are steroid hormones producing masculine effects. Testosterone stimulates the development and functioning of the primary sex organs. It also stimulates the development and maintenance of secondary male characteristics, such as hair growth on the face and the deep pitch of the voice.
Estrogen In females, this hormone stimulates the development of the uterus and vagina. It is also responsible for the development and maintenance of secondary female characteristics, such as fat distribution throughout the body and the width of the pelvis.
Male[ edit ]
The testes produce androgens (i.e., "testosterone"). Testosterone is classified as a steroid and is responsible for many of the physical characteristics in males like.
Broad shoulders
Muscular body
Hair
Testosterone increases protein production. Hormones that build up protein are called anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are available commercially and are being used by athletes because they help improve their physical ability, however, they do have major side effects such as:
Liver and kidney disorders
Decreased sperm count and impotency
Aggressive behavior ("roid rage")
Female[ edit ]
Schematic frontal view of female anatomy.
The ovaries produce estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen increases at the time of puberty and causes the growth of the uterus and vagina. Without estrogen egg maturation would not occur. Estrogen is also responsible for secondary sex characteristics such as female body hair and fat distribution. Estrogen and Progesterone are responsible for the development of the breast and for the uterine cycle. Progesterone is a female hormone secreted by the corpus luteum after ovulation during the second half of the menstrual cycle. It prepares the lining of the uterus for implantation of a fertilized egg and allows for complete shedding of the endometrium at the time of menstruation. In the event of pregnancy, the progesterone level remains stable beginning a week or so after conception.
Pineal gland[ edit ]
The pineal gland (also called the pineal body or epiphysis) is a small endocrine gland in the brain. It is located near the center of the brain, between the two hemispheres, tucked in a groove where the two rounded thalamic bodies join. It consists of two types of cells 1. parenchymal cells 2. neuroglial cells.
The pineal gland is a reddish-gray body about the size of a pea (8 mm in humans) located just rostro-dorsal to the superior colliculus and behind and beneath the stria medullaris, between the laterally positioned thalamic bodies. It is part of the epithalamus.
The pineal gland is a midline structure, and is often seen in plain skull X-rays, as it is often calcified. The main hormone produced and secreted by the pineal gland is melatonin. Secretion is highest at night and between the ages of 0-5. Melatonin acts mainly on gonads.
Adrenal Gland: endocrine gland that is located on top of each kidney
Amino Acid-derived: hormones that are modified amino acids
Antagonistic Hormones: hormones that act to return body conditions to within acceptable limits from opposite extremes
Calcitonin: hormone produced by the thyroid; contributes to the regulation of blood calcium levels
Eicosanoids: lipids that are synthesized from the fatty acid chains of phospholipids found in plasma membrane
Endocrine Glands: glands that have no duct and release their secretions directly into the intercellular fluid or into the blood
Endocrine System: a control system of ductless glands that secrete chemical messengers called hormones
Estrogen: hormone in females; stimulates the development of the uterus and vagina
Exocrine Glands: glands that release their cellular secretions through a duct which empties to the outside or into the lumen (empty internal space) of an organ
Hormone: a specific chemical substance produced by certain cells that control, or help to control, cellular processes elsewhere in an organism
Insulin: hormone that acts to lower blood sugar levels by allowing the sugar to flow into cells
Iodine: chemical in the body; Thyroid hormone can not be produced with out it
Lipid-soluble Hormones: diffuse through the cell membranes of target cells
Parathyroid: four masses of tissue, two embedded posterior in each lateral mass of the thyroid gland
Pancreas: organ involved with the digestion system and the circulatory system; helps to maintain blood sugar levels
Pineal Gland: small endocrine gland in the brain located near the center of the brain, between the two hemispheres, tucked in a groove where the two rounded thalamic bodies join
Pituitary Gland: endocrine gland that is attached to the hypothalamus of the lower forebrain
Polypeptide and Proteins: hormones that are chains of amino acids of less than or more than about 100 amino acids
Steroids: hormones that are lipids that are synthesized from cholesterol; characterized by four interlocking carbohydrate rings
Testosterone: hormone more prominent in males; belongs to the family of androgens, which are steroid hormones producing masculinizing effects
Thyroid Gland: endocrine gland that consists of two lateral masses that are attached to the trachea
Thyroxine: serves to stimulate oxidative metabolism in cells; increases the oxygen consumption and heat production of most body tissues
Water-soluble Hormones: bind to a receptor protein on the plasma membrane of the cell
Chapter Review Questions[ edit ]
Answers for these questions can be found here
1. My child just fell and was hurt, the anxious feeling that I feel is caused by:
A) glucagon
| Adrenal gland |
Who was the famous son of Pepin the Short ? | Anatomy of the Endocrine System Topic Guide
home > thyroid & metabolism center > thyroid & metabolism a-z list > anatomy of the endocrine system article > anatomy of the endocrine system topic guide
Anatomy of the Endocrine System Topic Guide
Anatomy of the Endocrine System : The endocrine system is made up of glands that produce and secrete hormones. The glands that make up the endocrine system include the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pineal, reproductive, and the pancreas.
| i don't know |
For what do the letters M I stand in M.I.5 and M.I.6 ? | MI5 - What does MI5 stand for? The Free Dictionary
MI5 - What does MI5 stand for? The Free Dictionary
http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/MI5
MI5
Directorate of Military Intelligence, Section 5 (UK)
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content .
Link to this page:
Write what you mean clearly and correctly.
References in periodicals archive ?
A source told the Mail on Sunday: "Paul remains very close to MI5, because one of his main jobs is tackling the Russian threat - Moscow agents seeking evidence of weaknesses such as money, sex or alcohol and targeting those MPs by blackmail.
Who's Who
A judge this month refused to strike out the claim at the request of MI5, which said it would neither confirm nor deny the allegations, in line with procedure.
MI5 boss replies to spy kids' questions
But along with the letter Mr Parker sent each pupil an official ballpoint in MI5 turquoise.
Capture chance missed
But while Mankowitz helped to establish Bond as the world's most famous fictional spy, papers released by the National Archives in Kew, west London, show that for more than a decade his activities were monitored by MI5 amid concerns that he was a real life secret agent.
Copyright © 2003-2017 Farlex, Inc
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.
| Military intelligence |
Which cartoon character first appeared in an animated feature called The Wise Little Hen ? | What''s the difference between MI5 and MI6? What happened to MI1 - MI4 and are there agencies with higher numbers (MI7, MI8, etc.)? | Notes and Queries | guardian.co.uk
What's the difference between MI5 and MI6? What happened to MI1 - MI4 and are there agencies with higher numbers (MI7, MI8, etc.)?
Matt Denham, Dorchester UK
I believe the difference is like the FBI and CIA in the USA - one is for domestic intelligence and one is for international intelligence. But I'm not sure which one is which. I also think that some of the other numbers may have been active in intelligence and of the like during the world wars.
Benjy Arnold, London UK
MI (Military Intelligence) had agencies numbered up to 19, but not all at the same time. Most were folded into MI5, MI6 or GCHQ after the war. I've found the following after a few web searches: MI1 (Codebreaking), MI2 (Russia and Scandinavia), MI3 (Eastern Europe), MI4 (Aerial Reconnaisance), MI8 (Military Communication Interception), MI9 (Undercover operations), MI10 (Weapons analysis) MI14 and MI15 (German specialists), MI19 (PoW debriefing), MI17 (Military Intelligence "Head Office"). Conspiracy theorists will have you believe that there is still a clandestine MI7 dealing with matters extraterrestrial.
Allan, Wimbledon UK
MI5 deals with threats inside the UK, and MI6 combats overseas threats, as anyone who has seen a recent James Bond film knows from the shots of MI6 headquarters at Vauxhall in London.
James, London UK
MI5 - Domestic intelligence, MI6 - foreign intelligence. Interestingly, that makes James Bond a member of MI6.
J R Scott, Aberdeen
MI5 is formally known as the Secret Service, and deals with matters internal, and MI6 should be known as the Secret Intelligence Sevice and deals with extrenal affairs.
JB, London
MI5 is the British security service while MI6 is the British foreign intelligence service. Crudely, MI6 are "our" spies while MI5 is there to catch "their" spies. It gets a little more complicated in that MI6 has its own "counter-intelligence" section. "MI5/MI6" were the original designations when both organisations came under the War Office, now the MOD - "MI" stands for military intelligence. Their official names (acquired in the 30s) are the Security Service (MI5) and SIS, the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). The former is responsible to the Home Office and the latter to the Foreign Office.
John Burnes, Manchester Lancashire
MI5 investigates matters of national security in the UK (investigates terrorists, counterinsurgency, etc). Equivalent to the US National Security Agency (NSA). MI6 (now SIS) gathers intelligence pertenant to the UK's international affairs - spying on Iraq for example. Equivalent to the US's CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) NCIS (national criminal investigation squad) are top ranking police officers dealing with high profile crimes, and have little to do with intelligence, though often co-operate with intelligence agencies for practical reasons. Equivalent to FBI.
Anonymous,
Anonymous' contention that NCIS stands for National Criminal Investigation Squad is a load of old tosh. NCIS is the National Criminal Intelligence Service, and far from being merely "top ranking police officers dealing with high profile crimes" it busies itself with identifying new criminal trends, acting as a clearing house for information from police forces around the UK, and liaising with Interpol, Europol, and various intelligence service around the world.
Paul Bartholomew, Harrogate England
Also contrary to Anonymous' reply, MI5 is more equivalent to the US FBI. The UK equivalent of the NSA (National Security Agency) would be GCHQ.
David, Madrid Spain
According to an American PBS documentary on the Allied Prisoners of War held in Colditz Castle during the Second World War, MI9 existed primarily to aid the escape of British soldiers held captive. One of the principal techniques MI9 used was to mail contraband to prisoners hidden in Red Cross care parcels. German money was hidden inside a Monopoly board, and decks of playing cards were sent containing military-grade maps of Germany.
Christopher, Boston, Massachusetts USA
MI-8 was a cover name for S.O.E.--Special Operations Executive, the ad hoc covert ops and dirty tricks organization during WW2. See M.R.D. Foot's SOE, The Special Operations Executive 1940 - 1946. As mentioned above, MI-9 was the escape and evasion apparat. (Mr. Foot has apparently also written a book on that entity.)
John C.Watson, Amherst, MA U.S.A.
They're all coming to get me...
Bob, Exeter, UK
MI5 and MI6 were originally part of the Military Operations and numbered MO5 and MO6, lower numbers dealing with various administrative matters. They kept the same numbers when Military Intelligence was formed. I think that MI7 dealt with censorship.
Jim Gilbert, Santa Ynez California
Well here is the list I've managed to come up with from searching on the net, no clues for what MI12 or MI18 were/are though. MI1 Codebreaking, MI2 Russia and Scandinavia, MI3 Eastern Europe, Germany? MI4 Aerial Reconnaisance MI5 domestic intelligence MI6 foreign intelligence MI7 Propaganda MI8 Military Communication Interception, MI9 Undercover operations, /POW escape MI10 Weapons analysis MI11 Field security police MI12 ??? MI13 Reconnaissance MI14 and MI15 German specialists, Mi16 royal secret service MI17 Military Intelligence "Head Office". MI18 ??? MI19 PoW debriefing,
T Swindells, Hampshire
A full list of Miliary Intelligence (MI) Departments during world war 2 can be found on pages 147 and 148 of "Codebreaker in the Far East" by Alan Stripp, published in 1989 by Oxford University Press. This goes numerically up to MI19 plus MIL, MIR and MIX. The author says that the whole series has now been replaced anyway.
Alastair Thomson, Northampton, UK
MI1-director of military intelligence; also cryptography MI2-responsible for Russia and Scandinavia MI3-responsible for Germany and eastern Europe MI4-Aerial reconnaissance during world war two MI5-domestic intelligence and security MI6-foreign intelligence and security MI8-interception & interpretation of communications MI9-clandestine operations (escape and evasion) MI10-weapons and technical analysis MI11-field security police MI14-German specialists MI17-secretariat body for MI departments MI19-POW debriefing unit
Matt, Bracknell, Berkshire
Contrary to the above answers likening MI5 to the FBI, that's rubbish too. The FBI is not an intelligence service AT ALL. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the US Intelligence services and is simply the "Federal Bureau of Investigation". The FBI is a national and federally empowered police force - to investigate crime. They do NOT collect clandestine intelligence or have anything to do with the military. The NSA is the nearest equivalent to MI5 but GCHQ's role may well overlap in terms of jurisdiction. GCHQ collaborates with all the British intelligence services on a daily basis, both cross-checking information or providing useful intelligence for the MI community. GCHQ regularly recruit analysts, and have large teams who can understand and verify whether information is up to date, or translate documents and coded messages. GCHQ are experts on things like terrorist groups, and can almost immediately decide whether a groups' claim to an attack is genuine.
John, London
At which time we the british empire have been called upon to defend itself, its allies and dependancies it became nessacery to form a number of departments and agencies. Over the years these dapartments have served a number of different roles and purposes. in answer to the above question: MI1 Code breaking, MI2 Russia and Scandinavia, MI3 Easton Europe, MI4 Aerial Reconnaissance, MI5 Domestic Intelligence, now The Security Service, MI6 Foreign Intelligence, now the Secret Intelligence service, MI7 Propoganda and censorship, MI8 Signals Intelligence, MI9 Undercover operations supporting POW, MI10 Weapons and technical Analysis, MI11 Field Intelligence, MI12 Military Censorship, MI13 Remains Classified, MI14 German Intelligence, MI15 Aerial Photography, MI16 Scientific Intelligence, MI17 Secretarial section, MI18 Remains Classifed, MI19 Extraction of information from foreign POWs MI20 - MI25 remain Classified. It is important to also remember that most of these where small departments and at the end of world war 2 they were mostly all merged into MI5, MI6, GCHQ and other agencies. most british intelligence agencies still remain classified to the general public x the only reason this information has been released is that these agencies have all now terminated activity and new agencies have replaced them. Captain S.S DG of MI section 25
Captain S, England
I love these responses. I am watching a movie call MI-5. Excellent intelligence movie of our brothers over the Atlantic.
Jay Casiano, Albany, NY, USA
By-the-way: NCIS stands for National Criminal Investigative Service. NCIS is a team of federal law enforcement professionals dedicated to protecting the people, family, and assets of the US Navy and the Marine Corps worldwide.
Jay Casiano, Albany, NY, USA
The FBI does have a counter intelligence section and they work very closely with the CIA and other intelligence agencies in the US like the NIA (Naval Intelligence Agency) and DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency).
John Smith, Chicago, United States
Minus one.
Francisco Scaramanga, Secret Island, Carribean
To John C.Watson. Thanks for the info. Having lived and studied in Amherst, I'm wondering how you can possess such a deep and correct knowledge of matters military while in 'the valley', an area not exactly conducive, but rather hostile, to that region of scholarship. Hats off to you.
Tom Roberts, Tokyo, Japan
In the United States, NCIS is the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. We do not have an agency called the National Criminal Investigative Service, because we have many federal agencies that investigate crimes nationally. Some of these are the FBI, DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency, ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms), U. S. Postal Inspectors, and U. S. Marshal's Service. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has the Criminal Investigation Division to investigate tax fraud. Now included in the Department of Homeland Security (which was created in 2003) are these federal investigative agencies: CBP (U. S. Customs and Border Protection), ICE (U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), U. S. Coast Guard, and U. S. Secret Service. The Transportation Security Administration also is within DHS. Finally, all federal agencies have Offices of Inspectors General (OIG) who have special agents with law enforcement responsibility and authority to investigate fraud, waste, and abuse within and against each agency. Law enforcement in the United States is very fragmented. There are many federal law enforcement agencies, each state has various investigative agencies (the number depends on the individual states), and of course every town and city has local police agencies. Every county in the U. S. has a sheriff's department to investigate crimes in the counties that are outside the jurisdiction of local police departments. Even many public school districts now have their own independent police departments and most colleges and universities of any size now have their own police departments. Altogether there are approximately 850,000 full-time law enforcement officers in the United States.
J. R. Price, Arlington, Texas
No wonder conspiracy theories etc abound - I simply went to the source www.mi5.gov.uk and there all is explained. I never really understood the expression 'get a life' but now browsing the responces to this query, it has relevance.
James, Newcastle upon Tyne UK
The binary distinction between MI5 and MI6 presented in some of the answers above is incorrect. As displayed on the MI6>FAQs and on the MI5 website>about us>myths sections, "SIS (MI6) collects secret intelligence overseas on behalf of the British Government. MI5, the Security Service, is the UK's security intelligence agency responsible for protecting the UK, its interests and citizens against major threats to national security." However, these 2 distinct roles entail actual operational overlap and thus "the scope of national security extends beyond the British Isles and may involve the protection of British interests worldwide, e.g. diplomatic premises and staff, British companies and investments and British citizens living or travelling abroad. Security threats to British interests anywhere in the world fall within the scope of our functions as set out in the Security Service Act 1989. In dealing with security threats overseas we co-operate closely with the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), who are responsible for gathering intelligence overseas, and with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office." Simples.
Vinesh Patel, London, England
For John in London: The FBI is in fact partly an inteligence service. FBI has jurisdiction within the continental US while CIA has responsibilities over seas, NSA has ability now to monitor communications both domestically and over seas. Like our UK Counter Parts they are unsung heroes, who allow us to keep our freedom!!
Jack Zalenski, Beverly, New Jersey, USA
Thanks for the info, guys.
Manaal Basit, Budgam, India
dosent matter casue the usa is the best! go seal teams
RYAN, rakin cille USA
"Question" I need to ask is: does anyone know if MI9 existing after WW2 in to the 50s & possibly 60s?My Canadian father was in R.C.A.F. Intelligence Services back then,served and married my mother in England in fifties,also served in France in fifties, I was told even though he was Canadian, he also worked for the British, is it possible that he could have worked for M19 after the War 2, I am trying to validate information I have been learning on him.Some older close associates have mentioned to me M19..He was recently killed while in Turks & Caicos Islands shot in isolated location, no weapon found or bullet or casing etc. Because of his past with the military, I am trying to connect some dots prior to and around the time of his death, local police kind, and still investigating, but not all are well educated,the Islands were bankrupt and political corruption caused The Queen to provide a temporary Governor till next elections: recently Britain has supplied T&C with additional police experts, investigations etc. I also read recently that there is an Interpol office located on the Islands as well. I am no expert in any of these matters..Just curious to see if there is any possible chance my father could have ever been linked with Britain's MI9, since his death people I'm connecting with are telling me he previously served with MI9: he was very brilliant and a serious intellectual.Advice would be appreciated.Thanking you for your assistance.
ann, toronto canada
Mmm some interesting answers!! You are right that MI originally stood for Military Intelligence (followed by Department 1, 2, 3 etc). The current Security Service and Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) are still sometimes referred to as MI5 and MI6 respectively, though technically they are no longer 'military' being staffed by civil servants. You can find out more about the MI5/MI6 designations on their websites www.MI5.gov.uk etc - it is not a secret!
GJB, Bishops Stortford UK
Mi5 is about affairs that happen on British soil. Mi5 is often referred to as security service or ss. On the other hand Mi6 deals with current affairs overseas and are often referred to as secret intelligence service or sis kind of like the FBI but the sis does not shed names or appearance of their agents.
Euan McMurtrie, Glasgow Scotland
Having spent 21 years finding out about Lockerbie, I have some familiarity with various US, UK and Iranian and other agencies. The CIA and MI5 cooperate closely, though MI5 tries to prevent some of the FBI's more absurd plot ideas, like attributing the destruction of Pan Am 103 to the Irish. MI6 looks down on the CIA as the johnny-come-lately with too much firepower, the child of SOE and OSS. The Agency will do wet jobs - it helped blow up Pan Am 103 - while the SIS does not kill people, and there is a rule to that effect. The CIA London officer attends the first half of the JSC meeting every week in London, and the feeling that the UK should always take its lead from the US often grates to the British horribly. GCHQ is the child of BP is still respected by the NSA. The NSC is despised by all, as simply being the porthole by which the White House tells the world how it wishes to see things. Everyone detests the DIA, and BAFTA are regarded as fools and buffoons. The US security estate is far bigger than the UK one, but slow, bureaucratic and always fighting the last war but one. No-one liked the French, DST and DGSE, the Russians are still feared and the Germans uncooperative.
Charles Norrie, London, UK
There are some very good answers here. However, I do believe that the most important department in British security has been overlooked. Not surprisingly it is only natural that, as all CI5 operations are very secretive and carried out by professionals, they are kept extremely quiet. George Cowley - Head of CI5
George Cowley, London, UK
During WWII MI-9 was the organisation responsible for establishing networks behind enemy lines that assisted POW's and downed airmen in escaping or evading capture.
Stuart Kohn, Maplewood, NJ US
Originally all MI, Military Intelligence was in one building. Each department had it's own 'Room'. The numbers following the letters MI refereed to room or door number.
Paladin, Moncton Canada
There seems to be so many acronyms for NCIS so I googled it NCIS Naval Criminal Investigative Service NCIS National Coroners Information System (Australia) NCIS Nebraska Career Information System NCIS National Crime Intelligence Service NCIS National Coalition of Independent Scholars NCIS National Crop Insurance Service (gathers crop-hail statistics) NCIS Nuclear Criticality Information System NCIS NATO Common Interoperability Standards NCIS Navy Cost Information System NCIS New Century Infusion Solutions (Brea, CA) NCIS Naval Criminal Intelligence Command NCIS NATO Common Interface Standard NCIS No Change in Status NCIS National Coordinated Industry Survey (Australia) NCIS National Crime Investigation Squad
jamo, Castletown Isle of Man
I think there all different
Tee, Nashville TN USA
Adding to Stu Kohan's answer, MI9 was also called "Escape and Evade," and the American MIS-X was modeled after the British MI9.
Bill Streifer, Inwood, NY USA
MI5 specializes in identifying and neutralizing domestic threats or security threats emanating from within UK while MI6 is tasked with combing and neutralizing external threats.
Wycliffe, Eldoret Kenya
MI1: Codes and cyphers. Later merged with other code-breaking agencies and became Government Code and Cypher School (now known as Government Communications Headquarters). MI2: Information on Middle and Far East, Scandinavia, USA, USSR, Central and South America. MI3: Information on Eastern Europe and the Baltic Provinces (plus USSR, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia after Summer 1941). MI4: Geographical section  maps (transferred to Military Operations in April 1940). MI5: Liaison with Security Service, following the transfer of Security Service to the Home Office in the 1920s. MI6: Liaison with Secret Intelligence Service and Foreign Office. MI7: Press and propaganda (transferred to Ministry of Information in May 1940). MI8: Signals interception and communications security. MI9: Escaped British PoW debriefing, escape and evasion (also: enemy PoW interrogation until 1941). MI10: Technical Intelligence worldwide. MI11: Military Security. MI12: Liaison with censorship organisations in Ministry of Information, military censorship. MI13: Not used (except in fiction). MI14: Germany and German-occupied territories (aerial photography until Spring 1943). MI15: Aerial photography. In the Spring of 1943, aerial photography moved to the Air Ministry and MI15 became air defence intelligence. MI16: Scientific Intelligence (formed 1945). MI17: Secretariat for Director of Military Intelligence from April 1943. MI18: Used only in fiction. MI19: Enemy PoW interrogation (formed from MI9 in December 1941).
Chris Meadow, Middleton, US
M15 is a secret Intelligent unit primarily deals with internal affairs but terrorists unusually and The Great MI6 deals with foreign affairs which has to do with the UK or not. M07 become MI7 in 1916 after the War.Which is responsible for information and press or propaganda. MI8 is the Radio Security Service (RSS).MI4 now the JARIC agency. In short you can be made to believe that MI1-M14 still exist after the second world war.
Kwame Akonnor, Sakyikrom-Nsawam, Ghana
NCIS stands for NAVAL Criminal Intelligence Service. The word is not "national."
Carole Parkinson, Portland United States
Firstly, NCIS does not refer to US Naval version it's referred to the UK National Criminal Investigative Service now known as SOCA (Serious Organized Crime Agency) this agency took over most of the MI5 responsibilities leaving matter of counter-intelligence and foreign diplomatic services up to MI6 which really no longer exist as an agency only unto itself. It may have a website etc, but any MI (Military Intelligence) office is overseen by the Foreign Secretary. Years ago the "operatives" used in Clandestine Services were reassigned and renamed under Her Majesty's Customs and Excise via Home Office. MI5 Secret Service is domestic only. Handles British territories with some travel. Most of the foreign embassies in the world have Diplomatic Protection Officers in them. Ian Flemming's Bond is loosely based on the association of these two agencies but they are not related and quite honestly MI5 is nothing more than an Interpol type office conducting mostly anti-terrorism operations where as SOCA is chiefly responsible for national investigations and policing. It can be argued because there is not substantial information available to the general public as to what or how each foreign service office or officer are assigned or their duties. As to what has happened to the other MI's they have been re-titled UKSF and INTCORP or ICA Intelligence Corp Association.
P. M. Skellen, Herefordshire United Kingdom
All I can say is Thank God for the United Kingdom, the english language the principals of law and the rich heritage we have recieved from them. God bless all of our english speaking cousins around the world. Thank you.
Robin L. Garces, Newberg Oregon, USA
Pretty much MI5 and MI6 have absolved all the other sections MI's activities. MI5 works closely with the Police as well in the UK. Now my next question is... What does MI6 do in this peace time activities. I have heard what the CIA is doing? MI6 is very secretive and am pretty sure that their actions are passive rather than active. Is there a secret hatchet unit that's unsanctioned by the British Government known as Section 20? Basically under the CIA, this is called Blake Ops. If there is one, then Sec 20 is the creme de la creme of international law enforcement.
Dominic W S Chan, Shah Alam Malaysia
I believe that the closest to MI5 is the US Department of Homeland Security
Harold Basa,
Contrary to John London's post, the FBI, like the CIA, is a member of the US Intelligence Community.
Carson, Virginia US
My dad worked for MI8 at one point just after the war. It involved sitting in the back of a army waggon listening to Russian morse and transcribing it. He had no Russian language translation skills, that duty belonged to someone else. Not the most glamorous of jobs, but at least it sounded good....
Nik, Leigh UK
In response to what the American NCIS stands for, it's not NATIONAL, but Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I believe the UK one is National. And I'm also watching MI-5, know in the UK as Spooks. I wanted to get a handle on the different intelligence agencies. To my understanding, MI-5 deals with domestic intelligence, but not equivalent to our FBI because of their clandestine nature (I would say equivalent to the NSA). And MI-6 is international intelligence, like the CIA. So can anyone elaborate more on GCHQ? Or what their American equivalent would be if there is one?
Ike, San Diego, California USA
A big thank you for your post. Want more.
forum profiles, NY USA
During the second world war, GCHQ was the organization that handled the decryption of German encrypted radio communications based on sophisticated mathematical techniques supplied by great minds such as Alan Turing and an Enigma machine supplied by a Polish soldier who escaped to England. The letters stood, I think, for Government Communication Headquarters. It probably still deals with codes and cyphers, something like our NSA. GCHQ has a famous site at Cheltenham, I think.
Thomas, Stoneham, US
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directorate_of_Military_Intelligence Should you be allowed to ask a question on Notes and Queries if it has its own Wikipedia page?
Andy Buch, Brighton, UK
| i don't know |
Which vessel, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. was the first ocean-going steamer to be built of iron? | Isambard Kingdom Brunel | ss Great Britain
Home > The story > Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Voted the second Greatest Briton of all time, after Winston Churchill, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was one of the 19th century engineering giants. His achievements, many of which are still part of our everyday lives and landscape, are a lasting testament to his far-sighted genius.
Early years and work
Brunel had engineering in his genes. Born in Portsmouth on 9 April 1806, he was the only son of French civil engineer Sir Marc Brunel. Under his father’s guidance Isambard was fluent in French and had a command over the basics of engineering by the age of eight.
He was educated at Hove, near Brighton, and at 14 went to study in Paris. In 1823 he embarked on his first engineering project, working with his father on the building of the Thames Tunnel from Rotherhithe to Wapping in east London. He was later appointed resident engineer for the tunnel.
Clifton Suspension Bridge
The iconic bridge, crossing the River Avon, was designed by Brunel in 1829. At the time it had the longest span of any bridge in the world but his original design was rejected on the advice of Thomas Telford (1757 - 1834). An improved version, complete with Egyptian-influenced sphinxes and hieroglyphs, was accepted.
Sadly the project was abandoned due to a lack of funds and the bridge was not completed until 1864, after Brunel’s death.
Great Western Railway
Brunel’s international engineering status was established by his work on the Great Western Railway (GWR) linking Bristol and London. At the age of 27 he was appointed GWR’s chief engineer. And his achievements included viaducts at Hanwell and Chippenham, the Maidenhead Bridge, the Box Tunnel and Bristol’s Temple Meads Station.
Controversially Brunel used the broad gauge (2.2m) instead of standard gauge (1.55m). While this produced a smoother, faster journey it also meant passengers had to change trains at stations where the two gauges met.
The Great Western
Not content with railways the far-sighted Brunel persuaded the company which backed the Great Western Railway to consider trans-Atlantic travel. The Great Steamship Company was established, allowing Brunel to build a steam ship to cross from Bristol to New York. At 236 feet long the Great Western was the largest steamship of its time. She made her first voyage in 1838. The journey took 15 days and was the first of more than 60 crossings made over the next eight years.
The ss Great Britain
Brunel’s next steamship quickly overshadowed her older sister. At the time of the ss Great Britain’s launch in 1843 she was the largest ship in the world. She was also the first screw-propelled, ocean-going, iron-hulled steam ship – a truly revolutionary vessel and fore-runner of all modern shipping.
Designed initially for the emerging trans-Atlantic luxury passenger trade, the ship carried 252 first and second class passengers and 130 crew. The ss Great Britain typifies Brunel’s innovative approach to engineering and also marks the beginnings of international passenger travel and world communications.
This was not, however, his final maritime project.
The Great Eastern – the final project
In 1853 the Eastern Steam Navigation Company employed Brunel to build the Great Eastern. The huge ship (originally dubbed the ‘Leviathan’) was designed to carry 4,000 passengers and was technologically way ahead of her time. But this led to a series of engineering problems and the strain of the work took its toll on Brunel’s health.
He died on 15 September 1859, aged 53, following news of an explosion on board the Great Eastern during her sea trials. Five days later Isambard Kingdom Brunel was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in London.
| SS Great Britain |
The Okapi is most closely related to which other African mammal? | Isambard Kingdom Brunel - Graces Guide
Grace's Guide
British Industrial History
Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 121,946 pages of information and 183,433 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Tomb in Kensal Green Cemetery (detail).
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, and numerous important bridges.
The son of engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel and Sophia, born Kingdom, Brunel was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on 9 April 1806. His father was working there on block-making machinery for the Portsmouth Block Mills .
1820 At 14 he was sent to France to be educated at the Lycée Henri-Quatre in Paris and the University of Caen in Normandy.
1826 Brunel rose to prominence when, aged 20, he was appointed chief assistant engineer of his father's greatest achievement, the Thames Tunnel , which runs beneath the river between Rotherhithe and Wapping. The first major sub-river tunnel, it succeeded where other attempts had failed, thanks to Marc Brunel's ingenious tunnelling shield — the human-powered forerunner of today's mighty tunnelling machines — which protected workers from cave-in by placing them within a protective casing.
1829 Isambard Brunel, London, Civil Engineer, became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. [1]
In 1833, before the Thames Tunnel was complete, Brunel was appointed chief engineer of the Great Western Railway , one of the wonders of Victorian Britain, running from London to Bristol and later Exeter.
Brunel established his design offices at 17–18 Duke Street, London, and he lived with his family in the rooms above. Robert Pearson Brereton , who became his chief assistant in 1845, was in charge of the office in Brunel's absence, and also took direct responsibility for major projects such as the Royal Albert Bridge as Brunel's health declined.
On 5 July 1836, at Kensington church, he married Mary Elizabeth (1813–1881), the eldest daughter of William Horsley (1774–1858), organist and composer
Even before the Great Western Railway was opened, Brunel was moving on to his next project: transatlantic shipping. He used his prestige to convince his railway company employers to build the, at the time, by far the largest steamship in the world - The SS Great Western . She was launched on 19 July 1837 and then sailed to London where she was fitted with two side-lever steam engines from the firm of Maudslay, Sons and Field .
1843 His next ship design was even larger; the SS Great Britain was the first ocean-going ship to have an iron hull and a screw propeller and, when launched in 1843, was the largest vessel afloat.
1843 while performing a conjuring trick for the amusement of his children, Brunel accidentally inhaled a half-sovereign coin, which became lodged in his windpipe. A special pair of forceps failed to remove it, as did a machine devised by Brunel himself to shake it loose.
Eventually, at the suggestion of Marc Brunel, he was strapped to a board and turned upside-down, and the coin was jerked free. He convalesced by visiting Teignmouth and enjoyed the area so much that he purchased an estate at Watcombe in Torquay, Devon. Here he designed Brunel Manor and its gardens to be his retirement home. Unfortunately he never saw the house or gardens finished, as he died before it was completed.
1851 Living at 17 and 18 Duke Street, Westminster: Isambard K. Brunel (age 44 born Portsmouth), Civil Engineer. With his wife Mary Elizth Brunel (age 37 born Kensington) and their children; Isambard Brunel (age 13 born Westminster); Henry Mark Brunel (age 8 born Westminster); and Florence Mary Brunel (age 3 born Westminster). Also his mother Lady Sophia Brunel (age 76 born Westminster). Eleven servants. [2]
1852 Building on his success with the Great Britain, Brunel turned to a third ship in 1852, even larger than her predecessors, intended for voyages to India and Australia. The SS Great Eastern (originally dubbed Leviathan) represented cutting-edge technology for her time: almost 700 ft long, fitted out with the most luxurious appointments and capable of carrying over 4,000 passengers.
1855 When he was already working on building the SS Great Eastern amongst other projects, Brunel accepted the task in February 1855 of designing and building a temporary, pre-fabricated hospital to the requirements of the War Office, that could be shipped to the Crimea and erected. In 5 months he had designed, built and shipped the pre-fabricated wood and canvas buildings that were erected, near Scutari Hospital where Nightingale was based, in the malaria-free area of Renkioi.
His designs incorporated the necessity of hygiene, providing access to sanitation, ventilation, drainage and even rudimentary temperature controls. They were feted as a great success, some sources stating that of the 1,300 (approximate) patients treated in the Renkioi temporary hospital, there were only 50 deaths. In the Scutari hospital it replaced, deaths were said to be as many as 10 times this number. Nightingale herself referred to them as "those magnificent huts." Brunel not only designed the buildings but gave advice as to the location of placing.
The art of using pre-fabricated modules to build hospitals has been carried forward into the present day, with hospitals such as the Bristol Royal Infirmary being created in this manner.
1856 Subscribed £50 to the Smith Testimonial Fund , commemorating the work of F. P. Smith in promoting the screw propeller.
1859 Brunel suffered a stroke, just before the SS Great Eastern made her first voyage to New York. He died ten days later at the age of 53 and was buried, like his father, in Kensal Green Cemetery in London.
He left behind his wife Mary and three children: Henry Marc Brunel (1842–1903); Isambard Brunel, Junior (1837–1902) who went in to Law; and Florence Mary Brunel (c1847–1876) who married Eton schoolmaster Arthur James and they had a daughter Celia. In 1891 Celia Brunel James married Sir Saxton Noble, second son of Sir Andrew Noble and the only Brunel descendents are from this relationship.
Many of Brunel's original papers and designs were gathered in the Brunel Collection at the University of Bristol. The collection has now been moved to the new Brunel Institute, a joint project of the University and the SS Great Britain Trust [3]
1860 Obituary [4]
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was the only Son of the late Sir Marc Isambard Brunel , whose mechanical genius and originality of conception he largely inherited.
Young Brunel was born at Portsmouth, in the year 1806, at the period when his Father was engaged on the block machinery for the Royal Dockyard.
He received his general education at the College Henri Quatre, at Caen, where, at that time, the mathematical masters were particularly celebrated, and to his acquirements in that science may be attributed the early successes he achieved, as well as the confidence in his own resources which he displayed throughout his professional career.
On his return to England, he was, for a time, practically engaged in mechanical engineering, at the works of the late Bryan Donkin , and at the age of about twenty, he joined his Father in the construction of the Thames Tunnel, where he attained considerable experience in brickwork and the use of cements, and more especially, in meeting and providing for the numerous casualties to which that work was exposed.
The practical lessons there learned were invaluable to him; and to his personal gallantry and presence of mind, on more than one occasion, when the river made irruptions into the Tunnel, the salvation of the work was due.
One of his first great independent designs was that selected for the proposed suspension-bridge across the River Avon, from Durdham Down, Clifton, to the Leigh Woods, which he owed to the fact, that upon the reference of the competing designs to two distinguished mathematicians for the verification of the calculations, his alone was pronounced to be mathematically exact. Want of funds prevented, at that period, the carrying out of the design, which there are now some hopes of seeing executed, by transplanting to that site the present Hungerford Suspension bridge, which is itself the work of Mr. Brunel.
His introduction to Bristol led to his appointment as Engineer to the docks of that city, which he materially improved. He had been previously engaged in the construction of the old north dock at Sunderland, and subsequently, he was consulted about the design for the Bute Docks at Cardiff.
In 1833-34, he was appointed Engineer to the Great Western Railway , and whilst engaged upon it, he matured his views of the broad gauge, relative to which he sustained one of the hardest fought engineering contests on record. This work placed his reputation high among Engineers, and henceforth, his mental and physical powers were taxed almost beyond those of any other member of the profession.
His attention to all the details of even the smallest works was unremitting; and the Hanwell and Chippenham Viaducts, the Maidenhead and other masonry Bridges, the Box Tunnel , and the iron structures of the Chepstow and Tamar Bridges on the extension of the railway to the west, attest the boldness and originality of his conceptions, his taste in designing, and his skill in the use of various constructive materials.
The partial failure at the opening of the line appeared only to incite his inventive faculties, and to afford a field for the exhibition of his great powers. All the physical impediments were met and conquered, and his perseverance was ultimately crowned with success, in attaining a speed of travelling, combined with comfort and security, hitherto unrivalled.
In the attempted adaptation of the atmospheric system of propulsion to the South Devon Railway , he was, however, signally unfortunate, in spite of all the ingenuity displayed; but this failure served to bring into view a most pleasing feature of his character, for while he duly paid up all the calls upon the stake he had in the undertaking, he, at the same time, refused to accept the professional emoluments to which he was entitled.
His services were in constant demand in railway contests before Committees of the Houses of Parliament, and he was employed to construct the Tuscan portion of the Sardinian Railways, as well as to advise upon the Victorian lines in Australia, and the Eastern Bengal Railway.
Intimately, however, as the name of Isambard Brunel will ever be connected with the railway epoch in Great Britain, it is, probably, as the originator of the system of extension of the dimensions of steam vessels, that he will be best known to posterity.
The Great Western steam ship was his first innovation. In that vessel, which was much larger than any previously constructed, he had the able assistance of Mr. Paterson, of Bristol, as the shipwright and of Joshua Field , (Past-President Inst.C.E.) as the constructor of the engines, and in spite of adverse anticipations, even among practical men, the most triumphant success crowned his efforts, and demonstrated the correctness of his views.
His attention was, at that time, directed to propulsion by the screw, a subject on which F. P. Smith , (Assoc.Inst.C.E.,) had been long and patiently labouring, and the experiments made by Mr. Brunel, in his voyages on board the Archimedes , convinced him of the practicability of the adaptation of the system to large steam vessels.
He then designed the Great Britain, an iron ship, of dimensions far exceeding those of any vessel of its period; and if the first essays were not entirely successful, it must be attributed to the fact of the machinery not having been designed by those whose peculiar study it had been, to produce engines of the class required for such vessels. The disaster in Dundrum Bay demonstrated the scientific design and the practical strength of the hull of the ship, and the successful voyages since made, have proved the correctness of his original views.
He was appointed the Consulting Engineer of the Australian Steam Navigation Company, whom he advised to construct vessels of 5,000 tons burthen, to run the entire voyage to Australia, without stopping to coal. His counsels, however, were not followed.
The Great Eastern was his crowning effort, and to the design and execution of this gigantic vessel, far surpassing in dimensions any ship hitherto constructed, he devoted all his energies. The labour was, however, too great for his physical powers, and he broke down under the wearying task; leaving to John Scott Russell , (M.Inst.C.E.,) and Boulton and Watt , his cooperators in the construction of the hull and the engines, the actual completion of the work he had so well and so perseveringly brought up to the day of starting on the trial trip. The disasters attending the launch and the trial trip were unfortunate, but they were, perhaps, inseparable from so novel an experiment, on so gigantic a scale, and the ultimate results may be looked forward to with great interest, as whatever they may be, the impulse given by Mr. Brunel to the construction of large-sized vessels is already felt, and must have great influence both on the mercantile marine and on the Royal Navy.
This sketch of the professional labours of Mr. Brunel is, of necessity, brief and incomplete, nor can the details be given of the numerous scientific investigations in which he was engaged; but the devotion during two years of considerable portions of his time, to completing the experiments, made by his Father, to test the application of carbonic acid gas, as a motive power for engines, must be mentioned. His special objects of study were mechanical problems connected with railway traction and steam navigation; and although he was not, perhaps, so sound, or so practical a mechanic as his friend, and at the same time, constant opponent, Robert Stephenson , yet his intuitive skill and ready ingenuity enabled him to arrive at satisfactory solutions.
The characteristic feature of his works was their size, and his besetting fault was a seeking for novelty, where the adoption of a well-known model would have sufficed. This defect has been unfairly magnified, whenever the pecuniary results of an undertaking have not reached the preconceived standard, and due allowance has not; been made for the difficulties encountered in the prosecution of a new and bold enterprise.
It might, perhaps, have been as well, if a uniform gauge had been originally established for the United Kingdom, - and such will, doubtless, be the ultimate result,- but not the less must be admired the indomitable energy and consummate skill, with which Mr. Brunel and his coadjutor C. Saunders , pushed the broad gauge and its tributaries westward toward to Bristol, Gloucester, and through Wales, to Milford Haven, then south-west to Exeter and Plymouth, and onwards to the Land's End; and after invading the north-west manufacturing district of Birmingham, finally arriving at the shore of the Mersey, opposite to Liverpool. This alone would have sufficed for the lifetime of many men, and in truth, the stupendous labours undertaken by Brunel could not be performed, without over-tasking the mental and physical faculties, so that eventually, they must break down.
Mr. Brunel was fervently attached to scientific inquiries; he was a good mathematician and possessed great readiness in the practical application of formula. He was elected at an unusually early age a Fellow of the Royal Society; he received the degree of D.C.L. from the University of Oxford; and he belonged to most of the principal scientific societies of the Metropolis, to several foreign societies, and was a Knight of the Legion of Honour. He was an old Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, which he joined as an Associate, in January, 1829; he became a Member in 1837, was elected upon the Council in 1845, and was a Vice-President from 1850 up to the time of his death.
A liberal patron, as well as a discriminating judge of art, he was himself devoted to artistic pursuits, and his early drawings as well as his professional sketches attest his feeling for purity of design. Of his private character those only who were admitted to his intimacy, could alone judge correctly.
Brunel was not a demonstrative man, but there was a fund of kindness and goodness within, which only required to be aroused to stand forth in high relief. It has been well said of him by an old friend:- 'In youth a more joyous, kind-hearted companion never existed. As a man, always overworked, he was ever ready by advice, and not infrequently, to a large extent, by his purse, to aid either professional, or private friends. His habitual caution and reserve made many think him cold and worldly, but by those who saw his exterior only, could such an opinion be entertained. His carelessness of contemporary public opinion, and his self-reliance on his own character and that of his works, were carried to a fault. He was never known to court applause. Bold and vigorous professionally, he was as modest and retiring in private life.'
Mr. Brunel was present at the trial of the engines, the day before the Great Eastern left the Thames. His health had been failing for some time previously, but on that occasion, he was seized with paralysis. He was immediately conveyed to his home, and after ten days, he expired on the 15th of September 1859. He was cut off in his fifty-fourth year, just when he had acquired the judgement which, in such a profession as that of the Civil Engineer, can only be attained by long practice and experience, and when the greatest work of his life had reached the very eve of completion.
His remains were interred on the 20th of September, in Kensal Green Cemetery, in the presence of his relatives and friends, and of a large number of members of the profession.
At a meeting, in November, under the presidency of the Earl of Shelbourne, it was decided, that a public monument should be erected to commemorate his great abilities, and to demonstrate the high esteem in which he was held by his private friends, and his professional brethren.
Major Achievements
Brunel's achievements ignite the imagination of all technically minded Britons and he soon became one of the most famous men in the country.
| i don't know |
What is the official London residence of the Archbisop of Cantebury? | Archbishop of Canterbury to host refugees at official London residence | UK news | The Guardian
Justin Welby
Archbishop of Canterbury to host refugees at official London residence
Justin Welby criticises government response to migration crisis and offers space for ‘a family or two’ in cottage at Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace in London, where Justin Welby has promised to offer Syrian refugees housing. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA
Sunday 20 September 2015 08.08 EDT
Last modified on Friday 13 January 2017 10.12 EST
Close
This article is 1 year old
The archbishop of Canterbury is to take in Syrian refugees at his official London residence, saying “Jesus was a refugee”.
Justin Welby is to house “a family or two” in a four-bedroom cottage in the grounds of Lambeth Palace on the south bank of the Thames, a spokeswoman confirmed on Sunday.
His gesture follows a similar move by the Catholic church. Pope Francis said two refugee families would move into Vatican housing , but Lambeth Palace said it was something the archbishop has been considering for a while.
A spokeswoman said the cottage in the palace grounds was currently being redecorated and could provide room for a “family or two”. She said: “As a Christian who leads the Church of England it is something he feels absolutely passionate about.
“As the archbishop has said, Jesus was a refugee, and there are refugees here who are desperate for sanctuary from war-torn places and the archbishop is completely torn about their situation and wants to make a difference.”
The rent for the refugees would be paid for by charitable funds under the archbishop’s personal control, she said.
Britain’s response to the refugee crisis facing Europe is to take 20,000 refugees from camps on the borders of Syria over the next five years.
Welby has been critical of the government’s response , saying it is very slim in the context of figures given by the UN high commissioner for refugees and the European commission.
He is also reported to have met the prime minister earlier this month amid growing concerns that Christians in Syria will be largely excluded from the refugees due to come to the UK.
Addressing the House of Lords, he said that “within the camps there is significant intimidation and radicalisation, and many particularly of the Christian population who have been forced to flee are unable to be in the camps”.
A Vatican parish has already taken in a Christian family of four refugees from Syria following the pope’s pledge earlier this month. The St Anna parish – Sant’Anna dei Palafrenieri in Italian – accepted one of two families it promised to take in: a father, mother and two children who fled their home in Damascus. They are said to be Christian of the Catholic Greek Melkite rite.
The Vatican said the family would be staying at an apartment near St Peter’s in the Vatican and that they had immediately followed procedures to apply for asylum in Italy.
The continent’s biggest migratory flow since 1945 has opened a deep rift between western and eastern members of the EU over how to distribute the refugees fairly, and raised questions over the fate of the Schengen agreement allowing borderless travel within the 28-nation bloc.
Several countries have imposed border controls, as recent figures have shown nearly half a million people have braved perilous trips across the Mediterranean to reach Europe so far this year, while the EU has received almost a quarter of a million asylum requests in the three months to June.
| Lambeth Palace |
Which of the planets in our solar system is closest to the Sun? | Archbishop of Canterbury to open home to Syrian refugee family next month – Religion News Service
Subscribe to Church of England
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby leaves after a news conference at Lambeth Palace in London on Nov. 9, 2012. Photo courtesy REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) The Church of England’s spiritual leader will house a family of Syrian refugees in a cottage at his official London residence, Lambeth Palace, from next month, a local councilor said.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the most senior cleric in the world’s 85 million-strong Anglican Communion, pledged last September to personally take in refugees from Syria, with the gesture following a similar move by Pope Francis.
More than 250,000 people have been killed in Syria’s five-year war, with half of the population forced from their homes, leaving 6.6 million displaced inside the country and another 4.8 million fleeing, many seeking refuge in Europe.
Lambeth Council’s deputy leader, Paul McGlone, said the family is due to arrive at Lambeth Palace on the banks of the River Thames next month.
“We have … worked with the Home Office and Lambeth Palace to support the Archbishop’s undertaking to house a family within the grounds of Lambeth Palace,” the Lambeth Council press office quoted McGlone as telling fellow councilors.
A spokesman for Lambeth Palace declined to confirm details of the family’s move but said the palace was “working with Lambeth Council and the Home Office towards a family moving in soon.”
The welcoming of a refugee family onto the archbishop’s estate comes 11 months after Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to offer asylum to 20,000 Syrians, a figure openly criticized by Welby.
In an interview for a parliamentary magazine, The House, Welby said the pledge to grant asylum to 20,000 refugees seemed “very slim” when contrasted with Germany’s pledge to welcome over a million people fleeing the war.
A spokeswoman for the Refugee Council said the way the government has designed the Syrian resettlement program meant that refugees will arrive steadily, in small numbers, over about five years.
“It’s fantastic that the archbishop of Canterbury, along with many communities up and down the country, has been so eager to help offer shelter to refugees,” said the Refugee Council’s advocacy manager, Anna Musgrave.
“Of course refugee resettlement doesn’t happen overnight. … (It) is a carefully coordinated, planned process that involves lots of different people working closely together to ensure that refugees are looked after appropriately when they arrive.”
News Wire Subscribers: This article is not available for republication. Questions? Email [email protected] .
| i don't know |
'Sparrow Grass' is an alternatve name for which plant? | The History of Asparagus
The Ancient Greeks and Romans used a Persian word "asparag" which meant
shoot. the term sperage became popular for many years and in the 16th century
we find the term "sparagus" used in English speaking countries. the peasants
would call it " sparrow grass". During the 19th century Asparagus took over about
the same time that cultivation of asparagus started in the United States.
Asparagus Facts
How long does it take Asparagus to grow?
Asparagus is planted in the ground three years before it can be harvested for the full season. First comes the seed then comes the plant. Farmers only harvest for short period of time the first few years to allow for further growth. The mature plant is harvested all season which typically stretches up to 90 days. Asparagus will grow sometimes 6 to 7 inches in one day!
An Asparagus plant will generally produce from 8 to 12 years depending on different factors.
Asparagus farm pics
White Asparagus
Is it true white asparagus comes from the same plant as green asparagus?
Yes, that is true. When the spears emerge from the ground, the sunlight turns the stalks green. To get white asparagus, about 6 inches of dirt is piled on top of the plants so that the stalks can grow underground. They will grow at the same rate as an uncovered stalk.
When the tip breaks the soil surface, the worker probes under ground with his special knife to cut the stalk. This stalk is all white.
courtesy of Newsline.de
Purple Asparagus
Purple asparagus originated from a region around Albenga, Italy. This "cultivar" is known as Violetto d/Albenga. Although the spears are of deep purple color, the ferns are actually green. The farmers in Albenga region propagate the plants using seeds from open pollination. Seeds are usually collected from vigorous female plants producing large spears.
Purple hybrids produce larger spears but fewer in number per plant than the green hybrids.
Purple asparagus is much sweeter and more tender than green asparagus. Thus, it is very suitable for use in salad.
Purple asparagus retains its color after brief cooking such as quick sauteing. But it loses its purple and changes to green if subjected to prolonged cooking.
You can look for used farm equipment and grow it yourself.
I have and it is an exciting. The stalks can grow to full length so quick,
sometimes in a day, you can almost watch it grow.
California produces most of the crop for the United States,
also Washington and Michigan grow a great deal.
Other countries that are major growers of asparagus are
China which is the largest and Peru which is the second largest.
Why is Asparagus considered an Aphrodisiac?
The shape is certainly a factor!
an Arabian love manual written in the 16th century provided an asparagus recipe
to stimulate erotic desires. Part of the lily family, asparagus contains plenty of vitamin A and C.
Consume over three consecutive days for the most powerful effect, say some experts.
| Asparagus |
Which annual cricket fixture which began in 1806 was last played in 1962? | Sparrow Grass – Mississippi Sideboard
by Jesse Yancy
Sparrow Grass
The most charming aspect of any language is called folk etymology in which an unfamiliar word from another language is replaced by one more recognizable to native speakers. The most outstanding example of this process in English is sparrow grass, the old name for asparagus, which took root in the language in Shakespeare’s day and flourished until the reign of Queen Victoria. During that time, calling this vegetable asparagus carried “an air of stiffness and pedantry”, as the vegetable itself still does to this day.
Oh, yes; asparagus has undeniable snob appeal. A certain sign of this is that in the spring, when asparagus spears begin to storm the produce markets, food columnists wax rapturous over ways to ruin the flavor of this delicate vegetable by stir-frying it with peppers in vile olive oil (with garlic, no less), dusting it with every manner of herbs and spices (even curry, for Pete’s sake) or covering it with a sauce that overpowers the vegetable (Salsa? You’ve GOT to be kidding …). Like many spring vegetables including green or “English” peas, few people know what fresh asparagus tastes like, since the spears you get in the markets are invariably days old, and by then the flavor has been lost. People who grew up on a farm will remember how essential it was to pick sweet corn in a short time before cooking because the sugars in the kernels begin to revert to starch immediately after the ears are taken from the stalks. While asparagus has a lower sugar or starch content than both corn and peas, the same process is at work, and nothing can compare to freshly-harvested asparagus prepared for the table.
Alas and alack, asparagus is not widely grown in the South; it is a cool weather vegetable, which means that in the South, particularly the lower South, we do not have the requisite long periods of cold weather needed for the plant. It’s also somewhat fussy, requiring more care than most people are willing to devote to a perennial vegetable that takes up a lot of room and has a very short season. If you’re lucky enough to know someone diligent enough to grow asparagus, more power to you, but most of us have to settle with the stalks in the market. Buy bunches as soon as you see them in the produce section, and you’re lucky if you’ll find them upright in a container with water.
Freshly-picked asparagus is best served simply, with butter or a simple cream sauce. This Florentine is somewhat of a stretch, but given that the spears I’m using and likely those you will are well past their salad days, I feel justified. A Florentine is nothing more than a Mornay with spinach, and a Mornay itself is simply a Béchamel with a somewhat dry cheese, a Swiss of some ilk, though a good Parmesan isn’t totally out of order. Trim your spears of the tough ends, boil the tips in lightly-salted water until just tender, drain and cool immediately. Make your sauce with a butter roux, whole cream and the cheese of your choice, adding fresh stemmed and chopped spinach lightly cooked in butter. I recommend a thick sauce, and cool this slightly before placing the spears in a lightly buttered oven-proof dish, ladling over the spears, topping with a bit more grated cheese and broiling until lightly browned and bubbly.
| i don't know |
At which hotel in Los Angeles was Robert Kennedy assassinated in 1968? | Robert F. Kennedy assassinated in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968
Share
Search
FILE - This June 5, 1968 file photo shows Sen. Robert F. Kennedy speaking at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, following his victory in the previous day's California primary election. A moment later he turned into a hotel kitchen corridor and was critically wounded. His wife, Ethel, is just behind him. (AP Photo/Dick Strobel, File)
U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy holds two fingers up in a victory sign as he talks to campaign workers at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Ca., June 5, 1968. He is flanked by his wife Ethel, left, and his California campaign manager, Jesse Unruh, speaker of the California Assembly. After making the speech, Kennedy left the platform and was assassinated in an adjacent room. (AP Photo)
This is the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, seen June 1968, where Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated during his campaign for the presidency. (AP Photo)
Sirhan Sirhan, charged with the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy during a campaign stop in California. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
Edward M. Kennedy with Ethel Kennedy and others at the airport in Los Angeles, June 6, 1968 as they depart with the body of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. (AP Photo/Harold Filan)
File - In this Oct. 15, 1966 black-and-white file photo, Sen Robert F. Kennedy, D-N.Y., and his wife Ethel Kennedy pose with eight of their nine children on the lawn of their home at McLean, Va. From right are: Kathleen; Joseph; Robert Jr.; David; Mary Courtney; Michael; Kerry; and Christopher. (AP Photo, File)
Ethel Kennedy, widow of assassinated Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and her children leave St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York after funeral services, June 8, 1968. At her side is her brother-in-law Edward M. Kennedy. (AP Photo)
The casket of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is carried from St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, June 8, 1968. (AP Photo)
Edward M. Kennedy, brother of assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy, delivers a eulogy for his brother at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, June 8, 1968, with New York City Archbishop, Cardinal Terence Cooke, seated in center background. (AP Photo)
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan is shown as he leaves the courtroom in Los Angeles, Ca., on July 19, 1968. Sirhan assassinated Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (AP Photo)
Pall bearers stand over the casket of assassinated New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, June 8, 1968. (AP Photo)
FILE - In this June 8, 1968 file photo, Ethel Kennedy is escorted by her brother-in-law, Sen. Edward Kennedy, to their pew in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York for the funeral services of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (AP Photo, File)
Mourners stand outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on the day of the funeral for assassinated Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, June 8, 1968. (AP Photo)
American actor, dancer, and singer, Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925 - 1990) signing the book of condolences for Robert Kennedy at the American Embassy, London, 6th June 1968. (Photo by Maher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Mrs. Ethel Kennedy, left, wife of the slain Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, follows his casket into St. Patrick's Cathedral, June 7, 1968. With her are two sisters of the late senator, Patricia Lawford, right, and Jean Smith, center. Sen. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles at a campaign rally. (AP Photo)
File - Frank Mankiewicz, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's press secretary, tells a news conference outside Good Samaritan hospital in Los Angeles, June 5, 1968., that Kennedy emerged from three hours of surgery in "extremely critical condition." All but one fragment of a bullet in Kennedy's head was removed by a team of surgeons. (AP Photo)
File - Charles Wright, a police technician, and officer Robert Rozzi inspects a bullet hole discoverd in a door frame in a kitchen corridor of the Ambassador hotel in Los Angeles near where Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was shot and critically wounded June 5, 1968. Bullet is still in the wood. (AP Photo/Dick Strobel)
Jacqueline Kennedy and her two children, John Jr. and Caroline, kneel at the grave of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, June 9, 1968 in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. Both Robert and Jacqueline's husband John F. Kennedy were shot to death by assassins. Others are unidentified. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs)
File - This is an undated portrait of Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, a day after he was shot by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan on June 6, 1968.(AP Photo)
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, center, listens to his attorney Russell Parsons as they leave his court appearance in Los Angeles, Aug. 2, 1968, at which Sirhan pleaded "not guilty" to a charge he murdered Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (AP Photo/Pool)
Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy is seen with her children Caroline, right, and John Jr., behind, as they walk past the casket of her late husband's brother, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on June 7, 1968. (AP Photo)
This picture of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy talking to campaign workers in Los Angeles was made minutes before he was shot early today, June 5, 1968. At his side are his wife, Ethel, and his California campaign manager, Jesse Unruh, speaker of the California Assembly. After making a short speech, Kennedy left the platform and was shot in an adjacent room. (AP Photo/Dick Strobel)
File - This file photo from June 1968 shows Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, right, accused assassin of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy with his attorney Russell E. Parsons in Los Angeles. Sirhan Sirhan shot Robert F. Kennedy, June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after Kennedy's victory in the state's Democratic presidential primary. Kennedy died the next day. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Sen. Robert F. Kennedy watches election returns with his son Michael Kennedy, 10, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in this June 5, 1968 file photo, taken an hour before Kennedy was shot. Michael Kennedy died of head injuries on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 1997, after slamming headfirst into a tree as he played football on skis in Aspen., Colo. (AP Photo/Look Magazine) MANDATORY CREDIT - LOOK MAGAZINE.
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is seen during a campaign tour through Oxnard, Calif., as political advance man Jerry Bruno runs along side his limousine, trying to clear the way and keep the candidate on schedule, June 1, 1968. (AP Photo/George Brich)
This was the scene at KGO-TV station in San Francisco as Senator Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy were readied for their presidential debate, June 1, 1968. From left: ABC White House correspondent William Lawrence; floor man attaches mike to Sen. McCarthy's neck; Peggy Whedon, producer; Frank Reynolds, ABC newsman who was moderator; Sen. Robert Kennedy; and ABC political correspondent, Robert Clark. (AP Photo)
Democratic Sen. Robert F. Kennedy of New York runs through the surf with his dog, Freckles, during a stop in Astoria, Ore., May 24, 1968, during his campaign for the presidential nomination. Kennedy was shot and killed by Sirhan Sirhan shortly after a California primary election victory speech on June 5, 1968, at the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel. Bobby Kennedy served as campaign manager for his brother John F. Kennedy's successful presidential bid, and was later appointed by President Kennedy as U.S. Attorney General. (AP Photo/Barry Sweet)
The Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, attracted crowds of young blacks during a tour down Detroit's Twelfth Street, May 15, 1968. The street was the center of last July's riot. Looking on is Kennedy's wife, Ethel. (AP Photo/Preston Stroup)
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and his wife Ethel walk quietly toward the plane in Indianapolis, May 8, 1968, as the senator left Indiana after his victory in Tuesday's Indiana Primary. Kennedy won the primary over Sen. Eugene McCarthy and Indiana Gov. Roger D. Branigin. (AP Photo/Richard Sroda)
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-NY, and Sen. Eugene McCarthy, D-Minn, strike thoughtful poses during funeral services for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 09, 1968 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/pool)
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, his wife Ethel and Lord Harlech, walk along Fifth Avenue to the Plaza Hotel where a buffet supper was held following star-studded American premiere of “Doctor Faustus” at New York’s Cinema 57 Rendezvous Theater, Feb. 6, 1968. (AP Photo/Jack Kanthal)
Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) is shown during a news conference at the Overseas Press Club in New York, Feb. 1, 1968. (AP Photo)
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is shown at the World Series with his father Joe and brother Ted, Oct. 1967 in Boston. (AP Photo)
Senator Robert F. Kennedy was paired with top-ranked Arthur Ashe, left, in an exhibition doubles tennis match at a block party near Lincoln Park in northeast Washington, August 3, 1967. Kennedy and Ashe were opposed by #2 ranked player, Charles Pasarell, third from left, and former Davis Cupper Donald Dell. The affair was sponsored by the D.C. Recreation Department. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz)
Father Albert Pereira presides over the rites of baptism for Douglas Harriman Kennedy, the youngest son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), and his wife, Ethel, June 18, 1967 at St. Luke’s Church in McLean, Va.. Courtney Kennedy holds the baby with her brother, David, at her side. In the right background are the child’s namesakes, Douglas Dillon, left, and Averell Harriman. (AP Photo/Harvey Georges)
The Senators Kennedy, Edward of Massachusetts left, and Robert of New York, sit together during a session of the Senate Labor Subcommittee on March 15, 1967 in Washington. The two brothers, both Democrats, are members of the subcommittee. (AP Photo)
From left to right: Ed McMahon, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), and talk show host Johnny Carson are seen on the "Johnny Carson Show," April 1957, in Burbank. (AP Photo)
FILE - In this June 7 1966 file photo Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is surrounded by students and newsmen as he tours Stellenbosch, South Africa during five-day visit to South Africa as the guest of the multiracial National Union of South African students. In 1966 Kennedy traveled to apartheid South Africa and spoke about equality and the rule of law. (AP Photo/Dennis Lee Royle, File)
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-NY, shuts his eyes and paddles hard as he shoots some rapids during the last day of his trip down Idaho's "River of No Return," July 5, 1966. Senator Kennedy rode out the last 40 miles of the river in a kayak. The senator, along with his family and several friends, spent four days floating down the river in rubber rafts. (AP Photo/stf)
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel, pose with Pope Paul VI during a visit at the Vatican, June 6, 1966. (AP Photo)
Senator Robert F. Kennedy, visiting the grave of his brother , the late president , in Arlington National Cemetery, January 20, 1965. (AP Photo)
Sen. Robert Kennedy (D-N.Y.), left, and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), leave the Capitol, Oct. 21, 1965 after a surprise request by the younger brother won approval of the Senate. The Massachusetts senator, in an emotional speech to colleagues, asked that Francis X. Morrissey nomination for a federal judgeship be sent back to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The senate did as the younger Senator Kennedy asked. (AP Photo/Henry Griffin)
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY), holds his new son, eight-day-old Matthew, as he and his wife, Ethel, leave New York’s Roosevelt Hospital, Jan. 19, 1965. Kennedy said Matthew is “going to be leader of the assembly in Albany - we finally came up with a candidate.” He referred to the current Democratic leadership deadlock in the state legislature. (AP Photo)
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., holds a cane as he sits beside his freshman senator brother, Robert Kennedy, D-N.Y., in the last row on the floor of the House chamber for President Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union speech on Jan. 4, 1965 in Washington. When he was Attorney General, Robert sat in the front row for such speeches. (AP Photo)
Robert Kennedy, senator-elect from New York, speaks December 2, 1964 at the groundbreaking ceremonies for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Kennedy said his brother "recognized in the arts something that revealed the truth about human beings and their suffering." Seated at left are President Johnson, who lifted the first shovel full of earth, and the First Lady. (AP Photo/stf)
U.S. Senator-elect Robert F. Kennedy is shown with his wife Ethel boarding plane on Nov. 4, 1964 in New York City at LaGuardia Airport for flight to Glens Falls, N.Y. (AP Photo)
Robert F. Kennedy, senatorial candidate from New York, is accompanied by his wife, Ethel, and three of his eight children as he visits the Fordham University campus in the Bronx on the final day of campaigning, Nov. 2, 1964. The children are Joseph, 12; David, 9; and Kathleen, 13. Others are unidentified. (AP Photo/Harry Harris)
Robert F. Kennedy poses with his wife Ethel, pose with seven of their eight children at the Bronx Zoo, on Nov. 3, 1964 in New York City. Mrs. Kennedy is expecting her ninth child in a few months. (AP Photo)
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, left, and President Lyndon Johnson walk toward a receiving line on the White House lawn at a reception for 90 U.S. Marshals, Aug. 18, 1964. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi)
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and his family kneel at the grave of his brother, John F. Kennedy, in Arlington National Cemetery, May 29, 1964, the assassinated president's birthday. From left: Robert Kennedy; Kathleen, 12; Michael, 6; Joseph, 11; Mary Kerry, front, 4; Patricia Lawford; David, 8; Mary Courtney, 7; Ethel Kennedy, the senator's wife, and Robert Francis, 10. Jacqueline Kennedy and her children, Caroline and John, Jr., stand in center background. (AP Photo/Harvey Georges)
Mrs. John F. Kennedy, heavily veiled in black, arrives at the Capitol rotunda with the late President's two brothers, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, left, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, (D-MA), November 25, 1963, to pay a final tribute at the flag-draped casket lying in state on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/stf
President John F. Kennedy's widow and his brothers arrive for the funeral Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, Nov. 25, 1963. In front are Robert F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Edward M. Kennedy. In between and behind Robert and Mrs. Kennedy is Sargent Shriver. President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson are in the background. Others are unidentifed. (AP Photo)
Jacqueline Kennedy stands with daughter Caroline as Chief Justice Earl Warren eulogizes the slain president in the Capitol rotunda in Washington, Nov. 24, 1963. From left: soldier Stephen Smith, unidentified, President Lyndon B. Johnson, Patricia Kennedy Lawford, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Peter Lawford comforting daughter Sydney and Mrs. Smith. (AP Photo)
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, her dress stained with blood, stands with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, holding her hand, as they watch the casket of her slain husband, President John F. Kennedy, placed in an ambulance at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., near Washington, November 22, 1963. The body of the president was flown from Dallas, Texas, where he was fatally shot earlier in the day. At right are Evelyn Lincoln, glasses, and Kenneth O'Donnell of the White House staff. Mrs. Lincoln was the late president's personal secretary. (AP Photo)
The casket containing the body of slain U.S. President John F. Kennedy is moved to a Navy ambulance from the Presidential plane which arrived from Dallas, Tex, where Kennedy was assassinated, to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on Nov. 22, 1963. U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy is behind on the elevator. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, his brother, is beside her. Lawrence O'Brien of the White House staff is at the right. Secret Service men are directly behind the casket. (AP Photo)
File - In this August 23, 1963 file photo, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., center, poses with his brothers U. S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, left, and President John F. Kennedy at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo)
Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of slain President John F. Kennedy, holds her children's hands outside St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, after funeral Mass for the president, Nov. 25, 1963. In front, from left: Caroline, Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy Jr. Behind them are the president's brothers, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), left, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. (AP Photo)
Attorney general Robert F. Kennedy and wife Ethel pose with their seven children, Feb. 10, 1963. Mrs. Kennedy is expecting their eighth child in June. The boys, from left, are Robert Jr., 8, David, 7; Michael, 4; and Joe, 10. The girls, from left, are Kathleen, 11; Kerry, 3; and Mary Courtney, 6. (AP Photo)
U.S. President John F. Kennedy, right, confers with his brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 1962 during the buildup of military tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that became Cuban missile crisis later that month. (AP Photo)
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, left, and Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas are shown crossing a bridge five miles up the Elwha River trail as they hike into the Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, Washington, August 9, 1962. (AP Photo)
Attorney General Robert Kennedy talks with his brother, President Kennedy, at the White House, February 28, 1962, after returning to Washington from an around-the-world trip. Vice President Lyndon Johnson is at left. (AP Photo/Charles Gorry)
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and his wife Ethel brought five of their seven children to the opening of the Washington International Horse Show, where Mrs. Kennedy rode in a hunter event, Oct. 24, 1961. The children are, left to right, front: Kathleen, Mary Courtney and David. Joseph is in center rear and Bobby stands in front of his father. Mrs. Kennedy was also opening night chairman. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz)
President John F. Kennedy walks towards his car leaving his brother, Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy, left, and his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, right, moments after his arrival on Oct. 20, 1961 at Quonset Point Air Station, Rhode Island. The President and his family will spend the weekend at Newport, Mass. His brother, who made the trip from Washington, flew to Hyannis, Mass. with his father, in the family plane. (AP Photo)
President John F. Kennedy gestures as he stands with Mrs. Kennedy and a group at a White House reception, October 10, 1961, for the Supreme Court and federal judges. Left to right, front, the President and Mrs. Kennedy, Chief Justice Earl Warren, Mrs. Johnson and Vice President Johnson, Mrs. Earl Warren, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and wife. Center row: Justice William J. Douglas and wife, Justice Hugo Black. Top row: Justice Tom C. Clark, Justice John M. Harlan, Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. and wife. Informal dress replaced the white tie reception of other years. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz)
Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Attorney General and brother of President John F. Kennedy, is deep in thought at the Justice Department as he worked with aides considering legal measures to be taken following racial violence in Montgomery, Ala., May 21, 1961, Washington, D.C. The riot was touched off by a freedom ride test by mixed whites and African Americans arriving there from Birmingham, Ala., May 20. He ordered a task force of U.S. Marshals and Byron R. White, Deputy U.S. Attorney General, to the area to safeguard federal rights. (AP Photo/Byron Rollins)
Robert F. Kennedy. United States attorney general, and his wife, Ethel, take a view of the Continental Divide while skiing at Independence Pass on Oct. 2, 1961 in Aspen, Colorado. (AP Photo)
Following John F. Kennedy's election as President, the Kennedy clan gathered for this group photo at the Hyannisport, Mass. home of Joseph P. Kennedy, their father, on November 9, 1960. Shown standing, left to right are: Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy; Steve Smith and his wife, Jean Kennedy; John F. Kennedy; Robert Kennedy; sister, Patricia Lawford; Sargent Shriver; brother Ted's wife, Joan; and British actor, Peter Lawford. In foreground, left to right: Eunice Shriver, a sister; Joseph P. Kennedy with wife seated in front; Jacqueline Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy. (AP Photo)
John F. Kennedy, at right, stands with Lyndon Baines Johnson before the Texas delegation caucus in Los Angeles July 12, 1960 prior to the Democratic Convention. Both Senators are Democratic contenders for the Presidential nomination. Behind Senator Kennedy is his brother Robert F. Kennedy, his campaign manager. Man behind Senator Johnson at left rear is unidentified. (AP Photo)
Robert F. Kennedy, left, Counsel for the Senate Rackets Committee, confers with his brothers Edward Kennedy, center, and Sen. John F. Kennedy during a committee hearing in Washington, D.C., in 1959. (AP Photo)
James R. Hoffa, president of The Teamster's Union, right, stands with Robert Kennedy, counsel of the Senate Rackets Committee, as he speaks to Kennedy in the hearing room, on September 17, 1958, in Washington. Walter J. Sheridan, a committee investigator looks over Hoffa's shoulder. (AP Photo)
Sen. John F. Kennedy, center, D-Mass., and his brothers Edward Kennedy, left, a student at the University of Virginia, and Robert F. Kennedy, chief counsel to the Senate Rackets Committee, attend the annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, D.C., on March 15, 1958. (AP Photo)
Sen. John Kennedy, D-Mass., and his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, watch as her sister, Mrs. Lee Bouvier Canfield, holds their 15-day-old daughter during her christening in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Dec. 13, 1957. At left is the senator's brother, Robert Kennedy, acting as godfather. Third from left is Stephen Smith, the senator's brother-in-law. Boston's archbishop Richard Cushing christened the baby, named Caroline. (AP Photo)
Robert Kennedy, chief counsel of the Senate Labor Rackets Committee on investigations is shown at the hearing on March 19, 1957 in Washington at a hearing. (AP Photo)
Robert F. Kennedy, assistant counsel of the Senate Investigations subcommittee, testifies May 4, 1953, that 19 owners of the 82 ships flying flags of western allies of the U.S. are taking money from Communist China with one hand and from the U.S. with the other. Kennedy testified about the "dual trade" at a hearing of the subcommittee headed by Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisc.). (AP Photo/Henry Griffin)
Robert F. Kennedy, left, brother of Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy, and his tourist companion, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, turn out in ceremonial robes for a souvenir picture, Sept. 15, 1955, in Stalingrad, Russia. The colorful outfits were picked up during the recently concluded tour of Asia and Siberia. (AP Photo)
Newlyweds Ethel Skakel and Robert F. Kennedy leave St. Mary's Roman Catholic church in Greenwich, Ct. on June 17, 1950. After a wedding reception at the Skakel's home, the couple departed for a 3-month trip to Hawaii. (AP Photo)
Robert F. Kennedy and his bride, the former Ethel Skakel, are shown walking down the aisle of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Greenwich, Conn., after their marriage on June 17, 1950. (AP Photo)
Robert F. Kennedy is shown at age 17 being sworn in as a naval aviation cadet at the First Naval District headquarters in Boston, Mass., October , 1943. The swearing-in officer is Lt. Cmdr. Edward S. Brower. (AP Photo)
Members of the cabinet of US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy take the oath during the swearing-in of the new cabinet by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren in the East Room of the White House in Washington DC on January 23, 1961. From L to R : Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Postmaster General J. Edward Day, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Secretary of the Agriculture Orville Freeman, Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges, Secretary of Labor Arthur Goldberg, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Abraham A. Ribicoff. (Photo credit should read STF/AFP/Getty Images)
4th July 1939: Robert Kennedy (1925-1968) ( on the left) eating ice-cream with John Sheffield in the garden of the American embassy in London during the time when his father, Joseph Kennedy was ambassador to Great Britain. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
16th March 1938: Joseph Patrick Kennedy (1888 - 1969), the American Ambassador and financier with his wife and five of their nine children at the Princes Gate home in London. Left to right: Kathleen, Edward (who became a Democratic senator), Joseph Kennedy, wife Rose Kennedy, Patricia (1924 - 2006), Jean and Robert, who became a Democratic senator before his assassination. (Photo by H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
1937: American multi-millionaire Joseph Patrick Kennedy (right), the newly-appointed ambassador to London, with his wife Rose Kennedy (second from right) and eight of their nine children, in London. From left: Edward, Jeanne, Robert, Patricia (1924 - 2006), Eunice, Kathleen, Rosemary and John F Kennedy who later became the 35th President of the United States. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
British zoologist, author and humanist Sir Julian Sorell Huxley opening Pets Corner, with Edward Kennedy (front) and Robert Kennedy (rear) when their father, Joseph Kennedy, was the American ambassador to Britain. Original Publication: People Disc - HE0207 (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
‹
| Ambassador (disambiguation) |
The arboreal primate known as the Lemur is native to which island country? | 1000+ images about Robert Kennedy Assassination on Pinterest | Jfk, The california and Photographs
Sen. Robert Kennedy gives a speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles before his assassination, June 1968.
See More
| i don't know |
A dish served 'a la crecy' always contains which vegetable? | Potage Crécy: French for “It’s cold outside—you need some creamy carrot soup”
Potage Crécy: French for “It’s cold outside—you need some creamy carrot soup”
by Terry B on January 28, 2009
A handful of basic ingredients—carrots, potatoes, leeks, stock, fresh thyme and cream—proves once again that the French are masters of sublime simplicity, in this colorful, subtle soup. Recipe below.
The thing that keeps me coming back to French food is its perfect simplicity. And yes, classic French cuisine is littered with plenty of complex creations, all wonderful, to be sure. But what really wows me is how they can take a half dozen or so ordinary ingredients and in a few simple steps make something perfect.
The French get food. They celebrate it. Much as their wines are named for the regions where the grapes are grown, many French dishes are named for their places of origin. According to Williams-Sonoma Collection: French , a gem of a cookbook, Crécy-en-Ponthieu in northern France is known for producing some of the country’s best carrots. Hence, the name for this creamy soup. [According to other sources, the town is even better known for a crucial battle in the Hundred Years’ War in 1346, a battle that did not end well for the French.] If I have to choose between dusty history and this subtle, satisfying potage, give me the soup, please.
A soup by any other name. Depending on who’s doing the counting, the French have either three or four distinct categories of soups. At one end of the scale is consommé, a clear broth that may or may not contain garnishes. At the opposite end is soupe, a “thick, hearty mélange with chunks of food,” according to epicurious.com. Potage falls somewhere in the middle, a thick, creamy soup that is often puréed. The Williams-Sonoma cookbook here calls out another category, bisque, a smooth, velvety soup most often made with lobster or shellfish and cream.
One notable potage is even simpler than the one I’ve made this week—Julia Child’s potage parmentier, or leek and potato soup as it is simply called in her classic cookbook, Mastering The Art of French Cooking . Its ingredients are water, potatoes, leeks, butter, cream, and salt. Not even chicken stock. Whatever else she served, her husband’s meal began with this simple soup every night.
Potage Crécy [poh-TAHZH creh-SEE] is nearly as elegantly austere and every bit as soul satisfyingly delicious. Even though carrots star in this dish, they don’t dominate. No single ingredient does—not the chicken stock, the potatoes, the leeks, cream or even the fresh thyme. Instead, they all work together to create something better and more delicately flavored than the ingredients list might suggest. As always, the fewer the number of ingredients in a dish, the harder each has to work. For the carrots, even if you can’t get them from Crécy, choose carefully. Go for slender, fresh looking carrots, preferably organic. Larger, thicker carrots can often be tough. For chicken stock, homemade is best. If that’s not possible, choose a good quality commercial broth over bouillon cubes; I used an organic, free range chicken broth from Trader Joe’s.
Potage Crécy
1 leek, white and tender green parts, rinsed and sliced [see Kitchen Notes]
3/4 pounds carrots [about 5 or 6], diced
3/4 pounds russet or Yukon gold potatoes, diced
2-1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
1-1/4 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves [or 1/2 teaspoon dried]
1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste [see Kitchen Notes]
additional fresh thyme leaves, for garnish [or finely chopped flat-leaf parsley—see Kitchen Notes]
Heat a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Melt butter and combine with olive oil. Add leeks and sauté, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add thyme, cover the pot and simmer until carrots and potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Purée the soup in a blender or food processor, in batches, if necessary. [Alternatively, use a handheld immersion blender in the pot.]
Return puréed soup to the pot. Add half-and-half, lemon juice and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper to taste [using a light hand, depending on how salty your chicken stock or broth is]. Bring to a simmer until just heated through. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh thyme leaves or parsley. Serve.
Kitchen Notes
Cleaning leeks. Leeks like to grow in sandy soil, so you need to clean them carefully. Slice off root end and most of the green tops. Slice leeks in half lengthwise. Rinse under running water, fanning layers to wash out any trapped grit. When they’re cleaned, slice crosswise in 3/4-inch pieces.
Black pepper? White pepper? Many recipes, including the original for this soup, call for white pepper rather than black. And while white pepper is slightly milder in taste than black, the difference is minimal; the choice is usually based on visual aesthetics, with white pepper being specified for light colored foods. You see this a lot in fish recipes. Personally, I like the look of dark flecks of black pepper on most pale foods—especially with fish, which can otherwise look bland or sickly to me. So it’s your call, but I’m just as happy to stock one kind of peppercorns.
Keep it fresh, garnishwise. As the recipe says, you can substitute dried thyme for fresh in this soup. But if you use dry when cooking it, do not use it for your garnish; opt for chopped fresh parsley instead. The fresh thyme leaves [my first choice] give a delicate, slightly minty taste and a nice little crunch. Dried herbs need to cook in foods to soften and release their flavors; they fail miserably as garnishes.
Hungry for more soups? If cold weather has you in the mood for something soupy, just use my drop down Browse by Category menu and highlight Soups and Stews. You’ll also find a delicious potato soup in, of all places, the kitchen notes of Marion’s potato salad recipe . It’s an emergency recipe in case you overcook your potatoes to the point where they’re no longer potato saladworthy, and among its few ingredients is cheese. Need I say more?
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Alain Harvey March 22, 2012 at 11:44 pm
I observe my French friends eat soup at every meal from September through March and beyond. They attack it with relish, expounding over its wealth of flavor.
Every cook has a dozen potage recipes up their sleeve, depending on what’s at hand. When I make potage, I usually add an apple for a touch of extra sweetness (and because I live in Normandy where apples are used as both fruit and vegetable). Leeks, as stated, are primordial for flavor as is at least one starchy potato, for texture. Depending on how sweet I want the potage, I’ll add several carrots and an onion, then it’s anyone’s guess. Celery root and parsnip are other sweet vegetables, a Jerusalem artichoke adds earthy character, and turnips fill in flavor. Garlic is a necessity, and rosemary lends romance.
For the simplest potage, all the ingredients go in a pot, are covered with water, and go on the heat to simmer until everything is tender. Then the herbs come out, the wand-mixer goes in and presto! The potage is ready. I serve mine with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil (or butter, typical of Normandy!), and often a spoonful of hachis—minced parsley and garlic. It makes for a deliciously warming and virtuous dish.
For a more complex, richer potage, the onions, leeks and garlic can be sautéed in butter first, and then cooked in chicken broth instead of water.
The beauty of these soups and their ilk is their simplicity, both in ingredients and in cooking. They can be ready in an hour, or they can simmer for a long time on the back of the stove. This is a fundamental advantage to soup, one I have taken to heart this year more than others. Perhaps it’s a busier-than-usual schedule, or the fact that our home is full of teenagers. Whatever it is, soup is perfect because it’s ready when eaters are. And when served, with its curls of fragrant steam coming up from the bowl, it says so much more than just dinner—it’s comfort, it’s travel, it’s surprise.
As I pursue my soup-making, my pantry is expanding to include ingredients that will keep the pot fun. You, too, can keep these vibrant soups on your table.
Brenda Lyon May 7, 2015 at 10:43 pm
I went to a French chef’s cooking class on breads and she served us a sample of her home made pureed carrot soup and I’ve been obsessed ever since trying to find a recipe as worthy. I hope this is it. I was unable to get her recipe because I’d have to take her “Soups” class and the classes are quite pricey. Also her recipes are done in the metric system. Is that correct? Where everything is weighed rather then done by cups and tea and tablespoons and I dont want to purchase the scale. Will make this soon. I can’t wait!
Leave a Comment
| Carrot |
September 29th is a Quarter Day in the legal calendar when, traditionally, rents were due and magistrates were chosen; what is the name applied to this day? | Carrot Recipes and Cooking Advice
History of Carrot Cake here; . Ancient Carrot Puddings are here . Carrot Lemonade here . Purple Carrot powder
Carrots are grown all over the world and are readily available in all seasons. They vary in colour from orange, purple, black, pinkish, red, yellow and white.
This delicious vegetable is within the reach of rich & poor alike and is rightly called the "universal root". The carrot root is the main edible part and can be eaten raw, drunk as a juice, used in every conceivable salad, cooked as a vegetable, made into jam, marmalade, syrup & sweet dishes. You can also eat the greens tops. Read more here .
The Carrot is a very versatile vegetable and can be used in a myriad of savoury and sweet dishes, mostly very healthy eating and good alternatives to stodge. It can be used as a starter, main course, sweet or just as a snack. Carrots may be eaten raw or cooked in almost any manner imaginable.
Carrots help to maintain acidic & alkaline properties in the system it is an invigorating & energizing tonic for eyes, skin, bones, heart & muscles of the body. Carrot is blood purifier, diuretic, carminative, digestive, anti flatulent, anti pyretic and vermifuge.
Check out the nutrition page for full details.
Carrots can be eaten sliced, diced, cut up or shoe stringed. They are sold in bunches, canned, frozen and dehydrated. They may be baked, saut�ed, pickled, glazed and served in combination with meats, stews, roasts, soups meat loaf or curries. The mineral contents in carrots lie very close to the skin. Hence they should not be peeled or scraped off.
Dried roasted carrot roots can be ground into a powder and used as coffee substitute. Carrot syrup is sometimes employed as a sweetening agent. Alcoholic tincture of carrot seed is incorporated in French liqueurs. Carrot oil is used for flavouring and in perfumery. Considerable honey is manufactured from bees visiting carrot, although the quality is poor. The flower clusters can be french-fried to produce a carrot-flavoured gourmet's delight. The aromatic seed is used as a flavouring in stews etc.
VERSATILITY OF CARROTS � are one of the most versatile Vegetables in the World
Good in savoury or sweet dishes, raw or cooked, carrots are extremely versatile and while they're delicious lightly boiled and served with butter and seasoning, there's no need to stop there! Simply wash in cold water and they are ready to eat or cook with. No need to peel or top and tail.
Raw Carrots can be eaten just as they are and are particularly popular with children because of their sweet crunchiness and small size. They can be served halved or whole as crudit�s with other vegetables and a dip.
Juice Naturally sweet Carrots make delicious juice. Bear in mind that to make enough juice for one you'll need around 5 large carrots. Try juicing Carrots with ginger and/or apple or orange to make a delicious and nutritious drink.
Boiled Cover thickly sliced Carrots in boiling water and add a pinch of salt if you like. Simmer for five minutes or until they are just tender which you can test with the point of a sharp knife. Serve with melted butter, chopped parsley and season to taste
Steamed Steaming is more gentle than boiling and allows the Carrots to keep their colour, flavour and texture. Place sliced Carrots in a steamer over a pan of simmering water and put the lid on. Steam for five minutes or until the carrots are tender. Try serving with toasted sesame seeds or pine nuts.
Roasted Toss chunky chopped Carrots in olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and herbs or spices to taste. Try cumin or chopped thyme and experiment to create your own favourites. Arrange the carrots in a single layer in a roasting tin and place in the oven at 190c 375f for 20-30 minutes or until the carrots are tender, slightly browned and caramelised.
Baked Wrap 3 inch strips of whole carrots in foil with a couple of tablespoons of wine, a knob of butter, a handful of fresh, chopped herbs and a pinch of salt, leaving them plenty of room to move. Put the parcel on a baking tray and bake for 40 minutes at 220c 425f. Drain the liquid off and sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.
Stir fried Cut Carrots lengthwise into halves or quarters and cut your other vegetables to similar sizes. Try spring onions, peppers and courgettes. Heat a small amount of oil in a wok over a high heat, add the vegetables and cook for a short time, stirring periodically, but not constantly. Add grated ginger, chopped garlic, chopped chillies and coriander to taste. Finish with a splash of soy sauce, a squeeze of lime and a drizzle of sesame oil.
In salad Carrots work well in salads either sliced or grated, and can be included either raw, roasted or blanched. Try a fresh dressing of lemon, olive oil and chopped shallots to contrast the sweetness of the Carrots.
Microwaved Place sliced Carrots in a microwaveable dish with a couple of tablespoons of water. Cover with cling film, pierce and microwave for five minutes or until they are just tender
Chargrilled Slice Carrots lengthwise into 5mm thick slices. Blanch briefly in boiling water (bring to the boil, simmer for a minute or so and plunge into cold water). Drain the carrot slices, toss in a little olive oil and seasoning and place on a hot, ridged griddle pan until they are marked on one side then turn and repeat.
The French word Crecy (pronounced kray-cee) indicates that carrots are being used in a dish. A la Crecy refers to a French garnish made of julienned carrots (matchstick shape) or more generally a French method of preparation In which carrots are used. Consomme Crecy is a rich beef broth garnished with julienne carrots. Crecy is a village in France, which once produced carrots famous for their fine quality. Carrottes a la Vichy is a French dish of carrots cooked in Vichy water, from the town of Vichy.
Selection of Carrots in the store - Bigger is not better when it comes to carrots so select carrots that are less than 8 inches long and relatively uniform in shape and size. They should be well shaped, firm, and smooth with no cracks. Purchase carrots with a smooth and firm surface. They should not look wilted. If buying carrots with their greenery, make sure the leaves are moist and bright green; the carrots should be bright, firm and smooth. The deeper the colour, the more beta-carotene contained in the carrot.
The bright green tops don't guarantee a fresher carrot; however, it is widely assumed that they are fresher than the carrots sold in plastic bags. Remove carrot greenery as soon as possible because it robs the roots of moisture and vitamins. Avoid those which are dry with cracks or any that have begun to soften and wither. The best carrots are young and slender. Carrots should feel heavy, not bend at all and when grated should be quite juicy. The more orange they look, the more beta-carotene they contain.
When buying them, look for vibrantly coloured bunches of firm, well-shaped carrots with bright-green tops. If the tops are shrivelled, then you know the carrots are old. Of course, carrots are often sold with the tops removed. To judge the freshness in this case, inspect the stem end for darkening, a sure sign it's been around awhile. Whether loose or in plastic bags, avoid carrots with green shoots sprouting out (not to be confused with their green tops) yellowed tips, soft spots or withering. All are a sign of age. Also avoid carrots with large green areas at or near their tops. This indicates sunburn damage on the vegetable. Carrots which an excessive amount of new sprouts or leaves could have large or woody cores.
Tiny baby carrots are very tender and sweeter but, because of their lack of maturity, not as flavourful as their full-grown siblings. Store carrots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator's vegetable bin. Avoid storing them near fruit, particularly apples and pears, which emit ethylene gas as they ripen that can give carrots a bitter taste and decrease the storage life of carrots and other vegetables. Also keep away from peaches. A light
rinsing is all that's necessary for young carrots and tiny baby carrots; older carrots can be peeled if necessary but remember much of the goodness is in the skin.
If carrots have become limp or dehydrated, re-crisp them in a bowl of ice water for about half an hour. Firm up limp carrots by cutting off one of the ends and sticking the carrots in ice water, cut side down. The coarse core of older carrots should be removed.
Before storing carrots, remove their green tops, rinse, drain, and put the carrots in plastic bags and store them in the coldest part of the refrigerator with the highest humidity. They'll last several months this way. To keep the carrots crisp and colourful add a little bit of water in the bottom of the plastic storage bag; this will keep the carrots hydrated. Carrots should be stored away from fruits such as apples and pears, which release the ethylene gas that cause carrots to become bitter. Read more here (pdf)
RECIPES -
Here are some of the most usual and unusual recipes! Click on the recipe to see the full detail. Excellent Carrot Cake here. (includes video)
24 Carrot Recipes
If you love carrot cake, you'll love this recipe!
Yields 1 pound.
1 1/2 cups peeled and grated young carrots 3 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup water 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Butter upper sides of a 3-quart saucepan; measure all ingredients except lemon extract and nuts into the saucepan. Grease and line a 12 x 5-inch pan. Put 1/2 inch of water into the kitchen sink.
Dissolve the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon over low heat until the spoon glides smoothly over the bottom of the pan. Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil.
Wash down any crystals that may have formed with a pastry brush dipped in hot water, using as little water as possible. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Reduce heat while retaining boil. Stir no more than necessary. Test is ice water when mixture thickens and bubbles become noisy. A ball, formed in ice water, should hold its shape until heat from your hand begins to flatten it, and it should be slightly chewy. The temperature will be approximately 234 degrees F to 240 degrees F.
Remove saucepan from heat and place it in the sink. Add lemon extract without stirring, then allow the fudge to cool.
Stir when lukewarm and skin forms on top (110 degrees F). Stir fudge thoroughly but not vigorously either by hand or with an electric mixer. Pause frequently to allow fudge to react. Watch for fudge to thicken, lose its sheen, become light in color or streaked with lighter shades, give off some heat, and suddenly stiffen. If mixing by hand, fudge will "snap" with each stroke; by mixer, mixer waves will become very distinct; by food processor, fudge will flow sluggishly back to center when processor is stopped. If the fudge candies too quickly, just spoon it out and knead it with your hands. Add nuts before fudge totally candies.
Pour, score and store when cool in airtight container in refrigerator or at room temperature.
This recipe is easily doubled and can be frozen.
Polish Carrot Pancakes - Karotenki
250ml (9fl oz) sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
275g (10oz) self-raising flour
2 small ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 200g/7oz)
2 medium carrots (150g/5oz), peeled and coarsely grated (see Tips)
FOR THE ICING
280g (10oz) full-fat cream cheese
150g (5oz) butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g (9oz) icing sugar, sifted
1 You will need two 20cm (8in) round sandwich tins. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, then grease the tins with sunflower oil and line the bases with baking paper.
2 Make the cake. Place the eggs, caster sugar and sunflower oil in a bowl and beat until just combined. Measure the remaining cake ingredients into the same bowl and beat together well. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and smooth the tops.
3 Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until golden, firm in the middle and shrinking away from the sides of the tins. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.
4 Meanwhile, make the icing. Whisk the cream cheese and butter together in a bowl, either by hand or using an electric hand whisk. Add the vanilla extract and icing sugar and whisk again until smooth.
5 Once the sponges are cold, use half the icing to sandwich them together. Sit the cake on a plate and use the remaining icing to cover the top in a pretty swirl (see Tips). Place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour and then cut into wedges to serve.
PREPARE AHEAD The cake can be made and iced up to a day ahead.
FREEZE The sponges freeze well without the icing.
MARY�S FOOLPROOF TIPS Coarsely grate the carrots; if they are finely grated, too much water comes out of them during cooking and results in a wet cake. The icing is fairly soft but will firm up once chilled.
Another Carrot Cake -
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
1 tbsp water from kettle
For the cake:
1) Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a 20cm, 10cm deep cake tin.
2) Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together
and stir in the sugar.
3) Beat the eggs with the oil and citrus zests. Stir in the carrots.
4) Fold everything into the flour mixture. Then fold in the walnuts.
5) Spoon the mixture into the tin. Alternatively, spoon into bun cases for
buns.
6) Bake for 1 hour (30 minutes for buns) or until a skewer comes out clean.
Cool.
1) Whip the butter with electric beaters or a whisk.
2) Add vanilla, water and lemon juice (if using).
3) Add cream cheese and whip again until smooth.
4) Add half the icing sugar and stir in with spoon.
5) Add other half and stir in with spoon. Then beat with beaters or whisk
until light and fluffy, the consistency of soft ice cream.
6) Spread or pipe onto cake as desired.
Carrot Muffins
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins Ingredients 110g/4oz unsalted butter, cubed 110g/4oz caster sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp baking powder 110g/4oz self-raising flour 1 carrot, peeled and grated
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Place around eight muffin cases into a muffin tin.
3. Place the butter and sugar into a food processor and blend together.
4. Add the eggs, baking powder and flour, then pulse briefly to combine.
5. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the carrot.
6. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases.
7. Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown.
8. Serve warm or cold.
Carrot Burgers
Ingredients (18 servings)
10 Carrots, peeled and cut into chunks; 2 tablespoons Oil; 3 Garlic cloves, minced; 3 Onions, cut into chunks; 2 Celery stalks, diced; 2 Green peppers, diced; 5 tablespoons Tamari; 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon Basil; 1/2 ts Paprika; 1/2 ts Oregano;
1/2 ts Parsley; 1/2 c Tahini; 3 tb Peanut butter; 2 tb Cashew butter (opt); 1/2 c Wheat germ, bran or flour (opt)
Method
Place the carrots in a medium-sized saucepan containing 3 or 4 inches of water; steam over medium heat for 15 minutes, till soft. Drain and mash well using a potato masher.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat; add the diced garlic, onions, celery, and peppers; saut� for 7 minutes. Add the tamari, basil, garlic powder, parsley, and oregano; saut� for 2 minutes more, until vegetables are soft. In a large bowl, combine the carrots, saut�ed vegetables, tahini and peanut butter. Season to taste. If the batter is too wet, add the wheat germ to make it hold together.
Preheat oven to 350. Form the mixture into patties, and place on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden on top. Turn and bake on the other side until golden brown.
Carrot Ice Cream with Pistachios.
2 cups whole milk
2 cups sugar
one table spoon flour
Combine the milk and sugar and set to boil in a deep pan. Ladle half a cup of the milk into a cup while not yet warm, and dissolve the flour in it. Add the dissolved flour mixture to the pan. The flour will thicken the milk and is a good substitute for eggs. (Eggs in ice cream raise the problems of salmonella from undercooking and an eggy smell. Furthermore, some people don't eat eggs. So, flour is a great substitute. Cornflour may be used, but I find that regular flour works better.) Stir the milk a few times with a spoon. Chop the pistachios and add to the milk. While chopping, some pieces may crumble to a powder. That is good. The powdered nuts will only make the ice cream thicker. Add the heavy cream and boil some more. Over all, the milk should be boiled for about 35 minutes. Switch off the flame. Allow milk mixture to cool. Add cold carrot juice and place the entire mixture in the refrigerator to cool.
After it is cooled, pour into the ice cream container and make ice cream as per instructions of your ice cream machine. When ice cream is ready, spoon into a plastic tub and place in freezer for about 15 minutes to firm up some more. Serve scoops in bowls, garnished with additional pistachios if you wish.
Optional ingredients: The ice cream can be made more interesting by adding half a tea spoon of saffron strands to the milk mixture at the same time that you add the chopped pistachios. Also, by adding powdered cardomom powder to the milk at the beginning of the recipe. Golden raisins are also optional--may be added into the ice cream machine, or boiled in the milk, depending on your preference.
Now that summer is around the corner, this is a great time to try out this recipe. The carrot juice and milk are very healthy--for children and seniors in particular. Carrots are indeed a dessert food, as fans of carrot cake know well. The creamy orange colour of this dessert is most attractive.
Another -
Dairy Free Ice Cream (can use dairy too! - needs ice cream maker)
2 cups 100% carrot juice, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon salt (optional), 8 ounces Galaxy Classic Plain Vegan Cream Cheese Alternative (or dairy cream cheese like "phliadelphia), 8 ounces plain dairy-free (or ordinary yoghurt)
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process or blend until smooth. 2. Chill in a glass container in the refrigerator for two hours. 3. Carefully pour into prepared ice cream maker and freeze according to its directions. 4. Eat as soft serve, or place in a glass container and freeze until firm. 5. Remove from freezer and let soften a few minutes before serving. (The hands on time for this recipe is less than 10 minutes, but the total time includes churning and chilling.)
Carrot cake pudding, or carrot cake ice cream (raw and vegan)
A raw, vegan dessert that stands up well as a pudding or ice cream. Both versions taste delicious!
Makes 2 servings, Food processor required.
Ingredients: 2 small bananas, frozen; 2 medium carrots; 1/4 cup regular (full-fat) canned coconut milk
Optional ingredients:Maple syrup or other sweetener, to taste;Vanilla essence; Cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom or cloves; Desiccated coconut, for serving
Method: Grate the carrots. In the large bowl of a food processor, process the grated carrots and frozen bananas until well combined.
Add the coconut milk and any optional ingredients to the food processor and process until the mixture is thick and reasonably smooth. Spoon into two bowls or serving glasses.
If serving as a pudding, chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to an hour before serving.
If serving as ice cream, freeze for approximately 1 hour, until the mixture is firm but not frozen solid.
Sprinkle with desiccated coconut/maple syrup etc before serving if desired.
Tri-Coloured Carrot Ice Cream (needs ice cream maker)
For the carrot base:
1 1/2 cups tri-coloured carrots (yellow, orange and purple) grated; 1 tablespoon butter;1 cup whole milk;1/2 teaspoon cardamom; Pinch of saffron;2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
In a saucepan, saute carrots in butter until soft. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Strain out the carrot bits, and press through a sieve to remove all the liquid.
Ice cream base:
1 cup cream;1 cup half and half; 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk;1/4 cup sugar
Mix all ingredients together, then add the carrot mixture. Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze for 6 or more hours until solid. Serve with pistachios on top.
Carrot and Orange Ice Cream (needs ice cream maker)
Ingredients
2 cups carrot slices; 2 cups half-and-half; 2 cups heavy cream; 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise; 2 wide strips orange rind; 1 cinnamon stick; 9 egg yolks; 3/4 cup sugar
Method
In small saucepan, boil carrot slices in water until very tender. Drain, then make puree and reserve. In saucepan over medium heat, whisk together half-and-half, cream, vanilla, orange rind and cinnamon stick, stirring to make sure mixture doesn't burn or stick to bottom of pan. When cream mixture reaches a fast simmer (do not let it boil), turn off heat and let flavours infuse 10 minutes.
Whisk egg yolks and sugar together. In thin stream, whisk half of cream mixture into egg yolk mixture. Then pour egg-cream mixture back into saucepan containing rest of cream mixture. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. At 160 degrees, the mixture will give off a puff of steam. When mixture reaches 180 degrees it will be thickened and creamy, like eggnog. If you do not have a thermometer, test it by dipping a wooden spoon into the mixture.
Run your finger down the back of the spoon. If the stripe remains clear, the mixture is ready; if the edges blur, the mixture is not quite thick enough. When it is ready, quickly remove from heat.
Meanwhile, in a bowl put 2 handfuls of ice cubes in bottom, and add cold water to cover. Rest a smaller bowl in the ice water. Combine the carrot puree with the custard, mixing well. Pour the cream mixture through a fine sieve (to remove vanilla bean pieces, orange rind and cinnamon sticks) into smaller bowl. Chill 3 hours, then continue according to ice-cream maker directions.
Carrot Sorbet
Ingredients
200g of sugar; 200ml of water; 2 gelatine leaves; 325ml of carrot juice 25ml of glucose syrup; 125ml of sea buckthorn juice;1 lemon
Method
Mix the sugar and water in a pan, bring to the boil to make a sugar syrup and take off the heat. Place the gelatine leaves in water to soften and then squeeze off the excess liquid. Add the softened gelatine into the syrup and then add the rest of the ingredients. Churn and freeze until set. Serve between courses as a palate cleanser or as a light dessert.
Carrot Powder
A simple tutorial to dehydrate carrot using a dehydrator. Credit to DontWastetheCrumbs.com
(If you don�t have a dehydrator just? Follow steps 1 and 2, then skip down to here .)
1. Wash, peel and chop ends off of carrots (save the ends for stock).
2. Shred the carrots using a grater. You can use a food processor or a chopper, using a grater would allow greater control over the size consistency of the carrots and not turn them into juice.
3. Spread carrots out and in a single layer onto your dehydrator tray. If you have a circular dehydrator, you�ll need to use the liner so that the carrots don�t fall through the holes.
4. Set the temperature to 135 degrees and walk away.
5. Allow the carrots to dry for 8-12 hours, depending on your machine and climate. Check the carrots every couple hours or so, starting at the sixth hour, to rearrange and check for doneness. Carrots are done when they are crispy and no liquid remains in the pieces.
6. Store in an airtight jar.
If you don't have a hydrator:-
You can dehydrate carrots without a dehydrator, but it requires a bit more effort. Set your oven to it�s lowest temperature possible � ideally 170 degrees. Spread your carrots out evenly on a baking sheet and �cook� in the oven with the door propped open. Check the carrots after two hours, and every hour after that. You may even want to check every 30 minutes. With the oven temperature being high (compared to the temperature of a dehydrator), your carrots can go from not done to done in a flash.
What to do with dehydrated carrots
Add to soups, stocks, breads, muffins, cookies, or rice pilaf as is. Grind into powder to thicken soups and sauces. Rehydrate for stir-frys, salads and side dishes.
A few different methods available:
Blanching � plunging carrots into boiling water for 2-5 minutes until slightly tender, then removing to ice cold water to stop the cooking time. Steaming � using a vegetable steamer, steam carrots for 2-5 minutes until slightly tender. Lemon Juice � spray and coat carrots with lemon juice before setting them on the tray You can do absolutely nothing to the carrots and the end result will be more or less the same.
Some dehydrating sites say you do not have to blanch carrots before drying. It is recommended that you do blanch carrots before dehydrating. Why? Because you get better results. Blanching stops enzyme action that causes loss of colour, texture and flavour. In dehydrating it also shortens the drying and re-hydration time, keeps dried veggies fresh for longer, and kills micro-organisms that could induce spoilage.
The Colorado State University Extension Office says this about blanching:
Pre-treating vegetables by blanching in boiling water or citric acid solution is recommended to enhance the quality and safety of the dried vegetables. Blanching helps slow or stop the enzyme activity that can cause undesirable changes in flavour and texture during storage. Blanching also relaxes tissues so pieces dry faster, helps protect the vitamins and colour and reduces the time needed to refresh vegetables before cooking. In addition, research studies have shown that pre-treating vegetables by blanching in water or citric acid solution enhances the destruction of potentially harmful bacteria during drying, including Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella species and Listeria monocytogenes.
Carrot Bread
Ingredients
1 cup sugar; 1/2 cup shortening; 1 1/2 cups flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon allspice; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 2 eggs; 1 cup finely grated carrots; 1/2 cup raisins
Method
Cream together sugar and shortening. Sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Add eggs, one at a time. Add grated carrots and raisins. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan (9 1/4 x 5 1/4 x 2 3/4).
Bake for 55 minutes at 375F.
Yield: one loaf -- 18 1/2-inch slices
Another Carrot Bread:
Carrot Bread (recipe from Cooking Light)
� cup sliced carrot
1 � cups whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
� teaspoon baking soda
� teaspoon baking powder
� teaspoon ground ginger
� teaspoon ground cloves
2/3 cup sugar
� cup canola oil
� cup vanilla fat-free yogurt
1 large egg
1 large egg white
cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350�. Cook carrot in boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender; drain. Place carrot in food processor and process until smooth.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Combine whole-wheat flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, ginger and cloves in a large bowl. Combine carrot, sugar, oil, yogurt, egg and egg white in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add carrot mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined.
Pour batter into an 8� loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350� for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Carrot Spread
Ingredients:
1(8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened ; 4 small carrots, grated; 1 cup ground pecans; 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion ; 1/4 cup mayonnaise; salt and pepper to taste.
Directions:
In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend cream cheese, carrots, pecans, onion, and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and refrigerate until serving. Serves 16, on a piece of bread or cracker.
Second Carrot Spread
Prep Time:10 min Start to Finish:55 min makes:20 servings (2 tablespoons spread and 3 slices bread each)
2 lb ready-to-eat baby-cut carrots 1 large dark-orange sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 medium onion, cut into 8 wedges, separated 3 tablespoons olive, canola or soybean oil 2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 2 loaves (10 oz each) French baguette bread, each cut into 30 slices
1. Heat oven to 350�F. Spray 15x10x1-inch pan with cooking spray. Place carrots, sweet potato and onion in pan. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to coat.
2. Roast uncovered 35 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.
3. In food processor, place vegetable mixture. Cover; process until blended. Spoon into serving bowl. Serve warm, or cover and refrigerate until serving.
Serve with baguette slices.
Nutritional Information
1 Serving: Total Fat 3g (Saturated Fat 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Sodium 290mg; Total Carbohydrate 21g (Dietary Fibre 2g) % Daily Value*: Calcium 4%; Iron 6%
Carrot Chips (crisps in uk)
Carrot chips are a new and improved version of potato chips. The concept is the same: the root vegetable is washed, sliced, and fried or baked until it is crisp. It can be salted or seasoned much like a potato chip can. Carrot chips, in fact, look much like deep orange potato chips.
Unlike potato chips, however, carrot chips are rich in Vitamin A, an essential part of a healthy diet. Fried carrot chips, like potato chips, can contain a large amount of fat. However, there are many health-food companies that offer baked carrot chips that contain all of the great vitamins, but a nominal amount of fat.
With health consciousness on the rise, people are always looking for better ways to eat. Snacking, it has been found, is a big reason why people gain weight; weight gain, of course, can lead to all kinds of circulatory and skeletal problems and can result in obesity and diabetes. Furthermore, many snack foods such as potato chips are full of fat and calories, but offer little nutrition. Therefore, choosing healthy snack foods like baked carrot chips can be very important to one�s health.
Interested in making your own baked carrot chips for a healthy snack? Here�s a great recipe:
1. Spray a baking sheet with a light coat of oil.
2. Slice your desired number of carrots into rounds that are 1/4 inch (2.54 cm) thick.
3. Place the slices on the baking sheet without overlapping them.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Place the baking sheet in an oven, preheated in 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius).
6. Bake the carrot chips for approximately five minutes, or until the edges turn brown.
7. Turn the chips and back for another 5-10 minutes.
8. Enjoy!
Carrot chips may, in fact, become a very important food in some developing countries University of Nebraska Scientists Ahmad Sulaeman and Judy Driskell have been working with carrot chip recipes. They believe that carrot chips might help to combat vitamin deficiencies in children who are growing up in impoverished circumstances. These scientists are working with deep fried carrot chips. Because people in developing countries have a hard time getting enough calories as well as vitamins, the fat content in deep friend carrot chips is not a concern. In fact, the extra calories can be quite important to their diet. Unlike baked carrot chips, deep fried carrot chips can contain over 50% fat.
2/3 cup orange blossom honey
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut bite-sized on the bias
2 tablespoons cumin seed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Method
Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Add honey, salt, and then stir. Add carrots. Cook on medium heat for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the carrots are tender. Turn off heat.
Add cumin, olive oil, and lemon juice and stir. About 4 servings.
Jalapeno Carrot Pickle
These spicy pickled carrots are not exactly a side dish, they are very strongly flavoured so they are usually eaten in small amounts along with the main dish. Spicy pickled carrots add a wonderful zing of flavour to any meal. Ingredients:
�2 lbs large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces; 5 cloves garlic peeled and diced ;1 1/2 cups vinegar;1 1/2 cups water;10 bay leaves, whole ;8 peppercorns ;1 teaspoon salt; 6 oz. pickled jalapenos.
Preparation: Heat oil in a large saucepan and saut� the garlic. Add in carrots and saut� for 2-3 minutes. Carefully add in vinegar, peppercorns, salt, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes and then add water and jalapenos and bring to a simmer again for another 10 minutes. Let it cool completely and then transfer the carrots and cooking liquid into a covered container and refrigerate overnight. Store the carrots in the liquid and use a slotted spoon to serve them. You may leave the bay leaves in the liquid to add to the flavour, but do not eat them. Always remove the bay leaves before you eat the carrots.
Ultimate Carrot-Banana Muffins
Ingredients -
2 cups grated raw carrot (I used store-grated carrots, which are too big, and chopped them up into small bits � saved time and grating. Hate grating.)
2 bananas, mashed
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (I really put it in this time, and I do think it made a difference)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 large eggs (yes, 3!)
3/4 cup olive oil
(you can also add 1/2 cup toasted pecans or walnuts if desired)
Method
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine everything in a bowl. Should be a very liquid, sweet dough. If it doesn�t look liquid, add a splash of milk, or more oil.
Grease or line the muffin cups.
Pour batter into a pan with 12 muffin cups. (This is enough batter for 18 small ones, but you want 12 enormous ones with tops!)
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until you can stick a fork in and it comes out clean.
Cool until completely cool, and ease out gently with a knife. EAT!
The Hallelujah Diet
Have you heard of the Baptist pastor who at the age of 42 was pastoring a large church in Glenfalls New York and was stricken with colon cancer? He heard about a different way to eat so he started on raw vegetables, fruit, barley green, distilled water and for the first couple of months 8 to 10 glasses of pure carrot juice a day. Not only did his cancer disappear but every other ailment as well. That was about 18 years ago and now Dr George Malkmus gives seminars across the US and Canada and recently in Australia. He says "Eat the Hallelujah Diet and you do not have illness". Quite a claim!
Check out the website of Hallelujah Acres for yourself. Forget the religious hype and see the diet then read the testimonies from people of all ages who have had their serious cancers, diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease and other serious illnesses disappear as a result of the diet.
Polish Christmas Eve Dinner
In Polish tradition Christmas Eve is celebrated with a thirteen course dinner. One condition covers this event - there must be no meat dish. This inevitably involves the introduction of at least one carrot dish.
If you want to go the whole way with the thirteen course Christmas Eve Dinner then tradition dictates three different soups; three fish entrees; and there must be an odd number of appetizers, garnishes, accompaniments, and desserts to complete the meal.
In "The Best Of Polish Cooking" Karen West suggests:
Christmas Eve Barszcz (beetroot soup), Christmas Almond Soup, Beer Soup with Eggs; Smoked Salmon Omelettes, Poached Pike, Carp with Horseradish Sauce; Baby Carrots Polonaise, Hot Polish Chicory, Mushroom Stuffed Tomatoes; Christmas Eve Bread, Poppyseed Roll, and Fruit Compote.
However she generously admits that, "even the most diligent chef finds it difficult to incorporate all the above dishes in one meal"!
Polish Carrot Soup
Take a dozen carrots scraped clean, grate them, but do not use the core, two heads of celery, two onions thinly sliced, season to taste,
and pour over a good stock, say about two quarts.
Boil it, then pass it through a sieve; it should be of the thickness of cream, return it to the saucepan, boil it up and squeeze in a little lemon juice, or add a little vinegar.
How to successfully microwave carrots.
Here is how we do it. Take a suitable dish which has a removable cover, we use a pirex dish and lid (which is microwave, heat proof glassware). Take about a pound of carrots (half kilo) and put them in the dish. These can be whole carrots or sliced it makes no difference. Boil some water in a kettle and pour the boiling water over the carrots to cover them, then immediately pour off the water leaving the carrots still wet and the merest hint of water in the bottom of the dish. Put the lid on then Microwave at full power for about 5 minutes. This works every time. Back to start.
Microwaving may retain more goodness - read more
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has regulated the manufacture of microwave ovens since 1971. On the basis of current knowledge about microwave radiation, the Agency believes that ovens that meet the FDA standard and are used according to the manufacturer's instructions are safe for use, read more.
Cancer Research UK has also researched the effecrts of radiation and microwaves and possible links to cancer, read more .
Do your Carrots Turn green in your cakes??
Have you heard of the situation where carrot shreds in carrot cake turn bright green after baking. Some cooks think this is crazy. Do you know what circumstances produce the colour change? Is it the sequence ingredients are added, the type of oven (gas vs. electric) used? People seem to either be familiar with the colour change or deny that it happens. Any ideas?
Answers so far - it could be a reaction to the baking soda. You may try this experiment next time: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Put your shredded carrots in a fine mesh colander, and dip it in the boiling water for 5-10 seconds, and then straight in to ice water (to stop the cooking process). Now they are blanched, and are less sensitive to chemical reactions.
OR Sometimes cakes will turn greenish if left to cool in a metal pan. This is due to the oxidisation of the metal, and can be prevented by turning the cake out onto a cooling rack after about 10 minutes. We have heard of carrots turning green when bought in packages pre-grated. This could also be due to oxidization. You might try peeling your carrots first, before grating them.
OR The colour change in your carrots is probably because they have been mixed or baked in a metal pan. Some aluminium and stainless steel dishes can cause the carrots to oxidise and turn green. Use a glass bowl to mix, and line metal baking pans with parchment.
OR It is simply oxidisation. Sometimes it may also cause a reaction when mixed in an aluminium or stainless steel bowl or even when baked in an aluminium pan. If that's the case, you could just mix it in a glass bowl and line your pan with parchment. It may be even a reaction from the baking soda/powder. Carrots naturally turn green if even left out, especially uncooked shreds.
OR Make sure to peel all of your carrots before shredding them and you won't have bits of green in your cake!
Baking soda can have an effect on the colour of fruits. Baking soda is chemically classified as a base - above 7 pH- in order to work, baking soda must be combined with an acid-below 7 pH- (high school chemistry). Too much baking soda made blueberries turn greyish-green. If you replace the baking soda with cream of tartar (an acid), the cream of tartar makes the blueberries turn more of a magenta colour. So maybe the same with carrots?
For a more in depth scientific discussion on the problem click here.
If anyone does have a suggestion please get in touch with the Curator, click here
Marzipan carrots are easy to make, and look adorable on top of carrot cake or cupcakes! You can
modify the recipe and vary the size of the carrots to suit your needs.
You can make your own marzipan, or purchase it from most large grocery stores. Marzipan most commonly comes in 7-ounce tubes (the quantity called for here) but you can use more or less depending on what you have available.
Ingredients:
� 7 ounces (1 roll) marzipan, Red and yellow food colouring, Powdered sugar for dusting, Edible sprigs of herbs for decoration (optional).
Preparation:
1. Coat your hands with powdered sugar, or wear plastic gloves.
2. Knead the marzipan until it has softened slightly. Flatten the marzipan into a disc, and add a few drops of red and yellow food colouring to the middle, using a ratio of 1 drop red to 2 drops yellow. Fold the marzipan into a ball and begin to knead the colour throughout the dough, adding more food colouring if desired, working until the marzipan is one uniform colour.
3. Roll the dough into small balls the size of a quarter. Roll the balls between your palms, elongating them into thin tubes and tapering one end, so that they are shaped like carrots.
4. Take a toothpick and, holding it perpendicular to the carrots, make horizontal indentations all along the length of the toothpick to create slight creases.
5. If desired, poke holes in the tops of the carrots, and insert the sprigs of herbs to be the carrot leaves.
6. Store marzipan carrots in an airtight Tupperware container for up to two weeks, or freeze well-wrapped marzipan carrots for up to three months.
Carrot Peeler
This gadget may look weird, and perhaps you can say that it is. The Carrot Curler makes a difficult job, that of making carrot ribbons for garnish, into something easy. Whereas the traditional vegetable peeler is designed for many purposes, the carrot curler has one unique function.
Simply place the carrot in the curler and rotate the carrot clockwise. The ribbons will just shave right off. available from Bed Bath & Beyond (USA).
Hard Water - Whilst in the kitchen - carrots can come to the rescue of a scaled kettle - Toss the carrot peels into your kettle with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and drain. Place the peels in the trash and reboil a fresh pot of water one more time to remove remaining scale and carrot juice. Also you can water your plants with the carrot water.
Carrot Stain Removal -
1. Scrape off excess carrot.
2. Flush under cold running water to loosen the stain.
3. Pretreat with a prewash stain remover.
4. Launder, using the hottest water and the type of bleach that are safe for the fabric.
Upholstery
1. Scrape off excess carrot.
2. Mix one tablespoon of liquid hand dishwashing detergent with two cups of cool water.
3. Using a clean white cloth, sponge the stain with the detergent solution.
4. Blot until the liquid is absorbed.
5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until the stain disappears.
6. Sponge with cold water and blot dry.
Carpet
1. Scrape off excess carrot.
2. Mix one tablespoon of liquid hand dishwashing detergent with two cups of warm water.
3. Using a clean white cloth, sponge the stain with the detergent solution.
4. Blot until the liquid is absorbed.
5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until the stain disappears.
6. Sponge with cold water and blot dry.
Read more: Carrot Stain Removal - How to Remove Carrot Stains - Good Housekeeping Follow us: @goodhousemag on Twitter | GOODHOUSEKEEPING on Facebook Visit us at GoodHouseKeeping.com
| i don't know |
Which country's London embassy was seized by hostage-takers in 1980? | ��ࡱ� > �� � � ���� � � ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �b �� 2 jbjb���� $, �� �� �� �� �� � � � � � � � � � �1 �1 �1 8 �1 4 2 < � �3 f2 : �2 ( �2 �2 �2 �2 �2 �2 T3 V3 V3 V3 V3 V3 V3 , �4 R 37 � �3 � �2 �2 �2 �2 �2 �3 T3 � � �2 �2 �3 T3 T3 T3 �2 F � �2 � �2 T3 T3 � D l � � � � �2 T3 T3 T3 � � T3 Z2 �h � �1 3 F T3 T3 �3 0 �3 T3 �7 T3 �7 T3 T3 � � � $ � � � � The Iranian Hostage Crisis: A War of Words, not Worlds I. Introduction U.S. media presented the Iranian hostage crisis as a decisive attack against America and therefore the American people. Initially, the media discussed only factual information on the crisis and referred to the players according to their occupation; however, every hostage soon appeared as a victim whose life hung in the balance of terrorists, led by a religious fanatic. No longer were the hostage takers viewed as students under the orders of a religious leader. The purpose behind the embassy takeover and atrocities committed under the U.S.-installed shah regime were never mentioned, at least in the U.S. media intended for the public eye. The absence of the other side�s perspective led to the formation of a unilateral opinion regarding the Iranian hostage crisis, the hostage takers, and the hostages; surely, it was a battle between good and evil forces. President Carter�s administration preached passivity; other politicians, such as former Texas Governor John Connally, devised daring rescue plans in an effort to gain political clout in a fragile America. No matter the course of action advised the victimized hostages had been the main concern and the loss of one life as a motive for war between the U.S. and Iran. Both countries publicly presented their own agendas with conflicting outcomes and neither country was willing to negotiate, a sign of weakness. The outcome of the crisis was the last 52 hostages being freely returned to the United States 444 days later, leading to an unforeseen turn in events. Many of the hostages, who had been depicted as abused and tortured, told stories of sympathy and remorse. Some questioned why America saw the hostage takers as terrorists and not students, while others questioned why America built the hostage crisis into such a spectacle. The hostages� accounts of American imperialism and Iranian hardship did not make the ten o�clock news; their stories may have led to a more balanced take on the hostage crisis. I intend not to say which view, the hostages or the medias, was correct or wrong, but to present both sides of the Iranian hostage crisis dialogue and analyze the vivid contrasts between the two; I also intend to analyze the internal divisions within the hostage accounts. In a time of great danger, U.S. politics and media worked as one entity and presented an argument drastically different from that of many hostages. II. First Reports In order to illustrate the evolution of terminology displayed in U.S. coverage of the Iranian hostage crisis, I will analyze a series of U.S. media articles chronologically. The articles will originate from both national and regional newspapers, providing a more extensive portrait of U.S. perception with regards to the hostage crisis. Due to the extensive amount of written material on the event, I will limit the majority of my analysis to articles written in the first week of coverage, specifically November 4th through November 9th. All of the articles I intend to analyze have already been compiled in the Mark Bowden collection. Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down and reporter for several Philadelphia-based newspapers, sorted and organized hundreds of articles pertaining to the Iranian hostage crisis. He would later use the extensive collection of articles as a resource for his book, Guests of the Ayatollah, which was published in 2006. The Associated Press released the first two articles responding to the crisis on November 4th, the first day of the takeover. The opening sentence of the earliest article reads, �After a three-hour skirmish with U.S. marine guards, Iranian students seized the American Embassy in Tehran Sunday and took about 100 of its staff members hostage� (4). It is important to note that the hostage takers are referred to as students and the embassy was seized following a �skirmish.� The article also claimed, �the student invaders bore great pain with fortitude and in an Islamic manner� (4). The issue of Islam immediately becomes tied to the student invaders. Later on the idea of religion will play a more potent role as the hostage crisis develops and the world begins to question the Iranians� objectives. Finally, the article simplistically states why the students took over the embassy. The hostage takers accused the U.S. of �assisting the refugee counter-revolutionary elements against the Islamic revolution [and] hatching cowardly conspiracies in different parts of [their] country� (4). The second article printed by The Associated Press on November 4th, begins to mark the transition in coverage of the crisis. In contrast with the previous article, the first sentence reads, �A mob of Iranian students overran U.S. marines in a three-hour struggle Sunday and invaded the American Embassy� (4). The students begin to assume the mob identity and the previous small-scale skirmish with the marines evolved into a �struggle.� The language appears starkly more militaristic, by using words like �overran�, but the article does state the students used no weapons. Also in contrast with the first article, the number of hostages in the second article largely fluctuates. According to the report, �an Iranian Ministry Spokesman said he believed it was fewer than 45� (4); on the other hand, �State Department spokesman Jack Touhy said it was estimated 59 persons� (4). No one seems to be exactly sure as to the number of hostages, thus adding a sense of mystery to the unfolding plot. At the end of the article, The Associated Press confirms that �Television film broadcast in some Western countries showed a few hostages in front of an embassy building who were blindfolded and either bound or handcuffed� (4). It is important to note how quickly the U.S. government and media released images of the hostages being mistreated. Such images functioned as a scare tactic and attention grabber; now the public had no other option but to read the papers and watch the news. By day two of the hostage crisis, The Associated Press began to release articles discussing the politics at stake, the specific actors, and possible courses of action. The reader sees a shift in not only the language referring to the event, but also a transition from factual statements to hypothetical situations. No matter the future outcome of the hostage crisis the U.S. remained in a state of helplessness. Moreover, the newspapers began to focus less on the number of hostages and more on what the hostage crisis meant to the country. In order to present a strong exterior to a weakened U.S. government, �The State Department today rejected the demand of the Iranian students�; the shah would remain in the U.S. and undergo cancer treatment (5). Although many saw this as an easy decision, Ali Agah, the Iranian charge d�affaires, reminded reporters that the current government under Khomeini, �reflects the demands of the people that the shah be returned to Iran before the hostages are released� (5). Such quotations supporting the students and designating them as the voice of Iran and not the Ayatollah would cease to appear at later dates. President Carter�s Press Secretary, Jody Powell, informed the public that the President would not take an aggressive stance on the hostage crisis, seeing as it might result in American deaths. A staunch believer in passivity and waiting the predicament out, President Carter was immediately under fire from several other politicians running for his office; in the eyes of the opposing politicians, hoping for the hostages to be released was playing into the hands of the hostage takers. One Republican Candidate, John B. Connally, said that �If appeasement were an art form, this administration would be the Rembrandt of our time� (5). Other politicians, without a stake in the upcoming presidency, agreed with President Carter�s discretion; the Iranian hostage takers would eventually break under U.S. and international pressure and release the hostages out of frustration or hopelessness for their cause. One official wishing to remain anonymous, confessed, �Since we don�t have the Shadow or Superman, even to discuss publicly a military option is a sure way to get their throats cut� (12). This official reflects a trend soon to come in every newspaper; the hostage takers were no longer students, but militants capable of killing. For the time being, the Iranians knew they had the upper hand. To bury the U.S. further in grief, the students announced �a break in relations with the United States� (5). From the viewpoint of President Carter this meant approximately, �900,000 barrels [of oil] a day that amount to 5 percent of all U.S. oil� quickly disappearing into thin air (5). The United States, or �the great Satan�, according to Khomeini, might as well have been another hostage in the American embassy. On day three of the hostage crisis, the U.S. media strengthened the image of the U.S. held hostage and began to refer to the students as �terrorists� and the Ayatollah as a �maniac.� In my opinion, November 6th marked the day of the biggest transition and evolution in terminology concerning the hostage crisis. First, The Associated Press ran an article saying, the �Iranian demonstrators threatened today to execute some 60 Americans held hostage�� (6). The term �execute� is extremely militaristic in nature and reflects the war like atmosphere the press is trying to create and convey. In response to this supposed threat from the Iranian students, State Department officials said, �You�re dealing with a mob. It�s not surprising that some of them would say that� (6). Thus, the mob mentality mentioned once previous to this date, begins to grow and take root in the minds of the American people. In using the term �mob� as opposed to �students� it appeared the press suggested that hostage takers were capable of irrational behavior that could result in the loss of American lives. In addition to the normal coverage of the event, The Associated Press featured an interview with one of the hostage�s fathers. The father of Sergeant Paul Lewis described his take on the Iranian threat and what should be done. In a moment of rage, he stated, �If you start letting them blackmail you, you�ll have every pipsqueak in the world making demands� (30). Nonetheless, he went on to say �All we can do is wait� (30). The media consciously interviewed the father of a hostage in order to humanize the men and women inside the embassy. Soon these interviews would become commonplace and every hostage appeared to have �weeping mothers and stoic fathers� (22). Newspapers around the United States, both local and national, began to viciously condemn the actions of the hostage takers. As a result, Khomeini was labeled, �the fanatical Ayatollah Khomeini,� (6) and the student mob as �fundamentalists� (6). The Indianapolis Star urged President Carter to take military action because the U.S. could no longer �grovel at the feet of petty tyrants� (6). In addition to labeling them as fanatics and tyrants, the Washington Star angrily denounced the hostage takers as �Moslem student terrorists�continuing [the] bloodthirstiness of the regime that overthrew the government of Shah Reza Pahlevi� (6). The media was stepping into uncharted waters and no longer felt any need to exercise discretion in its coverage of the hostage crisis. This transition to the extreme becomes more apparent and solidified when the New York Times refers to the Iranian hostage crisis as, �not just a diplomatic affront; it is a declaration of war on diplomacy itself, on usages and traditions by all nations, however old or new, or whatever belief� (6). The crisis was no longer an attack against America, but a war against all humanity and the entire world; there were no boundaries. Only three days into the hostage crisis the U.S. began to solidify its image as the victim of a malicious terrorist attack. According to the Washington Star, the only solution to the crisis was persuading Iran �to dissociate itself from the savage terrorism of student extremists before a minor crisis becomes a major catastrophe� (6). No matter the title of the hostage takers, one thing remained indisputable, every one of them lacked humanity. Day four of the hostage crisis reports emphasized three main points: every American in Iran was in danger, the hostages inside the embassy were being mistreated and abused, and the shah was a cancer patient, not the former leader of Iran. Although never outright saying the Iranian students were targeting other Americans in the country, the State Department strongly advised all Americans to leave as soon as possible. This recommendation by the Carter administration was facilitated by America sending planes over to Iran twenty-four hours a day to evacuate American citizens. In addition to writing about the State Department�s recommendation, the newspapers actively interviewed representatives of U.S. based companies with employees in the region. One spokesman for Morrison-Knudson, a company responsible for highway construction, said his employees were �just fine. They have no plans to leave� (29). Whether or not the State Department wanted to spread fear of future student attacks against Americans is a matter of opinion, however, Morrison-Knudson�s employees in the region confirmed there was no immediate danger. In response to President Carter and the State Department�s recommendation for Americans to leave Iran immediately, one of the hostage takers �accused the United States of creating, �an atmosphere of fear and insecurity,� for foreign nationals in Iran, especially Americans� (7). In an effort to ease tensions between the two countries, the anonymous student reassured the American people that �any molestation of foreign nationals, even American nationals,� would be considered �counter-revolutionary� (7). America was operating under the assumption that the students were terrorists led by an �authentic paranoid,� however; the students were carrying out the embassy takeover in the spirit of Islamic revolution (7). Whether or not the U.S. viewed the Islamic revolution as a terrorist movement is another question. The Carter administration was trying to win over public support by evacuating other Americans; what other action could the President have taken to not endanger the hostages inside the embassy? Although not fully appeasing the American public, President Carter was depicted as heroically rescuing Americans, albeit not the Americans in the embassy. The Associated Press accuses the Iranian hostage takers for the first time of physically mistreating the American hostages. According to an anonymous U.S. official, the hostages were being �pushed around, abused, intimidated, and mishandled� (29). Without actual hard evidence for his claim, the official clarified, the hostages have not been �beaten, stabbed, or shot� (29). It is important to remember U.S. officials had not been let in the embassy, had no source on the inside, and could only hypothesize what was going on behind the embassy walls. Thus, why is the Associated Press releasing reports of hostages being beaten this late in the Iranian saga? Day four of the hostage crisis also marked the day President Carter sent former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and William Miller to Iran in hopes of directly negotiating with Khomeini for the release of the hostages. In sending negotiators and having the media report hostage abuse, President Carter was attempting to convince the American public that he was doing all he possibly could to force the Iranians� hand; every resource, every staff member, and every course of action was being viewed and reviewed to solve the current crisis. Similar to earlier articles, but with greater exaggeration, the majority of reports published on November 7th depicted the shah as a dying man, not a former leader or tyrant. Al Ahram, a newspaper published in Muslim Egypt, asked, �Does Islamic fervor really mean persecuting a sick man, who lies between life and death, and demanding he be hanged� (7)? It began to appear that the shah�s oppressive regime in Iran never existed or was completely irrelevant to the current hostage crisis, all of his actions as the former leader of Iran disappeared into thin air as the cancerous cloud loomed over his head. Khomeini�s decision to seize the embassy in hopes of forcing America to return the shah was harshly criticized as an inhumane demand. The Daily Telegraph, queried Khomeini�s sanity and humanity when stating, �with expressions of delight at the news that [the shah] has cancer�[Khomeini] seems to show a form of dementia� (7). Such articles urged the American public to sympathize with the shah and blindly hate Khomeini. As voiced by Al Ahram and The Daily Telegraph, in an effort to recapture the shah, Khomeini himself became viewed as a tyrant inside and outside of the U.S domain. By day five of the hostage crisis the Iranian hostage takers insisted the seizure of the embassy was an action against the American government and not the American people, the shah appeared to sympathize with America�s inability to act, and the American people began to mobilize for the hostages� immediate release. Following reports of hostage abuse the previous day, one anonymous hostage taker inside the embassy stated, �in Islam we don�t believe to hurt someone�[the hostages] are very well and we know their rights� (8). His statements had little effect on both public and international outcry against the students� actions, but did stand up to critics claiming the students were acting against Islamic principles. The Muslim student went on to emphasize, �we are not enemies with people, but with governments� (8). From the perspective of the students, the embassy seizure was not an attack on Americans, rather the American government for sheltering a former oppressive leader. The embassy takeover was a desperate, strategic play to force the United States� government to return the shah. Nonetheless, the student�s pleas fell on deaf ears; American lives were at stake, so how could this terrorist claim it was not an attack against American people? Matters were not helped when the shah became closer aligned with American interests and the country�s incapacity to act. In the shah�s eyes, he was the reason that the embassy was taken over, he was the former leader of Iran. Also, he was the one offered medical treatment by the United States, the country that had coincidentally retuned him to power. In order to ease tensions between the U.S. and Iran, The New York Times reported, �[The] Shah has volunteered to return to Mexico to ease the crisis� (17). Such newspaper articles made the shah appear sympathetic towards the American hostages. As a result, the American people, instead of reaching out towards the oppressed Iranians under the shah�s regime, reached out towards the ailing shah; a man willing to move his hospital bed to Mexico if American lives were saved. At the same time as the shah offered to move to Mexico, the American people began to sign petitions to release the hostages. A trade lobbyist, Gary Bauer, began a petition with �the hope that some of the people would be moved in their own offices and schools to take similar action� (8); action that the American government could not take. The hostage crisis placed the lives of individual Americans in danger, in addition to the archetypal American family. As mentioned earlier, many Americans began to leave Iran with their families, believing the country was no longer safe. The fear surrounding the evacuation from Iran was conveyed by one young businessman, �[who arrived] in London with his blonde wife and 3 year-old daughter� (8). The blonde wife and infant girl are used to humanize the evacuees, to provide a face to those running from danger. The same businessman, although running in fear for his life, casually reported he would immediately return on business to Iran. As for now, he just wanted to get his �wife and family away from the front line� (8). The usage of �front line� conveys the military perspective of the hostage crisis even though no side has taken any direct military actions. The Iranians were committing an atrocity by holding the Americans hostage; likewise, America was seen as harboring a tyrant when providing the shah with medical treatment. With neither side willing to negotiate it appeared the crisis would endure until someone broke the standoff. The humanization of the Americans fleeing Iran and held hostage inside the embassy, partnered with the dehumanization of the hostage takers, favored the United States in the eyes of Americans and the world; The U.S. was right and the Iranians were wrong. Approaching the end of the week, verbal attacks on the Iranian hostage takers appeared throughout most of the American media. In addition to the open critique of the Iranian students� actions, many politicians began to launch campaigns against �the Iranians,� signaling the start of the �us versus them� mentality. The cause for this mentality was clear, the average American was unable to respond to the hostage crisis directly and passivity remained as the chief political strategy. Although President Carter encouraged all Americans and particularly American politicians to exercise discretion towards the crisis, some politicians could not control their needs to voice disapproval. The Transportation Secretary, Neil Goldschmidt, demanded the Iranians to �Give [America] back our people and keep your damned oil� (1). Secretary Goldschmidt continued to voice his rage by saying, �I�m sick and tired of being blackmailed by them, and I think most Americans feel the same way� (1). Secretary Goldschmidt�s comments reflect a number of issues pertaining to understanding the hostage crisis. First, Secretary Goldschmidt and a number of politicians tied the issue of oil to the crisis. Although oil had nothing to do with the Iranian students� demands, it remained as a constant factor in the media and on politicians� minds. Secondly, Secretary Goldschmidt generalizes the actors involved in the hostage crisis, he does not hold the Iranian students responsible, rather, Goldschmidt says America is being attacked by �them,� America is being held hostage by �them.� Such comments reflect great negligence in handling the situation and could potentially lead the way to violence against Iranians on U.S. soil. On another note, the Iranians responsible for holding the Americans hostage were no longer students; they were full-fledged �Iranian militants.� Articles appearing on November ninth presented the readers with several, thought provoking pictures. These pictures had nothing to do with the article�s content, but were incorporated to remind the readers of the ongoing battle against an inhumane enemy. One article, written by Bernard Gwertzman, discussed the ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and the PLO. According to President Carter, such discussions could lead the way to the hostages being freed. However, the picture attached to the article was captioned, �Photo of blindfolded hostage at US embassy in Tehran� (18). In another article, John Kifner wrote about the Iranians� rejection of future negotiations with the PLO. The photo attached to this article was captioned, �machine gun used by student to shred documents at embassy� (20). The pictures are not meant to coincide with the article�s content. The purpose of the photos is to provide further evidence that the hostage takers are irrational militants. In addition to provocative photos and rash political statements, the U.S. media began to run mini documentaries on the hostages, made possible by interviewing the hostages� families. Mike Sager, a writer for The Washington Post, wrote an article on the life of William Reeder. Reeder, a marine being held hostage in Tehran, was a high school drop out who later learned discipline by joining the marines. Reeder�s mother, Laura Mae Reeder, is quoted as not understanding why America does not just hand the shah over. According to Laura, �The shah is just one man. Let [the hostage takers] have him. There are 65 other lives at stake here� (28). It is evident that all citizens do not support the passivity of the U.S. government; however, all citizens do condemn the unjust actions of the Iranians. III. Later Coverage, Same Trends The Iranian hostage crisis became the centerpiece to every cover page in U.S. newspapers. The event was talked about in the �International� section, the politics behind negotiations under �Washington�, and predictions of how the Carter administration should act appeared in opinion polls. The hostage crisis unfortunately sparred no part of the newspaper; the deaths of the Delta Force rescue team members were listed in the obituaries. It is evident that the Iranian hostage crisis consumed both the American media and public, but were the trends appearing in the first week congruent with the trends months later? Since I cannot read every article, I will limit my analysis of further media articles, beyond the first week, to articles that coincide with major dates central to the hostage crisis. The dates will be as follows: December 4, 1979, the day the UN Security Council advised the Iranians to release the hostages, July 27, 1980, the day the shah passed away in Cairo, and January 20, 1981, the day the remaining 52 hostages were released. Any noticeable shifts from the first week trends, such as a relapse into factual reporting, will be documented. Likewise, if the trends remain the same, I will address how these constant themes relate to the changing historical context. On December 4, 1979 the UN Security Council demanded the hostage takers to release the remaining 52 hostages; a request ignored by the Iranians. December 4th also marked the day President Carter gave his first public address in relation to his re-election and explanation for his lack of prior campaigning. President Carter began the televised speech by gravely saying, �I speak to you at a somber time. Fifty Americans continue to be held captive in Iran, hostages of a mob and a government that have become one and the same� (9). The above opening statement reinforces a trend noticed in the very first week of coverage; the Iranians were a mob and Khomeini was the mob boss. However, President Carter goes one step further than previous U.S. reporters by equating the Iranian government to a mob. Thus, the Iranian government, the hostage takers, and Khomeini were all responsible for the hostage crisis; they were a single entity united under the �mob� front. Another article, by Dick Dabney, draws comparisons between the Iranian hostage crisis and the 1707 best selling novel, The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion. This novel documents the plight of its author, John Williams, as he was held captive by Indians; the same Indians that forced Williams to watch the slaughter of his children and wife. According to Dabney, the Iranians are similar to the Indians; Williams� story is being retold in Iran. However, this time, �the wigwams have been replaced by Kafkaesque office buildings, the bows and arrows by submachine guns�And those massed, raging haters are no longer 100 pretend-savages who don�t really mean it, but 100,000 Iranians who do� (14). Thus, not only does Dabney equate the Iranians to savage Indians, but firmly states the Iranians were more savage than the Indians. In my opinion, this comparison proves quite troublesome. The Indians were known to taunt their captives before killing them and the Iranians had been documented as jeering the hostages, however, none of the hostages suffered the same fate as Williams� wife and children. Such statements further dehumanized the hostage takers; they were more savage than the savage Indian. On July 27, 1980 the shah passed away and politicians around the world released statements to express their deepest condolences. Former President Nixon, a close friend of the shah, released the following statement: �For over 30 years the shah was a loyal friend of all of the United States and [a] personal friend as well. Tragically, he died a man without a country. Now that his personal ordeal is over, the government of Iran has no excuse [whatsoever] for continuing to hold innocent Americans hostage� (10). Former President Nixon makes it appear as though the Iranians seized the embassy for no reason other than claiming to want the shah to be returned. In the eyes of former President Nixon, the Iranians primary goal was to overrun the embassy, as opposed to asking for the shah to be returned and then taking over the embassy to force America�s hand. Also, nowhere does Nixon mention the shah�s political relations with Iran, he only states the shah�s warm relations with the U.S. and how �he died a man without a country,� as if Iran deserted him and not the other way around (10). Another article by George Gedda, of The Associated Press, contained official statements from around the world, with regards to the shah�s passing. One statement released by former CIA director Bush, stated that, �the shah was a �long and loyal friend,� and while �his regime was not perfect, it was greatly preferable to the fanatical government of the Ayatollah Khomeini�a government which continues to hold 52 Americans hostage�� (15). Bush�s statement gives the allusion that Khomeini was officially running the Iranian government, not the recently elected President Abdollhassan Bani-Sadr. Thus, according to Bush, Khomeini was in the seat of power in a �fanatical� government; the same accusations against Khomeini can be easily traced back to the first week of media coverage. On January 20, 1981, the day the final 52 hostages were released, a number of papers ran articles on the hostages� families and the emotions they were experiencing. For example, wife of Staff Sergeant Michael D. Moeller reflects on her husband and other hostages� return home, by saying, �They�re coming home, because if they don�t, Iran doesn�t get its money�All they want is their money� (27). After 444 days of hostage crisis coverage, Mrs. Moeller concluded Iran seized the embassy for financial gain; It did not matter that the Iranians claimed they seized the embassy to force the U.S. to return the shah. Another article tied the election of President Reagan to the hostage crisis. The article begins by stating, �Ronald Reagan took the oath of office Tuesday, pledged as �year of national renewal� and pronounced his first day as the nation�s 40th president �perfect� because the 52 American hostages were released� (26). Already there is less focus on Iran and more focus on new, U.S. beginnings. The hostage takers no longer make the press because Americans are being airlifted out of Iran; America could now turn its head to the human right�s situation in Iran because the issues of the shah�s government and Iranian plight were no longer on its front doorstep. IV. Important Events and Election Nightmares The Iranian hostage crisis became the focus of nearly every newspaper reporter in America, beginning November 4, 1979 when the embassy was seized and ending January 20, 1981 when the remaining 52 hostages were released. After having analyzed reports originating in the first week of media coverage, I will now present a timeline of the major events during the 444 days of the hostage crisis. The purpose of the timeline is not to catalog every minor detail, but to provide the reader with factual knowledge of major events leading up to the hostages� release. A little over two weeks since the embassy had been seized, the Iranian hostage takers decided to release thirteen of the 66 hostages. The thirteen hostages, five women and eight African-American males, were released over the course of two days, November 19th to November 20th. Seven of the eight males were members of either the U.S. Air Force or the U.S. Marine Core; the one exception was Lloyd Rollins who served as an administrative officer in the embassy. Four of the five women were secretaries at the embassy; the exception was Sergeant Ladell Maples, an embassy guard employed by the U.S. Marine Core. On December 4, 1979, a vote unanimously passes in the UN Security Council demanding the Iranians to release the hostages (3). However, Iran offers no signs to abide by the UN Security Council�s wishes. Following the January 25, 1980 election of Abolhassan Bani-Sadr as President of Iran, the United States severs political relations with Iran and passes down economic sanctions. As stated by the initial media reports, President Carter preached passivity and saw any rescue attempt as endangering American lives. However, President Carter began to fear the hostage crisis would never end and a militaristic solution was the only means to freeing the hostages. This secret, militaristic ploy was code named �Operation Eagle Claw.� According to President Carter�s plan, an elite group known as �delta force,� would attempt to infiltrate, by helicopter, the desert and mountains surrounding Tehran. However, �Operation Eagle Claw� failed and was ultimately aborted when one of the U.S. helicopters crashed into a transport plane attempting to refuel over �Desert One� (3). The crash resulted in the death of eight highly trained personnel from the Marines and the Air Force. Overall, the mission was regarded as a horrific failure that would haunt President Carter and his hopes for re-election. On July 27, 1980 the Iranian�s main goal, forcing the shah to return to Iran, was no longer feasible; the shah had passed away in Cairo. September 12, 1980 marked the last major event before the U.S. Presidential election. On this day Khomeini stated four conditions, if met, would ensure the release of the hostages. The conditions included: financial compensation for the money embezzled by the Shah, �cancellation of American claims,� unlocking of Iranian finances in U.S. banks. and the U.S. swearing to not play an active role in Iran�s future dealings (3). All of the above dates are vital to understanding the complexity of the Iranian hostage crisis. Miscalculations, such as the rescue mission, resulted in the loss of American lives; however, every action taken by Iran sealed the fate of its country�s image for years to come. The United States was eventually able to negotiate with the Khomeini enabling the final hostages to be released. However, President Carter had lost valuable time on the campaign trail. In an effort to sway the popular vote President Carter attempted to play �Rose Garden Politics�. This political strategy is described by Alison Mitchell, a New York Times reporter, as, �when a President facing a re-election campaign would use the majesty and aura of his office to rise above all challengers� (23). Although many people respected President Carter for attempting to free the hostages through diplomacy, the majority of the American people were fed up with a lack of results; the hostages remained in Tehran and the rescue mission had resulted in eight fatalities. This frustration was reflected in the voting polls when �Ronald Reagan won the electoral vote 489-49, and enjoyed a 10 percent bulge in the popular vote� (24). In the end, I agree with Elizabeth Drew, a political journalist, who said the hostage crisis �undid� President Carter (24). President Carter was defeated by Ronald Reagan in the election of 1980, but was crushed by the prolonged Iranian hostage crisis. V. The Hostages Speak After having read excerpts from U.S. media reports, analyzed the trends and transitions appearing throughout the media�s coverage, and cataloged the critical, historical events, I will focus the second half of the essay on interviews with the hostages; the interviews I intend to analyze are from the Tim Wells collection. Tim Wells, like many other Americans at the time, was fascinated by the Iranian hostage crisis and specifically the accounts of the hostages. Wells admits that his quest for what really happened behind embassy walls was very difficult, considering �Hard facts simply did not exist� (33). After nearly 2 � years of gathering information from the hostages, resulting in over five thousand pages of interviews, Wells released his compilation of interviews, 444 Days: The Hostages Remember. In the foreword of the book, Wells pays thanks to all the book�s contributors, for freely giving their time and opening up their houses to Wells during his whirlwind tour around the country. Wells also acknowledges that the interviewees did not receive any sort of financial compensation for the in depth interviews that sometimes lasted several hours. It is important to note all of the interviews took place three to four years after the hostage crisis; the memories and emotions stirred by the crisis were still fresh in the minds of the men and women held captive in Iran. Wells� purpose for compiling the interviews is simple; he gives the hostages a chance to speak and reflect on their ordeal, whereas one hostage claimed, the media would print only �the most sensational aspects of the story� (33). His compilation functions on two levels: it points out the contrasts between the media reports and hostage accounts, and it also makes clear the dissention amongst hostages over what happened at the embassy. As soon as the hostages began trickling out of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, they were bombarded by hundreds of reporters and blinded by camera flashes. The highly anticipated moment was characterized by emotions of jubilation and excitement. However, the emotion taking precedence above all others was curiosity. Reporters and the American public wanted to hear first-hand the hostages� tales of survival and victory against all odds. Instead, some hostages told tragic stories about the conditions of the Iranians under the shah�s regime and how their conditions in the embassy were nothing in comparison. Sergeant William Quarles was released approximately 2 weeks after the students seized the embassy. Although being held hostage for a relatively short period, Quarles conveyed his sympathy for the Iranians when he stated, �I learned a lot from what I read and saw, and was very saddened by some of the things going on under the shah� (32). Quarles admits in a later interview with Wells that he was not going to condemn the hostage takers, due to his still close proximity to the embassy, but also how he �wasn�t saying something that they told [him] to say� (32). In addition to discussing the shah�s oppressive regime, Quarles also said, �I think the American people have�to turn around and look at�the other side of American imperialism� (32, 33). At a later date, Quarles elaborated on this statement by comparing the American presence in Tehran to the �English in Africa,� and the French elsewhere in the world (32, 33). Baffled reporters meticulously jotted down all of Quarles� responses, knowing full well his statements would make every front page in the country, if not the world. In order to minimize the effect of this new released truth on the hostage crisis, Quarles was made to appear distraught by an �ABC reporter [who] explained to viewers that Quarles� apparent sympathy for his captors was a syndrome well known to psychologists� (22). This was one of the earliest attempts to silence the hostages� perspectives if they were detrimental or contradictory to the U.S. media coverage and U.S. political agenda. Sergeant Quarles was not the only hostage to convey unforeseen opinions on the hostage crisis and American politics in Iran. Some time after Quarles and others were released, some hostages felt undeserving of the medal of valor, bestowed upon them by President Carter. Other hostages questioned America�s curiosity in the incident and the media�s portrayal of all major actors. Robert Engelmann, one of the last 52 hostages to be released, was one of several to question American politics and agendas in the region and abroad. In a later interview with Wells, Engelmann openly admits, as if it was common knowledge, that �in all honesty some of [the hostages] were the horned evil. I mean America plays games in other peoples governments� (32). Besides the large role of politics in the hostage crisis and ensuing stages of negotiation, Engelmann questions America�s curiosity with regards to the event and the actors involved. In the same interview, as mentioned before, Engelmann describes how he �went to New York for the ticker tape parade�and [how] the last thing on earth [he�d] of ever predicted was that [he�d] be in a ticker tape parade� (32). Engelmann never saw himself as a hostage or victim in the hostage crisis, but rather a human being; nevertheless, America still viewed him as a former hostage. In response to being selected as a participant in the parade, Engelmann said, �It must�ve meant something to somebody� (32). In another instance similar to Engelmann being recognized by the American public, Colonel Leland Holland, also one of the last 52 hostages to be released, was given the medal of valor for his time spent in the embassy. Instead of being gracious about receiving the prestigious award, Colonel Holland agreed with a man who called into the radio and stated, �they don�t deserve anything. They had a picnic over there�� (32). It is true that the words of these hostages do not represent the feelings of all the hostages, but it is important to recognize that every hostage did not fit the media�s definition as an identity characterized by helplessness, abuse, and struggle. Before further discussing contrasts between hostage accounts and media reports, I must first point out that some hostages� accounts were in concurrence with U.S. newspaper reports. According to the Tim Wells� interviews, the last 52 hostages were individually informed that they had each been chosen as �a candidate for release� (33). All of the possible candidates were led into interview rooms, one-by-one, and interrogated by a female Iranian. One candidate for release was Joe Hall, a former warrant officer at the embassy in Tehran. According to Hall�s interview with Wells, he would say anything the hostage takers wanted in order to be released. Thus, when questioned by �screaming Mary� (33), the lead interrogator, Hall verbally denounced any mistreatment and claimed he was well-fed and well-treated. In reflecting on this moment years later, Hall told Wells, �all I wanted was to get the hell out of Iran. So I played their little game, and tried to keep my answers as short as I could� (33). Unlike Sergeant Quarles, who spent a relatively short time as a hostage, Hall felt he could not speak freely about his conditions at the embassy, especially with armed Iranians in the room. Other hostages, such as Bill Belk, a former communications officer, were extremely nervous and could not help but speak the truth. Belk remembered being led into the room and not knowing whether or not he �was going to be released, or taken out and shot� (33). According to Belk, there were several armed men in the room, an atmosphere that made full disclosure of hostage conditions an almost guaranteed prolonged stay in the embassy. After overcoming initial feelings of intimidation and letting his nerves control his answers, Belk freely admitted to the interrogator, �I thought it was wrong to take hostages, but I wasn�t the sort of person to hold grudges� (33). Thus, Belk was aware that what he said would directly impact his chances for release, but still openly criticized the approach of the hostage takers. Sergeant Paul Lewis immediately identified the interview as staged propaganda, a forum to make the hostage takers appear they had never harmed the hostages. When asked by Wells to reflect on his interview, Lewis firmly stated, �It was all bullshit� (33). It is clear there was a range of emotions and opinions of the Iranians, some hostages saw them as activists and others reinforced the media�s belief that they were all ruthless terrorists. Nonetheless, the media did not acknowledge the internal division between hostage accounts. Instead, the media depicted only one side of the story, the tale of the angered and abused hostages. The U.S. media initially labeled the hostage takers as students, but then quickly progressed to calling them terrorists and radicals. Sergeant Quarles attempted to disprove the media�s effort to stereotype all the hostage takers as terrorists, and tried to recapture their image as students first and hostage takers second. When asked about the conflicting images of the hostage takers, Quarles stated, �it wasn�t what the media portrayed at all. They weren�t ignorant militants, but they were educated students� (32). In fact, at no time does Quarles refer to the hostage takers as terrorists or radicals, he always addressed his captors as students. In a later interview, Quarles vividly remembers how �a lot of them were working on degrees, and some of them were working on their Ph.D�s and Master�s�They would have their books�and they�d have their little lectures� (32). After witnessing all of the above, Quarles admits �[he] was impressed with that� (32). Is it possible Quarles respected the hostage takers because of their intellectual endeavors, in addition to the guidelines the hostages were treated under? Such declarations would place U.S. media claims in jeopardy; the Iranians objective to regain the shah could not be justified. When asked, by Wells how he was treated in the embassy, Quarles described how an Imam instructed the students to let the hostages: �sleep on the beds while they sleep on the floor. And [the hostages] have to eat first, while they eat last. or what�s left. And they can�t treat [the hostages] like they were treated under the Shah, because they are above that kind of thing� (32). Besides these generous codes of conduct, the students provided for Quarles and did not view him as a prisoner, rather a friend. Quarles recalled how one student would �go get [him] a cigarette [and if] there was no more, he�d go all the way out to the store and buy [him] a carton of cigarettes�He�d take�it out of his pocket� (32). Some writers speculate that Quarles was treated kindly because he was African-American; he was not the white horned evil. In my opinion, Quarles represented someone who was willing to listen to the hostage takers� plight. Quarles may not have agreed with the students� decision to seize the embassy, but he never viewed the hostage takers as terrorists. Clearly, U.S. media could not write about such kindness and hospitality provided to Quarles. In the media�s defense, they were unaware about the students� activities and relationships with the hostages; however, they still saw fit to declare that the students were terrorists and the hostages were being abused. In order to disprove the media�s position on the hostage takers being terrorists, Quarles provided accounts of the hostage takers� efforts to continue their studies and participate in intellectual endeavors. Engelmann attacked the issue of the hostage takers being equivalent to terrorists in a more direct manner. He argued his captors were not militaristically trained and incompetent in securing the embassy. In his interview with Wells, Engelmann said, �enough of the Iranians were just so unskilled in martial arts that a Marine could disarm six or seven of them and have a field day for awhile� (32). To backup his statement, Engelmann told Wells about how one marine, Greg Persinger, was being walked to the bathroom by a guard when he �grabbed the guy�s revolver�and flipped it around� like a cowboy (32). Engelmann vividly recalls Persinger saying to the guard, �Don�t point it at me unless you�re going to shoot me with it� (32). The Iranian guard was in absolute shock and did not know how to respond or act, �just like a kid,� much less a militant (32). Another instance demonstrating the students� inability to watch over the hostages took place when several hostages went to the bathroom. As a rule, the hostages had to knock on the bathroom door to signal the guard they had finished and were ready to go back to their rooms. However, the student responsible for answering the knock had fallen asleep. Realizing the student was sleeping, the men �being good little hostages�blindfolded themselves, opened the door, and walked down the hall blindfolded back to their room� (32). Both of the above incidences further prove the students, or �radicals,� functioned more as caretakers than militants. Similar to the contrasting hostage accounts in relation to freely voicing one�s opinion about their conditions before release, some hostages, like the U.S. newspapers, claimed the hostage takers were militants rather than students. Sergeant Rocky Sickmann, a marine security guard who was not freed until the last day, referred to the hostage takers on at least one occasion as �militants� (33). Another hostage, Bruce German a former budget officer who was not freed until the last day, referred to the hostage takers as �goons� (33). It remains unclear whether or not Sickmann�s and German�s prolonged stays at the embassy influenced their use of terminology. However, John Limbert, a political officer, still referred to the hostage takers as �students�, even when they confiscated all of his belongings before he boarded the final plane leaving Iran. The main difference between the hostage accounts and the U.S. media reports was the transition of terminology from beginning to end. The U.S. newspapers, at first, referred to the hostages as students, but then after a few days began addressing the students as terrorists. Some hostages expressed disdain for the hostage takers throughout, such as Sickmann and German, while others, such as Limbert, always addressed the hostage takers as students. Thus, in my research I found no transition in terminology between the hostages and hostage takers; the Iranians were always militants or always students. The U.S. media, once consciously identifying the Iranians as terrorists, never looked back. The Iranian students were not qualified to watch over the hostages and even more inept and religiously opposed to disciplining the hostages. In hostage accounts following their releases, there are hardly any mentions of physical abuse. The students were not there to beat the hostages; they sought to inform the hostages of their plight under the shah, sometimes resulting in what some would consider verbal abuse, but to others mere sarcasm. For the most part, the most difficult obstacle for the hostages to overcome was the living conditions inside the embassy. According to Engelmann, the meanest guard there once refused to �give us the soap and he wouldn�t take us to the toilet� (32). These examples of mistreatment seem like child�s play compared to the actions of the students in U.S. newspapers. U.S. media claimed the hostages had routinely suffered physical abuse, but had not been stabbed or shot. Both media claims directly contrast with Quarles first hand account of the situation. Quarles claimed, �[it was] a pain living in conditions like that for a while, but [the students] didn�t make it. I mean I wasn�t beaten up� (32). Quarles places the blame on the logistics of the situation, while the media placed all the blame on the students. Quarles went on to state, �I didn�t even have any resentment against them really.. I don�t resent them� (32). Although Quarles and Engelmann voiced no resentment of the hostage takers, the U.S. media had already won the general public over to their side. The students would indefinitely be associated as terrorists and the hostages as helpless, beaten victims. Former hostages, such as Quarles and Holland, spoke out against the shah regime; the message the students had been trying to deliver from the start. Almost every newspaper in the country failed to mention the underlying motives of the students for taking over the embassy, however, every newspaper pointed out the shah was undergoing treatment for cancer. U.S. media, serving as the voice of the government, portrayed the shah in a sympathetic light; every American was aware of the devastating effects of cancer on loved ones. On the other hand, articles sympathizing with the shah and condemning the students did not reach the hostages in Iran. Thus, the hostages formed very different opinions from those of mainstream America. During an interview, Quarles stated, �Yes. The Shah was a �I think he was a tyrant� (32), because �people were being deprived of a lot� (32). Quarles, who was perhaps the most willing to learn about Islam and the conditions under the shah, was told the most stories about the oppressive leader. He recalls the students telling him about SAVAK, the secretly run police organization under the shah. SAVAK was known to carry out several, atrocious acts and routinely abuse and kill all those who stood in the way of the shah and in favor of the Ayatollah. For example, Quarles retells a story about a fire that erupted in a crowded theater where people �were listening to a lecture about the Ayatollah� (32). The people attempted to escape the fire but could not open the doors deliberately locked by SAVAK. Finally, the fire department arrived but �was prevented by SAVAK to put out the fire. So about 700 or 800 people just died�� (32). This atrocious incidence could not be erased from Quarles� mind; he had been shown several photos of the mutilated bodies. Quarles also sat down and spoke with an elderly man who retold his dealings with the shah. He remembered how, �[The man] broke out and cried in tears. Really, he was so angry because [SAVAK] killed his brother, his sister, his father, and some of relatives of his too� (32). Unlike the vast majority of America, Quarles had witnessed the devastation under the shah regime and took the students� accounts as the truth. In my opinion, it is clear the students were attempting to convince Quarles and other hostages that the shah�s regime was responsible for thousands of deaths. Thus, the hostage takers� argument, to have the U.S. return the shah, appeared justified and rational. Although the hostage takers were promoting their own agenda in telling these gruesome stories, I believe their accounts were convincing and powerful because they were fact-based accounts of real atrocities. Other hostages were aware of SAVAK and the shah�s regime before the hostage crisis. Colonel Holland already knew SAVAK functioned as the shah�s henchmen to solve daily nuisances and silence the opposition. When asked to describe SAVAK, he recalled: �they tie you down, if you don�t ask the questions their asking, they�ll bring in your little girl, your sweetheart, your mother or somebody, and proceed to brand her, or ram a jagged coke bottle up their anus, or burn �em, use electrodes, whatever, And then you�ll talk� (32). Such accounts were never published in American newspapers and would definitely never make the ten o�clock news. VI. Conclusion: The Iranian hostage crisis demanded the attention of nearly every newspaper reporter in the United States. The hundreds of article released in the first week of coverage alone heavily reflected the thoughts and actions taken by the U.S. government towards solving the crisis. If the government released a statement advocating non-military action against the Iranians, Americans across the country would launch peaceful protests and sign mass petitions to free the hostages. The American people acted when President Carter had his hands tied and likewise, the media functioned as President Carter�s voice. Over the course of the 444 days the hostages were held captive, the media became increasingly more aggressive in its use of word choice; a transition representing the frustration towards the lack of progress in negotiations with the Ayatollah Khomeini and a political ploy to gather support for the hostages and develop hatred towards the Iranians; Americans had to protect American lives that the Iranians were recklessly placing in danger. This all-for-one and one-for-all mentality led many Americans to not question who the shah was and why Iran wanted him to be returned. Images of beaten and blindfolded hostages symbolized a violation of a human being�s universal rights; acts of oppression under the shah were not placed on the same plateau and were largely ignored by the papers and politicians alike. In my opinion, the Iranian hostage crisis placed American politics and agendas on the international stage right beside those of Iran. The hostage crisis set the benchmark for America�s policy of not negotiating with terrorists. The hostages, or victims of the Iranians, were divided in their views on the hostage takers and their said cause. However, inner dissention between the hostages was never written about in the U.S. media; newspaper articles only quoted the beaten and abused hostages. Some of the hostages questioning U.S. government actions and the oppressiveness of the shah were granted national air time, but were introduced as suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, or some other psychological ailment that invalidated their opinion. Thus, the media filtered all of the information pertaining to the hostage crisis before it reached the loyal readers. The hostage crisis ultimately led to the election of President Ronald Reagan and changed the role of the media in relation to covering a national and on some levels international crisis. In a time of great political and social change one thing remained certain and unquestioned; the hostages were heroes and the Iranians were villains. Bibliography: 1. Adams, Jim. The Associated Press 9 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. In feeling helpless to respond to the actual hostage crisis, many Americans and politicians begin to voice anger against Iranians on U.S. soil. The Iranian student and the Iranian neighbor now assume role the role of scapegoat, for what �their people� have done. 2. America held hostage�[videorecording] :�the Iran crisis /�presented by ABC News.��[S.l.]:�ABC News ;�[S.l. :�MPI Home Video [distributor],�1989. First noticed in McAlister reading. I viewed the film in order to see how U.S. media covered the Iranian hostage crisis at the time. 3. The Associated Press. �Timeline of the Crisis.� Harvard University. < HYPERLINK "https://www.pon.harvard.edu/hnp/iran/timeline.shtml" https://www.pon.harvard.edu/hnp/iran/timeline.shtml>. A general timeline of the Iranian hostage crisis, dating back to when the embassy was seized and ending at the release of the hostages. This proved very helpful to describe events leading up to the hostages� release. 4. The Associated Press 4 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. The first article identifies the hostage takers as students �seizing� the embassy following a �skirmish.� The second article refers to the students as a �mob� overrunning the marines in a �struggle.� Both articles confirm the students� demand for the shah to be returned to Iran. 5. The Associated Press 5 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. The State Department is not willing to cooperate with the hostage takers� demands. The issue of oil is addressed with relation to the Ayatollah Khomeini running the government. 6. The Associated Press 6 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. There is a big shift in language with regards to the Iranian hostage crisis. The Ayatollah is now referred to as a �petty tyrant� and the students� image is once again solidified as a �mob�, capable of acting irrationally towards the hostages. First look at regional papers in addition to reports in national papers. 7. The Associated Press 7 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. President Carter urges all Americans to flee Iran. The article also takes snippets from papers all around the world that condemn the actions of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as un-Islamic and inhumane. 8. The Associated Press 8 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. American citizens begin to sign petitions for the release of the hostages, since the government continues to follow Carter�s passivity. The Iranian students try to convince world media that the hostages are not being beaten. The archetypal American family is brought into the equation along with stronger military terminology. 9. The Associated Press. 4 Dec. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. Article contains excerpt from President Carter�s official statement to seek re-election as President of the United States. Carter equates the Iranian government and the hostage takers to a �mob.� 10. The Associated Press. 27 July 1980. Mark Bowden Papers. Official statement from former President Nixon, in relation to the shah�s death. Nixon makes it appear that the Iranians were holding the hostages as an �excuse� for wanting the shah to return, not a reason. 11. Bowden, Mark. Guests of the Ayatollah. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006. Used as a reference for obtaining background information on the events during the Iranian hostage crisis. 12. Cullen, Robert B. The Associated Press 5 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. U.S. political figures will not rush to offensive action because they believe the hostage takers are capable of killing. 13. Cullen, Robert B. The Associated Press 9 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. Claims the hostages have not been harmed physically, which directly contradicts previous reports of abuse and mistreatment. 14. Dabney, Dick. The Washington Post 4 Dec. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. Dabney compares the Iranian hostage takers to the savage Indians in �The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion.� The hostage takers appear more savage than the savage India. 15. Gedda, George. The Associated Press 27 July 1980. Mark Bowden Papers. Former CIA Director Bush describes how the shah was a close friend and did not run as fanatical of a government as Khomeini. 16. Gerstenzang, James. The Associated Press 5 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. The Carter administration is airing on the side of caution while other politicians vying for the Presidency suggest more aggressive action. 17. Gwertzman, Bernard. New York Times 8 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. The international crowd and American people further sympathize and side with the shah when he offers to return to Mexico for medical treatment. 18. Gwertzman, Bernard. New York Times 9 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. Discussions take place with the PLO. The photo attached to the article is of blindfolded hostages, thus unrelated to the article�s content. 19. John Kifner. New York Times 8 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. Two Americans outside of the embassy are allegedly kidnapped from their apartments and brought to the embassy as hostages. 20. John Kifner. New York Times 9 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. The Iranian students reject any negotiations with the PLO. The picture attached to the article is of the hostage takers shredding documents with a machine gun. 21. Mark Bowden Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. The source of all the news articles pertaining to the Iranian hostage crisis. 22. McAlister, Melani. Epic Encounters. Berkeley: University of California P, 2001. Sergeant William Quarles says a series of critical comments about American imperialism and the shah regime that shock reporters. 23. Mitchell, Alison. �The Nation: Presidential Poses; Campaign Trail or Garden Path?� The New York Times 2 July 1995. This article defines the �rose garden strategy.� President Carter used this strategy when he chose to forego campaigning and focus on the hostage crisis. 24. �People & Events: The Election of 1980.� American Experience: Jimmy Carter PBS. 2002. < HYPERLINK "http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/peopleevents/e_1980.html" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/peopleevents/e_1980.html>. The following article was part of a PBS series on Jimmy Carter�s Presidency. The article discusses the role of the Iranian hostage crisis on his chances for re-election. 25. Randal, Jonathan C. The Washington Post 9 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. The hostage takers are first addressed as �Iranian militants� and not students. They are not willing to negotiate with the PLO. 26. Richards, Clay. United Press International 20 Jan. 1980. Mark Bowden Papers. President Reagan is inaugurated and the focus is now on new beginnings for America and a �year of national renewal.� 27. Robinson, Eugene. The Washington Post 20 Jan. 1981. Mark Bowden Papers. Wife of Staff Sergeant Michael D. Moeller believes hostages are returning so Iranians can claim their money; the Iranians are only interested in money. 28. Sager, Mike. The Washington Post 9 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. Mother of a Marine held hostage is interviewed. Thus, the hostages are humanized and their life stories are shared with the American audience. 29. Schweid, Barry. The Associated Press 7 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. U.S. employees in Iran are in danger, according to the State Department. Some employees are contacted by their companies and insist they are safe. 30. Springer, Bob. The Associated Press. 6 Nov. 1979. Mark Bowden Papers. Article interviews the father of Sergeant Paul Lewis. Mr. Lewis appears mad at Iran but agrees with Carter�s plan of passivity. 31. �The Hostages and The Casualties.� Jimmy Carter Library & Museum. 2005. HYPERLINK "http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/documents/list_of_hostages.phtml" http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/documents/list_of_hostages.phtml Provided detailed lists of the hostages, their occupations, age, and when they were released. Also listed the men and women who died in the rescue mission. 32. Tim Wells Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. The source of all the interviews pertaining to the Iranian hostage crisis. 33. Wells, Tim. 444 Days: The Hostages Remember. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985. Provided helpful excerpts from several of the interviews in the Tim Wells� collection. I was able to read these excerpts, organized around a central idea of the chapter, in addition to reading the full-length interviews in the Tim Wells� collection. PAGE 1 PAGE 1 � � � � Z i K b � � � � � � � � � �( �( �) �) "* 6* Y- m- �. / �0 �0 �1 �1 3 -3 5 5 I? Y? �A �A gD iD �D �D �F �F H H !H 4H
*aJ h6B� h�A� aJ h|S� h�A� h�R� h�A� h�jf h�A� h�jf h�A� 6�h|S� h�A� 5�hZ<� h�A� 6�aJ hZ<� h�A� aJ hZ<� h�A� hZ<� h�A� H*h�A� hO8� h�A� hQ+ h�A� H*hQ+ h�A� 6� hQ+ h�A� & � � J� � I� � � � *� �� ة D� �� �� �� �� V� n� �� Z� V� W� n� �� �� �� D� S� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � $d� a$gd�A� d� gd�A� S� T� �� �� �� �� 9� :� �� �� � �� a� c� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� #� $� ^� _� )� *� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � M� N� O� �� �� �� c� f� z� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� #� '� ;� I� [� �� )� -� A� O� a� d� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �������ɿɿɲ�ɿɿɿɿɢɿɿɢɿɿə�����|������ h\4� h�A� 5�aJ h\4� h�A� >*aJ h\4� h�A� aJ h6B� h�A� aJ h�E� h�A� hS� h�A� aJ h�A� 5�CJ OJ QJ aJ h6B� h�A� >*aJ h6B� h�A� aJ h�A� h< � h�A� 0J B* ph �j h< � h�A� U�j h�A� U h< � h�A� 0*� d� e� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � � �� �� �� �� L� M� �� �� � � `� a� � � Y� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �� �� � � �� �� �� �� �� c� w� �� �� � +� >� L� ^� `� � "� 6� E� W� Y� �� � � %� (� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� }� �� �� �� �� ,� =� K� Y� k� m� �� �� � /� * + & ' �������������ǽǽ��ǽǽ��������������������������촪����졚 h< � h�A� h< � h�A� aJ hM� h�A� >*aJ hM� h�A� aJ h\4� h�A� >*aJ h\4� h�A� aJ h6B� h�A� >*aJ h6B� h�A� aJ h�^� h�A� aJ h6B� h�A� aJ h6B� h�A� >*aJ
*aJ h�}9 h�A� aJ h�A� 5�CJ OJ QJ aJ hQ+ h�A� h\4� h�A� >*aJ h\4� h�A� aJ h6B� h�A� >*aJ h6B� h�A� aJ h6B� h�A� aJ h< � h�A� 0J B* aJ ph � �j� h�A� h�A� UaJ h< � h�A� aJ j h< � h�A� UaJ -� � � � o p U V � � l m � � ! " # . / 0 1 2 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �h]�hgd�A� ���� &`#$gd�A� gd�A� o � � � S T U V � � k l � � � ! # $ * + , - . 2 ��������𤝙�����ztzgzt�ztz\zt� h�A� 0J mH nH uh�A� 0J mH nH u�* h�A� 0J j h�A� 0J U h�^� h�A� h�^� h�A� aJ h�A� >*h�A� h6B� h�A� h6B� h�A� aJ h< � h�A� aJ h�}9 h�A� aJ h�}9 h�A� 0J B* ph ��j� h�A� U h�}9 h�A� j h�}9 h�A� U h< � h�A� h6B� h�A� aJ h�E� h�A� #" :p�A� ��/ ��=!�"�#��$��%� � D ���y����� � K� ���y����� � K� h h t t p s : / / w w w . p o n . h a r v a r d . e d u / h n p / i r a n / t i m e l i n e . s h t m l � D ���y����� � K� ���y����� � K� z h t t p : / / w w w . p b s . o r g / w g b h / a m e x / c a r t e r / p e o p l e e v e n t s / e _ 1 9 8 0 . h t m l � D ���y����� � K� ���y����� � K� � h t t p : / / w w w . j i m m y c a r t e r l i b r a r y . g o v / d o c u m e n t s / l i s t _ o f _ h o s t a g e s . p h t m l � < `�� < �A� N o r m a l CJ aJ mH sH tH D A@��� D D e f a u l t P a r a g r a p h F o n t R i@��� R T a b l e N o r m a l � 4� l 4� a� ( k@��� ( N o L i s t 0 U`� � 0 �A� H y p e r l i n k >*B*. )`� . �A� P a g e N u m b e r 4 ` 4 �A� F o o t e r � ��! 2 , ����$ �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� �� �z� ��! �z� ��" �z� ��# �z� ��$ �z� i � U �% - /5 �< �D 7L �S �[ vb Ij rq %y +� � � �� >� ̥ �� �� Z� � =� �� �� b� E� )� �� a� 2 J G � � � � � B � s � � � ) � x � � � e � p � O ! " � # 7 8 I � � � � � �" �) C0 D9 �= �B 7L �Q �\ ` ` (` 8e �m �n �o u z z Jz | I� � � � *� �� أ D� �� �� �� �� V� n� �� Z� V� W� n� �� �� �� D� S� T� �� �� �� �� 9� :� �� �� � �� a� c� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� #� $� ^� _� )� *� d� e� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � � �� �� �� �� L� M� �� �� � � `� a� � � Y� Z� �� �� (� )� �� �� � � �� �� �� �� k� l� �� �� +� ,� m� n� � � �� �� �� �� /� 0� �� �� +� ,� �� �� �� �� a� b� �� �� 3� 4� �� �� �� �� K� L� �� �� -� .� �� �� � � � � o p U V � � l m � � ! " # . / 0 3 � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � � � 0 � � � �� � 0 � � � �� �@ 0 � � � ����@ 0 � � � ����@ 0 � � � ����@ 0 � � � ����@ 0 � � p 0� �@ 0 � � � ��� 0 � 0t � 8 � � � � �" �) C0 D9 �= �B 7L �Q �\ ` ` (` 8e �m �n �o u z z Jz | I� � � � *� �� أ D� �� �� �� �� V� n� �� Z� V� W� n� �� �� �� D� S� T� �� �� �� �� 9� �� �� � �� a� c� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� #� $� ^� _� )� *� d� e� �� �� �� L� M� �� �� � �� (� )� �� �� � � �� �� �� �� k� l� �� �� +� ,� m� n� � � �� �� �� �� /� 0� �� �� +� ,� �� �� �� �� a� b� �� �� 3� 4� �� �� �� �� K� L� �� �� -� .� �� �� � � � � p U V � � l m � � 3 ��� 0 �� ���@� 0 � P �� ���� 0 �� ���@� 0 � � �� � @���� �� ) �� � @���� �� ) �� �K@! p � �� � @���� �� ) �� ���� 0 �, �� ���� 0 �, �� � @���� �� ) �� � @���� �� ) �� ���@� 0 � &N �� � @ 0 mO �� ��� ��� �� �� ��� ��� �� �� ��� ��� �� �� ��� ��� �� �� �{@�2= �: " �� �������I �� 8o � {u 0 � {u 0 � {u 0 � {u 0 � �@��> � b �� �������I �� 8o � �@��> � �g �� ���@� 0 � � �� � @ 0 ړ �� � @���� �� ) �� � @ 0 ړ �� � @���� �� ) �� � @���� �� ) �� � @���� �� ) �� � @���� �� ) �� ���� 0 ) �� ���� 0 ) �� ���� 0 ) �� ���� 0 ) �� ���� 0 ) �� ��� �)2 �q �$ �� ���@� 0 � � �� ���� 0 �$ �� ���� 0 �$ �� � @ 0 ����-��@��> � Q� �� ��@��> � Q� �� ��@��> � Q� �� � @ 0 �parg �� � 0 �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� � ༁ �I �� 8o �� � ༁ �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� �� |� * �� ��� �� |� * �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ���� 0 * �� ���� 0 * �� ���� 0 * �� ���� 0 * �� ���� 0 + �� ���� 0 + �� ���� 0 + �� ���� 0 + �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 �� ���� 0 �� ���� 0 �� ���� 0 �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 I� �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ���� 0 � �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ���@� 0 � �� �� ���@� 0 � �� �� ���� 0 * �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ���� 0 �� �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ���@� 0 �! � �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��� � �I �� 8o �� ��@ 0 � � �v @� �@ 0 � � ��-@� �@ 0 � � ��-@� �@ 0 � � �Z2@� �@ 0 � � �Z2@� �@ 0 � ���p�? � 0 �v �p � �� ' 2 � � � � � � � S� *� Y� 0� � 2 � � � � � � � 1 � � N� �� '� s� �� � S 2 X��X��X�� !���!��� M� N� r� s� # - 3 M� N� r� s� # - 3 �@� �j� �� 2 ` @ �� U n k n o w n �� �� �� �� �� �� G� T i m e s N e w R o m a n 5� � S y m b o l 3� A r i a l M �M T a h o m a - B o l d T a h o m a 1� �� h �� �� �% H� $ n � $ � � ��� � � 4 d a f @ � �� ����������������������P �� 6 T h e I r a n i a n H o s t a g e C r i s i s : A W a r o f W o r d s , n o t W o r l d s A n d r e w S i m o n A n d r e w S i m o n �� �����Oh�� +'��0 H � � � � � 0 < \ h t � � � � � ' 8 The Iranian Hostage Crisis: A War of Words, not Worlds Andrew Simon Normal Andrew Simon 1 Microsoft Word 11.5.0 @ @ ��|�1�@ ��|�1� $ �% H� G � ����PICT� � b � �� H H � b ���� � ��� � b H H |�� |� � b � b � �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� Q ��kZw���w���w�w���o{w��� w��o{w���s�o{w���w���o{w���w��� e ��+kZR�^��kZkZV�NsV��cR�Z�Nsc^�ckZo{R�Z��Z�w�cNskZZ�kZckZZ�kZZ�V�V�Z�g9ckZZ�kZR�Z��� �� �� ��w�w��� w��� # �� kZkZV�g9R�Z�^�c^�Z�V��� �� �� �� 7 ��w�g9�� w���w��w��w��� w��� w��� w��� � ��9cNs��NskZ^�Z�Ns�Z�kZ^�F1R�^�Z�g9R�^�kZkZV�o{V��R�Z�Z�Nsc^�ckZR�R��V�Z�V�Z�^�cR�^�^��V�g9NscV�V�cNsV�Z�g9�� �� �� _ �� w���w��w���s���w��w���w��w���w�w��w���w���w���w��w��s��� w��� � ��Z�JRkZ^�^�c�V�9Z�g9R�^�kZR�R�^�g9R�^�Z�w�NsR�kZZ�V�V�Z�^�Z�Z�R��kZV�o{^�V�kZkZcJR^�NskZ^�Z�Ns�Z�R�c^�Z�Z�^�Z�V�kZg9kZV�R�^�V�kZ�� �� �� �� ? �� s��� w���w���s���w���w���w��� w��� w��� � ��=NskZZ�kZNsNs^�Z�V�Z�V��JR^�ckZR�o{Z�V�V�Z�kZ^�R�kZkZ^�Z�Ns�JR^�Z�kZV�g9^�R�V�ccZ�kZR�V�cg9Z�g9R�^�^�Z�cc^�Z�V�^�Z�V��� �� �� A �� w��� w��� w��� w���w��s�w���w��w��w��� s��� � ��R�Z�V�Z�kZ^�kZZ�kZ^�kZg9R�Z�Z�Nsc^��Z�*V�V�Z�Z�^�V�kZ^�Z�V�Z�V�kZo{R�o{NsNsw�R�Z�Z�^�kZV�kZR�^�V�co{V�g9F1�R�V�NsV�c^�Z�kZ�� �� �� = ���w��� w��� s���w�w��w���w��w��� w��� w��� � ��=R�kZR�kZo{NsZ�w�R�Z�R�g9V��kZR�o{cR�^�Z�kZV�V�JRZ���^�R��R�V�c^�NsZ��kZ^�g9R�^�R�Z�NsV�c^�g9V�V�^�kZR�o{^�V�Z�Z�V�Z��� �� �� �� _ �� w��� w��� w��� w��� s��� w���w��w���kZw���w���w��w��w��� w��� w��� � ��)Z�R�Z�^�V�Ns^�V�Z�^�kZg9R�^�Z�kZZ�^�kZZ�kZV��kZR�Z�o{Z�^�Z�R�V�Z�^�kZkZR�^��Z�^�kZ�Z�F1�^�R�NsZ�g9R�^�^�NskZR�V�Z�Nsg9V�V�JRkZ^�kZ�� �� �� > �� w��� w���w���w��w�w�kZ���w��w��w��� w��� � ��BV�V�Z�V�Z�Z�cZ�V�Z�cZ�NsF1^��g9R�Z�^�V�Z�^�kZJR^�co{R��s�NsZ�NskZR�Z��F1V�R�kZ^�co{NsR�V�Z�kZ^��JRkZ^�kZNskZ^�JRo{F1^�Z�w�V�g9�� �� �� �� g �� w���w���w�g9�� w���w��w��s���w���w�w���kZw��� w���s��w��� w���w��w��� � ��>R�V�Z�g9Ns�JR^��cNs�NskZ^�Z�Ns�Nsg9JRZ�^�Z��R�kZg9R�^�Z�^�R�kZZ�^�g9^��kZR�^��V�R�Z�JRc^�Z�kZg9R�^�Z�g9R�R�Z�o{Z�^�Z��� �� �� C ��w�w���w��s��� s��� w��� w���w���w��w��� w��� � ��?Z�^�kZZ�Z�^�NskZ^�R�Z��g9Z�JR^�kZZ�kZNsNsg9R�V�Z�kZ�V�^�V�o{NsR�kZV�kZZ�o{V�R�V��kZ^�cV�kZF1cg9R�^�kZkZV�o{V�V�R�Z�Z�Nsc^��� �� �� �� Q ��w���w��� w���w��w��w��� w���w���w��w���w���w��� w��� � ��8c^�Z�R�w�JR^��R�Z�g9V�c^�NsV�^�kZZ�R�V�Z�g9R�^�R�Z�Z�g9V�c^�Z�^�kZ^�kZg9w�Z�V�R�Z�V��R�V�g9JR�F1g9V�Z�^�V�c�Z�V�V�Z��^�kZ^��� �� �� I �� s��� o{��w���o{w���w���w���w�w��� w��� w��� w��� � ��@R�kZc^�Z��ckZ^�R�Z�JRg9cV�kZg9^�kZZ�V�Z�Ns^�V�R�g9kZJRR�V��Z�kZ^�V�JRJRZ�V�Z�Z�o{kZZ�g9�Z�JR^�kZZ�Z�kZR�cNsV�Z�w�Z�^�JRV�Z��� �� �� O �� s��� kZ��o{w���w��w��o{w���w�w��w���w�w��� w���s�s��� � ��AR�kZNskZ^�kZ^�kZV�Z�co{Z�kZ^�NsZ�kZg9Z�R�V�c�Z�V�V�kZkZcZ�^�kZo{Z�^�Z�F1kZNsc�kZ^�Z�c^�JRkZV�F1�Ns�V�V�^�kZR�kZg9Ns�cNsV��� �� �� �� S ��w���w��w��� s���w��w���w�w��� w��� s��� w���w��w��� w��� � ��@Z�Z�kZR�cNsckZZ�^�g9Ns�V�kZkZV�Z�R��Z�JRR�kZZ�V��^�kZZ�NskZV�g9R�kZJR^�cZ�^�kZZ�^�Z�kZV�c^�Z�V�V�Z�kZR�^�Z�g9R�^�kZo{R�o{Ns�^� Z��� �� �� O �� w���w���w�w��� w���w��w���w��� s���w��s��� s��� w��� � ��"R�Z�NsV�c^�F1�V�Z�R�^�^�V�g9R�^�NsNso{V�cZ�V�c^�NsV��F1g9R�^��R��Z� kZZ�V�^�kZo{R�V�Z�V��NsR�g9^�^��R�kZV�R�kZ�R�R�V�Z�^�V��� �� �� �� W ��w���w�g9��w��w���o{��w���w�w��w���w��w��� w��� w���s�w��� � �� JR^��cNs�V�V�Z��kZkZV��V�V�g9R�cZ�^�V�g9^�^�Z�Z�^�R�kZ�Z�!kZ^�Z�JRg9^�Z�g9R�^�^�Z�V�R��V�c^�V�Z�V�Z�V�Z�R�cZ�V�kZkZZ�^�V�c�� �� �� 1 �� w��� w���w�w��� s��� w���kZw��� � ��2Z�^�R�Z�NsR�Z��V�Z��V�^�Z�R�^�kZNs^�V�g9Z�V�R�Z��V�w�o{kZNsZ�g9Z�V�^�cZ�^�V�R�w�V�Z�o{cV�Z�kZV�Z��V� ^�Z�Z��kZR�^�Z�^�g9NsNskZ^��� �� �� Y ��s�w���w��w���s�o{w��� w���s���w��� w���w��w�w���w��kZ���w��� � ��;Z�kZJR^��c^�R�Z�V�R�Z��JR^�kZV�Nscg9R��Z�Z�Nsc^�F1�^�Nsc�kZ^�^�Z��R�R�kZV�^�Z�g9Z�g9R�^�cNso{R�Z��R�Nsg9^�Z��V�Z�V�g9Z��� �� �� �� G �� w���w���w��� s���w�w���s��w��w���w��w��w�w��� � ��>Nsg9^�kZg9^�V�R�V�cg9Z�V�V�^�V�kZZ�kZ^�Z�^�JRg9^�kZV�Ns�^�kZJRg9Z��V�g9V�V�Ns�kZg9R�^�R�Z�NsV�c^�Z�R�w�R�Z�R�V�Z�R�^�^�V��� �� �� Q �� w��� w��� w���w��w���w���w�w��� s��� w��� w��� kZ�� w��� � ��9Z�^�Z�Z�R�Z��V�Z�V�R�^�Z�^�Z�V�Z�g9Z�kZR�kZ^�Z�w�g9R�Z�Z�g9R�o{^�Z�Z�kZNsNskZZ�V�JRg9�V�Z��kZF1kZZ�kZZ�^�R�Z�NskZ�^�Z�^�Z�V�^�Z��� �� �� �� A ��w���w���w��w��� w��� w��� w���w��w���w��� � ��
? @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _ ` a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z { | } ~ � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ����� � � � � � � ����� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ����� � � � � � � � � � � � ����� � � � � � � ������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������R o o t E n t r y �������� � F E&�1�� � D a t a ������������ � 1 T a b l e �������� � �7 W o r d D o c u m e n t ���� $, S u m m a r y I n f o r m a t i o n ( ������������ � x D o c u m e n t S u m m a r y I n f o r m a t i o n 8 �������� � C o m p O b j ���� X O b j e c t P o o l ������������ E&�1� E&�1� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �� ���� � F Microsoft Word Document ����NB6W Word.Document.8
| Iran |
Which theatre was Abraham Lincoln attending when he was asassinated? | Iran Hostage Crisis Begins - Iranian Militants Seize the U.S. Embassy in Tehran | World History Project
Nov 4 1979
Iran Hostage Crisis Begins - Iranian Militants Seize the U.S. Embassy in Tehran
TEHRAN, Iran - Hundreds of Iranian school students bused in for the occasion crowded outside the former U.S. Embassy on Monday, burning American flags and chanting slogans to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the building's seizure by militant Iranian students.
Equal parts day off from school and angry demonstration, the commemoration came on the eve of the U.S. presidential election and was marked by anti-U.S. and anti-Israel chants and the burning of American, Israeli flags and an effigy of Uncle Sam.
Source: MSNBC Added by: Brandon samuels
Student followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini send shock waves across America when they storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The radical Islamic fundamentalists took 90 hostages. The students were enraged that the deposed Shah had been allowed to enter the United States for medical treatment and they threatened to murder hostages if any rescue was attempted. Days later, Iran's provincial leader resigned, and the Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran's fundamentalist revolutionaries, took full control of the country--and the fate of the hostages.
Source: History.com Added by: Brandon samuels
The Hostages and The Casualties
Sixty-six Americans were taken captive when Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, including three who were at the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Six more Americans escaped. Of the 66 who were taken hostage, 13 were released on Nov. 19 and 20, 1979; one was released on July 11, 1980, and the remaining 52 were released on Jan. 20, 1981.
Ages in this list are at the time of release.
The 52:
Thomas L. Ahern, Jr., 48, McLean, VA. Narcotics control officer.
Clair Cortland Barnes, 35, Falls Church, VA. Communications specialist.
William E. Belk, 44, West Columbia, SC. Communications and records officer.
Robert O. Blucker, 54, North Little Rock, AR. Economics officer specializing in oil.
Donald J. Cooke, 26, Memphis, TN. Vice consul.
William J. Daugherty, 33, Tulsa, OK. Third secretary of U.S. mission.
Lt. Cmdr. Robert Englemann, 34, Hurst, TX. Naval attaché.
Sgt. William Gallegos, 22, Pueblo, CO. Marine guard.
Bruce W. German, 44, Rockville, MD. Budget officer.
Duane L. Gillette, 24, Columbia, PA. Navy communications and intelligence specialist.
Alan B. Golancinksi, 30, Silver Spring, MD. Security officer.
John E. Graves, 53, Reston, VA. Public affairs officer.
Joseph M. Hall, 32, Elyria, OH. Military attaché with warrant officer rank.
Sgt. Kevin J. Hermening, 21, Oak Creek, WI. Marine guard.
Sgt. 1st Class Donald R. Hohman, 38, Frankfurt, West Germany. Army medic.
Col. Leland J. Holland, 53, Laurel, MD. Military attaché.
Michael Howland, 34, Alexandria, VA. Security aide, one of three held in Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Charles A. Jones, Jr., 40, Communications specialist and teletype operator. Only African-American hostage not released in November 1979.
Malcolm Kalp, 42, Fairfax, VA. Position unknown.
Moorhead C. Kennedy Jr., 50, Washington, DC. Economic and commercial officer.
William F. Keough, Jr., 50, Brookline, MA. Superintendent of American School in Islamabad, Pakistan, visiting Tehran at time of embassy seizure.
Cpl. Steven W. Kirtley, 22, Little Rock, AR. Marine guard.
Kathryn L. Koob, 42, Fairfax, VA. Embassy cultural officer; one of two women hostages.
Frederick Lee Kupke, 34, Francesville, IN. Communications officer and electronics specialist.
L. Bruce Laingen, 58, Bethesda, MD. Chargé d'affaires. One of three held in Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Steven Lauterbach, 29, North Dayton, OH. Administrative officer.
Gary E. Lee, 37, Falls Church, VA. Administrative officer.
Sgt. Paul Edward Lewis, 23, Homer, IL. Marine guard.
John W. Limbert, Jr., 37, Washington, DC. Political officer.
Sgt. James M. Lopez, 22, Globe, AZ. Marine guard.
Sgt. John D. McKeel, Jr., 27, Balch Springs, TX. Marine guard.
Michael J. Metrinko, 34, Olyphant, PA. Political officer.
Jerry J. Miele, 42, Mt. Pleasant, PA. Communications officer.
Staff Sgt. Michael E. Moeller, 31, Quantico, VA. Head of Marine guard unit.
Bert C. Moore, 45, Mount Vernon, OH. Counselor for administration.
Richard H. Morefield, 51, San Diego, CA. U.S. Consul General in Tehran.
Capt. Paul M. Needham, Jr., 30, Bellevue, NE. Air Force logistics staff officer.
Robert C. Ode, 65, Sun City, AZ. Retired Foreign Service officer on temporary duty in Tehran.
Sgt. Gregory A. Persinger, 23, Seaford, DE. Marine guard.
Jerry Plotkin, 45, Sherman Oaks, CA. Private businessman visiting Tehran.
MSgt. Regis Ragan, 38, Johnstown, PA. Army noncom, assigned to defense attaché’s officer.
Lt. Col. David M. Roeder, 41, Alexandria, VA. Deputy Air Force attaché.
Barry M. Rosen, 36, Brooklyn, NY. Press attaché.
William B. Royer, Jr., 49, Houston, TX. Assistant director of Iran-American Society.
Col. Thomas E. Schaefer, 50, Tacoma, WA. Air Force attaché.
Col. Charles W. Scott, 48, Stone Mountain, GA. Army officer, military attaché.
Cmdr. Donald A. Sharer, 40, Chesapeake, VA. Naval air attaché.
Sgt. Rodney V. (Rocky) Sickmann, 22, Krakow, MO. Marine Guard.
Staff Sgt. Joseph Subic, Jr., 23, Redford Township, MI. Military policeman (Army) on defense attaché's staff.
Elizabeth Ann Swift, 40, Washington, DC. Chief of embassy's political section; one of two women hostages.
Victor L. Tomseth, 39, Springfield, OR. Senior political officer; one of three held in Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Phillip R. Ward, 40, Culpeper, VA. Administrative officer.
One hostage was freed July 11, 1980, because of an illness later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis:
Richard I. Queen, 28, New York, NY. Vice consul.
Six American diplomats avoided capture when the embassy was seized. For three months they were sheltered at the Canadian and Swedish embassies in Tehran. On Jan. 28, 1980, they fled Iran using Canadian passports:
Robert Anders, 34, Port Charlotte, FL. Consular officer.
Mark J. Lijek, 29, Falls Church, VA. Consular officer.
Cora A. Lijek, 25, Falls Church, VA. Consular assistant.
Henry L. Schatz, 31, Coeur d'Alene, ID. Agriculture attaché.
Joseph D. Stafford, 29, Crossville, TN. Consular officer.
Kathleen F. Stafford, 28, Crossville, TN. Consular assistant.
Thirteen women and African-Americans among the Americans who were seized at the embassy were released on Nov. 19 and 20, 1979:
Kathy Gross, 22, Cambridge Springs, PA. Secretary.
Sgt. James Hughes, 30, Langley Air Force Base, VA. Air Force administrative manager.
Lillian Johnson, 32, Elmont, NY. Secretary.
Sgt. Ladell Maples, 23, Earle, AR. Marine guard.
Elizabeth Montagne, 42, Calumet City, IL. Secretary.
Sgt. William Quarles, 23, Washington, DC. Marine guard.
Lloyd Rollins, 40, Alexandria, VA. Administrative officer.
Capt. Neal (Terry) Robinson, 30, Houston, TX. Administrative officer.
Terri Tedford, 24, South San Francisco, CA. Secretary.
Sgt. Joseph Vincent, 42, New Orleans, LA. Air Force administrative manager.
Sgt. David Walker, 25, Prairie View, TX. Marine guard.
Joan Walsh, 33, Ogden, UT. Secretary.
Cpl. Wesley Williams, 24, Albany, NY. Marine guard.
Eight U.S. servicemen from the all-volunteer Joint Special Operations Group were killed in the Great Salt Desert near Tabas, Iran, on April 25, 1980, in the aborted attempt to rescue the American hostages:
Capt. Richard L. Bakke, 34, Long Beach, CA. Air Force.
Sgt. John D. Harvey, 21, Roanoke, VA. Marine Corps.
Cpl. George N. Holmes, Jr., 22, Pine Bluff, AR. Marine Corps.
Staff Sgt. Dewey L. Johnson, 32, Jacksonville, NC. Marine Corps.
Capt. Harold L. Lewis, 35, Mansfield, CT. Air Force.
Tech. Sgt. Joel C. Mayo, 34, Bonifay, FL. Air Force.
Capt. Lynn D. McIntosh, 33, Valdosta, GA. Air Force.
Capt. Charles T. McMillan II, 28, Corrytown, TN. Air Force.
This list was adapted from information in Free At Last by Doyle McManus.
Former Iran Hostages Recall US Embassy Takeover 30 Years Ago
By Jeffrey Young, Washington
03 November 2009
November 4 is the 30th anniversary of the siezure, by young Iranian militants, of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Leading up to that event, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had returned to Iran from exile in France, leading an Islamic revolution that forced the Shah of Iran to flee. Fifty-two of the US diplomats seized by the Iranians were held captive for more than a year, most of them at the US embassy.
On November 4, 1979,the United States embassy in Tehran was seized by militants in the name of Iran's new leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. For the next 444 days, it was the scene of captivity for 49 Americans, including embassy Press Attache Barry Rosen.
He describes how he was taken hostage. "One young man, looking rather ferocious at that time, started to kick, to kick the door down," he says, "This person said to me in a loud voice, in Farsi, "You are under arrest! You are a member of the nest of spies! You are going to come with me!"
The Acting US Ambassador at the time, Bruce Laingen, was also taken hostage. In hindsight, he says, the close U.S. relationship with the Shah of Iran, widely unpopular, set the stage for what happened.
"If we had done things differently, you could come up with all kinds of scenarios. But I believe myself that it was almost inevitable," Laingen said.
A celebration in Algiers on November 1st, where Iran's Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan was photographed meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, pushed the situation over the edge, according to Victor Tomseth, who was a political officer at the embassy. "I'm convinced to this day that it was that picture that was the catalyst for the student group that carried out the attack on the embassy," Tomseth said.
The U.S. diplomats spent nearly 15 months confined in the embassy, the foreign ministry and other Tehran locations.
In the U.S., Americans hung yellow ribbons to show solidarity, also putting pressure on President Jimmy Carter to act.
Months later, the US mounted a rescue mission. A dust storm turned the operation into a disaster, killing eight servicemen. The mission was aborted.
Barry Rosen says the U.S. made several mistakes, including not closing the embassy after an earlier takeover attempt in February 1979. "We should have shut down the embassy after February 14th. And said to the Iranians 'When you want us back, we will be back,'" he states.
Bruce Laingen says decisionmakers in Washington weren't paying attention to the detailed reports the embassy was providing about the deteriorating situation in Iran.
Washington was paying attention to the Cold War and Moscow, according to Rosen. "We are still worried about the Soviets. We had listening posts in the embassy. That to the administration was more important than bilateral relations or the bodies [the embassy personnel] that were in Tehran," Rosen said.
Bruce Laingen says he spoke with Foreign Minister Ebrahim Yazdi late on November 4 about the situation. "I had a telephone conversation that night, of the first day, when he told me 'Look. We will resolve this by morning.' And I said to him, 'OK, what am I going to do?' What are you going to do with me? And he said 'Why don't you go down into the diplomatic reception rooms [at the Foreign Ministry] and find a place to sleep there?" Laingen recalls.
It was a nap that lasted nearly 15 months. In November 1980, President Carter lost his re-election bid. On January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President of the United States. On the same day, Bruce Laingen and 51 other Americans were freed.
Some 30 years later, the United States and Iran are still at odds.
| i don't know |
Edward Fairfax Rochester is a character in which 19th century novel? | Edward Fairfax Rochester
Edward Fairfax Rochester
Authors: Bronte, Charlotte
Description:
Young Jane Eyre was orphaned and sent to live with her uncle, who dies shortly after her arrival. Her step-aunt despises her and sends her to Lowood School so that she can become a governess. She wins the friendship of everyone there, but her life is difficult because conditions are poor at the school. Not until typhus kills many of the students do conditions improve. Jane completes her education there and obtains a position as governess at a house called Thornfield. Jane's student is Adele Varens, a petulant but loving illegitimate child of the master of the house, Edward Rochester. Rochester is rarely at home and Jane spends most of her time with Adele and the housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax. When Rochester does come home, he is often moody and imposing.
One night, Jane wakes to strange noises and the smell of smoke. She finds Rochester unconscious in his bed, which is on fire. Other odd things happen in the house: Jane often hears strange laughter and thuds. Jane has meanwhile realized that she loves Rochester but in her pride refuses to confess it.
When Rochester invites a group of friends to the house, including Blanche Ingram whom he is expected to marry, Jane is treated like a servant by the guests. One of the guests, Mr. Macon, is mysteriously injured. Jane is also troubled when her former guardian, Mrs. Reed, calls her to her death bed and admits that several years earlier she had received a letter from one of Jane's distant relatives, John Eyre, a wealthy man who lives in Jamaica. Mr. Eyre had offered to adopt Jane, but Mrs. Reed maliciously told him that Jane had died in the typhus epidemic.
When Jane returns from this visit, Rochester asks her to marry him and Jane joyfully assents. The night before their wedding, she wakes to find someone in her room, wearing her wedding veil. She screams and runs, but Rochester convinces her it is her imagination. At the wedding, a man interrupts the service, saying Rochester is already married. Rochester admits it and takes the wedding party to the attic. His wife is a Creole, Bertha Macon, who went mad immediately after their wedding fifteen years before. Now she is imprisoned in the attic.
Jane decides she must run away. Penniless, she becomes a beggar until Reverend St. John Rivers and his two sisters generously take her in. She lives with them under an assumed name, and it is only by accident that she learns simultaneously that John Eyre has died and left her his fortune and that the Rivers are her cousins. They share the fortune. Rivers presses her to marry him and join him as a missionary. He admits that he does not love her, but he thinks Jane smart and useful. Jane feels she must do her duty, but she does not want to marry Rivers.
One night, Jane hears Rochester's voice calling to her. She returns to Thornfield and finds the house burned to the ground. Bertha had set fire to it and Rochester became blinded in his unsuccessful attempt to save her life. Jane and Rochester marry. Rivers dies gloriously for his cause.
Commentary Jane is one of Victorian literature's rebellious heroines. Critics of the period found her unwomanly, albeit more interesting than the common angel in the house. Bertha illustrates mid-19th century attitudes toward madness. It was primarily considered an untreatable congenital disease.
Bertha's role is complicated by her ethnicity. She is the product of British imperialism, at its height at the time the novel was published. Feminists have also considered Bertha to be Bronte's alter ego. Like many Victorian women, Bertha is literally trapped in her home.
Unlike most women, she retaliates, trying to kill Rochester and ruining his home and name. The section on Lowood shows how medical and social conditions are tightly tied. As a whole, the novel tries to balance reason and passion. Too much passion and one ends up like Bertha or Rochester, too little and one becomes like St. John Rivers. Jane Eyre is a thrilling read that goes over well with modern audiences.
Other characters from this book:
| Jane Eyre |
When Argentinians landed on South Georgia in 1982, an event which led to the Falklands conflict, what had they supposedly come to collect? | Jane Eyre - GWA 10th Grade Summer Reading
GWA 10th Grade Summer Reading
Watch the BBC movie version
The following is a list of characters with whom you should be familiar:
Rosamond Oliver
Terms and definitions you need to know:
Narrator- the one who tells the story. If the narrator is a character in the book, the term is first-person narration. (Example: Moby Dick is narrated by Ishmael, a crew member). If the narrator is not a character, the term is third-person narration. (Example: Sense and Sensibility).
Sometimes, first-person narrative can vary. The author switches narrators to relate a personal experience, or occasionally breaks out of the narration to speak directly to the reader. Look for examples of both these variations in Jane Eyre.
Third-person Narration- a manner of storytelling in which the narrator is not a character within the tale and is outside the plot. In a third-person narrative, all characters within the story are, therefore, referred to as he, she, or they; this does not prevent the narrator from using the fi rst person “I” or “we” in commenting on the events and their meaning. Third-person narrative is the most common form of storytelling.
Omniscient- a third-person narrative which allows the author to relate the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in a godlike manner. Example: Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Limited omniscient- a third-person narrative which allows the author to tell the thoughts of only one character. Example: The Catcher in the Rye.
Objective View- third-person narration in which the author is recording action from a neutral point of view. Example: Most nonfiction.
Allusion- a reference to a person, place, poem, book, event, or movie outside of the story that the author expects the reader will recognize. Example: In The Glass Menagerie, Tom speaks of “Chamberlain’s umbrella,” a reference to the British Prime Minister
Metaphor- A comparison of two things that are basically dissimilar in order to create a sharp picture. Example: The moon, a haunting lantern, shone through the clouds.
Local Color- details and descriptions common to a certain place. Example: The Mississippi River, the people living around it, the way they talk, etc., in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Simile- a comparison between two different things using either like or as. Example: I am as hungry as a horse.
Foil- a character whose qualities or actions usually serve to emphasize the actions or qualities of the main character, the protagonist, by providing a strong contrast. On occasion, the foil is used as a contrast to a character other than the main one.
Foreshadowing- the use of hints or clues in a story to suggest what action is to come. Foreshadowing is used to create interest and build suspense.
Personification- a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human characteristics. Example: The pig laughed all the way to the barn.
Symbol- an object, person, or place that has a meaning in itself and that also stands for something larger than itself, usually an idea or concept; some concrete thing which represents an abstraction. Example: The sea could be symbolic for “the unknown;” since the sea is something which is physical and can be seen by the reader, but has elements which cannot be understood, it can be used symbolically to stand for the abstraction of “mystery,” “obscurity,” or “the unknown.”
Romanticism- an 18th and 19th century literary movement that is frequently characterized by the following:
a depiction of emotion and imagination
a depiction of the beauties of nature
settings that are in exotic or remote locations. Old castles or mansions frequently play a big role
a hero or heroine who rebels against the social norms of his or her society.
an intense interest in nature and its beauty and/or fierceness.
an interest in the irrational realms of dreams, folk superstitions, legends, and ghosts.
language and characters that are frequently marked by emotional intensity.
Examples: Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights. A subgenra of romanticism is the Gothic novel or Gothic romance. These novels are characterized by the presence of superstitions, terror, and suspense. They are usually set in gloomy, old castles, houses, or monasteries. Jane Eyre typifies the 19th century variety of Gothic novel and adds the element of the endangered heroine. The book includes the concept of a Byronic hero, which is defined as a self-tormented outcast, who is cynical and contemptuous of social norms and is also suffering from an unnamed or mysterious sin.
| i don't know |
Who succeeded David Tennant in the role of TV's 'Doctor Who'? | David Tennant: It just feels scary… all the time | Television & radio | The Guardian
The Observer
David Tennant: It just feels scary… all the time
He's been voted the best Doctor Who ever, but David Tennant's rule as the Timelord is coming to an end. So how will he cope with life outside the Tardis? Johnny Davis, who has spent the past year trailing him, talks to Britain's most popular actor
Saturday 19 December 2009 19.05 EST
First published on Saturday 19 December 2009 19.05 EST
Close
David Tennant. Photograph: Ellis Parrinder
Last month David Tennant sold off his bed. It was, he admitted, "not the most delicious piece of furniture". It sat in reception at London's Absolute Radio looking every one of its 15 years in age, its wonky wrought-iron headboard accessorised by a Dalek bedspread and a handwritten sign: "Do not sit on this: prone to collapse".
Tennant was hosting Absolute's Breakfast Show alongside regular presenter Christian O'Connell. By 10am he'd played ping pong in the back of a Ford Galaxy, answered a series of questions from 12-year-olds and encouraged the actor Anthony Head to call in and sing "Lean on Me". Then there was his bed, being auctioned off for Children in Need. Fiona from Tadworth had pushed the bidding to £2,001, but off air O'Connell had a confession to make. The previous night he'd hosted a corporate do for the show's sponsors, British Gas. Things had got a bit carried away and everyone had climbed on the bed for a photo. "And it just sort of went 'poot'," O'Connell explained. "It was 10 of them. They were all trashed."
"There's never been more than two people on that bed," said Tennant.
Now its slats were snapped, the frame buckled beyond repair. "It's not the kind of thing you can just bend back into shape," noted Richie, the show's producer. "I felt bad; I told them it was for Children in Need," O'Connell said. "But you've seen the state of that bed – it's got 'Prone to collapse' all over it!"
"It wasn't prone to collapse," Tennant said.
On air O'Connell came clean, and someone from British Gas called in to do the honourable thing: take the now-useless bed off their hands for £5,000. "How's your head this morning?" Tennant asked.
Four hours of breakfast DJing behind him, he signed off with the Proclaimers' "King of the Road" and went outside to sign autographs and accept gifts from fans. Some had been waiting in the rain since 3.30am.
"That's quite good," he said, unwrapping one in the car that sped him towards his next appointment, at Radio 1. It was a Housemartins T-shirt, one of his favourite bands. "I bet it's extra large – they always think I'm big. And I'm only little."
Tennant was spending the day promoting his final three episodes of Doctor Who, the culmination of which will see him "regenerate" into a new Doctor, played by Matt Smith. After a chat with Radio 1's Fearne Cotton, there was a round of interviews with the TV listings magazines. Tennant asked his publicist which journalist would be attending from one particular title. "Hmm," he said. "She'll always go for the 'Who-are-you-shagging?' type question."
At Radio 1, he bumped into Chris Moyles. "So handsome," Moyles said to him by way of a greeting. Tennant explained he'd come from hosting a rival station's breakfast show. "According to the papers I seem to be leaving every week," said Moyles. "So you might as well have mine."
Fearne Cotton appeared. "We'll get you in just after the news; some questions from listeners – nothing bizarre." Tennant explained he'd been doing the promotional rounds. "Do you ever get tempted to make stuff up?" Cotton asked.
"So tempting," he said. "'Have you given Matt Smith any advice?' That's all I get asked. What am I supposed to say?"
"That's ridiculous," said Cotton. She consulted her notes. "Cross that one off."
Tennant wondered about the listener questions. "Are there rude ones? Do you get sent rude pictures?"
"All the time," said producer Stuey. "A lot of penises."
"Especially if you ask for something specific," said Cotton. "We did this thing asking people to send in pictures of their teddy bears – 50% were cocks. You get willies and boobs all the time."
On air Cotton asked Tennant about a poll that had voted him Britain's Sexiest Man, above Daniel Craig and Ewan McGregor, but also Jeremy Paxman ("Well, that's taken the sheen off"), discussed manual vs electric toothbrushes (Tennant's an electric man) and asked how his "complete army of fans" would cope when he's no longer on Doctor Who. "You know what will happen? Everyone will go: 'Oh, it'll never be the same.' And then two weeks in [to the new series] they'll go: 'Matt Smith: he's brilliant.'
"That's what happened when I was a kid, when Tom Baker left," he said. "That's just how it works."
It's possible, of course. But even Matt Smith must figure Matt Smith's got his work cut out. Though it was Christopher Eccleston who jump-started Doctor Who's regeneration from 1970s wobbly setted laughing stock to one of the BBC's biggest properties, a brand now reckoned to be worth £100m, it was surely David Tennant who sealed the deal. Not only has the role seen him surpass even the immortal Tom Baker as "The Best Doctor Ever", as voted by readers of Doctor Who Magazine, and there's no sterner jury, it's seen him become one of our most respected, most loved actors.
"David is arguably the most popular actor in England," says Patrick Stewart, who appeared with him earlier this year in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Hamlet, the film of which is on BBC2 this Christmas. "There was more anticipation for that production and David's performance than anything I've ever been in."
Famously, it was Doctor Who that made the three-year-old Tennant want to act. At school he'd carry around a Tom Baker doll (though he was too shy to ask his parents for Baker's assistant, Romana). As a teenager he wrote Who-themed essays called things like "Intergalactic Overdose", as his English teacher, Mrs Robertson, helpfully showed the News of the World recently. Even when he got the role, he lobbied the producers to change the credits to correct a longstanding inconsistency that had always bugged him – everyone knows the lead character is called "The Doctor", never "Doctor Who". (One afternoon I recalled how Jon Pertwee's Doctor used to dispatch foes with a neat line in kung fu. "Actually I think you'll find it was Venusian aikido," he corrected, not entirely humorously.) While all of this might have made him ideally suited to the job, leaving it has traditionally proved rather harder. None of the other actors who've played the Timelord have ever really lived it down. Baker has confessed that everything since has been "a muddle and a disappointment, an outrageous failure", and fear of typecasting led Eccleston to crash back to earth after just one series. It was a problem not lost on Tennant – or his agent, who suggested that even a bit part on the show would mean "I'll never work again."
"It did take me a few weeks to think it through," says Tennant, 38. "But the only other option is you don't do the job. I remember waking up one morning thinking: 'I can't turn this down. Even if it's the wrong thing to do.'"
Yet his acting credentials already put him in a different league to his predecessors. Olivier Award-nominated at 31 and a veteran of the RSC, he has managed to fill the three remaining months of the year when he's not been in Cardiff filming Doctor Who with an impressively wide range of boldface gigs: the lead in Hamlet and Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost running on stage concurrently, a Harry Potter film and several weighty TV dramas, including playing Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington in Einstein and Eddington. As well as Doctor Who and Hamlet this Christmas, there's the Stephen Poliakoff film Glorious 39 and the role of dastardly Lord Pomfrey in St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold. Which certainly shows range. "It's all the same thing," Tennant smiles. "It's all acting. I think Shakespeare was a man of the people."
"When I started out, if you got known for one role, forget it," says David Morrissey, who co-starred with Tennant in Doctor Who and the 2004 TV musical-drama Blackpool. "But David's Doctor won't be the millstone around his neck that it's been for actors in the past. It might weigh him down in a personal way – walking down the street and stuff – but he's so gifted it won't ever restrict him professionally."
What's more, Tennant's popularity is now such that he occupies a fairly unique position among his peers. He is as likely to give an interview to the University of Cambridge's Shakespeare journal on Mark Rylance's 1989 production of Hamlet for the RSC as he is to appear on Top Gear's "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car", or turn on the Blackpool Christmas lights. In February he presented Comic Relief with Davina McCall – a remarkable thing for an actor to be asked to do. "Yes, but that's to do with Doctor Who," Tennant says. "I don't imagine I'll be in the frame for things like that any more. I'm sure in two years' time they'll want Matt Smith to do Comic Relief. I suspect I'm just passing through, really."
David Tennant. Photograph: Ellis Parrinder
Perhaps. When he joined Doctor Who in 2005 it made the BBC News At Six. It may be no exaggeration to say his departure is a national event. "David is very sad to leave," says his friend, the actress Arabella Weir. "But when do you leave the party? When everybody has stopped asking you to dance and is going: 'Look at that sad old cow, he's still here'? You don't know, is the short answer. You just have to make that judgement." Tennant's final episodes will be broadcast on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Because filming happens non-sequentially, the last scene he recorded as The Doctor has actually already aired – an episode of spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, which went out last month. His final words were an unprepossessing: "You two, with me, spit spot." "It couldn't have been less memorable or less significant," he says. "It was robbed of any epic quality, but that was probably best. There are a lot of scenes in the final story that are very sad, and were very sad to play. If one of them had coincided with the actual final day, I'd have been a puddle."
Come 1 January, writer and executive producer Russell T Davies is counting on us feeling the same way – greeting the New Year in cheery fashion, watching Tennant expire at the hands of The Master. "I can't watch it without crying, literally," says Davies. "I was checking it for the music cues the other night, which must have been the 17th time I've watched it, and I ended up crying. It's heartbreaking."
BBC Wales makes Doctor Who in several large hangars in Upper Boat studios near Pontypridd – Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures are also filmed here. One stage houses a vast permanent set of the Tardis interior, and round the back there's an endless props area, an I-spy of half-exploded Daleks, killer Christmas trees, Ood heads. A fortnight before filming each episode begins, the cast and crew meet in a nondescript Cardiff hotel for a script read-through. There is some secrecy surrounding these meetings, for reasons best illustrated by the time they had to eject a journalist from the Sun who'd been discovered sitting among them, mid-read-through.
In early February I watched the cast read "The Waters of Mars", an episode transmitted in November, arranged around a long table with Tennant, boyish in a Dennis the Menace-style jumper. Two weeks later the script was being realised in three dimensions. Set aboard a Nasa-style base, it required Tony Award-winning actress Lindsay Duncan – last seen playing Margaret Thatcher in TV drama Margaret, today playing space-suited ball breaker Captain Adelaide Brooke – to be thrown around amid various explosions. "I can't roll on the floor because of the gun," she worried to director Graeme Harper.
"Dare I say it?" wondered Harper. "But are your knickers going to be OK?"
"I'm wearing an all-in-one," she advised.
Tennant was in the canteen ("The Blue Box"), not required for filming until after lunch. "You do get slightly institutionalised here," he said. "For four years I've always been going back to Cardiff at some point in the near future, so when I leave it will be like leaving campus. I don't mean to get things out of proportion, but I was keenly watching George Bush leaving the White House, and the thought of how his life is going to change… I'm not saying his life is like mine. I'm not the leader of the Free World, I'm really not…"
Which would make Matt Smith Obama, of course.
"Oh, that's not really worked out very well for me, has it? It's just the thought that you hand over… and it stops. Maybe I'll be whisked up into something equally all-consuming."
One thing he may adjust to more quickly is a reduction in his own visibility. "We always thought when the honeymoon period was over it would settle down, but with every series it seems to get more attention. The viewing figures went up last year considerably. It's sort of bewildering." While Tennant fully appreciated the level of attention Doctor Who would bring him personally, it's not necessarily something he regards as a perk. He was in the role for a matter of weeks before a tabloid reporter had him out of bed at 7am, threatening to run a story involving a brothel, prostitutes and drugs. "Funnily enough, they didn't have photographs." It's not what he joined Equity for.
"You know you're going to have to cope with it on some level, but until it happens to you I defy anyone to really know what it feels like," he says. "When I saw people who were famous, and people whispered and pointed, it felt as though a very powerful individual had walked by. And actually, once you are that person, it just feels scary. All the time."
He says he was helped enormously by having Billie Piper with him for his first year, playing the Doctor's companion Rose Tyler. "She'd been through it for years. And she had it much worse – women tend to. She had become such a great friend and a real help through the madness that was beginning to explode. And then losing her, and thinking: 'I'm on my own!'"
If Doctor Who saw Tennant join the select group of males favoured by the gossip pages, unlike, say, James Corden or Russell Brand, he's done a remarkable job of keeping his personal life just that. He's adept at giving nothing of himself away while remaining a charismatic personality.
He apparently dated Sophia Myles, who played Madame de Pompadour in the show, and has been linked to his assistant director and another BBC Wales staffer. It's likely he's currently seeing Georgia Moffett, who played the Doctor's daughter in one episode and is ex-Doctor Peter Davison's daughter in real life (at which point you may think he's taken his enthusiasm for Doctor Who as far as it can go – "It can be odd when David comes round for Sunday lunch and we all sit at the table; me, an ex-Doctor, with my wife, and David, another Doctor, and my daughter," Peter Davison revealed). And years ago he went out with Anne-Marie Duff, now married to James McAvoy. But you won't hear that from him. "Relationships are hard enough with the people you're having them with," he says, "let alone talking about them in public."
"I resisted jumping his bones," says Billie Piper, "but women really fancy him. He's got a gorgeous face, and an energy that's contagious – the spirit of a child. My girlfriends were all in love with him." One female critic described his Doctor as "the first Timephwoard". His favoured trick for dealing with the inquisitor who inches towards the aforementioned "Who-are-you-shagging?" type question is a kind of reproachful look. "He's avoided any scandal because he keeps shtoom," says Piper. "He very rarely talks about anything that isn't related to his career or acting. You never see him falling out of clubs. He's never off his face. He's got far more patience than I have," Piper adds. "I don't mind signing autographs, but it becomes the topic of conversation at every social event you go to. It starts off: 'So how are you?' Then it's: 'Anyway, about Doctor Who…' It's at that point I start reaching for the wine."
In April, Tennant was at BBC Television Centre to promote the first of 2009's Doctor Who specials, "Planet of the Dead", to air that evening. It was 8am on Easter Saturday morning, yet BBC reception was uncharacteristically busy. Specifically, it was uncharacteristically busy with children. Tennant was due on BBC Breakfast and arrived cheerful as ever, wearing a jacket and thin tie. "You're on after the Association of British Drivers," said Kate, Breakfast's producer. "The people who blow up speed cameras."
"I didn't know there was such a thing," Tennant said.
Julia, the editor of programmes, appeared with five children. "It's my day off," she explained. "But I came in especially."
Tennant signed autographs for everybody and posed for photos. He was ushered into the green room. "This is Frederick," said Kate. "He's reviewing the papers just before you."
"Can I be the first to ask," Frederick said. "Would you mind signing this for my sister? She's desperate to have your autograph."
Then Maxine ap-peared. "I'm one of the holiday newsreaders," she said. "Would you – I mean, you're probably fed up of doing this – would you sign this for my nephew?"
Tennant went on air and was interviewed by presenters Sonia Deol and Charlie Stayt. I watched from the control room. Stayt suggested that while the previous Doctors had been "interesting, quirky characters", Tennant was the first to be a sex symbol. "Lots of snogging you've done," he said.
"Not lots," countered Tennant. "More than Jon Pertwee did."
He was asked what he found scary in real life ("I'm not a fan of a rodent"), about changing his birth name from McDonald to Tennant for Equity by picking Neil Tennant's name from Smash Hits ("I could have been David Kajagoogoo") and whether he is ever able to go out in public and "be normal".
"Has he talked about the next Doctor?" asked someone in the control room.
"No. Can we ask him about the next Doctor?"
They went on Wikipedia. "It's Matt Smith."
"Matt Smith," it was relayed to Deol's ear. "The new Doctor. Very young."
"What about the new guy?" she said on air. "What advice have you got for him?"
"I don't think you can give anyone advice about stuff like that, can you?" said Tennant.
Afterwards he was collected by producer Kate. She was holding a pile of paper. "I shouldn't have walked through the newsroom," she said. "More requests."
"More requests? We're not going to be allowed to leave, are we?" said Tennant, not unkindly.
Kate seemed to be chewing something over. "I don't care. I've lost all dignity," she said to me. "I'm going to ask for a photo."
The smell that reminds David Tennant of childhood is his father's homemade chicken and leek soup. He grew up in Paisley, near Glasgow, the youngest of three. His dad, Sandy, was a minister and later moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. His mum, Helen, devoted her life to charity work and helped found Paisley's Accord hospice. She died of cancer in 2007, aged 67. There's a gap of six and eight years between him and his siblings, Blair, who works in the music business, and Karen, a nurse and teacher. His upbringing was grounding. "Not all men of the church are necessarily good human beings, but my dad happens to be. My mum was, too," he says. "I feel very thankful for that."
He gained a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama at 17 – their youngest pupil. It was a combination of this and moving to Glasgow with his sister that brought him out of his shell. "Leaving home was one of the best things that happened to me. I was a bit green. I wasn't a particularly worldly 17-year-old." At drama school he was "surrounded by all these exotic older people who seemed to know about life. So it was a really brilliant time." He acted Ken Stott off the screen in Takin' Over the Asylum, the 1994 TV mini-series set in a Glasgow psychiatric-hospital radio station, playing bipolar DJ Campbell ("This is for all you having ECT tomorrow: hope you get some 'Good Vibrations'!"). On set he met Arabella Weir, moving to London the following year to spend five years as her lodger. He complained she never put the heating on; she teased him about alphabetising his CDs. Tennant was soon being talked up as a rising star of theatre, notably for comic roles – Touchstone in As You Like It, Captain Jack Absolute in Sheridan's The Rivals. "Even aged 22 he had an unusually strong sense of self," says Weir. "Most actors are in the business of wanting people to like them. He was: 'This is what I can do; I'm not interested in doing other jobs.'"
He was mesmeric as love-struck policeman DI Peter Carlisle in 2004's Blackpool and head- turning as Russell T Davies's Casanova a year later. "No one could get it right," says Davies. "Everyone was playing the swarthy romantic lead – and here was this man who simply danced all over the script."
"I think I've just been lucky, really," Tennant says, "because I'm not conventional leading-man stuff. I'm slightly left of centre. I remember going up for Casanova thinking: 'I haven't got a chance – the other people are much more traditional square-jawed types.'"
Plus, everyone agrees he's a generous team player. "When you're playing the leading role in a play, you have responsibilities that go beyond saying the lines," says Patrick Stewart. "You lead the company; you set an example. The stress of Hamlet must have got to him, but it never seemed to. You'd see him in the wings beforehand and you would have thought he was preparing to go out for dinner, he was so relaxed."
"Everyone said I would adore working with David, and they were right," says Kylie Minogue, one-time Doctor Who companion Astrid Peth. "He made me feel at ease. I also felt he trusted me, which was important – it was a step back into acting for me. My time on Doctor Who was hard work, but I felt somehow I was 'home'."
Tennant was back at Upper Boat in May, filming his final two Doctor Who episodes, "The End of Time". "Three weeks to go now," he said. "Three weeks and counting." On set John Simm was doing something terrible as The Master that it would be wrong to reveal. "What have you done, you monster?" shouted Bernard Cribbins, who's returning as Wilfred Mott, father of Catherine Tate's Donna Noble. Tennant was feeling good about his final scenes. "It's all very heroic," he explained. "My final 100-yard dash." They were being even more wary than usual about leaks. Some on-location photographs had appeared that week, to everyone's disappointment. "And someone was discovered here the other day with a scanner," Tennant tutted. "They had tuned themselves into the radio mics inside the building and were writing down the dialogue."
In June, the month after filming their finale, Tennant, Davies and John Barrowman travelled out to Comic-Con, the annual "popular arts" convention in San Diego. (Doctor Who has a US fanbase, while Torchwood has become the top-rated show on BBC America. Davies now works for BBC America in LA.) While he was there, Tennant found himself an American agent and did some auditioning. "Just sniffing around, vaguely seeing what was out there." This resulted in him being cast as the lead in comedy-drama Rex is Not Your Lawyer, a role NBC had been trying to fill for months. Tennant will play Rex Alexander, a panic attack-prone Chicago litigator who starts coaching his clients to represent themselves. The pilot's being directed by David Semel, who did House and Lost. "I went to bed one night having had conversations that we could come to terms for this pilot, woke up, and it was on the front of the Hollywood Reporter," he says. "It's a different world in America."
"I'm sure Hugh Laurie's success with House is an appropriate comparison," says Catherine Tate. "David's a brilliant comic actor. America would be mad not to love him."
He's also likely to play opposite Simon Pegg in John Landis's black-comedy remake of Burke & Hare, about the 19th-century body snatchers, and the internet is convinced he'll be the Riddler in the next Batman. "I probably should be," he says. "But you'd think my agent would have mentioned something if it was true."
Tennant finished his chat with Fearne Cotton, remembering to plug the upcoming episode. That evening he was off to Stratford to see his friend Richard Wilson in Twelfth Night. In 10 days' time, visa permitting, he'd be filming his pilot in LA. But first it was off to Television Centre and Simon Mayo's Radio 5 show. Down one corridor he ran into a class of schoolchildren being given a guided tour. They couldn't have been more stunned if Tennant had stepped out of their own TVs. "And they've just seen the Tardis outside," their teacher beamed – a replica prop lit up outside reception.
"That's how I got here," mugged Tennant. "I've just arrived."
A lady from BBC promotions appeared. "If you don't mind, I've got a 16-year-old niece in Australia. She loves three men: you, some Australian footballer and Roger Federer."
"What an interesting combination," said Tennant.
"So if you could just sign…"
On Mayo's show they discussed the upcoming Glorious 39 and St Trinian's 2 with film reviewer Mark Kermode. "Did you like St Trinian's 1?" Tennant teased. "It was one of the worst things that's ever happened to me," said Kermode.
But what everyone really wanted to talk about was Doctor Who. Tennant explained he'd just watched his final episode, with some key crew (more tears). Beforehand he'd been nervous. Afterwards he realised they'd done what they'd come to do. They were handing it over in rude health.
"I feel like I've done all right by my eight-year-old self," he said.★
Doctor Who will be shown on Christmas Day and New Year's Day on BBC 1 at 6pm
| Matt Smith |
What is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London? | Hopes of first gay Doctor Who dashed as Matt Smith lands prime role
Matt Smith is the new Doctor Who
A 26-year-old relative unknown has been chosen as the next Doctor Who, smashing the hopes of some fans that the 11th incarnation of the TV Time Lord would be an out gay man.
Matt Smith will be the next Doctor, the BBC revealed on Saturday.
He is best-known for his leading role in BBC2 political drama series Party Animals.
Mr Smith will take over from David Tennant who leaves the show at the end of 2009.
The tabloid press have been quick to establish that he has a Brazilian girlfriend and is likely to become a pin-up as the youngest-ever Doctor.
The fifth series will also have a new lead writer and executive producer, replacing Queer As Folk creator Russell T Davies, who brought the Doctor Who format back to life.
In November emails from Mr Davies printed in The Times revealed that he wanted out gay actor Russell Tovey to take on the iconic role.
Mr Tovey, 27, appeared in the show’s 2007 Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned, as Midshipman Frame.
He gained rave reviews for his portryal of Rudge in the stage and film versions of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys and in the Royal National Theatre’s production of His Dark Materials.
Russell T Davies said Mr Tovey was “going to be huge” and is “amazing.”
Matt Smith will not appear on screen as Doctor Who until 2010.
In 2007 he played Henry in That Face, at the Royal Court and was nominated for an Evening Standard Best Newcomer award.
He also played Guy opposite Christian Slater’s Buddy in Swimming With Sharks on stage in the West End.
He starred alongside Billie Piper in Phillip Pullman’s period detective stories, The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North.
Jay Hunt, Controller of BBC ONE, said:
“Matt Smith will be a mesmerising eleventh Time Lord, true to the spirit of the show.
“He is a worthy successor to David Tennant who has been utterly remarkable in the role and promises to continue in four special episodes.”
The children’s science fiction series was on air from 1963 to 1989, with seven different incarnations of the Doctor, among them Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker.
Doctor Who was revived in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the eponymous time traveller. He was succeeded by David Tennant after one series.
| i don't know |
Knowna s the 'Evening Satr' which planet in our solar system is the closest in size to earth? | Solar System Planets: Order of the 8 (or 9) Planets
Solar System Planets: Order of the 8 (or 9) Planets
By Robert Roy Britt |
January 22, 2016 12:35pm ET
MORE
The planets of the solar system as depicted by a NASA computer illustration. Orbits and sizes are not shown to scale.
Credit: NASA
Ever since the discovery of Pluto in 1930, kids grew up learning about the nine planets of our solar system. That all changed starting in the late 1990s, when astronomers began to argue about whether Pluto was a planet. In a highly controversial decision , the International Astronomical Union ultimately decided in 2006 to call Pluto a “dwarf planet,” reducing the list of “real planets” in our solar system to eight.
However, astronomers are now hunting for another planet in our solar system, a true ninth planet , after evidence of its existence was unveiled on Jan. 20, 2016. The so-called "Planet Nine," as scientists are calling it, is about 10 times the mass of Earth and 5,000 times the mass of Pluto.
[ Solar System Pictures: A Photo Tour ]
If you insist on including Pluto , then that world would come after Neptune on the list; Pluto is truly way out there, and on a wildly tilted, elliptical orbit (two of the several reasons it got demoted). Interestingly, Pluto used to be the eighth planet, actually. More on that below.
Terrestrial planets
The inner four worlds are called “ terrestrial planets ,” because, like Earth, their surfaces are all rocky. Pluto, too, has a solid surface (and a very frozen one) but has never been grouped with the four terrestrials.
Jovian planets
The four large outer worlds — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune — are known as the “Jovian planets” (meaning “Jupiter-like”) because they are all huge compared to the terrestrial planets, and because they are gaseous in nature rather than having rocky surfaces (though some or all of them may have solid cores, astronomers say). According to NASA , "two of the outer planets beyond the orbit of Mars — Jupiter and Saturn — are known as gas giants; the more distant Uranus and Neptune are called ice giants." This is because, while the first two are dominated by gas, while the last two have more ice. All four contain mostly hydrogen and helium.
Dwarf planets
The IAU definition of a full-fledged planet goes like this: A body that circles the sun without being some other object's satellite, is large enough to be rounded by its own gravity (but not so big that it begins to undergo nuclear fusion, like a star) and has "cleared its neighborhood" of most other orbiting bodies. Yeah, that’s a mouthful.
The problem for Pluto, besides its small size and offbeat orbit, is that it shares its space with lots of other objects in the Kuiper Belt , beyond Neptune. Still, the demotion of Pluto remains controversial .
The IAU planet definition puts other small, round worlds in the dwarf planet category, including the Kuiper Belt objects Eris , Haumea , and Makemake .
Also now a dwarf planet is Ceres , a round object in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres was actually considered a planet when discovered in 1801 and then later deemed to be an asteroid. Some astronomers like to consider Ceres as a 10th planet (not to be confused with Nibiru or Planet X ), but that line of thinking opens up the possibility of there being 13 planets, with more bound to be discovered.
The planets
Below is a brief overview of the eight primary planets in our solar system , in order from the inner solar system outward:
Mercury
The closest planet to the sun, Mercury is only a bit larger than Earth's moon. Its day side is scorched by the sun and can reach 840 degrees Fahrenheit (450 Celsius), but on the night side, temperatures drop to hundreds of degrees below freezing. Mercury has virtually no atmosphere to absorb meteor impacts, so its surface is pockmarked with craters, just like the moon. Over its four-year mission, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has revealed views of the planet that have challenged astronomers' expectations.
Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye
Named for: Messenger of the Roman gods
Diameter: 3,031 miles (4,878 km)
Orbit: 88 Earth days
Venus' southern hemisphere, as seen in the ultraviolet.
Credit: ESA
Venus
The second planet from the sun, Venus is terribly hot, even hotter than Mercury. The atmosphere is toxic. The pressure at the surface would crush and kill you. Scientists describe Venus’ situation as a runaway greenhouse effect. Its size and structure are similar to Earth, Venus' thick, toxic atmosphere traps heat in a runaway "greenhouse effect." Oddly, Venus spins slowly in the opposite direction of most planets.
The Greeks believed Venus was two different objects — one in the morning sky and another in the evening. Because it is often brighter than any other object in the sky — except for the sun and moon — Venus has generated many UFO reports.
Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye
Named for: Roman goddess of love and beauty
Diameter: 7,521 miles (12,104 km)
Orbit: 225 Earth days
An image of the Earth taken by the Russian weather satellite Elektro-L No.1.
Credit: NTsOMZ
Earth
The third planet from the sun, Earth is a waterworld, with two-thirds of the planet covered by ocean. It’s the only world known to harbor life. Earth’s atmosphere is rich in life-sustaining nitrogen and oxygen. Earth's surface rotates about its axis at 1,532 feet per second (467 meters per second) — slightly more than 1,000 mph (1,600 kph) — at the equator. The planet zips around the sun at more than 18 miles per second (29 km per second).
Diameter: 7,926 miles (12,760 km)
Orbit: 365.24 days
Day: 23 hours, 56 minutes
Related:
Mars researchers are focusing both Earth-based and planet orbiting sensors to better understand sources of methane on the red planet. Image
Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute
Mars
The fourth planet from the sun, is a cold, dusty place. The dust, an iron oxide, gives the planet its reddish cast. Mars shares similarities with Earth: It is rocky, has mountains and valleys, and storm systems ranging from localized tornado-like dust devils to planet-engulfing dust storms. It snows on Mars. And Mars harbors water ice. Scientists think it was once wet and warm, though today it’s cold and desert-like.
Mars' atmosphere is too thin for liquid water to exist on the surface for any length of time. Scientists think ancient Mars would have had the conditions to support life, and there is hope that signs of past life — possibly even present biology — may exist on the Red Planet.
Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye
Named for: Roman god of war
Diameter: 4,217 miles (6,787 km)
Orbit: 687 Earth days
Day: Just more than one Earth day (24 hours, 37 minutes)
Related:
Close-up of Jupiter's Great Red Spot as seen by a Voyager spacecraft.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Jupiter
The fifth planet from the sun, Jupiter is huge and is the most massive planet in our solar system. It’s a mostly gaseous world, mostly hydrogen and helium. Its swirling clouds are colorful due to different types of trace gases. A big feature is the Great Red Spot, a giant storm which has raged for hundreds of years. Jupiter has a strong magnetic field, and with dozens of moons, it looks a bit like a miniature solar system.
Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye
Named for: Ruler of the Roman gods
Diameter: 86,881 miles (139,822 km)
Orbit: 11.9 Earth years
The shadow of Saturn's moon Mimas dips onto the planet's rings and straddles the Cassini Division in this natural color image taken as Saturn approaches its August 2009 equinox.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Saturn
The sixth planet from the sun is known most for its rings . When Galileo Galilei first studied Saturn in the early 1600s, he thought it was an object with three parts. Not knowing he was seeing a planet with rings, the stumped astronomer entered a small drawing — a symbol with one large circle and two smaller ones — in his notebook, as a noun in a sentence describing his discovery. More than 40 years later, Christiaan Huygens proposed that they were rings. The rings are made of ice and rock. Scientists are not yet sure how they formed. The gaseous planet is mostly hydrogen and helium. It has numerous moons .
Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye
Named for: Roman god of agriculture
Diameter: 74,900 miles (120,500 km)
Orbit: 29.5 Earth years
Day: About 10.5 Earth hours
Related:
Near-infrared views of Uranus reveal its otherwise faint ring system, highlighting the extent to which the planet is tilted.
Credit: Lawrence Sromovsky, (Univ. Wisconsin-Madison), Keck Observatory
Uranus
The seventh planet from the sun, Uranus is an oddball. It’s the only giant planet whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit — it basically orbits on its side. Astronomers think the planet collided with some other planet-size object long ago, causing the tilt. The tilt causes extreme seasons that last 20-plus years, and the sun beats down on one pole or the other for 84 Earth-years. Uranus is about the same size as Neptune. Methane in the atmosphere gives Uranus its blue-green tint. It has numerous moons and faint rings.
Discovery: 1781 by William Herschel (was thought previously to be a star)
Named for: Personification of heaven in ancient myth
Diameter: 31,763 miles (51,120 km)
Orbit: 84 Earth years
Neptune’s winds travel at more than 1,500 mph, and are the fastest planetary winds in the solar system.
Credit: NASA/JPL
Neptune
The eighth planet from the sun, Neptune is known for strong winds — sometimes faster than the speed of sound. Neptune is far out and cold. The planet is more than 30 times as far from the sun as Earth. It has a rocky core. Neptune was the first planet to be predicted to exist by using math, before it was detected. Irregularities in the orbit of Uranus led French astronomer Alexis Bouvard to suggest some other might be exerting a gravitational tug. German astronomer Johann Galle used calculations to help find Neptune in a telescope. Neptune is about 17 times as massive as Earth.
Discovery: 1846
Pluto and its moons orbit the sun near the edge of our solar system. Learn all about Pluto's weirdly eccentric orbit, four moons and more in this Space.com infographic .
Credit: SPACE.com/Karl Tate
Pluto (Dwarf Planet)
Once the ninth planet from the sun, Pluto is unlike other planets in many respects. It is smaller than Earth's moon. Its orbit carries it inside the orbit of Neptune and then way out beyond that orbit. From 1979 until early 1999, Pluto had actually been the eighth planet from the sun. Then, on Feb. 11, 1999, it crossed Neptune's path and once again became the solar system's most distant planet — until it was demoted to dwarf planet status. Pluto will stay beyond Neptune for 228 years. Pluto’s orbit is tilted to the main plane of the solar system — where the other planets orbit — by 17.1 degrees. It’s a cold, rocky world with only a very ephemeral atmosphere. NASA's New Horizons mission performed history's first flyby of the Pluto system on July 14, 2015. [Related: New Horizons' Pluto Flyby: Latest News, Images and Video ]
Discovery: 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh
Named for: Roman god of the underworld, Hades
Diameter: 1,430 miles (2,301 km)
Orbit: 248 Earth years
NASA Solar System Exploration: Dwarf Planets
Planet Nine
Planet Nine orbits the sun at a distance that is 20 times farther out than the orbit of Neptune. (The orbit of Neptune is 2.7 billion miles from the sun at its closest point.) The strange world's orbit is about 600 times farther from the sun than the Earth's orbit is from the star.
Scientists have not actually seen Planet Nine directly . Its existence was inferred by its gravitational effects on other objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region at the fringe of the solar system that is home to icy objects left over from the birth of the sun and planets.
| VENUS |
In what is a food baked if it is 'en croute'? | EXPLORIT Science Center - The Planets
Is the planet closest to the Sun
Completes an orbit of the Sun every 88 Earth days
A waterless, airless world, heavily cratered.
Virtually no atmosphere but some argon, helium and neon
Mercury has a magnetic field and is so dense for its small size that scientists think that it is mostly iron. It is seen as either a "Morning Star" or an "Evening Star". Pluto is the only planet smaller than Mercury.
Venus
The second planet from the Sun
Completes an orbit of the Sun every 224.7 Earth days
The surface has mountains and plains
Atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide but clouds contain sulphuric acid and water
Venus is the planet that passes closest to Earth as they both orbit the Sun. The planet surface is shrouded by clouds which move around the planet very fast producing constant strong winds. Like Mercury, Venus is seen either as a "Morning Star" or an "Evening Star".
Earth
The third planet from the Sun
Completes an orbit of the Sun every 365.26 Earth days
A world of oceans and continents, with polar caps
Atmosphere is nitrogen and oxygen with clouds of water vapor
Earth is the only planet of our Sun known to have organic life. From space it appears as a bright blue and white sphere. It appears blue because 75 percent of its surface is water, and white because 50 percent of its surface is covered by clouds.
The fourth planet from the Sun
Completes an orbit of the Sun every 687 Earth days (1.9 yrs)
The surface is dry and cratered, has volcanoes and canyons
Atmosphere is thin; mostly carbon dioxide with some nitrogen
Mars is the outermost of the four terrestrial planest. It has a reddish color (and so is sometimes called the Red Planet) because of the iron oxide (rust) in its soil. Olympus Mons is an inactive volcano as tall as Mount Everest. There are huge canyons one of which is four times deeper that Earth's Grand Canyon. The planet is very cold and has dust storms whipped by hurricane force winds. Mars has two satellites, Deimos and Phobos.
Jupiter
The fifth planet from the Sun
Completes an orbit of the Sun every 4,332.6 Earth days (11.86 yrs)
Surface is ocean of liquid hydrogen
Atmosphere is thick and is mostly hydrogen, with some helium and traces of methane, water and ammonia.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system - it is 11 times bigger than Earth. As Jupiter spins its thick clouds tend to form bands and give the planet its red-brown-white banded appearance. Jupiter's Great Red Spot was first observed about 300 years ago and appears to be a permanent hurricane. This planet has 16 moons (satellites). The four largest were described by Galileo. Ganymede, the largest of these four, is the largest moon in our solar system, larger than the planets Pluto and Mercury.
Saturn
The sixth planet from the Sun
Completes an orbit of the Sun every 10,759.2 Earth days (29.5 yrs)
The surface is probably liquid and solid hydrogen
Atmosphere is mostly hydrogen with some helium
Saturn is the second largest planet after Jupiter. It has a pale yellow color, and very dramatic rings containing ice crystals rotate around the planet. Tremendously strong winds blow constantly at the equator. Saturn has at least 15 moons most of them small and composed of rock and ice. Titan, the largest appears to be the only moon in our solar system to have an atmosphere.
Uranus
The seventh planet from the Sun
Completes an orbit of the Sun every 30,685.4 Earth days (84 yrs)
The surface is probably a liquid or slushy hydrogen "crust"
Atmosphere is hydrogen, helium and methane; very clear with no clouds.
Uranus, barely visible in Earth's night sky, was not discovered until 1781. It has a faintly greenish color due perhaps to the methane in its atmosphere. It has faint rings and 5 moons.
Neptune
The eighth planet from the Sun
Completes an orbit of the Sun every 60,189 Earth days (164.8 yrs)
The surface is probably a slushy hydrogen "crust"
Atmosphere is hydrogen and helium
Neptune was discovered in 1846. It has as a pale bluish color from space and its atmosphere often looks hazy. The planet is very cold but probably has a hot core. It has at least eight moons. Two (Triton and Nereid) were first observed from Earth and six others were observed by Voyager 2.
Pluto
The ninth planet from the Sun
Completes an orbit of the Sun every 90,465 Earth days (247.7 yrs)
Is a ball of frozen gases
Frozen methane has been detected
Pluto was discovered in 1930 and is about half the size of Earth's moon. It has one known moon, Charon, which was discovered in 1978. Some scientists think that although we call Pluto a planet, it was perhaps once a moon of Neptune and was pulled out of its orbit by the pull from some other celestial body
| i don't know |
What codename was given to the German invasion of Russia in May 1941? | Operation Barbarossa (1941) Summary – German Invasion of USSR
World History
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name given by Nazi Germany to its invasion of the USSR during World War II . The largest military invasion in history, it comprised of more than four million Axis troops, stretched along almost two thousand miles of the Eastern Front. Although the Germans achieved some notable tactical victories during the operation, strategically it was a failure as the Nazis failed to capture Moscow. Barbarossa proved to be a turning point in the history of the war, and Germany never again threatened the Soviet capital.
Background
Even as far back as the 1920s, many members of the Nazi movement had seen it as a core objective for Germany to destroy the perceived threat presented by the communist-ruled Soviet Union. Large tracts of high quality land within the western USSR were also seen as ideal long-term locations for German settlements. After the Nazis came to power, Adolf Hitler”s government signed a non-aggression pact with the Russians in August of 1939. However, this was widely seen as being no more than a tactical ploy.
France and the Low Countries of Belgium, Luxembourg ( occupation of Luxembourg ), and the Netherlands were invaded by Germany in May of 1940. Two months later, Hitler resolved that the conquest of the Soviet Union would be his major objective in 1941. With this in mind, the Fuhrer signed an operational order for this in December of 1940. Officially, this was known as Directive 21, but it quickly became more widely known by its code name of Barbarossa, named after the 12th century Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa.
From the start, the plan was for German police and military units to fight a two-pronged war of destruction. Their first target was the communists who ruled the USSR. The second, as elsewhere in Europe, was to be Russian Jews. In the early months of 1941, Army High Command and Reich Security Main Office officials drew up plans for the deployment of special forces behind enemy lines, with specific orders to kill anyone—especially but not exclusively, Jews and communists—who was felt to be harmful to the aim of German occupation.
The Invasion
As the invasion began on June 22, 1941, the German army engaged in Operation Barbarossa was numbered at 217 divisions. Of these, 134 were intended for front-line duties, while 73 were to be engaged behind the front. Over three million of the Axis soldiers were German, with most of the rest coming from the allied states of Romania and Finland. Later on, smaller forces from Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, and Italy joined the assault, ranging along a front which stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
The build-up of German troops along the Russian border should not have come as a surprise, with the Soviets having been repeatedly warned about it by its western Allies. However, because of Josef Stalin”s refusal to act on these warnings, the Nazis had the tactical element of surprise when they attacked. A substantial portion of the USSR”s air force was still on the ground and was destroyed without even having the chance to take off. Meanwhile, vast numbers of Soviet soldiers were surrounded by German troops: with their supply lines severed, their only option was to surrender to the Germans.
Jewish Persecution and Genocide
While regular German army units spearheaded the advance into Russia, groups of police and SS followed behind, led by the SD and the Security Police”s Einsatzgruppen. These units were ordered to detect and destroy anyone who might be capable of organizing any resistance to the German advance, or later to the occupying forces. They were particularly active in murdering Jewish men and communist officials, although Roma people were also persecuted on a large scale. The surviving Soviet Jews were quickly rounded up and herded into newly established ghettos.
From late July onward, representatives of Heinrich Himmler arrived at the Eastern Front. This gave the Nazis, aided by auxiliaries who were recruited from local sympathizers, an impetus to annihilate entire communities of Soviet Jews. At this point, the success that Barbarossa seemed to be enjoying led Hitler to decide on a new course. He ordered that German Jews should be deported to the USSR as the beginning of what would be known as the Final Solution of the Jewish Question: the utter destruction and mass murder of millions of European Jews.
Soviet Resilience
The first month and a half of Barbarossa saw enormous losses on the Russian side, but the Soviet Union held. By the middle of August, Soviet resistance was strengthening and it was becoming clear that Hitler”s initially ambitious timetable for Soviet defeat would not be met. Even so, six weeks later the Germans had reached the outskirts of Leningrad. Important industrial centers such as Dnepropetrovsk and Smolensk fell to the Nazis, who also flooded into the Crimean Peninsula. By the start of December, German troops had reached the outlying suburbs of Moscow itself.
Despite their spectacular advances, exhaustion had become a major problem for the German troops. The weather was closing in, and in the expectation of a rapid victory the men had not been properly equipped for the brutal Soviet winter. The Nazis had planned that their occupying forces would take food and farmland from the Russians, who would simply be left to starve on a massive scale. With this not achieved, the German troops had insufficient food, with medicine also in short supply. Their supply lines were also dangerously stretched, running for a thousand miles from Moscow back to Berlin.
Failure and Aftermath
The Soviets launched a major counter-attack on December 6, 1941, the day before the United States entered the war. The Russians succeeded in pushing the Germans back from Moscow, and by early 1942, their front had been forced back to near Smolensk. That summer, Germany mounted another offensive, aiming at the Caucasus oil fields and the strategically vital city of Stalingrad. In September, with Nazi troops barely 100 miles from the Caspian Sea, Europe was occupied by German forces to the greatest degree in the whole of World War II.
The second German offensive also failed, with enormous casualties being sustained on both sides at Stalingrad, but the Soviets were able to hold the city. The USSR was in all-out war economy mode, and with Germany unprepared for a long, drawn-out campaign, the imbalance in production steadily increased. The Nazis tried one further attack at the Battle of Kursk in 1943, but when this failed there were no more attempts. After the heavy German defeat at Operation Bagration in summer 1944, the Soviets took less than a year to push their opponents back to Berlin itself, forcing the final Nazi surrender in May of 1945.
Leave a Reply
| Barbarossa |
What is the generic name given to the sparkling wines produced in the Penedes region of north-eastern Spain? | world war two - Why was Stalin surprised in June 1941? - History Stack Exchange
Why was Stalin surprised in June 1941?
up vote 12 down vote favorite
1
It is known that though he was warned by many, including Churchill, on the forthcoming German attack in 22 June Stalin did not believe those warnings and was surprised when the attack started. I believe the question of why this happened has been researched by historians. Is there recent writing on this question? Is there some kind of agreement among historians to explain why Stalin chose to ignore all warnings?
The easiest answer is that Stalin himself had been "misinformed." The Red Army was forward deploying and preparing to attack on the eve of the German Invasion...so question should not be "why was Stalin surprised"(although indeed he was) but "why were the Soviet Armies?" Stalin ordered many of the Commanders shot on sight as a consequence...in particular though not exclusively surrounding the actions involving German Army Group Center. – user14394 Jul 31 '16 at 23:01
up vote 11 down vote
I don't know a ton about this topic, but in Molotov Remembers , a reprint of a bunch of conversations with Molotov in the 70s and 80s, the interviewer asks a lot of questions about this topic.
Molotov said that Stalin knew there would be war with Hitler, and the whole point of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was to stall for time and prepare, and that Stalin felt the country needed two more years before the USSR was ready. Molotov makes clear that all of the ruling circle knew that the Nazis were enemies, and that they knew an attack was eminent. Molotov laughed at the idea that Stalin naively thought that Hitler could be trusted to keep the terms of the Pact - indeed he points out that Stalin trusted no one, even Molotov himself!
So why was the Soviet Union "caught by surprise" when the Germans attacked? Molotov says that Stalin was primarily worried about an anti-USSR German/British alliance, and that Stalin sent orders to his troops specifically to make sure that Germany was the clear aggressor. The orders specified that there was to be no military response to anything the Germans did, except from Stalin himself.
Prior to the invasion, there was a number of border skirmishes and false alarms. Molotov says they were worried about being baited by Hitler into escalating the war, and thus be blamed for its start. The orders helped delay the start of the war by weeks or months. He also mentioned the British intelligence report and that they felt it was something of a joke, that "how could we not know the invasion was eminent? And how could we trust the British?"
Molotov then goes on to call Stalin a genius for this tactic, because:
The delayed the start of the war allowed winter to interrupt the German invasion, ultimately preventing defeat.
That showing that Germany was the aggressor split the German/British/capitalist alliance, and even causing the counter-intuitive US/British/Soviet alliance. Molotov states that receiving material help from the US was unthinkable in the 1930s, and that only Stalin could have conceived of this plan.
Just to be clear, I have not read enough about this subject to give a full answer, having only read Molotov's biased opinion. I am not sure I fully buy his opinion, considering what he said about the Holodomor. However, I feel he is correct in stating that the USSR would have lost if the invasion had started even 1 month earlier. I also liked his point about how odd the idea of an alliance with the British was.
On another note, it was interesting to hear his first hand account of what all the major actors in WWII were like personally; he didn't like Ribbentrop very much!
6
Errr.... there was no "German / British / capitalist alliance" that was "split up" due to "showing that Germany was the aggressor". By that time Britain had been at war with Germany for almost two years. There are more severely weird things in these "Molotov conversations", but that one is really the topping... – DevSolar Aug 1 '16 at 15:31
@DevSolar It might be hard in this day and age to convince Stalin that the Brits were his friends. Probably even harder in the 1940s when they were allies. Nonetheless, I agree with you that Molotov's attitudes are wacky, as I stated in my answer. – axsvl77 Aug 2 '16 at 5:11
@DevSolar The weirdest stuff in the Molotov book was his take on the Holodomor. By far. Chilling to say the least. The funniest part was how he got the Japanese foreign minister drunk to get the treaty signed with imperial Japan. The topping is certainly not identifying the Brits as enemies of the Soviets. – axsvl77 Aug 2 '16 at 5:31
up vote 8 down vote
David Glantz in his book Barbarossa: Hitler's Invasion of Russia 1941 mentions several contributing factors.
Stalin wanted to believe that Hitler would hold to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. This is the main one that usually gets brought out, but it's not the whole story.
When German forces started building up on the Soviet border, Germany told the Soviets that this was for staging exercises for the invasion of Britain well away from potential British observation. The German invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece also gave a plausible reason for German forces to be in the east.
Stalin believe Hitler was too rational to launch a war against the Soviet Union whilst not having finished off the British in the west. Hitler turned out to be not as rational as that.
Stalin was expecting and preparing for a war with Germany possibly in 1942, and there is a human tendency to confirmation bias: to look for evidence that supports our preconceptions and put less weight on stuff that contradicts it.
Stalin's purges had not only affected the armed forces, but also the intelligence services which were therefore institutionally less experienced and prepared. And their reports to Stalin had a tendency to be massaged to fit his preconceptions: evidence of German possible aggression were downplayed; examples of German forces showing restraint were emphasised. Telling Stalin things he didn't like wasn't a life-enhancing move, and that had the effect of distorting the intelligence to reinforce his hopes of no immediate attack.
In May 1941 Berlin and the OKW encouraged rumours that Berlin was planning to demand changes to the agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany. This encouraged the belief that there would be some kind of ultimatum before any attack to serve as a pretext.
Early, accurate warnings of German intentions had 15th May as the start date, which was indeed the German plan originally. The invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece ended up delaying Barbarossa, which had the effect of discrediting the agents who had actually provided accurate information. Several more specific dates were reported and also passed without incident, so there is a "boy who cried wolf" scenario here where repeated warnings of German attack on specific dates all prove false, again undermining the reports of imminent attack.
It is very easy after the event to pick out the bits of intelligence that should have warned the Soviet Union. It is much harder before time to identify which of the many contradictory bits of intelligence you should believe and which are misinformation or just inaccurate (or were accurate before plans changed). Looking at the information available to Stalin at the time, it is perhaps less surprising that he was taken by complete surprise in June 1941, although certainly his wishful thinking was one of the contributing factors as well.
up vote 3 down vote
I have read all the interesting answers and I want to propose a somewhat different way to look at this problem. By the way, this mistake of Stalin had cost millions of lives so the question is really important.
I believe, as did Molotov who experienced it firsthand, that Stalin was a genius of the first caliber. An evil genius, surely, but a political genius like no other. He controlled everything, he saw further and deeper than everybody and he was a practical and extremely ruthless leader and organizer. Even Churchill, who hated communism deeply, spoke of Stalin in such terms.
Stalin had the best intelligence service ever. Communists and communist sympathysers were everywhere and many of them were Comintern agents. He had informers in the German foreign office and General staff of the army. He was well informed on the German economy, the size of its army, its armour, the size of its air-force (Luftwaffe). He knew very well that the German tanks are greatly inferior to the Russian tanks. And he believed, crucially, that for Hitler to attack Russia would be suicidal. In this he was right of course, but still it was close. There were moments in 1941 and the summer of 42 when many in the west and perhaps also in Russia thought that the Wehrmacht is winning.
So why did he make his awful error? Hitler's chain of successes, culminating in the easy defeat of the British and French in 1940 left an impression in Stalin's cunning and calculating mind. "Perhaps the guy is not just a fanatical ideologue and adventurous gambler. He clearly has an excellent army so one can assume that his great gambles were based on a rational calculation". If so then Hitler would surely understand that attacking Russia is too dangerous and could even be suicidal!
So, Stalin's mistake was, in my opinion, that he gave Hitler too much credit. They were both representatives of the devil on earth but Stalin was by far the more able man.
Finally I would like very much to know what you think of my suggestions. I have been pondering this for a long time and am eager to discuss the matter.
up vote 0 down vote
Stalin failed to be objective. Leaders of totalitarian regimes often seem to suffer from this defect. Stalin was the center of a system where he didn't need to be objective and that revolved around his wishes. Absolute power tends to erode one objectivity. The prevalence of yes men and a reluctance to bring evidence that the supreme leader, conclusions counter to the leader's desires are just not presented forcefully. Stalin was used to a situation where he could almost control the facts, reality for most Russians was what Stalin said it was, fear of Stalin was greater than fear of getting things wrong. Stalin didn't want to face the facts that the had got things wrong, the system he was the center of was very much an enabler of Stalin's desires.
up vote 0 down vote
There were some letters found frm hitler not so long ago found in which he writes stalin that he just sets up his troops at the border to the udssr bc the british RAF couldn'reacht them there. Also he was informed from several high ranking soviets reports that hitler will attack but also one which said the opposite in which Stalin and some high ranked soviet minister(or something) believed in. This behavioour can be seen as part of the great purdge and stalin fear to trust anybody around him.
I have to look up the sources and names at home. So if I find time the next days I will send them.
| i don't know |
What common pub name comes from the symbol associated with king Richard II ? | British Pubs
Feature , Featured , Features
The Skiving Scholar, the Drunken Duck and the Queen’s Head
The local pub. Every British city, town and village has one, easily recognizable by their colorful signs and equally colorful names. My first pint, many years ago, was in the Black Bull. Now my regular haunt is the Walkley Cottage. When in York, I always seek out the Guy Fawkes Inn. In Nottingham, I head for The Bell. But where did this eclectic collection of names come from?
It was in 1393, during the reign of King Richard II, that pubs were first ordered to hang a sign outside to make them easily visible. Given that the majority of the population could not read, an illustration was often used, and considering their primary trade, many opted for something to do with beer: hops, barley or barrel. And with it, the name of the pub was born. If you pass a pub called The Hop Pole, the Barley Mow or the Three Barrels, that is likely to be where the name originated.
Some pub names, like this famous pub on Bodmin Moor, are less obvious. Think rum and smugglers.
Many other pubs adopted a white hart, the personal badge of Richard II, as their sign. It was a choice that lasted — the White Hart continues to be the fourth most common pub name in Britain. It made sense to indicate your loyalty to the reigning monarch or local lord by adopting their chosen symbol. An easy way to show your support for the king was to use a sign bearing a crown, and The Crown is still the second most common pub name—one which, conveniently, did not need to change with the occupant of the throne. Another popular name, the Rose and Crown, celebrates the end of the Wars of the Roses when Henry Tudor united the red rose of Lancaster with the white rose of York by marrying Elizabeth of York.
Heraldic symbols often indicate some of the oldest pubs in the land; many have carried their names for centuries. The Red Lion certainly has heraldic origins. Some will tell you that it dates back to when James VI of Scotland became James I of England and insisted that public buildings display the red lion of Scotland, others will point to John of Gaunt’s badge as a more likely origin. In truth, there are probably a number of derivations of the Red Lion, which might explain why it is the most common pub name, with nearly 600 examples dotted all around Britain.
Though London’s Olde Cheshire Cheese is certainly more famous, visitors aand locals alike love this Free House in the Peak District village of Castleton.
Names with a religious slant—Angel, Bell, Cross Keys or Lamb and Flag—indicate pubs that sit close to churches, or did at some point in their history. Thousands of students must have used the excuse that they were going to The Library, a common name in university districts. One Plymouth landlord was a little more insightful regarding student behavior, calling his place the Skiving Scholar.
While the reference is to Elizabeth I, it’s likely this Sheffield pub is being called old, not the Queen.
The Coach and Horses marks a place where passengers on a stagecoach received refreshments while horses were changed or given an overnight stop. Take a look at the map and chances are you’ll be close to an old turnpike road. When the steam locomotive was invented, a number of pubs called The Railway or The Station were opened. No surprise what they are named after, although you will occasionally find one next to a disused line.
Pub names offer a glimpse into the past, even when all other evidence has disappeared. The Dog and Bear might indicate where bear-baiting was once held, while The Strugglers might be close to the site of a hangman’s noose. Ironically, the famed 20th-century executioner Albert Pierrepoint was also the landlord of a pub called Help The Poor Struggler.
MOST POPULAR NAMES
| White Hart |
What name, derived from the German 'to join', was given to the Nazi takeover of the Austrian Republic in 1938? | Project MUSE - Middle English Ferumbras Romances and the Reign of Richard II
Middle English Ferumbras Romances and the Reign of Richard II
Barbara Stevenson
Abstract
The Charlemagne romance Fierabras, which originated in twelfth-century France, was pervasive during the Middle Ages, in Britain as elsewhere, and although ostensibly Charlemagne romances would have been less popular in England than Arthurian ones, nonetheless the Fierabras was translated into English prior to well-known Arthurian narratives like the Lancelot-Grail cycle. Translations of Fierabras into Middle English began to appear in the late fourteenth century, with the Middle English Sir Ferumbras (Bodleian’s Ashmole MS 33) in particular speaking to interests of Ricardian England and its monarch. This article examines the role and importance of Richard, Duke of Normandy in the English Fierabras texts and the character’s connections to King Richard II and his court.
THE Charlemagne romance Fierabras, which originated in twelfth-century France, was so pervasive during the Middle Ages that André de Mandach has labeled it the “Cinderella” of ro mances. 1 Of the 130 manuscripts categorized by Mandach, three are Anglo-Norman and three are Middle English. References in such works as John Barbour’s The Bruce and the romance’s translation and printing by William Caxton attest to its prevalence in Britain. 2 Although ostensibly Charlemagne romances would have been less popular in England than Arthurian ones, nonetheless the Fierabras was translated into English [End Page 19] prior to well-known Arthurian narratives like the Lancelot-Grail cycle, and John Finlayson argues that a Middle English version of the romance was a source for the Alliterative Morte Arthure. 3 Translations of Fierabras into Middle English began to appear in the late fourteenth century, with the Middle English Sir Ferumbras (Bodleian’s Ashmole MS 33) in particular speaking to interests of Ricardian England and its monarch.
Fierabras features the fictitious adventures of Charlemagne and his peers, who take action when Fierabras (called “Ferumbras” in Middle English) steals holy relics of the Passion from Rome on behalf of his father, the Sultan of Babylon. Charlemagne’s champion, Oliver, defeats Fierabras, who then converts to Christianity, while Floripas, the sister of Fierabras, falls in love with Guy of Burgundy and also converts. Their father, the Sultan of Babylon, refuses to convert, so he is killed, and the stolen relics are returned to Charlemagne. Even though the work glorifies Charlemagne and Frankish history along with the Abbey of St. Denis and its Passion relics, the romance proved popular outside of France because it captured the crusading fervor of the era and it entertained with escapist adventures.
While the majority of Fierabras scholarship has been devoted to tracing the relationship of the manuscripts to one another and the history of the romance’s transmission, a few scholars have studied textual variations as a function of cultural difference. For instance, K. V. Sinclair notes that, in contrast to continental texts, some versions of Fierabras of British origin tend to amplify the role of Richard, the Duke of Normandy. 4 The middle section of the romance highlights the exploits of Richard: separated from Charlemagne, the peers are held in captivity by the Saracens until Richard of Normandy escapes to alert Charlemagne. Richard’s advance is blocked, but after he prays, a white deer appears and magically guides him across the river Flagot to safety. After he warns Charlemagne, Richard leads the charge against the Saracens holding Mantrible Bridge, allowing Charlemagne’s forces to free the imprisoned peers and to defeat the Sultan of Babylon.
As Duke of Normandy, Richard is the one character with a connection to England, so it is no surprise that his role at times is expanded upon in insular versions. The character of the duke was modeled after [End Page 20] Richard I “the Fearless,” Duke of Normandy (circa 933–996). The historical Richard was fictionalized first in the Roland and other chansons de geste but emerged as a significant character in Fierabras. 5 Writing about Richard began in his own lifetime when he commissioned Dudo of Saint-Quentin to compose a chronicle glorifying his lineage. Dudo’s De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum formed the basis for chronicle continuations by William of Jumièges, Wace, and Benoît de Sainte-Maure, all featuring the most famous of the duke’s descendants, Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror. 6 Edward was son to Emma, one of the duke’s daughters, while William was a great-grandson. Interest in the Anglo-Norman heritage of the kings of England persisted into the fifteenth century, with Thomas Walsingham updating the history into the reign of Henry V and presenting the work to the monarch in 1420. 7 The Anglo-Norman link through the character of Richard offers one explanation for the popularity of Fierabras in Britain.
The Anglo-Norman Fierabras manuscripts date from the thirteenth through the early fourteenth centuries, while the Middle English versions first emerged in the late fourteenth century. One Middle English manuscript, the Fillingham Firumbras, British Library’s Additional MS 37492, is a fragment, which starts after the peers have been imprisoned by the sultan and contains additional lacunae. Mary Isabelle O’Sullivan notes that this text shows extensive use. 8 As for date, theoretically it could extend from after the creation of its French model around 1170 up to the Fillingham’s manuscript date of the latter half of the fifteenth century, but O’Sullivan contends, “A pre-Chaucerian date is suggested by the general resemblance in metre and spirit to the Tale of Gamelyn, and by the absence of Chaucerian influence either on verse or language.” 9 In contrast, Marianne Ailes and Phillipa Hardman argue that the redactor’s hesitancy to reference France as the heroes’ point of origin [End Page 21] and preference for general heroic terms like “knyȝtes” indicate a post-Hundred Years War date. 10
A more complete Middle English version, Sir Ferumbras (Bodleian’s Ashmole MS 33) is a holograph bound in parchment made of two Exeter diocese documents dated 1357 and 1377, with the cover containing a draft of a portion of the poem in the same hand as the enclosed manuscript itself. The poem is missing the opening, one middle, and the ending leaves. Henry Sweet places the handwriting toward the end of the fourteenth century, and language suggests the Exeter area. 11 Even though the date is not exact, it is certain that the manuscript originated after 1377, the year of one document enclosing the manuscript. It is also the year of Richard II’s ascension to the throne, and features of the poem suggest it could be contemporaneous with Richard’s reign.
The heroic Duke of Normandy in Sir Ferumbras and the English ruler shared more in common than the name “Richard.” Richard Plantagenet and Duke Richard were related through the two English kings, Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror. Edward the Confessor was the patron saint of England during King Richard’s time, and the monarch revered him. The Confessor assumed an important role in Ricardian iconography: Richard II impaled the Confessor’s mythical arms upon his own; the Confessor and Richard are depicted together in the same panel of the Wilton Diptych; Richard rebuilt portions of Westminster, established by Edward; and Richard authorized the construction of thirteen statues representing English kings from Edward up to himself. 12
Moreover, the two Richards shared similar biographies. Both were ten-year-old boys when they assumed their titles, and as young men both struggled to assert their independence from powerful noblemen who sought to control them. As detailed in Dudo’s chronicle, in 942 when his father died, Richard became Duke of Normandy, but Louis IV of France confined him and took control of Normandy. Richard escaped and in 947 was able to retake Normandy after aligning himself with Hugh, Count of Paris. 13 Similarly, in 1387 King Richard’s government [End Page 22] was overtaken by the Lords Appellant, who sentenced the king’s favorites to death during the Merciless Parliament of 1388. After turning twenty-one, Richard reclaimed his royal authority in 1389. (Starting in 1397, Richard took vengeance against the Lords Appellant, an action that would set the stage for his deposition in 1399 and death in 1400 when one Lord Appellant, Henry Bolingbroke, rebelled and assumed the kingship as Henry IV.) 14
According to Sinclair, a distinct feature of some British manuscripts of the Charlemagne romance is the “reference to Richard’s foundation of the Holy Trinity Abbey at Fécamp.” 15 In Sir Ferumbras when Floripas shows the peers the golden idols, Oliver wishes that he owned all the gold. In contrast, Richard says he wants only one of the golden idols and pledges that were he to receive it, he would “in Rowan my Citee, / And make newe þe heȝe churche in worschip of þe trynitee” (83, lines 2551–52). The historical Richard rebuilt Fécamp Abbey—famous for its relic of the Precious Blood of Christ—after its destruction by Vikings, consecrating it in 990. He and his son, Duke Richard II, made Fécamp their center of power with a ducal palace and their patronage of the abbey. 16
Fécamp Abbey acquired lands across the Channel on English soil. In 1016 when Cnut usurped the English throne from Aethelred, Aethelred’s son—the future Edward the Confessor—fled to Fécamp to stay with his uncle, Duke Richard II. After becoming king, Edward in 1047 gave St. Andrew’s Church in Steyning, Sussex, to Fécamp Abbey, in gratitude for the services rendered to him during his youth. After the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror confirmed Edward the Confessor’s gift of Steyning to Fécamp. 17 At the beginning of the fourteenth century, stained glass windows illustrating the life of Edward were installed in the abbey. 18 Just as King Richard II rebuilt portions of Westminster because [End Page 23] of its importance to his role model, Edward the Confessor, so, too, Fécamp Abbey recognized Edward as one of its own saints. In Ferumbras Duke Richard’s reference to Fécamp Abbey might have reminded an English audience—perhaps including Richard Plantagenet—of their patron saint, Edward the Confessor, and of the Norman Conquest.
Sir Ferumbras contains a dramatic shift in style just as Richard of Normandy proposes that he attempt to escape so that he can alert Charles of the assault the peers are enduring at the hands of the Saracen forces (108, line 3411). The poem abruptly jumps from a ballad form with lines ending in couplets to tail-rhyme. Marcus Konick concludes that the changes in the two sections stem from the first part being a translation from a French source while the remaining portion might possibly be from a lost English version. 19 Whatever the reason for the stylistic shift, it is at this point that Richard emerges as a central hero of the poem.
The peers try to distract the Saracens while Richard flees. Once the Saracens realize that Richard is escaping, they pursue him over land and notify Agolafre, the Saracen giant who guards the bridge at Mantrible, to pull up the drawbridge so no one can pass. With his advance over land and bridge blocked, Richard’s only alternative is to cross the river Flagot, which is deep and broad and where he is most likely to be drowned. Richard prays to the Lord that he be allowed to reach Charles safely to warn him to deliver his people from their foes (123–24, lines 3947–54). As soon as he finishes his prayer, a magical white hart appears to guide him across the river: “Er þat þar cam an hert forþ reke, / As wyt ase melkys fom” (124, lines 3955–56), and then “þe hert þat was so fair of siȝt Ouer þe Ryuer swam ful riȝt, / & Ry[chard] doþ afterdrawe” (124, lines 3965–66). The Saracens are afraid to swim like Richard and the white hart, so they race across the bridge. However, Richard reaches the other side, where the white hart disappears, and he succeeds in contacting Charlemagne.
Old French versions use “cerf” and/or “bisse” to describe the mysterious deer, which variously gets translated as a “hert” (“hart” for male deer) or “hende” (“hind” for female deer) in English versions. 20 The Sir Ferumbras author translated it as “hart,” the symbol associated with King Richard II. Indeed, the strongest parallel between the character of Duke Richard and King Richard is their connection to the white hart. [End Page 24]
Perhaps no ruler has been more closely identified with an image than Richard II with the white hart, which appears in such artifacts as the Wilton Diptych and Westminster Abbey. Evidence suggests that Richard’s affiliation with the white hart started early in life: born in 1367 and crowned in 1377, the young king pawned three white hart brooches to the City of London in 1379. Although it is unknown how and why the white hart became Richard’s emblem, it is clear that as king he fully embraced it as his symbol. For instance, Richard introduced the white hart as a livery badge for his retainers at the Smithfield Tournament in 1390. 21
The French name “Richart” contains “hart” as a syllable, which may explain why both Richards were affiliated with the animal. 22 In addition, a miraculous white hart functioning as divine messenger was common in medieval folklore, legends, and literature. For example, according to legend, a white hart marked where Fécamp Abbey’s foundations should be constructed, 23 the same abbey later rebuilt by Duke Richard and so famously connected to him, as the allusion in Sir Ferumbras illustrates.
The Fierabras/Ferumbras hart and Richard II’s hart were both white, the usual color assigned to the magical harts of medieval lore. This color is explained in the Queste del Saint Graal, a copy of which Richard II inherited, although it is unknown if he read it. 24 In the romance, the knights of the Grail quest—Galahad, Perceval, and Bors—along with the sister of Perceval see four lions with a white stag or hart. (A hart is a stag that is at least six years of age and thus old enough to hunt, explains Edward of Langley, second Duke of York, who was King Richard’s favorite cousin and author of the hunting treatise, The Master of Game. 25 ) The group follows the beasts, which lead them into a hermitage, where the hart transforms into Jesus Christ and the four lions into the evangelists. A hermit explains the significance of this vision: “For just as the Hart rejuvenates itself by shedding part of its hide and coat, so did Our Lord return from death to life when He cast off his mortal hide, which was the human flesh He took in the Blessed Virgin’s womb. And because the Blessed Virgin was ever free from sin, her Son appeared in [End Page 25] the guise of a White Hart without spot.” 26 Thus, the color white signifies purity.
Furthermore, the hart is often depicted in conjunction with water, so it is no surprise that Richard’s rescue by the white hart in the Charlemagne romance involves a miraculous crossing of a river. Two pertinent illustrations adorn the Queen Mary Psalter (British Library’s Royal MS 2 B VII), a fourteenth-century text believed to have originally been owned by Richard II’s great-grandmother, Queen Isabella. 27 In the illuminated manuscript, F. 115v features a “Basdepage scene of four stags standing in water,” a pictorial depiction of Psalms 42:1—“As the hart panteth for water brooks, so panteth my soul for Thee, O God” (King James Version). 28 Next to it, F. 116r features a “Basdepage scene of a stag killing and eating a serpent.” 29 Edward in The Master of Game explains this common belief about the hart’s long life: “And many men say, but I make no affirmation upon that, when he [the hart] is right old he beateth a serpent with his foot till she be wrath, and then he eateth her and then goeth to drink, and then runneth hither and thither to the water till the venom be mingled together and make him cast all his evil humours that he had in his body, and maketh his flesh come all new.” 30 Although Edward did not write this treatise until after Richard’s deposition in 1399, the phrase “many men say” makes it clear that this is a widespread belief and no doubt one familiar to his close cousin Richard, who was deeply interested in the hart and who was an avid huntsman. 31 It is not surprising that the hart’s power of rejuvenation received a Christianized interpretation during the Middle Ages, since the serpent and its venom connote evil while the water signifies the cleansing of baptism. The hart’s connection to baptismal waters and to Christian everlasting life offers another reason why the animal was adopted as the symbol of Richard II; he was born on January 6, the Epiphany and the traditional date given for the baptism of Jesus.
Because Richard Plantagenet’s birth date coincided with the traditional [End Page 26] date of the baptism of Jesus, his patron saint was John the Baptist, the biblical hero responsible for Jesus’s baptism. In one panel of the Wilton Diptych, John the Baptist stands with the two patron saints of England, Edward the Confessor and Saint Edmund, while Richard—wearing his white hart badge—kneels. 32 John the Baptist offers another point of connection between Richard II and Sir Ferumbras. The last leaf of Sir Ferumbras is missing, but its French predecessors end with Charlemagne’s giving part of the recovered Passion relics, specifically thorns from the crown and one nail, to the Abbey of St. Denis and establishing the festival of Lendit. 33 Lendit is the historical celebration of St. Denis’s relics that ends on June 23, the eve of the Feast Day of John the Baptist.
The Sir Ferumbras manuscript is unique with its invocations of Saint John that frame the episode of the Battle of Mantrible, Duke Richard’s victory against the Saracens. After Richard reaches Charlemagne and tells of the dire situation facing the peers, Charlemagne makes a vow “to my lord seynt Ion” (131, line 4299) that he will rescue the peers and kill the Saracens. Richard concocts a plan that will allow the Franks to cross the bridge. He and others dress as merchants, they approach the bridge, and Agolafre says he must see their faces. Richard agrees, Agolafre allows them on the bridge, and when the Saracen giant realizes their true identity, he raises the drawbridge to trap them and to prevent more Franks from entering (140). During the ensuing fight, Richard lowers the drawbridge, allowing Charlemagne and his forces to gain entrance to fight the Saracens (142). One leaf describing the battle is missing at this point (148–150). After the Franks kill Agolafre and defeat the Saracens, Charlemagne asks which of his men should be in charge of Mantrible. Richard swears that “be seynt Ion” (151, line 4879) it should be two of the men who accompanied him in the guise of merchants to gain access to the bridge—Raoul and Howel. With this oath, Sir Ferumbras links Duke Richard with John the Baptist, the patron saint of King Richard.
Charlemagne’s forces won the battle, according to the Sir Ferumbras poet, on May 20, 980 (151, lines 4867–70). Sidney Herrtage claims this date is unique to the Ashmole manuscript and does not appear in French antecedents. 34 The date falls during the lifetime of Duke Richard I but well after the death of Charlemagne in 814; also, it accords [End Page 27] with Richard’s assertion that he would like to take home the pagan gold and build the Holy Trinity abbey at Fécamp, which was consecrated in 990. Joseph Bédier notes that Richard of Normandy is an anachronistic presence in the Charlemagne chansons de geste. 35 However, the addition of the date of 980 in the Sir Ferumbras manuscript turns Charlemagne and his peers into the anachronisms, not Richard—an inversion of the usual setting. Bédier points to the anachronistic Richard in the chansons de geste as proof that the texts reflect the era in which they were written rather than being transcriptions of oral accounts dating from the works’ historical origins. 36 For Sir Ferumbras, embellishments—such as Richard’s being the only temporally correct personage—add an Anglicized dimension to a tale of French origin and heighten the significance of Richard’s character.
The poet uses familiar tropes from the reverdie genre to introduce the date: “þys [the Battle of Mantrible] was don on þe moneþ of May, Wan þe foules syngeþ on þe spray” (151, line 4867). Although poetic descriptions of the rejuvenation of nature in springtime are common in medieval literature, the exact language used here is echoed so closely in other Middle English heroic romances as to suggest an intertextual connection. For example, The Bruce contains the line, “This wes in the moneth of May, / Quhen byrdis syngis on the spray.” 37 Similarly, Otuel and Roland states, “In averel, the thyrdde day, / whenne foules synge on the spray.” 38 In each instance the descriptor serves as a transition into a new episode. Even more telling, each work has a connection to the Ferumbras story. Robert the Bruce reads the story of Ferumbras as his men row across Loch Lomond; the thirty-line synopsis includes references to Richard of Normandy, the river Flagot, and the Battle of Mantrible (3.47, lines 437–67). Otuel and Roland is part of the Fillingham manuscript, as is Firumbras. Perhaps Firumbras originally had such a transitional line, but the surviving fragment lacks it. The exact nature of the intertextual relationship among these narratives cannot be determined since The Bruce and Otuel and Roland are fifteenth-century scribal products, and it is uncertain when the exact wording of these transitional lines was introduced.
All these romances reference the Crusades, a practice common during [End Page 28] the Middle English period. Indeed, Rosalind Field observes that Anglo-Norman romances and their Middle English derivatives are marked by “interest in crusading, relics and a feeling for Christendom.” 39 Sir Ferumbras embodies these interests with its portrayal of Charlemagne’s victories over the Saracens, the recovery of the miraculous Passion relics, and the conversion of the Sultan’s children to Christianity. These interests are echoed in Philippe de Mézières’s Epître au Roi Richart or Letter to King Richard, written in 1395. 40 In his letter, Philippe, an advisor to Charles VI of France, proposes that Richard marry the French princess Isabella as a way to end the Hundred Years War; the letter also encourages Richard and Charles to initiate a new Crusade by forming a chivalric order, the Order of the Passion, that would fight the Sultan of Babylon to recapture the Holy Land and to retrieve holy relics. It is striking that the letter recommends a marriage to cement the relationship between the two warring nations of England and France, similar to the way Guy’s marriage to Floripas in Sir Ferumbras cements the relationship between enemy Christian and Islamic lands. A crusade to rescue relics, which is proposed by Philippe, forms the major plot of the romance.
Scholars have speculated that the Wilton Diptych is, in part, a visual argument for Philippe’s proposals. In the painting, the halo of the baby Jesus depicts the Passion relics of the crown of thorns and nails of the Crucifix, which play a role in Philippe’s letter and the Ferumbras romance. Also, John the Baptist holds a lamb, which Phillipe advocates as the emblem to be placed on the banner of the order of the Passion. Richard’s clothing in the painting is adorned with the broomcod, a symbol of France, thus acknowledging his association with France through his marriage to Princess Isabella. Richard hands to the Christ child and the Virgin Mary the banner of St. George, long associated with crusading and selected by his predecessor Edward III as the banner for the Order of the Garter. 41 Since Richard married Isabella in 1396, a year after Philippe’s letter, the English ruler may have heeded some of Philippe’s advice. Although Richard never supported the letter’s proposed crusade to the Holy Land—much less participate in one as did his famous ancestor Richard I—he saw the defense of Christianity as a key role [End Page 29] for himself as king. In his authorized epitaph, Richard claims to have overthrown non-believers: “Obruit hereticos.” 42 The Wilton Diptych, Philippe’s letter, and Middle English romances like Sir Ferumbras capture popular attitudes of the milieu about crusading and Christianity.
Although it is tempting to see Middle English Ferumbras romances as commentaries upon King Richard’s reign, no manuscript contains an allusion or dedication to the king. The Fillingham Firumbras is incomplete, as is the Ashmole Sir Ferumbras, which is missing the opening leaf, the concluding leaf, and a middle leaf describing a battle scene at Mantrible. Although lost manuscript pages are common, Sir Ferumbras was enclosed within a cover containing draft notes for the poem in the same hand as the romance itself, a cover that is still intact. Perhaps pages with references to Richard, such as an opening page with a dedication, were removed once the king became unpopular at the end of the fourteenth or the beginning of the fifteenth century.
The Sowdone of Babylone, preserved in Princeton University’s Garrett MS 140, is the one Middle English Ferumbras romance definitely written after Richard’s deposition. The poem was written during the early fifteenth century as evidenced by its language and its echoes of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. 43 Like Sir Ferumbras, The Sowdone of Babylone also references birds in the springtime, except in this case the lines are an imitation of Chaucer’s “General Prologue”: “Whan lovers slepen withe opyn yȝe, / As Nightyngalis on grene tre.” 44 This rendering of the tale abbreviates the sections involving Richard of Normandy. In contrast to Sir Ferumbras, Sowdone makes no allusion to Fécamp, replaces the white hart with a hind, and merely summarizes the episode at the river Flagot. Scholars attribute the contrasts between the Sowdone and other Middle English versions to the use of different sources. Konick argues that Sowdone derives from a Fierabras tradition that condenses the story, while the other two Middle English manuscripts stem from a different source. 45 Not only did the anonymous author translate and adapt a story that veers sharply away from comparisons with Richard II, but authorial insertions focus instead upon Chaucer, the one member of the Ricardian court still revered in the fifteenth century. [End Page 30] Selecting a hind instead of a hart is particularly telling. Richard’s white hart had become an unpopular and controversial symbol as the alliterative poem Richard the Redeless makes clear. The poem lists specific complaints against the king, most notably the cruelty of Richard’s Chester guard, who wore the livery badge of the white hart. The poet complains that those who “had hertis on hie on her brestis, . . . bare adoun the pouere”; that is, those who wore harts high on their breasts bore down upon the poor. 46 Differing sources account for discrepancies among the Middle English versions, but the distinctions in Sowdone also reflect an era when the former king was unpopular. While variations appearing in other Middle English versions highlight Britain’s Anglo-Norman heritage, this rendition’s unique details emphasize Chaucer and the language of English as a medium of storytelling.
Differences aside, the various Anglo-Norman and Middle English texts display a shared idealized fantasy about crusading, Christianity, romance, and the exotic Saracen Other. In particular, Sir Ferumbras contains alterations that can be read as an allusive tribute to Ricardian England and the Norman Conquest. In contrast, The Sowdone of Babylon distances itself from the former king even as it honors Chaucer, the Ricardian court’s most famous personage. This popularity of Fierabras/ Ferumbras continued into the modern era. During the reign of Richard III, William Caxton printed a prose version in English, predating his publication of Malory. Similar to the situation with Sir Ferumbras, Caxton’s work is an English translation of a Charlemagne romance preceding Arthurian translations; furthermore, Caxton’s account dates to the reign of a King Richard. 47 Even today Fierabras lives on. According to Mandach, farmers in Puerto Rico sing about Fierabras, while in Mexico episodes from the story are reenacted. 48 Fierabras, originally an escapist fantasy about Charlemagne and Frankish glories, has proven to be a malleable narrative that can adapt to different cultures and eras. [End Page 31]
Barbara Stevenson
| i don't know |
What is the name of the sparkling wines of Germany, made from imported grape juice or, if made from German grapes, is preceded by the word Deutscher' ? | The Wine Guy
Details
14 November 2011
Sekt is the German word for quality sparkling wine. Approx 95% of Sekt produced is made by the 'Charmat' method with the remaining premium Sekt made according to the 'Methode Traditionnelle'. Low-cost sparkling wine made by CO2 injection must not be called Sekt, but rather Schaumwein (German for 'foam wine'), semi-sparkling wine is called Perlwein. Also of note, approx 90% of Sekt is made at least partially from imported grape juice from Italy, Spain and France. Sekt labeled as 'Deutscher' Sekt is made exclusively from German grapes and Sekt b.A. - only from grapes from one of the 13 quality wine regions in Germany.
Premium Sekt wines are made using: Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir grapes, with much of it drunk locally rather than exported.
These Sekts are usual vintage dated with the village and vineyards that the grapes are from. Premium Sekt b.A. produced in smaller lots is often referred to as Winzersekt (winegrower's Sekt), as it is typically produced by a winemaker which has his own vineyards, rather than by the large Sekt-producing companies which buy grapes or base wine on a large scale for their production.
German production of sparkling wines dates back to 1826, when G. C. Kessler & Co. was founded. The names used by German producers for their sparkling wines in the 19th century were 'Mousseux', 'Sect' or 'Champagne, but the 1919 Treaty of Versailles prevented Germany from using this name, long before E.U. regulations prohibited its use outside the Champagne region.
Sekt was initially an informal German name for sparkling wine, coined in Berlin in 1825, but was in common use by the 1890s. Germany long attempted to have the name Sekt reserved for sparkling wine from countries with German as an official language, but these regulations were ended by the European Court of Justice in 1975.
Austrian Sekt is often made with the Welschriesling and Gruner Veltliner grapes giving the wine a golden colour. German and Austrian Sekt can be made trocken (dry) or halbtrocken (medium dry).
| Sparkling wine |
Which 19th century novel is subtitled 'The Parish Boy's Progress' ? | Chapter 16- Germany at International Sommelier Guild - StudyBlue
Is Riesling the only wine Germany produces?
no, they produce more than just Riesling, including some quality reds.
One is one of the most cold-hardy grape varieties?
Riesling
What country has some of the world's coldest wine-producing regions?
Germany - the northernmost wine growing regions in Germany are well above the 50th parallel of latitude.
How has Germany succeeded as a wine country being so far north?
centuries of experience and determination
What else does Germany have against it other than being so far north?
it is far from the moderating influence of a large body of water.
What has the success of Germany as a winegrower/ maker of some world-class white wines often been based on?
the location of the vineyard - along rivers, which moderate temperature and in selecting vineyard sites on steep, south or southeast facing hillsides where the maximum amount of sunlight is captured and the effects of frost are the least dangerous.
Which facing hillsides in Germany are where the maximum amount of sunlight is captured and the affects of frost are the least dangerous?
south or southeast facing hillsides
Why is Germany the largest importer of wine in the world?
Germany is a major wine-consuming country. It makes the styles of wine it can, and imports those styles it cannot.
What is about half of the imported wine into Germany?
bulk wine
What happens to the bulk wine imported into Germany?
it is bottled in Germany or added to local wines to add body and alcoholic strength.
How does Germany rank among countries exporting wine?
Despite domestic demand, Germany is among the top 10 nations exporting wine.
FYI - What is the population of Germany?
82.3 million (2009)
FYI - What is the vineyard area (in acres) of Germany?
252,000 acres (2007)
FYI - What is the total wine production in Germany, in cases?
114 million cases (2007)
FYI - What is the total wine consumption in Germany, in cases?
224 million cases (2007)
FYI - What is the total wine imports in Germany, in cases?
158 million cases (2007)
FYI - What is the total wine exports in Germany, in cases?
38 million cases (2007)
FYI - What are the total German wine imports to the US, in $?
$148 million (2008)
What is the location of Germany?
In north-central Europe, reaching as far north as Denmark in the Baltic Sea
Where are most all the wine growing areas, and the few exceptions, in Germany?
a couple of small districts in eastern Germany, but most all vineyards are in the southwest quadrant of the country.
The majority are found near a river or on the shores of Lake Constance (Bodensee in German).
What is the geographical lifeblood of Germany?
The Rhine River.
it forms most of Germany's border with Switzerland and France as it flows westward from Lake Constance to Basel, Switzerland, then along the French-German border north past Alsace, continuing on thru western Germany until it flows out of the winegrowing region altogether & into the Netherlands.
What is the second most important river in Germany?
The Mosel River -
it flows out of France's Vosges Mtns (where it is the Moselle), past Luxembourg, and northeast thru prime wine territory until it empties into the Rhine.
What are other significant tributaries of the Rhine in Germany?
the Ahr, Nahe, Main, and Neckar rivers
What is the German climate?
northern continental;
mild summers, cold winters, and moderate precipitation year round.
With such a cool climate in Germany what do the wine grapes have a problem of doing?
struggle to ripen before winter arrives.
Why are vineyards in Germany so concentrated near waterways?
because wine grapes struggle to ripen before winter arrives -
the flowing water moderates local climates, and reflects sunlight back onto the vineyards benefitting the vines in this marginal climate
At Germany's northerly latitude what is the distinct advantage for south facing hillsides?
maximizing both sun exposure and warmth
What are the advantages for the vineyards on the north side of the river in Germany?
they benefit from extra sunlight reflecting off the water.
What do many of the top vineyard sites in Germany, notably in the Mosel and Rheingau have to assist with the cooler climate challenges?
have a dark blue and red slate based soil that is ideal for retaining solar heat during the daytime and radiating it back at night.
Have many states is Germany divided into?
16 states
What are the states called in German?
Lander
Which states are the primary winegrowing regions in Germany?
the states of Baden-Wurttemberg, Hesse, and Rhineland-Palatinate
Because of the cool climate in Germany, as might be expected, in general, which grapes grow best?
white grapes are the dominant varieties, accounting for 2/3 of the total production.
What is the most widely planted grape in Germany?
Riesling, taking up 1/5th of the total acreage.
Where is the Riesling grape most dominant?
The Rheingau and Mosel areas
What is the second most planted grape in Germany?
Muller-Thurgau
What is the Muller-Thurgau history and profile?
A Riesling cross developed for hardiness but somewhat lacking in its resemblance to Riesling with regard to taste and longevity.
Several international varieties, ones associated with cool climates, are included among Germany's leading grapes, including?
Spatburgunder (PN)
What other international white varieties are planted in Germany, but in lesser quantities?
Chardonnay
SB
Gewürztraminer
More than 100 varieties are permitted in Germany, but in practice apprx how many comprise almost all the vineyard acreage?
about 20 or so
What other important varieties that are indigenous to either Germany or Austria are there?
Silvaner and Kerner (whites)
Dornfelder and Portugieser (reds)
Where in Germany are most of the red grapes planted?
in the Southern regions, but new plantings of red varieties are increasing as far north as the Mosel.
FYI - what are the top 10 grape varieties planted in Germany?
Riesling (W) 55,000 acres
Trollinger (R) 6000 acres
What is German wine law system like?
In keeping with EU wine law blueprint, DDR has two categories of wine, wine and quality wine, with various subcategories of each.
DDR further divides wines by geographic location and the degree of ripeness achieved by the grapes at harvest.
What quality level of wine does most of German wine qualify for?
B/C the German wine laws are quite liberal, it turns out that almost all German wine qualifies as quality wine.
What % of German wine is categorized as just wine?
4%
What % of German wine qualifies for quality wine?
96% of production qualifies as Qualitatswein (quality wine).
What is the term "Qualitatswein" in English?
quality wine
As of 2010, it was unclear how Germany was going to implement PDO and PGI designations = what is projected?
Qualitatswein will equate to PDO
and Landwein to PGI
What are the various levels of the classification hierarchy in Germany?
Tafelwein (table wine)
Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (quality wine from a designated region)
Pradikatswein (Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein, and Trokenbeerenauslese)
What is Tafelwein?
basic wine. Most of the wine imported at this level is imported bulk wine, much of it from Italy. A small amount of the wine in this category is Deutscher Tafelwein - wine made exclusively with German-gorwn grapes. Starting with barely ripe or underripe grapes, Deutscher Tafelwein can have as little as 8.5% alcohol, after chaptalization (the technique of adding sugar before fermentation to increase the alcohol level.
What is chaptalization?
the technique of adding sugar before fermentation to increase the alcohol level.
What is the minimum alcohol level for Tafelwein?
8.5%
Is the minimum alcohol level (8.5%) before or after chaptalization for Tafelwein?
after
Country wine - wines with a geographical indication
grapes slightly riper than those for Deutscher Tafelwein (1/2 % more potential alcohol)
grown in one of the 21 designated landwein regions.
How much more of potential alcohol % must Landwein be than Deutscher Tafelwein?
1/2%
What is Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete?
QbA = quality wine from a designated region -
it is the lower level of the qualitatswein, representing the largest proportion of German wine output.
-QbA comes from one of 13 Anbaugebiete (specified winegrowing regions)
-made with one of the approved grape varieties
-reaches sufficient ripeness for recognition as a quality wine.
What are the restrictions for Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete?
-QbA comes from one of 13 Anbaugebiete (specified winegrowing regions)
-made with one of the approved grape varieties
-reaches sufficient ripeness for recognition as a quality wine.
What is the must weight system in Germany called?
Oechsle
FYI - What are the various quality levels of German wines based on?
the ripeness of the grapes that go into them.
FYI - The minimum must weights vary by category and what else in Germany?
region
FYI - What is the min Oechsle for Tafelwein?
44-50
FYI - What is the min Oechsle for Landwein?
47-53
FYI - What is the min Oechsle for QbA?
50-72
FYI - What is the min Oechsle for Kabinett?
67-82
FYI - What is the min Oechsle for Spatlese?
76-90
FYI - What is the min Oechsle for Auslese?
83-100
FYI - What is the min Oechsle for BA?
110-128
FYI - What is the min Oechsle for Eiswein?
110-128
FYI - What is the min Oechsle for TBA?
150-154
What are the quality levels of Pradikatswein?
Kabinett
-upper level in the DDR classification pyramid
-any of the 13 Anbaugbiete (like QbA)
-6 levels based on ripeness levels achieved in vineyard
-chaptalization not allowed at this level.
What does Pradikat mean?
What does Kabinett level mean?
-light to medium bodied wines
-from grapes with the lowest ripeness level in the Pradikat
-range from 7 - 10% alcohol
What is the Spatlese level?
Late harvest
wines of additional ripeness from grapes harvested after a designated picking date.
-with extra ripening time, the grapes develop more intense flavors and aromas than Kabinett.
What is Auslese wine?
selected harvest -
wines made from grapes that have stayed on the vine long enough to have the required level of sugar.
-wines can be intense in bouquet and taste and have a potential alcohol level in excess of 14%
What is Beerenauslese?
BA - selected berries
-rich, sweet dessert wines made from individually harvested berries, which are sweeter than Auslese and have the potential to be affected by the honeyed influence of Botrytis, known in German as Edelfaule
What is the German word for Botrytis?
Edelfaule
wines made from frozen grapes harvested at BA level or higher.
How/ when are grapes harvested for Eiswein?
having already become overripe from staying on the vine as late as January, these grapes are harvested after they freeze in the vineyard.
Once the grapes are harvested for Eiswein what happens immediately after harvesting?
They are crushed immediately, and much of the water in the berries is discarded as ice, leaving grape must with a very high sugar level.
What is Trokenbeerenauslese?
wines from individually picked berries that are overripe to the point of being raisins
and are often shriveled further by Botrytis
TBAs considered to be among the world's greatest dessert wines.
The six Pradikat levels are not necessarily a hierarchy of quality. What are the differences based on?
Kabinett wines are certainly the most basic of the Pradikat wines.
for the rest of the levels the differences are more stylistic and a matter of taste than an absolute scale of quality.
What are the three dessert wine Pradikats and how much is produced in Germany?
BA, Eiswein, and TBA
make up a very small fraction of production.
What is the basic requirement for designation in the quality and pradikat levels in Germany?
the use of grapes that have achieved a minimum level of ripeness.
What type of wines do underripe grapes produce?
highly acidic, light-weight in alcohol, and whose aromas and flavors are not fully developed.
How are the grape's ripeness assessed?
measuring the amount of sugar present, in degrees Oechsle,
a system based on the density or must weight of the grape's juice (the more solids- primarily sugar-in the juice, the denser the liquid will be.
What is Oechsle?
a system based on the density or must weight of the grape's juice (the more solids- primarily sugar-in the juice, the denser the liquid will be.
Which categories or quality levels is chaptalization permitted?
allowed for the basic wine category and QbA, not for the others.
Does chaptalization change the Oechsle reading or the assigned quality level of the wine?
No to either.
Does the Oechsle value translate to the sweetness level in the finished wine?
despite the emphasis on sugar content in the grapes, the Oechsle value does not necessarily translate to sweetness in the finished wine.
A high sugar content can lead to either a high alcohol content in a dry wine or high sweetness levels in a low alcohol wine, or anything in between depending on winemakers preference.
What can high Oechsle values translate to in the finished wine?
A high sugar content can lead to either a high alcohol content in a dry wine or high sweetness levels in a low alcohol wine, or anything in between depending on winemakers preference.
What other rating system in Germany exists in parallel with the quality categories that are based on grape ripeness?
A German place-of-origen system.
Einzellagen
How many regions are the for Tafelwein?
7 - this is unusual b/c most nations do not have regions smaller than the country as a whole for basic wines.
What is a bit unusual about Germany's regions for Tafelwein?
they have 7 regions, which is a bit unusual as most nations do not have regions smaller than the country itself for basic wines.
How many Landwein regions are there in Germany?
21 regions.
What is a Landwein region category in Germany?
these are "geographical indications" that define the country wine quality level.
How many Anbaugebiete are there in Germany?
13 Anbaugebiete
What is the Anbaugebiete in Germany's wine rating system?
13 regional areas for Germany's qualitatswein. Both QbA and pradikatswein require a single Anbaugebiet as a place of origin.
How many Bereiche are there in Germany?
41 Bereiche
What is a Berieche in Germany?
can be thought of as a regional or district appellation, along the lines of AC Cotes du Rhone or DO Catalunya, or a county in the US>
How many Bereich must be in each Anbaugebiet?
At least one.
How many Grosslagen are there in Germany?
167 Grosslagen
What is a grosslage in Germany? What is it not as a geographical indication?
a grouping of numerous vineyards into a convenient administrative package.
When these areas were established, there was little, if any, effort to take terroir into account - so they are largely meaningless from a terroir perspective.
How many grosslagen are there in each Bereich?
multiple grosslagen
How many Einzellagen are there in Germany?
More than 2700
How many Einzellagen are there in a grosslagen in Germany?
numerous einzellagen
In theory, what is an einzellage? What is it really?
In theory, a single vineyard - but that ignores that these areas were created by cobbling together tiny vineyards into new vineyards of 5 -hectare (12.4 acre) minimum.
More administrative than viticultural.
Nevertheless, these are still relatively small vineyard areas with reasonably homogenous conditions.
Vineyards are often divided among many owners.
What is the minimum size of an einzellage?
5 - hectar = 12.4 acres
In theory, what is an einzellage?
a vineyard - but arranged more for administrative purposes than for viticulture
Which 4 of the geographical indications cover essentially the same territory in Germany?
How much of the total wine growing area in Germany do these 4 categories cover?
Tafelwein, Landwein, Anbaugebieta and Bereiche, although divided up into different segments.
These 4 GI's include virtually the entire wine growing area of Germany.
What two GI categories are not as inclusive as 4 others but still cover much of the winegrowing area in Germany?
The grosslagen and einzellagen
In addition to quality and pradikat designations based on ripeness levels, what other system does Germany use?
An appellation system meant as only additional information.
Are German regulations more like the French or the New World systems?
More like the New World - carrying only very loose restrictions on viticulture and winemaking - grape varieties allowed, vineyard yields, winery procedures, and so forth.
Instead, the merely name the geographical location where the grapes were grown.
If a grosslage or einzellage appears on a wine label, what always precedes it?
always preceded by a village name, usually the most famous village in the area (even thought he grapes may not have come from that village)
Why is the village name necessary on the German wine label for grosslage or einzellage wines?
Give example
because many of the grosslage and einzellage names occur more than once.
There are two different Rothenberg einzellage in different grosslage of Berieche Johanisburg. One is from the town Geisenheim and the other from Rauenthal, so the label reads Geisenheimer Rothen berg and Rauenthaler Rothernberg.
It is often difficult to tell a grosslage from an einzellage on a German wine label wihtout goof reference = why is this?
B/C a wine could theoretically be labeled Geisenheimer (town) Burgweg (grosslage) or Geisenheimer (town) Rothenburg (einzellage).
It is difficult to tell because neither the word "grosslage" or "einzellage" is likely to appear on the label.
However a bereiche should be labeled a "Bereich"
Of the three terms (einzellage, grosslage, and bereich) which one will be labeled so in Germany?
Bereich. The others may occur (einzellage or grosslage) but it is not likely.
FYI - How are wines made by grapegrowers designated?
Erzeugerabfullung and Gutsabfullung
FYI - What is Gustabfullung the equivalent of?
a wine made by grapegrowers that is "estate bottled"
FYI - What does Erzeugerabfullung mean?
wine made by grape growers, also includes cooperatives of growers, and means "producer bottled".
FYI - What does the term "Abfuller" mean?
indicates a wine produced at a commercial winery that buys grapes from other sources.
Historically, what was the German wine style and why?
Especially outside of the mildest areas in the far south, white wines were somewhere between off-dry and fully sweet.
This was due to the cold temps after harvest sometimes halting fermentation before all the sugar could be converted to alcohol. Due to Riesling's high acidity, this RS helped balance out the wine.
In Germany's northern climate, how long are grapes left on the vine?
As long as possible allowing the grapes to ripen as much as they can and are brought into the winery before winter sets in.
For centuries, what style of German wine was popular and even prized at home and on the export market?
off-dry and especially the sweet wines
What happened in the late 20th century in Germany regarding wine?
Consumer's tastes changed, drinking drier wines and it caused Germany's exports to plummet.
What is the German wine industry trying to currently promote?
production of dry wines at home and the awareness of those wines among consumers abroad.
Why are red varieties becoming increasingly viable throughout Germany?
Partly because of climate change
Today, what styles of wines does Germany produce?
An array of wine styles. Most white and sweet, but more than a third of production is red wine, and the proportion of dry whites is growing.
What will you see on a German wine label?
Producer name (Weingut Herr Manning)
Einzellage name (Juffer Sonnenuhr)
What is the minimum % content to state a varietal on a German label?
85%
When will the Pradikat level be stated on the label for German wines?
only at Pradikatswein level -
What are alternatives to Pradikat level for German wine labels?
Kabinett, Auslese, BA, TBA, and Eiswein
What are alternatives to Quality level (Pradikatswein) on a German wine label?
Tafelwein, Landwein, QbA
What is the AP number on a German wine label?
Amtliche Prufungsnummer - a certificate number unique to this bottling issued after government approval.
What range is alcohol content on a German label?
can vary from around 7% to more than 14%.
When will Anbaugebiete be on a German wine label?
one of 13 anbaugebiete is required on all QbA and Pradikatswein labels.
T or F - Grapes at any Praditkat (ripeness) level can be made into sweet or dry wine.
True, in principal
Technically, why with the lowest categories of Pradikat (ripeness) is it hard for wines to be made into either sweet or dry wines?
the natural sugar in the grapes is so low that the potential alcohol level (the maximum amount of alcohol possible if the grapes were fermented fully dry) is barely enough for the wine to be stable and to meet the "legal" definition of wine.
if the fermentation were to be stopped before dryness, the alcohol would be too low.
What are the winemaker's choices if the fermentation were to be stopped before dryness, and the alcohol would be too low? What level of wines?
- Make a low-alcohol dry wine (probably thin and extremely acidic)
-Chaptalize - add sugar to the must before fermentation to increase the potential alcohol level
-Make a low-alcohol sweet wine by adding sussreserve - unfermented grape juice- to the wine after fermenting it dry.
only up to the QbA level.
What is Sussreserve?
The unfermented grape juice that is added to the wine after it is fermented to add sweetness.
German term for sweet reserve
What is Chaptalize?
adding sugar to the must before fermentation to increase the potential alcohol level
What happens to wines at the Pradikatswein level if fermentation is stopped to early?
the grapes at this level have sufficient potential alcohol to produce stable wine even if fermentation is stopped early.
What is not allowed at the Pradikatswein level during winemaking, specifically fermentation?
Chaptalization is not allowed at this level
Grapes at the Pradikatswein level have sufficient enough of what to produce stable wine even if fermentation is stopped early?
potential alcohol
What are the winemaker's choices for pradikatswein, if chaptalization is not allowed at this level, especially at the Spatlese or Auslese level, which are different for those up to the QbA level?
1) make med to high alcohol dry wine
2) make med-alcohol, moderately sweet wine by stopping the fermentation prior to completion.
3) Make a low-alcohol, very sweet wine by stopping the fermentation even earlier.
How can the wine maker, for Pradikatswein level, make a medium-alcohol sweet wine?
By adding sussreserve, but this is mostly confined to Kabinett level, where adequate alcohol is still an issue.
FYI - What are the Tafelwein regions (Weinbaugebiete) in Germany?
Rhein-Mosel
FYI - How many Bereiche, Grosslagen, and Einzellagen does the Anbaugebiete Saale-Unstrut have?
Bereiche 3
Grosslagen 4
Einzellagen 37
FYI - What are the two Tafelwein regions (Weinbaugebiete)/ Landwein regions (Landweingebiete) that do not have an Anbaugebiete?
Tafelwein region Niederlausitz/ Landwein region Brandenburger L.
Tafelwein region Stargarder Land/ Landwein region Mecklenburger L.
How do you tell Sweet from Dry on the German wine label?
Currently no law, but there are clues.
-state it plainly
-list the exact residual sugar level in grams per liter
-qualitative terms that give a general idea
-English words may be used exporting to English-speaking countries, but traditional German terms more common
What are some traditional German terms one might see on a label to indicate sweetness?
Trocken - dry
Halbtroken - off-dry
suss - sweet
What are some other terms on a German label that might indicate a dry (or high-acid-off-dry) wine?
Classic
Charta
What would the term "Classic" on a German wine label mean?
made from grapes with a potential alcohol level one degree higher than the minimum for that variety and region, yielding a dry wine of at least 12 % by volume.
What would the term "Selection" on a German wine label mean?
dry wine made from Auslese-level grapes from an einzellage.
What would the term "Charta" mean on a German wine label?
dry to off-dry QbA or Pradikat-level Riesling from the Rheingau
If a German wine has no indication of sweetness level on the label usually mean what?
expected to be sweet
Even without assistance it is possible to to make an educated guess about the wine's sweetness level based on what?
based on the pradikat and alcohol level (req'd on labels).
In round numbers what is the potential alcohol of Kabinett?
roughly 10% potential
In rough numbers, what is the potential alcohol for Spatlese?
roughly 12% potential alcohol
In rough number, what is the potential alcohol of Auslese?
roughly 14% potential
What does comparing the actual alcohol on a label with the roughly potential alcohol of the pradikat help with?
it will give a pretty good indication of whether the wine is dry (fermented completely, leaving little residual sugar) or sweet.
ex - Auslese wine (potential 14%) has 10% alcohol on the label indication the wine is sweet.
Why is it less reliable to compare QbA wines' pradikat level and actual alcohol listed on the label than those wines of pradikatswein level?
B/C QbA'a and basic wines can be chaptalized
FYI - What is the residual sugar level for trocken wines?
up to 9 g/l
- no more than 2 g/l above acidity level
FYI - What is the residual sugar for wines labeled halbtrocken?
9-18 g/l
no more than 10 g/l above acidity level
FYI - What is the residual sugar level for wines labeled feinherb?
legally undefined but the same range as halbtrocken 9-18 g/l
FYI - What is the residual sugar level for wines labeled lieblich/ halbsuss?
18-45 g/l
FYI - What is the residual sugar level for wines labeled suss or mild?
more than 45 g/l
What are considered dessert wines and are also the three highest Pradikat levels?
BA
What is the typical structure for Pradikat levels BA, TBA, and Eiswein?
normally low in alcohol, high in acid, and very sweet
T or F - All BA, TBA, and Eiswein Pradikat level wines have Botytis effects.
False - Botrytis flavors and aromas may or may not be present at these Pradikat levels.
In the past two decades in Germany, what has happened with red grape varieties with vineyard area and overall acreage %?
more than doubled in vineyard area and now account for some 36% of Germany's total acreage.
What are the German red wines typical like, and why? What variety is most common and what does it make?
a cool area, so German red wines are often on the light side, all the more so b/c the most prominent variety is Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir), which is typically light in color and tannin.
Spatburgunder is also used to produce a substantial amount of rose (Weissherbst)
What is the most prominent red variety planted in Germany?
Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir), which also makes a lot of rose (Weissherbst)
What is the typical profile of Spatburgunder?
light in color and tannins
Where is Spatburgunder mostly found growing in Germany?
vineyards are mostly in the warmer south part of the country, particularly in Wurttemberg and Baden. This area is still cool, however.
What is Weissherbst?
rose made in Germany from Spatburgunder
What are the perfect ingredients for sparkling wine?
high acid, slightly underripe grapes, which Germany makes a lot of
What do German's hold the world's record for with regards to sparkling wine?
the world's highest per-capita consumption of sparkling wine.
What is German sparkling wine called?
Sekt or Schaumwein
What method is most sekt made with?
the tank method
What style of sparkling wine is sekt or schaumwein mostly made into?
finished in a sweet or semisweet style rather than brut.
Which varieties are used to make Sekt or Schaumwein?
Spatburgunder and almost all of the white varieties grown in Germany are used for making sparkling wine.
FYI- What does the German VDP stand for?
Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter = The Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates
FYI - When was the German VDP classification system established?
founded in 1910 as an organization Germany's leading wine estates
FYI - In 2002, what did the German VDP announce?
Germany's first classification of vineyards, taking Burgundy's system as its model.
FYI - In the VDP's 2002 announcement, how were the top vineyards classified?
Erte Lage (first site), meaning grand cru.
Grosses Gewachs/ "great growth" and
Erste Gewächs/ "first growths"
are equivalent terms seen in different regions.
FYI- In 2007, how many vineyards sites produced Erste Lage wines?
171 vineyard sites
In the VDP 2002 announcement, what are lower tiered wines designated as?
Klassifizierte Lagenweine (classified site wines) and
Gutsweine (estate wines)
FYI - Currently, how is the German VDP classification system viewed?
the arrangement is still a work in progress but has the potential to bring refinement to the German appellation system.
What are the classic wine regions of Germany?
Mosel
What are other notable wine regions in Germany, other than Mosel or Rheingau?
Baden
What is known about Mosel wine region?
-one of the best known wine regions of Germany
-famous for high-acid Rieslings
-one of the larger areas in terms of production
- almost 1/6 of the country's wine.
Where does the Mosel flow to and from where? What does it past along the way?
From Trier northeast to Koblenz, where it joins the Rhine.
Some of Germany's most famous vineyard sites.
What is the shape of the Mosel?
tortuously winding with steep banks.
What of the geography and climate of the Mosel region?
it is the most northerly great wine region in the world, and its cool climate makes it difficult to fully ripen even the most cold-hardy grapes.
Where are the best performing vineyards in the Mosel region? Why?
those facing south on the steep slopes, providing the ideal aspect for maximizing sun exposure.
Despite the overall cold climate, what helps Germany's grapes raise sugar levels without sacrificing acidity?
Germany's continental setting allows some hot summer days during the peak growing season.
What has climate change done for the Mosel region?
it appears to have a locally beneficial effect
What of the Mosel's tributaries?
There are several but two are very important in the wine world = the Saar and the Ruwer rivers
Until 2007 what was the anbaugebiete for the Mosel called?
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
What is the central area of the Mosel called and what is its importance?
Mittelmosel - it is home to the most famous German wine sites.
What are the grape varieties of the Mosel region?
Riesling about 60%
Muller-Thurgau about 20% but most is being replaced with Riesling or red varieties
Red varieties currently make up about 10%
What is the hallmark of Riesling?
Acidity
What do the Mosel Rieslings reflect?
Acidity balanced by rich flavors of stone fruits, honey, and a moderate sweetness.
What is the typical alcohol level of a Mosel Riesling?
no more than 10% alcohol
Which wines, and from where, are traditional bottled in tall, slender green bottles?
Wines of the Mosel
How many bereiche does the Mosel anbaugebiet have? What are they?
6 including
How is the Mosel region's quality attested?
it has more than 500 einzellagen, more than any other region.
Where are the most famous stretch of vineyards along the Rhine?
the Rheingau
How much wine does the Rheingau produce for the country?
only 2% of Germany's total, but its quality rivals that of the Mosel region.
Why do the Rheingau's vineyards have the most favored position on the Rhine?
For about 15 miles after passing the cities of Mainz and Weisbaden, the Rhine flows westward, giving the entire right bank an ideal southern exposure, with additional sunlight reflecting up from the wide river. This macro climate affords maximum sun and warmth, along with protection from the cold, north winds.
What do the best vineyards of the Rheingau produce?
Riesling
How much Riesling is planted in the Rheingau? What else is planted and at what %?
3/4 Riesling and the warmth of the region allows Spatburgunder to ripen nicely and this is the other primary grape of the Rheingau.
How many berieche does the Rheingau anbaugebiet have?
Just one = Johannisberg
How many einzellage are in the Rheingau anbaugebiet?
over 100 einzellagen
What of the Baden wine region?
-covers the most ground of the 13 winegrowing areas, stretching 150 miles along the eastern bank of the Rhine between Manheim and Switzerland.
-however, only a fraction of the area is planted to grapes, making it the third largest anbaugebiet in vineyard acreage, after Rheinhessen and Pfalz.
What are the top three producing Anbaugebiete in Germany?
Rheinhessen
Baden
What is unique about the Baden Anbaugebiet?
It consists of two large, unconnected segments along the east side of the Rhine, plus three small subareas along western Lake Constance.
What is considered the warmest of Germany's growing regions?
Baden's
What is the most widely planted grape variety in Baden? What else is planted?
Spatburgunder
What is the eastern most anbaugebiet of the former West Germany?
Franken
What is the Franken Anbaugebiet known for?
known for everyday white wines traditionally sold in a flask called a Bocksbeutel
Other than being the easternmost anbaugebiet of the former West Germany, what else is known about the location of Franken?
covers a large area of the Main River Valley
but with fairly sparse plantings of vines.
Where is the Bocksbeutel known for in Germany?
Franken
What of the geography of the anbaugebiet Nahe?
it lies southwest of the Rheingau, where the river of the same name flows into the Rhine.
The Nahe Valley is west of Rheinhessen.
It is a smallish region
What wines does the Nahe region produce that are well respected, if not especially well-known?
Rieslings
What % of Riesling is planted in the Nahe anbaugebiet?
only about a quarter of production
Where are the fine vineyard sites located in the Nahe region?
on the south-facing slopes of the mainly east-west valleys of the Nahe and its tributaries.
Where is the anbaugebiet Pfalz?
it lies west of the Rhine, and its southern edge lies not far from the northern tip of the French Alsace.
How does the Pfalz anbaugebiet rank in terms of production in Germany?
2nd in production
What is the weather and soil like for the Pfalz anbaugebiet?
quite sunny and warm and fertile
What is the Pfalz anbaugebiet known for in terms of wine?
mainly simple, inexpensive wines produced in large quantities.
How is the wine industry in the Pfalz region trying to change?
Some vintners are beginning to focus on low yields and premium bottlings.
How much of all German Rieslings does the Pfalz anbaugebiet produce?
1/4 of all German Rieslings.
Where is the Rheinhessen anbaugebiet located?
on the south and west bank of the Rhine across from the Rheingau and north of the Pfalz and east of the Nahe.
How does the Rheinhessen anbaugebiet rank in terms of German wine production?
Number one in both area under vine and in overall production.
What is the geography and weather like for the Rheinhessen?
it forms a low, flat plateau with a generally warm, dry climate.
What varietals does the Rheinhessen anbaugebiet mostly produce?
Most of its vineyards are currently planted to Muller-Thurgau and Dornfelder, but Riesling is not far behind.
What is the Wurttemberg region known for?
Being a large region that focuses on red grape varieties
What red grape varieties does the Wurttemberg anbaugebiet focus on growing and what % of this region is red grape varieties?
70% of vineyard area is focused on red varietals such as Trollinger, Schwartzriesling, and Lemberger.
Where are most of the vines planted in the Wurttemberg anbaugebiet?
on the slopes of the Neckar River valley and on the banks of the Neckar's tributaries, and
a few are planted well south on the shore of Lake Constance
What is the weather like in Wurttemberg?
Rainfall and humidity are higher here than in any other wine regions in Germany.
Which anbaugebiet has vineyards located on the shores of Lake Constance?
Wurttemberg
What are the 5 anbaugebiete that are very small, little more than 1000 acres of vines each, whose wines are often NOT seen outside of Germany?
Ahr
What are the talking points of the Mittelrhein anbaugebiet?
small region (1000 acres)
stretch of Rhine Valley downriver (north) from the Rheingau
steep banks dotted with castles and small vineyards
What is the Hessiche-Bergstrasse anbaugebiet known for?
a spur off the northern part of Baden
primarily planted with Riesling
What are the two Anbaugebiete in the former East Germany?
Saale-Unstrut
both small regions and the most northerly of all German wine regions.
FYI - What is Liebfraumilch - taste, varieties?
a moderately sweet, light, white wine made mostly from QbA - level Muller-Thurgau, Silvaner, and Kerner
FYI = which anbaugebiete grow the grapes for Liebfraumilch?
vineyards throughout Pfalz, Rheinhessen, Nahe, and Rheingau
which blend the must of the following grape varieties:
Muller-Thurgau, Silvaner, and Kerner
FYI - WHat quality level of grapes make Liebfraumilch?
QbA -level
| i don't know |
What name is given in the Christian calendar to February 2nd, also a Quarter Day in the Scottish legal calendar? | Common Holidays in Relation to Equinoxes, Solstices & Cross-Quarter Days
Common Holidays in Relation to Equinoxes, Solstices & Cross-Quarter Days
Are you curious about (a) equinoxes and the like, (b) cultural transmission of holiday traditions, or (c) conspiracies of greeting card companies?
Well, you've come to the right place.
For my own amusement, I've put together a list from different sources of the most common national and religious holidays observed in the U.S., along with some older holidays tied rather directly to points in the Sun's annual journey around the sky, and the astronomical dates which underlie many of them.
You've probably heard of the Spring and Fall Equinoxes (times of equal-length day and night) and the Summer and Winter Solstices (longest and shortest day, respectively) before. In current usage these each define the official beginning of a season -- for example, summer ``begins'' around June 21st. However a less-used parallel system holds that June 21st is actually Midsummer's Day, which then requires the start of summer to be in early May. This date and three others like it are known as the Cross-Quarter Days, because they are evenly spaced between the fundamental Quarter Days of the Solstices and Equinoxes. The Cross-Quarter Days thus mark the middle of each season under our current system, or seasonal boundaries under the alternative system. Due to the insertion of a Leap Day on February 29th every four years, the exact dates of these eight astronomical events shift back and forth, with a total range of about 54 hours.
Ancient peoples were very attentive to seasons and the Sun's position in the sky, because their livelihood depended on planting and harvesting at the proper times. All eight of the above-listed Days were observed as pagan holidays of one sort or another; a few, like Halloween, have survived to modern times in (somewhat) recognizable form. What is more interesting is the number of supposedly modern holidays which lie in close proximity to the same dates. Christmas (Winter Solstice) and Easter (Spring Equinox) are two obvious examples; one may make the argument that these holiday times were inherited. Others are quite surprising -- like Father's Day (Summer Solstice)! What are the folks at Hallmark hiding from us? Of course, not everything lines up, and the nearness of Election Day to All Saints' must be pure coincidence. Right?
January 1 - New Year's Day January 5 - Twelfth Night January 6 - Eastern Orthodox Christmas - Twelfth Day or Epiphany or Old Christmas January 20 - Inauguration Day - Saint Agnes' Eve - woman dreams of future husband 2nd New Moon after Winter Solstice - Chinese New Year (lunar calendar) February 2-6 1st Cross-Quarter Day February 2 - Groundhog Day - Candlemas or feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary or of the Presentation of the Child Jesus - 40th Day of Christmas - Imbolg / Imbolc (other Celtic names) or Brighid or Oimelc February 14 - Valentine's Day March 2nd Sunday - Begin U.S. Daylight Savings Time (clocks 1 hour forward) March 15 - Ides of March - 1st month middle, Roman calendar also assassination of Julius Caesar March 17 - St. Patrick's Day - sowing of peas in Ireland March 19-21 1st Quarter Day - Spring (Vernal) Equinox March 21 - Ostara / Eostre (Saxon goddess of Spring) Full Moon after SE - Passover Following Sunday - Easter Previous Friday - Good Friday April 1 - All Fool's Day (old new year's day) April 30 - May Eve or Walpurgisnacht (witches' Sabbath) or Walpurgis Night (after St. Walpurga) May 1 - May Day - May Poles, May Queens, May-dew, etc. - Beltane / Bealtaine - Celtic bonfire festival May 4-7 2nd Cross-Quarter Day May 5 - Cinco de Mayo (Mexico) May 2nd Sunday - Mother's Day May last Monday - Memorial Day ("Decoration Day", officially May 30) June 14 - Flag Day June 3rd Sunday - Father's Day June 20-22 2nd Quarter Day - Summer Solstice June 21 - Litha (Norse/Anglo-Saxon for "longest day") June 23 - St. John's Eve - European Midsummer celebration July 1 - Dominion Day (Canada) July 4 - Independence Day (U.S.) August 1 - Lammas ("loaf mass") - harvest festival or festival of St. Peter's Chains or of the Maccabees or of the Gule ("mouth") of August - Lugnasad - Gaelic summer "games of Lug" (sun-god) or Lughnasada or Lunasa August 5-8 3rd Cross-Quarter Day September 1st Mon - Labor Day September 21-24 3rd Quarter Day - Fall (Autumnal) Equinox September 21 - Mabon (Welsh for "son") New Moon after FE - Rosh ha-Shanah (Jewish New Year) 10 days later - Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement") October 2nd Monday - Thanksgiving (Canada) October 31 - Hallowe'en or All Hallows E'en or Hallowmas Eve November 1 - Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead (Mexico) - All Saints' Day or Hallowmas or Allhallowmas or Allhallows - Samhain - Celtic feast of departing Sun & new year or All Souls' Night November 2 - All Soul's Day - prayer for souls in purgatory November 1st Sun. - End U.S. Daylight Savings Time (clocks 1 hour back) November 1st Tues after 1st Mon - U.S. Election Day November 5-8 4th Cross-Quarter Day November 5 - Guy Fawkes Day November 11 - Veterans' Day (World War I Armistice Day) - Martinmas (death of St. Martin) or Martinmas-in-Winter November 4th Thurs - Thanksgiving (U.S.) December 13 - St. Lucy's Day ("the year's midnight") December 19 - Saturnalia - Roman midwinter festival, 7 days long December 20-23 4th Quarter Day - Winter Solstice December 21 - Yule (Norse for "wheel") - Germanic 12-day feast December 24 - Christmas Eve December 25 - Christmas Day December 31 - New Year's Eve
Notes
Exact determination of dates for Chinese New Year, Easter, and Rosh Hashanah is a bit more complex than given here; see Explanatory Supplement reference below for details.
Pagan Quarter and Cross-Quarter Days (Wiccan Sabbats) may be in slight error; some practitioners observe them at the astronomically correct time, while others adhere to rigid dates (e.g., Feb 1 or Mar 21).
References
The Astronomical Companion (1979) by Guy Ottewell, Universal Workshop
| Presentation of Jesus at the Temple |
Which popular Doctor Who villains, it was revealed in 2011, are to be given 'a rest' by scriptwriters? | The Occult Calendar
Upload Sign in Join
We shall now look at the year in terms of esoteric law and ritual. The whole year is broken up into precise block systems, of coursethere are far to many to name them all, but we shall look at the main dates those versed in the occult use for certain aspects of their life. Not all these are satanic in their essence, but given the fact that Satanism or Luciferianism has ruled for 7000 years and more,many of these dates have a great satanic significance in many cases they override what are ancient dates of importance especiallyfrom the pagan world. We shall look at the basic dates for the year then look at them in greater detail. You must keep in mind of course that esoteric or occult knowledge is in itself neutral, it is the mind and thus energy called upon that determines what theoutcome will be, as negative as many of the energies existent upon planes outside this third dimension, there is equal balanced andbenevolent energies waiting to be called upon, with far more power. The reason this Earth is imbalanced to the negative is becausemost who utilise energy do so in the quest for personal wealth and power, something the balanced energies do not offer, yet suchspiritual power is the consequence of enrichment of ones soul but in a balanced essence benefiting all and not the self or egoicaspect of man, what the native American’s call working with the Earth, as opposed to calling on energies outside the earth for personal power to lord over others, the sickness of civilisation. The whole of what we call civilisation and culture is controlled bykeeping mans energies focused to the three lower Chakras beneath the heart, Root Chakra = Judaism, Sacral Chakra = Islam, andChristianity the Solar Plexus Chakra, the trinity of total imbalance, made so because these three are below the heart chakratherefore cancelling out love, and as the energy travels up the Chakra system it is imbalanced so the human cannot utilise the upper Chakras…Man is fixed in the underworld…The fall of man. It is all going on inside you as an individual, to seek for physicalextraterrestrial beings is to miss the point and only further projection achieved. I am not saying Extraterrestrial beings do not exist,but the spiritual journey is within you which in the human form is a solar system and universe in and of itself.
The Christian esoteric years begins in the autumn with the passing of the Equinox, the satanic Year begins on May 1st, the Earth or Pagan New Year is April 1st. We shall follow the satanic calendar as you can then follow the evil idiots through the year, once youfully grasp this system it becomes Childs play to see their game…They become predictable which is the case with tiny minds andcreatures of ritual which the reptile aspect to the human brain is, it depends on ritual, hierarchy and the most basic of life impulses Ihave termed to ‘Fight, Feed and Fuck’ to become dominant over all because at this level of consciousness you are governed by fear of all around you, take it from me I speak from experience.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Satanic calendar New Years Eve the 30th April Walpurgis Nacht, the high feast of satanism into May Day May 1st, then onto thenext quarter of Old Beltane on May 15th, then to the Summer Solstice, on to the next quarter Lammas on August 1st through to the Autumn Equinox then to the next quarter Hallowmas on November 11th to the Winter Solstice and to the February quarter Candlemas.Not forgetting all the moons in between themselves very important ritual days of human and animal sacrifice. We also have theChristian English quarter days of:Lady Day 25th MarchMidsummer Day 24th June also known as John the Baptist day or Nimrod /AnuMichaelmas 29th September Christmas Day 25th December.Of course all the quarter days are pagan in their nature representing important dates to commune with the Earth and as suchChristianity and indeed satanism have superimposed their own brand of deity and meaning to these dates to stamp out allcommunications with the earth, the decrees against wise women by the Church again part of this insistence man serves onlyenergies and entities outside the sphere of the Earth.There are the ides of each month relating to Mars
January 5: Feast of Fools/Shivaratri(night of Shiva creator/destroyer)January 6: Epiphany/Twelfth Night(Kore gives birth/manifestation of divinity)January 7: St Winebald Day(blood rituals, animal or human sacrifice)January 17: St Sulpice DayFeast of Fools (Old Twelfth Night)January 18: Old Epiphany/Dream Festival(Pleiades) 3 daysJanuary 20: Midwinter February 1: Mysteries of Persephone/Imbolc(Druid Earth Mother)February 2: CandlemassFebruary14: St. Valentine's Day(the shedding of blood and infant sacrifice)February15: Lupercalia (she-wolf mother of Romulus & Remus
| i don't know |
Which iconic musical actress was born Frances Gumm in 1922? | Frances Ethel Gumm (1922 - 1969) - Genealogy
Frances Ethel Gumm
"Judy /Garland/", "Baby Gumm", "Baby"
Birthdate:
Grant Rapids, Itasca, Minnesota, United States
Death:
in London, England
Cause of death:
accidental drug overdose self-overdosage" of barbiturates; her blood contained the equivalent of ten 1.5-grain (97 mg) Seconal capsules.
Place of Burial:
Hartsdale, Westchester, New York, United States
Immediate Family:
June 8 1952 - San Benito, California, United States
Husband:
June 8 1952 - San Benito, California, United States
Husband:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
"...Minelli, in 1945, and bottom right, with husband No. 3, Sid Luft, in 1953. Wirtoholo Judy Garland Death Believed Natural .IUDY, From ...
Date:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
".... DIES AT Judy Garland, was found dead in her London home by' her fifth husband, Mickey Deans. Judy Garland Continued from Page 1 wri...
Date:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
... commented: "It was a simple, plain case of sudden death." Miss Garland had been mir- ried to Deans, a 35-year ... newsmen! "Finally, fin...
Date:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
... Friday will be conducted by the .Rev. Peter who married Miss Garland and Deans in London in Among those invited to attend the funeral ta...
Date:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
... Las Vegas just before Susie died. Susie was the oldest cf the Gumm sisters. Mrs. Thompson was the middle sister and Judy, who ussd the s...
Date:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
... in her gloved hands. She wore tier wedding ring, a twin to Deans'. 'JUDY BEAUTIFUL' Nearby ... will be conducted by the Rev. Peter Delan...
Date:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
... is due to he performed, according to Scot- land Yard. Miss Garland, who was born Frances Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minn., made ... from inju...
Date:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
... Episcopal rites Friday will be conducted by Peter who married Miss Garland and Deans in London in Among those invited ... to They passed...
Date:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
"...Garland had been married to Deans, a 35-year-old former New York discotheque manager, for IOO days. A friend, singer .Gina Dangerfiel...
Date:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
... commented: "It was a simple, plain case of sudden death." Miss Garland had ... 15, she told newsmen: "Finally, finally I am loved." Born...
Date:
sister
About Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage. Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy Award, won a Golden Globe Award, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her work in films, as well as Grammy Awards and a Tony Award. She had a contralto singing range.
After appearing in vaudeville with her sisters, Garland was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. There she made more than two dozen films, including nine with Mickey Rooney, and the film with which she would be most identified, The Wizard of Oz (1939). After 15 years, Garland was released from the studio but gained renewed success through record-breaking concert appearances, including a critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall concert, a well-regarded but short-lived television series and a return to film acting beginning with A Star Is Born (1954).
Despite her professional triumphs, Garland battled personal problems throughout her life. Insecure about her appearance, her feelings were compounded by film executives who told her she was unattractive and overweight. Plied with drugs to control her weight and increase her productivity, Garland endured a decades-long struggle with addiction. Garland was plagued by financial instability, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes, and her first four of five marriages ended in divorce. She attempted suicide on a number of occasions. Garland died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of forty-seven, leaving children Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft.
In 1997, Garland was posthumously awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 1999, the American Film Institute placed her among the ten greatest female stars in the history of American cinema. Garland was the youngest child of former vaudevillians Frank Gumm and Ethel Marion Milne. Her ancestry on both sides of the family can be traced back to the early colonial days of the United States. Her father was descended from the Marable family of Virginia and her mother from Patrick Fitzpatrick, who arrived in America from Smithtown, County Meath, Ireland, in the 1770s.
Named after both her parents and baptized at a local Episcopal church, "Baby" (as Frances was affectionately called) shared the family's flair for song and dance. "Baby" Gumm's first appearance came at the age of two-and-a-half, when she joined her two older sisters, Mary Jane ("Suzy") (1915-1965) and Dorothy Virginia ("Ginnie") (1917-1977) on stage for a chorus of "Jingle Bells" in a Christmas show at her father's movie theater.
The Gumm girls performed at their father's theater, accompanied by their mother on piano, for the next few years. In June 1926, following rumors that Frank had made sexual advances toward male ushers at his theater, the family relocated to Lancaster, California. Frank purchased and operated another theater there and Ethel, acting as their manager, began working to get her daughters into pictures.
To keep up with the frantic pace of making one film after another, Garland as well as other young performers were constantly given amphetamines, as well as barbiturates to take before bed. For Garland, this regular dose of drugs led to addiction and a lifelong struggle, and contributed to her eventual demise. She later resented the hectic schedule and felt that her youth had been stolen from her by MGM. Despite successful film and recording careers, several awards, critical praise, and her ability to fill concert halls worldwide, Garland was plagued throughout her life with self-doubt and required constant reassurance that she was talented and attractive.
On June 22, 1969, Garland was found dead by Deans in the bathroom of their rented Chelsea, London house. The coroner, Gavin Thursdon, stated at the inquest that the cause of death was "an incautious self-overdosage" of barbiturates; her blood contained the equivalent of ten 1.5-grain (97 mg) Seconal capsules.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_garland
Judy Garland (June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage. Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy Award, won a Golden Globe Award, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her work in films, as well as Grammy Awards and a Special Tony Award.
After appearing in vaudeville with her sisters, Garland was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. There she made more than two dozen films, including nine with Mickey Rooney and the 1939 film with which she would be most identified, The Wizard of Oz. After 15 years, Garland was released from the studio but gained renewed success through record-breaking concert appearances, including a critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall concert, a well-regarded but short-lived television series and a return to acting beginning with a critically acclaimed performance in A Star Is Born (1954).
Despite her professional triumphs, Garland battled personal problems throughout her life. Insecure about her appearance, her feelings were compounded by film executives who told her she was unattractive and manipulated her on-screen physical appearance. Garland was plagued by financial instability, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. She married five times, with her first four marriages ending in divorce. Garland died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 47, leaving children Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft.
In 1997, Garland was posthumously awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 1999, the American Film Institute placed her among the ten greatest female stars in the history of American cinema.
The star of many classic musical films, Judy Garland was known for her tremendous talent and troubled life. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage. Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy Award, won a Golden Globe Award, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her work in films, as well as Grammy Awards and a Special Tony Award. She is best remembered in the films The Wizard of Oz (1939) and A Star Is Born (1954) and for the song "Over the Rainbow."
Born on Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota the youngest child of Francis Avent "Frank" Gumm (March 20, 1886 – November 17, 1935) and Ethel Marion Milne (November 17, 1893 – January 5, 1953). Garland's parents were vaudevillians who settled in Grand Rapids to run a movie theatre that featured vaudeville acts.
The star of many classic musical films, was known for her tremendous talent and troubled life. She started out in show business at an early age. The daughter of vaudeville professionals, she started her stage career as a child.
Garland was called "Baby Gumm" and sang "Jingle Bells" at her first public performance at age of two and a half. With her two older sisters, Susie and Jimmie, Garland soon began performing as part of the Gumm Sisters.
In 1926, the Gumm family moved to California where Garland and her sisters studied acting and dancing. They played numerous gigs that their mother Ethel had arranged for them as their manager and agent. In the late 1920s, the Gumm sisters also appeared in several short films.
The Gumm sisters transformed into the Garland sisters at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1934. Traveling with their mother, the sisters played at a theater with comedian George Jessel who reportedly suggested they become the Garland sisters. Garland shed her nickname "Baby" in favor of a more mature and vibrant Judy. The following year, she would become a solo act, signing a movie contract with MGM at the age of 13. It was on a radio broadcast that November, however, that Garland debuted one of the songs most closely associated with her, "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart." Shortly after the program aired, Garland suffered a great personal loss when her father Frank died of spinal meningitis.
Despite her personal anguish, Garland continued on her path to film stardom. One of her first feature film roles was in Pigskin Parade (1936). Playing a girl-next-door type of role, Garland went on to co-star in Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) with friend Mickey Rooney. The two proved to be a popular pairing, and they co-starred in several more Andy Hardy films.
Not only was she working a lot, Garland was under pressure from the studio about her looks and her weight. She was given amphetamines to boost her energy and control her weight. Unfortunately, Garland would soon become reliant on this medication as well as needing to take something else to help her sleep. Drug problems would plague her throughout her career.
In 1939, Garland scored one of her greatest on-screen successes with The Wizard of Oz (1939), which showcased her singing talents as well as her acting abilities. Garland received a special Academy Award for her portrayal of Dorothy, the girl from Kansas transported to Oz. She soon made several more musicals, including Strike Up the Band (1940), Babes of Broadway (1942) with Mickey Rooney, and For Me and My Gal (1943) with Gene Kelly.
Garland married for the first time at the age of 19. Her union with bandleader David Rose was decidedly short-lived, however. On the set of Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), another of Garland's signature films, she met director Vincent Minnelli. She officially divorced Rose in 1945 and soon wed Minnelli. The couple also welcomed a daughter, Liza, in 1946. Unfortunately, Garland's second marriage only lasted a little longer than her first. The Garland-Minnelli union was practically over by 1949 (they officially divorced in 1952).
Around this time, Garland began to break down emotionally. She was probably exhausted from all of the years of constantly working as well as from all the medications she was to keep herself going. She developed a reputation for being unreliable and unstable. In 1950, MGM dropped her from her contract because of her emotional and physical difficulties. Garland's career appeared to be spiraling downward.
In 1951, Garland started to rebuild her with help of producer Sid Luft. She starred in her own show on Broadway at the Palace Theater, which drew large crowds and ran for more than 20 weeks. More than simply showcasing her powerful and expressive voice, the revue also proved that Garland was a dedicated performer, helping to dispel the earlier negative stories about her. She earned a special Tony Award for her work on the show and her contributions to vaudeville in 1952.
Garland married Luft in 1952, which was a stormy relationship by some reports. They had two children together—daughter Lorna in 1952 and son Joey in 1955. What ever personal difficulty Garland and Luft had, he had a positive impact on her career and was instrumental in putting together one of her greatest films. Starring opposite James Mason, Garland gave an outstanding performance as a woman who obtains stardom at the price of love in A Star Is Born (1954). Her rendition of "The Man That Got Away" is considered one of her best performances on film. She was nominated for an Academy Award for this film.
In the 1960s, Judy Garland spent more time as a singer than an actress, but she still managed to earn another Academy Award nomination. She played a woman who had been persecuted by the Nazis in 1961's Judgment at Nuremberg. That same year, Garland won two Grammy Awards for Best Solo Vocal Performance and Album of the Year for Judy at Carnegie Hall. Despite all of her success as a singer, these were only Grammy wins of her career.
Garland also tried her hand at series television. In 1963 to 1964, she starred in The Judy Garland Show. The program went through many changes in its short run, but its strongest moments featured Garland at her best—singing. Her two daughters, Lorna Luft and Liza Minnelli, made appearances on the show as did Mickey Rooney. Jazz and pop vocalist Mel Tormé served as the program's musical advisor. For her work on the show, Garland earned an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program in 1964.
Although her television series ended, Garland was still in demand as an entertainer, playing gigs around the world. But her personal life was as troubled as ever. After many separations, Garland divorced Luft in 1965 after a bitter battle over child custody. She quickly remarried—this time to actor Mark Herron. But that union lasted only a few months before dissolving. (The pair later officially divorced in 1967.) In 1967, Garland made a critically acclaimed return to Broadway for At Home at the Palace.
The next year, Garland went to London. She was in personal and financial trouble by this time. Making some performances at London's Talk of the Town nightclub, Garland was clearly not in good shape on stage. She wed former bandleader and club manager Mickey Deans a few months before her death in 1969. Judy Garland died on June 22, 1969, in London, England, reportedly of an accidental overdose.
The legacy of Garland has been carried on by her daughters Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft, both of whom are singers and have had varying degrees of success. Lorna wrote about her life with Garland in her 1998 autobiography, Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir. It became the basis for the 2001 television mini-series Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows. Both of the actresses playing Judy—Tammy Blanchard as young Judy and Judy Davis as more mature Judy—took home Emmy Awards for their portrayals of the famed entertainer.
Nearly 40 years after her death, Garland continues to maintain a devoted following. There are countless fan sites online as well as published biographies that explore almost every aspect of her life—from her brilliant talent, her professional successes and failures, and her myriad of personal struggles. In celebration of the late star, the Judy Garland Museum at her birthplace holds an annual festival.
| Judy Garland |
What is the usual collective noun for a group of toads? | Judy Garland | Moviepedia | Fandom powered by Wikia
Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis
Throughout the 1940s, Garland's films increased in popularity, making her the most critically and financially successful female musical star of the time. She was given the lead in For Me and My Gal (1942), in which she was top billed over the credits for the first time. She made the direct transition from the girl next door to an adult actress. One of her most successful films for MGM is the 1944 classic Meet Me in St. Louis, in which she introduced three standards: "The Trolley Song," "The Boy Next Door," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." The Clock (1945) was her first straight dramatic film opposite Robert Walker. Though the film was critically praised and did earn a profit, most movie fans expected her to sing. Therefore, it would be many years before she acted again in a non-singing dramatic role. Nevertheless, The Clock has become increasingly popular among Garland fans and is considered to be a true war/romance classic.
Garland's other famous films of the 1940s include The Harvey Girls (1946) (in which she introduced "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"), The Pirate, and Easter Parade (both 1948).
In September 1945, Garland married MGM director Vincente Minnelli and, in March 1946, Garland gave birth to a daughter, Liza. Soon afterward, the hectic work schedule and the exhausting motion picture business began to take its toll on Garland as she returned to MGM, which led to several days' absence from the studio over the next four years as well as numerous incidents; in April 1947, during filming for The Pirate, Garland suffered a nervous breakdown and had to be led away from the set. After this, Garland had a number of other breakdowns that would lead to her departure from MGM; it would also reveal the emotional turmoil that Garland suffered. Two months later, Garland made her first suicide attempt.
End of an era
Edit
Garland's relationship with MGM crumbled as the 1950s began. She was originally cast in The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) with Fred Astaire, after the success of Easter Parade . Garland, after missing rehearsals, was suspended by MGM and replaced by Ginger Rogers; she then managed to complete In the Good Old Summertime (1949) with Van Johnson (Garland's 2-year-old daughter Liza Minnelli makes a cameo at the end of this picture).
Garland was signed to appear as Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (1950), but the film put much strain on her health. After completing two musical numbers, she was fired from the film and replaced by Betty Hutton. Garland then completed Summer Stock alongside Gene Kelly, produced by Joe Pasternak and his secondary musical unit (which wasn't as high-powered as the Arthur Freed Unit). Her performance of "Get Happy" in Summer Stock - dressed in the top half of a man's tuxedo, fedora, and black leotard - became another Garland milestone. When June Allyson became pregnant during the filming of Royal Wedding, Garland was her replacement, but was dropped from the film and immediately put on suspension after she canceled a rehearsal call. She was eventually replaced by Jane Powell.
In June 1950, Garland cut her throat with a piece of glass. Although the cut was superficial, the newspapers glorified the story, and Garland was visited by many well-known celebrities who tried to bring up her spirits. Although many state that it was a suicide attempt, it was more likely a cry for help.
Garland returned to MGM in September 1950. Eleven days later, her MGM contract was terminated.
Renewed stardom on the stage and television
Judy Garland in A Star is Born
In 1954, she made a notable cinema comeback for Warner Bros. with A Star is Born, and was nominated for Best Actress. This film is considered by many critics to be her finest performance. Directed by George Cukor and produced by her husband Sid Luft (through Garland and Luft's Transcona Enterprises), it was a large undertaking in which Garland fully immersed herself. It was also a physically demanding role that had Garland on edge and constantly worried. Upon its release, the film was cut by almost 30 minutes amid fears it was too long. Though Garland was believed to be the most likely winner for Best Actress, the Oscar went to Grace Kelly for The Country Girl (1954). Many fans hold that Garland was "robbed" of her Oscar, and should have won the award.
Although she made no other films in the 1950s, Garland's films after A Star is Born include Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) (for which she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role), the animated feature, Gay Purr-ee (1962), A Child is Waiting (1963), co-starring Burt Lancaster, and her final film entitled I Could Go On Singing (1963), which mirrored her own life in the story of a fading singing star.
In November 1959, Garland was diagnosed with hepatitis and told that she "would never sing again." However, Garland successfully returned to both films and television; her concert appearance at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961, was a considerable highlight, called by many the "greatest single night in show business." The 2-record live recording made of the concert was a best-seller (certified gold), charting for 73 weeks on Billboard (13 weeks at number one), and won five Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal of the Year. The album has never been out of print.
After hugely successful television specials and guest appearances in the early 1960s, CBS made a $24 million offer to Garland for a weekly television series of her own, The Judy Garland Show, which was deemed at the time in the press to be "the biggest talent deal in TV history." The television series was critically praised, but, for a variety of reasons, including the fact it was placed in the same time slot as Bonanza, lasted only one season, and went off the air in 1964, after 26 episodes. Despite this, the show won four Emmy nominations and included amazing performances by Garland as well as some of her best vocal work. The demise of the series was personally and financially devastating for Garland, and she never fully recovered from its failure.
Final years
Edit
With the demise of her television series, Garland returned to the stage and made various television appearances. Most notably, she performed at the London Palladium with her then 17-year-old daughter Liza Minnelli in November 1964. The concert, which was also filmed for television, was one of Garland's final appearances at the venue. Garland, having divorced Sid Luft, continued to make concert appearances and also appeared on television specials. She made guest appearances on the The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Merv Griffin Show (in which she guest-hosted an episode) and many others.
In February 1967, Garland was signed to appear as "Helen Lawson" in Valley of the Dolls for 20th Century Fox. However, she missed many wardrobe tests and rehearsals and was fired the next month. She was replaced by Susan Hayward. Returning to the stage, Garland made her last appearances at the Palace Theater in July, a sixteen-show tour, performing with her children Lorna and Joey Luft.
By early 1969, Garland's health had fallen rapidly and she made her last concert appearance in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Untimely death
Edit
The shortcomings of Garland's childhood years became more apparent as she struggled to overcome various personal problems, including weight gain and serious drug addiction. She was found dead in her bathroom by her last husband, Mickey Deans, on June 22, 1969. The stated exact cause of death by coroner Gavin Thursdon was accidental overdose of barbiturates; pathologist Dr. R. Pocock found 4.9 mg of Seconal in Garland's blood. Garland had turned 47 two weeks prior to her death. She was residing in a rented flat with her husband in the Chelsea section of London at the time of her death.
Upon Garland's death, The Wizard of Oz co-star Ray Bolger commented: "She just plain wore out."
Garland is interred in Ferncliff Cemetery, in Hartsdale, New York.
| i don't know |
Who wrote the play Arms and the Man? | Analysis of the Social Context of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
Author
Exact author
Home » Literature » Fiction » Analysis of the Social Context of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
Analysis of the Social Context of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
Other essays and articles in the Literature Archives related to this topic include : Class and Social Critique in “Arms and the Man” by George Bernard Shaw • The Economics of Socialism
George Bernard Shaw wrote Arms and the Man in 1893 during the Victorian era when most plays were lighter dramas or comedies in the vein of The Importance of Being Earnest, which was a play about manners and other Victorian conventions. Still, in many ways, Arms and the Man, despite some of its themes, is a perfect example of Victorian literature . The play opened to the British public in 1894 to mixed reviews and was one of the plays included in the Plays Pleasant Volume which included a few of Shaw’s other, less popular works including “You Never Can Tell.” What is most interesting about Arms and the Man is that, although it is a comedy, it deals with several political and social themes covertly. Ideas such as the idealism behind war and the romanticism of love are attacked through satire and even more importantly, issues of class are brought to the forefront. Shaw was an avid socialist and had a number of beliefs about class that are appropriate to the historical situation in Europe. At the time the play was performed, Britain was experiencing a number of significant social and political changes as issues of class were coming to the forefront of national debates.
The idea of class struggle is at the heart of “Arms and the Man” by George Bernard Shaw but instead of making the reader or viewer keenly aware of them, he slips in a number of thought-provoking lines and makes one think about these issues after the laughter has faded. Unlike other plays of the time,Arms and the Man did not seek to merely entertain an audience with polite humor. Instead, it sought to expose some of the most pressing issues of the day in a palatable format—the comedy. This is a trademark feature of Shaw’s plays and he once wrote, “What is the use of writing plays, what is the use of writing anything, if there is not a will which finally moulds chaos itself into a race of gods” (Peters 109). In other words, George Bernard Shaw thought that there was no sense in writing something for mere entertainment, what he wrote had to serve a higher purpose and encourage people to think rather to sit and be content to be entertained.
At the time George Bernard Shaw wrote the Arms and the Man there were a number of class struggles taking place in Britain as a new wave of socialist ideology was taking hold. Up until this point, workers in Britain were often paid low wages and offered little security as their country became even further industrialized . In response there were several workers movements that rose up across the nation and this drew the attention of artists and writers such as Shaw. Issues of class struggle were coming to the forefront of both political and debates in Europe and Shaw began working with the socialist cause. His feelings that the British workers were not advocating their interests enough and that the political structure in England was making it impossible for them to have any success led him to speak out publicly, often at the risk of some of his personal friendships. In addition to writing plays, Shaw became a full-time advocate of socialism and joined the Fabian Society where he wrote a number of socialist documents. He also traveled to Russia, met with Stalin, and came home to declare how wonderfully he believed socialism was going in that country.
In “Arms and the Man” George Bernard Shaw chose to set his place in the midst of a foreign war, in part so that he could offer some commentary about war. The lead female in the play, much like English audiences of the time, is sucked into the idea of the war hero and finds it difficult to think that war is anything except not glamorous. Notions of love and war as well as class are turned upside down and the reader is forced to confront them just as British playgoers of the time would eventually have to face these issues when the First World War finally came around over a decade later. At this time though, war was still a vague enough notion that it could be romanticized and this is part of the criticism George Bernard Shaw offers in the play Arms and the Man . In addition to this is his commentary about class which is the most important in terms of the social context of this play. “Arms and the Man” by George Bernard Shaw occurs during the Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885. She is supposed to marry one of the heroes of the war who she thinks of in terms of the idealized version of soldiers many British held during this pre-World War I era. The peace of the beginning scenes is interrupted with the arrival of a Swiss soldier in Raina’s bedroom asking for a safe place to hide. Raina offers him refuge and laughs because he does not carry guns or ammunition but chocolate instead. As the play progresses, Raina eventually begins to understand that her betrothed does not fit into the same heroic image she has always had and instead begins to fall in love with the Swiss soldier. By the end of the play “Arms and the Man” by George Bernard Shaw she finally declares her love for the soldier and the story ends happily for nearly everyone. What is missing from this short synopsis is the way that George Bernard Shaw addresses the important social issue of class during this time. Throughout “Arms and the Man” George Bernard Shaw he constantly but with subtlety makes a number of important statements about his political and social beliefs about society and class that make reference to the social context of this play—Victorian England.
Throughout “Arms and the Man” by George Bernard Shaw, slight variances are used in the speech of the characters to indicate class distinctions. It is clear that Shaw, a noted socialist , has a great deal of concern about class issues and instead of making the reader keenly aware of these notions through any direct mention, he uses their dialogue as well as cues within the setting to reveal these elements. “Despite the prominence of debate and speechmaking in his plays, one sometimes forgets that before Shaw-the-playwright came Shaw-the-debater and public speaker. All were platform spellbinders” (Dukore 385). Part of the reason it is so easy to forget that there a number of encoded social messages within the text is because is remarkably deft at conveying injustices and problems through characterization and language. His writing style is thus very critical of the Victorian-era society yet instead of doing this overtly, he relies on gestures, dialogue, and setting to set the stage for the debate. His “public speaking” would, in this sense be limited to the voices of his characters who come from variable class backgrounds and have a system of language that is suitable for their class. Only through this mode can Shaw open a platform for class debates.
At the very beginning of “Arms and the Man” by George Bernard Shaw, the reader is already cued into the class differences that will plague the text until the end. For instance, the introduction of Raina in “Arms and the Man” by George Bernard Shaw is not one that values her inner life, but those of outer appearances, something that is of great importance to her and her family. Without dialogue, she is introduced in one of the important quotes from Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw, “On the balcony, a young lady, intensely conscious of the romantic beauty of the night, and of the fact that her own youth and beauty is a part of it, is on the balcony, gazing at the snowy Balkans. She is covered by a long mantle of furs, worth, on a moderate estimate, about three times the furniture of the room” (Shaw 4). Here, it is not important who she is or what she thinks about her class position, but rather it is made clear that she is within an upper class and strives to maintain the outward appearances through her luxurious clothing while the representative items of her “inner life” (in this case her bedroom) are shoddy and unremarkable. Without being told the first thing about this character’s thoughts, it is clear that reader should be immediately attentive to class distinctions through outward appearances. It should also be noted that this setting is beautiful, but we are not expected to focus on the beauty in a traditional way, but rather to pay attention to the social statement—that there is a woman who obviously pays more for her clothes than the upkeep of her living quarters. In the mind of one critic, “The world, as he [Shaw] looks out upon it, is a painful spectacle to his eyes. Pity and indignation move him. He is not sentimental, as some writers are, but the facts grind his soul… in a word, art has an end beyond itself; and the object of Shaw’s art in particular is to make men think, to make them uncomfortable, to convict them of sin” (Salter 446). This is an especially succinct observation in this scene since there is opportunity for sentimentality and romanticism (since she is framed by a lovely setting) but this is not enough for Shaw; he must shift the object of the reader’s gaze away from physical beauty to the darker world of class and character.
Descriptions go beyond setting as well in “Arms and the Man” by George Bernard Shaw. The class of characters is not only revealed and critiqued by the setting itself, but by the narrated actions and stage directions for particular characters. For instance, consider the graceful language and the almost fairy-tale nature of the “dance” of Raina and her fiancée as they simply sit down for dinner. The narrator states in one of the important quotes from “Arms and the Man” by George Bernard Shaw, “Sergius leads Raina forward with splendid gallantry, as if she were a queen. When they come to the table, she turns to him with a bend of the head; he bows; and thus they separate, he coming to his place, and she going behind her father’s chair” (25). This is a very detailed and complex routine these characters act out and is representative of the codified ideals of chivalric behavior typically associated with the elite. This stands in sharp constant to the plodding nature of the exchanges between Nicola and Louka, whose settings and stage directions are not filled with the same dreamy interludes. While Sergius and Raina literally appear to dance in the aforementioned scene, the lower class scenes of the two servants are much less stunning, the narrator only stating where they are in physical space and their language being stunted and free from the dramatic connotations and Byron -like feel of the upper class characters.
This same shift in possibilities, from the potential sentimentality to the social critique, is apparent in terms of language as well as setting descriptions. According to one scholar, “Characters whose impulses are conventional or traditional will use language reflecting their mechanical responses and will be satirized accordingly, while characters who posses a Shavian vitality will express that spontaneity through a freedom not only from moral and ethical formulas but from verbal convention as well” (Weintraub 215). This is apparent when contrasting two particular classes represented in the play. First of all, it should be noted that those of the lower class, especially the solider who enters Raina’s room and the servant girl Nicola are all exciting and interesting characters. They posses the “Shavian vitality” and their language is free from the ornament and needless over-romanticized talk of the upper classes. Consider, as a comparison, the meaning that is compressed, while remaining vital when Louka scolds her servant friend, saying with “searching scorn” no less, “You have the soul of a servant, Nicola” (31). Some of the most powerful emotion in the text is present in these short but potent thesis statements. Another example of this would be when the solider tells Raina, “I’ve no ammunition. What use are cartridges in battle? I always carry chocolate instead; and I finished the last cake of that yesterday” (14). In many ways, it seems as though these characters with clipped but highly powerful statements are much like Shaw. They are making massive overarching statements about their world without seeming to do it, as if any implied social critique might have been incidental. These short bursts of meaning for much farther to reveal genuine sentiment than Raina’s long winded proclamations of love when she confesses, breathlessly and dramatically, Well, it came into my head just as he was holding me in his arms and looking into my eyes, that perhaps we only had our heroic idea because we are so find of reading Byron and Pushkin, and because we were so delighted with the opera that season at Bucharest. Real life is so seldom like that—indeed never, as far as I knew it then” (Shaw 10). While at the end she makes a powerful statement, she is too caught up in the class-driven notions of how a lady should speak to be able to make a direct and succinct statement that has the gravity of the aforementioned quotes from the lower class characters.
In sum, Shaw is not overt in his social critiques in this play. His style requires that the reader interpret not only the varied language of his characters, but of the deeper meanings behind the settings and speech. While a particular scene’s description might seem, on first glance, to offer a beautiful setting or something simple, underneath these images are deeper layers of meaning that are geared towards society. In terms of dialogue and Arms and the Man, Shaw writes his characters as complete individuals whose class and deep thoughts lay masked behind relatively simple-sounding speeches. The ultimate effect of this writing style is that the reader becomes implicated in class debates (as well as other equally prominent debates about the nature of war as well) and is left with a moving story as well as something more to consider. In more broad terms, the play, Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw reflects some of the intense class conflicts of the day and addresses several of Shaw’s ideas about society and politics as well.
Works Cited
Dukore. “Agitations: Letters to the Press 1875-1950.” Theatre Journal 38.3 (1986): 385
Salter. “Mr. Bernard Shaw as a Social Critic.” International Journal of Ethics 18.4 (1908): 446
Shaw, George Bernard. Arms and the Man. New York; Dover: (1994).
Peters, Sally. Bernard Shaw: The Ascent of the Superman. Yale University Press (1996).
Weintraub. “Language and Laughter: Comic Diction in the Plays of Bernard Shaw.” Modern Philology68.2 (1970): 21.
| George Bernard Shaw |
In the Beatrix Potter stories, what sort of animal or creature is Jeremy Fisher? | Shaw, George Bernard | Article about Shaw, George Bernard by The Free Dictionary
Shaw, George Bernard | Article about Shaw, George Bernard by The Free Dictionary
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Shaw%2c+George+Bernard
Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Wikipedia .
Shaw, George Bernard,
1856–1950, Irish playwright and critic. He revolutionized the Victorian stage, then dominated by artificial melodramas, by presenting vigorous dramas of ideas. The lengthy prefaces to Shaw's plays reveal his mastery of English prose. In 1925 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Early Life and Career
Born in Dublin, Shaw was the son of an unsuccessful merchant; his mother was a singer who eventually left her husband to teach singing in London. Shaw left school at 14 to work in an estate agent's office. In 1876 he went to London and for nine years was largely supported by his parents. He wrote five novels, several of them published in small socialist magazines. Shaw was himself an ardent socialist, a member of the Fabian Society Fabian Society,
British socialist society. An outgrowth of the Fellowship of the New Life (founded 1883 under the influence of Thomas Davidson), the society was developed the following year by Frank Podmore and Edward Pease.
..... Click the link for more information. , and a popular public speaker on behalf of socialism.
Work as a journalist led to his becoming a music critic for the Star in 1888 and for the World in 1890; his enthusiasm for Wagner proved infectious to his readers. As drama critic for the Saturday Review after 1895, he won readers to Ibsen Ibsen, Henrik
, 1828–1906, Norwegian dramatist and poet. His early years were lonely and miserable. Distressed by the consequences of his family's financial ruin and on his own at sixteen, he first was apprenticed to an apothecary.
..... Click the link for more information. ; he had already written The Quintessence of Ibsenism (1891). In 1898 Shaw married Charlotte Payne-Townshend, a wealthy, wellborn Irishwoman. By this time his plays were beginning to be produced.
Plays
Although Shaw's plays focus on ideas and issues, they are vital and absorbing, enlivened by memorable characterizations, a brilliant command of language, and dazzling wit. His early plays were published as Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant (2 vol., 1898). The "unpleasant" plays were Widower's Houses (1892), on slum landlordism; The Philanderer (written 1893, produced 1905); and Mrs. Warren's Profession (written 1893, produced 1902), a jibe at the Victorian attitude toward prostitution. The "pleasant" plays were Arms and the Man (1894), satirizing romantic attitudes toward love and war; Candida (1893); and You Never Can Tell (written 1895).
In 1897 The Devil's Disciple, a play on the American Revolution, was produced with great success in New York City. It was published in the volume Three Plays for Puritans (1901) along with Caesar and Cleopatra (1899), notable for its realistic, humorous portraits of historical figures, and Captain Brassbound's Conversion (1900).
During the early 20th cent. Shaw wrote his greatest and most popular plays: Man and Superman (1903), in which an idealistic, cerebral man succumbs to marriage (the play contains an explicit articulation of a major Shavian theme—that man is the spiritual creator, whereas woman is the biological "life force" that must always triumph over him); Major Barbara (1905), which postulates that poverty is the cause of all evil; Androcles and the Lion (1912; a short play), a charming satire of Christianity; and Pygmalion (1913), which satirizes the English class system through the story of a cockney girl's transformation into a lady at the hands of a speech professor. The latter has proved to be Shaw's most successful work—as a play, as a motion picture, and as the basis for the musical and film My Fair Lady (1956; 1964).
Of Shaw's later plays, Saint Joan (1923) is the most memorable; it argues that Joan of Arc, a harbinger of Protestantism and nationalism, had to be killed because the world was not yet ready for her. In 1920 Shaw, much criticized for his antiwar stance, wrote Heartbreak House, a play that exposed the spiritual bankruptcy of the generation responsible for World War I.
Among Shaw's other plays are John Bull's Other Island (1904), The Doctor's Dilemma (1906), Fanny's First Play (1911), Back to Methuselah (1922), The Apple Cart (1928), Too True to Be Good (1932), The Millionairess (1936), In Good King Charles's Golden Days (1939), and Buoyant Billions (1949). Perhaps his most popular nonfiction work is The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism (1928).
Bibliography
See his collected plays with their prefaces, ed. by D. H. Laurence (7 vol., 1970–75); his letters, particularly those to Ellen Terry (1931), Mrs. Patrick Campbell (1952), Granville-Barker (1957), and Molly Tompkins (1960); his collected letters, ed. by D. H. Laurence (4 vol., 1965–88); his complete musical criticism, ed. by D. H. Laurence (3 vol., 1981); and his autobiography, reconstructed by S. Weintraub (2 vol., 1969–70).
See also biographies by A. Henderson (3 vol., 1911–56), F. Harris (1931), H. Pearson (1942 and 1950), and M. Holroyd (4 vol. 1988–93, abr. ed. 1998); studies by E. R. Bentley (2d ed. 1967), L. Crompton (1969), M. M. Morgan (1972), M. Valency (1973), E. Bentley (1985), H. Bloom (1987), and S. Weintraub (1996); bibliography by D. H. Laurence (2 vol., 1983).
Shaw, George Bernard
Born July 26, 1856, in Dublin; died Nov. 2, 1950, in Ayot St. Lawrence. English playwright. Irish by birth.
Shaw spent his early years in Dublin and worked as a clerk after he graduated from school in 1871. In 1876 he moved to London and devoted himself to journalism, including work as a music reviewer, and literature. His novels The Irrational Knot (1880), Love Among the Artists (1881), and Cashel Byron’s Profession (1882) and the novel of sharp social content An Unsocial Socialist (1883, separate edition 1887; Russian translation The Amateur Socialist, 1910) were rejected by bourgeois publishers and were printed in socialist periodicals. As one of the leaders of the Fabian Society, Shaw worked for a number of years to propagate the ideas of socialism, publishing tracts, pamphlets, and books.
Even in Shaw’s first literary work, his novels, the heart of his creative method was determined—the use of paradox as a means of overcoming prevailing ideologies. His first play, Widowers’ Houses (1892), caused a scandal and was unsuccessful, as was the play that followed, The Philanderer (1893). Mrs. Warren’s Profession (1894), which dealt with the theme of prostitution, was first staged in England in 1907. The difficulties with production forced Shaw to publish his plays (the press was not subjected to prior censorship). Widowers’ Houses, The Philanderer, and Mrs. Warren’s Profession were published in a collection entitled Plays Unpleasant (1898); a second cycle, Plays Pleasant, was then published, including Arms and the Man (1894), Candida (1894), The Man of Destiny (1895), and You Never Can Tell (1895). These were followed by a third cycle, Three Plays for Puritans (1901), which included The Devil’s Disciple (1896–97), Caesar and Cleopatra (1898), and Captain Brassbound’s Conversion (1899).
One of the founders of the modern “drama of ideas,” Shaw created a type of discussion play, in which the clash of ideas and hostile ideologies posed the most acute problems of social and personal morality. Man and Superman (1901–03), a “comedy and philosophy” by Shaw’s definition, transforms the traditional theme of Don Juan: the hero is pursued by a woman. In the interlude of this play, “Don Juan in Hell,” a strikingly forceful criticism of the vices of capitalist civilization is expressed through the mouth of the Devil. In John Bull’s Other Island (1904), Shaw used his two main characters to contrast not only national types—the Irishman and the Englishman—but correspondingly the “romantic” and the “realist,” as Shaw interpreted them. Major Barbara (1905) contains a criticism of bourgeois philanthropy; in the play Shaw first expressed the idea that bourgeois violence must be opposed by a force that serves social progress and justice. Even in the solution of personal problems, Shaw remained a distinctly social dramatist. The Doctor’s Dilemma (1906) shows how medicine loses its humane character under bourgeois conditions; Androcles and the Lion (1913) criticizes dogmatic Christianity. Getting Married (1908), Misalliance (1910), and Fanny’s First Play (1911) are devoted to questions of family, marriage, and education. The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet (1909) depicts the exposure of the religious sanctimoniousness of the petite bourgeoisie. Pygmalion (1913), which deals with problems of culture based on differing speech patterns and with general spiritual development, shows the moral superiority of a girl from the lower classes over an outwardly intelligent, aristocratic professor of phonetics.
Shaw responded to the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia with the grotesque farce Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress (1918), in which he spoke out very determinedly for the use of violent methods to transform society. In the play Heartbreak House (1913–19), written under the obvious influence of A. P. Chekhov, he denounces the parasitism of the ruling class, their loss of spiritual values, and the erosion of individuality of character. On the other hand, old Captain Shotover in the play sees salvation in work and in the decisive reform of the entire structure of life. Back to Methuselah (1918–20), a “metabiological” drama consisting of five parts not connected by a common plot, depicts a whimsical utopia inhabited by a race of long-livers. Saint Joan (1923) is a tragedy, the only one written by Shaw. In his treatment of the story of Joan of Arc, Shaw introduced a new theme: the Maid’s power comes not from a psychological obsession, but from reason, which is feared equally by the French and the English. When the “danger” represented by Joan has disappeared after her execution, she is exonerated; however, no one desires that she should come back to life.
After an interval of several years, Shaw returned to writing plays, startling the world with the freshness and wit of his “political extravaganzas” (so-called eccentric comedies): The Apple Cart (1929), Too True to Be Good (1931), On the Rocks (1933), The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles (1934), and Geneva (1938), as well as with the historical play Good King Charles’s Golden Days (1939) and the comedy The Millionairess (1936). The idea that capitalist society has reached an impasse and bourgeois democracy is experiencing an acute crisis runs through all of the plays; fascism is condemned in Geneva.
In 1931, Shaw visited the USSR, of which he had been a friend from the first years of the Great October Socialist Revolution. The fighting spirit of the publicist was evident in his public appearances until Shaw’s last years. His last plays were Buoyant Billions (1948) and Farfetched Fables (1950).
Although their staging was delayed, Shaw’s plays gradually gained widespread recognition and became a major force in the literature of the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century. His work bore the clear stamp of the publicist and was inspired by deep philosophical meditation on the social, cultural, and biological future of mankind. His remarkable skill turned his plays into a forum for social and philosophical discussion. Shaw’s best plays have become part of the standard repertoire of many theaters in the Soviet Union. Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1925.
WORKS
| i don't know |
Darts player Phil Taylor is normally known by what nickname? | Phil Taylor - IMDb
IMDb
Actor
Phil Taylor was born on August 13, 1960 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England as Philip Douglas Taylor. He is an actor, known for Bullseye (1981), Fry and Laurie Reunited (2010) and World Professional Darts Championship (1978). He was previously married to Yvonne. See full bio »
Born:
Do you have a demo reel?
Add it to your IMDbPage
How much of Phil Taylor's work have you seen?
User Polls
Bullseye Himself - Special Guest / Himself - Contestant
(1990-1994)
2009 Coronation Street (TV Series)
Disco Dave
- Episode #1.7001 (2009) ... Disco Dave
Hide
2016 The Mavericks (TV Mini-Series documentary)
Himself
2014 Timeshift (TV Series documentary)
Himself - Darts Player
2013 Sports Life Stories (TV Series documentary)
Himself - 16-Time World Darts Champion
- Eric Bristow (2013) ... Himself - 16-Time World Darts Champion
2013 The Power of Darts (TV Movie documentary)
Himself - 16 Times World Champion
2013 Pointless Celebrities (TV Series)
Himself - Contestant
2013 60 Minutes Sports (TV Series documentary)
Himself - Dart Player (segment "Darts Wonderland")
2013 Sunday Brunch (TV Series)
Himself - Guest
2013 Hamburg Journal (TV Series)
Himself
| Power |
Which 1975 film features a boat called the Orca ? | Facts about Phil Taylor - Sport - smh.com.au
Facts about Phil Taylor
January 7, 2006
1
In the world of darts, Taylor owned 2005, taking five of the year's six major tournaments, and winning 38 of 39 matches televised live on Sky Sports in the same year. He's earned 13 Professional Darts Corporation World Championship titles in the past 15 years. The most recent - against former adversary Peter "One Dart" Manley - earned him $236,000, validating Taylor's numerous claims that darts is a world-class sport and increasingly a top money earner. "In the past it was understandable why people looked down on us as a second-rate sport, but that has changed now," Taylor has told The Guardian. "There are more youngsters coming through than ever." His contemporaries agree and, aside from those who ridicule him for his flamboyant style, he's heralded as a champion. A pay-per-view of one of his matches once garnered 1 million viewers, paying $23 each for the privilege. UK Sky Sports darts commentator Sid Waddell calls him "the best thing to come out of the Potteries since Wedgwood" and has also referred to him as "the Don Bradman of darts".
2
Ever the unconventional sports hero, Taylor, 46, has said "strip darts" was once a regular part of his training. "Well, I have got four kids," he told online gambling magazine Inside Edge.
3
He takes his nickname, The Power, from the 1990 Snap! hit of the same name, and enters matches in the manner of a boxer, with arms flailing and the song blaring. Sometimes, there are accompanying strobe lights and he is introduced as "the eighth wonder of the world". He takes his fame seriously, telling The Guardian: "When you get to a certain level you have to start growing up a little just like Michael Jackson has got to do now."
4
He sees his training for matches as equalling a boxer's, practising up to six hours a day. Running a pub for eight years, The Cricketers, enabled him to practise on the job. He once set up an oche in his bedroom, and prepared for a 2001 match with a gruelling weight-loss program, leading him to be known as one of the first-ever dart players to consider slimming as a career move. Taylor has told The Guardian about his rigorous schedule: "I see boxers train and I know what they do with the dedication in their lives with their diet and fitness. You have to be 100 per cent - seeing boxers changed my life." He added: "I'm a little like Roy Keane. Mentally I'm very strong. I'm very hungry. I'm very dedicated. You can't throw me off my stride. That's how I break people. I just don't care what they do. They can throw 180, 180 and 180 again and I'm like, 'So what?' They've got to keep it up to beat me. Inside, I'm actually a lot like Keane."
5
Growing up, his father wanted him to be a boxer. The closest he's come to meeting his father's wishes is to cover his body in tattoos, including the word "Jesus" on his right calf, and "Power" tattooed on his right forearm.
6
Taylor left school at 15 and earned a living making ceramic toilet handles. He began throwing darts on caravan holidays - once beating a Welsh national champion - and won bottles of plonk for his trouble. Then at 25 he took up darts professionally, after meeting champion Eric Bristow at an exhibition match. Bristow became his mentor, lending him $24,000 to play the professional circuit. Bristow also, as Taylor writes in his autobiography The Power, coaxed, bullied, humiliated and punched him into making it to the top.
7
His skill at darts is inversely proportional to his way with the ladies. Although he once claimed he was too much of a ladies' man as a youngster to focus on a career in darts, he was convicted of assaulting two female fans in 2001, leading to his MBE (for services to darts) being withdrawn.
8
His favourite TV program is Rising Damp, a British show about a landlord of a rundown boarding house described by www.bbc.co.uk as "a nosey, bigoted, racist, lecherous but sexually frustrated, miserly, interfering wretch".
9
At home, he's a mild man; favouring peppermint tea over lager, and telling fans on his website that his favourite way to relax away from darts is to spend "time with my family". But on the oche, he's known as the Liberace of darts, having gone through a self-described "leery period" in the 1990s, wearing spangled shirts, a green glitter cape, glitter shades and a Zapata moustache to matches.
10
Disputes a claim by rival Alex Roy that he farted on the oche in order to intimidate. "Complete rubbish!" he told Inside Edge. "I've shit myself a few times up there, but I've never farted!"
Samantha Selinger-Morris
| i don't know |
What name have the Beckhams given to their fourth child and first daughter? | Harper Seven – a daughter for Victoria and David Beckham | Life and style | The Guardian
Harper Seven – a daughter for Victoria and David Beckham
David Beckham announces arrival of Harper Seven Beckham on Twitter
Harper Seven is Victoria Beckham's fourth child, but first daughter. Photograph: Jamie Mccarthy/Getty Images for Bergdorf Goodma
Press Association
Monday 11 July 2011 04.36 EDT
First published on Monday 11 July 2011 04.36 EDT
Close
This article is 5 years old
Victoria Beckham has given birth to a baby girl – the first daughter for the former Spice Girl and her footballer husband David.
The baby, named Harper Seven, was delivered on Sunday at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles.
In a statement on his Facebook page, former England captain Beckham said: "I am so proud and excited to announce the birth of our daughter Harper Seven Beckham .
"She weighed a healthy 7lbs 10oz and arrived at 7.55 this morning, here in LA. Victoria is doing really well and her brothers are delighted to have a baby sister xx."
The Beckhams, who married in 1999, already have three boys - Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, eight, and Cruz, five.
Their spokesman, Simon Oliveira, announced the happy news on Twitter.
"David & Victoria Beckham are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter," he wrote.
In another posting, he added: "Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz are excited to welcome their new baby sister to the family."
Friends of the couple were quick to send their congratulations.
A delighted Mel B, who is expecting her third child later this year, expressed her excitement on Twitter, writing: "congrats!!! Yipeee another spice baby is born, damn it wish it was me this AM cos I feel like I'm about to POP!"
Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton also tweeted: "Big kiss to @victoriabeckham can't wait to meet your gorgeous little girl!"
Before the baby's name was confirmed, stylist Sally Lyndley alluded to a possible name for the newborn, writing: "congratulations on gorgeous baby Beverly!!! X." While Brooklyn was named after the place where he was conceived, this appeared to suggest the pair – who live in Beverly Hills – had once again opted to name a child after a location close to their hearts.
While the name Harper is not unusual in the US, seven was David's number with Manchester United and the England team.
Other unusual celebrity baby names include :
Moon Unit: Frank Zappa
Apple: Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow
Fifi Trixibell: Bob Geldof and Paula Yates (also parents to Peaches and Pixie)
Hopper: Sean Penn and Robin Wright
Lark Song: Mia Farrow and André Previn
Shiloh Nouvel: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Pilot Inspektor: Jason Lee
| harper seven |
Whose report in December 1942 led to the setting up of the N.H.S.? | Harper Seven Beckham: Baby named after character in magical Disney show | Daily Mail Online
comments
The Beckhams’ decision to name their newborn daughter Harper Seven may have split public opinion yesterday, but one thing’s for sure: her three big brothers think it’s a wizard decision.
That’s because Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, eight, and six-year-old Cruz are said to have been behind the unusual moniker.
Harper is the name of a character from Disney series Wizards Of Waverly Place, the boys’ favourite TV show.
As a five before there was Seven: The Beckhams pose together as a family earlier this year, before the birth of their baby new girl
As Victoria, 37, was recovering from the birth in Los Angeles yesterday – with husband David at her side, a source said: ‘The entire family had input – Victoria and David love the name, but it was the boys who actually came up with it.
RELATED ARTICLES
They have also visited the set of the show, about three young wizard siblings and their friend, a girl called Harper Finkle.
When it came to baby Harper’s middle name Seven, that is her father’s ‘lucky number’, famously being his squad number for Manchester United and England.
Number fixation is a well-known symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), from which David suffers.
The family friend said: ‘Victoria and David only came up with the name at the last minute.
‘It’s a very lucky number for David and he has always wanted to name one of his children Seven.
New addition: David and Victoria Beckham have welcomed a new addition to their family, a 7lbs 10oz baby girl
Sun and sea: David enjoys playing with the family bulldog, Coco, on the beach with his sons yesterday after they announced the birth of Harper Seven
‘It was obviously David’s number at Manchester United and she was born at 7.55am, during the seventh month of the year and weighing 7lb 10oz, so it made perfect sense to them.’
After his daughter arrived on Sunday morning, Beckham told fans: ‘She weighed a healthy 7lb 10oz and arrived at 7.55 this morning, here in LA. Victoria is doing really well and her brothers are delighted to have a baby sister.’
Beckham is expected to have another tattoo – his 20th – in the coming months to commemorate Harper’s birth.
As news of the birth spread yesterday, television fans were quick to point out that the couple are not the first to come up with the name.
It appeared in a classic episode of cult sitcom Seinfeld, and many are speculating as to whether the Beckhams are fans of the show.
In an almost prophetical 1996 episode George Costanza, the show's hapless screwball who once described himself as 'Lord of the Idiots', boasts of his idea of an 'original' name for a baby 'Seven'.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, he is ridiculed by all those around him in a clip that will be lapped up by critics of the celebrity trend for unusual names.
Costanza can be seen driving with girlfriend Susan when they get on the subject of baby names - and he believes he hits on the perfect name.
'It's a beautiful name for a boy or a girl,' George says after announcing his choice. 'Especially a girl. Or a boy.'
Proud: David announced the baby's name on his Facebook page
Seinfeld fans? Some are speculating that the couple took inspiration from a classic episode of the cult sitcom in which George Costanza (right) decides that Seven is the perfect name for his own baby
Ironically, he then explains it is not only a name but a 'tribute' to New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle. Like David Beckham, the baseball star wore the number 7.
As they get into a heated argument, an upset Susan continues to bash the name, saying, 'It's not a name, it's a number It's awful, I hate it!'
Later in the episode, George reveals the name to sitcom lead Jerry Seinfeld, who immediately makes fun of him.
'I defy you to come up with a better name than Seven,' says George.
'All right,' replies Jerry, as he walks into his kitchen looking at objects around him before picking up a coffee mug.
'Let's see - how about Mug? Mug Costanza. That's original. Or Ketchup. Pretty name for a girl.'
Celeb favourite: Neil Patrick Harris and his partner David Burtka named one of their twins Harper, which is also the name of Tiffani Thiessen's daughter (right)
Popular choice: Lisa Marie Presley (left) and Dave Grohl (centre) chose the name for their daughters, while Myleene Klass' (right) newest addition is named Hero Harper
Although the Beckhams have professed their love for all things American, it is not known whether they are fans of the very American sitcom - or whether they'll be naming their next child, if they have one, after a mug.
The couple's older children have far from ordinary names. Brooklyn, born in 1999, was named after the New York borough where he was conceived.
Romeo, born in 2002, gets his name from Shakespeare's lovesick character, while they named Cruz, born in Madrid in 2005, after the Spanish word for 'cross.'
David confirmed the news on his Facebook page after he and wife Victoria welcomed the baby, who weighed 7lb 10oz, at 7.55am yesterday morning.
Overruled: David recently revealed that his sons would have liked for the new addition to be named Justine Bieber Beckham, after their idol
The footballer wrote: 'I am so proud and excited to announce the birth of our daughter Harper Seven Beckham. She weighed a healthy 7lbs 10oz and arrived at 7.55 this morning, here in LA.
'Victoria is doing really well and her brothers are delighted to have a baby sister xx'
Following the birth of the couple's fourth child, a spokesperson said: 'David and Victoria Beckham are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter.
‘Happy and healthy she arrived at 7.55 am this morning at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz are excited to welcome their new baby sister to the family.'
A girl amongst the boys club: Victoria is said to have always loved the classic English name Harper
The child was born by elective Caesarean, in the same way as the Beckhams' older children.
And a source told The Sun that David was so happy about the new arrival that he was literally crying with joy.
The insider said: 'David has been crying with joy. They are all so happy.'
The pair are also said to be 'stunned' because the little girl looks so much like Victoria did when she was a baby.
Paddy Power are already giving odds of 12/1 to have a UK number one single, 25/1 to marry an English footballer and 40/1 to become a fashion designer in her later years.
The original: David posted a picture of wife Victoria having a rest on the beach before she gave birth to daughter Harper Seven
Following the birth of the little girl, David's sister Joanne tweeted: 'Big congrats to my sister in law @victoriabeckham and my big bro on the birth of my beautiful niece :) can't wait 2 see u all xx'
A delighted Mel B, who is expecting her third child later this year, also expressed her excitement on the network site, writing: 'Congrats!!! Yipeee another spice baby is born, damn it wish it was me this AM cos I feel like I'm about to POP!'
And Emma Bunton added: 'Big kiss to @victoriabeckham can't wait to meet your gorgeous little girl!'
Victoria has remained active throughout her pregnancy - working on her fashion line and travelling up until last month.
Just days ago the LA Galaxy star, 36, posted a portrait of his heavily pregnant wife that put her form on show in all its glory.
He wrote on his Facebook page: 'Took this pic of Victoria while she wasn't looking. She looks amazing, so close now to the baby being born!'
It's getting close! David was on the field for LA Galaxy yesterday ahead of his wife giving birth
And, earlier this week, David and Victoria were wished good luck for their arrival by Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
David attended a drinks reception welcoming the royal couple to Los Angeles, but Victoria was absent from the event given that she was so close to the end of her pregnancy.
The footballer told Prince William: 'Victoria really wanted to come but she is just so tired at the moment. She sent you both lots of love. How was Canada? It looked amazing.'
Prince William replied: 'Don’t be silly, send her all our love and tell her good luck with it all. It’s been an amazing few days – we’ve been so lucky with all the incredible places we’ve been able to see and we’ve met so many fascinating people. It’s been amazing, amazing.'
And, following the birth, William and Catherine were quick to send a message of congratulations to the Beckhams, according to their press secretary Miguel Head, who added they were unlikely to have time to meet the new arrival.
Congratulations: David's UK-based sister Joanne was quick to take to her Twitter page to offer her congratulations
Spice love: Emma Bunton offered her congratulations to the Beckhams on their new arrival
My turn! Victoria's former Spice Girls bandmate Mel B said congratulations but said she wanted to be the one to give birth
David also spoke about the media frenzy surrounding the birth of his first daughter.
He said: 'I woke up on Wednesday to a tonne of messages on my voicemail from our friends congratulating me on the birth of our daughter.
'I turned to Victoria and said: "Did I miss something?" Apparently it’s being reported every day that she’s already been born. One way or another, fingers crossed, she’ll be with us in the next few days.'
On Wednesday a Twitter rumour spread like wildfire that Victoria had given birth to a baby girl named Felicity, a claim that was quickly rubbished by their spokesperson.
Going solo: David attended a drinks reception to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Los Angeles earlier this week and was wished luck for the arrival by the royal pair
The former Spice Girl turned fashion designer, 37, has often hinted at her desire for a daughter, saying in one interview that should could imagine “painting her nails, putting on make-up, and choosing clothes” with her.
Last year she said: ‘Everyone keeps asking me if I would like to have a little girl and I think, at some point, if I am lucky enough to have another baby that would be great. If I am blessed enough.’
The couple’s main home is a £14million mansion in Beverly Hills but the couple have yet to decide where they will live once his contract with LA Galaxy expires in November.
Speculation had mounted that they would return to the UK after they put on hold plans to sell their £18 million home - ‘Beckingham Palace’ Hertfordshire.
Victoria recently gave a frank appraisal of how she and her husband differ in their view of life in Los Angeles.
She said: ‘He misses European football. But America really works with my personality.’
Growing brood: Victoria and David are already parents to sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz
The couple first met in 1997 and became engaged a year later before having first son Brooklyn - famously named after the place where he was conceived – in 1999.
Four months later, the Beckhams enjoyed a sumptuous wedding at Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland, with the couple much ridiculed for opting to sit on golden thrones.
The couple have become one of the biggest brands in the planet with an array of endorsement deals and are now worth an estimated £150 million.
Second son Romeo was born in 2002 and Beckham left the UK in July 2003 when Real Madrid paid £25million to sign him from Manchester United.
Building up: Victoria was last seen out with David in Las Vegas on 29th June
His wife chose not to move to Spain until the following year choosing instead to focus on a solo career after the demise of the Spice Girls.
David announced he was transferred in July 2007 to LA Galaxy and they moved to Beverly Hills where the boys have been attending a prestigious private school ever since.
Victoria has carved out a successful design career and her dresses are now a favourite with Hollywood stars.
And bets of what their little girl will grow up to be are already being placed and the Irish bookmaking firm Paddy Power has offered odds of 100:1 on Harper following in dad’s footsteps and going out for the England Women’s team.
The odds of her becoming a singer in the mode of her former Spice Girl mother are 16:1.
| i don't know |
What river flows through the Grand Canyon? | Rivers and Streams - Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Rivers and Streams
Rivers and Streams
Rivers and Streams
Water is a vital natural resource, particularly in the arid southwest. Most of the flow of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon originates in the Rocky Mountain region. From its origin to its mouth in the Gulf of California, many hands have claimed the Colorado waters for such purposes as irrigation and water supply.
The Colorado River within the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park drains an area of approximately 41,070 square miles. The major perennial streams feeding into the Colorado (such as Kanab and Havasu creeks, the Little Colorado River and the Paria River) are related to large perennial spring systems on both the north and south sides of the Canyon. However, the majority of water sources are intermittent or ephemeral in nature. The availability of water in these individual systems is closely related to geologic structure, seasonality and annual precipitation. Knowledge of all water sources within Grand Canyon is incomplete. A partial inventory was done in 1979 over a 1,881 square mile area of the park which found 57 perennial water sources, 21 of which are streams and 36 which are seeps. Specific geologic layers, such as the Muav limestone, are the most common sources for these perennial waters.
| Colorado River |
Which part of the mouth can be affected by Quinsy? | Higher flows of river water through Grand Canyon planned
Higher flows of river water through Grand Canyon planned
The federal Bureau of Reclamation will again increase flows of Colorado River water through the Grand Canyon.
Post to Facebook
Higher flows of river water through Grand Canyon planned The federal Bureau of Reclamation will again increase flows of Colorado River water through the Grand Canyon. Check out this story on azcentral.com: http://azc.cc/2f5ffFB
CancelSend
A link has been sent to your friend's email address.
Posted!
A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.
Join the Conversation
Higher flows of river water through Grand Canyon planned
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon, February 17, 2016, from near the El Tovar Hotel on South Rim.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Pima Point, February 18, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Hopi Point, February 17, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The sun spotlights the Grand Canyon on Feb. 17, 2016, near the El Tovar Hotel on the South Rim.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Tourist stands on an outcrop on Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View of Powell Point from Hopi Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Crow at Hopi Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Crow, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Hopi Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Hopi Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Two bright flood lights have been turned off near the Historic Kolb Studio on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
A bright flood light illuminates the Historic Buckey O’Neill Cabin on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015. This flood light can be seen by hikers at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. (Eds Note: The smaller light above the flood lamp is the moon.)
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
21-second time-exposure of the lights from El Tovar Hotel (top-left) and the Historic Village on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Many people see the Grand Canyon from the rim, but Marine veteran Hank Detering and 23 wounded vets are going to see it via the Colorado River. Organizers booked the trip with Arizona Raft Adventures. They got underway last week and will finish Sunday. Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon wants to change the way backcountry areas are managed. View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Though the Grand Canyon is an amazing, majestic wonder of the world, unless you hike, a visit there might seem a bit uneventful, one Arizona transplant opines. View from Powell Point, Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Pima Point, February 18, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Two flood lights have been turned off above the Historic Kolb Studio on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. August 26, 2015.
Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Hopi Point, February 17, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Desert View Watchtower from Navajo Point, February 19, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Navajo Point, February 19, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Desert View Watchtower, February 19, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle, Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Lars Hartmann (right) and Sven Setzer photograph sunset from Pima Point, February 18, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Pima Point, February 18, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Wrangler Ed Leos leads an overnight mule ride down the Bright Angel trail, February 18, 2016, to Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Wrangler Ed Leos gets ready for an overnight ride to Phantom Ranch, February 18, 2016, in the mule barn at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Mather Point, February 17, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Desert View Watchtower, February 19, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Sunset from the Desert View Watchtower, February 19, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Desert View Watchtower, February 19, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Desert View Watchtower from Navajo Point, February 19, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Desert View Watchtower, February 19, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
A crow near Moran Point, February 19, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Navajo Point, February 19, 2016, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River winds through the Grand Canyon, February 19, 2016, near the Desert View Watchtower, Arizona.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Clouds form over the Grand Canyon on Feb. 17, 2016, near the El Tovar Hotel on the South Rim.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Colorado River flows at Navajo Point on Feb. 19, 2016.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Clouds wisp over the Grand Canyon's Hopi Point on Feb. 17, 2016.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Sunset from Desert View at the eastern edge of Grand Canyon National Park.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is Arizona's ultimate hooky hole.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The first switchbacks of the South Kaibab Trail hug the cliffs before breaking out into the canyon.
Roger Naylor/Special for the Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The trail levels off for a few hundred yards as it approaches Skeleton Point.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Late afternoon light across the canyon from the South Kaibab.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Hikers skirt the edge of O'Neill Butte just beyond Cedar Ridge.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
At 0.9 miles in, the South Kaibab reaches Ooh Aah Point, exposing views up and down the canyon.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The view from the canyon rim before starting down the South Kaibab Trail.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
A narrow footpath heads west from Skeleton Point and provides a first glimpse of the river, still 2,700 feet below.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Skeleton Point is 3 miles down the South Kaibab Trail. Dayhikers should go no farther.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Gazing across the Tonto Platform from the western edge of Skeleton Point.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The South Kaibab Trail was originally built as an alternative route to Bright Angel Trail, which was being operated as a toll road.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Views along the South Kaibab Trail.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
Unlike other canyon trails, the South Kaibab follows a ridgeline down into the canyon, offering spectacular views.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon
The Desert View Watchtower was originally built in 1932 by architect Mary Colter, in collaboration with Hopi artisans.
Roger Naylor/Special for The Republic
Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:
Replay
| i don't know |
What's the most common English name for the bird with the taxonomical name Crex crex, also known as the Land Rail? | Db 26(5)2004 by DutchBirding - issuu
issuu
V O L U M E
2 6
2 0 0 4
DUTCH BIRDING
Bird counting in Iran in January 2004 Harvey van Diek, Rob Felix, Menno Hornman, Peter L Meininger, Frank Willems & Mark Zekhuis
F
rom 9 to 29 January 2004, we were part of a group of 10 Dutch birders who visited Iran to participate in the international mid-winter count of waterbirds. The Iranian Department of the Environment (DoE) invited us not only to count birds but also to educate local employees how to identify and count them. Transport and housing in Iran were facilitated by the DoE; the Dutch participants arranged visa and the flights between Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Tehran, Iran. After arrival in Tehran, the group split into five teams of two, each complemented with two or three employees of the DoE and a driver. The counts took place in a two-week period. During sparse moments between the counts, we enjoyed birds other than waterbirds, as well as other Iranian wildlife. On 26 January, the group gathered again in Tehran and, the next day, we all went to the Touran protected area for an encounter with the endemic Pleske’s Ground Jay Podoces pleskei.
Country With a land surface of 1636 million km2, the Islamic Republic of Iran is 40 times the size of the Netherlands. The country is divided into 28 provinces and inhabited by almost 80 million people, of whom c 16 million live in Tehran. Iran is a rugged country; there is a high, central basin with deserts and mountains and only along both coasts, there are small, discontinuous plains. The highest mountain is Kuh-e Damavand (5671 m). The weather in the north and in the mountains can be wet and cold. In the south, temperatures are normally not below 5°C in winter, while in summer one should try to avoid these parts of the country because of high temperatures of up to 50°C. The national language is Farsi and, although only few people speak English, Iran appears to be a very hospitable country. Travelling must be done by public transport or organized tours, since car rental is almost impossible and traffic is
422 Sunset near Touran, Semnan, Iran, 27 January 2004 (Harvey van Diek)
[Dutch Birding 26: 287-296, 2004]
287
Bird counting in Iran in January 2004 dangerous. We travelled with experienced drivers and each group was joined by at least one English-speaking person. We had a good experience with Ecotour-Iran (www.ecotour-iran.com), who took us to Touran. This is the only tour and travel agency in Iran that does nature trips with well-educated and English-speaking guides. In Iran, c 492 species have been recorded (cf Firouz 2000). Considering the lack of birdwatchers, large size of the country, great range of habitats, and the country’s position at the crossroads of three major faunal regions, it seems likely that many species will be added to this total. Counting Each team visited a different province. In total, the five teams recorded 287 species. Most birds and species were found in the coastal areas. Our main task was to census waterbirds in as many wetlands as possible. One of the targets was to find Slender-billed Curlews Numenius tenuirostris, which have been claimed in the last 10 years but never by experienced birdwatchers and never with conclusive documentation. In total, c 1.5 million waterbirds were counted in January 2004. This total was lower than expected. In previous years, c 3 million birds were recorded by Iranian birdwatchers. Unfavourable weather conditions (much rain and high temperatures in the north and south-west and drought in the south and south-east) may have been causes for the lower counts. Differences in experience in estimating large groups of birds could be an additional explanation. From all five provinces the highlights and some interesting bird numbers are presented in this paper. Full details of the census will be published in a separate report. Gilan Peter de Boer and Menno van Straaten counted in Gilan province, in the north-west along the Caspian Sea, where c 220 000 waterbirds were noted. Highlights were a Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus (first for Gilan), Ferruginous Ducks Aythya nyroca (12), Mediterranean Gulls Larus melanocephalus (first for Gilan), Grey-headed Swamp-hens Porphyrio poliocephalus (21), Pomarine Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus (one, uncommon in the Caspian Sea) and Parasitic Jaeger S parasiticus (one, uncommon in the Caspian Sea). Mazandaran Peter Meininger and Mark Zekhuis counted in Mazandaran province, along the Caspian coast to 288
the east. The 60 km long Miankaleh Peninsula and adjacent Gorgan Bay occupy an area of 97 200 ha. The Miankaleh wildlife refuge is a Ramsar Site and Biosphere Reserve. These areas hold the highest number of wintering waterbirds in Iran. During the census of 2004, a total of 1 041 000 birds were counted. The most numerous species was Eurasian Coot Fulica atra with 810 960 individuals. This also proved to be a good wintering site for White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala (625), Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus (131), Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus (209), Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus (c 73 000) and Whitetailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla (125). A single Caspian Seal Phoca caspica swimming in the bay was a surprise. These mammals normally have their young in winter on the ice in the northern part of the Caspian Sea. Mazandaran is famous for the wintering of the tiny western population of Siberian Crane Grus leucogeranus, in particular now that the species no longer (since 2002) winters in Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India. In total, six were observed: a pair with a juvenile in Fereidoonkenar Damgah and the surrounding rice-fields, as well as two ringed and recently released juveniles. Fereidoonkenar Damgah is an artificial wetland of c 150 ha used as a private duck-hunting area and as a water reservoir for the rice-fields in summer. Another adult was feeding in Sorkherud Damgah. This is also a small artificial wetland maintained for duck trapping. The cranes are protected by local hunters. More information on the status and conservation of Siberian Cranes in Iran and other countries is provided by Meine & Archibald (1996). Other interesting records included a Pomarine Jaeger and three Mediterranean Gulls, while Citrine Wagtails Motacilla citreola proved to be surprisingly common. One full day of birding was spent in the mountains of the central Alborz region (protected area, 399 000 ha). This area is part of the Alborz range, north of Tehran and west of the road to Chalus. A rough day walking from Kanarbun to Haridzja (altitude 2500 m) with armed guides from the DoE through the snowy mountains brought us for instance Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus, Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris, Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris, Western Rock Nuthatch Sitta neumayer, White-winged Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis and, at last, five Caspian Snowcocks Tetraogallus caspius. In addition, tracks of Brown Bear Ursus arctos, Leopard Panthera pardus and
Bird counting in Iran in January 2004
423 Great Knots / Grote Kanoeten Calidris tenuirostris, Tiab, Hormozgan, Iran, 15 January 2004 (Rob Felix) 424 Great Thick-knees / Grote Grielen Esacus recurvirostris, Rud-e-Shur, Hormozgan, Iran, 14 January 2004 (Rob Felix)
289
Bird counting in Iran in January 2004 Wolf Canis lupus and observations of Wild Goat Capra aegagrus suggested a true and undisturbed nature reserve. Khuzestan Harvey van Diek and Menno Hornman counted in Khuzestan province in the south-west, near the Iraqi border. In Khuzestan, c 111 600 waterbirds were recorded. The largest group consisted of c 20 000 Eurasian Coots at Miangaran lake near Izeh in the north-east of the Khuzestan area. Also good numbers of Marbled Duck Marmaronetta angustirostris (c 3200), White-tailed Lapwing Vanellus leucurus (c 1200), Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis (c 350) and Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis (460) were recorded. Other highlights were two Sacred Ibises Threskiornis aethiopicus at Bamdej marsh (a small relict population breeds in the Hoor Alazim marshes in Iraq), a Little Crake Porzana parva at the Hoveyzeh surrounds, 28 Armenian Gulls L armenicus and a total of 42 Iraq Babblers Turdoides altirostris. The latter species was until recently known as a near-endemic of the marshes of southern Iraq but appears to be spreading, both to the east (Iran) and to the west (Syria, cf van
den Berg 2004). Up to 12 Caspian Stonechats Saxicola maurus variegatus, 10 Plain Leaf Warblers Phylloscopus neglectus and 242 Dead Sea Sparrows Passer moabiticus were recorded. Surprisingly, 35 Mesopotamian Crows Corvus cornix capellanus were seen. This taxon, sometimes treated as a separate species, is restricted to an area along the Euphrates in south-eastern Iraq and south-western Iran and has a contrasting black-and-white plumage, with the grey parts of Hooded Crow C c cornix much paler and almost white (cf Madge & Burn 1993). Near Bostan, an Oriental Pratincole Glareola maldivarum was discovered on 18 January, providing the first observation for Iran. It was studied for c 20 min under good light conditions. Unfortunately, the distance was too large to take photographs and to see subtle identification characters as primary pattern, colour of the underparts, leg length and bill pattern. A description is given in appendix 1. At Aflok basin, a probable Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis was observed. This would be the second sighting in winter after one reported in February 1998. The bird was observed for c 2 min at a distance of 20 m. A description is given in appendix 2. At Karun fishponds, a juve-
425 Crab-plovers / Krabplevieren Dromas ardeola, with Indian Reef Egret / Rode-Zeerifreiger Egretta gularis schistacea, Hara protected area, Hormozgan, Iran, 11 January 2004 (Rob Felix)
290
Bird counting in Iran in January 2004 nile Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus was found and photographed. This species has only recently been discovered in Iran (Derek Scott pers comm). A calling male Pallid Scops Owl Otus brucei was found at Izeh cave. An adult Rose-coloured Starling Sturnus roseus was seen near the border at Hoor Alazim marshes; this species is a breeding bird in Iran but not known as a winterer. Hormozgan Rob Felix and Frank Willems visited Hormozgan province in the south. Along the coastal area stretching from the Straits of Hormuz in the west to the border of Baluchistan in the east, 24 sites were visited. These sites can be characterized as intertidal areas with extensive mudflats, lagoons and creeks, some with extensive mangrove vegetations. The number of waterbirds (mainly waders) was huge. The vastness of the area and inaccessibility of the sites made that only 65 000 birds could be counted, while the true number of birds will be in the direction of several 100 000s. Most numerous was Dunlin Calidris alpina with 7500. Crab-plover Dromas ardeola and Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus were second and third, both with c 4600. Most Crab-plovers (3000) were counted in Hara protected area on Qeshm island. Eurasian Curlew N arquata (4000), Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultii (2200) and Lesser Sand Plover C mongolus (2000) were also numerous. Iran appears to be of invaluable importance for Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus, of which over 900 were counted. This species was present at almost every site and actual numbers must have been much higher. Great Knot C tenuirostris (133) and Red Knot C canutus (one) are two species of which small wintering populations have only recently been discovered in Iran (Keijl et al 2001). Two specialities of Hormozgan were Goliath Herons Ardea goliath (three) and Great Thick-knee Esacus recurvirostris (41). The herons were present in Khalasi in the eastern part of Hormozgan. A part of this area is covered with very old mangroves, which may house a relict breeding population of this species. Another highlight was a Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis in the Straits of Hormuz, probably the first record for this region. A single Plain Martin Riparia paludicola was seen at Jask harbour on 21 January. This species, which occurs in Africa and in Asia from Afghanistan and Pakistan east to Taiwan, is very rare in Iran. In 2001, Keijl et al (2001) observed eight birds (two flocks of four),
which appear to be the first records. Last but not least, a pair of Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis was discovered during a short visit to the Gaz river, south of the town of Sirik, in the afternoon of 18 January. Both birds were seen briefly before they disappeared into their nesting hole at the top edge of a 50 m high cliff. This is apparently the first record in 50-100 years for Iran of this presumably overlooked species. In Iraq, this species is very rare but further east it is locally more common (Ebels 2002). The area of Gaz river is in fact a dry wadi, since the river has almost dried up in the past few years, leaving only a few shallow pools. Some scattered bushes and trees are present. Employees of the DoE kept an eye on the spot and, on 8 April 2004, breeding was confirmed (Babak Musavi in litt). On 16 April, an adult and a juvenile were seen at the same spot by an AviFauna tour group (Erik Hirschfeld in litt). Close to the nesting site of Brown Fish Owl, two other owl species were present: Eurasian Eagle Owl Bubo bubo (a calling male) and Spotted Owlet Athene brama. Sistan and Baluchistan Bernard Oosterbaan and Erik van Winden visited the province of Sistan and Baluchistan in the far south-east along the Gulf of Oman. In Sistan, a formerly very important bird area has been dried out for about eight years because of a great dam on the Afghanistan border. In Baluchistan, only 14 000 waterbirds were counted. Highlights were two Red-breasted Mergansers Mergus serrator at Tiss port, up to six Great Thick-knees at Khore-e-Galak, a group of 385 Kentish Plovers C alexandrinus at Khore-e-Tang, two Pintail Snipes Gallinago stenura at Lolakadan, up to 20 Desert Whitethroats Sylvia curruca minula at Lipar Marsh and one Brahminy Starling S pagodarum with a Rose-coloured Starling in the town of Chabahar. The Brahminy Starling is suspected to be an escape from captivity, because it was seen in an urban area. However, if considered a wild bird, it would be a new species for Iran. It is common in the Indian Subcontinent but occurs only locally further west in Pakistan and in eastern Afghanistan, where it was noted as ‘common’ in Kabul in summer 2002; its seasonal movements are not well understood (Feare & Craig 1998, Grimmett et al 1998, Kullberg 2002). According to Kullberg (2002), ‘There seems to be a general westward and northward invasion of many originally Indian human habitation-bound bird species’.
291
Bird counting in Iran in January 2004
426 Goliath Heron / Reuzenreiger Ardea goliath, Khalasi, Hormozgan, Iran, 20 January 2004 (Rob Felix) 427 Pleske’s Ground Jay / Perzische Steppegaai Podoces pleskei, Touran, Semnan, Iran, 27 January 2004 (Harvey van Diek) 428 Pleske’s Ground Jay / Perzische Steppegaai Podoces pleskei, Touran, Semnan, Iran, 27 January 2004 (Menno Hornman)
292
Bird counting in Iran in January 2004
429 Iraq Babbler / Iraakse Babbelaar Turdoides altirostris, Horeh Bamdej, Khuzestan, Iran, 23 January 2004 (Harvey van Diek) 430 Siberian Cranes / Siberische Witte Kraanvogels Grus leucogeranus, pair with young, Fereidoonkenar Damgah, Mazandaran, Iran, 19 January 2004 (Mark Zekhuis)
293
Bird counting in Iran in January 2004 Touran On 25 January, all teams gathered at a hotel in Tehran and prepared a workshop for the next day for c 70 DoE employees. We presented our first results, shared our experiences and explained counting methods. The final three days, a visit was made to Touran in Semnan province. In this desert area, 550 km east of Tehran and at 1200 m above sea level, the only (near-)endemic species in Iran is found: Pleske’s Ground Jay, which only occurs in eastern Iran and marginally across the border in Afghanistan. Macqueen’s Bustard Chlamydotis macqueenii is breeding in quite good numbers in this beautiful arid area with steppe vegetation. The area is also good for Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus (only a few left in Iran, cf Iranian Cheetah Society 2004), Leopard (quite common in this area) and Persian Wild Ass Equus hemonius onager (c 400 left in whole Iran, Strieker 2001). Our guides of Ecotour-Iran estimated the chance to see Pleske’s Ground Jay at this time of year at 70%. In winter they are very elusive, do not sing and normally stay on the ground; even when disturbed, they prefer to run. The species inhabits extensive desert steppes with scattered low bushes and plains covered with Zygophyllum, where it mainly feeds on
insects and seeds of desert bushes. Birds live in solitary pairs, remaining together throughout the year. The spherical nest, camouflaged by a layer of interwoven twigs, is built among small shrubs. The three to six pale blue-green eggs are laid in April. Only the female incubates, for 17-19 days, and the male feeds her while she is on the nest. The chicks grow fast; two weeks after hatching, they are feathered and can already run fast. We were lucky to discover two very tame birds. Because the weather was rainy and cold, the birds showed less activity and allowed us to approach within c 5 m. This was the highlight of the trip for most of us. The next day we saw a few more, in total 10 individuals. A female Eversmann’s Redstart Phoenicurus erythronotus and a Black-throated Thrush Turdus ruficollis atrogularis were the last noteworthy species of our visit to Iran. After three weeks, we had seen many birds and counted most of them. The search for Slender-billed Curlew failed but more surveys are needed to make sure whether the species still exists. In addition, waterbird counts are paramount in the next years since Iran is very important for wintering waders and ducks.
431 Brown Fish Owl / Bruine Visuil Ketupa zeylonensis, Gaz, south of Sirik, Hormozgan, Iran, 8 April 2004 (Babak Musavi)
294
Bird counting in Iran in January 2004
432 Breeding site of Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis, Gaz, south of Sirik, Hormozgan, Iran, 18 January 2004 (Rob Felix). The nest cavity is the black spot right below the tree just left of the centre. 433 Black-winged Kite / Grijze Wouw Elanus caeruleus, juvenile, Karun fish ponds, Khuzestan, Iran, 22 January 2004 (Harvey van Diek) 434 Mesopotamian Crow / Mesopotaamse Kraai Corvus cornix capellanus, near Hoveyzeh, Khuzestan, Iran, 19 January 2004 (Harvey van Diek) 435 Caspian Stonechat / Kaspische Roodborsttapuit Saxicola maurus variegatus, Amir Kabir sugar cane farm, Ahvaz, Khuzestan, Iran, 15 January 2004 (Harvey van Diek)
Acknowledgements We thank the Iranian Department of the Environment, in particular Ayatollahah and Hamid Amini, for inviting us and for arranging most of the trip. Borhan Riazi perfectly organized the logistics of our visit. Houman Jowkar and Parviz Bakhtiari (Ecotour-Iran) organized our trip to Touran and were excellent guides. Babak Musavi kindly permitted to publish his photograph of the Brown Fish Owl. Useful comments on parts of this paper were given by Gert Ottens and Erik van Winden.
Samenvatting VOGELTELLINGEN IN IRAN IN JANUARI 2004 In januari 2004 bezochten 10 Nederlandse vogelaars Iran op uitnodiging van het Iraanse ministerie van milieu. In vijf groepjes van twee en met begeleiding van Iraanse medewerkers van het ministerie en een chauffeur werden vijf provincies bezocht. In totaal werden c 1.5 miljoen watervogels geteld. De hoop om Dunbekwulpen Numenius tenuirostris aan te treffen werd niet vervuld. Per provincie wordt een selectie van opmerkelijke waarnemingen genoemd: de eerste Dwerggans Anser erythropus en de eerste Zwartkopmeeuw Larus melanocephalus voor de provincie Gilan, zes Siberische Witte Kraanvogels Grus leucogeranus in de provincie Mazandaran (de enige resterende overwinteringslocatie
295
Bird counting in Iran in January 2004 voor de minieme westelijke populatie), twee Heilige Ibissen Threskiornis aethiopicus en een juveniele Grijze Wouw Elanus caeruleus in de provincie Khuzestan, de eerste Oosterse Vorkstaartplevier Glareola maldivarum voor Iran (beschrijving in appendix 1), de tweede melding in de winter van een Basrakarekiet Acrocephalus griseldis (beschrijving in appendix 2), en een Vale Oeverzwaluw Riparia paludicola en een paar Bruine Visuilen Ketupa zeylonensis in de provincie Hormozgan. De visuilen betroffen de eerste waarneming in 50-100 jaar en bleken later in het voorjaar succesvol te hebben gebroed. Soorten waarvan hoge aantallen werden geteld zijn bijvoorbeeld Marmereend Marmaronetta angustirostris (c 3200), Witkopeend Oxyura leucocephala (625), Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus (c 73 000), Krabplevier Dromas ardeola (c 4600) en Witstaartkievit Vanellus leucurus (c 1200).
References van den Berg, A B 2004. WP reports: late January-early March 2004. Dutch Birding 26: 128-138. Ebels, E B 2002. Brown Fish Owl in the Western Palearctic. Dutch Birding 24: 157-161.
Firouz, E 2000. A guide to the fauna of Iran. Tehran. Grimmett, R, Inskipp, C & Inskipp, T 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. London. Iranian Cheetah Society 2004. Iranian Cheetah in news. Website: www.iraniancheetah.org/main.htm. Feare, C & Craig, A 1998. Starlings and mynas. London. Keijl, G O, van der Have, T M, Mansoori, J & Morozov, V V 2001. Some interesting bird observations from the coast of Iran, January-February 2000. Sandgrouse 23: 44-48. Kullberg, A 2002. Trip report - Afghanistan. June, July, August and September 2002. Website: www.osme. org/osmetrip/afghan1.html. Madge, S & Burn, H 1993. Crows and Jays. London. Meine, C D & Archibald, G W (editors) 1996. The cranes: status survey and conservation action plan. Website: www.greatplains.org/npresource/distr/birds/ cranes/grusleuc.htm (version 2 March 1998). Strieker, G 2001. Wild asses struggle for life in Iran. Website: www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/07/19 /iran.asses.
Harvey van Diek, Prins Willem Alexanderstraat 53, 6576 BL Ooij, Netherlands ([email protected]) Rob Felix, Bijleveldsingel 42, 6524 AD Nijmegen, Netherlands ([email protected]) Menno Hornman, Graafsedwarsstraat 13, 6512 EP Nijmegen, Netherlands ([email protected]) Peter L Meininger, Lisztlaan 5, 4338 KM Vlissingen, Netherlands ([email protected]) Frank Willems, Maerlantstraat 101, 6531 AW Nijmegen, Netherlands ([email protected]) Mark Zekhuis, Eerste Weerdsweg 88, 7412 WV Deventer, Netherlands ([email protected])
APPENDIX 1 Description of Oriental Pratincole Glareola
maldivarum near Bostan, Khuzestan, Iran, on 18 January 2004 Long-winged wader, with tern-like flight sometimes also recalling Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola, with dark upperwings and white tail and black tail bar. Tail short and shallowly forked with outer tail feathers only slightly longer than inner ones; tail length (longest, outer tail feathers) about same as breadth of wing. Upperparts dark brown, underwing-coverts rusty red and remiges dark, with no sign of white trailing edge to secondaries.
296
APPENDIX 2 Description of Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis at Aflok basin, Khuzestan, Iran, on 17 January 2004
First impression that of olivaceous warbler Acrocephalus opacus/pallidus, foraging slowly, low above water level through reed stems. Size comparable with Common Reed Warbler A scirpaceus, not as heavy as Clamorous Reed Warbler A stentoreus but no direct comparison with other birds possible. Pale belly and undertail coverts striking. Long, dirty white to creamy supercilium. Bill slender and long, about same length as supercilium. Primary projection long, with primary length about equal to tertial length and at least seven primaries visible. Because of long primaries, bird looking rather short tailed. Upperparts and head olivetinged (rather than yellowish-tinged) brown, quite dark looking and contrasting with pale, dirty white belly, chin and undertail coverts.
Lachmeeuw in Nederland en Duitsland in 2000-02 Gert Ottens
I
n 2000-02 werd op verschillende locaties in Nederland en aangrenzend Duitsland een adulte Lachmeeuw Larus atricilla waargenomen waarvan wordt aangenomen dat het steeds dezelfde vogel betrof. Dit werd duidelijk toen de vogel die in 2001 in Duitsland werd gekleurringd later dat jaar in Nederland opdook. Het betreft het derde geval van deze Nearctische soort voor zowel Nederland als Duitsland. In dit artikel worden de waarnemingen van de vogel in beide landen gedurende deze periode beschreven. Nederland Op 23 juli 2000 om 16:00 werd een adulte Lachmeeuw waargenomen door Carl Derks en Bert Pieterson op het Rutbekerveld bij Enschede, Overijssel. De vogel in (bijna) volledig zomerkleed hield zich hier korte tijd op tussen
Kokmeeuwen L ridibundus en Kleine Mantelmeeuwen L fuscus die rustten op de afvoerbuizen in het water. Rond 16:20 werd hij enkele minuten vliegend gezien voordat hij in noordelijke richting wegvloog met c 50 Kokmeeuwen (Carl Derks in litt). Deze waarneming is pas recent ingediend bij de Commissie Dwaalgasten Nederlandse Avifauna (CDNA) en dient dus nog aanvaard te worden; de beschrijving is echter volledig zodat de kans op aanvaarding groot is. In vervolg hierop ontdekte Stef Waasdorp op 13 augustus 2000 waarschijnlijk dezelfde Lachmeeuw, inmiddels ruiend naar winterkleed, langs de Nederrijn te Arnhem, Gelderland. De vogel werd hier in de avond van 15 augustus weer waargenomen door RenĂŠ Oosterhuis en SW en vervolgens werd het nieuws verspreid (Harvey van Diek pers meded). De daaropvolgende
436 Lachmeeuw / Laughing Gull Larus atricilla, adult mannetje, Zwillbrocker Venn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Duitsland, april 2002 (Martin Gottschling)
[Dutch Birding 26: 297-301, 2004]
297
Lachmeeuw in Nederland en Duitsland in 2000-02 avond werd hij door vele waarnemers kortstondig tijdens de schemering gezien, alvorens samen met Kokmeeuwen naar een onbekende slaapplaats, waarschijnlijk De Bijland nabij Lobith, Gelderland, of Rhederlaag nabij Giesbeek, Gelderland, te vliegen. Die avond konden video-opnamen van de vogel worden gemaakt (Deuzeman 2000, Plomp et al 2001, van der Vliet et al 2001). Een melding uit Arnhem nabij de splitsing van Nederrijn en IJssel op 5 november 2000 werd helaas (nog) niet ingediend bij de CDNA maar kan betrekking hebben gehad op dezelfde vogel. Vervolgens ontdekte Arjen Poelmans op 27 oktober 2001 een adult-winter Lachmeeuw op de grote meeuwenslaapplaats van De Bijland. De vogel werd in de daaropvolgende dagen niet meer teruggevonden (Ottens 2001, van der Vliet et al 2002). Duidelijk werden de ringen gezien die de Lachmeeuw eerder dat jaar in Duitsland aangemeten kreeg (zie onder). Tenslotte werd (naar wordt aangenomen) dezelfde Lachmeeuw op 7 april 2002 bij het Beuven op de Strabrechtse Heide, Noord-Brabant, aangetroffen (van der Vliet et al 2003). Deze vogel werd hier korte tijd in de ochtend waargenomen, alleen in vlucht, waarna hij in noordelijke richting doorvloog. Hierbij kon niet worden vastgesteld of de vogel was geringd (Jan-Erik Kikkert in litt). Duitsland Op 11 april 2001 werd een adult-zomer Lachmeeuw ontdekt in de kolonie Kokmeeuwen in het Zwillbrocker Venn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, 437 Lachmeeuw / Laughing Gull Larus atricilla, adult, Arnhem, Gelderland, 16 augustus 2000 (Marc Plomp/Natuur Digitaal)
298
Duitsland, c 1 km over de grens bij Groenlo, Gelderland. De vogel werd op 1 juni 2001 gevangen en geringd (rechts: witte PVC-ring (tarsus) en aluminiumring (tibia)). De Lachmeeuw gedroeg zich zeer vocaal en territoriaal. Regelmatig werd de zogeheten ‘long-call’ waargenomen waarbij hij de vleugels enigszins liet afhangen, de kop omhoog gooide en een luid, lachend geluid voortbracht. De aanwezige Kokmeeuwen leken hierop niet te reageren (pers obs). Op grond van zijn gedrag werd vastgesteld dat het om een mannetje ging. Enige aanwijzingen voor een (gemengd) broedgeval zijn niet gevonden. Wel had de Lachmeeuw in juni een nest gemaakt of bezet en werd gezien dat hij een pas uitgekomen Kokmeeuw naar het nest sleepte om het dier vervolgens te verorberen. Ook de overblijfselen van Kokmeeuwenkuikens die na het vertrek van de vogel in het nest werden aangetroffen waren waarschijnlijk van dergelijke maaltijden afkomstig. De Lachmeeuw was hier aanwezig tot ten minste 3 juli 2001 (Andreas Buchheim in litt). Mogelijk dezelfde vogel werd overigens al op 29 maart 2001 in Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Bayern, Duitsland, waargenomen (Birding World 14: 237, 2001). Foto’s van de vogel van het Zwillbrocker Venn zijn onder meer gepubliceerd in Birding World (14: 145, 237, 2001), Dutch Birding (23: 162, plaat 184, 226, plaat 251, 2001) en Limicola (16: 245, 2002). Op 13 april 2002 keerde de vogel, inmiddels ‘Atze’ genaamd (vrij naar de Duitse naam voor Lachmeeuw: Aztekenmöwe) terug in het Zwillbrocker Venn. Net als in 2001 ging hier een waarneming uit het zuiden van Duitsland aan vooraf; op 28 en 29 maart 2002 werd een (voor zover bekend ongeringde, Peter Barthel in litt) adult-zomer Lachmeeuw gefotografeerd te Oberzell, Baden-Württemberg (Limicola 16: 245-246, 2002). ‘Atze’ hield hetzelfde territorium als in het voorgaande jaar maar was daarin niet zo vasthoudend als in 2001. Ook werd hij bijvoorbeeld vaak gezien op het dak van de observatiehut die uitkijkt op de plaatselijke kolonie flamingo’s Phoenicopterus, waarbij hij zich soms zeer dicht liet benaderen. De vogel had in 2002 geen nest maar wel werd in mei waargenomen dat hij met een Kokmeeuw copuleerde (Andreas Buchheim in litt). Overigens moet in het West-Palearctische gebied wel degelijk rekening worden gehouden met (gemengde) broedgevallen van deze soort (Hoogendoorn & Steinhaus 1990). Daarnaast werd regelmatig waargenomen hoe hij laag over de kolonie vloog om plotseling naar beneden te duiken om een Kokmeeuwjong te pakken dat
Lachmeeuw in Nederland en Duitsland in 2000-02
FIGUUR 1 Lachmeeuw / Laughing Gull Larus atricilla, adult, Strabrechtse Heide, Noord-Brabant, 7 april 2002
(Jan-Erik Kikkert)
Beschrijving Onderstaande beschrijving is zowel gebaseerd op de waarneming van het Rutbekerveld (Carl Derks in litt, adult zomerkleed), eigen aantekeningen gemaakt te Arnhem op 16 augustus 2000 (ruiend naar adult winterkleed; cf Dutch Birding 23: 327, plaat 369, 2001) en het Zwillbrocker Venn in april 2001 (adult zomerkleed), veldschetsen van de waarneming van het Beuven van 7 april 2002 (Jan-Erik Kikkert in litt, adult zomerkleed), en de eerder genoemde foto’s en videobeelden.
gevlekte (achter)kruin tot in de nek. Voorhoofd en teugel wit. BOVENDELEN Mantel donker leigrijs. ONDERDELEN Wit met lichtgrijze tint. VLEUGEL Bovenvleugel donker leigrijs, met zwarte handpennen. Kleine witte vlekjes op top van handpennen. Duidelijke witte achtervleugelrand. Ondervleugel wit, met donkere onderzijde van handpennen (donkergrijs) en armpennen (grijs). STAART Wit. NAAKTE DELEN Donkere iris. Donkerrode oogrand. Snavel dieprood met zwarte subterminale ‘ring’ en kleine, lichte punt. Poot zeer donker (donkergrijs). GELUID In Nederland alleen op Strabrechtse Heide gehoord. Zowel hier als in Zwillbrocker Venn regelmatig hard, lachend geluid voortbrengend, duidelijk te onderscheiden van geluid van aanwezige Kokmeeuwen en (enkele) Zwartkopmeeuwen (Zwillbrocker Venn). GEDRAG Voor gedrag in Zwillbrocker Venn, zie boven.
Waarneembaar (maar niet veel) groter en iets zwaarder gebouwd dan aanwezige Kokmeeuwen; duidelijk kleiner dan Kleine Mantelmeeuw. Poot en vleugel duidelijk langer dan bij Kokmeeuw. Snavel lang en ‘zwaar’ in verhouding met Kokmeeuwen en enigszins omlaag gebogen naar punt toe. KOP & HALS Zomerkleed: kop zwart (inclusief keel en achternek, vergelijkbaar met Zwartkopmeeuw L melanocephalus), op 23 juli 2000 met enkele witte wintervlekjes. Boven en onder oog duidelijke witte ‘halve maantjes’. Ruiend naar winterkleed: kop wit/lichtgrijs met een donkergrijs ‘masker’ rond het oog en grijs
Determinatie De combinatie van kenmerken in verenkleed en naakte delen sluit alle andere soorten uit, waaronder Franklins Meeuw L pipixcan, waarmee soms verwarring mogelijk is. De belangrijkste kenmerken die op Lachmeeuw wijzen zijn het formaat (iets groter dan Kokmeeuw), de zeer lange vleugels, de lange en iets ‘afhangende’ snavel, de zwarte kopkap met duidelijke witte tekening boven en onder het oog, de donkergrijze mantel en de rode snavelkleur en donkergrij-
vervolgens werd verorberd (Andreas Buchheim in litt). De laatste waarneming dateert van 29 juni 2002. In 2003 werd de Lachmeeuw niet meer waargenomen.
GROOTTE & BOUW
299
Lachmeeuw in Nederland en Duitsland in 2000-02 ze pootkleur (Grant 1986, Jonsson 1997, Svensson et al 2000). Bespreking Na eerdere gevallen te Harderwijk, Gelderland, van 25 september tot midden oktober 1993 (Ebels & van Heusden 1999) en te Groningen, Groningen, van 22 augustus tot 20 oktober 1997 (Olthoff 1997, 1998) betekenen de waarnemingen in 2000-02 het derde geval voor Nederland (van den Berg & Bosman 2001). Vanwege de onderlinge afstand (zowel in tijd als plaats) tussen de Nederlandse waarnemingen in de zomer van 2000, en de wetenschap dat de (inmiddels) geringde vogel van het Zwillbrocker Venn in De Bijland opdook mag worden aangenomen dat het hier steeds hetzelfde exemplaar betreft. Dit geldt ook voor de waarneming bij het Beuven, hoewel daar de aanwezigheid van ringen niet werd (of kon worden) vastgesteld. Voor deze aanname bestaan bovendien nog andere aanwijzingen. Zo hadden de waarnemingen steeds betrekking op een adulte vogel en werden de waarnemingen gedaan op afstanden van meer dan 100 km van de Noordzee, terwijl de soort in Noord-Amerika relatief weinig buiten de kuststrook wordt gezien (Cramp & Simmons 1983). Uit onderzoek aan geringde en gezenderde adulte Lachmeeuwen is overigens wel gebleken dat exemplaren op foerageervluchten regelmatig tot 40 km en bij uitzondering zelfs tot 90 km landinwaarts van de broedkolonie kunnen worden waargenomen (Dosch 2003). Als dwaalgast is de soort in het binnenland van Europa evenwel een zeldzame verschijning. Zo werden in Frankrijk tot en met 1998 van in totaal 19 gevallen er slechts twee ver in het binnenland vastgesteld (Dubois et al 2000). In Brittannië gaat het op een totaal van 94 gevallen (tot en met 2003) om c vijf in het binnenland (Pete Fraser in litt). Het is wat dat betreft opmerkelijk dat de twee eerdere Nederlandse gevallen evenmin nabij de Noordzee of Waddenzee plaatsvonden. Hoogendoorn & Steinhaus (1990) suggereerden dat sommige Lachmeeuwen in hun eerste winter Europa bereiken en daarna blijven rondzwerven in het Noordzeegebied. Men kan daarom stellen dat de meeste gevallen in het Noordzeegebied aan een klein aantal rondzwervende vogels kunnen worden toegeschreven. Deze veronderstelling wordt ondersteund door het hoge aantal zomergevallen van adulte exemplaren in Noordwest-Europa. Daarnaast is het opmerkelijk dat in Europa van Lachmeeuw meerdere gevallen van jaarlijks terugkerende exemplaren bekend zijn. Dit is 300
onder meer ook bekend van Kleine Kokmeeuw L philadelphia, Ringsnavelmeeuw L delawarensis en Grote Burgemeester L hyperboreus. De Duitse waarnemingen in het Zwillbrocker Venn zijn als derde geval voor Duitsland de boeken ingegaan, na eerdere gevallen van een adulte vogel in Rieselfelder Münster, NordrheinWestfalen, op 3 april 1997 (ook ver in het binnenland) en een eerste-winter op Husum, Schleswig-Holstein, op 28 en 29 november 1999. De overige bovengenoemde gevallen zijn momenteel nog in behandeling bij de Duitse dwaalgastencommissie (Peter Barthel in litt). Dankzij de kleurringen die de Duits/Nederlandse vogel in 2001 kreeg kan hij als ‘test-case’ fungeren waarbij vervolgwaarnemingen inzicht kunnen verschaffen over zijn verplaatsingen. Zo zou de waarneming van een adulte Lachmeeuw met een metalen ring aan de rechter tibia te San Remo, Liguria, Italië, van 18 januari tot eind februari 2004 (Dutch Birding 26: 204, 2004) dezelfde vogel kunnen betreffen mits hij inmiddels zijn kleurring had verloren. Het verliezen van kleurringen komt bij meeuwen namelijk nu en dan voor (Frank Majoor pers meded). Overigens betrof het hier het eerste geval van deze soort voor Italië (Andrea Corso in litt). Op basis van de foto’s kan de ring helaas niet worden afgelezen. Er is afgezien van de vogel van het Zwillbrocker Venn maar één ander geval bekend van een Lachmeeuw die in Europa werd geringd. Het betreft de eerste-winter vogel van Husum in 1999, die aan zijn linker tarsus van een metalen ring werd voorzien (Andreas Buchheim in litt). Dankwoord Hierbij wil ik Andreas Buchheim en Martin Gottschling bedanken voor informatie en het ter beschikking stellen van foto’s van de vogel van het Zwillbrocker Venn. Daarnaast was de hulp van Peter Barthel (Deutsche Seltenheitenkommission), Max Berlijn (CDNA), Andrea Corso (Comitato Italiano Rarità), Carl Derks, Harvey van Diek (SOVON), Adriaan Dijksen, Enno Ebels, Pete Fraser (British Birds Rarities Committee), Ted Hoogendoorn, Jan-Erik Kikkert, Frank Majoor (SOVON), Bert Pieterson, Arjen Poelmans, Ivo Seelen, Henk Sierdsema (SOVON), Gerard Steinhaus en Stef Waasdorp onontbeerlijk. Fred Hustings (SOVON) voorzag een eerdere versie van een kritische noot. Summary LAUGHING GULL IN THE NETHERLANDS AND GERMANY IN 2000-02 In July-August 2000, late October 2001 and early April 2002, an adult Laughing Gull Larus atricilla
Lachmeeuw in Nederland en Duitsland in 2000-02 was observed at several inland sites in the eastern half of the Netherlands. The same bird was also present in a Black-headed Gull L ridibundus colony c 1 km across the border in Germany at Zwillbrocker Venn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, during the breeding seasons of 2001 and 2002. Here, the bird was ringed in June 2001 (right leg; tarsus: white colour ring, tibia: aluminium ring). These rings confirmed that the Dutch record of October 2001 concerned the same bird. Moreover, because of the (relative) proximity in both space and time, the Dutch rarities committee (CDNA) considers all records to relate to the same bird, which constitutes the third record for both Germany and the Netherlands. The extreme rarity of the species in mainland Europe and the fact that all observations of this individual were well inland have also been taken into account. A case can also be made for the hypothesis that most records of Laughing Gulls in the North Sea area can be attributed to a small number of ‘wandering’ birds. This is supported by the relatively high number of summer records of adult birds in north-western Europe. Now that the Dutch/German bird has been colour-ringed, repeat sightings may clarify this aspect of the species’ occurrence in Europe. The first Italian record in January-February 2004 of an adult bird with a metal ring on its right tibia might have concerned the same individual (assuming it had lost its colour ring, which happens occasionally in gulls).
Verwijzingen van den Berg, A B & Bosman, C A W 2001. Zeldzame vogels van Nederland – Rare birds of the Netherlands. Avifauna van Nederland 1. Tweede druk. Haarlem. Cramp, S & Simmons, K E L (redactie) 1983. The birds of the Western Palearctic 3. Oxford.
Deuzeman, S 2000. Lachmeeuw (Larus atricilla) nieuw in het werkgebied. Vlerk 17: 135. Dosch, J J 2003. Movement patterns of adult Laughing Gulls Larus atricilla during the nesting season. Acta Ornitol 38: 15-25. Dubois, P J, le Maréchal, P, Olioso, G & Yésou, P 2000. Inventaire des oiseaux de France. Avifaune de la France métropolitaine. Paris. Ebels, E B & van Heusden, R M 1999. Lachmeeuw te Harderwijk in september-oktober 1993. Dutch Birding 21: 19-22. Grant, P J 1986. Gulls: a guide to identification. Second edition. Calton. Hoogendoorn, W & Steinhaus, G H 1990. Nearctic gulls in the Western Palearctic. Dutch Birding 12: 109-164. Jonsson, L 1997. Vogels van Europa, Noord-Afrika en het Midden-Oosten. Vijfde druk. Baarn. Olthoff, M 1997. Lachmeeuw in stad Groningen: nieuw voor Nederland! Grauwe Gors 25: 93-94. Olthoff, M 1998. Lachmeeuw in Groningen in augustus-oktober 1997. Dutch Birding 20: 107-110. Ottens, G 2001. Lachmeeuw (Larus atricilla) terug in het werkgebied. Vlerk 18: 166-168. Plomp, M, Boon, L J R, van Dam, P, Groenewoud, E, Halff, R, Janssen, L, Olivier, R, Opperman, E, Sallaets, G, Wassink, A, Westerlaken, H & Kok, D 2001. Dutch Birding video-jaaroverzicht 2000. Videocassette. Linschoten. Svensson, L, Grant, P J, Mullarney, K & Zetterström, D 2000. ANWB Vogelgids van Europa. Den Haag. van der Vliet, R E, van der Laan, J & CDNA 2001, 2002, 2003. Rare birds in the Netherlands in 2000; in 2001; in 2002. Dutch Birding 23: 315-347; 24: 325-349; 25: 361-384.
Gert Ottens, Ganzebloem 14, 3984 CG Odijk, Nederland ([email protected])
Ruim 33 jaar oude Stormmeeuw in Groningen Op 26 december 1988 ontdekte Klaas van Dijk, op zoek naar geringde Kokmeeuwen Larus ridibundus, een Stormmeeuw L canus canus bij de Korrebrug in de stad Groningen, Groningen. De vogel droeg een metalen ring aan het rechter loopbeen. Met een telescoop kon het opschrift worden afgelezen (Zoologisk Museum Copenhagen 5003247). Hij bleek op 24 juni 1970 als nestjong door Lars Halling Sørensen te zijn geringd op het eiland Amager bij Kopenhagen, Sjælland, Denemarken. KvD zag de vogel op dezelfde plek op 27 december 1988 en 5 en 13 februari 1989. Daarna duurde het meer dan zes jaar voordat hij weer werd gezien. Op 6 augus[Dutch Birding 26: 301-304, 2004]
tus 1995 zag KvD hem op dezelfde plek en opnieuw op 18 juli 1996. Weer ruim vier jaar later, op 18 oktober 2000, ontdekte Derick Hiemstra hem op een botensteiger bij Kaap Hoorn langs het Hoornsemeer c 6.5 km ten zuidzuidwesten van de Korrebrug en nog net in de provincie Groningen. DH zag hem hier eveneens op 24 oktober en 30 november 2000 en op 25 februari 2001. Uit de winter van 2001/02 ontbreken waarnemingen maar op 22 juli 2002 zag DH hem weer bij de Korrebrug. KvD zag hem hier op 29 september en daarna ontdekte DH hem op 12 oktober langs de Kardingerplas, Groningen, 1.5 km ten noordoosten van de Korrebrug en op 30 oktober weer bij Kaap Hoorn. DH zag hem hier op 17 en 24 november en op 2 december 2002. Kort daarna viel de winter in en ving een 301
Ruim 33 jaar oude Stormmeeuw in Groningen vorstperiode aan. We vonden nogal wat dode meeuwen en vreesden dat ‘onze’ vogel ook het loodje had gelegd maar DH zag hem weer op 24 januari 2003 bij Kaap Hoorn. Vanaf 17 december 2003 zagen we hem regelmatig langs het Hoornsemeer, en wel op 18 (DH & KvD), 27 en 29 (Rudy Offereins) en 30 december 2003 (KvD). In 2004 werd hij gezien op vier dagen in januari, acht dagen in februari en vier dagen in maart; de laatste datums waren 24 (DH) en 25 maart 2004 (KvD). Tussen de ringdatum en (voorlopig) laatste waarneemdatum liggen 33 jaren, negen maanden en één dag. De bejaarde Stormmeeuw is vanaf december 1988 in zes van de in totaal zestien winterseizoenen (1988/89 tot en met 2003/04) in Groningen gezien. Het aantal waarneemdagen verschilt van één (1995/96 en 1996/97) tot 21 (2003/04). Hoewel de jaarlijkse afleesinspanning in en rond de stad sinds 1986 ongeveer gelijk is, is de laatste jaren veel meer tijd besteed aan het aflezen bij Kaap Hoorn. Vóór 1986 was de afleesinspanning in de stad veel minder. Uiterlijk en gedrag In de winter van 2003/04 is de vogel vaak lange tijd geobserveerd en uitvoerig bestudeerd. Op basis van grootte ging het naar alle waarschijnlijkheid om een vrouwtje. In directe vergelijking met andere Stormmeeuwen zag het verenkleed er niet geheel gaaf uit: het leek minder glanzend en sommige veren leken niet meer helemaal goed. In februari werd gezien dat minimaal één staartpen ontbrak. De kopvlekking week niet noemenswaardig af van andere aanwezige adult-winter Stormmeeuwen. De poten waren grijsblauwachtig groen en de snavel was groenig met een vrij brede donkere subterminale band. Van Stormmeeuwen is bekend dat de kleur van de naakte delen in de winter per individu nogal kan variëren maar het is onbekend in hoeverre leeftijd hierbij een rol speelt. Het voorhoofd leek wat ingevallen, waardoor de snavel wat stakerig overkwam. De ogen waren wat waterig en het rechteroog was fletser dan het linkeroog. De vogel liep moeizaam, vooral met de rechterpoot. De pootgewrichten leken nogal stram en dit is naar alle waarschijnlijkheid de reden dat ze niet meer soepel kon lopen. Ze had moeite met het pootkrabben van de kopveren, vooral met de rechterpoot. In directe vergelijking met andere Stormmeeuwen ging het poetsen langzaam en leek het met de nodige voorzichtigheid te worden uitgevoerd. Ook het vleugelstrekken werd veel trager uitgevoerd dan bij andere Stormmeeuwen. 302
Op sommige dagen zat de vogel al één tot twee uur voor zonsondergang op de steiger maar op andere dagen arriveerde ze pas rond zonsondergang. In een enkel geval vloog ze vlak voor donker op en verdween naar de slaapplaats op het nabijgelegen Paterswoldsemeer, Drenthe, maar vaak bleef ze zitten tot het bijna donker was. Het is niet bekend of ze op de steiger bleef slapen of dat altijd op het Paterswoldsemeer werd geslapen. Ze pleisterde zowel tussen andere meeuwen op één van de steigers als solitair op één van de vele aanlegpaaltjes die tussen de steigers in het water staan. Ringdetails De waarneming van een vrijlevende Stormmeeuw van 33 jaar en negen maanden is de oudste melding voor Europa (Staav 1998, 2001, archief Nederlandse Ringcentrale; Kjeld Pedersen, Kalev Rattiste & Roland Staav in litt). Er zijn buiten Groningen geen waarnemingen bekend van deze vogel. Het is dus niet bekend of en, zo ja, waar de vogel broedt. De metalen ring is na al die tijd nog redelijk goed leesbaar maar wel zichtbaar flink gesleten en aardig dun. Destijds werden Deense Stormmeeuwen geringd met ringen van aluminium gemengd met zink. In de jaren 1960 en begin jaren 1970 bevond zich op Amager een kolonie van 1000-en broedparen maar in de jaren 1980 is deze kolonie verdwenen door grootschalig afschot op en rond het nabijgelegen vliegveld en predatie door Vossen Vulpes vulpes. Momenteel broeden in de omgeving van Amager nog hooguit 500 paren op het eiland Saltholm en minder dan 400 op Holme Sø bij Brøndby Strand (Kjeld Pedersen in litt). In de databank van de Nederlandse Ringcentrale (stand 5 april 2004) bevinden zich 18 Stormmeeuwen die 25 jaar of ouder werden, met leeftijden van 25 (5), 26 (6), 27 (2), 29 (2), 30 (1), 32 (1) en 33 jaar (dit geval). De op één na oudste vogel was op 16 juni 1970 als nestjong geringd in de duinen bij Schoorl, Noord-Holland, en werd op 9 mei 2003 bij Texel, Noord-Holland, vers dood gevonden, 32 jaren, 10 maanden en 23 dagen na de ringdatum. De op twee na oudste vogel was op 10 juni 1955 geringd als nestjong bij Castricum, Noord-Holland, en werd op 15 februari 1986 op Wieringen, Noord-Holland, dood gevonden, 30 jaren, acht maanden en vijf dagen na de ringdatum. Van de 18 vogels van minimaal 25 jaar oud zijn er maar liefst 11 waarvan de ring bij levende vogels in het veld werd afgelezen. Daarnaast is er een exemplaar dat op 5 juli 1973 als nestjong werd geringd in de dui-
Ruim 33 jaar oude Stormmeeuw in Groningen
438 Stormmeeuw / Common Gull Larus canus canus, Hoornsemeer, Groningen, eind december 2003 (Rudy Offereins). Deze vogel werd geringd in Sjælland, Denemarken, op 24 juni 1970; op het moment dat deze foto werd gemaakt was de vogel 33 jaar en 6 maanden oud.
nen bij Zandvoort, Noord-Holland, en dat op 17 december 2002 door een ringer werd gevangen nabij Hoogstraten, Antwerpen, België, 29 jaren, vijf maanden en 12 dagen na de ringdatum. Vermeldenswaard is dat DH de ring van een andere 29-jarige Stormmeeuw heeft afgelezen. Deze werd op 22 juni 1971 als nestjong geringd in de duinen bij Schoorl en op 16 juli 2000 door DH in Schoorl gezien, 29 jaren en 24 dagen na de ringdatum. Alle 12 meldingen van levende vogels hebben betrekking op exemplaren die in of na 1969 zijn geboren en het is goed mogelijk dat ze nog in leven zijn. Gezien het relatief hoge aandeel ringaflezingen van nog levende individuen bij de terugmeldingen is het waarschijnlijk dat in de toekomst Stormmeeuwen worden teruggemeld die ouder zijn dan het in dit artikel besproken geval. De voor zover bekend op één na oudste Stormmeeuw uit andere Europese landen werd 31 jaren en ruim negen maanden na het ringen voor het laatst gezien. Deze was op 24 juni 1960 als nestjong geringd in het Kandalaksha-natuurreservaat op het Kola-schiereiland, Rusland, en werd op 30 maart 1992 voor het laatst vastgesteld in Kopenhagen (Kjeld Pedersen in litt). In januari 1987 was deze vogel in Kopenhagen gevangen, opnieuw geringd en tevens van een kleurring voorzien. Daarna werd hij in januari-maart 1990 en in januari 1991 ook bij Motala, Östergötland, Zweden, gezien.
Verspreiding en voorkomen Stormmeeuw is een vrij talrijke broedvogel in Nederland, voornamelijk langs de Noordzeekust, en een zeer talrijke wintergast; het overgrote deel broedt in landen rond de Oostzee tot ver oostelijk in noordelijk Rusland (Koopman 1988, 1989, Bijlsma et al 2001). In de stad Groningen overwinteren tegenwoordig 100-en Stormmeeuwen die hoofdzakelijk afhankelijk zijn van voedsel dat door de mens beschikbaar wordt gesteld. Daarnaast pleisteren 1000-en Stormmeeuwen op weilanden rondom de stad. Ze slapen ’s nachts op het Paterswoldsemeer, waar de aantallen kunnen oplopen tot meer dan 5000 met een zelfde aantal andere meeuwen (Boekema et al 1983, Bonder 1999). De botensteiger bij Kaap Hoorn wordt in de zomermaanden door plezierboten gebruikt. In de loop van de herfst verdwijnen deze boten en wordt de steiger met een groot hekwerk afgesloten. In de maanden daarna gebruiken meeuwen de steiger als poets- en rustplaats, vooral in de tweede helft van de middag. Meestal verdwijnen ze in de avondschemering van de steiger naar de slaapplaats op het Paterswoldsemeer. Tegen de avond kan het aantal Stormmeeuwen op de steiger oplopen tot 300-500. De jarenlange ringaflezingen in en rond de stad Groningen hebben duidelijk gemaakt dat de overwinterende Stormmeeuwen uit verschillende landen rond de Oostzee komen (cf van Dijk 1990). Er is sprake van een zekere plaatstrouw maar er zijn ook behoorlijk wat 303
Ruim 33 jaar oude Stormmeeuw in Groningen exemplaren die slechts één winterseizoen worden gezien. Andere worden twee of meer winters achtereen waargenomen en weer andere worden na een kennelijke afwezigheid van meerdere winters plotseling weer vastgesteld. Een zelfde fenomeen is bekend bij Stormmeeuwen die in Kopenhagen overwinteren (Kjeld Pedersen in litt). Het is dus niet uitzonderlijk dat de bejaarde Stormmeeuw met flinke tussenpozen in Groningen is gezien. Ouderdomsrecords bij andere Europese meeuwensoorten Een volledig overzicht van ouderdomsrecords bij andere meeuwen valt buiten de reikwijdte van dit artikel maar er kunnen wel enkele vergelijkingen worden getrokken. Hierbij moet worden aangetekend dat de kans om oude exemplaren te ontdekken sterk afhangt van het aantal geringde exemplaren en van het aantal teruggevonden of afgelezen exemplaren per soort. Dit laatste heeft weer een duidelijke relatie met (de toegankelijkheid van) het verspreidingsgebied in zomer en winter. Van verschillende Europese meeuwen zijn ondertussen één of meer gevallen bekend van individuen ouder dan 30 jaar. Onderstaand overzicht is ontleend aan Staav (1998, 2001, 2004) en heeft betrekking op als nestjong geringde individuen, tenzij anders vermeld. De oudste in Nederland geringde Zilvermeeuw L argentatus werd 34 jaren en bijna 10 maanden na het ringen dood teruggevonden (Vinkentouw 97: 47, 2002), een Kleine Mantelmeeuw L fuscus uit Brittannië werd na 32 jaren en acht maanden dood teruggemeld en een in de voormalige Sovjet-Unie geringde Dunbekmeeuw L genei werd ruim 31 jaar. Ook enkele Kokmeeuwen werden 30 jaren of ouder, onder andere één uit Finland en minimaal twee uit Nederland. De oudste Kokmeeuw in Nederland werd minimaal 32 jaar (geringd als ouder dan tweede-kalenderjaar in mei 1972, voor het laatst afgelezen in mei 2002; René Oosterhuis in litt). Een in Brittannië geboren Drieteenmeeuw Rissa tridactyla werd na ruim 28 jaar het slachtoffer van een olieramp en een Grote Mantelmeeuw L marinus in Finland vond na 26 jaar de dood door afschot. Uit het bovenstaande kan geconcludeerd worden dat de maximale leeftijd bij diverse soorten meeuwen in dezelfde orde ligt als de bejaarde Stormmeeuw van dit artikel. Daarnaast is de laatste 20 jaar de afleesintensiteit sterk toegenomen
en is pas de laatste decennia het gebruik van stalen ringen in plaats van de sneller slijtende aluminium ringen gebruikelijk geworden. Het valt daarom te verwachten dat in de toekomst het aantal meldingen van meeuwen met een hoge leeftijd zal toenemen. Dankzegging De Nederlandse Ringcentrale (Gert Speek), Kjeld Pedersen, Kalev Rattiste en Roland Staav worden bedankt voor het verstrekken van gegevens; Enno Ebels, Rudy Offereins en René Oosterhuis worden bedankt voor aanvullende informatie en het becommentariëren van een eerdere versie. Summary COMMON GULL IN GRONINGEN MORE THAN 33 YEARS OLD Since 1988, a ringed Common Gull Larus canus canus has been regularly observed in and around the city of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands. The first observation was on 26 December 1988, followed by sightings in the winters of 1995/96, 1996/97, 2000/01, 2002/03 and 2003/04. So far, the last observation was on 25 March 2004. The bird, presumably a female, was ringed as a nestling on 24 June 1970 on Amager, Sjælland, Denmark, 33 years, nine months and one day before the last sighting. This recovery constitutes the oldest Common Gull for Europe. Other records of old Common Gulls are summarized and a brief comparison is made with longevity in other European gull species.
Verwijzingen Boekema, E, Glas, P & Hulscher, J 1983. Vogels van de provincie Groningen. Groningen. Bonder, M 1999. Een slaapplaatstelling van meeuwen in Groningen en Noord-Drenthe. Grauwe Gors 27: 229-232. Bijlsma, R, Hustings F & Camphuysen, C 2001. Algemene en schaarse vogels van Nederland – Common and scarce birds of the Netherlands. Avifauna van Nederland 2. Haarlem. van Dijk, K 1990. Geringde stormmeeuwen in de stad Groningen. Grauwe Gors 18 (1): 29-33. Koopman, K 1988. De trek van de Nederlandse Stormmeeuwen Larus canus. Limosa 61: 125-132. Koopman, K 1989. Herkomst van in Nederland voorkomende buitenlandse Stormmeeuwen Larus canus. Limosa 62: 191-194. Staav, R 1998. Longevity list of birds ringed in Europe. Euring Newsl 2: 9-17. Staav, R 2001. Complementary longevity list of birds ringed in Europe. Euring Newsl 3. Website: www.euring.org/Newletter3-Jul01/Staav.htm. Staav, R 2004. The longevity list. Website: www.vogeltrekstation.nl/staav.htm (juni 2004).
Klaas van Dijk, Vermeerstraat 48, 9718 SN Groningen, Nederland ([email protected]) Derick Hiemstra, Damsterwaard 9, 9734 CK Groningen, Nederland ([email protected])
304
Probable escapes in the Netherlands: part 2 After my publication documenting probable escapes observed in the Netherlands (Ebels 1996), I have continued to collect information on sightings of contentious species. Most have been reported to the Dutch Birding birdline, were reported directly to me upon a request on the bulletin board of the Dutch section of EuroBirdNet (EBNNL), or were taken from websites of local birding groups. An overview of new reports is presented here. Most are from 1996-2003 but also a few earlier reports have become known to me after the first publication and are now included, as well as a few from 2004. For background information, see Ebels (1996). Not included are species for which there is little or no discussion that all sightings relate to escapes, such as parrots and parakeets, bulbuls, laughing-thrushes, minlas, mynas and most (other) tropical African, Australian-Pacific and South American (near-)passerines. Also excluded are proven escapes wearing one or more rings, leather strings and/or bells. Examples are Spur-winged Lapwing Vanellus spinosus (a ringed bird at various sites in NoordHolland in late July 2003 and two ringed birds at Stolwijk, Zuid-Holland, in late October 2003), Saker Falcons Falco cherrug (eg, ringed birds at Eemshaven, Groningen, in April 2001, at Harlingen and Surch (Zurich), Friesland, in August 2001 and near Leiden, Zuid-Holland, in early January 2004) and two Alpine Choughs Pyrrhocorax graculus (one ringed bird) at Borculo, Overijssel, in early March 1997. Without such signs of captive origin, these birds might have been included in the list below. It should be noted that reports of species seen with some frequency and generally regarded as escapes (eg, Yellow-billed Grosbeak Eophona migratoria, Desert Finch Rhodospiza obsoleta and Long-tailed Rosefinch Uragus sibiricus) are rarely submitted to the Dutch rarities committee (CDNA), and observers can hardly be ‘blamed’ for not doing so. As a consequence, for species like these it is difficult to judge the identification and to uphold the distinction between reports (unsubstantiated) and records (‘identification accepted’). An additional problem is that many suspected escapes are not well studied by observers and that literature to identify them is sometimes hard to find. However, the increasing number of popular monographs covering all species of certain families helps to overcome that problem and makes observers aware of confusion species. [Dutch Birding 26: 305-314, 2004]
Reports without description, photographs or other documentation available to me have been placed between square brackets. It is indicated whether reports have been submitted to CDNA and, of these, only the ones are listed of which the identification has been confirmed by the CDNA. All other reports have not (yet) been submitted. The numbers after each species refer to 1 the number of individuals in Ebels (1996), and 2 the number of individuals listed in this paper (including the reports between square brackets). Trumpeter Swan / Trompetzwaan Cygnus buccinator (0,1) 31 May to 27 June 2004, Sophiapolder, Oostburg, Zeeland, adult, unringed, photographed (P Dhaluin et al). Emperor Goose / Keizergans Anser canagicus (0,4+) 24 January to 15 February 1983, Maatweg, Lelystad, and Meerkoetweg, Zeewolde, Flevoland, adult, unringed (submitted) (K J Eigenhuis, N Marra sr et al). 6 February 1999, Den Bommel, Middelharnis, ZuidHolland, photographed (A B van den Berg, S Moss, W Oddie). [February 1999, Hank, Werkendam, Noord-Brabant, adult (Q L Slings).] 15 October 2001, Oostvaardersplassen, Lelystad, Flevoland, adult (C Mulder, H Remmen, J Remmen et al). There have been more reports of this species but they are rarely documented, let alone submitted; confusion with several types of Anser hybrids can be a pitfall. In recent years, several single birds have been seen in south-western Friesland, including one wearing a small green ring; other birds, however, were unringed (Trinus Haitjema in litt). Cinnamon Teal / Kaneeltaling Anas cyanoptera (0,15+) 18 February 1995, Gansooiense Uiterwaard, Waalwijk, Noord-Brabant, male (A Kolen). [28 July 1997 and 18 February 1998, Klotputten, Eindhoven, Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant (T Geerts et al).] 9-20 December 1999, Starrevaart, LeidschendamVoorburg, Zuid-Holland, male (submitted; identification accepted) (M Berlijn et al). [16 January to 21 April 2002, Kraaijenbergseplas, Uden, Noord-Brabant, male (H van Diek, E van Winden, F Aarts et al).] 13 April 2002, Steenwaard, Houten, Utrecht, male (G Ottens, A van Kleunen). 23-26 April 2002, Nederweert, Limburg, male, unringed, videoed (submitted; identification accepted) (M Berlijn et al). 26 June to 14 July 2002, Ezumakeeg, Dongeradeel, Friesland, male (R Cazemier et al).
305
Probable escapes in the Netherlands: part 2
439 Trumpeter Swan / Trompetzwaan Cygnus buccinator, adult, Sophiapolder, Zeeland, 27 June 2004 (Pieter Dhaluin) 440 Emperor Goose / Keizergans Anser canagicus and Barnacle Geese / Brandganzen Branta leucopsis, Den Bommel, Zuid-Holland, 6 February 1999 (Arnoud B van den Berg) 441 Cinnamon Teal / Kaneeltaling Anas cyanoptera, first-year male, De Bijland, Gelderland, 19 October 2002 (Rik Winters) 442 Cinnamon Teal / Kaneeltaling Anas cyanoptera, second-year male, De Bijland, Gelderland, 28 September 2003 (Rik Winters). Probably the same bird as in plate 441. 18-19 October 2002, De Bijland, Rijnwaarden, Gelderland, juvenile or first-winter male, unringed, photographed (A Poelmans, R Winters et al). 29 December 2002 to 5 January 2003, Kraaijenbergseplas, Uden, Noord-Brabant, adult male (L Ballering, R Winters et al). 13 December 2002 to 27 June 2003, Vliet and Starrevaart, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Zuid-Holland, male, photographed (A Zevenhoven, A de Groot et al). [26-27 January 2003, Abtskolk, Petten, Zijpe, NoordHolland, adult male (M Dekker, M van Zweeden, L Edelaar).] 17 March 2003, Burgum (Bergum), Tytsjerksteradiel, Friesland, male, photographed (H van Kampen). 28 September 2003, De Bijland, Rijnwaarden, Gelderland, second calendar-year male, unringed, photographed (R Winters).
306
7 December 2003, De Bijland, Rijnwaarden, Gelderland, female (R Winters). [1-3 June 2004, Engelsche Werk, Zwolle, Overijssel, male (L Steen).] The sightings at Kraaijenbergseplas could well relate to the same individual, as may be the case for the sightings in 1999 and 2002-03 at Starrevaart. In addition, a male was reported at Schildmeer, Slochteren, Groningen on 29 May 2003, and there are several older reports without full details. A bird at Broekpolder, ZuidHolland, on 6 May 2001 showed clear indications of captive origin (one shorter wing; Ben Gaxiola pers comm). A pair has apparently been present near Zwolle and Hattem, Overijssel, since 2001-02 and the male at Engelsche Werk in June 2004 may have been one of this pair (Lennaert Steen in litt).
Probable escapes in the Netherlands: part 2
443-444 Turkey Vulture / Roodkopgier Cathartes aura, Ellerhuizen, Groningen, 21 June 2000 (Theo Bakker/ Cursorius) 445 American Black Vulture / Zwarte Gier Coragyps atratus, Knardijk, Oostvaardersplassen, Flevoland, 20 May 1997 (Wim Jautze) 446 American Black Vultures / Zwarte Gieren Coragyps atratus, Knardijk, Oostvaardersplassen, Flevoland, 20 May 1997 (Wim Jautze)
Pink-backed Pelican / Kleine Pelikaan Pelecanus rufescens (2,3+) 10-12 September 1985, Bantpolder, Dongeradeel, Friesland, immature, photographed (K van Dijken). 20 August to 19 September 2000, Oostpolder, Haren, Groningen, and 27 September 2000, Veenhuizerstukken, Stadskanaal, Groningen, immature, photographed (E Koops et al; Grauwe Gors 28: 159, 2000). 19 September to at least 11 December 2001, Wedderbergen and Blijham, Bellingwedde, Groningen, adult, photographed (H Lanters et al). In addition, in 2000, a bird was reported at Kekerdom, Ubbergen, Gelderland, on 9 August and possibly the same individual at Epe, Gelderland, on 29 August. Between 10 July and at least 29 August 2001, a bird was seen at various localities along the IJssel river, Overijssel/Gelderland. On 26 September 2001, one was reported flying past Den Haag, Zuid-Holland.
Rüppell’s Griffon Vulture / Rüppells Gier Gyps rueppellii (0,1) 20 April 2004, Schoonhoven, Zuid-Holland, and 2122 April 2004, Reeuwijk, Zuid-Holland, and 22 April 2004, Gouda, and Lage Bergsche Bos, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, adult, photographed, videoed (N van Duivendijk, E B Ebels et al). This bird was unringed. It was reported to be an escape from a bird trader in Apeldoorn, Gelderland, who had apparently lost one during transport on 20 April 2004. Proven escapes were a bird with two leather strings photographed at Pieterburen, Groningen, on 5-6 May 2004, presumably the same bird with two leather strings over Huisduinen and Middenmeer, Wieringermeer, Noord-Holland, on 1 June, and a bird photographed in a garden at Roosendaal, Noord-Brabant, on 31 May and 1 June 2004.
307
Probable escapes in the Netherlands: part 2
447-448 Rüppell’s Griffon Vulture / Rüppells Gier Gyps rueppellii, Reeuwijk, Zuid-Holland, 21 April 2004 (Leo J R Boon/Cursorius)
308
Probable escapes in the Netherlands: part 2 Turkey Vulture / Roodkopgier Cathartes aura (0,4+) From 23 April to 26 November 2000, two to three different birds were reported throughout the Netherlands, of which four sightings were submitted and considered to relate to escapes: 23 April, Achterhoek, Gelderland; 29 April, Wilsum, IJsselmuiden, Overijssel; 30 April, Monster, Zuid-Holland (D Laponder); 1 May, Werkhoven, Bunnik, Utrecht, subadult (J Scharringa); 5-6 May, Oostvoorne, Westvoorne, Zuid-Holland (identification accepted, considered escape; cf Dutch Birding 23: 343, 2001) (D Kok et al); 13 May, Stroe and Den Oever, Wieringen, Noord-Holland, photographed, (identification accepted, considered escape; cf Dutch Birding 23: 343, 2001) (M de Jonge); 13 May, Bakkeveen, Friesland; 14 May, Haren, Groningen; 14 May, Eemshaven, Eemsmond, Groningen, photographed (R Offereins, E Koops et al); 14-16 May, Texel, Noord-Holland; 24 May, Rosmalen, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Noord-Brabant; 3-4 June, Hartwert (Hartwerd), Wûnseradiel, Friesland; 8-27 June, Vlieland, Friesland, photographed (C Zuhorn et al); 16 June, Maassluis, Maassluis, Zuid-Holland; 21 June, Ellerhuizen, Groningen, Groningen, photographed (T Bakker); 28 June to 19 July, Paddepoel, Groningen, Groningen, adult (identification accepted, considered escape; cf Dutch Birding 23: 343, 2001) (A de Bruin, J-A de Roos et al); 27-29 July, Breezanddijk, Wûnseradiel, Friesland; 4 August, Ouddorp, Goedereede, Zuid-Holland, adult (identification accepted, considered escape; cf Dutch Birding 23: 343, 2001); 8-9 August, Lauwersmeer, De Marne, Groningen; 8-23 October, Anjum and Bantpolder, Dongeradeel, Friesland; 26 November to early December, Eenrum and Uithuizermeden, Eemsmond, Groningen. [25 June 2001, Diemen, Diemen, Noord-Holland (R Sjouken).] [3 October 2003, Markweg, Strijbeek, Breda, NoordBrabant, photographed and filmed (A van Dun).] At least two observations in 2000 concerned birds that showed considerable damage in one wing, indicative of captive origin. American Black Vulture / Zwarte Gier Coragyps atratus (0,3) 20 May 1997, Knardijk, Oostvaardersplassen, Lelystad, Flevoland, two, photographed (submitted) (W Jautze et al). 2 June 1997, Breede Water, Westvoorne, Zuid-Holland (B Brieffies, A Buhr et al). [Barbary Falcon / Barbarijse Valk Falco pelegrinoides (0,1) 7-11 April 1997, De Cocksdorp, Texel, Noord-Holland, adult (A Wassink).] Japanese Quail / Japanse Kwartel Coturnix japonica (0,1) 14-17 July 1988, De Haukes, Wieringermeer, NoordHolland, male, calling, sound-recorded (identification accepted, considered escape) (O de Vries, J van Dorland, K J Eigenhuis).
Grey-headed Swamp-hen / Grijskoppurperkoet Porphyrio poliocephalus (0,1) 21 December 1988 to 15 February 1989, Schuddebeurs, Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland, photographed (identification accepted, considered escape) (H van der Tuin, G M Janse, T C J Sluijter et al; Ebels et al 1999, Dutch Birding 21: 328, 1999). This record was fully documented by Ebels et al (1999). It most probably concerned the nominate subspecies P p poliocephalus, which makes genuine vagrancy extremely unlikely. A Grey-headed Swamp-hen observed in a garden at Venlo, Limburg, on 10 July 2001 was wearing a ring and is therefore listed as an escape. African Swamp-hen / Smaragdpurperkoet Porphyrio madagascariensis (0,3) 22 July 1874, Amstelveen, Noord-Holland, adult male, collected, skin retained at Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum Naturalis, Leiden (cf van den Berg & Bosman 1999, 2001, Ebels et al 1999). 7 April 1939, Noordwijk aan Zee, Noordwijk, ZuidHolland, collected, skin retained at Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum Naturalis, Leiden (cf van den Berg & Bosman 1999, 2001). 5 February 1959, Naardermeer, Naarden, NoordHolland, adult male, found dead, skin retained at ZMA, Amsterdam (cf van den Berg & Bosman 1999, 2001, Ebels et al 1999). swamp-hen / purperkoet Porphyrio (0,18) In Ebels et al (1999), all 18 known swamp-hens Porphyrio are listed, currently all treated as escapes. This list includes 14 birds not identified to species (the other four refer to Grey-headed Swamp-hen (one) and African Swam-hen (three), see above), including several most probably referring to African Swamp-hen. Blacksmith Lapwing / Smidsplevier Vanellus armatus (0,3) 15-18 November 1995, Diermen, Putten, Gelderland (R E van der Vliet et al). 27 August 1997, Westplaat, Westvoorne, Zuid-Holland, photographed (R E van der Vliet, D Kok et al). 4 March 2001, Maasplassen, Roermond, Limburg, photographed (L Kleijne, J-P Kleijne). Kittlitz’s Plover / Herdersplevier Charadrius pecuarius (0,1) 4-9 September 1999, Het Rutbeek, Enschede, Overijssel, adult, photographed (identification accepted, considered escape; cf Dutch Birding 22: 268, 2000) (P Knolle et al; Birding World 12: 361, 1999, Dutch Birding 21: 288, plate 308, 1999). This bird showed a deformed bill and many irregularities in the wing feathers; combined with its very tame behaviour and peculiar location – a recreation site close to the German border – this led to the conclusion that it was an escape, even though Kittlitz’s Plovers are little known in captivity. The only record of a presumed
309
Probable escapes in the Netherlands: part 2 wild individual in Europe (excluding Cyprus) concerns a bird collected in Rogaland, Norway, in May 1913 (Snow & Perrins 1998, van den Berg 2003). Egyptian Plover / Krokodilwachter Pluvianus aegyptius (0,4+) 6-9 May 1996, Deestsche Waarden, Druten, Gelderland, photographed (identification accepted, considered escape) (R Lensink, H Veraart). Spring 1995 and 12-15 May 1996, Zwaansmeerpad, Krommeniedijk, Zaanstad, Noord-Holland, adult, photographed (C van den Akker, M van den Akker, P Zwitser). Late June to at least 18 July 1999, De Bilt, Utrecht, photographed (A van Kleunen, W Braaksma et al). 6-13 August 1999, Starrevaart, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Zuid-Holland, adult, found dead on last date, photographed (R van Rossum et al; Duinstag 1999 (2): 16-17). The bird in Noord-Holland was reportedly present at this locality in spring 1995 and disappeared in autumn, to return one year later (C van den Akker & M van den Akker in litt). In addition, one was reported at Winterswijk, Gelderland, on 19 June 2000. [African Collared Dove / Izabeltortel Streptopelia roseogrisea (0,2) 22 June 1989, Europoort, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, first-year, trapped and ringed (ring number Arnhem 3.449.205) (N D van Swelm). 28 July 1989, Europoort, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, second-year or older, trapped and ringed (ring number Arnhem 3.450.702) (N D van Swelm). The locality of both birds could raise speculations about ship-assisted passage rather than captive origin.] Laughing Dove / Palmtortel Streptopelia senegalensis (0,3+) October 1966, ringing station Meijendel, Wassenaar, Zuid-Holland, trapped, photographed (M J Tekke). [28 March 1998, Breskens, Oostburg, Zeeland (Lilipaly et al 2000).] 17 April 1999, Heeze, Heeze-Leende, Noord-Brabant (submitted) (M Feenstra). In addition, birds were reported at Reusel, Reusel-De Mierden, Noord-Brabant, on 13 August 1983 and at IJmuiden, Velsen, Noord-Holland, on 24 September 2000. Namaqua Dove / Maskerduif Oena capensis (0,1) 18 August 2003, Zuurdijk, De Marne, Groningen, male, photographed (H J Freije). [grackle / troepiaal Quiscalus (0,1) A bird photographed at Arnhem, Gelderland, on 12-13 December 1995 (Justin Jansen et al) was reported as Great-tailed Grackle Q mexicanus. However, some observers considered the identification not beyond doubt and suggested that an African glossy-starling
310
Lamprotornis may have been involved; the bird showed a damaged tail, indicative of captive origin (Roland van der Vliet in litt). Several glossy starlings have been reported as escapes in recent years. In addition, a bird presumed to be either Great-tailed Grackle or Boat-tailed Grackle Q major was reported at Hongerige Wolf, Reiderland, Groningen, on 22 April 2000 (Justin Jansen in litt).] Japanese Waxwing / Japanse Pestvogel Bombycilla japonica (0,2) 5 June 1995, Midsland, Terschelling, Friesland (via A Ouwerkerk). 23 June 1997, Northsea, 3 km north of Schiermonnikoog, Continentaal Plat, photographed (via B Feij). The 1997 bird was seen on board the fishing boat MS Sirryp. Japanese Thrush / Zwartkaplijster Turdus cardis (0,1) 30 April 1998, Hengelo, Hengelo, Overijssel, secondyear male, singing, videoed, sound-recorded (submitted) (R A de By, C Derks). Chestnut Thrush / Kastanjelijster Turdus rubrocanus (0,2) August 1996, Almere, Flevoland, photographed (G Geertse). June 2004, St Odilienberg, Ambt Montfort, Limburg, male, singing, photographed (S Jansen, R Jansen). The grey head of both birds indicates the nominate (western) subspecies T r rubrocanus which is resident in southern Central Asia from Pakistan to Sikkim, India. Kessler’s Thrush / Kesslers Lijster Turdus kessleri (0,1) 26-27 July 2001, Peelslenk, Deurne, Deurne, NoordBrabant, male, photographed (J A H Verbraak). Grey-backed Thrush / Grijsruglijster Turdus hortulorum (1,1) 18-19 October 1998, Hortus Botanicus, Leiden, ZuidHolland, adult male (K de Jong et al). A female showing obvious signs of captive origin present in gardens at Boxtel, Noord-Brabant, from December 1999 to at least 4 February 2000 was either this species or Brown-headed T chrysolaus or Blackbreasted Thrush T dissimilis (Enno Ebels & Gerard Steinhaus pers obs). Pied Crow / Schildraaf Corvus albus (0,1) December 1995, Rhoon, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland (R E van der Vliet et al). Red-billed Quelea / Roodbekwever Quelea quelea (0,2) 18 September 1998, Rottumeroog, Eemsmond, Groningen, male (R E van der Vliet et al). 2 October 2000, Robbenjager, Texel, Noord-Holland, immature (E B Ebels et al).
Probable escapes in the Netherlands: part 2
449 450 451 452
Blacksmith Lapwing / Smidsplevier Vanellus armatus, Roermond, Limburg, 4 March 2001 (L Kleijne) Chestnut Thrush / Kastanjelijster Turdus rubrocanus, St Odilienberg, Limburg, June 2004 (Steven Jansen) Kessler’s Thrush / Kesslers Lijster Turdus kessleri, male, Deurne, Noord-Brabant, 27 July 2001 (J A H Verbraak) Grey-capped Greenfinch / Chinese Groenling Chloris sinica, male, Rottumeroog, Groningen, 14 June 1997 (Koen van Dijken/Cursorius)
Brahminy Starling / Pagodespreeuw Sturnus pagodarum (0,1) 8 May to mid-May 1994, Oost-Vlieland, Vlieland, Friesland (C Zuhorn). Red-billed Starling / Zijdespreeuw Sturnus sericeus (0,5) 24 October 1996, Petten, Zijpe, Noord-Holland, photographed (D Kok, A van Kleunen). 31 December 1996 to early spring 1997, Nes, Dongeradeel, Friesland, adult male, winter plumage, photographed (submitted) (K Sars, E Douwma, O Tol). 30 April 1999, Maasvlakte, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, photographed (R Hofland, M Scholte et al). 20 December 2002, Helmond, Helmond, NoordBrabant, photographed (M Iven). 26 June to 14 August 2004, Rottumerplaat, Eemsmond, Groningen, photographed (R Hovinga).
Purple-backed Starling / Daurische Spreeuw Sturnus sturninus (0,2) 15 May 1999, Stevinsluizen, Den Oever, Wieringen, Noord-Holland, male (identification accepted, considered escape; cf Dutch Birding 23: 344, 2001) (J van der Laan, R de Haas, L P Heemskerk et al). 5 November 1999, Duiven, Duiven, Gelderland, male, photographed (identification accepted, considered escape) (A J Meeuwissen). This species is on the Western Palearctic list on basis of a first-year male shot at Lillestrøm near Oslo, Akershus, Norway, on 29 September 1985 (cf Snow & Perrins 1998). An adult male on Fair Isle, Shetland, Scotland, on 7-28 May 1985 (ringed on 21 May) was first admitted to Category A of the British list but was later placed in Category D1 because a captive origin was considered more likely than genuine vagrancy (cf Evans 1994, British Ornithologists’ Union 1999). The second and
311
Probable escapes in the Netherlands: part 2
453 Purple-backed Starling / Daurische Spreeuw Sturnus sturninus, Duiven, Gelderland, 5 November 1999 (A J Meeuwissen) 454 Zijdespreeuw / Red-billed Starling Sturnus sericeus, Rottumerplaat, Groningen, August 2004 (Roelf Hovinga) 455 Long-tailed Rosefinch / Langstaartroodmus Uragus sibiricus, first-winter male, Hoek van Holland, Zuid-Holland, 31 October 1999 (Arnoud B van den Berg) 456 Meadow Bunting / Weidegors Emberiza cioides, Castenray, Limburg, 16 April 2000 (Patrick Palmen) third British records, also placed in Category D1, concern males at Ponteland, Northumberland, England, from 26 August to 5 September 1997 and at Durness, Highland, Scotland, on 24- 27 September 1998.
male, photographed (K van Dijken). 8-10 October 1999, Oostpunt, Vlieland, Friesland, male, photographed (G J ter Haar, J van der Laan, F Ossendorp et al).
White-shouldered Starling / Mandarijnspreeuw Sturnus sinensis (2,3) 22 November 1997, Usquert, Eemsmond, Groningen, adult, photographed (T Bakker et al). 10 May 2001, Breskens, Oostburg, Zeeland (P M Gnodde et al). 28 October 2002, Lauwersoog, De Marne, Groningen, photographed (W E M van der Schot).
Yellow-billed Grosbeak / Witvleugeldikbek Eophona migratoria (0,16+) 21 January 1997, Katwijk aan Zee, Katwijk, ZuidHolland, photographed (identification accepted, considered escape; cf Dutch Birding 22: 269, 2000) (M van der Bent). [April 1997, Sloterpark, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, male, singing, photographed (L van der Veen).] [4 May 1997, AW-duinen, Bloemendaal, Noord-Holland, male, singing, photographed (L J Edelaar et al).] [6-12 May 1998, male and female, AW-duinen, Bloemendaal/Zandvoort, Noord-Holland (M Kuiper).]
Grey-capped Greenfinch / Chinese Groenling Chloris sinica (1,2) 14 June 1997, Rottumeroog, Eemsmond, Groningen,
312
Probable escapes in the Netherlands: part 2 [17-18 May 1998, Hoornderbos en Noordvaarder, Terschelling, Friesland (T Hek, A B van den Berg et al).] [19 May 1999, Breskens, Oostburg, Zeeland (Lilipaly et al 2000).] 13 June 1999, Berkheide, Wassenaar, Zuid-Holland, adult, singing (H Groen; Duinstag 1999 (2): 6-7). Spring 1999, Oost-Maarland, Maastricht, Limburg, pair, breeding (J Stoffels). June 2000, Naardermeer, Naarden, Noord-Holland, two adults and at least three young (fledged), photographed (H Kruitwagen, J van Galen Last, R de Wijs). [17 May 2002, Breskens, Oostburg, Zeeland (H van Diek, E van Winden).] [14 January 2003, Naarden, Naarden, Noord-Holland (F Derriks).] In addition, single individuals were reported twice at the migration observation post near Breskens, Zeeland, in May 2000. The pair at AW-duinen was seen nest building in May 1998 but could not be relocated on 19 May (Mark Kuiper in litt). The successful breeding at Naardermeer produced three fledged young but probably four young were seen on the nest (Rombout de Wijs in litt). Three young are included in the totals. [Japanese Grosbeak / Maskerdikbek Eophona personata (0,1) 2 May 1997, Eemshaven-Oost, Eemsmond, Groningen, male (Grauwe Gors 25: 115, 1997).] [Crimson-winged Finch / Rode Woestijnvink Rhodopechys sanguineus (0,1) 18 October 1990, Maasvlakte, Rotterdam, ZuidHolland (N D van Swelm).] Desert Finch / Vale Woestijnvink Rhodospiza obsoleta (3,3) 20 December 1995, Franeker, Franekeradeel, Friesland, videoed (via J Fokkema in litt). 1-3 May 1997, Lange Paal, Vlieland, Friesland (C Zuhorn). March to at least 5 April 2000, De Kerf, Bergen, NoordHolland, female, photographed (H H Niesen). [Pallas’s Rosefinch / Pallas’ Roodmus Carpodacus roseus (1,1) 14 May 1999, Hargen aan Zee, Bergen, Noord-Holland (G van Duin et al).] Long-tailed Rosefinch / Langstaartroodmus Uragus sibiricus (2,12+) 19 May 1996, Koârnwertersan (Kornwerderzand), Wûnseradiel, Friesland, photographed, showing leucistic plumage (identification accepted, considered escape) (G J ter Haar, L P Heemskerk et al). 1-3 October 1996, Noordvaarder, Terschelling, Friesland, photographed (identification accepted, considered escape) (A Ouwerkerk, R Offereins, R E van der Vliet et al). [17 October 1996, De Cocksdorp, Texel, NoordHolland, adult male (A Wassink).]
[8-9 April 1997, ‘t Horntje, Texel, Noord-Holland, two, male on 8 April, male and female on 9 April (A Wassink).] 3 June to 17 October 1997, male, singing, ringed on 23 July, Terschelling, Friesland (A Ouwerkerk et al). [19 July 1997, Abtskolk, Petten, Zijpe, Noord-Holland, male and female (L J Edelaar, S Lagerveld, N F van der Ham).] [21 May 1999, Maasvlakte, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, photographed (N D van Swelm).] 31 October to 8 November 1999, Hoek van Holland, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, immature male, photographed, videoed, sound-recorded (identification accepted, considered escape; cf Dutch Birding 22: 268, 2000) (J Bisschop et al; Dutch Birding 21: 367, plate 393, 1999). early July to 29 July 2000, Castricum, Castricum, Noord-Holland, adult female, trapped and ringed on 29 July, photographed (A J van Loon et al). 24 October 2003, Huizen, Huizen, Noord-Holland, male (R F J van Beusekom). The bird in 2000 had been present around the ringing station for a few weeks before finally being trapped; its plumage was in a very poor state, with missing feathers on many parts of head and body (André van Loon in litt). In addition, a male was reported at Knardijk, Flevoland, on 31 May 1997. Another bird on Terschelling, seen during the summer months in the late 1990s, has not been included since month and year of observation are not known (Theo Bakker in litt). Yellow-throated Bunting / Geelkeelgors Emberiza elegans (1,2+) 2 December 1996, Vriezenveen, Overijssel, male, photographed (R Brunnink, T Kruissink). 6 December 2000, Sassenheim, Sassenheim, ZuidHolland, male, winter plumage (J Wierda). The bird at Sassenheim was seen drinking on the roof of an office building. In addition, a bird was reported near Sittard, Limburg in 1997 (Bob Streutjens in litt) and one was reported at Gorssel, Gelderland, on 28 March 1997. Meadow Bunting / Weidegors Emberiza cioides (0,3) 9-11 April 1999, Meinerswijk, Arnhem, Gelderland, immature male, photographed (identification accepted; considered escape; cf Dutch Birding 23: 344, 2001) (H P Derks, D J Moerbeek, E A W Ernens et al). [28 April 1999, Oostvaardersdijk km 26.0, Lelystad, Flevoland, female or immature male (R van der Vliet, N Slabbekoorn).] 16 April 2000, Castenray, Venray, Limburg, male, photographed (P Palmen et al).
I thank Theo Bakker, Arnoud van den Berg, Arjan Boele, Bart Brieffies, Harvey van Diek, Guus van Duin, Klaas Eigenhuis, Klaas Haas (Dutch Birding birdline, 0900-BIRDING), Remco Hofland, Roelf Hovinga, Johannes Fokkema (Fries Natuur313
Probable escapes in the Netherlands: part 2 museum), Paul Gnodde, Hans Janse, Wietze Janse, Justin Jansen, André van Kleunen, Paul Knolle, Diederik Kok, Mark Kuiper, Jan van der Laan, André van Loon, Peter Meininger, Harm Niesen, Boena van Noorden, Rudy Offereins, René Oosterhuis, Gert Ottens, Arie Ouwerkerk, Patrick Palmen, René Pop, Sjaak Schilperoort, Lennaert Steen, Bob Streutjens, Norman van Swelm, Roland van der Vliet (CDNA), Rombout de Wijs, Rik Winters, Mark Zekhuis and Carl Zuhorn for their information. References van den Berg, A B 2003. WP reports: late SeptemberOctober 2003. Dutch Birding 25: 400-421. van den Berg, A B & Bosman, C A W 1999, 2001.
Zeldzame vogels van Nederland – Rare birds of the Netherlands. Avifauna van Nederland 1. First, second edition. Haarlem. British Ornithologists’ Union 1999. The British list. Tring. Ebels, E B 1996. Records of probable escapes in the Netherlands. Dutch Birding 18: 75-78. Ebels, E B, Janse, G & Sluijter, T J 1999. Grijskoppurperkoet te Schuddebeurs in december 1988februari 1989. Dutch Birding 21: 256-259. Evans, L G R 1994. Rare birds in Britain 1800-1990. Little Chalfont. Lilipaly, S, Meininger, P L & Wolf, P A 2000. Voorjaarstrek bij Breskens, jaarverslagen 1998 en 1999. Telgroep Breskens Publ 4. Vlissingen. Snow, D W & Perrins, C M 1998. The birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise edition. Oxford.
Enno B Ebels, Joseph Haydnlaan 4, 3533 AE Utrecht, Netherlands ([email protected])
Varia Spectacled Eider’s window of time Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri is one of the most elusive Holarctic species. Its remote distribution and the male’s weird plumage with goggles and blue eyes renders it as one of the world’s least known and most spectacular ducks (cf van der Laan 1993). Even when one has the opportunity to travel to its breeding areas, it can be tricky to find. It breeds in coastal wet tundra with small freshwater pools in northeastern Siberia, Russia, and western and northern Alaska, USA. As a vagrant, it has been recorded south off California, USA, and west to northern Norway. The Norwegian records include an adult male shot at Vardø harbour, Finnmark, on 12 December 1933, a sighting of two males and a female at the same place on 23-24 February 1988, and a sighting of an adult male flying past Mortensnes, Nesseby, Finnmark, on 15 June 1997 (van den Berg 1997). In recent decades, there have been concerns about Spectacled Eider’s survival. In Alaska, it was listed as ‘threatened’ by May 1993 (only Aleutian Canada Goose Branta hutchinsii leucopareia has a similar status). In Spectacled’s beststudied breeding area, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska, up to 70 000 pairs were counted in 1977 but only up to 3000 pairs in 1992. The situation in Alaska’s North Slope was 314
unclear but, for Prudhoe Bay, a similar decline of 80% since 1981 had been reported. Siberian populations were not surveyed systematically but already by 1967 dwindling numbers were reported for the Indigirka delta. The most visible threats for Spectacled Eider appear to be guns, oil and predators. Hunting seems to play a role, not only because Eskimos consider it the best tasting eider species but, remarkably, ingestion of lead from other hunting activities appears to pose a threat of poisoning. Oil drilling activities in the remote arctic bring about far-reaching disruptions in the food chain. One example is the fact that Arctic Foxes Alopex lagopus and Red Foxes Vulpes vulpes can now survive the winter by scavenging at garbage dumps, meaning these predators do not have to move south in winter. Another predator of eider eggs and ducklings, Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus, is also likely to thrive under these new circumstances. Because of the possibility of interference with oil and gas drilling plans, Alaska’s North Slope was not included in the habitat designation for Spectacled Eider. Another ecological factor affecting eiders might be the ecosystem collapse of the Bering Sea, possibly caused by commercial fishing, and illustrated by the remarkably fast decline of many species including Sea Otter Enhydra lutris and Steller’s Sealion Eumetopias jubatus. [Dutch Birding 26: 314-318, 2004]
Varia
457 Spectacled Eider / Brileider Somateria fischeri, adult male, Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, USA, 14 June 2004 (Arnoud B van den Berg) 458 Spectacled Eider / Brileider Somateria fischeri, adult male, Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, USA, 14 June 2004 (RenĂŠ Pop)
315
Varia
459 Spectacled Eider / Brileider Somateria fischeri, adult male, Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, USA, 14 June 2004 (RenĂŠ Pop) 460 Spectacled Eider / Brileider Somateria fischeri, adult female, on nest, Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, USA, 14 June 2004 (RenĂŠ Pop)
316
Varia
461 Spectacled Eiders / Brileiders Somateria fischeri, pair, Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, USA, 12 June 2004 (René Pop) 462 Spectacled Eiders / Brileiders Somateria fischeri, pair, Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, USA, 13 June 2004 (René Pop)
317
Varia Until recently, Spectacled Eider’s winter haunts were unknown. This ‘120-year old mystery’ about its at-sea distribution was solved in recent years thanks to the use of implanted satellite transmitters in birds from the three extant breeding grounds, ie, arctic Russia and the two in Alaska (cf van den Berg & Sangster 1996, Balogh 1997). This resulted in the spectacular discovery of tightly packed flocks of 50 000 and 20 000 roosting in open leads of the ice pack south of St Lawrence Island, Alaska, in March 1995 (Petersen et al 1999; www.absc.usgs.gov/research/Banding/ bering_wintering.htm). Recent surveys in late winter and early spring now suggest that more than 330 000 individuals winter in dense singlespecies flocks in polynias of the pack-ice of the Bering Sea. It seems obvious that most of these birds breed in the vast and underwatched tundra of arctic Russia and Alaska’s North Slope. At least 13 400 km2 of the coastal plain of Alaska’s North Slope may be suitable nesting habitat of which less than 2000 km2 have been developed as oil production fields. No more than 5% of these 2000 km2 tundra wetlands have been destroyed. The discovery of the species’ winter habits also points to another factor determining its survival as it seems likely that extended periods of dense seaice concentrations and bad weather during the previous winter inhibit the recovery of breeding populations (Petersen & Douglas 2004). Probably, the easiest place and time to see both sexes of Spectacled Eider is Deadhorse near Prudhoe Bay, northern Alaska, in the second week of June. One can reach Deadhorse by driving north from Fairbanks on the Dalton Highway along the 1500 km long trans-Alaska pipeline. There are only very few car rental companies allowing customers on this remote gravel road, one of them being National at Fairbanks (pickup trucks only). It is a beautiful though risky and lengthy 800 km drive across the Brooks Range, with only two service stations, and one may prefer flying to Deadhorse airport instead. Deadhorse is situated c 10 km from the arctic coast and consists of many oil company buildings, one petrol station, a car rental, and two or three hotels, which are expensive though basic with plenty of accommodation (see, eg, www.arcticcaribouinn. com). The access to the coast is restricted to organized sightseeing bus tours. However, the pools
between the buildings at Deadhorse itself continue to attract a few nesting pairs of Spectacled Eider and also King Eider S spectabilis. These species share the same habitat at Prudhoe Bay and raise broods in active oil fields in numbers typical of low density nesting habitat. In contrast, Pacific Eider S mollissima v-nigra nests only within a few 100 m from salt water on beaches and among driftwood. The timing to see Spectacled Eider at Deadhorse can be tricky as there is a narrow ‘window of time’ during which males accompany females to and from nesting sites. That period of up to two weeks may shift depending on the weather situation, and may fall at any time between the last days of May and the fourth week of June, but the second week of June seems to offer the best bet. As soon as a female starts to incubate, her mate flies off to sea. After that time, it may be very hard not only to find a male but also an incubating female as she is not only well camouflaged but also very protective, often not leaving the nest when approached. Incubation takes 24 days and it is another 50 days before the young fledge. During a visit from 11 to 15 June 2004, René Pop and I found four pairs and witnessed the pair bonds dissolving. On 12-15 June, we spent much time watching and photographing a pair at a nest on a grassy patch in a pool surrounded by construction sites of Halliburton, Schlumberger and the likes. The female started to incubate on the second day, ‘digging-in’ and no longer leaving the nest; that day, the male simply flew off north – not to return again. References Balogh, G 1997. Spectacles on ice. Birding World 10: 103-107. van den Berg, A B & Sangster, G 1996. WP reports: December 1995-February 1996. Dutch Birding 18:37-41. van den Berg, A B 1997. WP reports: May-June 1997. Dutch Birding 19: 131-138. van der Laan, J 1993. Spectacled Eider. Dutch Birding 15: 25-26. Petersen, M R & Douglas, D C 2004. Winter ecology of Spectacled Eiders: environmental characteristics and population change. Condor 106: 79-94. Petersen, M R, Larned, W W & Douglas, D C 1999. Atsea distribution of spectacled eiders: A 120-year old mystery resolved. Auk 116: 1009-1020.
Arnoud B van den Berg, Duinlustparkweg 98, 2082 EG Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands ([email protected])
318
Recensies ANDREAS SCHULZE 2003. Die Vogelstimmen Europas, Nordafrikas und Vorderasiens / The bird songs of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. 17 AudioCDs and 64-page booklet in German, which can also be downloaded in English. Musikverlag Edition AMPLE, Untere Bahnhofstraße 58, 82110 Germering, Germany; e-mail [email protected], websites www.ample.de or www.tierstimmen.de. ISBN 3-935329-49-0. EUR 58.40. With a total duration of 19 h and 20 min and no less than 2817 recordings of 819 species, this new sound guide is more ambitious in scale than any previous audio publication on Western Palearctic bird sounds. It includes not only the regular breeding, migrant and wintering species but also most of the birds recorded as vagrants in the region, even if these are often represented by songs and other vocalizations unlikely to be heard away from their breeding grounds. For most species, ‘song’ and ‘calls’ are put on separate tracks, and sometimes there are extra tracks for significant geographical variations, for non-vocal sounds or for sounds of nestlings, fledglings and juveniles. The attention given to young birds, although limited mainly to larger and commoner species and mainly to birds at the nestling/fledgling stage, is one of the better features of the work. Such a long list of species naturally includes many for which recordings have previously been difficult or impossible to obtain. Some may have never been published before, while many others were only available in publications covering other regions, or on CDROM or DVD-ROM. The inclusion of so many species in the same collection makes it easy to compare some sounds for the first time, such as songs of Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata and Macqueen’s Bustard C macqueenii. Just as important is the publication of a wider range of sounds for some species, for which other sounds were already available on CD. For example, even those listeners with many CDs in their collections are unlikely to have heard the bubbling and crooning displays of male King Eider Somateria spectabilis before. This publication goes further west than previous publications (Azores Bullfinch Pyrrhula murina is included) and includes many species from the eastern parts of the region omitted from Roché & Chevereau (2002), such as Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis, Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus and Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola. Some African birds are included for the first time in a Palearctic sound guide, eg, Egyptian Plover Pluvianus aegyptius and Bluenaped Mousebird Urocolius macrourus. The only area still inadequately covered is the Caucasus. To the best of my knowledge, sounds of Caucasian Snowcock Tetraogallus caucasicus, Great Rosefinch Carpodacus rubicilla and Güldenstädt’s Redstart Phoenicurus erythrogaster have still not been published, unless that happened in the former Soviet Union. On the whole, the quality of the recordings is more [Dutch Birding 26: 319-327, 2004]
than adequate for most purposes. The editing has been done with care, although the overzealous use of noise reduction software has occasionally introduced unwanted special effects into the recordings. With a handful of exceptions, the recordings are mono, and they sound best through speakers rather than headphones. A few recordings deserve a special mention, because they are very beautiful, interesting or must have been difficult to obtain. For me, the highlights include the recordings of Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and Siberian Crane Grus leucogeranus. Intimate recordings of females with young of Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago and Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola are fascinating. Track 8/35 Common Swift Apus apus has been specially ‘designed’ to attract swifts to breed. Song of White-throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus is very difficult to capture as well the recording in track 10/7 does, simply because it usually sings in soundscapes dominated by rapidly streaming water. The second recording of Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes githagineus in track 16/81 shows that it can produce surprisingly sweet and ‘liquid’ tones few people will be aware of. It is a great pity that these recordings are not individually credited to their recordists. The names of most recordists are listed in the front of the booklet but we will never know which one deserves praise for any given recording. Inevitably, such a large collection does also include some very poor, or crudely processed recordings. I will only mention a few here, which have reached the point where they no longer adequately resemble what they are supposed to be. In track 2/59 the male Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus has so much reverberation and has been so heavily filtered that it sounds like some kind of large marine mammal! Track 3/12 Pallas’s Fish Eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus is difficult to recognise for similar reasons. The calls of Corn Crake Crex crex in track 4/60 also seem to have some added special effects. Calls of Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla in 5/44 have been ‘processed’ beyond recognition by an overzealous sound-hacker. The second recording of Eurasian Eagle Owl Bubo bubo song in track 7/7 is badly overmodulated and sounds like somebody trumpeting on a very long toilet roll. For many if not all of the woodpeckers, the intervals between bursts of drumming have been shortened considerably. While this may seem to be a minor offence, the difference could be significant if the recording is used for playback. It seems possible that such an altered recording may represent an unusually fit and intimidating rival to a same-sex woodpecker listening, or a more attractive mate to its partner. Also, the playback-user may be tempted to persist too long when the reaction turns out to be much less intense (ie, longer gaps between drumrolls) than the CD has led him to expect. It would have been better to economize on space in these CDs by shortening the long silences between tracks. The
319
Recensies White-winged Lark Melanocorypha leucoptera calls in track 9/19 seem much too slow and low-pitched (cf examples on van den Berg et al 2003), and there may have been an error with tape speed or sampling frequency. The CDs were originally intended for the Germanspeaking market, and the accompanying 64-page booklet is in German with only scientific names to help the non-German-speaker. However, they have also proven popular outside this market, and the publisher has provided an English translation of the booklet which was used for this review, and which can be downloaded from: www.birdsongs.de/birdsongs.pdf. The notes are generally very limited, often stating little more than ‘calls’ or ‘song of male’ (the author is apparently unaware of the extent to which females sing in some species). Occasionally, however, much more extensive and useful information is given: it is clear for example that Common Swift and various owls Strigiformes are of particular interest to the author. The begin times of each separate cut within the track are stated, so that it is clear which comment or description refers to which individual cut. This is an improvement on Roché & Chevereau (2002) where it is often unclear which part of the track is being referred to. The bad news for English-speakers is that the quality of the translation is poor, and is liable to result in some head scratching and maybe a few smiles. It is hard to resist the temptation to mention a few oddities: one soon gets used to ‘kind’ meaning species, ‘troop’ a flock, and one gradually realizes that ‘mating’ is being used to mean displaying. Usually, the aerial display sound of Common Snipe is referred to as ‘drumming’, not ‘grousing’! ‘Breeding cave’ seems to have been used to mean a nest-hole, or do European Blue Tits Parus caeruleus really nest in caves? Misspelled names include ‘Red Kont’, ‘Black Guillemont’ and ‘Pygmy Sumbird’. For most of the unconventional names encountered, such as ‘Yellow-hooded Wagtail’ for Citrine Wagtail, and ‘Fulvous Chatterer’ for Fulvous Babbler Turdoides fulvus it is not difficult to guess which species is being referred to. However, ‘Pallas’s Warbler’ is an unfortunate abbreviation for Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler Locustella certhiola, and the confusion is made worse by the fact that ‘Lemon-rumped Warbler’ is used for Pallas’s Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus. The strangest of all, the English name for Dendroica petechia is given as ‘Yellow Warbler Big Lump’! The major criticism of this new set is the same as for Roché & Chevereau (2002): the very scant documentation severely limits the usefulness of the publication for the more enquiring user. In the introduction, the author himself states: ‘In no other animal classification do sounds play such an exceptional and multi-faceted role as in the world of birds’. The complete lack of information about recording locations and dates means that it becomes very difficult or impossible to say which taxon or geographical population a vocalization belongs to. Examples for which more geographical information would have been particularly informative include the following (CD and track number are given
320
here for each example). 1/24 The recordings of ‘Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea’ are in fact Scopoli’s Shearwater C diomedea, based on well-established vocal criteria (eg, Thibault et al 1997). 1/31 ‘Little Shearwater Puffinus assimilis’ in this publication must be baroli, because of Cory’s Shearwater in the background, and not boydi of the Cape Verde Islands or an extralimital taxon. 2/14 ‘Canada Goose Branta canadensis’ sounds likely to be Greater Canada Goose B canadensis at the start. From 40 sec it sounds like a smaller taxon, presumably of Lesser Canada Goose B hutchinsii. 2/16 It appears that the species called ‘Brant Branta bernicla’ is meant to also include Palebellied Brent Goose B hrota and Black Brant B nigricans, although we are left guessing. 2/29 ‘Greenwinged Teal Anas crecca’ is presumably Eurasian Teal A crecca, not Green-winged Teal A carolinensis, although we can only be reasonably sure in the fifth cut thanks to the presence of a Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus in the background. 2/53 ‘Black Scoter Melanitta nigra’: at least the last recording is presumably Common Scoter M nigra (one can also hear a Eurasian Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria) but the other two recordings could be Black Scoter M americana for all we know. 2/54 Velvet Scoter M fusca has only rarely been sound-recorded, possibly less often than American White-winged Scoter M (deglandi) deglandi or Asian White-winged Scoter M (d) stejnegeri. A location would have made it clear which one can be heard here. 3/56 Shikra Accipiter badius, when treated as a polytypic species, occurs from southern Africa to central and southern Asia. There is no way of knowing which taxon is presented on the CDs. 6/3 Common Snipe is presumably the Eurasian nominate, but locations and/or the inclusion of Wilson’s Snipe G delicata as a separate taxon would have removed any ambiguity. 7/7 ‘Eagle Owl Bubo bubo’ may or may not include Pharaoh Eagle Owl B ascalaphus: it is impossible to be sure. 7/19 ‘Little Owl Athene noctua’ could equally be Desert Little Owl A n lilith without more specific information. 7/66 ‘Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis’ is more likely to be orientalis than meena, because there is a singing Arctic Warbler P borealis in the background. 9/64-9/65 ‘Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava’ and 9/71 ‘White Wagtail Motacilla alba’: there is no mention of which taxa are involved. 11/4 ‘European Robin Erithacus rubecula’ is a good example of why geographical information should always be included. This track features a ‘song of a male of the subspecies E r superbus found on Gran Canaria and Teneriffa’. However, a recent study (Dietzen et al 2003) has shown that populations from Tenerife (superbus) and Gran Canaria (marionae) may even be specifically distinct from each other, as well as from continental populations. Sadly, the CD text does not specify the island where the recording was made. 12/13-12/14 ‘Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca’: there is no mention of which geographical population/species (eg, Atlas Pied Flycatcher F speculigera) is involved. 12/18-12/19 ‘Rufous-tailed Shrike Lanius isabellinus’ could be
Recensies Turkestan Shrike L phoenicuroides, Daurian Shrike L isabellinus or Chinese Shrike L arenarius: we are left guessing. 13/17-13/18 ‘Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans’ could equally be Western Subalpine S cantillans, Eastern Subalpine S albistriata or Moltoni’s Warbler S moltonii. 14/72 ‘Mountain Chiffchaff Phylloscopus sindianus’: the calls presented are indeed sindianus, which is unhelpful because Caucasian Chiffchaff P lorenzii is the only ‘mountain chiffchaff’ occurring in the geographical area covered. Calls of lorenzii are very different from the sharply rising huit of P sindianus, and bear a closer resemblance to the more or less straight peep of Siberian Chiffchaff P collybita tristis. 15/19 The decision to give ‘Canary Islands Tit P teneriffae’ its own separate track, while ‘Blue Tit Parus caeruleus’ is treated as a polytypic species including African Blue Tit (ultramarinus), seems to be based on a misunderstanding. In fact ultramarinus and the Canarian taxa have been shown to form one branch of the ‘blue tit’ group, while the other branch includes all other ‘blue tits’ and Azure Tit P cyanus (Salzburger et al 2002). So, to be consistent, either ultramarinus should have been included under teneriffae, or all including Azure Tit should have been treated together! 16/55 In the case of ‘Citril Finch Serinus citrinella’, it is not clear whether Corsican Finch S corsicanus has been treated as conspecific. The recording could be of either. 17/32-17/33 For ‘Cinereous Bunting Emberiza cineracea’, there is no information regarding which of the two distinctive taxa is involved. 17/53 Calls included under ‘Pallas’ Bunting E pallasi’ are different from those of birds recorded in autumn in South Korea (van den Berg et al 2003), so it would be interesting to know where the recording was made. Knowing the strengths of German sound collections, it seems likely to have been one of the poorly known central Asian taxa, but if only one could know for sure. Finally, locations can also be of interest for other reasons. The recording of Grey-necked Bunting E buchannani song in track 17/36 is of particular interest because of the two species in the background, Booted Warbler Acrocephalus caligatus (not Syke’s Warbler A rama) and Pale Rockfinch Carpospiza brachydactyla. Where do the breeding ranges of these two and Greynecked Bunting overlap, or was the Booted Warbler a migrant? For a number of species pairs, only one is included, with the excuse that the two are often treated as a single species. Are we to believe that these taxa sound the same, or is it assumed that nobody needs to know the difference? Only the first-named of the following pairs (all names are listed in the booklet) is included on the CDs. 10/61 Black-throated Thrush Turdus ruficollis atrogularis / Red-throated Thrush T r ruficollis. 11/54 Persian Wheatear Oenanthe chrysopygia / Red-tailed Wheatear O xanthoprymna. 12/28-12/30 Southern Grey Shrike Lanius meridionalis / Steppe Grey Shrike L pallidirostris. 13/1 Pygmy Sunbird Anthreptes platurus / Nile Valley Sunbird A metallicus. 13/9-13/10 Marmora’s Warbler Sylvia sarda / Balearic Warbler S balearica. 13/26-13/27 African Desert Warbler
S deserti / Asian Desert Warbler S nana. 13/36-13/37 Lesser Whitethroat S curruca / Hume’s Whitethroat S althaea / Desert (‘Small’) Whitethroat S c minula. 15/54-15/55 Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla / Madeira Kinglet R madeirensis. 16/67-16/68 Common Redpoll Carduelis flammea / Lesser Redpoll C cabaret. For most of these pairs, some vocal differences between the taxa have been described, and it is a pity that both species are not presented on the CDs. In a few cases, it is not even made clear which one can be heard in the recording: 10/57-10/58 Naumann’s Thrush T naumanni naumanni / Dusky Thrush T n eunomus, 11/4711/48 Western Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica / Eastern Black-eared Wheatear O melanoleuca, 12/56 Carrion Crow Corvus corone / Hooded Crow C cornix. One could name many more examples where the lack of more specific geographical and/or systematic detail leaves considerable room for confusion and ambiguity. The inclusion of dates might have enabled the user to draw a distinction between calls limited to the breeding season and those that can be heard throughout the year. In fact many species that are most often observed by European birdwatchers on migration or in winter are represented on the CDs by sounds almost entirely limited to the breeding season. Waders are, as usual, the least adequately covered group in this publication: sounds on the CDs are, in many cases, limited to displays and alarm calls from breeding grounds which may lie well outside the region being treated. Characteristic migration calls of, eg, American Golden Plover P dominica, Curlew Sandpiper C ferruginea, Western Sandpiper C maura, Red-necked Stint C ruficollis, Baird’s Sandpiper C bairdii, Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus, Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus, Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda and Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus are all missing, while several others are only represented by very poor recordings. In track 5/40 Little Stint C minuta, the birds in the first recording may be this species, but I have never heard these calls from migrating, wintering or breeding birds. I suspect the recording is of feeding Dunlin C alpina or another medium-sized Calidris. The poor quality of the next recording means that we are left without a good example of migration flight calls. Track 5/58 Long-billed Dowitcher L scolopaceus includes call variations unlikely to be heard from vagrants in Europe. Given the singing Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus in the background, it seems to have been recorded on breeding grounds in Siberia. Only a single call in track 5/86 is typical of Red Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius heard in autumn or winter. The strange frog-like, vibrant calls in track 6/2 Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus are certainly not the ones most often heard from migrating or wintering birds. Other Arctic breeders are treated similarly: Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus is represented in tracks 17/10-17/11 by 2 min of song and calls characteristic of the breeding season; a typical example of the rattle characteristically given by migrant and wintering birds is lacking. Among the pipits two parti-
321
Recensies cularly unhelpful recordings can be found. Track 9/42 Richard’s Pipit Anthus richardi features a series of alarm calls, unlikely to be heard in the Western Palearctic. Only the second of the four calls resembles a call likely to be heard in Europe, but it would have been better to use an example from a migrant. Similarly, track 9/44 Blyth’s Pipit A godlewskii also features alarm calls only likely to be heard at the nest, 1000s of kilometers from the Western Palearctic; flight calls are missing. I found a rather high number of identification errors, wrongly described sounds and other anomalies while listening to the 17 CDs. Many though not all of these have been inherited from the Roché collection, which forms the most important source of recordings for this publication. Indeed, anyone who has bought Roché & Chevereau (2002) should be aware that they already have a great many of the recordings in the new Schultze set. A full review of the former (Robb 2004) can be found online at: www.britishbirds.co.uk. The following should not be seen as a complete and definitive list of errata. It is up to the publisher to make such a list: it will be necessary to check the source material, and information about location, date and recordist not available to this reviewer. 1/49 Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo: the second recording sounds suspiciously like European Shag P aristotelis. 1/56 Great Bittern Botaurus stellaris: these ‘flight calls’ may indeed belong to this species, but this is not the most usually heard flight call. Perhaps this was a very alarmed bird. 1/66 Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides: the flight calls in the first recording sound suspiciously similar to Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus, and in the second recording dangerously similar to Purple Heron Ardea purpurea. 1/75 Great Egret Casmerodius albus: this track may include taxa other than nominate albus which sound a little different. In particular, the recording after 0:30 sounds unusually high-pitched and may be one of several smaller extralimital taxa. 1/84 Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor: perhaps this recording should be treated with caution as it sounds identical to Greater Flamingo P roseus. 2/6 Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus: the calls from 1:47 to the end sound to me like Bewick’s Swan C bewickii. 2/54 Velvet Scoter: the second recording sounds suspiciously like Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus. 2/56 Bufflehead Bucephala albeola: the sexing of these calls is almost certainly wrong, perhaps due to misinterpretation of the very limited information in Cramp & Simmons (1977). 3/40 Montagu’s Harrier C pygargus: in the second recording, after 12 sec, at least the first four psii calls are a yellow wagtail Motacilla, not a female Montagu’s Harrier, to which they do bear some resemblance! 4/55 Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla: these calls are very strange and intriguing, and the lack of any real explanation is unforgivable. Given the difficulty of recording such sounds, and especially of seeing who is making them, recordings of less familiar calls of such secretive birds as this species and Little Crake P parva, need to be treated with great caution unless they are backed up with observation notes. 4/92 Black-
322
winged Pratincole Glareola nordmanni: there may have been a Black-winged present when the first recording was made, but all the most prominent vocalizations (eg, loud songs after 19 sec) in this track are Collared Pratincole G pratincola. Songs of Blackwinged (its most useful sound for identification) are not included in this or the next cut. 5/19 American Golden Plover: the third recording (from 0:24) is Pacific Golden Plover P fulva, an error that will only add to the confusion already surrounding calls of these two species. The same recording can be heard on Chappuis (2000a) under ‘American (Lesser) Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica’ (apparently sensu lato) and was made on Norfolk Island in the southwest Pacific, northwest of New Zealand, by W V Ward. No doubt this was in the days when Pacific and American Golden Plover were considered to be the same species. The calls in the first two tracks are breeding season alarm calls. 5/22 Eurasian Golden Plover: after 1:13 the ‘drue drue of the female’ is in fact an alarmed Dunlin (the same recording can be found in 5/53 Dunlin after 0:22). 5/24 Spur-winged Lapwing V spinosus: I very much doubt whether ‘song’ is an accurate description of the very irregularly structured sounds in this track. 5/51 Purple Sandpiper C maritima: the first recording is unmistakeably a Dunlin. 5/57 Short-billed Dowitcher: this is a recording of the song of this species (not ‘calls’), although the song starts with a sound similar to flight calls. 5/56 Ruff Philomachus pugnax: the gruff sounds in the first recording are Spotted Redshank vocalizations I have also recorded myself from feeding birds. 5/90 Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris: I could match the calls in the first recording one for one with calls recorded of Eurasian Curlew N arquata. Both this and the second recording were also featured on Chappuis (2000a), where one can read that the first recording concerns ‘individuals in flight, February, Manfredonia, S.E. Italy’ and was made by N Baccetti, L Serra and M Zanatello (Instituto Nazionale per la Fauna Selvatica), presumably the group of up to 19 observed there in the mid-1990s (van den Berg 1995). Even if one accepts without question that a group of Slender-billed Curlews was present in Italy in 1995, I have great difficulty believing this is what we are hearing in the recording. The second recording sounds much more exotic, and I am sure no Eurasian could sound like this. However, it is a serious omission that the notes do not tell us this was a computer-assisted reconstruction from a field recording by A Greton made in Morocco, in which the Slenderbilled Curlew was masked by simultaneously calling Eurasian Curlews (Chappuis 2000a). In my opinion it would have been best to publish both the original of this recording for its documentary value, and the reconstruction for its more practical use. 6/8 Pintail Snipe G stenura: a flight display of this species can be heard in the background, but the toc-tic song in the foreground is Common Snipe, which often breeds in the same habitat. The equivalent two-note song-type of Pintail Snipe is much harsher in tone and only seems to be given in short bursts (pers obs). 6/14 Pomarine
Recensies Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus: the name of the recordist (Arnoud B van den Berg) of the second recording is missing from the booklet. The recording was made in Noord-Holland on 12 November 1985 during a rare invasion of this species in the Netherlands, and concerned immature birds feeding on fish waste in the harbour of IJmuiden. 6/35 European Herring Gull Larus argentatus: the fifth recording (from 0:53) concerns Great Black-backed Gull L marinus. The latter species is also the most prominent one in the last recording (from 2:14). 6/37 Yellow-legged Gull L michahellis: the last recording (from 1:54) appears to be European Herring Gull, or are these ‘lusitanicus’ from the Atlantic coast of Iberia which sound more like argentatus/argenteus? Whatever they are, they are certainly not typical michahellis. 8/27 Grey-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala: the calls in these recordings do not resemble any of a wide range of sounds of this species recorded during a recent trip to the Cape Verde Islands (pers obs), the only place in the region where it occurs. Is this due to geographical variation, or is it yet another misidentified recording? 8/47-8/48 Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus: the labels ‘song’ and ‘calls’ should be swapped (ie, track 47 should be ‘calls’ and track 48 should be ‘song’), to be homologous with the terms used for the other woodpecker sounds. 8/67 Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major: the last recording (from 1:06) is almost certainly Middle Spotted Woodpecker D medius. 9/7 Bar-tailed Lark Ammomanes cincturus: after 0:50 the bird in the recording is a Desert Lark A deserti. 9/21 Black Lark M yeltoniensis: these calls are too close to Lesser/Asian Short-toed Lark Calandrella rufescens/cheleensis for comfort. Perhaps this was an imitation? 9/45 Tawny Pipit A campestris: the fourth and fifth song types (from 0:58) are either Longbilled Pipit A similis or Desert Lark, but certainly not Tawny Pipit. The last ‘song’ (from 2:07) would have been better included under ‘calls’. 9/50 Long-billed Pipit: these piu calls are very odd for a pipit, and probably belong to something else. Nothing similar was described for this species in Alström & Mild (2003). 9/54 Tree Pipit A trivialis: the calls in the third recording (from 0:38) are Water Pipit A spinoletta (cf track 63). 9/60 Rock Pipit A petrosus: all three songs appear to be Meadow Pipit A pratensis. A song so similar that it may be the same individual can also be heard as the last example of Meadow Pipit song (track 9/56 from 1:36). For anyone wishing to hear Rock Pipit singing, track 6/67 Razorbill Alca torda has Rock Pipit song in the background. 9/61 Rock Pipit: at least the second recording (from 0:25) of calls appears to be Meadow Pipit. 9/77 Sand Martin Riparia riparia: the first recording is a colony of House Martins Delichon urbicum. 10/12-10/18 Accentors Prunella: it would be interesting to know how the singers were all sexed as males, since both sexes are known to sing (eg, Langmore 1996). 10/61 Black-throated Thrush: this is the discredited recording of a claimed vagrant in Sweden, which seems most likely to have been a Song Thrush T philomelos (Arkhipov et al 2003). 11/38 Isabelline
Wheatear O isabellina: it would be interesting to know the location, age and sex for the whistle calls after 0:05. My own examples from Turkey (all adults) are all considerably lower pitched, while this recording is a perfect match for my recordings of the equivalent call of Northern Wheatear O oenanthe (eg, adults from Iceland and Scotland). 11/42 Seebohm’s Wheatear O seebohmi: these calls are very strongly reminiscent of Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius, and could be an imitation, or an error. 11/48 Western Black-eared Wheatear/Eastern Black-eared Wheatear: the last recording (from 0:22) may be Northern Wheatear. Whistle calls of both hispanica and melanoleuca are generally much lower pitched (recordings of hispanica by Arnoud B van den Berg and my own recordings of melanoleuca). 12/26 Great Grey Shrike L excubitor: I cannot escape the suspicion that the calls in the first recording are Common Whitethroat S communis. Perhaps it was an unseen warbler reacting to a shrike perched in the same bush? The sound is certainly similar to one call type of Great Grey Shrike (cf same track from 0:24), but in my opinion closer to alarm calls of Common Whitethroat. 13/58 Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta: the first recording is Common Whitethroat or an imitation of one. 14/12 Marsh Warbler A palustris: the calls in the first recording do not seem typical for this species, but are strongly reminiscent of Garden Warbler S borin. The recording also appeared on Chappuis (2000b) and was made by Chappuis in ‘June, N.W. France’. 14/40 Eastern Crowned Warbler P coronatus: these ‘calls’ are in fact a type of song. 14/52 Hume’s Leaf Warbler P humei: both examples of ‘calls’ are in fact an alternative type of song, and there are no calls here likely to be heard in the Western Palearctic. 14/54 Radde’s Warbler P schwarzi: these calls are made by a Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes! 14/63 Plain Leaf Warbler P neglectus: this song does not belong to a Phylloscopus warbler, and I suspect it concerns some kind of stonechat Saxicola. For descriptions and a sonagram of the song of Plain Leaf Warbler, see Eriksen (1988). 14/64 Plain Leaf Warbler: these calls belong to a Rock Bunting E cia! A sonagram of what seems likely to be the same recording was printed on p 604 in Cramp (1992), also under Plain Leaf Warbler. 14/74 ‘Siberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus tristis’ (a split according to Schulze): these are a type of calls which usually precede song strophes, and not the mournful whistles which earned this bird its scientific name, and which are far more likely to be heard in Europe. 16/9 Desert Sparrow Passer simplex: the last recording (from 0:52) of ‘calls’ appears to be song of another species, probably House Bunting E sahari. 16/36 Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs: the song from 1:19 is African Chaffinch F c africana/spodiogenys, and in fact the same bird is featured as spodiogenys in track 16/38. 16/40 Common Chaffinch: the calls from 1:15 sound so similar to flight calls of Two-barred Crossbill Loxia leucoptera bifasciata, and atypical for Common Chaffinch, that they demand an explanation. Is this a localized ‘rain call’ and if so, from where? 16/66 Twite
323
Recensies Carduelis flavirostris: these ‘calls’ are a type of song known as ‘rambling song’ (Marler & Mundinger 1975). 16/71 ‘White-winged Crossbill Loxia leucoptera’: these are indeed recordings of White-winged Crossbill, ie, L l leucoptera of the Nearctic, which has not yet been recorded in the Western Palearctic, and not Two-barred Crossbill L l bifasciata of the Palearctic. 16/72 Whitewinged Crossbill: these ‘calls’ belong to neither leucoptera nor bifasciata. In fact, part of a song of Common Crossbill L curvirostra can be heard. 16/74 Common Crossbill: the calls from 0:52-1:13 are very similar to calls of Parrot Crossbill L pytyopsittacus. It would be interesting to know where the recording was made. 16/80 Desert Finch Rhodospiza obsoleta: this is song of Blyth’s Reed Warbler A dumetorum! 17/22 Cirl Bunting E cirlus: ‘calls’ in the first recording are probably wrong, and may be part of a song of House Bunting. The calls in the second recording are also questionable for Cirl Bunting. 17/35 Ortolan Bunting E hortolana: the second recording of calls (from 0:13) is so unusual that it warrants an explanation. Is this a juvenile? Background sounds are noted from time to time in the text. In many recordings, however, a second unnamed species is at least as prominent as the main one, and because it is not mentioned in the text, the user might assume that all of the sounds are from the only named species. For instance, in track 2/36 Garganey A querquedula, the text for the second recording (from 0:19) makes no mention of the loud male Northern Shoveler A clypeata calls which can also be heard. 2/44 Ferruginous Duck Aythya nycroca: there is no mention of the loud Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina calls, which can be heard at times. 2/60 Smew Mergellus albellus: the loud gok-gok-gok in the foreground is not made by the female Smew as claimed in the notes. Rather, this is the (female) King Eider listed as a background species. 5/56 Ruff: from 0:19 the loud calls of an alarmed Red-necked Phalarope P lobatus are not mentioned. 6/60 Black Tern Chlidonias niger: the White-winged Tern C leucopterus in the background of the second recording (heard from 0:33) should have been noted. 10/68 Redwing T iliacus: in the second recording, listeners with high frequency hearing loss may only hear the loud Fieldfares T pilaris (from 0:19), which are not mentioned in the notes. The third recording (from 0:30) contains, besides Redwing, loud Common Blackbird T merula and Song Thrush. 12/10 Semi-collared Flycatcher F semitorquata: the loud Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler P orientalis calls should have been mentioned. Such a conveniently packaged, species-rich and inexpensive sound guide seems likely to become the new standard reference for bird sounds of the region. But does the content merit this honour? Anybody still reading this after the long (but probably far from complete) list of errors and anomalies will probably have drawn their own conclusion, and it is certainly to be hoped that rarities committees and authors of identification papers will not rely too heavily on the work in its current state. Nevertheless, for those who, like me, were deeply disappointed by this new sound guide,
324
there may still be hope. The author has stated his intention to extend and, presumably, improve the work. I sincerely hope that at the very least this will involve the correction of errors and the addition of recordist, location and date information. MAGNUS S ROBB References Alström, P & Mild, K 2003. Pipits & wagtails of Europe, Asia and North America. London. Arkhipov, V Y, Wilson, M G & Svensson, L 2003. Song of the Dark-throated Thrush. Br Birds 96: 79-83. Baker, K 1997. Warblers of Europe, Asia and North Africa. London. van den Berg, A B, Constantine, M & Robb, M S 2003. Out of the blue: flight calls of migrants and vagrants. CD and booklet. Dutch Birding CD2. van den Berg, A B 1995. WP reports. Dutch Birding 17: 78. Chappuis, C 2000a. Oiseaux d’Afrique 1: Sahara, Maghreb, Madère, Canaries & Iles du Cap-Vert. Paris. Chappuis, C 2000b. Oiseaux d’Afrique 2: Afrique occidentale et centrale. Paris. Cramp, S (editor) 1985, 1988, 1992. The birds of the Western Palearctic 4, 5, 6. Oxford. Cramp, S & Simmons, K E L (editors) 1977, 1980, 1983. The birds of the Western Palearctic 1, 2, 3. Oxford. Cramp, S & Perrins, C M (editors) 1993, 1994, 1995. The birds of the Western Palearctic 7, 8, 9. Oxford. Dietzen, C, Witt, H-H & Wink, M 2003. The phylogeographic differentiation of the European Robin Erithacus rubecula on the Canary Islands revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequence data and morphometrics: evidence for a new Robin taxon on Gran Canaria? Avian Science 3: 115-131. Eriksen, J 1988. Identification and status of the Plain Leaf Warbler. Sandgrouse 10: 107-109. Langmore, N E 1996. Territoriality and song as flexible paternity guards in dunnocks and alpine accentors. Behavioral Ecology 7: 183-188. Marler, P & Mundinger, P C 1975. Vocalizations, social organization and breeding biology of the Twite Acanthus flavirostris. Ibis 117: 1-17. Robb, M S 2004. Review of: Bird sounds of Europe & northwest Africa by Jean C Roché & Jerôme Chevereau. Br Birds 97: 102-104. Roché J C & Chevereau, J 2002. Bird sounds of Europe & North-west Africa. 10 CDs and booklet. Salzburger, W, Martens, J & Sturmbauer, C 2002. Paraphyly of the Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) suggested from cytochrome b sequences. Mol Phylogenet Evol 24: 19-25. Website: www.evolutionsbiologie.unikonstanz.de/labmembers/walter/Other/004.Mol.Phyl. Evol.2002.pdf. Thibault, J-C, Bretagnolle, V & Rabouam, C 1997. Calonectris diomedea Cory’s Shearwater. BWP Update 1 (2): 75–98. Ueda, H 1998. Wild bird songs of Japan. 3 CDs and booklet. Tokyo.
Recensies MIKE PENNINGTON, KEVIN OSBORNE, PAUL HARVEY, ROGER RIDDINGTON, DAVE OKILL, PETE ELLIS & MARTIN HEUBECK 2004. The birds of Shetland. Christopher Helm/A & C Black Publishers Ltd, 37 Soho Square, London W1D 3QZ, UK; e-mail [email protected], website www.acblack.com. 576 pp. ISBN 0-7136-6038-4. GBP 40.00. The easiest way to review this book is to compare it with the earlier published The birds of Scilly by Peter Robinson (2003; reviewed in Dutch Birding 26: 122123, 2004). Published by the same publisher, following the same format and lay-out, dealing with an equally famous – from an ornithological point of view – group of British islands, almost as thick (576 instead of 608 pages) and slightly less expensive than the Scilly book, The birds of Shetland confirms in every aspect that Scilly and Shetland are on par level when it comes to recording birds and especially migrants and vagrants. Much that I have said about the Scilly book can also be said about this book. It is very complete, thoroughly researched, well written and a pleasure to thumb through. On the more critical side, the layout is just as basic as the Scilly book and apart from a few blackand-white illustrations, little has been done to increase the attractiveness of text, tables and figures. An extra colour to support the layout would have enhanced the general ‘feel’ of the book. Shetland has a list of c 430 species, of which less than 70 breed – compared with c 426 and c 60, respectively, in Scilly. Luckily, the book took more time to publish than anticipated, which meant that Fair Isle, part of Shetland but often treated separately and honoured with a book of its own, The birds of Fair Isle by Nick Dymond (1991), could be included in full. With so many rare birds turning up especially on this small island with its famous Fair Isle Bird Observatory established in 1948, this book would have lost much of its attraction without this coverage. Compared with The birds of Scilly, I found this book better in almost every aspect and in the friendly rivalry between the islands, Shetland has clearly taken the lead in this respect. The text reads more easily and seems to be more to the point. The choice of colour photographs is more extensive (105, of which more than half concern rare birds) and much more complete, including plates of almost all famous rare birds seen on the islands, such as the Yellow-browed Bunting Emberiza chrysophrys of 1980, Northern Hawk Owl Surnia ulula of 1983, Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus of 1985, Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia of 1990, Pallas’s Sandgrouse Syrrhaptes paradoxus of 1991, Pine Grosbeak Pinicola enucleator of 1992 and Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus of 1997. In addition, the ‘Fair Isle specialities’ (vagrants more or less annual on Fair Isle but much rarer elsewhere in Shetland, let alone elsewhere in Britain) are all illustrated, most famous being Pechora Pipit Anthus gustavi (59 British records up to 2002, of which 47 in Shetland, of which 30 on Fair Isle), Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata (95 British records up to 2002, of which 78 in
Shetland, of which 64 on Fair Isle) and Yellow-breasted Bunting E aureola (more than 200 British records up to 2002, of which 127 in Shetland, of which more than 100 on Fair Isle). Definitely adding spice to the book is the small but fine selection of black-and-white photographs scattered throughout the species texts, including Britain’s last breeding wild White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla (an albino female photographed at North Roe in c 1912), the second and most recent Great Bustard Otis tarda for Shetland (on Fair Isle in 1970), Britain’s second Thick-billed Warbler Acrocephalus aedon (on Whalsay in 1971), Britain’s first Siberian Rubythroat Luscinia calliope and first Tennessee Warbler Vermivora peregrina (both on Fair Isle in 1975) and the first live Brünnich’s Murre Uria lomvia for Shetland (on Fair Isle in 1980). The quality of reproduction of the photographs is also better than in the Scilly book. As in Scilly, some species are remarkably rare in Shetland, due to the large distances to mainland Scotland and Norway. Examples include Bearded Reedling Panurus biarmicus (one record), Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus (three records involving nine birds), Coal Tit Parus ater (12 records involving 14 birds), Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius (two records involving four birds, both from the 19th century), Eurasian Magpie Pica pica (one record) and Spotted Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes (one record). Focusing on the rarities, Shetland differs from Scilly by its much larger proportion of Asian vagrants compared with Nearctic species, whereas in Scilly the reverse is true. This is clearly a result of the different geographical positions of the two island groups. Similar to Scilly, seabirds are the most notable breeding birds, some of them occurring in huge numbers. Being the most northerly part of Britain, Shetland also holds (or held) a few breeding species that are absent or much rarer further south, such as Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus (100% of the British population, comprising just a handful of pairs), Snowy Owl Bubo scandiacus (breeding on Fetlar in 1967-75 with a total of 23 chicks fled, the only British breeding records), Eurasian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus (90% of the British population) and Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus (almost 70% of the British population). The book is up to date to 2002, with a separate appendix listing all notable records from 2003. The text is well edited, probably benefiting from the involvement of so many authors, all giving their attention to the detailed information. I only raised my eyebrows when I read that Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa islandica (the subspecies breeding in Shetland) is larger than Continental Black-tailed Godwit L l limosa, whereas islandica is shorter billed and shorter legged (and thus appears smaller in the field) than the nominate. This said, this is a very fine book which leaves little to desire – at least until an update is due, because no doubt new rare birds will continue to find the islands on their journeys and decide to make a stop-over there. ENNO B EBELS
325
Recensies H LEE JONES 2004. Birds of Belize. Christopher Helm/ A & C Black Publishers Ltd, 37 Soho Square, London W1D 3QZ, UK; e-mail [email protected], website www.acblack.com. 484 pp. ISBN 0-71366760-1. EUR 42.50, GBP 26.99. It seems just a matter of time before every Latin American country has its own field guide. Given the avian richness of the Neotropics, the growing number of high-quality bird books is fully justified. In this perspective, it is no surprise that Belize now has its own field guide, even though there were no real gaps to fill as the country’s birdlife was already covered in the well-known A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America by Steve Howell and Sophie Webb (1995). This new guide is quite up to date: the last information was added in early 2003. Being a tiny country, roughly half the size of the Netherlands, the number of recorded species in Belize is amazing: 574 and growing, with c five species added to the list every year. This high number is caused by the tropical geographical setting with its many different ecological zones, of which the main ones are described in the introduction pages. With his knowledge and experience, Lee Jones was probably the best man for the job. This American biologist and bird guide, who lives on and off in Belize, has over a decade of field experience in the country. He wrote numerous articles and several books, including the Annotated checklist of the birds of Belize (2001) together with A C Vallely. When I was reviewing this book, two questions popped up. The first is the general question for every review: is it a good book? In trip reports, I noticed a different approach between birders from two continents when visiting Belize: birders from North America tend to see Belize as a single-destination holiday, while European birders mostly include Belize in their itinerary when birding a larger area, including Yucatán, Mexico, and Tikal, Guatemala. With Howell & Webb’s bestseller available, the second question is obviously: is this book worth buying for European birders? To answer the first question: yes, it is a good book, but being a member of a spoiled generation – demanding the ultimate guide – I do have some points of criticism. Roughly, the book is divided in four main chapters, respectively: the introduction, colour plates, species accounts and distribution maps. Belize has no true endemics but many regional, mostly Yucatán, endemics occur. To start with, it is a missed chance that these are not summed up in the introduction pages. The species accounts, placed in the chapter after the plates, are short but thorough and include size, plumage features, voice descriptions, habitat and status in the country. There is a short introduction to each family, highlighting the characteristics and behaviour, which is handy to become more familiar with families that are new to the user of the guide. The texts are certainly sufficient for bird identification but for more background information other sources are needed (but then, after all, this is not a handbook). Opposite to the colour plates there is a short piece of text for every species, making a quick
326
reference in the field possible. The 56 colour plates are by Dana Gardner, who worked on A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. As is often the case in Neotropical bird books, some species are not on the colour plates but only have black-and-white drawings (mostly the vagrants) in the species account section. Some recently recorded vagrants are described but not depicted at all. As a European birder accustomed to the Killian Mullarneys of this world, I find the quality of the plates rather variable. Most are good, but some are quite static, not doing justice to the bird’s jizz (eg, the flying raptors) or are even a bit cartoon-like, such as Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata and Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum. However, Gardner’s skills have improved since the Costa Rica book and compared with Webb’s sketchy and rather dull paintings, the use of stronger lines and colours gives this guide a far more pleasant look. Most important however is that the plates do serve their purpose: they enable identification of birds. For most species several plumages are depicted and, in contrast with Howell & Webb (1995), the North American migrants are fortunately included. Distribution maps are given only for the 234 species that are not widespread (probably to save space), which is somewhat confusing. A bigger withdrawal however is that the maps are placed in the last section of the book, so for unknown reasons the species accounts and the distribution maps are separated. This means that when identifying a bird in the field, you will have to check three different pages: first the plate, than the species account and finally the distribution map. Any birder knows that this can be frustrating as time is often limited. The author chooses to follow the taxonomical order of the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU), because, as explained in the introduction, New World readers are most familiar with these systematics. For Old World birders, this is a rather conservative approach. The only relatively new insight that is apparent is the placement of the New World vultures in the stork group (but not on the plates to make comparison with raptors easier in the field). In the introduction pages, it is clear that the author is well aware of possible future splits but unlike Howell & Webb (1995) this is not always obviously pointed out in the species accounts, which is a real pity. Recently, for instance, there have been proposals to split the regional endemic Cozumel Bananaquit Coereba flaveola caboti from Bananaquit, based on both differences in plumage and vocalization. Another example is that nothing is mentioned about the Yellow-headed Parrot Amazona oratrix complex, while Belize holds a virtually endemic and highly endangered subspecies (A o belisensis). As a result, this book gives no new taxonomical insights. To answer the second question: birdwatchers from older generations tell heroic stories about birding the Neotropics decades ago, when virtually no decent literature was available. Nowadays, with all the available books, birders often start complaining about the weight they have to carry when travelling. Well, to me there’s nothing heroic about being unable to identify a bird, so I prefer to carry as many books as possible. The pain in
Recensies my back from former trips is long forgotten but I can still remember every single bird I could only identify by bringing an extra book. So, as long as you do not suffer from hernia problems, take the extra weight for granted
and bring both books along when visiting the region, as this book is at least supplementary, if not a standard in its own right. VINCENT VAN DER SPEK
DBA-nieuws Waarnemingen van zeldzame vogels binnenkort op mobiele telefoon De Dutch Birding Association is bezig met het opzetten van een nieuwe service die het mogelijk maakt waarnemingen van zeldzame vogels via tekstberichten op een mobiele telefoon te ontvangen. Voorwaarde is dat de telefoon de mogelijkheid heeft voor het ontvangen van e-mail/i-mail-berichten. Met de nieuwe service kan uitgebreidere informatie worden doorgegeven dan thans het geval is (bijvoorbeeld GPS, Amersfoortcoördinaten, korte plekbeschrijvingen, telefoonnummer waarnemer). Vooralsnog blijft het semafoonsysteem in de huidige vorm bestaan. De semafoonhouders kunnen zelf beslissen of ze overgaan op het nieuwe informatiesysteem. Omdat de verwachting is dat het systeem snel operationeel zal zijn, is besloten om geen nieuwe semafoons uit te geven. De reden dat wordt overgegaan op het verzenden van berichten via de mobiele telefoon is de verwachting dat het huidige semafoonsysteem op termijn niet meer ondersteund wordt door KPN. Bovendien kan de DBA
met het nieuwe systeem gemakkelijker technische uitbreidingen realiseren. Degenen die in het nieuwe systeem geïnteresseerd zijn kunnen dit kenbaar maken via het volgende e-mailadres: [email protected]. Zij zullen bericht ontvangen als het systeem operationeel is. Naar verwachting zal dit medio december zijn. De voordelen van het nieuwe systeem op een rijtje: 1 waarnemingen van zeldzame vogels via tekstberichten op de mobiele telefoon; 2 uitgebreidere informatie dan thans het geval is; 3 mogelijkheden tot digitale uitbreidingen voor verzending van informatie; en 4 snelle en directe ontvangst van alle informatie Meer gedetailleerde informatie zal via de website (www.dutchbirding.nl) bekendgemaakt worden. Informatie is ook te verkrijgen bij Wietze Janse, telefoon 015-2121974, e-mail [email protected]. WIETZE JANSE
Aankondigingen & verzoeken Rare Birds Weekly Lee Evans staat bekend om zijn uitvoerige documentatie van het voorkomen van schaarse en zeldzame vogels in Brittannië. Hij heeft al veel publicaties op zijn naam staan. Sinds juli 2004 is daar een publicatie bijgekomen: Rare Birds Weekly. Rare Birds Weekly verschijnt wekelijks en bevat naast een overzicht van de in de voorafgaande week waargenomen soorten gedetailleerde artikelen over de meest interessante waarnemingen. De nadruk ligt duidelijk op Brittannië en Ierland maar er zijn ook artikelen over waarnemingen in Nederland en elders in het Palearctische gebied verschenen. Alle artikelen worden rijkelijk geïllustreerd met foto’s. Rare Birds Weekly is verkrijgbaar in pdf-formaat voor GBP 40.00 (jaarabonnement) of in de vorm van een tijdschrift voor GBP 4.00 per nummer. Als speciale aanbieding voor alle nieuwe abonnees op de UK400Clubonline.co.uk website van de UK400 Club krijgt men 10 pdf-nummers gratis. Een jaarabonnement op de UK400Clubonline.co.uk website kost GBP 20.00. Neem contact op met Lee Evans voor meer informatie en/of het aanvragen van een abonnement (8 Sandycroft Road, Little Chalfont, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Engeland, e-mail [email protected]). [Dutch Birding 26: 327, 2004]
Rare Birds Weekly Lee Evans is well known for his publications and extensive documentation of scarce and rare birds in Britain. Since July 2004, a new publication can be added: Rare Birds Weekly. Rare Birds Weekly is published every week and contains, besides a weekly summary of the previous week’s bird news, papers on the most interesting sightings. The emphasis is clearly on British and Irish rarities but papers on Dutch and other Palearctic records have also been published. All papers are richly illustrated with photographs. Rare Birds Weekly is available in pdf format at GBP 40.00 (annual subscription) or as a full colour printed hard copy version at GBP 3.50 per issue (GBP 4.00 overseas). As a special introductory offer to all new members of UK400Clubonline.co.uk (the website of the UK400 Club), 10 pdf copies will be sent free of charge (annual subscription for UK400Clubonline.co.uk is GBP 20.00 per year). Contact Lee Evans for more information and/or to subscribe (8 Sandycroft Road, Little Chalfont, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, e-mail [email protected]).
327
Masters of Mystery Solutions of fourth round 2004 The solutions of mystery photographs VII and VIII (Dutch Birding 26: 260, 2004) appear below. VII Mystery photograph VII shows a small warbler seen from behind. The small size of the bird and the head pattern with obvious supercilium and dark eye-stripe looks rather Phylloscopuslike. Indeed, a few entrants (7%) opted for Willow Warbler P trochilus. However, Willow does not have the brown-coloured upperparts as shown by the mystery bird and, moreover, the whitish sides of the (left) outer tail-feather exclude all Phylloscopus warblers easily. Note also the colour of the leg. It is pinkish and the foot and toes are dark grey, which is quite unlike any Phylloscopus warbler. The brown colour of the upperparts and the pattern of the outer tail-feather indicate that this mystery bird is one of the smaller Acrocephalus warblers. Some entrants thought the mystery bird was an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler A pallidus (4%). However, most entrants went for Booted Warbler A caligatus (55%) or Sykes’s Warbler A rama (25%). Assuming the mystery bird is one of these three species, identifying it can be a tough job because some birds can be hardly distinguishable under field conditions or from a single photograph. Especially some Eastern Olivaceous of the subspecies A p elaeicus from south-eastern Europe and Central Asia are very similar to some Sykes’s, a species widespread in Central Asia. To identify the mystery bird one has to focus on the bill (both structure and colour), head pattern, wing formula and tertial pattern and the precise pattern of the outer tail-feathers. The first question to answer is if the mystery bird can be an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. In this species, the bill is quite long and shows a rather down-curved tip. In addition, the lower mandible is all pale. At first glance, the mystery bird seems to have an all-pale lower mandible. However, because of the dorsal view of the bill, this is very difficult to judge properly and it even seems possible that the bird is opening its bill a bit so that no details of the lower mandible can be seen. The bill of the mystery bird is not strikingly long and seems to be quite straight, which does not support Eastern Olivaceous. More importantly, in Eastern Olivaceous, a hint 328
of a pale wing-panel is present and also, especially in fresh birds, whitish tips to the folded secondaries, and it rarely shows a pronounced supercilium behind the eye, usually having a rather bland facial expression (plate 463). Because the mystery bird was photographed in May, some characters like the pale wing-panel or the whitish tips to the secondaries, can be less clear due to wear. However, the combination of characters does not fit the mystery bird and it can, therefore, be concluded that the mystery bird is either a Sykes’s Warbler or a Booted Warbler. Other characters supporting this conclusion are the overall rather brown colour of the upperparts, which is more greyish in Eastern Olivaceous. The primary projection in Eastern Olivaceous, especially in the subspecies A p elaeicus, is c 70% of the visible tertials length, whereas in the mystery bird this is only c 5060%. In addition, unlike the mystery bird, the whitish parts of the outer tail-feathers in Eastern Olivaceous show an abrupt demarcation with the darker parts and at the tip of the outer tail feather the dark centre forms a point. In the mystery bird, the whitish parts show very diffuse borders and the dark parts do not form a point but are rather rounded. So, the choice is now between Sykes’s Warbler and Booted Warbler, which are very similar in both plumage and structure. The overall colour in Sykes’s is rather uniform greyish-brown, whereas Booted shows a darker and more rusty-tinged colouration. However, due to the strong light in which the bird has been photographed, this character is very difficult to judge properly and, therefore, of little use. In the mystery bird, the tertials, which can be seen best on the left wing, show dark brown centres with contrasting paler edges and dark shafts, which is typical for Booted. In Sykes’s, the tertials are more uniformly coloured with less contrast and plain brown shafts. Note that also the central tail-feathers of the mystery bird show these dark shafts, which is another character supporting the identification as Booted. Other differences between Sykes’s and Booted can be found in the head pattern, which is plainer and more non-descript in Sykes’s than in Booted. In the mystery bird, a fairly long supercilium, a dark loral stripe and a dark side of the forecrown, creating a Phylloscopus-like expression, are visible. These characters indicate Booted again. [Dutch Birding 26: 328-332, 2004]
Masters of Mystery
463 Eastern Olivaceous Warbler / Oostelijke Vale Spotvogel Acrocephalus pallidus elaeicus, Adana, Turkey, 23 April 1987 (Arnoud B van den Berg). Note greyish upperparts, slightly down-curved bill-tip, long primary projection, whitish tip to folded secondaries and hint of pale wing-panel. 464 Booted Warbler / Kleine Spotvogel Acrocephalus caligatus, first-winter, Kyzylkol, Kazakhstan, September 2003 (Arend Wassink). Note contrasting tertials with dark shaft and short bill with fine tip and dark spot on tip of lower mandible.
329
Masters of Mystery
465 Booted Warbler / Kleine Spotvogel Acrocephalus caligatus, Karazhar, Tengiz, Aqmola Oblast, Kazakhstan, 20 May 2003 (Arnoud B van den Berg). Note contrasting tertials and rusty-tinged flanks and upperbreast.
Note, however, that the dark crown-sides may be influenced shadow effects and that dark crownsides can also appear faintly in Sykes’s. In addition, in Sykes’s, the supercilium is often shorter and ending just behind the rear edge of the eye. In addition to the above-mentioned characters, there are also a few structural differences between Sykes’s Warbler and Booted Warbler. Sykes’s has a longer tail and a shorter primary projection than Booted. In the mystery bird, the tail is relatively short and the primary projection of c 50-60% seems just too long for Sykes’s, creating a more compact looking jizz, typical for Booted. Furthermore, Sykes’s shows on average a longer bill, which can look similar to that of A p elaeicus. Seen from above or below, another subtle difference in bill structure between Sykes’s and Booted is sometimes visible. In most Booted, the sides of the bill are distinctly concave, producing a narrow or thin tip to the bill. In Sykes’s, the sides are more convex, producing a broader bill when viewed from above. In the mystery bird, the bill looks rather short with a broad base, a very fine tip and slightly concave sides and is therefore typical for Booted. In conclusion, especially based on the pattern 330
of the tertials and supported by other characters like head pattern, bill length and bill structure, primary projection and tail length, this mystery bird is a Booted Warbler. This Booted was photographed by Arnoud van den Berg in a garden at Karazhar, Tengiz, Aqmola Oblast, Kazakhstan, on 20 May 2003. Another photograph of a Booted from the same garden on the same date is shown in plate 465. In this bird, many of the characters mentioned above can be seen. Note especially the contrasting tertials and the rusty-tinged flank and upperbreast, which are normally more whitish grey in Sykes’s. VIII Entrants identified the mystery bird in photograph VIII either as a Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis or a pipit Anthus. Those voting for Eurasian Skylark (31%) were probably mislead by the rather short tertials, resulting in a considerable primary projection. A closer look, however, reveals that the secondaries are longer than the longest tertial, indicating that the tertials are still growing. The boldly streaked upperparts and the white outer tail-feathers are other clues that lead to pipits. Moreover, also the slender structure with the thin legs and the upright stance
Masters of Mystery of the bird are indicative for pipits. In addition to the boldly streaked upperparts, the mystery bird shows pink legs and a few broad flank streaks, which are just visible on the right side of the bird. These characters exclude all pipits except Pechora A gustavi, Meadow A pratensis and Red-throated Pipit A cervinus. An attentive observer notes the strongly marked rump between the middle tertials, which eliminates Meadow. In distinguishing Pechora Pipit and Redthroated Pipit, the longer primary projection of Pechora is often a useful character. In this case, however, it can not be used because both species will show active pre-breeding moult in March. The pale ‘tramlines’, rather typical of both species, are palest and strongest in Pechora. Although the mantle-feathers and scapulars of the mystery bird are dishevelled, the pale ‘tramlines’ can easily be seen but are buffish rather than whitish. This indicates Red-throated. While the pale panels in the outer tail-feathers of Redthroated are clean white as in the mystery bird, these are often more pale brownish in Pechora. The best characters to identify this bird can be found in the tertial pattern. Both Pechora and Red-throated typically show a black tertial centre, while Meadow shows a marginally paler centre. The right middle tertial is rather worn with a white fringe indicating that the bird is in its second calendar-year. It shows the typical tertial pattern of first-winter Red-throated: a white fringe with a rather long, clear-cut extension onto the inner web. In Pechora, this pattern is more reminiscent of Meadow, with the pale fringe less clear-cut and extending less far onto the inner
web. Using these characters, the mystery bird can be safely identified as a Red-throated Pipit. This Red-throated Pipit was photographed by Rudy Offereins at Eilat, Israel, on 20 March 2000. It was correctly identified by 35% of the entrants. Other entrants went for Richard’s A richardi (5%), Tawny A campestris (2%), Pechora (13%) and Meadow Pipit (9%). In the fourth round, there were 55 entrants of which 11 managed to identify both mystery birds correctly (20%). From them, Arthur Geilvoet was drawn as the winner of a copy of the double video Birds of the Macaronesian Islands by Leo Boon and donated by Cursorius. After four rounds, the leading positions of the overall competition are now taken by Niels Gilissen, Felix Heintzenberg (Sweden) and Paavo Liimatta (Finland) with seven correct identifications. They are followed by seven entrants with six correct answers and six with five. The names of all entrants with at least one correct answer can be viewed at www.dutchbirding.nl.
Fifth round 2004 Photographs IX and X represent the fifth round of the 2004 competition. Please study the rules Mystery photograph X (June)
Mystery photograph IX (May)
331
Masters of Mystery (Dutch Birding 26: 55, 2004) carefully and identify the birds in the photographs. Solutions can be sent in three different ways: • by postcard to Dutch Birding Association, Postbus 75611, 1070 AP Amsterdam, Netherlands • by e-mail to [email protected] • from the website of the Dutch Birding Association at www.dutchbirding.nl Entries for the fifth round have to arrive by 1 November 2004. Please indicate if you are
subscribed to Dutch Birding. From those entrants having identified both mystery birds correctly, one person will be drawn who will receive a copy of the field guide including three CDs Warbler songs and calls of Britain and Europe by Geoff Sample and donated by HarperCollins Publishers. Swarovski Benelux generously agreed to sponsor this competition again in 2004. This year, the overall winner after six rounds will receive a Swarovski ATS 65 telescope, with a 20-60x zoom eyepiece.
Rob S A van Bemmelen, Gouwzee 20, 1423 DV Uithoorn, Netherlands ([email protected]) Dick Groenendijk, Elzenstraat 14, 4043 PB Opheusden, Netherlands ([email protected])
CDNA-mededelingen Recente CDNA-besluiten Op de halfjaarlijkse vergadering van de Commissie Dwaalgasten Nederlandse Avifauna (CDNA) op 11 september 2004 zijn de volgende besluiten genomen. Er worden vooralsnog geen (onder)soorten afgevoerd van de lijst van te beoordelen taxa en ook geen taxa (opnieuw) toegevoegd. In de eerste vergadering van 2005 zal nader bekeken worden of een aantal soorten (met name Griel Burhinus oedicnemus en Orpheusspotvogel Hippolais polyglotta) afgevoerd zouden kunnen worden omdat het aantal betrouwbare meldingen structureel ‘te hoog’ lijkt te worden. Ten aanzien van nieuwe taxa voor de Nederlandse lijst is besloten om eerste waarnemingen alleen te aanvaarden wanneer alle CDNA-leden een positief oordeel geven; bij alle andere gevallen wordt een geval aanvaard wanneer er maximaal één tegenstem is (op determinatie). Voor aanvaarding op status (wilde of niet-wilde herkomst) volstaat een meerderheid van stemmen; deze regel is niet gewijzigd. Deze afspraak betekent dat Wenkbrauwalbatros Thalassarche melanophris (Vlieland, Friesland, 20 juli 2001) en Rotszwaluw Ptyonoprogne rupestris (Hoogkerk, Groningen, 29 juli 2001) niet worden toegelaten tot de Nederlandse lijst omdat bij beide waarnemingen sprake was van één tegenstem. Op de vergadering worden nieuwe (onder)soorten voor Nederland die zijn uitgerouleerd formeel bekrachtigd. Dit is gebeurd voor Wilsons Stormvogeltje Oceanites oceanicus (Westkapelle, Zeeland, 7 november 2002), Audouin’s Meeuw Larus audouinii (Neeltje Jans, Zeeland, 1 mei 2003), Blauwe Rotslijster Moniticola solitarius (Westkapelle, Zeeland, 20 september 2003) en Woestijnvink Buca-
332
netes githagineus (Maasvlakte, Zuid-Holland, 31 mei 2003). Andere (potentiële) nieuwe taxa uit 2003 en eerdere jaren zijn nog niet ingediend of nog in roulatie. Bij een aantal oudere gevallen wordt bekeken of er voldoende aanleiding is om tot herroulatie over te gaan, zoals nieuwe inzichten omtrent de determinatie of mogelijke verwarring met andere taxa. Wanneer deze ‘nul-ronde’ met een meerderheid van stemmen wordt afgesloten wordt het betreffende geval formeel in herroulatie gebracht. De herroulatie van alle gevallen van Fluitzwaan Cygnus columbianus, Kleine Spotvogel Acrocephalus caligatus (om te bezien of bij alle gevallen Sykes’ Spotvogel A rama met voldoende zekerheid is uitgesloten), Siberische Tjiftjaf Phylloscopus collybita tristis en Geelkoptroepiaal Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (determinatie en status) moeten nog gestart worden of zijn gaande. De herziening van alle gevallen van Baardgrasmus Sylvia cantillans om de betrokken ondersoort(en) te bepalen is vrijwel afgerond. Er is inmiddels een veilige locatie gevonden om het CDNA-archief op te slaan (zie Dutch Birding 26: 52, 2004) en de commissie is druk bezig om documentatie van kwijtgeraakte gevallen via verschillende wegen te achterhalen en op die wijze het archief weer zo goed mogelijk aan te vullen. De belangrijkste personele verandering is dat Nils van Duivendijk en Roland van der Vliet stuivertje wisselen: Roland wordt voorzitter en Nils neemt de taken van archivaris over. Per 1 januari 2005 zal Max Berlijn de commissie verlaten vanwege het aflopen van zijn tweede termijn. Zijn opvolger wordt binnenkort benoemd. BERT DE BRUIN & ROLAND VAN DER VLIET [Dutch Birding 26: 332, 2004]
WP reports This review lists rare and interesting birds reported in the Western Palearctic mainly in late July-early September 2004 and focuses on north-western Europe. The reports are largely unchecked and their publication here does not imply future acceptance by the rarities committee of the relevant country. Observers are requested to submit records to each country’s rarities committee. Corrections are welcome and will be published. SWANS TO GREBES In Iceland, the long-staying adult
male Mute Swan Cygnus olor at Hóll, first present in 1996, was found dead on 8 September. The maximum number of summering Ruddy Shelducks Tadorna ferruginea at the traditional site of Eemmeer, Flevoland/ Utrecht, the Netherlands, was 250 in late July. In Iceland, three birds were seen at Hjar∂arnes, Nes, on 9 June (a previous record dates from 1892 when seven birds were found). Two eclipse males Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris were observed at Catalina Garcia on Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, on 27 July. The alleged first Baer’s Pochard A baeri for the Southern Hemisphere at Werribee, Victoria, Australia, from 3 July (cf Dutch Birding 26: 261, 2004) turned out to be a Hardhead A australis. An eclipse male Boreal Eider Somateria mollissima borealis drifted slowly south past
the foghorn station of Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire, England, on 10 July. A male White-winged Scoter Melanitta deglandi at Valtpófssta∂ir, Núpasveit, in April-May 2003, thought to be an American Whitewinged Scoter M (d) deglandi, now appears to have been an Asian White-winged Scoter M (d) stejnegeri, constituting the first for Iceland and the second for the WP (the first was in Finland in May-June 1996). There are five records of American White-winged Scoter in Iceland, all since 1993 (Birding World 17: 337-347, 2004). First breeding records of Goosander Mergus merganser occurred both in Hungary and Romania in July. The adult male White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala at Saltholme Pools, Cleveland, England, remained until at least 26 July. A male Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera on Loch Tuamister, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, from 13 May attracted many twitchers (Birding World 17: 200-201, 2004). In this context, it is of interest that the only Blue-winged Teal A discors ringed in Britain on 23 October 1979 was an immature that was later shot and identified as an adult male Cinnamon Teal in France on 22 February 1981; initially accepted as a wild Blue-winged Teal in Britain it was rejected in 1982 but not (yet) accepted as the first Cinnamon Teal (cf Br Birds 97: 428, 2004). From
466 Red-footed Falcon / Roodpootvalk Falco vespertinus, first-summer male, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA, 10 August 2004 (Jeremiah Trimble)
[Dutch Birding 26: 332-344, 2004]
333
WP reports
467 Green Heron / Groene Reiger Butorides virescens, Hali, Su∂ursveit, Iceland, 3 June 2004 (Yann Kolbeinsson) 468 Great White Pelican / Roze Pelikaan Pelecanus onocrotalus, Raszyn fish ponds, Warszawa, Poland, 6 August 2004 (Pawel Gebski)
334
WP reports
469 Long-legged Buzzard / Arendbuizerd Buteo rufinus, Espoo, Finland, 8 July 2004, 21 July 2004 (Sampo Laukkanen) 470 Eurasian Black Vulture / Monniksgier Aegypius monachus, Lancenieki, Tukums, Latvia, 16 June 2004 (Karlis Millers)
335
WP reports
471 Buff-breasted Sandpiper / Blonde Ruiter Tryngites subruficollis, juvenile, Sein, Finistère, France, 13 September 2004 (Aurélien Audevard) 472 Baird’s Sandpiper / Bairds Strandloper Calidris bairdii, juvenile, Sein, Finistère, France, 14 September 2004 (Aurélien Audevard)
336
WP reports
473 Great Shearwater / Grote Pijlstormvogel Puffinus gravis, Bay of Biscay, 10 miles north-west of Bilbao, Spain, 23 August 2004 (Hugh Harrop/Shetland Wildlife) 474 Bonaparte’s Gull / Kleine Kokmeeuw Larus philadelphia, Porspaul, Lampaul-Plouarzel, Finistère, France, 19 September 2004 (Aurélien Audevard)
337
WP reports
475 Long-legged Buzzard / Arendbuizerd Buteo rufinus, Espoo, Finland, 2 August 2004 (Sami Tuomela) 476 Longtailed Shrike / Langstaartklauwier Lanius schach, adult, Aqaba, Jordan, April 2004 (Guy Conrady & Edouard Melchior) cf Dutch Birding 25: 207, 2004 477 Paddyfield Warbler / Veldrietzanger Acrocephalus agricola, Brekka, L贸n, Iceland, 18 September 2004 (Dan铆el Bergmann)
338
WP reports 26 August into September, a male American Black Duck A rubripes was again present at Tønsberg, Vestfold, where it had also been on 19-21 September 2003 as the third for Norway. The long-staying male at Gar∂ur, Iceland, was noted again for 22 August. On 8 August, a juvenile Marbled Duck Marmaronetta angustirostris was found at Lagune de la Belle Henriette, Vendée, France. An unringed juvenile at Pannerden, Gelderland, on 14-16 August may be the first for the Netherlands (two unringed adults photographed at Bath, Zeeland, on 27-28 September 1981 are still under consideration; cf Wielewaal 47: 123-124, 1981). The first Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis for Iceland was found at Baulutjörn á Myrum on 17 September. ´ In Orkney and Shetland, Scotland, an unprecedented failure of seabird nesting occurred this summer. The cause appears to be starvation; species like Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus and Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea produced virtually no young this year. A Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris was videoed flying past Kilcummin Head, Mayo, Ireland, on 11 September. In Spain, from the ferry between Cadiz and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, seven Fea’s Petrels Pterodroma feae and 48 Bulwer’s Petrels Bulweria bulwerii were seen on 21 July. On Madeira, 1729 Bulwer’s Petrels were counted in one evening at Ponta da Cruz in late July (www.madeirabirds.com). Fea’s Petrels were also noted off Galley Head, Cork, Ireland, on 21 July, off Devon, England, on 18 August, at the Scilly pelagic, England, on 28 August and 6 September, off the Bridges of Ross, Clare, Ireland, on 25 August and 1 September, and past Brandon Head, Kerry, Ireland, on 1 September. On 2 August, a Scopoli’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea was identified from photographs made six miles south of St Mary’s, Scilly (Birding World 17: 334-336, 2004). On 15 August, the first Cape Verde Shearwater C edwardsii for North America was photographed off Hatteras, North Carolina, USA (www.patteson.com). Inland in England, a Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus was present at the northern end of the dam at Rutland Water, Leicestershire, from 16 July to at least 4 August. A total of 186 past Westkapelle, Zeeland, on 15 September represents the highest day count for the Netherlands. On the same day further south, 495 flew past De Panne, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, and 645 past Dunkerque, Nord, France. If accepted, a Wilson’s Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus passing north at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, England, on 31 August will be the second for the British North Sea and the first watched from land. From 21 July through August, quite a few were seen off Ireland and off Scilly. These included up to three photographed west off Dingle Peninsula, Kerry, on 14 August. In addition, on 25 August, several flew off Bridges of Ross, Clare. In Spain, at least four were seen off A Coruña on 21 August and three 12 km off Oriñon, Cantabria, on 26 August. On 21 July, 21 White-faced Storm-petrels Pelagodroma marina were seen from the ferry between SEABIRDS
Cadiz and the Canary Islands; on 22 July, 12 flew past the ferry between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (as did 48 Bulwer’s Petrels); and on 29 July, 27 were counted from the ferry between Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura, and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (as were 13 Bulwer’s Petrels). On 8 July, one was seen off Funchal, Madeira. The first Black-bellied Storm-petrel Fregetta tropica for North America was photographed off Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, on 31 May (it had been identified as a White-bellied Storm-petrel F grallaria until photographs were studied). The fourth Swinhoe’s Storm-petrel Oceanodroma monorhis for Israel was picked up at Eilat on 21 September. On 8 July, a Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus was seen a few miles south off Madeira. An adult Masked Booby Sula dactylatra photographed at Rishon Letzion on 16 July was the first for Israel; a previous record for the Mediterranean was an adult in Cadiz and Malaga, Spain, on 10 October and 14 December 1985, respectively. The first Cape Gannet Morus capensis for the Middle East was an adult photographed on Shinayz Island, Al Hallaniyat archipelago, Oman, on 14 March 2004 (Sandgrouse 26: 146-148, 2004). A Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus stayed near Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany, from 19 July to at least 23 August. The second for north-eastern Poland turned up at Siemianowka reservoir on 29 August. The second Green Heron Butorides virescens for Iceland was at Hali, Brei∂abólssta∂ur, Su∂ursveit, from 28 May to 18 July; the first was shot on 29 October 2001. In the Netherlands, aerial surveys at Oostvaardersplassen, Flevoland, revealed the presence of 22 breeding pairs of Little Egret Egretta garzetta, 43 pairs of Great Egret Casmerodius albus and 203 pairs of Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia. If accepted, a Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis at Hula on 25 August will be the 20th for Israel. The best-ever breeding result of Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus for Spain occurred this year with more than 2000 nestlings being ringed at Doñana National Park. The first breeding of Eurasian Spoonbill for Armenia since 50 years occurred in Ararat in July 2003 with two pairs. The number of breeding pairs of Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus in Sardinia, Italy, was 7500 in two large colonies, at Macchiareddu saltpans and Molentargius pond in the Cagliari area; on 31 August, c 500 young were colour-ringed (white ring with letter M) at the Molentargius site. CORMORANTS TO FLAMINGOS
On 16 August, a massive movement of 38 000 Black Kites Milvus migrans took place across the Straits of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco. The ninth Eurasian Black Vulture Aegypius monachus for Latvia was an immature at Lancenieki, Tukums, from 2 June to at least 31 July; the eighth record was in 1933. In northern Germany, up to six Short-toed Eagles Circaetus gallicus were still reported from two sites in Niedersachsen in the last days of August (cf Dutch Birding 26: 262, 2004). The first Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus for Scilly was present on 13-14 September. RAPTORS
339
WP reports The sixth Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus for Finland (and the first twitchable) was a very pale morph first seen at Hanko on 4 July and then at Espoo and Vantaa from 8 July to at least 10 August. In Friesland, one was photographed at Ezumakeeg on 9 July. In Sweden, Steppe Eagles Aquila nipalensis were seen on Öland and at Falsterbo, Skåne, in July and early August. In Germany, a second-year was reported in Niedersachsen on 8 August. After last year’s first breeding of Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus for Finland at Kemi, the species bred again in the area this year raising three young. The first for America was a first-summer male on a small airstrip at Katama, Martha’s Vineyard, Edgartown, Massachusetts, USA, from 8 August onwards. The 10th Eleonora’s Falcon F eleonorae for Sweden and the third for Öland was a dark-morph first-summer photographed on 7 August. WADERS The seventh Cream-coloured Courser Curso-
rius cursor for France stayed in the Crau, Bouches-duRhône, on 11-15 September, together with seven Eurasian Dotterels Charadrius morinellus. Two Collared Pratincoles Glareola pratincola were seen in Niedersachsen on 4 August and a Black-winged Pratincole G nordmanni was in Uppland, Sweden, on 8 August. Two new breeding wader species for the Palearctic and Eurasia were found during an expedition in Chukotksky Peninsula, Siberia, Russia, in spring 2002: Semipalmated Plover C semipalmatus and Black Turnstone Arenaria melanocephala (Alula 10: 106-119, 2004). The third Mongolian Plover C mongolus mongolus for Britain (and the second for Scotland) was an adultsummer male at Aberlady Bay, Lothian, on 8-9 July. A female (either a Lesser Sand Plover of the subspecies C m atrifrons/pamirensis or a Mongolian Plover) was present at Rømø, Sonderjylland, Denmark, on 9-15 July and at Lakolk Klitsø on 12-17 August. The seventh Greater Sand Plover C leschenaultii for the Netherlands stayed for less than 2 h at Battenoord, ZuidHolland, on 16 September. After surveys of the lastknown breeding areas of Sociable Lapwings Vanellus gregarius in the steppes of the Tengiz depression in central Kazakhstan in 2001-03 revealed a serious decline with perhaps only 120 adults remaining (Sandgrouse 24: 22-27, 2002; Dutch Birding 25: 263, 2003), no less than 22 adults and 94 chicks were trapped and colour-ringed here during May-July 2004. For each individual, a different colour combination has been applied in an effort to obtain a better understanding of survival and movements during the non-breeding season. Sightings with details of colour-ring combinations, location and date should be sent to [email protected]. In Germany, the adult at Holtgaster See, Rheiderland, Niedersachsen, stayed from 4 July to 21 August. The third Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris for Britain was an adult-summer at the Wyre Estuary, Lancashire, on 31 July and again on 16-17 August. What may have been the same bird visited Swords Estuary, Ireland, on 25 July. The first Semipalmated Sandpiper C pusilla for Lancashire was an adult at Brockholes Quarry on 25 July. In Spain, one
340
was seen at Itsmo de la Lanzada, O Grove, Pontevedra, on 22 and 29 August. A juvenile was reported at Banc d’Arguin, Gironde, France, on 5 September. In the Netherlands, the adult-summer Red-necked Stint C ruficollis photographed at Slikken van Flakkee, ZuidHolland, on 6 July was not seen subsequently. Least Sandpipers C minutilla were reported from Texel, Noord-Holland, the Netherlands, on 10 August and Maché, Vendée, France, on 13 August. In Germany, a juvenile Baird’s Sandpiper C bairdii stayed at Rieselfelder Münster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, on 28-31 August. Others were, eg, at Tacumshin, Wexford, on 25 July (an adult), at Minsmere, Suffolk, England, on 7 August, at Lissagriffin Lake, Cork, Ireland, on 9 August (an adult), at Lady’s Island Lake, Wexford, on 14 August, on Tresco and on St Mary’s, Scilly, from 30 August to at least 5 September, in Gwent, Britain, on 3 September, at Tacumshin from 2 September (a juvenile; together with a Semipalmated Sandpiper on 5 September), and at Sein, Finistère, France, on 14 September. The second Baird’s Sandpiper for Norway was at Røstlandet, Nordland, on 12-14 September, following the first on 31 May 2004 at the same location. The first Sharp-tailed Sandpiper C acuminata for Cornwall and the 25th for Britain was an adult at Drift Reservoir on 6-7 August. The third Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus for Ireland remained from 30 June to 15 August at Lady’s Island Lake, Wexford. A Hudsonian Whimbrel Numenius hudsonicus reportedly flew west past Pendeen Watchpoint, Cornwall, on 20 August. A Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis flew over Ghadira, Malta, on 26 August. The Greater Yellowlegs T melanoleuca in Northern Ireland stayed at Quoile Pondage, Down, from 24 May to at least 3 August. The second Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus for Ireland, was at Blennerville, Kerry, from 6 September. A juvenile Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius discovered at Étang de Léhan, Finistère, as early as 22 August was still present on 11 September; it was the 14th for France. An adult Red Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius was present in the Riga bay at Mersrags, Latvia, from 28 July. GULLS TO TERNS An adult Laughing Gull Larus atricilla was at the Hayle Estuary, Cornwall, on 23-24 August. The fifth Franklins’ Gull L pipixcan for the Netherlands stayed near Kesteren, Gelderland, on 18-24 September. In France, an adult Bonaparte’s Gull L philadelphia was seen at Porspaul, Lampaul-Plouarzel, Finistère, from 18 September. In the Netherlands, the Ring-billed Gull L delawarensis at Goes, Zeeland, last seen on 8 February had returned by 27 July for its eighth consecutive ‘winter’ (the first sighting was on 18 January 1998). Another returning adult in the Netherlands, first present at Tiel, Gelderland, from 4 January to 11 March was seen again from 4 August. The long-staying first-summer American Herring Gull L smithsonianus remained through August at Nimmo’s Pier, Galway, Ireland. The largest colony of 400 pairs of Audouin’s Gull L audouinii for Italy was situated in a coastal saltmarsh in southwestern Sardinia this summer, with another colony of
WP reports
478 Masked Booby / Maskergent Sula dactylatra, adult, Rishon Letzion, Israel, 16 July 2004 (Itzik Amir) 479 Pallas’s Gull / Reuzenzwartkopmeeuw Larus ichthyaetus, second-winter, Bugaj fish ponds, Zator, Poland, 16 September 2004 (Damian Wiehle) 480-481 Great Knot / Grote Kanoet Calidris tenuirostris, adult, Skippool Creek, Lancashire, England, 16 August 2004 (Mike Malpass) 482 Greater Sand Plover / Woestijnplevier Charadrius leschenaultii, Battenoord, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands, 16 September 2004 (Pim A Wolf) 483 Lesser Sand Plover / Mongoolse Plevier Charadrius mongolus, Aberlady Bay, Lothian, Scotland, 8 July 2004 (Tristan Reid)
341
WP reports
484-485 Purple Martin / Purperzwaluw Progne subis, juvenile, Butt of Lewis, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, 6 September 2004 (Martin Scott) 486-487 Purple Martin / Purperzwaluw Progne subis, juvenile, Butt of Lewis, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, 6 September 2004 (Adrian Webb) 488 White-winged Lark / Witvleugelleeuwerik Melanocorypha leucoptera, female, Vardø, Finnmark, Norway, 19 July 2004 (Kjetil Bekkeli) 489 Brown Shrike / Bruine Klauwier Lanius cristatus, Skaw, Whalsay, Shetland, 22 September 2004 (Hugh Harrop/Shetland Wildlife)
342
WP reports 100 pairs nearby. An Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea was reported from Vågan, Nordland, Norway, on 7 July. In France, a Royal Tern S maxima was photographed at Banc d’Arguin, Gironde, on 9 July (the first for France) and an Elegant Tern S elegans in Morbihan on 14 July. Following the rediscovery of Chinese Crested Tern S bernsteini in 2000 in the Taiwanese held Matsu group within 10 km from the Chinese mainland, surveys were conducted along the south-eastern coasts of China by ornithologists from Zhejiang and Xiamen. These surveys resulted this summer in the discovery of two different locations for the species, one on an uninhabited island off northern Zhejiang province, where 20 individuals were found in a colony of 4000 Greater Crested Terns S bergii, and another not far from Xiamen city in Fujian province where two individuals were seen (www. wwfchina.org/list.shtm?id=6727). Meanwhile, at least 10 individuals were again seen on Matsu on 3 July (cf Dutch Birding 22: 248-249, plate 249, 2000, 23: 300, 2001, 24: 378, 2002, 26: 267, 2004). The adult (orangebilled tern showing characters of) Elegant Tern paired with a Sandwich Tern S sandvicensis remained with a hybrid chick at Ebro delta, Tarragona, until 17 August. At the same site, a pair of Lesser Crested Terns S bengalensis bred this summer. A record 14 Arctic Terns were seen at Eilat’s north beach, Israel, on 16-20 July. The first Aleutian Tern S aleutica for South Korea was an adult found 70 km east-south-east of Socheong island on 23 August. In Israel, an adult White-cheeked Tern S repressa remained at Ma’agan Michael from 25 July into September (possibly, it concerned the same individual as one in 2003). The first Bridled Tern S anaethetus for Norway photographed at Hamningberg in Varanger, Finnmark, was seen on 6 July only. Another turned up at Mosteiros, Sâo Miguel, Azores, on 11 July. Up to four were seen at Eilat’s north beach during July. An individual at Ma’agan Michael on 21-22 August was probably the same as the one in 2003 (which was then the first for the Mediterranean coast of Israel). The Finnish rarities committee decided to remove Oriental Cuckoo Cuculus saturatus from the Finnish list as the identification of all individuals remains in doubt due to the fact that their vocalizations differed in details from what is known for the species in European Russia and Asia. Singing birds had been reported annually at Lieksa, Savijärvi, in 19982001 and in some of these years at Karstula and Joutsa as well; in May 2001, one was trapped (cf Dutch Birding 20: 132, 187, 1998; 21: 176, 1999; 22: 168, 2000; 23: 228, 2001). A male Snowy Owl Bubo scandiacus was seen on Arranmore Island, Donegal, on 11-13 August. If accepted, a White-rumped Swift Apus caffer at Funchal on 29 June will be the first for Madeira. Up to six were seen at El Castillo in Monfragüe National Park, Extremadura, Spain, on 1 August.
CUCKOOS TO SWIFTS
LARKS TO WARBLERS The second White-winged Lark
Melanocorypha leucoptera for Norway was a female at Vardø, Finnmark, from 19 July to 25 August. In Scotland, the first Purple Martin Progne subis for the WP
was an immature at Butt of Lewis lighthouse, Outer Hebrides, on 5-6 September. Another juvenile was reported from Flores, Azores, on 6 September. A Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia at Tardinghen, Pas-deCalais, on 20-24 August was only the fifth for France. The first Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus for Russia was collected at Dzhenretlen, Chukotka, on 1 June 2002 (a White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys was also shot here; Alula 10: 106-119, 2004). If accepted, a Swainson’s Thrush C ustulatus at Su∂ursveit on 10 August will be the third for Iceland. In Germany, a Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis was present in Nordrhein-Westfalen on 16-21 August. This summer, five singing Lanceolated Warblers Locustella lanceolata and three pairs of Booted Warbler Acrocephalus caligatus were present in Finland. The first Eastern Olivaceous Warbler A pallidus elaeicus for Norway was trapped at Titran, Sør-Trøndelag, on 12 September. On 18 August, the third or fourth River Warbler L fluviatilis for Italy was ringed in the Piemonte region. In Armenia, six singing Paddyfield Warblers A agricola were recorded in Ararat in May-July. One was trapped at Vrhnika ringing station, Slovenia, on 15 August. The first for Iceland was at Brekka, Lón, on 18-20 September. A Blyth’s Reed Warbler A dumetorum was trapped and ringed on Schiermonnikoog, Friesland, the Netherlands, on 29 July. On Utsira, Rogaland, Norway, one was ringed on 30 August. If accepted, an African Desert Warbler Sylvia deserti 5 km from Corralejo on Lanzarote on 23 July will be the second or third for the Canary Islands (this taxon has also been found, eg, in Cape Verde Islands, Linosa (off southern Sicily), Madeira and Malta). The second Green Warbler Phylloscopus nitidus for Israel was near Menagemya, Jordan valley, on 24-25 August (the first was at Eilat in October 1987). On the British east coast, at least 14 Greenish Warblers P trochiloides turned up on 10-17 August, nearly all in Scotland. Arctic Warblers P borealis occurred on Sylt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on 5 September and Norwick, Shetland, on 7 September. Probably the first Yellow-browed Warbler P inornatus for this autumn in Europe was trapped at Joensuu, Finland, on 4 September. SHRIKES TO BUNTINGS An adult male Brown Shrike
Lanius cristatus was present at Skaw, Whalsay, Shetland, from 19 September onwards. In Britain, adult Lesser Grey Shrikes L minor were present at Derby, Derbyshire, on 11-12 July, at Gulberwick, Shetland, from 17 to at least 30 August (the 19th for Shetland), and at Windwick, South Ronaldsay, on 23 August (the fifth for Orkney). The one at Sebybadet, Öland, remained from 14 to 31 July. In Finland, one stayed at Vaasa from 24 July onwards and two were reported in southern Finland on 8 August. In Norway, one was seen at Farsund, Vest-Agder, on 6 August. In Germany, an adult male was found in Sachsen-Anhalt on 15 August. A Steppe Grey Shrike L pallidirostris was at Ångermanland, Fällsvikshamn, Sweden, on 19 and one was found at Yotvata, Israel, on 22 September. The autumn’s first Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus for
343
WP reports the WP (and the earliest ever) was trapped on Cape Clear Island, Cork, on 5 September, and was followed by one at Smerwick Harbour, Kerry, on 14 September. A juvenile Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes githagineus was seen on Linosa off Sicily in early August. The first nest of Mongolian Finch B mongolicus for Armenia was under construction in Ararat on 10 June and fledglings were seen on 20 July. A small number of Two-barred Crossbills Loxia leucoptera bifasciata was observed in early July in northern Finland during an influx of Common Crossbills L curvirostra. One was reported at Hamburg, Germany, on 4 August. In July, 14 nesting pairs of Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala with young (of which 12 near Constanta) constituted the first evidence of breeding for Romania. A first-winter on Inner Farne on 23 August was the fourth for Northumberland. For a number of reports, Birding World, British Birds, Rare Birds Weekly, Sovon-nieuws, World Birdwatch, www.birdguides.com
and www.netfugl.dk were consulted. I wish to thank Gary Allport, Vasil Ananian (Armenia), Mindy Baha El Din (Egypt), Chris Batty, Chris Bell, Vegard Bunes, Mike Carter, Agris Celmins, Alain Chappuis, Tony Clarke, Andrea Corso (Italy), Jochen Dierschke, Hugues Dufourny, Enno Ebels, Lee Evans, Dick Forsman, Raymond Galea (Malta), Martin Garner, Barak Granit, Marcello Grussu (Sardinia), Ricard Gutiérrez (Spain), Martin Helin, Erik Hirschfeld, Gaukur Hjartarson (Iceland), Niklas Holmström, Maris Jaunzemis, Yann Kolbeinsson, Justin Jansen, Erling Jirle (Sweden), Adrian Jordi, Krys Kazmierczak (OBC), Yann Kolbeinsson (Iceland), Tomasz Kulakowski, Vern Laux, Harry LeGrand, Pierre Le Maréchal (France), André van Loon, Richard Millington, Dominic Mitchell, Nial Moores, Killian Mullarney, Gerald Oreel, Gert Ottens, Menotti Passarella, Andrew Paterson, Yoav Perlman (IRDC), Brett Richards, Colin Richardson (UAE), Edward Rickson, Magnus Robb, Alex Roetemeijer, Luciano Ruggieri, Michael Sammut, Nir Sapir (Israel), Holger Schritt, Dare Sere, Chen Shuihua (Zhejiang), Tadeusz Stawarczyk, Jeremiah Trimble, Pierre Unge (Sweden), Jared Wilson, Frank Zino and Maxime Zucca (France) for their help in compiling this review.
Arnoud B van den Berg, Duinlustparkweg 98, 2082 EG Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands ([email protected])
Recente meldingen Dit overzicht van recente meldingen van zeldzame en interessante vogels in Nederland en België beslaat voornamelijk de periode juli-augustus 2004. De vermelde gevallen zijn merendeels niet geverifieerd en het overzicht is niet volledig. Alle vogelaars die de moeite namen om hun waarnemingen aan ons door te geven worden hartelijk bedankt. Waarnemers van soorten in Nederland die worden beoordeeld door de Commissie Dwaalgasten Nederlandse Avifauna wordt verzocht hun waarnemingen zo spoedig mogelijk toe te zenden aan: CDNA, Postbus 45, 2080 AA Santpoort-Zuid, Nederland, e-mail [email protected]. Hiertoe gelieve men gebruik te maken van CDNA-waarnemingsformulieren die eveneens verkrijgbaar zijn bij bovenstaand adres, of via de website van de DBA op www.dutchbirding.nl.
Nederland GANZEN TOT VALKEN Na de waarneming eind mei werd wederom een groep Sneeuwganzen Anser caerulescens waargenomen in het Lauwersmeergebied, Groningen. Ditmaal betrof het 14 exemplaren, waaronder één blauwe vorm, die op 9 en 10 augustus werden gezien. Een achtergebleven Witbuikrotgans Branta hrota verbleef van 24 juli tot 9 augustus in de Putten van Camperduin, Noord-Holland. Vanaf 22 augustus foerageerde een vroege Zwarte Rotgans B nigricans op Vlieland, Friesland. De jaarlijkse telling van Casarca’s Tadorna ferruginea op het Eemmeer bij Huizen, Noord-
344
Holland, leverde eind juli een maximum van 250 exemplaren op. Vooral in augustus werden kleinere groepen elders opgemerkt: 29 in de Workumerwaard, Friesland, maximaal 23 in de Lauwersmeer en 15 op de Ventjagersplaten, Zuid-Holland. Op 25 augustus vlogen er 21 in oostelijke richting langs Schiermonnikoog, Friesland. Een ongeringde juveniele Marmereend Marmaronetta angustirostris van 14 tot 16 augustus bij Pannerden, Gelderland, bracht de gemoederen in beroering over een mogelijk wilde herkomst en de mogelijke toevoeging aan de Nederlandse lijst. Witoogeenden Aythya nyroca werden gezien op 9 juli in het Harderbroek, Flevoland, en op 8 augustus bij telpost IJmeerdijk bij Almere, Flevoland. Het mannetje Ringsnaveleend Aythya collaris van de Horsmeertjes op Texel, Noord-Holland, werd daar nog gezien op 11 juli en – inmiddels in eclipskleed – op 1 en 22 augustus. Het mannetje Blauwvleugeltaling Anas discors van dit eiland zwom daar nog op 1 juli. Bijzonder is de overzomerende IJseend Clangula hyemalis vanaf 9 juli bij Den Oever, Noord-Holland. Vanaf 13 augustus werden 18 Grauwe Pijlstormvogels Puffinus griseus waargenomen. Van de negen gemelde Noordse Pijlstormvogels P puffinus vlogen er acht voorbij in de eerste helft van juli. Slechts twee Vale Pijlstormvogels P mauretanicus werden gemeld: op 8 juli langs Camperduin en op 26 augustus bij Bloemendaal aan Zee, Noord-Holland. Redelijk uitzonderlijk waren de Vale Stormvogeltjes Oceanodroma leucorhoa al op 10 juli langs Camperduin en op 30 juli langs de Langevelderslag, Zuid[Dutch Birding 26: 344-356, 2004]
Recente meldingen Holland. Vanaf 30 augustus werden er nog eens 10 gezien. Kuifaalscholvers Phalacrocorax aristotelis werden gemeld op 2 juli bij Westkapelle, Zeeland, op 21 augustus bij de Maasvlakte, Zuid-Holland, en op 26 en 29 augustus bij IJmuiden, Noord-Holland. Eind juli werden twee verschillende juveniele Woudapen Ixobrychus minutus gezien bij Budel-Dorplein, NoordBrabant. Andere exemplaren waren er op 28 juli vliegend over Wieringerwerf, Noord-Holland, van 1 tot 4 augustus bij Diependal, Drenthe, vanaf 13 augustus een juveniele in de Bokkedoorns, Bloemendaal, Noord-Holland, en van 28 tot 29 augustus twee mannetjes in de Rottemeren bij Zevenhuizen, ZuidHolland. Bij Tienhoven, Utrecht, kwam het totaal in juni op twee en mogelijk drie vogels. Kwakken Nycticorax nycticorax verbleven op 3 juli in Rotterdam-Overschie, Zuid-Holland, van 18 tot 28 juli in Bergen, Noord-Holland, op 2 augustus over De Horde bij Lopik, Utrecht, op 4 augustus bij Capelle aan den IJssel, Zuid-Holland, en op 8 augustus in een tuin te Oudenbosch, Noord-Brabant. Van eind juli tot 21 augustus pleisterde een Koereiger Bubulcus ibis in de polder bij Camperduin. Een andere verbleef van 5 tot 29 augustus in de Bantpolder, Friesland. De grootste aantallen Kleine Zilverreigers Egretta garzetta werden gezien in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, Zeeland, met 32 op 16 juli in het Verdronken Land van Saeftinge en 22 op 25 augustus tussen Nummer EĂŠn en Terneuzen. De tellingen van langstrekkende Purperreigers Ardea purpurea over de Gorzen bij Ridderkerk, Zuid-Holland, leverde
in augustus een totaal van 306 exemplaren, waarvan slechts 27 voor 15 augustus en een maximum van 107 op 31 augustus. Van 4 tot 8 september kwamen er nog eens 282 over. De aankomst dan wel doortrek van Zwarte Ooievaars Ciconia nigra deze zomer nam buitengewone proporties aan; daarmee zet de opwaartse trend van de laatste jaren sterk door. Na enkelingen begin juli werden vanaf 18 juli c 240 exemplaren gemeld. Locaties waar op meerdere dagen enkele exemplaren werden gezien waren: De Hamert en De Banen in Limburg, de Ooijpolder en omstreken, Gelderland, de Oostvaardersplassen, Flevoland, de Oelermars bij Losser, Overijssel, en Midwolda, Groningen. De grootste aantallen werden gezien op 19 augustus (14) bij Langbroek, Utrecht, en vanaf 20 juli eerst enkele en vanaf 2 augustus meer dan 10 bij het Grafven op de Strabrechtse Heide, Noord-Brabant, met als maximum 18 op 29 augustus. Een uitzonderlijk grote groep van ruim 425 Ooievaars C ciconia had zich op 15 augustus verzameld tussen De Wijk en Meppel, Drenthe. Een Zwarte Ibis Plegadis falcinellus met een aluminium ring aan de rechterpoot verbleef van 15 tot 29 augustus bij Akersloot, Zuid-Holland. Een ander exemplaar werd gezien op 22 augustus langs de A7 bij Toppenhuzen (Oppenhuizen), Friesland. Zwarte Wouwen Milvus migrans en Rode Wouwen M milvus zijn in het najaar aanzienlijk schaarser dan in het voorjaar. Toch werden er in deze periode redelijk wat gemeld met respectievelijk 22 en 23 exemplaren. Ook dit jaar waren er weer zomermeldingen van
490 Dougalls Stern / Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii, adult, Neeltje Jans, Zeeland, 13 augustus 2004 (Pim A Wolf)
345
Recente meldingen
491 Marmereend / Marbled Duck Marmaronetta angustirostris, juveniel, Pannerden, Gelderland, 15 augustus 2004 (Patrick Palmen) 492 Porseleinhoen / Spotted Crake Porzana porzana, Starrevaart, Leidschendam, Zuid-Holland, 18 augustus 2004 (Chris van Rijswijk)
346
Recente meldingen Zeearenden Haliaeetus albicilla, en wel van 10 tot 15 juli en op 27 augustus in de Oostvaardersplassen, op 17 juli over Noordpolderzijl, Groningen, op 1 augustus bij Haarlem, Noord-Holland, en op 15 augustus in de Wieringermeer, Noord-Holland. Op 6 juli werd een Vale Gier Gyps fulvus gemeld bij Midwolda. Vanaf 7 juli werd wederom een Slangenarend Circaetus gallicus gezien op het Deelensche Veld op De Hoge Veluwe, Gelderland. Tot 31 juli werd de soort hier regelmatig gemeld. Andere meldingen kwamen op 5 juli van De Hamert en op 9 juli van de Engbertsdijksvenen, Overijssel. Buiten de broedgebieden werden in augustus slechts drie doortrekkende Grauwe Kiekendieven Circus pygargus gezien. Een Arendbuizerd Buteo rufinus werd op 9 juli gezien en gefotografeerd in de Ezumakeeg, Friesland; op 28 augustus was er ook een melding boven Sint Laurens, Zeeland. Een lichte vorm Dwergarend Hieraaetus pennatus werd op 7 juli gemeld over Leiden, Zuid-Holland. Tussen 21 juli en 22 augustus werden 16 Roodpootvalken Falco vespertinus gezien, met een piekje tussen 6 en 10 augustus. RALLEN TOT ALKEN Het Kleinste Waterhoen Porzana
pusilla van het gebied Lentevreugd bij Wassenaar, Zuid-Holland, riep daar nog tot 12 augustus; mogelijk waren er twee exemplaren aanwezig. Buiten de omgeving van het Focheloërveen, Drenthe/Friesland, werden Kraanvogels Grus grus gezien tot 20 augustus bij Midwolda, op 9 augustus acht over Boerakker, Groningen, van 13 tot 29 augustus vijf bij het Jaap Deensgat in de Lauwersmeer, Groningen, en van 28 augustus tot in september bij de Landschotse Heide, Noord-Brabant. Een broedgeval van Steltkluut Himantopus himantopus vond dit jaar plaats bij Cillaarshoek, Zuid-Holland; drie jongen werden grootgebracht. Op 18 juli werden de ouders nog gezien met twee jongen. Andere verbleven op 20 juli (drie) in de Sloehaven, Zeeland, en op 30 juli (vier) in de Autrichepolder bij Sas van Gent, Zeeland. Een Griel Burhinus oedicnemus kwam op 7 juli bij Westkapelle aanvliegen over zee, landde op de dijk en pleisterde vervolgens enkele uren achter de dijk. Morinelplevieren Charadrius morinellus werden gezien vanaf 11 augustus, maar vooral na 22 augustus met als grootste groepen pleisteraars maximaal 22 tussen 23 en 30 augustus op de Maasvlakte en maximaal 17 van 24 tot 26 augustus in de Prunjepolder. Voorts werden er 20 ter plaatse en niet minder dan 73 overvliegers opgemerkt, waaronder een groep van 37 op 26 augustus langs de Vijfhoek bij Diemen, Noord-Holland. Spectaculair maar helaas niet te bezoeken was de vierde Roodkeelstrandloper Calidris ruficollis voor ons land: een adult in zomerkleed verbleef op 6 juli nog geen twee uur op de Slikken van Flakkee, Zuid-Holland. Een mogelijke Kleinste Strandloper C minutilla werd op 10 augustus (te) kort gezien in het Wagejot op Texel. Bonapartes Strandloper C fuscicollis behoort inmiddels tot de regelmatige zeldzaamheden in de zomermaanden met in deze periode vijf meldingen: van 12 tot 15 juli in de Ezumakeeg, op 24 juli in polder Breebaart, Groningen, van 24 tot 26
juli in polder IJdoorn bij Durgerdam, Noord-Holland, op 31 juli en 1 augustus bij Westhoek, Friesland, en op 1 augustus op Terschelling, Friesland. Op 14 augustus zou er wederom één de Ezumakeeg hebben bezocht. De jaarlijkse oogst aan Gestreepte Strandlopers C melanotos bedroeg in juli en augustus 18 exemplaren op 14 locaties. De Steltstrandloper C himantopus van de Ezumakeeg bleef daar tot 12 juli. Er werden meer Breedbekstrandlopers Limicola falcinellus dan gebruikelijk gezien: van 11 tot 13 juli in polder IJdoorn, van 17 tot 26 juli in polder Breebaart met een maximum van vijf op 24 juli, en op 21 en 22 augustus met op de eerste dag drie, van 10 tot 14 augustus in de Scherpenissepolder, Zeeland, met op de laatste dag twee, vanaf 10 augustus regelmatig één in de Prunjepolder, Zeeland, op 13 augustus bij Wierum, Friesland, op 14, 22 en 29 augustus bij Zwarte Haan, Friesland, op 15 augustus op Vlieland, op 15 augustus twee en 29 en 30 augustus één bij Westhoek, op 15 augustus bij het Stinkgat op Tholen, Zeeland, op 16 augustus op de Hooge Platen in de Westerschelde, Zeeland, en op 17 augustus bij Achter de Zwarten in de Lauwersmeer, Groningen. Op 6 augustus werd een Poelsnip Gallinago media gemeld in het gebied De Wilck bij Hazerswoude-Rijndijk, Zuid-Holland. In de Lauwersmeer werden van 12 juli tot 18 augustus meerdere Poelruiters Tringa stagnatilis gezien met een maximum van drie op één dag. Buiten het Lauwersmeergebied werden vanaf 10 juli niet minder dan 25 exemplaren gezien, waaronder twee op 25 juli in de Scherpenissepolder en drie op 12 augustus bij Den Oever, Noord-Holland. De Kleine Geelpootruiter T flavipes van de Scherpenissepolder werd daar weer gezien vanaf 30 juli tot in september. Andere werden gemeld op 31 juli bij Nummer Eén, en op 10 en 11 augustus in de Eemshaven, Groningen. De 47 doorgegeven Grauwe Franjepoten Phalaropus lobatus werden, op enkele exemplaren na, alle in augustus gezien, waaronder op 8 augustus drie bij het Rammegors, Zeeland, op 14 augustus vier in de Ezumakeeg en op 31 augustus vijf in het Wagejot op Texel. Een binnenlandwaarneming van een Middelste Jager Stercorarius pomarinus vond plaats op 31 augustus langs de telpost IJmeerdijk. Vanaf 10 augustus vlogen c 15 Kleinste Jagers S longicaudus langs de kust; het merendeel (12) trok langs Westkapelle waarvan alleen al zeven op 31 augustus. In het binnenland vloog een vogel over de Landschotse Heide op 15 augustus en was een juveniele ter plaatse op het Ringselven bij Budel-Dorplein van 21 tot 27 augustus, toen de vogel in verzwakte staat werd opgeraapt (en later overleed). Vanaf 26 augustus vlogen alweer vier Vorkstaartmeeuwen Larus sabini langs de kust. Zowel de Ringsnavelmeeuw L delawarensis van Goes, Zeeland, als die van Tiel, Gelderland, werden weer gezien, respectievelijk vanaf 27 juli en 4 augustus. Voor de vogel van Goes is dit het achtste seizoen. Vanaf 29 augustus was voor het negende jaar de adulte Grote Burgemeester L hyperboreus aanwezig in Den Helder, Noord-Holland. Onvolwassen vogels werden gemeld van 11 juli tot 1 augustus in Katwijk aan Zee, Zuid-Holland, op 22 juli langs de Langevelder-
347
Recente meldingen
493 Woudaap / Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus, adult mannetje, Zevenhuizen, Zuid-Holland, 30 augustus 2004 (Chris van Rijswijk) 494 Zwarte Ooievaars / Black Storks Ciconia nigra, Strabrechtse Heide, Noord-Brabant, 9 september 2004 (Harm Niesen) 495 Zwarte Ooievaar / Black Stork Ciconia nigra, juveniel, Larserweg, Flevoland, 6 september 2004 (Hans ter Haar) 496 Griel / Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus, Westkapelle, Zeeland, 7 juli 2004 (Pim A Wolf)
348
Recente meldingen
497 Kleinste Jager / Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus, juveniel, Budel-Dorplein, Noord-Brabant, 21 augustus 2004 (Ran Schols) 498 Kleinste Jager / Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus, juveniel, Budel-Dorplein, Noord-Brabant, 26 augustus 2004 (Rob G Bouwman)
349
Recente meldingen
499 Witwangstern / Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida, adult, Budel-Dorplein, Noord-Brabant, 12 augustus 2004 (Rob G Bouwman) 500 Lachstern / Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica, Schagerbrug, Noord-Holland, 17 augustus 2004 (Harm Niesen) 501 Ringsnavelmeeuw / Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis, adult, Goes, Zeeland, 23 augustus 2004 (Harm Niesen) 502 Reuzenstern / Caspian Tern Sterna caspia, met Visdief / Common Tern S hirundo, Stellendam, Zuid-Holland, 30 augustus 2004 (Rudi Dujardin)
slag, op 7 augustus op het Kennemermeer bij IJmuiden, op 22 en 26 augustus bij de Bokkedoorns en op 31 augustus langs de Maasvlakte. De eerste Lachstern Gelochelidon nilotica werd vanaf 6 juli gezien in de polders bij ’t Zand, Noord-Holland. Hier waren regelmatig exemplaren aanwezig, met van 15 tot 22 augustus een maximum van 13 vogels. Vanaf 17 juli werden elders in het land 18 langsvliegende en 10 ter plaatse gezien. Aan de Friese IJsselmeerkust pleisterden vanaf 4 juli meerdere Reuzensterns Sterna caspia waarvan het aantal in de loop van augustus toenam tot maximaal c 75 (verspreid over de locaties Makkum, Piaam, Workumerwaard en Steile Bank). Het hoogste aantal op één plek was 71 op 21 augustus in de Makkumerzuidwaard. Andere pleisterplaatsen (met maxima in augustus) waren: 13 in het Lauwersmeergebied, eveneens 13 in het gebied Drontermeer-Vossemeer, Flevo-
350
land, en zes bij Stellendam, Zuid-Holland. Elders werden nog c 35 exemplaren gemeld, al dan niet ter plaatse. Op 13 augustus werd aan de Oosterscheldekering, Zeeland, een adulte, aan beide poten geringde, Dougalls Stern S dougallii ontdekt die evenwel niet lang bleef zitten; de vogel bleek te zijn geringd op Rockabill, Dublin, Ierland. Later die dag werd daar mogelijk ook een juveniele gezien. Op 2 augustus was er een claim van een Brilstern S anaethetus in de vaargeul voor de kust van Dishoek, Zeeland. Witwangsterns Chlidonias hybrida werden waargenomen op 4 en 5 juli in de Onnerpolder bij het Zuidlaardermeer, Groningen, op 10 augustus bij de Grevelingendam, Zeeland, op 12 augustus bij Budel-Dorplein en op 24 en 30 augustus langs Westkapelle. Er werden vanaf 10 juli c 75 Witvleugelsterns C leucopterus doorgegeven met het zwaartepunt van de waarnemingen in augustus
Recente meldingen
503 Zwarte Wouw / Black Kite Milvus migrans, Kennemermeer, IJmuiden, Noord-Holland, 10 augustus 2004 (Ronald van Dijk) 504 Ortolaan / Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana, Zuidpier, IJmuiden, Noord-Holland, 18 augustus 2004 (Maarten Pieter Lantsheer) 505 Breedbekstrandloper / Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus, adult, IJdoorn, Noord-Holland, 12 juli 2004 (Leo J R Boon/Cursorius) 506 Bonapartes Strandloper / Whiterumped Sandpiper Caldidris fuscicollis, Ezumakeeg, Friesland, 12 juli 2004 (Dusan ˘ M Brinkhuizen) en voornamelijk in het IJsselmeergebied. Pleisterplaatsen (met maxima in augustus) waren bijvoorbeeld 13 bij Delfzijl, Groningen, zes in de Workumerwaard, vier op de Steile Bank en vier bij Den Oever. Op 29 juli vloog een Zwarte Zeekoet Cepphus grylle langs Camperduin. Alpengierzwaluwen Apus melba vlogen op 15 juli bij Deventer, Overijssel, en op 19 juli in de AW-duinen bij Zandvoort, NoordHolland. Op 4 en 5 juli waren acht Bijeneters Merops apiaster, waaronder enkele juveniele, aanwezig in de Scherpenissepolder. Andere vlogen op 20 juli over het Jan van den Boschpad, Flevoland, op 28 juli (alleen roepend gehoord) over Vlaardingen, Zuid-Holland, op 6 augustus over Castricum, Noord-Holland, en op 9 augustus over de duinen bij Bergen. Een Hop Upupa
GIERZWALUWEN TOT GORZEN
epops verbleef op 20 augustus bij Montfort, Limburg. Het vermelden waard is het verhaal van twee juveniele Rotszwaluwen Ptyonoprogne rupestris die door een zorgzame vogelaar op vakantie vanuit de Ardêche, Frankrijk (waar een nest met drie jongen van een wand was gevallen en twee jongen overleefden), werden meegenomen naar Den Haag, Zuid-Holland; één jong ontsnapte daar bij thuiskomst en de andere werd op 22 augustus losgelaten. Op 31 augustus werd al een Grote Pieper Anthus richardi gemeld bij Wieringerwerf. De eerste Duinpieper A campestris vloog op 27 juli over het Grafven op de Strabrechtse Heide. De overige 21 die doorgegeven werden volgden in augustus. Een blonde tapuit Oenanthe hispanica/melanoleuca werd op 14 juli gemeld bij Herkingen, Zuid-Holland, maar kon door toegesnelde vogelaars niet worden teruggevonden. Cetti’s Zangers Cettia cetti werden waargeno-
351
Recente meldingen
507 Struikrietzanger / Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum, Groene Glop, Schiermonnikoog, Friesland, 29 juli 2004 (Henri Bouwmeester) men op 18 en van 29 tot 31 augustus bij Stellendam, op 23 augustus in het Zwanenwater, Noord-Holland, en op 29 augustus bij Cadzand-Bad, Zeeland. De vogel van het Zwanenwater was daar naar verluidt al vanaf april aanwezig. Er waren Graszangers Cisticola juncidis aanwezig op 7 en 21 juli en 3 en 28 augustus bij Westkapelle, op 16 juli – maar vermoedelijk de hele periode – in het Verdronken Land van Saeftinge, vanaf 18 juli één en in augustus minstens vier op het schor bij Hoofdplaat en het Paulinaschor, Zeeland, op 24 juli in de Lauwersmeer, en op 4 en 11 augustus bij Westenschouwen, Zeeland. De drie Orpheusspotvogels Hippolais polyglotta bleven tot 4 juli bij De Weerribben, Overijssel, en bij Terziet, Limburg, en tot 5 juli bij Ter Apel, Groningen. Op 29 juli werd een Struikrietzanger Acrocephalus dumetorum geringd op Schiermonnikoog. Vanaf die datum werden c 40 Waterrietzangers A paludicola vastgesteld waarvan er 18 werden gevangen en geringd; de hotspot wat betreft vangsten was het Verdronken Land van Saeftinge. De Bakkersdam bij Petten, Noord-Holland, en het Kennemermeer waren de plaatsen waar er meerdere werden gezien, met dagmaxima van drie. Sperwergrasmussen Sylvia nisoria werden vastgesteld op 2 augustus (vangst) te Westenschouwen, op 9 augustus (vangst) op Schiermonnikoog, op 11 augustus (vangst) in De Kennemerduinen, Noord-Holland, op 14, 15 en 16 augustus bij Westkapelle, op 15 augustus op Texel, op
508 Waterrietzanger / Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola, Bakkersdam, Petten, Noord-Holland, 7 augustus 2004 (Harm Niesen) 24 augustus op Schiermonnikoog, op 28 augustus twee op de noordoostpunt van Vlieland en op 29 augustus op de Maasvlakte. Grauwe Fitissen Phylloscopus trochiloides werden gemeld op 4 augustus in Wageningen, Gelderland, op 24 augustus in Groningen, Groningen, en op 27 augustus bij Rolde, Drenthe. Er was een vangst op 9 augustus in het Groene Glop op Schiermonnikoog; er was dit jaar echter geen bewijs voor een broedgeval op het eiland. Het verblijf van een zingend mannetje Withalsvliegenvanger Ficedula albicollis van 8 mei tot 27 juni op de Noord-Ginkel bij Ede, Gelderland, werd helaas pas achteraf bekend gemaakt. Een vrouwtje Roodkopklauwier Lanius senator werd op 16 juli aangetroffen bij Muntendam, Groningen. Ortolanen Emberiza hortulana waren met slechts 12 exemplaren vanaf 14 augustus schaars.
Ruud M van Dongen, Taalstraat 162, 5261 BJ Vught, Nederland Klaas Haas, Turkooisstraat 8, 9743 KZ Groningen, Nederland ([email protected]) Peter W W de Rouw, Schoolstraat 3-bis, 3581 PM Utrecht, Nederland ([email protected])
België EENDEN TOT REIGERS Op 13 juli vlogen twee Casarca’s Tadorna ferruginea over Lier-Anderstad en op 22 augustus pleisterde er een bij Lokeren, Oost-Vlaande-
352
ren. Twee suspecte Marmereenden Marmaronetta angustirostris zwommen op 1 september op de Leie in Deinze, Oost-Vlaanderen. De hele maand bleef een paar Krooneenden Netta rufina aanwezig in Harchies, Hainaut. Van 1 tot 29 juli verbleef een mannetje op
Recente meldingen Blokkersdijk, Antwerpen, en op 5 juli werd een geslaagd broedgeval vastgesteld bij Oostende. Op 8 en 28 augustus zwom een vrouwtje op het Meer van Virelles, Hainaut. Verrassend was de wel erg vroege terugkeer van het mannetje Ringsnaveleend Aythya collaris naar de Hamputten in Waasmunster, OostVlaanderen, op 22 augustus. De aanwezigheid van het vrouwtje Witoogeend A nyroca op 28 augustus in Harchies-Hensies, is dubieus te noemen. Op 14 augustus zwom een mannetje Topper A marila in de Voorhaven van Zeebrugge, West-Vlaanderen. Een Nonnetje Mergellus albellus in vrouwtjeskleed werd op 31 juli waargenomen bij Ieper, West-Vlaanderen. Van 8 tot 29 juli pleisterde de Roodhalsfuut Podiceps grisegena weer op Blokkersdijk. De eerste juveniele dook reeds op 15 augustus op in Duffel-Rumst, Antwerpen. Het exemplaar van de Gavers in Harelbeke, WestVlaanderen, bleef de hele periode aanwezig. In Ittre, Brabant-Wallon, werd op 21 augustus een Noordse Stormvogel Fulmarus glacialis opgeraapt. Op 26 en 29 augustus vloog er telkens één Grauwe Pijlstormvogel Puffinus griseus langs De Panne, West-Vlaanderen, en op 30 augustus passeerden er daar vier. Op 9 juli vloog reeds een Noordse Pijlstormvogel P puffinus langs De Panne. Op 30 en 31 augustus trokken hier respectievelijk negen en één voorbij. Ook de enige twee Vale Pijlstormvogels P mauretanicus werden opgemerkt langs De Panne, en wel op 26 augustus. Op dezelfde dag werden hier ook de eerste twee Vale Stormvogeltjes Oceanodroma leucorhoa gezien. Op 31 augustus waren er waarnemingen langs De Panne (drie) en Oostende, West-Vlaanderen (twee). Nu en dan was er in augustus lichte beweging van Jan-van-genten Morus bassanus waar te nemen, met als uitschieter 761 langs De Panne op 26 augustus. Naast de broedparen bleef een ongepaard mannetje Woudaap Ixobrychus minutus aanwezig in Heverlee, Vlaams-Brabant. Het eerste juveniele exemplaar dook op bij Wachtebeke, OostVlaanderen, en op 11 juli was er een ringvangst bij Liedekerke, Vlaams-Brabant. Drie Kwakken Nycticorax nycticorax (twee adulte en een eerste-zomer) bleven nog tot 4 juli in Zonhoven, Limburg. Op 15 augustus vlogen hier drie exemplaren luid roepend over en op 21 en 22 augustus was hier nog één adulte aanwezig. Op 3 en 4 juli werd een exemplaar in eerste zomerkleed gezien in Lier-Duffel, Antwerpen. Op 29 juli vloog er één over Oudenaarde, Oost-Vlaanderen. Juveniele verschenen bij Attenhoven, Limburg (tot twee exemplaren van 3 tot 18 augustus), in De Gavers in Harelbeke (15 augustus) en in De Maat in Mol, Antwerpen (tot drie exemplaren van 17 tot 20 augustus). Er werden weer de normale aantallen Kleine Zilverreigers Egretta garzetta vastgesteld. De tellingen op de bekende verzamelplaatsen lagen echter hoger dan de vorige jaren: maximaal 10 in de IJzermonding in Nieuwpoort, West-Vlaanderen (12 en 17 augustus); 14 aan de Verrebroekse Plassen, Oost-Vlaanderen (5 augustus); 58 in Het Zwin in Knokke, West-Vlaanderen (8 augustus); en 83 in Lissewege, West-Vlaanderen (26 augustus). Op de volgende plaatsen werden Grote Zilverreigers Casmerodius albus gezien: Brecht,
Antwerpen; Etalle, Luxembourg; vijf in HarchiesHensies; Knokke; Schulen, Limburg; Willebroek, Antwerpen; en maximaal drie in Zonhoven. Vanaf 24 juli kwam de trek van Purperreigers Ardea purpurea opgang, met in totaal 18 exemplaren. Het aantal najaarswaarnemingen van Zwarte Ooievaars Ciconia nigra buiten de Ardense broedgebieden blijft elk jaar toenemen: vanaf 27 juli werden 11 exemplaren getotaliseerd (waarvan negen op 29 juli) en in augustus volgden nog eens 31 met een doortrekpiek van 18 tot 20 augustus. In Wallonië werden trekkende Zwarte Ooievaars gezien in Anhée, Namur; Bersillies, Hainaut; Châtillon, Luxembourg (vijf); Feluy, Hainaut (vier); Gérouville, Luxembourg (vier); en Torgny (acht). De toename ligt bij Ooievaar C ciconia nog veel extremer: de eerste twee trokken op 22 juli over Amay, Liège, en op 30 juli over Lier, gevolgd door drie op 1 augustus (Alken, Limburg) en twee op 8 augustus (Lier). Vanaf 12 augustus werden er bijna 1000 opgemerkt (zonder dubbelmeldingen). De grootste groepen telden 52 (Mechelen, 22 augustus), 70 (Liège, Liège, 29 augustus), 85 (Merendre, Oost-Vlaanderen, 23 en 24 augustus), 92 (Thuin, Hainaut, 25 augustus) en 99 exemplaren (Mechelen, 28 augustus). Er waren weer geslaagde broedgevallen in Horion, Liège, en in Daknam, OostVlaanderen. WESPENDIEVEN TOT ALKEN Vanaf 10 juli kwam de trek
van Wespendieven Pernis apivorus langzaam op gang. Het hoogtepunt van de trek viel tussen 18 en 23 augustus met bijvoorbeeld 12 over Mechelen en over Brecht en 16 over Anhée. Op 5 juli vloog een Zwarte Wouw Milvus migrans over Gooreind-Wuustwezel. Vanaf 16 augustus volgden waarnemingen in Geel-Oosterlo, Antwerpen (16 augustus); Torgny, Luxembourg (twee op 18 en een op 20 augustus); Watervliet, Oost-Vlaanderen (20 augustus); Clermont, Liège (26 augustus); en in Harchies (28 augustus). In totaal 10 tot 15 Rode Wouwen M milvus trokken op 11 augustus over FreuxMoircy, Luxembourg; één vloog al op 28 juli over Schulen en op 14 augustus waren er waarnemingen in Oostmalle-Zoersel, Antwerpen, en Kortrijk, WestVlaanderen. Verder waren er waarnemingen van trekkers in Torgny op 19 en 28 augustus en in Amberloup, Luxembourg, op 29 augustus. In aanvulling op de vorige rubriek (Dutch Birding 26: 281-283, 2004) dient te worden vermeld dat op 20 mei een laag overvliegende Schreeuwarend Aquila pomarina werd opgemerkt boven het Schulensbroek. Op 13 juli joeg een Grauwe Kiekendief Circus pygargus in de Uitkerkse Polders en op 31 juli was er een waarneming in Vichte, WestVlaanderen. Er waren verder meldingen in Torgny op 15 en 18 augustus; in Gerny, Liège, op 17, 18, 25 en 26 augustus; in Fize-Fontaine, Liège, op 21 augustus; in Harchies en in Waterloo, Brabant-Wallon, op 24 augustus; in Burdinne, Namur, op 25 augustus; en in Clermont en in Othée, Liège, op 26 augustus. Er waren juliwaarnemingen van Visarenden Pandion haliaetus in Ligneuville, Liège, op 21 juli; in Lier-Duffel op 24 juli en in Tienen op 29 juli. De trek barstte los op 10 augustus waarna er nog c 51 exemplaren werden getotali-
353
Recente meldingen seerd; als maximum vlogen er op 18 augustus vier over de telpost bij Torgny. Er werden Roodpootvalken Falco vespertinus gezien in Fintele, West-Vlaanderen, op 19 augustus en in Kieldrecht, Oost-Vlaanderen, op 21 augustus. Verrassend was de verschijning van een – weliswaar mak – vrouwtje Korhoen Tetrao tetrix bij Zichem, Vlaams-Brabant, op 17 en 18 juli. Porseleinhoenders Porzana porzana deden het met in totaal 45 exemplaren beter dan de voorgaande najaren. Een te korte waarnemingsduur liet geen specifieke determinatie toe van een Klein/Kleinst Waterhoen P parva/pusilla op de opgespoten terreinen van Oudenaarde op 9 augustus. Een juveniel Klein Waterhoen liet zich van 26 augustus tot 1 september wel regelmatig en goed zien op de bezinkingsputten van Hollogne-sur-Geer, Liège. Er waren ringvangsten van Kwartelkoningen Crex crex in Anzegem, West-Vlaanderen, op 15 augustus en in Nokere, Oost-Vlaanderen, op 22 augustus. In Harchies werden op 6 juli twee Steltkluten Himantopus himantopus waargenomen. De ontsnapte hybride Steltkluut x Kluut Recurvirostra avosetta bleef de hele periode aanwezig in de moerassen van Harchies-Hensies. Een juveniele Griel Burhinus oedicnemus liet zich van 20 tot 31 augustus gemakkelijk vinden op een akker bij Boneffe, Namur. Een Morinelplevier Charadrius morinellus vloog op 14 augustus over Relegem, Oost-Vlaanderen. Boneffe pakte uit met een Morinellenshow die van dag tot dag verschilde, zo werden hier eind augustus vermoedelijk rond de 100 exemplaren opgemerkt met als maxima 28 op 20 augustus, 26 op 25 augustus en 44 op 26 augustus. Ook andere plaatsen volgden: Donceel, Liège (drie); Hérinnes, Hainut (zeven); Leefdaal (drie); Merdorp, Namur (vijf); en Overwinden, Vlaams-Brabant (c 46). Maxima waren 29 exemplaren bij Burdinne op 26 augustus; 19 bij Overwinden op 19 en 20 augustus; en 12 bij Seraing-le-Chateau, Luxembourg, op 24 augustus. Er verbleven Temmincks Strandlopers Calidris temminckii in Hollogne-sur-Geer (17 juli), Tienen (twee
op 18 en 19 juli); Stuivekenskerke, West-Vlaanderen (twee op 20 juli); Longchamps (22 juli en tot maximaal vijf van 4 tot 9 augustus); Uitkerke (29 juli); en Zeebrugge (21 augustus). Op 31 juli was er een waarneming van een Gestreepte Strandloper C melanotos in Veurne, West-Vlaanderen, maar echt pleisterende exemplaren zijn erg zeldzaam in België. Een Kleine Geelpootruiter Tringa flavipes foerageerde op 30 juli in Het Zwin in Knokke; waarschijnlijk deze vogel werd een dag later in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, Nederland, opgemerkt. Poelruiters T stagnatilis deden het niet echt slecht met waarnemingen in Longchamps van 17 tot 26 juli; in de Uitkerkse Polders op 5 augustus; kortstondig in Nieuwpoort op 14 augustus; in Hologne-sur-Geer op 14 augustus (twee juveniele); en in de Achterhaven van Zeebrugge op 17 augustus. Op 20 augustus zwom kortstondig een Grauwe Franjepoot Phalaropus lobatus in de Baai van Heist. Van 23 tot 28 augustus liet een eerste-winter zich vaak mooi bekijken op het Noordelijk Eiland in Wintam en op 28 augustus pleisterde er een op het Spaarbekken van Merkem. Op 14 augustus vlogen er al 24 Middelste Jagers Stercorarius pomarinus langs De Panne en zes langs Koksijde. Langs De Panne vlogen er nog eens vier op 26 en één op 30 augustus. In Oostende was er nog een waarneming op 31 augustus. Langs Relegem, Vlaams-Brabant, vlogen op 14 augustus twee Kleine Jagers S parasiticus en langs Torgny vloog er één op 18 augustus. Zes Kleinste Jagers S longicaudus vlogen langs De Panne en één langs Oostende op 26 augustus. Bij De Panne volgde er nog één op 27 augustus. Drie Grote Jagers S skua werden gezien in De Panne op 9 juli. Op 14 augustus was er een binnenlandwaarneming in Hogne, Namur. Langs De Panne vloog één exemplaar op 21 augustus, telkens twee op 26 en 31 augustus en drie op 30 augustus. Tot 22 juli bleef er een redelijke spreiding van waarnemingen van Zwartkopmeeuwen Larus melanocephalus. Daarna was de soort plots opvallend afwezig met in augustus slechts
509 Klein Waterhoen / Little Crake Porzana parva, Hollogne, Liège, 27 augustus 2004 (Vincent Legrand)
510 Graszanger / Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis, Bourgoyen-Ossemeersen, Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, 9 september 2004 (Benny Cottele)
354
Recente meldingen
5211 Krekelzanger / River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis, Viersels Gebroekt, Antwerpen, 9 juli 2004 (Kris De Rouck) drie waarnemingen van solitaire vogels. De enige Vorkstaartmeeuw L sabini vloog op 15 augustus langs Oostende; het ging om een adulte. Op 17 juli werden in de Maasvallei bij Amay, Liège, meer dan 40 Geelpootmeeuwen L michahellis geteld. In augustus waren er gespreid over Vlaanderen nog 13 waarnemingen. Er verbleven Pontische Meeuwen L cachinnans in Gaurain-Ramecroix, Hainaut, op 27 juli; in Lier-Duffel op 4 en 5 augustus (twee); in Nieuwpoort op 21 augustus en in Drongen op 27 augustus. Op 14 en 15 augustus pleisterde er verrassend een juveniele Drieteenmeeuw Rissa tridactyla op Blokkersdijk. Dezelfde vogel bezocht op 14 augustus het Noordelijk Eiland in Wintam en op 16 augustus vloog hij boven de Schelde in Antwerpen, Antwerpen. Over zee bij Oostende passeerden op 15 augustus twee adulte Lachsterns Gelochelidon nilotica en op 21 augustus trok er één langs De Haan. De adulte Dougalls Stern Sterna dougallii werd op 22 juli nog een laatste maal gezien in de Voorhaven van Zeebrugge. Op 4 en 5 juli vertoefde een adulte Witwangstern Chlidonias hybrida in zomerkleed op het Noordelijk Eiland in Wintam. Langs De Panne vloog op 14 augustus zowel een adulte als een juveniele Witvleugelstern C leucopterus. Een dode Alk Alca torda werd op 14 augustus opgeraapt in de Voorhaven van Zeebrugge. Een Zwarte Zeekoet Cepphus grylle in juveniel kleed of winterkleed vloog op 30 augustus langs De Panne. GIERZWALUWEN TOT GORZEN Voor het eerst konden
Belgische trektellers een geconcentreerde trek van Gierzwaluwen Apus apus optekenen. Het gros passeerde op 10 augustus met topaantallen van 1624 over Moen, West-Vlaanderen, en 1506 over Mechelen. Hoppen Upupa epops bleven het nog relatief goed doen met waarnemingen in Dadizele, West-Vlaanderen, op 11 augustus, bij Leefdaal op 21 augustus en in Oudergem, Vlaams-Brabant, op 22 augustus. In Wachtebeke waren tijdens dit broedseizoen negen tot 10 Bijeneters Merops apiaster aanwezig. Er waren drie succesvolle broedgevallen met eenmaal drie en tweemaal tenminste twee jongen. Bovendien was er nog een vierde broedgeval bij Oostakker, Oost-Vlaanderen. Op 5 augustus werden de eerste twee Draaihalzen Jynx torquilla van het najaar geringd in Willebroek. Vanaf 12 augustus volgden er in totaal nog minstens 35. Op 23 augustus was er een melding van een Kortteenleeuwerik Calandrella brachydactyla in de Voorhaven van Zeebrugge. Zeer uitzonderlijk voor de periode was een Roodstuitzwaluw Hirundo daurica die op 21 augustus foerageerde in Kallo-Melsele, Oost-Vlaanderen. De eerste trekkende Duinpieper Anthus campestris werd op 10 augustus opgemerkt in Maubray, Hainaut. In totaal werden er nog 102 opgetekend waaronder de maximumtelling van 18 vogels in Merdorp-Thisnes op 25 augustus. De kleine influx verliep ongeveer simultaan met die van Morinelplevieren, zowel wat timing als biotoopkeuze betreft; de enige uitzondering hierop vormde het vliegveld in Oostmalle-Zoersel, dat traditioneel tekent voor het gros van de Vlaamse waarne-
355
Recente meldingen mingen. Een vogel met de kenmerken van een mannetje Iberische Kwikstaart Motacilla iberiae werd op 28 juli gezien in de Oude Vrede in Knokke. Noordse Nachtegalen Luscinia luscinia werden geringd in Tongeren, Limburg (begin augustus) en in Binche, Hainaut, op 15 augustus. Zingende Graszangers Cisticola juncidis waren aanwezig in de Verdronken Weiden in Ieper (10 juli); in Gent-Malem (11 juli); in de Uitkerkse Polders (14 juli); in Kallo-Doel (29 juli tot 5 augustus); in de Gentse Kanaalzone (vanaf 22 augustus, geslaagd broedgeval); en in Knokke (27 augustus). In Beernem, West-Vlaanderen, vloog een exemplaar langs op 5 augustus en in de Achterhaven van Zeebrugge handhaafde de vaste populatie zich met ten minste 16 exemplaren. Op 1 juli zong een Krekelzanger Locustella fluviatilis in Harchies en van 6 tot 10 juli was er één zeer goed te zien in het Viersels Gebroekt, Antwerpen. Snorren L luscinioides zongen nog in Emblem en in het Viersels Gebroekt op 14 juli. Tussen 16 juli en 24 augustus waren er 34 ringvangsten van deze soort. Er waren veldwaarnemingen van Waterrietzangers Acrocephalus paludicola in Lier-Anderstad op 22 augustus in de Gentse Kanaalzone bij Oostakker vanaf 28 augustus tot in september. Er werden ten minste 35 ringvangsten gemeld met vier keer vier vogels per plaats per dag. Wellicht ligt het werkelijke aantal ringvangsten veel hoger. Tussen 25 juli en 27 augustus werden er ook minimaal acht Grote Karekieten A arun-
dinaceus geringd. In Koksijde werd op 22 juli een Orpheusspotvogel Hippolais polyglotta geringd en op 17 augustus vloog er een in de netten op De Kuifeend bij Antwerpen. Op 24 juli was er een veldwaarneming in Lier-Anderstad. De eerste Sperwergrasmus Sylvia nisoria voor het najaar werd op 27 augustus geringd in Turnhout, Antwerpen. Hier pleisterde op 6 augustus kortstondig een Buidelmees Remiz pendulinus. Op 24 augustus zat er een Grauwe Klauwier Lanius collurio in De Maten in Genk en op 24 augustus was er een ringvangst van een juveniele vogel in het Grenspark in Essen, Antwerpen. Op 18 juli verbleef een Roodkopklauwier L senator bij Sohier, Luxembourg. De ondertussen klassieke zomertrek van Kruisbekken Loxia curvirostra bouwde gestaag op in juli en bereikte een duidelijke piek tussen 27 en 30 juli (maximum met 51 vogels in Gooreind-Wuustwezel). Rond 20 augustus nam het aantal waarnemingen sterk af. Er werden Ortolanen Emberiza hortulana waargenomen in Tienen op 2 augustus; in Oostmalle-Zoersel op 21 augustus en 7 september; en in Torgny (twee) op 28 augustus. De hulp van al diegenen die (hun) waarnemingen inspraken op de Natuurpunt-Vogellijn was hier onontbeerlijk. De Natuurpunt-Vogellijn is alleen vanuit België bereikbaar op het nummer 0900-00194 (EUR 0.45/min), de NatuurpuntInspreeklijn is te bereiken op 0800-11194 (gratis). De Waalse gegevens werden in hoofdzaak geput uit de AVES-website.
Gerald Driessens, Pastoriestraat 16, 2500 Lier, België ([email protected])
DB Actueel New species of rail A new species of rail was discovered on the remote island of Calayan, 70 km north of Luzon, Philippines. It was named Calayan Rail Gallirallus calayanensis after the island on which it was found, which is the largest island in the Babuyan island group lying between Batanes and Luzon (Allen, D, Española, C P, Oliveros, C H, Broad, G & Gonzales, J C T 2004. A new species of Gallirallus from Calayan island, Philippines. Forktail 20: 1-7). Calayan is still largely covered by rainforest and has c 8500 residents; it was last visited by ornithologists 100 years ago, in 1903-04. The discovery was made by a team of nine volunteer wildlife researchers from Britain and the Philippines, led by Genevieve Broad and Carl Oliveros, conducting a survey of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians on the islands from April to June 2004. On 11 May, Carmela Española, a Filipino wildlife biologist, found a group of the dark brown rails with conspicuous orange-red bill and legs foraging in the undergrowth near a stream in the rainforest, at an altitude of c 300 m. Her notes and photographs, and recordings of the birds’ loud, harsh, rasping calls, later helped determine that the species was new to science. Locals, however, know it by the name
356
‘piding’ and apparently birds are sometimes even caught for food. Although its orange-red bill and legs look similar to those of Okinawa Rail G okinawae from Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan, c 1000 km north of Calayan, Calayan Rail lacks the white stripe below the eye and black and white barring on the underparts. During their stay on the island, the expedition team saw adult and juvenile birds on several occasions. Within a 2-km range of the rainforest camp, an estimated 100-200 pairs were recorded; one bird was collected and deposited as holotype at the National Museum of the Philippines, Manila. Further research will be conducted to determine the habitat requirements, abundance and distribution of the rail, working closely with local residents to minimize threats and to encourage long-term initiatives to protect the forest. Although apparently not under immediate threat, the limited distribution of the new species makes it vulnerable to habitat loss and predators introduced to the island such as cats and rats. The species will probably be classified as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. Rails and other similar species are among the bird families with the highest record of recently extinct or [Dutch Birding 26: 356-358, III, 2004]
DB Actueel endangered birds. Of the 20 living species of flightless rail, 18 are considered threatened, and the majority of rail species that have become extinct since 1600 were flightless. Calayan Rail also appears to be nearly or completely flightless and birds were seen skulking in undergrowth or out on open trails, sometimes alone, sometimes in family groups. Rails are obviously a very vulnerable group but it is also a group that still produces new species to science every few years: Okinawa Rail in 1981, Talaud Rail Gymnocrex talaudensis and Talaud Bush-hen Amaurornis magnirostris from Talaud island, Indonesia, both in 1998 and now Calayan Rail in 2004. More information and photographs of the new rail can be found at www.birdlife.org/news/pr/2004/08/calayan_rail.html. ENNO B EBELS Marmereend bij Pannerden Vogelen in het oostelijke rivierengebied, Gelderland, is doorgaans andere koek dan pakweg ‘een dagje Lauwersmeer’ – dat was me de afgelopen twee jaar vanuit mijn nieuwe woonplaats Ede, Gelderland, wel duidelijk geworden. Het is hard werken om een paar krenten in de pap te vinden. Zaterdag 14 augustus 2004 was weer zo’n dag: ploeterend door de zeggeveldjes joeg ik slechts een paar Rietgorzen Emberiza schoeniclus op en De Bijland leverde alleen enkele Zwarte Sterns Chlidonias niger op. De ‘meeuwenhoek’ bracht hier nog enig soelaas met twee juveniele Kleine Strandlopers Calidris minuta en een juveniele Temmincks Strandloper C temminckii, zowaar een leuke soort! Na het pontje bij Pannerden genomen te hebben, stopte ik op de weg terug rond 14:15 bij de Klompenwaard om het plasje te checken op steltlopers: Groenpootruiter Tringa nebularia, Witgat T ochropus, Oeverloper Actitis hypoleucos, Marmereend Marmaronetta angustirostris… Marmereend? Marmereend! Jawel, daar zwom zomaar een Marmereend mijn beeld binnen. Nog eens kijken: de vogel leek in direct zonlicht heel egaal zandkleurig, had geen
zichtbare kuif en de snavel leek erg lang maar de donkere oogvlek was opvallend. Toen de zon achter een wolk verdween kwamen de vlekken op de bovendelen terug. De vogel was misschien wel contrastarm maar dit kon toch alleen een Marmereend zijn, waarschijnlijk een juveniel of een vrouwtje – die stonden echter niet (goed) geïllustreerd in de gids die ik bij me had. Snel een paar plaatjes gemaakt. Eerdere meldingen van mogelijk ‘goede’ Marmereend schoten me te binnen: Oostvaardersdijk, Culemborg, Zwartewaal… Maar dat was allemaal een tijdje geleden en die hebben nooit de CDNA gehaald. Maar als alles in orde zou blijken, zou het toch een nieuwe voor Nederland zijn – weliswaar geen Kaspische Plevier Charadrius asiaticus of iets van die orde, maar toch. Ik belde eerst met Robert Keizer om te vragen hoe hij tegenover de soort stond. Het antwoord was duidelijk: hij ging direct weg van de Oosterscheldekering en kwam eraan. Omdat de vogel er goed uit zag, heb ik hem doorgepiept en Klaas Haas gebeld om hem te informeren. Toen was het zaak aanwijzingen voor een niet-wilde herkomst na te gaan. Al snel werd de vogel opgeschrikt door een laag overvliegende Geelpootmeeuw Larus michahellis, waarbij hij enkele 10-tallen meters vervloog: niks mis met de vleugels. Kort daarna zwom hij naar de kant om daar te gaan poetsen: ongeringde poten. Bovendien was hij zeer alert en schuw. Nogmaals KH gebeld om te vertellen dat de vogel negatief had gescoord op elke indicatie voor een escape. De eend was inmiddels gaan slapen, waardoor het wachten op versterking lang leek te duren. Pas tegen 16:00 arriveerden de eerste vogelaars. Rond 16:15 zagen c 10 man hoe de vogel – waarschijnlijk door verstoring – opvloog en achter de dijk van het Pannerdensch Kanaal verdween, pas later gevolgd door de andere eenden in de plas. Zoeken in de omgeving leverde in eerste instantie niets op. Inmiddels was RK gearriveerd en samen met Erik Ernens en Reinoud Vermoolen ging ook hij zoeken, niet in de Lobber-
512-513 Marmereend / Marbled Duck Marmaronetta angustirostris, juveniel, Pannerden, Gelderland, 15 augustus 2004 (Patrick Palmen)
357
DB Actueel
514 Franklins Meeuw / Franklin’s Gull Larus pipixcan, Kesteren, Gelderland, 18 september 2004 (Toy Janssen) densche Waard waar iedereen al keek, maar bij het plasje ten noorden van het pontje. Hier vonden zij de vogel zittend op de kant en zo werden vele 10-tallen vogelaars in de gelegenheid gesteld om hem te bekijken. Vroeg in de avond verdween hij om teruggevonden te worden langs het kanaal; later op de avond keerde hij terug naar het plasje bij de veerpont. Hier was hij de hele volgende dag en ook op maandag tot laat in de avond aanwezig. Op dinsdag 17 augustus werd hij niet meer aangetroffen en uitgebreide zoekacties in de omgeving leverden niets op. Bestudering van de literatuur had inmiddels bevestigd dat het om een juveniele vogel ging. Hoewel Marmereenden met enige regelmaat waargenomen worden, betreft het doorgaans vogels die tekenen van een herkomst uit gevangenschap tonen. Er zijn in Nederland of omringende landen geen waarnemingen bekend van gekleurringde Spaanse Marmereenden maar oude waarnemingen maken duidelijk dat wilde vogels uit het Middellandse-Zeegebied of verder oostelijk ver ten noorden van hun broedgebieden als dwaalgast kunnen voorkomen, tot in Zuid-Duitsland. Daarom is er een reële kans dat de waarneming van Pannerden als nieuwe soort voor Nederland aanvaard kan worden. RIK WINTERS MARBLED DUCK A juvenile Marbled Duck Marmaronetta angustirostris stayed near Pannerden, Gelderland, the Netherlands, on 14-16 August 2004. The bird was fully winged, unringed and wary. It may therefore be
358
accepted as the first record for the Netherlands. Previous reports relate to (presumed) escapes or lack sufficient documentation. Franklins Meeuw bij Blauwe Kamer Op zaterdag 18 september 2004 arriveerde ik rond 13:00 – een uur of zes later dan gepland en niet top-fit – op de telpost in de Blauwe Kamer bij Rhenen, Utrecht, waar Bas van de Meulengraaf, Merijn Salverda en Reinoud Vermoolen aan het tellen waren. De tweede vogel die ik bekeek was een kleine meeuw die vanuit het westen over de rivier naar het oosten vloog, zoals veel Kokmeeuwen Larus ridibundus doen. ‘Franklins Meeuw!’ Stilte. Wat gemor en gegaap was de reactie. ‘Kijk NU naar die meeuw die eraan komt, dat is een Franklins Meeuw’. Enige consternatie was nu wel het gevolg: kijkers werden opgeraapt, koffiebekers neergezet en wat verbaasde blikken gingen mijn kant op, wellicht meer vanwege mijn euforisch gebrul dan vanwege de claim van een Franklins Meeuw L pipixcan. Weer een korte stilte. ‘Het is er echt een…, een Franklins Meeuw!’ Gekkenhuis. De vogel vloog rustig langs de telpost en duidelijk werd dat het inderdaad ging om een Franklins Meeuw en niet om een Lachmeeuw L atricilla, vanwege de geringe grootte, de koptekening, het Dwergmeeuw L minutus-achtige voorkomen en vooral de witte band die duidelijk zichtbaar was voor de zwarte vleugelpunt. Na c 3 min verdween de vogel uit zicht, ons verbouwereerd achterlatend. Even Wageningen bellen en doorpiepen.
DB Actueel Hoe zou hier op worden gereageerd in Nederland, na twee dolle weken op de telpost met onder andere een juveniele Kleinste Jager Stercorarius longicaudus, een juveniele Middelste Jager S pomarinus en een Roodmus Carpodacus erythrinus, op een nogal gemiddelde post, ergens in het binnenland?! Groot was echter de opluchting toen de meeuw rond 14:00 terugkeerde: hij vloog rustig over de post terug naar west, onderwijl insecten vangend boven onze hoofden. Hij viel in op de Rijn zodat de net aankomende vogelaars hem op redelijk grote afstand zwemmend konden bekijken. Kort daarna vloog hij op en verdween laag achter een dijk. Na inspectie bleek dat de vogel zich tussen Kokmeeuwen en Stormmeeuwen L canus op een akker met een ploegende boer bevond net buiten Kesteren, Gelderland. Hier werd hij prachtig en langdurig gezien en werden foto’s gemaakt op ongeveer 50 m afstand. Waarschijnlijk betrof het een tweede kalenderjaar of misschien een adulte vogel in winterkleed. Nagrijnzend en vooruitkijkend op ‘een avond ter stimulering van de Wageningse middenstand’, keerden de tellers terug naar hun telpost. Rond 17:00 was de boer klaar en vloog de vogel
met andere meeuwen in zuidwestelijke richting weg en kon daarna niet meer worden teruggevonden. Hoewel een poging de avond na de ontdekking zonder resultaat was gebleven, ging Aart Vink op zondag 19 september wederom zoeken tussen de meeuwen langs de Waal bij IJzendoorn, Gelderland. Rond 18:40 vond hij de Franklins Meeuw hier terug tussen Kokmeeuwen en Stormmeeuwen op een strandje aan de zuidzijde van de rivier. Na enige tijd vloog de vogel naar de nabijgelegen meeuwenslaapplaats op het zandgat bij Boven-Leeuwen, Gelderland, waar hij tot donker kon worden bekeken; ook de avonden daarna werd de vogel hier weer aangetroffen, het laatst op 24 september. Het betreft het vijfde geval voor Nederland. HERMAN VAN OOSTEN FRANKLIN’S GULL On 18-24 September 2004, a Franklin’s Gull Larus pipixcan was seen near Rhenen, Utrecht, and nearby Kesteren and Boven-Leeuwen, Gelderland. It was probably an advanced second-year or adult in winter plumage. This is the fifth for the Netherlands.
359
| Corn crake |
Who was the lead singer with the pop group The Mindbenders? | Steinheimer, F. D. 2004. Charles Darwin's bird collection and ornithological knowledge during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, 1831-1836. Journal of Ornithology 145(4): 300-320, 4 figures (appendix [pp. 1-40]).
J Ornithol (2004) 145: 300–320
DOI 10.1007/s10336-004-0043-8
Frank D. Steinheimer
Charles Darwin's bird collection and ornithological knowledge during the voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle", 1831–1836
Received: 19 April 2004 / Revised: 10 May 2004 / Accepted: 10 May 2004 / Published online: 25 June 2004
© Dt. Ornithologen-Gesellschaft e.V. 2004
Abstract This paper analyses Charles Darwin's bird collection and the ornithological knowledge he derived from it during the voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle". Darwin collected 468 bird skins, 10 detached parts of the lesser rhea, and the nests and eggs of 16 different taxa as well as 14 whole birds and 4 parts of birds which he preserved in spirit. He labelled these specimens with a number tag only, cross-referring the number to a notebook entry. Partly because of his limited ornithological knowledge and partly because he was confronted at times with entirely unknown birds, Darwin was often unable to apply the correct generic designations and gave his South American specimens English and Spanish names from literature and the local tongues, as well as the scientific generic names of European birds. Back home, it was John Gould, the prominent ornithologist of the Zoological Society of London, who made sense of Darwin's collection, among his many other scientific achievements correctly identifying the Galápagos finches as a group of closely related birds. Darwin's bird collection did not receive much attention in the latter part of the 19th century. Most of the specimens had their original labels removed and replaced by ones of the custodian institution. Today, original Darwin specimens stemming from the "Beagle" voyage are to be found in at least eight different institutions, but almost half of the bird specimens Darwin collected on the "Beagle" voyage are not accounted for. The appendix to this paper lists for the first time all the birds which Darwin collected during the voyage. Darwin's famous book On the origin of species hardly draws upon any ornithological examples from his voyage on the "Beagle". Nevertheless, Darwin contributed much to ornithology. His collection contained 39 new species and subspecies of birds, mainly described by Gould, and some birds from populations now extinct, and he also made a few very good field observations, published in the sections of The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle dedicated to birds.
Keywords Bird collection · Charles Darwin · Ornithology · Voyage of the "Beagle"
Introduction
Charles Darwin (1809–1882) is often seen as an experienced ornithologist with an expert knowledge of birds. In particular, his discovery of a group of 'finches' (Family Emberizidae) on the Galápagos Islands in September and October 1835, now commonly named 'Darwin's finches',1 cemented his reputation as a field ornithologist par excellence (inter alia Heberer 1959, pp. 33–35; Lack 1961, pp. 9-10; Barlow 1963, p. 261 (footnote 1); de Beer 1963, p. 132; Moorehead 1969, pp. 196–205; Grinnell 1974, pp. 260–261; Schmitz 1983, pp. 56–60; Wehner and Gehring 1990, p. 559; Curio 1993,
Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Ernst Mayr
Communicated by F. Bairlein
Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, Sylter Strasse 18, 90425 Nuremberg, Germany
E-mail: [email protected]
Bird Group, Department of Zoology,
Natural History Museum, Tring, UK
1 The term 'Darwin's finches' was first used by Lowe 1936 (cited in Sulloway 1982b, p. 45) and established by Lack (1961, p. 14), with the argument that "the term 'Galapagos finch' is less satisfactory, since one species, namely Pinaroloxias inornata, occurs not in the Galapagos, but on Cocos Island […]." In fact, Darwin himself had only encountered some of the finch species. In this paper, both Galápagos finches and Darwin's finches are used, according to prevailing usage.
[page] 301
p. 344; cf. Sulloway 1982b, pp. 6–7). This is reflected in passages such as the following by Lack (1961, p. V), who wrote in the preface to Darwin's Finches: "…in 1835, Charles Darwin collected some dull-looking finches on the Galapagos Islands. They proved to be a new group of birds and, together with the giant tortoises and other Galapagos animals, they started a train of thought which culminated in the Origin of Species, and shook the world." Moorehead (1969, p. 202) added: "…it was the number of different species of finch, and the variety of their beaks, that so amazed Darwin."
The general public still sees birds as Darwin's major clue to evolution. Rediscoveries in museum collections of original 'finches' from Darwin's collection made headline news 160 years after the voyage (Anonymous 1996; Clausen 1996; Field 2003), while Darwin's own Galápagos finches were the biggest visitor attraction at a recent touring exhibition (1999–2002) on the early voyages of discovery (Rice 1999).
However, since Kottler (1978) and Sulloway (1979, 1982a, 1982b), the myth of 'Darwin and his finches' has been shown to be just that. We now know that in the field Darwin did not appreciate the close relationship between the different species of finches on the Galápagos Islands. In fact, he actually believed he had collected specimens of five different (sub-) families—finches, grosbeaks, American blackbirds, wrens and warblers—although he did not rule out that the first three at least might be closely related. Darwin did not discuss evolution during his visit to the Galápagos Islands, nor did he subsequently use 'Galápagos finches' in his book (Darwin 1859) On the Origin of Species (Kottler 1978; Sulloway 1979, 1982a, 1982b; Futuyma 1990; Mayr 1994; Quammen 1997; Larson 2001; Keynes 2002, 2003). To him, these birds remained even in latter years "undistinguishable from each other in habits" (Darwin in Gould et al. 1841, p. 99).
Therefore, the question as to what Darwin actually knew about, and contributed to, ornithology seems to be justified (cf. Bourne 1992). Moreover, how much did Darwin actually draw on ornithology from the "Beagle" voyage in developing his theory of evolution?
While undertaking a database project for the Natural History Museum, London/Tring, the author had the opportunity to assemble data on Darwin's entire avian collection. The information which this brought to light on the taxa involved, combined with Darwin's ornithological notes (Barlow 1963; Keynes 2000), permitted a thorough evaluation of Darwin's ornithological knowledge during the voyage of H.M.S.2 "Beagle" in 1831–1836. More than half of Darwin's bird specimens were traced during this research; data for additional birds were added from literature, since all of Darwin's ornithological notes have survived as well. "Lucky we are that Darwin kept up […] collecting throughout his life. If he had not collected and saved specimens, notes, manuscripts, letters, and annotated books, our understanding of his life and motivations would be close to nil" (Porter 1985, p. 974).
Darwin and ornithology before the voyage
No Darwinian bird collection of any kind which predates the voyage of the "Beagle" has survived. In all likelihood there never was one, except for a few eggs and perhaps nests. One can only surmise what ornithological knowledge Darwin would have acquired during his teens and subsequent studies in Britain by looking at his notes and collections made during the early stages of the voyage, and from autobiographical sources (Barlow 1958; Burkhardt and Smith 1985, 1986). Darwin started collecting natural history objects, including birds' eggs, as a young boy (Steinmüller and Steinmüller 1987, p. 29). He apparently read Gilbert White's (1789) The natural history and antiquities of Selborne and wondered why every gentleman did not become an ornithologist (Barlow 1958, p. 45). During his studies, he certainly collected plants, beetles, fossils and geological objects (Junker 2001), focussing, from when he attended Cambridge, on beetles and plants (Porter 1985). He was also a keen hunter and kept a record book on what he had seen and shot (Steinmüller and Steinmüller 1987, pp. 31, 47).
Darwin learned how to prepare bird specimens at the museum in Edinburgh (Desmond and Moore 1995, pp. 42, 58). His teacher there was the former travel servant of Charles Waterton (1782–1865), a famous British collector, ornithologist and taxidermist. Darwin spent some time studying the bird galleries of the Edinburgh, Cambridge and London museums. He wrote retrospectively that he also read bird books housed in the university library of Edinburgh during this period (Steinmüller and Steinmüller 1987, p. 45). While at Edinburgh University in 1825–1827, Darwin attended lectures given by John James Laforest Audubon (1785–1851) on the habits of North American birds (Keynes 1997, p. 461). One can therefore assume that Darwin had all the tools needed in the field by an ornithologist of his day, most importantly being able to shoot a bird and preserve its skin. However, Darwin was never taught, not even by his great mentor Prof. John Stevens Henslow (1796–1861) in Cambridge, what data should be noted down on bird specimen labels. This lack was later to prove a problem.
By the time of his departure a few weeks short of his 23rd birthday, Darwin would probably have known most common British and some exotic birds. He had not, however, acquired thorough identification skills for all British birds, nor would he have encountered all
2 H.M.S. stands for His Majesty's Ship (more exactly Surveying Sloop; cf. Bourne 1992). The '"Beagle"' was built in 1820 and named after the dog. The ship had already been used for a previous voyage to Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia in 1826–1830 before Darwin's famous 'Voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle"'. Any use of the term 'Voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle"' in this paper always refers to this latter, second journey of the "Beagle".
[page] 302
British species, especially those not commonly shot on hunts and offered at markets, such as nocturnal birds and rare passerines. For example, Darwin was unable to identify a short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) when confronted with the taxon on East Falkland Island. Even worse were Darwin's identification skills for the different plumages of seabirds and waders, which he sometimes attributed to the wrong genus. He did not know the scientific names of all British birds and had no special knowledge of the scientific names of exotic species, lacking the necessary years of training in the field as well as in reference collections.
Generally, one can say that during his youth and student years Darwin's naturalist's eyes were turned more often to the soil then to the sky (cf. Desmond and Moore 1995). Nevertheless, he was well equipped to record, but not to identify, the avifauna of the regions to be visited during the voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle". Henslow commented in a letter to Reverend George Peacock (1791–1858) that Darwin is not "a finished Naturalist, but as amply qualified for collecting, observing, & noting anything new to be noted in Natural History" (Barlow 1967, p. 30). Or as Porter (1985, p. 977) phrased it: "Charles Darwin was as prepared to be the naturalist of the "Beagle" as any contemporary university graduate could have been." Darwin, however, had two further advantages: from his youth onwards he had been an avid collector of any kind of object, and his lack of specialization meant that he was not narrow-mindedly interested in only one single subject. Secondly, Darwin had learned Spanish in his enthusiasm to follow Alexander von Humboldt's (1769–1859) example and explore Tenerife (Steinmüller and Steinmüller 1987). Thus he was probably able to understand at least parts of the stories told to him by locals in South America regarding the native bird life, although his recourse to interpreters during the voyage (Barlow 1933, p. 30) suggests that his Spanish may not have been particularly good.
When Darwin accepted a place on H.M.S. "Beagle" "more as a companion [of the Captain] than a mere collector" (Barlow 1967, p. 30), he nevertheless busily assembled and acquired the books, tools and material for preparation which he believed he might need for the long journey (Keynes 2002). While Captain Robert FitzRoy (1805–1865) might have viewed Darwin more as the accompanying gentleman, his former Cambridge professors were keen to stress "the importance of his collections […]" (Porter 1985, p. 977). The ship's library contained a wonderful set of the most modern travel guides and natural history books of the time. The following (partly) ornithological works would have been most useful for identifying birds in the field (cited from Burkhardt and Smith 1985, pp. 553–566; some books were subsequently sent out to the "Beagle" during the voyage): Blainville et al. (1834); Burchell (1822, 1824); Cuvier (1817, 1829); Griffith et al. (1828); Forster (1778); King (1827, MS to King et al. 1839); Labillardière (1799–1800); Lesson (1828); von Wied-Neuwied (1820); Quoy and Gaimard (1824); Saint-Vincent et al. (1822–1831); and Spix and Martius (1824). Darwin also had access to Molina (1809)3 not listed in Burkhardt and Smith (1985), since there are references to the work in his zoology notes (Barlow 1963; Keynes 2000). Unfortunately, the library lacked the book of Azara (1802–1805), which would have been of much help for identifying some birds of the Rio Plata region (cf. Darwin 1870; Sulloway 1982c).4 Darwin was also missing some additional publications on the avifauna of South America such as Lichtenstein (1823), Vieillot (1816) and Wagler (1827), but their implication for field ornithology would have been small.
Darwin's ornithology during the voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle"
I am spending September in Patagonia, much in the same manner as I should in England, viz. shooting (Darwin in Barlow 1933, p. 100).
H.M.S. "Beagle" set off on 27 December 1831 and returned nearly 5 years later on 2 October 1836 after having charted the coast of South America and circumnavigated the globe. Darwin's interest in birds during the voyage was marginal (Bourne 1992). A letter home to his distant cousin William Darwin Fox (1805–1880) on 23 May 1833 reveals his attitude towards ornithology: "You ask me about Ornithology; my labours in it are very simple.-I have taught my servant to shoot & skin birds, & I give him money.-I have only taken one bird which has much interested me […]" (Burkhardt and Smith 1985, p. 316, cited in Bourne 1992). The bird Darwin was referring to was the least seed-snipe Thinocorus rumicivorus5; Barlow 1963, pp. 211, 278; Bourne 1992). While in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro on 4 June 1832, Darwin wrote in his diary of the local hunters, whom he joined in shooting deer and other mammals, that "they shoot parrots & Toucans &c. [between hunting mammals]. I soon found this very stupid & began to hunt my own peculiar game" (Barlow 1933, pp. 66–67). Darwin prepared only eight birds for his collection, and there was not a parrot or a toucan among them.
Darwin himself wrote in his autobiography (Sobol 1959, p. 71) that his love for hunting diminished after the first 2 years of the journey, and he began more and more often to entrust his gun to his servant Syms Covington
3 The version Darwin consulted was the English translation of the Italian original (cf. Sulloway 1982b). The taxonomically important first descriptions of birds are found in Molina (1782).
4 The references to Azara (1802–1805) in Darwin's notebooks and Gould and Darwin (1838, 1839a, 1839b, 1839c) and Gould et al. (1841) were added after the voyage (Sulloway 1982c).
5 See Appendix: 'Charles Darwin's bird collection from the voyage of the H.M.S. "Beagle"' at http://www.do-g.de, 'journals' –Supplementary information to published papers.
[page] 303
(c. 1816–1861; cf. Armstrong 1992, p. 135). Darwin believed that shooting would take too much of his attention away from investigating the geology of the countries visited. While Darwin concentrated on geology, invertebrates and plants, Covington collected only vertebrates. Covington's birds were entered into Darwin's specimen lists without any indication as to who the actual collector was. It is probable that from mid May1833 onwards Syms Covington shot most of the birds.
Darwin's Zoology Notes (published by Keynes 2000) show the same bias. While much space is dedicated to ornithology in the first two-thirds of the journey (especially during his stay in Uruguay and Argentina), later notebook entries speak much more about marine invertebrate life such as corals, crustaceans and molluscs. However, Darwin's real love, despite his zoological background, was geology: "Geology & invertebrate animals will be my chief object of pursuit through the whole voyage" (Barlow 1967, p. 54; cf. Darwin 1851, 1890a, 1890b). Except in 1832, he wrote from two to eleven and a half times as many pages of geological notes per year as biological notes (Porter 1985, p. 984).
Darwin and Covington collected 327 dry specimens (mainly skins) on the outward journey to South America and along its east coast to the southern tip between 1832 and May 1834 (Cape Verde Islands: 5 bird specimens; St. Paul Rocks: 2; Brazil: 8; Uruguay: 1156; Argentina: 115; Tierra del Fuego: 49; and Falkland Islands: 33), but only 167 specimens during the second half of the journey from June 1834 to 1836 (Chile: 92 bird specimens; Peru: 4; Galápagos Islands: 65; New Zealand: 1; Cocos Island: 1; Ascension Island: 1; and Cape Verde Island: 3), not collecting any bird specimens from such locations as Tahiti, where the "Beagle" stopped for 11 days, Australia, where it anchored 28 days in Sydney and 11 days at St. George's Sound, Tasmania, where the "Beagle" crew stayed 15 days, Mauritius (10 days), and St. Helena (7 days). Apparently, Darwin hardly had the chance to get on shore in some places (Darwin cited in Barlow 1967, p. 114): "In our passage across the Pacifick [sic], we only touched at Tahiti & New Zealand: at neither of these places, or at sea had I much opportunity of working." Nevertheless, comparisons of Darwin's "Beagle" notes on entomology (and to some extent on mammalogy) show that, as regards zoology, Darwin "was possibly even fonder of birds than of the beetles generally regarded as his favourites" (Keynes 1997, p. 462).
Darwin's nomenclature
Darwin designated new birds he found in three different ways. He used their correct English generic/family names when he knew them or could learn them from others, e.g. grebe, petrel, cormorant, hawk, caracara, oven bird, wren, sparrow. In some cases, however, Darwin also cited the local Spanish names, such as carpintero for woodpeckers of the genus Dendrocopos, or avestruz(s) petise for the lesser rhea (Pterocnemia pennata). Darwin sometimes mixed up the names of closely related birds or misspelled the name slightly. He made just one real error, labelling the rufous hornero Furnarius rufus with the name for its nest, which is 'casita', meaning little house.
Most errors occurred when Darwin applied scientific (genus) names. Keynes (2002, p. 147) summarizes the problems involved in this approach as follows: "In some cases this was fine— an owl is an owl both in England and in Patagonia—but for many of the passerines […] there was no directly equivalent South American family, although there were many species that, as he [Darwin] was careful to point out, occupied an ecological niche very similar to those of their European cousins." One may add that some of the species which Darwin encountered were not known to science at the time.
Darwin hardly made any use of the literature on board the "Beagle" in identifying or learning more about birds. Had he done so, he would have found Cuvier (1817, 1829), Griffith et al. (1828), Forster (1778), King (1827, MS to King et al. 1839) and Lesson (1828) most useful. Lesson (1828) is cited just six times in Darwin's ornithological notes, in connection with the correct name for Thinocorus rumicivorus Eschscholtz, 1829 (Barlow 1963, p. 211), when Darwin correctly criticized Lesson's views on the feeding behaviour of the black skimmer Rynchops nigra (Barlow 1963, p. 223), when referring to the nest of Furnarius rufus (Keynes 2000, p. 158), when writing about the different species of penguins in the region (Barlow 1963, p. 246; Keynes 2000, p. 212) and twice in connection with the tameness of birds, especially of the dark-bellied cinclodes Cinclodes patagonicus (Barlow 1963, pp. 232, 266). However, in Chile Darwin referred frequently to Molina (1809), which increased his ornithological understanding considerably.
Darwin used the following names in his Zoology Notes and Specimen Lists from H.M.S. Beagle (ed. Barlow 1963; Keynes 2000). The names and sequence follow Peters et al. (1934–1987). The term 'in errore' has been added wherever an obvious misidentification is present. A question-mark indicates that a cross-reference between Darwin's note and a current taxon is uncertain.
6 Darwin noted about Maldonado: "My collection of the birds […] of this place is becoming very perfect" (Darwin in Barlow 1933, p. 153).
– RHEIDAE: ostrich, Struthio rhea (for Rhea); ostrich petise, petise, avestruz petise [sic: Esp. Avestruz petizo = dwarf ostrich] (for Pterocnemia).
– TINAMIDAE: Perdrix [sic: Perdix; in errore ], partridge [in errore ] (for Rhynchotus, Nothoprocta, Nothura).
– PROCELLARIIDAE: Procellaria gigantea, nelly, quebranta huesos [sic: Esp. quebrantahuesos] (for Macronectes);
[page] 304
Procellaria (for Fulmarus, Procellaria); Puffinus [in errore] (for Procellaria cinerea); petrel (for Puffinus).
– HYDROBATIDAE: Thalassidromus (for Oceanites).
– PODICIPEDIDAE: fresh water grebe, grebe (for Rollandia); fresh water grebe, Podiceps (for Podiceps).
– FREGATIDAE: frigate bird (for Fregata) (not collected).
– PHALACROCORACIDAE: cormorant (for Phalacrocorax).
– ARDEIDAE: heron, Ardea (for Ardea); bittern (for Nyctanassa, Nycticorax).
– THRESKIORNITHIDAE: ibis (for Plegadis, Theristicus).
– PHOENICOPTERIDAE: flamingo (for Phoenicopterus).
– CATHARTIDAE: Vultur aura (for Cathartes aura); condor (for Vultur) (not collected).
– ACCIPITRIDAE: hawk, Falco [in errore] (for Circus); hawk, caracara [in errore] (for Buteo).
– FALCONIDAE: caracara, hawk (for Phalcoboenus); chimango, vulture [in errore], Caracara chimango, Falco, P. [= Phalcoboenus] Pezoporus7 (for Milvago); Falco (for Polyborus); hawk [in errore] (for Falco).
– ANATIDAE: duck (for Anas, Amazonetta, Chloephaga, Tachyeres).
– RALLIDAE: land rail (for Rallus), "bird from summit of barren arid mountain of Ascension" (? for Porphyrula).
– HAEMATOPODIDAE: Ostralogus [sic: Ostralegus] (for Haematopus).
– ROSTRATULIDAE: [?] Limosa [in errore] (for Nycticryphes).
– CHARADRIIDAE: Vanellus (for Belonopterus); Charadrius (for Pluvialis, Oreopholus, Charadrius); Arenaria [in errore] (for Charadrius); plover (for Oreopholus); Tringa [in errore] (for Zonibyx).
– SCOLOPACIDAE: Numenius, curlew (for Numenius); Scolopax, godwit, [?] Tringa (for Limosa); Tringa (for Tringa, Heteroscelus, Tryngites); plover [in errore], Charadrius [in errore] (for Arenaria); Scolopax, snipe (for Capella); Tringa, Pelidna minutilla8 (for Erolia).
– RECURVIROSTRIDAE: Himantopus, [?] Charadrius [in errore] (for Himantopus).
– THINOCORIDAE: ptarmigan [in errore], partridge [in errore] (for Attagis); Scolopax-Perdrix [sic: Perdix; in errore], Perdrix-Scolopax [sic: Perdix; in errore], [?] vaginalis, Tinochorus [sic] Eschscholtzii9 (for Thinocorus).
– LARIDAE: gull, Larus (for Larus); Larus (for Gabianus); Sterna (for Gelochelidon); tern (for Sterna, Anous); noddy (for Anous).
– RHYNCHOPIDAE: Rhyncops [sic; ? error in Barlow 1963, p. 221 or Darwin's notes; taxon not in Keynes 2000, p. 387] (for Rynchops).
– COLUMBIDAE: palomba [sic: palomo, paloma = Chilean Esp./Esp. dove] (for Columba, Zenaidura, Columbina); dove (for Columba, Zenaidura, Columbina, Nesopelia, Metriopelia); pigeon (for Columba).
– PSITTACIDAE: Psittacus (for Cyanoliseus, Myiopsitta).
– CUCULIDAE: "small flocks, very noisy chattering bird"(for Guira).
– TYTONIDAE: owl (for Tyto).
– STRIGIDAE: owl (for Speotyto, Strix, Asio).
– CAPRIMULGIDAE: Caprimulgus (for Caprimulgus).
– APODIDAE: swallow [in errore] (for Apus).
– TROCHILIDAE: Trochilus (for Chlorostilbon, Patagona, Sephanoides); humming bird (for Patagona).
– ALCEDINIDAE: Alcedo (for Ceryle, Chloroceryle, Halcyon); kingfisher, Alcido [sic; ? error in Barlow 1963, p. 249 or Darwin's notes] (for Ceryle).
– PICIDAE: woodpecker, pituí [old Chilean Esp. for pitío,], Picus (for Colaptes); woodpecker, carpintero [Chilean Esp. = carpenter] (for Dendrocopos).
– FURNARIIDAE: Furnarius (for Geositta, Upucerthia, Eremobius, Cinclodes, Furnarius10); long-billed casaia (for Upucerthia); oven bird, casita [sic: Esp. little house = nest; casaro = house-builder in Gould and Darwin 1839c], house maker (for Furnarius); Certhia [in errore] (for Limnornis, Aphrastura, [?] Phleocryptes, Limnoctites, Spartonoica, Synallaxis, Asthenes, Phacellodomus); creeper [in errore] (for Aphrastura, Asthenes, Pygarrhichas); Furnarius-Certhia (for Anumbius); long-tailed creeper (for Leptasthenura); red-throated creeper (for Asthenes anthoides), Turdus [in errore] (for Cinclodes).
– FORMICARIIDAE: Lanius [in errore] (for Thamnophilus).
– RHINOCRYPTIDAE: Myothera,11 turco [Chilean Esp. = turca] (for Pteroptochos megapodius); guid-guid [sic: Esp. huet-huet],12 barking bird13 (for Pteroptochos tarnii); Myothera, tapacola [sic: tapaculo] (for Pteroptochos albicollis); Myothera [in errore], cheucau [sic: Esp. chucao] (for Scelorchilus); [unidentified] bird (for Rhinocrypta); [unidentified] bird, wren [in errore] (for Scytalopus); Myothera [in errore], cheuqui [sic: Esp. churrín] (for Eugralla).
– TYRANNIDAE: [unidentified] bird (for Suiriri, Xolmis, Pyrocephalus); Parus [in errore] (for Serophaga, Anairetes, Tachuris); long-tailed tit [in errore] (for Anairetes); Muscicapa [in errore] (for Polystictus, ? Myiophobus, Ochthocea, Hymenops, Xolmis, Neoxolmis, Muscisaxicola); Motacilla [in errore] (for Lessonia); scarlet-breasted Tyrannus (for Pyrocephalus
7 See Barlow 1963, p. 278: added after the journey.
8 Added after the voyage.
9 See Barlow 1963, p. 211: added after 7th September 1835, during or after the voyage.
10 Darwin correctly identified Furnarius rufus to species level.
11 Myothera is normally synonymised with Pteroptochos albicollis (in Wytsman 1905–1914, fide J. Torres-Mura, personal communication, April 2004), but Sulloway (1982c) synonymized Myothera with all species of Pteroptochos.
12 Today the Chilean people call Pteroptochos tarnii 'huez-huez.'
13 The call of this species could be seen as similar to the 'barking' of a very small dog in a high voice; another Chilean bird, the black-necked stilt Himantopus mexicanus has also a 'barking' call, as already noted by Darwin as well (Barlow 1963, p. 217).
[page] 305
rubinus nanus); Tyrannus (for Pyrocephalus, Ochthocea); scissor tail (for Tyrannus savana); Lanius [in errore] (for Xolmis, Agriornis); Alectrurus (for Alectrurus); yellow-breasted Tyrannus (for Myiarchus magnirostris); Sylvia (for ? Muscisaxicola,? Satrapa); "habits resembling our field-fares" (for Neoxolmis); "like the Butcher bird […] resembles a hawk […] & […] like a kingfisher", bien te veo [Esp.: I see you well] (for Pitangus); "little bird with crest" (for Elaenia); [Darwin's name not traced for Platyrinchus].
– PHYTOTOMIDAE: finch, Phytotoma rara (for Phytotoma rara).
– ALAUDIDAE: [unidentified] bird (for Eremopterix, Ammomanes).
– HIRUNDINIDAE: swallow (for Tachycineta, Progne, Notiochelidon); Hirundo (for Progne).
– MOTACILLIDAE: Anthus, Alauda [in errore], lark [in errore] (for Anthus).
– TROGLODYTIDAE: Sylvia [in errore], "bird lives near the beach" (for Cistothorus); wren (for Troglodytes).
– MIMIDAE: Lanius, thenca [Esp.], callandra [sic: Esp. calandria] (for Mimus); thenca [Esp.] (for Nesomimus).
– TURDIDAE: thrush, Turdus (for Turdus).
– EMBERIZIDAE: Fringilla [in errore] (for Ammodramus, Zonotrichia, Phrygilus, Diuca, Poospiza, Embernagra, Geospiza, Camarhynchus, Thraupis); sparrow [sensu American sparrows] (for Zonotrichia); blue sparrow (for Phrygilus alaudinus); Emberiza (for Melanodera, Sicalis); Icterus [in errore] (for Geospiza); grosbeak [in errore] (for ? Camarhynchus); Sylvia [in errore], wren [in errore] (for Certhidea); [Darwin's names not traced for Aimophila, Donacospiza, Sporophila, Gubernatrix, Volatinia, Saltator and Pipraeidea].
- PARULIDAE: Sylvia [in errore] (for Dendroica, Geothlypis).
- VIREONIDAE: Lanius (for Cyclarhis).
- ICTERIDAE: Xanthornus (for Xanthopsar); Icterus (for Agelaius, Pezites, Pseudoleistes, Amblyramphus, Curaeus, Molothrus); thili, chili [from Molina 1809, Chilean Esp. trile] (for Agelaius);14 Sturnus ruber [in errore] (for Pezites militaris [nec Sturnella rubra = Amblyramphus holsericeus]); Anthus [in errore] (for Dolichonyx); [unidentified] egg (for egg of Molothrus).
– FRINGILLIDAE: Fringilla, siu [from Molina 1809, Esp. jilguero] (for Carduelis).
– PLOCEIDAE: sparrow (for Passer).
Identification problems
However close an observer a naturalist may be, it is not possible for him to know much of a species from seeing perhaps one or two individuals in the course of a rapid ride across the pampas. (Hudson 1870a, about Darwin).
Waders posed the biggest challenge to Darwin's identification skills. He misidentified, for example, the common turnstone Arenaria interpres as a plover of the genus Charadrius, and vice-versa. Darwin lacked any real interest in waders, and barely mentioned their behaviour, habitat or geographical range. Accordingly, the chapters on species of Charadriiformes in the Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle (Gould et al. 1841) are quite poor and contain very little data beyond the collecting localities.
Furthermore, Darwin had immense problems in applying any sensible name to species of bird confined to America, such as Tinamidae,15 Furnariidae, Tyrannidae and Rhinocryptidae.
A notebook entry from the Patagonian coast near Santa Cruz in April 1834 reveals the problems Darwin faced when writing about undescribed bird species (Barlow 1963, p. 247): "[No.] 2011 Callandra.-see suprá. No ? (1216).-S. Cruz / [No.] 2012 Lanius; rare (unless ?) [del.] both on coast & in the interior plains; chases insects very quickly half flying, half running.-do [S. Cruz] / [No.] 2013 Lanius.-rare.-female.-Hab. do. [S. Cruz]—N. B. [added about a year later in summer 1835] One of these birds is brownish with a white tail; I saw it in the lofty & arid valleys on the Eastern slope of the Cordillera at Chili.-The other of these, or one shot at P. Desire or St Julians, is brown all over & with a broarded [sic: broader] bill like true Lanius, this bird is found also in Chili as far North as Copiapò. I am assured that it commonly kills young birds." The first species Darwin was referring to is the Patagonian mockingbird Mimus patagonicus, described by Lafresnaye and d'Orbigny in 1837. The other birds are shrike-tyrants, Agriornis montana leucura (Gould, 1839) and Agriornis microptera microptera (Gould, 1839) both described by Gould on the basis of Darwin's material, and the species that kills young birds is Agriornis livida livida (Kittlitz, 1835) (cf. Darwin in Gould and Darwin 1839c: p. 56: Agriornis gutturalis). Darwin used the substitute name Lanius (genus of old world shrikes) for the shrike-tyrants.
Labelling of specimens
Trust nothing to the memory; for the memory becomes a fickle guardian when one interesting object is succeeded by another still more interesting. (Darwin 1839, p. 598).
Darwin recorded the important information regarding each specimen, such as locality, date and habitat, in his notebook only, not on the specimen label. Even after
14Darwin wrote in Gould et al. 1841, p. 106 that the name of the country would derive from the song of Agelaius thilius, which is indeed one of the theories as to where Chile got its name from (J. Torres-Mura, personal communication, April 2004).
15Subsequent authors (Steinmüller and Steinmüller 1987, p. 153) still referred to the tinamous in Darwin's words, as grey partridges.
[page] 306
Fig. 1 Original field label by Darwin on a specimen of Gallinago paraguaiae (BMNH 1860.1.16.74). The species name is in Gould's hand, the number "1203" is written by Darwin. Photo: Harry Taylor, Natural History Museum, London/Tring
the voyage he still considered this the most reliable method of recording data (Darwin 1839, pp. 598–600). His specimen labels were made out of scrap paper, tied with a cord to the foot or neck of the bird (birds in alcohol got a metal tag; Figs. 1, 2). These bird labels contained nothing except for a number ranging from 185 to 3907 (all dried zoological items were numbered in the same sequence), cross-referring the individual specimen to the corresponding notebook entry. Darwin kept separate notebooks for geological (cf. Herbert 1980) and biological specimens (plants and animals: Zoology Notes, Keynes 1997), the latter numbered in two different sequences for dry and wet collections (Porter 1985, p. 979; cf. Darwin 1839). During the last months of the voyage, separate lists of the mammals, birds,16 insects, shells, plants, reptiles and amphibians, crustaceans, and fishes, were copied out by Darwin and Covington for the benefit of the specialists to whom they were to be given for classification. During this procedure, Darwin marked each original 'bird entry' with a capital 'B' (Chancellor et al. 1988). Some original bird entries, though, were missed out, so that one has to consult the original Zoology Notes (ed. Keynes 2000) rather than the bird notes (ed. Barlow 1963) when completeness is important. The numbers on the skin labels were mainly written in pencil, and to a lesser extent in Indian ink. Only one label is known to have survived on which the locality is also cited. It belongs to a Spanish sparrow Passer hispaniolensis (BMNH17 1881.5.1.2117) collected on the Cape Verde Islands, collection number 189, and reads "loc S Jago" [in pencil; collected at Praia (1455'N, 2331W') on the island of Sã o Tiago]. Later, John Gould (1804–1881), who worked on these specimens, sometimes added a species name to the original label. All Darwin's birds would have carried these labels originally, but later owners of the bird collection did not appreciate the importance of these reference numbers, replacing Darwin's labels with proper museum labels after the sale of the Zoological Society Museum in 1855.18 Thus, most of Darwin's data was used only once, in the writing of the section of the Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle which deals with birds (Gould and Darwin 1838, 1839a, 1839b, 1839c; Gould et al. 1841). Most subsequent museum labels do not quote any actual collecting locality and rarely make reference to Darwin's notebook numbers. Unfortunately, just 16 original labels have survived (Sulloway 1982a knew only one; see Appendix). The numbers of 499 bird items were entered into the notebooks of Darwin published by Barlow (1963) and Keynes (2000), but, as comparisons with the text of Gould and Darwin (1838, 1839a, 1839b, 1839c) and Gould et al. (1841) have now revealed, a total of 512, perhaps even 515, items had probably been collected. Two notebook numbers are shared by two and, respectively, three different egg clutches. The birds not traced in the notebooks are two specimens in alcohol, five skins from Rio de Janeiro (April to July 1832) and
16The ornithological notes had been compiled between 12 April–19 July 1836 (Sulloway 1982c).
17For any museum's abbreviation see Appendix.
18The Zoological Society labels recorded the donor's name, the acquisition date and Darwin's specimen numbers: front "C. Darwin Esq. Jan 4 1837", back (number); but most of these labels were also replaced.
[page] 307
Fig.2A set of all but one specimen of Darwin's collection with original field labels attached.Photo:HarryTaylor, Natural History Museum, London/Tring
one skin each from Tierra del Fuego (southern summer 1832/1833 or 1834), Buenos Aires (October 1833) and East Falkland Island (March 1833 or 1834).
Darwin used a method for recording data known to geologists and palaeontologists. It is difficult to tie a label to a stone, and writing a number on the specimen cross-referring the item to a notebook entry is the only practicable solution. However, most bird collectors would put any important information directly on the specimen labels, entering additional data into a notebook only if space were short. Darwin's contemporaries Johann Natterer (1787–1843), Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) and Eduard Rüppell (1794–1884), to name but a few, used minute paper labels, but still wrote down collecting locality, date, sex and a reference number.
Observations and investigations
I do not doubt that every traveller must remember the glowing sense of happiness he experienced, from the simple consciousness of breathing in a foreign clime, where the civilized man has seldom or never trod. (Darwin 1839, p. 606).
Despite the foregoing criticism of the view that Darwin was a good field ornithologist, he did make some excellent ornithological observations and carried out innovative experiments, noting down every minute detail of his research. His ornithological notes run for 86 numbered and 10 additional pages. Darwin's real strength was that he never took anything for granted and was aware that either he or other scientists might have made errors in certain observations. Darwin was also good at asking the right questions, many of which he could then answer himself during the voyage through his own field studies.
Take for example his investigations into the olfactory abilities of the Andean condor Vultur gryphus, which had been triggered by a report by Audubon that vultures can smell (Darwin in Gould and Darwin 1838, pp. 3–6; cf. Barlow 1963, pp. 240–245):
I tried […] the following experiment. The condors were tied, each by a rope, in a long row at the bottom of a wall. Having folded a piece of meat in white paper, I walked backwards and forwards, carrying it in my hand at the distance of about three yards from them; but no notice whatever was taken of it. I then threw it on the ground within one yard of an old cock bird; he looked at it for a moment with attention, but then regarded it no more. With a stick I pushed it closer and closer, until at last he touched it with his beak: the paper was then instantly torn off with fury, and at the same moment every bird in the long row began struggling and flapping its wings. Under the same circumstances, it would have been quite impossible to have deceived a dog.
[page] 308
What Darwin observed ties in what we know about these birds today: while the Cathartes species studied by Audubon have a superb olfactory sense, condors find their food optically (Houston 1994).
Darwin also gave a vivid account of the lesser rhea Pterocnemia pennata (Keynes 2000, pp. 188–189):
There is some notice about a second species of Rhea, which is very rarely found N of the R. Negro [Patagonia]. Mr Martens [Conrad Martens (1801–1878), the official artist on board] shot one at Port Desire, which I looking slightly at it pronounced to be a young one of the common sort, that is it appeared to be 2/3 in size of the common one. I also [saw] some live ones of the same size, but entirely forgot the Petises. I have since reclaimed the Head, Legs & several feathers […]. The scales on legs are of a different shape, & is feathered below the knees, this accounts for their being said to be shorter in the legs & perhaps for being feathered to the claws. (it is a bird which the R. Negro Gauchos have only seen once or twice in their lives). […] Whatever Naturalists may say, I shall be convinced from such testimony as Indians & Gauchos that there are two species of Rhea in S. America.
Darwin was correct. Two species of rheas inhabit South America. These parts of several different individuals of rhea were later mounted to form a nearly perfect composite specimen, now considered lost, for the museum of the Zoological Society of London (Rice 1999). John Gould, the curator of the Society's museum, described Darwin's, or, as it is called today, the lesser rhea as Rhea darwinii in 1837 (Gould 1837d). The famous French traveller Alcide Dessalines d'Orbingy (1802–1857), however, got the credit for the discovery and naming of the bird, which he described as Rhea pennata in 1834, the same year in which Darwin wrote the above note, away from civilisation and out of contact with the scientific community (cf. Herbert 1980, pp. 107–110).
Darwin was excellent in his observations when it came to game birds. His account of tinamous, for example, reads like a hunting manual:
Does not live in covies [pl. of covey = flock of partridges], but generally in pairs, runs more & does not lie so close as the English Partridge; not a high shrill[,] chirp or whistle—When riding through the country great numbers, (generally in pairs) may be seen, as when at a short distance they take no pains to conceal themselves. They are silly birds; a man on horse-back by riding in a circle or rather in a spire, round & round, each time closer & closer, so bothers the bird, that it may be knocked on the head, or noosed by running knot, at the end of a long stick, with the greatest ease. Flesh most delicately white, when cooked more so than of Pheasant, but rather dry & flavourless (Barlow 1963, p. 218).
Darwin gave some hints that where he indicated the sex of a bird, these had in fact been sexed internally by dissection. He did not believe that birds could always be sexed on size or plumage characters, which was common practice among the naturalists of the day. In his discussion of the different colour morphs and sizes of striated caracara Phalcoboenus australis from the Falklands, Darwin checked for the first time during the voyage the reproductive organs (Darwin in Gould and Darwin 1838, p. 16). It is unclear whether somebody influenced Darwin, and subsequently Covington, to adopt internal sexing as a normal procedure when preparing bird skins. Neither do we know whether Darwin was taught the differences in the sexual organs of birds or if he found out how testes differ in appearance from ovaries himself (cf. nothing is mentioned in Armstrong 1992). From March 1834 on, though, Darwin and Covington consistently dissected birds to sex them. In a notebook entry for birds collected around Valparaiso (Chile) Darwin stated (in Barlow 1963, pp. 253–254): "The following birds were shot at Valparaiso, during months of August & September [1834].-The sexes were distinguished by S. Covington by opening their bodies, & judging chiefly from the granulated state of the Ovarium: it being the Spring [of the Southern hemisphere], probably this means is correct." Darwin, an amateur ornithologist, would not have had the necessary knowledge of sex-related plumages, and therefore had to dissect.
Careful investigations were made into the geographical range of each species and its general habitat. Furthermore, Darwin was interested in what the birds ate, frequently dissecting the stomachs of birds and reporting on the contents. Most of his thorough bird accounts close with a passage on the bird's calls and songs. Where Darwin was able to gather information on breeding, this information has also been added. The following is a good example of a detailed notebook entry:
[No.] 1222 Furnarius [i.e. common miner Geositta cunicularia cunicularia (Vieillot, 1816)].-This bird has a considerable distribution. On the east coast, it occurs from 30° (& perhaps in this & many other cases those bird[s] which frequent plains, reach much further to the North, to the extreme limit of the great central plains) to 40°. I never saw a specimen further South than this. On the west coast, it occurs from Concepciòn (where open country commences) 37°,to as far (at least) as Lima in 12°.-It constantly haunts the driest plain parts, away from bushes & trees. Sand dunes, near the sea coast afford a very favourite resort. At Maldonado [Uruguay] & at Bahia Blanca [Patagonia] it is very abundant, it is very tame, most quiet solitary little bird; being disturbed only flies to a very short distance. Is active early in the mornings & late in the evenings (like Robin): is fond of dusting itself in a road: walks, but cannot run very quickly; in stomach small Coleoptera [beetles], chiefly Carabidous insects. At certain times it frequently utters a peculiar shrill, but gentle, quickly reiterated cry (so quickly reiterated as to make one running sound). In
[page] 309
this respect resembles the Oven bird [Furnarius rufus], but as widely differs in its quietness, from that active bird.-It builds its nest at the bottom of a narrow cylindrical hole, which is said to extend horizontally to nearly six feet long. Several country men, told me, that when boys they had attempted to dig out the nests, but from their depth had nearly always failed.- The bird chooses any low little bank of firm sandy soil, by the side of a road or stream. (Barlow 1963, pp. 217–218).
Without the personal anecdotes, this species description could not be beaten by any in a modern handbook (cf. e.g. Ridgely and Tudor 1994, pp. 26–27). Most unusual for the time, but extremely helpful, were Darwin's reports on the pedal locomotion of birds, which is sometimes characteristic for the whole family or genus. He very often noted down if a bird hopped, walked or ran on the ground. Even the geographical range of the species is given more or less correctly,19 which is astonishing when one takes in account that this would entail Darwin having to check for the bird in all the places he visited. Darwin was intrigued by the isolation factor constituted by the Andes and, probably towards the end of the voyage, compiled a list of birds occurring on both sides of the mountain range (Keynes 1997, p. 466).
Some notes, however, were extremely poor. Sulloway (1982a, 1982b) has already explored this fact with regard to the Galápagos finches. No attention was paid to which island which specimen came from. During the Galápagos visit itself, Darwin showed no great interest in this group of birds, nor in any other bird from the Galápagos Islands, perhaps with the exception of the mockingbirds (Keynes 2003). The same is apparently true for his visit to Isla de Chiloé (Willson and Armesto 1996).
A letter from Darwin to George Robert Gray written in the summer of 1839 (Burkhardt and Smith 1986, vol. 2, p. 196) witnesses the problems faced by the scientists who worked on Darwin's collection when confronted with Darwin's scanty notes: "With respect to the Falkland Emberiza, I can give little assistance 1919, 1920, 1922 female 'Shot in same large scattered flock on the hills'[.] But 1920 & 1923 & 1879 'I think more commonly occur on the plains' I put mark of ? to 1923 whether different species or not.-In another part of my catalogue I say I saw 1046 & 1047 together[.] My specimens were shot in March, corresponding to September, & this is all the very little inform[ation] I can tell you[.]" Gray (in Gould and Darwin 1839c, Gould et. al. 1841) nevertheless managed to correctly identify one group of birds as the black-throated finch Melanodera melanodera (Fig. 3) and described the other taxon as a new species, the yellow-bridled finch Melanodera xanthogramma.
Darwin's contribution to ornithology
I shall relate […] the few facts, which I have been enabled to collect together; and these, if not new, may at least tend to confirm former accounts. (Darwin's preface of Gould and Darwin 1838).
There is no question that of all Darwin's works, his evolution theory has had the biggest impact on ornithology (cf. Stresemann 1951). However, Darwin also kept important notes and collected a small number of very significant birds, among them birds new to science at the time or from nowadays extinct populations. Just how important were Darwin's bird collection and notes for the ornithology of the countries he visited?
Essentially, Darwin's bird collection only became ornithologically significant through the involvement of other people. Luckily, acknowledging that he was no expert in ornithology, Darwin donated his collection to the most senior experts in the field, to the anatomically interested Thomas Campbell Eyton (1809–1880), to George Robert Gray (1808–1872) and to John Gould (cf. Sauer 1998). The latter busily went about describing Darwin's new bird species in lectures given to the Zoological Society of London between January 1837 and January 1838 (Gould 1837a, 1837b, 1837c, 1837d, 1837e, 1837f, 1838), while Darwin added some comments during two of these meetings (Darwin 1837a, 1837b). Eyton compiled the anatomical appendix for the Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle (Gould et al. 1841), but also used some data gathered by Darwin in his Synopsis on the Anatidae (Eyton 1869, pp. 29, 31–32).
John Gould later summarized the ornithological knowledge which had been accumulated by Darwin during his journey in part 3 (Birds) of the Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle (Gould and Darwin 1838, 1839a, 1839b, 1839c; Gould et al. 1841), a book mainly financed by the government (Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury; cf. Darwin in Owen and Darwin 1840, pp. II-III). Gould left a draft of the manuscript and the lithographs of Elizabeth Gould (1804–1841) with Darwin when he and his wife left for their own expedition to Australia on 16 May 1838. Some doubts remained with regard to certain birds and their taxonomy, so Darwin consulted George Robert Gray for advice. Gray was asked to work over Gould's manuscript, and he apparently double checked each name in issues 2–5, which had not yet been published (cf. e.g. Burkhardt and Smith 1986, vol. 2, p. 280).20 It took Gray so long to finish issue 5 that Darwin was forced to ask him in 1840 if he would "oblige [him] by kindly finishing the remaining
19The species does, however, occur along the east coast to the top of Tierra del Fuego.
20The first issue (pp. 1–16, pls. 1–10) of the bird section of Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle" was apparently published in July 1838, the second (pp. 17–32, pls. 11–20) in January 1839, the third (pp. 33–56, pls. 21–30) in July 1839, the fourth (pp. 57–96, pls. 31– 40) in November 1839, the fifth (pp. 97–164, pls. 41–50) in March 1841 (Burkhardt and Smith 1986, vol. 2, pp. 432–437; Zimmer 1926, p. 159).
[page] 310
Fig.3 Darwin's specimens of the black-throated finch Melanodera melanodera (BMNH1855.12.19.50, BMNH1885.12.14.806) in comparison to Gould and Darwin (1839c): plate32. Photo: Harry Taylor, Natural History Museum, London/Tring
MS" (Darwin cited in Porter 1985, p. 1003). Darwin was not very pleased to see that Gray had added his name to any new combination of names, disregarding 'Strickland's laws'21 (letter to Leonard Jenyns, cited in Burkhardt and Smith 1986, vol. 2, p. 317), but Gray's name nevertheless appears in the printed version, which was published from July 1838 to March 1841, heavily edited by Darwin himself. For this task Darwin had worked on both his bird collection and that of the BMNH from mid 1837 onwards (Brandon-Jones 1996, p. 504). His notes are in fact equally important as Gould's and Gray's descriptions as they add much on habitat, behaviour and even ecology for some species not found elsewhere at the time. Furthermore, the expert work on avian taxonomy by Gould and Gray provided Darwin with some raw material for his thoughts on evolution (see below; cf. Sulloway 1982 b, 1982c).
Darwin twice resumed his ornithological notes in later life (Darwin 1870, 1881). In 1870, Darwin wrote a paper on the habit of the campo flicker Colaptes campestris, of which he once collected two specimens in Uruguay and Argentina (cf. Barlow 1963, p. 219, Nos. 1238; and p. 225, No. 1428). When Darwin studied the campo flicker in the field near Maldonado, Uruguay, he wrote in his notebook that it "alights horizontally, like any common bird, on the branch of a tree: but occasionally I have seen it clinging to a post vertically […] frequent the open plains." (Barlow 1963, p. 219). Darwin explored the example also in On the Origin of Species:
On the plains of La Plata, where hardly a tree grows, there is a woodpecker (Colaptes campestris) which has two toes before and two behind, a long pointed tongue, pointed tail-feathers, sufficiently stiff to support the bird in a vertical position on a post […], and a straight long beak. […] Hence this Colaptes in all the essential parts of its structure is a woodpecker […], yet, as I can assert, not only from my own observations but from those of the accurate Azara [1802–1805], in certain large districts it does not climb trees, and it makes its nests in holes in banks! (Darwin 1872, p. 183).
Darwin's paper from 1870 was triggered by the accusation of William Henry Hudson (1841–1922) that these woodpeckers, as published by Darwin in the Origin of Species, do not breed in mud banks, but in tree holes like other woodpeckers (Hudson 1870a, 1870b). It is now common knowledge that the campo flicker does both (Winkler et al. 1995, p. 326).
Eleven years later Darwin published on the parasitic behaviour of the cowbirds Molothrus, four specimens
21Strickland et al.: Report of a committee appointed "to consider of the rules by which the nomenclature of zoology may be established on a uniform and permanent basis." Report of the 12th meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science held at Manchester 1842:105-121 (cited in Burkhardt and Smith 1986, vol. 2, p. 500). Drawin was much in favour of referring the species name to the first author, but not to the author of any new combination.
[page] 311
of two species of which were to be found in his collection.
John Gould described a total of 37 new bird species on the basis of Darwin's collection. G.R. Gray added one further species.22 Darwin collected another 12 birds previously described by Molina (1782), 10 which had been described from d'Orbigny's collection in 1837 and 1838, 7 birds already named by Lesson in 1826–1839, 8 described by King in 1828–1831 and 13 described by Kittlitz mainly in his 1830 publication (see Appendix for type specimens in Darwin's collection).
Darwin's contribution to the avifauna of Chile has already been discussed (Jaksic and Lazo 1994; Willson and Armesto 1996). He followed Giovanni Ignazio Molina (1740–1829), René Primevére Lesson (1794–1849), Prosper Garnot (1794–1838), Philip Parker King (1791–1856), Baron Friedrich Heinrich von Kittlitz (1799–1874), Jeremiah Reynolds (1799–1859) and Alcide Charles Victor Marie d'Orbigny (1802–1857) as a collector of birds in Chile (cf. Steinheimer 2002, p. 35). Hardly any new (sub-)species were left to discover,23 though Darwin contributed many useful ornithological observations and range extensions.24 The same is true for the greater part of the east coast of South America. In the plains of Patagonia, however, Darwin encountered 11 undescribed taxa,25 despite the fact that d'Orbigny and Captain Philip Parker King had also collected there.26 Other new species came from Maldonado in Uruguay27 and from the Cape Verde Islands.28
Ornithologically the most fruitful was Darwin's visit to the Galápagos Islands, where no proper collection-based survey of birds had ever taken place before the "Beagle" crew came ashore. Twenty-two new (sub-)species were among the birds which Darwin brought back to Britain. They were all described immediately by John Gould, who also, as discussed in Sulloway (1982a, 1982b), was the first to recognize the close relationship among the Galápagos finches. Gould received Darwin's specimens on 4 January 1837 (see below), and had already presented the Galápagos finches as new to science 6 days later at a meeting of the Zoological Society (10 January 1837). At that time, Darwin had not yet given Gould the necessary notebook data so he was forced to rely on descriptions only, even in sexing the birds (cf. Gould 1837a). It was only later that Gould placed the genus Certhidea within the group (probably during March 1837), but this was covered up by the fact that before the proceedings of the meetings of the Zoological Society were published later the same year, Gould had corrected his paper (1837a) of the 10 January meeting accordingly (Sulloway 1982b, pp. 21–22).29 What Gould (1837a), unlike most 19th century ornithologists, understood after several months of research (cf. Sulloway 1982b, pp. 21– 22) was that within this group of birds, the different beaks, which for continental birds were believed to be one of the stable family characters, were highly modified whereas the plumage, otherwise most variable, remained almost identical.
One can therefore say that it was mainly John Gould who made Darwin's collection and notes into a significant contribution to ornithology. The Galápagos finches subsequently proved to be more interesting than any other specimens in Darwin's collection. Swarth (1929, 1931), followed inter alia by Lack (1947, cited 1961), Steadman (1982) and Rosemary and Peter Grant (e.g.
22G.R. Gray also described Tyto alba punctatissima (G.R. Gray in Gould and Darwin 1839b, pp 34–35), but the description had been based on a specimen of Captain FitzRoy's collection.
23Three new Chilean taxa are based on Darwin's collection:Caprimulgus longirostris bifasciatus Gould 1837c: Valparaiso; Melanodera xanthogramma xanthogramma (Gray in Gould and Darwin 1839c): Tierra del Fuego and on Falkland Islands; Ochthocea parvirostris (Gould in Gould and Darwin 1839b): Valparaiso and Santa Cruz, Argentina.
24Following Jaksic and Lazo (1994), Darwin made notes of about 40 Chilean species out of 440, and added 11 new country records.
25Aimophila strigiceps strigiceps (Gould in Gould and Darwin 1839c): Santa Fé; Agriornis microptera microptera Gould in Gould and Darwin 1839c: Patagonia; Agriornis montana leucura Gould in Gould and Darwin 1839c: Port Desire; Asthenes pyrrholeuca flavogularis (Gould in Gould and Darwin 1839c): Patagonia; Buteo ventralis Gould 1837b: Santa Cruz; Caprimulgus parvulus parvulus Gould 1837c: Santa Fé; Coturnicops notata notata (Gould in Gould et al. 1841): Rio de la Plata; Eremobius phoenicurus Gould in Gould and Darwin 1839c: Patagonia; Myiophobus fasciatus auriceps (Gould in Gould and Darwin 1839b): Buenos Ayres; Ochthocea parvirostris (Gould in Gould and Darwin 1839b): Santa Cruz and Valparaiso, Chile; Phalcoboenus megalopterus albogularis Gould 1837b: Santa Cruz.
26King's birds are mainly housed in the BMNH collection. See d'Orbigny and Gervais (1835–1847) for details of d'Orbigny's collection.
27Ammodramus humeralis xanthornus Gould, 1839; Limnoctites rectirostris (Gould, 1839); Limnornis curvirostris Gould, 1839.
28Ammomanes cincturus cincturus (Gould, 1839); Eremopterix nigriceps nigriceps (Gould, 1839); Passer iagoensis iagoensis (Gould,1837).
29Although contested by Warren and Harrison (1971) and Sulloway (1982a, 1982b, 1982c), only Darwin's specimens were used in Gould's first descriptions, and therefore only these specimens can be considered types of the Geospizinae (Galápagos finches). If birds collected by such a high-ranking person as a Captain of the Royal Navy had been available, this would have been mentioned in Gould's publication. Darwin travelled as private and self-financed naturalist on the "Beagle" and was free to dispose of his specimens as he liked. FitzRoy, an employee of the Navy, was more restricted. He gave, probably on order by Sir William Burnett (1779–1861), the physician-general of the navy, his bird collection to the BMNH on 21 February 1837, where they did not get the same attention accorded to Darwin's at the Zoological Society. Sulloway (1982a) claims that Gould also used a Geospiza specimen from Fuller's collection, which was given to him by Eyton. However, there is no correspondence to corroborate this, and it is therefore believed that the missing taxon was not in Eyton's collection, but was among those of Darwin's Geospiza specimens not traced. Darwin later communicated the locality data relating to the collections of Fitz-Roy and other shipmates to John Gould, and it is even assumed that Gould later saw FitzRoy's birds in the BMNH, but as there is no reference to FitzRoy in Gould's first description, any other Galápagos finches than those of Darwin can be at best seen as Paratypes (cf. Gould 1837a).
[page] 312
Grant et al. 1985; Grant 1986), showed their adaptive radiation and on-going evolution, similar to that of the Hawaiian honeycreepers, which make them one of the best examples of Darwin's evolutionary theory (cf. Weiner 1994).
Five bird populations encountered by Darwin are today believed to be extinct. His specimens count among the few remaining records we have of the existence of these populations, which comprise the large-beaked population of the large ground-finch Geospiza magnirostris magnirostris (cf. Fuller 2001, p. 297), believed by Darwin to occur on Santa María (Charles) and San Cristòbal (Chatham) Islands,30 the Santa María (Charles) Island population of the sharp-beaked ground-finch Geospiza nebulosa (cf. Lack 1961, p. 23; Sulloway 1982b, p. 30), the population of the Charles mockingbird Nesomimus trifasciatus trifasciatus from Santa María (Charles) Island, though the same subspecies still occurs on neighbouring islands (Mayr and Greenway 1960, p. 447), the yellow-bridled finch Melanodera xanthogramma xanthogramma from the Falkland Islands31 and the Andean tapaculo Scytalopus magellanicus magellanicus, also from the Falklands.32 Last but not least, Darwin recorded a "gull" in the "neighbourhood of Porto Praya [i.e. Sáo Tiago] from 16th of January to 7th of Feb. [1832]" (Keynes 2000, p. 371; Darwin No. 185).There is hardly any other record of any gull species from the Cape Verde Islands (Hazevoet 1995). Unfortunately, the gull specimen, which Darwin shot on the Cape Verde islands and which he entered under number "185" in his specimen list, has not been traced. A specimen of rail from the Ascension Islands, also of unknown whereabouts, might also have proved interesting. Taylor (1998, p. 478) listed the record under the species of Allen's gallinule Porphyrio alleni.
Darwin's bird collection
Let [the collector] work hard from morning to night,for every day and every hour is precious, in a foreign clime; and then most assuredly his own satisfaction will one day well repay him. (Darwin 1839, pp. 601– 602).
Darwin's comprehensive geographical notes on certain birds' distributions were only possible because he would, at least during the first 3 years of the voyage, always collect any bird, when time permitted, regardless of whether he already had a specimen of the same species in his collection or not. This might have been due to the fact that he was not actually able to tell the difference in the field, but it may more charitably be believed that his collection of small series33 of the same species was actually inspired by his intense nterest in biogeography and geographic variation. Darwin may often have been thwarted, though, by the space problem in the tiny cabins and store rooms of H.M.S. "Beagle",34 which probably did not permit constant access to his collection when he wanted to make comparisons.
Obviously, contemporary field collectors of the likes of Alcide Dessalines d'Orbingy in 1826–1833 and the early Alfred Russel Wallace in 1848–1852 did more comprehensive collecting in South America than Darwin. Johann Natterer brought back more than 12,000 bird specimens from his exploration of Brazil in 1817– 1835. Even Captain Robert FitzRoy assembled a collection of 188 birds, not bad when one considers that he was in command of the "Beagle" and chiefly occupied with meteorology, hydrography and charting the coast line of the South American continent (Sharpe 1906, p. 323).
Darwin's 468 bird skins, 10 parts of the lesser rhea, the nests and eggs of 16 taxa, and his 14 whole birds and 4 parts of specimens in alcohol from the voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle" seem nothing in comparison (cf. Appendix; Eyton in Gould et al. 1841).35,36 "But it must be borne in mind how large a proportion of time, during a long voyage, is spent on the water, as compared with the days in harbour […besides] other losses […] are the want of room, of seclusion, of rest; the jading feeling of constant hurry […] " (Darwin 1890a, pp. 532, 533).
It is fairer, then, to compare Darwin's collection with those of other travellers on national circumnavigations, such as Baron Friedrich Heinrich von Kittlitz (1799– 1874) during the voyage of the "Senjawin" in 1826–1829 and Andrew Bloxam (1801–1878) on H.M.S. "Blonde" in 1824–1825, whose bird collections are indeed of a
30Sulloway (1982b) raises the possibility that Darwin's birds did not come from these two islands at all, but from San Salvador (James) Island. Still, there is no bird with such an enlarged beak anywhere in the Galápagos Islands today.
31On 6–8 July 1998, a resident of the Falkland Islands, Lynda Anderson, probably saw two birds of this species on San Carlos, East Falkland (R. Woods, personal communication, April 2004, cited from a fax to Hay Miller, July 1998). However, there is no evidence that the species is still resident in the Falklands (Woods 1988; R. Woods, personal communication, April 2004).
32It seems conclusive that Darwin indeed collected a specimen of that species on the Falkland Islands (Keynes 2000, p. 385, Darwin No. 1144, see Appendix). However, the bird was more likely to be a rare vagrant from mainland South America than a breeding bird on the Falklands, which was what Darwin first believed (in Gould and Darwin 1839c, p. 74; cf. Woods 1988, p. 213). Darwin might have confused the nests of Cistothorus platensis (W.R.P. Bourne, personal communication, February 2000; R. Woods, personal communication, April 2004).
33It has to be stated, though, that the largest series of any one and the same species numbers just six individuals (cf. also Sulloway 1982c).
34Darwin had a very small cabin under the forecastle at his disposal for storing specimens (Porter 1985, p. 986).
35Darwin made some additional field notes on birds not collected (cf. Darwin 1839; Jaksic and Lazo 1994).
36Corrections of the total number of Darwin's avian specimens have been made since Steinheimer (2003).
[page] 313
similar size to Darwin's. Nevertheless, most voyages and most field collectors collected many more birds than Darwin.
Nonetheless, as shown above, Darwin's contribution to ornithology was not insignificant. Many of the specimens collected by Darwin are now the types for new names proposed by John Gould. Furthermore, "there has probably been more published on Darwin's ornithological collections than on all the other groups combined" (Porter 1985, p. 1002). One might therefore wonder why we do not actually know much more about Darwin and his bird collection, other than those from the Galápagos Islands. Nobody has ever comprehensively listed, for example, which birds Darwin collected or encountered during the voyage of the "Beagle". There are several explanations for this. One is the subsequent dispersal of Darwin's bird collection. When Darwin was still out in South America, he would send back bird specimens to Prof. John Stevens Henslow at Cambridge, who was paid by Charles' father, Dr. Robert Waring Darwin (1766–1848), to store the boxes until Darwin's return.37 Henslow received four boxes and eight casks sent from Montevideo and the Rio de la Plata in August 1832, November 1832, July 1833 and November 1833, one box from Buenos Aires sent in May 1834 and four boxes from Valparaiso sent in January and June 1835 (Porter 1985). All additional specimens collected later than June 1835, such as birds from Lima and the Galápagos Islands, were stored in the "Beagle" until her return to England.
Once Darwin was back in Britain, he and Covington spent some time in Cambridge sorting out the birds from the rest of Darwin's natural history collection in late December 1836 and early January 1837 (Sobol 1959, p. 126). Darwin had already been concerned before the journey as to whom he would present the zoological specimens he was going to collect during the circumnavigation. He had originally tended towards the British Museum, but could "not feel […] any great respect even for the present state of that establishment", while the Zoological Society Museum was considered "nearly full" (Porter 1985, pp. 979, 991). Upon his return Darwin learned that his bird collection was neither welcomed with open arms nor much valued. "I am out of patience with the Zoologists, not because they are overworked, but for their mean quarrelsome spirit" (Darwin cited in Barlow 1967, p. 121).
In the end, the 14 birds in alcohol, more than a dozen skins and probably four anatomical specimens were forwarded to Darwin's friend and Cambridge colleague, Thomas Campbell Eyton,38 among them birds later found in the BMNH and, in the case of one steamerduck Tachyeres patachonicus (CUMZ 12/Ana/60/a/5),39 in Cambridge. Eyton wrote the appendix "anatomical description" in Gould et al. 1841. The remainder of the bird skins40 was presented to the Zoological Society of London on 4 January 1837, the same day as Darwin delivered a talk to the Geological Society entitled Observations of proofs of recent elevation on the coast of Chili (Darwin 1838).41 These Zoological Society skins attracted much interest among Darwin's contemporaries, as shown above. Darwin subsequently withdrew some, mainly duplicate, skins from the Society museum to forward them on loan to George Robert Gray at the BMNH. In a letter dated between June and early August 1839,42 Darwin wrote that he would try to negotiate with the Zoological Society for the donation of a specimen of the scale-throated earthcreeper Upucerthia dumetaria to the BMNH. The bird was subsequently given to the BMNH in early August 1839, and is now registered as BMNH 1839.8.4.1 (see Appendix).
In total, about 34–39 skin specimens from the "Beagle" voyage were subsequently given by the Zoological Society to the BMNH in 1839, 1841 and 1856, on Darwin's initiative, which got him entered into BMNH registers as a donor. It seems certain that the
37During the voyage, Darwin prepared rough bird skins, just like the ones known as study skins in modern museum collections. He always applied arsenical soap on the skins, and a corrosive sublimate on the beaks and legs (Darwin 1839, pp. 600–601). Darwin stuffed the specimens with dry grass or moss and left the incision un-sewn. Back home, the larger proportion of the birds presented to the Zoological Society Museum and all of those given to the BMNH before 1857 (see below) were immediately mounted for display purposes. Nevertheless, several dozen original skins of Darwin have survived.
38Since his return Darwin would have met Eyton personally at the latest towards the end of 1837 (Burkhardt and Smith 1986, vol. 2, pp. 54, 64), but it is believed that by then he had already sent the skin specimens to Shropshire, where Eyton lived. It is equally possible that the two met during the previous winter (December 1836 to March 1837) in Cambridge. Later, in November 1839, Darwin forwarded the specimens in spirit, numbered 388, 630, 650, 707, 721, 722, 728, 1037, 1043, 1050, 1157, 1309 ('Specimens in spirits of wine') and two unnumbered items, altogether 14 whole birds (cf. Keynes 2000; Burkhardt and Smith 1986, vol. 2, pp. 243– 244). It is likely that Darwin had also sent the four parts of birds to Eyton numbered 620 (tongue of woodpecker), 576 and 577 (tracheae of ducks, 'specimens in spirits of wine') and 3362 (stomach contents of flamingo, 'specimens not in spirits').
39It was always believed that this duck came from the Falkland Islands, but Darwin did not collect any duck during his two visits to East Falkland (cf. Barlow 1963; Keynes 2000). The anatomical specimens might have been forwarded to the Royal College of Surgeons as suggested by Darwin in a letter to Eyton on 6 January 1840 (Burkhardt and Smith 1986, vol. 2, pp. 249–250).
40The Morning Herald, London, from 12 January 1837, p. 5, reported that Darwin presented 450 bird specimens to the Zoological Society of London on 4 January 1837. The number might be correct considering that Eyton received at least 12, but perhaps even 18, specimens of Darwin's 468 bird skins.
41Sulloway (1982b, p. 20) cited an unpublished minute of the Council of the Zoological Society, which recorded that the Society had received Darwin's "Beagle" birds on that date, accompanied by a letter in which Darwin asked the Society to dispose of any duplicate specimens, and to mount and describe the rest.
42In Burkhardt and Smith (1986, vol. 2, p. 196) the letter is dated from June-October 1839, but the BMNH had already received the specimen in question in early August.
[page] 314
1839 and 1841 donations of at least nine birds were mainly triggered by Darwin asking George Robert Gray of the BMNH for help in finishing the bird chapters of the Zoology of H.M.S. Beagle (Gould and Darwin 1838, p. IX). Gray re-classified three of these birds for the book. In 1855, the Zoological Society Museum was broken up. The BMNH had the first choice of specimens. George Robert Gray, then the assistant curator of zoology, was entrusted with the selection of important material for the BMNH (Sharpe 1906, p. 251). Many type specimens, though, were overlooked by Gray, or possibly not shown to him by John Gould. Whatever the case, some of the remaining skins not chosen by Gray were subsequently sold to other bidders, such as the private collectors John Henry Gurney (1819–1890; cf. Gurney 1884, 1894) and Henry Baker Tristram (1822–1906). Most of the Zoological Society bird skins from the voyage of the "Beagle", however, went into the private collection of John Gould, and from there to Philip Lutley Sclater (1829–1913), Osbert Salvin (1835–1898), Frederick Du Cane Godman (1834–1919) and Gustav Adolph Frank (1808–1880).43 Confirmed Darwinian bird specimens are now housed at the BMNH, LIVCM, MANCH, CUMZ, NMSE, RMNH, USNM and VMM (cf. Appendix; Steinheimer 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003). John Gould was not only a good ornithologist, natural history artist and museum curator, but an even more successful businessman. Gould used bird skins as a 'special gift' for those subscribing to his bird books (Güntert et al. 2004), shipping Darwin's bird specimens to institutions all over the world.
When the second lot of specimens was transferred at Darwin's request from the Zoological Society to the BMNH, the museum was just about to move its natural history collections from the old Montagu House at Bloomsbury to the department of zoology in Robert Smirke's new British Museum building. John Edward Gray (1800–1875), the older brother of George Robert Gray and curator of zoology at the BMNH, was busy keeping the collection in some kind of order, and therefore unable to cope effectively with the new specimens arriving at the museum, with correspondence, or with the maintenance of collections (Gunther 1975, 1980; see also Brandon-Jones 1996). The registration of Darwin's birds in the collection registers was therefore very poor, and mainly at genus level only. Moreover, Gray and his brother replaced all the original Darwin labels with the BMNH 'Handlist' labels (Sharpe 1906, p. 85). The collection therefore lost some of its authenticity and value. Its importance diminished further when new, larger and better dated collections from the same regions arrived.44 Other institutions holding Darwin specimens, perhaps with the exception of Gurney's Norwich Castle Museum and Tristram's specimens at Liverpool, also lost track of the fact that these birds had been collected by Darwin. By the time the remaining collection of the Zoological Society of London had been sold, most of the specimens were just referred to the Society, not to Darwin. This all happened before Darwin made his name with the publication of On the Origin of Species (Darwin 1859), and we must remember that, in those days, Darwin was neither as famous as he is today, nor did his collection enjoy such a good scientific reputation (cf. Sharpe 1906).
It is therefore no wonder that the whereabouts of at least 243 bird skins from Darwin's collection are now not known, despite intensive research. It is possible that authentic Darwin birds could yet come to light, but their provenance will of course most likely no longer be evidenced by their labels. Nevertheless it is hoped that the Appendix, which gives for the first time a comprehensive list of all the birds collected by Darwin, might help future researchers to locate missing birds from the voyage of the "Beagle".
Darwin's ornithological notes and the Origin of species
Sulloway (1982b) has already shown that the mockingbirds from the Galápagos Islands rather than the finches were used in Darwin's On the Origin of Species, though some later authors have still succumbed to confusion on this matter (Strathern 1999, pp. 43–44; Riedl 2003, p. 59).45
In a chapter entitled 'Geographical distribution', Darwin (1872, p. 414, pagination from Odhams Press reprint edition)46 noted:
But we often take, I think, an erroneous view of the probability of closely-allied species invading each other's territory, when put into free intercommunication. Undoubtedly, if one species has any advantage over another, it will in a very brief time wholly or in part supplant it; but if both are equally well fitted for their own places, both will probably hold their separate places for almost any length of time.
In short, Darwin recognized the importance of building different ecological niches ("own places") for the
43Specimens of Baron Guillaume Michel Jerome Meiffren-Laugier de Chartrouse (1772–1843), cited on the BMNH labels and in the BMNH registers as deriving from Darwin (cf. Steinheimer 2003), are more likely birds from the collections of René Primevére Lesson, Prosper Garnot or Alcide Charles Victor Marie d'Orbigny, which tends to be confirmed by matching Darwin's field numbers and the number of available specimens.
44E.g., Sulloway (1982b, p. 40) reported that the next person to collect on the Galápagos Islands was Dr. A. Habel, shooting 460 specimens in 1868, followed by many others.
45Confusion occurred mainly because Darwin referred to the Galápagos finches in the second edition of his Journal of Research (Darwin 1845).
46This and all further quotations are also found in the 1859 edition, though differently worded (cf. Darwin 1859, pp. 402, 48, 390, 183, 184, 184–185, 243, 349)
[page] 315
Fig.4 Four specimens of captive-bred pigeons from Darwin's collection.Photo: Harry Taylor, Natural History Museum, London/Tring
establishment of two very similar species in the same geographical region (cf. Gause 1934, pp. 19–20). As an example he used the Galápagos mockingbird Nesomimus parvulus, the Charles mockingbird Nesomimus trifasciatus, and the San Cristòbal mockingbird Nesomimus melanotis (cf. Barlow 1963, p. 262; Keynes 1997, p. 466), of which he collected one and, respectively, two specimens of each (Darwin's numbers 2206, 3307, 3349, 3350). In his Transmutation Notebooks (Notebook B from 1837–1838; Barrett et al. 1987, p. 195) he goes on to say that: "It may be argued representative species [such as the South American and Galápagos mockingbirds] [are] chiefly found where barriers […] interrupt[ed…] communication," stressing the importance of geographical isolation for speciation processes. The birds of the Galápagos Islands are also cited, albeit in general terms, as an example of how vague the distinction is between what one sees as a species and what scientists refer to as subspecies (Darwin 1872, p. 69). The mockingbirds of the Galápagos Islands collected by Darwin have been classified both as subspecies of a single species (Mayr and Greenway 1960, pp. 447–448), and as three different (allo-)species (Dickinson 2003, p. 649).
Darwin turned again to the Galápagos birds when explaining endemism. Darwin showed that of the 26 land birds known at the time, 21, or perhaps even 23, were believed to be endemic to the Galápagos Islands, whereas of 11 marine birds only 2 were considered endemic (Darwin 1872, pp. 405–406).
However, Darwin (1872) also drew upon several additional ornithological observations from mainland South America for his book On the Origin of Species.As example of both diversified and changed habits, what would now be termed intraspecific variation in behaviour, Darwin (1872, p. 183) mentioned the great kiskadee Pitangus (Saurophagus) sulphuratus, which apparently both hovers and moves like a kestrel, and perches on twigs and darts into water like the kingfisher (cf. Ridgely and Tudor 1994). Geographical separation, different hunting preferences of divided populations and availability of food might modify this behaviour to either extreme. Darwin saw this as evidence that behaviour can be variable within one population, allowing diversification and the building of different behavioural niches after geographical separation. He encountered these birds near Maldonado in May and June 1833, and shot one specimen, numbered in his collection 1216 (cf. Keynes 2000, p. 153). Darwin (1872, p. 183) continued exploring different behaviour, moving on to the 'atypical' behaviour of one species within a genus as shown by the campo flicker Colaptes campestris (see above).
Darwin (1872, p. 184) went on in his investigation of behavioural differences on the family level by turning to the order of Procellariiformes: "Petrels are the most aerial and oceanic of birds, but in the quiet sounds of Tierra del Fuego, the Puffinuria berardi [i.e. Pelecanoides urinator berard], in its general habits, in its astonishing
[page] 316
power of diving, in its manner of swimming and of flying when made to take flight, would be mistaken by any one for an auk or a grebe." What Darwin noted was that the diving petrels, Family Pelecanoididae, catch most of their food by diving under water, either from the surface or by plunging in directly from the air, which contrasts with the feeding behaviour of most other members of the Procellariiformes, though some albatrosses, and of course shearwaters, can dive short distances. Darwin's field notes read: "This bird in its habits is a complete diver […], drops from the air like a stone, & as quickly dives to a long distance." In February 1834, after having seen these birds on the open sea between the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego, and off Patagonia, Darwin obtained one specimen of the common diving petrel for his collection (Barlow 1963, p. 230, No. 1782).
A major part of the ornithology drawn upon in On the Origin of Species concerned cuckoo behaviour (see below). Darwin's first hand experience was of the bay-winged cowbird Molothrus badius and the shiny cowbird M. bonariensis. He encountered both species several times around Maldonado and Montevideo in Uruguay. Of the latter species Darwin even possessed a single egg numbered 1592 in his notebooks, which was found within a clutch of the rufous-collared sparrow Zonotrichia capensis (Darwin in Gould et al. 1841, pp. 108–109; Barlow 1963, p. 227). Darwin did not discover the bird's brood parasitic behaviour himself. It was Syms Covington who obtained the mixed egg clutch and came up with the theory about its cause. Darwin learned more about the brood parasitism of the cowbirds by speaking to local people, however, and finally consulted Azara (1802–1805) who confirmed his and Covington's suspicions. For Darwin, brood parasitism was one of the major problems to be tackled in his theory, and the cowbirds showed how such behaviour might have evolved. Cowbirds show all stages of graduation from a fully developed brood parasite to self-breeding.
The next reference to birds from the voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle" in Darwin's On the Origin of Species concerns nest building behaviour (Darwin 1872, p. 282). Darwin aimed to explain inborn behaviour in closely related but ecologically separated species, such as the song thrush Turdus philomelos and the austral thrush Turdus falcklandii. Darwin saw the American thrush on the Falkland Islands, in Tierra del Fuego and Isla de Chiloé, which are quite different habitats than those occupied by the song thrush in Britain, yet both build similar nests. Darwin had already noted in the field (Barlow 1963, p. 250): "Is said to have its nest smoothly lined with mud. I presume like our thrush." He collected at least two specimens of the austral thrush, one on East Falkland Island (Barlow 1963, p. 233, No. 1900), the other one at Chiloé (p. 250, No. 2125).
When Darwin (1872, p. 373) explained parapatric species he also made use of his own observations on the two forms of Rheidae, the greater rhea Rhea americana and the lesser rhea Pterocnemia pennata, which are, in Darwin's view, two 'successive' populations living in the plains near the Strait of Magellan, and northwards of the plains of La Plata, with an overlap in North Patagonia. Darwin went on to elaborate that, in modern words, although the Rheidae have built themselves a similar niche to ostriches and emus, they are still their own family, thus evolving in some respects also convergently.
Discussion
Many authentic sources from the "Beagle" voyage and much secondary literature (cf. Kohn 1985) has not been consulted for this work, and it must be borne in mind that the impact on ornithology of the "Beagle" circumnavigation as a whole is slightly greater than Darwin's contribution alone. Benjamin Bynoe (1804–1865) was initially the assistant and from April 1832 the acting surgeon of the "Beagle", also carried out the duties of the ship's naturalist. He kept detailed notes on the natural history of all the places they visited. Even more detailed was the work of Captain Robert FitzRoy, who, as mentioned above, had his own small bird collection. He also entered notes on birds in his log books. Syms Covington wrote a diary, including comments on natural history, and had a small private bird collection of a dozen birds or so. FitzRoy's personal steward, Harry Fuller (dates unknown), collected some birds (Porter 1985), now at CUMZ, and his Galápagos finches were apparently used by Darwin for his talk on 10 May 1837 (Barrett 1977, p. 40) and by John Gould for the 1841 publication. A "Beagle" mate named Charles Musters, classified as 1st Class volunteer, died of a fever "caught whilst snipe-shooting" (Barlow 1933, p. XXIII). Last but not least, the ship's clerk Edward Hellyer (?–1833) drowned on the shores of the Falkland Islands attempting to retrieve a bird he had shot (Sulloway 1982a).
The important steps towards Darwin's theory of evolution have already been discussed and summarized by much greater authorities (i.a. Herbert 1974; Sulloway 1979; Mayr 1991, cited 1994; Keynes 1997), and therefore this paper remains with the simple conclusion that birds were not Darwin's first love, and that the ornithological knowledge gained on the "Beagle" voyage do not seem to have been indispensable for his evolution theory, although he did use many examples from captive birds47 (Fig. 4; cf. Darwin 1872, pp. 37–38, 45–51, 58– 59, 61, 101, 167, 256–258, 288–289, 452–453) and
47For example, the observation on hybrids of his distinguished friend Eyton, that: "amongst birds, species originally coming from distant parts of the world, are more likely to breed together, than those from nearer countries" (Burkhardt and Smith 1986, vol. 2, p. 181; Eyton 1837, p. 359: cited ibid. 182, footnote 5) made clear to Darwin that, in general terms, hybrids are less well adapted than the parent species, so that, where the overlapping of species occurs, natural selection avoids hybrids, whereas bird populations at a geographical distance from each other and which do not overlap have no need to avoid hybrids and are thus not able to distinguish between their own and different species when brought together artificially.
[page] 317
cuckoos (pp. 251, 258–261, 282).48 49 Ten and a half percent of the index of the 1872 edition of On the Origin of Species was taken up by subjects related to (palaeo-) ornithology. This is probably not representative of the proportion of ornithological knowledge as opposed to other sciences held by Victorian society. For Darwin, then, ornithology, especially of captive breeds, provided essential evidence for his theory of evolution.
Acknowledgements Richard Keynes (Cambridge, UK) initiated this study when he came to the Natural History Museum in 1998 to see the bird skins of his great-grandfather for his forthcoming book Charles Darwin's Zoology Notes & Specimen Lists from H.M.S. Beagle (Keynes 2000). Robert Prŷs-Jones (Head of Bird Group, Natural History Museum, Tring) kindly forwarded Richard's interesting request to me, giving me the opportunity to research and data-base all known "Beagle" birds, in close cooperation with Richard Keynes and his notebook transcripts. Many thanks also to the following colleagues for comments and a wide range of additional support, from sending me reprints, books, information on birds and data on specimens to giving me access to the collections and literature in their care: Malgosia Atkinson, Ernst Bauernfeind, W.R.P. Bourne, Les Christidis, Paul Cooper, Ann Datta, Barry Davis, René Dekker, Clem Fisher, Alison Harding, Tony Irwin, Les Jessop, Henry McGhie, Bob McGowan, Matthew Jarron, Ingeborg Kilias, Michael Mules, Storrs Olson, Eric Pasquet, Susan Snell, Christine Steinheimer, Ray Symonds, Juan C. Torres-Mura, Julia Voss, Effie Warr, Mic G. Wells and Robin Woods. Thanks also to Phil Rainbow and the Department of Zoology of the Natural History Museum for funding my research in Paris, Norwich, Liverpool and Leiden. Lucy Cathrow discussed linguistic aspects of the paper and I gratefully acknowledge her invaluable advice. I would like to thank Walter Bock, Armin Geus, Gordon Paterson, Robert Prŷs-Jones and Walter Sudhaus for commenting on an earlier draft. Last but not least I would like to thank Franz Bairlein for his patience during the editing process.
References
Anonymous (1996) Lost Darwin specimens found in museum vaults. The Daily Telegraph, 5 January 1996:18
Armstrong P (1992) Darwin's desolate islands: a naturalist in the Falklands, 1833 and 1834. Picton, Chippenham, UK
Azara DF (1802–1805) Apuntamientos para la historia natural de los páxaros del Paragüay y Rio de la Plata, escritos por Don Felix de Azara. Viuda de Ibarra, Madrid
Barlow N (ed) (1933) Charles Darwin's diary of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Barlow N (ed) (1958) The autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809– 1882, with the original omissions restored. Collins, London
Barlow N (ed) (1963) Darwin's ornithological notes. Bull Br Mus Nat Hist, Hist Ser 2:201–278
Barlow N (ed) (1967) Darwin and Henslow: the growth of an idea. Letters 1831–1860. University of California Press, Berkeley
Barrett PH (ed) (1977) The collected papers of Charles Darwin, with a foreword by Theodosius Dobzhansky, vol 1. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Barrett PH, Weinshank DJ, Gottleber TT (1981) A concordance to Darwin's Origin of Species, first edition. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y.
Barrett PH, Gautrey PJ, Herbert S, Kohn D, Smith S (eds) (1987) Charles Darwin's notebooks, 1836–1844—geology, transmutation of species, metaphysical enquiries. British Museum (Natural History), London
Beer G de (1963) Charles Darwin—evolution by natural selection. Nelson, London
Blainville HMD de, Blainville MM de, Brongniart A, Savary, Cordier (1834): Rapport sur les résultats scientifiques du voyage de M. Alcide d'Orbigny […]. Nouv Ann Mus Hist Nat 3:84–115
Bourne WRP (1992) FitzRoy's foxes and Darwin's finches. Arch Nat Hist 19:29–37
Brandon-Jones C (1996) Charles Darwin and the repugnant curators. Ann Sci 53:501–510
Burchell WJ (1822) Travels in the interior of Southern Africa, vol 1. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London
Burchell WJ (1824) Travels in the interior of Southern Africa, vol 2. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, London
Burkhardt F, Smith S (eds) (1985) The correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol 1: 1821–1836. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Burkhardt F, Smith S (eds) (1986) The correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol 2: 1837–1843. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
48Other ornithological examples in On the Origin of Species (Darwin 1872) are a discussion on bird races versus species with the example of the red grouse of Britain being perhaps a subspecies of the willow grouse (p. 69), survival rates of eggs and nestlings (pp. 82, 84–85), mortality rate of birds in Darwin's garden during the winter of 1854– 55 (p. 86), the range extension of bird species such as mistle thrush and swallow, causing the decline of other species (p. 92), the natural selection of camouflage colours in grouse (p. 100), the hatching of birds (p. 101), sexual selection in birds, especially in birds of paradise, rock-thrushes, peacocks and turkeys (pp. 103–104), a separate subspecies of guillemot (Uria aalge spiloptera) on the Färoe Islands (p. 106), plumage colours (p. 145), constraints of construction in bird morphology explained by the variety of kidney forms in adaptation to different pelvis-bones (p. 154), flightless and rarely flying birds (pp. 146–147, 181, 224), bird flight (p. 182), differences in the behaviour of the great tit (pp. 183, 275), the diving ability of the white-throated dipper, which is seen in relation to hardly any visible adaptation (p. 184), the webbed feet of some birds, such as waterfowl, frigate birds and grebes, compared to the long toes of some waders (p. 184), the green colour of the green woodpecker, discussed in the light of natural versus sexual selection (pp. 200–201), the naked head of the vulture as an adaptation to scavenging versus the naked head of the turkey for display purposes (p. 201), the beauty of plumages and songs (p. 205), beaks of northern shoveler and Egyptian goose (pp. 227–229), bird nests, including those of swiftlets (pp. 254, 275), differences in and reasons for the timidity and tameness of birds (pp. 255, 257–258), the breeding behaviour of ostriches and pheasants (p. 262), the similarities in nest construction between closely related but geographically separated species such as wrens, thrushes and hornbills (p. 282), fossil birds (pp. 336, 356, 365), birds as vectors for plant seeds and fresh-water shells (pp. 382–384, 402–404), a seed-eating heron (p. 403), birds from certain islands like the Bermudas, Madeira and the Canary Islands as an example of the means of geographical distribution (p. 406), birds replacing large mammals in certain regions shown by the moas on New Zealand (p. 406), near world-wide ranges of some avian genera (p. 416), and the parallel embryological development of different vertebrates, including birds, as well as the similarity of nestlings and juveniles of the same genus, such as those of different thrush species (p. 447). The glossary (pp. 493–525) explains the following ornithological terms: Furcula (bone), Gallinaceous Birds, Gallus, Grallatores, Primaries, and Scutellae (scales on bird feet). In the concordance of Darwin (1859), 180 entries are for bird(s), 63 entries for mammal(s), 58 for fish(es), 12 for reptile(s), none for amphibian(s), 117 entries for insect(s), 58 for fossil(s), 160 for terms on geology & mineralogy and 364 entries for plant(s), giving birds quite a prominent place (Barrett et al. 1981).
49In addition to the "Beagle" birds, the following items of Darwin's collection can be found at the BMNH: 60 domestic pigeon skins, 6 domestic duck skins, 11 skeletons of ducks, 46 skeletons of pigeons and 28 skeletons of chickens, and 26 (25 still at the BMNH) skins of Persian birds from Teheran, which were previously in Sir John Murray's (1841–1914) possession (Steinheimer 2003).
[page] 318
Chancellor G, DiMauro A, Ingle R, King G (1988) Charles Darwin's Beagle collections in the Oxford University Museum. Arch Nat Hist 15:197–231
Clausen L (1996) How a bit of history got hidden away—fresh from last century, a bird studied by Darwin on the Beagle voyage is rediscovered. The Times, 12 February 1996:27
Curio E (1993) Die Darwinfinken. In: Grzimek B (ed) Grzimeks Tierleben, vol 9 (Vögel 3). Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, pp 344–349
Cuvier G (1817) Le Régne Animal distribué d'après son organisation pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des Animaux et d'introduction à l'Anatomie Comparée, vol 1 (introduction, mammifè res et oiseaux). Dé terville, Paris
Cuvier G (1829) Le Rè gne Animal distribué d'après son organisation pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des Animaux et d'introduction à l'Anatomie Comparée, nouvelle edn, vol 1 (mammifères et oiseaux). Dé terville, Paris
Darwin C (1837a) Notes upon the Rhea Americana, and upon the newly described species. Proc Zool Soc Lond 5:35–36
Darwin C (1837b) Finches from the Galápagos Islands. Proc Zool Soc Lond 5:49
Darwin C (1838) Observations of proofs of recent elevation on the coast of Chili, made during the survey of H.M.S. Beagle, commanded by Capt. FitzRoy. Proc Geol Soc Lond 2:446–449
Darwin C (1839) Journal of researches into the natural history & geology of the countries visited during the voyage round the world of H.M.S. Beagle under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., 1st edn. Murray, London
Darwin C (1845) Journal of researches into the natural history & geology of the countries visited during the voyage round the world of H.M.S. Beagle under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., 2nd edn. Murray, London
Darwin C (1851) A monograph on the sub-class Cirripedia, with figures of all the species—the Lepadidae, or, pedunculated Cirripedes. Ray Society, London
Darwin C (1859) On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or, the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. Murray, London
Darwin C (1870) Note on the habits of the pampas woodpecker (Colaptes campestris). Proc Zool Soc Lond 38:705–706
Darwin C (1872) The [sic] origin of species by means of natural selection or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life, 6th edn. Odhams, London
Darwin C (1881) The parasitic habits of Molothrus. Nature 25:51
Darwin C (1890a) Journal of researches into the natural history & geology of the countries visited during the voyage round the world of H.M.S. Beagle under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., 11th edn. Murray, London
Darwin C (1890b) On the structures and distribution of coral reefs; also geological observations on the Volcanic Islands and parts of South America visited during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. Ward, Lock, London
Desmond A, Moore J (1995) Darwin. 2. Auflage, List, Munich, Leipzig
Dickinson EC (ed) (2003) The Howard & Moore complete checklist of the birds of the world, 3rd edn. Christopher Helm, London
Eyton TC (1869) A synopsis on the Anatidae, or duck tribe. Hobson, Wellington, Salop, UK
Field C (2003) Darwin's finch is icing on cake for Manchester Museum relaunch. 24-hour Museum News 14 October 2003
Forster JR (1778) Observations made during a voyage round the world (in H.M.S. Resolution) on physical geography, natural history […]. Robinson, London
Fuller E (2001) Extinct birds, rev edn. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y.
Futuyma DJ (1990) Evolutionsbiologie. Birkhäuser, Basel Gause GF (1934) The struggle for existence. Williams & Witkins, Baltimore, Md.
Gould J (1837a) Remarks on a group of ground finches from Mr. Darwin's collection, with characters of the new species. Proc Zool Soc Lond 5:4–7
Gould J (1837b) Observations on the raptorial birds in Mr. Darwin's collection, with characters of the new species. Proc Zool Soc Lond 5:9–11
Gould J (1837c) Exhibition of the fissirostral birds from Mr. Darwin's collection, and characters of the new species. Proc Zool Soc Lond 5:22–24
Gould J (1837d): Three species of the genus Orpheus, from the Galapagos, in the collection of Mr. Darwin. Proc Zool Soc Lond 5:27
Gould J (1837e) On a new rhea (Rhea Darwinii) from Mr. Darwin's collection. Proc Zool Soc Lond 5:35
Gould J (1837f) Exhibition of Mr. Darwin's birds, and description of a new species of wagtail (Motacilla leucopsis) from India. Proc Zool Soc Lond 5:77–79
Gould J (1838) Exhibition of another portion of the birds collected by Charles Darwin, Esq. Proc Zool Soc Lond 6:4
Gould J, Darwin C (1838) The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Part 3: birds, issue 1. Smith, Elder, London, pp 1–16
Gould J, Darwin C (1839a) The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Part 3: birds, issue 2. Smith, Elder, London, pp 17–32
Gould J, Darwin C (1839b) The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Part 3: birds, issue 3. Smith, Elder, London, pp 33–56
Gould J, Darwin C (1839c) The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Part 3: birds, issue 4. Smith, Elder, London, pp 57–96
Gould J, Darwin C, Eyton TC (1841) The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Part 3: birds, issue 5. Smith, Elder, London, pp 97–164
Grant PR (1986) Ecology and evolution of Darwin's finches. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Grant PR, Abbott I, Schluter D, Curry RL, Abbott LK (1985) Variation in the size and shape of Darwin's finches. Biol J Linn Soc 25:1–39
Griffith E, Pidgeon E, Gray JE (1828) The class Aves arranged by the Baron Cuvier, with specific descriptions. In: Griffith E (ed) The animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organization, by the Baron Cuvier, Member of the Institute of France, &c. […] with additional descriptions of all the species hitherto named, and of many not before noticed […], vol 1 [of Aves] = vol 6 [of Animal Kingdom]. Whittaker, Treacher, London
Grinnell G (1974) The rise and fall of Darwin's first theory of transmutation. J Hist Biol 7:259–273 Güntert M, Steinheimer FD, Gessner S (2004) The mystery of the Gouldian birds. Tech Bull Nat (in press) Gunther AE (1975) A century of zoology at the British Museum through the lives of two keepers 1815–1914. Dawsons, Bristol Gunther AE (1980) The founders of science at the British Museum 1753–1900. Halesworth, Halesworth, Suffolk
Gurney JH (1884) A list of the diurnal birds of prey, with references and annotations: also a record of specimens preserved in the Norfolk and Norwich Museum. van Voorst, London
Gurney JH (1894) Catalogue of the birds of prey (Accipitres and Striges), with the number of specimens in Norwich Museum. Porter, London
Hazevoet CJ (1995) The birds of the Cape Verde Islands: an annotated check-list. British Ornithologists' Union checklist No. 13. British Ornithologists' Union, Tring, Herts, UK
Heberer G (1959) Charles Darwin—Sein Leben und sein Werk. Die Kosmos-Bibliothek, Band 224, Franckh'sche, Stuttgart
Herbert S (1974) The place of man in the development of Darwin's theory of transmutation. Part I. to July 1837. J Hist Biol 7:217– 258
Herbert S (ed) (1980) The red notebook of Charles Darwin. Bull Br Mus Nat Hist, Hist Ser 7:1–164
[page] 319
Houston DC (1994) Family Cathartidae (New World Vultures). In: Hoyo J del, Elliott A, Sargatal J (eds) Handbook of the birds of the world, vol 2. Lynx, Barcelona, Spain, pp 24–41
Hudson WH (1870a) A third letter on the ornithology of Buenos Ayres. Proc Zool Soc Lond 38:158–160
Hudson WH (1870b) A eighth letter on the ornithology of Buenos Ayres. Proc Zool Soc Lond 38:748–750
Jaksic FM, Lazo I (1994) Darwin's contribution to the knowledge of Chile's terrestrial vertebrates. Rev Chil Hist Nat 67:9–26
Junker T (2001) Charles Darwin (1809–1882). In Jahn I, Schmitt M (eds) Darwin & Co. Eine Geschichte der Biologie in Portraits. Beck, Munich, pp 369–389
Keynes RD (1997) Steps on the path to the origin of species. J Theor Biol 187:461–471
Keynes RD (ed) (2000) Charles Darwin's zoology notebooks & specimen lists from H.M.S. Beagle. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Keynes RD (2002) Fossils, finches and fuegians—Charles Darwin's adventures and discoveries on the Beagle, 1832–1836. Harper Collins, London
Keynes RD (2003) From bryozoans to tsunami: Charles Darwin's findings on the Beagle. Proc Am Philos Soc 147:103–127
King PP (1827) Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia—performed between the years 1818 and 1822. With an appendix, containing various subjects relating to hydrography and natural history. Murray, London
King PP, Fitzroy R, Darwin C (1839) Narrative of the surveying voyages of H.M.S. Adventure and Beagle between […] 1826 and 1836, describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagle's circumnavigation of the Globe, 3 vols. Colburn, London
Kohn D (ed 1985) The Darwinian heritage. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Kottler MJ (1978) Charles Darwin's biological species concept and theory of geographic speciation: the transmutation notebooks. Ann Sci 35:275–297
Labillardière JJH de (1799–1800) Relation du voyage à la recherche de La Pérouse: fait par ordre de l'Assemblée constituante, pendant les années 1791, 1792, et pendant la 1ère. et la 2de. année de la République française, 2 vols and atlas. Jansen, Paris
Lack D (1961) Darwin's Finches—an essay on the general biological theory of evolution. Harper Torchbooks, New York
Larson EJ (2001) Evolution's workshop—god and science on the Galápagos Islands. Allen Lane, London
Lesson RP (1828) Manuel d'ornithologie, ou, Description des genres et des principales espè ces d'oiseaux, 2 vols. Roret, Paris
Lichtenstein [M]H[C] (1823) Verzeichniss der Doubletten des zoologischen Museums der Königl. Universität zu Berlin nebst Beschreibung vieler bisher unbekannter Arten von Säugethieren, Vögeln, Amphibien und Fischen. Trautwein, Berlin
Mayr E (1994) …und Darwin hat doch recht. Piper, Munich
Mayr E, Greenway JC (1960) Check-list of birds of the world—a continuation of the work of James L. Peters, vol 9. Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, Cambridge, Mass.
Molina GI (1782) Saggio sulla storia naturale del Chili. Nella Stamperia di S. Tommaso d'Aquino, Bologna, Italy
Molina GI (1809) The geographical, natural, and civil history of Chili. Translated from the original Italian: to which are added notes from the Spanish and French versions, and two appendixes, by the English editor; the first an account of the archipelago of Chiloé, from the Description historial of P. F. Pedro Gonzalez de Agueros; the second, an account of the native tribes who inhabit the southern extremity of South America, extracted chiefly from Faulkner's Description of Patagonia, 2 vols. Longman, Hurst, Rees, & Orme, London
Moorehead A (1969) Darwin and the Beagle. Hamish Hamilton, London
Orbigny AD d', Gervais P (1835–1847) Voyage dans l'Amérique mé ridionale: (le Bré sil, la Ré publique Orientale de l'Uruguay, la République Argentine, la Patagonie, la République du Chili, la République de Bolivia, la République du Pé rou), exé cuté pendant les anné es 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, et 1833, vol 4, part 3: oiseaux. Bertrand, Paris
Owen R, Darwin C (1840) The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle under the Command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836, part 1: fossil mammalia. Smith, Elder, London
Peters JL et al (1934–1987) Check-List of birds of the world, vols 1– 16. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Porter DM (1985) The Beagle collector and his collections. In Kohn D (ed) The Darwinian heritage. Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp 973–1019
Quammen D (1997) The song of the dodo—island biogeography in an age of extinctions. Pimlico, London
Quoy J-R-C, Gaimard JP (1824) Zoologie. In: Freycinet, M. L. de (ed) Voyage autour du monde, entrepris par ordre du roi […] exécuté sur les corvettes de S. M. l'Uranie et la Physicienne, pendant les années 1817, 1818, 1819 et 1820, vol 6. Pillet, Paris
Rice T (1999) Voyages of discovery—three centuries of natural history explorations. Natural History Museum, London
Ridgely RS, Tudor G (1994) The birds of South America, vol 2: the suboscine passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Riedl R (2003) Riedls Kulturgeschichte der Evolutionsbiologie—Die Helden, ihre Irrungen und Einsichten. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Saint-Vincent B de, Audouin JV, Bourdon JBI, Marcellin JBG (eds 1822–1831) Dictionnaire classique d'histoire naturelle, 17 vols. Rey et Gravier, Paris
Sauer GC (ed) (1998) John Gould the bird man: correspondence—with a chronology of his life and works, vol 1: through 1838. Sauer, Kansas City
Schmitz S (1983) Hermes Handlexikon: Charles Darwin—Leben, Werk, Wirkung. Econ Taschenbuch, Düsseldorf
Sharpe RB (1906) Birds. In Lankester ER (ed) The history of the collections contained in the natural history departments of the British Museum, vol. 2(3). Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London, pp 79–515
Sobol SL (ed) (1959) Charles Darwin Autobiographie. Urania, Leipzig
Spix JB von, Martius CFP von (1824) Travels in Brazil, in the years 1817–1820: undertaken by command of His Majesty the King of Bavaria. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, London
Steadman DW (1982) The origin of Darwin's finches (Fringillidae, Passeriformes). Trans San Diego Soc Nat Hist 19:279–296
Steinheimer FD (1999) The whereabouts of Darwin's bird collections. Bull Br Ornithol Club 119:141
Steinheimer FD (2000) The bird collections of Tring—restoring data to an historical collection. Nature First 18:16
Steinheimer FD (2001) Geschichte und Verbleib von Darwins Beagle Sammlung. J Ornithol 142 [Sonderheft 1]:217
Steinheimer FD (2002) Christian Ludwig Landbeck's drawings for the "Birds of Germany, Alsace and Switzerland" from the Rothschild Library, Tring, with some notes on Landbeck's and Wiebke's bird collections. Okol Vogel 24:1–43
Steinheimer FD (2003) Darwin, Rüppell, Landbeck and Co.—important historical collections at the Natural History Museum, Tring. Bonn Zool Beitr 51:175–188
Steinmüller A, Steinmüller K (1987) Charles Darwin—Vom Käfersammler zum Naturforscher. Neues Leben, Berlin
Strathern P (1999) Darwin and die Evolution. Fischer Taschenbuch, Frankfurt am Main
Stresemann E (1951) Die Entwicklung der Ornithologie von Aristoteles bis zur Gegenwart. Peters, Berlin
Sulloway FJ (1979) Geographic isolation in Darwin's thinking: the vicissitudes of a crucial idea. Stud Hist Biol 3:23–65
Sulloway FJ (1982a) The Beagle collections of Darwin's finches (Geospizinae). Bull Br Mus Nat Hist, Zool Ser 43:49–94
Sulloway FJ (1982b) Darwin and his finches: the evolution of a legend. J Hist Biol 15:1–53
Sulloway FJ (1982c) Darwin's conversion: the Beagle voyage and its aftermath. J Hist Biol 15:325–396
[page] 320
Swarth HS (1929) A new bird family (Geospizidae) from the Galapagos Islands. Proc Calif Acad Sci Ser 4 18:29–43
Swarth HS (1931) The avifauna of the Galapagos Islands. Occ Pap Calif Acad Sci 18:1-299
Taylor PB (1998) Rails—a guide to the rails, crakes, gallinules and coots of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven
Vieillot LJP (1816) L'Histoire générale et particuliè re des Oiseaux, leurs moeurs, habitudes, etc. Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, Appliqué e aux Arts / Á l'Agriculture, à l'Economie rurale et domestique, à la Mé decine, etc. / par une Socié té de Naturalistes et d'Agriculteurs. Nouvelle E dition presqu'entièrement refondue et considérablement augmentée; avec des figures tirées des trois rè gnes de la nature, vol 4. Deterville, Paris
Wagler JG (1827) Systema avium. Part 1. Cotta, Stuttgart
Warren RLM, Harrison CJO (1970) Type-specimens of birds in the British Museum (Natural History)—passerines, vol 2. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London
Wehner R, Gehring W (1990): Zoologie. 22. Auflage. Thieme, Stuttgart
Weiner J (1994) The beak of the finch: evolution in real time—an extraordinary scientific adventure story about birds, biology and the origin of species. Cape, London
White G (1789) The natural history and antiquities of Selborne in the county of Southampton: with engravings and an appendix. White, London
Wied-Neuwied M von (1820) Travels in Brazil in the years 1815, 1816, 1817. Colburn, London
Willson MF, Armesto JJ (1996) The natural history of Chiloé: on Darwin's trail. Rev Chil Hist Nat 69:149–161
Winkler H, Christie DA, Nurney D (1995) Woodpeckers—a guide to the woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks of the world. Pica, East Sussex, UK
Woods R (1988) Guide to birds of the Falkland Islands. Nelson, Oswestry, Salop, UK
Wytsman P (ed) (1905–1914) Genera avium. Verteneuil & Desmet, Brussels Zimmer JT (1926) Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer ornithological library, part 1. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois
[page] 1
Appendix: Charles Darwin's bird collection from the voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle
Similar lists of Darwin's specimens have already been published for other animals than birds, e.g. invertebrates at Oxford University Museum (Chancellor et al. 1988). The following list, however, does not follow the general procedure in giving the entries in Darwin's number sequence, but in a taxonomical sequence.
Squared parentheses indicate comments and references added by the author. Sex and age, when given, are as on the label, in Darwin's notes or in the 'Catalogue of Birds' (Sharpe et al. 1874-1895). The determination of subspecies are mainly based on collecting locality, cited from Peters et al. (1934-1987), except for the Geospizinae, which follow Sulloway (1982). The total number of specimens slightly differs to Sulloway (1982) and Steinheimer (2003).
The taxonomy and nomenclature of Peters et al. (1934-1987) is followed throughout the document. No nomenclatural issues are discussed here and have to remain the subject of a separate paper. The authorship of new names has mainly been attributed to John Gould; and to George Robert Gray only in the few cases when the accompanying text refers to him. However, this might prove to be incorrect when further investigations take place on the history of the publication of The Zoology of the voyage of H. M. S. Beagle. The names and authors cited from The Zoology of the voyage of H. M. S. Beagle (Gould & Darwin 1838, 1839a-c, Gould et al. 1841; indicated by "Z.") may sometimes differ from what modern nomenclature would regard as correct. If a name on a plate has been published earlier than its accompanying text according to Sherborn (1897) then the name on the plate is given when referring to type status followed by the plate number in squared parentheses. Differences in the plate sequence between a fascimile copy and two originals sets of The Zoology of the voyage of H. M. S. Beagle, now housed at The Natural History Museum, Tring, and the University College, London, are addressed for each case.
Loc. = collecting locality as on label and/or in CD.
Leg. = Lat. legit; collected by.
ZSL = Zoological Society of London.
Z. = 'The Zoology of the voyage of H. M. S. Beagle, Part 3 - Birds' (Gould & Darwin 1838, 1839a-c, Gould et al. 1841).
CD = Darwin's Ornithological Notes (Barlow 1963), Specimen Lists (Keynes 2000)
Cat. = 'Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum' (Sharpe et al. 1874-1895).
BMNH = British Museum (Natural History), now The Natural History Museum, Tring.
MANCH = Manchester Museum University of Manchester, Manchester.
LIVCM = Liverpool Museum National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside, Liverpool.
NMSE = National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh.
ZMD = The Zoology Museum, University of Dundee, Dundee.
CUMZ = Cambridge University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge.
USNM = United States National Museum, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington.
VMM = Victoria Museum, Melbourne.
MNHN = Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris.
RMNH = Rijks Museum van Natuurlijke Historie, now Naturalis Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden.
RHEIDAE:
* Rhea americana Americana (Linnaeus, 1758). [CD 814]. Z. pp. 120-123: Rhea americana Lath. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. October 1832. Material: single egg. Status: missing.
[page] 2
* Pterocnemia pennata pennata (d'Orbigny, 1834). [CD 1832-1838, 2004, 2147, 2148]. Z. pp. 123-125: Rhea darwinii Gould. Holotype Rhea Darwinii Gould, 1837 [based on a composite specimen]. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire, Port Famine, Port St Julian, Santa Cruz. February July 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: mount. Status: missing.
*Pterocnemia pennata pennata (d'Orbigny, 1834). [CD 1814]. Z. pp. 123-125: Rhea darwinii Gould. Paratype Rhea darwinii Gould, 1837. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire. January – February 1834. Remark: BMNH possesses one data-less egg, BMNH 1859.3.25.31, from "Rhea darwinii" = Pterocnemia p.pennata, which is registered as from John Gould's collection, see also Keynes 2000: 189 for detailed description of the egg. Material: single egg. Status: probably missing.
TINAMIDAE:
*Rhynchotus rufescens rufescens (Temminck, 1815). [CD 1382]. Z. p. 120: Rhynchotus rufescens Wagl. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. July 1833. Remark: perhaps a second bird of this species had been collected; cf. Z. p. 120: "my specimens were procured at Maldonado". Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Nothoprocta perdicaria perdicaria (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 2159]. Z. pp. 119-120: Nothura perdicaria G.R.Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Nothoprocta perdicaria perdicaria (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 2427]. Z. pp. 119-120: Nothura perdicaria G.R.Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. August-November 1834. Material: single egg. Status: missing.
*Nothura darwinii darwinii Gray, 1867. [CD 1447]. Z. p. 119: Northura [sic] minor Wagl. Holotype Nothura darwinii Gray, 1867. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.107. Cat. XXVII: 563: a.
*Nothura maculosa maculosa (Temminck, 1815). CD 1223. Z. p. 119: Northura [sic] major Wagl. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: northern shores of the Plata. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.18.34. Cat. XXVII: 560: e.
*Nothura maculosa maculosa (Temminck, 1815). [CD 1378]. Z. p. 119: Northura [sic] major Wagl. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: northern shores of the Plata. 1833. Material: single egg. Status: missing.
PROCELLARIIDAE:
*Macronectes giganteus (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 2080]. Z. pp. 139-140: Procellaria gigantean Gmel. Loc.: Chile: Port Famine. June 1834. Material: skin/ex mount, imm. Status: missing.
*Fulmarus glacialoides (Smith, 1840). [CD 1335]. Z. p. 140: Procellaria glacialodes A. Smith. Loc.: Argentina: Bay of St Mathias [Golf S. Matias]. [? April] 1833. Material: skin/ex mount. Status: missing.
*Daption capense australe Mathews, 1913. [? CD 3413]. Z. pp. 140-141: Daption capensis Steph. Loc.: New Zealand: Bay of Islands. December 1835. Remark: probably listed as "bird" in CD. Keynes 2000 accidentally referred to CD No. 3189, which is Puffinus griseus. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Pachyptila desolata ? banksi Smith, 1840. [CD n/a]. Z. p. 141: Prion vittatus Cuv. Loc.: South America and off shore islands. Remark: Ranges suggests P. desolata versus vittata. Material & Status: not collected.
*Procellaria cinerea Gmelin, 1789. [CD 1624]. Z. pp. 137-138: Puffinus cinereus Steph. Loc.: Argentina: little south of the mouth of the Plata. November 1833. Remark: species attribution uncertain, could also be P. griseus. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Procellaria cinerea Gmelin, 1789. [CD 1816]. Z. pp. 137-138: Puffinus cinereus Steph. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine in the Straits of Magellan. January – February
[page] 3
1834. Remark: species attribution uncertain, could also be P. griseus. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Puffinus griseus (Gmelin, 1789). CD 3189. Z. pp. 137-138: Puffinus cinereus Steph. Loc.: Peru: Lima: Callao Bay. August 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: accidentally referred to as Daption capensis in Keynes 2000. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.133. Cat. XXV: 388: o.
HYDROBATIDAE:
*Oceanites oceanicus ssp. (Kuhl, 1820). [CD 1349]. Z. p. 141: Thalassidroma oceanica Bonap. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. July 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
PELECANOIDIDAE:
*Pelecanoides garnotii (Lesson, 1828). [CD 3190]. Z. p. 139: Pelecanoides garnotii G. R. Gray. Loc.: Peru: Callao Bay [on label], Iquique [Z.]. 12-15 July 1835. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Eyton. Remark: On label as Calao [Callao Bay], which is near Iquique. Very likely one of Darwin's birds. Material: skin, ad. Status: probably BMNH 1888.5.18.167. Cat. XXV: 439: g.
*Pelecanoides urinator berard (Gaimard, 1823). [CD 1782]. Z. pp. 138-139: Pelecanoides berardi G. R. Gray. 'Holotype' [fide Cat.] Haladroma tenuirostris Eyton MS [not valid]. Loc.: Chile: Straits of Magellan. January – February 1834. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: no indication of Darwin on label. Material: skin, imm. Status: probably BMNH 1881.5.1.6015. Cat. XXV: 438: r.
SPHENISCIDAE:
*Spheniscus humboldti Meyen, 1834. [CD 2321]. Z. p. 137: Spheniscus humboldtii [sic] Meyen. Loc.: Chile: coast near Valparaso. September-November 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
PODICIPEDIDAE:
*Rollandia rolland chilensis (Lesson, 1828). [CD 1429]. Z. p. 137: Podiceps chilensis Garnot. Loc.: Argentina: near Buenos Aires. October 1833. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: Preparation style and stuffing would speak for a Darwin bird, though locality 'Chile' on label. Material: skin, imm. Status: possible BMNH 1867.3.16.78. Cat. XXVI: 526: h.
*Rollandia rolland chilensis (Lesson, 1828). CD 2435 [original field label]. Z. p. 137: Podiceps rollandii Quoy et Gaim. Loc.: Chile: eastern coast of Isla de Chiloé. December 1834. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, imm. Status: BMNH 1881.5.1.6001. Cat. XXVI: 526: a'.
*Rollandia rolland chilensis (Lesson, 1828). CD 1780 [original field label]. Z. p. 137: Podiceps rollandii Quoy et Gaim. Loc.: Chile: eastern coast of Isla de Chiloé [on label], Straits of Magellan [CD]. February 1834. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1881.5.1.5999. Cat. XXVI: 526: z' [in errore: z].
*Rollandia rolland rolland (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). [CD 1917]. Z. p. 137: Podiceps rollandii Quoy et Gaim. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Podiceps occipitalis occipitalis Garnot, 1826. [CD 1918]. Z. p. 136: Podiceps kalipareus Quoy & Gaim. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834.
[page] 4
Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: the specimen listed would fit to Darwin's specimen style. Material: skin, ad. Status: perhaps 1860.1.16.89. Cat. XXVI: 537: p/q.
*Podiceps occipitalis occipitalis Garnot, 1826. [CD 713]. Z. p. 136: Podiceps kalipareus Quoy & Gaim. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. September 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
FREGATIDAE:
*Fregata aquila (Linnaeus, 1758). [CD n/a]. Z. p. 146: Fregata aquila Cuv. Loc.: United Kingdom: Atlantic Ocean: Ascension Island. July 1836. Material & Status: not collected.
*Fregata magnificens / minor ridgwayi Mathews, 1914. [CD n/a]. Z. p. 146: Fregata aquila Cuv. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. September-October 1835. Material & Status: not collected.
PHALACROCORACIDAE:
*Phalacrocorax atriceps atriceps King, 1828. [CD 1756]. Z. p. 145: Phalacrocorax carunculatus Stephens. Loc.: Argentina: Port St. Julian. January 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
SULIDAE:
*Sula leucogaster leucogaster (Boddaert, 1783). [CD 413, shared with an egg of Anous]. Z. n/a. Loc.: Brazil: St. Paul Rocks [= Sao Paulo Island, Atlantic Ocean]. April 1832. Material: several eggs. Status: missing.
ARDEIDAE:
*Ardea herodias cognata Bangs, 1903. [CD 3296]. Z. p. 128: Ardea herodias Linn. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Material: skin/mount, fem. Status: missing.
*Ardea alba egretta Gmelin, 1789. [CD 1269]. Z. p. 128: Egretta leuce Bonap. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Nyctanassa violacea pauper (Sclater & Salvin, 1870). [CD 3300]. Z. p. 128: Nycticorax violaceus Bonap. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Material: skin/mount, female/imm. Status: missing.
*Nyctanassa violacea pauper (Sclater & Salvin, 1870). [CD 3301]. Z. p. 128: Nycticorax violaceus Bonap. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Remark: Z. speaks only of one specimen, though two are entered in CD. Material: skin/mount, female/imm. Status: missing.
*Nycticorax nycticorax obscurus Bonaparte, 1855. [CD 2184]. Z. p. 128: Nycticorax americanus Bonap. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August-September 1834. Material: skin/mount, female/imm. Status: missing.
THRESKIONITHIDAE:
*Plegadis chihi (Vieillot, 1817). [CD 1458]. Z. p. 129: Ibis (falcinellus) ordi Bonap. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro. August 1833. Material: skin/ mount. Status: missing.
*Theristicus melanopis melanopis (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 1773]. Z. pp. 128-129: Theristicus melanops Wagl. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire: desert gravel plains. 23 December 1833 – 4 January 1834. Remark: Z. mentions at least two specimens, but only one in CD. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
[page] 5
PHOENICOPTERIDAE:
*Phoenicopterus ruber ruber Linnaeus, 1758. [CD 3362]. Z. n/a. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Material: stomach contents in spirit. Status: missing.
CARTHARTIDAE:
*Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793). [CD n/a]. Z. p. 7: Cathartes atratus Rich. & Swain. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro: Colorado. Material & Status: not collected.
*Cathartes aura falklandicus (Sharpe, 1873). [CD 1915]. Z. pp. 8-9: Cathartes aura Illi. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: Not yet looked for by author.
*Vultur gryphus Linnaeus, 1758. [CD n/a]. Z. pp. 3-6: Sarcoramphus gryphus Bonap. Loc.: Chile, Argentina. Material & Status: not collected.
ACCIPITRIDAE:
*Circus cinereus Vieillot, 1816. [CD 2822]. Z. pp. 30-31: Circus cinerius [sic] Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Concépcion or Coquimbo. 1835. Ex.coll. Norwich Castle Museum/Gurney Collection, ex. S. G. Buxton, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male [CD], ad. [label]. Status: Probably BMNH 1955.6.N20.3488.
*Circus cinereus Vieillot, 1816. CD 1881. Z. pp. 30-31: Circus cinerius [sic] Vieill. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Ex.coll. Norwich Castle Museum/Gurney Collection, ex. S. G. Buxton, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, female/imm. Status: BMNH 1955.6.N20.3497.
*Circus cinereus Vieillot, 1816. [CD 1160]. Z. pp. 30-31: Circus cinerius [sic] Vieill. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Circus cinereus Vieillot, 1816. [CD 1054]. Z. pp. 30-31: Circus cinerius [sic] Vieill. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833. Ex.coll. Norwich Castle Museum/Gurney Collection, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female / imm. Status: BMNH 1955.6.N20.3487.
*Circus buffoni (Gmelin, 1788). [CD 1396]. Z. pp. 29-30: Circus megaspilus Gould. Holotype Circus megaspilus Gould, 1837. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: La Plata. July 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.258. Cat. I: 63: a.
*Buteo galapagoensis (Gould, 1837). [CD 3297]. Z. pp. 23-25: Craxirex galapagoensis Gould. Syntype Polyborus galapagoensis Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.202. Cat. I: 171: a.
*Buteo galapagoensis(Gould, 1837). [CD 3298]. Z. pp. 23-25: Craxirex galapagoensis Gould. Syntype Polyborus galapagoensis Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female/imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.203. Cat. I: 171: b.
*Buteo polyosoma polyosoma (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). [CD 1781]. Z. pp. 26-27: Buteo varius Gould. Holotype [fide Warren 1966] Buteo varius Gould, 1837. Loc.: Chile: Straits of Magellan: Cape Negro, 20 km NNE of Punta Arenas. February 1834. Ex.coll. Norwich Castle Museum/Gurney Collection, ex. ZSL. Remark: Type designation uncertain. Material: ex mount, imm. Status: BMNH 1955.6.N20.2410.
*Buteo polyosoma polyosoma (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). [CD 1758]. Z. pp. 26-27: Buteo varius Gould. Loc.: Argentina: Port St. Julian. January 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: In
[page] 6
Gould's first description only one bird is mentioned; but two birds are referred to in Z. The bird listed here is not the BMNH specimen collected by King. Material: ex mount, female/imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.208. Cat. I: 173: m.
*Buteo polyosoma polyosoma (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). [CD 2136]. Z. pp. 26: Buteo erythronotus [King]. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Ex.coll. Norwich Castle Museum/Gurney Collection, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: probably BMNH 1955.6.N20.2412.
*Buteo polyosoma polyosoma (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). [CD 1916]. Z. p. 26: Buteo erythronotus [King]. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Ex.coll "old collection". Remark: This specimen can only derive from three collections, FitzRoy, King or Darwin. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: perhaps BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. I: 163: a.
*Buteo ventralis Gould, 1837. [CD 2030]. Z. pp. 27-28: Buteo ventralis Gould. Holotype Buteo ventralis Gould, 1837. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.204. Cat. I: 190: p.
FALCONIDAE:
*Phalcoboenus megalopterus megalopterus (Meyen, 1834). [CD n/a]. Z. p. 21: Milvago megalopterus [Meyen]. Loc.: Chile: Copiapó. 1835. Material & Status: not collected.
*Phalcoboenus megalopterus albogularis Gould, 1837. [CD 2029]. Z. pp. 18-21: Milvago albogularis [Gould]. Holotype Polyborus albogularis Gould, 1837. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.405. Cat. I: 38: a.
*Phalcoboenus australis (Gmelin, 1788). CD 1882. Z. pp. 15-18: Milvago leucurus [Forster]. Syntype Milvago leucurus Darwin & Gray, 1838.1 Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Ex.coll. Norwich Castle Museum/Gurney Collection, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, imm. Status: BMNH 1955.6.N20.46.
*Phalcoboenus australis (Gmelin, 1788). [CD 1926]. Z. pp. 15-18: Milvago leucurus [Forster]. Syntype Milvago leucurus Darwin & Gray, 1838.1 Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Ex.coll. Norwich Castle Museum/Gurney Collection, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female. Status: BMNH 1955.6.N20.47.
*Phalcoboenus australis (Gmelin, 1788). [CD 1932]. Z. pp. 15-18: Milvago leucurus [Forster]. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Material & Status: lost [cf. Keynes 2000: 399].
*Phalcoboenus australis (Gmelin, 1788). [CD 1933]. Z. pp. 15-18: Milvago leucurus [Forster]. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Material & Status: lost [cf. Keynes 2000: 399].
*Polyborus plancus plancus (Miller, 1777). [? CD 2028]. Z. pp. 9-12: Polyborus brasiliensis Swains. Loc.: Argentina: plains of Santa Cruz. April - May 1834. Remark: The BMNH possesses a specimen from the Norwich Castle Museum (ex.ZSL), which has not the "pale rusty brown" on head [cf. Z.: 11]. Material: skin/mount, male, imm. Status: missing.
*Polyborus plancus plancus (Miller, 1777). [? CD 1456]. Z. pp. 9-12: Polyborus brasiliensis Swains. Loc.: Argentina: [? Bahia Blanca]: plains of Santa Cruz. July-August 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Milvago chimango chimango (Vieillot, 1816). CD 1294 [on label accidentally 1204D]. Z. pp. 14-15: Milvago chimango [Vieill.]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. May 1833. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. I: 42: c.
1 Authorship here given as Darwin and Gray, 1838, on preliminary conclusion. Authorships of the species accounts of the Zoology of H.M.S. Beagle need further studies.
[page] 7
*Milvago chimango temucoensis Sclater, 1918. [CD 1772]. Z. pp. 13-14: Milvago pezoporos [Meyen]. 'Holotype' Polyborus hyperstictus Giebel MS [not valid]. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire. January 1834. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: perhaps BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. I: 42: d.
*Milvago chimango temucoensis Sclater, 1918. [CD 1028]. Z. pp. 13-14: Milvago pezoporos [Meyen]. Loc.: Chile: extreme Southern Tierra del Fuego: Hardy Peninsula. February 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Falco sparverius cinnamominus Swaison, 1837. [CD 2014]. Z. p. 29: Tinnunculus sparverius Vieill. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Falco sparverius cinnamominus Swaison, 1837. [CD 1464]. Z. p. 29: Tinnunculus sparverius Vieill. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro. August 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Falco femoralis femoralis Temminck, 1817. [CD 1706]. Z. p. 28: Falco femoralis Temm. Loc.: Argentina: small valley on the plains at Port Desire. January 1834. Ex.coll. Norwich Castle Museum/Gurney Collection, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: probably BMNH 1955.6.N20.1796.
*Falco femoralis femoralis Temminck, 1817. [CD 1710, number shared with egg(s) of Zonotrichia capensis, see below]. Z. p. 28: Falco femoralis Temm. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire. January 1834. Material: egg clutch. Status: missing.
ANATIDAE:
*Chloephaga melanoptera (Eyton, 1838). [CD n/a]. Z. p. 134: Anser melanopterus Eyton. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. Remark: bird mentioned in Z. was bought by FitzRoy on a local market at Valpara so. Material & Status: not collected by Darwin.
*Chloephaga picta leucoptera (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 576 specimens in spirit]. Z. p. 134: Chloephaga magellanica Eyton. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833. Ex.coll. Eyton. Material: trachea in spirit. Status: missing.
*Chloephaga hybrida malvinarum Phillips, 1916. [CD 577 specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 134-135: Bernicla antarctica Steph. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833. Ex.coll. Eyton. Material: trachea in spirit. Status: missing.
*Tachyeres patachonicus (King, 1828). [CD 1661]. Z. p. 136: Micropterus brachypterus Eyton. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire, 20 miles up the creek. January 1834. Remark: no authentic locality data on label, was always believed to come from the Falklands, but Darwin did not collect any duck there. If locality is correct, then the duck was shot by Fuller or Covington. Material: mount. Status: probably CUMZ 12/Ana/60/a/5.
*Amazonetta brasiliensis ipecutiri (Vieillot, 1816). [? CD 1419/1421/1436, see also below]. Z. p. 135: Querquedula erythrorhyncha Eyton. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires. October 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*?Amazonetta brasiliensis ssp. (Gmelin, 1789). [? CD 1778/1779, see below]. Z. p. 135: Querquedula erythrorhyncha Eyton Loc.: Chile: Straits of Magellan: Cape Negro (fresh water). February 1834. Remark: Z. claims this species to occur near Straits of Magellan – either very rare vagrant or different species. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Anas flavirostris flavirostris Vieillot, 1816. [? CD 1419/1421/1436, see above/below]. Z. pp. 135-136: Querquedula creccodes Eyton. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Plata near Buenos Aires. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Anas flavirostris flavirostris Vieillot, 1816. [? CD 1778/1779, see above]. Z. pp. 135-136: Querquedula crecco des Eyton. Loc.: Chile: Straits of Magellan: Cape Negro (fresh water). February 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
[page] 8
*Anas georgica spinicauda Vieillot, 1816. [CD 1454]. Z. p. 135: Dafila urophasianus Eyton. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. 1833. Remark: Cat. (Salvadori 1895: 282) listed D. urophasianus under P. bahamensis, which does not fit with the locality of the specimen. Therefore it is more likely that the taxon of Z. is Anas spinicauda. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Anas bahamensis galapagensis (Ridgway, 1889). [CD 3299]. Z. p. 135: Paecilonitta bahamensis Eyton. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Anas platalea Vieillot, 1816. [? CD 1419/1421/1436, see above]. Z. p. 135: Rhynchaspis maculatus Gould. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Plata near Buenos Aires. October 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
RALLIDAE:
*Rallus philippensis andrewsi (Mathews, 1911). [CD 3591]. Z. p. 133: Rallus phillipensis [sic] Linn. Loc.: Australia: Cocos / Keeling Islands. April 1836. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Ortygonax rytirhynchos landbecki (Hellmayr, 1932). [CD 2183]. Z. p. 133: Rallus sanguinolentus Swains. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August-September 1834. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Aramides ypecaha (Vieillot, 1819). CD 1435 [original field label]. Z. p. 133: Rallus ypecaha Vieill. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires. 1833. Remark: Darwin added the species name on his label. Material: skin. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen.
*Laterallus spilonotus (Gould, 1841). [? CD 3353 / 3351, see below]. Z. pp. 132-133: Zapornia spilonota Gould. Syntype Zapornia spilonota Gould, 1841. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago [James Isl. fide Rothschild/Hartert Nov.Zool.VI, 1899: 185]. October 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing [unless the specimen of FitzRoy is the bird listed in CD: BMNH 1837.2.21.404. Cat. XXIII: 113: b. Vell. Cat. 40: 180 a, cf. Warren 1966].
*Laterallus spilonotus (Gould, 1841). [CD 3352]. Z. pp. 132-133: Zapornia spilonota Gould. Syntype Zapornia spilonota Gould, 1841 & Syntype Porzana galapagoensis Sharpe, 1894. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago [James Isl. fide Rothschild/Hartert Nov.Zool.VI, 1899: 185]. October 1835. Material: skin, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1964.45.1. Cat. XXIII: 113: a.
*Laterallus spilonotus (Gould, 1841). [? CD 3351 / 3353, see above]. Z. pp. 132-133: Zapornia spilonota Gould. Syntype Zapornia spilonota Gould, 1841. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago [James Isl. fide Rothschild/Hartert Nov.Zool.VI, 1899: 185]. October 1835. Remark: This specimen is not a syntype of Porzana galapagoensis. The second syntype of this name is a FitzRoy specimen. Material: skin, female, imm. Status: BMNH 1964.46.1. Cat. XXIII: 138: e.
*Laterallus melanophaius melanophaius (Vieillot, 1819). [? CD 1235 / 1295, see below]. Z. p. 132: Crex lateralis Licht. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado near Rio Plata. May-June 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Laterallus melanophaius melanophaius (Vieillot, 1819). [? CD 1295 / 1235, see above]. Z. p. 132: Crex lateralis Licht. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado near Rio Plata. May-June 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Coturnicops notata notata (Gould, 1841). [? CD 1453 / 1424, see below]. Z. p. 132: Zapornia notata Gould. Holotype Zapornia notata Gould, 1841. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Plata: shot on board of the Beagle near Buenos Aires. 1833. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1964.44.1. Cat. XXIII: 129: a.
[page] 9
*Porphyriops melanops melanops (Vieillot, 1819). [? CD 1424 / 1453, see above]. Z. p. 133: Gallinula crassirostris J. E. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires: banks of the Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Porphyriops melanops crassirostris (J. E. Gray, 1829). [CD 2164]. Z. p. 133: Gallinula crassirostris J. E. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August-September 1834. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Porphyriops melanops crassirostris (J. E. Gray, 1829). [CD 2165]. Z. p. 133: Gallinula crassirostris J. E. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. August-September 1834. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Gallinula chloropus garmani Allen, 1876. [CD 2821]. Z. p. 133: Fulica galeata G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Concépcion. 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Porphyrula alleni (Thomson, 1842). [CD 3900]. Z. pp. 133-134: Porphyrio simplex Gould. Holotype Porphyrio simplex Gould, 1841. Loc.: United Kingdom: Atlantic Ocean: Ascension Island. July 1836. Remark: Barlow 1833: 413-415 gives no further details. Taylor 1998: 478 added Darwin's record with questionmark. One other record than Darwin's is known for Ascension Island. The nomenclature and taxonomy of this taxon would need further studies. Material: skin/mount, female/imm. Status: missing.
ROSTRATULIDAE:
*Nycticryphes semicollaris (Vieillot, 1816). [? CD 1214]. Z. p. 131: Rhynchaea semicollaris G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo or Maldonado. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
HAEMATOPODIDAE:
*Haematopus ostralegus durnfordi Sharpe, 1896. [CD 1383]. Z. p. 128: Haematopus palliatus Temm. Loc.: Argentina/Uruguay: Guritti Island: Rio de la Plata or Maldonado. July 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Haematopus ostralegus durnfordi Sharpe, 1896. [? CD 1420]. Z. p. 128: Haematopus palliatus Temm. Loc.: Argentina: Rio de la Plata near Buenos Aires. July 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
CHARADRIIDAE:
*Belonopterus chilensis lampronotus (Wagler, 1827). [CD 1602]. Z. p. 127: Philomachus cayanus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Rio de la Plata near Montevideo. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Pluvialis dominica dominica (P. L. S. Mller, 1776). [CD 1606]. Z. p. 126: Charadrius virgininus Borkh. Loc.: Uruguay: banks of the Plata. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Charadrius hiaticula semipalmatus Bonaparte, 1825. [CD 3357]. Z. p. 128: Hiaticula semipalmata G. R. Gray. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. September - October 1835. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Charadrius alexandrinus occidentalis (Cabanis, 1872). CD 2188. Z. p. 127: Hiaticula azarae G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so [not on label]. August-September 1834. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1891.10.20.337. Cat. XXIV: 292: w'.
*Charadrius falklandicus Latham, 1790. [CD 1449; versus Keynes 2000]. Z. p. 127: Hiaticula trifasciatus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
[page] 10
*Charadrius falklandicus Latham, 1790. [CD 1433]. Z. p. 127: Hiaticula trifasciatus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Charadrius collaris Vieillot, 1818. [CD 1208]. Z. p. 127: Hiaticula azarae G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: banks of the Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Charadrius collaris Vieillot, 1818. [? CD 1435]. Z. p. 127: Hiaticula azarae G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: banks of the Plata near Buenos Aires. October 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Charadrius collaris Vieillot, 1818. [CD 712]. Z. p. 127: Hiaticula azarae G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. September 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Oreopholus ruficollis (Wagler, 1829). [CD 1263]. Z. pp. 125-126: Oreophilus totanirostris Jard. & Selby. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Oreopholus ruficollis (Wagler, 1829). [CD 2166]. Z. pp. 125-126: Oreophilus totanirostris Jard. & Selby. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August-September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Zonibyx modestus (Lichtenstein, 1823). CD 901. Z. p. 126: Squatarola cincta Jard. & Selby. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: summits of highest mountains of Good Success Bay. 20 December 1832. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1857.10.16.69. Cat. XXIV: 239: i.
*Zonibyx modestus (Lichtenstein, 1823). CD 1817 [original field label]. Z. p. 126: Squatarola cincta Jard. & Selby. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. Early February 1834. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1857.10.16.68. Cat. XXIV: 239: k.
*Zonibyx modestus (Lichtenstein, 1823). [CD 1145]. Z. p. 126: Squatarola cincta Jard. & Selby. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: probably BMNH 1859.3.25.84.
*Zonibyx modestus (Lichtenstein, 1823). [? CD 1403]. Z. p. 126: Squatarola cincta Jard. & Selby. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Zonibyx modestus (Lichtenstein, 1823). [CD 2123]. Z. p. 126: Squatarola cincta Jard. & Selby. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Zonibyx modestus (Lichtenstein, 1823). [CD 1236]. Z. pp. 126-127: Squatarola fusca Gould. Holotype Squatarola fusca Gould, 1841. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
SCOLOPACIDAE:
*Numenius borealis (J. R. Forster, 1772). [? CD 684]. Z. p. 129: Numenius brevirostris Licht. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires or Brazil: Rio de Janeiro. Summer 1832 or September 1833. Remark: Darwin in CD reported to have collected a 'Numenius' at Rio, and it is assumed that it is indeed this species. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus Latham, 1790. [CD 2501]. Z. p. 129: Numenius hudsonicus Lath. Loc.: Chile: mud-banks of Isla de Chiloé or Chonos Archipel. January 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Limosa haemastica (Linnaeus, 1758). [CD 2434]. Z. p. 129: Limosa hudsonica Swains. Loc.: Chile: mud-banks of East coast of Isla de Chiloé. December 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Limosa haemastica (Linnaeus, 1758). CD 1147 [original field label]. Z. p. 129: Limosa hudsonica Swains. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island: Port Louis. March 1833. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin. Status: USNM No. 8074.
[page] 11
*Limosa haemastica (Linnaeus, 1758). [CD 1148]. Z. p. 129: Limosa hudsonica Swains. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island: Port Louis. March 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Limosa haemastica (Linnaeus, 1758). [? CD 1880]. Z. p. 129: Limosa hudsonica Swains. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Tringa flavipes (Gmelin, 1789). [? CD 1603/1607/1608, see below]. Z. p. 129: Totanus flavipes Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Rio Plata near Montevideo. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Tringa melanoleuca (Gmelin, 1789). [?? CD 1430/1431]. Z. p. 130: Totanus melanoleucos Licht. et Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Rio Plata near Maldonado. October 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Tringa solitaria cinnamomea (Brewster, 1890). [? CD 1603/1607/1608, see above and below]. Z. p. 129: Totanus macropterus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Rio Plata near Montevideo. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Heteroscelus incanus (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 3355]. Z. p. 130: Totanus fuliginosus Gould. Holotype Totanus fuliginosus Gould, 1841. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Remark: The BMNH holds a specimen from FitzRoy's collection (BMNH 1837.2.21.263), considered by Warren 1966 to be the type. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Arenaria interpres interpres (Linnaeus, 1758). [CD 3191]. Z. p. 132: Strepsilas interpres Ill. Loc.: Peru: coast near Iquique. August 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Arenaria interpres interpres (Linnaeus, 1758). [CD 3354]. Z. p. 132: Strepsilas interpres Ill. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Capella paraguaiae paraguaiae (Vieillot, 1816). CD 1203 [original field label]. Z. p. 131: Scolopax (Telmatias) paraguaiae Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Rio Plata near Maldonado. May – June 1833. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1860.1.16.74. Cat. XXIV: 651: h.
*Capella paraguaiae paraguaiae (Vieillot, 1816). [CD 1243]. Z. p. 131: Scolopax (Telmatias) magellanicus King. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. May – June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XXIV: 652: n'.
*Capella paraguaiae magellanica (King, 1828). CD 1048. Z. p. 131: Scolopax (Telmatias) magellanicus King. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1891.10.20.563. Cat. XXIV: 652: i.
*Capella paraguaiae magellanica (King, 1828). [CD 2168]. Z. p. 131: Scolopax (Telmatias) paraguaiae Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August – September 1834. Material: skin/mount, female Status: missing.
*Erolia minutilla (Vieillot, 1819). [CD 3358]. Z. p. 131: Pelidna minutilla Gould. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Erolia minutilla (Vieillot, 1819). [CD 3359]. Z. p. 131: Pelidna minutilla Gould. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Erolia fuscicollis (Vieillot, 1819). [CD 970]. Z. p. 131: Pelidna schinzii Bonap. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Goree Sound. January 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Tryngites subruficollis (Vieillot, 1819). [? CD 1603/1607/1608, see above]. Z. p. 130: Tringa rufescens Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Rio Plata near Montevideo. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
RECURVIROSTRIDAE:
[page] 12
*Himantopus himantopus melanurus Vieillot, 1817. [CD 1221]. Z. p. 130: Himantopus nigricollis Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Himantopus himantopus melanurus Vieillot, 1817. [?? CD 1422 / 1423]. Z. p. 130: Himantopus nigricollis Vieill. Loc.: Argentina: provinces bordering the Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
THINOCORIDAE:
*Attagis gayi gayi (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & Lesson, 1830). [CD 2823]. Z. p. 117: Attagis gayii Less. Loc.: Chile: Cordillera of Coquimbo or Copiapò. 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Attagis malouinus malouinus (Boddaert, 1783). [CD 1402]. Z. p. 117: Attagis falklandica G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: extreme Southern part of Tierra del Fuego: summit of Katers peak (1700 feet high) on Hermit Island. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Thinocorus rumicivorus rumicivorus Eschscholtz, 1829. [CD 710]. Z. pp. 117-118: Tinochorus [sic] rumicivorus Eschsch. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca: sterile plains. February-March 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Thinocorus rumicivorus rumicivorus Eschscholtz, 1829. [CD 711]. Z. pp. 117-118: Tinochorus [sic] rumicivorus Eschsch. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca: sterile plains. February-March 1832. Material: tail, added to No. CD 710. Status: missing.
*Thinocorus rumicivorus rumicivorus Eschscholtz, 1829. [CD 1224]. Z. pp. 117-118: Tinochorus [sic] rumicivorus Eschsch. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. May-June 1833. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Thinocorus rumicivorus rumicivorus Eschscholtz, 1829. [CD 1273]. Z. pp. 117-118: Tinochorus [sic] rumiciv Eschsch. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. May-June 1833. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Thinocorus rumicivorus rumicivorus Eschscholtz, 1829. [CD 707, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 117-118 & 155-156: Tinochorus [sic] rumicivorus Eschsch. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Thinocorus rumicivorus rumicivorus Eschscholtz, 1829. [CD 388, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 117-118 & 155-156: Tinochorus [sic] rumicivorus Eschsch. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. September 1832. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
CHIONIDIDAE:
*Chionis alba (Gmelin, 1789). [CD n/a]. Z. pp. 118-119: Chionis alba Forst. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833 or 1834. Material & Status: shot, but not preserved.
LARIDAE:
*Gabianus scoresbii (Traill, 1822). [CD 1757]. Z. p. 142: Larus haematorhynchus King. Loc.: Argentina: Port St. Julian. January 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Larus fuliginosus Gould, 1841. [CD 3304]. Z. pp. 141-142: Larus fuliginosus Gould. Holotype Larus fuliginosus Gould, 1841. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago: James Island. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.218. Cat. XXV: 223: b.
*Larus dominicanus Lichtenstein, 1823. [CD 1455]. Z. p 142: Larus dominicanus Licht. Loc.: Argentina: Pampas near Rio Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
[page] 13
*Larus maculipennis Lichtenstein, 1823. [CD 1268]. Z. pp. 142-143: Xema (chroicocephalus) cirrocephalum G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Larus maculipennis Lichtenstein, 1823. [CD 1783]. Z. pp. 142-143: Xema (chroicocephalus) cirrocephalum G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Straits of Magellan. January – February 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.140. Cat. XXV: 206: d'.
*Larus maculipennis Lichtenstein, 1823. [CD 1390]. Z. pp. 142-143: Xema (chroicocephalus) cirrocephalum G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Straits of Magellan. July 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: skin/mount, imm. Status: former BMNH specimen, missing. Cat. XXV: 206: e'.
*Larus maculipennis Lichtenstein, 1823. [CD 748]. Z. pp. 142-143: Xema (chroicocephalus) cirrocephalum G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. September 1832. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XXV: 203: h'.
*Gelochelidon nilotica aranea (Wilson, 1814). [CD 745]. Z. p. 145: Viralva aranea G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. September 1832. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.134. Cat. XXV: 31: n.
*Anous stolidus galapagensis Sharpe, 1879. [CD 3302]. Z. p. 145: Megalopterus stolidus Boie. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Anous stolidus galapagensis Sharpe, 1879. [CD 3375]. Z. p. 145: Megalopterus stolidus Boie. Loc.: Pacific Ocean: many 100 miles east from the Galápagos Archipelago. Night of 3 November 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Anous minutus atlanticus (Mathews, 1912). [CD 413, shared with eggs of Sula]. Z. p. 145: Megalopterus stolidus Boie. Loc.: Brazil: St. Paul Rocks [=Sao Paulo Island, Atlantic Ocean]. April 1832. Material: single egg. Status: missing.
*indet. Laridae "Gull". [CD 185]. Loc.: Portugal: Cape Verde Islands: So Tiago: Porto Praia (1455'N 23?31W'). 9 January – 7 February 1832. Remark: This specimen is mentioned as "Gull" from Porto Praya, and would be the first record of any gull sighting on the Cape Verde Islands [cf. Hazevoet 1995: 124]. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*indet. Laridae "Sterna". [CD 1384]. Loc.: Argentina: Guritti Island in Rio de la Plata. May-June 1833. Remark: Might be an additional record of Rynchops nigra (see below). Locality not traced in Paynter 1994, 1995. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
RYNCHOPIDAE:
*Rynchops nigra intercedens Saunders, 1895. [CD 1264]. Z. pp. 143-144: Rhynchops [sic] nigra Linn. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. May 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL [fide Barlow 1963: 221]. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
COLUMBIDAE:
*Columba picazuro picazuro Temminck, 1813. [CD 1340]. Z. p. 115: Columba loricata Licht. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: skin/mount, ad. Status: former BMNH specimen, missing. Cat. XXI: 272: c.
*Columba araucana Lesson, 1827. [CD 2481]. Z. p. 114: Columba fitzroyii King. Loc.: Chile: Peninsula Tres Montes. January 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Columba araucana Lesson, 1827. [CD 2160]. Z. p. 114: Columba fitzroyii King. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
[page] 14
*Zenaidura auriculata auriculata (Des Murs, 1847). [CD 2220]. Z. p. 115: Zenaida aurita G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Zenaidura auriculata virgata (Bertoni, 1823). [CD 1385]. Z. p. 115: Zenaida aurita G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: La Plata near Maldonado. July 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Nesopelia galapagoensis galapagoensis (Gould, 1841). [CD 3305]. Z. pp. 115-116: Zenaida galapagoensis Gould. Syntype Zenaida galapagoensis Gould, 1841. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. September - October 1835. Ex. coll. Eyton, ex. ZSL. Remark: Darwin collected a single dove on the Galápagos Islands. RMNH and BMNH (coll. Eyton/ZSL) claim to possess this specimen, cf. Sulloway 1982; however, it is now believed that the two specimens at Leiden (Cat. No. 1, 2) probably derive from coll. Fuller/Covington and that the BMNH specimen, formerly from the ZSL, is Darwin's; nevertheless, the RMNH specimens have probably type status of Gould's name. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1881.2.18.84. Cat. XXI: 391: c.
*Metriopelia melanoptera melanoptera (Molina, 1782). [CD 2163]. Z. p. 116: Zenaida boliviana G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. Late August 1834. Remark: BMNH possess an old data-less bird Cat. XXI: 499: p/q. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: probably missing.
*Columbina picui picui (Temminck, 1813). CD 1272 [original field label]. Z. p. 116: Columbina strepitans Spix. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: on the banks of the Plata. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XXI: 472: u.
*Columbina picui picui (Temminck, 1813). [CD 1463]. Z. p. 116: Columbina strepitans Spix. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro. August 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Columbigallina talpacoti talpacoti (Temminck, 1811). [? CD No. between 412-446, number not in Barlow 1963 nor in Keynes 2000]. Z. p. 116: Columbina talpacoti G. R. Gray.Loc.: Brazil: Rio de Janeiro. April - May 1832. Remark: Z. cites at least two specimens. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Columbigallina talpacoti talpacoti (Temminck, 1811). [? CD No. between 412-446, number not in Barlow 1963 nor in Keynes 2000]. Z. p. 116: Columbina talpacoti G. R. Gray. Loc.: Brazil: Rio de Janeiro. April - May 1832. Remark: Z. cites at least two specimens. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
PSITTACIDAE:
*Cyanoliseus patagonus patagonus (Vieillot, 1817). [CD 747]. Z. p. 113: Conurus patachonicus [Lear]. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. September 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Myiopsitta monachus monachus (Boddaert, 1783). [CD 1219]. Z. p. 112: Conurus murinus Kuhl. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: grassy plains. May - June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XX: 233: i.
CUCULIDAE:
*Crotophaga ani Linnaeus, 1758. [CD 455]. Z. p. 114: Crotophaga ani Linn. Loc.: Brazil: Rio de Janeiro. May 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: Not yet looked for by author.
*Guira guira (Gmelin, 1788). [CD 1427]. Z. p. 114: Diplopterus guira G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires. October 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: skin. Status: perhaps BMNH 1858.4.3.143 [though "?Chile" on label].
[page] 15
*Tapera naevia chochi (Vieillot, 1817). [? CD No. between 412-446, number not in Barlow 1963 and Keynes 2000]. Z. p. 114: Diplopterus naevius Boie. Loc.: Brazil: Rio de Janeiro. April 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: Not yet looked for by author.
TYTONIDAE:
*Tyto alba tuidara (J. E. Gray, 1829). CD 1446. Z. p. 34: Strix flammea Linn. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1841.1.18.16. Cat. II: 302: l".
*Tyto alba punctatissima (G. R. Gray, 1838). [CD n/a]. Z. p. 34-35: Strix punctatissima G. R. Gray. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Islands: James Island. October 1835. Remark: Holotype Strix punctatissima Gray, 1838 [pl. IV] = BMNH 1837.2.21.244 is from FitzRoy's collection. The main text of this present paper erroneously cites the year of original description from the textual account (1839), not from the plate (1838). The authorship is attributed to Gray on the basis that his name appears after the new name; however, plate IV was probably sketched by John Gould, and executed on stone by Elizabeth Gould. This matter would need further investigations. Material/Status: not collected by Darwin.
STRIGIDAE:
*Speotyto cunicularia cunicularia (Molina, 1782). CD 1293. Z. pp. 31-32: Athene cunicularia Bonap. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1841.1.18.17 [probably this registration number, though not on label]. [Cat. II: 144: t = 1855.12.19.144 nec Darwin].
*Speotyto cunicularia cunicularia (Molina, 1782). [CD 2162]. Z. pp. 31-32: Athene cunicularia Bonap. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Ex.coll. Norwich Castle Museum/Gurney Collection, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount. Status: perhaps BMNH 1955.6.N20.4499.
*Strix rufipes rufipes King, 1828. [CD 1875]. Z. p. 34: Ulula rufipes [King]. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: extreme southern Islands: Ponsonby Sound. February 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: probably BMNH 1855.12.19.65. Cat. II: 261: b.
*Asio flammeus suinda (Vieillot, 1817). CD 1270. Z. p. 33: Otus palustris Gould. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: skin/mount. Status: former BMNH 1841.1.18.15, missing since 1875.
*Asio flammeus suinda (Vieillot, 1817). [CD 2031]. Z. p. 33: Otus palustris Gould. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Asio flammeus sanfordi Bangs, 1919. CD 1901 [original field label]. Z. p. 33: Otus palustris Gould. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Ex.coll. Norwich Castle Museum/Gurney Collection, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount. Status: BMNH 1955.6.N20.3684.
*Asio flammeus galapagoensis (Gould, 1837). [CD 3303]. Z. pp. 32-33: Otus galapagoensis Gould. Holotype Otus galapagoensis Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago: James Island. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.153. Cat. II: 238: x.
CAPRIMULGIDAE:
*Caprimulgus longirostris bifasciatus Gould, 1837. [CD 2171]. Z. pp. 36-37: Caprimulgus bifasciatus Gould. Holotype Caprimulgus bifasciatus Gould, 1837. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.241. Cat. XVI: 586: u.
[page] 16
*Caprimulgus parvulus parvulus Gould, 1837. CD 1623. Z. pp. 37-38: Caprimulgus parvulus Gould. Holotype Caprimulgus parvulus Gould, 1837. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Fé de Bajada. 27-30 September 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.158. Cat. XVI: 575: m.
APODIDAE:
*Apus unicolor alexandri Hartert, 1901. [CD 3907]. Z. p. 41: Cypselus unicolor Jard. Loc.: Portugal: Cape Verde Islands: So Tiago. September 1836. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
TROCHILIDAE:
*Chlorostilbon aureoventris berlepschi Pinto, 1938. [CD 1610]. Z. p. 110: Trochilus flavifrons [n.n.]. [Nomen nudum Trochilus flavifrons Gould, 1841]. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. November 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XVI: 50: x.
*Patagona gigas gigas (Vieillot, 1824). [? CD 2179/2180, see below]. Z. pp. 111-112: Trochilus gigas Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. September 1834. Ex.coll. Balston, ex. Eyton, ? ex. ZSL. Material: skin, female, ad. Status: perhaps BMNH 1913.3.20.292.
*Patagona gigas gigas (Vieillot, 1824). [? CD 2179/2180, see above]. Z. pp. 111-112: Trochilus gigas Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Patagona gigas gigas (Vieillot, 1824). [CD 2319]. Z. pp. 111-112: Trochilus gigas Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. September-October 1834. Material: nest. Status: missing.
*Patagona gigas gigas (Vieillot, 1824). [CD 1050, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 111-112 & 154: Trochilus gigas Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. August 1834. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Sephanoides sephanoides (Lesson, 1826). [CD 2134]. Z. pp. 110-111: Trochilus forficatus Lath. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. ZSL. Remark: on younger label as leg. Leybold, but on older ZSL. Material: skin, male, ad. Status: perhaps BMNH 1887.3.22.924. Cat. XVI: 157: b/c.
*Sephanoides sephanoides (Lesson, 1826). [CD 2135]. Z. pp. 110-111: Trochilus forficatus Lath. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Sephanoides sephanoides (Lesson, 1826). [CD 2503]. Z. pp. 110-111: Trochilus forficatus Lath. Loc.: Chile: Chonos Archipel. January 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Sephanoides sephanoides (Lesson, 1826). [CD 2425]. Z. pp. 110-111: Trochilus forficatus Lath. Loc.: Chile: near South end of Isla de Chiloé: Island S. Pedro. December 1834. Material: egg clutch & nest. Status: missing.
ALCEDINIDAE:
*Ceryle torquata stellata (Meyen, 1834). [CD 2122]. Z. p. 42: Ceryle torquata Bonap. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Ceryle torquata stellata (Meyen, 1834). [CD 1210]. Z. p. 42: Ceryle torquata Bonap. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Chloroceryle americana mathewsii Laubmann, 1927. [? CD not traced]. Z. p. 42: Ceryle americana Boie. Loc.: Argentina: banks of the Parana, Buenos Aires. October 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: shot by Darwin, perhaps not preserved or missing.
*Halcyon leucocephala acteon (Lesson, 1830). CD 192. Z. pp. 41-42: Halcyon erythrohyncha Gould. Holotype Halcyon erythrorhynchus [sic] Gould, 1837. Loc.: Portugal:
[page] 17
Cape Verde Islands: So Tiago: Porto Praia. January 1832. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1881.5.1.3018. Cat. XVII: 235: a.
PICIDAE:
*Colaptes pitius pitius (Molina, 1782). [CD 2161]. Z. p. 114: Colaptes chilensis Vigors. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso: stony hills. August 1834. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Colaptes campestris campestroides (Malherbe, 1849). [CD 1238]. Z. pp. 113-114: Chrysoptilus campestris Swains. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Remark: tongue of the specimen has been preserved in alcohol, cf. CD 620. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Colaptes campestris campestroides (Malherbe, 1849). [CD 620, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 113-114: Chrysoptilus campestris Swains. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: tongue of CD 1238 in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Colaptes campestris campestroides (Malherbe, 1849). [CD 1428]. Z. pp. 113-114: Chrysoptilus campestris Swains. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires. October 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Dendrocopos lignarius (Molina, 1782). CD 2480 [original field label]. Z. p. 113: Picus kingii G. R. Gray. Syntype Picus kingii Gray, 1841. Loc.: Chile: Peninsular Tres Montes: high mountains. January 1835. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1881.5.1.3597. Cat. XVIII: 258: b/c [see below].
*Dendrocopos lignarius (Molina, 1782). CD 2185 [original field label]. Z. p. 113: Picus kingii G. R. Gray. Syntype Picus kingii Gray, 1841. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. August – September 1834. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1881.5.1.3600. Cat. XVIII: 258: b/c [see above].
*Dendrocopos lignarius (Molina, 1782). [CD 2479]. Z. p. 113: Picus kingii G. R. Gray. Syntype Picus kingii Gray, 1841. Loc.: Chile: Peninsular Tres Montes: High mountains. January 1835. Ex.coll. ZMD, ex. BMNH, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, male, ad. Status: NMSE 1958.71. [batch number], ex. BMNH 1855.12.19.101. Cat. XVIII: 258: n.
FURNARIIDAE:
*Geositta cunicularia fissirostris (Kittlitz, 1835). [CD 2297]. Z. pp. 65-66: Furnarius cunicularius G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Geositta cunicularia fissirostris (Kittlitz, 1835). [CD 721, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 65-66 & 148: Furnarius cunicularius G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Geositta cunicularia cunicularia (Vieillot, 1816). CD 1222. Z. pp. 65-66: Furnarius cunicularius G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. May 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.57. Cat. XV: 6: a.
*Upucerthia dumetaria hallinani Chapman, 1919. [CD 2827]. Z. p. 66: Uppucerthia [sic] dumetoria J. [sic] Geoffr. & d'Orb. Loc.: Chile: Coquimbo. 1835. Ex.coll. ZMD, ex. BMNH, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: NMSE 1931.76.10, ex. BMNH 1855.12.19.75. Cat. XV: 17: a.
*Upucerthia dumetaria dumetaria Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1832. [CD 1467]. Z. p. 66: Uppucerthia [sic] dumetoria J. [sic] Geoffr. & d'Orb. Loc.: Argentina: Patagonia: Port Desire. August 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1839.8.4.1. Cat. XV: 17: p.
[page] 18
*Upucerthia dumetaria dumetaria Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1832. [728, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 66 & 148-149: Uppucerthia [sic] dumetoria J. [sic] Geoffr. & d'Orb. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro. 1833. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Eremobius phoenicurus Gould, 1839. CD 1702. Z. pp. 69-70: Eremobius phoenicurus Gould. Syntype Eremobius phoenicurus Gould, 1839 [pl. XXI]. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire. January 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.117. Cat. XV: 27: b.
*Eremobius phoenicurus Gould, 1839. CD 2025 [on label 2052]. Z. pp. 69-70: Eremobius phoenicurus Gould. Syntype Eremobius phoenicurus Gould, 1839 [pl. XXI]. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.73. Cat. XV: 27: a.
*Eremobius phoenicurus Gould, 1839. CD 1754 [original field label]. Z. pp. 69-70: Eremobius phoenicurus Gould. Syntype Eremobius phoenicurus Gould, 1839 [pl. XXI]. Loc.: Argentina: Port St. Julian. January 1834. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1889.5.14.65 [on label, this no. is a Cinclodes fuscus in register]. Cat. XV: 27: c.
*Cinclodes antarcticus antarcticus (Garnot, 1826). [CD 1931]. Z. pp. 67-68: Opetiorhynchus antarcticus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Cinclodes antarcticus antarcticus (Garnot, 1826). [CD not traced, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 67-68 & 149-150: Opetiorhynchus antarcticus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833/1834. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Cinclodes patagonicus chilensis (Lesson, 1828). [CD 2126]. Z. p. 67: Opetiorhynchus patagonicus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount,? male [CD]. Status: missing.
*Cinclodes patagonicus patagonicus (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 1823]. Z. p. 67: Opetiorhynchus patagonicus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. February 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Cinclodes patagonicus patagonicus (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 972]. Z. p. 67: Opetiorhynchus patagonicus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Wolsey Island. January 1833. Ex.coll. Tristram, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, female. Status: LIVCM 4280.
*Cinclodes patagonicus ssp. (Gmelin, 1789). [CD not traced, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 67 & 150: Opetiorhynchus patagonicus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Cinclodes fuscus fuscus (Vieillot, 1818). [CD 1822]. Z. pp. 66-67: Opetiorhynchus vulgaris G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Port Famine. Feburary 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.89. Cat. XV: 23: b.
*Cinclodes fuscus fuscus (Vieillot, 1818). [CD 1260]. Z. pp. 66-67: Opetiorhynchus vulgaris G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. April-July 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Cinclodes fuscus fuscus (Vieillot, 1818). [CD 722, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 66-67 & 149: Opetiorhynchus vulgaris G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Cinclodes nigrofumosus (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838). CD 2826. Z. p. 68-69: Opetiorhynchus nigrofumosus G. R. Gray. Holotype Opetioryhnchus lanceolatus Gould, 1839 [pl. XX]. Loc.: Chile: Coquimbo. 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.244. Cat. XV: 22: c.
*Cinclodes nigrofumosus (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838). [CD 2426]. Z. pp. 68-69: Opetiorhynchus nigrofumosus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Chonos Archipelago (Lat. 45 degree): Midship Bay. December 1834. Material: single egg. Status: missing.
[page] 19
*Furnarius rufus rufus (Gmelin, 1788). [CD 1619]. Z. p. 64: Furnarius rufus Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Furnarius rufus rufus (Gmelin, 1788). [CD 1200]. Z. p. 64: Furnarius rufus Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Limnornis curvirostris Gould, 1839. CD 1248. Z. p. 81: Limnornis curvirostris Gould. Syntype Limnornis curvirostris Gould, 1839 [pl. XXVI]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XXV (1839). Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.74. Cat. XV: 77: a/b [see below].
*Limnornis curvirostris Gould, 1839. [CD 1255]. Z. p. 81: Limnornis curvirostris Gould. Syntype Limnornis curvirostris Gould, 1839 [pl. XXVI]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XXV (1839). Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.56. Cat. XV: 77: a/b [see above].
*Aphrastura spinicauda spinicauda (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 2084]. Z. p. 81: Oxyurus tupinieri Gould. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. June 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Aphrastura spinicauda fulva Angelini, 1905. [CD 2130]. Z. p. 81: Oxyurus tupinieri Gould. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Phleocryptes melanops melanops (Vieillot, 1817). [? CD 1227]. Z. p. 82: Oxyurus ? dorsomaculatus Gould. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: skin/mount. Status: former BMNH 1855.12.19.177, missing since 1880s.
*Leptasthenura aegithaloides pallida Dabbene, 1920. CD 2022. Z. p. 79: Synallaxis aegithaloides Kittl. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.11. Cat. XV: 35: k.
*Leptasthenura aegithaloides pallida Dabbene, 1920. [CD 2023]. Z. p. 79: Synallaxis aegithaloides Kittl. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Leptasthenura aegithaloides aegithaloides (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 2298]. Z. p. 79: Synallaxis aegithaloides Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Spartonoica maluroides (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837). [CD 1250]. Z. pp. 77-78: Synallaxis maluroides [D'Orb. & Lafr.]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Spartonoica maluroides (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837). [CD 1228]. Z. pp. 77-78: Synallaxis maluroides [D'Orb. & Lafr.]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Spartonoica maluroides (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837). [CD 630, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 77-78 & 152-153: Synallaxis maluroides [D'Orb. & Lafr.]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. May 1833. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Synallaxis frontalis / ruficapilla Pelzeln, 1859 / Vieillot, 1819. [CD 1256]. Z. p. 79: Synallaxis ruficapilla Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Synallaxis frontalis / ruficapilla Pelzeln, 1859 / Vieillot, 1819. [? CD 1432]. Z. p. 79: Synallaxis ruficapilla Vieill. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires. October 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Limnoctites rectirostris (Gould, 1839). [? CD 1226/1252, see below]. Z. p. 80: Limnornis rectirostris Gould. Syntype Limnornis rectirostris Gould, 1839 [pl. XXV]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XXVI (1839). Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.77. Cat. XV: 77: a.
[page] 20
*Limnoctites rectirostris (Gould, 1839). [? CD 1226/1252, see above]. Z. p. 80: Limnornis rectirostris Gould. Syntype Limnornis rectirostris Gould, 1839 [pl. XXV]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XXVI (1839). Status: probably BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XV: 77: b.
*Asthenes pyrrholeuca flavogularis (Gould, 1839). [CD 1705]. Z. pp. 78-79: Synallaxis brunnea Gould. Holotype Synallaxis brunnea Gould, 1839. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire. January 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.99. Cat. XV: 68: m.
*Asthenes pyrrholeuca flavogularis (Gould, 1839). CD 2024. Z. p. 78: Synallaxis flavogularis Gould. Syntype Synallaxis flavogularis Gould, 1839 [pl. XXIV]. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.406. Cat. XV: 68: q.
*Asthenes pyrrholeuca flavogularis (Gould, 1839). [? CD 751/828]. Z. p. 78: Synallaxis flavogularis Gould. Syntype Synallaxis flavogularis Gould, 1839 [pl. XXIV]. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. September October 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Asthenes humicola humicola (Kittlitz, 1830). [? CD 2191]. Z. p. 75: Synallaxis humicola Kittl. Loc.: Chile: neighbourhood of Valparaso. August-September 1834. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Asthenes humicola humicola (Kittlitz, 1830). [? CD 2192]. Z. p. 75: Synallaxis humicola Kittl. Loc.: Chile: neighbourhood of Valpara so. August-September 1834. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Asthenes anthoides (King, 1831). CD 2021. Z. p. 77: Synallaxis rufogularis Gould. Syntype Synallaxis rufogularis Gould, 1839 [pl. XXIII]. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ? male [CD], ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.170. Cat. XV: 70: h.
*Asthenes anthoides (King, 1831). [CD 2190]. Z. p. 77: Synallaxis rufogularis Gould. Syntype Synallaxis rufogularis Gould, 1839 [pl. XXIII]. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ? male [CD], ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.171. Cat. XV: 70: ?e.
*Asthenes anthoides (King, 1831). [CD 2020]. Z. p. 77: Synallaxis rufogularis Gould. Syntype Synallaxis rufogularis Gould, 1839 [pl. XXIII]. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ? male [CD], ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.104. Cat. XV: 70: g.
*Phacellodomus striaticollis striaticollis (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838). [CD 1249]. Z. p. 80: Anumbius ruber D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: reeds on the borders of lakes near Maldonado. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.52. Cat. XV: 82: a.
*Anumbius annumbi (Vieillot, 1817). [CD 1251]. Z. p. 76: Synallaxis major Gould. Holotype Synallaxis major Gould, 1839 [pl. XXII]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: north bank of La Plata. June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.166. Cat. XV: 76: a.
*Pygarrhichas albogularis (King, 1831). [CD 2129]. Z. pp. 82-83: Dendrodramus leucosternus Gould. Holotype Dendrodramus leucosternus Gould, 1839 [pl. XXVII]. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
FORMICARIIDAE:
*Thamnophilus doliatus ssp. (Linnaeus, 1764). [CD 1239]. Z. p. 58: Thamnophilus doliatus Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Remark: this species does not normally occur in Uruguay. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
[page] 21
RHINOCRYPTIDAE:
*Pteroptochos tarnii (King, 1831). CD 2531. Z. pp. 70-71: Pteroptochos tarnii G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. January 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, male. Status: BMNH 1841.1.18.18. Cat. XV: 349: a.
*Pteroptochos tarnii (King, 1831). [CD 1157, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 70-71 & 150-151: Pteroptochos tarnii G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. January 1835. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Pteroptochos megapodius megapodius Kittlitz, 1830. [CD 2172]. Z. pp. 71-72: Pteroptochos megapodius Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso: dry country. August September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Pteroptochos megapodius megapodius Kittlitz, 1830. [CD 2296]. Z. pp. 71-72: Pteroptochos megapodius Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so: dry country. August September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Pteroptochos megapodius megapodius Kittlitz, 1830. [CD 2824]. Z. pp. 71-72: Pteroptochos megapodius Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Coquimbo: dry country. 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Scelorchilus albicollis albicollis (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 2173]. Z. p. 72: Pteroptochos albicollis Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Scelorchilus albicollis albicollis (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 2174]. Z. p. 72: Pteroptochos albicollis Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. August - September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Scelorchilus albicollis albicollis (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 2825]. Z. p. 72: Pteroptochos albicollis Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Illapel. 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Scelorchilus albicollis albicollis (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 1037, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 72 & 151-152: Pteroptochos albicollis Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August 1834. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Scelorchilus rubecula rubecula (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 2127]. Z. p. 73: Pteroptochos rubecula Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1841.1.18.19. Cat. XV: 346: g.
*Rhinocrypta lanceolata lanceolata (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1832). [CD 1459]. Z. p. 70: Rhinomya lanceolata Is. Geoffr. & d'Orb. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro. August 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.169. Cat. XV: 347: c.
*Scytalopus magellanicus magellanicus (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 1828]. Z. p. 74: Scytalopus megallanicus [sic] G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. February 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.195. Cat. XV: 339: l.
*Scytalopus magellanicus magellanicus (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 1144]. Z. p. 74: Scytalopus megallanicus [sic] G. R. Gray. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.180. Cat. XV: 339: m.
*Scytalopus magellanicus magellanicus (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 2502]. Z. p. 74: Scytalopus megallanicus [sic] G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé or Chonos Archipel. January 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Eugralla paradoxa (Kittlitz, 1830). [? CD 2555/2556, see below]. Z. pp. 73-74: Pteroptochos paradoxus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valdivia. January 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. via Darwin. Material: ex mount, imm. Status: BMNH 1841.1.18.21 [wrong on label]. Cat. XV: 352: c.
[page] 22
*Eugralla paradoxa (Kittlitz, 1830). [? CD 2555/2556, see above]. Z. pp. 73-74: Pteroptochos paradoxus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valdivia. January 1835. Material: ex mount, imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.159. Cat. XV: 352: a.
*Eugralla paradoxa (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 2436]. Z. pp. 73-74: Pteroptochos paradoxus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé: East Coast. December 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
TYRANNIDAE:
*Suiriri suiriri suiriri (Vieillot, 1818). CD 1452. Z. p. 50: Pachyramphus albescens Gould. Holotype Pachyramphus albescens Gould, 1838 [pl. IX]. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XIV (1839). Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XIV: 155: c.
*Elaenia albiceps chilensis Hellmayr, 1927. [CD 2829]. Z. p. 47: Myiobus [sic] albiceps G.R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Coquimbo. 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.118. Cat. XIV: 143: g'.
*Elaenia albiceps chilensis Hellmayr, 1927. [? CD 1825]. Z. p. 47: Myiobus [sic] albiceps G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. February 1834. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Eyton, ex. ZSL, Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1888.1.1.728. Cat. XIV: 143: h'.
*Elaenia albiceps chilensis Hellmayr, 1927. [CD not traced]. Z. p. 47: Myiobus [sic] albiceps G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Chonos Archipelago. December 1834 January 1835. Material: skin/mount. Status: not collected or missing.
*Elaenia albiceps chilensis Hellmayr, 1927. [?? CD 1258]. Z. p. 47: Myiobus [sic] albiceps G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: banks of the Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Serpophaga nigricans (Vieillot, 1817). [CD 1296]. Z. p. 50: Serpophaga nigricans Gould. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: on the banks of the Plata. June 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: not yet looked for by the author.
*Serpophaga subcristata straminea (Temminck, 1822). [CD 1257]. Z. pp. 49-50: Serpophaga albo-coronata Gould. Holotype Serpophaga albo-coronata Gould, 1839. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Remark: Warren & Harrison 1971 listed the wrong (FitzRoy) specimen as type. Material: skin/mount. Status: not yet looked for by the author.
*Serpophaga subcristata straminea (Temminck, 1822). [CD 650, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 49-50 & 147: Serpophaga albo-coronata Gould. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. May-June 1833. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Anairetes parulus patagonicus (Hellmayr, 1920). [CD 2027, nec Keynes 2000]. Z. p. 49: Serpophaga parulus Gould. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.161. Cat. XIV: 107: c.
*Anairetes parulus patagonicus (Hellmayr, 1920). [CD 1469]. Z. p. 49: Serpophaga parulus Gould. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro. August 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Anairetes parulus parulus (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 2193]. Z. p. 49: Serpophaga parulus Gould. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August-September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.98. Cat. XIV: 107: j.
*Tachuris rubrigastra rubrigastra (Vieillot, 1817). [CD 1259]. Z. p. 86: Cyanotis omnicolor Swains. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Tachuris rubrigastra rubrigastra (Vieillot, 1817). [CD 1277]. Z. p. 86: Cyanotis omnicolor Swains. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Polystictus pectoralis pectoralis (Vieillot, 1817). [? CD 1604/1613]. Z. p. 51: Pachyramphus minimus [Gould]. Holotype Pachyramphus minimus Gould, 1838 [pl. X].
[page] 23
Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. November 1832. Material: skin/mount. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XV (1839). Status: missing.
*Platyrinchus mystaceus mystaceus Vieillot, 1818. [CD not traced]. Z. p. [not traced]. Loc.: South America. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.18. Cat. XIV: 68: t.
*Myiophobus fasciatus auriceps (Gould, 1839). [?? CD 847]. Z. p. 47: Myiobius auriceps [Gould]. Holotype Tyrannula auriceps Gould, 1839. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires. August 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.172. Cat. XIV: 210: a'.
*Pyrocephalus rubinus nanus Gould, 1838. CD 3309. Z. pp. 45-46: Pyrocephalus nanus Gould. Syntype Pyrocephalus nanus Gould, 1838 [pl. VII]. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Islands: Chatham Island. October [sic] 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XIV: 215: a'.
*Pyrocephalus rubinus nanus Gould, 1838. [CD 3342]. Z. pp. 45-46: Pyrocephalus nanus Gould. Syntype Pyrocephalus nanus Gould, 1838 [pl. VII]. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Islands. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female [male, imm. in CD], ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.198. Cat. XIV: 215: c'.
*Pyrocephalus rubinus nanus Gould, 1838. CD 3344. Z. pp. 45-46: Pyrocephalus nanus Gould. Syntype Pyrocephalus nanus Gould, 1838 [pl. VII]. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Islands. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XIV: 215: b'.
*Pyrocephalus rubinus nanus Gould, 1838. [CD 3343]. Z. pp. 45-46: Pyrocephalus nanus Gould. Syntype Pyrocephalus nanus Gould, 1838 [pl. VII]. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Islands. October 1835. Remark: Gould and Darwin 1839b: 46 probably studied also FitzRoy's specimen BMNH 1837.5.13.210 / Cat. XIV: 215: e'. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Pyrocephalus rubinus dubius Gould, 1839. [CD 3345]. Z. p. 46: Pyrocephalus dubius Gould. Holotype Pyrocephalus dubius Gould, 1839. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Islands: Chatham Island. September 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female [male in CD], ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.184. Cat. XIV: 215: d'.
*Pyrocephalus rubinus obscurus Gould, 1839. [CD 3204]. Z. p. 45: Pyrocephalus obscurus Gould. Holotype Pyrocephalus obscurus Gould, 1839. Loc.: Peru: Callao. August 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female/imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.389. Cat. XIV: 215: a.
*Pyrocephalus rubinus rubinus (Boddaert, 1783). [CD 1439]. Z. pp. 44-45: Pyrocephalus parvirostris Gould. Syntype Pyrocephalus parvirostris Gould, 1838 [pl. VI]. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires: near La Plata. October 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.16.17. Cat. XIV: 213: n'.
*Pyrocephalus rubinus rubinus (Boddaert, 1783). CD 1437. Z. pp. 44-45: Pyrocephalus parvirostris Gould. Syntype Pyrocephalus parvirostris Gould, 1838 [pl. VI]. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires: La Plata. October 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.17a. Cat. XIV: 213: o'.
*Ochthoeca parvirostris (Gould, 1839). [? CD 2197]. Z. p. 48: Myiobius parvirostris [Gould]. Syntype Tyrannula parvirostris Gould, 1839. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XIV: 105: d.
*Ochthoeca parvirostris (Gould, 1839). CD 2083. Z. p. 48: Myiobius parvirostris [Gould]. Syntype Tyrannula parvirostris Gould, 1839. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. June 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.16. Cat. XIV: 105: f.
[page] 24
*Ochthoeca parvirostris (Gould, 1839). CD 1824. Z. p. 48: Myiobius parvirostris [Gould]. Syntype Tyrannula parvirostris Gould, 1839. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. February 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: skin/mount. Status: former BMNH 1841.1.18.25, missing since 1880s.
*Xolmis pyrope pyrope (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 1819]. Z. p. 55: Xolmis pyrope G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. Early February 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Xolmis pyrope pyrope (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 1820]. Z. p. 55: Xolmis pyrope G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. Early February 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Xolmis pyrope pyrope (Kittlitz, 1830). [CD 2081]. Z. p. 55: Xolmis pyrope G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. June 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Xolmis pyrope fortis Philippi & Johnson, 1946. [CD 2198]. Z. p. 55: Xolmis pyrope G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Copiapó or Valparaso. August September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Xolmis pyrope fortis Philippi & Johnson, 1946. [CD 2124]. Z. p. 55: Xolmis pyrope G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Xolmis pyrope fortis Philippi & Johnson, 1946. [CD 2375]. Z. p. 55: Xolmis pyrope G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. November - December 1834. Material: single egg. Status: missing.
*Xolmis cinerea cinerea (Vieillot, 1816). [CD 1204]. Z. p. 54: Xolmis nengeta G. R. Gray.Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: banks of La Plata. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: This taxon is not Fluvicola nengeta Linnaeus, 1766. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.307. Cat. XIV: 11: e.
*Xolmis coronata (Vieillot, 1823). [? CD 1414/1415/1416, see below]. Z. p. 54: Xolmis coronata G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: banks of Rio Parana near Santa Fé. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Xolmis dominicana (Vieillot, 1823). [CD 1205]. Z. pp. 53-54: Fluvicola azarae Gould. Holotype Fluvicola Azarae Gould, 1839 [pl. XII]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: banks of La Plata. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number X (1838). Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.245. Cat. XIV: 13: k.
*Xolmis irupero irupero (Vieillot, 1823). [CD 1600]. Z. p. 53: Fluvicola irupero G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Fé. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Neoxolmis rufiventris (Vieillot, 1823). [CD 1220]. Z. p. 55: Xolmis variegata G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.276. Cat. XIV: 9: i.
*Neoxolmis rufiventris (Vieillot, 1823). [CD 1240]. Z. p. 55: Xolmis variegata G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Agriornis montana leucura Gould, 1839. [? CD 2012 / 2013, see below]. Z. p. 57: Agriornis maritimus G. R. Gray. Syntype Agriornis leucurus Gould, 1839 [pl. XV]. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XIII (1839). Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.252. Cat. XIV: 6: j/k [see below].
*Agriornis montana leucura Gould, 1839. [? CD 2012 / 2013, see above]. Z. p. 57: Agriornis maritimus G. R. Gray. Syntype Agriornis leucurus Gould, 1839 [pl. XV]. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XIII (1839). Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.251. Cat. XIV: 6: j/k [see above].
[page] 25
*Agriornis livida livida (Kittlitz, 1835). [CD 2167]. Z. p. 56: Agriornis gutturalis Gould. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.344. Cat. XIV: 5: g.
*Agriornis livida livida (Kittlitz, 1835). [? CD 2199]. Z. p. 56: Agriornis gutturalis Gould. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. August - September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Agriornis microptera microptera Gould, 1839. [CD 1752]. Z. p. 57: Agriornis micropterus Gould. Syntype Agriornis micropterus Gould, 1839 [pl. XIV]. Loc.: Argentina: Port St. Julian. January 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XII (1839). Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.298. Cat. XIV: 5: e.
*Agriornis microptera microptera Gould, 1839. [CD 1699]. Z. p. 57: Agriornis micropterus Gould. Syntype Agriornis micropterus Gould, 1839 [pl. XIV]. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire. January 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XII (1839). Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.253. Cat. XIV: 5: f.
*Agriornis microptera microptera Gould, 1839. [CD 1700]. Z. p. 57: Agriornis micropterus Gould. Syntype Agriornis micropterus Gould, 1839 [pl. XIV]. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire. January 1834. Material: skin/mount, imm. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number XII (1839). Status: missing.
*Agriornis microptera microptera Gould, 1839. [CD 2013]. Z. pp. 56-57: Agriornis striatus Gould. Holotype Agriornis striatus Gould, 1839. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. Eyton, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1881.2.18.128. Cat. XIV: 5: d.
*Muscisaxicola macloviana mentalis d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837. [? CD 2828]. Z. p. 83: Muscisaxicola mentalis D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Chile: Coquimbo. 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.186. Cat. XIV: 57: x.
*Muscisaxicola macloviana mentalis d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837. [?? CD 1448]. Z. p. 83: Muscisaxicola mentalis D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. 1833. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ? ZSL, Material: skin, ad. Status: perhaps BMNH 1860.1.16.56. Cat. XIV: 57: v.
*Muscisaxicola macloviana mentalis d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837. [?? CD 971]. Z. p. 83: Muscisaxicola mentalis D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego. ? January 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Muscisaxicola macloviana mentalis d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837. [CD 2128]. Z. p. 83: Muscisaxicola mentalis D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Muscisaxicola macloviana mentalis d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837. [?? CD 2208]. Z. p. 83: Muscisaxicola mentalis D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August-September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: perhaps BMNH 1858.4.3.45. Cat. XIV: 57: i.
*Muscisaxicola macloviana macloviana (Garnot, 1829). [CD 1899]. Z. pp. 83-84: Muscisaxicola macloviana G. R. Gray. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Muscisaxicola sp. [?? CD 1753]. Z. p. 84: Muscisaxicola brunnea Gould. Holotype Muscisaxicola brunnea Gould, 1839. Loc.: Argentina: Port St. Julian. January 1834. Remark: Cat. XIV: 53 already stated that the identity of this species remains uncertain. Material: skin/mount, imm. Status: missing.
*Lessonia rufa (Gmelin, 1789). [? CD 749 / 780, see below]. Z. p. 84: Muscisaxicola nigra G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca: M. Hermoso. September 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Lessonia rufa (Gmelin, 1789). [? CD 749 / 780, see above]. Z. p. 84: Muscisaxicola nigra G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. September 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
[page] 26
*Lessonia rufa (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 903]. Z. p. 84: Muscisaxicola nigra G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Good Success Bay. December 1832. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: skin, male, ad. Status: perhaps BMNH 1858.4.3.65. Cat. XIV: 62: g.
*Hymenops perspicillata perspicillata (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 1231]. Z. pp. 52-53: Lichenops erythropterus Gould. Holotype Lichenops erythropterus Gould, 1839 [pl. XI]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: banks of the Plata. 1833. Ex.coll. Eyton, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Remark: In two original copies of the 'Zoology' seen the plate to this species was issued as number IX (1838). Status: BMNH 1881.2.18.157. Cat. XIV: 49: f.
*Hymenops perspicillata perspicillata (Gmelin, 1789). CD 1206. Z. pp. 51-52: Lichenops perspicillatus G. R. Gray. [no type; only the female has type status]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: neighbourhood of the Plata. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.123. Cat. XIV: 49: a.
*Alectrurus risora (Vieillot, 1824). [CD 1275]. Z. p. 51: Alect[r]urus guirayetupa Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: on the banks of the Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing [very unlikely BMNH 1888.1.13.125, Cat. XIV: 40: a].
*Alectrurus risora (Vieillot, 1824). [CD 1276]. Z. p. 51: Alect[r]urus guirayetupa Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: on the banks of the Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Satrapa icterophrys (Vieillot, 1818). [?? CD 1601]. Z. p. 53: Fluvicola icterophrys D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.392. Cat. XIV: 42: 1.
*Satrapa icterophrys (Vieillot, 1818). [?? CD 1271]. Z. p. 53: Fluvicola icterophrys D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: on the banks of the Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Myiarchus magnirostris (Gould, 1838). CD 3308. Z. p. 48: Myiobius magnirostris [Gould]. Holotype Tyrannula magnirostris Gould, 1838 [pl. VIII]. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Islands: Chatham Island. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.10. Cat. XIV: 263: b.
*Pitangus sulphuratus argentinus Todd, 1952. [CD 1216]. Z. p. 43: Saurophagus sulphuratus Swains. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: northern banks of the Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Tyrannus savana savana Vieillot, 1808. [CD 1622]. Z. pp. 43-44: Muscivora tyrannus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires. November 1833. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Tyrannus savana savana Vieillot, 1808. [CD 1621]. Z. pp. 43-44: Muscivora tyrannus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Buenos Aires. November 1833. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
PHYTOTOMIDAE:
*Phytotoma rara Molina, 1782. [CD 2175]. Z. p. 106: Phytotoma rara Mol. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Ex.coll. Frank, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: On label as 'Darwin's reis 1837 Chiloe' [in errore]. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: RMNH unregistered specimen.
*Phytotoma rara Molina, 1782. [CD 2176]. Z. p. 106: Phytotoma rara Mol. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. August - September 1834. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Phytotoma rara Molina, 1782. [CD 1043, specimens in spirit]. Z. pp. 106 & 153-154: Phytotoma rara Mol. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August 1834. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
ALAUDIDAE:
[page] 27
*Eremopterix nigriceps nigriceps (Gould, 1839). [CD 3906]. Z. pp. 87-88: Pyrrhalauda nigriceps Gould. Syntype Pyrrhalauda nigriceps Gould, 1839. Loc.: Portugal: Cape Verde Islands: So Tiago: Porto Praia. September 1836. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Eremopterix nigriceps nigriceps (Gould, 1839). [CD 188]. Z. pp. 87-88: Pyrrhalauda nigriceps Gould. Syntype Pyrrhalauda nigriceps Gould, 1839. Loc.: Portugal: Cape Verde Islands: S o Tiago: Porto Praia. January 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Ammomanes cincturus cincturus (Gould, 1839). CD 3905. Z. p. 87: Melanocorypha cinctura Gould. Holotype Melanocorypha cinctura Gould, 1839. Loc.: Portugal: Cape Verde Islands: So Tiago: Porto Praia. September 1836. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.379. Cat. XIII: 645: a.
HIRUNDINIDAE:
*Tachycineta leucorrhoa (Vieillot, 1817). [? CD 1609/1618, see below]. Z. p. 40: Hirundo frontalis Gould. Holotype Hirundo frontalis Gould, 1839. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Tachycineta leucopyga (Meyen, 1834). [? CD 2200/2201, see below]. Z. p. 40: Hirundo leucopygia [sic] Licht. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Tachycineta leucopyga (Meyen, 1834). [CD 1827]. Z. p. 40: Hirundo leucopygia [sic] Licht. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. February 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Progne tapera fusca (Vieillot, 1817). [CD 746]. Z. pp. 38-39: Progne purpurea Boie. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. September 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Progne tapera fusca (Vieillot, 1817). [? CD 1609/1618, see above]. Z. pp. 38-39: Progne purpurea Boie. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Progne modesta modesta Gould, 1838. [CD 3356]. Z. pp. 39-40: Progne modesta Gould. Holotype Hirundo concolor Gould, 1837 & Holotype Progne modesta Gould, 1838 [pl. V]. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Islands: James Island. October 1835. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Remark: The species name differs on the plate of a facsimile copy compared to two original copies of the 'Zoology'; alternative spelling is modestus. Status: BMNH 1860.1.16.54. Cat. X: 176: a.
*Notiochelidon cyanoleuca patagonica (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837). CD 1445. Z. p. 41: Hirundo cyanoleuca Vieill. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1841.1.18.20. Cat. X: 188: x.
*Notiochelidon cyanoleuca patagonica (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837). [? CD 2200/2201, see above]. Z. p. 41: Hirundo cyanoleuca Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. September 1834. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
MOTACILLIDAE:
*Anthus furcatus furcatus Lafresnaye & d'Orbigny, 1837. [CD 1202]. Z. p. 85: Anthus furcatus D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: northern bank of the Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Anthus furcatus furcatus Lafresnaye & d'Orbigny, 1837. [?? CD 1230]. Z. p. 85: Anthus furcatus D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: northern bank of the Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Anthus furcatus furcatus Lafresnaye & d'Orbigny, 1837. [CD 1592, shared with eggs of Zonotrichia capensis & Molothrus bonariensis]. Z. p. 85: Anthus furcatus D'Orb. & Lafr.
[page] 28
Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo: northern bank of the Plata. 1833. Material: two eggs. Status: missing.
*Anthus lutescens lutescens Pucheran, 1855. [CD 685]. Z. p. 85: Anthus chii Licht. Loc.: Brazil: Rio de Janeiro. 5 April – 5 July 1832. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.185. Cat. X: 608: h.
*Anthus correndera chilensis (Lesson, 1839). [CD 2181]. Z. p. 85: Anthus correndera Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: skin, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1841.1.18.22. Cat. X: 610: m.
*Anthus correndera chilensis (Lesson, 1839). [CD 2182]. Z. p. 85: Anthus correndera Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. August - September 1834. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Anthus correndera grayi Bonaparte, 1850. [CD 1898]. Z. p. 85: Anthus correndera Vieill. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Anthus correndera correndera Vieillot, 1818. [CD 1246]. Z. p. 85: Anthus correndera Vieill. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.131. Cat. X: 610: q.
TROGLODYTIDAE:
*Cistothorus platensis platensis (Latham, 1790). CD 1444 [as 1443 on label]. Z. p. 75: Troglodytes platensis Gmel. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. October 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.20. Cat. VI: 247: b.
*Cistothorus platensis falklandicus Chapman, 1934. [CD 1053]. Z. p. 75: Troglodytes platensis Gmel. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman or Gould, ex. ? ZSL. Remark: not quite sure if one of these two specimens is the missing Darwin bird. Material: skin, ad. Status: perhaps BMNH 1885.3.6.480 or BMNH 1859.3.25.83 [Keynes 2000 accidentally listed the wrong specimen].
*Troglodytes aedon chilensis Lesson, 1830. CD 2194. Z. p. 74: Troglodytes magellanicus Gould. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August September 1834. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: Darwin's specimens are not the types of Troglodytes magellanicus Gould, 1837, which was probably based on specimens collected by Captain King (nec. Warren & Harrison 1971). Material: skin, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1885.3.6.408. Cat. VI: 257: l [annotation by Sharpe in BMNH copy].
*Troglodytes aedon musculus Naumann, 1823. [CD not traced]. Z. p. 74: Troglodytes magellanicus Gould. Loc.: Brazil: Rio de Janeiro. April ? July 1832. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: Darwin's specimens are not the types of Troglodytes magellanicus Gould, 1837, which was probably based on specimens collected by Captain King (nec. Warren & Harrison 1971). Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1885.3.6.409. Cat. VI: 257: i [annotation by Sharpe in BMNH copy].
*Troglodytes aedon bonariae Hellmayr, 1919. [?? CD 1425/1434/1450]. Z. p. 74: Troglodytes magellanicus Gould. Loc.: Argentina: banks of the Plata. 1833. Remark: Darwin's specimens are not the types of Troglodytes magellanicus Gould, 1837, which was probably based on specimens collected by Captain King (nec. Warren & Harrison 1971). Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Troglodytes aedon chilensis Lesson, 1830. [CD 2026]. Z. p. 74: Troglodytes magellanicus Gould. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Remark: Darwin's specimens are not the types of Troglodytes magellanicus Gould, 1837, which was probably based on specimens collected by Captain King (nec. Warren & Harrison 1971). Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
[page] 29
*Troglodytes aedon chilensis Lesson, 1830. [CD 1831]. Z. p. 74: Troglodytes magellanicus Gould. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. February 1834. Remark: Darwin's specimens are not the types of Troglodytes magellanicus Gould, 1837, which was probably based on specimens collected by Captain King (nec. Warren & Harrison 1971). Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
MIMIDAE:
*Mimus thenca (Molina, 1782). CD 2169. Z. p. 61: Mimus thenca G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male [on label], female [CD], ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.230. Cat. VI: 345: e/f [see below].
*Mimus thenca (Molina, 1782). [CD 2170]. Z. p. 61: Mimus thenca G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valpara so. August - September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ? male [CD], ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.226. Cat. VI: 345: e/f [see above].
*Mimus saturninus modulator (Gould, 1836). [CD 1620]. Z. p. 60: Mimus orpheus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo: banks of the Plata. November 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: The types of Orpheus modulator Gould, 1836, had probably been collected by King, not by Darwin, nec Warren & Harrison 1971. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.229. Cat. VI: 348: a.
*Mimus saturninus modulator (Gould, 1836). [CD 1213]. Z. p. 60: Mimus orpheus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: banks of the Rio Plata. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. The types of Orpheus modulator Gould, 1836, were probably collected by King, not by Darwin, contra Warren & Harrison 1971. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.227. Cat. VI: 348: d.
*Mimus patagonicus (Lafresnaye & d'Orbigny, 1837). [? CD 2011, see below]. Z. pp. 60-61: Mimus patagonicus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: Cat. erroneously listed this specimen as syntype of Mimus patagonicus G. R. Gray. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.221. Cat. VI: 352: a/b [see below].
*Mimus patagonicus (Lafresnaye & d'Orbigny, 1837). [? CD 2011, see above]. Z. pp. 60-61: Mimus patagonicus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: Cat. erroneously listed this specimen as syntype of Mimus patagonicus G. R. Gray. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.311. Cat. VI: 352: a/b [see above].
*Mimus patagonicus (Lafresnaye & d'Orbigny, 1837). [CD 1461]. Z. pp. 60-61: Mimus patagonicus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro. August 1833. Remark: Cat. erroneously listed this specimen as syntype of Mimus patagonicus G. R. Gray. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Nesomimus trifasciatus trifasciatus (Gould, 1837). [CD 3306]. Z. p. 62: Mimus trifasciatus G. R. Gray. Holotype Orpheus trifasciatus Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago: Charles Island. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.225. Cat. VI: 346: a.
*Nesomimus trifasciatus melanotis (Gould, 1837). [CD 3307]. Z. p. 62: Mimus melanotis G. R. Gray. Syntype Orpheus melanotis Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago: Chatham Island. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: BMNH 1881.2.18.80 originates from Covington's collection (cf. Sulloway 1982). Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.228. Cat. VI: 350: a.
*Nesomimus trifasciatus parvulus (Gould, 1837). [CD 3349]. Z. p. 63: Mimus parvulus G. R. Gray. Holotype Orpheus parvulus Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago: Albemarle Island. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.92. Cat. VI: 350: a.
*Nesomimus trifasciatus personatus Ridgway, 1890. [CD 3350]. Z. p. 62: Mimus melanotis G. R. Gray. ?Syntype Orpheus melanotis Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos
[page] 30
Archipelago: [James Island]. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.223. Cat. VI: 350: ?b.
TURDIDAE:
*Turdus rufiventris rufiventris Vieillot, 1818. [? CD 1460/1470, see below]. Z. p. 59: Turdus rufiventer Licht. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro. August 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Turdus rufiventris rufiventris Vieillot, 1818. [? CD 1274/1233, see below]. Z. p. 59: Turdus rufiventer Licht. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Turdus rufiventris rufiventris Vieillot, 1818. [? CD 1233/1274, see above]. Z. p. 59: Turdus rufiventer Licht. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Turdus falcklandii falcklandii Quoy & Gaimard, 1824. [CD 1900]. Z. p. 59: Turdus falklandicus [sic] Quoy & Guim. [sic]. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Turdus falcklandii magellanicus King, 1831. [CD not traced]. Z. p. 59: Turdus falklandicus [sic] Quoy & Guim. [sic]. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego. Dezember 1832 – February 1833 or January March 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Turdus falcklandii magellanicus King, 1831. [CD 2125]. Z. p. 59: Turdus falklandicus [sic] Quoy & [sic]. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Turdus falcklandii pembertoni Wetmore, 1923. [? CD 1470/1460, see above]. Z. p. 59: Turdus falklandicus [sic] Quoy & Guim. [sic]. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro. August 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
EMBERIZIDAE:
*Zonotrichia capensis subtorquata Swainson, 1837. [CD 1592, is shared with eggs of Anthus furcatus & Molothrus bonariensis]. Z. p. 91: Zonotrichia matutina G. R. Gray [later referred to as Zonotrichia ruficollis, p. 108]. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. 1833. Material: three eggs. Status: missing.
*Zonotrichia capensis subtorquata Swainson, 1837. [CD 1615]. Z. p. 91: Zonotrichia matutina G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo: banks of the Plata. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Zonotrichia capensis subtorquata Swainson, 1837. [CD 683]. Z. p. 91: Zonotrichia matutina G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo: banks of the Plata. August 1832. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Zonotrichia capensis australis (Latham, 1790). [CD 750]. Z. p. 91: Zonotrichia matutina G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Bahia Blanca. September 1832. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ? ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: probably BMNH 1857.10.16.51. Cat. XII: 610: a.
*Zonotrichia capensis australis (Latham, 1790). CD 1826. Z. pp. 91-92: Zonotrichia canicapilla Gould. Syntype Zonotrichia canicapilla Gould, 1839. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. February 1834. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, juv. Status: BMNH unregistered specimen. Cat. XII: 610: c.
*Zonotrichia capensis australis (Latham, 1790). [CD 1704]. Z. pp. 91-92: Zonotrichia canicapilla Gould. Syntype Zonotrichia canicapilla Gould, 1839. Loc.: Argentina: Port Desire. January 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Zonotrichia capensis australis (Latham, 1790). [? CD 902/904/1001, see below]. Z. pp. 91-92: Zonotrichia canicapilla Gould. Syntype Zonotrichia canicapilla Gould, 1839. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego. December 1832 February 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.388. Cat. XII: 610: b.
[page] 31
*Zonotrichia capensis australis (Latham, 1790). [CD 1771]. Z. pp. 91-92: Zonotrichia canicapilla Gould. Syntype Zonotrichia canicapilla Gould, 1839. Loc.: Argentina: Port St. Julian. January 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Zonotrichia capensis australis (Latham, 1790). [CD 1710, number shared with eggs of Falco femoralis, see above]. Z. pp. 91-92: Zonotrichia canicapilla Gould. Paratype Zonotrichia canicapilla Gould, 1839. Loc.: Argentina: Port St. Julian. January 1834. Material: egg(s). Status: missing.
*Zonotrichia capensis chilensis (Meyen, 1834). [CD 2299]. Z. p. 91: Zonotrichia matutina G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Ammodramus humeralis xanthornus Gould, 1839. [CD 1262]. Z. p. 90: Ammodramus manimbe G. R. Gray. Holotype Ammodramus xanthornus Gould, 1839 [pl. XXX]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: FitzRoy's specimens BMNH 1837.2.21.328 = Cat. XII: 693: z & BMNH 1837.2.21.291 = Cat. XII: 693: a' are not the types. Material: skin. Status: VMM B19633.
*Aimophila strigiceps strigiceps (Gould, 1839). [? CD 1414/1415/1416, see above & below]. Z. p. 92: Zonotrichia strigiceps Gould. Holo/Syntype Zonotrichia strigiceps Gould, 1839. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Fé. October 1833. Ex.coll. Sclater, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1885.2.10.447. Cat. XII: 608: a.
*Phrygilus gayi caniceps Burmeister, 1860. [CD 2017]. Z. p. 93: Fringilla gayi Eyd. & Gerv. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Phrygilus gayi caniceps Burmeister, 1860. [CD 2018]. Z. p. 93: Fringilla gayi Eyd. & Gerv. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: 1855.12.19.42. Cat. XII: 784: h.
*Phrygilus patagonicus Lowe, 1923. [? CD 1818]. Z. pp. 93-94: Fringilla formosa Gould. Syntype Fringilla formosa Gould, 1839 & Syntype Phrygilus gayi patagonicus Lowe, 1923. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine. Early February 1834. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.12. Cat. XII: 782: i.
*Phrygilus patagonicus Lowe, 1923. [? CD 902/904/1001, see above & below]. Z. pp. 93-94: Fringilla formosa Gould. Syntype Fringilla formosa Gould, 1839 & Syntype Phrygilus gayi patagonicus Lowe, 1923. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego. December 1832 ? February 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.162. Cat. XII: 782: g.
*Phrygilus patagonicus Lowe, 1923. [? CD 902/904/1001, see above]. Z. pp. 93-94: Fringilla formosa Gould. Syntype Fringilla formosa Gould, 1839 & Syntype Phrygilus gayi patagonicus Lowe, 1923. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego. December 1832 February 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.24. Cat. XII: 782: f.
*Phrygilus fruticeti fruticeti (Kittlitz, 1833). [CD 2829]. Z. p. 94: Fringilla fruticeti Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Coquimbo. 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.16. Cat. XII: 791: g.
*Phrygilus fruticeti fruticeti (Kittlitz, 1833). [CD 2016]. Z. p. 94: Fringilla fruticeti Kittl. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Phrygilus fruticeti fruticeti (Kittlitz, 1833). [CD 2015]. Z. p. 94: Fringilla fruticeti Kittl. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female/imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.45. Cat. XII: 791: l.
*Phrygilus carbonarius (Lafresnaye & d'Orbigny, 1837). [CD 1466]. Z. p. 94: Fringilla carbonaria G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: between Rio Negro and Colorado. August 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Phrygilus alaudinus alaudinus (Kittlitz, 1833). [CD 2177]. Z. p. 94: Fringilla alaudina Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, [male in CD], ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.390. Cat. XII: 795: t.
[page] 32
*Phrygilus alaudinus alaudinus (Kittlitz, 1833). [CD 2178]. Z. p. 94: Fringilla alaudina Kittl. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.41. Cat. XII: 795: s.
*Melanodera melanodera melanodera (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). [? CD 1879/1046, see below]. Z. pp. 95-96: Chlorospiza ? melanodera G. R. Gray. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833/1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.50. Cat. XII: 788: o.
*Melanodera melanodera melanodera (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). [?? CD 1701]. Z. pp. 95-96: Chlorospiza ? melanodera G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz or Port Desire. January or April 1834. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. ZSL. Remark: error of locality in CD or Z. or not entered in CD or specimen not a Darwin bird. Material: skin, female, ad. Status: probably BMNH 1885.12.14.807. Cat. XII: 788: x.
*Melanodera melanodera melanodera (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). [?? CD 1468]. Z. pp. 95-96: Chlorospiza ? melanodera G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz [? Rio Negro]. April 1834. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. ZSL. Remark: not under this loc. in CD or specimen not a Darwin bird. Material: skin, male, ad. Status: probably BMNH 1885.12.14.806. Cat. XII: 788: w.
*Melanodera xanthogramma xanthogramma (Gray, 1839). [?? CD 1003, see below]. Z. pp. 96-97: Chlorospiza ? xanthogramma G. R. Gray. Syntype Chlorospiza xanthogramma G. R. Gray, 1839. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego. February 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Remark: One of these two specimens cannot be traced in CD (see below). The authorship is attributed to Gray on the basis that his name appears after the new name; however, plate XXXIII, which has been published together with the text in the November 1839 issue, was probably sketched by John Gould, and executed on stone by Elizabeth Gould. This matter would need further investigations. Material: skin, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1841.11.18.24. Cat. XII: 790: e [see below].
*Melanodera xanthogramma xanthogramma (Gray, 1839). [?? CD 1003, see above]. Z. pp. 96-97: Chlorospiza ? xanthogramma G. R. Gray. Syntype Chlorospiza xanthogramma G. R. Gray, 1839. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego. February 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: One of these two specimens cannot be traced in CD (see above). The authorship is attributed to Gray on the basis that his name appears after the new name; however, plate XXXIII, which has been published together with the text in the November 1839 issue, was probably sketched by John Gould, and executed on stone by Elizabeth Gould. This matter would need further investigations. Material: ex mount, imm. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.181. Cat. XII: 790: e [see above].
*Melanodera xanthogramma xanthogramma (Gray, 1839). [? CD 1046/1879, see above]. Z. pp. 96-97: Chlorospiza ? xanthogramma G. R. Gray. Syntype Chlorospiza xanthogramma G. R. Gray, 1839. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833/1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Melanodera melanodera / xanthogramma (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) / (Gray, 1839). [?? CD 1919/1920/1923/1047, see below & above]. Z. pp. 95-97: Chlorospiza? melanodera or xanthogramma G. R. Gray. ? Syntype Chlorospiza xanthogramma G. R. Gray, 1839. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833/34. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Melanodera melanodera / xanthogramma (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) / (Gray, 1839). [?? CD 1919/1920/1923/1047, see below & above]. Z. pp. 95-97: Chlorospiza ? melanodera or xanthogramma G. R. Gray. ? Syntype Chlorospiza xanthogramma G. R. Gray, 1839. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833/34. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Melanodera melanodera / xanthogramma (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) / (Gray, 1839). [?? CD 1919/1920/1923/1047, see below & above]. Z. pp. 95-97: Chlorospiza ? melanodera or
[page] 33
xanthogramma G. R. Gray. ? Syntype Chlorospiza xanthogramma G. R. Gray, 1839. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833/34. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Melanodera melanodera / xanthogramma (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) / (Gray, 1839). [?? CD 1919/1920/1923/1047, see above]. Z. pp. 95-97: Chlorospiza ? melanodera or xanthogramma G. R. Gray. ? Syntype Chlorospiza xanthogramma G. R. Gray, 1839. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833/34. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Melanodera melanodera / xanthogramma (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) / (Gray, 1839). [CD 1922]. p. 95-97: Chlorospiza ? melanodera or xanthogramma G. R. Gray. ? Syntype Chlorospiza xanthogramma G. R. Gray, 1839. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1834. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Donacospiza albifrons (Vieillot, 1817). [? CD 1605/1611/1612/1614/1616/1617, see below]. Z. p. 90: Ammodramus longicaudatus Gould. Syntype Ammodramus longicaudatus Gould, 1839 [pl. XXIX]. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. November 1832. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.13. Cat. XII: 767: i.
*Donacospiza albifrons (Vieillot, 1817). [?? CD 1297]. Z. p. 90: Ammodramus longicaudatus Gould. Syntype Ammodramus longicaudatus Gould, 1839 [pl. XXIX]. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. June 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.9. Cat. XII: 767: h.
*Diuca diuca chiloensis Philippi & Pena, 1964. [CD 2132]. Z. p. 93: Fringilla diuca Mol. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Diuca diuca chiloensis Philippi & Pena, 1964. [CD 2131]. Z. p. 93: Fringilla diuca Mol. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Diuca diuca chiloensis Philippi & Pena, 1964. [CD 2133]. Z. p. 93: Fringilla diuca Mol. Loc.: Chile: Isla de Chiloé. July 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.187. Cat. XII: 801: e.
*Diuca diuca diuca (Molina, 1782). [CD 2320]. Z. p. 93: Fringilla diuca Mol. Chile: Valparaso. September - October 1834. Material: egg clutch & nest. Status: missing.
*Poospiza nigrorufa nigrorufa (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837). [? CD 1241]. Z. p. 98: Pipillo [sic] personata Swains. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: skin, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1858.4.3.120. Cat. XII: 641: a.
*Poospiza nigrorufa nigrorufa (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837). CD 1234. Z. p. 98: Pipillo [sic] personata Swains. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Ex.coll. Tristram, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, male. Status: LIVCM 14875.
*Sicalis flaveola pelzelni Sclater, 1872. [? CD 1247]. Z. p. 88: Crithagra ? brasiliensis [Spix]. Uruguay: northern bank of the Plata near Maldonado. June 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Sicalis flaveola pelzelni Sclater, 1872. [? CD 1605/1611/1612/1614/1616/1617, see below & above]. Z. p. 88: Crithagra ? brasiliensis [Spix]. Loc.: Uruguay: northern bank of the Plata near Montevideo. November 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Sicalis [?] luteola luteiventris (Meyen, 1834). [? CD 1232]. Z. pp. 88-89: Crithagra ? brevirostris Gould. Syntype Crithagra brevirostris Gould, 1839. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. May 1833. Remark: The original description would fit to Sicalis luteola luteiventris (Meyen, 1834), but as the type is lacking, some doubts remain. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Sicalis [?] luteola luteiventris (Meyen, 1834). [? CD 2196]. Z. pp. 88-89: Crithagra ? brevirostris Gould. Syntype Crithagra brevirostris Gould, 1839. Chile: Valpara so. September 1834. Remark: The original description would fit to Sicalis luteola luteiventris (Meyen, 1834), but as the type is lacking, some doubts remain. Material: skin/mount, [?] male. Status: missing.
[page] 34
*Sicalis luteola luteiventris (Meyen, 1834). [CD 2019]. Z. p. 89: Emberiza luteoventris [sic] G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Cruz. April 1834. Material: skin/mount, male. Status: missing.
*Embernagra platensis platensis (Gmelin, 1789). CD 683. Z. p. 98: Emberizoides poliocephalus G. R. Gray. Syntype Emberizoides poliocephalus G. R. Gray, 1841. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo: northern shore of the Plata. July - August 1832. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: The only type for which Gray's authorship seems to be without any doubts. Material: skin, ad. Status: BMNH 1885.12.14.1325. Cat. XII: 759: d.
*Embernagra platensis platensis (Gmelin, 1789). CD 1207 [original field label]. Z. p. 98: Emberizoides poliocephalus G. R. Gray. Syntype Emberizoides poliocephalus G. R. Gray, 1841. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: northern shore of the Plata. 1833. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: The only type for which Gray's authorship seems to be without any doubts. Material: ex mount. Status: VMM No. B19600.
*Volatinia jacarina jacarina (Linnaeus, 1766). [? CD No. between 412-446, number not in Barlow 1963 & Keynes 2000]. Z. p. 92: Passerina jacarina Vieill. Loc.: Brazil: Rio de Janeiro. April-July 1832. Ex.coll. BMNH, ex. Gould, ? ex. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: MANCH B.7528, ex.1857.11.28.251. Cat. XII: 155: h.
*Sporophila caerulescens caerulescens (Vieillot, 1823). [? CD 1605/1611/1612/1614/1616/1617, see below & above]. Z. p. 88: Spermophila nigrogularis Gould. Syntype Spermophila nigrogularis Gould, 1839. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. November 1832/1833. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: skin, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1841.1.18.26. Cat. XII: 127: o.
*Sporophila caerulescens caerulescens (Vieillot, 1823). [? CD 1605/1611/1612/1614/1616/1617, see below & above]. Z. p. 88: Spermophila nigrogularis Gould. Syntype Spermophila nigrogularis Gould, 1839. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. November 1832/1833. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.200. Cat. XII: 127: n.
*Geospiza magnirostris magnirostris Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see below]. Z. p. 100: Geospiza magnirostris Gould. Syntype Geospiza magnirostris Gould, 1837. Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.113. Cat. XII: 8: b.
*Geospiza magnirostris magnirostris Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. p. 100: Geospiza magnirostris Gould. Syntype Geospiza magnirostris Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.80. Cat. XII: 8: a.
*Geospiza magnirostris magnirostris Gould, 1837. [?? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see below & above]. Z. p. 100: Geospiza magnirostris Gould. [?] Syntype Geospiza magnirostris Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Eyton, ex. ?Gould, ex. ?ZSL. Remark: probably from Covington's private collection, cf. Sulloway 1982. Material: skin, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1885.12.14.280. Cat. XII: 8: c/d [see below].
*Geospiza magnirostris magnirostris Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see below & above]. Z. p. 100: Geospiza magnirostris Gould. [?] Syntype Geospiza magnirostris Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Eyton, ex. ?Gould, ex. ?ZSL. Remark: Sulloway (1982) believed that this specimen is from Covington's collection; numbers in CD reveal that it is Darwin's. Material: skin, [?] female, ad. Status: BMNH 1885.12.14.281. Cat. XII: 8: c/d [see above].
*Geospiza magnirostris strenua Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see below & above]. Z. pp. 100-101: Geospiza strenua Gould. Syntype Geospiza strenua Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.114. Cat. XII: 9: b/c [see below].
[page] 35
*Geospiza magnirostris strenua Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. pp. 100-101: Geospiza strenua Gould. Syntype Geospiza strenua Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.81. Cat. XII: 9: a.
*Geospiza fortis [cf. Sulloway 1982] Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. pp. 100-101: Geospiza strenua Gould. Syntype Geospiza strenua Gould, 1837. Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount/skin, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.83. Cat. XII: 9: b/c [see above].
*Geospiza fortis Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. p. 101: Geospiza fortis Gould. Syntype Geospiza fortis Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: Sulloway (1982) discussed that this specimen might derive from the private collection of Covington, which is here not followed. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.82. Cat. XII: 11: a.
*Geospiza fortis Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. p. 102: Geospiza dentirostris Gould. Holotype Geospiza dentirostris Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male [fide Sulloway 1982], juv. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.176. Cat. XII: 12: a.
*Geospiza fortis [fide Swarth 1931] Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. p. 103: Geospiza dubia Gould. Holotype Geospiza dubia Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: skin/mount, female. Status: missing.
*Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. pp. 101-102: Geospiza fuliginosa Gould. Syntype Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ? female [fide Sulloway 1982], ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.44. Cat. XII: 13: a.
*Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. pp. 101-102: Geospiza fuliginosa Gould. Syntype Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, ? female [fide Sulloway 1982], ad. Status: BMNH 1857.11.28.247. Cat. XII: 13: b.
*Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. pp. 101-102: Geospiza fuliginosa Gould. Syntype Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Eyton, ex. ? Gould, ex. ? ZSL. Remark: Sulloway (1982) believed that this specimen is from Covington's collection; numbers in CD reveal that it is Darwin's. Material: skin, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1885.12.14.320. Cat. XII: 13: c.
*Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. pp. 101-102: Geospiza fuliginosa Gould. Syntype Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. Frank, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, male. Status: RMNH Cat. 2 [purchase of 1863].
*Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. pp. 101-102: Geospiza fuliginosa Gould. Syntype Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. Frank, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, female. Status: RMNH Cat. 3 [purchase of 1863].
*Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. pp. 101-102: Geospiza fuliginosa Gould. Syntype Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. Frank, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, male. Status: RMNH Cat. 4 [purchase of 1863].
*Geospiza nebulosa debilirostris Ridgway, 1894. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. pp. 100-101: Geospiza strenua Gould. Syntype Geospiza strenua Gould,
[page] 36
1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, female [fide Sulloway 1982]. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.4. Cat. XII: 12: a.
*Geospiza nebulosa nebulosa [fide Sulloway 1982] (Gould, 1837). [CD 3323]. Z. pp. 104-105: Cactornis scandens Gould. Syntype Cactornis scandens Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.20. Cat. XII: 20: b.
*Geospiza ? nebulosa nebulosa Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. p. 101: Geospiza nebulosa Gould. Syntype Geospiza nebulosa Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: Grant et al. 1985 accidentally cited original Darwin finches at Stockholm Museum, which is an error for Leiden Museum. These are not the missing birds listed here. Material: skin/mount. Status: former BMNH 1855.12.19.43, missing.
*Geospiza scandens scandens (Gould, 1837). [CD 3320]. Z. pp. 104-105: Cactornis scandens Gould. Syntype Cactornis scandens Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.125. Cat. XII: 20: a.
*Geospiza scandens scandens (Gould, 1837). [? CD 3321/3322, see below]. Z. pp. 104-105: Cactornis scandens Gould. Syntype Cactornis scandens Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. Frank, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, male [fide Sulloway 1982], juv. Status: RMNH Cat. 1 [purchase of 1863].
*Geospiza scandens ? rothschildi [fide Sulloway 1982] Heller & Snodgrass, 1901. [? CD 3321/3322, see above]. Z. p. 105: Cactornis assimilis Gould. Syntype Cactornis assimilis Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male [fide Sulloway 1982], juv. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.15. Cat. XII: 18: a.
*Camarhynchus crassirostris Gould, 1837. [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. pp. 103-104: Camarhynchus crassirostris Gould. Syntype Camarhynchus crassirostris Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. Frank, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, male [fide Sulloway 1982], juv. Status: RMNH Cat. 2 [purchase of 1863].
*Camarhynchus psittacula psittacula Gould, 1837. [CD 3331]. Z. p. 103: Camarhynchus psittaculus [sic] Gould. Syntype Camarhynchus psittacula Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.22. Cat. XII: 17: a/b [see below].
*Camarhynchus psittacula psittacula Gould, 1837. [CD 3330]. Z. p. 103: Camarhynchus psittaculus [sic] Gould. Syntype Camarhynchus psittacula Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Remark: specimen has last been seen by Swarth 1931: 215. Material: skin/mount, [?] male [Sulloway 1982 female] ad. Status: former BMNH 1855.12.19.12, now missing. Cat. XII: 17: a/b [see above].
*Camarhynchus parvulus parvulus (Gould, 1837). [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. p. 102: Geospiza parvula Gould. Syntype Geospiza parvula Gould, 1837. Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.167. Cat. XII: 14: b.
*Camarhynchus parvulus parvulus (Gould, 1837). [? CD 3312-19/24-29/32-36/38/39/41, see above & below]. Z. p. 102: Geospiza parvula Gould. Syntype Geospiza parvula Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.194. Cat. XII: 14: a.
*Geospiza sp. [CD 3337]. Syntype [of one of the species]. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ?ZSL. Remark: Grant et al. 1985 cited original Darwin finches at Stockholm Museum, which is an error for Leiden Museum. These are not the missing birds listed here. Material: skin/mount, upper mandible broken. Status: missing.
[page] 37
*Geospiza sp. [CD 3361]. Part of Syntype [of one of the species] Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ?ZSL. Material: Upper mandible of CD 3337. Status: missing.
*Certhidea olivacea olivacea Gould, 1837. [? CD 3310/3346/3348, see below]. Z. p. 106: Certhidea olivacea Gould. Syntype Certhidea olivacea Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. BMNH, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin. Status: MANCH B. 3089, ex. BMNH 1857.11.28.248.
*Certhidea olivacea olivacea Gould, 1837. CD 3340. Z. p. 106: Certhidea olivacea Gould. Syntype Certhidea olivacea Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.126. Cat. XI: 28: a-c [see below].
*Certhidea olivacea olivacea Gould, 1837. [? CD 3310/3346/3348, see below & above]. Z. p. 106: Certhidea olivacea Gould. Syntype Certhidea olivacea Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.164. Cat. XI: 28: a-c [see below/above].
*Certhidea olivacea olivacea Gould, 1837. [? CD 3310/3346/3348, see above]. Z. p. 106: Certhidea olivacea Gould. Syntype Certhidea olivacea Gould, 1837. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. October 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL. Material: ex mount, ad. Status: BMNH 1855.12.19.127. Cat. XI: 28: a-c [see above].
*Gubernatrix cristata (Vieillot, 1817). [? CD 1417]. Z. p. 89: Emberiza gubernatrix Temm. Loc.: Argentina: banks of the Parana near Santa Fé. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Saltator coerulescens coerulescens Vieillot, 1817. [? CD 1414/1415/1416, see above]. Z. p. 97: Pitylus superciliaris [Spix]. Loc.: Argentina: Santa Fé. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Thraupis bonariensis bonariensis (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 1229]. Z. pp. 97-98: Aglaia striata D'Orb. & Lafr. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Remark: BMNH holds a specimen of Covington's collection, which might be in fact this missing Darwin bird (BMNH 1839.6.8.2. Cat. XI: 164: e), nec MNHN Paris No. 3068. This is not a type of Tanagra Darwinii. Material: skin/mount. Status: probably missing.
*Pipraeidea melanonota melanonota (Vieillot, 1819). [?? CD 1245]. Z. p 98: Aglaia vittata [Temm.] Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
PARULIDAE:
*Dendroica petechia aureola (Gould, 1839). CD 3347. Z. p. 86: Sylvicola aureola Gould. Holotype Sylvicola aureola Gould, 1839 [pl. XXVIII]. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Archipelago. September 1835. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.14. Cat. X: 283: i.
*Geothlypis aequinoctialis velata (Vieillot, 1808). [CD 1215]. Z. p. 87: Trichas velata G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: shot in a garden. June 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
VIREONIDAE:
*Cyclarhis gujanensis ochrocephala Tschudi, 1845. [CD 1261]. Z. p. 58: Cyclarhis guianensis Swains. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
ICTERIDAE:
[page] 38
*Xanthopsar flavus (Gmelin, 1788). CD 1217. Z. p. 107: Xanthornus flavus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1885.11.2.301. Cat. XI: 346: c.
*Xanthopsar flavus (Gmelin, 1788). [CD 1218]. Z. p. 107: Xanthornus flavus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Ex.coll. Salvin & Godman, ex. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1885.11.2.300. Cat. XI: 346: b.
*Agelaius thilius thilius (Molina, 1782). CD 2187 [original field label]. Z. p. 106: Xanthornus chrysopterus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Chili: Valparaso. August - September 1834. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, female, ad. Status: BMNH 1858.6.25.27. Cat. XI: 344: j.
*Agelaius thilius petersii Laubmann, 1934. [? CD 1242/1418/1426, see below]. Z. p. 106: Xanthornus chrysopterus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Argentina or Uruguay: La Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Pezites militaris militaris (Linnaeus, 1771). [CD 1784]. Z. p. 110: Sturnella militaris Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Straits of Magellan. 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Pezites militaris falklandicus (Leverk hn, 1889). [CD 1146]. Z. p. 110: Sturnella militaris Vieill. Loc.: Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas: East Falkland Island. March 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Pseudoleistes virescens (Vieillot, 1819). [CD 1201]. Z. p. 107: Leistes anticus G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado: La Plata. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Amblyramphus holosericeus (Scopoli, 1786). [CD 1244]. Z. pp. 109-110: Amblyramphus ruber G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Curaeus curaeus curaeus (Molina, 1782). [CD 2186]. Z. p. 107: Agelaius chopi Vieill. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso. August September 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: very unlikely the unregistered BMNH specimen of coll. Eyton.
*Molothrus badius badius (Vieillot, 1819). [? CD 1242/1418, see above & below]. Z. p. 107: Agelaius fringillarius G. R. Gray. Loc.: Uruguay/Argentina: Maldonado or banks of the Parana. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Molothrus bonariensis bonariensis (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 1211]. Z. pp. 107-109: Molothrus niger Gould. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Molothrus bonariensis bonariensis (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 1212]. Z. pp. 107-109: Molothrus niger Gould. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Molothrus bonariensis bonariensis (Gmelin, 1789). [CD 1592, shared with eggs of Anthus furcatus & Zonotrichia capensis]. Z. pp. 107-109: Molothrus niger Gould. Loc.: Uruguay: Montevideo. 1833. Material: single egg. Status: missing.
*Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linnaeus, 1758). CD 3374 [original field label]. Z. p. 106: Dolichonyx oryzivorus Swains. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Islands: James Island. October 1835. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Material: skin, imm. Status: BMNH 1881.5.1.2394. Cat. XI: 332: c'.
*Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linnaeus, 1758). [CD 1309, specimens in spirit]. Z. p. 106: Dolichonyx oryzivorus Swains. Loc.: Ecuador: Galápagos Islands: James Island. October 1835. Remark: Body of BMNH 1881.5.1.2394. Material: specimen in alcohol. Status: missing.
*Icteridae indet. [one of the above mentioned species] [?? CD 1242/1418/1426, see above]. Loc.: Uruguay/Argentina: Maldonado, Buenos Aires or Bajada. 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
FRINGILLIDAE:
[page] 39
*Carduelis magellanica magellanica (Vieillot, 1805). [CD 1465]. Z. p. 97: Chrysomitris magellanica Bonap. Loc.: Argentina: Rio Negro. May 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Carduelis magellanica magellanica (Vieillot, 1805). [CD 1209]. Z. p. 97: Chrysomitris magellanica Bonap. Loc.: Uruguay: Maldonado. May 1833. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
*Carduelis barbata (Molina, 1782). CD 2195. Z. p. 89: Chrysometris [sic] campestris Gould. Loc.: Chile: Valparaso [Maldonado on label]. September 1834. Ex.coll. ZSL via Darwin. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1856.3.15.5. Cat. XXII: 217: f.
*Carduelis barbata (Molina, 1782). [CD 1830]. Z. p. 89: Chrysometris [sic] campestris Gould. Loc.: Chile: Tierra del Fuego: Port Famine: forests. February 1834. Material: skin/mount. Status: missing.
PLOCEIDAE:
*Passer hispaniolensis hispaniolensis (Temminck, 1820). CD 189 [original field label]. Z. p. 95: Passer hispaniolensis G. R. Gray. Loc.: Portugal: Cape Verde Islands: So Tiago: Porto Praia. January 1832. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: In Darwin's hand "X [/] loc [/]] S Jago" [in pencil] on label. Material: skin, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1881.5.1.2117. Cat. XII: 319: i.
*Passer iagoensis iagoensis (Gould, 1838). [CD 190]. Z. p. 95: Passer jagoensis [sic] Gould. Holotype Pyrgita Iagoensis Gould, 1838 [the issue containing pp. 77-79 of the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for the year 1837 was published in 1838]. Loc.: Portugal: Cape Verde Islands: S o Tiago: Porto Praia. January 1832. Ex.coll. Gould, ex. ZSL. Remark: BMNH 1881.5.1.2124 [2133] has no type status. Material: ex mount, male, ad. Status: BMNH 1867.3.16.79. Cat. XII: 324: a.
Following CD numbers not linked: 779, 1026, 1027, 1404, 1451, 1462, 1468, 1829, 2189, 2300, one of 751 & 828, 1430 & 1431 and 1604 & 1613, three of 1423, 1425, 1434, 1450, and two of 1605, 1611, 1612, 1614, 1616 and 1617.
References cited in appendix:
Barlow N (ed 1963) Darwins ornithological notes. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Historical series 2 (7): 201-278
Chancellor G, DiMauro A, Ingle R, King G (1988) Charles Darwin's Beagle Collections in the Oxford University Museum. Archives of Natural History 15(2): 197-231
Gould J (1837a) Remarks on a group of Ground Finches from Mr. Darwin's Collection, with characters of the New Species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 5: 4-7
Gould J (1837b) Observations on the Raptorial Birds in Mr. Darwin's Collection, with characters of the New Species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 5: 911
Gould J (1837c) Exhibition of the Fissirostral Birds from Mr. Darwin's Collection, and characters of the New Species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 5: 22-24
Gould J (1837d): Three Species of the Genus Orpheus, from the Galapagos, in the Collection of Mr. Darwin. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 5: 27
Gould J (1837e) On a New Rhea (Rhea Darwinii) from Mr. Darwin's Collection. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 5: 35
Gould J (1838) Exhibition of Mr. Darwin's Birds, and description of a New Species of Wagtail
[page] 40
(Motacilla leucopsis) from India. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 5: 77-79 [this issue of the 1837 Proceedings appeared delayed in 1838]
Gould J, Darwin C (1838) The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R. N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Part 3: Birds, issue 1 [pp 1-16, pls. 1-10]. Smith, Elder and Co., London [The works of Charles Darwin. Barrett PH, Freeman RB (eds 1987), vol. 5, New York University Press, New York]
Gould J, Darwin C (1839a) The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R. N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Part 3: Birds, issue 2 [pp 17-32, pls. 11-20]. Smith, Elder and Co., London [The works of Charles Darwin. Barrett PH, Freeman RB (eds 1987), vol. 5, New York University Press, New York]
Gould J, Darwin C (1839b) The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R. N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Part 3: Birds, issue 3 [pp 33-56, pls. 21-30]. Smith, Elder and Co., London [The works of Charles Darwin. Barrett PH, Freeman RB (eds 1987), vol. 5, New York University Press, New York]
Gould J, Darwin C (1839c) The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R. N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Part 3: Birds, issue 4 [pp 57-96, pls. 31-40]. Smith, Elder and Co., London [The works of Charles Darwin. Barrett PH, Freeman RB (1987), vol. 5, New York University Press, New York]
Gould J, Darwin C, Eyton TC (1841) The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R. N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Part 3: Birds, issue 5 [pp 97-164, pls. 41-50]. Smith, Elder and Co., London [The works of Charles Darwin. Barrett PH, Freeman RB (1987), vol. 5, New York University Press, New York]
Keynes RD (ed 2000) Charles Darwins zoology notebooks & specimen lists from H.M.S. Beagle. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Paynter RA (1994) Ornithological Gazetteer of Uruguay. Second edition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass
Paynter RA (1995) Ornithological Gazetteer of Argentina. Second edition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass
Sharpe RB et al (1874-1895) Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Vols. 1-27. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London
Sherborn CD (1897) Notes on the dates of 'The Zoology of the Beagle'. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History 7th series, 20: 483.
Steinheimer FD (2003) Darwin, Rppell, Landbeck & Co. Important Historical Collections at the Natural History Museum, Tring. Bonner Zoologische Beitr ge 51(2-3): 175-188
Sulloway FJ (1982) The Beagle collections of Darwins finches (Geospizinae). British Museum (Natural History) Bulletin. Zool. series 43 (2): 49-94
Warren RLM (1966) Type-Specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History) – Non-Passerines. Vol. 1. Trustees of the Brit. Mus. (N.H.), London
Warren RLM, Harrison CJO (1971): Type-Specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History) Passerines. Vol. 2. Trustees of the Brit. Mus. (N.H.), London
| i don't know |
Which rank in the Royal Navy is equivalent to that of brigadier in the Army? | BBC Academy - Journalism - Military ranks
Subject guides / Military
Military ranks
The ranks of the UK armed services can be confusing. The chart below - edited by Dr Duncan Anderson, head of war studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst - sets out the equivalent ranks in the three UK services and the US Army. Guidance is provided by Sub Lt Max Cosby, Royal Navy.
This page was last updated on 19/05/2015
Many journalists struggle to know their wing commander from their lieutenant commander, let alone where a US brigadier general comes in the pecking order.
Strictly speaking, when the three UK armed forces are talked about in the same breath they should be listed in order of the seniority of the service: Royal Navy , British Army , Royal Air Force .
Confusingly, the Royal Marines are part of the Royal Navy but use the rank structure of the British Army. To distinguish Royal Marines from their Army colleagues, their name should be followed by the words ‘Royal Marines’ or ‘RM’ - for example, ‘Lt Jack Smith Royal Marines’ or ‘Sgt Tom Brown RM’.
To distinguish naval ranks from army ranks, such as captain and lieutenant, all Royal Navy officer ranks below admiral (midshipman all the way up to commodore) are followed by the words ‘Royal Navy’ or ‘RN’ - for example, ‘Lt Jack Smith Royal Navy’ or ‘Lt Jack Smith RN’.
Officers
The term ‘officer’ refers to someone with a commission. Warrant officers do not hold one. The same applies to Royal Navy chief petty officers and petty officers.
And remember: the word ‘lieutenant’ should be pronounced ‘lef-tenant’ rather than the US ‘loo-tenant’.
Lining up equivalent ranks in the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force with their counterparts in the United States Army is not an exact science, so the chart below is intended as a rough guide only:
| The Commodore |
In the 'Noggin the Nog' children's stories and cartoons what is the name of Noggin's wicked uncle? | Major General | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
In the old Austro-Hungarian Army , the major general was called a Generalmajor . [2] Today's Austrian Federal Army still uses the same term.
Canada
See also: Canadian Forces ranks and insignia
In the Canadian Forces , the rank of Major-General (MGen) (Major-général or Mgén in French) is an Army or Air Force rank equal to a Rear-Admiral of the Navy . A Major-General is a General Officer , the equivalent of a Naval Flag Officer . A Major-General is senior to a Brigadier-General or Commodore , and junior to a Lieutenant-General or Vice-Admiral . Prior to 1968, the Air Force used the rank of Air Vice-Marshal instead.
The rank insignia for a Major-General is two gold maple leaves beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown. It is worn on the shoulder straps of the Service Dress tunic, and on slip-ons on other uniforms. The Service Dress tunic also features a wide strip of gold braid around the cuff. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves.
Major-Generals are initially addressed as "General" and name, as are all general officers; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am" as applicable in English or "mon général" in French. Major-Generals are normally entitled to staff cars .
Estonia
In the Estonian military , the major general rank is called Kindralmajor.
Finland
The Finnish military equivalent is Kenraalimajuri, or Generalmajor in Swedish.
France
Edit
In the French military, Major général is not a rank but an appointment conferred on some generals, usually of Général de corps d'armée rank, acting as head of staff of a branch of service. This should not be confused with the chief of staff , who is usually a Général d'armée , and the true commander of each service. The position of major général can be considered the equivalent of a deputy chief of Staff. There are five Major Generals: the Major General of the Armies, head of the General Staff, the Major General of the Army , the Major General of the Navy , the Major General of the Gendarmerie and the Major General of the Air Force .
Historically, the French army had some sergent-majors généraux , also called sergents de bataille, whose task was to prepare the disposition of the army on the field before a battle. These sergents-majors généraux became a new rank, the maréchal de camp (not the same as a Field Marshal, in the French Army from antiquity called a Maréchal de France), which was the equivalent of the rank of major general. However the term of major général was not forgotten and used to describe the appointment of armies chiefs of staff. One well-known French Major général was Marshal Berthier , Major General of Napoléon 's Grande armée.
The French equivalent to the rank of Major General is Général de division.
Germany
Edit
The German Army and Luftwaffe refer to the rank as Generalmajor. Prior to 1955 the rank of Generalleutnant was used to define a division commander,whereas Genralmajor was a brigade commander. With the remilitarization of Germany in 1955 with West Germany's admission to NATO, Germany adopted the rank structure of the United States with the authority of the 3 lower ranks being moved up one level and the rank of Generalbrigade (Brigadier General) added below them. The rank of Generaloberst was no longer used. The change was likely made to avoid confusion over relative rank in NATO forces. The Nationale Volksarmee of East Germany continued the use Generalmajor (Brigadier General) as the lowest general officer rank until reunification.
Iran
In Imperial Iranian army and air force, the rankings of the above Colonel are respectively Sar-teep (Brigadier General), Sar-Lashgar (Major General), Sepah-Boad (Lieutenant General), and Artesh-Boad (General)
Ireland
In the Irish Defence Forces there are four Major Generals, each Commanding a Brigade. These are the 1st Southern Brigade, 2nd Eastern Brigade, the 4th Western Brigade and the Defence Forces Training Centre (DFTC)
India
Major General in the Indian Army is equivalent to Rear Admiral in the Indian Navy and Air Vice Marshal in the Indian Air Force and is the lowest of the general officer ranks, ranking between Brigadier and Lieutenant General .
Israel
In the Israel Defence Forces , a Major General is called an Aluf and is the second highest rank, only outranked by Rav Aluf ( Lieutenant General or General ), who is also the Chief of Staff.
Italy
Edit
In Italy exists the Army rank of Generale di Divisione. In the army the Generale di Divisione is the commander of a division or as other duties in the various national or international staff, in the Carabinieri or Guardia di Finanza . He/she is usually the commander of the units in a zone of the country.
Korea
Edit
In South Korea, the rank of Major General is known as Sojang (Hangul: 소장, Hanja: 少將).
The rank of Sojang is also used in North Korea, where it is the lowest general officer and flag officer rank, equivalent to a one star General and Admiral. The North Korean equivalent to a two star General is Jungjang, which roughly translates as Lieutenant General.
New Zealand
Edit
In the New Zealand Army , Major-General is the rank held by the Chief of Army (formerly the Chief of General Staff). The more senior rank of Lieutenant-General is reserved for when an Army officer holds the position of Chief of Defence Force, who commands all New Zealand's armed forces. This position is subject to rotation between the heads of the Air Force, Army, and Navy.
Pakistan
Edit
Major General in the Pakistan Army is equivalent to Rear Admiral in the Pakistan Navy and Air Vice Marshal in the Pakistan Air Force and is the lowest of the general officer ranks, ranking between Brigadier and Lieutenant General . The Pakistan Army has two female Major Generals. The longest server is Shahida Malik .
Portugal
Edit
The rank of Major-General was reintroduced in the Portuguese Army , Air Force and National Republican Guard in 1999 in place of the former rank of brigadier . It was previously used in the Army, from 1862 to 1864. It is equivalent to Contra-Almirante ( Rear-Admiral ) in the Portuguese Navy .
Sweden
Edit
In Sweden the rank of Generalmajor (Genmj) is used in the Army , the Amphibious Corps and the Air Force . It is the equivalent to Konteramiral ( Counter Admiral ) in the navy. It is typically held by the Inspector Generals of the three service branches and the head of the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service .
Turkey
Edit
The Turkish Army and Turkish Air Force refer to the rank as Tümgeneral. The Turkish Navy equivalent is Tümamiral. The name is derived from tümen, the Turkish word for a military division (tümen itself is an older Turkish word meaning "10,000"). Thus, linguistically, it is similar to the French equivalent for a Major General, Général de division.
United Kingdom
Main article: Major-General (United Kingdom)
In the British Army and Royal Marines , Major-General ranks below Lieutenant-General and above Brigadier , and is thus the lowest of the general officer ranks, although always considered equivalent to Major-General in other countries. Divisions are usually commanded by Major-Generals and they also hold a variety of staff positions. The professional head of the Royal Marines currently holds the rank of Major-General.
From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force maintained the rank of Major-General. It was superseded by the rank of Air Vice-Marshal on the following day.
Major-General is equivalent to Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy and Air Vice-Marshal in the Royal Air Force .
United States
In the United States Army , a major general commands a division of 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers and is capable of fully independent field operation.
Vietnam
Edit
In Vietnam, the rank of Major General is known as Thiếu tướng. It is used in the Army and the Air Force. It is the equivalent to Chuẩn Đô đốc ( Rear Admiral ) in the Navy.
The rank of Thiếu tướng is the lowest general officer and flag officer rank, equivalent to a one star General and Admiral. In the Vietnamese People's Army , a major general commands a corps of 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers and is capable of fully independent field operation.
Fictional references
Bartholomew Bandy , the air ace from Donald Jack 's Bandy Papers series, ends the First World War as a Major General at the age of only 26.
In the anime movie Robotech II: The Sentinels, the lead character, Rick Hunter, holds the rank of Major General.
Con artist Private Harry Frigg, played by Academy Award-winning actor Paul Newman , is promoted overnight to Major General in the 1968 war comedy, The Secret War of Harry Frigg .
The third Judge Advocate General of the show JAG (1995–2005) is a Major General: Major General Gordon "Biff" Cresswell, USMC, portrayed by David Andrews.
The U.S. Army forces sent to occupy Brooklyn, New York in The Siege are commanded by Major General William Deveraux, portrayed by Bruce Willis.
See also
Edit
↑ In countries that do not maintain the rank of Brigadier General , including much of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth, Major General is the lowest of the General Officer ranks. Note, however, if the rank of Brigadier is used, although Brigadiers are not classed as "Generals", they are of equal rank to Brigadier Generals, and are still considered to be a 1 star rank . If neither of the ranks of Brigadier or Brigadier General (or an equivalent rank) are used, the Major General is still considered a 2 star rank (independent of how many stars there actually are in the insignia), and that armed force simply has no 1 star rank.
↑ Bowden & Tarbox, p 24. The authors write that FML (Field-Marshal-Lieutenant) is the same as Lieutenant-General and General-Feldwachtmeister the same as Major-General. But they list no equivalent rank to Brigadier-General. Nevertheless, the page cited is an excellent source of Austro-Hungarian ranks.
References
| i don't know |
Which South African golf player is known as 'The Big Easy'? | All-Time Greatest Golfers From South Africa
3. Ernie Els
Els followed in Gary Player's peripatetic footsteps by traveling the globe to pursue his golf career. For most of his pro career, Els has played pretty much everywhere: America and Africa and Australia and Asia and Europe. And he's won everywhere. Els has two U.S. Open titles and two Open Championship crowns; through July 2012, he had 19 USPGA Tour titles and 27 wins on the European Tour, plus numerous other wins on the South African, Asian and Japan tours. More »
Photo © Rich Hodge; used with permission
4. Retief Goosen
The Goose's first win in the United States was the 2001 U.S. Open . Three years later, he added another U.S. Open. Goosen also has wins on the Sunshine Tour, the Asian Tour and the European Tour (more than a dozen through 2010), to go along with his seven official PGA Tour victories (through 2010).
5. David Frost
Frost is another of the great putters in golf history, and he's the only South African other than Player, Locke and Els to have double-digit victories on the USPGA Tour. Frost won 10 times on the PGA Tour. Frost also won on the Sunshine Tour, in Europe and in Japan.
6. Rory Sabbatini
It's a tough call putting Sabbatini ahead of major winner Charl Schwartzel, but Sabbatini is the older, more-established player, who has a longer, strong body of work behind him. Unlike the other players on this list, Sabbatini's full-time career has been spent almost entirely on the USPGA. He has no wins on other any tour. But he does have six wins (as of 2012) on the USPGA. On the world's top tour, he's been a consistent performer and strong presence over an extended period of time.
7. Charl Schwartzel
Schwartzel vaulted up this list when he won the 2011 Masters , his first major and his first official USPGA Tour victory. But Schwartzel, 27 years old at the time, was already building a case for himself. He had won five times on the Sunshine Tour, three of those events cosanctioned by the European Tour. And his three other European Tour victories through early 2011 included big wins at the Dunhill Championship and Open de Espana .
8. Louis Oosthuizen
At the time Oosthuizen won the 2010 British Open , he had but a handful of other victories on pro tours. Since then, he's added a few more on both the European and Sunshine (South African) tours.
8. Trevor Immelman
Injuries have interrupted his career, but he won the 2008 Masters and prior to that had one other win on the PGA Tour, along with victories in Africa and Europe.
10. Harold Henning
Henning won twice on the USPGA and once on the European tours, along with more than 15 wins in South Africa. His PGA Tour victories were in 1966 and 1970, and his Euro win was in 1981. Then he had several productive years on the Champions Tour in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
| Ernie Els |
What name is popularly applied to the church tower of St Botolph's in Boston, Lincolnshire? | Sunshine Tour | Where great golfers graduate
About The Big Easy Tour
GOLF � SUNSHINE TOUR � Mini-Tour announcement
Sunshine Tour announces major development initiative
The Sunshine Tour has announced the launch of the Sunshine Big Easy Tour, a mini-tour dedicated to giving a wider cross section of professionals to play in competitive professional events.
The Big Easy Tour gets underway at Crown Mines Golf Club on March 24, and it will be the first of 10 events which will be followed by a Tour Championship at a venue to be announced at a later date. Former Sunshine Tour commissioner Gareth Tindall said, �As the Sunshine Tour continues to grow, we need to make sure we give more opportunities to develop skills in the professional game to a wider range of players, especially those who perhaps haven�t had many opportunities to excel in amateur golf ranks. The Big Easy Tour provides exactly that.�
The Tour is named after three-time Major winner Ernie Els in recognition of his continued commitment to the development of the game in South Africa. �I commend the Sunshine Tour on this initiative to provide competitive playing opportunities for our up-and-coming professionals and I am very honoured that the Tour has asked me to put my name to the new mini Tour,� said Els from his US home in Florida. �The Big Easy Tour will help our young nation�s talent mature, develop their playing skills and take the next big step towards full Tour status. It�s a great format and I�m sure it will prove popular.�
Professional golfers who received their cards at the Sunshine Tour 2011 Qualifying School played in Bloemfontein last year, and the top 30 at the Vusi Ngubeni Strokeplay played in Johannesburg in January are eligible to play on the Tour, as are those who finished from 71st to 150th on the 2010 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit.
Each tournament will be played over two rounds, and, to begin with, all events will be in the Gauteng area, where the majority of golfers at whom the series is aimed live. That way, travel and accommodation costs will be alleviated for those players.
Each event will have R100,000 in prize money, with the Big Easy Tour Championship having a purse of R250,000.
| i don't know |
In which gland in the human body would you find the small clusters of cells known as the Islets of Langerhans? | You & Your Hormones | Glands | Pancreas
You & Your Hormones
Email article to a friend | Last updated: January 21, 2015
The pancreas is an organ that serves two vital purposes: to aid food digestion and to produce hormones that mainly serve to control levels of energy in the blood.
Computer artwork showing the location of the pancreas in the body.
Where is the pancreas?
The pancreas is a large gland that lies alongside the stomach and the small bowel. It is about six inches (approximately 15 cm) long and is divided into the head, body and tail.
What does the pancreas do?
The pancreas carries out two important roles:
It makes digestive juices, which consist of powerful enzymes. These are released into the small bowel after meals to break down and digest food.
It makes hormones that control blood glucose levels.
The pancreas produces hormones in its ‘endocrine’ cells. These cells are gathered in clusters known as islets of Langerhans and monitor what is happening in the blood. They then can release hormones directly into the blood when necessary. In particular, they sense when sugar (glucose) levels in the blood rise, and as soon as this happens the cells produce hormones, particularly insulin . Insulin then helps the body to lower blood glucose levels and ‘store’ the sugar away in fat, muscle, liver and other body tissues where it can be used for energy when required.
The pancreas is very close to the stomach. As soon as food is eaten, the pancreas releases digestive enzymes into the bowel to break food down. As the food is digested, and nutrient levels in the blood rise, the pancreas produces insulin to help the body store the glucose (energy) away. Between meals, the pancreas does not produce insulin and this allows the body to gradually release stores of energy back into the blood as they are needed.
Glucose levels remain very stable in the blood at all times to ensure that the body has a steady supply of energy. This energy is needed for metabolism , exercise and, in particular, to fuel the parts of the brain that ‘run’ on glucose. This makes sure that the body doesn’t starve between meals.
What hormones does the pancreas produce?
The most important hormone that the pancreas produces is insulin. Insulin is released by the ‘beta cells’ in the islets of Langerhans in response to food. Its role is to lower glucose levels in the bloodstream and promote the storage of glucose in fat, muscle, liver and other body tissues.
‘Alpha cells’ in the islets of Langerhans produce another important hormone, glucagon . This has the opposite effect to insulin, by helping release energy into the bloodstream from where it is stored, thus raising blood sugar levels. Therefore, glucagon and insulin work in tandem to control the balance of glucose in the bloodstream.
Other hormones produced by the pancreas include pancreatic polypeptide and somatostatin . They are believed to play a part in regulating and fine-tuning the insulin and glucagon-producing cells.
What could go wrong with the pancreas?
When the cells that make insulin either stop working altogether, or become inefficient and don’t make enough insulin, this causes diabetes mellitus . Type 1 diabetes mellitus is caused when the body’s immune system attacks its own cells in the islets of Langerhans, meaning that these cells cannot produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder where the body is no longer able to produce or respond to insulin.
Some women also get diabetes temporarily when they are pregnant. This is called gestational diabetes . There are other rarer forms of diabetes, some of which are inherited. In addition, people will get diabetes if their pancreas is taken away surgically or damaged (for instance by severe pancreatitis).
Very rarely, patients develop growths (tumours) of the cells that make up the islets of Langerhans. These may be benign tumours, where a particular kind of cell multiplies and makes large quantities of its hormone whether it is needed or not. For example, if the tumour is made of insulin-producing cells, it is called an insulinoma . This is where too much insulin is produced when it is not required. This also happens with glucagon-producing cells, or a glucagonoma , which produces too much glucagon. These and other hormone-producing tumours in the pancreas are very rare, but endocrinology specialists have important parts to play in diagnosing patients with these tumours and contributing to their management and treatment.
The digestive cells of the pancreas can be involved in the condition known as pancreatitis. This is a very painful and serious condition caused by digestive enzymes ‘leaking’ into the pancreas itself and damaging the delicate tissues in and around it.
It is also possible for a tumour to develop in the part of the pancreas that produces the digestive juices that are released into the bowel. This condition is called pancreatic cancer.
| Pancreas |
In the books of Michael Bond, Paddington Bear hails from which country? | Endocrine System: Discover the Anatomy and Function of Glands
Oxytocin
Antidiuretic hormone (ADH)
All of the releasing and inhibiting hormones affect the function of the anterior pituitary gland. TRH stimulates the anterior pituitary gland to release thyroid-stimulating hormone. GHRH and GHIH work to regulate the release of growth hormone—GHRH stimulates growth hormone release, GHIH inhibits its release. GnRH stimulates the release of follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone while CRH stimulates the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone. The last two hormones—oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone—are produced by the hypothalamus and transported to the posterior pituitary, where they are stored and later released.
Pituitary Gland
The pituitary gland , also known as the hypophysis, is a small pea-sized lump of tissue connected to the inferior portion of the hypothalamus of the brain. Many blood vessels surround the pituitary gland to carry the hormones it releases throughout the body. Situated in a small depression in the sphenoid bone called the sella turcica, the pituitary gland is actually made of 2 completely separate structures: the posterior and anterior pituitary glands.
Posterior Pituitary: The posterior pituitary gland is actually not glandular tissue at all, but nervous tissue instead. The posterior pituitary is a small extension of the hypothalamus through which the axons of some of the neurosecretory cells of the hypothalamus extend. These neurosecretory cells create 2 hormones in the hypothalamus that are stored and released by the posterior pituitary:
Oxytocin triggers uterine contractions during childbirth and the release of milk during breastfeeding.
Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) prevents water loss in the body by increasing the re-uptake of water in the kidneys and reducing blood flow to sweat glands.
Anterior Pituitary: The anterior pituitary gland is the true glandular part of the pituitary gland. The function of the anterior pituitary gland is controlled by the releasing and inhibiting hormones of the hypothalamus. The anterior pituitary produces 6 important hormones:
Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), as its name suggests, is a tropic hormone responsible for the stimulation of the thyroid gland.
Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulates the adrenal cortex, the outer part of the adrenal gland, to produce its hormones.
Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) stimulates the follicle cells of the gonads to produce gametes—ova in females and sperm in males.
Luteinizing hormone (LH) stimulates the gonads to produce the sex hormones—estrogens in females and testosterone in males.
Human growth hormone (HGH) affects many target cells throughout the body by stimulating their growth, repair, and reproduction.
Prolactin (PRL) has many effects on the body, chief of which is that it stimulates the mammary glands of the breast to produce milk.
Pineal Gland
The pineal gland is a small pinecone-shaped mass of glandular tissue found just posterior to the thalamus of the brain. The pineal gland produces the hormone melatonin that helps to regulate the human sleep-wake cycle known as the circadian rhythm. The activity of the pineal gland is inhibited by stimulation from the photoreceptors of the retina. This light sensitivity causes melatonin to be produced only in low light or darkness. Increased melatonin production causes humans to feel drowsy at nighttime when the pineal gland is active.
Thyroid Gland
The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of the neck and wrapped around the lateral sides of the trachea. The thyroid gland produces 3 major hormones:
Calcitonin
Triiodothyronine (T3)
Thyroxine (T4)
Calcitonin is released when calcium ion levels in the blood rise above a certain set point. Calcitonin functions to reduce the concentration of calcium ions in the blood by aiding the absorption of calcium into the matrix of bones. The hormones T3 and T4 work together to regulate the body’s metabolic rate. Increased levels of T3 and T4 lead to increased cellular activity and energy usage in the body.
Parathyroid Glands
The parathyroid glands are 4 small masses of glandular tissue found on the posterior side of the thyroid gland. The parathyroid glands produce the hormone parathyroid hormone (PTH), which is involved in calcium ion homeostasis. PTH is released from the parathyroid glands when calcium ion levels in the blood drop below a set point. PTH stimulates the osteoclasts to break down the calcium containing bone matrix to release free calcium ions into the bloodstream. PTH also triggers the kidneys to return calcium ions filtered out of the blood back to the bloodstream so that it is conserved.
Adrenal Glands
The adrenal glands are a pair of roughly triangular glands found immediately superior to the kidneys. The adrenal glands are each made of 2 distinct layers, each with their own unique functions: the outer adrenal cortex and inner adrenal medulla.
Adrenal cortex: The adrenal cortex produces many cortical hormones in 3 classes: glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, and androgens.
Glucocorticoids have many diverse functions, including the breakdown of proteins and lipids to produce glucose. Glucocorticoids also function to reduce inflammation and immune response.
Mineralocorticoids, as their name suggests, are a group of hormones that help to regulate the concentration of mineral ions in the body.
Androgens, such as testosterone, are produced at low levels in the adrenal cortex to regulate the growth and activity of cells that are receptive to male hormones. In adult males, the amount of androgens produced by the testes is many times greater than the amount produced by the adrenal cortex, leading to the appearance of male secondary sex characteristics.
Adrenal medulla: The adrenal medulla produces the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine under stimulation by the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. Both of these hormones help to increase the flow of blood to the brain and muscles to improve the “fight-or-flight” response to stress. These hormones also work to increase heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure while decreasing the flow of blood to and function of organs that are not involved in responding to emergencies.
Pancreas
The pancreas is a large gland located in the abdominal cavity just inferior and posterior to the stomach . The pancreas is considered to be a heterocrine gland as it contains both endocrine and exocrine tissue. The endocrine cells of the pancreas make up just about 1% of the total mass of the pancreas and are found in small groups throughout the pancreas called islets of Langerhans. Within these islets are 2 types of cells—alpha and beta cells. The alpha cells produce the hormone glucagon, which is responsible for raising blood glucose levels. Glucagon triggers muscle and liver cells to break down the polysaccharide glycogen to release glucose into the bloodstream. The beta cells produce the hormone insulin, which is responsible for lowering blood glucose levels after a meal. Insulin triggers the absorption of glucose from the blood into cells, where it is added to glycogen molecules for storage.
Gonads
The gonads—ovaries in females and testes in males—are responsible for producing the sex hormones of the body. These sex hormones determine the secondary sex characteristics of adult females and adult males.
Testes: The testes are a pair of ellipsoid organs found in the scrotum of males that produce the androgen testosterone in males after the start of puberty. Testosterone has effects on many parts of the body, including the muscles, bones, sex organs, and hair follicles. This hormone causes growth and increases in strength of the bones and muscles, including the accelerated growth of long bones during adolescence. During puberty, testosterone controls the growth and development of the sex organs and body hair of males, including pubic, chest, and facial hair. In men who have inherited genes for baldness testosterone triggers the onset of androgenic alopecia, commonly known as male pattern baldness.
Ovaries: The ovaries are a pair of almond-shaped glands located in the pelvic body cavity lateral and superior to the uterus in females. The ovaries produce the female sex hormones progesterone and estrogens. Progesterone is most active in females during ovulation and pregnancy where it maintains appropriate conditions in the human body to support a developing fetus. Estrogens are a group of related hormones that function as the primary female sex hormones. The release of estrogen during puberty triggers the development of female secondary sex characteristics such as uterine development, breast development, and the growth of pubic hair. Estrogen also triggers the increased growth of bones during adolescence that lead to adult height and proportions.
Thymus
The thymus is a soft, triangular-shaped organ found in the chest posterior to the sternum. The thymus produces hormones called thymosins that help to train and develop T-lymphocytes during fetal development and childhood. The T-lymphocytes produced in the thymus go on to protect the body from pathogens throughout a person’s entire life. The thymus becomes inactive during puberty and is slowly replaced by adipose tissue throughout a person’s life.
Other Hormone Producing Organs
In addition to the glands of the endocrine system, many other non-glandular organs and tissues in the body produce hormones as well.
Heart: The cardiac muscle tissue of the heart is capable of producing the hormone atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in response to high blood pressure levels. ANP works to reduce blood pressure by triggering vasodilation to provide more space for the blood to travel through. ANP also reduces blood volume and pressure by causing water and salt to be excreted out of the blood by the kidneys.
Kidneys: The kidneys produce the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) in response to low levels of oxygen in the blood. EPO released by the kidneys travels to the red bone marrow where it stimulates an increased production of red blood cells. The number of red blood cells increases the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood, eventually ending the production of EPO.
Digestive System: The hormones cholecystokinin (CCK), secretin, and gastrin are all produced by the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. CCK, secretin, and gastrin all help to regulate the secretion of pancreatic juice, bile, and gastric juice in response to the presence of food in the stomach. CCK is also instrumental in the sensation of satiety or “fullness” after eating a meal.
Adipose: Adipose tissue produces the hormone leptin that is involved in the management of appetite and energy usage by the body. Leptin is produced at levels relative to the amount of adipose tissue in the body, allowing the brain to monitor the body’s energy storage condition. When the body contains a sufficient level of adipose for energy storage, the level of leptin in the blood tells the brain that the body is not starving and may work normally. If the level of adipose or leptin decreases below a certain threshold, the body enters starvation mode and attempts to conserve energy through increased hunger and food intake and decreased energy usage. Adipose tissue also produces very low levels of estrogens in both men and women. In obese people the large volume of adipose tissue may lead to abnormal estrogen levels.
Placenta: In pregnant women, the placenta produces several hormones that help to maintain pregnancy. Progesterone is produced to relax the uterus, protect the fetus from the mother’s immune system , and prevent premature delivery of the fetus. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) assists progesterone by signaling the ovaries to maintain the production of estrogen and progesterone throughout pregnancy.
Local Hormones: Prostaglandins and leukotrienes are produced by every tissue in the body (except for blood tissue) in response to damaging stimuli. These two hormones mainly affect the cells that are local to the source of damage, leaving the rest of the body free to function normally.
Prostaglandins cause swelling, inflammation, increased pain sensitivity, and increased local body temperature to help block damaged regions of the body from infection or further damage. They act as the body’s natural bandages to keep pathogens out and swell around damaged joints like a natural cast to limit movement.
Leukotrienes help the body heal after prostaglandins have taken effect by reducing inflammation while helping white blood cells to move into the region to clean up pathogens and damaged tissues.
Physiology of the Endocrine System
Endocrine System vs. Nervous System Function
The endocrine system works alongside of the nervous system to form the control systems of the body. The nervous system provides a very fast and narrowly targeted system to turn on specific glands and muscles throughout the body. The endocrine system, on the other hand, is much slower acting, but has very widespread, long lasting, and powerful effects. Hormones are distributed by glands through the bloodstream to the entire body, affecting any cell with a receptor for a particular hormone. Most hormones affect cells in several organs or throughout the entire body, leading to many diverse and powerful responses.
Hormone Properties
Once hormones have been produced by glands, they are distributed through the body via the bloodstream. As hormones travel through the body, they pass through cells or along the plasma membranes of cells until they encounter a receptor for that particular hormone. Hormones can only affect target cells that have the appropriate receptors. This property of hormones is known as specificity. Hormone specificity explains how each hormone can have specific effects in widespread parts of the body.
Many hormones produced by the endocrine system are classified as tropic hormones. A tropic hormone is a hormone that is able to trigger the release of another hormone in another gland. Tropic hormones provide a pathway of control for hormone production as well as a way for glands to be controlled in distant regions of the body. Many of the hormones produced by the pituitary gland, such as TSH, ACTH, and FSH are tropic hormones.
Hormonal Regulation
The levels of hormones in the body can be regulated by several factors. The nervous system can control hormone levels through the action of the hypothalamus and its releasing and inhibiting hormones. For example, TRH produced by the hypothalamus stimulates the anterior pituitary to produce TSH. Tropic hormones provide another level of control for the release of hormones. For example, TSH is a tropic hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to produce T3 and T4. Nutrition can also control the levels of hormones in the body. For example, the thyroid hormones T3 and T4 require 3 or 4 iodine atoms, respectively, to be produced. In people lacking iodine in their diet, they will fail to produce sufficient levels of thyroid hormones to maintain a healthy metabolic rate. Finally, the number of receptors present in cells can be varied by cells in response to hormones. Cells that are exposed to high levels of hormones for extended periods of time can begin to reduce the number of receptors that they produce, leading to reduced hormonal control of the cell.
Classes of Hormones
Hormones are classified into 2 categories depending on their chemical make-up and solubility: water-soluble and lipid-soluble hormones. Each of these classes of hormones has specific mechanisms for their function that dictate how they affect their target cells.
Water-soluble hormones: Water-soluble hormones include the peptide and amino-acid hormones such as insulin, epinephrine, HGH, and oxytocin. As their name indicates, these hormones are soluble in water. Water-soluble hormones are unable to pass through the phospholipid bilayer of the plasma membrane and are therefore dependent upon receptor molecules on the surface of cells. When a water-soluble hormone binds to a receptor molecule on the surface of a cell, it triggers a reaction inside of the cell. This reaction may change a factor inside of the cell such as the permeability of the membrane or the activation of another molecule. A common reaction is to cause molecules of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) to be synthesized from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) present in the cell. cAMP acts as a second messenger within the cell where it binds to a second receptor to change the function of the cell’s physiology.
Lipid-soluble hormones: Lipid-soluble hormones include the steroid hormones such as testosterone, estrogens, glucocorticoids, and mineralocorticoids. Because they are soluble in lipids, these hormones are able to pass directly through the phospholipid bilayer of the plasma membrane and bind directly to receptors inside the cell nucleus. Lipid-soluble hormones are able to directly control the function of a cell from these receptors, often triggering the transcription of particular genes in the DNA to produce "messenger RNAs (mRNAs)" that are used to make proteins that affect the cell’s growth and function.
Prepared by Tim Taylor, Anatomy and Physiology Instructor
| i don't know |
The brothers in The Kinks were Ray and ... ? | The Kinks reunion? Not since Ray Davies stamped on bother Dave's birthday cake | Daily Mail Online
comments
First off, Dave Davies wants to spell something out. There will not be reunion of The Kinks. Not now. Not in the future. Never. ‘I think the music is so beautiful it shouldn’t be tainted,’ he says. ‘It would be a shame. You don’t need to see silly old men in wheelchairs singing You Really Got Me.’
The problem is that there’s another ‘silly old man’ — fellow Kink and Dave’s older brother Ray — who thinks otherwise. Just a few weeks ago, he insisted Dave was ‘coming round’ to the idea of a reunion.
Dave sighs. ‘Ray’s an a***hole,’ he says .
Brotherly love: Ray (left) and Dave were often at each other's throats
You see, Ray and Dave - the brothers behind one of the biggest rock bands of the Sixties, whose hits include Waterloo Sunset - don’t exactly see eye to eye.
In fact, they never have. Their volatile relationship, littered with violent bust-ups, is one of the longest running feuds in rock ’n’ roll. And while this creative tension was responsible for much of The Kinks’ success, it has also driven both brothers half-crazy.
Dave sought escape in drugs and more recently in spirituality. And Ray attempted suicide (he was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression).
Ray is now 66 and Dave 63, so isn’t it time to, well, let bygones be bygones? It seems not. They communicate - when they have to on business matters - by email and rarely see one another.
This week, when asked how his brother was, Ray replied: ‘Don’t know, don’t talk to him. Dave’s a very proud man. I don’t know what his problem is apart from pride.’
For his part, Dave can’t remember if it’s two or three years since he last saw his brother.
‘You’ve heard of vampires,’ says Dave. ‘Well, Ray sucks me dry of ideas, emotions and creativity. It’s toxic for me to be with him. He’s a control freak.
‘I hate to say it, but it’s got worse since he met the Queen [Ray received a CBE in 2004]. In his mind, it’s given him more validity, more “I’m better than you”, more “I’m superior”. With him, it’s “me, me, me”. He thinks he is The Kinks.
‘When I think of all the beautiful music we made, it wouldn’t have been the same if I or Pete Quaife hadn’t been there.’
Quaife is the reason for the brothers’ latest bust-up. Ray wanted Dave to perform at a memorial for The Kinks’ bass guitarist, who died in June, insisting: ‘Even the Mafia get together and make up when someone dies. If only for the funeral.’
But Dave refused. ‘Ray wanting me to come back into the fold is to make him look good. He had an album coming out,’ he says.
‘He’s cancelled the memorial, which again will be my fault. But after Pete died, I had my own private service for him on my website. I asked Elizabeth, Pete’s girlfriend, and his brother David to join me in sending Pete our love and they were happy to.
‘I wrote a few prayers and made my peace with Pete. I wasn’t going to get involved in using Pete as a PR exercise to bolster Ray’s vanity.’
Explosive relationship: The two brothers were at the creative heart of The Kinks, seen here in 1964
He lowers his voice. ‘We must be careful. We might be feeding Ray’s illness by making him think he’s more interesting than he is.’
What illness? ‘He’s a narcissist,’ says Dave. ‘I walked into a bookshop a month ago and picked up Tony Blair’s autobiography. I looked at the picture and felt sick. I thought: ‘‘Hello, he’s got the same thing [as Ray]. It’s some sort of grandiose disorder.’’ ’
Dave, you see, claims to be something of an expert on vanity and self-delusion. He has spent ‘a good part of my adult life studying metaphysics and psychology’.
Since when exactly? ‘When I first started to realise what an a****hole Ray was. I thought I’m going to investigate this.’
Oh dear. Ray and Dave come from a close-knit, working-class family. They were the only boys out of eight children and had a contented childhood in North London.
Wouldn’t their poor mum be turning in her grave now that her sons are at each other’s throats?
‘I should have listened to my mum,’ says Dave. ‘Three weeks before she died in the Eighties she said to me: “Make sure you get something for yourself because your brother’s never going to help you.”
‘I was thinking: “We’re family. We look after each other.” But I don’t think that now. You need to support yourself.’
'He got a kick out of grinding me into the ground' - Dave Davies
Six years ago, Dave suffered a serious stroke that left him unable to speak. It has been a long road to recovery. Surely his brother was supportive then?
‘I’m undecided whether he was pleased I was ill or jealous I was getting the attention,’ says Dave. ‘I stayed at his house afterwards. I was ill in bed and could barely move, but he started saying: “I’m sick, I’m sick!”
‘He was screaming in pain from his stomach. A doctor from Harley Street came round at 3am and said: “There’s nothing wrong with his stomach.” He just wanted attention.’
I meet Dave in a West Country hotel, near the home he shares with Kate, his partner of 16 years. He’s in fine fettle and has just finished recording an album with Russell, the youngest of four children from his marriage to Lisbet, whom he divorced in 1990. (He also has four children from two other relationships).
Dave tells me that he has little money - as the songwriter, Ray ended up with most of The Kinks’ royalties - but he insists this isn’t at the root of their feud.
Still, I suspect it has its part to play. As Kate insists: ‘It was your music all the way through, Dave.’ Described as one of Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time, Dave was responsible for the famous riff on their first hit, You Really Got Me, in 1964.
Musical genius: Ray Davies peforming in concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio in 1995
Dave concedes that while the brothers could work creatively together, sibling rivalry was simmering away under the surface.
‘I think Ray has been happy for only three years in his life,’ he says. ‘And those were the three years before I was born.’
Ray was the spoilt first boy of the family and has admitted to being jealous when Dave came along. To make matters worse, he was shy while Dave ‘found growing up easy’.
The boys were in constant competition for their parents’ attention, often through music.
‘I was gregarious,’ Dave says. ‘When I was younger, I just thought Ray was a silly s**.’
He recalls something his dad said to him at the age of nine. ‘He told me: ‘‘You’ve got nice, strong, little hands. You’re going to be all right. I worry about your brother, though, because he’s got really soft, thin hands.’’ That made me think: ‘‘Maybe I’ve got to look after Ray.’’
‘When you grow up in a big family that’s very close, everyone helps each other. Then suddenly at 16, we were thrown into being a band.
‘I treated the world - all our fans - as an extended family. They loved me and I loved them.’
And Ray? ‘He has this thing that he has to put me down. I was a cocky kid who always pulled more chicks than he did. I didn’t care so much about the money. I just loved what went with it. I’d get a girl, take her to my room, have a drink, smoke a joint and get her clothes off.’
Sibling rivalry: Dave (right)was known to have lived the Rock'n'Roll lifestyle while his brother Ray wrote about it
Indeed, Dave had a reputation as a hell-raiser.
‘We were inventing rock ’n’ roll,’ he says. ‘People used to say I lived the life and Ray wrote about living it. Ray’s technique for survival was observing the scene. He’s never been any good at showing his feelings. If I got upset, I’d cry and shout. But Ray’s always been withdrawn. But he got a kick out of grinding me into the ground.’
Things began to crumble when Ray’s wife left him and their children on his 29th birthday in 1973.
'Ray's a narcissist. He's got some sort of grandiose disorder' - Dave Davies
‘I couldn’t blame her, but running off like that was cruel. I felt sorry for him. We tried to comfort him, but a month later he announced his retirement at a concert saying: ‘‘I’m sick of the whole thing.’’
‘I thought he was joking, but later that night I got a call. Ray had taken a drug overdose and had to have his stomach pumped. After a month we decided to go back into the studio. I felt optimistic about the future.’
The Kinks continued, but so did the rivalry.
‘I began to realise I was only there to support him,’ says Dave. ‘I remember we were finishing an album in the Eighties and I’d been going crazy to get a song on it. It was called Perfect Strangers and it meant a lot to me. Ray knew that.
‘I went away for the weekend when Ray was mixing [the album], but came back early. The engineer played me the mix and I realised Ray had taken out great chunks of my guitar playing.
‘I said: ‘‘How am I supposed to express myself when all you do is take my energy? What do you want?’’
‘He said: ‘‘I can do what I want because I’m a genius.’’
‘I said: ‘‘You’re not a genius. You’re a f***ing a***hole.’’ We started fighting. The manager was crying. He said: “I’ve never seen two human beings go at each other like that.” ’
The last time The Kinks appeared together was in 1996 shortly after Ray had announced his decision to go solo. Dave says the split was a relief. ‘I didn’t care. I really didn’t.
‘The last time we were all together was at my 50th birthday party. Ray had the money and I didn’t, so he offered to throw it for me.
‘Just as I was about to cut the cake, Ray jumped on the table and made a speech about how wonderful he was. He then stamped on the cake.’
Hall of fame: The Kinks are considered to be one of the best rock groups of all time
This jaw-dropping revelation comes at the end of our interview. I’ve never encountered such antipathy between brothers. But when I tell Dave this, he reacts with surprise.
‘Oh no, I don’t hate him. It’s impossible. Once an interviewer suggested The Kinks were old-fashioned.
He said to Ray: ‘‘You’re not having any hits any more.’’ Ray said: ‘‘I don’t care what people think. I write songs for my dad.’’
‘That’s the real Ray. I believe he’s still in there somewhere. I could never not love Ray.
He’s my brother.
| Dave Davies |
Which 1981 film features a suave French villain named Belloq? | Ray Davies on punch-ups, pills and how The Kinks nearly killed him | Daily Mail Online
comments
Punch-ups with his brother. Hitting his wife with a phone. Running six miles across London to thump his agent. And the day he tried to kill himself on stage. With unprecedented access to his family, friends and rivals, Johnny Rogan delves deep into the dark psyche of Ray Davies, the very controlling king of The Kinks
Ray Davies has long been a grand elder statesman of British popular music, an iconoclast at a time of immense social and cultural change, and famed for creating songs such as Waterloo Sunset and Days
The events of Sunday 15 July, 1973, are enshrined in the Ray Davies story.
This was the day of destiny – the end of The Kinks, the end of his career, and possibly the end of his life.
It was a day of cemetery weather, befitting Ray’s mood. The Great Western Express Festival at London’s White City offered an eclectic line-up, though The Kinks, national favourites just a few years before, were no longer hip enough to secure top billing.
Ray’s immediate concern was that, less than three weeks before, his wife Rasa had left him, taking their two daughters.
‘The White City gig was terrible,’ recalls Ray’s guitarist brother, Dave. ‘I didn’t want to play anyway and Ray was acting really oddly. I didn’t know he’d been popping lots of pills all day long.’
Onstage, Davies looked drained and haggard. Four songs in, he was heard to swear into the microphone and announce, ‘I’m sick up to here with it.’
A few songs later, Ray gently kissed his brother Dave on the cheek and informed the crowd: ‘I just want to say goodbye and thank you for all you’ve done.’
‘Ray Quits Kinks’ were the words blazoned across newsstands the next day. But there was more than that.
A few hours after the show, Ray’s American girlfriend noticed he was acting oddly. He then hesitantly produced an empty bottle of pills.
Road manager Ken Jones rushed Davies to London’s Whittington Hospital, where the singer declared: ‘I’m Ray Davies… and I’m dying.’
On The Kinks: ‘I don’t think we were taken very seriously from the start,’ says Ray, whose first hit for the band was their powerful and original third single, You Really Got Me (pictured in 1968)
A nurse responded by asking for an autograph. After collapsing in the hospital hallway, he was rushed to a nearby room to have his stomach pumped.
Years later, he offered an endearingly absurd explanation.
‘The doctor gave me pills and said, “Take one of these when you feel a bit down.”
'I was doing what I thought was my last show and I felt down every ten seconds, so I just kept taking them.’
On another occasion, Davies admitted it had been a suicide attempt – the gesture of a brilliant but temperamental man who had struggled for a decade with success, money and family life, even as he was giving the Sixties some of its most legendary songs.
As it transpired, that gig wasn’t the end of The Kinks either. Rasa never returned to Ray, but he came back to the band.
A holiday in Denmark with his brother, with whom he took to playing Chuck Berry tunes like the old days, restored his spirits.
Ray would even claim the White City watershed gave The Kinks a new life. They would continue in various guises until 1996. Even today, the brothers don’t discount a reunion.
Davies has long been a grand elder statesman of British popular music, an iconoclast at a time of immense social and cultural change, and famed for creating songs such as Waterloo Sunset, You Really Got Me, Sunny Afternoon and Days. He mined a strain of Englishness like no other songwriter of his generation.
But his has been a career fraught with drama, from his famously fiery relationship with his brother, to his three marriages, to his turbulent relationship in the early Eighties with Chrissie Hynde.
A contradictory figure, Davies has, at times, perplexed and infuriated ex-band members, managers, business associates and family members.
Ray as a schoolboy. He grew up in the working-class north London suburb of Muswell Hill
Even as a group, The Kinks – neurotic, complicated Ray, wild guitarist Dave and the long-suffering rhythm section of Pete Quaife and Mick Avory – were perhaps the most dysfunctional band to emerge from the Sixties.
‘Ray and Dave were very volatile,’ Quaife, who died in 2010, once said.
‘They could start a fight over absolutely nothing.’
Dave Davies remembers a formative incident from the brothers’ childhood in the working-class north London suburb of Muswell Hill, when he and Ray, three years his senior, decided to have a mock fight with a pair of boxing gloves left around by one of their uncles.
Swinging wildly, Dave hit Ray, knocking him off balance. As Ray stumbled to the floor he grazed his head against the family piano and lay still, seemingly unconscious.
Hovering close to his face, Dave whispered, ‘Are you OK?’ Ray bolted upright and punched his brother hard in the face.
‘It’s symbolic of our whole relationship, really,’ Dave maintains. ‘I felt the pleasure that I’d knocked him over, then concern that I’d hurt him. But all he really wanted was to get back at me.’
For Dave, the confrontation was a harbinger of worse to come.
‘I was quite a happy kid and Ray was a real miserable one.
'He was probably happy for three years until I was born and realised there was another boy in the family. “What’s that little b****** doing here?’’’
Ray, Dave and their six elder sisters were raised in a chaotic, overcrowded three-bedroom terrace, where their father Fred’s Saturday nights in the pub would be followed by raucous sing-alongs around the family piano.
Ray was delighted by these family extravaganzas, but as he grew older he became a gloomy, introverted child. And as early as 1957, family tragedy threatened to unravel his already fragile psyche.
On June 20, the day before Ray’s 13th birthday, the boy was thrilled to receive the perfect present from his 30-year-old sister Rene – a Spanish guitar.
Rene had a serious heart condition, but nothing could quell her love of dance halls, and the prospect of an evening at the Lyceum Ballroom off the Strand proved irresistible.
That evening, Ray watched her from the window as she sashayed down the road.
‘We’d played a few songs together. Then she got a bus down to the West End.’
He would never see her again. At the Lyceum, Rene suffered heart failure. She was rushed to Charing Cross Hospital but nothing could be done to save her.
‘She died in the arms of a stranger on the dance floor,’ Ray remembered.
Rene’s death shocked Ray into silence. He returned to school, seemingly broken by the tragedy.
‘Clearly, I couldn’t cope,’ he acknowledges. How long the great silence lasted is a matter of conjecture. Ray has variously described it as months, an entire year, or even longer.
Ray and Rasa in 1965 with daughter Louisa. He has conceded that he married too young and wasn’t cut out for marriage, but in the studio his young wife exerted a welcome influence
Gradually, Ray emerged from his shell. At school his athletic abilities on the sports field ensured he was neither bullied nor ostracised.
And as the Sixties dawned, a mutual interest in music unexpectedly brought the two Davies boys together, first as a duo and then in a band, the Ray Davies Quartet, whose singer was briefly Rod Stewart, a schoolmate whose father owned a newspaper shop on Archway Road.
Reportedly, Rod played only once with the Quartet, though Ray has no recollection.
‘I don’t think those two liked each other, or maybe that was just Ray,’ Quaife recalled.
‘He was very competitive, even then. I could see Ray thinking, “This guy’s gonna take over if he stays” and I don’t think he liked that at all.’
From their early days in London’s blues and R&B scene, The Kinks, as the Davies brothers’ band gradually became, were misfits.
‘I don’t think we were taken very seriously from the start,’ says Ray, whose first hit for the band was their powerful and original third single, You Really Got Me.
‘I remember Mick Jagger’s jaw dropping the first time he saw us. He couldn’t believe that four such uncool people could have a bigger hit than he did.’
While the momentum was building, The Kinks opened for The Beatles in Bournemouth, where a sarcastic John Lennon suggested The Kinks were little more than copycats.
‘Can I borrow your song list, lads?’ he quipped. ‘We’ve lost ours.’
As Ray recalls: ‘I feel I could have been a friend of John, but we were destined not to talk.
'We did not get on. He was very cynical. John made a few cruel remarks to me.’
While Ray responded to fame by marrying young and settled down with his pregnant 18-year-old wife in a rented attic flat in Muswell Hill, his 17-year-old brother lost himself in a social whirl of clubbing, shopping expeditions, bleary-eyed revelries and one-night stands, seemingly fuelled by an endless supply of purple hearts washed down by Scotch and Coke.
At Ray and Rasa’s 1964 wedding, Dave disgraced himself, announcing that he was ‘too p****d’ to make his best man’s speech, then being discovered in an upstairs bedroom by his sister Peggy having sex with the leading bridesmaid.
Initially, the aggressive interaction between the two brothers gave The Kinks part of their drive. Quaife remembered the rivalry and animosity onstage as each brother would goad the other.
‘With Ray and Dave there was that feeling that they weren’t really mates. There was tension there but it was because they were so different.’
Ray on stage at the dramatic White City concert in 1973 .He looked drained and haggard. Four songs in, he was heard to swear into the microphone and announce, ‘I’m sick up to here with it’
The two subsidiary Kinks valiantly attempted to avoid the psychological conflict between the brothers and kept their own counsel.
But the good-natured Avory in particular was frequently pushed to the precipice of fury by the heartless baiting of the brothers.
One night in Taunton, on their first tour as headliners in May 1965, a drunken Dave threw a suitcase at Avory, who finally snapped, pounding his large fists into Dave’s head and body. Dave came off worst, with two black eyes.
The following night, in Cardiff, the brothers and the rhythm section arrived in separate cars and made their entrances independently from different sides of the theatre.
One song in, Dave, wearing sunglasses to disguise his black eyes, wandered over to Avory and demolished the drum kit with a kick. Avory lashed out in retaliation.
‘Mick picked up his hi-hat cymbal, came over and, whack!’ says road manager Sam Curtis.
‘Fortunately, Dave stepped out of the way slightly, because if he had not moved that thing would have gone through his head down to his neck. Those cymbals are sharp.’
The instrument grazed his head, knocking him to the floor.
As the drummer ran off stage and out of the theatre, Ray was heard to shriek: ‘My brother! My brother! He’s killed my little brother!’
The band scattered, the younger Davies declined to press charges, and manager Larry Page tricked them all back into one room for a meeting in London a few days later.
‘As you can imagine, when they all sat down, it was dynamite,’ says Page.
‘I didn’t mess around. I just said, “OK, there’s an American tour starting soon” and I didn’t give them time to ask anything. At the end of it, I just said, “Any questions?” And Mick Avory said he needed new cymbals.’
At around this time, Ray spent £9,000 on a large property on Fortis Green. The fancy house was a rare extravagance, out of keeping with his legendarily frugal everyday spending.
Indeed, Kinks co-manager Robert Wace characterises Ray as ‘the tightest guy with money I’d ever met’.
Back in London after the American tour, Davies may not have made many friends among his fellow Sixties pop stars, but, increasingly, he had their respect.
Indian-influenced 1965 single See My Friends was only a fleeting Top 20 success, but Pete Townshend testified to its influence on The Who, while Dave Davies recalls a similar accolade from Mick Jagger.
Scenester Barry Fantoni tells of ‘being in Marianne Faithfull’s flat and Paul McCartney was eating a Dover sole that she’d cooked.
‘There was that feeling that they weren’t really mates. There was tension there but it was because they were so different,’ said bandmate Pete Quaife (pictured Ray and Dave dressed as schoolboys in 1976)
'They were looking at this little record player and it had Ray’s See My Friends on it and they just played it over and over.’
Ray seldom listened to his bandmates’ musical suggestions, yet he trusted his young wife’s commercial instincts.
Driven and neurotic, Ray has conceded that he married too young and wasn’t cut out for marriage, but in the studio Rasa exerted a welcome influence.
She regularly attended sessions to add beautiful high harmonies to some of their most enduring songs.
While writing on the piano at home, it was always a good sign when he could hear her humming one of his new tunes.
On Sunny Afternoon, Rasa sang the high harmony, and provided the three-word ‘in the summertime’ refrain that closed the song.
‘That was the only one where I wrote some words,’ Rasa admits.
‘To this day, my gripe is that he didn’t ever give me a credit.’
Even Ray’s comic songs could easily have troubled beginnings.
Dedicated Follower Of Fashion, a satirical thrust at Carnaby Street couture, was born of a violent incident during a party at Ray’s house, after a fashion designer made the mistake of suggesting that Davies was wearing flared trousers.
‘I had a slight flare, not amazingly so,’ Ray protests.
Somehow, this innocuous exchange ended in bloodshed.
‘We had a punch-up and his girlfriend beat me up as well with her handbag – or was it his handbag? Anyway, I threw them out of my semi. And I got angry and started writing this song.’
Dedicated Follower Of Fashion became an instant national anthem in 1966, although its author felt haunted by the song, and was disconcerted when passers-by walked up to him in the street and shouted the line, ‘Oh yes he is!’ In fact, while The Kinks were close to the peak of their fame and popularity, problems at work and at home were reaching a crisis point.
‘He was being very difficult,’ says Rasa. ‘I think he was ill. He was quite threatening and I said to him that I was going to call the police or I was going to leave him.’
Ray was never physically abusive towards Rasa, either before or since, but in March 1966, stricken by flu and nervous and physical exhaustion, and haunted by creative, recording, personal and business pressures, he snapped.
‘I said something like: “You need to see a psychiatrist, you’ll have to go somewhere and get sorted. I’ve had enough, I can’t stand it,”’ says Rasa.
'And then: Boom! We had a big black phone. He picked it up and hit me in the face, so I had a black eye. Then I had to call our doctor.’
Ray’s breakdown wasn’t over yet. His family staged an intervention, after which he took to his bed.
When a performance of The Kinks’ current hit was aired on Top Of The Pops, he tried to put the television in the gas oven.
‘My work is better than I am. I just don’t live up to it,' said Ray who remains active as a solo artist
Then, on St Patrick’s Day, he unexpectedly rose from his bed in a state of agitation.
‘I was a zombie,’ says Davies. ‘I’d been on the go all the time from when we first made it till then, and I was completely out of my mind.’
From his home in Fortis Green, he ran six miles to Tin Pan Alley in central London, where he confronted and attempted to punch his publicist Brian Sommerville.
His next encounter, after he was chased from the premises, was with his music publisher, in whose office he caused further chaos.
‘I don’t know what happened to me,’ says Ray.
‘I’d run into the West End with my money stuffed in my socks; I’d tried to punch my press agent; I was chased down Denmark Street by the police, hustled into a taxi by a psychiatrist and driven off somewhere.’
Page reacted to Ray’s appearance that day with a jaundiced shrug.
‘There was nothing unusual about that. It was like having afternoon tea with Ray.
'When Page informed Curtis of Ray’s ‘breakdown’, he offered the withering response: ‘How would anyone know the difference?’
Davies’ physician prescribed plenty of rest, supplemented by a salad diet and the suggestion, never taken up, that he should join a golf club.
A musical diet of Frank Sinatra, Bach, Bob Dylan and classical guitar also helped restore his momentum.
‘It sort of cleaned my mind out and started fresh ideas.’
Ironically, it led into possibly his greatest songwriting period. Waterloo Sunset, one of the most evocative songs in the Davies canon, climbed to number two in the charts in summer 1967.
But in America, the single did not even reach the Billboard Hot 100, signalling the dawn of a period in which Davies would release some of his greatest work, to negligible acclaim.
After the near-collapse of the band in 1973, The Kinks marched on, diversifying into theatrical projects before finding U.S. success in the Eighties as a hard rock act and splitting 19 years ago, seemingly for good.
Davies married twice more after Rasa.
His 1974 marriage to Yvonne Gunner, a 22-year-old domestic science teacher, lasted until he began an affair in 1981 with The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, who gave him a third daughter.
A third marriage, to ballerina Patricia Crosbie, a scion of one of Ireland’s most famous families, produced yet another daughter, and ended in around 2000.
Davies remains active as a solo artist. He collaborated with Bruce Springsteen, Metallica and other famous acolytes on an album of Kinks songs in 2010, and continues to tease journalists about the likelihood or otherwise of a Kinks reunion.
Their reputation as a great English band was cemented by their influence on Britpop in the Nineties, and Ray, for all his eccentricities, has emerged as a rock icon and national treasure whose life is overshadowed by the impact of his greatest songs.
‘My work is better than I am,’ he admits. ‘I just don’t live up to it. I’d love to be as good as Waterloo Sunset.’
‘Ray Davies: A Complicated Life’ is published by Bodley Head on March 5 at £25.
Order your copy for £18.75, with free p&p, at mailbookshop.co.uk . Offer ends March 8, 2015. Free p&p for a limited time only
The Kink and the great Pretender
The Pretenders helped to introduce The Kinks to the punk generation in 1979 with their cover of Stop Your Sobbing.
A devotee of The Kinks since her teens, lead singer Chrissie Hynde was keen to meet Ray, and she finally tracked down her quarry in 1980 at a New York nightclub.
‘She couldn’t take the sudden fame that had come to her,’ says Ray, ‘and I think she saw me as someone who had done all that rock ’n’ roll stuff and understood it.
'It was a good friendship for a few weeks, but that should have been it.’
On Chrissie Hynde: ‘She couldn’t take the sudden fame that had come to her and I think she saw me as someone who had done all that rock ’n’ roll stuff and understood it,' said Ray
Hynde accompanied Davies on a trip to France that summer, and when Ray’s second wife Yvonne filed for divorce, she named the Pretenders singer as co-respondent.
The legal proceedings would culminate in the autumn when the ‘secret’ romance became a tabloid sensation.
The press were soon demanding quotes, and Hynde obliged.
‘Obviously, I’m besotted with him,’ she cooed.
On January 22, 1983, Chrissie presented Ray with a daughter, Natalie Rae, but a wedding planned for the previous year had never happened.
There had been an argument at Guildford register office, a change of heart.
By 1984, to paraphrase Davies, their romance had turned from a fairytale into a Hitchcock horror movie.
Broken furniture and trashed rooms testified to the intensity of their passions.
‘We had nasty fights and if there was alcohol involved, things got broken,’ Hynde later said. ‘Let’s leave it at that.’
Their partnership reached an impasse when Hynde embarked on a tour with The Pretenders in 1984 and, while away, married Simple Minds’s Jim Kerr.
Davies seemed overwhelmed by the news, but his wrath soon dissipated, only to be replaced by a lazy petulance, summed up in the spiteful aside, ‘I’d like to do something to p*** her off, but I never want to see her again. Why bother?’
The night they shot old Davis down
On the evening of Sunday January 4, 2004 Ray and his girlfriend at the time were in New Orleans’ French Quarter, having just enjoyed a meal at a Japanese restaurant.
Rather than hailing a cab, the pair decided to walk home.
But they were tailed by a white Pontiac Grand Am.
A passenger got out and, with deliberate clumsiness, bumped into Ray, then punched and pushed him to the ground.
The assailant then turned on Suzanne, pulled out a gun and fired into the pavement to prove the firearm was loaded. He demanded her bag, which she surrendered.
But earlier that evening, Davies had placed his cash and credit cards in Suzanne’s bag and now the thief was getting away.
Instinctively, Ray gave chase, desperate to retrieve his money.
By now the robber had reached the getaway car, but before speeding away he turned and shot his pursuer in the right leg.
A medical team arrived on the scene and started cutting Davies’ trousers in order to examine the wound.
‘But they’re new trousers!’ he exclaimed, as the medics ignored his complaints.
Davies was taken to the nearby Charity Hospital, where it rapidly became clear that he would not be leaving New Orleans anytime soon.
It later transpired from X-rays that Davies had broken his thighbone – the strongest bone in the human body.
Now he required a titanium rod to be inserted in his leg. His rehabilitation would take months.
‘It’s not like in the westerns where you get up and carry on,’ he said. ‘Bullets really hurt.’
| i don't know |
"The football chant ""who ate all the pies?"" is usually sung to the tune of which music hall ditty?" | 'Who ate pies?' has crusts on it - Manchester Evening News
News
'Who ate pies?' has crusts on it
THE chant 'Who ate all the pies?' was first sung more than 100 years ago. It has since been aimed at public figures from football legend Paul Gascoigne to comedian Johnny Vegas (pictured). But it was soccer fans on the terraces who came up with the ditty to sing at a 19th century goalkeeper nicknamed 'Fatty' who weighed 24 stone.
Share
Get daily updates directly to your inbox
+ Subscribe
Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email
THE chant 'Who ate all the pies?' was first sung more than 100 years ago.
It has since been aimed at public figures from football legend Paul Gascoigne to comedian Johnny Vegas (pictured).
But it was soccer fans on the terraces who came up with the ditty to sing at a 19th century goalkeeper nicknamed 'Fatty' who weighed 24 stone.
Managers and players who claim to be `over the moon' are using an expression first coined by Victorian and Edwardian aristocrats. An upper class crowd of chums nicknamed The Souls developed their own language so they could exclude outsiders and took `over the moon' from the nursery rhyme line `the cow jumped over the moon' to mean joyous.
Julia Cresswell, author of The Cat's Pyjamas: The Penguin Book of Cliches, delved through documents and records at Oxford University's Bodleian Library to trace the first recorded use for many phrases.
The chant 'Who ate all the pies?', to the tune of Knees Up Mother Brown, was first used by Sheffield United fans in 1894, she said.
It was directed, playfully, at the team's own goalkeeper William 'Fatty' Foulke, who is in the Guinness Book of Records as the heaviest footballer. Other surprises uncovered by the book include 'mad for it', an expression associated with Manchester and in particular the Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher.
1670
It actually dates from documents published in 1670.
It appears to have been used in much the same context as today to describe being excited about something.
The book's chapter on sport and games also shows 'taking a rain check' goes back to 1884.
A 'rain check' was a free ticket to another baseball game for fans who had bought tickets to a game called off because of bad weather.
Some catchphrases go even further back. To get out of the `wrong side of the bed' dates back to the Romans who thought the left hand side was unlucky.
`Did the earth move for you?' is adapted from a sex scene from Ernest Hemingway's 1940 novel of the Spanish Civil War, For Whom the Bell Tolls.
The Cat's Pyjamas: The Penguin Book of Cliches is published on Thursday, November 15.
If you miss it you could be as sick as a parrot.
Like us on Facebook
| Knees Up Mother Brown |
Clarissa Churchill was the second wife of which British Prime Minister? | Book:Unseen Academicals/Annotations - Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki
Book:Unseen Academicals/Annotations
Unseen Academicals Annotations
General:-
It has been suggested that the opening pages of the book, in which Rudolf Scattering, night-watchman at the Royal Art Museum receives a nasty surprise, is a deliberate parody of Dan Brown's mystery thrillers of the Da Vinci Code genre.
Pedestriana - the plucky barefoot Goddess of Football. According to the Guardian, (edition of 30/12/09), in an article on the weird compulsion of men to collect, in this case a man with a desire to own a match programme for every game ever played by London side Tottenham Hotspur. The newspaper reproduces the front cover of the 1921 F.A. Cup Final programme, which features...guess what... a robed and barefoot Goddess of Football, the winged angel standing bare of foot atop the ball... documentary evidence, hopefully, will follow... [1]
The name Dimwell seems close to Millwall, area and football club in London noted for the belligerence of their supporters. House chant: Nobody loves us. And we don't care! Once combined an away visit to Manchester City with looting jeweller's shops on Wilmslow Road whilst the police were marching them to the ground. Two thousand fans overwhelmed three coppers and in the subsequent Shove, managed to gut a jewellers. See here for discussion:- [2]
Dimwell, like Millwall for London, is a dockside area that must provide most of Ankh-Morpork's stevedores, dockers and longshoremen. In fact: one of Andy Shanks' associates shares out the bounty at one point - of loose goods purloined while working a casual shift at the docks, unloading an incoming ship.
There are a fair number of "Lord of the Rings" references in "Unseen Academicals." Is micromail (see reference in article for alternative in sci-fi/fantasy) a reference to Frodo's mithril shirt? A metal called "moonsilver" is cited by Pepe as being a major component of micromail - "moonsilver" is a translation of the elvish "mithril".
A recurring theme throughout the book is Mr Nutt's search for worth. This leads him to many uncomfortable, even dangerous, places, and involves mental and emotional anguish, at one point a near-Death experience.
Later in the book, he has the Margolotta-guided insight that the worth he seeks is not a property of deeds or created things, but an ongoing process of creation.
This echoes the quest of the narrator of Robert M. Pirsig's work of popular philosophy, Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, who undergoes similar travails in search of elusive quality only to realise it isn't so much a thing as an ongoing process. Soul Music apart, there are no motorbikes on the Discworld. Pirsig's character grounds himself via looking after his motorcycle - but Mr Nutt is an accomplished amateur blacksmith who succeeds in re-shoeing the most difficult horse on the Quirm Flyer (horses are as near as the Disc gets, in general?)
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p.11) Speaking of Glenda's teddy bear, Mr. Wobble. "Traditionally, in the lexicon of pathos, such a bear should have only one eye, but as the result of a childhood error in Glenda's sewing, he has three, and is more enlightened than the average bear."
The picnic basket-stealing cartoon character, Yogi Bear, is frequently described as "smarter than the average bear." It is also a reference to "opening one's third eye", a feature of several spiritual traditions, usually having to do with gaining insight into the workings of the universe.
(Corgi paperback, UK, p28) Hunting the Megapode The Roundworld equivalent, The Hunting of the Wrens , is forgotten almost as totally as the Discworld version. The megapode is a real bird, whose name appropriately enough means "Bigfoot". The Megapode Hunt may also refer to the Oxford tradition of Hunting the Mallard, as suggested in The Culture of Discworld.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p27) "in most cases the minutes could be written beforehand" Ponder Stibbons' technique for creating minutes of Faculty meetings is, in purpose and execution, identical to standard British Civil Service policy. (As described in the great satire of government life, Yes, Prime Minister, in which Sir Humphrey Appleby is an adept at predicting in advance how a meeting will work out and can quite safely dictate the minutes in advance.)
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p36) "No one could have been neutral when the Dark War had engulfed Far Überwald". A sideways reference to Tolkien's Middle-earth , perhaps, especially in the light of Mr Nutt's species and their perceived role in the Dark War of antiquity. "Alas, when the time came to write down their story, his people hadn't even got a pencil". Unlike more favoured races who had time and liberty to craft entire Red Books of Westmarch to get their side of the story out first... the Dark War is referred to on page 58 by Vetinari and on page 60 by Ridcully, where Vetinari likens the playing pieces on the Thud board to the Dark Hordes, in their lack of free will and their having been crafted for a single purpose - to fight. Ridcully reflects on what "the monsters" had been bred to do, and wonders what became of the thousands upon thousands of them who were bred to fight. Also, re-referencing Middle-earth, Treebeard speculates that Saruman had crossbred Orcs and Men, which he calls "a black evil", to create the Uruk-hai , perfect fighting machines to fight in a war that engulfs a large area of land... Vetinari himself notes that it wasn't Igoring goblins that produced orcs, but using humans, in whom the natural capacity for violence and evil is so much greater. There's also a slight resonance with the original Tolkien orcs which were created when (Middle-earthen) elves were betrayed and corrupted. In neither case are they natural creatures - they have been twisted into these shapes through evil intent. In the Jackson film version of the LOTR, they are even more "bred": the Uruk-hai are dug from the ground in a grotesque birthing sequence. There is a reference to the spawning of Orcs from the ground earlier in the book, where Nutt is contemplating the tallow vats, permanently bubbling and seething, (as per the film) as a place where he finds himself feeling safe and peaceful in an odd and nursery-like way. People in the streets had jeered to him that he'd been made in a vat. Although Brother Oats had told him that this was silly, the gently bubbling tallow had called to him. He felt at peace here. (p33)
It is also worth noting that the phrase "No one could have been neutral..." has associations when one ponders the evolution of the fantasy fiction novel. J.R.R. Tolkien's master work has a rather simplistic two-dimensional "you are either Good or Evil and that's all there is to it." feel about the morality and the motivation of characters. As Tolkien's Middle Earth was heavily influenced by Tolkien's Christianity, and the notion that all that is Good comes of faith in and duty to God, while all that is Evil comes of rejection of God and joining in the Fall, this dichotomy excludes a Third Way.
The Third Way is introduced by fantasy writer Michael Moorcock, who thought about the mechanics involved, and came up with a moral picture drawn as much from science as from mysticism. Moorcock, drawing his cue from the scientific laws of thermodynamics, insisted the primal struggle in the Multiverse was not between Good and Evil but between the opposed forces of Law and Chaos. After making that primal alignment, a character was free to make a secondary alignment with Good, Evil or the third state - Neutral - as he or she pleased.
Being of the Law does not necessarily mean you are Good - consider the Auditors - and being of Chaos does not necessarily mean you are Evil. Consider Ronnie Soak .
Moorcock's system offers so much choice and scope for delineating more complex three-dimensional characters that Dungeons and Dragons creator Gary Gygax adopted it wholesale. But here, in the Discworld, we are being explicitly told it is not an option - "No one could have been Neutral when the Dark War had engulfed Far Überwald" The Dark War takes its referents, therefore, from Tolkien and not Moorcock/Gygax.
(More Here:- [ [3] ]. Ref. author Mary Gentle and book "Grunts". In which a captured Orc is heavily laden with chains and secured to an anvil in the hope that this renders it dormant.)
Mary Gentle, like Neil Gaiman, is the subject of a dedication of an earlier Discworld book (the H.P. Lovecraft Holiday Fun Club consisted of her and several others from the new wave of British sci-fi/fantasy, including Neil). It would seem logical then, that TP is aware of her writing and has perhaps referenced it in the Discworld.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p45) Ridcully swayed backwards, like a man subjected to an attack by a hitherto comatose sheep
In the UK House of Commons in June 1978 the Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer was Denis Healey. He described being attacked in June 1978 by mild mannered Conservative shadow Chancellor Geoffrey Howe as "like being savaged by a dead sheep".
Such an attack can be lethal if timed right. The selfsame Sir Geoffrey Howe, formerly a fawning loyalist, lost his temper in 1990 and launched a bitter and scathing speech to a packed Commons that contributed to the downfall of the previously unassailable Margaret Thatcher. Within a fortnight of Howe's attack - again likened to that of a dead sheep - she was gone, deposed as PM.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p46) -How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless Dean
Shakespeare is being paraphrased here. King Lear's furious and anguished speech of betrayal on being (apparently) rejected by an ungrateful child, despite everything he has done for her, in which he at first wishes infertility on her, and then
If she must teem,
Create her child of spleen; that it may live,
And be a thwart disnatured torment to her!
Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth;
With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks;
Turn all her mother's pains and benefits
To laughter and contempt; that she may feel
How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child! Away, away!
from King Lear [4]
Other Shakeperian references, filtered on the Discworld through the prolific pen of the dwarf Hwel , occur on page 167, where Ridcully and Stibbons are considering the ball that goes gloing! (There are more things in Heaven and Disc than are dreamed of in our philosophies...). And on page 387,, where Glenda and Mr Nutt go to the theatre to witness a Hix-suggested production by the Dolly Sisters Players , called Starcrossed, also written by Hwel. This not only continues the Romeo and Juliet motif running through the book, it is explicitly described as one of the great romantic plays of the last fifty years. In our timescale, the Bernstein/Sondheim musical West Side Story, where the plot of Romeo and Juliet is updated to warring city street gangs, was first performed in 1957, making it 52 years old.
I don't think it's pressing things too far to suggest that the evil Dr Hix's love of amateur dramatics might be a sly dig at one CMOT Briggs...
Another piece of Python-esque British humour that can be referenced here is the classic radio comedy sketch performed by the Son of Cliché troupe (including a very young and pre-Arnold Rimmer comedian called Christopher Barrie), in which the FA Cup final of 1982 is re-written as though it were a Shakesperian play of the heroic Henry V genre being performed at London's National Theatre.
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p.49) "Just speak with a little more class, eh? You don't have to sound like--"
"My fare, lady?"
Referring to "My Fair Lady" where street flower seller Eliza Doolittle improves her cockney speech to the point where she's taken for a fine lady at an embassy ball.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p51) "Miss Healstether found him a book on scent". Mr Nutt's early life, education and reception by his peers is reminiscent of that of the character Grenouille in Patrick Süskind's novel Perfume, who is similarly scorned, hated, and making his way up (or at least across) from the bottom. It is also worth noting that Grenouille was raised by a priest, for at least part of his life, and was effectively chained to a Hell-like cellar apprenticeship until offered opportunity to better himself. Like Steerpike in Gormenghast, (another literary anti-hero who has a similar early life), Grenouille finally becomes a manipulative monster with a sinister power over people...
Football team colours - from Wikipedia:-
The leader in the Giro d'Italia cycle race wears a pink jersey (maglia rosa); this reflects the distinctive pink-colored newsprint of the sponsoring Italian La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.
The University of Iowa's Kinnick Stadium visitors' locker room is painted pink. The decor has sparked controversy, perceived by some people as suggesting sexism and homophobia.
Palermo, a soccer team based in Palermo, Italy, traditionally wears pink home jerseys.
Palermo is also the heart of Mafia and Machismo country, in Sicily: presumably they have transcended the whole pink thing as immaterial.
The Hungarian international strip appears to be red and green with pink trim.
The Liseberg district of Gothenberg in Sweden hosts three soccer clubs. The local city colours are pink and green, which goes back to mediaeval times, but alas none of the three clubs plays in them.
One manufacturer of soccer favours markets a pink-and-green scarf, but regrettably there's no clue as to which club it is associated with.
In many cities in the North of England, in pre-Internet and pre-Sky TV days, there would be a late edition of the Saturday evening paper, carrying nothing but the final sports results of the day, and it would be printed on pink paper. (Except in Sheffield, where for some reason it was the Sporting Green). Pink and Green again...
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p52) Miss Healstether sounded bitter. "Stand by then, because he's discovered the Bonk School ." This is the Discworld equivalent of later German/Austrian philosophers such as Wittgenstein. On Roundworld, the Vienna School is also a collective name used for the emergent psychoanalysts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Freud, Jung and Adler, whose works are often taught in university philosophy departments for want of anywhere less controversial to pigeon-hole them. This leads to several amusingly entertaining associations: given Mr Nutt's later destiny as football team manager, with the more reflective, introverted and philosophical sort of squad boss such as Sven-Göran Eriksson. There are also echoes of famously philosophical players, such as the Manchester United and France star Eric Cantona, an interview with whom could easily befuddle the average back-page journalist, as Cantona was (and is) fond of peppering interviews with philosophical apercus. Also, need we mention the classic Monty Python sketch where the whole of the German and Greek international football teams are made up of their nations' respective star philosophers? [5] The one exception in the German team, who deserves mention for going along with the joke, is the then West German national football team captain Franz Beckenbauer, who appears on the field looking frustrated at the philosophical reflection and lack of football going on around him.
'(Harper Collins hardback, US, p53) "They are the ones who go on about what happens if ladies don't get enough mutton, and they say cigars are--" "That is a fallacy!"
Sigmund Freud, when asked if his cigar was a phallic symbol, is supposed to have said "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
A similar phallus/fallacy joke has appeared in a previous Discworld book in reference to witches' broomsticks.
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p67) "They're two teams alike in villainy."
Prologue to "Romeo and Juliet" "Two households, both alike in dignity..." It could also be an example of football commentators' random (if sometimes intellectual) phrases...
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p70) "But I'm a Face, right?". Trevor Likely's proud assertion of his status in the ranks of the Dimmers, and his being known throughout all the Boroughs, reflects British soccer hooligan counter-culture where the leaders, best fighters, and other notorious individuals in the various Firms are known as Faces. The term was also used by counter-cultural young male gangs in the 1950's and 1960's: Teddy Boys in the 50's, and Mods and Rockers in the 60's, most notorious gang members and hardest fighters were called Faces. In the latter case - 1960's scooter mods - there is even a musical about it: the Who's rock opera Quadrophenia, about London Mods, has a song called I'm the Face.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p73) 'Gentlemen' Ridcully began ...'or should I say, fellow workers by hand and brain'
'Workers by hand and brain' is a key phrase in original Clause IV for the British Labour Party. This was written by Beatrice and Sidney Webb, leading members of the Fabian Society.
To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service
Clause IV was revised (not abolished) in 1995.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p80). With regard to the makeover of Professor Hicks into the University's licensed evil wizard. In his physical description and general attitude, is there a certain sly reference creeping in to the teaching wizards of Slytherin House, in a certain J.K. Rowling's fantasies about a school of wizardry? Or, indeed, to a certain Dark Lord whose name cannot be uttered, save that it most coincidentally also begins with a "V"? And all this is in the context a of a sport which wizards must learn to love (if only to stop their cornucopia drying up and the flow of big dinners ebbing to a trickle.) A sport which most categorically must be played within agreed rules, with no magic at all being used, which involves getting a resolutely un-magical ball into a goal. Anyone for Quidditch, whoops sorry, Foot-the-Ball? Interestingly, when Ridcully is temporarily possessed by the shade of PE master Evans the Striped, it is Hix who performs a crude but effective exorcism with the knob on the end of his staff. What might Hix be able to reveal about the act of insorcism that put Evans' soul in there in the first place?
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p87): Glenda would have followed him like a homing vulture A reference to ex-Python Michael Palin's gritty slice of Northern working-class life, The Testing of Eric Olthwaite, in which the little-known Northern English sport of racing homing vultures is discussed at great length. It is possible one of Reg Bag's prize homing vultures was called Glenda.
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p107) "I just happened to be holding a knife. You are holding a knife.We hold knives. This is a kitchen."
Reminiscent of "The Lion in Winter", where Queen Elanor says "Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It's 1183 and we're barbarians!"
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p113) "Oh, Mr Trevor Likely" said Glenda, folding her arms. "Just one question: who ate all the pies?"
This is a classic chant to be heard across British football grounds. Fans tend to be merciless to a player perceived as having fallen from the pinnacle of physical fitness and to have put weight on, in the form of visible fat. The full chant, aimed at the luckless fat boy, runs: Who ate all the pies? Who ate all the pies? You fat bastard, you fat bastard, you ate all the pies! (tune: Knees up, Mother Brown). Footballers thus singled out for dietary advice from the terraces have included England's idiot savant and flawed genius, Paul Gascoigne.
A charming piece of trivia. Who ate all the pies? is quite possibly the oldest known fan chant to have been continuously sung on English terraces. It was born in honour of William Henry "Fatty" Foulke , the legendary Sheffield United goalkeeper whose playing career spanned 1894-1910. Six foot two and a svelte twelve stone at the start of his career, he was an early victim of success and the extravagant professional footballer lifestyle (Edwardian style). By 1902, he was estimated to weigh twenty-five stones (350 pounds) and was still playing top-level football. His Sheffield United faithful sang it in his honour, albeit without the "you fat bastard" line. You wonder if Terry was aware of this when he wrote the character of the Ankh United goalkeeper, who is seen eating and gorging his way through the big game...
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p.122) Robert Scandal's famous poem, "Oi! To his Deaf Mistress".
Refers to Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress".
Also (Doubleday hardback, UK, p122) Nutt was technically an expert on love poetry throughout the ages... he had tried to discuss it with Ladyship, but she had laughed and said that it was frivolity, although quite useful as a tutorial on the art of vocabulary, scansion rhythm, and affect as a means to an end, to wit, getting a young lady to take all her clothes off.
This is suspiciously reminiscent of Sigismundo Celine's reflections on romantic poetry, in guerrilla ontologist Robert Anton Wilson's The historical Illuminatus: The Widow's Son. In which the wunderkind Celine, imprisoned in the Bastille, passes time by reading the prison library. He decides about love poems that
they mostly argue the case that a Certain Woman is like a certain Natural Phenomenon (sunlight, stars, birds, flowers, et c) and that the poet's heart, in response to this fact, was like another Natural Phenomenon (parched desert, wounded animal, dark cave, et c) and that there was only one natural resolution to this natural conjunction of natural phenomena. He gathered that she would have to take her clothes off. (p. 149 R.A.Wilson, The Widow's Son, Lynx Books, New York, pub. 1985) For more Wilson and hints on other ways his thoughts and ideas might have filtered through Pratchett's brain and into Discworld, see Reading Suggestions).
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p.124) [S]omeone at the Royal Art Museum had found the urn in an old storeroom, and it contained scrolls which, it said here, had the original rules of foot-the-ball laid down in the early years of the century of the Summer Weevil, a thousand years ago, when the game was played in honour of the goddess Pedestriana.
As gods and religion are involved, it may be of note that a similar incident is described in the Bible, specifically in 2 Kings Ch. 22. Supposedly, a "Book of the Law" was found in the Temple, dating back centuries to Moses himself, but which had somehow been lost. As the book described rules that were in the best interests of the Temple and the priests there, scholars who aren't Biblical fundamentalists generally suspect that the ancient book (likely an early version of what we now call Deuteronomy) had been recently composed.
This being the Discworld, this book of rules apparently is ancient and has just been composed.
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p135) "Good point, well put," said Ridcully, "and I shall marshal my responses thusly." He flicked a finger and, with a smell of gooseberries and a pop, a small red globe appeared in the air over the table.
Is this a magical powerpoint demonstration?
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p158) "Dolly Sisters, right? Sounds like the Botney Street area. I'm sure of it". said Pépé This is in the crab-bucket discourse, about how people from lowly areas with big ideas are beaten back into thinking small by their peers.
Satirical magazine Private Eye once revealed a secret about BBC Arts supremo, talking head on the gentler, more refined, things in life, and broadcasting giant, Alan Yentob. [6] Although Yentob adamantly denies it, the Eye revealed that he was born in lowly circumstances in East London as Alan Botney, and reversed his surname for professional reasons to make it look more interesting and artsy. Yentob/Botney has refrained, however, from suing the Eye for libel over this assertion. Is this a hidden reason for Terry's naming a street in Lobbin Clout after him?
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p167) "You gave the ball a mighty kick, Mister Stibbons, and yet you are, by your own admission, a wet and a weed." Molesworth, a schoolboy and the narrating character in a series of books by Geoffrey Willans, would consistently refer to his brother, Molesworth 2, as "a wet and a weed."
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p198) "Owlspring-Tips diagram"
The Herzsprung-Russell diagram is used in astronomy to plot the absolute magnitude of stars against their spectral class.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p201) "That's right, of course" said the former Dean. "Your father was a butcher, as I recall". Later on, there is explicit mention of the large, strong, hands Ridcully inherited from his butcher father. There is a continuity problem here: when Ridcully first enters the series in Moving Pictures , it is explicitly said that he became a seventh-level mage at a phenomenally young age, then retired from active Wizarding to return home and run the extensive family estates. Certainly, his demeanour and behaviour is that of the rumbustious country squire who drinks port by the pint and considers slaughtering the wildlife to be a perk of social rank. Such a man would not concern himself with butchering, save in the rough-and-ready method utilised just after a successful hunt. Similarly, a butcher would not normally be expected to kill his animals - in normal circumstances, they arrive freshly killed by somebody else. And to be able to afford large country estates, you would surely need be a very successful butcher? Something of a problem here, I fear. On page 41, Ridcully's grandfather is first mentioned as a religiously-inclined prizefighter who made musical boxes for a living and who scored two goals against Dimwell in one match. This can be excused and incorporated into the canon without breaking continuity with what we already know about Ridcully - everybody gets two grandfathers, after all. But the wiggle room disappears when his father is described as a city-based butcher and not a country squire.... It is possible that the land comes from his mother's side of the family. Being the offspring of a frowned-upon marriage (highborn lady, lowborn butcher) may well explain some of Ridcully's stubborn attitude.
Also, the book suggests Ridcully was brought up in Ankh-Morpork and his butcher father took him to football matches. This really doesn't square with what we know about the Ridcully brothers from previous books in the series.
However, it is mentioned that not all those experiences were true ones. Ponder, for instance, remembers being taken to see the football by his father despite being raised by an aunt.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p200) "You are after the Hat" said Ridcully, flatly.
The rivalry between Mustrum and, er, Henry, crystallises in Henry's offer that the two magical Universities should fight it out on the field of sport, the stake being the Archchancellor's Hat in which reposes the soul of Wizardry and the essence of many thousands of Archchancellors past. This is made clear in an earlier dialogue on pp197-199.
There is a continuity problem here with events in Sourcery . Having got the Hat out of Ankh-Morpork over to Klatch and therefore temporarily out of reach of the Sourcerer, Rincewind and Conina are imprisoned by the wicked vizier Abrim, who takes the Hat for his own. Abrim then builds a tower and challenges Ankh-Morpork, but owing to intervention by the Luggage, is distracted for just long enough for concentrated magic to blow him, the tower, and most crucially the Hat, into tiny tiny smithereens. After Abrim's destruction, the Hat is never heard of again - it is presumed destroyed, atomized by greater forces. It is certainly not used again as a plot device in Sourcery , and is in the fullness replaced by Ridcully's wilderness-survival Hat: a symbol of a different University with different priorities. Yet on pp225-227, Vetinari discusses the Hat as if it is still in physical existence, none the worse for its trip to Klatch and its last known wearing on the head of a failed wizard who was blasted into his component atoms.
Unless Henry and Mustrum are playing for a purely symbolic Hat (which like the Ashes never leaves London, however often Australia beat England), or the original Hat was included in Coin's promise to the Librarian to restore everything to what it was, as good as old (but it is never mentioned again in the canon, until now?), then it's hard to see anything other than a continuity glitch here.
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p202) Ponder Stibbons says "I'm even the Camerlengo, which means that if you drop dead, Archchancellor, from any cause other than legitimate succession under the Dead Man's Pointy Shoes tradition, I run this place until a successor is elected which, given the nature of wizardry, will mean a job for life."
The Camerlengo (Italian for "chamberlain) of the Roman Catholic Church is, among other duties, the person in charge of the Vatican between the death of one pope and the election of the next. His job is not normally as exciting as Dan Brown describes it in "Angels and Demons."
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p203) "Most of them were old enough to recall at least two pitched battles among factions of wizards, the worst of which had only been brought to a conclusion by Rincewind, wielding a half-brick in a sock..."
As described at the end of "Sourcery."
(Harper Collins hardback, US, p224) Glenda says "You're giving them Avec. Nearly every dish has got Avec in it, but stuff with Avec in the name is an acquired taste."
"Avec" is the French (and probably restaurant Quirmian) word for "with."
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p251) "What is your favourite spoon?"
Pepe has just informed Glenda that a lot of people want to ask Juliet some very important questions, including this one.
The satirical magazine Private Eye carries a "Me and My Spoon" column in every edition, in which a celebrity is quizzed minutely about their favourite spoon. This column is meant as a joke at the expense of those journalists - not always on gossip/trivia magazines of the Bu-Bubble type - who persist in asking the most vacuous, trivial, and lazy questions of the people they are interviewing. As a sort of foreshadowing of this, Vetinari is seen to be playing with a spoon during the dinner at the University, thoughtfully studying it and the way the varying concavity and convexity of it alters his reflection.
Interestingly, a place-name with an unambiguously Irish ring to it - Cladh - is introduced here. Until now - with the possible exception of a couple of minor character names - there has not been a hint of anywhere Ireland-like on the Disc, although there is a Wales-like country and a suspiciously Caledonian aura to the NacMac Feegle. Is this a portent for the future? Cladh", pronounced "Cla(h), may derive from an Irish Gaelic root for "circle" or "ring".
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p272-273) The crowd gathering to witness Nutt in his travail, chained to a bench and fully aware of his Orc-hood for the first time. The named speakers are a Butcher and a Baker. Who are looking upon Nutt, a Candle(stick)maker....
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p282) "Is this going to be like the Moving Pictures?"
Given that Dr Hix, via a handy Omniscope, is proposing to replay part of the Battle of Orc's Deep, then the answer may be "yes". This could well be a back handed tribute to the film adaptation of The Two Towers , the second in the film trilogy of The Lord Of The Rings dealing with the battle of Helm's Deep, and introducing Orcs as a potent fighting force. The fact Glenda also remembers the Moving Pictures is significant, as she can be no older than twenty. Doubly interesting, in a city where a convenient group amnesia appears to settle at the end of every fad or fancy... Another (minor) continuity slip occurs here: Hix, acknowledging Glenda's reference to the Moving Pictures, refers to "popcorn", a word unknown on the Disc. Which does, however, have "banged grains" (although - continuity slip within continuity slip! - Hwel briefly mentions "popcorn" in one of his plays during Wyrd Sisters ). The second referent is to the Roundworld battle of Rorke's Drift, but this has already been parodied in an orc-related context by fantasy writer Mary Gentle (in her short story "The Battle of Orc's Drift", the Orcs are surprised and stitched up a treat by an enemy with lots of similarity to the Feegle).
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p314) "Was it a football team of Orcs?" By his own admission, Terry Pratchett was once heavily involved in fantasy RPG gaming of the "Dungeons and Dragons" variety. A spin-off from D&D, marketed by the British fantasy gaming and world domination corporation Games Workshop, was called Blood Bowl [7] . In this, a board game/RPG loosely based on American Football, teams drawn from the various fantasy races played each other, utilising their traditional cultural and racial strengths and weaknesses in a sport combining grace, athleticism, and sadistic brutality. It is difficult to believe TP is not aware of this game, nor of the fact that Orcs, being nearest in temperament and body shape to American footballers, had an inbuilt advantage. It may also be a reference to another game by Games Workshop called Warhammer 40,000; the orcs in this series (here called Orks) are often said to have been based on 'English football hooligans' and serve as a comedy relief race in the setting. It is notable that they would be very enthusiastic about the more brutal form of Ankh-Morpork foot-the-ball.
"Orc's Deep" may also have a second level of allusion, to the famous Roundworld battle of Rorke's Drift. However, "The Battle of Orc's Drift" has already been done by fantasy writer Mary Gentle. (see above) In her story, the Orcs encounter a faerie race not unlike the Feegle... and in any case, Terry Pratchett has referenced, although not expanded on, a famous Discworld battle at Lawke's Drain, which may have been in Howondaland.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p320) "Fartmeister" Carter has just been badly beaten up by the established villain Andy and his gang, at least in part to send an unmistakable message to Trev Likely. This echoes a scene in the classic gangster film Get Carter, in which the local mob, inconvenienced by London gangster Carter's attempts to disrupt them, go gunning for him. They miss Carter (Michael Caine), but console themselves by beating his friend and local ally to a bloody pulp. In this case - Carter has been well and truly got.
"Fartmeister" echoes the case of the star professional footballer let down by a bad choice of best friend, who can so easily become a leech on him. Think of the role played by Jimmy "Two-Bellies" in the drink-related downfall of genuinely gifted flawed legend Paul Gascoigne - an ill-advised best friend who Gascoigne could not bear to lose on becoming famous and who provided embarrassment at best, and career-destroying drunken benders at worst. And the film "Get Carter" is even set in Newcastle, Gascoigne's home town...
And there is also virtually the entire Rooney family, a clan of Liverpool scallies so notorious that the fragrant Coleen wanted to exclude the entire tribe from her wedding to Wayne. (a gifted footballer not known for his physical good looks: there is a certain Orc-like component to Wayne even in a good light).
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p321, 327, 361) - Mrs Atkinson - ..one of the most feared Faces who had ever wielded a sharpened umbrella with malice aforethought.
This elderly lady, as well as evoking a freelance Agony Aunt , is very typical of the hordes of shrieking old ladies who would descend on professional wrestling events* every Saturday to berate, belabour and batter the participants. Eighteen stone muscle-mountains would be scared of them, as a Mrs Atkinson rushing the ring who had deliberately sharpened her umbrella to a point could really hurt if she jabbed it into the thigh or buttock. Any wrestler thrown out of the ring to land theatrically in among the seated crowd ould not want to be dropped among a group of Atkinsons, who could be relied upon to prod, poke, pinch, kick, stab and spit as he made his shaky way back to the bottom rope. Kendo Nagasaki, a legend among British pro wrestlers, who played the evil baddie role in the ring, is on record as saying he feared nothing so much as a bloodthirsty seventy-year old lady with a sharp umbrella.
*We are talking about British pro wrestling here, generally a more cheap and cheerful spit-and-sawdust affair than the glitzy and improbable American WWF circuit. This is the sort of contest broadcast live from Dewsbury City Hall at four o'clock on a Saturday, invariably hosted by Kent Walton, while the nation waited for its football results in the 1970's. Ah, great days.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p330) - Mr Nutt quotes book title The Doors of Deception. A play on Aldous Huxley's philosophical treatise on using psychedelic drugs to expand the senses - The Doors of Perception. (This also inspired the name of a 60's psychedelic rock band fronted by Jim Morrison, of course).
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p336) Another troubling continuity error emerges concerning Mustrum Ridcully. In Reaper Man , the detail emerges, in the context of a conversation with his brother Hughnon the High Priest, whilst discussing life's little consolations in the face of Mrs Cake, that Hughnon is a teetotaller and cannot for religious reasons touch his brother's emergency brandy (but subsequently does anyway); he then asks Mustrum for a cigarette, and it emerges that his brother is a non-smoker with equally vehement reasons not to touch the blasted things. But here, on pages 338 and 339, after forbidding sex, smokes, strong drink and excess food to the football team, Mustrum is desperately searching his rooms for an emergency cigarette only to discover Mrs Whitlow has hidden them all, in accordance with his wishes. Far from being a non-smoker, Mustrum Ridcully now has at least three stashes of tobacco, rolling paper and cigarettes for emergencies. In the interim since Reaper Man , has Ridcully taken up the evil habit, as might be contractually expected of a senior Wizard? This is a niggling continuity point. (And has been since Hogfather , when Ridcully's pipe is mentioned on three occasions, including the detail that he uses "herbal tobacco" that smells of bonfires; perhaps it's only the regular stuff he objects to.)
(Doubleday hardback, UK, pp360-62) The incident of the banana(s) flung onto the pitch. This reflects the nasty and distasteful racist streak in British football fans as recently as the 1990's, where if a team played a black player (in an overwhelmingly white side) a predominantly white crowd was likely to welcome the black player with massed "ook-ook!" monkey noises, mimed scratching of armpits and flea-picking, and the throwing onto the pitch of many, many, bananas. (One of the earliest black players to join a British team, London's West Ham, made a brave face of it by saying he'd never needed to pay for another banana ever again. West Ham, incidentally, were the preferred side of fictional TV racist Alf Garnett).
Of course a real ape would attract "ook-ook" noises, a stand full of idiots all trying to get away with the m-word in relative safety, and, in this case, a poisoned banana.
This practice has been virtually eradicated in British football (by sanctions including ensuring local greengrocers do not sell bananas to football fans on match days, refusing entry to the ground to those carrying bananas, and making the throwing of them into an ejection/arrestable offence.) But it persists in Europe, especially in Spain.
The final taboo in British football is now beginning to be addressed: up until recently it was seen as a huge joke to verbally belabour gay players as black footballers were before them. (Note the presence in this game of Bengo Macarona, a man who has led indignant wives to bring divorce actions.) In real life, footballer Justin Fashanu [8] had it twice over: once for being black, and once for coming out as gay. Fashanu eventually committed suicide. The story is quite shocking from anybody's point of view and is by all accounts typical of the treatment of out gay men in professional sport. Incidentally, Macarona's squad number is "69" for some unfathomable reason. (Although elsewhere we are told the Seamstresses' Guld clacks number is Ankh-Morpork 69, chosen for the advertising associations, this surely must be coincidence...)
Also on page 361: Glenda Sugarbean invents what, if this were Soul Music and the crowd were gathered for a rock concert, would be called "crowd-surfing" as she descends down from the stands to the pitch. A hazard of crowd-surfing in the mosh-pit for most women would be inadvertent or deliberate groping: Glenda is disappointed that this happens to her not even once.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p366) Bledlow Nobbs, a man desperately trying to deny a relationship to Nobby Nobbs of the Watch, is summed up by Trev with "Nobbsy is a clogger at heart."
A member of England's World Cup winning team of 1966 was Manchester United legend Nobby Stiles, an uncompromising defender who had lost all his teeth young, some to natural causes, and who used to disconcert opposing forwards by a toothless gummy grin before he went into tackle. Nobby Stiles was a very definite clogger of the old school.
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p385) "You think it's all over?"
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p389) "You think it's all over?"
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p397) "You think it's all over?"
(Doubleday hardback, UK, p400) "It is now!"
A reference to the classic BBC commentary at the end of the World Cup Final in 1966, where at Wembley Stadium in London, England beat West Germany 4-2 with the referee unaccountably adding more and more extra time. Kenneth Wolstenholme drily says there are some people on the pitch... they think it's all over... it is now! This piece of British deadpan, where a South American or Italian commentator would have been screaming with excitement, has justly gone down in commentating glory.
As a secondary note, it is commonly believed that the English side winning the World Cup in 1966 occurred in the run-up to a general election. Eventual winner Harold Wilson, an exceedingly sharp Prime Minister more than slightly touched by Vetinari-ish deviousness, who is supposed to have later said that the feelgood factor engendered by the football match was the biggest single decider that elected him back into office. He speculated that had England lost, government change would have been inevitable, for the same superficially irrelevant reason. What would a similar "feelgood factor" do for Lord Vetinari, a man not concerned with mere elections... In reality, the 1966 general election took place in March , while the World Cup took place in July , and could not have affected the result.
This was borne out in 1970, where the World Cup Finals actually did coincide with the run-up to an election called by Wilson. Against all expectations, holders England crashed out at a lower stage - to West Germany - and former Prime Minister Harold Wilson duly found himself the Leader of the Opposition .
kitchen maid literature
In Dutch, we have an expression 'kitchen maid literature' for the kind of books Glenda reads. I have not been able to ascertain if the same expression also exists in English, but if it does... Of course Glenda is a cook, not a kitchen maid, but still.
Juliet the WAG
Juliet is, of course, the Discworld's first example of what the UK press refer to as a "WAG" - the 'Wives And Girlfriends' of famous footballers (eg Victoria ('Posh') Beckham). Stereotypically, WAGS are incredibly glamourous but also incredibly vacuous, just like Juliet. The union of a famous footballer (ie Trev Likely) to a fashion model (ie Juliet) is a very typical WAG situation. Trev & Juliet are the Discworld's "Posh & Becks" (Mr & Mrs David Beckham).
| i don't know |
Described by Elizabeth I as 'the fairest and godliest church in England', in which city is the church of St Mary Redcliffe? | St Mary Redcliffe (1)
St Mary Redcliffe (1)
Help Wanted
The area around St. Mary Redcliffe
This is a wonderful church in the district of Redcliffe near Bedminster. I may be biased as I was christened here, but it really is a beautiful church. Queen Elizabeth I is said to have referred to it as
"The fairest, goodliest and most famous Parish church in England".
There was a church on this spot as early as the reign of Henry I (1100 - 1135), we know this as in 1115 he gave it to Salisbury Cathedral, but even before this there is a record of a priest in the Royal Manor of Bedminster. In 1190 Lord Robert of Berkeley gave it a water supply, a very valuable gift in the 12th Century. The water was piped from the Rugewell in Knowle. Ruge is an old name for ridge. The picture below is a plaque made to commemorate the event. Every year the vicar and churchwarden do the "Pipe Walk" from the church to the spring the water rises from, this entitles the church to various endowments. You can see Lord Robert's tomb in the church.
Plaque to commemorate the giving of the water supply
The wording translates as :-
"For the health of the soul of Robert of Berkeley, who gave to God and the Church of St. Mary Redcliffe and its ministers the Rugewell and conduit. AD 1190. Erected 1932."
This is not the original site of the conduit. It was originally located on the other side of the church in Pump Lane. The site it now occupies was where the old stocks were situated. The last use of these stocks, or any other, was in 1826, when two men were put in the stocks on Redcliff Hill for two hours for holding a drunken party in a nearby churchyard. There were stocks at St James as late as 1837, although no evidence survives of when they were last used.
The church was rebuilt between 1232 and 1246, this church was a lot larger than the earlier one, possibly not a lot smaller than the present one. A little later the church fell into disrepair and rebuilding was started by Simon de Burton, who went on to become mayor of Bristol three times. Progress was slow and by 1337 the work was being supervised by John Bohler, Thomas de Uphill and Geoffrey Fuller. In 1376 William Canynges more or less rebuilt it as the great church that stands today. The tomb of this great benefactor and his wife can be seen in the church. The church was very important in these days as the Merchant Venturers began and ended their voyages by praying at the shrine of Our Lady of Redcliffe, which was in the North Porch. William Canynges went on to become Mayor six times.
As the entry for 1376 in Adams's Chronicles of Bristol tells us "This year William Canings builded the body of Redcliff Church from the cross ends downwards."
Tomb of Thomas Canynges
In the 15th Century the church contained six bells, which ranged in weight from 1300 lbs to 7,024 lbs. The church today boasts 14 bells, the largest now being 5,800 lbs.
William Canynges' grandson also named William became Mayor in 1441 and repaired the church. In 1446 there was a great storm and, after being hit by lightning, the spire collapsed onto the nave. The damage was repaired, with no expense spared and with great attention to detail. The spire is a late addition not reaching its present height of 292 feet until 1872. Before then the church was topped by a short turret like affair. This William Canynges became Mayor five times. He was a busy overseas trader with interests in Prussia, Iceland and Finland, when relations between England and Denmark became strained he was granted special dispensation by King Christian I to continue trading in Scandanavia and Iceland. In 1461 he entertained the young King Edward IV at his house in Redcliffe Street. After the last time he was Mayor he took Holy Orders and died as Dean of Westbury in 1474.
Detail from Redcliffe Street with St Mary Redcliffe
The illustration above is taken from a picture called Redcliffe Street with St Mary Redcliffe that can be seen in Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. It was painted in watercolours around 1810.
There are around 1,200 roof bosses all of which are different and each one a work of art in its own right. In 1740 the townswomen gave the church gold trinkets, these were melted down and used for their gilding.
The Nave - showing many of the roof bosses
There are many famous people and interesting stories attached to the church, here are a few of them.
Giovanni Caboto, better known to us as John Cabot, in 1496 sailed from Bristol and discovered Newfoundland. A few years later he tried to return there, but failed, having got caught in the ice in Greenland. He eventually returned home bringing a four foot long whale bone with him. This is now displayed at the entrance of St John the Baptist's Chapel. Over the 500 years that the bone has been here a legend grew up that the bone was a rib from the giant Dun Cow. This creature, driven mad by a prolonged drought, terrified the residents of Bristol. It was finally killed by the Earl of Warwick with a single stroke of his sword. Perhaps this was the first case of Mad Cow Disease.
This chapel is also known as the American Chapel as it was restored by the Friends of St Mary Redcliffe in the United States. They also provided the kneelers that are embroidered with the arms of the States of the Union.
The tombs of Philip and Thomas Mede are in the north choir aisle. Philip became Mayor in 1458 whilst Thomas held the office three times.
The expression "weakest to the wall" originates here. Before around the 17th Century the church contained no pews - or hardly any other woodwork, and so people would stand or lean against the walls - hence giving rise to the expression.
This page created 23rd February 2000, last modified 24th January 2016
| Bristol |
Which river flows through what is known in English as 'The Iron Gate', the deepest gorge in Europe? | Call for Submissions: St Mary Redcliffe Design Competition | ArchDaily
Call for Submissions: St Mary Redcliffe Design Competition
Call for Submissions: St Mary Redcliffe Design Competition
07:00 - 11 December, 2015
Save this picture!
Described by Elizabeth I as ‘the fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England’, St Mary Redcliffe is both an ecclesiastical jewel and a dynamic, living church – a beacon of positivity, helping the least-advantaged and marginalised within the city of Bristol.
The church is ambitious to expand its outreach and mission activities. It is also determined to increase people’s enjoyment of the building by creating an outstanding visitor experience. The church’s development project, the focus of this design competition, will run concurrently with a wider regeneration project, The Redcliffe Neighbourhood Development Plan, which seeks to place the church – Grade I listed and the architectural equivalent of many European cathedrals – at the heart of a new urban village within the city centre.
St Mary Redcliffe attracts tens of thousands of visitors and tourists annually. Built and then re-built over a 300-year period from the early 13th century to the 15th century, the church embodies magnificence, but has always lacked sufficient support spaces for its important work in one of the most deprived wards in the country.
This is a two-stage design competition; at the first stage, expressions of interest are sought; at the second, designers will be asked to respond to the church’s vision for an integrated scheme, incorporating a range of facilities within a building or buildings: administrative and support spaces, exhibition spaces, a café, a shop, a meeting hall, an expanded/new community centre – all aimed at enabling the church to engage more fully with the local population and visitors, offering hospitality to all, sharing its history and treasures, as well as its grace and inspirations.
The competition seeks an outstanding architectural team that is creative, imaginative and visionary, who thoroughly understands the needs of the church and respects its exceptional heritage.
Download the information related to this competition here.
Title
Call for Submissions: St Mary Redcliffe Design Competition
Type
Competition Announcement (Built Projects & Masterplans)
Organizers
| i don't know |
Who was Minister of Education when the 1944 Education Act was passed? | The Education Act of 1944 - UK Parliament
The Education Act of 1944
Education Reform Act 1988
The Education Act of 1944
The plans for post-war secondary education in Britain aimed to remove the inequalities which remained in the system. The proportion of 'free places' at grammar schools in England and Wales increased from almost a third to almost half between 1913 and 1937. However, when poorer children were offered free places, parents often had to turn them down owing to the extra costs involved.
The Education Act of 1944 was steered through Parliament by the Education Minister, R.A. Butler, and was followed by a similar Act for Scotland in 1945. The Act provided free secondary education for all pupils.
Local Education Authorities (LEAs)
Local Education Authorities were required to submit proposals to the new Department of Education for reorganising secondary schooling in their areas.
Most LEAs aimed to establish the three main 'streams' or categories of school - grammar, secondary modern and technical - which had been recommended in a Report by Sir William Spens in 1938. Children would be allocated on the basis of an examination at the age of 11, known as the '11 plus'. This was intended to provide equal opportunities for children of all backgrounds.
The school leaving age was raised to 15, though the stated intention that it should be 16 was not effected until 1972.
| r butler |
Much in evidence in the 2010 World Cup, what is the name of the horns providing a noisy background drone? | Education Act 1944 - WOW.com
Education Act 1944
7 and 8 Geo 6 c. 31
Introduced by
Text of statute as originally enacted
The Education Act 1944 (7 and 8 Geo 6 c. 31) made numerous major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the "Butler Act" after the Conservative politician R. A. Butler , who wrote the legislation after consultation with all parties. Historians consider it a "triumph for progressive reform," and it became a core element of the Post-war consensus supported by all major parties. [1]
The Act was repealed in steps with the last parts repealed in 1996. [2]
Contents
6 External links
Background
The Education Act of 1944 was an answer to surging social and educational demands created by the war and the widespread demands for social reform. It passed after Butler consulted with spokesman for all major positions by sending around a detailed proposal drawn up by his predecessor, 'Education After the War' ("the Green Book"), in 1941. He worked out compromises with local authorities, and cut spending goals to assuage the Treasury. The bill reflected Butler's priorities, and incorporated proposals developed by leading specialists in the 1920s and 1930s such as R. H. Tawney and William Henry Hadow . [3] The Green Book text was drafted by his staff: Griffiths G. Williams, William Cleary, H. B. Wallis, S. H. Wood, Robert S. Wood, and Maurice Holmes. [4]
Butler wanted keep the churches involved in education but they could not on their own afford to modernize. His act left a third of the Anglican church schools in place with enhanced subsidies, increasing public and teacher control over them. It encouraged nonsectarian religious teaching in secular schools. Butler achieved his objective through skillful negotiation with Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple (1881-1944) and other religious leaders, including Roman Catholics, whose schools were given extra subsidies. [5]
The bill was enacted in 1944, but its changes were designed to take effect after the war, thus allowing for additional pressure groups to have their influence. [6] [7] Addison argues that in the end, the act was widely praised by Conservatives because it honoured religion and social hierarchy, by Labour because it opened new opportunities for working class children, and by the general public because it ended the fees they had to pay. [8]
New policies
Butler designed the Act as an expression of " One Nation Conservatism " in the tradition of Disraeli , which called for paternalism by the upper class towards the working class. [9]
The Act sharply distinguished between primary and secondary education at age 11 and ended the traditional all-age (5-14) elementary sector, enforcing the division between primary (5–11 years old) and secondary (11–15 years old) education that many local authorities had already introduced. It abolished fees on parents for state secondary schools. It brought a more equitable funding system to localities and to different school sectors. The Act renamed the Board of Education as the Ministry of Education , giving it greater powers and a bigger budget. While defining the school leaving age as 15, it granted the government the power to raise the age to 16 "as soon as the Minister is satisfied that it has become practicable", [10] though the change was not implemented until 1973. It also brought in a new system for setting teacher salaries.
The new Tripartite System consisted of three different types of secondary school: grammar schools , secondary technical schools and secondary modern schools . It allowed for the creation of comprehensive schools which would combine these strands, but initially only a few were founded. It also created a system of direct grant schools , under which a number of independent schools received a direct grant from the Ministry of Education (as distinct from local education authorities or LEAs) in exchange for accepting a number of pupils on "free places". [11] To assess which pupils should attend which school, they took an exam known as the 11-plus . The system was intended to allocate pupils to the schools best suited to their "abilities and aptitudes", but in practice the number of grammar schools, for the academically inclined, remained unchanged, and few technical schools or comprehensive schools were established. As a result, most pupils went to secondary modern schools, whether they were suitable or not, meaning that the majority of education funding went to the secondary modern schools.
One of the results of the Act was to opened secondary schools to girls and the working class , educating and mobilising them. Another result was that the percentage of children attending higher education tripled from 1% to 3%.
The Act provided both for nursery schools and Further Education programs through community colleges, offering education for both children and adults, a measure that was only followed through by a few LEAs such as the Cambridgeshire Village Colleges , Leicestershire Community Colleges and Coventry , Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire community schools.
Anglican schools were continued, but brought under increased state funding and control. Every state-funded school was required to begin the day with a nondenominational religious prayer into all schools. [12] This clause was amended by the Education Reform Act 1988 , which specified that the act of worship should be of a 'broadly Christian nature' unless such a message was deemed to be inappropriate for a particular school or group of children. The amendment also specified that the act of worship could now take place in classes, rather than the previous system of conducting worship in assemblies.
The Act was supported by HORSA (Hutting Operation for the Raising of the School-Leaving Age) a building programme to provide 'hut'-style accommodation to meet the additional educational demand. [13]
School meals and milk
The Education Act 1944 made it a duty of local education authorities to provide school meals and milk. The authority could remit the charge for the meal in cases of hardship. [14] The separate School Milk Act 1946 provided free milk – a third of a pint a day – in schools to all children under the age of 18. In 1968 Harold Wilson ’s Labour government withdrew free milk from secondary schools. In 1971 Margaret Thatcher (then Secretary of State for Education) withdrew free school milk from children over seven, earning her (among her enemies) the nickname, 'Thatcher, the Milk Snatcher'. [15] [16]
References
^ Kevin Jeffereys, "R. A. Butler, the Board of Education and the 1944 Education Act," History (1984) 69#227 pp 415–431.
^
Further reading
Aldrich, Richard, Dennis Dean, and Peter Gordon. Education and policy in England in the twentieth century. (1991).
Batteson, C. H. "The 1944 Education Act reconsidered." Educational Review 51.1 (1999): 5-15. DOI:10.1080/00131919997632
Dunford, John, Paul Sharp, The Education System in England and Wales, London: Longman, 1990, 17–24.
Gosden, Peter. "Putting the Act together." History of Education 24#3 (1995): 195-207. online
Goldin, Claudia, "The Human Capital Century and American Leadership: Virtues of the Past," The Journal of Economic History, 2001, Volume 61, Number 2.
Green, S. J. D. "The 1944 Education Act: A Church‐State Perspective." Parliamentary History 19#1 (2000): 148-164.
Griggs, Clive. The TUC and Education Reform, 1926-1970 (Routledge, 2013).
Hillman, Nicholas. "Public schools and the Fleming report of 1944: shunting the first-class carriage on to an immense siding?." History of Education 41#2 (2012): 235-255.
Howard, Anthony. RAB: The Life of R.A. Butler (2013) ch 10.
Jago, Michael. Rab Butler: The Best Prime Minister We Never Had? (2015) ch 9.
Jeffereys, Kevin. "R. A. Butler, the Board of Education and the 1944 Education Act," History (1984) 69#227 pp 415–431.
Ku, Hsiao-Yuh. "Fighting for social democracy: RH Tawney and educational reconstruction in the Second World War." Paedagogica Historica 52#3 (2016): 266-285.
Ku, Hsiao-Yuh. "Education for liberal democracy: Fred Clarke and the 1944 Education Act." History of Education 42#5 (2013): 578-597.
McCulloch, Gary. Educational reconstruction: The 1944 education act and the twenty-first century (Routledge, 2013).
McCulloch, Gary. "British Labour Party education policy and comprehensive education: from Learning to Live to Circular 10/65." History of Education 45#2 (2016): 225-245. online
Middleton, Nigel. "Lord Butler and the Education Act of 1944," British Journal of Educational Studies (1972) 20#2 pp 178–191
Simon, Brian. "The 1944 Education Act: A Conservative Measure?," History of Education. (1986) 15#1 pp 31–43
Wallace, Ron G. "The origins and authorship of the 1944 Education Act." History of Education 10.4 (1981): 283-290. DOI:10.1080/0046760810100405
External links
Change and continuity: reflections on the Butler act Speech to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 1944 Education Act, given by the chief inspector of schools, David Bell
| i don't know |
What was the name of Captain Pugwash's faithful cabin boy in the BBC TV cartoon? | 'Captain Pugwash' Double Meanings : snopes.com
Claim: The characters on the cartoon series Captain Pugwash had names that were sexual double entendres.
FALSE
Origins: The British Captain Pugwash animated television series, which originally aired on the BBC between 1958 and 1967, is widely believed to have featured characters with risqué
maritime names such as Master Bates, Seaman Staines, and Roger the Cabin Boy. In fact, the crew of the famous Black Pig ship included sailors with no such names: present on board were Master Mate, Tom the Cabin Boy, and Pirates Barnabas and Willy. (No character with the designation of 'Seaman' appeared in the show.) Series creator John Ryan successfully won retractions and settlements from Sunday Correspondent and the Guardian after both newspapers claimed that the show's characters did indeed have smutty names, and that the BBC had taken it off the air as a result. The Guardian's statement ran as follows:
In the Young Guardian of
September 13
[1991] we stated that the Captain Pugwash cartoon series featured characters called Seaman Staines and Master Bates, and for that reason the series had never been repeated by the BBC. We accept that it is untrue that there ever were any such characters. Furthermore, the series continues to be shown on television and on video. We apologize to
Mr. Ryan,
the creator, writer and artist of the Captain Pugwash films and books. We have agreed to pay him damages and his legal costs.
Evening Standard correspondent Victor Lewis-Smith wrote several years later:
'It'll never stand up in court,' I hear you cry, but stranger cases have flourished. I remember voicing much the same opinion a decade ago when John Ryan's solicitor threatened legal action against the newspaper I was then working for, after I had erroneously (and I stress erroneously) suggested that the characters he'd created for his Captain Pugwash series weren't quite as innocent as they'd first seemed back in the 1950s.
Unwittingly repeating a folk myth that had been passed down through generations of schoolboys, I'd stated that the dramatis personae included such nautical naughties as Master Bates, Seaman Stains and Roger the Cabin Boy, and that 'Pugwash' was Australian slang for a form of oral sex. The matter seemed trivial, but an apology was made,
Mr Ryan's
honour was satisfied and two sets of parasitical, low-life libel lawyers thus pocketed yet more easy (and thoroughly ill-deserved) dosh.
Puns that play on the homophony of masturbates-Master Bates and seamen-semen are quite old (recall the "What's long and hard and filled with seamen?" joke), and it was probably only a matter of time before someone made the obvious jokes about the names of sailors in a long-running television series, especially since people seem to find this type of humor particularly titillating when it is ascribed to the creators of children's programming. However, as this audio clip demonstrates, the exact pronunciation of certain Captain Pugwash character names could (perhaps deliberately) be difficult to discern.
The British comedy duo of Victor Lewis-Smith and Paul Sparks has claimed credit for starting and spreading the Captain Pugwash rumors, and the double entendre names have also been attributed to a sketch by "seventies folkie comic" Richard Digance as well as a "1970s rag mag."
Additional information:
| Tom |
What was formerly the highest appointment in the British Army, being abolished in 1904? | Production Information about the TV Cartoon Dolphins Of Dionysus
United Kingdom
Cartoon Production Information:
Hurrah for Captain Horatio Pugwash as he sets out on adventures on his fine ship The Black Pig with his motley crew: The Mate, Willy, Jonah and, last but by no means least, Tom the Cabin Boy. As the Captain pits his wits against the mean Cut-throat Jake and his crew of ruffians- Swine, Stinka and Dook- it's Tom the Cabin Boy who saves the day and lets his dear captain take the credit.
Captain Horatio Pugwash first appeared in comic-strip form in 1950 (in the first issue of "Eagle" comic). His adventures were then serialized in Radio Times before they were first broadcast on TV in 1957. Peter Hawkins did all the voices for the initial series.
The initial episode, which aired on BBC1 on October 22, 1957, was the only episode broadcast that year. Later episodes arrived in irregular batches until the initial run of 58 episodes ended on June 26, 1966.
A second, 30-episode series ran much more regularly, starting on September 16, 1974 and ending on July 11, 1975.
The original series used setups that creator John Ryan called "captions." These were made up of cardboard cutouts of the characters laid on painted backgrounds and connected to a series of cardboard levers and pull-aways to make the figures and objects appear to move. Scenes were then filmed in real time.
In 1988, Pugwash returned to the TV screen in a new computer-animated style. This new style, nevertheless, remained faithful to the original. James Saxon took over on voices, but these are almost identical to Peter Hawkins'. The studio switched from the BBC to HIT Entertainment; John Cary Studios was the animation studio. The 26-episode series cost 1.5 million pounds.
In 1991, Ryan won retractions and settlements from the Sunday Correspondent and the Guardian after both British newspapers alleged that the BBC had taken the series off the air because the show's characters had pornographic names.
The Guardian's statement read:
"In the Young Guardian of September 13 [1991] we stated that the Captain Pugwash cartoon series featured characters called Seaman Staines and Master Bates, and for that reason the series had never been repeated by the BBC. We accept that it is untrue that there ever were any such characters. Furthermore, the series continues to be shown on television and on video. We apologize to Mr. Ryan, the creator, writer and artist of the Captain Pugwash films and books. We have agreed to pay him damages and his legal costs."
Evening Standard correspondent Victor Lewis-Smith recalled in 1999:
"Unwittingly repeating a folk myth that had been passed down through generations of schoolboys, I'd stated that the dramatis personae included such nautical naughties as Master Bates, Seaman Stains and Roger the Cabin Boy, and that 'Pugwash' was Australian slang for a form of oral sex. The matter seemed trivial, but an apology was made, Mr Ryan's honour was satisfied and two sets of parasitical, low-life libel lawyers thus pocketed yet more easy (and thoroughly ill-deserved) dosh."
Submit Additional Information:
Do you have anything to add to this page? Have we made any mistakes... or do you ahve any additional information about Dolphins Of Dionysus? If so, we would love to hear from you. Please send us a quick note with your additions or corrections to this page, and we will make the corrections as soon as possible!
Report Errors / Submit Additional Information
Cartoon Comments:
Do you love Dolphins Of Dionysus, or do you think it is the worst cartoon ever? Let us know what you think! Surely you have an opinion... so share what you think. Take a minute and post your own comments about this cartoon here .
Search The BCDB
| i don't know |
Which Dutch astronomer and physicist, who discovered the rings of Saturn in the mid 1650's, is creditied with building the first pendulum clock? | Christiaen Huygens (1629 - 1695) - Genealogy
Christiaen Huygens
Share your family tree and photos with the people you know and love
Build your family tree online
Share photos and videos
in Den Haag, Zuid-Holland, Nederland
Immediate Family:
Apr 14 1629 - 's-Gravenhage, Lange Houtstraat
Death:
Constantijn Christiaan Huygens, Susanna Jansdr Huygens (geboren Baerle, Van)
Siblings:
Apr 14 1629 - 's-Gravenhage, Lange Houtstraat
Death:
Constantijn Christiaan Huygens, Susanna Jansdr Huygens (geboren Baerle, Van)
Siblings:
Apr 14 1629 - The Hague, Dutch Republic
Death:
July 8 1695 - The Hague, Dutch Republic
Parents:
Apr 14 1629 - The Hague, Dutch Republic
Death:
July 8 1695 - The Hague, Dutch Republic
Parents:
Apr 14 1629 - Den Haag, Zuid-Holland, Nederland
Death:
July 8 1695 - Den Haag, Zuid-Holland, Nederland
Parents:
Constantijn Christiaan Huygens, Susanna Huygens (geboren Van Baerle)
Siblings:
1695 - Kasteel Hofwyck te Voorburg
Parents:
Constantijn Huygens, Susanna Huygens (geboren Van Baerle)
Siblings:
Apr 24 1629 - Den Haag, Zuid-Holland, Nederland
Death:
July 8 1695 - Den Haag, Zuid-Holland, Nederland
Parents:
Constantijn Christiaan Huygens, Susanna Huygens (born Van Baerle / Von Baerle)
Siblings:
1695 - Kasteel Hofwyck te Voorburg Nederland
Parents:
Constantijn Christiaan Huygens*, Susanna Van Baerle*
Siblings:
Apr 14 1629 - The Hague
Death:
July 8 1695 - The Hague
Parents:
Constantijn Huygens, Suzanna Van Baerle
Siblings:
Lodewijck Huygens, Philips Huygens, Constantijn Huygens, Suzanna Huygens
Residences:
Apr 14 1629 - Den Haag
Death:
July 8 1695 - Den Haag
Parents:
Constantijn HUYGENS, Suzanna HUYGENS (née VAN BAERLE)
Siblings:
Constantijn Huygens, Suzanna Jansdr van Baerle
Siblings:
sister
About Christiaen Huygens
He was a famous mathematician, physicist and astronomer. He invented the pendulum clock, the principal of the steamengine and a gunpowder engine. Jan Jansz Stampioen was for two years (1643-1645) his teacher for mathematics.
Huygens achieved note for his argument that light consists of waves, now known as the Huygens–Fresnel principle, which two centuries later became instrumental in the understanding of wave-particle duality. He generally receives credit for his discovery of the centrifugal force, the laws for collision of bodies, for his role in the development of modern calculus and his original observations on sound perception. See: Wikipedia-Duch ; Wikipedia-English
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiaan_Huygens
Christiaan Huygens, FRS (/ˈhaɪɡənz/ or /ˈhɔɪɡənz/; Dutch: [ˈɦœyɣə(n)s] ( listen)) (Latin: Hugenius) (14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a prominent Dutch mathematician and scientist. He is known particularly as an astronomer, physicist, probabilist and horologist.
Huygens was a leading scientist of his time. His work included early telescopic studies of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of its moon Titan, the invention of the pendulum clock and other investigations in timekeeping. He published major studies of mechanics and optics, and a pioneer work on games of chance.
Early life
Christiaan Huygens was born on 14 April 1629 in The Hague, into a rich and influential Dutch family, the second son of Constantijn Huygens. Christiaan was named after his paternal grandfather. His mother was Suzanna van Baerle. She died in 1637, shortly after the birth of Huygens' sister. The couple had five children: Constantijn (1628), Christiaan (1629), Lodewijk (1631), Philips (1632) and Suzanna (1637).
Constantijn Huygens was a diplomat and advisor to the House of Orange, and also a poet and musician. His friends included Galileo Galilei, Marin Mersenne and René Descartes. Huygens was educated at home until turning sixteen years old. He liked to play with miniatures of mills and other machines. His father gave him a liberal education: he studied languages and music, history and geography, mathematics, logic and rhetoric, but also dancing, fencing and horse riding.
In 1644 Huygens had as his mathematical tutor Jan Jansz de Jonge Stampioen, who set the 15-year-old a demanding reading list on contemporary science. Descartes was impressed by his skills in geometry.
Student years
His father sent Huygens to study law and mathematics at the University of Leiden, where he studied from May 1645 to March 1647. Frans van Schooten was an academic at Leiden from 1646, and also a private tutor to Huygens and his elder brother, replacing Stampioen on the advice of Descartes. Van Schooten brought his mathematical education up to date, in particular introducing him to the work of Fermat on differential geometry.
After two years, from March 1647, Huygens continued his studies at the newly founded College of Orange, in Breda, where his father was a curator: the change occurred because of a duel between his brother Lodewijk and another student. Constantijn Huygens was closely involved in the new College, which lasted only to 1669; the rector was André Rivet. Christiaan Huygens lived at the home of the jurist Johann Henryk Dauber, and had mathematics classes with the English lecturer John Pell. He completed his studies in August 1649. He then had a stint as a diplomat on a mission with Henry, Duke of Nassau. It took him to Bentheim, then Flensburg. He took off for Denmark, visited Copenhagen and Helsingør, and hoped to cross the Øresund to visit Descartes in Stockholm. It was not to be.
While his father had wished Christiaan to be a diplomat, it also was not to be. In political terms, the First Stadtholderless Period that began in 1650 meant that the House of Orange was not in power, removing Constantijn Huygens's influence. Further, the father realised that his son had no interest in such a career.
Early correspondence
Huygens generally wrote in French or Latin. While still a college student at Leiden he began a correspondence with the intelligencer Mersenne, who died quite soon afterwards in 1648. Mersenne wrote to Constantijn on his son's talent for mathematics, and flatteringly compared him to Archimedes (3 January 1647). The letters show the early interests of Huygens in mathematics. In October 1646 there is the suspension bridge, and the demonstration that a catenary is not a parabola. In 1647/8 they cover the claim of Grégoire de Saint-Vincent to squaring the circle; rectification of the ellipse; projectiles, and the vibrating string. Some of Mersenne's concerns at the time, such as the cycloid (he sent Evangelista Torricelli's treatise on the curve), the centre of oscillation, and the gravitational constant, were matters Huygens only took seriously towards the end of the 16 th century . Mersenne had also written on musical theory. Huygens preferred meantone temperament; he innovated in 31 equal temperament, which was not itself a new idea but known to Francisco de Salinas, using logarithms to investigate it further and show its close relation to the meantone system.
In 1654, Huygens returned to his father's house in The Hague, and was able to devote himself entirely to research. The family had another house, not far away at Hofwijck, and he spent time there during the summer. His scholarly life did not allow him to escape bouts of depression.
Subsequently Huygens developed a broad range of correspondents, though picking up the threads after 1648 was hampered by the five-year Fronde in France. Visiting Paris in 1655, Huygens called on Ismael Boulliau to introduce himself. Then Boulliau took him to see Claude Mylon. The Parisian group of savants that had gathered around Mersenne held together into the 1650s, and Mylon, who had assumed the secretarial role, took some trouble from then on to keep Huygens in touch. Through Pierre de Carcavi Huygens corresponded in 1656 with Pierre de Fermat, whom he admired greatly, though this side of idolatry. The experience was bittersweet and even puzzling, since it became clear that Fermat had dropped out of the research mainstream, and his priority claims could probably not be made good in some cases. Besides, Huygens was looking by then to apply mathematics, while Fermat's concerns ran to purer topics.
Scientific debut
Huygens was often slow to publish his results and discoveries. In the early days his mentor Frans van Schooten was cautious for the sake of his reputation.
The first work Huygens put in print was Theoremata de quadratura (1651) in the field of quadrature. It included material discussed with Mersenne some years before, such as the fallacious nature of the squaring of the circle by Grégoire de Saint-Vincent. His preferred methods were those of Archimedes and Fermat. Quadrature was a live issue in the 1650s, and through Mylon, Huygens intervened in the discussion of the mathematics of Thomas Hobbes. Persisting in trying to explain the errors Hobbes had fallen into, he made an international reputation.
Huygens studied spherical lenses from a theoretical point of view in 1652–3, obtaining results that remained unpublished until Isaac Barrow (1669). His aim was to understand telescopes. He began grinding his own lenses in 1655, collaborating with his brother Constantijn.] He designed in 1662 what is now called the Huygenian eyepiece, with two lenses, as a telescope ocular. Lenses were also a common interest through which Huygens could meet socially in the 1660s with Baruch Spinoza, who ground them professionally. They had rather different outlooks on science, Spinoza being the more committed Cartesian, and some of their discussion survives in correspondence. He encountered the work of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, another lens grinder, in the field of microscopy which interested his father.
Huygens wrote the first treatise on probability theory, De ratiociniis in ludo aleae ("On Reasoning in Games of Chance", 1657). He had been told of recent work in the field by Fermat, Blaise Pascal and Girard Desargues two years earlier, in Paris. Frans van Schooten translated the original Dutch manuscript "Van Rekeningh in Spelen van Geluck" into Latin and published it in his Exercitationum mathematicarum. It deals with games of chance, in particular the problem of points. Huygens took as intuitive his appeals to concepts of a "fair game" and equitable contract, and used them set up a theory of expected values. In 1662 Sir Robert Moray sent Huygens John Graunt's life table, and in time Huygens and his brother Lodewijk worked on life expectancy.
On 3 May 1661, Huygens observed the planet Mercury transit over the Sun, using the telescope of instrument maker Richard Reeve in London, together with astronomer Thomas Streete and Reeve. Streete then debated the published record of the transit of Hevelius, a controversy mediated by Henry Oldenburg. Huygens passed to Hevelius a manuscript of Jeremiah Horrocks on the transit of Venus, 1639, which thereby was printed for the first time in 1662. In that year Huygens, who played the harpsichord, took an interest in music, and Simon Stevin's theories on it; he showed very little concern to publish his theories on consonance, some of which were lost for centuries. The Royal Society of London elected him a Fellow in 1663.
In France
The Montmor Academy was the form the old Mersenne circle took after the mid-1650s. Huygens took part in its debates, and supported its "dissident" faction who favoured experimental demonstration to curtail fruitless discussion, and opposed amateurish attitudes. During 1663 he made what was his third visit to Paris; the Montmor Academy closed down, and Huygens took the chance to advocate a more Baconian programme in science. In 1666 he moved to Paris and a position at Louis XIV's new French Academy of Sciences.
In Paris Huygens had an important patron and correspondent in Jean-Baptiste Colbert. His relationship with the Academy was not always easy, however, and in 1670 Huygens, seriously ill, chose Francis Vernon to carry out a donation of his papers to the Royal Society in London, should he die. Then the Franco-Dutch War took place (1672−8). England's part in it (1672–4) is thought to have damaged his relationship with the Royal Society. Robert Hooke for the Royal Society lacked the urbanity to handle the situation, in 1673.
Denis Papin was assistant to Huygens from 1671. One of their projects, which did not bear fruit directly, was the gunpowder engine. Papin moved to England in 1678, and continued to work in this area. Using the Paris Observatory (completed in 1672), Huygens made further astronomical observations. In 1678 he introduced Nicolaas Hartsoeker to French scientists such as Nicolas Malebranche and Giovanni Cassini.
It was in Paris, also, that Huygens met the young diplomat Gottfried Leibniz, there in 1672 on a vain mission to meet Arnauld de Pomponne, the French Foreign Minister. At this time Leibniz was working on a calculating machine, and he moved on to London in early 1673 with diplomats from Mainz; but from March 1673 Leibniz was tutored in mathematics by Huygens. Huygens taught him analytical geometry; an extensive correspondence ensued, in which Huygens showed reluctance to accept the advantages of infinitesimal calculus.
Later life
Huygens moved back to The Hague in 1681 after suffering serious depressive illness. In 1684, he published Astroscopia Compendiaria on his new tubeless aerial telescope. He attempted to return to France in 1685 but the revocation of the Edict of Nantes precluded this move. His father died in 1687, and he inherited Hofwijck, which he made his home the following year.
On his third visit to England, in 1689, Huygens met Isaac Newton on 12 June. They spoke about Iceland spar, and subsequently corresponded about resisted motion.
Huygens observed the acoustical phenomenon now known as flanging in 1693. He died in The Hague on 8 July 1695, and was buried in the Grote Kerk.
Work in natural philosophy
Huygens has been called the leading European natural philosopher between Descartes and Newton. He adhered to the tenets of the mechanical philosophy of his time. In particular he sought explanations of the force of gravity that avoided action at a distance.
In common with Robert Boyle and Jacques Rohault, Huygens adhered to what has been called, more explicitly, "experimentally oriented corpuscular-mechanical" natural philosophy. In the analysis of the Scientific Revolution this appears as a mainstream position, at least from the founding of the Royal Society to the emergence of Newton, and was sometimes labelled "Baconian", while not being inductivist or identifying with the views of Francis Bacon in a simple-minded way. After his first visit to England in 1661, when he attended a meeting of the Gresham College group in April and learned directly about Boyle's air pump experiments, Huygens spent time in late 1661 and early 1662 replicating the work. It proved a long process, brought to the surface an experimental issue ("anomalous suspension") and the theoretical issue of horror vacui, and ended in July 1663 as Huygens became a Fellow of the Royal Society. It has been said that Huygens finally accepted Boyle's view of the void, as against the Cartesian denial of it; and also (in Leviathan and the Air Pump) that the replication of results trailed off messily.
Newton's influence on John Locke was mediated by Huygens, who assured Locke that Newton's mathematics was sound, leading to Locke's acceptance of a "corpuscular-mechanical" physics.
Laws of motion, impact and gravitation
The general approach of the mechanical philosophers was to postulate theories of the kind now called "contact action". Huygens adopted this method, but not without seeing its difficulties and failures. Leibniz, his student in Paris, abandoned the theory. Seeing the universe this way made the theory of collisions central to physics. The requirements of the mechanical philosophy, in the view of Huygens, were stringent. Matter in motion made up the universe, and only explanations in those terms could be truly intelligible. While he was influenced by the Cartesian approach, he was less doctrinaire. He studied elastic collisions in the 1650s but delayed publication for over a decade.
Huygens concluded quite early that Descartes's laws for the elastic collision of two bodies must be wrong, and he formulated the correct laws. An important step was his recognition of the Galilean invariance of the problems. His views then took many years to be circulated. He passed them on in person to William Brouncker and Christopher Wren in London, in 1661. What Spinoza wrote to Henry Oldenburg about them, in 1666 which was during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, was guarded. Huygens had actually worked them out in a manuscript De motu corporum ex percussione in the period 1652–6. The war ended in 1667, and Huygens announced his results to the Royal Society in 1668. He published them in the Journal des sçavans in 1669.
Huygens stated what is now known as the second of Newton's laws of motion in a quadratic form. In 1659 he derived the now standard formula for the centripetal force, exerted by an object describing a circular motion, for instance on the string to which it is attached. In modern notation:
{\displaystyle F_{c}={\frac {m\ v^{2}}{r}}} F_{c}=\frac{m\ v^2}{r} with m the mass of the object, v the velocity and r the radius.
The publication of the general formula for this force in 1673 was a significant step in studying orbits in astronomy. It enabled the transition from Kepler's third law of planetary motion, to the inverse square law of gravitation. The interpretation of Newton's work on gravitation by Huygens differed, however, from that of Newtonians such as Roger Cotes; he did not insist on the a priori attitude of Descartes, but neither would he accept aspects of gravitational attractions that were not attributable in principle to contact of particles.
The approach used by Huygens also missed some central notions of mathematical physics, which were not lost on others. His work on pendulums came very close to the theory of simple harmonic motion; but the topic was covered fully for the first time by Newton, in Book II of his Principia Mathematica (1687). In 1678 Leibniz picked out of Huygens's work on collisions the idea of conservation law that Huygens had left implicit.
Optics
Huygens is remembered especially for his wave theory of light, which he first communicated in 1678 to the Paris Académie des sciences. It was published in 1690 in his Traité de la lumière (Treatise on light), making it the first mathematical theory of light. He refers to Ignace-Gaston Pardies, whose manuscript on optics helped him on his wave theory.
A basic principle of Huygens is that the speed of light is finite, a point which had been the subject of an experimental demonstration by Olaus Roemer (1679 at the Paris Observatory), but which Huygens is presumed to have believed already. The theory is kinematic and its scope largely restricted to geometric optics. It covers little of what would now be termed physical optics. It deals with wave fronts and their normal rays, with propagation conceived by means of spherical waves emitted along the wave front (see also Huygens–Fresnel principle). It was justified as an ether theory, involving transmission via perfectly elastic particles, a revision of the view of Descartes. The nature of light was therefore a longitudinal wave.
Huygens had experimented in 1672 with double refraction (birefringence) in Icelandic spar (calcite), a phenomenon discovered in 1669 by Rasmus Bartholin. At first he could not elucidate what he found. He later explained it with his wave front theory and concept of evolutes. He also developed ideas on caustics. Newton in his Opticks of 1704 proposed instead a corpuscular theory of light. The theory of Huygens was not accepted, by some, because longitudinal waves cannot show birefringence. The interference experiments of Thomas Young vindicated a wave theory in 1801: the results could not be explained with light particles. The solution to the problem Huygens had faced was then resolved by a transverse wave theory. For a view from modern physics see wave–particle duality.
Huygens investigated the use of lenses in projectors. He is credited as the inventor of the magic lantern, described in correspondence of 1659. There are others to whom such a lantern device has been attributed, such as Giambattista della Porta, and Cornelis Drebbel: the point at issue is the use of a lens for better projection. Athanasius Kircher has also been credited for that.
Horology
Huygens designed more accurate clocks than were available at the time. His invention of the pendulum clock was a breakthrough in timekeeping, and he made a prototype by the end of 1656. In 1657 he contracted the construction of his designs to Salomon Coster in The Hague, with a local patent (octroy). He was less successful elsewhere: Pierre Séguier refused him any French rights, Simon Douw of Rotterdam copied the design in 1658, and Ahasuerus Fromanteel also, in London. The oldest known Huygens-style pendulum clock is dated 1657 and can be seen at the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden.
The new clock was potentially suitable for navigational uses (longitude by chronometer). Exploiting the invention at sea proved troublesome, however. In 1660 Lodewijk Huygens made a trial on a voyage to Spain, and reported that heavy weather made the clock useless. Alexander Bruce elbowed into the field in 1662, and Huygens called in Sir Robert Moray and the Royal Society to mediate and preserve some of his rights. Trials continued into the 1660s, the best news coming from a Royal Navy captain Robert Holmes operating against the Dutch possessions in 1664. Lisa Jardine doubts that Holmes reported the results of the trial accurately, and Samuel Pepys expressed his doubts at the time: The said master [i.e. the captain of Holmes' ship] affirmed, that the vulgar reckoning proved as near as that of the watches, which [the clocks], added he, had varied from one another unequally, sometimes backward, sometimes forward, to 4, 6, 7, 3, 5 minutes; as also that they had been corrected by the usual account. One for the French Academy on an expedition to Cayenne ended badly. Jean Richer suggested correction for the figure of the Earth. By the time of the Dutch East India Company expedition of 1686 to the Cape of Good Hope, Huygens was able to supply the correction retrospectively.
Pendulums
In 1673 Huygens published Horologium Oscillatorium sive de motu pendulorum, his major work on pendulums and horology. It had been observed by Mersenne and others that pendulums are not quite isochronous: their period depends on their width of swing, with wide swings taking slightly longer than narrow swings.
Huygens analyzed this problem by finding the curve down which a mass will slide under the influence of gravity in the same amount of time, regardless of its starting point; the so-called tautochrone problem. By geometrical methods which were an early use of calculus, he showed it to be a cycloid, rather than the circular arc of a pendulum's bob, and therefore that pendulums are not isochronous. He also solved a problem posed by Mersenne: how to calculate the period of a pendulum made of an arbitrarily shaped swinging rigid body. This involved discovering the center of oscillation and its reciprocal relationship with the pivot point. In the same work, he analysed the conical pendulum, consisting of a weight on a cord moving in a circle, using the concept of centrifugal force.
Huygens was the first to derive the formula for the period of an ideal mathematical pendulum (with massless rod or cord and length much longer than its swing), in modern notation:
{\displaystyle T=2\pi {\sqrt {\frac {l}{g}}}} T = 2 \pi \sqrt{\frac{l}{g}} with T the period, l the length of the pendulum and g the gravitational acceleration.
By his study of the oscillation period of compound pendulums Huygens made pivotal contributions to the development of the concept of moment of inertia.
Huygens also observed coupled oscillations: two of his pendulum clocks mounted next to each other on the same support often became synchronized, swinging in opposite directions. He reported the results by letter to the Royal Society, and it is referred to as "an odd kind of sympathy" in the Society's minutes. This concept is now known as entrainment.
Balance spring watch
Huygens developed a balance spring watch in the same period as, though independently of, Robert Hooke. Controversy over the priority persisted for centuries. A Huygens watch employed a spiral balance spring; but he used this form of spring initially only because the balance in his first watch rotated more than one and a half turns. He later used spiral springs in more conventional watches, made for him by Thuret in Paris from around 1675.
Such springs were essential in modern watches with a detached lever escapement because they can be adjusted for isochronism. Watches in the time of Huygens and Hooke, however, employed the very undetached verge escapement. It interfered with the isochronal properties of any form of balance spring, spiral or otherwise.
In February 2006, a long-lost copy of Hooke's handwritten notes from several decades of Royal Society meetings was discovered in a cupboard in Hampshire, England. The balance-spring priority controversy appears, by the evidence contained in those notes, to be settled in favour of Hooke's claim.
In 1675, Huygens patented a pocket watch. The watches which were made in Paris from c. 1675 and following the Huygens plan are notable for lacking a fusee for equalizing the mainspring torque. The implication is that Huygens thought that his spiral spring would isochronise the balance, in the same way that he thought that the cycloidally shaped suspension curbs on his clocks would isochronise the pendulum.
Astronomy
Saturn's rings and Titan
In 1655, Huygens proposed that Saturn was surrounded by a solid ring, "a thin, flat ring, nowhere touching, and inclined to the ecliptic." Using a 50 power refracting telescope that he designed himself, Huygens also discovered the first of Saturn's moons, Titan. In the same year he observed and sketched the Orion Nebula. His drawing, the first such known of the Orion nebula, was published in Systema Saturnium in 1659. Using his modern telescope he succeeded in subdividing the nebula into different stars. The brighter interior now bears the name of the Huygenian region in his honour. He also discovered several interstellar nebulae and some double stars.
Mars and Syrtis Major
In 1659, Huygens was the first to observe a surface feature on another planet, Syrtis Major, a volcanic plain on Mars. He used repeated observations of the movement of this feature over the course of a number of days to estimate the length of day on Mars, which he did quite accurately to 24 1/2 hours. This figure is only a few minutes off of the actual length of the Martian day of 24 hours, 37 minutes.
Cosmotheoros
Shortly before his death in 1695, Huygens completed Cosmotheoros, published posthumously in 1698. In it he speculated on the existence of extraterrestrial life, on other planets, which he imagined was similar to that on Earth. Such speculations were not uncommon at the time, justified by Copernicanism or the plenitude principle. But Huygens went into greater detail. The work, translated into English in its year of publication, has been seen as in the fanciful tradition of Francis Godwin, John Wilkins and Cyrano de Bergerac, and fundamentally Utopian; and also to owe in its concept of planet to cosmography in the sense of Peter Heylin.
Huygens wrote that availability of water in liquid form was essential for life and that the properties of water must vary from planet to planet to suit the temperature range. He took his observations of dark and bright spots on the surfaces of Mars and Jupiter to be evidence of water and ice on those planets. He argued that extraterrestrial life is neither confirmed nor denied by the Bible, and questioned why God would create the other planets if they were not to serve a greater purpose than that of being admired from Earth. Huygens postulated that the great distance between the planets signified that God had not intended for beings on one to know about the beings on the others, and had not foreseen how much humans would advance in scientific knowledge.
It was also in this book that Huygens published his method for estimating stellar distances. He made a series of smaller holes in a screen facing the sun, until he estimated the light was of the same intensity as that of the star Sirius. He then calculated that the angle of this hole was {\displaystyle 1/27,664} 1/27,664th the diameter of the Sun, and thus it was about 30,000 times as far away, on the (incorrect) assumption that Sirius is as luminous as our sun. The subject of photometry remained in its infancy until Pierre Bouguer and Johann Heinrich Lambert.
Works
1649 – De iis quae liquido supernatant (About the parts above the water, unpublished)
1651 – Cyclometriae
1651 – Theoremata de quadratura hyperboles, ellipsis et circuli, in Oeuvres Complètes, Tome XI, link from Internet Archive.
1654 – De circuli magnitudine inventa
1656 – De Saturni Luna observatio nova (About the new observation of the moon of Saturn – discovery of Titan)
1656 – De motu corporum ex percussione, published only in 1703
1657 – De ratiociniis in ludo aleae = Van reeckening in spelen van geluck (translated by Frans van Schooten)
1659 – Systema saturnium (on the planet Saturn)
1659 – De vi centrifuga (Concerning the centrifugal force), published in 1703
1673 – Horologium oscillatorium sive de motu pendularium (theory and design of the pendulum clock, dedicated to Louis XIV of France)
1684 – Astroscopia Compendiaria tubi optici molimine liberata (compound telescopes without a tube)
1685 – Memoriën aengaende het slijpen van glasen tot verrekijckers (How to grind telescope lenses)
1686 – Old Dutch: Kort onderwijs aengaende het gebruijck der horologiën tot het vinden der lenghten van Oost en West (How to use clocks to establish the longitude)
1690 – Traité de la lumière
1690 – Discours de la cause de la pesanteur (Discourse about gravity, from 1669?)
1691 – Lettre touchant le cycle harmonique (Rotterdam, concerning the 31-tone system)
1698 – Cosmotheoros (solar system, cosmology, life in the universe)
1703 – Opuscula posthuma including
De motu corporum ex percussione (Concerning the motions of colliding bodies – contains the first correct laws for collision, dating from 1656).
Descriptio automati planetarii (description and design of a planetarium)
1724 – Novus cyclus harmonicus (Leiden, after Huygens' death)
1728 – Christiani Hugenii Zuilichemii, dum viveret Zelhemii toparchae, opuscula posthuma ... (pub. 1728) Alternate title: Opera reliqua, concerning optics and physics
1888–1950 – Huygens, Christiaan. Oeuvres complètes. The Hague Complete work, editors D. Bierens de Haan (tome=deel 1-5), J. Bosscha (6-10), D.J. Korteweg (11-15), A.A. Nijland (15), J.A. Vollgraf (16-22).
Tome I: Correspondance 1638–1656 (1888).
Tome II: Correspondance 1657–1659 (1889).
Tome III: Correspondance 1660–1661 (1890).
Tome IV: Correspondance 1662–1663 (1891).
Tome V: Correspondance 1664–1665 (1893).
Tome VI: Correspondance 1666–1669 (1895).
Tome VII: Correspondance 1670–1675 (1897).
Tome VIII: Correspondance 1676–1684 (1899).
Tome IX: Correspondance 1685–1690 (1901).
Tome X: Correspondance 1691–1695 (1905).
Tome XI: Travaux mathématiques 1645–1651 (1908).
Tome XII: Travaux mathématiques pures 1652–1656 (1910).
Tome XIII, Fasc. I: Dioptrique 1653, 1666 (1916).
Tome XIII, Fasc. II: Dioptrique 1685–1692 (1916).
Tome XIV: Calcul des probabilités. Travaux de mathématiques pures 1655–1666 (1920).
Tome XV: Observations astronomiques. Système de Saturne. Travaux astronomiques 1658–1666 (1925).
Tome XVI: Mécanique jusqu’à 1666. Percussion. Question de l'existence et de la perceptibilité du mouvement absolu. Force centrifuge (1929).
Tome XVII: L’horloge à pendule de 1651 à 1666. Travaux divers de physique, de mécanique et de technique de 1650 à 1666. Traité des couronnes et des parhélies (1662 ou 1663) (1932).
Tome XVIII: L'horloge à pendule ou à balancier de 1666 à 1695. Anecdota (1934).
Tome XIX: Mécanique théorique et physique de 1666 à 1695. Huygens à l'Académie royale des sciences (1937).
Tome XX: Musique et mathématique. Musique. Mathématiques de 1666 à 1695 (1940).
Tome XXI: Cosmologie (1944).
Tome XXII: Supplément à la correspondance. Varia. Biographie de Chr. Huygens. Catalogue de la vente des livres de Chr. Huygens (1950).
Portraits
During his lifetime
1639 – His father Constantijn Huygens in the midst of his five children by Adriaen Hanneman, painting with medaillons, Mauritshuis, The Hague
1671 – Portrait by Caspar Netscher, Museum Boerhaave, Leiden, loan from Haags Historisch Museum
~1675 – Possible depiction of Huygens on l'French: Établissement de l'Académie des Sciences et fondation de l'observatoire, 1666 by Henri Testelin. Colbert presents the members of the newly founded Académie des Sciences to king Louis XIV of France. Musée National du Château et des Trianons de Versailles, Versailles
1679 – Medaillon portrait in relief by the French sculptor Jean-Jacques Clérion
1686 – Portrait in pastel by Bernard Vaillant, Museum Hofwijck, Voorburg
between 1684 and 1687 – Engraving by G. Edelinck after the painting by Caspar Netscher
1688 – Portrait by Pierre Bourguignon (painter), Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Amsterdam
Named after Huygens
Science
The Huygens probe: The lander for the Saturnian moon Titan, part of the Cassini–Huygens mission to Saturn
Asteroid 2801 Huygens
Mons Huygens, a mountain on the Moon
Huygens Software, a microscope image processing package.
A two element eyepiece designed by him. An early step in the development of the achromatic lens, since it corrects some chromatic aberration.
The Huygens–Fresnel principle, a simple model to understand disturbances in wave propagation.
Huygens wavelets, the fundamental mathematical basis for scalar diffraction theory
W.I.S.V. Christiaan Huygens: Dutch study guild for the studies Mathematics and Computer Science at the Delft University of Technology
Huygens Laboratory: Home of the Physics department at Leiden University, Netherlands
Huygens Supercomputer: National Supercomputer facility of the Netherlands, located at SARA in Amsterdam
The Huygens-building in Noordwijk, Netherlands, first building on the Space Business park opposite Estec (ESA)
The Huygens-building at the Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. One of the major buildings of the science department at the university of Nijmegen.
Other
Christiaan Huygens College, High School located in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
The Christiaan Huygens, a ship of the Nederland Line.
Huygens Scholarship Programme for international students and Dutch students
| Christiaan Huygens |
Which supermarket chain has its headquarters in Bradford? | Sir Isaac Newton facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Sir Isaac Newton
(b. Woolsthorpe, England, 25 December 1642; d. London, England, 20 March 1727)
mathematics, dynamics, celestial mechanics, astronomy, optics, natural philosophy.
Isaac Newton was born a posthumous child, his father having been buried the preceding 6 October. Newton was descended from yeomen on both sides: there is no record of any notable ancestor. He was born prematurely, and there was considerable concern for his survival. He later said that he could have fitted into a quart mug at birth. He grew up in his father’s house, which still stands in the hamlet of Woolsthorpe, near Grantham in Lincolnshire.
Newton’s mother, Hannah (née Ayscough), remarried, and left her three-year-old son in the care of his aged maternal grandmother. His stepfather, the Reverend Barnabas Smith, died in 1653; and Newton’s mother returned to Woolsthorpe with her three younger children, a son and two daughters. Their surviving children, Newton’s four nephews and four nieces, were his heirs. One niece, Catherine, kept house for Newton in the London years and married John Conduitt, who succeeded Newton as master of the Mint.
Newton’s personality was no doubt influenced by his never having known his father. That he was, moreover, resentful of his mother’s second marriage and jealous of her second husband may be documented by at least one entry in a youthful catalogue of sins, written in shorthand in 1662, which records “Threatning my father and mother Smith to burne them and the house over them.” 1
In his youth Newton was interested in mechanical contrivances. He is reported to have constructed a model of a mill (powered by a mouse), clocks, “lanthorns,” and fiery kites, which he sent aloft to the fright of his neighbors, being inspired by John Bate’s Mysteries of Nature and Art. 2 He scratched diagrams and an architectural drawing (now revealed and preserved) on the walls and window edges of the Woolsthorpe house, and made many other drawings of birds, animals, men, ships, and plants. His early education was in the dame schools at Skillington and Stoke, beginning perhaps when he was five. He then attended the King’s School in Grantham, but his mother withdrew him from school upon her return to Woolsthorpe, intending to make him a farmer. He was, however, uninterested in farm chores, and absent-minded and lackadaisical. With the encouragement of John Stokes, master of the Grantham school, and William Ayscough, Newton’s uncle and rector of Burton Coggles, it was therefore decided to prepare the youth for the university. He was admitted a member of Trinity College, Cambridge, on 5 June 1661 as a subsizar, and became scholar in 1664 and Bachelor of Arts in 1665.
Among the books that Newton studied while an undergraduate was Kepler’s “optics” (presumably the Dioptrice, reprinted in London in 1653). He also began Euclid, which he reportedly found “trifling,” throwing it aside for Schooten’s second Latin edition of Descartes’s Géométrie. 3 Somewhat later, on the occasion of his election as scholar, Newton was reportedly found deficient in Euclid when examined by Barrow. 4 He read Descartes’s Géométrie in a borrowed copy of the Latin version (Amsterdam, 1659–1661) with commentary by Frans van Schooten, in which there were also letters and tracts by de Beaune, Hudde, Heuraet, de Witt, and Schooten himself. Other books that he studied at this time included Oughtred’s Clavis, Wallis’ Arithmetica infinitorum, Walter Charleton’s compendium of Epicurus and Gassendi, Digby’s Two Essays, Descartes’s Principia philosophiae (as well as the Latin edition of his letters), Galileo’s Dialogo (in Salisbury’s English version)—but not, apparently, the Discorsi—Magirus’ compendium of Scholastic philosophy, Wing and Streete on astronomy, and some writings of Henry More (himself a native of Grantham), with whom Newton became acquainted in Cambridge. Somewhat later, Newton read and annotated Sprat’s History of the Royal Society, the early Philosophical Transactions, and Hooke’s Micrographia.
Notebooks that survive from Newton’s years at Trinity include an early one 5 containing notes in Greek on Aristotle’s Organon and Ethics, with a supplement based on the commentaries by Daniel Stahl, Eustachius, and Gerard Vossius. This, together with his reading of Magirus and others, gives evidence of Newton’s grounding in Scholastic rhetoric and syllogistic logic. His own reading in the moderns was organized into a collection of “Questiones quaedam philosophicae,” 6 which further indicate that he had also read Charleton and Digby. He was familiar with the works of Glanville and Boyle, and no doubt studied Gassendi’s epitome of Copernican astronomy, which was then published together with Galileo’s Sidereus nuncius and Kepler’s Dioptrice. 7
Little is known of Newton’s friends during his college days other than his roommate and onetime amanuensis Wickins. The rooms he occupied are not known for certain; and we have no knowledge as to the subject of his thesis for the B.A., or where he stood academically among the group who were graduated with him. He himself did record what were no doubt unusual events in his undergraduate career: “Lost at cards twice” and “At the Taverne twice.”
For eighteen months, after June 1665, Newton is supposed to have been in Lincolnshire, while the University was closed because of the plague. During this time he laid the foundations of his work in mathematics, optics, and astronomy or celestial mechanics. It was formerly believed that all of these discoveries were made while Newton remained in seclusion at Woolsthorpe, with only an occasional excursion into nearby Boothby. During these “two plague years of 1665 & 1666,” Newton later said, “I was in the prime of my age for invention & minded Mathematicks & Philosophy more then at any time since.” In fact, however, Newton was back in Cambridge on at least one visit between March and June 1666. 8 He appears to have written out his mathematical discoveries at Trinity, where he had access to the college and University libraries, and then to have returned to Lincolnshire to revise and polish these results. It is possible that even the prism experiments on refraction and dispersion were made in his rooms at Trinity, rather than in the country, although while at Woolsthorpe he may have made pendulum experiments to determine the gravitational pull of the earth. The episode of the falling of the apple, which Newton himself said “occasioned” the “notion of gravitation,” must have occurred at either Boothby or Woolsthorpe. 9
Lucasian Professor. On 1 October 1667, some two years after his graduation, Newton was elected minor fellow of Trinity, and on 16 March 1668 he was admitted major fellow. He was created M.A. on 7 July 1668 and on 29 October 1669, at the age of twenty-six, he was appointed Lucasian professor. He succeeded Isaac Barrow, first incumbent of the chair, and it is generally believed that Barrow resigned his professorship so that Newton might have it. 10
University statutes required that the Lucasian professor give at least one lecture a week in every term. He was then ordered to put in finished form his ten (or more) annual lectures for deposit in the University Library. During Newton’s tenure of the professorship, he accordingly deposited manuscripts of his lectures on optics (1670–1672), arithmetic and algebra (1673–1683), most of book I of the Principia (1684–1685), and “The System of the World” (1687). There is, however, no record of what lectures, if any, he gave in 1686, or from 1688 until he removed to London early in 1696. In the 1670’s Newton attempted unsuccessfully to publish his annotations on Kinckhuysen’s algebra and his own treatise on fluxions. In 1672 he did succeed in publishing an improved or corrected edition of Varenius’ Geographia generalis, apparently intended for the use of his students.
During the years in which Newton was writing the Principia, according to Humphrey Newton’s recollection, 11 “he seldom left his chamber except at term time, when he read in the schools as being Lucasianus Professor, where so few went to hear him, and fewer that understood him, that ofttimes he did in a manner, for want of hearers, read to the walls.” When he lectured he “usually staid about half an hour; when he had no auditors, he commonly returned in a 4th part of that time or less.” He occasionally received foreigners “with a great deal of freedom, candour, and respect.” He “ate sparingly,” and often “forgot to eat at all,” rarely dining “in the hall, except on some public days,” when he was apt to appear “with shoes down at heels, stockings untied, surplice on, and his head scarcely combed.” He “seldom went to the chapel,” but very often “went to St Mary’s church, especially in the forenoon.” 12
From time to time Newton went to London, where he attended meetings of the Royal Society (of which he had been a fellow since 1672). He contributed £40 toward the building of the new college library (1676), as well as giving it various books. He corresponded, both directly and indirectly (often through Henry Oldenburg as intermediary), with scientists in England and on the Continent, including Boyle, Collins, Flamsteed, David Gregory, Halley, Hooke, Huygens, Leibniz, and Wallis. He was often busy with chemical experiments, both before and after writing the Principia, and in the mid-1670’s he contemplated a publication on optics. 13 During the 1690’s Newton was further engaged in revising the Principia for a second edition; he then contemplated introducing into book III some selections from Lucretius and references to an ancient tradition of wisdom. A major research at this time was the effect of solar perturbations on the motions of the moon. He also worked on mathematical problems more or less continually throughout these years.
Among the students with whom Newton had friendly relations, the most significant for his life and career was Charles Montague, a fellow-commoner of Trinity and grandson of the Earl of Manchester; he “was one of the small band of students who assisted Newton in forming the Philosophical Society of Cambridge” 14 (the attempt to create this society was unsuccessful). Newton was also on familiar terms with Henry More, Edward Paget (whom he recommended for a post in mathematics at Christ’ Hospital), Francis Aston, John Ellis (later master of Caius), and J. F. Vigani, first professor of chemistry at Cambridge, who is said to have eventually been banished from Newton’s presence for having told him “a loose story about a nun.” Newton was active in defending the rights of the university when the Catholic monarch James II tried to mandate the admission of the Benedictine monk Alban Francis. In 1689, he was elected by the university constituency to serve as Member of the Convention Parliament.
While in London as M.P., Newton renewed contact with Montague and with the Royal Society, and met Huygens and others, including Locke, with whom he thereafter corresponded on theological and biblical questions. Richard Bentley sought Newton’s advice and assistance in preparing the inaugural Boyle Lectures (or sermons), entitled “The Confutation of Atheism” and based in part on the Newtonian system of the world.
Newton also came to know two other scientists, each of whom wanted to prepare a second edition of the Principia. One was David Gregory, a professor at Edinburgh, whom Newton helped to obtain a chair at Oxford, and who recorded his conversations with Newton while Newton was revising the Principia in the 1690’s. The other was a refugee from Switzerland, Nicolas Fatio de Duillier, advocate of a mechanical explanation of gravitation which was at one time viewed kindly by Newton. Fatio soon became perhaps the most intimate of any of Newton’s friends. In the early autumn of 1693, Newton apparently suffered a severe attack of depression and made fantastic accusations against Locke and Pepys and was said to have lost his reason. 15
In the post-Principia years of the 1690’s, Newton apparently became bored with Cambridge and his scientific professorship. He hoped to get a post that would take him elsewhere. An attempt to make him master of the Charterhouse “did not appeal to him” 16 but eventually Montague (whose star had risen with the Whigs’ return to power in Parliament) was successful in obtaining for Newton (in March 1696) the post of warden of the mint. Newton appointed William Whiston as his deputy in the professorship. He did not resign officially until 10 December 1701, shortly after his second election as M.P. for the university. 17
Mathematics. Any summary of Newton’s contributions to mathematics must take account not only of his fundamental work in the calculus and other aspects of analysis—including infinite series (and most notably the general binomial expansion)—but also his activity in algebra and number theory, classical and analytic geometry, finite differences, the classification of curves, methods of computation and approximation, and even probability.
For three centuries, many of Newton’s writings on mathematics have lain buried, chiefly in the Portsmouth Collection of his manuscripts. The major parts are now being published and scholars will shortly be able to trace the evolution of Newton’s mathematics in detail. 18 It will be possible here only to indicate highlights, while maintaining a distinction among four levels of dissemination of his work: (1) writings printed in his lifetime, (2) writings circulated in manuscript, (3) writings hinted at or summarized in correspondence, and (4) writings that were published only much later. In his own day and afterward, Newton influenced mathematics “following his own wish,” by “his creation of the fluxional calculus and the theory of infinite series,” the “two strands of mathematical technique which he bound inseparably together in his ‘analytick’ method.” 19 The following account therefore emphasizes these two topics.
Newton appears to have had no contact with higher mathematics until 1664 when—at the age of twenty-one—his dormant mathematical genius was awakened by Schooten’s “Miscellanies” and his edition of Descartes’s Géométrie, and by Wallis’ Arithmetica infinitorum (and possibly others of his works). Schooten’s edition introduced him to the mathematical contributions of Heuraet, de Witt, Hudde, De Beaune, and others; Newton also read in Viète, Oughtred, and Huygens. He had further compensated for his early neglect of Euclid by careful study of both the Elements and Data in Barrow’s edition.
In recent years 20 scholars have come to recognize Descartes and Wallis as the two “great formative influences” on Newton in the two major areas of his mathematical achievement: the calculus, and analytic geometry and algebra. Newton’s own copy of the Géométrie has lately turned up in the Trinity College Library; and his marginal comments are now seen to be something quite different from the general devaluation of Descartes’s book previously supposed. Rather than the all-inclusive “Error. Error. Non est geom.” reported by Conduitt and Brewster, Newton merely indicated an “Error” here and there, while the occasional marginal entry “non geom.” was used to note such things as that the Cartesian classification of curves is not really geometry so much as it is algebra. Other of Newton’s youthful annotations document what he learned from Wallis, chiefly the method of “indivisibles.” 21 .
In addition to studying the works cited, Newton encountered the concepts and methods of Fermat and James Gregory. Although Newton was apparently present when Barrow “read his Lectures about motion,” and noted 22 that they “might put me upon taking these things into consideration,” Barrow’s influence on Newton’s mathematical thought was probably not of such importance as is often supposed.
A major first step in Newton’s creative mathematical life was his discovery of the general binomial theorem, or expansion of (a + b)n, concerning which he wrote, “In the beginning of the year 1665 I found the Method of approximating series & the Rule for reducing any dignity [power] of any Binomical into such a series….” 23 He further stated that:
In the winter between the years 1664 & upon reading Dr Walls’ Arithmetica Infinitorum & trying to interpole his progressions for squaring the circle [that is, finding the area or evaluating , I found out another infinite series for squaring the Hyperbola… 24
On 13 June 1676, Newton sent Oldenburg the “Epistola prior” for transmission to Leibniz. In this communication he wrote that fractions “are reduced to infinite series by division; and radical quantities by extraction of roots” the latter
… much shortened by this theorem,
Where P + PQ signifies the quantity whose root or even any power, or the root of a power is to be found; P signifies the first term of that quantity, Q the remaining terms divided by the first, and m/n the numerical index of the power of P + PQ, whether that power is integral or (so to speak) fractional, whether positive or negative. 25
A sample given by Newton is the expansion
where
P = c2, Q = x2/c2, m = 1, n = 2, and
B = (m/n) AQ = x2/2c,
and so on.
Other examples include
What is perhaps the most important general statement made by Newton in this letter is that in dealing with infinite series all operations are carried out “in the symbols just as they are commonly carried out in decimal numbers”
Wallis had obtained the quadratures of certain curves (that is, the areas under the curves), by a technique of indivisibles yielding for certain positive integral values of n (0,1,2,3); in attempting to find the quadrature of a circle of unit radius, he had sought to evaluate the integral by interpolation. He showed that
Newton read Wallis and was stimulated to go considerably further, freeing the upper bound and then deriving the infinite series expressing the area of a quadrant of a circle of radius x:
In so freeing the upper bound, he was led to recongnize that the terms, identified by their powers of x, displayed the binomial coefficients. Thus, the factors … stand out plainly as, in the special case in the generalization
where
In this way, according to D. T. Whiteside, Newton ccould begin with the indefinite integral and, “by differentiation in a Wallisian manner,” proceed to a straightforward derivation of the “series-expansion of the binomial (1 - xp)q … virtually in its modern form,” with “ǀxpǀ implicitly less than unity for convergence.” As a check on the validity of this general series expansion, he “compared its particular expansions with the results of algebraic division and squareroot extraction ().” This work, which was done in the winter of 1664–1665, was later presented in modified form at the beginning of Newton’ De analysi.
He correctly summarized the stages of development of his method in the “Epistola posterior” of 24 October 1676, which— as before— he wrote for Oldenburg to transmit to Leibniz:
At the beginning of my mathematical studies, when I had met with the works of our celebrated Wallis, on considering the series, by the intercalation of which he himself exhibits the area of the circle and the hyperbola, the fact that in the series of curves whose common base or axis is x and the ordinates.
etc., if the areas of every other of them, namely
could be interpolated, we would have the areas of the intermediate ones, of which the first is the circle.… 26
The importance of changing Wallis’ fixed upper boundary to a free variable x has been called “the crux of Newton’s breakthrough,” since the “various powers of x order the numerical coefficients and reveal for the first time the binomial character of the sequence.” 27
In about 1665, Newton found the power series (that is, actually determined the sequence of the coefficients) for
and—most important of all—the logarithmic series. He also squared the hyperbola y(1 + x) = 1, by tabulating
for r = 0, 1, 2, … in powers of x and then interpolating
From his table, he found the square of the hyperbola in the series
which is the series for the natural logarithm of 1 + x. Newton wrote that having “found the method of infinite series,” in the winter of 1664–1665, “in summer 1665 being forced from Cambridge by the Plague I computed the area of the Hyperbola at Boothby… to two & fifty figures by the same method.” 29
At about the same time Newton devised “a completely general differentiation procedure founded on the concept of an indefinitely small and ultimately vanishing element 0 of a variable, say, x.” He first used the notation of a “little zero” in September 1664, in notes based on Descartes’s Géométrie, then extended it to various kinds of mathematical investigations. From the derivative of an algebraic function f (x) conceived (“essentially”) as
he developed general rules of differentiation.
The next year, in Lincolnshire and separated from books, Newton developed a new theoretical basis for his techniques of the calculus. Whiteside has summarized this stage as follows:
[Newton rejected] as his foundation the concept of the indefinitely small, discrete increment in favor of that of the “fluxion” of a variable, a finite instantaneous speed defined with respect to an independent, conventional dimension of time and on the geometrical model of the line-segment: in modern language, the fluxion of the variable x with regard to independent time-variable t is the “speed” dx/dt. 30
Prior to 1691, when he introduced the more familiar dot notation (ẋ for dx/dt, ẏ for dy/dt, ż for dz/dt; then ẍ for d2x/dt2, ÿ for d2y/dt2, z̈ for d2z/dt2), Newton generally used the letters p, q, r for the first derivatives (Leibnizian dx/dt, dy/dt, dz/dt) of variable quantities x, y, z, with respect to some independent variable t. In this scheme, the “little zero” 0 was “an arbitrary increment of time,” 31 and op, oq, or were the corresponding “moments,” or increments of the variables, x, y, z (later these would, of course, become oẋ, 0ẏ, 0ż). 32 Hence, in the limit (0 → zero), in the modern Leibnizian terminology
q/p = dy/dx r/p = dz/dx,
where “we may think of the increment 0 as absorbed into the limit ratios,” When, as was often done for the sake of simplicity, x itself was taken for the independent time variable, since x = t, then p = ̇ = dx/dx = 1, q = dy/dx, and r = dz/dx.
In May 1665, Newton invented a “true partial derivative symbolism,” and he “widely used the notation p̈ and p̈ for the respective homogenized derivatives x(dp/dx) and x2(d2p/dx2),” in particular to express the total derivative of the function
before “breaking through…to the first recorded use of a true partial-derivative symbolism.” Armed with this tool, he constructed “the five first and second order partial derivatives of a two-valued function” and composed the fluxional tract of October 1666. 33
Extracts were published by James Wilson in 1761, although the work as a whole remained in manuscript until recently. 34 Whiteside epitomizes Newton’s work during this period as follows:
In two short years (summer 1664-October 1666) Newton the mathematician was born, and in a sense the rest of his creative life was largely the working out, in calculus as in his mathematical thought in general, of the mass of burgeoning ideas which sprouted in his mind on the threshold of intellectual maturity. There followed two mathematically dull years. 35
From 1664 to 1669, Newton advanced to “more general considerations,” namely that the derivatives and integrals of functions might themselves be expressed as expansions in infinite series, specifically power series. But he had no general method for determining the “limits of convergence of individual series,” nor had he found any “valid tests for such convergence.” 36 Then, in mid-1669, he came upon Nicolaus Mercator’s Logarithmotechnica, published in September 1668, of which “Mr Collins a few months after sent a copy … to Dr Barrow,” as Newton later recorded. 37 Barrow, according to Newton, “replied that the Method of Series was invented & made general by me about two years before the publication of” the Logarithmotechnica and “at the same time,” July 1669, Barrow sent back to Collins Newton’s tract De analysi.
We may easily imagine Newton’s concern for his priority on reading Mercator’s book, for here he found in print “for all the world to read … his [own] reduction of log(l + a) to an infinite series by continued division of 1 + a into 1 and successive integration of the quotient term by term.” 38 Mercator had presented, among other numerical examples, that of log(1.1) calculated to forty-four decimal places, and he had no doubt calculated other logarithms over which Newton had spent untold hours. Newton might privately have been satisfied that Mercator’s exposition was “cumbrous and inadequate” when compared to his own, but he must have been immeasurably anxious lest Mercator generalize a particular case (if indeed he had not already done so) and come upon Newton’s discovery of “the extraction of roots in such series and indeed upon his cherished binomial expansion.” 39 To make matters worse, Newton may have heard the depressing news (as Collins wrote to James Gregory, on 2 February 1668/1669) that “the Lord Brouncker asserts he can turne the square roote into an infinite Series.”
To protect his priority, Newton hastily set to work to write up the results of his early researches into the properties of the binomial expansion and his methods for resolving “affected” equations, revising and amplifying his results in the course of composition. He submitted the tract, De analysi per aequationes infinitas, to Barrow, who sent it, as previously mentioned, to Collins.
Collins communicated Newton’s results to James Gregory, Sluse, Bertet, Borelli, Vernon, and Strode, among others. 40 Newton was at that time unwilling to commit the tract to print; a year later, he incorporated its main parts into another manuscript, the Methodus fluxionum et serierum infinitarum. The original Latin text of the tract was not printed until long afterward. 41 Among those who saw the manuscript of De analysi was Leibniz, while on his second visit to London in October 1676; he read Collins’ copy, and transcribed portions. Whiteside concurs with “the previously expressed opinions of the two eminent Leibniz scholars, Gerhardt and Hofmann,” that Leibniz did not then “annex for his own purposes the fluxional method briefly exposed there,” but “was interested only in Newton’s series expansions.” 42
The Methodus fluxionum provides a better display of Newton’s methods for the fluxional calculus in its generality than does the De analysi. In the preface to his English version of the Methodus fluxionum, John Colson wrote:
The chief Principle, upon which the Method of Fluxions is here built, is this very simple one, taken from the Rational Mechanicks; which is, That Mathematical Quantity, particularly Extension, may be conceived as generated by continued local Motion; and that all Quantities whatever, at least by analogy and accommodation, may be conceived as generated after a like manner. Consequently there must be comparative Velocities of increase and decrease, during such generations, whose Relations are fixt and determinable, and may therefore (problematically) be proposed to be found. 43
Among the problems solved are the differentiation of any algebraic function f(x); the “method of quadratures,” or the integration of such a function by the inverse process; and, more generally, the “inverse method of tangents,” or the solution of a first-order differential equation.
As an example, the “moments” ẋ0 and ẏ0 are “the infinitely little accessions of the flowing quantities [variables] x and y”: that is, their increase in “infinitely small portions of time.” Hence, after “any infinitely small interval of time” (designated by 0), x and y become x + ẋ0 and y + ẏ0. If one substitutes these for x and y in any given equation, for instance
x3 - ax2 + axy - y3=0,
“there will arise”
The terms x3 - ax2 + axy - y3 (of which “by supposition” the sum = 0) may be cast outl; the remaining terms are divided by 0, to get
“But whereas o is suppos’d to be infinitely little, that it may represent the moments of quantities, consequently the terms that are multiplied by it will be nothing in respect of the rest.” 44 These terms are therefore “rejected,” and there remains
3x2ẋ + 2axẋ - aẋy + aẏx + 3ẏy2 = 0.
It is then easy to group by ẋ and ẏ to get
or
which is the same result as finding dy/dx after differentiating
x3 - ax2 + axy - y3 = 0. 45
Problem II then reverses the process, with
being given. Newton then intergrates term by term to get x3 - ax2 + axy - y3 = 0, the validity of which he may then test by differentiation.
In an example given, 0 was an increment x (although again infinitely small). In the manuscript, as Whiteside points out, Newton canceled “the less precise equivalent ‘indefinite’ (indefinitely)” in favor of “infinitè.’ (indefinitely)” in favor of “infinitely.” 46 Certainly the most significant feature is Newton’s general and detailed treatment of “fluxions’ of given ‘fluent’ quantities, and vice versa),” and “the novelty of Newton’ … reformulation of the calculus of continuous increase.” 47
Other illustrations given by Newton of his method are determining maxima and minima and drawing tangents to curves at any point. In dealing with maxima and minima, as applied to the foregoing equation, Newton invoked the rule (Problem III):
When a quantity is the greatest or the least that it can be, at that moment it neither flows backwards nor forwards: for if it flows forwards or increases it was less, and will presently be greater than it is; and on the contrary if it flows backwards or decreases, then it was greater, and will presently be less than it is.
In an example Newton sought the “greatest value of x” in the equation
x3 - ax2 + axy - y3 = 0.
Having already found “the relation of the fluxions of x and y,” he set x = 0. Thus, y(ax - 3y2) = 0, or 3y2 = ax gives the desired result since this relation may be used to “exterminate either x or y out of the primary equation; and by the resulting equation you may determine the other, and then both of them by -3y2 + ax = 0.” Newton showed how “that famous Rule of Huddenius” may be derived from his own general method, but he did not refer to Fermat’s earlier method of maxima and minima. Newton also found the greatest value of y in the equation
and then indicated that his method led to the solution of a number of specified maximum-minimum problems.
Newton’s shift from a “loosely justified conceptual model of the ‘fluent’ (instantaneous ‘speeds’ of flow) of a set of dependent variables which continuously alter their magnitude” may have been due, in part, to Barrow. 48 This concept of a uniformly flowing time long remained a favorite of Newton’s; it was to appear again in the Principia, in the scholium time” (which “of itself, and from its own nature, flows equably without relation to anything external”), and in lemma 2, book II (see below), in which he introduced quantities “variable and indetermined, and increasing or decreasing, as it were, by a continual motion or flux.” He later explained his position in a draft review of the Commercium epistolicum (1712),
I consider time as flowing or increasing by continual flux & other quantities as increasing continually in time & from the fluxion of time I give the name of fluxions to the velocitys with which all other quantities increase. Also from the moments of time I give the name of moments to the parts of any other quantities generated in moments of time. I expose time by any quantity flowing uniformly & represent its fluxion by an unit, & the fluxions of other quantities I represent by any other fit symbols & the fluxions of their fluxions by other fit symbols & the fluxions of those fluxions by others, & their moments generated by those fluxions I represent by the symbols of the fluxions drawn into the letter o & its powers o2, o3&c: vizt their first moments by their first fluxions drawn into the letter o, their second moments by their second fluxions into o2 & so on. And when I am investigating a truth or the solution of a Probleme I use all sorts of approximations & neglect to write down the letter o, but when I am demonstrating a Proposition I always write down the letter o & proceed exactly by the rules of Geometry without admitting any approximations. And I found the method not upon summs & differences, but upon the solution of this probleme: By knowing the Quantities generated in time to find their fluxions. And this is done by finding not prima momenta but primas momentorum nascentium rationes.
In an addendum (published only in 1969) to the 1671 Methodus fluxionum, 49 Newton developed an alternative geometrical theory of “first and last” ratios of lines and curves. This was later partially subsumed into the 1687 edition of the Principia, section 1, book I, and in the introduction to the Tractatus de quadratura curvarum (published by Newton in 1704 as one of the two mathematical appendixes to the Opticks). Newton had intended to issue a version of his De quadratura with the Principia on several occasions, both before and after the 1713 second edition, because, as he once wrote, “by the help of this method of Quadratures I found the Demonstration of Kepler’s Propositions that the Planets revolve in Ellipses describing … areas proportional to the times,” and again, “By the inverse Method of fluxions I found in the year 1677 the demonstration of Kepler’s Astronomical Proposition.” 50
Newton began De quadratura with the statement that he did not use infinitesimals, “in this Place,” considering “mathematical Quantities … not as consisting of very small Parts; but as described by a continued Motion.” 51 Thus lines are generated “not by the Apposition of Parts, but by the continued Motion of Points,” areas by the motion of lines, solids by the motion of surfaces, angles by the rotation of the sides, and “Portions of Time by a continual Flux. Recognizing that there are different rates of increase and decrease, he called the “Velocities of the Motions or Increments Fluxions, and the generated Quantities Fluents” adding that “Fluxions are very nearly as the Augments of the Fluents generated in equal but very small Particles of Time, and, to speak accurately, they are in the first Ratio of the nascent Augments; but they may be expounded in any Lines which are proportional to them.”
As an example, consider that (as in Fig. 1) areas ABC, ABDG are described by the uniform motion of
the ordinates BC, BD moving along the base in the direction AB. Suppose BC to advance to any new position bc complete the parallelogram BCEb, draw the straight line VTH “touching the Curve in C, and meeting the two lines bc and BA [produced] in T and V.” The “augments” generated will be: Bb, by AB: Ec, by BC; and Cc, by “the Curve Line ACc.” Hence, “the Sides of the Triangle CET are in the first Ratio of these Augments considered as nascent.” The “Fluxions of AB, BC and AC” are therefore “as the Sides CE, ET and CT of that Triangle CET” and “may be expounded” by those sides, or by the sides of the triangle VBC, which is similar to the triangle CET.
Contrariwise, one can “take the Fluxions in the ultimate Ratio of the evanescent Parts.” Draw the straight line Cc; produce it to K. Now let bc return to its original position BC; when “C and c coalesce,” the line CK will coincide with the tangent CH then, “the evanescent Triangle CEc in its ultimate Form will become similar to the Triangle CET, and its evanescent Sides CE, Ec, and Cc will be ultimately among themselves as the sides CE, ET and CT of the other Triangle CET, are, and therefore the Fluxions of the Lines AB, BC and AC are in this same Ratio.”
Newton concluded with an admonition that for the line CK not to be “distant from the Tangent CH by a small Distance,” it is necessary that the points Cand c not be separated “by any small Distance.” If the points C and c do not “coalesce and exactly coincide, the lines CK and CII will not coincide, and “the ultimate Ratios in the Lines CE, Ecand Cc” cannot be found. In short, “The very smallest Errors in mathematical Matters are not to be neglected.” 52
This same topic appears in the mathematical introduction (section I, book I) to the Principia, in which Newton stated a set of lemmas on limits of geometrical ratios, making a distinction between the limit of a ratio and the ratio of limits (for example, as x → 0, lim. xn → n but lim. xn/lim. x → 0/0, which is indeterminate).
The connection of fluxions with infinite series was first publicly stated in a scholium to proposition 11 of De quadratura, which Newton added for the 1704 printing, “We said formerly that there were first, second, third, fourth, &c. Fluxions of flowing Quantities. These Fluxions are as the Terms of an infinite converging series.” As an example, he considered zn to “be the flowing Quantity” and “by flowing” to become (z + o)n; he then demonstrated that the successive terms of the expansion are the successive fluxions: “The first Term of this Series zn will be that flowing Quantity; the second will be the first Increment or Difference, to which consider’d as nascent, its first Fluxion is proportional … and so on in infinitum” This clearly exemplifies the theorem formally stated by Brook Taylor in 1715; Newton himself explicitly derived it in an unpublished first version of De quadratura in 1691. 53 It should be noted that Newton here showed himself to be aware of the importance of convergence as a necessary condition for expansion in an infinite series.
In describing his method of quadrature by “first and last ratios,” Newton said:
Now to institute an Analysis after this manner in finite Quantities and investigate the prime or ultimate Ratios of these finite Quantities when in their nascent or evanescent State, is consonant to the Geometry of the Ancients: and I was willing [that is, desirous] to show that, in the Method of Fluxions, there is no necessity of introducing Figures infinitely small into Geometry. 54
Newton’s statement on the geometry of the ancients is typical of his lifelong philosophy. In mathematics and in mathematical physics, he believed that the results of analysis—the way in which things were discovered-should ideally be presented synthetically, in the form of a demonstration. Thus, in his review of the Commercium epistolicum (published anonymously), he wrote of the methods he had developed in De quadratura and other works as follows:
By the help of the new Analysis Mr. Newton found out most of the Propositions in his Principia Philosophiae: but because the Ancients for making things certain admitted nothing into Geometry before it was demonstrated synthetically, he demonstrated the Propositions synthetically, that the Systeme of the Heavens might be founded upon good Geometry. And this makes it now difficult for unskilful Men to see the Analysis by which those Propositions were found out, 55
As to analysis itself, David Gregory recorded that Newton once said “Algebra is the Analysis of the Bunglers in Mathematicks.” 56 No doubt! Newton did, nevertheless, devote his main professorial lectures of 1673–1683 to algebra, 57 and these lectures were printed a number of times both during his lifetime and after. 58 This algebraical work includes, among other things, what H. W. Turnbull has described as a general method (given without proof) for discovering “the rational factors, if any, of a polynomial in one unknown and with integral coefficients”; he adds that the “most remarkable passage in the book” is Newton’s rule for discovering the imaginary roots of such a polynomial. 59 (There is also developed a set of formulas for “the sums of the powers of the roots of a polynomial equation.”) 60
Newton’s preference for geometric methods over purely analytical ones is further evident in his statement that “Equations are Expressions of Arithmetical Computation and properly have no place in Geometry.” But such assertions must not be read out of context, as if they were pronouncements about algebra in general, since Newton was actually discussing various points of view or standards concerning what was proper to geometry. He included the positions of Pappus and Archimedes on whether to admit into geometry the conchoid for the problem of trisection and those of the “new generation of geometers” who “welcome” into geometry many curvcs, conies among them. 61
Newton’s concern was with the limits to be set in geometry, and in particular he took up the question of the legitimacy of the conic sections in solid geometry (that is, as solid constructions) as opposed to their illegitimacy in plane geometry (since they cannot be generated in a plane by a purely geometric construction). He wished to divorce synthetic geometric considerations from their “analytic” algebraic counterparts. Synthesis would make the ellipse the simplest of conic sections other than the circle; analysis would award this place to the parabola. “Simplicity in figures,” he wrote, “is dependent on the simplicity of their genesis and conception, and it is not its equation but its description (whether geometrical or mechanical) by which a figure is generated and rendered easy to conceive.” 62
The “written record of [Newton’s] first researches in the interlocking structures of Cartesian coordinate geometry and infinitesimal analysis” 63 shows him to have been establishing “the foundations of his mature work in mathematics” and reveals “for the first time the true magnitude of his genius.” 64 And in fact Newton did contribute significantly to analytic geometry. In his 1671 Methodis fluxionum he devoted “Prob. 4: To draw tangents to corves” to a study of the different ways in which tangents may be drawn “according to the various relationships of curves to straight lines,” that is, according to the “modes” or coordinate systems in which the curve is specified. 65
Newton proceeded “by considering the ratios of limit-increments of the co-ordinate variables (which are those of their fluxions).” 66 His “Mode 3” consists of using what are now known as standard bipolar coordinates, which Newton applied to Cartesian ovals as follows: Let x, y be the distances from a pair of fixed points (two “poles”); the equation a ± (e/d)x — y = 0 for Descartes’s “second-order ovals” will then yield the fluxional relation ±(e/d)x — y — 0 (in dot notation) or ±em/d — n = 0 (in the notation of the original manuscript, in which m, n are used for the fluxions x, y, of x, y). When d = e, “the curve turns out to be a conic.” In “Mode 7,” Newton introduced polar coordinates for the construction of spirals; “the equation of an Archimedean spiral” in these coordinates becomes (a/b) x = y, where y is the radius vector (now usually designated r or ρ) and x the angle (ν or Φ).
Newton constructed equations for the transformation of coordinates (as, for example, from polar to Cartesian), and found formulas in both polar and rectangular coordinates for the curvature of a variety of curves, including conics and spirals. On the basis of these results Boyer has quite properly referred to Newton as “an originator of polar coordinates.” 67
Further geometrical results may be found in Enumeratio linearum tertii ordinis, first written in 1667 or 1668, and then redone and published, together with De quadratura, as an appendix to the Opticks (1704). 68 Newton devoted the bulk of the tract to classifying cubic curves into seventy-two “Classes, Genders, or Orders, according to the Number of the Dimensions of an Equation, expressing the relation between the Ordinates and the Abscissae; or which is much at one [that is, the same thing], according to the Number of Points in which they may be cut by a Right Line.”
In a brief fifth section, Newton dealt with “The Generation of Curves by Shadows,” or the theory of projections, by which he considered the shadows produced “by a luminous point” as projections “on an infinite plane.” He showed that the “shadows” (or projections) of conic sections are themselves conic sections, while “those of curves of the second genus will always be curves of the second genus; those of the third genus will always be curves of the third genus; and so on ad infinitum” Furthermore, “in the same manner as the circle, projecting its shadow, generates all the conic sections, so the five divergent parabolae, by their shadows, generate all the other curves of the second genus.” As C. R. M. Talbot observed, this presentation is “substantially the same as that which is discussed at greater length in the twenty-second lemma [book III, section 5] of the Principia, in which it is proposed to ‘transmute’ any rectilinear or curvilinear figure into another of the same analytical order by means of the method of projections.” 69
The work ends with a brief supplement on “The Organical Description of Curves,” leading to the “Description of the Conick-Section by Five Given Points” and including the clear statement, “The Use of Curves in Geometry is, that by their Intersections Problems may be solved” (with an example of an equation of the ninth degree). Newton in this tract laid “the foundation for the study of Higher Plane Curves, bringing out the importance of asymptotes, nodes, cusps,” according to Turnbull, while Boyer has asserted that it “is the earliest instance of a work devoted solely to graphs of higher plane curves in algebra,” and has called attention to the systematic use of two axes and the lack of “hesitation about negative coordinates.” 70
Newton’s major mathematical activity had come to a halt by 1696, when he left Cambridge for London. The Principia, composed in the 1680’s, marked the last great exertion of his mathematical genius, although in the early 1690’s he worked on porisms and began a “Liber geometriae,” never completed, of which David Gregory gave a good description of the planned whole. 71 For the most part, Newton spent the rest of his mathematical life revising earlier works.
Newton’s other chief mathematical activity during the London years lay in furthering his own position against Leibniz in the dispute over priority and originality in the invention of the calculus. But he did respond elegantly to a pair of challenge problems set by Johann [I] Bernoulli in June 1696. The first of these problems was “mechanico-geometrical,” to find the curve of swiftest descent. Newton’s answer was brief: the “brachistochrone” is a cycloid. The second problem was to find a curve with the following property, “that the two segments [of a right line drawn from a given point through the curve], being
raised to any given power, and taken together, may make everywhere the same sum.” 72
Newton’s analytic solution of the curve of least descent is of particular interest as an early example of what became the calculus of variations. Newton had long been concerned with such problems, and in the Principia had included (without proof) his findings concerning the solid of least resistance. When David Gregory asked him how he had found such a solid, Newton sent him an analytic demonstration (using dotted fluxions), of which a version was published as an appendix to the second volume of Motte’s English translation of the Principia. 73
Optics. The study of Newton’s work in optics has to date generally been limited to his published letters relating to light and color (in Philosophical Transactions, beginning in February 1672), his invention of a reflecting telescope and “sextant,” and his published Opticks of 1704 and later editions (in Latin and English). There has never been an adequate edition or a full translation of the Lectiones opticae. Nor, indeed, have Newton’s optical manuscripts as yet been thoroughly studied. 74
Newton’s optical work first came to the attention of the Royal Society when a telescope made by him was exhibited there. Newton was elected a fellow shortly thereafter, on 11 January 1672, and responded by offering the Society an account of the discovery that had led him to his invention. It was, he proudly alleged, “the oddest if not the most considerable detection yet made in the operations of nature”: the analysis of dispersion and the composition of white light.
In the published account Newton related that in 1666 (“at which time I applyed myself to the grinding of Optick glasses of other figures than Spherical”) he procured a triangular glass prism, “to try therewith the celebrated Phaenomena of Colours.” Light from a tiny hole in a shutter passed through the prism; the multicolored image—to Newton’s purported surprise —was of “an oblong form,” whereas “according to the received laws of Refraction, I expected [it] should have been circular.” To account for this unexpected appearance, Newton looked into a number of possibilities, among them that “the Rays, after their trajection through the Prisme did not move in curve lines,” and was thereby led to the famous “experimentum crucis.” 75 In this experiment Newton used two prisms: the first was employed to produce a spectrum on an opaque board (BC) into which a small hole had been drilled; a beam of light could thus pass through the hole to a second board (DE) with a similar aperture; in this way a narrow beam of light of a single color would be directed to a second prism, and the beam emerging from the second prism would project an image on another board (Fig. 2). Thus, all light reaching the final board had been twice subjected to prismatic dispersion. By rotating the first prism “to and fro slowly about its Axis,” Newton allowed different portions of the dispersed light to reach the second prism.
Newton found that the second prism did not produce any further dispersion of the “homogeneal” light (that is, of light of about the same color); he therefore concluded that “Light it self is a Heterogeneous mixture of differently refrangible Rays”; and asserted an exact correspondence between color and “degree of Refrangibility” (the least refrangible rays being “disposed to exhibit a Red colour,” while those of greatest refrangibility are a deep violet). Hence, colors “are not Qualifications of Light, derived from Refractions, or Reflections of natural Bodies,” as commonly believed, but “Original and connate properties,” differing in the different sorts of rays. 76
The same experiment led Newton to two further conclusions, both of real consequence. First, he gave up any hope of “the perfection of Telescopes” based on combinations of lenses and turned to the principle of the reflector; second, he held it to be no longer a subject of dispute “whether Light be a Body.” Observing, however, that it “is not so easie” to determine specifically “what Light is,” he concluded, “I shall not mingle conjectures with certainties.” 77
Newton’s letter was, as promised, read at the Royal Society on 6 February 1672. A week later Hooke delivered a report in which he criticized Newton for asserting a conclusion that did not seem to Hooke to follow necessarily from the experiments described, which—in any event—Hooke thought too few. Hooke had his own theory which, he claimed, could equally well explain Newton’s experimental results.
In the controversy that followed with Hooke, Huygens, and others, Newton quickly discovered that he had not produced a convincing demonstration of the validity and significance of the conclusions he had drawn from his experiments. The objection was made that Newton had not explored the possibility that theories of color other than the one he had proposed might explain the phenomena. He was further criticized for having favored a corporeal hypothesis of light, and it was even said that his experimental results could not be reproduced.
In reply, Newton attacked the arguments about the “hypothesis” that he was said to have advanced about the nature of light, since he did not consider this issue to be fundamental to his interpretation of the “experimentum crucis.” As he explained in reply to Pardies78 he was not proposing “an hypothesis,” but rather “properties of light” which could easily “be proved” and which, had he not held them to be true, he would “rather have … rejected as vain and empty speculation, than acknowledged even as an hypothesis.” Hooke, however, persisted in the argument. Newton was led to state that he had deliberately declined all hypotheses so as “to speak of Light in general terms, considering it abstractly, as something or other propagated every way in straight lines from luminous bodies, without determining what that Thing is.” But Newton’s original communication did assert, “These things being so, it can be no longer disputed, whether there be colours in the dark, nor… perhaps, whether Light be a Body.” In response to his critics, he emphasized his use of the word “perhaps” as evidence that he was not committed to one or another hypothesis on the nature of light itself. 79
One consequence of the debate, which was carried on over a period of four years in the pages of the Philosophical Transactions and at meetings of the Royal Society, was that Newton wrote out a lengthy “Hypothesis Explaining the Properties of Light Discoursed of in my Several Papers. 80 in which he supposed that light “is something or other capable of exciting vibrations in the aether,” assuming that “there is an aetherial medium much of the same constitution with air, but far rarer, subtler, and more strongly elastic.” He suggested the possibility that “muscles are contracted and dilated to cause animal motion,” by the action of an “aethereal animal spirit,” then went on to offer ether vibration as an explanation of refraction and reflection, of transparency and opacity, of the production of colors, and of diffraction phenomena (including Newton’s rings). Even “the gravitating attraction of the earth,” he supposed, might “be caused by the continual condensation of some other such like aethereal spirit,” which need not be “the main body of phlegmatic aether, but … something very thinly and subtilly diffused through it.” 81
The “Hypothesis” was one of two enclosures that Newton sent to Oldenburg, in his capacity of secretary of the Royal Society, together with a letter dated 7 December 1675. The other was a “Discourse of Observations,” in which Newton set out “such observations as conduce to further discoveries for completing his theory of light and colours, especially as to the constitution of natural bodies, on which their colours or transparency depend.” It also contained Newton’s account of his discovery of the “rings” produced by light passing through a thin wedge or layer of air between two pieces of glass. He had based his experiments on earlier ones of a similar kind that had been recorded by Hooke in his Micrographia (observation 9). In particular Hooke had described the phenomena occurring when the “lamina,” or space between the two glasses, was “double concav, that is, thinner in the middle then at the edge”; he had observed “various coloured rings or lines, with differing consecutions or orders of Colours.”
When Newton’s “Discourse” was read at the Royal Society on 20 January 1676, it contained a paragraph (proposition 3) in which Newton referred to Hooke and the Micrographia, “in which book he hath also largely discoursed of this … and delivered many other excellent things concerning the colours of thin plates, and other natural bodies, which I have not scrupled to make use of so far as they were for my purpose.” 82 In recasting the “Discourse” as parts 1, 2, and 3 of book II of the Opticks, however, Newton omitted this statement. It may be assumed that he had carried these experiments so much further than Hooke, introducing careful measurements and quantitative analysis, that he believed them to be his own. Hooke, on the other hand, understandably thought that he deserved more credit for his own contributions —including hypothesis-based explanations—than Newton was willing to allow him. 83 Newton ended the resulting correspondence on a conciliatory note when he wrote in a letter of 5 February 1676, “What Des-Cartes did was a good step. You have added much in several ways, and especially in taking the colours of thin plates into philosophical consideration. If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” 84
The opening of Newton’s original letter on optics suggests that he began his prism experiments in 1666, presumably in his rooms in Trinity, but was interrupted by the plague at Cambridge, returning to this topic only two years later. Thus the famous eighteen months supposedly spent in Lincolnshire would mark a hiatus in his optical researches, rather than being the period in which he made his major discoveries concerning light and color. As noted earlier, the many pages of optical material in Newton’s manuscripts 85 and notebooks have not yet been sufficiently analyzed to provide a precise record of the development of his experiments, concepts, and theories.
The lectures on optics that Newton gave on the assumption of the Lucasian chair likewise remain only incompletely studied. These exist as two complete, but very different, treatises, each with carefully drawn figures. One was deposited in the University Library, as required by the statutes of his professorship, and was almost certainly written out by his roommate, John Wickins, 86 while the other is in Newton’s own hand and remained in his possession. 87 These two versions differ notably in their textual content, and also in their division into “lectures,” allegedly given on specified dates. A Latin and an English version, both based on the deposited manuscript although differing in textual detail and completeness, were published after Newton’s death. The English version, called Optical Lectures, was published in 1728, a year before the Latin. The second part of Newton’s Latin text was not translated, since, according to the preface, it was “imperfect” and “has since been published in the Opticks by Sir Isaac himself with great improvements.” The preface further states that the final two sections of this part are composed “in a manner purely Geometrical,” and as such they differ markedly from the Opticks. The opening lecture (or section 1) pays tribute to Barrow and mentions telescopes, before getting down to the hard business of Newton’s discovery “that … Rays [of light] in respect to the Quantity of Refraction differ from one another.” To show the reader that he had not set forth “Fables instead of Truth,” Newton at once gave “the Reasons and Experiments on which these things are founded.” This account, unlike the later letter in the Philosophical Transactions, is not autobiographical; nor does it proceed by definitions, axioms, and propositions (proved “by Experiment”), as does the still later Opticks. 88
R. S. Westfall has discussed the two versions of the later of the Lectiones opticae, which were first published in 1729; 89 he suggests that Newton eliminated from the Lectiones those “parts not immediately relevant to the central concern, the experimental demonstration of his theory of colors.” Mathematical portions of the Lectiones have been analyzed by D. T. Whiteside, in Newton’s Mathematical Papers, while J. A. Lohne and Zev Bechler have made major studies of Newton’s manuscripts on optics. The formation of Newton’s optical concepts and theories has been ably presented by A. I. Sabra; an edition of the Opticks is presently being prepared by Henry Guerlac.
Lohne finds great difficulty in repeating Newton’s “experimentum crucis,” 90 but more important, he has traced the influence of Descartes, Hooke, and Boyle on Newton’s work in optics. 91 He has further found that Newton used a prism in optical experiments much earlier than hitherto suspected—certainly before 1666, and probably before 1665—and has shown that very early in his optical research Newton was explaining his experiments by “the corpuscular hypothesis.” In “Questiones philosophicae,” Newton wrote: “Blue rays are reflected more than red rays, because they are slower. Each colour is caused by uniformly moving globuli. The uniform motion which gives the sensation of one colour is different from the motion which gives the sensation of any other colour.” 92
Accordingly, Lohne shows how difficult it is to accept the historical narrative proposed by Newton at the beginning of the letter read to the Royal Society on 8 February 1672 and published in the Philosophical Transactions. He asks why Newton should have been surprised to find the spectrum oblong, since his “note-books represent the sunbeam as a stream of slower and faster globules occasioning different refrangibility of the different colours?” Newton must, according to Lohne, have “found it opportune to let his theory of colours appear as a Baconian induction from experiments, although it primarily was deduced from speculations.” Sabra, in his analysis of Newton’s narrative, concludes that not even “the‘fortunate Newton’ could have been fortunate enough to have achieved this result in such a smooth manner.” Thus one of the most famous examples of the scientific method in operation now seems to have been devised as a sort of scenario by which Newton attempted to convey the impression of a logical train of discovery based on deductions from experiment. The historical record, however, shows that Newton’s great leap forward was actually a consequence of implications drawn from profound scientific speculation and insight. 93
In any event, Newton himself did not publish the Lectiones opticae, nor did he produce his planned annotated edition of at least some (and maybe all) of his letters on light and color published in the Philosophical Transactions. 94 He completed his English Opticks, however, and after repeated requests that he do so, allowed it to be printed in 1704, although he withheld his name, save on the title page of one known copy. It has often been alleged that Newton released the Opticks for publication only after Hooke —the last of the original objectors to his theory of light and colors—had died. David Gregory, however, recorded another reason for the publication of the Opticks in 1704: Newton, Gregory wrote, had been “provoked” by the appearance, in 1703, of George Cheyne’s Fluxionum methoda inversa “to publish his [own tract on] Quadratures, and with it, his Light & Colours, &c.” 95
In the Opticks, Newton presented his main discoveries and theories concerning light and color in logical order, beginning with eight definitions and eight axioms. 96 Definition 1 of book I reads: “By the Rays of Light I understand its least Parts, and those as well Successive in the same Lines, as Contemporary in several Lines.” Eight propositions follow, the first stating that “Lights which differ in Colour, differ also in Degrees of Refrangibility.” In appended experiments Newton discussed the appearance of a paper colored half red and half blue when viewed through a prism and showed that a given lens produces red and blue images, respectively, at different distances. The second proposition incorporates a variety of prism experiments as proof that “The Light of the Sun consists of Rays differently refrangible.”
The figure given with experiment 10 of this series illustrates “two Prisms tied together in the form of a Parallelopiped” (Fig. 3). Under specified conditions, sunlight entering a darkened room through a small hole F in the shutter would not be refracted by the parallelopiped and would emerge parallel to the incident beam FM, from which it would pass by refraction through a third prism 1KH, which would by refraction “cast the usual Colours of the Prism upon the opposite Wall.” Turning the parallelopiped about its axis, Newton found that the rays producing the several colors were successively “taken out of the transmitted Light” by “total Reflexion”; first “the Rays which in the third Prism had suffered the greatest Refraction and painted [the wall] with violet and blew were … taken out of the transmitted Light, the rest remaining,” then the rays producing green, yellow, orange, and red were “taken out” as the parallelopiped was rotated yet further. Newton thus experimentally confirmed the “experimentum crucis,” showing that the light emerging from the two prisms “is compounded of Rays differently Refrangible, seeing [that] the more Refrangible Rays may be taken out while the less Refrangible remain.” The arrangement of prisms is the basis of the important discovery reported in book II, part 1, observation 1.
In proposition 6 Newton showed that, contrary to the opinions of previous writers, the sine law actually holds for each single color. The first part of book I ends with Newton’s remarks on the impossibility of improving telescopes by the use of colorcorrected lenses and his discussion of his consequent invention of the reflecting telescope (Fig. 4).
In the second part of book I, Newton dealt with colors produced by reflection and refraction (or transmission), and with the appearance of colored objects in relation to the color of the light illuminating them. He discussed colored pigments and their mixture and geometrically constructed a color wheel, drawing an analogy between the primary colors in a compound color and the “seven Musical Tones or Intervals of the eight Sounds, Sol, la, fa, sol, la, mi, fa, sol….” 97
Proposition 9, “Prob. IV. By the discovered Properties of Light to explain the Colours of the Rain-bow,” is devoted to the theory of the rainbow. Descartes had developed a geometrical theory, but had
used a single index of refraction (250:187) in his computation of the path of light through each raindrop. 98 Newton’s discovery of the difference in refrangibility of the different colors composing white light, and their separation or dispersion as a consequence of refraction, on the other hand, permitted him to compute the radii of the bows for the separate colors. He used 108:81 as the index of refraction for red and 109:81 for violet, and further took into consideration that the light of the sun does not proceed from a single point. He determined the widths of the primary and secondary bows to be 2°15’ and 3°40’, respectively, and gave a formula for computing the radii of bows of any order n (and hence for orders of the rainbow greater than 2) for any given index of refraction. 99 Significant as Newton’s achievement was, however, he gave only what can be considered a “first approximation to the solution of the problem,” since a full explanation, particularly of the supernumerary or spurious bows, must require the general principle of interference and the “rigorous application of the wave theory.”
Book II, which constitutes approximately one third of the Opticks, is devoted largely to what would later be called interference effects, growing out of the topics Newton first published in his 1675 letter to the Royal Society. Newton’s discoveries in this regard would seem to have had their origin in the first experiment that he describes (book II, part 1, observation 1); he had, he reported, compressed “two Prisms hard together that their sides (which by chance were a very little convex) might somewhere touch one another” (as in the figure provided for experiment 10 of book I, part 1). He found “the place in which they touched” to be “absolutely transparent,” as if there had been one “continued piece of Glass,” even though there was total reflection from the rest of the surface; but “it appeared like a black or dark spot, by reason that little or no sensible light was reflected from thence, as from other places.” When “looked through,” it seemed like “a hole in that Air which was formed into a thin Plate, by being compress’d between the Glasses.” Newton also found that this transparent spot “would become much broader than otherwise” when he pressed the two prisms “very hard together.”
Rotating the two prisms around their common axis (observation 2) produced “many slender Arcs of Colours” which, the prisms being rotated further, “were compleated into Circles or Rings.” In observation 4 Newton wrote that
To observe more nicely the order of the Colours … I took two Object-glasses, the one a Plano-convex for a fourteen Foot Telescope, and the other a large double Convex for one of about fifty Foot; and upon this, laying the other with its plane side downwards, I pressed them slowly together, to make the Colours successively emerge in the middle of the Circles, and then slowly lifted the upper Glass from the lower to make them successively vanish again in the same place.
It was thus evident that there was a direct correlation between particular colors of rings and the thickness of the layer of the entrapped air. In this way, as Mach observed, “Newton acquired a complete insight into the whole phenomenon, and at the same time the possibility of determining the thickness of the air gap from the known radius of curvature of the glass.” 100
Newton varied the experiment by using different lenses, and by wetting them, so that the gap or layer was composed of water rather than air. He also studied the rings that were produced by light of a single color, separated out of a prismatic spectrum; he found that in a darkened room the rings from a single color extended to the very edge of the lens. Furthermore, as he noted in observation 13, “the Circles which the red Light made” were “manifestly bigger than those which were made by the blue and violet”; he found it “very pleasant to see them gradually swell or contract accordingly as the Colour of the Light was changed.” He concluded that the rings visible in white light represented a superimposition of the rings of the several colors, and that the alternation of light and dark rings for each color must indicate a succession of regions of reflection and transmission of light, produced by the thin layer of air between the two glasses. He set down the latter conclusion in observation 15: “And from thence the origin of these Rings is manifest; namely that the Air between the Glasses, according to its various thickness, is disposed in some places to reflect, and in others to transmit the Light of any one Colour (as you may see represented …) and in the same place to reflect that of one Colour where it transmits that of another” (Fig. 5).
Book II, part 2, of the Opticks has a nomogram in which Newton summarized his measures and computations and demonstrated the agreement of his analysis of the ring phenomenon with his earlier conclusions drawn from his prism experiments—“that whiteness is a dissimilar mixture of all Colours, and that Light is a mixture of Rays endued with all those Colours.” The experiments of book II further confirmed Newton’s earlier findings “that every Ray have its proper and constant degree of Refrangibility connate with it, according to which its refraction is ever justly and regularly perform’d,” from which he argued that “it follows, that the colorifick Dispositions of Rays are also connate with them, and immutable.” The colors of the physical universe are thus derived “only from the various Mixtures or Separations of
Rays, by virtue of their different Refrangibility or Reflexibility”; the study of color thus becomes “a Speculation as truly mathematical as any other part of Opticks.” 101
In part 3 of book II, Newton analyzed “the permanent Colours of natural Bodies, and the Analogy between them and the Colours of thin transparent Plates.” He concluded that the smallest possible subdivisions of matter must be transparent, and their dimensions optically determinable. A table accompanying proposition 10 gives the refractive powers of a variety of substances “in respect of … Densities.” Proposition 12 contains Newton’s conception of “fits”:
Every Ray of Light in its passage through any refracting Surface is put into a certain transient Constitution or State, which in the progress of the Ray returns at equal Intervals, and disposes the Ray at every return to be easily transmitted through the next refracting Surface, and between the returns to be easily reflected by it.
The succeeding definition is more specific: “The returns of the disposition of any Ray to be reflected I will call its Fits of easy Reflection, and those of its disposition to be transmitted its Fits of easy Transmission, and the space it passes between every return and the next return, the Interval of its Fits.”
The “fits” of easy reflection and of easy refraction could thus be described as a numerical sequence; if reflection occurs at distances 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, …, from some central point, then refraction (or transmission) must occur at distances 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, …. Newton did not attempt to explain this periodicity, stating that “I do not here enquire” into the question of “what kind of action or disposition this is.” He declined to speculate “whether it consists in a circulating or a vibrating motion of the Ray, or of the Medium, or something else,” contenting himself “with the bare Discovery, that the Rays of Light are by some cause or other alternately disposed to be reflected or refracted for many vicissitudes.”
Newton thus integrated the periodicity of light into his theoretical work (it had played only a marginal part in Hooke’s theory). His work was, moreover, based upon extraordinarily accurate measurements— so much so that when Thomas Young devised an explanation of Newton’s rings based on the revived wave theory of light and the new principle of interference, he used Newton’s own data to compute the wavelengths and wave numbers of the principal colors in the visible spectrum and attained results that are in close agreement with those generally accepted today.
In part 4 of book II, Newton addressed himself to “the Reflexions and Colours of thick transparent polish’d Plates.” This book ends with an analysis of halos around the sun and moon and the computation of their size, based on the assumption that they are produced by clouds of water or by hail. This led him to the series of eleven observations that begin the third and final book, “concerning the Inflexions of the Rays of Light, and the Colours made thereby,” in which Newton took up the class of optical phenomena previously studied by Grimaldi, 102 in which “fringes” are produced at the edges of the shadows of objects illuminated by light “let into a dark Room through a very small hole.” Newton discussed such fringes surrounding the projected shadows of a hair, the edge of a knife, and a narrow slit.
Newton concluded the first edition of the Opticks (1704) with a set of sixteen queries, introduced “in order to a further search to be made by others.” He had at one time hoped he might carry the investigations further, but was “interrupted,” and wrote that he could not “now think of taking these things into farther Consideration.” In the eighteenth century and after, these queries were considered the most important feature of the Opticks—particularly the later ones, which were added in two stages, in the Latin Optice of 1706 and in the second English edition of 1717–1718.
The original sixteen queries at once go beyond mere experiments on diffraction phenomena. In query 1, Newton suggested that bodies act on light at a distance to bend the rays; and in queries 2 and 3, he attempted to link differences in refrangibility with differences in “flexibility” and the bending that may produce color fringes. In query 4, he inquired into a single principle that, by “acting variously in various Circumstances,” may produce reflection, refraction, and inflection, suggesting that the bending (in reflection and refraction) begins before the rays “arrive at the Bodies.” Query 5 concerns the mutual interaction of bodies and light, the heat of bodies being said to consist of having “their parts [put] into a vibrating motion”; while in query 6 Newton proposed a reason why black bodies “conceive heat more easily from Light than those of other Colours.” He then discussed the action between light and “sulphureous” bodies, the causes of heat in friction, percussion, putrefaction, and so forth, and defined fire (in query 9) and flame (in query 10), discussing various chemical operations. In query 11, he extended his speculations on heat and vapors to sun and stars. The last four queries (12 to 16) of the original set deal with vision, associated with “Vibrations” (excited by “the Rays of Light”) which cause sight by “being propagated along the solid Fibres of the optick Nerves into the Brain.” In query 13 specific wavelengths are associated with each of several colors. In query 15 Newton discussed binocular vision, along with other aspects of seeing, while in query 16 he took up the phenomenon of persistence of vision.
Newton has been much criticized for believing dispersion to be independent of the material of the prism and for positing a constant relation between deviation and dispersion in all refractive substances. He thus dismissed the possibility of correcting for chromatic aberration in lenses, and directed attention from refraction to reflecting telescopes. 103
Newton is often considered to be the chief advocate of the corpuscular or emission theory of light. Lohne has shown that Newton originally did believe in a simple corpuscular theory, an aspect of Newton’s science also forcibly brought out by Sabra. Challenged by Hooke, Newton proposed a hypothesis of ether waves associated with (or caused by) these corpuscles, one of the strongest arguments for waves probably being his own discovery of periodicity in “Newton’s rings.” Unlike either Hooke or Huygens, who is usually held to be the founder of the wave theory but who denied periodicity to waves of light, Newton postulated periodicity as a fundamental property of waves of (or associated with) light, at the same time that he suggested that a particular wavelength characterizes the light producing each color. Indeed, in the queries, he even suggested that vision might be the result of the propagation of waves in the optic nerves. But despite this dual theory, Newton always preferred the corpuscle concept, whereby he might easily explain both rectilinear propagation and polarization, or “sides.” The corpuscle concept lent itself further to an analysis by forces (as in section 14 of book I of the Principia), thus establishing a universal analogy between the action of gross bodies (of the atoms or corpuscles composing such bodies), and of light. These latter topics are discussed below in connection with the later queries of the Opticks.
Dynamics, Astronomy, and the Birth of the “Principia.” Newton recorded his early thoughts on motion in various student notebooks and documents. 104 While still an undergraduate, he would certainly have studied the Aristotelian (or neo-Aristotelian) theory of motion and he is known to have read Magirus’ Physiologiae peripateticae libri sex; his notes include a “Cap:4. De Motu” (wherein “Motus” is said to be the Aristotelian έντελέχεια). Extracts from Magirus occur in a notebook begun by Newton in 1661; 105 it is a repository of jottings from his student years on a variety of physical and nonphysical topics. In it Newton recorded, among other extracts, Kepler’s third law, “that the mean distances of the primary Planets from the Sunne are in sesquialter proportion to the periods of their revolutions in time.” 106 This and other astronomical material, including a method of finding planetary positions by approximation, comes from Thomas Streete’s Astronomia Carolina.
Here, too, Newton set down a note on Horrox’ observations, and an expression of concern about the vacuum and the gravity of bodies; he recorded, from “Galilaeus,” that “an iron ball” falls freely through “100 braces Florentine or cubits [or 49.01 ells, perhaps 66 yards] in 5” of an hower.” Notes of a later date—on matter, motion, gravity, and levity— give evidence of Newton’s having read Charleton (on Gassendi), Digby (on Galileo), Descartes, and Henry More.
In addition to acquiring this miscellany of information, making tables of various kinds of observations, and supplementing his reading in Streete by Wing (and, probably, by Galileo’s Sidereus nuncius and Gassendi’s epitome of Copernican astronomy), Newton was developing his own revisions of the principles of motion. Here the major influence on his thought was Descartes (especially the Principia philosophiae and the Latin edition of the correspondence, both of which Newton cited in early writings), and Galileo (whose Dialogue he knew in the Salusbury version, and whose ideas he would have encountered in works by Henry More, by Charleton and Wallis, and in Digby’s Two Essays).
An entry in Newton’s Waste Book, 107 dated 20 January 1664, shows a quantitative approach to problems of inelastic collision. It was not long before Newton went beyond Descartes’s law of conservation, correcting it by algebraically taking into account direction of motion rather than numerical products of size and speed of bodies. In a series of axioms he declared a principle of inertia (in “Axiomes” 1 and 2); he then asserted a relation between “force” and change of motion; and he gave a set of rules for elastic collision. 108 In “Axiome” 22, he had begun to approach the idea of centrifugal force by considering the pressure exerted by a sphere rolling around the inside surface of a cylinder. On the first page of the Waste Book, Newton had quantitated the centrifugal force by conceiving of a body moving along a square inscribed in a circle, and then adding up the shocks at each “reflection.” As the number of sides were increased, the body in the limiting case would be “reflected by the sides of an equilateral circumscribed polygon of an infinite number of sides (i.e. by the circle it selfe).” Herivel has pointed out the near equivalence of such results to the early proof mentioned by Newton at the end of the scholium to proposition 4, book I, of the Principia. Evidently Newton learned the law of centrifugal force almost a decade before Huygens, who published a similar result in 1673. One early passage of the Waste Book also contains an entry on Newton’s theory of conical pendulums. 109
According to Newton himself, the “notion of gravitation” came to his mind “as he sat in a contemplative mood,” and “was occasioned by the fall of an apple.” 110 He postulated that, since the moon is sixty times as far away from the center of the earth as the apple, by an inverse-square relation it would accordingly have an acceleration of free fall 1/(60)2 = 1/3600 that of the apple. This “moon test” proved the inverse-square law of force which Newton said he “deduced” from combining “Kepler’s Rule of the periodical times of the Planets being in a sesquialterate proportion of their distances from the Centers of the Orbs” —that is, by Kepler’s third law, that R3/T2 = constant, combined with the law of central (centrifugal) force. Clearly if F α V2/R for a force F acting on a body moving with speed V in a circle of radius R (with period T), it follows simply and at once that
F α V2/R = 4π2R2ǀT2R = 4π2ǀR2 × (R3ǀT2).
Since R3ǀT2 is a constant, F α 1 ǀ R2
An account by Whiston states that Newton took an incorrect value for the radius of the earth and so got a poor agreement between theory and observation, “which made Sir Isaac suspect that this Power was partly that of Gravity, and partly that of Cartesius’s Vortices,” whereupon “he threw aside the Paper of his Calculation, and went to other Studies.” Pemberton’s narration is in agreement as to the poor value taken for the radius of the earth, but omits the reference to Cartesian vortices. Newton himself said (later) only that he made the two calculations and “found them [to] answer pretty nearly.”sup(111) In other words, he calculated the falling of the moon and the falling of a terrestrial object, and found the two to be (only) approximately equal.
A whole tradition has grown up (originated by Adams and Glaisher, and most fully expounded by Cajori) 112 that Newton was put off not so much by taking a poor value for the radius of the earth as by his inability then to prove that a sphere made up of uniform concentric shells acts gravitationally on an external point mass as if all its mass were concentrated at its center (proposition 71, book I, book III, of the Principia). No firm evidence has ever been found that would support Cajori’s conclusion that the lack of this theorem was responsible for the supposed twenty-year delay in Newton’s announcement of his “discovery” of the inverse-square law of gravitation. Nor is there evidence that Newton ever attempted to compute the attraction of a sphere until summer 1685, when he was actually writing the Principia.
An existing document docs suggest that Newton may have made just such calculations as Whiston and Pemberton described, calculations in which Newton appears to have used a figure for the radius of the Earth that he found in Salusbury’s version of Galileo’s Dialogue, 3,500 Italian miles (milliaria), in which one mile equals 5,000, rather than 5,280, feet. 113 Here, some time before 1669, Newton stated, to quote him in translation, “Finally, among the primary planets, since the cubes of their distances from the Sun are reciprocally as the squared numbers of their periods in a given time, their endeavours of recess from the Sun will be reciprocally as the squares of their distances from the Sun,” and he then gave numerical examples from each of the six primary planets. A R. Hall has shown that this manuscript is the paper referred to by Newton in his letter to Halley of 20 June 1686, defending his claim to priority of discovery of the inverse-square law against Hooke’s claims. It would have been this paper, too, that David Gregory saw and described in 1694, when Newton let him glance over a manuscript earlier than “the year 1669.”
This document, however important it may be in enabling us to define Newton’s values for the size of the earth, does not contain an actual calculation of the moon test, nor does it refer anywhere to other than centrifugal “endeavours” from the sun. But it does show that when Newton wrote it he had not found firm and convincing grounds on which to assert what Whiteside has called a perfect “balance between (apparent) planetary centrifugal force and that of solar gravity.” 114
By the end of the 1660’s Newton had studied the Cartesian principles of motion and had taken a critical stand with regard to them. His comments occur in an essay of the 1670’s or late 1660’s, beginning “De gravitatione et aequipondio fluidorum,” 115 in which he discussed extensively Descartes’s Principia and also referred to a letter that formed part of the correspondence with Mersenne. Newton further set up a series of definitions and axioms, then ventured “to dispose of his [Descartes’s] fictions.” A large part of the essay deals with space and extension; for example, Newton criticized Descartes’s view “that extension is not infinite but rather indefinite.” In this essay Newton also defined force (“the causal principle of motion and rest”), conatus (or “endeavour”), impetus, inertia, and gravity. Then, in the traditional manner, he reckoned “the quantity of these powers” in “a double way: that is, according to intension or extension.” He defined bodies, in the later medieval language of the intension and remission of forms, as “denser when their inertia is more intense, and rarer when it is more remiss.”
In a final set of “Propositions on Non-Elastic Fluids” (in which there are two axioms and two propositions), axiom 2, “Bodies in contact press each other equally,” suggests that the eventual third law of motion (Principia, axiom 3: “To every action is always opposed an equal and opposite reaction”) may have arisen in application to fluids as well as to the impact of bodies. The latter topic occurs in another early manuscript, “The Lawes of Motion,” written about 1666 and almost certainly antedating the essay on Descartes and his Principia. 116 Mere Newton developed some rules for the impact of “bodyes which are absolutely hard,” and then tempered them for application to “bodyes here amongst us,” characterized by“a relenting softnesse & springynesse,” which makes their contact be for some time in more points than one.”
Newton’s attention to the problems of elastic and inelastic impact is manifest throughout his early writings on dynamics. In the Principia it is demonstrated by the emphasis he there gave the concept of force as an “impulse,” and by a second law of motion (Lex II, in all editions of the Principia) in which he set forth the proportionality of such an impulse (acting instantaneously) to the change in momentum it produces. 117 In the scholium to the laws of motion Newton further discussed elastic and inelastic impact, referring to papers of the late 1660’s by Wallis, Wren, and Huygens. He meanwhile developed his concept of a continuously acting force as the limit of a series of impulses occurring at briefer and briefer intervals in infinitum. 118
Indeed, it was not until 1679, or some time between 1680 and 1684, following an exchange with Hooke, that Newton achieved his mature grasp of dynamical principles, recognizing the significance of Kepler’s area law, which he had apparently just encountered. Only during the years 1684–1686, when, stimulated by Halley, he wrote out the various versions of the tract De motu and its successors and went on to compose the Principia, did Newton achieve full command of his insight into mathematical dynamics and celestial mechanics. At that time he clarified the distinction between mass and weight, and saw how these two quantities were related under a variety of circumstances.
Newton’s exchange with Hooke occurred when the latter, newly appointed secretary of the Royal Society, wrote to Newton to suggest a private philosophical correspondence. In particular, Hooke asked Newton for his “objections against any hypothesis or opinion of mine,” particularly “that of compounding the celestiall motions of the planetts of a direct motion by the tangent & an attractive motion towards the centrall body.….” Newton received the letter in November, some months after the death of his mother, and evidently did not wish to take up the problem. He introduced, instead, “a fancy of my own about discovering the Earth’s diurnal motion, a spiral path that a freely falling body would follow as it supposedly fell to Earth, moved through the Earth’s surface into the interior without material resistance, and eventually spiralled to (or very near to) the Earth’s centre, after a few revolutions.” 119
Hooke responded that such a path would not be a spiral. He said that, according to “my theory of circular motion,” in the absence of resistance, the body would not move in a spiral but in “a kind [of] Elleptueid,” and its path would “resemble an Ellipse.” This conclusion was based, said Hooke, on “my Theory of Circular Motions [being] compounded by a Direct [that is, tangential] motion and an attractive one to a Centre.” Newton could not ignore this direct contradiction of his own expressed opinion. Accordingly, on 13 December 1679, he wrote Hooke that “I agree with you that … if its gravity be supposed uniform [the body would] not descend in a spiral to the very centre but circulate with an alternate descent & ascent.” The cause was “its vis centrifuga & gravity alternately overballancing one another.” This conception was very like Borelil’s, and Newton imagined that “the body will not describe an Ellipsoeid,” but a quite different figure. Newton here refused to accept the notion of an ellipse produced by gravitation decreasing as some power of the distance—although he had long before proved that for circular motion a combination of Kepler’s third law and the rule for centrifugal force would yield a law of centrifugal force in the inverse square of the distance. There is no record of whether his reluctance was due to the poor agreement of the earlier moon test or to some other cause.
Fortunately for the advancement of science, Hooke kept pressing Newton. In a letter of 6 January 1680 he wrote “… But my supposition is that the Attraction always is in a duplicate proportion to the Distance from the Centre Reciprocall, and Consequently that the Velocity will be in a subduplicate proportion to the Attraction, and Consequently as Kepler Supposes Reciprocall to the Distance.” We shall see below that this statement, often cited to support Hooke’s claim to priority over Newton in the discovery of the inverse-square law, actually shows that Hooke was not a very good mathematician. As Newton proved, the force law here proposed contradicts the alleged velocity relation.
Hooke also claimed that this conception “doth very Intelligibly and truly make out all the Appearances of the Heavens,” and that “the finding out the proprietys of a Curve made by two principles will be of great Concerne to Mankind, because the Invention of the Longitude by the Heavens is a necessary Consequence of it.” After a few days, Hooke went on to challenge Newton directly:
… It now remaines to know the proprietys of a curve Line (not circular nor concentricall) made by a centrall attractive power which makes the velocitys of Descent from the tangent Line or equall straight motion at all Distances in a Duplicate proportion to the Distances Reciprocally taken. I doubt not but that by your excellent method you will easily find out what that Curve must be, and its proprietys, and suggest a physicall Reason of this proportion. 120
Newton did not reply, but he later recorded his next steps:
I found now that whatsoever was the law of the forces which kept the Planets in their Orbs, the areas described by a Radius drawn from them to the Sun would be proportional to the times in which they were described. And … that their Orbs would be such Ellipses as Kepler had described [when] the forces which kept them in their Orbs about the Sun were as the squares of their … distances from the Suit reciprocally. 121
Newton’s account seems to be reliable; the proof he devised must have been that written out by him later in his “De motu corporum in gyrum. 122
Newton’s solution is based on his method of limits, and on the use of infinitesimals. 123 He considered the motion along an ellipse from one point to another during an indefinitely small interval of time, and evaluated the deflection from the tangent during that interval, assuming the deflection to be proportional to the inverse square of the distance from a focus. As one of the two points on the ellipse approaches the other, Newton found that the area law supplies the essential condition in the limit. 124 In short, Newton showed that if the area law holds, then the elliptical shape of an orbit implies that any force directed to a focus must vary inversely as the square of the distance.
But it was also incumbent upon Newton to show the significance of the area law itself; he therefore proved that the area law is a necessary and sufficient condition that the force on a moving body be directed to a center. Thus, for the first time, the true significance of Kepler’s first two laws of planetary motion was revealed: that the area condition was equivalent to the action of a central force, and that the occurrence of the ellipse under this condition demonstrates that the force is as the inverse square of the distance. Newton further showed the law of areas to be only another aspect of the law of inertia, since in linear inertial motion, in the absence of external forces, equal areas are swept out in equal times by a line from the moving body directed toward any point not on the line of motion. 125
Newton was thus quite correct in comparing Hooke’s claim and Kepler’s, as he wrote to Halley on 20 June 1686:
But grant I received it [the hypothesis of the inverse-square relation] afterwards [that is, after he had come upon it by himself, and independently of Hooke] from Mr Hook, yet have I as great a right to it as to the Ellipsis. For as Kepler knew the Orb to be not circular but oval & guest it to be Elliptical, so Mr Hook without knowing what I have found out since his letters to me, can know no more but that the proportion was duplicate quam proximė at great distances from the center, & only guest it to be so accurately & guest amiss in extending that proportion down to the very center, whereas Kepler guest right at the Ellipsis. And so Mr Hook found less of the Proportion than Kepler of the Ellipsis. 126
What Newton “found out” after his correspondence with Hooke in 1679 was the proof that a homogeneous sphere (or a sphere composed of homogeneous spherical shells) will gravitate as if all its mass were concentrated at its geometric center.
Newton refrained from pointing out that Hooke’s lack of mathematical ability prevented him (and many of those who have supported his claim) from seeing that the “approximate” law of speed (1 α 1/r) is
inconsistent with the true area law and does not accord with a force law of the form f α 1/r2. Newton proved (Fig. 6: Principia, book I, proposition 16), that the speed at any point in an elliptical orbit is inversely proportional to the perpendicular dropped from the sun (focus) to the tangent drawn to the ellipse at that point, rather than being inversely proportional to the simple distance as Hooke and others had supposed; these two quantities being, of course, the same at the apsides. In the second edition of the Principia (1713) Newton shifted the corollaries to propositions 1 and 2, introducing a new set of corollaries to proposition 1, with the result that a prominent place was given to the true speed law.
Newton therefore deserves sole credit for recognizing the significance of the area law, a matter of some importance between 1679 and 1684. Following the exchange with Hooke in the earlier year, however, Newton did not at once go on to complete his work in celestial mechanics, although he did become interested in comets, corresponding with Flamsteed about their motion. He was converted from a belief in the straight-line motion of comets to a belief in parabolic paths, and thereafter attributed the motions of comets (in conic sections) to the action of the inverse-square law of the gravitation of the sun. He was particularly concerned with the comet of 1680, and in book III of the Principia devoted much space to its path.
In 1684, Halley visited Newton to ask about the path a planet would follow under the action of an inverse-square force: Wren, Hooke, and he had all been unsuccessful in satisfactorily resolving the matter, although Hooke had asserted (vainly) that he could do it. When Newton said to Hooke that he himself had “calculated” the result and that it was “an Ellipsis,” Halley pressed him “for his calculation,” but Newton could not find it among his papers and had to send it to Halley at a later date, in November. Halley then went back to Cambridge, where he saw “a curious treatise, De Motu.” He obtained Newton’s promise to send it “to the [Royal] Society to be entered upon their Register,” 127 and Newton, thus encouraged, wrote out a De motu corporum, of which the first section largely corresponds to book I of the Principia (together with an earnest of what was to become book II), while the second represents a popular account of what was later presented in book III.
Texts of both parts were deposited in the University Library, as if they were Newton’s professorial lectures for 1684, 1685, and 1687; the second was published posthumously in both Latin and English, with the introduction of a new and misleading title of De mundi systemate, or The System of the World. (This misnomer has ever since caused the second part of De motu to be confused with book III of the Principia, which is subtitled “De mundi systemate.”)
Newton composed the Principia in a surprisingly short time. 128 The manuscript of book I was presented on 28 April 1686 to the Royal Society, which ordered it to be printed, although in the event Halley paid the costs and saw the work through the press. Halley’s job was not an easy one; when Hooke demanded credit in print for his share in the inverse-square law, Newton demurred and even threatened to suppress book III. Halley fortunately dissuaded Newton from so mutilating his great treatise.
On 1 March 1687 Newton wrote to Halley that book II had been sent to him “by the Coach.” The following 5 April Halley reported to Newton that he had received book III, “the last part of your divine Treatise.” The printing was completed on 5 July 1687. The first edition included a short preface by Newton and an introductory ode to Newton by Halley—but book III ended abruptly, in the midst of a discussion of comets. Newton had originally drafted a “Conclusio” dealing with general aspects of natural philosophy and the theory of matter, 129 but he suppressed it. The famous conclusion, the “Scholium Generale,” was first published some twenty-six years later, in 1713, in the second edition.
The development of Newton’s views on comets may be traced through his correspondence with Flamsteed 130 and with Halley, and by comparing the first and second editions of the Principia. From Flamsteed he obtained information not only on comets, but also on the distances and periods of the satellites of Jupiter (which data appear in the beginning of book III of the Principia as a primary instance of Kepler’s third law), and on the possible influence of Jupiter on the motion of Saturn. When Newton at first believed the great comet observed November 1680–March 1681 to be a pair of comets moving (as Kepler proposed) in straight lines, although in opposite directions, it was Flamsteed who convinced him that there was only one, observed coming and going, and that it must have turned about the sun. 131 Newton worked out a parabolic path for the comet of 1680 that was consistent with the observations of Flamsteed and others, the details of which occupy a great part of book III of the Principia. Such a parabolic path had been shown in book I to result from the inverse-square law under certain initial conditions, differing from those producing ellipses and hyperbolas.
In 1695, Halley postulated that the path of the comet of 1680 was an elongated ellipse—a path not very distinguishable from a parabola in the region of the sun, but significantly different in that the ellipse implies periodic returns of the cornet—and worked out the details with Newton. In the second and third editions of the Principia, Newton gave tables for both the parabolic and elliptical orbits; he asserted unequivocally that Halley had found “a remarkable comet” appearing every seventy-five years or so, and added that Halley had “computed the motions of the comet in this elliptic orbit.” Nevertheless, Newton himself remained primarily concerned with parabolic orbits. In the conclusion to the example following proposition 41 (an the comet of 1680), Newton said that “comets are a sort of planets revolved in very eccentric orbits about the sun,” Even so, the proposition itself states (in all editions): “From three given observations to determine the orbit of a comet moving in a parabola.”
Mathematics in the “Principia.” The Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica is, as its title suggests, an exposition of a natural philosophy conceived in terms of new principles based on Newton’s own innovations in mathematics. It is too often described as a treatise in the style of Greek geometry, since on superficial examination it appears to have been written in a synthetic geometrical style. 132 But a close examination shows that this external Euclidean form masks the true and novel mathematical character of Newton’s treatise, which was recognized even in his own day. (L’Hospital, for example—to Newton’s delight—observed in the preface to his 1696 Analyse des infiniment petits, the first textbook on the infinitesimal calculus, that Newton’s “excellent Livre intitulé Philosophiae Naturalis principia Mathematica … est presque tout de ce calcul.”) Indeed, the most superficial reading of the Principia must show that, proposition by proposition and lemma by lemma, Newton usually proceeded by establishing geometrical conditions and their corresponding ratios and then at once introducing some carefully defined limiting process. This manner of proof or “invention,” in marked distinction to the style of the classical Greek geometers, is based on a set of general principles of limits, or of prime and ultimate ratios., posited by Newton so as to deal with nascent or evanescent quantities or ratios of such quantities.
The doctrine of limits occurs in the Principia in a set of eleven lemmas that constitute section 1 of book I. These lemmas justify Newton in dealing with areas as limits of sums of inscribed or circumscribed rectangles (whose breadth → 0, or whose number → ∞), and in assuming the equality, in the limit, of arc, chord, and tangent (lemma 7), based on the proportionality of “homologous sides of similar figures, whether curvilinear or rectilinear” (lemma 5), whose “areas are as the squares of the homologous sides.” Newton’s mathematical principles are founded on a concept of limit disclosed at the very beginning of lemma I, “Quantities, and the ratios of quantities, which in any finite time converge continually to equality, and before the end of that time approach nearer to each other than by any given difference, become ultimately equal.”
Newton further devoted the concluding scholium of section 1 to his concept of limit, and his method of taking limits, stating the guiding principle thus: “These lemmas are premised to avoid the tediousness of deducing involved demonstrations ad absurdum, according to the method of the ancient geometers.” While he could have produced shorter (“more contracted”) demonstrations by the “method of indivisibles,” he judged the “hypothesis of indivisibles “to be “sornewhat harsh” and not geometrical:
I chose rather to reduce the demonstrations of the following propositions to the first and last sums and ratios of nascent and evanescent quantities, that is, to the limits of those sums and ratios; and so to premise, as short as I could, the demonstrations of those limits. For hereby the same thing is performed as by the method of indivisibles; and now those principles being demonstrated, we may use them with greater safety. Therefore if hereafter I should happen to consider quantities as made up of particles, or should use little curved lines for right ones, I would not be understood to mean indivisibles, but evanescent divisible quantities; not the sums and ratios of determinate parts, but always the limits of sums and ratios; and that the force of such demonstrations always depends on the method laid down in the foregoing Lemmas.
Newton was aware that his principles were open to criticism on the ground “that there is no ultimate proportion of evanescent quantities; because the proportion, before the quantities have vanished, is not the ultimate, and when they are vanished, is none”; and he anticipated any possible unfavorable reaction by insisting that “the ultimate ratio of evanescent quantities” is to be understood to mean “the ratio of the quantities not before they vanish, nor afterwards, but [that] with which they vanish.” In a “like manner, the first ratio of nascent quantities is that with which they begin to be,” and “the first or last sum is that with which they begin and cease to be (or to be augmented or diminished),” Comparing such ratios and sums to velocities (for “it may be alleged, that a body arriving at a certain place, and there stopping, has no ultimate velocity; because the velocity, before the body comes to the place, is not its ultimate velocity; when it has arrived, there is none”), he imagined the existence of “a limit which the velocity at the end of the motion may attain, but not exceed,” which limit is “the ultimate velocity,” or “that velocity with which the body arrives at its last place, and with which the motion ceases.” By analogy, he argued, “there is the like limit in all quantities and proportions that begin and cease to be,” and “such limits are certain and definite.” Hence, “to determine the same is a problem strictly geometrical,” and thus may be used legitimately “in determining and demonstrating any other thing that is also geometrical”.
In short, Newton wished to make a clear distinction between the ratios of ultimate quantities and “those ultimate ratios with which quantities vanish,” the latter being “limits towards which the ratios of quantities decreasing without limit do always converge …,” He pointed out that this distinction may be seen most clearly in the case in which two quantities become infinitely great; then their “ultimate ratio” may be “given, namely, the ratio of equality,” even though “it does not from thence follow, that the ultimate or greatest quantities themselves, whose ratio that is, will be given.”
Section 1 of book I is unambiguous in its statement that the treatise to follow is based on theorems of which the truth and demonstration almost always depend on the taking of limits. Of course, the occasional analytical intrusions in book I and the explicit use of the fluxional method in book II (notably in section 2) show the mathematical character of the book as a whole, as does the occasional but characteristic introduction of the methods of expansion in infinite series. A careful reading of almost any proof in book I will, moreover, demonstrate the truly limital or infinitesimal character of the work as a whole. But nowhere in the Principia (or in any other generally accessible manuscript) did Newton write any of the equations of dynamics as fluxions, as Maciaurin did later on. This continuous form is effectively that published by Varignon in the Mémoires of the Paris Academy in 1700; Newton’s second law was written as a differential equation in J. Hermann’s Phoronomia (1716).
The similarity of section 1, book I, to the introductory portion of the later De quadratura should not be taken to mean that in the Principia Newton developed his principles of natural philosophy on the basis of first and last ratios exclusively, since in the Principia Newton presented not one, but rather three modes of presentation of his fluxional or infinitesimal calculus. A second approach to the calculus occurs in section 2, book 11, notably in lemma 2, in which Newton introduced the concept and method of moments. This represents the first printed statement (in the first edition of 1687) by Newton himself of his new mathematics, apart from its application to physics (with which the opening discussion of limits in section 1, book I is concerned). In a scholium to lemma 2, Newton wrote that this lemma contains the “foundation” of “a general method,” one
… which extends itself, without any troublesome calculation, not only to the drawing of tangents to any curve lines …, but also to the resolving other abstruser kinds of problems about the crookedness, areas, lengths, centres of gravity of curves, &c.; nor is it … limited to equations which are free from surd quantities. This method I have interwoven with that other of working in equations, by reducing them to infinite series.
He added that the “last words relate to a treatise I composed on that subject in the year 1671“ 133 and that the paragraph quoted above came from a letter he had written to Collins on 10 December 1672, describing “a method of tangents.’
The lemma itself reads: “The moment of any gentium is equal to the moments of each of the generating sides multiplied by the indices of the powers of those sides, and by their coefficients continually.“ 134 It may be illustrated by Newton’s first example: Let AB be a rectangle with sides A, B, diminished by , , respectively. The diminished area is . Now, by a “continual flux,” let the sides be augmented by , , respectively; the area (“rectangle”) will then become (Fig. 7). Subtract one from the other, “and there will
remain the excess aB + bA.” Newton concluded, “Therefore with the whole increments a and b of the sides, the increment aB + bA of the rectangle is generated.” Here a and b are the moments of A and B, respectively, and Newton has shown that the moment of AB, corresponding to the moments a and b of A and B, respectivly, is aB + bA. And, for the special case of A = B, the moment of A2 is determined as 2aA.
In order to extend the result from “area” to “content” or (“bulk”), from AB to ABC, Newton set AB = G and then used the prior result for AB twice, once for AB, and again for GC, so as to get the moment of ABC to be cAB + bCA + aBC; whence, by setting A = B = C, the moment of Asup(3) is determined as 3aA2. And, in general, the moment of An is shown to be naAn-1 for n as a positive integer.
The result is readily extended to negative integral powers and even to all products AmBn, “whether the indices m and n of the powers be whole numbers or fractions, affirmative or negative.” Whiteside has pointed out that by using the decrements , and the increments , , rather than the increments a, b, “Newton … deluded himself into believe” he had “contrived an approach which avoids the comparatively messy appeal to the limit-value of (A + a)/(B + b) - AB as the increments a, b vanish.” The result is what is now seen as a “celebrated nonsequitur.” 135
In discussing lemma 2, Newton defined moments as the “momentary increments or decrements” of “variable and indetermined” quantities, which might be “products, quotients, roots, rectangles, squares, cubes, square and cubic sides, and the like.” He called these “quantities” genitae, because he conceived them to be “generated or produced in arithmetic by the multiplication, division, or extraction of the root of any terms whatsoever; in geometry by the finding of contents and sides, or of the extremes and means of proportionals.” So much is clear. But Newton warned his readers not “to look upon finite particles as such [moments],” for finite particles “are not moments, but the very quantities generated by the moments. We are to conceive them as the just nascent principles of finite magnitudes.” And, in fact, it is not “the magnitude of the moments, but their first proportion [which is to be regarded] as nascent.”
Boyer has called attention to the difficulty of conceiving “the limit of a ratio in determining the moment of AB.” 136 The moment of AB is not really a product of two independent variables A and B, implying a problem in partial differentiation, but rather a product of two functions of the single independent variable time. Newton himself said, “It will be the same thing, if, instead of moments, we use either the velocities of the increments and decrements (which may also be called the motions, mutations, and fluxions of quantities), or any finite quantities proportional to those velocities.”
Newton thus shifted the conceptual base of his procedure from infinitely small quantities or moments—which are not finite, and clearly not zero—to the “first proporation,” or ratio of moments (rather than “the magnitude of the moments” “as nascent.” This nascent ratio is generally not infinitesimal but finite, and Newton thus suggested that the ratio of finite quantities may be substituted for the ratio of infinitesimals, with the same result, using in fact the velocities of the increments or decrements instead of the moments, or “any finite quantities proportional to those velocities,” which are also the “fluxions of the quantities.” Boyer summarized this succinctly:
Newton thus offered in the Principia three modes of interpretation of the new analysis: that in terms of infinitesimals (used in his De analysi …); that in terms of prime and ultimate ratios or limits (given particularly in De quadratura, and the view which he seems to have considered most rigorous); and that in terms of fluxions (given in his Methodus fluxionum, and one which appears to have appealed most strongly to his imagination). 137
From the point of view of mathematics, proposition 10, book II, may particularly attract our attention. Here Newton boldly displayed his methods of using the terms of a converging series to solve problems and his method of second differences. Expansions are given with respect to “the indefinite quantity 0,” but there are no references to (nor uses of) moments, as in the preceding lemma 2, and, of course, there is no use made of dotted or “pricked” letters.
The proposition is of particular interest for at least two reasons. First, its proof and exposition (or exemplification) are highly analytic and not geometric (or synthetic), as are most proofs in the Principia. Second, an error in the first edition and in the original printed pages of the second edition was discovered by Johann [I] Bernoulli and called to Newton’s attention by Nikolaus [I] Bernoulli, who visited England in September or October 1712. As a result, Newton had Cotes reprint a whole signature and an additional leaf of the already printed text of the second edition; these pages thus appear as cancels in every copy of this edition of the Principia that has been recorded. The corrected proposition, analyzed by Whiteside, illustrates “the power of Newton’s infinitesimal techniques in the Principia,” and may thus confute the opinion that “Newton did not (at least in principle, and in his own algorithm) know how ‘to formulate and resolve problems through the integration of differential equations.’” 138
From at least 1712 onward, Newton attempted to impose upon the Principia a mode of composition that could lend support to his position in the priority dispute with Leibniz: he wished to demonstrate that he had actually composed the Principia by analysis and had rewritten the work synthetically. He affirmed this claim, in and after 1713, in several manuscript versions of prefaces to planned new editions of the Principia (both with or without De quadratura as a supplement). It is indeed plausible to argue that much of the Principia was based upon an infinitesimal analysis, veiled by the traditional form of Greek synthetic geometry, but the question remains whether Newton drew upon working papers in which (in extreme form) he gave solutions in dotted fluxions to problems that he later presented geometrically. But, additionally, there is no evidence that Newton used an analytic method of ordinary fluxional form to discover the propositions he presented synthetically.
All evidence indicates that Newton had actually found the propositions in the Principia in essentially the way in which he there presented them to his readers. He did, however, use algebraic methods to determine the solid of least resistance. But in this case, he did not make the discovery by analysis and then recast it as an example of synthesis; he simply stated his result without proof. 139
It has already been mentioned that Newton did make explicit use of the infinitesimal calculus in section 2, book II, of the Principia, and that in that work he often employed his favored method of infinite series. 140 But this claim is very different indeed from such a statement of Newton’s as: “… At length in 1685 and part of 1686 by the aid of this method and the help of the book on Quadratures I wrote the first two books of the mathematical Principles of Philosophy. And therefore I have subjoined a Book on Quadratures to the Book of Principles.” 141 This “method” refers to fluxions, or the method of differential calculus. But it is true, as mentioned earlier, that Newton stated in the Principia that certain theorems depended upon the “quadrature” (or integration) of “certain curves”; he did need, for this purpose, the inverse method of fluxions, or the integral calculus. And proposition 41 of book I is, moreover, an obvious exercise in the calculus.
Newton himself never did bring out an edition of the Principia together with a version of De quadratura. 142 In the review that he published of the Commercium epistolicum, 143 Newton did announce in print, although anonymously, that he had “found out most of the Propositions in his Principia” by using “the new Analysis.” and had then reworked the material and had “demonstrated the Propositions synthetically.” (This claim cannot, however, be substantiated by documentary evidence.)
Apart from questions of the priority of Newton’s method, the Principia contains some problems of notable mathematical interest. Sections 4 and 5 of book I deal with conic sections, and section 6 with Kepler’s problem; Newton here introduced the method of solution by successive iteration. Lemma 5 of book III treats of a locus through a given number of points, an example of Newton’s widely used method of interpolating a function. Proposition 71, book I, contains Newton’s important solution to a major problem of integration, the attraction of a sphere, called by Turnbull “the crown of all.” Newton’s proof that two spheres will mutually attract each other as if the whole of their masses were concentrated at their respective centers is posited on the condition that, however the mass or density may vary within each sphere as a function of that radius, the density at any given radius is everywhere the same (or is constant throughout any concentric shell).
The “Principia”: General Plan. Newton’s master-work was worked up and put into its final form in an incredibly short time. His strategy was to develop the subject of general dynamics from a mathematical point of view in book I, then to apply his most important results to solving astronomical and physical problems in book III. Book II, introduced at some point between Newton’s first conception of the treatise and the completion of the printer’s manuscript, is almost independent, and appears extraneous.
Book I opens with a series of definitions and axioms, followed by a set of mathematical principles and procedural rules for the use of limits; book III begins with general precepts concerning empirical science and a presentation of the phenomenological bases of celestial mechanics, based on observation.
It is clear to any careful reader that Newton was, in book I, developing mathematical principles of motion chiefly so that he might apply them to the physical conditions of experiment and observation in book III, on the system of the world. Newton maintained that even though he had, in book I, used such apparently physical concepts as “force” and “attraction,” he did so in a purely mathematical sense. In fact, in book I (as in book II), he tended to follow his inspiration to whatever aspect of any topic might prove of mathematical interest, often going far beyond any possible physical application. Only in an occasional scholium in books I and II did he raise the question of whether the mathematical propositions might indeed be properly applied to the physical circumstances that the use of such words as “force” and “attraction” would seem to imply.
Newton’s method of composition led to a certain amount of repetition, since many topics are discussed twice—in book I, with mathematical proofs, to illustrate the general principles of the motions of bodies, then again in book III, in application to the motions of planets and their satellites or of comets. While this mode of presentation makes the Principia more difficult for the reader, it does have the decided advantage of separating the Newtonian principles as they apply to the physical universe from the details of the mathematics from which they derive.
As an example of this separation, proposition I of book III states that the satellites of Jupiter are “continually drawn off from rectilinear motions, and are retained in their proper orbits” by forces that “tend to Jupiter’s centre” and that these forces vary inversely as the square of their distances from that center. The proof given in this proposition is short and direct; the centripetal force itself follows from “Phen. I [of book III], and Prop. II or III, Book I.” The phenomenon cited is a statement, based upon “astronomical observations,” that a radius drawn from the center of Jupiter to any satellite sweeps out areas “proportional to the times of descriptions”; propositions 2 and 3 of book I prove by mathematics that under these circumstances the force about which such areas are described must be centripetal and proportional to the times. The inverse-square property of this force is derived from the second part of the phenomenon, which states that the distances from Jupiter’s center are as the 3/2th power of their periods of revolution, and from corollary 6 to proposition 4 of book I, in which it is proved that centripetal force in uniform circular motion must be as the inverse square of the distance from the center.
Newton’s practice of introducing a particular instance repeatedly, with what may seem to be only minor variations, may render the Principia difficult for the modern reader. But the main hurdle for any would-be student of the treatise lies elsewhere, in the essential mathematical difficulty of the main subject matter, celestial mechanics, however presented. A further obstacle is that Newton’s mathematical vocabulary became archaic soon after the Principia was published, as dynamics in general and celestial mechanics in particular came to be written in the language of differentials and integrals still used today. The reader is thus required almost to translate for himself Newton’s geometrical-limit mode of proof and statement into the characters of the analytic algorithms of the calculus. Even so, dynamics was taught directly from the Principia at Cambridge until well into the twentieth century.
In his “Mathematical Principles” Whiteside describes the Principia as’’slipshod, its level of verbal fluency none too high, its arguments unnecessarily diffuse and repetitive, and its content on occasion markedly irrelevant to its professed theme: the theory of bodies moving under impressed forces.” This view is somewhat extreme. Nevertheless, the work might have been easier to read today had Newton chosen to rely to a greater extent on general algorithms.
The Principia is often described as if it were a “synthesis,” notably of Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion and Galileo’s laws of falling bodies and projectile motion; but in fact it denies the validity of both these sets of basic laws unless they be modified. For instance, Newton showed for the first time the dynamical significance of Kepler’s so-called laws of planetary motion; but in so doing he proved that in the form originally stated by Kepler they apply exactly only to the highly artificial condition of a point mass moving about a mathematical center of force, unaffected by any other stationary or moving masses. In the real universe, these laws or planetary “hypotheses” are true only to the limits of ordinary observation, which may very well have been the reason that Newton called them “Hypotheses” in the first edition. Later, in the second and third editions, he referred to these relations as “Phaenomena,” by which it may be assumed that he now meant that they were not simply true as stated (that is, not strictly deducible from the definitions and axioms), but were rather valid only to the limit of (or within the limits of) observation, or were phenomenologically true. In other words, these statements were to be regarded as not necessarily true, but only contingently (phenomenologically) so.
In the Principia, Newton proved that Kepler’s planetary hypotheses must be modified by at least two factors: (1) the mutual attraction of each of any pair of bodies, and (2) the perturbation of a moving body by any and all neighboring bodies. He also showed that the rate of free fall of bodies is not constant, as Galileo had supposed, but varies with distance from the center of the earth and with latitude along the surface of the earth. 144 in a scholium at the end of section 2, book I, Newton further pointed out that it is only in a limiting case, not really achieved on earth, that projectiles (even in vacuo) move in Galilean parabolic trajectories, as Galileo himself knew full well. Thus, as Karl Popper has pointed out, although “Newton’s dynamics achieved a unification of Galileo’s terrestrial and Kepler’s celestial physics,” it appears that “from a logical point of view, Newton’s theory, strictly speaking, contradicts both Galileo’s and Kepler’s.” 145
The “Principia”: Definitions and Axioms. The Principia opens with two preliminary presentations: the “Definitions” and the “Axioms, or Laws of Motion.” The first two entities defined are “quantity of matter,” or “mass,” and “quantity of motion.” The former is said to be the measure of matter proportional to bulk and density conjunctively. “Mass” is, in addition, given as being generally known by its weight, to which it is proportional at any given place, as shown by Newton’s experiments with pendulums, of which the results are more exact than Galileo’s for freely falling bodies. Newton’s “quantity of motion” is the entity now known as momentum; it is said to be measured by the velocity and mass of a body, conjunctively.
Definition 3 introduces vis insita (probably best translated as “inherent force”), a concept of which the actual definition and explanation are both so difficult to understand that much scholarly debate has been expended on them. 146 Newton wrote that the vis insita may be known by “a most significant name, vis inertiae.” But this “force” is not like the “impressed forces” of definition 4, which change the state of rest or uniform rectilinear motion of a body; the vis inertiae merely maintains any new state acquired by a body, and it may cause a body to “resist” any change in state. 147
Newton then defined “centripetal force” (vis centripeta), a concept he had invented and named to complement the vis centrifuga of Christiaan Huygens. 148 In definitions 6 through 8, Newton gave three “measures” of centripetal force, of which the most important for the purposes of the Principia is that one “proportional to the velocity which it generates in a given time” (for point masses, unit masses, or for comparing equal masses). There follows the famous scholium on space and time, in which Newton opted for concepts of absolute space and absolute time, although recognizing that both are usually reckoned by “sensible measures”; time, especially, is usually “relative, apparent, and common.” Newton’s belief in absolute space led him to hold that absolute motion is sensible or detectable, notably in rotation, although contemporaries as different in their outlooks as Huygens and Berkeley demurred from this view.
The “Axioms” or “Laws of Motion” are three in number: the law of inertia, a form of what is today known as the second law, and finally the law that “To every action there is always opposed an equal and opposite reaction.” There is much puzzlement over the second law, which Newton stated as a proportionality between “change in motion” (in momentum) and “the motive force impressed” (a change “made in the direction …, in which that force is impressed”); he did not specify “per unit time” or “in some given time.” The second law thus seems clearly to be stated for an impulse, but throughout the Principia (and, in a special case, in the antecedent definition 8), Newton used the law for continuous forces, including gravitation, taking account of time. For Newton, in fact, the concepts of impulse and continuous force were infinitesimally equivalent, and represented conditions of action “altogether and at once” or “by degrees and successively.” 149 There are thus two conditions of “force” in the second law; accordingly, this Newtonian law may be written in the two forms f α d(mv) and f α d(mv)/dt, in which both concepts of force are taken account of by means of two different constants of proportionality. The two forms of the law can be considered equivalent through Newton’s concept of a uniformly flowing time, which makes dt a kind of secondary constant, which can arbitrarily be absorbed in the constant of proportionality.
There may be some doubt as to whether or not Newton himself was unclear in his own mind about these matters. His use of such expressions as “vis impressa” shows an abiding influence of older physics, while his continued reference to a “vis” or a “force” needed to maintain bodies in a state of motion raises the question of whether such usage is one of a number of possibly misleading “artifacts left behind in the historical development of his [Newton’s] dynamics.” 150 It must be remembered, of course, that throughout the seventeenth and much of the eighteenth century the word “force” could be used in a number of ways. Most notably, it served to indicate the concept now called “momentum,” although it could also even mean energy. In Newton’s time there were no categories of strict formalistic logic that required a unitary one-to-one correspondence between names and concepts, and neither Newton nor his contemporaries (or, for that matter, his successors) were always precise in making such distinctions.
The careful reader of books I—III should not be confused by such language, however, nor by the preliminary intrusion of such concepts. Even the idea of force as a measure of motion or of change of motion (or of change per se, or rate of change) is not troublesome in practice, once Newton’s own formulation is accepted and the infinitesimal level of his discourse (which is not always explicitly stated) understood. In short, Newton’s dynamical and mathematical elaboration of the three books of the Principia is tree of the errors and ambiguities implicit in his less successful attempt to give a logically simple and coherent set of definitions and axioms for dynamics. (It is even possible that the definitions and axioms may represent an independent later exercise, since there are, for example, varying sets of definitions and axioms for the same system of dynamics.) One of the most important consequences of Newton’s analysis is that it must be one and the same law of force that operates in the centrally directed acceleration of the planetary bodies (toward the sun) and of satellites (toward planets), and that controls the linear downward acceleration of freely falling bodies. This force of universal gravitation is also shown to be the cause of the tides, through the action of the sun and the moon on the seas.
Book I of the “Principia.” Book I of the Principia contains the first of the two parts of De motu corporum. It is a mathematical treatment of motion under the action of impressed forces in free spaces—that is, spaces devoid of resistance. (Although Newton discussed elastic and inelastic impact in the scholium to the laws, he did not reintroduce this topic in book I.) For the most part, the subject of Newton’s inquiries is the motion of unit or point masses, usually having some initial inertial motion and being acted upon by a centripetal force. Newton thus tended to use the change in velocity produced in a given time (the “accelerative measure”) of such forces, rather than the change in momentum produced in a given time (their “motive” measure). 151 He generally compared the effects of different forces or conditions of force on one and the same body, rather than on different bodies, preferring to consider a mass point or unit mass to computing actual magnitudes. Eventually, however, when the properties and actions of force had been displayed by an investigation of their “accelerative” and “motive” measures, Newton was able to approach the problem of their “absolute” measure. Later in the book he considered the attraction of spherical shells and spheres and of nonsymmetrical bodies.
Sections 2 and 3 are devoted to aspects of motion according to Kepler’s laws. In proposition 1 Newton proceeded by four stages. He first showed that in a purely uniform linear (or purely inertial) motion, a radius vector drawn from the moving body to any point not in the line of motion sweeps out equal areas in equal times. The reason for this is clearly shown in
Figure 8, in which in equal times the body will move through the equal distances AB, BC, CD, DE, …, If a radius vector is drawn from a point PS, then triangles ABS, BCS, CDS, DES, … have equal bases and a common altitude h, and their areas are equal. In the second stage, Newton assumed the moving object to receive an impulsive force when it reaches point B. A component of motion toward S is thereby added to its motion toward C; its actual path is thus along the diagonal Bc of a parallelogram (Figure 9).
Newton then showed by simple geometry that the area of the triangle SBc is the same as the area of the triangle SBC, so that area is still conserved. He repeated the procedure in the third stage, with the body receiving a new impetus toward S at point C, and so on. In this way, the path is converted from a straight line into a series of joined line segments, traversed in equal intervals of time, which determine triangles of equal areas, with S as a common vertex.
In Newton’s final development of the problem, the number of triangles is increased “and their breadth diminished in infinitum”; in the limit the “ultimate perimeter” will be a curve, the centripetal force “will act continually,” and “any described areas” will be proportional to the times. Newton thus showed that inertial motion of and by itself implies an area-conservation law, and that if a centripetal force is directed to “an immovable centre” when a body has such inertial motion initially, area is still conserved as determined by a radius vector drawn from the moving body to the immovable center of force. (A critical examination of Newton’s proof reveals the use of second-order infinitesimals.) 152 The most significant aspect of this proposition (and its converse, proposition 2) may be its demonstration of the hitherto wholly unsuspected logical connection, in the case of planetary motion, between Descartes’s law of inertia and Kepler’s law of areas (generalized to hold for an arbitrary central orbit).
Combining proposition 1 and proposition 2, Newton showed the physical significance of the law of areas as a necessary and sufficient condition for a central force (supposing that such forces exist; the “reality” of accelerative and motive forces of attraction is discussed in book III). In proposition 3, Newton dealt with the case of a body moving around a moving, rather than a stationary, center. Proposition 4 is concerned with uniform circular motion, in which the forces (F, f) are shown not only to be directed to the centers of the circles, but also to be to each other “as the squares of the ares [S, s] described in equal times divided respectively by the radii [R, r] of the circles” (F: f = S/R2:s/r2). A series of corollaries demonstrate that F:f = V2/R : v2 r = R/T2 : r/t2, where V, v are the tangential velocities, and so on; and that, universally, T being the period of revolution, if T α Rn, V α 1/Rn-1, then F α 1/R2n-1, and conversely. A special case of the last condition (corollary 6) is T α R3/2, yielding F α 1/R2, a condition (according to a scholium) obtaining “in the celestial bodies,” as Wren, Hooke, and Halley “have severally observed,” Newton further referred to Huygens’ derivation, in De horologio oscillatorio, of the magnitude of “the centrifugal force of revolving bodies” and introduced his own independent method for determining the centrifugal force in uniform circular motion. In proposition 6 he went on to a general concept of instantaneous measure of a force, for a body revolving in any curve about a fixed center of force. He then applied this measure, developed as a limit in several forms, in a number of major examples, among them proposition 11.
The last propositions of section 2 were altered in successive editions. In them Newton discussed the laws of force related to motion in a given circle and equiangular (logarithmic) spiral. In proposition 10 Newton took up elliptical motion in which the force tends toward the center of the ellipse. A necessary and sufficient cause of this motion is that “the force is as the distance.” Hence if the center is “removed to an infinite distance,” the ellips “degenerates into a parabola,” and the force will be constant, yielding “Galileo’s theorem” concerning projectile motion.
Section 3 of book I opens with proposition 11, “If a body revolves in an ellipse; it is required to find the law of the centripetal force tending to the focus of the ellipse.” The law is: “the centripetal force is inversely … as the square of the distance.” Propositions 12 and 13 show that a hyperbolic and a parabolic orbit imply the same law of force to a focus. It is obvious that the converse condition, that the centripetal force varies inversely as the square of the distance, does not by itself specify which conic section will constitute the orbit. Proposition 15 demonstrates that in ellipses “the periodic times are as the 3/2th power of their greater axes” (Kepler’s third law). Hence the periodic times in all ellipses with equal major axes are equal to one another, and equal to the periodic time in a circle of which the diameter is equal to the greater axis of each ellipse. In proposition 17, Newton supposed a centripetal force “inversely proportional to the squares of the distances” and exhibited the conditions for an orbit in the shape of an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola. Sections 4 and 5, on conic sections, are purely mathematical.
In section 6, Newton discussed Kepler’s problem, introducing methods of approximation to find the future position of a body on an ellipse, according to the law of areas; it is here that one finds the method of successive iteration. In section 7, Newton found the rectilinear distance through which a body falls freely in any given time under the action of a “centripetal force … inversely proportional to the square of the distance … from the centre.” Having found the times of descent of such a body, he then applied his results to the problem of parabolic motion and the motion of “a body projected upwards or downwards,” under conditions in which “the centripetal force is proportional to the … distance.” Eventually, in proposition 39, Newton postulated “a centripetal force of any kind” and found both the velocity at any point to which any body may ascend or descent in a straight line and the time it would take the body to get there. In this proposition, as in many in section 8, he added the condition of “granting the quadratures of curvilinear figures,” referring to his then unpublished methods of integration (printed for the first time in the De quadratura of 1704).
In section 8, Newton often assumed such quadrature. In proposition 41 he postulated “a centripetal force of any kind” that is, as he added in proposition 42, he supposed “the centripetal force to vary in its recess from the center according to some law, which anyone may imagine at pleasure, but [which] at equal distances from the centre [is taken] to be everywhere the same.” Under these general conditions, Newton determined both “the curves in which bodies will move” and “the times of their motions in the curves found.” In other words, Newton presented to his readers a truly general resolution of the inverse problem of finding the orbit from a given law of force. He extended this problem into a dynamics far beyond that commonly associated with the Principia. In the ancillary proposition 40, for example, Newton (again under the most general conditions of force) had sought the velocity at a point on an orbit, finding a result that is the equivalent of an integral, which (in E. J. Aiton’s words) in “modern terms … expresses the invariance of the sum of the kinetic and gravitational potential energies in an orbit.” 153
In section 11, Newton reached a level of mathematical analysis of celestial motions that fully distinguishes the Principia from any of its predecessors. Until this point, he there explained, he had been “treating of the attractions of bodies towards an immovable centre; though very probably there is no such thing existent in nature.” He then outlined a plan to deal with nature herself, although in a “purely mathematical” way, “laying aside all physical considerations”—such as the nature of the gravitating force. “Attractions” are to be treated here as originating in bodies and acting toward other bodies; in a two-body system, therefore, “neither the attracted nor the attracting body is truly at rest, but both … being as it were mutually attracted, revolve about a common centre of gravity.” In general, for any system of bodies that mutually attract one another, “their common centre of gravity will either be at rest, or move uniformly” in a straight line. Under these conditions, both members of a pair of mutually attractive bodies will describe “similar figures about their common centre of gravity, and about each other mutually” (proposition 57).
By studying such systems, rather than a single body attracted toward a point-center of force, Newton proved that Kepler’s laws (or “planetary hypotheses”) cannot be true within this context, and hence need modification when applied to the real system of the world. Thus, in proposition 59, Newton stated that Kepler’s third law should not be written T12 : T22 = a13 : a23, as Kepler, Hooke, and everybody else had supposed, but must be modified.
A corollary that may be drawn from the proposition is that the law might be written as (M + m1)T12 : (M + m2)T22 = a13 : a23, where m1, m2 are any two planetary masses and M is the mass of the sun. (Newton’s expression of this new relation may be reduced at once to the more familiar form in which we use this law today.) Clearly, it follows from Newton’s analysis and formulation that Kepler’s own third law may safely be used as an approximation in most astronomical calculations only because m1Mg are very small in relation to M. Newton’s modification of Kepler’s third law fails to take account of any possible interplanetary perturbations. The chief function of proposition 59 thus appears to be not to reach the utmost generalization of that law, but rather to reach a result that will be useful in the problems that follow, most notably proposition 60 (on the orbits described when each of two bodies attracts the other with a force proportional to the square of the distance, each body “revolving about the common centre of gravity”).
From proposition 59 onward, Newton almost at once advanced to various motions of mutually attractive bodies “let fall from given places” (in proposition 62), “going off from given places in given directions with given velocities” (proposition 63), or even when the attractive forces “increase in a simple ratio of their [that is, the bodies’] distances from the centres” (proposition 64). This led him to examine Kepler’s first two laws for real “bodies,” those “whose forces decrease as the square of their distances from their centres.” Newton demonstrated in proposition 65 that in general it is not “possible that bodies attracting each other according to the law supposed in this proposition should move exactly in ellipses,” because of interplanetary perturbations, and discussed cases in astronomy in which “the orbits will not much differ from ellipses.” He added that the areas described will be only “very nearly proportional to the times.”
Proposition 66 presents the restricted three-body problem, developed in a series of twenty-two corollaries. Here Newton attempted to apply the law of mutual gravitational attraction to a body like the sun to determine how it might perturb the motion of a moonlike body around an earthlike body. Newton examined the motion in longitude and in latitude, the annual equation, the evection, the change of the inclination of the orbit of the body resembling the moon, and the motion on the line of apsides. He considered the tides and explained, in corollary 22, that the internal “constitution of the globe” (of the earth) can be known “from the motion of the nodes.” He further demonstrated that the shape of the globe can be derived from the precession constant (precession being caused, in the case of the earth, by the pull of the moon on the equatorial bulge of the spinning earth). He thus established, for the first time, a physical theory, elaborated in mathematical expression, from which some of the “inequalities” of the motion of the moon could be deduced; and he added some hitherto unknown ““inequalities” that he had found. Previous to Newton’s work, the study of the irregularities in the motion of the moon had been posited on the elaboration of geometric models, in an attempt to make predicted positions agree with actual observations. 154
Section 12 of book I contains Newton’s results on the attractions of spheres, or of spherical shells. He dealt first with homogeneous, then nonogeneous spheres, the latter being composed of uniform and concentric spherical shells so that the density is the same at any single given distance from the center. In proposition 71 he proved that a “corpuscle” situated outside such a nonogeneous sphere is “attracted towards the centre of the sphere with a force inversely proportional to the square of its distance from the centre.” In proposition 75, he reached the general conclusion that any two such spheres will gravitationally attract one another as if their masses were concentrated at their respective centers—or, in other words, that the distance required for the inverse-square law is measured from their centers. A series of elegant and purely mathematical theorems follow, including one designed to find the force with which a corpuscle placed inside a sphere may be “attracted toward any segment of that sphere whatsoever.” In section 13, Newton, with a brilliant display of mathematics (which he did not fully reveal for the benefit of the reader) discussed the “attractive forces” of nonspherical solids of revolution, concluding with a solution in the form of an infinite series for the attraction of a body “towards a given plane.” 155
Book I concludes with section 14, on the “motion of very small bodies” acted on by “centripetal forces tending to the several parts of any very great body.” Here Newton used the concept of “centripetal forces” that act under very special conditions to produce motions of corpuscles that simulate the phenomena of light—including reflection and refraction (according to the laws of Snell and Descartes), the inflection of light (as discovered by Grimaldi), and even the action of lenses. In a scholium, Newton noted that these “attractions bear a great resemblance to the reflections and refractions of light,” and so
… because of the analogy there is between the propagation of the rays of light and the motion of bodies, I thought it not amiss to add the following Propositions for optical uses; not at all considering the nature of the rays of light, or inquiring whether they are bodies or not; but only determining the curves of [the paths of] bodies which are extremely like the curves of the rays.
A similar viewpoint with respect to mathematical analyses (or models and analogies) and physical phenomena is generally sustained throughout books I and II of the Principia.
Newton’s general plan in book I may thus be seen as one in which he began with the simplest conditions and added complexities step by step. In sections 2 and 3, for example, he dealt with a mass-point moving under the action of a centripetal force directed toward a stationary or moving point, by which the dynamical significance of each of Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion is demonstrated. In section 6, Newton developed methods to compute Keplerian motion (along an ellipse, according to the law of areas), which leads to “regular ascent and descent” of bodies when the force is not uniform (as in Galilean free fall) but varies, primarily as the inverse square of the distance, as in Keplerian orbital motion. In section 8 Newton considered the general case of “orbits in which bodies will revolve, being acted upon by any sort of centripetal force.” From stationary orbits he went on, in section 9, to “movable orbits; and the motion of the apsides” and to a mathematical treatment of two (and then three) mutually attractive bodies. In section 10 he dealt with motion along surfaces of bodies acted upon by centripetal force; in section 12, the problems of bodies that are not mere points or point-masses and the question of the “attractive forces of spherical bodies”; and in section 13, “the attractive forces of bodies that are not spherical.”
Book II of the “Principia.” Book II, on the motion of bodies in resisting mediums, is very different from book 1. It was an afterthought to the original treatise, which was conceived as consisting of only two books, of which one underwent more or less serious modifications to become book I as it exists today, while the other, a more popular version of the “system of the world,” was wholly transformed so as to become what is now book III . At first the question of motion in resisting mediums had been relegated to some theorems at the end of the original book I; Newton had also dealt with this topic in a somewhat similar manner at the end of his earlier tract De motu. The latter parts of the published book II were added only at the final redaction of the Principia.
Book II is perhaps of greater mathematical than physical interest. To the extent that Newton proceeded by setting up a sequence of mathematical conditions and then exploring their consequences, book II resembles book I. But there is a world of difference between the style of the two books. In book I Newton made it plain that the gravitational force exists in the universe, varying inversely as the square of the distance, and that this force accordingly merits our particular attention. In book II, however, the reader is never certain as to which of the many conditions of resistance that Newton considers may actually occur in nature. 156
Book II enabled Newton to display his mathematical ingenuity and some of his new discoveries. Occasionally, as in the static model that he proposed to explain the elasticity and compressibility of gases according to Boyle’s law, he could explore what he believed might be actual physical reality. But he nonetheless reminded his readers (as in the scholium at the end of section 1) that the condition of resistance that he was discussing was “more a mathematical hypothesis than a physical one.” Even in his final argument against Cartesian vortices (section 9), he admitted the implausibility of the proposed hypothesis that “the resistance … is, other things being equal, proportional to the velocity.” Although a scholium to proposition 52 states that “it is in truth probable that the resistance is in a less ratio than that of the velocity,” Newton in fact never explored the consequences of this probable assumption in detail. Such a procedure is in marked contrast to book I, in which Newton examined a variety of conditions of attractive and centripetal forces, but so concentrated on the inverse-square force as to leave the reader in no doubt that this is the chief force acting (insofar as weight is concerned) on the sun, the planets, the satellites, the seas, and all terrestrial objects.
Book II differs further from book I in having a separate section devoted to each of the imagined conditions of resistance. In section 1, resistance to the motions of bodies is said to be as “the ratio of the velocity”; in section 2, it is as “the square of their velocities”; and in section 3, it is given as “partly in the ratio of the velocities and partly as the square of the same ratio.” Then, in section 4, Newton introduced the orbital “motion of bodies in resisting mediums,” under the mathematical condition that “the density of a medium” may vary inversely as the distance from “an immovable centre”; the “centripetal force” is said in proposition 15 to be as the square of the said density, but is thereafter arbitrary. In a very short scholium, Newton added that these conditions of varying density apply only to the motions of very small bodies. He supposed the resistance of a medium, “other things being equal,” to be proportional to its “density.”
In section 5, Newton went on to discuss some general principles of hydrostatics, including properties of the density and compression of fluids. Historically, the most significant proposition of section 5 is proposition 23, in which Newton supposed “a fluid [to] be composed of particles fleeing from each other,” and then showed that Boyle’s law (“the density” of a gas varying directly as “the compression”) is a necessary and a sufficient condition for the centrifugal forces to “be inversely proportional to distances of their [that is, the particles’] centers.”
Then, in the scholium to this proposition, Newton generalized the results, showing that for the compressing forces to “be as the cube roots of the power En+2,” where E is “the density of the compressed fluid,” it is both a necessary and sufficient condition that the centrifugal forces be “inversely as any power D(n) of the distance [between particles].” He made it explicit that the “centrifugal forces” of particles must “terminate in those particles that are next [to] them, or are diffused not much farther,” and drew upon the example of magnetic bodies. Having set such a model, however, Newton concluded that it would be “a physical question” as to “whether elastic fluids [gases] do really consist of particles so repelling each other,” and stated that he had limited himself to demonstrating “mathematically the property of fluids consisting of particles of this kind, that hence philosophers may take occasion to discuss that question.” 157
Section 6 introduces the “motion and resistance of pendulous bodies.” The opening proposition (24) relates the quantity of matter in the bob to its weight, the length of the pendulum, and the time of oscillation in a vacuum. Because, as corollary 5 states, “in general, the quantity of matter in the pendulous body is directly as the weight and the square of the time, and inversely as the length of the pendulum,” a method is at hand for using pendulum experiments to compare directly “the quantity of matter” in bodies, and to prove that the mass of bodies is proportional “to their weight.” Newton added that he had tested this proposition experimentally, then further stated, in corollary 7, that the same experiment may be used for “comparing the weights of the same body in different places, to know the variation of its gravity.” 158 This is the first clear recognition that “mass” determines both weight (the amount of gravitational action) and inertia (the measure of resistance to acceleration)—the two properties of which the “equivalence” can, in classical physics, be determined only by experiment.
In section 6 Newton also considered the motion of pendulums in resisting mediums, especially oscillations in a cycloid, and gave methods for finding “the resistance of mediums by pendulums oscillating therein.” An account of such experiments makes up the “General Scholium” with which section 6 concludes. 159 Among them is an experiment Newton described from memory, designed to confute “the opinion of some that there is a certain aethereal medium, extremely rare and subtile, which freely pervades the pores of all bodies.”
Section 7 introduces the “motion of fluids,” and “the resistance made to projected bodies,” and section 8 deals with wave motion. Proposition 42 asserts that “All motion propagated through a fluid diverges from a rectilinear progress into the unmoved spaces”; while proposition 50 gives a method of finding “the distances of the pulses,” or the wavelength. In a scholium, Newton stated that the previous propositions “respect the motions of light and sound” and asserted that “since light is propagated in right lines, it is certain that it cannot consist in action alone (by Prop. XLI and XLII)”; there can be no doubt that sounds are “nothing else but pulses of the air” which “arise from tremulous bodies” This section concludes with various mathematical theorems concerning the velocity of waves or pulses, and their relation to the “density and elastic force of a medium.”
In section 9, Newton showed that in wave motion a disturbance moves forward, but the parts (particles) of the medium in which the disturbance occurs only vibrate about a fixed position; he thereby established the relation between wavelength, frequency, and velocity of undulations. Proposition 47 (proposition 48 in the first edition) analyzes undulatory motion in a fluid; Newton disclosed that the parts (or particles) of an undulating fluid have the same oscillation as the bob of a simple pendulum. Proposition 48 (proposition 47 in the first edition) exhibits the proportionality of the velocity of waves to the square root of the elastic force divided by the density of an elastic fluid (one whose pressure is proportional to the density). The final scholium (much rewritten for the second edition) shows that Newton’s propositions yield a velocity of sound in air of 979 feet per second, whereas experiment gives a value of 1,142 feet per second under the same conditions. Newton offered an ingenious explanation (including the supposition, in the interest of simplicity, that air particles might be rigid spheres separated from one another by a distance of some nine times their diameter), but it remained for Laplace to resolve the problem in 1816. 160
Section 9, the last of book 11, is on vortices, or “the circular motion of fluids.” In all editions of the Principia, this section begins with a clearly labeled “hypothesis” concerning the “resistance arising from the want of lubricity in the parts of a fluid … other things being equal, [being] proportional to the velocity with which the parts of the fluid are separated from one another.” Newton used this hypothesis as the basis for investigating the physics of vortices and their mathematical properties, culminating in a lengthy proposition 52 and eleven corollaries, followed by a scholium in which he said that he has attempted “to investigate the properties of vortices” so that he might find out “whether the celestial phenomena can be explained by them.” The chief “phenomenon” with which Newton was here concerned is Kepler’s third (or harmonic) law for the motion of the satellites of Jupiter about that planet, and for the primary “planets that revolve about the Sun”—although Newton did not refer to Kepler by name. He found “the periodic times of the parts of the vortex” to be “as the squares of their distances.” Hence, he concluded, “Let philosophers then see how that phenomenon of the 3/2th power can be accounted for by vortices.”
Newton ended book II with proposition 53, also on vortices, and a scholium, in which he showed that “it is manifest that the planets are not carried round in corporeal vortices.” He was there dealing with Kepler’s second or area law (although again without naming Kepler), in application to elliptic orbits. He concluded “that the hypothesis of vortices is utterly irreconcilable with astronomical phenomena, and rather serves to perplex than to explain the heavenly motions.” Newton himself noted that his demonstration was based on “an hypothesis,” proposed “for the sake of demonstration … at the beginning of this Section,” but went on to add that “it is in truth probable that the resistance is in a less ratio than that of the velocity.” Hence “the periodic times of the parts of the vortex will be in a greater ratio than the square of the distances from its centre.” But it must be noted that it is in fact probable that the resistance would be in a greater “ratio than that of the velocity,” not a lesser, since almost all fluids give rise to a resistance proportional to the square (or higher powers) of the velocity. 161
Book III, “The System of the World.” In the Newtonian system of the world, the motions of planets and their satellites, the motions of comets, and the phenomena of tides are all comprehended under a single mode of explanation. Newton stated that the force that causes the observed celestial motions and the tides and the force that causes weight are one and the same; for this reason he gave the name “gravity” to the centripetal force of universal attraction. In book III he showed that the earth must be an oblate spheroid, and he computed the magnitude of the equatorial bulge in relation to the pull of the moon so as to produce the long-known constant of precession; he also gave an explanation of variation in weight (as shown by the change in the period of a seconds pendulum) as a function of latitude on such a rotating non-spherical earth. But above all, in book III Newton stated the law of universal gravitation. He showed that planetary motion must be subject to interplanetary perturbation—most apparent in the most massive planets, Jupiter and Saturn, when they are in near conjunction—and he explored the perturbing action of the sun on the motion of the moon.
Book III opens with a preface in which Newton stated that in books I and II he had set forth principles of mathematical philosophy, which he would now apply to the system of the world. The preface refers to an earlier, more popular version, 162 of which Newton had recast the substance “into the form of Propositions (in the mathematical way).”
A set of four “rules of reasoning in [natural] philosophy follows the preface. Rule I is to admit no more causes than are “true and sufficient to explain” phenomena, while rule 2 is to “assign the same causes” insofar as possible to “the same natural effects.” In the first edition, rules 1 and 2 were called “hypotheses,” and they were followed by hypothesis 3, on the possibility of the transformation of every body “into a body of any other kind,” in the course of which it “can take on successively all the intermediate grades of qualities.” This “hypothesis” was deleted by the time of the second edition. 163
A second group of the original “hypotheses” (5 through 9) were transformed into “phenomena” 1 and 3 through 6. The first states (with phenomenological evidence) the area law and Kepler’s third law for the system of Jupiter’s satellites (again Kepler is not named as the discoverer of the law). Phenomenon 2, which was introduced in the second edition, does the same for the satellites of Saturn (just discovered as the Principia was being written, and not mentioned in the first edition, where reference is made only to the first [Huygenian] satellite discovered). Phenomena 3 through 6 (originally hypotheses 6 through 9) assert, within the limits of observation: the validity of the Copernican system (phenomenon 3); the third law of Kepler for the five primary planets and the earth—here for the first time in the Principia mentioning Kepler by name and thus providing the only reference to him in relation to the laws or hypotheses of planetary motion (phenomenon 4); the area law for the “primary planets,” although without significant evidence (phenomenon 5); and the area law for the moon, again with only weak evidence and coupled with the statement that the law does not apply exactly since “the motion of the moon is a little disturbed by the action of the sun” (phenomenon 6).
It has been mentioned that Newton probably called these statements “phenomena” because he knew that they are valid only to the limits of observation. In this sense, Newton had originally conceived Kepler’s laws as planetary “hypotheses,” as he had also done for the phenomena and laws of planetary satellites. 164
The first six propositions given in book III display deductions from these “phenomena,” using the mathematical results that Newton had set out in book 1. Thus, in proposition 1, the forces “by which the circumjovial planets are continually drawn off from rectilinear motions, and retained in their proper orbits” are shown (on the basis of the area law discussed in propositions 2 and 3, book I, and in phenomenon 1) to be directed toward Jupiter’s center. On the basis of Kepler’s third law (and corollary 6, proposition 4, book 1) these forces must vary inversely as the square of the distance; propositions 2 and 3 deal similarly with the primary planets and our moon.
By proposition 5, Newton was able to conclude (in corollary 1) that there “is … a power of gravity tending to all the planets” and that the planets “gravitate” toward their satellites, and the sun “towards all the primary planets.” This “force of gravity” varies (corollary 2) as the inverse square of the distance; corollary 3 states that “all the planets do mutually gravitate towards one another.” Hence, “near their conjunction,” Jupiter and Saturn, since their masses are so great, “sensibly disturb each other’s motions,” while the sun “disturbs” the motion of the moon and together both sun and moon “disturb our sea, as we shall hereafter explain.”
In a scholium, Newton said that the force keeping celestial bodies in their orbits “has been hitherto called centripetal force since it is now “plain” that it is “a gravitating force” he will “hereafter call it gravity.” In proposition 6 he asserted that “all bodies gravitate towards every planet”; while at equal distances from the center of any planet “the weight” of any body toward that planet is proportional to its “quantity of matter.” He provided experimental proof, using a pair of eleven-foot pendulums, each weighted with a round wooden box (for equal air resistance), into the center of which he placed seriatim equal weights of wood and gold, having experimented as well with silver, lead, glass, sand, common salt, water, and wheat. According to proposition 24, corollaries I and 6, book II, any variation in the ratio of mass to weight would have appeared as a variation in the period; Newton reported that through these experiments he could have discovered a difference as small as less than one part in a thousand in this ratio, had there been any. 165
Newton was thus led to the law of universal gravitation, proposition 7: “That there is a power of gravity tending to all bodies, proportional to the several quantities of matter which they contain.” He had shown this power to vary inversely as the square of the distance; it is by this law that bodies (according to the third law of motion) act mutually upon one another.
From these general results, Newton turned to practical problems of astronomy. Proposition 8 deals with gravitating spheres and the relative masses and densities of the planets (the numerical calculations in this proposition were much altered for the second edition). In proposition 9, Newton estimated the force of gravity within a planet and, in proposition 10, demonstrated the long-term stability of the solar system. A general “Hypothesis I” (in the second and third editions; “Hypothesis IV” in the first) holds the “centre of the system of the world” to be “immovable,” which center is given as the center of gravity of the solar system in proposition 11; the sun is in constant motion, but never “recedes” far from that center of gravity (proposition 12).
It is often asserted that Newton attained his results by neglecting the interplanetary attractions, and dealing exclusively with the mutual gravitational attractions of the planets and our sun. But this is not the case, since the most fully explored example of perturbation in the Principia is indeed that of the sun-earth-moon system. Thus Newton determined (proposition 25) the “forces with which the sun disturbs the motions of the moon,” and (proposition 26) the action of those forces in producing an inequality (“horary increment”) of the area described by the moon (although “in a circular orbit”).
The stated intention of proposition 29 is to “find the variation of the moon,” the inequality thus being sought being due “partly to the elliptic figure of the Moon’s orbit, partly to the inequality of the moments of the area which the Moon by a radius drawn to the Earth describes.” (Newton dealt with this topic more fully in the second edition.) Then Newton studied the “horary motion of the nodes of the moon,” first (proposition 30) “in a circular orbit,” and then (proposition 31) “in an elliptic orbit.” In proposition 32, he found “the mean motion of the nodes,” and, in proposition 33, their “true motion.” (In the third edition, following proposition 33, Newton inserted two propositions and a scholium on the motion of the nodes, written by John Machin.) Propositions 34 and 35, on the inclination of the orbit of the moon to the ecliptic plane, are followed by a scholium, considerably expanded and rewritten for the second edition, in which Newton discussed yet other “inequalities” in the motion of the moon and developed the practical aspects of computing the elements of that body’s motion and position.
Propositions 36 and 37 deal at length and in a quantitative fashion with the tide-producing forces of the sun and of the moon, yielding, in proposition 38, an explanation of the spheroidal shape of the moon and the reason that (librations apart) the same face of it is always visible. A series of three lemmas introduces the subject of precession and a fourth lemma (transformed into hypothesis 2 in the second and third editions) treats the precession of a ring. Proposition 39 represents an outstanding example of the high level of mathematical natural science that Newton reached in the Principia. In it he showed the manner in which the shape of the earth, in relation to the pull of the moon, acts on its axis of rotation so as to produce the observed precession, a presentation that he augmented and improved for the second edition. Newton here employed the result he had previously obtained (in propositions 20 and 21, book III) concerning the shape of the earth, and joined it to both the facts and theory of precession and yet another aspect of the perturbing force of the moon on the motion of the earth. He thus inaugurated a major aspect of celestial mechanics, the study of a three-body system.
Lemma 4, book III initiates a section on comets, proving that comets are “higher” than the moon, move through the solar system, and (corollary 1) shine by reflecting sunlight; their motion shows (corollary 3) that “the celestial spaces are void of resistance.” Comets move in conic sections (proposition 40) having the sun as a focus, according to the law of areas. Those comets that return move in elliptic orbits (corollary 1) and follow Kepler’s third law, but (corollary 2) “their orbits will be so near to parabolas, that parabolas may be used for them without sensible error.”
Almost immediately following publication of the Principia, Halley, in a letter of 5 July 1687, urged Newton to go on with his work on lunar theory. 166 Newton later remarked that his head so ached from studying this problem that it often “kept him awake” and “he would think of it no more.” But he also said that if he lived long enough for Halley to complete enough additional observations, he “would have another stroke at the moon.” In the 1690’s Newton had depended on Flamsteed for observations of the moon, promising Flamsteed (in a letter of 16 February 1695) not to communicate any of his observations, “much less publish them, without your consent.” But Newton and Flamsteed disagreed on the value of theory, which Newton held to be useful as “a demonstration” of the “exactness” of observations, while Flamsteed believed that “theories do not command observations; but are to be tried by them,” since “theories are … only probable” (even “when they agree with exact and indubitable observations”). At about this same time Newton was drawing up a set of propositions on the motion of the moon for a proposed new edition of the Principia, for which he requested from Flamsteed such planetary observations “as tend to [be useful for] perfecting the theory of the planets,” to serve Newton in the preparation of a second edition of his book.
Revision of the “Opticks” (the Later Queries); Chemistry and Theory of Matter. Newton’s Opticks, published in 1704, concluded with a Third Book, consisting of eleven “Observations” and sixteen queries, occupying a bare five pages of print. A Latin translation, undertaken at Newton’s behest by Samuel Clarke, appeared in 1706, and included as its most notable feature the expansion of the original sixteen queries into twenty-three. The new queries 17 through 23 correspond to the final queries 25—31 of the later editions. In a series of “Errata, Corrigenda, & Addenda,” at the beginning of the Latin volume, lengthy additions are provided to be inserted at the end of query 8 and of query 11; there is also a short insertion for query 14.
In a second English edition (London, 1717) the number of queries was increased to thirty-one. The queries appearing for the first time are numbered 17 to 24, and they have no counterparts in the 1706 Latin version. Newton’s own copy of the 1717 English edition, in the Babson Institute Library, contains a number of emendations and corrections in Newton’s hand, some of which were incorporated into the third edition (London 1721), as was a postscript to the end of the last sentence, referring to Noah and his sons.
The queries new to the 1717 edition cover a wide range of topics. Query 17 introduces the possibility that waves or vibrations may be excited in the eye by light and that vibrations of this sort may occur in the medium in which light travels. Query 18 suggests that radiant heat may be transmitted by vibrations of a medium subtler than air that pervades all bodies and expands by its elastic force throughout the heavenly spaces—the same medium by which light is put into “fits” of “easy” reflection and refraction, thus producing “Newton’s rings.” In queries 19 and 20, variations in the density of this medium are given as the possible cause of refraction and of the “inflection” (diffraction) of light rays. Query 21 would have the medium be rarer within celestial bodies than in empty celestial spaces, which may “impel Bodies from the denser parts of the Medium towards the rarer”; its elasticity may be estimated by the ratio of the speed of light to the speed of sound. Although he referred in this query to the mutually repulsive “particles” of ether as being “exceedingly smaller than those of Air, or even those of Light,” Newton confessed that he does “not know what this Aether is.”
In query 22, the resistance of the ether is said to be inconsiderable; the exhalations emitted by “electrick” bodies and magnetic “effluvia” are offered as other instances of such rareness. The subject of vision is introduced in query 23. Here vision is again said to be chiefly the effect of vibrations of the medium, propagated through the “optick Nerves”; an analogy is made to hearing and the other senses. Animal motion (query 24) is considered as a result of vibrations in the medium propagated from the brain through the nerves to the muscles.
Queries 25 to 31 are the English recasting of queries 17 to 23 of the Latin edition. Query 25 contains a discussion of double refraction in calcite (Iceland spar) and a geometrical construction of both the ordinary ray and (fallaciously) the extraordinary ray; query 26 concludes that double refraction may be caused by the two “sides” of rays of light. Then, in query 27, Newton attacked as erroneous all hypotheses explaining optical phenomena by new modifications of rays, since such phenomena depend upon original unalterable properties.
Query 28 questions “all Hypotheses” in which light is supposed to be a “Pression or Motion, propagated through a fluid Medium.” Newton showed that Huygens’ wave theory of double refraction would fail to account for the heating of bodies and the rectilinear propagation of light. Those who would fill “the Heavens with fluid Mediums” come under attack, while Newton praised the ancient philosophers who “made a Vacuum, and Atoms, and the Gravity of Atoms, the first Principles of their Philosophy.” He added that “the main Business of natural Philosophy is to argue from Phaenomena without feigning Hypotheses”; we are to “deduce Causes from Effects, till we come to the very first Cause, which certainly is not mechanical,” since nature exhibits design and purpose.
In query 29, Newton suggested that rays of light are composed of “very small Bodies emitted from shining Substances,” since rays could not have a permanent virtue in two of their sides (as demonstrated by the double refraction of Iceland spar) unless they be bodies. This query also contains Newton’s famous theory that rays of light could be put into “Fits of easy Reflexion and easy Transmission” if they were “small Bodies which by their attractive Powers, or some other Force, stir up Vibrations in what they act upon.” These vibrations would move more swiftly than the rays themselves, would “overtake them successively,” and by agitating them “so as by turns to increase and decrease their Velocities” would put them into those “fits.” 167 Newton further argued that if light were to consist of waves in an ethereal medium, then in order to have the fits of easy reflection and easy transmission, a second ether would be required, in which there would be waves (of higher velocity) to put the waves of the first ether into the necessary fits. He had, however, already argued in query 28 that it would be inconceivable for two ethers to be “diffused through all Space, one of which acts upon the other, and by consequence is re-acted upon, without retarding, shattering, dispersing and compounding one another’s Motions.”
In query 30, Newton discussed the convertibility of gross bodies and light, with examples showing that nature delights in transmutations. In illustration, he cited Boyle’s assertion that frequent distillations had turned water into earth. In query 31, he discussed questions ranging from the forces that hold particles of matter together to the impact of bodies on one another; also causes of motion, fermentation, the circulation of the blood and animal heat, putrefaction, the force of inertia, and occult qualities. He stated a general philosophy and concluded with the pious hope that the perfection of natural philosophy will enlarge the “Bounds of Moral Philosophy.”
Newton’s queries, particularly the later ones, thus go far beyond any simple questions of physical or geometrical optics. In them he even proposed tentative explanations of phenomena, although explanations that are perhaps not as fully worked out, or as fully supported by experimental evidence, as he might have wished. (Some queries even propose what is, by Newton’s own definition, a hypothesis.) In each case, Newton’s own position is made clear; and especially in the queries added in the Latin version of 1706 (and presented again in the English version of 1717/1718), his supporting evidence is apt to be a short essay.
One notable development of the later queries is the emphasis on an “Aethereal Medium” as an explanation for phenomena. In his first papers on optics, in the 1670’s, Newton had combined his cherished conception of corpuscular or globular light with the possibly Cartesian notion of a space-filling ether, elastic and varying in density. Although Newton had introduced this ether to permit wave phenomena to exist as concomitants of the rays of light, he also suggested other possible functions for it—including causing sensation and animal motion, transmitting radiant heat, and even causing gravitation. His speculations on the ether were incorporated in the “Hypothesis” that he sent to the Royal Society (read at their meetings in 1675 and 1676) and in a letter to Boyle of 28 February 1679. 168
In the second English edition of the Opticks (1717/1718) Newton made additions which “embodied arguments for the existence of an elastic, tenuous, aetherial medium.” The new queries in the Latin version of 1706 did not deal with an ether, however, and by the time of the Principia, Newton may have “rejected the Cartesian dense aether” as well as “his own youthful aetherial speculations.” 169
Newton thus did not propose a new version of the ether until possibly the 1710’s; he then suggested, in the general scholium at the conclusion of the second edition of the Principia (1713), that a most subtle “spiritus” (“which pervades and lies hid in all gross bodies”) might produce just such effects as his earlier ether (or the later ethereal medium of queries 18 through 24). In the general scholium of the Principia, however, Newton omitted gravitation from the list of effects that the “spiritus” may produce. There is evidence that Newton conceived of this “spiritus” as electrical, and may well have been a precursor of the ether or ethereal medium of the 1717/1718 queries. 170 In a manuscript intended for the revised second English edition of the Opticks, 171 Newton wrote the heading, “The Third Book of Opticks. Part II. Observations concerning the Medium through which Light passes, & the Agent which emits it,” a title that would thus seem to link the ethereal medium with the emission of electrical effluvia. It would further appear that Newton used both the earlier and later concepts of the ether to explain, however hypothetically, results he had already obtained; and that the concept of the ether was never the basis for significant new experiments or theoretical results. In a general scholium to book II, Newton described from memory an experiment that he had performed which seemed to him to prove the nonexistence of an ether; since Newton’s original notes have never been found, this experiment, which was presumably an important element in the decline of his belief in an ether, cannot be dated.
The later queries also develop a concept of matter, further expounded by Newton in his often reprinted De natura acidorum (of which there appear to have been several versions in circulation). 172 Newton here, as a true disciple of Boyle, began with the traditional “mechanical philosophy” but added “the assumption that particles move mainly under the influence of what he at first called sociability and later called attraction.” 173 Although Newton also considered a principle of repulsion, especially in gases, in discussing chemical reactions he seems to have preferred to use a concept of “sociability” (as, for example, to explain how substances dissolve).
He was equally concerned with the “aggregation” of particles (in queries 28 and 31 as well as at the end of De natura acidorum) and even suggested a means of “differentiating between reaction and transmutation.” 174 Another major concern was the way in which aqua regia dissolves gold but not silver, while aqua fortis dissolves silver but not gold, 175 a phenomenon Newton explained by a combination of the attraction of particles and the relation between the size of the acid particles and the “pores” between the particles of metal. He did not, however, have a sound operational definition of acid, but referred to acids theoretically, in De natura acidorum, as those substances “endued with a great Attractive Force; in which Force their Activity consists.” He maintained this definition in query 31, in which he further called attention to the way in which metals may replace one another in acid solutions and even “went so far as to list the six common metals in the order in which they would displace one another from a solution of aqua fortis (strong nitric acid).” 176
Alchemy, Prophecy, and Theology. Chronology and History . Newton is often alleged to have been a mystic. That he was highly interested in alchemy has been embarrassing to many students of his life and work, while others delight in finding traces of hermeticism in the father of the “age of reason.” The entries in the catalogue of the Portsmouth Collection give no idea of the extent of the documents in Newton’s hand dealing with alchemy; these were listed in the catalogue, but not then presented to Cambridge University. Such information became generally available only when the alchemical writings were dispersed in 1936, in the Sotheby sale. The catalogue of that sale gives the only full printed guide to these materials, and estimates their bulk at some 650,000 words, almost all in Newton’s hand.
A major problem in assessing Newton’s alchemical “writings” is that they are not, for the most part, original compositions, nor even critical essays on his readings (in the sense that the early “De gravitatione et aequipondio fluidorum” is an essay based on his reading in Descartes’s Principia). It would be necessary to know the whole corpus of the alchemical literature to be able to declare that any paper in Newton’s hand is an original composition, rather than a series of extracts or summaries. 177
In a famous letter to Oldenburg (26 April 1676), Newton offered an explanation of Boyle’s presentations of the “incalescence” of gold and mercury (Philosophical Transactions, 9 , no. 122 [1675], 515–533), and presented an explanation based on the size of the particles of matter and their mechanical action. Newton particularly commended Boyle for having concealed some major steps, since here was possibly “an inlet into something more noble, and not to be communicated without immense dammage to the world if there be any verity in the Hermetick writers.” He also gave some cautionary advice about alchemists, even referring to a “true Hermetic Philosopher, whose judgment (if there be any such)” might be of interest and highly regarded, “there being other things beside the transmutation of metalls (if those pretenders bragg not) which none but they understand.” The apparently positive declarations in Newton’s letter thus conflict with the doubts expressed in the two parenthetical expressions.
Newton’s studies of prophecy may possibly provide a key to the method of his alchemical studies. His major work on the subject is Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John (London, 1733). Here Newton was concerned with “a figurative language” used by the prophets, which he sought to decipher. Newton’s text is a historical exegesis, unmarked by any mystical short-circuiting of the rational process or direct communication from the godhead. He assumed an “analogy between the world natural, and an empire or kingdom considered as a world politic,” and concluded, for example, that Daniel’s prophecy of an “image composed of four metals” and a stone that broke “the four metals into pieces” referred to the four nations successively ruling the earth (“viz, the peoples of Babylonia, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans”). The four nations are represented again in the “four beasts.”
“The folly of interpreters,” Newton wrote, has been “to foretell times and things by this Prophecy, as if God designed to make them Prophets” This is, however, far from God’s intent, for God meant the prophecies “not to gratify men’s curiosities by enabling them to foreknow things” but rather to stand as witnesses to His providence when “after they were fulfilled, they might be interpreted by events.” Surely, Newton added, “the event of things predicted many ages before, will then be a convincing argument that the world is governed by providence.” (It may be noted that this book also provided Newton with occasion to refer to his favorite themes of “the corruption of scripture” and the “corruption of Christianity.”)
The catalogue of the Sotheby sale states that Newton’s manuscript remains include some 1,300,000 words on biblical and theological subjects. These are not particularly relevant to his scientific work and—for the most part—might have been written by any ordinary divinity student of that period, save for the extent to which they show Newton’s convinced anti-Trinitarian monotheism or Unitarian Arianism. (His tract Two Notable corruptions of Scripture, for example, uses historical analysis to attack Trinitarian doctrine.) “It is the temper of the hot and superstitious part of mankind in matters of religion,” Newton wrote, “ever to be fond of mysteries, and for that reason to like best what they understand least.” 178
Typical of Newton’s theological exercises is his “Queries regarding the word homoousios” The first query asks “Whether Christ sent his apostles to preach metaphysics to the unlearned common people, and to their wives and children?” Other queries in this set are also historical; in the seventh Newton marshaled his historico-philological acumen in the matter of the Latin rendering unius substantiae, which he considered to have been imposed on the Western churches instead of consubstantials by “Hosius (or whoever translated that [Nicene] Creed into Latin).” Another manuscript entitled “Paradoxical Questions” turns out to he less a theological inquiry than a carefully reasoned proof of what Lord Keynes called “the dishonesty and falsification of records for which St Athanasius [and his followers] were responsible.” In it Newton cited, as an example, the spreading of the story that Arius died in a house of prostitution.
In a Keynes manuscript (in King’s College, Cambridge), “The First Book Concerning the Language of the Prophets,” Newton explained his method:
He that would understand a book written in a strange language must first learn the language … Such a language was that wherein the Prophets wrote, and the want of sufficient skill in that language is the reason why they are so little understood. John …, Daniel Isaiah … all write in one and the same mystical language … [which] so far as I can find, was as certain and definite in its signification as is the vulgar language of any nation. …
Having established this basic premise, Newton went on: “it is only through want of skill therein that Interpreters so frequently turn the Prophetic types and phrases to signify whatever their fancies and hypotheses lead them to” Then, in a manner reminiscent of the rules at the beginning of book III of the Principia, he added:
The rule I have followed has been to compare the several mystical places of scripture where the same prophetic phrase or type is used, and to fix such a signification to that phrase as agrees best with all the places: … and when I had found the necessary significations, to reject all others as the offspring of luxuriant fancy, for no more significations are to be admitted for true ones than can be proved.
Newton’s alchemical manuscripts show that he sometimes used a similar method, drawing up comparative tables of symbols and of symbolic names used by alchemists, no doubt in the conviction that a key to their common language might be found thereby. His careful discrimination among the alchemical writers may be seen in two manuscripts in the Keynes Collection, one a three-page classified list of alchemical writers and the other a two-page selection of “authores optimi,” by whom Newton perhaps meant authorities who described processes that might be repeated and verified. The Babson Collection of Newtoniana contains a two-page autograph manuscript listing 113 writers on alchemy arranged by nationalities and another seven-page manuscript of “chemical authors and their writings” in which Newton commented on the more important ones. At least two other such bibliographical works by Newton are known. An “Index Chemicus,” an elaborate subject index to the literature of alchemy with page references to a number of different works (described as containing more than 20,000 words on 113 pages), is one of at least five such indexes, all in autograph manuscripts. 179
It must be emphasized that Newton’s study of alchemy was not a wholly rational pursuit, guided by a strict code of linguistic and historical investigative procedures. To so consider it would be to put it on the same plane as his chronological inquiries. 180 The chronological studies are, to a considerable degree, the result of the application of sound principles of astronomical dating to poor historical evidence—for which his chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended was quite properly criticized by the French antiquarians of his day—while his alchemical works show that he drew upon esoterical and even mystical authors, far beyond the confines of an ordinary rational science.
It is difficult to determine whether to consider Newton’s alchemy as an irrational vagary of an otherwise rational mind, or whether to give his hermeticism a significant role as a developmental force in his rational science. It is tempting, furthermore, to link his concern for alchemy with his belief in a secret tradition of ancient learning. He believed that he had traced this prisca sapientia to the ancient Greeks (notably Pythagoras) and to the Chaldean philosophers or magicians; he concluded that these ancients had known even the inverse-square law of gravitation. Cohen, MeGuire, and Rattansi have shown that in the 1690’s, when Newton was preparing a revised edition of the Principia, he thought of including references to such an ancient tradition in a series of new scholia for the propositions at the beginning of book III of the Principia, along with a considerable selection of verses from Lucretius’ De natura rerum. All of this was to be an addendum to an already created Principia, which Newton was revising for a new edition.
There is not a shred of real evidence, however, that Newton ever had such concerns primarily in mind in those earlier years when he was writing the Principia or initially developing the principles of dynamics and of mathematics on which the Principia was ultimately to be based. In Newton’s record of alchemical experiments (University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3975), the experiments dated 23 May [1684] are immediately followed by an entry dated 26 April 1686. The former ends in the middle of a page, and the latter starts on the very next line; there is no lacuna, and no possibility that a page—which chronologically might concern experiments made while the Principia was being written—might be missing from the notebook. 181
The overtones of alchemy are on occasion discernible in Newton’s purely scientific writings. In query 30 of the Opticks (first published in the Latin version, then in the second English edition), Newton said that “Nature … seems delighted with Transmutations,” although he was not referring specifically to changing metals from one to another. (It must be remembered in fact that “transmutation” would not necessarily hold an exclusively chemical or alchemical meaning for Newton; it might, rather, signify not only transformations in general, but also particular transformations of a purely mathematical sort, as in lemma 22 of book I of the Principia.) This is a far cry, indeed, from Newton’s extracts from the mystical Count Michael Maier and kindred authors. P. M. Rattansi particularly calls attention to the alchemist’s “universal spirit,” and observes: “It is difficult to understand how, without a conviction of deep and hidden truths concealed in alchemy, Newton should have attached much significance to such ideas.” 182
Notable instances of the conflation of alchemical inspiration and science occur in Newton’s letter to Boyle (1679) and in the hypothesis he presented to explain those properties of light of which he wrote in his papers in the Philosophical Transactions. While it is not difficult to discover alchemical images in Newton’s presentation, and to find even specific alchemical doctrines in undisguised form and language, the problem of evaluating the influence of alchemy on Newton’s true science is only thereby compounded, since there is no firm indication of the role of such speculations in the development of Newton’s physical science. The result is, at best, one mystery explained by another, like the alchemist’s confusing doctrine of ignotum per ignotius. Rattansi further suggests that alchemy may have served as a guiding principle in the formulation of Newton’s views on fermentation and the nourishment of the vegetation of the earth by fluids attracted from the tails of comets. He would even have us believe that alchemical influences may have influenced “the revival of aetherical notions in the last period of Newton’s life.” 183 This may be so; but what, if any, creative effect such “aetherical notions” then had on Newton’s thought would seem to be a matter of pure hypothesis.
Scholars do not agree whether Newton’s association with some “Hermetic tradition” may have been a creative force in his science, or whether it is legitimate to separate his alleged hermeticism from his positive science. Apart from the level of general inspiration, it must be concluded that, excluding some aspects of the theory of matter and chemistry, notably fermentation, and possibly the ether hypotheses, the real creative influence of alchemy or hermeticism on Newton’s mathematics and his work in optics, dynamics, and astronomy (save for the role of the tails of comets in the economy of nature) must today be evaluated in terms of the Scottish verdict, “not proven.” Investigations of this topic may provide valuable insights into the whole man, Newton, and into the complexities of his scientific inspiration. His concern for alchemy and theology should not be cast aside as irrelevant aberrations of senility or the product of a mental breakdown. Yet it remains a fact beyond dispute that such early manuscripts as the Waste Book—in which Newton worked out and recorded his purely scientific discoveries and innovations—are free from the tinges of alchemy and hermeticism.
The London Years: the Mint, the Royal Society, Quarrels with Flamsteed and with Leibniz. On 19 March 1696, Newton received a letter from Charles Montagu informing him that he had been appointed warden of the mint. He set up William Whiston as his deputy in the Lucasian professorship, to receive “the full profits of the place.” On 10 December 1701 he resigned his professorship, and soon afterward his fellowship. He was designated an associé étranger of the Paris Académic des Sciences in February 1699, chosen a member of the Council of the Royal Society on the following 30 November, and on 30 November 1703 was made president of the Royal Society, an office he held until his death. He was elected M.P. for Cambridge University, for the second time, on 26 November 1701, Parliament being prorogued on 25 May 1702. Queen Anne knighted Newton at Trinity College on 16 April 1705; on the following 17 May he was defeated in his third contest for the university’s seat in Parliament.
At the mint, Newton applied his knowledge of chemistry and of laboratory technique to assaying, but he apparently did not introduce any innovations in the art of coinage. His role was administrative and his duties were largely the supervision of the recoinage and (curious to contemplate) the capture, interrogation, and prosecution of counterfeiters. Newton used the patronage of the mint to benefit fellow scientists. Halley entered the service in 1696 as comptroller of the Chester mint, and in 1707 David Gregory was appointed (at a fee of £250) as general supervisor of the conversion of the Scottish coinage to British.
Newton ruled over the Royal Society with an iron hand. When Whiston was proposed as a fellow in 1720, Newton said that if Whiston were chosen, he “would not be president.” At Newton’s urging, the council brought the society from the verge of bankruptcy to solvency by obtaining regular contributions from fellows. When a dispute arose between Woodward and Sloane, Newton had Woodward ejected from the council. Of Newton’s chairmanship of meetings, Stukeley reported, “Everything was transacted with great attention and solemnity and dignity,” for “his presence created a natural awe in the assembly”; there was never a sign of “levity or indecorum.” As England’s foremost scientist, president of the Royal Society, and civil servant, Newton appeared before Parliament in Spring 1714, to give advice about a prize for a method of finding longitude.
When Newton moved from Cambridge to London in the 1690’s to take up the wardenship of the mint, he continued to work on the motion of the moon. He became impatient for Flamsteed’s latest observations and they soon had a falling-out, no doubt aggravated by the strong enmity which had grown up between Halley and Flamsteed. Newton fanned the flames by the growing arrogance of his letters: “I want not your calculations but your observations only.” And when in 1699 Flamsteed let it be known that Newton was working to perfect lunar theory, Newton sent Flamsteed a letter insisting that on this occasion he not “be brought upon the stage,” since “I do not love to be printed upon every occasion much less to be dunned & teezed by foreigners about Mathematical things or to be thought by our own people to be trifling away my time about them when I should be about the King’s business” Newton and Halley published Flamsteed’s observations in an unauthorized printing in 1712, probably in the conviction that his work had been supported by the government and was therefore public property. Flamsteed had the bitter joy of burning most of the spurious edition; and he then started printing his own Historia coelestis Brittanica.
A more intense quarrel arose with Leibniz. This took two forms: a disagreement over philosophy or theology in relation to science (carried out through Samuel Clarke as intermediary), and an attempt on Newton’s part to prove that Leibniz had no claim to originality in the calculus. The initial charge of plagiarism against Leibniz came from Fatio de Duiilier, but before long Keill and other Newtonians were involved and Leibniz began to rally his own supporters. Newton held that not only had Leibniz stolen the calculus from him, but that he had also composed three tracts for publication in the Acta eruditorum claiming some of the main truths of the Principia as independent discoveries, with the sole original addition of some mistakes. Today it appears that Newton was wrong; no doubt Leibniz had (as he said) seen the “epitome” or lengthy review of the Principia in the Acta eruditorum of June 1688, and not the book, when (to use his own words) “Newton’s work stimulated me” to write out some earlier thoughts on “the causes of the motions of the heavenly bodies” as well as on the “resistance of a medium” and motion in a medium. 184 Newton stated, however, that even if Leibniz “had not seen the book itself, he ought nevertheless to have seen it before he published his own thoughts concerning these matters.” 185
That Newton should have connived at declaring Leibniz a plagiarist gives witness to his intense possessiveness concerning his discoveries or inventions; hence his consequent feeling of violation or robbery when Leibniz seemed to be publishing them. Newton was also aware that Leibniz must have seen one or more of his manuscript tracts then in circulation; and Leibniz had actually done so on one of his visits, when, however, he copied out some material on series expansions, not on fluxions. 186
No one today seriously questions Leibniz’ originality and true mathematical genius, nor his independence— to the degree that any two creative mathematicians living in the same world of mathematical thought can be independent—in the formulation of the calculus. Moreover, the algorithm in general use nowadays is the Leibnizian rather than the Newtonian. But by any normal standards, the behavior of both men was astonishing. When Leibniz appealed to the Royal Society for a fair hearing, Newton appointed a committee of good Newtonians. It has only recently become known that Newton himself wrote the committee’s report, the famous Cornmercium epistolicum, 187 which he presented as if it were a set of impartial findings in his own favor.
Newton was not, however, content to stop there; following publication of the report there appeared an anonymous review, or summary, of it in the Philosophical Transactions. This, too, was Newton’s work. When the Cornmercium epistoticum was reprinted, this review was included, in Latin translation, as a kind of introduction, together with an anonymous new preface “To the Reader,” which was also written by Newton. This episode must be an incomparable display of thoroughness in destroying an enemy, and Whiston reported that he had heard directly that Newton had “once pleasantly” said to Samuel Clarke that “He had broke Leibnitz’s Heart with his Reply to him.”
Newton’s later London years were marked by creative scientific efforts. During this time he published the Opticks, with the two mathematical tracts, and added new queries for its later editions. He also produced, with Roger Cotes’s aid, a second edition of the Principia, including the noteworthy general scholium, and, with assistance from Henry Pemberton, a third edition. In the last, however, Newton altered the scholium to lemma 2, book II, to prevent its being read as if Leibniz were entitled to a share of credit for the calculus—although Leibniz had been dead for nearly twelve years.
Newton died on Monday, 20 March 1727, 188 at the age of eighty-five, having been ill with gout and inflamed lungs for some time. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Newton’s Philosophy: The Rules of Philosophizing, the General Scholium, the Queries of the “Opticks.” Like others of his day, Newton believed that the study of natural philosophy would provide evidence for the existence of God the Creator in the regularities of the solar system. In the general scholium at the end of book III of the Principia, he said “it is not to be conceived that mere mechanical causes could give birth to so many, regular motions,” then concluded his discussion with observations about God, “to discourse of whom from phenomena does certainly belong to Natural Philosophy” (“Experimental Philosophy” in the second edition). He then went on to point out that he had “explained the phenomena of the heavens and of our sea, by the power of Gravity” but had not yet “assigned the cause of this power,” alleging that “it is enough that Gravity does really exist, and act according to the laws which we have explained” and that its action “abundantly serves to account for all the motions of the celestial bodies, and of our sea.” The reader was thus to accept the facts of the Principia, even though Newton had not “been able to discover the cause of those properties of gravity from phenomena.” Newton here stated his philosophy, “Hypotheses non fingo.” 189
Clearly, Newton was referring here only to “feigning” a hypothesis about the cause of gravitation, and never intended that his statement should be applied on all levels of scientific discourse, or to all meanings of the word “hypothesis.” Indeed, in each of the three editions of the Principia, there is a “hypothesis” stated in book II. In the second and third editions there are a “Hypothesis I” and a “Hypothesis II” in book III. Thc “phaenomena” at the beginning of book III, in the second and third editions, were largely the “hypotheses” of the first edition. It may be that Newton used these two designations to imply that these particular statements concerning planetary motions are not mathematically true (as he proved), but could be only approximately “true,” on the level of (or to the limits of) phenomena.
Newton believed that his science was based upon a philosophy of induction, in the third edition of the Principia, he introduced rule 4, so that “the argument of induction may not be evaded by hypotheses.” Here he said that one may look upon the results of “general induction from phenomena as accurately or very nearly true,” even though many contrary hypotheses might be imagined, until such time as the inductive result may “either be made more accurate or liable to exceptions” by new phenomena, in rule 3, in the second and third editions, he stated his philosophical basis for establishing general properties of matter by means of phenomena.
Newton’s philosophical ideas are even more fully developed in query 31, the final query of the later editions of the Opticks, in which he argued for both the philosophy of induction and the method of analysis and composition (or synthesis). In both mathematics and natural philosophy, he said, the “Investigation of difficult Things by the method of Analysis, ought ever to precede the Method of Composition.” Such “Analysis consists, in making Experiments and Observations, and in drawing general Conclusions from them by Induction, and admitting of no Objections against the Conclusions, but such as are taken from Experiments, or other certain Truths.”
In both the Principia and the Opticks, Newton tried to maintain a distinction among his speculations. his experimental results (and the inductions based upon them), and his mathematical derivations from certain assumed conditions. In the Principia in particular, he was always careful to separate any mathematical hypotheses or assumed conditions from those results that were “derived” in some way from experiments and observations. Often, too, when he suggested, as in various scholiums, the applicability of mathematical or hypothetical conditions to physical nature, he stated that he had not proved whether his result really so applies. His treatment of the motion of small corpuscles, in book I, section 14, and his static model of a gas composed of mutually repulsive particles, in book II, proposition 23, exemplify Newton’s use of mathematical models of physical reality for which he lacked experimental evidence sufficient for an unequivocal statement.
Perhaps the best expression of Newton’s general philosophy of nature occurs in a letter to Cotes (28 March 1713), written during the preparation of the second edition of the Principia, in which he referred to the laws of motion as “the first Principles or Axiomes” and said that they “are deduced from Phaenomena & made general by Induction”; this “is the highest evidence that a Proposition can have in this philosophy.” Declaring that “the mutual & mutually equal attraction of bodies is a branch of the third Law of motion.” Newton pointed out to Cotes “how this branch is deduced from Phaenomena,” referring him to the “end of the Corollaries of the Laws of Motion.” Shortly thereafter, in a manuscript bearing upon the Leibniz controversy, he wrote. “To make an exception upon a mere Hypothesis is to feign an exception. It is to reject the argument from Induction, & turn Philosophy into a heap of Hypotheses, which are no other than a chimerical Romance.” 190 That is a statement with which few would disagree.
NOTES
1. See R. S. Westfall. “Short-writing and the State or Newton’s Conscience, 1662,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 18 (1963), 10–16. L. T. More, in Isaac Newton (New York, 1934), p. 16, drew attention to the necessary “menial suffering” of a boy of Newton’s physical weakness, living in a lonely “farmhouse situated in a countryside only slowly recovering from the terrors of a protracted ami bitter civil war,” with “no proteetion from the frights of his imagination except that of his grandmother and such unreliable labourers as could be hired.”
F. E. Manuel, in A Portrait of Isaac Newton (Cambridge, Mass., 1968), has subjected Newton’s life to a kind of psychoanalytic scrutiny. He draws the conclusion (pp. 54–59) that the “scrupulosity, punitiveness. austerity, discipline, industriousness, and fear associated with a repressive morality” were apparent in Newton’s character at an early age. and finds that notebooks bear witness to “the fear, anxiety, distrust, sadness, withdrawal, self-belittlement, and generally depressive state of the young Newton.”
For an examination of Manuel’s portrait of Newton, see J. E. McGuire, “Newton and the Demonic Furies: Some Current Problems and Approaches in the History of Science,” in History of Science, 11 (1973), 36–46; see also the review in Times Literary Supplement (I June 1973), 615–616, With letters by Manuel (8 June 1973), 644–645; D. T. Whiteside 115 June 1973), 692, and (6 July 1973), 779; and G. S. Rousseau (29 June 1973), 749.
2. See E. N. da C. Andrade, “Newton’s Early Notebook,” in Nature135 (1935), 360; and G. L. Huxley, “Two Newtonian Studies: 1 . Newton’s Boyhood Interests,” in Harvard Library Bulletin, 13 (1959), 348–354. in which Andrade has first called attention to the importance of Bate’s collection, an argument amplified by Huxley.
3. Newton apparently came to realize that he had been hasty in discarding Euclid, since Pemberton later heard him “even censure himself for not following them [that is, ‘the ancients’ in their ‘taste, and form of demonstration’] yet more closely than he did; and speak with regret of his mistake at the beginning of his mathematical studies, in applying himself to the works of Des Cartes and other algebraic writers, before he had considered the elements of Euclide with that attention, which so excellent a writer deserves” (View of Sir Isaac Newton’s Philosophy [London, 1728], preface).
4. Newton’s college tutor was not (and indeed by statute could not have been) the Lucasian professor, Barrow, but was Benjamin Pulleyn.
5. University Library, Cambridge. MS Add. 3996, discussed by A. R. Hall in “Sir Isaac Newton’s Notebook, 1661–1665,” in Cambridge HistaricalJotirnal, 9 (1948), 239–250.
6. Ibid.; also partially analyzed by R. S. Westfall, in “The Foundations of Newton’s Philosophy of Nature,” in British Journal for the History of Science, 1 (1962), 171–182. Westfall; has attempted a reconstruction of Newton’s philosophy of nature, and his growing allegiance to the “mechanical philosophy,” in ch. 7 of his Force in Newton’s Physics (London, 1971).
7. On Newton’s entrance into the domains of mathematics higher than arithmetic, sec the account by A. De Moivre (in the Newton MSS presented by the late J. H. Schaffner to the University of Chicago) and the recollections of Newton assembled by John Conduitt, now mainly in the Keynes Collection, King’s College, Cambridge.
8. See D. T. Whiteside, “Newton’s Marvellous Year. 1666 and All That,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London.21 (1966), 37–38.
9. See A. H. White, ed., William Stukeley, Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’s Life (London, 1936). Written in 1752, this records a conversation with Newton about his discovery of universal gravitation (the apple story), pp. 19–20.
10. In November 1669 John Collins wrote to James Gregory that “Mr Barrow hath resigned his Lecturers place to one Mr Newton of Cambridge” (in the Royal Society ed. of Newton’s Correspondence, I, 15). Newton himself may have been referring to Barrow in an autobiographical note (ca. 1716) that stated, “Upon account of my progress in these matters he procured for me a fellowship … in the year 1667 & the Mathematick Professorship two years later”—see University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3968, Ş41, fol. 117, and I. B Cohen, Introduction to New ton’s Prineipia, supp. III, p. 303, n. 14.
11. Among the biographical memoirs assembled by Conduitt (Keynes Collection, King’s College, Cambridge). Humphrey Newton’s memoir is in L. T. More, Isaac Newton, pp. 246, 381, and 389.
12. According to J. Edleston (p.xlv in his ed. of Correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor Cotes …; see also pp. xlix–I), in 1675 (or March 1674, OS), “Newton obtained a Royal Patent allowing the Professor to remain Fellow of a College without being obliged to go into orders.” See also L. T. More, Isaac Newton, p. 169.
13. This work might have been an early version of the Lectiones opticae, his professorial lectures of 1670–1672; or perhaps an annotated version of his letters and communications to Oldenburg, which were read at the Royal Society and published in major part in its Philosophical Transactions from 1672 onward.
14. Quoted in L. T. More, Isaac Newton, p. 217.
15. It has been erroneously thought that Newton’s “breakdown” may in part have been caused by the death of his mother. But her death occurred in 1679, and she was buried on 4 June. “Her will was proved 11 June 1679 by Isaac Newton, the executor, who was the residuary legatee”: see Correspondence, II, 303. n. 2. David Brewster, in Memoirs … II, 123, suggested that Newton’s “ailment may have arisen from the disappointment he experienced in the application of his friends for a permanent situation for him.” On these events and on contemporaneous discussion and gossip about Newton’s state of mind, see L. T. More, Isaac Newton, pp. 387–388, and F. I. Manuel, A Portrait of Isaac Newton, pp. 220–223. Newton himself, in a letter to Locke of 5 October 1693, blamed his “distemper” and insomnia on “sleeping too often by my fire”
16. L. T. More, Isaac Newton, p. 368.
17. See J. Edleston, ed., Correspondence … Newton and … Cotes, pp. xxxvi, esp. n. 142.
18. Mathematical Papers of Isaac Newton, D. T. Whiteside, ed., in progress, to be completed in 8 vols. (Cambridge, 1967-); these will contain edited versions of Newton’s mathematical writings with translations and explanatory notes, as well as introductions and commentaries that constitute a guide to Newton’s mathematics and scientific life, and to the main currents in the mathematics of the seventeenth century, live volumes have been published (1973).
19. See D. T. Whiteside, “Newton’s Discovery of the General Binomial Theorem,” in Mathematical Gazette, 45 (1961), 175.
20. Especially because of Whiteside’s researches.
21. Whiteside, ed., Mathematical Papers, I , 1–142. Whiteside concludes: “By and large Newton took his arithmetical symbolisms from Oughtred and his algebraical from Descartes, and onto them … he grafted new modifications of his own” (I, 11).
22. Ca, 1714; see University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3968, fol. 21. On this often debated point, see D. T. Whiteside, “Isaac Newton: Birth of a Mathematician,” in Notes and Records, Royal Society of London, 19 (1964), n. 25; but compare n. 48, below.
23. University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3968. 41, fol. 85. This sentence occurs in a passage canceled by Newton.
24. Ibid., fol. 72. This accords with De Moivre’s later statement (in the Newton manuscripts recently bequeathed the University of Chicago by J. H. Schalfner) that after reading Wallis’ book, Newton “on the occasion of a certain interpolation for the quadrature of the circle, found that admirable theorem for raising a Binomial to a power given.”
25. Translated from the Latin in the Royal Society ed. of the Correspondence, II, 20 ff. and 32 ff.; see the comments by Whiteside in Mathematical Papers, IV, 666 ff. In the second term, A stands for Pm/n(the first term), while in the third term B stands for (m/n) AQ (the second term), and so on. This letter and its sequel came into Wallis’ hands and he twice published summaries of them, the second time with Newton’s own emendations and grudging approval. Newton listed some results of series expansion—coupled with quadratures as needed—for z = r sin-1 [x/r] and the inverse x = r sin[z/r]; the versed sine r(1 - cos[z/r]); and x = ez/b the inverse of z = b log(1 + x) the Mercator series (see Whiteside, ed., Mathematical Papers, 1V, 668).
26. Translated from the Latin in the Royal Society ed. of the Correspondence, II, 110 II., 110 ff., see the comments by Whiteside in Mathematical Papers, IV, 672 ff.
27. See Whiteside, Mathematical Papers I, 106.
28. Ibid., 112 and n. 81.
29. The Boothby referred to may be presumed to be Boothby Pagnell (about three miles northeast of Woolsthorpe), whose rector, H. Babington, was senior fellow of Trinity and had a good library. See further Whiteside, Mathematical Papers, I, 8, n. 21; and n. 8, above.
30. The Mathematical Works of Isaac Newton, I, x.
31. Ibid., I, xi.
32. Here the “little zero” 0 is not, as formerly, the “indefinitely small” increment in the variable t, which “ultimately vanishes.” In the Principia, bk. II, sec. 2, Newton used an alternative system of notation in which a, b, c, … are the “moments of any quantities A, B, C, &c,” increasing by a continual flux or “the velocities of the mutations which are proportional” to those moments, that is, their fluxions.
33. Sec Whiteside, Mathematical Works, I, x.
34. See A. R. and M. B. Hall, eds., Unpublished Scientific Papers of Isaac Newton (Cambridge, 1962)
35. Mathematical Works, 1, xi.
66. Ibid.
67. In “Newton as an Originator of Polar Coördinates,”in American Mathematical Monthly. 56 (1949), 73–78.
68. Made available in English translation (perhaps supervised by Newton himself) in John Harris, Lexicon technician, vol. II (London, 1710); reprinted in facsimile (New-York, 1966). The essay entitled ‘Curves” is reprinted in Whiteside, Mathematical Papers II,.
69. C. R. M. Talbot, ed. and trans., Enumeration of Lines of the Third Order (London, I860), p. 72.
70. On other aspects of Newton’ mathematics see Whiteside. Mathematical Papers, specifically III, 50–52, on the development of infinite series; If, 218–232, on an iterative procedure for finding approximate solutions to equations; and I, 519, and V, 360, on “Newton’ identities” for finding the sums of the powers of the roots in any polynomial equation. See, additionally, for Newton’ contributions in porisms. solid loci, number theory, trigonometry, and interpolation, among other topics, Whiteside, Mathematical Papers, passim, and Turnbuli, Mathematical Discoveries.
71. See Whiteside. Mathematical Works, I. XV, and Boyer, History of Mathematics, p. 448. Drafts of the “Liber gcometria” are University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3963 passim and MS Add. 4004, fols. 129–159. Gregory’ comprehensive statement of Newton’ plans as of summer 1694 is in Edinburgh University Library, David Gregory MS (42; an English version in Newton’ Correspondence, III, 384–386, is not entirely satisfactory.
72. Newton’ laconic statement of his solution, published anonymously in Philosophy al Transactions, no. 224 (1697), p. 384, elicited from Bernoulli the reply “Ex ungue, Leonem” (the claw was sufficient to reveal the lion); see Histoirc des outrages des suvans (1697), 454–455.
73. See I. B. Cohen. “Isaac Newton, John Craig, and the Design of” in Boston Studies for the Philsophy of Science (in Press).
74. Even the variants in the eds. of the Optieks have never been fully documented in print (although Horsley’s ed. gives such information for the Queries), nor have the differences between the Latin and English versions been fully analyzed. Zev Bechler is in the process of publishing four studies based on a perceptive and extensive examination of Newton’s optical MSS. Henry Guerlac is presently engaged in preparing a new ed. of the Optieks itself.
75. The expression “experimentum cruces” is often attributed to Bacon, but Newton in fact encountered it in Hookes account of his optical experiments as given in Micrographia (observation 9), where Hooke referred to an experiment that “will prove such a one as our thrice excellent Verulam [that is, Francis Bacon] calls Experimentum cruces. While many investigators before Newton— Dietrich von Freiberg, Marci, Descartes, and Grimaldi among them—had observed the oval dispersion of a circular beam of light passing through a prism, they ail tended to assign the cause of the phenomenon to the consideration that the light source was not a point, but a physical object, so that light from opposite limbs of the sun would differ in angle of inclination by as much as half a degree, Newton’ measurements led him from this initial supposition to the conclusion that the effect—a spectrum some live times longer than its width—was too great for the given cause, and therefore the prism must refract some rays to a considerable degree more than others.
76. This account of the experiment is greatly simplified, as was Newton’ own account, presented in his letter to Oldenburg and published in Philosophical Transactions, See J. A. Lohne, “Experimentum Crucis,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 23 (1968), 169–199; Lohne has traced the variations introduced into both the later diagrams and descriptions of the experiment. Newton’ doctrine of the separation of white light into its component colors, each corresponding to a unique and fixed index of refraction, had been anticipated by Johannes Marcus Marci de Kronland in his Thaumantias, liber de arcu coelesti (Prague, 1648). An important analysis of Newton’ experiment is in A. I. Sabra, Theories of Light.
77. See R. S. Westfall, “The Development of Newton’ Theory of Color,” in Isis, 53 (1962), 339–358; and A. R. (1962), 339–358; and A. R. Hall, “Newton’ Notebook,” pp. 245–250.
78. Dated 13 April 1672, in Philosophical Transactions, no. 84.
79. See R. S. Westfall, “Newton’ Reply to Hooke and the Theory of Colors,” in his, 54 (1963), 82–96; an edited text of the “Hypothesis” is in Correspondence I, 362–386.
80. Published in Birch’ History of the Royal Society and in I. B. Cohen, ed., Newton’ Papers and Letters.
81. R. S. Westfall has further sketched Newton’ changing views in relation to corpuscles and the ether, and, in “Isaac Newton’ Coloured Circles Twixt Two Contiguous Glasses,” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 2 (1965), 190, has concluded that “When Newton composed the Opticks, he had ceased to believe in an aether; the pulses of earlier years became ‘fits of easy reflection and transmission,’ offered as observed phenomena without explanation.” Westfall discusses Newton’ abandonment of the ether in “Uneasily Fitful Reflections on Fits of Easy Transmission [and of Easy Reflection],” in Robert Palter, ed., The Annus Mirabilis of Sir Isaac Newton 16661966, pp. 88–104; heemphasizes the pendulum experiment that Newton reported from memory in the Primipia (bk. II, scholium at the end of sec. 7, in the first edu or of sec. 6, in the 2nd and 3rd eds.). Henry Guerlac has discussed Newton’s return to a modified concept of the ether in a series of studies (see Bibliography, sec. 8).
82. Birch, History of the Royal Society, III, 299; the early text of the “Discourse” is HI, 247–305, but Newton had already published it, with major revisions, as hook 11 of the Optieks. Both the “Hypothesis” and the “Discourse”are reprinted in Newton’s Papers and Letters. 77 235. Newton’s original notes on Hooke’s Micrographia have been published by A. R. and M. B. Hall, Unpublished Scientific Papers of Isaac Newton, 400 ff., especially sec. 48, in which he refers to “coloured rings” of “8 or 9 such circuits” in this “order (white perhaps in the midst bless, purple, scarlet, yellow, greene, blew … ”
83. Newton’s notes on Hooke were first published by Geoffrey Keynes in Bibliography of Robert Hooke (Oxford, 1960), pp. 97–108. Hooke claimed in particular that Newton’s “Hypothesis” was largely taken from the Micrographia; see Newton’s letters to Oldenburg, 21 December 1675 and 10 January 1676, in Correspondence, 1, 404 ff. Hooke then wrote to Newton in a more kindly vein on 20 January 1676, provoking Newton’s famous reply.
84. In this presentation, attention has been directed only to certain gross differences that exist between the texts of Newton’s “Discourse of Observations” of 1675 and bk, II of the Qpticks. The elaboration of Newton’s view may be traced through certain notebooks and an early essay “On Colours” to his optical lectures and communications to the Royal Society. In particular, R. S. Westfall has explored certain relations between the essay and the later Opticks. See also his discussion on Newton’s experiments cited in a 81, above.
85. Chielly in University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3970; but sec n. 76.
86. University library, Cambridge, MS Dd. 9.67.
87. Now part of the Portsmouth Collection, University Library. Cambridge, MS Add. 4002. This MS has been reproduced in facsimile, with an introduction by Whiteside, as The Unpublished First Version of Isaac Newton’s Cambridge Lectures on Optics (Cambridge, 1973).
88. The development of the Optieks can be traced to some degree through a study of Newton’s correspondence, notebooks, and optical MSS, chiefly University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3970, of which the first 233 pages contain the autograph MS used for printing the 1704 ed., although the final query 16 is lacking. An early draft, without the preliminary definitions and axioms. begins on fol. 304; the first version of prop. 1, book I, here reads, “The light of one natural body is more refrangible than that of another.” There are many drafts and versions of the later queries, and a number of miscellaneous items, including the explanation of animal motion and sensation by the action of an “electric” and “elastic” spirit and the attribution of an “electric force” to all living bodies. A draft of a proposed “fourth Book” contains, on fol. 336, a “Conclusion” altered to “Hypoth. I. The particles of bodies have certain spheres of activity with in which they attract or shun one another …”; in a subsequent version, a form of this is inserted between props. 16 and 17, white fl later prop. 18 is converted into “Hypoth. 2,” which is followed shortly by hypotheses 3 to 5. It may thus be seen that Newton did not, in the 1690’s, fully disdain speculative hypotheses. On fol. 409 there begins a tract, written before the Opticks, entitled “Fundamentum Opticks,” which is similar to the Opticks in form and content. The three major notebooks in which Newton entered notes on his optical reading and his early thoughts and experiments on light, color, vision, the rainbow, and astronomical refraction are MSS Add. 3975, 3996. and 4000.
89. In “Newton’s Reply to Hooke and the Theory of Colors,” in Isis, 54 (1963), 82–96; an analysis of the two versions of Newton’s lectures on optics is given in I. B. Cohen, Introduction to Newtons ‘Prineipia’ supp. III.
90. See “Experimentum Crucis,’ in Sons and Records. Royal Society of London, 23 (1968), 169–199.
91. See, notably, “Isaac Newton: The Rise of a Scientist 1661–1671,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 20(1965), 125 139.
92. University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3996.
93. See Sabra, Theories of Light; also Westfall, “The Development of Newton’s Theory of Color.” in Isis, 53 (1962),339–358. A major source fox the development of Newton’s optical concepts is, of course, the series of articles by Lohnc, esp. those cited in nn. 90 and 91.
94. The surviving pages of this abortive ed. are reproduced in I. B. Cohen, “Versions of Isaac Newton’s First Published Paper, With Remarks on the Question of Whether Newton Planned to Publish an Edition of His Larly Papers on Light and Color,” in Archives internationales d’histoire des sciences, 11 (1958). 357–375, 8 plates. See also A. R. Hall, “Newton’s First Book,” in Archives internationales dl’histoire des sciences, 13 (1960), 39–61.
95. In W. C Hiscock, ed., David Gregory, p. 15. The preface to the first ed. of the Opticks is signed “I.N.”
96. See the “Analytical Table of Contents” prepared by Duane H, D. Roller for the Dover ed. of the Opticks (New York, 1952) for the contents of the entire work.
97. Opticks, book 1, pan 2, proposition 6. Newton’s first statement of a musical analogy to color occurs in his “Hypothesis” of 1675; for an analysis of Newton’s musical theory, see Correspondence, 1, 388, n. 14. which includes a significant contribution by J. E. Bullard.
98. As Boyer has pointed out, “In the Cartesian geometrical theory [of the rainbow] it matters little what light is, or how it is transmitted, so long as propagation is rectilinear and the laws of reflection and refraction are satisfied”; see The Rainbow from Myth to Mathematics (New York, 1959), ch. 9.
99. Although Newton had worked out the formula at the time of his optical lectures of 1669–1671, he published no statement of it until the Opticks. In the meantime Hallcy and Johann [I] Bernoulli had reached this formula independently and had published it; see Boyer, The Rainbow, pp. 247 If. In the Opticks, Newton offered the formula without proof, observing merely that “The Truth of all this Mathematicians will easily examine.” His analysis is, however, given in detail in the Lectiones opticae, part I, section 4, propositions 35 and 36, as a note informs the reader of the 1730 ed. of the Optieks.
For a detailed analysis of the topic, see Whiteside. Mathematical Papers. III. 500–509.
100. Ernst Much. The Principles of Physical Optics, John S. Anderson and A. F. A. Young, trans. (London, 1926), 139.
101. This final sentence of book II, part 2, is a variant of a sentiment expressed a few paragraphs earlier: Now as all these things follow from properties of Light by a mathematical way of reasoning, so the truth of them may be manifested by Experiments.”
102. The word “diffraction” appears to have been introduced into optical discourse by Grimaldi, in his Phwuo-mathesis de lumine eo riidse, et iride (Bologna, 1665), in which the opening proposition reads: “Lumen propagatur seu ditfunditur non solum Direct, Rcfracte ae Reflexe, sed ctiam alio quodam Quarto modo, DIFFRACTÈ.” Although Newton mentioned Grimaldi by name (calling him “Grimaldo”) and referred to his experiments, he did not use the term “dilfraction,” but rather “inflexion,” a usage the more curious in that it had been introduced into optics by none other than Hooke Micrographia, “Obs. LVIII. Of a new Property in the Air and several other transparent Mediums nam’d In/lection …”). Newton may thus have been making a public acknowledgment of his debt to Hooke; sec n. 83.
103. Newton’s alleged denial of the possibility of correcting chromatic aberration has been greatly misunderstood. See the analysis of Newton’s essay “Of Refractions” in Whiteside, Mathematical Papers, I, 549–550 and 559–576, esp. the notes on the theory or compound lenses, pp. 575–576, and notes 60 and 61. This topic has also been studied by Zev Bechler; see “ ‘A Less Agreeable Matter’—Newton and Achromatic Retraction” (in press).
104. Many of these are available in two collections: A. R. and M. B. Hall, eds., Unpublished Scientific Papers; and John Herivel, The Background to New-tail’s Principia, See also the Royal Society’s ed. of the Correspondence.
105. University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3996. first analyzed by A. R.Hall in 1948.
106. Ibid., fol. 29. See also R. S. Westfall, Force in Newton’s Physics. Newton’s entry concerning the third law was first published by Whiteside in 1964;see n. 114.
107. University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 4004; Herivel also gives the dynamical portions, with commentaries.
108. Def. 4; see Herivel, Background, p.137.
109. Ibid., p.141.
110. See William Stukeley, Memoirs of Sir Isaac Sew ton’s Life, p. 20; see also Douglas McKie and G. R. de Beer, “Newton’s Apple,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 9 (1952), 46–54, 333–335.
111. Various nearly contemporary accounts are given by W. W. Rouse Ball, An Essay on Newton’s “Principal,” ch. 1.
112. See F. Cajori, “Newton’s Twenty Years Delay in Announcing the Law of Gravitation,” in F. I Brasch, ed., Sir Isaac Newton. pp. 127–188.
113. This document, a tract on “circular motion,” University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3958.5, fol. 87, was in major pan published for the first time by A. R. Hall in 1957. It has since been republished, with translation, in Correspondence. I. 297–300, and by Herivel in Backgrounds pp. 192 ff.
114. In “Newton’s Early Thoughts on Planetary Motion: A fresh Look,” in British Journal for the History of Science, 2(1964), 120, n. 13.
115. In A. R. and M. B. Hall, Unpublished Papers, pp. 89 ff.
116. University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3958, fols. 81–83; also in Turnbull, Correspondence, 111, 60–64.
117. Newton’s concept of force has been traced, in its historical context, by Westfall, Force in Newton s Physics; see also Herivel, Background, and sec I. B, Cohen, “Newton’s Second Law and the Concept of Force in the Principia” in R. Palter, ed., Annus Mirabilis, pp. 143–185.
118. In the scholium to the Laws of Motion, Newton mentioned that Wren. Wallis, and Huygens at “about the same time” communicated their “discoveries to the Royal Society”; they agreed “exactly among themselves” as to “the rules of the congress and reflexion of hard bodies.”
119. Almost all discussions of Newton’s spiral are based on a poor version of Newton’s diagram; see J. A. Lohne, “The Increasing Corruption of Newton’s Diagrams,” in History of Science,6 (1967), 69–89, esp. pp. 72–76.
120. Whiteside, “Newton’s Early Thoughts; p. 135, has paraphrased Hooke’s challenge as “Does the central force which, directed to a focus, deflects a body uniformly travelling in a straight line into an elliptical path vary as the inverse-square of its instantaneous distance from that focus ?”
121. University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3968.41, fol. 85r, first printed in Catalogue of the Portsmouth Collection, p. xviii; it is in fact part of a draft of a letter to Des Maizeaux, written in summer 1718, when Des Maizeaux was composing his ReeueiL In a famous MS memorandum (University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3968, fol. 101), Newton recalled the occasion of his correspondence with Hooke concerning his use of Kepler’s area law in relation to elliptic orbits; see I. B. Cohen, Introduction to Newton s Principia, supp. L sec. 2.
122. University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3965.7, fols. 55r-62(bis)r; primed versions appear in A. R. and M. B. Hall, Unpublished Papers; J. Hcrivel, Background; and W, W. Rouse Ball, Essay.
123. See Whiteside, “Newton’s Early Thoughts,”4 pp. 135–136; and see I. B. Cohen, “Newton’s Second Law and the Concept of Force in the Principia” in R. Palter, ed., Anmus Mirabilis, pp. 143–185.
124. Analysis shows that great care is necessary in dealing with the limit process in even the simplest of Newton’s examples, as in his early derivation of the Huygenian rule for centrifugal force (in the Waste Book, and referred to in the scholium to prop. 4, bk. I, in the Principia), or in the proof (props. 1–2, bk. I) that the law of areas is a necessary and sufficient condition for a central force. Whiteside has analyzed these and other propositions in “Newtonian Dynamics.” pp. 109–111, and “Mathematical Principles,” pp. 11 ff., and has shown the logical pitfalls that await the credulous reader, most notably the implied use by Newton of infinitesimals of an order higher than one (chiefly those of the second, and occasionally those of the third, order).
125. See the Principia, props. 1–3, bk. 1, and the various versions of De motu printed by A. R. and M. B. Hall, J. Herivel, and W. W. Rouse Ball.
126. In Correspondence, 11, 436–437. This letter unambiguously shows that Newton did not have the solution to the problem of the attraction of a sphere until considerably later than 1679, and declaredly not “until last summer [1685].”
127. There is considerable uncertainty about what “curious treatise, De Motu” Halley saw; see I. B. Cohen, Introduction, ch. 3, sec. 2.
128. Ibid., sec.6.
129. First published by A. R. and M. B. Hall, Unpublished Papers.
130. Newton at first corresponded with Flamsteed indirectly, beginning in December 1680, through the agency of James Crompton.
131. In 1681, Newton still thought that the “comets” seen in November and December 1680 were “two different ones” (Newton to Crompton for Flamsteed, 28 February 1681, in Correspondence II, 342); in a letter to Flamsteed of 16 April 1681 (ibid., p. 364), Newton restated his doubts that “the Comets of November & December [were] but one.” In a letter of 5 January 1685 (ibid., p. 408), Flamsteed hazarded a “guess” at Newton’s “designe”: to define the curve that the comet of 1680 “described in the aether” from a general “Theory of motion,” while on 19 September 1685 (ibid., p. 419), Newton at last admitted to Flamsteed that “it seems very probable that those of November & December were the same comet,” Flamsteed noted in the margin of the last letter that Newton “would not grant it before,” adding, “see his letter of 1681,” In the Arithmetica universalis of 1707, Newton, in problem 52. explored the “uniform rectilinear motion” of a comet, “supposing the Copernican hypothesis” see Whiteside, Mathematical Papers, V, 299, n. 400, and esp. pp. 524 ff.
132. As far as actual Greek geometry goes, Newton barely makes use of Archimedes, Apollonius, or even Pappus (mentioned in passing in the preface to the 1st ed. of the Prineipia); see Whiteside, “Mathematical Principles,” p.7.
133. This is the tract “De methodis seriecrum et fluxionum,” printed with translation in Whiteside, ed., Mathematical Papers, III. 32 ff.
134. Motte has standardized the use of the neuter genitum in his English translation, although Newton actually wrote: “Momentum Genitae aequatur …,” and then said “Genitam voco quantitatem omnem quae…,” where quantitas genita (or “generated quantity”) is, of course, feminine.
135. Whiteside, Mathematical Papers, IV, 523, note 6.
136. Concepts, p. 200.
137. Ibid.; on Newton’s use of infinitesimals in the Principia, see also A. De Morgan, “On the Early History of Infinitesimals in England,” in Philosophical Magazine, 4 (1852), 321–330, in which he notes especially some changes in Newton’s usage from the 1687 to the 1713 eds. See further F. Cajori, A History of the Conceptions of Limits, pp. 2–32.
138. Whiteside, “Mathematical Principles,” pp. 20 ff.
139. Newton’s method, contained in University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3965.10, fols. 107v and 134v, will be published for the first time in Whiteside, Mathematical Papers, VI.
140. Halley refers to this specifically in the first paragraph of his review of the Principia, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, no. 186 (1687), p. 291.
141. Translated from University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3968, fol. 112.
142. De quadratura was printed, together with the other tracts in the collection published by W. Jones in 1711, as a supp. to the second reprint of the 2nd ed. of the Principia (1723).
143. In Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1715), p. 206.
144. Newton was aware that a shift in latitude causes a variation in rotational speed, since v = 2r/T x cos φ, where v is the linear tangential speed at latitude φ; r, T being the average values of the radius of the earth and the period of rotation. The distance from the center of the earth is also affected by latitude, since the earth is an oblate spheroid. These two factors appear in the variation with latitude in the length of a seconds pendulum.
145. “The Aim of Science,” in Ratio, 1 (1957), 24–35; repr. in Karl Popper, Objective Knowledge (Oxford, 1972), 191–205.
146. See, for example, R. S. Westfall, Force in Newton’s Physics. See also Alan Gabbey, “Force and Inertia in 17th-century Dynamics,” in Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 2 (1971), 1–67; Gabbey contests Westfall’s point of view concerning the vis insita, in Science, 176 (1972), 157–159.
147. This would no longer even be called a force; some present translations, among them F. Cajori’s version of Motte, anachronistically render Newton’s vis inertiae as simple “inertia.”
148. University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3968, fol. 415; published in A. Koyré and I. B. Cohen, “Newton and the Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence,” in Archives internationales d’histoire des sciences, 15 (1962), 122–123.
149. See I.B. Cohen, “Newton’s Second Law and the Concept of Force in the Principia,” in R. Palter, ed., Annus Mirabilis, pp. 143–185.
150. R. S. Westfall, Force, p. 490. It is with this point of view in particular that Gabbey takes issue; see n. 146. See further E. J. Aiton, “The Concept of Force,” in A. C. Crombie and M. A. Hoskin, eds., History of Science, X (Cambridge, 1971), 88–102.
151. In prop. 7, bk. III (referring to prop. 69, bk. I, and its corollaries), Newton argued from “accelerative” measures of forces to “absolute” forces, in specific cases of attraction.
152. See D. T. Whiteside, in History of Science, V (Cambridge, 1966), 110.
153. E. J. Aiton, “The Inverse Problem of Central Forces,” in Annals of Science, 20 (1964), 82.
154. This position of the Principia was greatly altered between the 1st and 2nd eds.; Newton’s intermediate results were summarized in a set of procedural rules for making up lunar tables and were published in a Latin version in David Gregory’s treatise on astronomy (1702). Several separate English versions were later published; these are reprinted in facsimile in I.B. Cohen, Newton’s Theory of the Moon (London, 1974).
155. W. W. Rouse Ball gives a useful paraphrase in Essay, p. 92.
156. See the analyses by Clifford Truesdell, listed in the bibliography to this article.
157. In his review of the Principia, in Philosophical Transactions (1687), p. 295, Halley referred specifically to this proposition, “which being rather a Physical than Mathematical Inquiry, our Author forbears to discuss.”
158. This problem had gained prominence through the independent discovery by Halley and Richer that the length of a pendulum clock must be adjusted for changes in latitude.
159. This “General Scholium” should not be confused with the general scholium that ends the Principia. It was revised and expanded for the 2nd ed., where it appears at the end of sec. 6; in the 1st ed. it appears at the end of sec. 7.
160. In Mécanique céleste, V, bk. XII, ch. 3, sec. 7. Newton failed to take into account the changes in elasticity due to the “heat of compression and cold of rarefaction”; Laplace corrected Newton’s formula , replacing it with his own where p is the air pressure and d the density of the air). Laplace, who had first published his own results in 1816, later said that Newton’s studies on the velocity of sound in the atmosphere were the most important application yet made of the equations of motion in elastic fluids: “sa théorie, quoique imparfaite, est un monument de son genie” (Méchanique céleste, V, bk. XII, ch. 1, pp. 95–96). Lord Rayleigh pointed out that Newton’s investigations “established that the velocity of sound should be independent of the amplitude of the vibration, and also of the pitch.”
161. The confutation of Descartes’s vortex theory was thought by men of Newton’s century to be one of the major aims of bk. II. Huygens, for one, accepted Newton’s conclusion that the Cartesian vortices must be cast out of physics, and wrote to Leibniz to find out whether he would be able to continue to believe in them after reading the Principia. In “my view,” Huygens wrote, “these vortices are superfluous if one accepts the system of Mr. Newton.”
162. On the earlier tract in relation to bk. III of the Principia, see the preface to the repr. (London, 1969) and I. B. Cohen, Introduction, supp. VI.
163. AT one time, according to a manuscript note, Newton was unequivocal that hypothesis 3 expressed the belief of Aristotle, Descartes, and unspecified “others.” It was originally followed by a hypothesis 4 , which in the 2nd and 3rd eds. was moved to a later part of bk. III. For details, see I. B. Cohen, “Hypotheses in Newton’s Philosophy,” in Physis, 8 (1966), 163–184.
164. See De motu in A.R. and M.B. Hall, Unpublished Papers, and J. Herivel, Background.
165. Newton apparently never made the experiment of comparing mass and weight of different quantities of the same material.
166. There has been little research on the general subject of Newton’s lunar theory; even the methods he used to obtain the results given in a short scholium to prop. 35, bk. I, in the 1st ed., are not known. W. W. Rouse Ball, in Essay, p. 109, discusses Newton’s formula for “the mean hourly motion of the moon’s apogee,” and says, “The investigation on this point is not entirely satisfactory, and from the alterations made in the MS. Newton evidently felt doubts about the correctness of the coefficient 11/2 which occurs in this formula. From this, however, he deduces quite correctly that the mean annual motion of the apogee resulting would amount to 38° 51’51,” whereas the annual motion” is known to be 40° 41’ 30” His discussion is based upon the statement, presumably by J. C. Adams, in the preface to the Catalogue of the Portsmouth Collection (Cambridge, 1888), pp. xii-xiii. Newton’s MSS on the motion of the moon—chiefly University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3966—are one of the major unanalyzed collections of his work. For further documents concerning this topic, and a scholarly analysis by A. R. Hall of some aspects of Newton’s researches on the motion of the moon, see Correspondence, V (in press), and I. B. Cohen, intro. to a facsimile repr. of Newton’s pamphlet on the motion of the moon (London, in press).
167. Although Newton had suspected the association of color with wavelength of vibration as early as his “Hypothesis” of 1675, he did not go on from his experiments on rings, which suggested a periodicity in optical phenomena, to a true wave theory—no doubt because, as A. I. Sabra has suggested, his a priori “conception of the rays as discrete entities or corpuscles” effectively “prevented him from envisaging the possibility of an undulatory interpretation in which the ray, as something distinguished from the waves, would be redundant” (Theories of Light, p. 341).
168. Both printed in facsimile in 1. B. Cohen, ed., Isaac Newton’s Papers and Letters on Natural Philosophy. They were published and studied in the eighteenth century and had a significant influence on the development of the concept of electric fluid (or fluids) and caloric. This topic is explored in some detail in I. B. Cohen, Franklin and Newton (Philadelphia, 1956; Cambridge, 1966; rev. ed. in press). esp. chs. 6 and 7.
169. Henry Guerlac has studied the development of the queries themselves, and in particular the decline of Newton’s use of the ether until its reappearance in a new form in the queries of the 2nd English ed. He has also noted that the concept of the ether is conspicuously absent from the Latin ed. of 1706, See especially his “Newton’s Optical Aether” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 22 (1967), 43–57. See, further, Joan L. Hawes, “Newton’s Revival of the Aether Hypothesis …,” ibid., 23 (1968), 200–212.
170. A. R. and M. B. Hall have found evidence that Newton thought of this “spiritus” as electrical in nature; see Unpublished Papers, pp. 231 ff., 348 ff. Guerlac has shown that Newton was fascinated by Hauksbee’s electrical experiments and by certain experiments of Desaguliers; see bibliography for this series of articles.
171. University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3970, sec. 9, fols. 623 IT.
172. These works, especially queries 28 and 31, have been studied in conjunction with Newton’s MSS (particularly his notebooks) by A. R. and M. B. Hall, D. McKie, J. R. Partington, R. Kargon, J. E. McGuire, A. Thackray, and others, in their elucidations of a Newtonian doctrine of chemistry or theory of matter. De natura acidorum has been printed from an autograph MS, with notes by Pitcairne and transcripts by David Gregory, in Correspondence, III, 205–214. The first printing, in both Latin and English, is reproduced in I. B. Cohen, ed., Newton’s Papers and Letters, pp. 255–258.
173. According to M. B. Hall, “Newton’s Chemical Papers,” in Newtons Papers and Letters, p. 244.
174. Ibid., p. 245.
175. Discussed by T. S. Kuhn, “Newton’ ‘31st Query’and the Degradation of Gold,” in Isis.42 (1951), 296–298.
176. M. B. Hall, “Newton’s Chemical Papers,” p. 245; she continues that there we may find a “forerunner of the tables of affinity” developed in the eighteenth century, by means of which “chemists tried to predict the course of a reaction.”
177. In “Newton’s Chemical Experiments,” in Archives internationals d’histoire des sciences, 11 (1958), 113–152— a study of Newton’s chemical notes and papers—A. R. and M. B. Hall have tried to show that Newton’s primary concern in these matters was the chemistry of metals, and that the writings of alchemists were a major source of information on every aspect of metals. Humphrey Newton wrote up a confusing account of Newton’s alchemical experiments, in which he said that Newton’s guide was the De re metallica of Agricola; this work, however, is largely free of alchemical overtones and concentrates on mining and metallurgy.
178. R. S. Westfall, in Science and Religion in Seventeenth-Century England, ch. 8, draws upon such expressions by Newton to prove that “Newton was a religious rationalist who remained blind to the mystic’s spiritual communion with the divine.”
179. These MSS are described in the Sotheby sale catalog and by F. Sherwood Taylor, in “An Alchemical Work of Sir Isaac Newton,” in Ambix, 5 (1956), 59–84.
180. These have been the subject of a considerable study by Frank E. Manuel, Isaac Newton, Historian (Cambridge, Mass.. 1964).
181. Newton’s interest in alchemy mirrors all the bewildering aspects of that subject, ranging from the manipulative chemistry of metals, mineral acids, and salts, to esoteric and symbolic (often sexual) illustrations and mysticism of a religious or philosophical kind. His interest in alchemy persisted through his days at the mint, although there is no indication that he at that time still seriously believed that pure metallic gold might be produced from baser metals— if, indeed, he had ever so believed. The extent of his notes on his reading indicate the seriousness of Newton’s interest in the general subject, but it is impossible to ascertain to what degree, if any, his alchemical concerns may have influenced his science, beyond his vague and general commitment to “transmutations” as a mode for the operations of nature. But even this belief would not imply a commitment to the entire hermetic tradition, and it is not necessary to seek a unity of the diverse interests and intellectual concerns in a mind as complex as Newton’s.
182. P. M. Rattansi, “Newton’s Alchemical Studies,” in Allen Debus, ed., Science, Medicine and Society in the Renaissance, II (New York, 1972), 174.
183. The first suggestion that Newton’s concept of the ether might be linked to his alchemical concerns was made by Taylor; see n. 179, above.
184. Leibniz, Tentamen … (“An Essay on the Cause of the Motions of the Heavenly Bodies”), in Acta eruditorum (Feb. 1689), 82–96, English trans, by E. J. Collins. Leibniz’ marked copy of the 1st ed. of the Principia, presumably the one sent to him by Fatio de Duillier at Newton’s direction, is now in the possession of E. A. Fellmann of Basel, who has discussed Leibniz’ annotations in “Die Marginalnoten von Leibniz in Newtons Principia Mathematica 1687,” in Humanismus und Technik, 2 (1972), 110–129; Fellmann’s critical ed., G. W. Leibniz, Marginalia in Newtoni Principia Mathematica 1687 (Paris, 1973), includes facsimiles of the annotated pages.
185. Translated from some MS comments on Leibniz’ essay, first printed in Edleston, Correspondence, pp. 307–314.
186. Leibniz’ excepts from Newton’s De attalysi, made in 1676 from a transcript by John Collins, have been published from the Hannover MS by Whiteside, in Mathematical Papers, II, 248–258. Whiteside thus demonstrates that Leibniz was “clearly interested only in its algebraic portions: fluxional sections are ignored.”
187. Several MS versions in his hand survive in University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3968.
188. At this period the year in England officially began on Lady Day. 25 March. Hence Newton died on 20 March 1726 old style, or in 1726/7 (to use the form then current for dates in January, February, and the first part of March).
189. In the 2-vol, ed. of the Principia with variant readings edited by A. Koyré, I. B. Cohen, and Anne Whitman; Koyre has shown that in the English Opticks Newton used the word “feign” in relation to hypotheses, in the sense of “lingo” in the slogan, a usage confirmed by example in Newton’s MSS. Motte renders the phrase as “I frame no hypotheses.” Newton himself in MSS used both “feign” and “frame” in relation to hypotheses in this regard; see I. B. Cohen, “The First English Version of Newton’s Hypotheses non fingo,” in Isis, 53 (1962), 379–388.
190. University Library, Cambridge, MS Add. 3968, fol. 437.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
This bibliography is divided into four major sections. The last, by A. P. Youschkeviteh, is concerned with Soviet studies on Newton and is independent of the text.
Original Works (numbered I-IV): Newton’s major writings, together with collected works and editions, bibliographies, manuscript collections, and catalogues.
Secondary Literature (numbered V-VI): including general works and specific writings about Newton and his life.
SOURCES (numbered 1–11): the chief works used in the preparation of this biography; the subdivisions of this section are correlated to the subdivisions of the biography itself.
Soviet Literature: a special section devoted to Newtonian scholarship in the Soviet Union.
The first three sections of the bibliography contain a number of cross-references; a parenthetical number refers the reader to the section of the bibliography in which a complete citation may be found.
ORIGINAL WORKS
I. Major Works. Newton’s first publications were on optics and appeared in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1672–1676); rcpr. in facs., with intro. by T. S. Kuhn, in I. B. Cohen, ed., Isaac Newton’s Papers & Letters on Natural Philosophy(Cambridge, Mass., 1958; 2nd ed., in press). His Opticks (London, 1704; enl. versions in Latin [London, 1706], and in English [London, 1717 or 1718]) contained two supps.: his Enumeratio linearum tertii ordinis and Tractatus de quadratura curvarum, his first published works in pure mathematics. The 1704 ed. has been repr. in facs. (Brussels, 1966) and (optical part only) in type (London, 1931); also repr. with an analytical table of contents prepared by D. H. D. Roller (New York, 1952). French trans, are by P. Coste (Amsterdam, 1720; rev. ed. 1722; facs. repr., with intro. by M. Solovine, Paris, 1955); a German ed. is W. Abendroth, 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1898); and a Rumanian trans, is Victor Marian (Bucharest, 1970). A new ed. is currently being prepared by Henry Guerlac.
The Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (London, 1687; rev. eds., Cambridge, 1713 [repr. Amsterdam, 1714, 1723], and London, 1726) is available in an ed. with variant readings (based on the three printed eds., the MS for the 1st ed. and Newton’s annotations in his own copies of the 1st and 2nd eds.) prepared by A. Koyré, I. B. Cohen, and Anne Whitman: Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica, the Third Edition (1726) With Variant Readings, 2 vols. (Cambridge, Mass.-Cambridge, England, 1972). Translations and excerpts have appeared in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Rumanian, Russian, and Swedish, and are listed in app. VIII, vol. II, of the Koyre, Cohen, and Whitman ed., together with an account of reprs. of the whole treatise. The 1st ed. has been printed twice in facs. (London, 1954[?]; Brussels, 1965).
William Jones published Newton’s De analysi in his ed. of Analysis per quantitatum series, fluxiones, ac differentias …(London, 1711), repr. in the Royal Society’s Commercium epistolicum D. Johannis Collins, et aliorum de analyst promota … (London, 1712–1713; enl. version, 1722; “variorum” ed. by J.-B. Biot and F. Lefort, Paris, 1856), and as an appendix to the 1723 Amsterdam printing of the Principia. Newton’s Arithmetica universalis was published from the MS of Newton’s lectures by W. Whiston (Cambridge, 1707); an amended ed. followed, supervised by Newton himself (London, 1722). For bibliographical notes on these and some other mathematical writings (and indications of other eds. and translations), see the introductions by D. T. Whiteside to the facs. repr. of The Mathematical Works of Isaac Newton 2 vols. (New York-London, 1964–1967). Newton’s Arithmetica universalis was translated into Russian with notes and commentaries by A. P. Youschkevitch (Moscow, 1948); English eds. were published in London in 1720, 1728, and 1769.
After Newton’s death the early version of what became bk. III of the Principia was published in English as A Treatise of the System of the World (London, 1728; rev. London, 1731, facs. repr., with intro. by I. B. Cohen, London, 1969) and in Latin as De mundi systemate liber (London, 1728). An Italian trans, is by Marcella Renzoni (Turin, 1959; 1969). The first part of the Lectiones opticae was translated and published as Optical Lectures (London, 1728) before the full Latin ed. was printed (1729); both are imperfect and incomplete. The only modern ed. is in Russian, Lektsii po optike (Leningrad, 1946), with commentary by S. I. Vavilov.
For Newton’s nonscientific works (theology, biblical studies, chronology), and for other scientific writings, see the various sections below.
II. Collected Works OR Editions. The only attempt ever made to produce a general ed. of Newton was S. Horsley, Isaaci Newtoni opera quae exstant omnia, 5 vols. (London, 1779–1785; photo repr. Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, 1964), which barely takes account of Newton’s available MS writings but has the virtue of including (vol. I) the published mathematical tracts; (vols. II-III) the Principia and De mundi systemate, Theoria lunae, and Lectiones opticae; (vol. IV) letters from the Philosophical Transactions on light and color, the letter to Boyle on the ether, De problematis Bernoullianis, the letters to Bentley, and the Commercium epistolicum; (vol. V) the Chronology the Prophecies, and the Corruptions of Scripture. An earlier and more modest collection was the 3-vol. Opuscula mathematica, philosophica, et philologica, Giovanni Francesco Salvemini (known as Johann Castillon), ed. (Lausanne-Geneva, 1744); it contains only works then in print.
A major collection of letters and documents, edited in the most exemplary manner, is Edleston (1); Rigaud’s Essay (5) is also valuable. S. P. Rigaud’s Correspondence of Scientific Men of the Seventeenth Century … in the collection of… the Earl of Macclesfield, 2 vols. (Oxford, 1841; rev., with table of contents and index, 1862) is of special importance because the Macclesfield collection is not at present open to scholars.
Four vols. of the Royal Society’s ed. of Newton’s Correspondence (Cambridge, 1959- ) have (as of 1974) been published, vols. I—III edited by II. W. Turnbull, vol. IV by J. F. Scott; A. R. Hall has been appointed editor of the succeeding volumes. The Correspondence is not limited to letters but contains scientific documents of primary importance. A recent major collection is A. R. and M. B. Hall, eds., Unpublished Scientific Papers of Isaac Newton, a Selection From the Portsmouth Collection in the University Library, Cambridge(Cambridge, 1964). Other presentations of MSS are given in the ed. of the Principia with variant readings (1972, cited above), Herivel’s Background (5), and in D. T. Whiteside’s ed. of Newton’s Mathematical Papers (3).
III.Bibliographies. There are three bibliographies of Newton’s writings, none complete or free of major error. One is George J. Gray, A Bibliography of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton, Together With a List of Books Illustrating His Works, 2nd ed., rev. and enl. (Cambridge, 1907; repr. London, 1966); H. Zeitlinger, “A Newton Bibliography’ pp. 148–170 of the volume ed. by W. J. Greenstreet (VI); and A Descriptive Catalogue of the Grace K. Babson Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton… (New York, 1950), plus A Supplement … compiled by Henry P. Macomber (Babson Park, Mass., 1955), which lists some secondary materials from journals as well as books.
IV. Manuscript Collections AND Catalogues. The Portsmouth Collection (University Library, Cambridge) was roughly catalogued by a syndicate consisting of H. R. Luard, G. G. Stokes, J. C.Adams, and G. D. Liveing, who produced A Catalogue of the Portsmouth Collection of Books and Papers Written by or Belonging to Sir Isaac Newton …(Cambridge, 1888); the bare descriptions do not always identify the major MSS or give the catalogue numbers (e.g., the Waste Book, U.L.C. MS Add. 4004, the major repository of Newton’s early work in dynamics and in mathematics, appears as “A common-place book, written originally by B. Smith, D.D., with calculations by Newton written in the blank spaces. This contains Newton’s first idea of Fluxions”). There is no adequate catalogue or printed guide to the Newton MSS in the libraries of Trinity College (Cambridge), the Royal Society of London, or the British Museum. The Keynes Collection (in the library of King’s College, Cambridge) is almost entirely based on the Sotheby sale and is inventoried in the form of a marked copy of the sale catalogue, available in the library; see A. N. L. Munby, “The Keynes Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton at King’s College, Cambridge,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 10 (1952), 40–50. The “scientific portion” of the Portsmouth Collection was given to Cambridge University in the 1870’s; the remainder was dispersed at public auction in 1936. See Sotheby’s Catalogue of the Newton Papers, Sold by Order of the Viscount Lymington, to Whom They Have Descended From Catherine Conduitt, Viscountess Lymington, Great-niece of Sir Isaac Newton (London, 1936). No catalogue has ever been made available of the Macclesfield Collection (rich in Newton MSS), based originally on the papers of John Collins and William Jones, for which see S. P. Rigaud’s 2-vol. Correspondence … (I). Further information concerning MS sources is given in Whiteside, Mathematical Papers, I, xxiv-xxxiii (3).
Many books from Newton’s library are in the Trinity College Library (Cambridge); others are in public and private collections all over the world. R. de Villamil, Newton: The Man (London, 1931 [?]; repr., with intro. by 1. B. Cohen, New York, 1972), contains a catalogue (imperfect and incomplete) of books in Newton’s library at the time of his death; an inventory with present locations of Newton’s books is greatly to be desired. See P. E. Spargo, “Newton’s Library,” in Endeavour, 31 (1972), 29–33, with short but valuable list of references. See also Library of Sir Isaac Newton. Presentation by the Pilgrim Trust to Trinity College Cambridge 30 October 1943 (Cambridge, 1944), described on pp. 5–7 of Thirteenth Annual Report of the Pilgrim Trust (Harlech, 1943).
SECONDARY LITERATURE
V. Guides TO THE Secondary Literature. For guides to the literature concerning Newton, see … Catalogue … Babson Collection … (III); and scholarly eds., such as Mathematical Papers (3), Principia (I), and Correspondence (II). A most valuable year-by-year list of articles and books has been prepared and published by Clelia Pighetti:“Cinquant’anni di studi newtoniani (1908–1959),” in Rivista critica di storia delta filosofia, 20 (1960), 181–203,295–318. See also Magda Whitrow, ed., ISIS Cumulative Bibliography… 1913–65, II (London, 1971), 221–232. Two fairly recent surveys of the literature are I. B. Cohen, “Newton in the Light of Recent Scholarship,” in Isis, 51 (1960), 489–514; and D. T. Whiteside, “The Expanding World of Newtonian Research,” in History of Science, 1 (1962), 16 29.
VI. General Works. Biographies (e.g., by Stukeley, Brewster, More, Manuel) are listed below (1). Some major interpretative works and collections of studies on Newton are Ferd. Rosenberger, Isaac Newton and seine physikalischen Principien (Leipzig, 1895); Leon Bloch, La philosophic de Newton (Paris, 1908); S. I. Vavilov, Isaak Nyuton; nauchnaya biografia i stati, 3rd ed. (Moscow, 1961), German trans, by Josef Grön as Isaac Newton (Vienna, 1948), 2nd ed., rev., German trans, by Franz Boncourt (Berlin, 1951); Alexandre Koyré, Newtonian Studies (London-Cambridge, Mass., 1965) which, posthumously published, contains a number of errors—a more correct version is the French trans., Études newtoniennes (Paris, 1968), with an avertissement by Yvon Belaval; and Alberto Pala, Isaac Newton, scienza e fihsofia (Turin, 1969).
Major collections of Newtonian studies include W. J. Greenstreet, ed., Isaac Newton 1642–1727 (London, 1927); F. E. Brasch, ed., Sir Isaac Newton 1727–1927 (Baltimore, 1928); S. I. Vavilov, ed., Isaak Nyuton 1643[n.s.]–1727, a symposium in Russian (Moscow-Leningrad, 1943); Royal Society, Newton Tercentenary Celebrations, 15–19 July 1946(Cambridge, 1947); and Robert Palter, ed.. The Annus Mirabilis of Sir Isaac Newton 1666–1966 (Cambridge, Mass., 1970), based on an earlier version in The Texas Quarterly, 10 , no. 3 (autumn 1967).
On Newton’s reputation and influence (notably in the eighteenth century), see Hélène Metzger, Newton, Stahl, Boerhaave et la doctrine chimique (Paris, 1930), and Attraction universelle et religion naturelle chez quelques commentateurs anglais de Newton (Paris, 1938); Pierre Brunt, L’introduction des théories de Newton en France au XVIIIε siècle, I, Avant 1738 (Paris, 1931); Marjorie Hope Nicolson, Newton Demands the Muse, Newton’s Opticks and the Eighteenth Century Poets (Princeton, 1946); I. B. Cohen, Franklin and Newton, an Inquiry Into Speculative Newtonian Experimental Science… (Philadelphia, 1956; Cambridge, Mass., 1966; rev. repr. 1974); Henry Guerlac, “Where the Statue Stood: Divergent Loyalties to Newton in the Eighteenth Century,” in Earl R. Wasserman, ed., Aspects of the Eighteenth Century (Baltimore, 1965), pp. 317–334; R. E. Schofield, Mechanism and Materialism, British Natural Philosophy in an Age of Reason (Princeton, 1970); Paolo Casini, L’universo-macchina, origini della filosofia newtoniana (Bari, 1969); and Arnold Thackray, Atoms and Powers, an Essay in Newtonian Matter-Theory and the Development of Chemistry (Cambridge, Mass., 1970). Still of value today are three major eighteenth-century expositions of the Newtonian natural philosophy, by Henry Pemberton, Voltaire, and Colin Maclaurin.
Whoever studies any of Newton’s mathematical or scientific writings would be well advised to consult J. A. Lohne, “The Increasing Corruption of Newton’s Diagrams,” in History of Science, 6 (1967), 69–89.
Newton’s MSS comprise some 20–25 million words; most of them have never been studied fully, and some are currently “lost,” having been dispersed at the Sotheby sale in 1936. Among the areas in which there is a great need for editing of MSS and research are Newton’s studies of lunar motions (chiefly U.L.C. MS Add. 3966); his work in optics (chiefly U.L.C. MS Add. 3970; plus other MSS such as notebooks, etc.); and the technical innovations he proposed for the Principia in the 1690’s (chiefly U.L.C. MS Add. 3965); see (4), (7). It would be further valuable to have full annotated editions of his early notebooks and of some major alchemical notes and writings.
Some recent Newtonian publications include Valentin Boss, Newton and Russia, the Early Influence 1698–1796 (Cambridge, Mass., 1972); Klaus-Dietwardt Buchholtz, Isaac Newton als Theologe (Wittenburg, 1965); Mary S. Churchill, “The Seven Chapters With Explanatory Notes,” in Chymia, 12 (1967), 27–57, the first publication of one of Newton’s complete alchemical MS; J. E. Hofmann, “Neue Newtoniana,” in Studia Leibnitiana, 2 (1970), 140–145, a review of recent literature; D. Kubrin, “Newton and the Cyclical Cosmos,” in Journal of the History of Ideas, 28 (1967), 325–346; J. E. McGuire, “The Origin of Newton’s Doctrine of Essential Qualities,” in Centaurus, 12 (1968), 233–260; and L. Trengrove, “Newton’s Theological Views,” in Annals of Science, 22 (1966), 277–294.
SOURCES
1. Early Life and Education. The major biographies of Newton are David Brewster, Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Isaac Newton, 2 vols. (Edinburgh, 1855; 2nd ed., 1860; repr. New York, 1965), the best biography of Newton, despite its stuffiness; for a corrective, see Augustus De Morgan, Essays on the Life and Work of Newton (Chicago-London, 1914); Louis Trenchard More, Isaac Newton (New York-London, 1934; repr. New York, 1962); and Frank E. Manuel, A Portrait of Isaac Newton (Cambridge, Mass., 1968). Of the greatest value is the “synoptical view” of Newton’s life, pp. xxi–lxxxi, with supplementary documents, in J. Edleston, ed., Correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor Cotes… (London, 1850; repr. London, 1969). Supplementary information concerning Newton’s youthful studies is given in D. T. Whiteside, “Isaac Newton: Birth of a Mathematician,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 19 (1964), 53–62, and “Newton’s Marvellous Year: 1666 and All That,” ibid., 21 (1966), 32–41.
John Conduitt assembled recollections of Newton by Humphrey Newton, William Stukeley, William Derham, A. De Moivre, and others, which are now mainly in the Keynes Collection, King’s College, Cambridge. Many of these documents have been printed in Edmund Turnor, Collections for the History of the Town and Soke of Grantham (London, 1806). William Stukeley’s Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’s Life (1752) was edited by A. Hastings White (London, 1936).
On Newton’s family and origins, see C. W. Foster, “Sir Isaac Newton’s Family,” in Reports and Papers of the Architectural Societies of the Country of Lincoln, Country of York, Archdeaconries of Northampton and Oakham, and Country of Leicester, 39 (1928–1929), 1–62. Newton’s early notebooks are in Cambridge in the University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and Trinity College Library; and in New York City in the Morgan Library. For the latter, see David Eugene Smith, “Two Unpublished Documents of Sir Isaac Newton,” in W. J. Greenstreet, ed., Isaac Newton 1642–1727 (London, 1927), pp. 16 ff. Also, E. N. da C. Andrade, “Newton’s Early Notebook,” in Nature, 135 (1935), 360; George L. Huxley: “Two Newtonian Studies: I. Newton’s Boyhood Interests,” in Harvard Library Bulletin, 13 (1959), 348–354; and A. R. Hall, “Sir Isaac Newton’s Notebook, 1661–1665,” in Cambridge Historical Journal, 9 (1948), 239–250. Elsewhere, Andrade has shown that Newton did not write the poem, attributed to him, concerning Charles II, a conclusion supported by William Stukeley’s 1752 Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’s Life, A. Hastings White, ed. (London, 1936).
On Newton’s early diagrams and his sundial, see Charles Turnor, “An Account of the Newtonian Dial Presented to the Royal Society,” in Proceedings of the Royal Society, 5 (1851), 513 (13 June 1844); and H. W. Robinson, “Note on Some Recently Discovered Geometrical Drawings in the Stonework of Woolsthorpe Manor House,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 5 (1947), 35–36. For Newton’s catalogue of “sins,” see R. S. Westfall, “Short-writing and the State of Newton’s Conscience, 1662,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 18 (1963), 10–16.
On Newton’s early reading, see R. S. Westfall, “The Foundations of Newton’s Philosophy of Nature,” British Journal for the History of Science, 1 (1962), 171–182, which is repr. in somewhat amplified form in his Force in Newton’s Physics. On Newton’s reading, see further I. B. Cohen, Introduction to Newton’s Principia (7) and vol. I of Whiteside’s ed. of Newton’s Mathematical Papers (3). And, of course, a major source of biographical information is the Royal Society’s edition of Newton’s Correspondence (II).
2. Lucasian Professor. For the major sources concerning this period of Newton’s life, see (1) above, notably Brewster, Cohen (Introduction), Edleston, Manuel, More, Whiteside (Mathematical Papers) and Correspondence.
Edleston (pp. xci-xcviii) gives a “Table of Newton’s Lectures as Lucasian Professor,” with the dates and corresponding pages of the deposited MSS and the published ed. for the lectures on optics (U.L.C. MS Dd. 9.67, deposited 1674; printed London, 1729); lectures on arithmetic and algebra (U.L.C. MS Dd. 9.68; first published by Whiston, Cambridge, 1707); lectures De motu corporum (U.L.C. MS Dd. 9.46), corresponding grosso modo to bk. I of the Principia through prop. 54; and finally De motu corporum liber secundus (U.L.C. MS Dd. 9.67); of which a more complete version was printed as De mundi systemate liber (London, 1728)—see below.
Except for the last two, the deposited lectures are final copies, complete with numbered illustrations, as if ready for the press or for any reader who might have access to these MSS. The Lectiones opticae exist in two MS versions, an earlier one, which Newton kept (U.L.C. MS Add. 4002, in Newton’s hand), having a division by dates quite different from that of the deposited lectures; this has been printed in facs., with an intro. by D. T. Whiteside as The Unpublished First Version of Isaac Newton’s Cambridge Lectures on Optics 1670–1672 (Cambridge, 1973). See I. B. Cohen, Introduction, supp. III, “Newton’s Professorial Lectures,” esp. pp. 303–306.
The deposited MS De motu corporum consists of leaves corresponding to different states of composition of bk. I of the Principia; the second state (in the hand of Humphrey Newton, with additions and emendations by Isaac Newton) is all but the equivalent of the corresponding part of the MS of the Principia sent to the printer, but the earlier state is notably different and more primitive. See I. B. Cohen, Introduction, supp. IV, pp. 310–321.
Edleston did not list the deposited copy of the lectures for 1687, a fair copy of only the first portion of De motu corporum liber secundus (corresponding to the first 27 sections, roughly half of Newton’s own copy of the whole work, U.L.C. MS Add. 3990); he referred to a copy of the deposited lectures made by Cotes (Trinity College Library, MS R. 19.39), in which the remainder of the text was added from a copy of the whole MS belonging to Charles Morgan. See I. B. Cohen, Introduction, supp. III, pp. 306–308, and supp. VI, pp. 327–335. This MS, an early version of what was to be rewritten as Liber tertius: De mundi systemate of the Principia, was published in English (London, 1728) and in Latin (London, 1728); see I. B. Cohen, “Newton’s System of the World,” in Physis, 11 (1969), 152–166; and intro. to repr. of the English System of the World (London, 1969).
The statutes of the Lucasian professorship (dated 19 Dec. 1663) are printed in the appendix to William Whiston’s An Account of… [His] Prosecution at, and Banishment From, the University of Cambridge (London, 1718) and are printed again by D. T. Whiteside in Newton’s Mathematical Papers, III, xx-xxvii.
It is often supposed, probably mistakenly, that Newton actually read the lectures that he deposited, or that the deposited lectures are evidence of the state of his knowledge or his formulation of a given subject at the time of giving a particular lecture, because the deposited MSS may be divided into dated lectures; but the statutes required that the lectures be rewritten after they had been read.
The MSS of Humphrey Newton’s memoranda are in the Keynes Collection, King’s College, Cambridge (K. MS 135) and are printed in David Brewster, Memoirs, II, 91–98, and again in L. T. More, Isaac Newton, pp. 246–251.
The evidence for Newton’s plan to publish an ed. of his early optical papers, including the letters in the Philosophical Transactions, is in a set of printed pages (possibly printed proofs) forming part of such an annotated printing of these letters, discovered by D. J. de S. Price. See I. B. Cohen, “Versions of Isaac Newton’s First Published Paper With Remarks on … an Edition of His Early Papers on Light and Color,” in Archives internationales d’histoire des sciences, 11 (1958), 357–375; D. J. de S. Price, “Newton in a Church Tower: The Discovery of an Unknown Book by Isaac Newton,” in Yale University Library Gazette, 34 (1960), 124–126; A. R. Hall, “Newton’s First Book,” in Archives internationales d’histoire des sciences, 13 (1960), 39–61. On 5 Mar. 1677, Collins wrote to Newton that David Loggan “informs me that he hath drawn your effigies in order to [produce] a sculpture thereof to be prefixed to a book of Light [&] Colours [&] Dioptricks which you intend to publish.”
The most recent and detailed analysis of the Newton-Fatio relationship is given in Frank E. Manuel, A Portrait of Isaac Newton, ch. 9, “The Ape of Newton: Fatio de Duillier,” and ch. 10, “The Black Year 1693.” For factual details, see Newton, Correspondence, III . The late Charles A. Domson completed a doctoral dissertation, “Nicolas Fatio de Duillier and the Prophets of London: An Essay in the Historical Interaction of Natural Philosophy and Millennial Belief in the Age of Newton” (Yale, 1972).
Newton’s gifts to the Trinity College Library are listed in an old MS catalogue of the library; see I. B. Cohen: “Newton’s Attribution of the First Two Laws of Motion to Galileo,” in Atti del Symposium internazionale di storia, metodologia, logica e filosofia delta scienza: “Galileo nella storia e nella filosofia della scienza” (Florence, 1967), pp. xxii-xlii, esp. pp. xxvii-xxviii and n. 22.
3. Mathematics. The primary work for the study of Newton’s mathematics is the ed. (to be completed in 8 vols.) by D. T. Whiteside: Mathematical Papers of Isaac Newton (Cambridge, 1967- ). Whiteside has also provided a valuable pair of introductions to a facs. repr. of early translations of a number of Newton’s tracts, The MathematicalWorks of Isaac Newton, 2 vols. (New York-London, 1964–1967); these introductions give an admirable and concise summary of the development of Newton’s mathematical thought and contain bibliographical notes on the printings and translations of the tracts reprinted, embracing De analyst; De quadratura; Methodus fluxionum et serierum infinitarum; Arithmetica universalis (based on his professorial lectures, deposited in the University Library); Enumeratio lineanun tertii ordinis; and Methodus differentialis (“Newton’s Interpolation Formulas”). Attention may also be directed to several other of Whiteside’s publications: “Isaac Newton: Birth of a Mathematician,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 19 (1964), 53–62; “Newton’s Marvellous Year: 1666 and All That,” ibid., 21 (1966), 32–41; “Newton’s Discovery of the General Binomial Theorem,” in Mathematical Gazette, 45 (1961), 175–180. (See other articles of his cited in (6), (7), (8) below.)
Further information concerning the eds. and translations of Newton’s mathematical writings may be gleaned from the bibliographies (Gray, Zeitlinger, Babson) cited above (III). Various Newtonian tracts appeared in Johann Castillon’s Opuscula … (II), I, supplemented by a two-volume ed. (Amsterdam, 1761) of Arithmetica universalis. The naturalist Buffon translated the Methodus fluxionum…(Paris, 1740), and James Wilso n replied to Buffon’s preface in an appendix to vol. II (1761) of his own ed. of Benjamin Robins’ Mathematical Tracts; these two works give a real insight into “what an interested student could then know of Newton’s private thoughts,” See also Pierre Brunet, “La notion d’infini mathématique chez Buffon,” in Archeion, 13 (1931), 24–39; and Lesley Hanks, Buffon avant l’“Histoire naturelle”; (Paris, 1966), pt. 2, ch. 4 and app. 4. Horsley’s ed. of Newton’ Opera (II) contains some of Newton’s mathematical tracts. A modern version of the Arithmetica universalis, with extended notes and commentary, has been published by A. P. Youschkevitch (Moscow, 1948). A. Rupert Hall and Marie Boas Hall have published Newton’s October 1666 tract, “to resolve problems by motion” (U.L.C. MS Add. 3458, fols. 49–63) in their Unpublished Scientific Papers (II); see also H. W. Turnbull, “The Discovery of the Infinitesimal Calculus,” in Nature, 167 (1951), 1048–1050.
Newton’s Correspondence (II) contains letters and other documents relating to mathematics, with valuable annotations by H. W. Turnbull and J. F. Scott. See, further, Turnbull’s The Mathematical Discoveries of Newton (London-Glasgow, 1945), produced before he started to edit the Correspondence and thus presenting a view not wholly borne out by later research. Carl B. Boyer has dealt with Newton in Concepts of the Calculus (New York, 1939; repr. 1949, 1959), ch. 5; “Newton as an Originator of Polar Coordinates,” in American Mathematical Monthly 56 (1949), 73–78; History of Analytic Geometry(New York, 1956), ch. 7; and A History of Mathematics (New York, 1968), ch. 19.
Other secondary works are W. W. Rouse Ball, A Short Account of the History of Mathematics, 4th ed. (London, 1908), ch. 16—even more useful is his A History of the Study of Mathematics at Cambridge (Cambridge, 1889), chs. 4–6; J. F. Scott, A History of Mathematics (London, 1958), chs. 10, 11; and Margaret E. Baron, The Origins of the Infinitesimal Calculus (Oxford-London-New York, 1969).
Some specialized studies of value are D. T. Whiteside, “Patterns of Mathematical Thought in the Later Seventeenth Century,” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 1 (1961), 179–388; W. W. Rouse Bali, “On Newton’s Classification of Cubic Curves,” in Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, 22 (1891), 104–143, summarized in Bibliotheca mathematica, n.s. 5 (1891), 35–40; Florian Cajori, “Fourier’s Improvement of the Newton-Raphson Method of Approximation Anticipated by Mourraile,” in Bibliotheca mathematica, 11 (1910–1911), 132–137; “Historical Note on the Newton-Raphson Method of Approximation,” in American Mathematical Monthly, 18 (1911), 29–32; and A History of the Conceptions of Limits and Fluxions in Great Britain From Newton to Woodhouse (Chicago-London, 1919); W. J. Greenstreet, ed., Isaac Newton 1642–1727 (London, 1927), including D. C. Fraser, “Newton and Interpolation”; A. R. Forsyth, “Newton’s Problem of the Solid of Least Resistance”; J. J. Milne, “Newton’ Contribution to the Geometry of Conies”; H. Hilton, “Newton on Plane Cubic Curves”; and J. M. Child, “Newton and the Art of Discovery” Duncan C. Fraser, Newton’ Interpolation Formulas (London, 1927), repr. from Journal of the Institute of Actuaries, 51 (1918–1919), 77–106, 211–232, and 58 (1927), 53–95; C. R. M. Talbot, Sir Isaac Newton’s Enumeration of Lines of the Third Order, Generation of Curves by Shadows, Organic Description of Curves, and Construction of Equations by Curves, trans, from the Latin, with notes and examples (London, 1860); Florence N. David, “Mr. Newton, Mr. Pepys and Dyse,” in Annals of Science, 13 (1957), 137–147, on dice-throwing and probability; Jean Pelseneer, “Une lettre inédite de Newton à Pepys (23 décembre 1693),” in Osiris, 1 (1936), 497–499, on probabilities; J. M. Keynes, “A Mathematical Analysis by Newton of a Problem in College Administration,” in Isis49 (1958), 174–176; Maximilian Miller, “Newton, Aufzahlung der Linien dritter Ordnung,” in Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Hochschule für Verkehrswesen Dresden, 1, no. I (1953), 5–32; “Newtons Differenzmethode,” ibid., 2, no. I (1954), 1–13; and Über die Analysis mit Hilfe unendlicher Reihen,” ibid., no. 2 (1954), 1–16; Oskar Bolza, “Bemerkungen zu Newtons Beweis seines Satzes über den Rotationskörper kleinsten Widerstandes,” in Bibliotheca mathematical 3rd ser., 13 (1912–1913), 146–149.
Other works relating to Newton’s mathematics are cited in (6) and (for the quarrel with Leibniz over priority in the calculus) (10).
4. Optics. The eds. of the Opticks and Lectiones opticae are mentioned above (I); the two MS versions of the latter are U.L.C. MS Add. 4002, MS Dd.9.67. An annotated copy of the 1st ed. of the Opticks, used by the printer for the composition of the 2nd ed. still exists (U.L.C. MS Adv.b.39.3—formerly MS Add. 4001). For information Cohen, Introduction to Newton’s Principia (7), p. 34; and R. S. Westfall, “Newton’s Reply,” pp. 83–84—extracts are printed with commentary in D. T. Whiteside’s ed. of Newton’s Mathematical Papers (3). At one time Newton began to write a Fundamentum opticae, the text of which is readily reconstructive from the MSS and which is a necessary tool for a complete analysis of bk. I of the Opticks into which its contents were later incorporated; for pagination, see Mathematical Papers (3), III, 552. This work is barely known to Newton scholars. Most of Newton’s optical MSS are assembled in the University Library, Cambridge, as MS Add. 3970, but other MS writings appear in the Waste Book, correspondence, and various notebooks.
Among the older literature, F. Rosenberger’s book (VI) may still be studied with profit, and there is much to be learned from Joseph Priestley’s 18th-century presentation of the development and current state of concepts and theories of light and vision. See also Ernst Mach, The Principles of Physical Optics: An Historical and Philosophical Treatment, trans, by John S. Anderson and A. F. A. Young (London, 1926; repr. New York, 1953); and Vasco Ronchi, The Nature of Light: An Historical Survey, trans, by V. Barocas (Cambridge, Mass., 1970)— also 2 eds. in Italian and a French translation by Juliette Taton.
Newton’s MSS have been used in A. R. Hall, “Newton’s Notebook” (1), pp. 239–250; and in J. A. Lohne, “Newton’s ‘Proof’ of* the Sine Law,” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 1 (1961), 389–405; “Isaac Newton: The Rise of a Scientist 1661–1671,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 20 (1965), 125–139; and “Experimentum crucis” ibid., 23 (1968), 169–199. See also J. A. Lohne and Bernhard Sticker, Newtons Theorie der Prismenfarben, mit Überscizung and Erläutcrung der Abhandlung von 1672 (Munich, 1969); and R. S. Westfall, “The Development of Newton’s Theory of Color,” in Isis, 53 (1962), 339–358; “Newton and his Critics on the Nature of Colors,” in Archives internationales d’histoire des sciences, 15 (1962), 47–58; “Newton’s Reply to Hooke and the Theory of Colors,” in Isis, 54 (1963), 82–96; “Isaac Newton’s Coloured Circles Twixt Two Contiguous Glasses,” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 2 (1965), 181–196; and “Uneasily Fitful Reflections on Fits of Easy Transmission [and of easy reflection],” in Robert Palter, ed., The Annus Mirabilis (VI), pp. 88–104.
Newton’s optical papers (from the Philosophical Transactions and T, Birch’s History of the Royal Society) are repr. in facs. in Newton’s Papers and Letters (1), with an intro. by T. S, Kuhn. See also I. B. Cohen, “I prismi del Newton e i prismi deli’Algarotti,” in Atti delta Fondazione “Giorgio Ronchi (Florence), 12 (1957), 1–11; Vasco Ronehi, “I prismi del Newton’ del Museo Civico di Treviso,” ibid, 12–28; and N. R. Hanson, “Waves, Particles, and Newton’s ‘Fits,’” in Journal of the History of Ideas, 21 (1960), 370–391. On Newton’s work on color, see George Biernson, “Why did Newton see Indigo in the Spectrum?,” in American Journal of Physics40 (1972), 526–533; and Torger Holtzmark, “Newton’s Experimentum Crucis Reconsidered,” ibid., 38 (1970), 1229–1235.
An able account of Newton’s work in optics, set against the background of his century, is A. I. Sabra, Theories of Light From Descartes to Newton (London, 1967), ch. 9–13. An important series of studies, based on extensive examination of the MSS, are Zev Bechler, “Newton’s 1672 Optical Controversies: A Study in the Grammar of Scientific Dissent,” in Y. Elkana, ed., Some Aspects of the Interaction Between Science and Philosophy (New York, in press); “Newton’s Search for a Mechanistic Model of Color Dispersion: A Suggested Interpretation,” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 11 (1973), 1–37; and an analysis of Newton’s work on chromatic aberration in lenses (in press). On the last topic, see also D. T. Whiteside, Mathematical Papers, III, pt. 3, esp. pp. 442–443, 512 513 (n. 61), 533 (n. 13), and 555–556 (nn. 5–6).
5. Dynamics, Astronomy, and the Birth of the “Principia.” The primary documents for the study of Newton’s dynamics have been assembled by A. R. and M. B. Hall (II) and by J. Herivel, The Background to Newton’s Principia (Oxford, 1965); other major documents are printed (with historical and critical essays) in the Royal Society’s ed. of Newton’s Correspondence (II); S. P. Rigaud, Historical Essay on the First Publication of Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia (Oxford, 1838; repr., with intro. by I. B. Cohen, New York, 1972); W. W. Rouse Ball, An Essay on Newton’s Principia (London, 1893; repr. with intro. by I. B. Cohen, New York, 1972); and I. B. Cohen, Introduction (7).
The development of Newton’s concepts of dynamics is discussed by Herivel (in Background, and in a series of articles summarized in that work), in Rouse Ball’s Essay, I. B. Cohen’s Introduction, and in R. S. Westfall’s Force in Newton’s Physics (London-New York, 1971). On the concept of inertia and the laws of motion, see I. B, Cohen, Transformations of Scientific Ideas: Variations on Newtonian Themes in the History of Science, the Wiles Lectures (Cambridge, in press), ch. 2; and “Newton’s Second Law and the Concept of Force in the Principia,” in R. Palter cd.. Annus mirabilis (VI), pp. 143–185; Alan Gabbey, “Force and Inertia in Seventeenth-Century Dynamics,” in Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 2 (1971), l–68; E. J. Aiton, The Vortex Theory of Planetary Motions (London-New York, 1972); and A. R. Hall, “Newton on the Calculation of Central Forces,” in Annals of Science, 13 (1957), 62–71. Newton’s encounter with Hooke in 1679 and his progress from the Ward-Bullialdus approximation to the area law are studied in J. A. Lohne, “Hooke Versus Newton, an Analysis of the Documents in the Case of Free Fall and Planetary Motion,” in Centaurus, 7 (1960), 6–52; D. T. Whiteside, “Newton’s Early Thoughts on Planetary Motion: A Fresh Look,” in British Journal for the History of Science, 2 (1964), 117–137, “Newtonian Dynamics,” in History of Science, 5 (1966), 104–117, and “Before the Principia: The Maturing of Newton’s Thoughts on Dynamical Astronomy, 1664–84,” in Journal for the History of Astronomy, 1 (1970), 5–19; A. Koyre, “An Unpublished Letter of Robert Hooke to Isaac Newton,” in Isis, 43 (1952), 312–337, repr, in Koyre’s Newtonian Studies (VI); and R. S. Westfall, “Hooke and the Law of Universal Gravitation,” in British Journal for the Historyof Science, 3 (1967), 245–261. “The Background and Early Development of Newton’s Theory of Comets” is the title of a Ph.D. thesis by James Alan Ruffner (Indiana Univ., May 1966).
6. Mathematics in the Principia. The references for this section will be few, since works dealing with Newton’s preparation for the Principia are listed under (5), and additional sources for the Principia itself are given under (7). See, further, Yasukatsu Maeyama, Hypothesen zur Planetentheorie des 17. Jahrhunderts (Frankfurt, 1971), and Curtis A. Wilson, “From Kepler’s Laws, So-called, to Universal Gravitation: Empirical Factors,” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 6 (1970), 89–170.
Two scholarly studies may especially commend our attention: H. W. Turnbull, Mathematical Discoveries (3), of which chs. 7 and 12 deal specifically with the Principia; D. T. Whiteside, “The Mathematical Principles Underlying Newton’s Principia Mathematica” in Journal for the History of Astronomy, 1 (1970), 116–138, of which a version with less annotation was published in pamphlet form by the University of Glasgow (1970). See also C. B. Boyer, Concepts of Calculus and History (3), and J. F. Scott, History (3), ch. 11. Valuable documents and commentaries also appear in the Royal Society’s ed. of Newton’s Correspondence, J. Herivel’s Background (5) and various articles, and D. T. Whiteside, Mathematical Papers (3). Especially valuable are three commentaries: J. M. F. Wright, A Commentary on Newton’s Principia, 2 vols. (London, 1833; repr., with intro. by I. B. Cohen, New York, 1972); Henry Lord Brougham and E. J. Routh, Analytical View of Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia (London, 1855; repr., with intro. by I. B. Cohen, New York, 1972); and Percival Frost, Newton’s Principia, First Book, Sections I., II., III., With Notes and Illustrations (Cambridge, 1854; 5th ed., London-New York, 1900). On a post-Principia MS on dynamics, using fluxions, see W. W. Rouse Ball, “A Newtonian Fragment Relating to Centripetal Forces” in Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, 23 (1892), 226–231; A. R. and M. B. Hall, Unpublished Papers (II), pp. 65–68; and commentary by D. T. Whiteside, in History of Science, 2 (1963), 129, n. 4.
7. The Principia. Many of the major sources for studying the Principia have already been given, in (5), (6), including works by A. R. Hall and M. B. Hall, J. Herivel, R. S. Westfall, and D. T. Whiteside. Information on the writing of the Principia and the evolution of the text is given in I. B. Cohen, Introduction to Newton’s Principia (Cambridge, 1971) and the 2-vol. ed. of the Principia with variant readings, ed. by A. Koyré, I. B. Cohen, and Anne Whitman (I). Some additional works are R. S. Westfall, “Newton and Absolute Space,” in Archives internationales d’histoire des sciences, 17 (1964), 121–132; Clifford Truesdell, “A Program Toward Rediscovering the Rational Mechanics of the Age of Reason,” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 1 (1960), 3–36, and “Reactions of Late Baroque Mechanics to Success, Conjecture, Error, and Failure in Newton’s Principia,” in Robert Palter, ed., The Annus Mirabilis (VI), pp. 192–232—both articles by Truesdeli are repr. in his Essays in the History of Mechanics (New York-Berlin, 1968); E. J. Aiton, “The Inverse Problem of Central Forces,” in Annals of Science, 20 (1964), 81–99; J. A. Lohne, “The Increasing Corruption” (VI), esp. “5. The Planetary Ellipse of the Principia”; and Thomas L. Hankins, “The Reception of Newton’s Second Law of Motion in the Eighteenth Century,” in Archives internationales d’histoire des sciences, 20 (1967), 43–65. Highly recommended is L. Rosenfeld, “Newton and the Law of Gravitation,” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 2 (1965), 365–386: see also E. J. Aiton, “Newton’s Aether-Stream Hypothesis and the Inverse-Square Law of Gravitation,” in Annals of Science, 25 (1969), 255–260; and L. Rosenfeld, “Newton’s Views on Aether and Gravitation,” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 6 (1969), 29–37.
I. B. Cohen has discussed some further aspects of Principia questions in the Wiles Lectures (5) and a study of “Newton’s Second Law” (5); and in “Isaac Newton’s Principia, the Scriptures and the Divine Providence”, in S. Morgenbesser, P. Suppes, and M. White, eds., Essays in Honor of Ernest Nagel (New York, 1969), pp. 523–548, esp. pp. 537 ff.; and “New Light on the Form of Definitions I-II-VI-VII,” where Newton’s concept of “measure” is explored. On the incompatibility of Newton’s dynamics and Galileo’s and Kepler’s laws, see Karl R. Popper, “The Aim of Science,” in Ratio, 1 (1957), 24–35; and 1. B. Cohen, “Newton’s Theories vs. Kepler’s Theory,” in Y. Elkana, ed., Some Aspects of the Interaction Between Science and Philosophy (New York, in press).
8. Revision of the Opticks (The Later Queries); Chemistry, and Theory of Matter.The doctrine of the later queries has been studied by F. Rosenberger, Newton und seine physikalischen Principien (VI), and by Philip E. B. Jourdain, in a series of articles entitled “Newton’s Hypothesis of Ether and of Gravitation…,” in The Monist, 25 (1915), 79–106, 233–254, 418–440; and by I. B. Cohen in Franklin and Newton (VI).
In addition to his studies of the queries, Henry Guerlac has analyzed Newton’s philosophy of matter, suggesting an influence of Hauksbee’s electrical experiments on the formation of Newton’s later concept of ether. See his Newton et Epicure (Paris, 1963); “Francis Hauksbee: Experimentateur au profit de Newton,” in Archives intemationales d’histoire des sciences, 17 (1963), 113–128; “Sir Isaac and the Ingenious Mr. Hauksbee,” in Mélanges Alexandre Koyré: L’aventure de la science (Paris, 1964), pp. 228–253; and “Newton’s Optical Aether,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 22 (1967), 45–57. See also Joan L. Hawes, “Newton and the ‘Electrical Attraction Unexcited’” in Annals of Science, 24 (1968), 121–130; “Newton’s Revival of the Aether Hypothesis and the Explanation of Gravitational Attraction,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London, 23 (1968), 200–212; and the studies by Bechler listed above (4).
The electrical character of Newton’s concept of “spiritus” in the final paragraph of the General Scholium has been disclosed by A. R. and M. B. Hall, in Unpublished Papers (II). On Newton’s theory of matter, see Marie Boas [Hall], “Newton’s Chemical Papers,” in Newton’s Papers and Letters (I), pp. 241–248; and A. R. Hall and M. B. Hall, “Newton’s Chemical Experiments,” in Archives Internationales d’histoire des science, 11 (1958), 113–152; “Newton’s Mechanical Principles,” in Journal of the History of Ideas, 20 (1959), 167–178; “Newton’s Theory of Matter,” in Isis, 51 (1960), 131–144; and “Newton and the Theory of Matter,” in Robert Palter, ed., The Annus Mirabilis (VI), pp. 54–68.
On Newton’s chemistry and theory of matter, see additionally R. Kargon, Atomism in England From Hariot to Newton (Oxford, 1966); A. Koyré, “Les Queries dc I’Optique,” in Archives internationales d’histoire des sciences, 13 (1960), 15–29; T. S. Kuhn, “Newton’s 31st Query and the Degradation of Gold,” in Isis, 42 (1951), 296–298, with discussion ibid., 43 (1952), 123–124; J. E. McGuire, “Body and Void…” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 3 (1966), 206–248; “Transmutation and Immutability,” in Ambix, 14 (1967), 69–95; and other papers; D. McKie, “Some Notes on Newton’s Chemical Philosophy,” in Philosophical Magazine, 33 (1942), 847–870; and J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, II (London, 1961), 468–477, 482–485.
For Newton’s theories of chemistry and matter, and their influence, see the books by Hélène Metzger (VI), R. E. Schofield (VI), and A. Thackray (VI).
Geoffroy’s summary (“extrait”) of the Opticks, presented at meetings of the Paris Academy of Sciences, is discussed in I. B. Cohen, “Isaac Newton, Hans Sloane, and the Académic Royale des Sciences,” in Mélanges Alexandre Koyré, I, L’aventure de la science (Paris, 1964), 61–116; on the general agreement by Newtonians that the queries were not so much asking questions as stating answers to such questions (and on the rhetorical form of the queries), see I. B. Cohen, Franklin and Newton(VI), ch. 6.
9. Alchemy, Theology, and Prophecy. Chronology and History. Newton published no essays or books on alchemy. His Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended (London, 1728) also appeared in an abridged version (London, 1728). His major study of prophecy is Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John (London, 1733). A selection of Theological Manuscripts was edited by H. McLachlan (Liverpool, 1950).
For details concerning Newton’s theological MSS, and MSS relating to chronology, see sees. VII-VIII of the catalogue of the Sotheby sale of the Newton papers (IV); for other eds. of the Chronology and the Observations see the Gray bibliography and the catalogue of the Babson Collection (III) . There is no analysis of Newton’s theological writings based on a thorough analysis of the MSS; see R. S. Westfall, Science and Religion in Seventeenth-Century England (New Haven, 1958), ch. 8; F. E. Manuel, The Eighteenth Century Confronts the Gods (Cambridge, 1959), ch. 3; and George S. Brett, “Newton’s Place in the History of Religious Thought,” in F. E. Brasch, ed., Sir Isaac Newton (VI), pp. 259–273. For Newton’s chronological and allied studies, see F. E. Manuel, Isaac Newton, Historian (Cambridge, 1963).
On alchemy, the catalogue of the Sotheby sale is most illuminating. Important MSS and annotated alchemical books are to be found in the Keynes Collection (King’s College, Cambridge) and in the Burndy Library and the University of Wisconsin, M.I.T., and the Babson Institute. A major scholarly study of Newton’s alchemy and hermeticism, based on an extensive study of Newton’s MSS, is P. M. Rattansi, “Newton’s Alchemical Studies,” in Allen G. Debus, ed., Science, Medicine and Society in the Renaissance: Essays to Honor Walter Pagel, II (New York, 1972), 167–182; see also R. S. Westfall, “Newton and the Hermetic Tradition,” ibid., pp. 183–198.
On Newton and the tradition of the ancients, and the intended inclusion in the Principia of references to an ancient tradition of wisdom, see I. B. Cohen, “’Quantum in se est’: Newton’s Concept of Inertia in Relation to Descartes and Lucretius,” in Notes and Records. Royal Society of London19 (1964), 131–155; and esp. J. E. McGuire and P. M. Rattansi, “Newton and the ‘Pipes of Pan’,” ibid., 21 (1966), 108–143; also J. E. McGuire, “Transmutation and Immutability,” in Ambix, 14 (1967), 69–95. On alchemy, see R. J. Forbes, “Was Newton an Alchemist?,” in Chymia, 2 (1949), 27–36; F. Sherwood Taylor, “An Alchemical Work of Sir Isaac Newton,” in Ambix, 5 (1956), 59–84; E. D. Geoghegan, “Some Indications of Newton’s Attitude Towards Alchemy,” ibid., 6 (1957), 102–106; and A. R. and M. B. Hall, “Newton’s Chemical Experiments,” in Archives Internationales d’histoire des sciences, 11 (1958), 113–152.
A salutary point of view is expressed by Mary Hesse, “Hermeticism and Historiography: An Apology for the Internal History of Science,” in Roger H. Stuewer, ed., Historical and Philosophical Perspectives of Science, vol. V of Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science (Minneapolis, 1970), 134–162. But see also P. M. Rattansi, “Some Evaluations of Reason in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Natural Philosophy,” in Mikuláš Teich and Robert Young, eds., Changing Perspectives in the History of Science, Essays in Honour of Joseph Needham (London, 1973), pp. 148–166.
10. The London Years: the Mint, the Royal Society, Quarrels With Flamsteed and With Leibniz. On Newton’s life in London and the affairs of the mint, see the biographies by More and Brewster (1), supplemented by Manuel’s Portrait (1). Of special interest are Augustus De Morgan, Newton: His Friend: and His Niece (London, 1885); and Sir John Craig, Newton at the Mint (Cambridge, 1946). On the quarrel with Flamsteed, see Francis Baily, An Account of the Revd. John Flamsteed (London, 1835; supp., 1837; repr. London, 1966); the above-mentioned biographies of Newton; and Newton’s Correspondence (II). On the controversy with Leibniz, see the Commercium epistolicum(I). Newton’s MSS on this controversy (U.L.C. MS Add. 3968) have never been fully analyzed; but see Augustus De Morgan, “On the Additions Made to the Second Edition of the Commercium epistolicum” in Philosophical Magazine, 3rd ser., 32 (1848), 446–456; and “On the Authorship of the Account of the Commercium epistolicum, Published in the Philosophical Transactions” ibid., 4th ser., 3 (1852), 440–444. The most recent ed. of The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence was edited by H. G. Alexander (Manchester, 1956).
11.Newton’s Philosophy: The Rules of Philosophizing, the General Scholium, the Queries of the Opticks. Among the many books and articles on Newton’s philosophy, those of Rosenberger, Bloch, and Koyré (VI) are highly recommended. On the evolution of the General Scholium, see A. R. and M. B. Hall, Unpublished Papers (II), pt. IV, intro, and sec. 8; and 1. B. Cohen, Transformations of Scientific Ideas (the Wiles Lectures, in press) (5) and “Hypotheses in Newton’s Philosophy,” in Physis,8 (1966), 163–184.
The other studies of Newton’s philosophy are far too numerous to list here; authors include Gerd Buchdahl, Ernst Cassirer, A. C. Crombie, N. R. Hanson, Ernst Mach, Jürgen Mittelstrass, John Herman Randall, Jr., Dudley Shapere, Howard Stein, and E. W. Strong.
I.B. Cohen
Gjertsen, Derek. The Newton Handbook. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986.
Hall, A. Rupert. Isaac Newton, Adventurer in Thought. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992.
Hall, A. Rupert, ed. Isaac Newton, Eighteenth-Century Perspectives: A Collection of Early Biographical Memoirs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Harrison, John. The Library of Isaac Newton. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1978.
Wallis, Peter, and Ruth Wallis. Newton and Newtoniana, 1672–1975: A Bibliography. London: Dawsons, 1977.
Westfall, Richard Samuel. Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Collections of Studies Bechler, Zev, ed. Contemporary Newtonian Scholarship. Dordrecht, Boston, and London: D. Reidel, 1982.
Buchwald, Jed, and I. Bernard Cohen, eds. Isaac Newton’s Natural Philosophy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.
Cohen, I. Bernard, and Richard S. Westfall. Newton: Texts, Backgrounds, and Commentaries, A Norton Critical Edition. New York and London: W. W. Norton, 1995.
Cohen, I. Bernard, and George E. Smith, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Newton. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Dalitz, Richard H., and Michael Nauenberg, eds. The Foundations of Newtonian Scholarship. Singapore: World Scientific, 2000.
Durham, F., and R. D. Puddington, eds. Some Truer Method: Reflections on the Heritage of Newton. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990.
Fauvel, John, Raymond Flood, Michael Shortland, and Robin Wilson, eds. Let Newton Be! A New Perspective on His Life and Works. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Harman, P. M., and Alan E. Shapiro. The Investigation of Difficult Things: Essays on Newton and the History of the Exact Sciences. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
King-Hele, D. G., and A. R. Hall, eds. Newton's Principia and Its Legacy. Proceedings of a Royal Society Discussion Meeting of 30 June 1987. London: The Royal Society, 1988.
Theerman, P. and A. F. Seef, eds. Action and Reaction. Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press, 1993.
Mathematics
Guicciardini, Niccolò. The Development of Newtonian Calculus in Britain, 1700–1800. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
—_____. Reading the Principia: The Debate on Newton’s Mathematical Methods for Natural Philosophy from 1687 to 1736. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Hall, A. Rupert. Philosophers at War: The Quarrel Between Newton and Leibniz. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
Pourciau, Bruce. “The Preliminary Mathematical Lemmas of Newton’s Principia.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences 52 (1998): 279–295.
Optics
Hall, A. Rupert. And All Was Light: An Introduction to Newton’s Opticks. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.
Schaffer, Simon. “Glass Works: Newton’s Prisms and the Use of Experiment.” In The Use of Experiment: Studies in the Natural Sciences, edited by David Gooding, Trevor Pinch, and Simon Schaffer, pp. 67–104. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Shapiro, Alan E. Fits, Passions, and Paroxysms: Physics, Method, and Chemistry and Newton’s Theories of Colored Bodies and Fits of Easy Reflection. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
_____. The Evolving Structure of Newton’s Theory of White Light and Color: 1670–1704.” Isis 71 (1980): 211–235.
_____. The Gradual Acceptance of Newton’s Theory of Light and Color,” Perspectives on Science 4 (1996), pp. 59-104.
_____. Newton’s Experimental Investigation of Diffraction for the Opticks: A Preliminary Study.” In The Foundations of Newtonian Scholarship, edited by R. H. Dalitz and M. Nauenberg, pp. 29–56. Singapore: World Scientific, 2000.
_____. Newton’s Optics and Atomism.” In The Cambridge Companion to Newton, edited by I. B. Cohen and G. E. Smith, pp. 227-255. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
The Principia
Bertoloni Meli, Dominico. Equivalence and Priority: Newton versus Leibniz. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993. —_____. Thinking with Objects: The Transformation of Mechanics in the Sevententh Century. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
Brackenridge, J. Bruce, and Michael Nauenberg. “Curvature in Newton’s Dynamics.” In The Cambridge Companion to Newton, edited by I. B. Cohen and G. E. Smith, pp. 85–137. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Cartwright, David Edgar. Tides: A Scientific History. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Chandrasekhar, S. Newton’s Principia for the Common Reader. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995.
Cohen, I. Bernard. The Newtonian Revolution. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
DiSalle, Robert. Understanding Space-Time: The Philosophical Development of Physics from Newton to Einstein. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Greenberg, Daniel L. The Problem of the Earth’s Shape from Newton to Clairaut. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Harper, William. “Isaac Newton on Empirical Success and Scientific Method.” In The Cosmos of Science: Essays of Exploration, edited by John Earman and John D. Norton, pp. 55–86. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997.
_____. Howard Stein on Isaac Newton: Beyond Hypotheses?” In Reading Natural Philosophy: Essays in the History and Philosophy of Science and Mathematics, edited by D. B. Malament, pp. 71–112. Chicago: Open Court, 2002.
Nauenberg, Michael. “Newton’s Early Computational Method for Dynamics.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences 46 (1994): 221–252.
Pourciau, Bruce. “Newton’s Argument for Proposition 1 of the Principia.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences 57 (2003): 267–311.
_____. The Importance of Being Equivalent: Newton’s Two Models of One-Body Motion.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences 58 (2004): 283–321. _____. Newton’s Interpretation of Newton’s Second Law.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences 60 (2006): 157–207.
Schliesser, Eric, and G. E. Smith. “Huygens’s 1688 Report to the Dutch East India Company on the Measurement of Longitude at Sea and the Evidence It Offered Against
Universal Gravity.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences, forthcoming.
Smeenk, Christopher, and G. E. Smith. “Newton on Constrained Motion: A Commentary on Book 1 Section 10 of the Principia.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences, forthcoming.
Smith, George E. “The Newtonian Style in Book II of the Principia.” In Isaac Newton’s Natural Philosophy, edited by J. Z. Buchwald and I. B. Cohen, pp. 249–313. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001
. _____. How Did Newton Discover Universal Gravity?” In Beyond Hypothesis: Newton’s Experimental Philosophy. Proceedings of a Conference at St. John’s College, Annapolis. The St. John’s Review XLV (1999): 32–63.
_____. From the Phenomenon of the Ellipse to an Inverse-Square Force: Why Not?” In Reading Natural Philosophy: Essays in the History and Philosophy of Science and Mathematics, edited by D. B. Malament, pp. 31–70. Chicago: Open Court, 2002.
_____. The Methodology of the Principia.” In The Cambridge Companion to Newton, edited by I. B. Cohen and G. E. Smith, pp. 138–173. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Stein, Howard. “Some Philosophical Prehistory of General Relativity.” In Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. VIII, Foundations of Space-Time Theories, edited by J. Earman, C. Glymour, and J. Stachel, pp. 3–49. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977.
_____. ‘From the Phenomena of Motions to the Forces of Nature’: Hypothesis or Deduction?” PSA 1990. Proceedings of the 1990 Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, vol. 2, pp. 209–222. East Lansing: Philosophy of Science Association, 1991.
_____. Newton’s Metaphysics.” In The Cambridge Companion to Newton, edited by I. B. Cohen and G. E. Smith, pp. 256–307. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Valluri, Sree Ram, Curtis Wilson, and William Harper. “Newton’s Apsidal Precession Theorem and Eccentric Orbits.” Journal for the History of Astronomy 28 (1997): 13–27.
Valluri, S. R., P. Yu, G. E. Smith, and P. A. Wiegart. “An Extension of Newton’s Apsidal Precession Theorem.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 358 (2005): 1273–1284.
Whiteside, D. T. “The Prehistory of the Principia from 1664–1686.” Notes and Records, The Royal Society 45 (1991): 11–61.
Wilson, Curtis. “The Newtonian Achievement in Astronomy.” In Planetary Astronomy from the Renaissance to the Rise of Astrophysics, Part A: Tycho Brahe to Newton, edited by R. Taton and C. Wilson, pp. 233–274. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
_____. Newton on the Moon’s Variation and Apsidal Motion: The Need for a Newer ‘New Analysis.’” In Isaac Newton’s Natural Philosophy, edited by J. Z. Buchwald and I. B. Cohen, pp. 139–188. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.
_____. Newton and Celestial Mechanics.” In The Cambridge Companion to Newton, edited by I. B. Cohen and G. E. Smith, pp. 202–206. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
George E. Smith
The Significance of Newton’s Alchemical Research In the original DSB (1974), I.B. Cohen wrote that it was it was “difficult to determine whether to consider Newton’s alchemy as an irrational vagary of an otherwise rational mind, or whether to give his hermeticism a significant role as a developmental force in his rational science” (DSB, vol.10, p. 82). Since the publication of these words, scholarly developments have substantially reduced the viability of Cohen’s first alternative. The topic of alchemy has yielded up much of its erstwhile mystery to scrutiny and it is clear that the subject was not only a reasonable field of endeavor in its day, but a veritable cause célèbre. Alchemy, or to use the largely synonymous early modern term, chymistry, included not only chrysopoeia (transmutation of base metals) but a host of more attainable pursuits, such as the making of medicines, dyes and pigments, alcoholic beverages, and colored glasses, and the metallurgical purification and reduction of ores. In short, the imposition of a modern distinction between alchemy and early chemistry is an anachronism.
Chymistry was also the source of diverse theories of material composition, including an important corpuscular theory of matter to which Newton and his older contemporary and acquaintance Robert Boyle were heirs. Having its roots in medieval alchemy, this corpuscular theory had no difficulty accommodating the transmutation of one metal into another by the replacement and rearrangement of particles at the micro-level. It is no mark of irrationality, then, that Newton and Boyle were committed seekers of the philosophers’s stone, and that such luminaries as John Locke and Gottfried W. Leibniz were all deeply interested in the aurific art. The age of gold was also the age of gold-making.
It is much harder to reply to Cohen’s second alternative. Although Newton’s alchemical work was certainly not an “irrational vagary,” it does not follow automatically that his chymistry contributed in any major way to Newton’s more famous scientific discoveries. Despite two major books by Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs on Newton’s alchemy that have appeared along with a number of articles devoted to the subject, as well as Richard Westfall’s magisterial biography, Never at Rest, the verdict is still out. Both Dobbs and Westfall were at various times inclined to see Newton’s alchemy as having contributed in a major way to his mature theory of gravitation, and more generally to his conviction that forces could operate at a distance. There is no direct evidence for this view in any of the documents submitted by Dobbs or Westfall for scrutiny, however, and on the few occasions when Newton did describe the causes of gravity in an explicitly alchemical context, he explained the falling of bodies by mechanical means, not as a result of force at a distance. This is particularly the case in Newton’s important early manuscript “Of Nature’s Obvious Laws & Processes in Vegetation” (Smithsonian Institution, Dibner MS. 1031B), where Newton postulated a material ether that forces bodies downward and is also responsible for chymical properties such as cohesion. In later works, such as Query 31 of the Opticks, Newton did import chymical powers in the form of a vis fermentativa whose ultimate source is the Flemish chymist Joan Baptista Van Helmont, but this “fermentative force” is quite distinct from gravitational attraction. Finally, it should be obvious that Newton had more immediate sources than alchemical literature to draw upon for the idea of immaterial forces acting on matter. In particular, he was the beneficiary of several centuries of research on the immaterial attraction exercised by magnets, beginning with Petrus Peregrinus in the thirteenth century and proceeding through the works of many seventeenth-century figures ranging from William Gilbert to Johannes Kepler. In a word, the idea that Newton derived his theory of universal gravitation from alchemy has become something of a canard.
But it does not follow from this, of course, that Newton’s chymistry had no connection with his more famous scientific endeavors, or that it wielded no influence upon them. One promising area lies in Newton’s early work on the analysis and synthesis of white light by means of prisms. From his earliest researches, Newton seems to have held the private conviction that light was composed of tiny corporeal bodies—corpuscles. Because Newton also viewed matter more generally as corpuscular, it is therefore not surprising that he recorded his fundamental optical discoveries alongside chymical phenomena and experiments in his early manuscripts, such as his Certain Philosophical Questions and the laboratory notebook now kept in Cambridge University Library under the shelf-mark Additional 3975.
Although Newton’s earliest efforts to break white light into its spectral colors by means of prisms seem to have had non-chymical sources, his decision to recombine those colors and hence recreate the light that he started with is highly suggestive of early modern chymistry. It is the largely chymical manuscript CU add. 3975 that contains the first record of Newton’s resynthesis of white light after his having analyzed it into its spectral colors, and the same codex contains Newton’s notes on Robert Boyle’s famous redintegration(resynthesis) of various materials from their components after they had been subjected to analysis. It is highly likely that the form of demonstration
employed by Newton, analysis followed by resynthesis, owed a significant debt to Boyle and to the tradition of alchemy as a whole, which had been expressly viewed as the “art of analysis and synthesis” since the beginning of the seventeenth century. Boyle’s important reintegration of saltpeter had received public notice when he published his Certain Physiological Essays (1661) and his Origine of Formes and Qualities(1666). Hence the resynthesis of compounds was a subject very much au courant in the scientific circles traveled by Newton at the very time when he was making his fundamental optical discoveries, and one that was sure to appeal to the young savant.
Newton’s Chymical Theory Whereas there was significant bleed-through from Newton’s chymistry to his other scientific endeavors, it is equally important to determine the nature of his chymistry as a whole, without judging it merely in relation to his physics. The chymical nachlass that Newton left unpublished (now being published on the Chymistry of Isaac Newton website) consists of about a million words of text that can be divided into four rough categories—synopses, transcriptions, and running commentaries on existing alchemical texts; cross-referencing and lexicographical tools such as Newton’s Index chemicus; laboratory notebooks such as CU add. 3975 and 3973; and treatises, or rather clusters of ideas arranged in the form of commonplace entries, such as “Of Nature’s Obvious Laws & Processes in Vegetation.” Of these four types of text, only the last provides a straightforward entry into Newton’s theory of chymistry. Hence the remaining remarks will focus on the main texts of this sort, namely “Of Nature’s Obvious Laws” and the hitherto unstudied Latin text also found in Smithsonian MS. Dibner 1031B that begins with the phrase “Humores minerales continuo decidunt” (“Mineral humidities continually fall down”). In these texts Newton presented a theory that the world is a vast living being, which continually inhales and exhales a subtle, vital, ethereal material. Within the earth this material provides the Urstoff from which minerals and metals are formed. On the surface of the earth, the same material accounts for the generation, growth, and sustenance of life.
It is clear that the material principle alluded to by Newton was his reworking of an idea derived from the sal nitrum theorists, a major school within early modern alchemy. The main figure associated with this movement was Michael Sendivogius, a Polish courtier, alchemist, and mining consultant in the employ of the Hapsburg emperor Rudolf II. Sendivogius’s Novum lumen chemicum(1604) and Tractatus de suphure(1616) argue that there is a volatile niter (also referred to as philosophical mercury) that circulates between the core of the earth and the sun. This fiery cosmic principle serves as the source of life on earth, and like Newton’s ether, it is involved in the subterranean generation of minerals and metals.
Curiously, Newton explicitly distanced himself from the sal nitrum theorists in his 1675 Hypothesis of Light. He presented a theory, however, that is otherwise remarkably similar to the one proposed in “Of Natures Obvious Laws.” After describing an aereal, volatile spirit that accounts for flame and vital activity in the Hypothesis, Newton said “I mean not the imaginary volatile saltpeter” [Turnbull, Correspondence of Isaac Newton, 1959, vol. 1, p. 365]. A. Rupert Hall has pointed out that Newton may have preferred the version of the sal nitrum theory found in Sendivogius’s work to contemporary English versions that had been influenced by Cartesianism. This could be the case, but a careful reading of Newton’s “Humores minerales,” the Latin text also found in Smithsonian MS. 1031B, reveals that Newton’s own theory of metallic generation was not entirely identical to that usually expressed by the sal nitrum school.
In its most common form, the volatile niter theory viewed subterranean processes in terms of the sublimation and condensation of mineral vapors. Within the earth, the volatile niter was supposed to combine with sulfur and various impurities to yield the metals by reiterate vaporization and condensation. If one consults Newton’s “Humores minerales,” however, it is immediately obvious that he introduced another process into the generation of metals, namely solution. Writing under the influence of the German alchemist Johannes Grasseus, Newton laid out an elaborate subterranean process. According to this theory, minerals are dissolved by underground acidities, which then analyze the minerals into their mercurial and sulfurous constituents and carry them downwards toward the center of the earth. The downwards-falling solution then encounters fumes that are rising upwards, and combines with them, which accounts for the generation of further metals from the initial dissolved minerals. The subterranean process of solution by naturally occurring acids therefore became an integral part of Newton’s theory, and the volatile niter of the sal nitrum theorists was nowhere openly mentioned by name. Nonetheless, “Humores minerales” concluded in a way quite similar to the niter theory’s insistence on a general, universal spirit. The text ended by saying “These two spirits [i.e. mercury and sulfur] above all wander over the earth and bestow life on animals and vegetables. And they make stones, salts, and so forth.”
As one can see from the texts in Smithsonian MS. Dibner 1031B, Newton used chymistry as the source for something like what physicists in the early twenty-first century call a “theory of everything,” namely a physical theory that unifies and accounts for all known natural phenomena. Although Newton’s alchemically-based theory did not belong to the realm of mathematical physics, it too tried to account for widely diverse phenomena, including organic life, the origin of heat and flame, the mechanical cause of gravitation, cohesion, the generation of metals and minerals, and so forth, by making an appeal to an ethereal medium. Perhaps because of the marvelous properties that Newton ascribed to the single ethereal medium behind such phenomena, some scholars have seen Newton’s interest in alchemy as arising above all from his religious sensibilities. In a qualified fashion this can be granted, because Newton’s science as a whole was undoubtedly conditioned by his deep religious convictions. Rather than seeing Newton’s chymistry as somehow more religiously oriented than his physics, however, one should view it as arising from the same desire to penetrate behind the appearances and to arrive at the most general possible explanation of reality. In the hands of Newton, both chymistry and physics were tools for arriving at fundamental truths about Nature and its operations.
SUPPLEMENTARBLIOGRAPHY
The totality of Newton’s chymical nachlass is being published on line in diplomatic and normalized versions with translations of the Latin as part of The Chymistry of Isaac Newton, edited by William R. Newton, available from http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/newton/ .
WORKS BY NEWTON
Dobbs, Betty Jo Teeter. The Foundations of Newton’s Alchemy: or, “The Hunting of the Greene Lyon. ” Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1975. Several of Newton’s chymical writings have been edited and translated as appendices to this work and The Janus Faces of Genius.
—_____. The Janus Faces of Genius: The Role of Alchemy in Newton’s Thought. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
McGuire, J. E., and Martin Tamny. Certain Philosophical Questions: Newton’s Trinity Notebook. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1983. Some chymical material is already found in Newton’s student notebook, Certain Philosophical Questions.
OTHER SOURCES
Dobbs, Betty Jo Teeter. “Newton Manuscripts at the Smithsonian Institution.” Isis68 (1977): 105–107.
_____. Newton’s Copy of Secrets Reveal’d and the Regimens of the Work.” Ambix26 (1979): 145–169.
_____. Newton’s Alchemy and his Theory of Matter.” Isis73 (1982): 511–528.
_____. Newton’s ‘Clavis’: New Evidence on its Dating and Significance.” Ambix 29 (1982): 190–202.
—_____. Review of Contemporary Newtonian Research, edited by Zev Bechler. Isis74 (1983): 609–610.
_____. Conceptual Problems in Newton’s Early Chemistry: A Preliminary Study.” In Religion, Science, and Worldview: Essays in Honor of Westfall, Richard S, edited by Margaret J. Osler and Paul L. Farber, pp. 3–32. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
_____. Newton and Stocism.” The Southern Journal of Philosophy (Supplement)23 (1985): 109–123.
_____. Alchemistische Kosmogonie und arianiasche Theologie bei Isaac Newton.” Wolfenbütteler Forschungen 32 (1986): 137–155.
_____. Newton’s Alchemy and his ‘Active Principle’ of Gravitation.” In Newton’s Scientific and Philosophical Legacy, edited by Paul B. Scheuer and Guy Debrock, pp. 55–80. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer, 1988.
_____. Newton’s Commentary on The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trimegistus: its Scientific and Theological Significance.” In Hermeticisim and the Renaissance: Intellectual History and the Occult in Early Modern Europe, edited by Ingrid Merkel and Allen G. Debus, pp. 182–191. Washington, D.C.: The Folger Shakespeare Library, 1988.
_____. Newton’s Rejection of a Mechanical Aether for Gravitation: Empirical Difficulties and Guiding Assumptions.” In Scrutinizing Science: empirical Studies of Scientific Change, edited by Arthur Donovan, Lary Laudan, and Rachel Laudan, pp. 69–83. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwe, 1988.
—_____. Alchemical Death & Resurrection: The Significance of Alchemy in the Age of Newton. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Libraries, 1990.
_____. Newton as Alchemist and Theologian.” In Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: A Longer View of Newton and Halley, edited by Norman J. W. Thrower, pp. 128–140. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.
_____. ‘The Unity of Truth’: An Integrated View of Newton’s Work.” In Action and Reaction: Proceedings of a Symposium to Commemorate the Tercentenary of Newton’s ‘Principia, ’ edited by Paul Theerman and Adele F. Seeff, pp. 105–122. Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press, 1993. _____. Newton as Final Cause and First Mover.” Isis 85 (1994): 633–643.
_____. —, and Margaret C. Jacob. Newton and the Culture of Newtonianism. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1995.
Figala, Karin. “Zwei Londoner Alchemisten um 1700: Sir Isaac Newton und Cleidophorus Mystagogus.” Physis18 (1976): 245–273.
_____. Newton as Alchemist.” History of Science15 (1977): 102–137.
_____. Die exakte Alchemie des von Isaac Newton.” Verhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Basel94 (1984): 157–227.
_____. Newton’s Alchemy.” In The Cambridge Companion to Newton, edited by I. Bernard Cohen and George E. Smith, pp. 370–386. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
_____. —, J. Harrison, and Ulrich Petzoldt. “De Scriptoribus Chemicis: Sources for the Establishment of Isaac Newton’s (Al)Chemical Library.” In The Investigation of Difficult Things, edited by P.M. Harman and A. E. Shapiro, pp. 135–179. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
_____. —, and Ulrich Petzoldt. “Alchemy in the Newtonian Circle: Personal Acquaintances and the Problem of the Late Phase of Isaac Newton’s Alchemy.” In Renaissance and Revolution: Humanists, Scholars, Craftsmen, and Natural Philosophers in Early Modern Europe, edited by Judith V. Field and Frank A. J. L. James, pp. 173–192. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Golinski, Jan. “The Secret Life of an Alchemist.” In Let Newton Be!, edited by John Fauvel, pp. 147–167. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Hall, A. Rupert. Isaac Newton, Adventurer in Thought. Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell, 1992.
_____. Isaac Newton and the Aerial Nitre.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London52 (1998): 51–61.
_____. Pitfalls in the Editing of Newton’s Papers.” History of Science40 (2002): 407–424.
Lederer, Thomas. “Leben, Werk und Wirkung des Stralsunder Fachschriftstellers Johann Grasse (nach 1560–1618).” In Pommern in der Frühen Neuzeit, edited by Wilhelm Kuhlmann and Horst Langer, pp. 227–237. Tübingen, Germany: Max Niemeyer, 1994.
McGuire, James E. “Neoplatonism and Active Principles: Newton and the Corpus Hermeticum.” In Hermeticism and the Scientific Revolution, edited by Robert S. Westman and James E. McGuire, pp. 93–142. Los Angeles: Clark Memorial Library, University of California, 1977.
Newman, William R. “Newton’s Clavis as Starkey’s Key.” Isis78 (1987): 564–574. The “Clavis,” a work ascribed by Dobbs to Newton and published in The Foundations of Newton’s Alchemy, has subsequently been proven to be by George Starkey.
—_____. Gehennical Fire: The Lives of George Starkey, an American Alchemist in the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994. revised ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
_____. —, and Lawrence M. Principe. “Alchemy v. Chemistry: The Etymological Origins of a Historiographic Mistake.” Early Science and Medicine 3 (1998): 32–65.
_____. The Background to Newton’s Chymistry.” In The Cambridge Companion to Newton, edited by I. Bernard Cohen and George E. Smith, pp. 358–369. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
—_____. Atoms and Alchemy: Chymistry and the Experimental Origins of the Scientific Revolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006a. _____. From Alchemy to ‘Chymistry.’” In The Cambridge History of Science: Early Modern Science, vol. 3, pp. 497–517. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2006b.
Priesner, Claus, and Karin Figala. Alchemie: Lexikon einer hermetischen Wissenschaft. Munich, Germany: C. H. Beck, 1998.
Principe, Lawrence M. “The Alchemies of Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton: Alternate Approaches and Divergent Deployments.” In Rethinking the Scientific Revolution, edited by Margaret J. Osler, pp. 201–220. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
_____. —, and William R. Newman. “Some Problems with the Historiography of Alchemy.” In Secrets of Nature: Astrology and Alchemy in Early Modern Europe, edited by William R. Newman and Anthony Grafton, pp. 385–431. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.
Spargo, Peter E., and C. A. Pounds. “Newton’s ‘Derangement of the Intellect’: New Light on an Old Problem.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London34 (1979): 11–32.
_____. Newton’s Chemical Experiments: An Analysis in the Light of Modern Chemistry.” In Action and Reaction: Proceedings of a Symposium to Commemorate the Tercentenary of Newton’s ‘Principia, ’ edited by Paul Theerman and Adele F. Seeff, pp. 123–143. Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press, 1993.
_____. Investigating the Site of Newton’s Laboratory in Trinity College, Cambridge.” South African Journal of Science101 (2005): 315–21.
Westfall, Richard S. “Isaac Newton’s Index Chemicus.” Ambix 22 (1975a): 174–185.
_____. The Role of Alchemy in Newton’s Career.” In Reason, Experiment and Mysticism in the Scientific Revolution, edited by M. L. Righini Bonelli and William R. Shea, pp. 189–232. New York: Science History Publications, 1975b.
_____. The Influence of Alchemy on Newton.” In Science, Pseudo-Science and Society, edited by Marsha P. Hanen, Margaret J. Osler, and Robert G. Weyant, pp. 145–169. Waterloo, Canada: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 1980a.
—_____. Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1980b.
_____. Alchemy in Newton’s Library.” Ambix31 (1984): 97–101.
William Newman
ENGLISH PHYSICIST AND MATHEMATICIAN
1642–1727
Sir Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642, in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England . His father died shortly before he was born. Newton attended Trinity College, starting in 1661, and remained there for the early part of his career. During the year of the plague (1665 to 1666), Trinity College was closed and Newton returned to his family home in the country. It was during this one incredibly productive year that much of Newton's most important work began. In 1703 Newton was knighted and elected president of the Royal Society , a post he held until his death in 1727.
Newton's best-known contributions to science were his three laws of motion and law of universal gravitation. These were first published in his Principia of 1687. Newton's other seminal work was Opticks, initially published in 1704. Newton also developed differential and integral calculus (although with different terminology and notation than used today), fluid mechanics, equations describing heat transfer, and an experimental scientific method. His other major intellectual interests were alchemy , theology, history, and biblical chronology. While working at the Royal Mint, Newton successfully oversaw the recoinage of the nation's currency to control coin clipping (the illicit trimming of gold or silver from the edges of coins) and its related inflation.
It is historically known that Newton owned one of Europe 's largest book collections on alchemy. Unfortunately, this part of his library was dispersed at the time of his death without an adequate inventory. Although Newton did not publish any large work on alchemy, the subject did continue to preoccupy him during the course of his life. Alchemy had obvious relevance to his work at the mint and its associated work on metallurgy . It also interested him because of its relevance to questions about the ultimate structure of matter. Much of Newton's published work on chemistry or alchemy appears in the form of "Queries" placed at the end of Opticks. These are rhetorical questions with postulated answers, some of which are quite extensive. Together, the Queries cover some sixty-seven pages. Query 31 alone is thirty text pages long.
Newton's postulated answers concerning the ultimate structure of matter by advancing the idea of atoms with some level of internal structure, a notion anticipating the modern concept of molecules. Newton also postulated on the existence of a nonmaterial substance, an imponderable (unweighable) fluid called ether, which might work at very small distances to repel atoms from one another. Heat, light, electricity, or the reactions of chemistry might be used, Newton suggested, to probe this subtle, imponderable fluid.
see also Alchemy; Atoms.
Bibliography
Andrade, Edward Neville daCosta (1979). Sir Isaac Newton. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Cohen, I. B., and Westfall, Richard S. (1995). Newton: Texts, Background, and Commentaries. New York: W. W. Norton.
Manuel, Frank E. (1990). A Portrait of Isaac Newton. New York: Da Capo Press.
Newton, Sir Isaac (1979). Opticks. New York: Dover. Based on the 4th edition. London, 1730.
Newton, Sir Isaac (1999). The Principia, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Translated by I. Bernard Cohen and Anne Whitman. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Thackray, Arnold (1970). Atoms and Powers: An Essay on Newtonian Matter-Theory and the Development of Chemistry. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cite this article
| i don't know |
Which Gilbert and Sullivan opera was originally going to be called The Tower of London? | Gilbert and Sullivan at their most poignant in Harrogate festival of their work | Daily Mail Online
The Yeomen Of The Guard (Buxton Opera House)
Verdict: G&S at their most poignant
Rating:
The most serious Gilbert and Sullivan opera, The Yeomen Of The Guard contains some of its composer’s most moving music, and that aspect is splendidly realised in this new production — which has moved on to the annual G&S Festival in Harrogate.
I do not expect to hear a better singer of Elsie Maynard’s role than soprano Jane Harrington. Apparently her two little sons keep telling her to ‘Stop singing, Mummy!’, but I could listen to her lovely tone all day.
The most serious Gilbert and Sullivan opera, The Yeomen Of The Guard contains some of its composer’s most moving music, and that aspect is splendidly realised in this new production — which has moved on to the annual G&S Festival in Harrogate
The touring National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company rests on sturdy, practical sets, a fine 26-strong orchestra and a superb chorus — the male choristers put one or two principal singers to shame.
One culprit is Richard Gauntlett in the comic-tragic role of Jack Point: it is not like him to swallow so many of his words. I suspect he has already improved his delivery. He dies very well at the end.
RELATED ARTICLES
Share this article
Share
Set in the Tower of London in the 16th century, the story is convoluted and involves a lot of characters. The rescue of Colonel Fairfax, well sung by Nicholas Sales, is a tad improbable. But with numbers such as ‘I have a song to sing, O’ and ‘When a wooer goes a-wooing’, the heart is often touched.
The ensemble singing is superb, with Bruce Graham as jailer Wilfred Shadbolt and Martin Lamb as Sergeant Meryll standing out. Fiona Mackay as Phoebe sings beautifully, though her enunciation needs work.
Pictured composer Arthur Sullivan (left) and W.S. Gilbert (right) of Gilbert and Sullivan
Producer John Savournin and musical director David Steadman are in even better form in The Pirates Of Penzance, which whizzes and fizzes from the first bars of the overture.
Gauntlett is at his hilarious best as the Major General, while Leigh Rhianon Coggins as Mabel is pert and funny, as well as affecting. Bruce Graham is an ideally deadpan Police Sergeant, Brendan Collins an athletic Pirate King, Adrian Dwyer a believable Frederic, Pauline Birchall a very droll Ruth.
The chorus is again topnotch. The men’s ranks are stretched by their double stints as pirates and policemen, but you will love the camp dancing they bring to their ‘constabulary duty’.
For more information about the 23rd International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, on now in Harrogate, visit gsfestivals.org
| Yeomen of the Guard |
What is the motto of the Salvation Army? | Tower of London
Tower of London
For other uses, see Tower of London (disambiguation)
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is an historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England , on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It is the oldest building used by the British government.
The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and moat .
The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture , an armoury, a treasury , a zoo , the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory , and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Today the Tower of London is cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown.
Location
The Tower is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, at the eastern boundary of the City of London financial district, adjacent to the River Thames and Tower Bridge. Between the river and the Tower is Tower Wharf, a freely accessible walkway with views of the river, tower and bridge, together with HMS Belfast and London City Hall on the opposite bank.
The nearest London Underground station is Tower Hill on the Circle and District Lines. The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Tower Gateway. London Fenchurch Street is a nearby National Rail station. River cruise boats stop at the Tower Millennium Pier and Thames Clipper services at St. Katharine Pier.
Construction history
The White Tower
At the centre of the Tower of London stands the Norman White Tower built in 1078 by William the Conqueror (reigned 1066-87) inside the southeast angle of the city walls, adjacent to the Thames. This was as much to protect the Normans from the people of the City of London as to protect London from outside invaders. William appointed Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, as the architect . Fine Caen stone, imported from France, was used for the corners of the building and as door and window dressings, though Kentish ragstone was used for the bulk of the edifice. According to legend the mortar used in its construction was tempered by the blood of beasts. Another legend ascribed the Tower not to William but to the Romans. William Shakespeare in his play Richard III stated that it was built by Julius Caesar .
The White Tower is 90 feet (27 m) high and the walls vary from 15 feet (4.5 m) thick at the base to almost 11 feet (3.3 m) in the upper parts. Above the battlements rise four turrets; three of them are square, but the one on the northeast is circular, in order to accommodate a spiral staircase. This turret was briefly used as the first royal observatory in the reign of Charles II. Completing the defences to the south of the Tower was the bailey .
In the 1190s, King Richard the Lionheart (reigned 1189-99) enclosed the White Tower with a curtain wall, and had a moat dug around it filled with water from the Thames. Richard utilised the pre-existing Roman city wall, to the east, as part of the circuit. Part of the wall he built was incorporated into the later circuit wall of Henry III and is still extant, running between the Bloody Tower and the Bell Tower, the latter of which also dates to his reign. In 1240 Henry III had the exterior of the building whitewashed, which is how it got its name.
The Inmost Ward
In the early thirteenth century Henry III (reigned 1216-72) transformed the Tower into a major royal residence and had palatial buildings constructed within the Inner Bailey to the south of the White Tower. This Inmost Ward was entered by the now ruined Coldharbour Gate to the NW and bounded by a wall, fortified by the Wakefield Tower to the SW, the Lanthorn Tower to the SE, and the now ruined Wardrobe Tower to the NE. The well appointed Wakefield Tower and the Lanthorn Tower were integral parts of this new royal palace, and adjoined the now demolished Great Hall situated between them. The Tower remained a royal residence until the time of Oliver Cromwell , who demolished some of the old palatial buildings.
The Inner Ward
The White Tower and Inmost Ward are situated in the Inner Ward, defended by a massive curtain wall, built by Henry III from 1238 onwards. In order to extend the circuit the city wall to the east was broken down, despite the protests of the citizens of London and even supernatural warnings, according to chronicler Matthew Paris. The wall has thirteen towers:
Wakefield Tower — the largest of the towers in the curtain wall. According to tradition this was where the imprisoned King Henry VI was murdered as he knelt at prayer.
Lanthorn Tower
Broad Arrow Tower
Constable Tower
Martin Tower. The Crown Jewels were kept here from 1669 until 1842. This was the scene of the attempted theft of the jewels by Colonel Blood in 1671.
Brick Tower
Devereux Tower
Beauchamp Tower (pronounced 'Beecham')
Bell Tower — the oldest tower in the circuit, built in the 1190s as part of the fortification of Richard I and later incorporated into that of Henry III. Named after the curfew bell which has been rung from this tower for over 500 years.
Bloody Tower (or the Garden Tower), so named after a legend that the Princes in the Tower were murdered there.
The Outer Ward
Between 1275 and 1285 Edward I (reigned 1272-1307) built an outer curtain wall, completely enclosing the inner wall and thus creating a concentric double defence. He filled in the moat and built a new moat around the new outer wall. The space between the walls is called the Outer Ward. The wall has five towers facing the river: Byward Tower
St Thomas's Tower, built between 1275-1279 by Edward I to provide additional royal accommodation for the King.
Cradle Tower
Well Tower
Develin Tower
On the north face of the outer wall are three semicircular bastions, the Brass Mount, the North Bastion and Legge's Mount.
The water entrance to the Tower is often referred to as Traitor's Gate because prisoners accused of treason such as Queen Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More are said to have passed through it. Traitor's Gate cuts through St Thomas's Tower and replaced Henry III's watergate in the Bloody Tower behind it. Behind Traitors Gate in the pool was an engine used to raise water to a cistern located on the roof of the White Tower. The engine was originally powered by the force of the tide or by horsepower and eventually by steampower; this was adapted around 1724 to drive machinery for boring gun barrels. It was removed in the 1860s. The Tudor Timber Framing seen above the great arch of Traitor's Gate dates from 1532 and was restored in the 19th century.
The western entrance and moat
A ditch or moat, now dry, encircles the whole, crossed at the southwestern angle by a stone bridge, leading to the Byward Tower from the Middle Tower — a gateway which had formerly an outwork, called the Lion Tower.
The Tower today is principally a tourist attraction. Besides the buildings themselves, the British Crown Jewels, an armour collection from the Royal Armouries, and a remnant of the wall of the Roman fortress are on display.
The tower is manned by the Yeomen Warders (known as Beefeaters), who act as tour guides, provide security, and are a tourist attraction in their own right. Every evening, the warders participate in the Ceremony of the Keys as the Tower is secured for the night. All warders have residence within the Tower, and must also own a residence outside of the Tower, so, that upon their retirement, they may return to a home outside of the Tower.
Menagerie
A Royal Menagerie was established at the tower in the 13th century, possibly as early as 1204 during the reign of King John, and probably stocked with animals from an earlier menagerie started in 1125 by Henry I at his palace in Woodstock, near Oxford; William of Malmesbury reported that Henry had lions , leopards , lynxes and camels among other animals there. Its year of origin is often stated as 1235, when Henry III received a wedding gift of three leopards (so recorded, although they may have been lions) from Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.The Tower of London housed a polar bear in 1252, which was a gift from the King of Norway.. In 1264, they were moved to the Bulwark, which was duly renamed the Lion Tower, near the main western entrance. It was opened as an occasional public spectacle in the reign of Elizabeth I. A lion skull was radiocarbon dated to between 1280 and 1385, making it the earliest medieval big cat known in Britain.
The menagerie was open to the public by the 18th century; admission was a sum of three half-pence or the supply of a cat or dog for feeding to the lions. This was where William Blake saw the tiger which may have inspired his poem The Tyger. The menagerie's last director, Alfred Cops, who took over in 1822, found the collection in a dismal state but restocked it and issued an illustrated scientific catalogue. Partly for commercial reasons and partly for animal welfare , the animals were moved to the Zoological Society of London's London Zoo when it opened. The last of the animals left in 1835, and most of the Lion Tower was demolished soon after, although Lion Gate remains.
Ravens
It had been thought that there have been at least six ravens in residence at the tower for centuries. The legend of these Ravens in the Tower of London is so important to the people of England that ten ravens (6 on duty and 4 young spares) are actually employed by the Tower of London at the expense of the British government, in return for their service they are treated very well and in deference to the ancient legend and the decree of King Charles II at least six ravens are provided with Raven's Lodgings at the Tower of London. A Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater, has the specific role of Ravenmaster at the Tower and takes care of their feeding and well being. The Ravenmaster builds this relationship with the ravens as he takes the fledglings into his home and hand rears them over a period of about six weeks. Ravens live up to an average of 25 years, but have been known to reach the age of 45 years. To prevent the birds from flying away one of their wings is clipped by the Ravenmaster. This does not hurt or harm the raven in any way. Clipping their wing unbalances their flight ensuring that they don't stray too far from the Tower. Ravens are members of the crow family, Corvus, and are eaters of carrion and live mainly on dead flesh. The Raven's lodgings are located next to the Wakefield Tower and are kept at the Tower of London at the expense of the British government. It was said that Charles II ordered their removal following complaints from John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer. However, they were not removed because Charles was then told of the legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the monarchy , and the entire kingdom would fall (the London Stone has a similar legend). Charles, following the time of the English Civil War , superstition or not, was not prepared to take the chance, and instead had the observatory moved to Greenwich .
The earliest known reference to a tower raven is a picture in the newspaper The Pictorial World in 1885. This and scattered subsequent references to the tower ravens, both literary and visual, which appear in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century place them near the monument commemorating those beheaded at the tower, popularly known as the “scaffold.” This strongly suggests that the ravens, which are notorious for gathering at gallows, were originally used to dramatize tales of imprisonment and execution at the tower told by the Yeomen Warders to tourists. There is evidence that the original ravens were donated to the tower by the Earls of Dunraven, perhaps because of their association with the Celtic raven-god Bran. However wild ravens, which were once abundant in London and often seen around meat markets (such as nearby Eastcheap) feasting for scraps, could have roosted at the tower in earlier times.
During the Second World War most of the Tower's ravens perished through shock during bombing raids, leaving a sole survivor named 'Grip'. There is evidence that the ravens were used as unofficial spotters for enemy planes and bombs during the Blitz. Before the tower reopened to the public on 1 January 1946, care was taken to ensure that a new set of ravens was in place.
The ravens' names/gender/age are (as of June 2009):
Gwylum (male, 18 years old)
Thor (male, 15 years old)
Hugin (female, 11 years old)
Munin (female, 11 years old)
Branwen (female, 3 years old)
Bran (male, 3 years old)
Gundulf (male, 1 year old)
Baldrick (male, 1 year old)
Fleur (female, 4 years old)
Colin (male, 2 years old)
The oldest raven ever to serve at the Tower of London was called Jim Crow, who died at the age of 44.
In 2006, ahead of the H5N1 avian influenza scare, the ravens were moved indoors; as of June 2006, they are once again free to roam about the grounds within the tower complex.
Prisoners
The first prisoner was Ranulf Flambard in 1100 who, as Bishop of Durham, was found guilty of extortion . He had been responsible for various improvements to the design of the tower after the first architect Gundulf moved back to Rochester. He escaped from the White Tower by climbing down a rope, which had been smuggled into his cell in a wine casket.
Other prisoners include: Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr (c. 1200– 1 March, 1244) a Welsh prince, the eldest but illegitimate son of Llywelyn the Great ("Llywelyn Fawr"). He fell to his death whilst trying to escape from a cell in the Tower.
John Balliol King of Scotland - after being forced to abdicate the crown of Scotland by Edward I he was imprisoned in the Tower from 1296 to 1299.
David II King of Scotland
John II King of France
Henry Laurens, the third President of the Continental Congress of Colonial America.
Domhnáill Ballaugh Ó Catháin, the last chieftain of Clan Ó Catháin died in the Tower in 1626.
Charles I de Valois, Duke of Orléans was one of the many French noblemen wounded in the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October, 1415. Captured and taken to England as a hostage, he remained in captivity for twenty-five years, at various places including Wallingford Castle. Charles is remembered as an accomplished poet owing to the more than five hundred extant poems he produced, most written while a prisoner.
Henry VI of England was imprisoned in the Tower, where he was murdered on 21 May 1471. Each year on the anniversary of Henry VI's death, the Provosts of Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, lay roses and lilies on the altar that stands where he died.
Margaret of Anjou, consort of Henry VI.
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, brother of King Edward IV of England.
Edward V of England and his brother Richard of Shrewsbury, also known as the Princes in the Tower, popular legend states that their uncle, Richard Duke of Glouchester locked them in the tower for their own protection, then, later, ordered their deaths.
Sir William de la Pole. A distant relative of King Henry VIII, he was incarcerated at the Tower for 37 years (1502-1539) for allegedly plotting against Henry VII, thus becoming the longest-held prisoner.
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and his steward Sir John Thynne.
Thomas More was imprisoned on 17 April 1535. He was executed on 6 July 1535 and his body was buried at the Tower of London.
Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, imprisoned on 2 May 1536 on charges of adultery, treason, and incest.
The future Queen Elizabeth I, imprisoned for two months in 1554 for her alleged involvement in Wyatt's Rebellion.
John Gerard, S.J., an English Jesuit priest operating undercover during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, when Catholics were being persecuted. He was captured and tortured and incarcerated in the Salt Tower before making a daring escape by rope across the moat.
Sir Walter Raleigh spent thirteen years (1603-1616) imprisoned at the Tower but was able to live in relative comfort in the Bloody Tower with his wife and two children. For some of the time he even grew tobacco on Tower Green, just outside his apartment. While imprisoned, he wrote The History of the World.
Nicholas Woodcock spent sixteen months in the "gatehouse and tower" for piloting the first Spanish whaleship to Spitsbergen in 1612.
Niall Garve O'Donnell, an Irish nobleman, a one-time ally of the English against his cousin, Red Hugh O'Donnell.
Guy Fawkes, famous for his part in the Gunpowder Plot , was brought to the Tower to be interrogated by a council of the King's Ministers. However, he was not executed at the tower. When he confessed, he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered in the Old Palace Yard at Westminster; however, he escaped his fate by jumping off the scaffold at the gallows which in turn broke his neck and killed him.
Johan Anders Jägerhorn, a Swedish officer from Finland, Lord Edward FitzGerald's friend, participating in the Irish independence movement. He spent two years in the Tower (1799-1801), but was released because of Russian interests.
Lord George Gordon, instigator of the Gordon Riots in 1780, spent 6 months in the Tower while awaiting trial on the charge of high treason.
Rudolf Hess , deputy leader of the German Nazi Party, the last State prisoner to be held in the tower, in May 1941.
The Kray twins, were among the last prisoners to be held, for a few days in 1952, for failing to report for national service .
Torture
Inside the torture chambers of the tower various implements of torture were used such as the Scavenger’s daughter, a kind of compression device, and the Rack, also known as the Duke of Exeter's Daughter.
Anne Askew is the only woman on record to have been tortured in the tower, after being taken there in 1546 on a charge of heresy . Sir Anthony Kingston, the Constable of the Tower of London, was ordered to torture Anne in an attempt to force her to name other Protestants. Anne was put on the Rack. Kingston was so impressed with the way Anne behaved that he refused to carry on torturing her, and Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor had to take over.
Executions
Lower-class criminals were usually executed by hanging at one of the public execution sites outside the Tower. High-profile convicts, such as Sir Thomas More, were publicly beheaded on Tower Hill. Seven nobles (five of them ladies) were beheaded privately on Tower Green, inside the complex, and then buried in the "Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula" (Latin for "in chains," making him an appropriate patron saint for prisoners) next to the Green. Some of the nobles who were executed outside the Tower are also buried in that chapel. ([http://www.camelotintl.com/tower_site/tower/chapel.html External link to Chapel webpage]) The names of the seven beheaded on Tower Green for treason alone are: William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (1483)
Anne Boleyn (1536)
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1541)
Catherine Howard (1542)
Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (1542)
Lady Jane Grey (1554)
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1601)
George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, was executed for treason in the Tower in February 1478, but not by beheading (and probably not by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine, despite what Shakespeare wrote).
When Edward IV died, he left two young sons behind: the Princes in the Tower. His brother Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, was made Regent until the older of his two sons, Edward V, should come of age. According to Thomas More's History of Richard III, Richard hired men to kill them, and, one night, the two Princes were smothered with their pillows. Many years later, bones were found buried at the foot of a stairway in the Tower, which are thought to be those of the princes. Richard was crowned King Richard III of England.
The last execution at the Tower was that of German spy Josef Jakobs on 14 August 1941 by firing squad formed from the Scots Guards.
Recent history
The military use of the Tower as a fortification, like that of other such castles , became obsolete with the introduction of artillery , and the moat was drained in 1830. However the Tower did serve as the headquarters of the Board of Ordnance until 1855, and the Tower was still occasionally used as a prison, even through both World Wars. In 1780, the Tower held its only American prisoner, former President of the Continental Congress, Henry Laurens. In World War I, eleven German spies were shot in the Tower. Irish rebel Roger Casement was imprisoned in the Tower during his trial on treason charges in 1916.
In 1942, Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, was imprisoned in the tower for four days. During this time, RAF Wing Commander George Salaman was placed in the same cell undercover, impersonating a Luftwaffe officer, to spy on Hess. Although acting covertly and not held as a true inmate, Salaman remains the last Englishman to be locked in the Tower of London. The tower was used as a prison for German prisoners of war throughout the conflict.
Waterloo Barracks, the location of the Crown Jewels, remained in use as a base for the 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) into the 1950s; during 1952, the Kray twins were briefly held there for failing to report for national service, making them among the last prisoners of the Tower; the last British citizen held for any length of time was the traitorous Army officer Norman Baillie-Stewart from 1933 to 1937. The tower is now home to the regimental museum of the Royal Fusiliers.
Although it is no longer a royal residence, the Tower officially remains a royal palace and maintains a permanent guard: this is found by the unit forming the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace . Two sentries are maintained during the hours that the Tower is open, with one stationed outside the Jewel House and one outside the Queen's House.
In 1974, there was a bomb explosion in the Mortar Room in the White Tower, leaving one person dead and 35 injured. No one claimed responsibility for the blast, however the police were investigating suspicions that the IRA was behind it.
In 2007, Moira Cameron became the first female Beefeater in history to go on duty at the Tower of London. Cameron beat five men to the job as a Yeomen Warder.
The Tower was featured in the BBC documentary series Tales from the Palaces.
On July 18, 2009, USS Halyburton became the first non-British ship to take part in the Tower's Constable's Dues ritual. Dating back to the 14th century, it involved the crew being challenged for entry into the capital, mirroring an ancient custom in which a ship had to unload some of its cargo for the sovereign to enter the city. Commander Michael P Huck led the crew to the Tower's West Gate, where after being challenged for entry by the Yeoman Gaoler armed with his axe , they were marched to Tower Green accompanied by Beefeaters, where they delivered a keg of Castillo Silver Rum, representing the dues, to the Tower's Constable, Sir Roger Wheeler.
Administration
The Tower of London and its surrounding area has always had a separate administration from the adjacent City of London. It was under the jurisdiction of Constable of the Tower who also held authority over the Tower liberties until 1894. In addition the Constable was ex-officio Lord Lieutenant of the Tower division of Middlesex until 1889 and head of the Tower Hamlets Militia until 1871. Today the Tower is within the boundaries of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Yeomen Warders
The tower is fully staffed with 35 Yeomen Warders (also known as Beefeaters), at all times, the most senior is titled the Chief Yeoman Warder, and his second-in-command is titled the Yeoman Gaoler, they answer to the Constable of the Tower. Yeomen Warders have served as defenders of the Crown Jewels, prison guards, and, since the time of Queen Victoria, tour guides to visitors, and they have become a tourist attraction in their own right, something the warders themselves acknowledge. The current role of the Yeoman Warder is that of tour guides, and, should the need arise, prison guards.
Crown Jewels
The Crown Jewels have been kept at the Tower of London since 1303, after they were stolen from Westminster Abbey . It is thought that most, if not all, were recovered shortly afterwards. After the coronation of Charles II, they were locked away and shown for a viewing fee paid to a custodian. However, this arrangement ended when Colonel Thomas Blood stole the Crown Jewels after having bound and gagged the custodian. Thereafter, the Crown Jewels were kept in a part of the Tower known as Jewel House, where armed guards defended them. They were temporarily taken out of the Tower during World War II and reportedly were secretly kept in the basement vaults of the Sun Life Insurance company in Montreal, Canada, along with the gold bullion of the Bank of England .
Ghosts
The Tower of London is reputedly the most haunted building in England. The ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn, beheaded in 1536 for treason against King Henry VIII, has allegedly been seen haunting the chapel of St Peter-ad-Vincula, where she is buried, and walking around the White Tower carrying her head under her arm. Other ghosts include Henry VI, Lady Jane Grey, Margaret Pole, and the Princes in the Tower. In January 1816 a sentry on guard outside the Jewel House witnessed an inexplicable apparition of a bear advancing towards him. The sentry reportedly died of fright a few days later.
In fiction
The Tower of London, as a place of death, darkness and treachery, is most famously evoked in William Shakespeare's play, Richard III, where it forms the backdrop of Richard's seizure of the throne and the scene of the notorious murder of the Princes in the Tower, and other victims (see above). A classic film version of this is Richard III (1955) with Laurence Olivier in the title role. This story is also reprised in the historical horror film Tower of London (1939) and its 1962 remake.
The Tower of London (1840) by William Harrison Ainsworth though written in fictional form, contrives to give a detailed account of the history and architecture of the Tower. He however included extensive underground passages and dungeons which did not actually exist.
The Tower is the setting for Gilbert and Sullivan 's 1888 light opera The Yeomen of the Guard.
Apparitions of Anne Boleyn at the Tower are the theme of the song "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm".
The Mad Hatter Mystery, a detective novel by John Dickson Carr, where the Tower serves as scene of a murder (Harper & Row Inc., New York, 1933, 1961).
There was an adventure computer game called Traitors Gate released by Swedish Daydream Software in 1999. In the game, the player is an american agent who must secretly steal the crown jewels in 12 hours. The game took place in a highly realistic [CGI] recreation of the whole Tower area.
The Tower Of London features frequently, and is described in exhaustive detail, in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, especially The System of the World, in which the tower is the setting for one of the series' grandest set pieces.
The Tower Of London also features in the 2005 Christmas special of the long-running BBC television science fiction series Doctor Who, in which it was the secret headquarters of fictional military organisation UNIT.
The Tower is the setting for the final battle in the anime version of Hellsing, where Alucard faces against Incognito.
The Tower is the setting for Johnny English when the crown jewels are stolen by Pascal Sauvage.
Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Jonah and Katherine try to save their friends Chip and Alex from the Tower of London.
The Tower of London is often portrayed in the Bartimaeus Trilogy, by Jonathan Stroud, as a prison.
In the novel 'Stars and Stripes triumphant' the Tower of London is partially destroyed by invading American ironclads. (Wikipedia)
| i don't know |
The flat, rectangular, hand-held tool used by a plasterer to hold his mortar as he works is usually known by the name of what type of bird? | Plasterwork — Stucco Repair Brevard - Seacoast Stone and Stucco, LLC
[ edit ] History
The earliest plasters known to us were lime-based. Around 7500 BC, the people of ‘Ain Ghazal in Jordan used lime mixed with unheated crushed limestone to make plaster which was used on a large scale for covering walls, floors, and hearths in their houses. Often, walls and floors were decorated with red, finger-painted patterns and designs. In ancient India and China, renders in clay and gypsum plasters were used to produce a smooth surface over rough stone or mud brick walls, while in early Egyptian tombs, walls were coated with lime and gypsum plaster and the finished surface was often painted or decorated.
Modelled stucco was employed throughout the Roman Empire. The Romans used mixtures of lime and sand to build up preparatory layers over which finer applications of gypsum , lime, sand and marble dust were made; pozzolanic materials were sometimes added to produce a more rapid set. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the addition of marble dust to plaster to allow the production of fine detail and a hard, smooth finish in hand-modelled and moulded decoration was not used until the Renaissance. Around the 4th century BC, the Romans discovered the principles of the hydraulic set of lime, which by the addition of highly reactive forms of silica and alumina, such as volcanic earths , could solidify rapidly even under water. There was little use of hydraulic mortar after the Roman period until the 18th century.
Plaster decoration was widely used in Europe in the Middle Ages where, from the mid-13th century, gypsum plaster was used for internal and external plaster. Hair was employed as reinforcement, with additives to assist set or plasticity including malt, urine, beer, milk and eggs.
In the 14th century, decorative cool called terracotta was reintroduced into Europe and was widely used for the production of ornament.
In the mid-15th century, Venetian skilled workers developed a new type of external facing, called marmorino made by applying lime directly onto masonry.
In the 16th century, a new highly decorative type of decorative internal plasterwork, called Vasari as being a quick and durable method for decorating building facades. Here, layers of contrasting lime plaster were applied and a design scratched through the upper layer to reveal the colour beneath.
The 17th century saw the introduction of different types of internal plasterwork. Stucco marble was an artificial marble made using gypsum (sometimes with lime), pigments, water and glue. Stucco lustro was another a form of imitation marble (sometimes called stucco lucido) where a thin layer of lime or gypsum plaster was applied over a scored support of lime, with pigments scattered on surface of the wet plaster.
The 18th century gave rise to renewed interest in innovative external plasters. Oil mastics introduced in the UK in this period included a “Composition or stone paste” patented in 1765 by David Wark. This was a lime-based mix and included “oyls of tar, turpentine and linseed” besides many other ingredients. Another “Composition or cement”, including drying oil, was patented in 1773 by Rev. John Liardet. A similar product was patented in 1777 by John Johnson. Widely used by the architect George Jackson to produce reverse-cut boxwood moulds (many of which to Adam designs). Jackson formed an independent company which still today produces composition pressings and retains a very large boxwood mould collection.
In 1774, in France, a mémoire was published on the composition of ancient mortars. This was translated into English as “A Practical Essay on a Cement, and Artificial Stone, justly supposed to be that of the Greeks and Romans” and was published in the same year. Following this, and as a backlash to the disappointment felt due to the repeated failure of oil mastics, in the second half of the 18th century water-based renders gained popularity once more.
Mixes for renders were patented, including a “Water Cement, or Stucco” consisting of lime, sand, bone ash and lime-water (Dr Bryan Higgins, 1779).
Various experiments mixing different limes with volcanic earths took place in the 18th century. John Smeaton (from 1756) experimented with clayey material.
In 1796, Revd James Parker patented Parker’s “ Roman Cement “. This was a hydraulic cement which, when mixed with sand, could be used for stucco. It could also be cast to form mouldings and other ornaments. It was however of an unattractive brown colour, which needed to be disguised by surface finishes.
Natural Joseph Aspdin , was called so because it was supposed to resemble Portland stone. Aspdinís son William, and later Isaac Johnson, improved the production process. A product, very similar to modern Portland cement, was available from about 1845, with other improvements taking place in the following years.
Thus, after about 1860, most stucco was composed primarily of Portland cement, mixed with some lime. This made it even more versatile and durable. No longer used just as a coating for a substantial material like masonry or log, stucco could now be applied over wood or metal lath attached to a light wood frame. With this increased strength, it ceased to be just a veneer and became a more integral part of the building structure. Early 19th century rendered façades were colour-washed with distemper ; oil paint for external walls was introduced around 1840.
The 19th century also saw the revival of the use of oil mastics. In the UK, patents were obtained for “compositions” in 1803 (Thomas Fulchner), 1815 (Christopher Dihl) and 1817 (Peter Hamelin). These oil mastics, as the ones before them, also proved to be short-lived.
Moulded or cast masonry substitutes, such as Coade Stone , a brand name for a cast stone made from fired clay, had been developed and manufactured in England from 1769 to 1843 and was used for decorative architectural elements. Following the closure of the factory in South London, Coade stone stopped being produced, and the formula was lost. By the mid 19th century manufacturing centres were preparing cast stones based on cement for use in buildings. These were made primarily with a cement mix often incorporating fine and coarse aggregates for texture, pigments or dyes to imitate colouring and veining of natural stones, as well as other additives.
Also in the 19th century, various mixtures of modified gypsum plasters, such as Keene’s cement, appeared. These materials were developed for use as internal wall plasters, increasing the usefulness of simple plaster of Paris as they set more slowly and were thus easier to use.
A plasterer covering a wall, using a hawk (in his left hand) and trowel (in his right hand)
[ edit ] Tools and materials
Tools and materials include trowels , floats, hammers , screeds, a hawk , scratching tools, utility knives , laths , lath nails , lime , sand , hair , plaster of Paris , a variety of cements , and various ingredients to form color washes .
While most tools have remained unchanged over the centuries, developments in polycarbonate material that allows the application of certain new, acrylic-based materials without staining the finish. Floats, traditionally made of timber (ideally straight-grained, knot-free, yellow pine), are often finished with a layer of sponge or expanded polystyrene.
Main article: Lath
Traditionally, plaster was laid onto laths, rather than plasterboard as is more commonplace nowadays.
Wooden laths are narrow strips of straight-grained wood depending on availability of species in lengths of from two to four or five feet to suit the distances at which the timbers of a floor or partition are set. Laths are about an inch wide, and are made in three thicknesses; single (⅛ to 3⁄16 inch thick), lath and a half (¼ inch thick), and double (⅜–½ inch thick).
The thicker laths should be used in ceilings, to stand the extra strain (sometimes they were doubled for extra strength), and the thinner variety in vertical work such as partitions, except where the latter will be subjected to rough usage, in which case thicker laths become necessary. Laths are usually nailed with a space of about ⅜ of an inch between them to form a key for the plaster.
Laths were formerly all made by hand. Most are now made by machinery and are known as sawn laths, those made by hand being called rent or riven laths. Rent laths give the best results, as they split in a line with the grain of the wood, and are stronger and not so liable to twist as machine-made laths, some of the fibers of which are usually cut in the process of sawing.
Laths must be nailed so as to break joint in bays three or four feet wide with ends butted one against the other. By breaking the joints of the lathing in this way, the tendency for the plaster to crack along the line of joints is diminished and a better key is obtained. Every lath should be nailed at each end and wherever it crosses a joist or stud. All timbers over three inches (76 mm) wide should be counter-lathed, that is, have a fillet or double lath nailed along the centre upon which the laths are then nailed. This is done to preserve a good key for the plaster.
Walls liable to damp are sometimes battened and lathed to form an air cavity between the damp wall and the plastering.
Lathing in metal, either in wire or in the form of perforated galvanised sheets, is now extensively used on account of its fireproof and lasting quality. There are many kinds of this material in different designs, the best known in England being the Jhilmil, the Bostwick, Lathing, and Expanded Metal lathing. The two last-named are also widely used in America.
Lathing nails are usually of iron, cut, wrought or cast, and in the better class of work they are galvanized to prevent rusting. Zinc nails are sometimes used, but are costly.
Main article: Lime mortar
Lime plastering is composed of lime, sand, hair and water in proportions varying according to the nature of the work to be done.
The lime mortar principally used for internal plastering is that Hydraulic limes are also used by the plasterer, but chiefly for external work.
Perfect slaking of the calcined lime before being used is very important as, if used in a partially slaked condition, it will “blow” when in position and blister the work. Lime should therefore be run as soon as the building is begun, and at least three weeks should elapse between the operation of running the lime and its use.
[ edit ] Hair
fiberglass resin, by controlling and containing any small cracks within the mortar while it dries or when it is subject to flexing.
Ox -hair, which is sold in three qualities, is now the kind usually specified; but horsehair, which is shorter, is sometimes substituted or mixed with the ox-hair in the lower qualities. Good hair should be long (In the UK cow and horse hair of short and long lengths is used), and left greasey (lanolin grease) because this protects against some degradation when introduced in to the very high alkaline plaster. [1] Before use it must be well beaten, or teased, to separate the lumps. In America, goats ‘ hair is frequently used, though it is not so strong as ox-hair. The quantity used in good work is one pound of hair to two or three cubic feet of coarse stuff (in the UK up to 12 kg per metric cube). Hair reinforcement in lime plaster is common and many types of hair and other organic fibres can be found in historic plasters [4]. However, organic material in lime will degrade in damp environments particularly on damp external renders.[5] This problem has given rise to the use of polyprolene fibres in new lime renders [6]
[ edit ] Sand/aggregate
For fine plasterer’s sand-work, special sands are used, such as silver sand, which is used when a light color and fine texture are required. In England this fine white sand is procured chiefly from Leighton Buzzard; also in England many traditional plasters had crushed chalk as the aggreate, this made a very flexible plaster suitable for timber frame buildings.
For external work Portland cement is undoubtedly the best material on account of its strength, durability, and weather resisting external properties, but not on historic structures that are required to flex and breathe; for this, lime without cement is used. [2]
aggregate . Sawdust will enable mortar to stand the effects of frost and rough weather. It is useful sometimes for heavy cornices and similar work, as it renders the material light and strong. The sawdust should be used dry. The sawdust is used to bind the mix sometimes to make it go further.
[ edit ] Methods
The first coat or rendering is from 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick, and is mixed in the proportions of from one part of cement to two of sand to one part to five of sand. The finishing or setting coat is about 3/16 inches thick, and is worked with a hand float on the surface of the rendering, which must first be well wetted.
Main article: Stucco
Stucco is a term loosely applied to nearly all kinds of external plastering, whether composed of lime or of cement. At the present time it has fallen into disfavor, but in the early part of the 19th century a great deal of this work was done. Cement has largely superseded lime for this work. The principal varieties of stucco are common, rough, trowelled and bastard. .
Common stucco for external work is usually composed of one part hydraulic lime and three parts sand. The wall should be sufficiently rough to form a key and well wetted to prevent the moisture being absorbed from the plaster.
Rough stucco is used to imitate stonework . It is worked with a hand float covered with rough felt (a stiff bristled brush can also be used), which forms a sand surface on the plaster. Lines are ruled before the stuff is set to represent the joints of stonework.
Trowelled stucco, the finishing coat of this work, consists of three parts sand to two parts fine stuff. A very fine smooth surface is produced by means of the hand float.
Bastard stucco is of similar composition, but less labor is expended on it. It is laid on in two coats with a skimming float, scoured off at once, and then trowelled.
Colored stucco: lime stucco may be executed in colors, the desired tints being obtained by mixing with the lime various oxides . Black and grays are obtained by using forge ashes in varying proportions, greens by green enamel, reds by using litharge or red lead, and blues by mixing oxide or carbonate of copper with the other materials.
Main article: Roughcast
Roughcast or pebbledash plastering is a rough form of external plastering in much use for country houses. In Scotland it is termed “ harling “. It is one of the oldest forms of external plastering. In Tudor times it was employed to fill in between the woodwork of half-timbered framing. When well executed with good material this kind of plastering is very durable.
Roughcasting is performed by first rendering the wall or laths with a coat of well-haired coarse stuff composed either of good hydraulic lime or of Portland cement. This layer is well scratched to give a key for the next coat. The second coat is also composed of coarse stuff knocked up to a smooth and uniform consistency. Two finish two techniques can be used:
dry dash: while the first coat is still soft, gravel, scoop and then brushed over with thin lime mortar to give a uniform surface. The shingle is often dipped in hot lime paste, well stirred up, and used as required.
wet dash: the traditional roughcast, harling the scratch or undercoat is left to cure and in the final coat the gravel/agrigate is mixed with the lime and sand and thrown on with the plaster spoon/scoop.
[ edit ] Sgraffito (scratched ornament)
Main article: Sgraffito
Sgraffito is the name for scratched ornament in plaster. Scratched ornament is the oldest form of surface decoration, and is much used on the continent of Europe, especially in Germany and Italy, in both external and internal situations.
Properly treated, the work is durable, effective and inexpensive. A first coat or rendering of Portland cement and sand, in the proportion of one to three, is laid on about an inch thick; then follows the color coat, sometimes put on in patches of different tints as required for the finished design. When this coat is nearly dry, it is finished with a smooth-skimming, 1/12 to 1/8 inches thick, of Parian, selenitic or other fine cement or lime, only as much as can be finished in one day being laid on.
Then by pouncing through the pricked cartoon, the design is transferred to the plastered surface. Broad spaces of background are now exposed by removing the finishing coat, thus revealing the colored plaster beneath, and following this the outlines of the rest of the design are scratched with an iron knife through the outer skimming to the underlying tinted surface.
Sometimes the coats are in three different colors, such as brown for the first, red for the second, and white or grey for the final coat. The pigments used for this work include Indian red, Turkey red, Antwerp blue, German blue, umber, ochre, purple brown, bone black or oxide of manganese for black. Combinations of these colors are made to produce any desired tone.
[ edit ] Coats
Plasters are applied in successive coats or layers on walls or lathing and gains its name from the number of these coats.
One coat work is the coarsest and cheapest class of plastering, and is limited to inferior buildings, such as outhouses, where merely a rough coating is required to keep out the weather and draughts. This is described as render on brickwork , and lath and lay or lath and plaster one coat on studding.
Two-coat work is often used for factories or warehouses and the less important rooms of residences. The first coat is of coarse stuff finished fair with the darby float and scoured. A thin coat of setting stuff is then laid on, and trowelled and brushed smooth. Two-coat work is described as render and set on walls, and lath, plaster and set, or lath, lay and set on laths.
Three-coat work is usually specified for all good work. It consists, as its name implies, of three layers of material, and is described as render, float and set on walls and lath, plaster, float and set, or lath, lay, float and set, on lathwork. This makes a strong, straight, sanitary coating for walls and ceilings.
The process for three coat work is as follows:
For the first coat a layer of well-haired coarse stuff, about 1 inch thick, is put on with the laying trowel. This is termed “pricking up” in London, and in America “scratch coating”. It should be laid on diagonally, each trowelful overlapping the previous one. When on laths the stuff should be plastic enough to be worked through the spaces between the laths to form a key, yet so firm as not to drop off. The surface while still soft is scratched with a lath to give a key for the next coat. In Scotland this part of the process is termed “straightening” and in America “browning”, and is performed when the first coat is dry, so as to form a straight surface to receive the finishing coat.
The second or “floating coat”, and is 1/4 to 3/8 inches thick. Four operations are involved in laying the second coat, namely, forming the screeds; filling in the spaces between the screeds; scouring the surface; keying the face for finishing.
Wall screeds are plumbed and ceiling screeds leveled. Screeds are narrow strips of plastering, carefully plumbed and leveled, so as to form a guide upon which the floating rule is run, thus securing a perfectly horizontal or vertical surface, or, in the case of circular work, a uniform curve.
The filling in, or flanking, consists of laying the spaces between the screeds with coarse stuff, which is brought flush with the level of the screeds with the floating rule.
The scouring of the floating coat is of great importance, for it consolidates the material, and, besides hardening it, prevents it from cracking. It is done by the plasterer with a hand float that he applies vigorously with a rapid circular motion, at the same time sprinkling the work with water from a stock brush in the other hand. Any small holes or inequalities are filled up as he proceeds. The whole surface should be uniformly scoured two or three times, with an interval between each operation of from six to twenty-four hours. This process leaves the plaster with a close-grained and fairly smooth surface, offering little or no key to the coat that is to follow.
To obtain proper cohesion, however, a roughened face is necessary, and this is obtained by keying the surface with a wire brush or nail float, that is, a hand float with the point of a nail sticking through and projecting about 1/8 inch; sometimes a point is put at each corner of the float.
After the floating is finished to the walls and ceiling, the next part of internal plastering is the running of the cornice, followed by the finishing of the ceiling and walls.
The third and final coat is the setting coat, which should be about 1/8 inch thick. In Scotland it is termed the “finishing coat”, and in America the “hard finish coat” or “putty coat”. Setting stuff should not be applied until the floating is quite firm and nearly dry, but it must not be too dry or the moisture will be drawn from the setting stuff.
The composition of an interior three coat plaster:
The coarse stuff applied as the first coat is composed of sand and lime, usually in proportions approximating to two to one, with hair mixed into it in quantities of about a pound to two or three cubic feet of mortar. It should be mixed with clean water to such a consistency that a quantity picked up on the point of a trowel holds well together and does not drop.
Floating stuff is of finer texture than that used for pricking up, and is used in a softer state, enabling it to be worked well into the keying of the first coat. A smaller proportion of hair is also used.
Fine stuff mixed with sand is used for the setting coat. Fine stuff, or lime putty, is pure lime that has been slaked and then mixed with water to a semi-fluid consistency, and allowed to stand until it has developed into a soft paste.
For use in setting it is mixed with fine washed sand in the ratio of one to three.
For cornices and for setting when the second coat is not allowed time to dry properly, a special compound must be used. This is often gauged stuff, composed of three or four parts of lime putty and one part of plaster of Paris, mixed up in small quantities immediately before use. The plaster in the material causes it to set rapidly, but if it is present in too large a proportion the work will crack in setting.
The hard calcined at a low temperature. The plaster they contain causes them to set quickly with a very hard smooth surface, which may be painted or papered within a few hours of its being finished.
Main article: Cement render
In Western Australia plaster or cement render that is applied to external brickwork on dwellings or commercial buildings can be one or two coats.
Materials used in the render are commonly sand of a light yellow colour with little clay content with fine to coarse grains or sand. Sand finish is the common term used for external render and may be one or two coats, the better being two coat as it gives a more consistent finish and less chance of becoming drummy or cracking.
In two coat render a base coat is applied with a common mix of 4 parts sand to one part cement and one part dehydrated lime and water to make a consistent mortar. Render is applied using a hawk and trowel and pushed on about 12 mm thick to begin. Most plasterers use a tbar to screed the walls until it is plumb straight and square. The wall is scratched after screeding is complete to give key to second coat.
The second can be slightly weaker or the same 5/1/1 and maybe a water proofer in the mix added in the water to minimize effloresence (rising of salts). Some plasterers used lime putty in second coat instead of dehydrated lime in the render. The mortar is applied to about 5 mm thick and when the render hardens is screeded off straight. A wood float or plastic float is used to rub down the walls.
Water is splashed on walls and immediately rubbing the float in a circular or figure 8 motion (figure of 8 can leave marks).After the work area is all floated, the finishing with a sponge using the same method as floating with wood float. Bringing sand to the surface.
Most plasterers use a hose with a special nozzle with a fine mist spray to dampe walls when rubbing up (using a wood float to bring a consistent finish). This method using a hose brings a superior finish and more consistent in colour as there is more chance in catching the render before it has a chance to harden too much.
[ edit ] Moldings
Plain, or unenriched, moldings are formed with a running mold of zinc cut to the required profile.
For a cornice molding two running rules are usual, one on the wall, the other on the ceiling, upon which the mold is worked to and from by one workman, while another man roughly lays on the plaster to the shape of the molding. The miters at the angles are finished off with joint rules made of sheet steel of various lengths, three or four inches (102 mm) wide, and about one-eighth inch thick, with one end cut to an angle of about 30°. In some cases the steel plate is let into a stock or handle of hardwood.
Enrichments may be moldings added after the main outline molding is set, and are cast in molds made of gelatin or plaster of Paris.
[ edit ] Cracks
Cracks in plastering may be caused by settlement of the building, by the use of inferior materials or by bad workmanship.
However, due to none of these, cracks may yet ensue by the too fast drying of the work, caused through the laying of plaster on dry walls which suck from the composition the moisture required to enable it to set, by the application of external heat or the heat of the sun, by the laying of a coat upon one which has not properly set, the cracking in this case being caused by unequal contraction, or by the use of too small a proportion of sand.
Traditionally, crack propagation was arrested by stirring chopped horsehair thoroughly into the plaster mix.
[ edit ] Slabs
For partitions and ceilings, plaster slabs are used to finish quickly. For ceilings London .
The slabs may be obtained either with a keyed surface, which requires finishing with a setting coat when the partition or ceiling is in position, or a smooth finished face, which may be papered or painted immediately the joints have been carefully made.
[ edit ] Fibrous plaster
Fibrous plaster is given by plasterers the suggestive name “stick and rag”, and this is a rough description of the material, for it is a fibrous composed of plaster laid upon a backing of canvas stretched on wood. It is much used for moldings, circular and enriched casings to columns and girders and ornamental work, which is worked in the shop and fixed in position.
Desachy, a French modeler, took out in 1856 a patent for “producing architectural moldings, ornaments and other works of art, with surfaces of plaster,” with the aid of plaster, glue, wood, wire, and canvas or other woven fabric.
The modern use of this material may be said to have started then, but the use of fibrous plaster was known and practiced by the Egyptians long before the Christian era; for ancient coffins and mummies still preserved prove that linen stiffened with plaster was used for decorating coffins and making masks. Cennino Cennini , writing in 1437, says that fine linen soaked in glue and plaster and laid on wood was used for forming grounds for painting.
Canvas and mortar were in general use in Great Britain up to the middle of the 20th century. This work is also much used for temporary work, such as exhibition buildings.
[ edit ] Plastering
[ edit ] Modern interior plastering techniques
There are two main methods in USA used in construction of the interior walls of modern homes, plasterboard, also called drywall, and veneer plastering .
Main article: Plasterboard
In plasterboard a specialized form of sheet rock known as “greenboard” (because on the outer paper coating is greenish) is screwed onto the wall-frames (studs) of the home to form the interior walls. At the place where the two edges of wallboards meet there is a seam. These seams are covered with mesh tape and then the seams and the screw heads are concealed with the drywall compound to make the wall seem as one uniform piece. The drywall plaster is a thick paste. Later this is painted or wallpapered over to hide the work. This process is typically called “taping” and those who use drywall are known as “tapers”.
Main article: Plaster veneer
Veneer plastering covers the entire wall with thin liquid plaster, uses a great deal of water and is applied very wet. The walls intended to be plastered are hanged with “Blueboard” (named as such for the industry standard of the outer paper being blue-grey in color). This type of sheet rock is designed to absorb some of the moisture of the plaster and thus allow it to cling the plaster better before it sets.
Veneer plastering is a one-shot one-coat application; taping usually requires sanding and then adding an additional coat; since the compound shrinks as it dries.
Main article: Plasterer
The plasterer usually shows up after the hangers have finished building all the internal walls, by attaching blueboard over the frames of the house with screws. The plasterer is usually a subcontractor working in crews that average about three veterans and one laborer. The job of the laborer is to set up ahead of and clean up behind the plasterers, so they can concentrate on spreading the “mud” on the walls.
[ edit ] Laborer’s tasks
Debris left on the floors from the “hanging” crew must be removed before floor paper can be set down and to remove any tripping hazards.
Cover the floors with tar or brown paper since plaster can stain or be hard to remove from subflooring plywood.
Run hoses and extension cords and set up job lights.
Cover all seams with meshtape as well as any large gaps around outlets caused by poor roto-zip work. Gouge out any bubble in the wallboard caused by broken sheetrock under the paper and cover the holes with meshtape. Remove any loose screws (flies) left from the hanger missing the underlying frame.
Cover all windows and doors with plastic sheets and masking tape to protect the wood of their frames and save on cleaning. If any plumbing fixtures or wall plugs have been installed they are also covered, as well as the bathtubs and showers.
Set up for the next mix. As soon as the table is cleared the laborer is given instructions of how many bags will be needed as well as the next room to be worked in. The table typically consists of folding legs upon which is set a square board of wood and then covered in a plastic sheet upon which the plaster is placed in the center in a large pile.
Mixing the product. The mixing barrel is usually pre-filled to a certain level with water; since it can take some time to fill. The amount of water is usually estimated (with a margin of error leaning towards too little). The amount of water required is obtained from the amount of bags planned to be mixed. The estimation is not difficult for an experienced plasterer; who knows how many sheets he can typically cover, and that one bag usually covers 2 & 1/2 to 3 sheets and 5 gallons of water is needed for one standard 50 pound bag. With a permanent crew that normally does the same amount per mix one can simply fill up the barrel to a known cut-off point.
Once the mix is set up and the plasterers are ready they instruct the laborer to start dumping the bags in the water barrel, while intermittently running the mixing drill. Once all bags are in the barrel more water is slowly added until the plaster is of proper consistency and is then thoroughly mixed. Before the mixing is completed, a margin trowel (or margin for short) is scraped along the inside wall of the barrel to knock off clinging unmixed clumps (known as cutting in) to be furthered mixed until all is homogeneous.
While mixing the drill is slowly brought up and down and follows the edge of the barrel in a circular motion to drag the top of the mix down and ensure an even consistency throughout the mix. Care is taken not to allow the drill’s paddle to hit the bottom or sides of the barrel; this can scrape off plastic bits that end up in the mix. At a certain point before the mixing is done a margin trowel is again used to scrape any clinging dry plaster into the rest of the mix. typically this is when the accelerator; if used is added. Mixing can be fatigueing in that the drill tends to not only be heavy but the mixer must also fight the torc of the paddle.
Shovel the mix onto the table. The mixing barrel must be emptied as soon as possible, as the plaster will set faster in the barrel then on the table. but the table cannot be overfilled or it may tip or plaster will spill off the sides and splatter when it hits the floor. While shoveling care must also be taken not to splatter any plaster onto nearby walls.
Clean up the mix barrel. This is done outside with a hose and nozzle. If any plaster remains they can contaminate the next mix with “rocks” that greatly vex the plasterers as they get dragged across the walls and the contamination causes the plaster to set much quicker.
Final clean up. This includes rolling up all paper flooring in finished rooms. knocking the plaster out of plug outlet holes with a drywall hammer/hatchet, taking down any masking tape and plastic, cleaning up any plaster that has splattered onto the floor etc.
[ edit ] Plasterer’s tasks
Normally the contractor has already supplied all the bags of Kal-Kote ; its finish is slightly different and not as bone white as Unical. The two products are distinguished by a color stripe across the top of the bag. Uni-Kal is rusty red, and Kal-Kote is purplish/maroon. The plastering crew needs to bring their own tools and equipment and sometimes supply their own bead.
The Tasks that the plasterer is usually expected to accomplish.
Hang cornerbead
The plasterer usually must first staple or tack Cornerbead onto every protruding (external) corner of the inside of the house. Care is taken to make sure this makes the wall look straight and is more of a skill of the eye than anything else.
“Bead” comes in many styles; Ranging from wire mesh attached by staples to heavier metal grades that need to be tacked on with nails. Plastic varieties also exist.
The bead must be measured and cut to size; care is taken not to bend or warp it. In places where more than one corner meets; the bead’s ends are cut at an angle and the 2 or more tips are placed as close together as allowable; touching but not overlapping. The bead is completely covered with plaster as well as the rest of the wall and the plaster also helps to hold it firm. The finished product leaves only a small exposed metal strip at the protrusion of the corner which gets covered when the wall is painted. This leaves a clean, straight looking corner.
An alternative method seen in older houses of forming a rounded or bullnosed corner uses a quirked wooden staff bead. The staff bead, a 1 inch dowel with approx 1/3 shaved off the back, is set on the external corner by the joiner on site, fastened to wooden plugs set into the brick/block seams, or to the wood frame. Plaster is run up to the staff bead and then cut back locally to the bead or “quirked” to avoid a weak feather edge where the plaster meets the bead.
In architecture a quirk is a small ‘V’ shaped channel used to insulate and give relief to a convex rounded moulding. To create the plastered corner, backing coat (browning) is plastered up to the staff bead, then the quirk is cut into the backing coat a little larger than the finished size. When the top skimming coat is applied, again the bead is fully skimmed in and then, using a straight edge, the quirk is re-cut to the finished depth, usually on an approximate 45 degree angle into the bead. The quirk will hide the eventual small crack that will form between the staff bead and plaster.
Sets up his tools
The plasterer needs to fill a 5-gallon bucket partway with water. From this bucket he hangs his trowel or trowels and places into it various tools.
Normally a plasterer has one trowel for “laying on” (the process of placing mud onto the wall).
Some then keep an older trowel that has a decent bend in it (banana curve) to be used for the purpose of “texturing”; if called for by the homeowner. A lay-on trowel tends to be too flat for this and the vacuum caused by the water can stick it to the wall, forcing him to tear it off and thus he has to rework the area.
Finally, one may have a brand new trowel “not yet broken-in” which he will used for “grinding”; this is when the plaster is nearly hardened and he is smoothing out any bumps or filling in any small dips (cat faces) to make the wall look like a uniform sheet of glossy white plaster.
Most plasterers have their own preference for the size of the trowel they use. some wield trowels as large as 20 inches long but the norm seems to be a 16″×5″. From my experience the preferred brand is a Marshalltown stainless steel. They have a brassy luster to them, a rubber handle and won’t pit or rust if accidentally left in water overnight while others prefer a regular steal trowel which requires more maintenance but lasts for quite a long time and the pitting can give it a “bite” that helps when “finishing” (the last pass when the plaster is setting).
Into the bucket also goes a large brush used to splash water onto the wall and to clean his tools, a paint brush for smoothing corners, and a corner bird for forming corners (though many share one good bird to keep the room harmonious).
These tool buckets are first kept near the mix table and then as the plaster starts to set are moved closer to the wall that is being worked on. Time becomes a big factor here as once the plaster starts to harden (set) it will do so fairly rapidly and the plasterer has a small margin of error to get the wall smooth.
Onto the mixing table the plasterer usually sets his “ hawk ” so it will be handy when he needs to grab it and to keep dirt off of it. Any debris in the plaster can become a major nuisance.
Plaster tops or bottom?
Plasterers will typically divide a room, (especially a large or high-ceilinged wall) into top and bottom. The one working on top will do from the ceiling’s edge to about belly height and work off a milk crate for an 8-foot (2.4 m) ceiling, or work off stilts for 12-foot-high rooms. For cathedral ceilings or very high walls, staging is set up and one works topside, the others further below.
Clean up before they finish a job
Typically done with the laborer. No plaster globs left on the floors, walls or corner bead edges. (They will show up if painted and interfere with flooring and trim). Remove or neatly stack all trash.
Inspection
All rooms and walls are inspected for cracking and dents or scratches that may have been caused from others bumping into the walls. They are also inspected to make sure no bumps are left on the walls from splashed plaster or water. All rooms are checked to make sure all plaster is knocked out of the outlets so the electrician can install the sockets and to make sure no tools are left behind. This leaves the walls ready for the painters and finishers to come in and do their trade.
[ edit ] Interior plastering techniques
[ edit ] Smooth
The home owner and the plasterer’s boss will usually decide beforehand what styles they will use in the house. Typically walls are smooth and sometimes ceilings. Usually a homeowner will opt to have the ceilings use a “texture” technique as it is much easier, faster, and thus cheaper than a smooth ceiling.
The plasterer quotes prices based on techniques to be used and board feet to be covered to the contractor or homeowner before work begins. The board feet is obtained by the hangers or estimated by the head subcontractor by counting the wallboards that come in an industry standard of 8′ to 12′ long. He then adds in extra expenses for soffits and cathedral ceilings.
Ceiling second or first
Typically if the ceiling is to be smooth it is done first, before the walls. If it is to be textured, it is done after the walls.
The reason for this is that invariably when a ceiling is being worked on plaster will fall and splash onto the walls. However a texture mix doesn’t need to be smoothed out when it starts to set:
thus a retardant such as “Cream of tartar” or sugar can be used to prolong the setting time, and is easily scraped off the walls.
and since time is not as restraining of a factor on textured ceilings a large mix, or back-to-back mixes can be done and all ceilings covered at the same time.
another reason is that a bird is usually run along the top corner after doing a smooth ceiling, then it is easier to maintain this edge by doing the wall last. But a textured ceiling normally doesn’t need to be birded, only blended in with a very wet paint brush. In this case the wall is done first and the corner formed with the bird.
Scratching
The first thing the plasterer tends to do is go over all the mesh-taped seams of the walls he is about to cover; in a very thin swatch. The wallboard draws moisture out of this strip so when the plasterer goes over it again when doing the rest of the wall it will not leave an indented seam that needs further reworking.
He then fills in the area near the ceiling so he will not have to stretch to reach it during the rest of the wall; And he forms the corner with his bird. This saves much needed time as this process is a race against the chemical reaction.
Laying on
From the mix table the plasterer scoops some “mud” onto the center of his hawk with his trowel. Holding the hawk in his off-hand and his trowel in his primary the plasterer then scoops a bulging roll of plaster onto his trowel. this takes a bit of practice to master, especially with soupy mixes.
Then holding the trowel parallel to the wall and at a slight angle of the wrist he tries to uniformly roll the plaster onto the wall. In a manner similar to a squeegee. He starts about an inch above the floor and works his way upwards to the ceiling. Care is taken to be uniform as possible as it helps in the finishing phase.
Knocking down
Depending on the setting time of the plaster. once the moisture of the plaster starts to be drawn by the board a second pass is made. this is called knocking down. it is much like applying paint with a roller in wrist action and purpose. to smooth out any lines and fill in any major voids that will make extra work once the plaster starts to truly set. very little pressure is applied and the trowel is kept relatively flat towards the wall.
Setting
Sometimes an accelerant will be added to a mix to hasten the time delay from the initial mixing phase to when the plaster starts to set. This is normally done on cold days when setting is delayed or for small jobs to minimize the wait.
Once the plaster is on the wall and starts to set (this can be determined by the table that sets first), the plasterer gingerly sprinkles water onto the wall; this helps to stall the setting and to create a slip. He then uses his trowel and often a wetted felt brush held in the opposite hand and lightly touching the wall ahead of the trowel to work this slip into any small gaps (known as “catfaces”) in the plaster as well as smooth out the rough lay-on and flatten any air bubbles that formed during setting.
This is a crucial time because if the wall gets too hard it is nearly impossible to fill in any gaps as the slip will no longer set with the wall and will instead just dry and fall out. This leads to the need of what is called “grinding” as one must go over the hard wall again and again trying to smooth out the hardened wall and any major catfaces must be filled in with a contour putty, joint compound, or reworked by blending in a fresh, thin coat.
The finished wall will look glossy and uniformly flat and is smooth to the touch. After a few days it will become chalky white and can then be painted over.
Mix
From the time the bags are dumped into the barrel to when the wall is completely set is called a mix. Varying on the technique used and whether accelerant or retardant is added, a mix typically lasts about two hours.
The final moments are the most frantic if it is smooth or if the mix sets quicker than anticipated. If this happens it is said the mix has “snapped” and is normally due to using old product or various types of weather (humidity or hot days can cause plaster to set quicker). Normally only three or four mixes are done in a day as plastering is very tiring and not as effective under unnatural lighting in the months with early dusk.
Seasons
Plastering is done year round but unique problems may arise from season to season. In the summer, the heat tends to cause the plaster to set faster. The plaster also generates its own heat and houses can become quite hellish. Typically the plaster crew will try to arrive at the house well before dawn.
In winter months, short days cause the need of artificial lighting. At certain angles these lights can make even the smoothest wall look like the surface of the moon. Another dilemma in the winter months is needing to use propane jet heaters (which can stain the plaster yellowish but do not otherwise hurt it), not just to keep the plasterers warm but to also prevent the water in the mix from freezing and generating ice crystals before the plaster has time to set. Also if the water hose is not thoroughly drained before leaving it can freeze over night and be completely stopped up in the morning.
[ edit ] Textured
Texturing is usually reserved for closets, ceilings and garage walls.
Typically a retarding agent is added to the mix. this is normally Cream of Tartar (or “Dope” in the plasterer’s jargon) and care must be taken with the amount added. Too much and the mix may never set at all. However the amount used is often estimated; much the way one adds a dash of salt to a recipe. you add a small scoop of retarder, dependent on the size of the mix. Retardant is added so that larger mixes can be made, since the texture technique doesn’t require the person to wait until it starts to set before working it.
The lay-on phase is the same as smooth but it is added with a thicker coat. Once the coat is on uniformly the plasterer then goes back and birds his corners. Staying away from the corner he then gets a trowel with a nice banana curve in it and starts to run it over the wall in a figure eight or Ess pattern, making sure to cross all areas at least once. He adds a little extra plaster to his trowel if needed. The overall effect is layers of paint-like swaths over the whole of the ceiling or wall. He can then just walk away and let it set with care taken not too leave any globs and to make sure the corners look smooth and linear.
If a wall is to be smooth and the ceiling textured, typically the wall is done first, then the ceiling after the wall has set. Instead of rebirding the ceiling (which would have been done when the wall was laid on), a clean trowel is held against the wall and its corner is run along the ceiling to “cut it in” and clean the wall at the same time. This line is then smoothed with a paintbrush to make the transition seamless.
[ edit ] Sponge
The sponge (technically called a float), has a circle form and rough surface. it is fixed to a backing with a central handhold and is roughly the size of a standard trowel. Sponge is a variant texture technique and used normally on ceilings and sometimes in closets. Typically when using a sponge; sand is added to the mix and the technique is called sand-sponge.
Care must be taken not to stand directly under your trowel when doing this as it is very, very unpleasant, and dangerous to get a grain of sand in your eye; which is compounded by the irritation from the lime as well. This combination can easily scratch the eye.
The lay-on and mix is the same as with regular texturing. however after a uniform and smooth coat is placed on the ceiling and the edges are cut in; a special rectangular sponge with a handle is run across the ceiling in overlapping and circular motions. This takes some skill and practice to do well.
The overall look is a fishscale type pattern on the ceiling, closet wall, etc. Even though retarder is typically used; care must be taken to clean out the sponge thoroughly when finished as any plaster that hardens inside it will be impossible to remove.
[ edit ] Ceilings
milk crates . The difficulty of working upside down often results in plaster bombs splattering on the floors, walls and people below.
This is why smooth ceilings, that use no retardant and sometimes even accelerant, are done before the walls. Retarded plaster can easily be scraped off a smooth plaster wall when wet. Any splatters from a smooth ceiling can easily be scraped off bare blueboard but not from an already plastered wall. Care must be taken when standing under your trowel or another plasterer.
The general difficulty of working a smooth ceiling fetches a higher cost. The technique is the same as a smooth wall but at an awkward angle for the plasterer.
[ edit ] Tools of the trade
| Big Hawk |
Which religous movement was founded by Mary Baker Eddy? | Plasterwork | Wikidwelling | Fandom powered by Wikia
This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards . You can help . The discussion page may contain suggestions.
(May 2009)
This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. See the talk page for details. WikiProject Architecture may be able to help recruit an expert.
(April 2008)
Plasterwork refers to construction or ornamentation done with plaster , such as a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called pargeting . The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been used in building construction for centuries.
Contents
Edit
1. Historical background The earliest plasters known to us were lime-based. Around 7500 BC, the people of 'Ain Ghazal in Jordan used lime mixed with unheated crushed limestone to make plaster which was used on a large scale for covering walls, floors, and hearths in their houses. Often, walls and floors were decorated with red, finger-painted patterns and designs. In ancient India and China, renders in clay and gypsum plasters were used to produce a smooth surface over rough stone or mud brick walls, while in early Egyptian tombs, walls were coated with lime and gypsum plaster and the finished surface was often painted or decorated. Modelled stucco was employed throughout the Roman Empire. The Romans used mixtures of lime and sand to build up preparatory layers over which finer applications of gypsum, lime, sand and marble dust were made; pozzolanic materials were sometimes added to produce a more rapid set. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the addition of marble dust to plaster to allow the production of fine detail and a hard, smooth finish in hand-modelled and moulded decoration was not used until the Renaissance. Around the 4th century BC, the Romans discovered the principles of the hydraulic set of lime, which by the addition of highly reactive forms of silica and alumina, such as volcanic earths, could solidify rapidly even under water. There was little use of hydraulic mortar after the Roman period until the 18th century. Plaster decoration was widely used in Europe in the Middle Ages where, from the mid-13th century, gypsum was used for internal and external plaster. Hair was employed as reinforcement, with additives to assist set or plasticity including malt, urine, beer, milk and eggs. In the 14th century, decorative trowelled plaster, called pargeting was being used in South-East England to decorate the exterior of timber-framed buildings. This is a form of incised, moulded or modelled ornament, executed in lime putty or mixtures of lime and gypsum plaster. During this same period, terracotta was reintroduced into Europe and was widely used for the production of ornament. In the mid-15th century, Venetian skilled workers developed a new type of external facing, called marmorino made by applying lime directly onto masonry. In the 16th century, a new highly decorative type of decorative internal plasterwork, called scagliola, was invented by stuccoists working in Bavaria. This was composed of gypsum plaster, animal glue and pigments, used to imitate coloured marbles and pietre dure ornament. Sand or marble dust, and lime, were sometimes added. In this same century, the sgraffito technique, also known as graffito or scratchwork was introduced into Germany by Italian artists, combining it with modelled stucco decoration. This technique was practised in antiquity and was described by Vasari as being a quick and durable method for decorating building facades. Here, layers of contrasting lime plaster were applied and a design scratched through the upper layer to reveal the colour beneath. The 17th century saw the introduction of different types of internal plasterwork. Stucco marble was an artificial marble made using gypsum (sometimes with lime), pigments, water and glue. Stucco lustro was another a form of imitation marble (sometimes called stucco lucido) where a thin layer of lime or gypsum plaster was applied over a scored support of lime, with pigments scattered on surface of the wet plaster. The 18th century gave rise to renewed interest in innovative external plasters. Oil mastics introduced in the UK in this period included a "Composition or stone paste" patented in 1765 by David Wark. This was a lime-based mix and included "oyls of tar, turpentine and linseed" besides many other ingredients. Another "Composition or cement", including drying oil, was patented in 1773 by Rev. John Liardet. A similar product was patented in 1777 by John Johnson. In 1774, in France, a mémoire was published on the composition of ancient mortars. This was translated into English as "A Practical Essay on a Cement, and Artificial Stone, justly supposed to be that of the Greeks and Romans" and was published in the same year. Following this, and as a backlash to the disappointment felt due to the repeated failure of oil mastics, in the second half of the 18th century water-based renders gained popularity once more. Mixes for renders were patented, including a "Water Cement, or Stucco" consisting of lime, sand, bone-ash and lime-water (Dr Bryan Higgins, 1779). Various experiments mixing different limes with volcanic earths took place in the 18th century. John Smeaton (from 1756) experimented with hydraulic limes and concluded that the best limes were those fired from limestones containing a considerable quantity of clayey material. In 1796, Revd James Parker patented Parkerís "Roman Cement". This was a hydraulic cement which, when mixed with sand, could be used for stucco. It could also be cast to form mouldings and other ornaments. It was however of an unattractive brown colour, which needed to be disguised by surface finishes. Natural cements were frequently used in stucco mixes during the 1820s. The popularisation of Portland cement changed the composition of stucco, as well as mortar, to a harder material. The development of artificial cements had started early in the 19th century. In 1811, James Frost took out a patent for an artificial cement obtained by lightly calcining ground chalk and clay together. The French Engineer Vicat in 1812-1813 experimented with calcining synthetic mixtures of limestone and clay, a product he introduced in 1818. In 1822, in the UK, James Frost patented (another?) process, similar to Vicat's, producing what he called "British cement". Portland cement, patented in 1824 by Joseph Aspdin, was called so because it was supposed to resemble Portland stone. Aspdinís son William, and later Isaac Johnson, improved the production process. A product, very similar to modern Portland cement, was available from about 1845, with other improvements taking place in the following years. Thus, after about 1860, most stucco was composed primarily of Portland cement, mixed with some lime. This made it even more versatile and durable. No longer used just as a coating for a substantial material like masonry or log, stucco could now be applied over wood or metal lath attached to a light wood frame. With this increased strength, it ceased to be just a veneer and became a more integral part of the building structure. Early 19th century rendered façades were colour-washed with distemper; oil paint for external walls was introduced around 1840. The 19th century also saw the revival of the use of oil mastics. In the UK, patents were obtained for "compositions" in 1803 (Thomas Fulchner), 1815 (Christopher Dihl) and 1817 (Peter Hamelin). These oil mastics, as the ones before them, also proved to be short-lived. Moulded or cast masonry substitutes, such as cast stone and poured concrete, became popular in place of quarried stone during the 19th century. However, this was not the first time "artificial stone" had been widely used. Coade Stone, a brand name for a cast stone made from fired clay, had been developed and manufactured in England from 1769 to 1843 and was used for decorative architectural elements. Following the closure of the factory in South London, Coade stone stopped being produced, and the formula was lost. By the mid 19th century manufacturing centres were preparing cast stones based on cement for use in buildings. These were made primarily with a cement mix often incorporating fine and coarse aggregates for texture, pigments or dyes to imitate colouring and veining of natural stones, as well as other additives. Also in the 19th century, various mixtures of modified gypsum plasters, such as Keene's cement, appeared. These materials were developed for use as internal wall plasters, increasing the usefulness of simple Plaster of Paris as they set more slowly and were thus easier to use.
A plasterer covering a wall, using a hawk (in his left hand) and float (in his right hand)
Tools and materials
Tools and materials include trowels , floats, hammers , screeds, a hawk , scratching tools, utility knives , laths , lath nails , lime , sand , hair , plaster of Paris , a variety of cements , and various ingredients to form color washes .
While most tools have remained unchanged over the centuries, developments in modern materials have led to some changes. Trowels, originally constructed from steel, are now available in a polycarbonate material that allows the application of certain new, acrylic-based materials without staining the finish. Floats, traditionally made of timber (ideally straight-grained, knot-free, yellow pine), are often finished with a layer of sponge or expanded polystyrene.
Laths
Edit
Lath seen from the back with brown coat oozing through
Traditionally, plaster was laid onto laths, rather than plasterboard as is more commonplace nowadays. Wooden laths are narrow strips of straight-grained wood, generally pine , in lengths of from two to four or five feet to suit the distances at which the timbers of a floor or partition are set. Laths are about an inch wide, and are made in three thicknesses; single (1/8 to 3/16 inch thick), lath and a half (1/4 inch thick), and double (3/8-1/2 inch thick). The thicker laths should be used in ceilings, to stand the extra strain (sometimes they were doubled for extra strength), and the thinner variety in vertical work such as partitions, except where the latter will be subjected to rough usage, in which case thicker laths become necessary. Laths are usually nailed with a space of about 3/8 of an inch between them to form a key for the plaster. Laths were formerly all made by hand. Most are now made by machinery and are known as sawn laths, those made by hand being called rent or riven laths. Rent laths give the best results, as they split in a line with the grain of the wood, and are stronger and not so liable to twist as machine-made laths, some of the fibers of which are usually cut in the process of sawing.
Laths must be nailed so as to break joint in bays three or four feet wide with ends butted one against the other. By breaking the joints of the lathing in this way, the tendency for the plaster to crack along the line of joints is diminished and a better key is obtained. Every lath should be nailed at each end and wherever it crosses a joist or stud. All timbers over three inches (76 mm) wide should be counter-lathed, that is, have a fillet or double lath nailed along the centre upon which the laths are then nailed. This is done to preserve a good key for the plaster. Walls liable to damp are sometimes battened and lathed in order to form an air cavity between the damp wall and the plastering.
Lathing in metal, either in wire or in the form of perforated galvanised sheets, is now extensively used on account of its fireproof and lasting quality. There are many kinds of this material in different designs, the best known in England being the Jhilmil, the Bostwick, Lathing, and Expanded Metal lathing. The two last-named are also widely used in America. Lathing nails are usually of iron, cut, wrought or cast, and in the better class of work they are galvanized to prevent rusting. Zinc nails are sometimes used, but are costly.
Lime
Edit
The lime principally used for internal plastering is that calcined from chalk , oyster shells or other nearly pure limestone , and is known as fat, pure, chalk or rich lime. Hydraulic limes are also used by the plasterer, chiefly for external work. Perfect slaking of the calcined lime before being used is very important as, if used in a partially slaked condition, it will "blow" when in position and blister the work. Lime should therefore be run as soon as the building is begun, and at least three weeks should elapse between the operation of running the lime and its use.
Hair
Edit
Hair is used in plaster as a binding medium, and gives tenacity to the material. Traditionally horsehair was the most commonly-used binder, as it was easily available before the development of the motor-car. Hair functions in much the same way as the strands in fiberglass resin, by controlling and containing any small cracks within the mortar while it dries or when it is subject to flexing. Ox-hair, which is sold in three qualities, is now the kind usually specified; but horsehair , which is shorter, is sometimes substituted or mixed with the ox-hair in the lower qualities. Good hair should be long, strong, and free from grease and dirt, and before use must be well beaten to separate the lumps. In America, goats' hair is frequently used, though it is not so strong as ox-hair. The quantity used in good work is one pound of hair to two or three cubic feet of coarse stuff.
Manila hemp fiber has been used as a substitute for hair. Plaster for hair slabs made with manila hemp fiber broke at 195 lb (88 kg), plaster mixed with sisal hemp at 150 lb (68 kg), jute at 145 lb (66 kg), and goats' hair at 144 lb (65 kg).[ citation needed ] Another test was made in the following manner. Two barrels of mortar were made up of equal proportions of lime and sand, one containing the usual quantity of goats' hair, and the other Manila fiber. After remaining in a dry cellar for nine months the barrels were opened. It was found that the hair had been almost entirely eaten away by the action of the lime, and the mortar consequently broke up and crumbled quite easily. The mortar containing the Manila hemp, on the other hand, showed great cohesion, and required some effort to pull it apart, the hemp fiber being undamaged.[ citation needed ]
Sawdust has been used as a substitute for hair and also instead of sand as an aggregate . Sawdust will enable mortar to stand the effects of frost and rough weather. It is useful sometimes for heavy cornices and similar work, as it renders the material light and strong. The sawdust should be used dry. The sawdust is used to bind the mix together sometimes to make it go further.
Methods
Edit
For fine plasterer's sand-work, special sands are used, such as silver sand, which is used when a light color and fine texture are required. In England this fine white sand is procured chiefly from Leighton Buzzard. For external work Portland cement is undoubtedly the best material on account of its strength, durability, and weather resisting external properties. The first coat or rendering is from 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick, and is mixed in the proportions of from one part of cement to two of sand to one part to five of sand. The finishing or setting coat is about 3/16 inches thick, and is worked with a hand float on the surface of the rendering, which must first be well wetted.
External plastering
Edit
Stucco is a term loosely applied to nearly all kinds of external plastering, whether composed of lime or of cement. At the present time it has fallen into disfavor, but in the early part of the 19th century a great deal of this work was done. The principal varieties of stucco are common, rough, trowelled and bastard. Cement has largely superseded lime for this work. Common stucco for external work is usually composed of one part hydraulic lime and three parts sand. The wall should be sufficiently rough to form a key and well wetted to prevent the moisture being absorbed from the plaster.
Rough stucco is used to imitate stonework . It is worked with a hand float covered with rough felt (a stiff bristled brush can also be used), which forms a sand surface on the plaster. Lines are ruled before the stuff is set to represent the joints of stonework. Trowelled stucco, the finishing coat of this work, consists of three parts sand to two parts fine stuff. A very fine smooth surface is produced by means of the hand float. Bastard stucco is of similar composition, but less labor is expended on it. It is laid on in two coats with a skimming float, scoured off at once, and then trowelled. Colored stucco: lime stucco may be executed in colors, the desired tints being obtained by mixing with the lime various oxides . Black and grays are obtained by using forge ashes in varying proportions, greens by green enamel, reds by using litharge or red lead, and blues by mixing oxide or carbonate of copper with the other materials.
Roughcast or pebbledash plastering is a rough form of external plastering in much use for country houses. In Scotland it is termed "harling". It is one of the oldest forms of external plastering. In Tudor times it was employed to fill in between the woodwork of half-timbered framing. When well executed with good material this kind of plastering is very durable. Roughcasting is performed by first rendering the wall or laths with a coat of well-haired coarse stuff composed either of good hydraulic lime or of Portland cement. This layer is well scratched to give a key for the next coat, which is also composed of coarse stuff knocked up to a smooth and uniform consistency. For a dry dash, while this coat is still soft, gravel, shingle or other small stones are evenly thrown on with a small scoop and then brushed over with thin lime mortar to give a uniform surface. The shingle is often dipped in hot lime paste, well stirred up, and used as required. For a wetdash, traditional roughcast or harling the scratch or undercoat is left to cure and in the final coat the gravel/agrigate is mixed with the lime and sand and thrown on with the plaster spoon/scoop.
Sgraffito (scratched ornament)
Edit
Sgraffito is the name for scratched ornament in plaster. Scratched ornament is the oldest form of surface decoration, and is much used on the continent of Europe, especially in Germany and Italy, in both external and internal situations. Properly treated, the work is durable, effective and inexpensive. A first coat or rendering of Portland cement and sand, in the proportion of one to three, is laid on about an inch thick; then follows the color coat, sometimes put on in patches of different tints as required for the finished design. When this coat is nearly dry, it is finished with a smooth-skimming, 1/12 to 1/8 inches thick, of Parian, selenitic or other fine cement or lime, only as much as can be finished in one day being laid on. Then by pouncing through the pricked cartoon, the design is transferred to the plastered surface. Broad spaces of background are now exposed by removing the finishing coat, thus revealing the colored plaster beneath, and following this the outlines of the rest of the design are scratched with an iron knife through the outer skimming to the underlying tinted surface.
Sometimes the coats are in three different colors, such as brown for the first, red for the second, and white or grey for the final coat. The pigments used for this work include Indian red, Turkey red, Antwerp blue, German blue, umber, ochre, purple brown, bone black or oxide of manganese for black. Combinations of these colors are made to produce any desired tone. Lime plastering is composed of lime, sand, hair and water in proportions varying according to the nature of the work to be done.
Coats
Edit
Plaster or render that is applied to external brickwork on dwellings or commercial buildings can be one or two coats in Western Australia. Mostly clay bricks are used sometimes concrete bricks or concrete tilt panels. Materials used are commonly sand of a light yellow colour with little clay content with fine to coarse grains or sand. Sand finish is the common term used for external render and may be one or two coats, the better being two coat as it gives a more consistent finish and less chance of becoming drummy or cracking.
In two coat render a base coat is applied with a common mix of five parts sand (usually 4 parts) to one part cement and one part dehydrated lime and water to make a consistent mortar. Render is applied using a hawk and trowel and pushed on about 12 mm thick to begin. Most plasterers use a tbar to screed the walls until it is plumb straight and square. Scratching the wall after screeding is complete is a good idea to give key to second coat.
The second can be slightly weaker or the same 5/1/1 and maybe a water proofer in the mix added in the water to minimize effloresence (rising of salts) Some plasterers used lime putty in second coat instead of dehydrated lime in the render. The mortar is applied to about 5 mm thick and when the render hardens is screeded off straight. A wood float or plastic float is used to rub down the walls. Water is splashed on walls and immediately rubbing the float in a circular or figure 8 motion (figure of 8 can leave marks). After the work area is all floated, the finishing with a sponge using the same method as floating with wood float. Bringing sand to the surface.
Most plasterers use a hose with a special nozzle with a fine mist spray to dampen walls when rubbing up (using a wood float to bring a consistent finish). This method using a hose brings a superior finish and more consistent in colour as there is more chance in catching the render before it has a chance to harden too much.
Plaster is applied in successive coats or layers on walls or lathing and gains its name from the number of these coats. One coat work is the coarsest and cheapest class of plastering, and is limited to inferior buildings, such as outhouses, where merely a rough coating is required to keep out the weather and draughts. This is described as render on brickwork , and lath and lay or lath and plaster one coat on studding. Two-coat work is often used for factories or warehouses and the less important rooms of residences. The first coat is of coarse stuff finished fair with the darby float and scoured. A thin coat of setting stuff is then laid on, and trowelled and brushed smooth. Two-coat work is described as render and set on walls, and lath, plaster and set, or lath, lay and set on laths.
Three-coat work is usually specified for all good work. It consists, as its name implies, of three layers of material, and is described as render, float and set on walls and lath, plaster, float and set, or lath, lay, float and set, on lathwork. This makes a strong, straight, sanitary coating for walls and ceilings. The process for three coat work is as follows: For the first coat a layer of well-haired coarse stuff, about 1 inch thick, is put on with the laying trowel. This is termed "pricking up" in London, and in America "scratch coating". It should be laid on diagonally, each trowelful overlapping the previous one. When on laths the stuff should be plastic enough to be worked through the spaces between the laths to form a key, yet so firm as not to drop off. The surface while still soft is scratched with a lath to give a key for the next coat, which is known as the second or "floating coat", and is 1/4 to 3/8 inches thick. In Scotland this part of the process is termed "straightening" and in America "browning", and is performed when the first coat is dry, so as to form a straight surface to receive the finishing coat.
Four operations are involved in laying the second coat, namely, forming the screeds; filling in the spaces between the screeds; scouring the surface; keying the face for finishing. Wall screeds are plumbed and ceiling screeds leveled. Screeds are narrow strips of plastering, carefully plumbed and leveled, so as to form a guide upon which the floating rule is run, thus securing a perfectly horizontal or vertical surface, or, in the case of circular work, a uniform curve. The filling in, or flanking, consists of laying the spaces between the screeds with coarse stuff, which is brought flush with the level of the screeds with the floating rule.
The scouring of the floating coat is of great importance, for it consolidates the material, and, besides hardening it, prevents it from cracking. It is done by the plasterer with a hand float that he applies vigorously with a rapid circular motion, at the same time sprinkling the work with water from a stock brush in the other hand. Any small holes or inequalities are filled up as he proceeds. The whole surface should be uniformly scoured two or three times, with an interval between each operation of from six to twenty-four hours. This process leaves the plaster with a close-grained and fairly smooth surface, offering little or no key to the coat that is to follow. To obtain proper cohesion, however, a roughened face is necessary, and this is obtained by keying the surface with a wire brush or nail float, that is, a hand float with the point of a nail sticking through and projecting about 1/8 inch; sometimes a point is put at each corner of the float.
After the floating is finished to the walls and ceiling, the next part of internal plastering is the running of the cornice, followed by the finishing of the ceiling and walls. The third and final coat is the setting coat, which should be about 1/8 inch thick. In Scotland it is termed the "finishing coat", and in America the "hard finish coat" or "putty coat". Setting stuff should not be applied until the floating is quite firm and nearly dry, but it must not be too dry or the moisture will be drawn from the setting stuff. The coarse stuff applied as the first coat is composed of sand and lime, usually in proportions approximating to two to one, with hair mixed into it in quantities of about a pound to two or three cubic feet of mortar. It should be mixed with clean water to such a consistency that a quantity picked up on the point of a trowel holds well together and does not drop.
Floating stuff is of finer texture than that used for pricking up, and is used in a softer state, enabling it to be worked well into the keying of the first coat. A smaller proportion of hair is also used. Fine stuff mixed with sand is used for the setting coat. Fine stuff, or lime putty, is pure lime that has been slaked and then mixed with water to a semi-fluid consistency, and allowed to stand until it has developed into a soft paste. For use in setting it is mixed with fine washed sand in the ratio of one to three. For cornices and for setting when the second coat is not allowed time to dry properly, a special compound must be used. This is often gauged stuff, composed of three or four parts of lime putty and one part of plaster of Paris, mixed up in small quantities immediately before use. The plaster in the material causes it to set rapidly, but if it is present in too large a proportion the work will crack in setting.
The hard cements used for plastering, such as Parian, Keene's, and Martin's, are laid generally in two coats, the first of cement and sand 1/2 to 3/4 inches in thickness, the second or setting coat of neat cement about 1/8 inch thick. These and similar cements have gypsum as a base, to which a certain proportion of another substance, such as alum, borax or carbonate of soda, is added, and the whole baked or calcined at a low temperature. The plaster they contain causes them to set quickly with a very hard smooth surface, which may be painted or papered within a few hours of its being finished.
Moldings
Edit
Plain, or unenriched, moldings are formed with a running mold of zinc cut to the required profile. Enrichments may be moldings added after the main outline molding is set, and are cast in molds made of gelatin or plaster of Paris. For a cornice molding two running rules are usual, one on the wall, the other on the ceiling, upon which the mold is worked to and fro by one workman, while another man roughly lays on the plaster to the shape of the molding. The miters at the angles are finished off with joint rules made of sheet steel of various lengths, three or four inches (102 mm) wide, and about one-eighth inch thick, with one end cut to an angle of about 30°. In some cases the steel plate is let into a stock or handle of hardwood.
Cracks
Edit
Cracks in plastering may be caused by settlement of the building, by the use of inferior materials or by bad workmanship. However, due to none of these, cracks may yet ensue by the too fast drying of the work, caused through the laying of plaster on dry walls which suck from the composition the moisture required to enable it to set, by the application of external heat or the heat of the sun, by the laying of a coat upon one which has not properly set, the cracking in this case being caused by unequal contraction, or by the use of too small a proportion of sand. Traditionally, crack propagation was arrested by stirring chopped horsehair thoroughly into the plaster mix.
Slabs
Edit
For partitions and ceilings, plaster slabs are now in general use when work has to be finished quickly. For ceilings they require simply to be nailed to the joists, the joints being made with plaster, and the whole finished with a thin setting coat. In some cases, with fireproof floors, for instance, the slabs are hung up with wire hangers so as to allow a space of several inches between the soffit of the concrete floor and the ceiling. For partitions the slabs frequently have the edges tongued and grooved to form a better connection; often, too, they are holed through vertically, so that, when grouted in with semi-fluid plaster, the whole partition is bound together, as it were, with plaster dowels. Where very great strength is required the work may be reinforced by small iron rods through the slabs. This forms a very strong and rigid partition which is at the same time fire-resisting and of lightweight, and when finished measures only from two to four inches (102 mm) thick.
The slabs may be obtained either with a keyed surface, which requires finishing with a setting coat when the partition or ceiling is in position, or a smooth finished face, which may be papered or painted immediately the joints have been carefully made. Partitions are also formed with one or other of the forms of metal lathing previously referred to, fixed to iron uprights and plastered on both sides. So strong is the result that partitions of this class only two or three inches (76 mm) thick were used for temporary cells for prisoners at Newgate Gaol during the rebuilding of the new sessions house in the Old Bailey in London .
Fibrous plaster
Edit
Fibrous plaster is given by plasterers the suggestive name "stick and rag", and this is a rough description of the material, for it is fibrous composed of plaster laid upon a backing of canvas stretched on wood. It is much used for moldings, circular and enriched casings to columns and girders and ornamental work, which is worked in the shop and fixed in position. Desachy, a French modeler, took out in 1856 a patent for "producing architectural moldings, ornaments and other works of art, with surfaces of plaster," with the aid of plaster, glue, wood, wire, and canvas or other woven fabric. The modern use of this material may be said to have started then, but the use of fibrous plaster was known and practiced by the Egyptians long before the Christian era; for ancient coffins and mummies still preserved prove that linen stiffened with plaster was used for decorating coffins and making masks. Cennino Cennini, writing in 1437, says that fine linen soaked in glue and plaster and laid on wood was used for forming grounds for painting. Canvas and mortar were in general use in Great Britain up to the middle of the last century. This work is also much used for temporary work, such as exhibition buildings.
Pool plastering
Edit
There are two main methods used in construction of the interior walls of modern homes, drywall and plaster. In drywall a specialized form of sheet rock known as "greenboard" (yclept because on the outer paper coating is greenish) is screwed onto the wall-frames (studs) of the home to form the interior walls. At the place where the two edges of wallboards meet there is a seam. These seams are covered with mesh tape and then the seams and the screw heads are concealed with the drywall compound to make the wall seem as one uniform piece. Later this is painted or wallpapered over to hide the work. This process is typically called "taping" and those who use drywall are known as "tapers".
Veneer plastering differs from the drywall method in a number of ways. The two most notable differences are that a thin plaster coat covers the entire wall and not just the seams, and secondly the drywall compound is a thick paste where plaster method uses a great deal of water and is applied very wet. Another difference is that walls intended to be plastered are hanged with "Blueboard" (named as such for the industry standard of the outer paper being blue-grey in color). This type of sheet rock is designed to absorb some of the moisture of the plaster and allow it to cling better before it sets. Plastering is also a one-shot one-coat application; taping usually requires sanding and then adding an additional coat; since the compound shrinks as it dries. From a supply side the cost of plaster and drywall are approximately the same, but the labor cost of plastering is usually much greater.
The plasterer and laborer
Edit
The plasterer usually shows up after the hangers have finished building all the internal walls, by attaching blueboard over the frames of the house with screws. The plasterer is usually a subcontractor working in crews that average about three veterans and one laborer. The job of the laborer is to set up ahead of and clean up behind the plasterers, so they can concentrate on spreading the "mud" on the walls.
Laborer's tasks
Edit
Debris left on the floors from the "hanging" crew must be removed before floor paper can be set down and to remove any tripping hazards.
Cover the floors with tar or brown paper since plaster can stain or be hard to remove from subflooring plywood.
Run hoses and extension cords and set up job lights.
Cover all seams with meshtape as well as any large gaps around outlets caused by poor roto-zip work. Gouge out any bubble in the wallboard caused by broken sheetrock under the paper and cover the holes with meshtape. Remove any loose screws left from the hanger missing the underlying frame.
Cover all windows and doors with plastic sheets and masking tape to protect the wood of their frames and save on cleaning. If any plumbing fixtures or wall plugs have been installed they are also covered, as well as the bathtubs and showers.
Set up for the next mix. As soon as the table is cleared the laborer is given instructions of how many bags will be needed as well as the next room to be worked in. The table typically consists of folding legs upon witch is set a square board of wood and then covered in a plastic sheet upon which the plaster is placed in the center in a large pile.
Mixing the product. The mixing barrel is usually pre-filled to a certain level with water; since it can take some time to fill. The amount of water is usually estimated (with a margin of error leaning towards too little). The amount of water required is obtained from the amount of bags planned to be mixed. The estimation is not difficult for an experienced plasterer; who knows how many sheets he can typically cover, and that one bag usually covers 2 & 1/2 to 3 sheets and 5 gallons of water is needed for one standard 50 pound bag. With a permanent crew that normally does the same amount per mix one can simply fill up the barrel to a known cut-off point.
Once the mix is set up and the plasterers are ready they instruct the laborer to start dumping the bags in the water barrel, while intermittently running the mixing drill. Once all bags are in the barrel more water is slowly added until the plaster is of proper consistency and is then thoroughly mixed. Before the mixing is completed, a margin trowel (or margin for short) is scraped along the inside wall of the barrel in order to knock off clinging unmixed clumps (known as cutting in) to be furthered mixed until all is homogeneous.
While mixing the drill is slowly brought up and down and follows the edge of the barrel in a circular motion in order to drag the top of the mix down and ensure an even consistency throughout the mix. Care is taken not to allow the drill's paddle to hit the bottom or sides of the barrel; this can scrape off plastic bits that end up in the mix. At a certain point before the mixing is done a margin trowel is again used to scrape any clinging dry plaster into the rest of the mix. typically this is when the accelerator; if used is added. Mixing can be fatigueing in that the drill tends to not only be heavy but the mixer must also fight the torc of the paddle.
Shovel the mix onto the table. The mixing barrel must be emptied as soon as possible, as the plaster will set faster in the barrel then on the table. but the table cannot be overfilled or it may tip or plaster will spill off the sides and splatter when it hits the floor. While shoveling care must also be taken not to splatter any plaster onto nearby walls.
Clean up the mix barrel. This is done outside with a hose and nozzle. If any plaster remains they can contaminate the next mix with "rocks" that greatly vex the plasterers as they get dragged across the walls and the contamination causes the plaster to set much quicker.
Final clean up. This includes rolling up all paper flooring in finished rooms. knocking the plaster out of plug outlet holes with a drywall hammer/hatchet, taking down any masking tape and plastic, cleaning up any plaster that has splattered onto the floor etc.
Plasterer's tasks
Edit
Normally the contractor has already supplied all the bags of Gypsum plaster that will be needed, as well as any external supply of water if the house is not yet connected. (Normally the type of plaster that is used is an industry standard called Uni-Kal . There is also another type not used as often called Kal-Kote ; its finish is slightly different and not as bone white as Unical. The two products are distinguished by a color stripe across the top of the bag. Uni-Kal is rusty red, and Kal-Kote is purplish/maroon. The plastering crew needs to bring their own tools and equipment and sometimes supply their own bead.
The Tasks that the plasterer is usually expected to accomplish.
Hang cornerbead
The plasterer usually must first staple or tack Cornerbead onto every protruding (external) corner of the inside of the house. Care is taken to make sure this makes the wall look straight and is more of a skill of the eye then anything else. "Bead" comes in many styles; Ranging from wire mesh attached by staples too heavier metal grades the need to be tacked on with nails. Plastic varieties also exist. The bead must be measured and cut to size; care is taken not to bend or warp it. In places where more than one corner meets; the bead's ends are cut at an angle and the 2 or more tips are placed as close together as allowable; touching but not overlapping. The bead is completely covered with plaster as well as the rest of the wall and the plaster also helps to hold it firm. The finished product leaves only a small exposed metal strip at the protrusion of the corner which gets covered when the wall is painted. This leaves a clean, straight looking corner.
An alternative method seen in older houses of forming a rounded or bullnosed corner uses a quirked wooden staff bead. The staff bead, a 1 inch dowel with approx 1/3rd shaved off the back, is set on the external corner by the joiner on site, fastened to wooden plugs set into the brick/block seams, or to the wood frame. Plaster is run up to the staff bead and then cut back locally to the bead or "quirked" to avoid a weak feather edge where the plaster meets the bead. In architecture a quirk is a small 'V' shaped channel used to insulate and give relief to a convex rounded moulding.
To create the plastered corner, backing coat (browning) is plastered up to the staff bead, then the quirk is cut into the backing coat a little larger than the finished size. When the top skimming coat is applied, again the bead is fully skimmed in and then, using a straight edge, the quirk is re-cut to the finished depth, usually on an approximate 45 degree angle into the bead. The quirk will hide the eventual small crack that will form between the staff bead and plaster.
Sets up his tools
The plasterer needs to fill a 5-gallon bucket partway with water. From this bucket he hangs his trowel or trowels and places into it various tools.
Normally a plasterer has one trowel for "laying on" (the process of placing mud onto the wall). Some then keep an older trowel that has a decent bend in it (banana curve) to be used for the purpose of "texturing"; if called for by the homeowner. A lay-on trowel tends to be too flat for this and the vacuum caused by the water can stick it to the wall, forcing him to tear it off and thus he has to rework the area. Finally, one may have a brand new trowel "not yet broken-in" which he will used for "grinding"; this is when the plaster is nearly hardened and he is smoothing out any bumps or filling in any small dips to make the wall look like a uniform sheet of glossy white plaster. Most plasterers have their own preference for the size of the trowel they use. some wield trowels as large as 20 inches in length but the norm seems to be a 16"x5". From my experience the preferred brand is a Marshalltown stainless steel. They have a brassy luster to them and won't pit or rust if accidentally left in water overnight.
Into the bucket also goes a large brush used to splash water onto the wall and to clean his tools, a paint brush for smoothing corners, and a corner bird for forming corners (though many share one good bird to keep the room harmonious). These tool buckets are first kept near the mix table and then as the plaster starts to set are moved closer to the wall that is being worked on. Time becomes a big factor here as once the plaster starts to harden (set) it will do so fairly rapidly and the plasterer has a small margin of error to get the wall smooth.
Onto the mixing table the plasterer usually sets his " hawk " so it will be handy when he needs to grab it and to keep dirt off of it. Any debris in the plaster can become a major nuisance.
Tops or bottom?
Plasterers will typically divide a room, (especially a large or high-ceilinged wall) into top and bottom. The one working on top will do from the ceiling's edge to about belly height and work off a milk crate for an 8-foot (2.4 m) ceiling, or work off stilts for 12-foot-high rooms. For cathedral ceilings or very high walls, staging is set up and one works topside, the others further below.
Clean up before they finish a job
Typically done with the laborer. No plaster globs left on the floors, walls or corner bead edges. (They will show up if painted and interfere with flooring and trim). Remove or neatly stack all trash.
Inspection
All rooms and walls are inspected for cracking and dents or scratches that may have been caused from others bumping into the walls. They are also inspected to make sure no bumps are left on the walls from splashed plaster or water. All rooms are checked to make sure all plaster is knocked out of the outlets so the electrician can install the sockets and to make sure no tools are left behind. This leaves the walls ready for the painters and finishers to come in and do their trade.
Interior plastering techniques
Edit
The home owner and the plasterer's boss will usually decide beforehand what styles they will use in the house.
Typically walls are smooth and sometimes ceilings. Usually a homeowner will opt to have the ceilings use a "texture" technique as it is much easier, faster, and thus cheaper than a smooth ceiling. The plasterer quotes prices based on techniques to be used and board feet to be covered to the contractor or homeowner before work begins. The board feet is obtained by the hangers or estimated by the head subcontractor by counting the wallboards that come in an industry standard of 8' to 12' in length. He then adds in extra expenses for soffits and cathedral ceilings. Typically if the ceiling is to be smooth it is done first; before the walls. If it is to be textured it is done after the walls. The reason for this is invariably when a ceiling is being worked on plaster will fall and splash onto the walls. However a texture mix doesn't need to be smoothed out when it starts to set; thus a retardant such as "Cream of tartar" or sugar can be used to prolong the setting time, and is easily scraped off the walls. Also since time is not as restraining of a factor on textured ceilings a large mix, or back-to-back mixes can be done and all ceilings covered at the same time. Another reason is that a bird is usually run along the top corner after doing a smooth ceiling. It is easier to maintain this edge by doing the wall last, but a textured ceiling normally doesn't need to be birded, only blended in with a very wet paint brush. In this case the wall is done first and the corner formed with the bird.
Scratching
The first thing the plasterer tends to do is go over all the mesh-taped seams of the walls he is about to cover; in a very thin swatch. The wallboard draws moisture out of this strip so when the plasterer goes over it again when doing the rest of the wall it will not leave an indented seam that needs further reworking. He then fills in the area near the ceiling so he will not have to stretch to reach it during the rest of the wall; And he forms the corner with his bird. This saves much needed time as this process is a race against the chemical reaction.
Laying on
From the Mix table the plasterer scoops some "mud" onto the center of his hawk with his trowel. Holding the hawk in his off-hand and his trowel in his primary the plasterer then scoops a bulging roll of plaster onto his trowel. this takes a bit of practice to master, especially with soupy mixes. Then holding the trowel parallel to the wall and at a slight angle of the wrist he tries to uniformly roll the plaster onto the wall. In a manner similar to a squeegee. He starts about an inch above the floor and works his way upwards to the ceiling. Care is taken to be uniform as possible as it helps in the finishing phase.
Knocking down
Depending on the setting time of the plaster. once the moisture of the plaster starts to be drawn by the board a second pass is made. this is called knocking down. it is much like applying paint with a roller in wrist action and purpose. to smooth out any lines and fill in any major voids that will make extra work once the plaster starts to truly set. very little pressure is applied and the trowel is kept relatively flat towards the wall.
Setting
Sometimes an accelerant will be added to a mix to hasten the time delay from the initial mixing phase to when the plaster starts to set. This is normally done on cold days when setting is delayed or for small jobs to minimalize the wait. Once the plaster is on the wall and starts to set; this can be determined by the table that sets first. the plasterer gingerly sprinkles water onto the wall this helps to stall the setting and to create a slip. he then uses his trowel and often a wetted felt brush held in the opposite hand and lightly touching the wall ahead of the trowel to work this slip into any small gaps (known as "catfaces") in the plaster as well as smooth out the rough lay-on and flatten any air bubbles that formed during setting. This is a crucial time because if the wall gets too hard it is nearly impossible to fill in and gaps as the slip will no longer set with the wall and will instead just dry and fall out. This leads to the need of what is called "Grinding" as one must go over the hard wall again and again trying to smooth out the hardened wall and any major catfaces must be filled in with a contour putty, joint compound, or reworked by blending in a fresh, thin coat. The finished wall will look glossy, Uniformly flat and is smooth to the touch. After a few days it will become chalky white and can then be painted over.
Mix
From the time the bags are dumped into the barrel to when the wall is completely set is called a mix. Varying on the technique used and whether accelerant or retardant is added, a mix typically lasts about two hours. The final moments are the most frantic if it is smooth or if the mix sets quicker then anticipated. If this happens it is said the mix has "snapped" and is normally due to using old product or various types of weather.(humidity or hot days can cause plaster to set quicker) Normally only 3 or four mixes are done in a day as plastering is very tiring and not as effective under unnatural lighting in the months with early dusk.
Seasons
Plastering is done year round but unique problems may arise from season to season. In the summer the heat tends to cause the plaster to set faster. The plaster also generates its own heat and houses can become quite hellish. Typically the plaster crew will try to arrive at the house well before dawn. In winter months short days causes the need of artificial lighting. At certain angles these lights can make even the smoothest wall look like the surface of the moon. Another dilemma in the winter months is needing to use propane jet heaters (which can stain the plaster yellowish but does not otherwise hurt it), not just to keep the plasterers warm but to also prevent the water in the mix from freezing and generating ice crystals before the plaster has time to set. Also if the water hose is not thoroughly drained before leaving it can freeze over night and be completely stopped up in the morning.
Textured
Edit
Texturing is usually reserved for closets, ceilings and garage walls.
Typically a retarding agent is added to the mix. this is normally " Cream of Tartar (or "Dope" in the plasterer's jargon) and care must be taken with the amount added. Too much and the mix may never set at all. However the amount used is often estimated; much the way one adds a dash of salt to a recipe. you add a small scoop of retarder, dependent on the size of the mix. Retardant is added so that large mixes can be made since the texture technique doesn't require the person to wait until it starts to set before working it.
The lay-on phase is the same as smooth but it is added with a thicker coat. Once the coat is on uniformly the plasterer then goes back and birds his corners. Staying away from the corner he then gets a trowel with a nice banana curve in it and starts to run it over the wall in a figure eight or Ess pattern, making sure to cross all areas at least once. He adds a little extra plaster to his trowel if needed. The overall effect is layers of paint-like swaths over the whole of the ceiling or wall. He can then just walk away and let it set with care taken not too leave any globs and to make sure the corners look smooth and linear. If a wall is to be smooth and the ceiling textured, typically the wall is done first, then the ceiling after the wall has set. Instead of rebirding the ceiling (which would have been done when the wall was laid on), a clean trowel is held against the wall and its corner is run along the ceiling to "cut it in" and clean the wall at the same time. This line is then smoothed with a paintbrush to make the transition seamless.
Sponge
Edit
The sponge (technically called a float), has a circle form and rough surface. it is fixed to a backing with a central handhold and is roughly the size of a standard trowel.
Sponge is a variant texture technique and used normally on ceilings and sometimes in closets. Typically when using a sponge; sand is added to the mix and the technique is called sand-sponge. Care must be taken not to stand directly under your trowel when doing this as it is very, very unpleasant, and dangerous to get a grain of sand in your eye; which is compounded by the irritation from the lime as well. This combination can easily scratch the eye.
The lay-on and mix is the same as with regular texturing. however after a uniform and smooth coat is placed on the ceiling and the edges are cut in; a special rectangular sponge with a handle is run across the ceiling in overlapping and circular motions. This takes some skill and practice to do well. The overall look is a fishscale type pattern on the ceiling, closet wall, etc. Even though retarder is typically used; care must be taken to clean out the sponge thoroughly when finished as any plaster that hardens inside it will be impossible to remove.
Ceilings
Edit
Stilts are often required to plaster most ceilings and it is typically harder to lay-on and work then walls. For short ceilings one can also work off of milk crates. The difficulty of working upside down often results in plaster bombs splattering on the floors, walls and people below. This is why smooth ceilings that use no retardant or sometimes accelerant are done before the walls. Retarded plaster can easily be scraped off a smooth plaster wall when wet. Any splatters from a smooth ceiling can easily be scraped off bare blueboard but not from an already plastered wall. Care must be taken when doing a ceiling not to look up if you[ who? ] are standing under your trowel or another plasterer. The general difficulty of working a smooth ceiling fetches a higher cost. The technique is the same as a smooth wall but at an awkward angle for the plasterer.
Tools of the trade
Water brush – large, for cleaning tools and splashing walls
Examples
Edit
In England, fine examples of plasterwork interiors of the early modern period can be seen at Chastleton House , (Oxfordshire), Knole House , (Kent), Wilderhope (Shropshire), Speke Hall , ( Merseyside ), and Haddon Hall , ( Derbyshire ).
Some examples of outstanding extant historical plasterwork interiors are found in Scotland , where the three finest specimens of interior plasterwork are elaborate decorated ceilings from the early 1600s at Muchalls Castle , Glamis Castle and Craigievar Castle , all of which are in the northeast region of that country.
The craft or modelled plasterwork, inspired by the style of the early modern period, was revived by the designers of the Arts and Crafts movement in late-19th- and early-20th-century England. Notable practitioners were Ernest Gimson , his pupil Norman Jewson , and George P. Bankart, who published extensively on the subject. Examples are preserved today at Owlpen Manor and Rodmarton Manor , both in the Cotswolds .
Modern ornate fibrous plasterwork by the specialist company of Clark & Fenn can be seen at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , the London Palladium , Grand Theatre Leeds , Somerset House , The Plaisterers' Hall and St. Clement Danes
Corrado Parducci was a notable plaster worker in the Detroit area during the middle half of the Twentieth Century. Probably his best known ceiling is located at Meadow Brook Hall .
| i don't know |
Which company owns the Waitrose chain of supermarkets? | Company history - Corporate information - Waitrose.com
Corporate Information
Company history
A short history of Waitrose
Waitrose first appeared on the high street in 1904 when Wallace Wyndham Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor opened their shop in Acton. They managed to create a successful business selling a wide range of grocery products. High standards and keen pricing ensured that the business grew, with Waite concentrating on the buying, Rose working behind the scenes on the accounts and Taylor working on the shop floor as the branch manager. After two years, Taylor left the business leaving Waite and Rose who formed Waitrose Ltd in 1908.
Over the next few years the two men were able to acquire several more small grocery shops in the Acton area. Waite also diversified into the wholesale trade supplying the army camp at Catterick when war broke out in 1914. However, during World War I Arthur Rose was injured and from that time onwards Wallace Waite took over the main responsibilities of running the shops.
The business continued to develop after Rose left in 1924 and the chain grew to include branches from Windsor to Gerrards Cross. Waite continued to supply these more affluent areas but also traded in less profitable locations, developing a group of shops he called Wyndhams.
By 1937 Waite was looking for someone to take over the business and maintain the high standards he had instilled over the years. After a chance meeting with Michael Watkins, the Director of Trading for the John Lewis Partnership, the ten shops and 160 staff joined the Partnership on 1st October. Waite remained in the business until he retired in 1940.
The next major change in the fortunes of Waitrose was the result of the move to self service shopping in the early 1950s. The first shops to become self service were Schofield & Martin, a small chain of grocery shops based around Southend. By 1955 Waitrose opened it's first supermarket in Streatham with 2,500 square feet of selling space. By the early 1970s there were 50 branches, some still small self service shops but more and more larger supermarkets. This led to the construction of a new distribution centre at Bracknell enabling the business to grow at a much faster rate.
By Waitrose centenary in 2004 the division had expanded to over 200 shops including the acquisition of branches from other chains including Morrisons and Somerfield. By this time the Leckford farm estate in Hampshire which the Partnership owned had become part of Waitrose. There followed a period of change involving the development of internet shopping, branches abroad and smaller format shops.
The business continues to grow today but still aspires to Wallace Wyndham Waite's original intention to "lift the food trade to a higher plane".
| John Lewis |
Which fashion designer brought out the 'New Look' in 1947? | Waitrose - InternetRetailing
Waitrose
Business Type: Multichannel Retailer .
Waitrose is a chain of top end supermarkets, forming the food retail division of Britain’s largest employee-owned retailer, the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England.
As of February 2014 Waitrose has 5% of the market, with 317 branches across the United Kingdom, including 30 “Little Waitrose” convenience stores. The company is the sixth-largest grocery retailer in the UK. Waitrose online customers can choose click-and-collect or home delivery.
Recent Mentions
| i don't know |
In which landlocked country of Europe were women denied the right to vote in national elections until 1971? | When and Where - (Women in World History Curriculum)
When and Where
©1996-2016
womeninworldhistory.com
Full suffrage occurs when all groups of women are included in national voting and can run for any political office. In most cases women won the right to vote in uneven stages. New Zealand in 1893 was first. Liberalism was a strong force in this pioneering land which increasingly rejected what it viewed as archaic attitudes from the Old World. The support of social reform issues, including temperance, gave New Zealand suffragists the edge they needed. The now famous Womens Suffrage Petition is credited with being a major force for this success. Signed by close to one quarter of the female adult population, the petition was the largest of its kind in New Zealand and other western countries. It is comprised of 546 sheets of paper, all glued together to form one continuous roll 274 metres long, with the signatures of over 10,000 adult women. A few Maori women signed, but at this time they mainly were concerned with achieving political participation rights for the whole tribe.
The New Zealand breakthrough sent ripples throughout the world. New Zealand women suffrage supporters were invited to many countries to visit, lecture, and even join in demonstrations.
Contingent of New Zealanders
Supporting British Suffragists in a Parade
London, 1910
In Europe, Finland, Norway and Iceland were among the first to grant female suffrage. Most other western governments only extended suffrage to women during or just after WWI, even though womens rights had been widely debated in their societies for many decades.
Even though suffrage movements in the United States were large and vigorous in the early twentieth century, it took women there seventy-two years from first claiming the franchise in 1848 to achieving it in 1920. It was an equally long process in Britain where womens important work in WWI provided an opportunity for the government to act on suffrage without seeming to capitulate to the tactics of the more militant arm of England's suffragette movement. France was one of the last in Europe to enfranchise women, even though the demand for womens rights was first voiced by Olympe de Gouge during the French Revolution, and it was in France that the most radical critique of womens subordination was developed. French suffragists, however, throughout the early part of the 20th century faced opposition from politicians, many of whom were Socialists who feared women would support Catholicism and right-wing political conservatism. French women won the vote as late as 1944.
French women, nonetheless, fared better than the Swiss. It took efforts of the Swiss Federation for Womens Suffrage from 1909 to 1971 before women in Switzerland were allowed to vote in national elections, and not until 1989 could women in the Appenzell Interiour Rhodes canton vote in their local elections.
In colonized countries, women demanded the right to vote not just from stable republics, but from colonial powers. Anti-colonial nationalist movements in some cases encompassed womens suffrage. For example, in India in 1919, poet and political activist Sarojini Naidu headed a small deputation of women to England to present the case for female suffrage before a select committee set up to create a proposal for constitution reforms aimed at the inclusion of some Indians in government. Although the British committee found the proposition preposterous, they allowed future Indian provincial legislatures to grant or refuse the franchise to women. To the British surprise, many did, making it possible within a short span of time for women to be represented, however limited, on a par with men. Universal suffrage for all adults over 21 was not achieved, however, until it became part of Indias 1950 Constitution.
Women in newly independent states in Africa typically won the vote around the year 1960. On winning national independence, most of the ex-colonized countries created constitutions which guaranteed the franchise to both men and women. In other countries, like South Africa where only whites were allowed to vote for members of the central government, white women gained the right to vote for central government in 1930, while black and colored women voted for the first time in 1994.
Today only a few countries do not extend suffrage to women, or extend only limited suffrage. In Bhutan there is only one vote per family in village-level elections. In Lebanon women have to have proof of education before they vote. In Oman, only 175 people chosen by the government, mostly male, vote, and Kuwait only in 2005 granted women the right to vote in the 2007 elections. Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, which have denied the vote to men as well as women, recently opened the vote in provisional elections to men.
For a Worlds Women Suffrage Timeline: Click Here!
Women in Bahrain Voting for the First Time
May 22, 2003
Worldwide Alliances and Influences : By the turn of the twentieth century womens reform was truly an international movement, one in which ideas and tactics used in one country served as models for use in another.
| Switzerland |
In which TV series does Anthony Head play Uther Pendragon? | Essay - Women's Suffrage - Teaching Womens Rights From Past to Present
Supporting British Suffragists in a Parade
London, 1910
In Europe, Finland, Norway and Iceland were among the first to grant female suffrage. Most other western governments only extended suffrage to women during or just after WWI, even though womens rights had been widely debated in their societies for many decades.
Even though suffrage movements in the United States were large and vigorous in the early twentieth century, it took women there seventy-two years from first claiming the franchise in 1848 to achieving it in 1920. It was an equally long process in Britain where womens important work in WWI provided an opportunity for the government to act on suffrage without seeming to capitulate to the tactics of the more militant arm of England's suffragette movement. France was one of the last in Europe to enfranchise women, even though the demand for womens rights was first voiced by Olympe de Gouge during the French Revolution, and it was in France that the most radical critique of womens subordination was developed. French suffragists, however, throughout the early part of the 20th century faced opposition from politicians, many of whom were Socialists who feared women would support Catholicism and right-wing political conservatism. French women won the vote as late as 1944.
French women, nonetheless, fared better than the Swiss. It took efforts of the Swiss Federation for Womens Suffrage from 1909 to 1971 before women in Switzerland were allowed to vote in national elections, and not until 1989 could women in the Appenzell Interiour Rhodes canton vote in their local elections.
In colonized countries, women demanded the right to vote not just from stable republics, but from colonial powers. Anti-colonial nationalist movements in some cases encompassed womens suffrage. For example, in India in 1919, poet and political activist Sarojini Naidu headed a small deputation of women to England to present the case for female suffrage before a select committee set up to create a proposal for constitution reforms aimed at the inclusion of some Indians in government. Although the British committee found the proposition preposterous, they allowed future Indian provincial legislatures to grant or refuse the franchise to women. To the British surprise, many did, making it possible within a short span of time for women to be represented, however limited, on a par with men. Universal suffrage for all adults over 21 was not achieved, however, until it became part of Indias 1950 Constitution.
Women in newly independent states in Africa typically won the vote around the year 1960. On winning national independence, most of the ex-colonized countries created constitutions which guaranteed the franchise to both men and women. In other countries, like South Africa where only whites were allowed to vote for members of the central government, white women gained the right to vote for central government in 1930, while black and colored women voted for the first time in 1994.
Today only a few countries do not extend suffrage to women, or extend only limited suffrage. In Bhutan there is only one vote per family in village-level elections. In Lebanon women have to have proof of education before they vote. In Oman, only 175 people chosen by the government, mostly male, vote, and Kuwait only in 2005 granted women the right to vote in the 2007 elections. Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, which have denied the vote to men as well as women, recently opened the vote in provisional elections to men.
Women in Bahrain Voting for the First Time
May 22, 2003
The Case for Suffrage:
Reasons for granting female suffrage have varied. Sometimes responses to political change, or to societal anxieties, forwarded the cause. In Sweden, for example, womens suffrage seems to have been an attempt to ward off more radical changes. In Germany, the ending of imperial rule in 1918 opened the door for women to push for the vote. In Canada, the federal government used female suffrage as a political tool, enfranchising army nurses and female relatives of soldiers serving overseas in order to secure an election victory.
A nativist argument also influenced the opinion of some in Canada, and in other parts of the world with large non-Northern European immigrant ethnic and racial minorities. One pro-suffrage argument in Canada was that white British Canadian women deserved the vote because the franchise had already been entrusted to naturalized male immigrants from Central Europe. In the United States the same argument was used, as was the fact that African American males had already won the vote before white women. The same reasoning was used by some white settlers in New Zealand, anxious about indigenous peoples access to political rights when it was denied to white women.
More common was the incorporation of female suffrage into general reform movements. The push for female political power sometimes occurred when it was clear that without political power little would change for women, even with the passage of substantive reforms. Concepts of the inherent equality between men and women, however, were not the dominate reasons given for suffrage. Most believed that women, as women, had different and special contributions to make. Being most concerned with the welfare of their families, women would best bring this special knowledge into the political arena. A principle temperance argument was that women were more likely to vote for prohibition as a way to safeguard the family.
Economic reasons for female suffrage were utilized as well. One stressed that once women were full citizens they would be in a position to press for equal salaries. Also, womens economic independence depended on their ability to have a say in laws regarding their right to work and improvement in their working conditions.
In the colonized states, the colonizers used the woman question to justify their dominance, claiming that women in their subject nations were backward and in need of uplifting. Ignoring the demands of women in their own countries, they were sometimes more willing to push for womens reforms abroad. On the other hand, nationalistic movements in colonized and other non-western nations began to link attempts at modernization with an improvement in the status of women. In many instances, liberal nationalists, many of them male, needed the active support of women to help fulfill their dream of an independent, modern state.
Kimura Komako in New York City studying
methods of American women suffragists.
1917-1918
Obstacles to Overcome:
The question of why female suffrage was so difficult to achieve has been answered in different ways.
Suffrage Challenged the Existing Order: Custom and laws in many countries had placed men as supreme in public sphere and within the family. Deep cultural beliefs in male/female differences in altitudes and abilities supported this situation, and giving the women the vote posed a direct threat to male powers and privileges. Changes in womens reforms, such as access to education or property rights, were justified because they were viewed as an improvement in womens social position. Suffrage, on the other hand, challenged the existing order by threatening the basis of womens subordination in society. Granting suffrage was a revolutionary act.
Conservative Kuwait lawmakers recently blocked womens vote by arguing that giving women would essentially double womens power. Citing claims that Islam and Kuwaiti custom bar women from holding office, the head of the Parliaments human rights committee in May, 2005, said that men are technically the head of the nation here.
Many Women didnt Want it. This rationale swayed many a male legislator. It is true that at times even well educated women in countries with high percentages of female illiteracy joined men who claimed that as long as the majority of women were still illiterate and ignorant, it would be dangerous to extend them the vote. The anti-suffrage groups in the U.S., for example, were mainly led by women.
New York City, 1920
Fear of a Lose of Female rights. Some women and men worried that if the concept of male protection of women were broken, women would be forced to compete with men in areas which they were not prepared to. Giving women political independence would even change male/female roles in the family structure, severely damaging it.
Womens Essential Femininity would be Sacrificed. Most women did not want to give up what they saw as essential characteristics of their female nature if voting meant that they would have to enter the rough and disorderly realm of politics. There were fears that when women entered the public arena their natural roles of wife and mother would be undermined. In South America, feminists were most successful when they developed ideas for improving womens condition that did not challenge some basic social values. Suffrage became only one part of the process of social change which recognized the need first to address womens problems associated with their health and work.
Feminist and suffrage supporters in non-western regions tended to be accused of blindly imitating Western women, who were perceived as aggressive and shameless. Japanese womens internationalism was attacked using this very argument. In the years leading up to World War II, members of the Japanese Diet increasingly portrayed womens suffrage as immoral and as running counter to Japanese customs.
National Needs Come First: In countries fighting for their independence from colonial rule there was pressure on women to wait their turn. Even Gandhi, who had brought women into the public struggle for self sufficiency from Great Britain, stated that although he wanted women to take their proper place by the side of men, the timing was wrong for a votes for women campaign; women instead should use their energies helping their men against the common foe. Women suffrage supporters, too, tended to be more nationalistic than feminist, arguing that votes for women were necessary so that they could imbue their children with ideas of nationalism.
Resistance of Liberal/Left Politicians: Some supporters of progressive legislation worried that acts by womens militant suffrage would harm the larger cause of progressive politics. There further was concern that once given the vote, women might all vote for conservative parties. Women in Mexico sadly missed the chance to gain suffrage in 1930s because of these fears. In 1934, General Lázaro Cárdenas drafted a bill to implement female suffrage, which was passed by both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, was ratified by the states, and only needed formal declaration to be made into law. That declaration never came. The presence of a number of street demonstrations, a threatened hunger strikes by feminists, and fears that women would be unduly influenced by the clerical vote, unnerved Cárdenas at the last moment. Since the suffrage campaign was not a mass movement, it was easy to let the needed declaration slip away. Mexican women did not receive federal vote until 1958.
Suffrage Granted and the Denied: Suffrage, or its promise, has been granted and then retracted at various times. During the liberalization phase of Japans Meiji government in the 1880s, it seemed that Japans first feminists were going to achieve their goal of political participation. But all was ended in 1889 with the passing of laws which not only denied women voting rights, but even the right to join political parties. In the 1920s, Japanese feminists campaigned again, but the growing imperialism of the Meiji state and rising tide of Japanese militarism in the early 1930s turned Japanese suffragists back. When the Japanese military took control of the country in the 1930s, all democratizing movements were suppressed. It took people like Ichikawa Fusae decades of arguing that womens suffrage was a fundamental human right before it was enshrined in the new Japanese constitution of 1945.
In 1956 in Egypt, thirty-three years after feminists had first demanded suffrage, the revolutionary government granted women the right to vote. But from the start, the state and official Islam obstructed womens political rights by banning feminist organizations and suppressing the public expression of their views. Thus the same year that the state granted women the right to vote, women were suppressed as independent political actors.
Similarly Iran, which had granted women suffrage in 1963 and passed numerous womens equal rights legislation in the 70s, repealed all these gains when the revolutionary government of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini came to power in 1979. Women were eliminated from all decision-making positions within the government, dress requirements were enforced, and womens organizations were declared corrupt and disbanded. The future looks brighter today. A growing urban, middle class is making some progress by situating womens rights within the cultural framework of Iran, and noting that in order to modernize, Iran must improve the status of women.
Irish Cartoon, 1913
Beyond Suffrage:
Suffrage has not been an automatic stepping stone to full equality for women. One problem was that once suffrage was achieved, the common ground among women fighting for it was lost. Fears that participation in politics was unladylike remained, as did the old resistance and hostile attitudes against it.
This means that major changes in womens political activities, other than exercising their right to vote, have been long in coming. Today, women are struggling to gain equal participation in political office alongside men. Of interest is the use in over 41 countries of parity quotas and quota laws to achieve political gender balance. Responding to strong pressure by womens organizations, gender quotas have appeared in many new constitutions, like the one of Rwanda, and recently in the constitution of Iraq. This means that a certain number of parliamentary seats are reserved for women. The seats are distributed among the political parties in proportion to the number of seats awarded in parliament. In South Africa, a municipal law stipulates that 50 percent of all candidates for the local office have to be women. India in 1992 enacted a 33 percent policy to reserve seats for women in Parliament and throughout the State Government. The final effectiveness of this policy is unknown, but so far, as many as one million women have gotten an opportunity to enter institutions as members and office bearers; many more have participated in elections and as campaigners for state legislatures. Most dramatic has been the change in the landscape of local politics. In some cases, women for the first time have sat with village leaders, and sometimes even had a turn heading village affairs.
Demonstration for parity in the Lower House of Parliament
France, 1993
Sources
Ellen Dubois, Woman Suffrage: The View from the Pacific, Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 69, No. 4,
Marlene Le Gates, Making Waves: A History of Feminism in Western Society, Copp Clark, Ltd., 1996.
Robin Morgan, editor, Sisterhood is Global: The International Womens Movement Anthology, Anchor Press, Doubleday, 1984.
Karen Offen, European Feminism: 1700-1950: A Political History, Stanford University Press, 2000.
Suffrage & Beyond: International Feminist Perspectivesø, edited by Caroline Daley & Melanie Nolan, New York University Press, 1994.
| i don't know |
'Fair Maid of February' was a once popular name for which small, white flower? | Snowball Flower
Snowball
Snowball, also called European cranberry bush or Guelder rose, is a handsome shrub of the honeysuckle family. It produces large, ball-shaped white flowers that grow in clusters. The plant is believed to be native to the Dutch province of Gelderland. Today, it is often grown in parks and lawns in the United States. It is a cultivated form of high bush cranberry and grows from 7 to 12 feet (2.1 to 3.7 meters) tall. The flowers of the cultivated species are sterile and do not produce fruit, but a wild variety bears juicy, red berries.
Scientific classification. The snowball is in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. It is Viburnum opulus. Snowdrop is the name of a group of flowering plants native Europe, the Middle East, and western Asia. Some species, including the common snowdrop of Europe, are commonly grown in gardens. Snowdrops bear nodding, white, bell-shaped flowers. Snowdrops are one of the earliest spring flowers, and they sometimes during warm spells in midwinter. Some snow-drops bloom in the fall. The common snowdrop is sometimes called the Fair Maid of February. Snowdrops grow from a small bulb that produces two or three narrow leaves and a flower stalk. The stalk of the common snowdrop usually grows from 4 to 9 inches (10 to 23 centimeters) tall. Snowdrops are easy to cultivate, and they grow best in partial shade and moist soil. The bulbs are planted 3 to 4 Inches (7.5 to 10 centimeters) deep in the fall. The plants multiply each year, and a few bulbs may eventually produce large clumps of snowdrops.
| Galanthus |
Which of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, when first presented at the Savoy Theatre in 1887, was billed as 'A New and Original Supernatural Opera in Two Acts'? | Bewitching Names: February 2012
Bewitching Names
Naming Enthusiasm from a Wiccan Perspective
Pages
Ash
There were a few trees names from the Celtic tree months that I didn't profile last year. Probably because I was already profiling so many names that began with "A" at the time and I wanted more variety. But that means that I get to profile Ash this year.
The Celtic tree month of Ash begins in February 18th and ends March 17th. The word ash is derived from the Old English aesc.The tree's Latin name is fraxinus, and both names mean "spear." According to mythology, Odin's spear is made from an ash tree. It's Celtic name was nion (pronounced "NEE-on," I think).
The Ash tree is famous amongst Neo-Pagans for many reasons. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil, also known as The World Tree, is a giant ash tree that links and shelters all worlds (I'm sure all Neo-Pagans have seen a diagram of it at some point in their lives). The first man, Ask, was formed from an ash tree as well. This tree secretes a sugary substance which, it is believed, was fermented to make the Mead of Inspiration. In Greek mythology, the Meliae are the nymphs of the ash tree. It's this tree that the Hanging Man is strung from in the tarot deck. Yule logs often come from ash trees. It was believed that this tree was a serpent repellent, and that they would stay out of a circle drawn on the ground with an ash branch. Nicknames for this tree include "unicorn tree" (it was believed that ash was the unicorns favorite tree), "guardian tree," and "widow maker" (because large branches often drop without warning).
Neo-Pagans may uses this tree for many magickal and medicinal purposes. The month of Ash is a good time to perform magick that connects you with your inner self. Ash is connected to the water element, so you can use this tree for ocean power, ocean rituals, protection from drowning, and rain making. Witches brooms are often made with a handle of ash, and it was a popular wood for shields and spears since it was known for having protective powers. If there are no snakes around, ash can repeal nasty and negative people. They can absorb sickness because special guardian spirits reside in ash. The Druids use ash wands with special spiral carvings for the purposes of healing. Ash leaves placed under your pillow will induce prophetic dreams, and carrying one will attract a lover of the opposite sex. In springtime, leaves and freshly grown tops can be used to make a tea that encourages fasting or weight loss. Ash trees are known to be liver and spleen cleansers, and can make the immune system stronger.
It's most common practical use is, obviously, firewood. It is great for barbecues and smoking. Ash tree wood is a popular material for the bodies of electric guitars, and less commonly for acoustic guitars. They are also used to make drums and indoor furnishings. Because ash trees were commonly used to make the bodies of carriages, early cars and planes had frames made of ash.
Of course, the name Ash could also be a reference for the residue of fire. It's a name that combines the elements of fire and earth. Ashes also are heavily associated with death, "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust," "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down." So that makes Ash a mildly macabre name as well.
There are a few fictional namesakes for Ash. Apparently the main character in Pokemon is named Ash. I wouldn't know, I was never into Pokemon. The association that comes into my mind is the son in the Fantastic Mr. Fox film.
This name could work as a Wicca-lite name because Ash is often used as a short form of Asher, a Hebrew name meaning "happy," or Ashley, an Old English name meaning "ash tree meadow."Put I didn't put it in that category because it is quite rare on it's own. It reads more masculine to me personally but it could work for either gender. Variant forms include Ashe and Asshe (although I wouldn't recommend the later). There are also other names that are related to Ash, like Ashby (meaning "ash tree home"), Ashford (meaning "ford by the ashes"), and Ashton ("ash tree town").
So if you want a short, no frills natural name for someone born during the month of Ash, this name could be very appealing.
Sources:
Name Round-Up: A Series of Unfortunate Events
I finally finished this series, and I have to say that I am a huge fan. I wasn't sure that I was going to be one in the middle of the series. Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) likes to keep his cards very close to his chest. I look forward to reading The Beatrice Letters, it's sequel.
I don't think I can say much without giving away pieces of the plot, but the series has a lot of inspired character names. Some of the names are jokes (there are siblings named Isadora and Duncan, get it?), but most of them are literary references. Esme Squalor, for instance, is widely assumed to be a reference to the poem by J.D. Salinger: "For Esme - With Love and Squalor." Here are most of the inspired names from this series:
Lemony
Fiyero
I've already profiled Elphaba, Glinda, Nessarose, and Liir. The Wicked Witch's boyfriend has not yet been accounted for.
In the beloved musical version of Wicked, Fiyero (pronounced "fee-YEH-roh") Tiggular is the handsome popular guy. He is a prince of Winkie and attends Shiz University with Elphaba and Glinda. He almost immediately becomes Glinda's boyfriend, but gradually falls in love with Elphaba. Thanks to her, he starts thinking that there is more to life than having fun. Later, he becomes engaged to Glinda, but runs away with Elphaba when she reappears. When the two are ambushed by palace gaurds, Fiyero allows Elphaba to escape, and the gaurds torchure Fiyero...well, I guess I shouldn't give away the ending.
In the book by Gregory Maguire, Fiyero Tigelaar is quite different. First of all, he is not conventionally handsome. His dark skin is covered with blue diamond shapped tattoos, which immediately marks him as an outsider like Elphaba (the creators of the musical didn't think the tattoos would translate well on stage). He is still a prince, but he is a prince of the Arjiki tribe. When we meet him, he is unhappily betroved to Sarima, and they eventually have three children together. Fiyero and Elphaba have little interaction during their years at Shiz University. He begins an affair with Elphaba while she is a revolutionary years later. This union creates their son Liir. It is mentioned that he used to have a crush on Glinda, but they are never together. Most of Fiyero's character in the play is actually more like Avaric in the books. Avaric isn't a particularly important character, but he is carefree and a bit snooty.
Gregory Maguire has stated that Fiyero's name comes from the word "furious," which I find very strange. Anger doesn't seem to be a big part of Fiyero's personality. It is much more a part of Elphaba's personality. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.
You know, Hollywood is taking its sweet time with the Wicked movie. Now they are saying that it's going to come out in 2014, but who knows. I also heard a television miniseries based on the book was coming out, but that rumor was posted a long time ago. Wicked is a phenominally successful play and novel with a huge cult following, so I highly doubt that they are never going to capitalize on it somehow. When that happens, Fiyero is no longer going to be a name that only diehard fans will know. Who knows what will happen to these names in the feature?
Naming a son Fiyero would be like naming a son Atreyu. They're both lovely names, and I know there are people out there that name their sons Atreyu, but it's a diehard fan name. You must really, really love the Wicked world in order to use it.
Sources:
Venus
Venus remains one of the most well known goddesses, but apparently her name has yet to really catch on.
Venus (pronounced "VEE-nus") is a Latin name and word meaning "sexual love" or "sexual desire," although most baby name sources are likely to list it as "beloved" which, I suppose, is technically correct. As the name suggests, Venus is the goddess of love, sex, and fertility, but also of beauty, prosperity, and military victory. She was already in Italy when Greek mythology was integrated into the culture, but it is very difficult to figure out what attributes come from Aphrodite and which ones where already there. She has almost no myths of her own, and what ones she has came from Ancient Greek culture.
Nevertheless she was, and still remains, a very popular goddess. She is portrayed as a beautiful young woman, and is very often nude. She had her own festival (Veneralia was celebrated on April 1st) and her own cult. Apparently, the cult was funded by fines imposed on women for sexual misdemeanors. Venus loves water, roses, and myrtle. Some stories connect her to Mars, god of war, and together they sired Cupid. But other stories say she is Vulcan's girlfriend. She is also the mother of Aeneas, the Trojan ancestor of Romulus and Remus. In Ancient Roman dice games, the luckiest roll was called "Venus."
Like many Roman goddesses, Venus goes by a number of different names depending on what she is doing. Venus Genetrix is the mother of Roman civilization, Venus Felix takes care of luck, and so on. Venus absorbs and tempers the fiery male essence. Ancient Roman society dealt with her differently than they did with the other immortals. Usually, everything was very contractual and formal, "if I do this you will give me that" type of relationship. But with Venus, you had to charm and seduce her, and she may or may not choose to help you out.
As most people know, Venus is also in outer space. She is the second planet from the sun. After the moon, it is the brightest celestial body in the night sky. It is most bright shortly before sunrise and shortly after sunset, which is why it is known as both the Morning Star and the Evening Star. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet" due to it's similar size and gravity. It is believed that the planet previously had oceans, but they evaporated due to greenhouse effect.
But there's another important Venus for Neo-Pagans. It's the one from Willendorf. The Venus of Willendorf is an idol found in southern Austria. It was made sometime between 24,000 and 22,000 BCE. It appears to be a very round woman with a big belly, bit thighs, and big breasts (she looks pregnant to me). She doesn't have a face, but the artist created what looks like a braided helmet of hair. Several similar sculptures from this time period have been found, but this one is the most famous. Of course, Venus can be used an art term for any nude female figure. However, the use of this term in relation to this idol is slightly controversial because it implies a divinity that we don't really know is true. We don't know anything about it's cultural significance during the period when it was made, but we do know of it's cultural significance now. Many Neo-Pagans believe that this is a very early image of the Great Goddess, and it is often used in ritual spaces.
I expected Venus to be more popular than it actually is. It's not on the charts at the moment. It was most popular back in the 1970s, peaking at #710. I thought American tennis player Venus Williams would have brought in more namesakes, but apparently not.
But Venus seems like the perfect candidate for namesakes as she is generally a benevolent goddess with no tragic mythology. I would like to see more little witchlets with this name.
Sources:
Kitri
Last weekend I saw the ballet version of Don Quixote. Being familiar with the Broadway musical version, I was expecting to watch a story about a downtrodden prostitute named Aldonza. Instead, I got a story about a spirited inn keeper's daughter named Kitri.
In the ballet (which has little to do with Don Quixote, by the way) Kitri (pronounced "KIH-tree," I assume) is in love with Basilio. But Kitri's father Lorenzo wants her to marry a noble named Gamache. Kitri runs away with Basilio, but is eventually found and dragged away. On the day of the wedding, Basilio pretends to kill himself. Kitri, knowing that it is a trick, implores Lorenzo to bless the couple since she would be very soon widowed and free to marry Gamache. Lorenzo does so, and Basilio leaps up unharmed and the happy couple is married.
The ballet is based off of two chapters of the book. There's a moment where Don Quixote is at an inn and he asks the inn keeper to knight him. That's what the whole ballet is based off of. It was composed by Ludwig Minkus (who apparently composed a ton of ballets that I have never heard of) and originally choreographed by Marius Petipa, and was originally performed in Russia.
There is really nothing about Kitri as a name on the Internet, so I have no idea where it comes from. It certainly doesn't strike me as being Spanish. It seems more Russian to me. I would assume that it's a variant of Katherine, because that makes sense. But I really don't know.
But I have to admit that I'm intrigued by Kitri. I think that it's has the ability to catch on as a baby name. If nothing else, it's a nickname for Katherine that isn't Katie. Names that end in an "ee" sound are very popular for girls at the moment. It's also has the same style as the nickname of a certain princess' sister.
So if you want a rare name that is associated with the arts and falls into trend, then Kitri might be your gal.
Sources:
Witchitizing Disney Princesses
I've been turning this post about what makes a good Witch's name from The Juggler over and over again in my head (and seriously, The Juggler is my new favorite website). The poster is talking about fictional witches, but I think it struck a cord with me because the qualities he describes is what I want in my daughters names. Lily, although it possesses fine qualities and would be great for someone else's witchlet, is not a proper Witch name in my mind.
But what exactly is a "proper" Witch name? Let's bring out the super fun Witchitizer! What are the rules for Witchetizing a name? Well, it's a bit of a subjective game. I only have three criteria:
1. They would not be a name that you hear everyday, and is often ancient. It's hard to believe, but Samantha was a rarity before it was picked for Bewitched.
2. They are very strong names. You instantly get that Ursula is a person who you do not want to have as an enemy.
3. There is a touch of something shadowy, and that's not really something I can explain. Elphaba wouldn't be the same if she was Eliza. There's got to be some mystery there.
On whom shall I test my Witchitizer? Let's do Disney princesses. I think that could be...interesting.
1. Snow White - Snow White
Snow White is a tough one. It's not exactly a "real" name. I suppose you could invent something like Black Heart, but...meh.
2. Cinderella - Cinderella
The French name for the story is Cendrillon, which has captivated me as a name option ever since. Names that end in -ella yields more results. Rafaella, Lionella, and Norella are all good options.
3. Aurora - Sleeping Beauty
Just switch the -a with an -e and it's Aurore. If you want to stray a bit further, there's Leonora, Eldora, and Devora .
4. Eilonwy - The Black Cauldron
Eilonwy works perfectly fine as a witch's name, even though it's a little bit wispy. There's also Elfrieda, Electra, and Evadne.
5. Ariel - The Little Mermaid
Aradia comes to mind immediately. You can do what Disney did and use Hebrew boys names like Azriel or Nouriel. A particular favorite amongst Neo-Pagans is Galadriel.
6. Belle - Beauty and the Beast
There are plenty of witchy names that have a "bell" sound in it: Belladonna , Mehitabel, Sybella, and Bellicent are just a few of them.
8. Pocahontas - Pocahontas
This is another tough one, sounding witchy and still Native American. This would take some digging, but I found Calfuray and Onatah , and Rayen is only one step away from Raven.
9. Kida - Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Terse names with hard consonants. Almost caveman-like. Tova, Guro, Dara, Kore.
10. Giselle - Enchanted
The name that pops into mind is Griselda. There's also Gitana. Perhaps Gretel could fit in here too, even though it is attached to someone who was attacked by a witch.
11. Tiana - The Princess and the Frog
No, I would not be intimidated by a Tiana. You would have more luck with a Tatiana or Tabitha.
12. Rapunzel - Tangled
If it weren't for the fact that Rapunzel will always be identified with princessness, it would be an option for witches as well. But looking through the realm of very uncommon plant names I came up with Amarantha, Eglantine, and Verbena.
13. Sofia - unnamed television show
I do like Sofia a lot, but it's a bit too sweet (and also too popular). Sofinisba, Sophronia, and Sephora are more exotic options.
14. Merida - Brave
15. Fiona - Shrek
Okay, she's not from Disney, but she is a popular princess. Fiore, Freya, and Fortuna are much more witchy.
That was fun! This Witchitizer of mine might become a regular feature.
Image Credit:
Haiku
I suppose it's about time that you learned about the one living creature I named. Haiku was my pet baby chameleon. Hey, don't laugh! She was a little scaly ball of gorgeous. Unfortunately, she didn't live very long. But supposedly she hatched on Valentine's Day, so I'm profiling her name on her birthday (hatchday?).
Haiku (pronounced "hiy-KOO," at least in the United States, in the original Japanese I believe that the syllables are treated with equal emphasis) is a relatively new word. The style of poetry has been around for a very long time, but before 1900 a haiku was called a hokku. The term "haiku" was coined by Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki in 1899. As far as I can tell, haiku means "verse."
A traditional haiku contains 17 syllables, or on. It's three lines must have 5 on, 7 on, then 5 on again. A succession of haiku linked together is called haikai, meaning "linked verse." The essence of haiku is kiru, or "cutting," meaning that it juxtaposes two ideas or images. Classic haiku are almost always about nature, but contemporary haiku have started to moved away from this subject. The most famous haiku is Basho's "Old Pond:"
"furuike ya
Ryu
February 4th of this year was the first day of Chinese New Year, and it is the year of the dragon. This means that I need a dragon name to profile, and Draco's been done already.
Ryu, or Ryuu, is a Japanese name meaning "dragon" or "imperial." The pronunciation is tricky, and unfortunately Westerners have a hard time agreeing on one. It's not "ROO," that's for sure. Some say it's "REE-yoo," which seems natural enough. But the "R" might be closer to an "L" sound, making it more like "L-yoo." That is not at all confusing.
I suppose it would make more sense to profile a Chinese name for the Chinese New Year. But dragon mythology in Japan is very similar to those in China because, well, they were imported from China. In both cultures, most dragons are benevolent water deities, and each one is associated with a specific lake or river. Even rainfall had it's own dragon.
There are many references to dragons in Ancient Japanese literature. An eight-headed one was defeated by Susanoo, the god of the wind and sea. Ryujin, also known as Watatsumi, was a dragon god who rules the oceans. He is able to change into human form. His daughter was Toyotama-hime, who is allegedly the ancestor to Japan's first emperor. In a folktale called Kiyohime, the title character is spurned by the Buddhist priest she loves. So she studies magic and transforms herself into a dragon in order to kill him. Dragons have always been associated with Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Ryujin Shinku ("dragon good faith") is a sect of Shintoism that worships dragons.
Ryu is often used as an element for composite names. Ryouma could either mean "dragon horse" or "imperial horse." Ryutaro means "son of the fat dragon," which must have been a flattering description at some point in history.
Should you actually find the correct pronunciation, this is a simple and unique boy's name in the United States. It would be a great name for someone with an emotional connection to these mythic creatures, or for someone who enters the world during this year.
Sources:
Snowdrop
Depending on who you ask Snowdrop could be a charming appellation, or too sugary sweet.
Snowdrop is the name of a small, white flower. Snowdrops are also known by the name galanthus (from the Greek gala, meaning "snow," and anthos, meaning "flower"). They originated in a large area of Europe but like a lot of plants they have been spread throughout the world. However, in some of it's original locations snowdrops are a threatened species, and collecting them from the wild is illegal.
These plants are celebrated as a sign of spring, as they are often the first flower to bloom. In many religions, they are a sign that the gods are returning. They are sometimes called the "Fair Maid of February" or "Candlemas bells," and are associated with Imbolc. In Celtic mythology, this flower symbolizes Brigid. In the Bible, the snowdrop was placed on earth in order to comfort Eve, who was crying for the warmth of Paradise during her first winter. On the other hand, many stories say that snowdrops are unlucky because they often grow in cemeteries. It is particularly unlucky to pick them and bring them into the house on Imbolc or St. Valentine's Day. But there seem to be no repercussions for growing them in the house. Some believe that the snowdrop has many healing properties that modern medicine doesn't know of yet. Research has suggested that it could be used to treat neurological problems like Alzheimer's disease.
I wasn't aware of this, but apparently snowdrops are a big deal. Die-hard galanthrophiles have been known to travel all over the world to find them, attend snowdrop shows, and purchase single bulbs for up to $500. I like flowers and all, but I don't get flower-mania. My mother is a flower addict, and she likes to go to big fancy gardens where pay for admission and spend hours walking through it, and I'm just standing there thinking, "Can't we look at roses for free somewhere else?"
Speaking of mother darling, I have a very old book of fairy tales that used to belong to my mother when she was a child (and is probably even older than that). In this book, there is a story called Snowdrop. Most people would know this story as Snow White. Snow Drop is actually her original name in the Brothers Grimm collection. Apparently, that name wasn't catchy enough. There were two other noticeable differences in the original story: the evil queen is her mother, not her stepmother, and said mother's punishment at the end is a bit extreme. These elements were changed in order to soften the story for children.
Snowdrop is a great magickal name for someone that has a special connection with this time of year. It also sounds like it could be a My Little Pony character. I think it's lovely for someone else's daughter, even if it's not my style.
Sources:
Temperley
So I was looking through a blog about designer wedding dresses (don't judge me!) I found a designer called Temperly London. I thought, "Temperly? Hmm, very interesting. I wonder where that one comes from?"
I immediately assumed that this name had something to do with Tempest, or maybe even Temprence. But no. Temperley (pronounced "TEM-per-lee," I think) is an Anglo-Saxon surname is a variant of Timperleigh or Timperley, which is the name of a town in North Cheshire, England. In Old English timper means "timber" and leah means "glade." Therefore, the meaning of the name is listed as "the clearing where timber for building was obtained." Hmm. Not the most Pagan-friendly of meanings. Not much is sadder than a cleared-out forest.
Unless it wasn't cleared out by humans for building purposes. I mean, it literally means "tree glade." The rest of that definition is just assumption, and that's probably why the namesake town was devoid of trees. But trees could be very easily removed via a forest fire or a volcano or a number of other natural means.
Besides England, a place called Temperley also shows up in South America. It's a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was named after English textile merchant George Temperley, who founded the town in 1912.
The first recorded spelling of this name as a surname was for Emmet Timberly's wedding records in 1561. So if you meet a little Timberly, it's not made up! The parents picked up an unusual surname name, although possibly unknowingly. Throughout the ages, other spellings have included Tympirleg and Temperli.
This name is probably going to appeal to people who want a fashionable but not popular surname-name for a girl the most. Some people might sneer at it, but I think Temperly has a lovely sound (I like it better without the extra "e"). But unfortunately, it's sound is almost too trendy for it's own good: people unaware of it's history will think it's made up. Which is a shame. The more I run it through my brain the more I like it.
Sources:
Place Your Requests Here!
There has been a lot of confusion as to how to request names on this blog. Clearly, there needs to be a better way to do this. So I'm going to put a link of this post on the sidebar, and you can submit requests at any time right here. M'kay?
So if you want to profile a specific name, all you have to do is write it in the comments. If you want naming consultation, I need a bit more information.
For advice on a magickal name, I would need answers to the following:
1. What type of path are you on? (Gardnerian Wicca, Stregheria, Druidism, etc.)
2. Where would you like to go with your practice?
3. What types of names do you like? (Celtic, Egyptian, invented nature combinations like Silverfaun, etc.)
4. What names have you considered before and dumped? Why?
5. Do you intend on going by this name in your mundane life, or is this for magickal purposes only?
For advice on the name of a new baby, I would need answers to the following:
1. What will be the child's last name? I don't need to know specifically, I just need to get the general idea of what it sounds like (for example, if your last name is Croix, you can say, "It rhymes with 'soy'").
2. Do you have other children? If so, what are their names?
3. What types of names do you like?
4. What names have you considered before and dumped? Why?
Answers to name consultations would be posted on the blog unless you specifically say that you want to keep it private.
Hope this helps and request away!
Posted by
Cabot
At the end of January, Laurie Cabot closed The Official Witch Shoppe and retired from her 42-year career of running various Witch-related stores in Salem, Massachusetts. She is switching her energy towards building a temple, according to a newspaper. Which is great, but her decision to step out of retail has left some reeling.
Laurie Cabot (born Mercedes Elizabeth Kearsey) was one of the leaders of the Neo-Pagan movement in the United States. She is a bit of a controversial figure for us due to her willingness to embrace publicity (she's appeared on Oprah, among other shows) and for her stereotypical way of dressing. But she endured a lot of hatred and ridicule so that others in Salem can practice their faith relatively unharassed. She raised her two daughters as Witches way before there were resources readily available for that. She was named "Official Witch" by the Governor for her work with special needs children. She is credited for single handedly turning Salem from a footnote in history to a tourist attraction. She is approaching the winter of her years, but it's not like she's dead. She's just switching her goals.
Cabot (pronounced "KAH-bit") is an Occitan name, which is a romance language spoken in the south of France, Italy's Occitan Valleys, and in Spain's Val d'Aran (which is sometimes unofficially known as Occitania). The name is a diminutive of the word cap, meaning "head." Therefore, Cabot started as a nickname for someone with an odd-shaped head.
In America, Cabot is a surname especially associated with Boston, Massachusetts. It was one of the ultimate Boston Brahmin surnames, which means that they were very wealthy. The "Boston Toast" by John Collins Bossidy contains the line, "Where the Lowells speak only to Cabots/ and the Cabots speak only to God." Laurie Cabot claims to be a descendant of this family. The name has since lost it's elitist tinge thanks to jazzman Cab Calloway.
Unfortunately, it's impossible for me to think of this name without thinking about Mystery Science Theater 3000. For the uninitiated, that is a television show with a cult following that played bad movies with hilarious commentary by robots. Fellow mysties will know which episode I'm talking about, and how could they not? In the episode "Outlaw," the "hero's" name is said over 60 times in the first fifteen minutes. It's really difficult to take a name seriously after that.
If that doesn't bother you, then this is an interesting name that's on trend for a boy. And I really do see it as a boy's name, I have a hard time picturing it on a girl (but my boundaries have been pushed before). I don't think that many muggles will know who Laurie Cabot is, so it also references Neo-Pagan culture without being too overt. If I wasn't a complete nerd, Cabot would be an intriguing option.
Sources:
Oya
There is a shortage of African names here on this blog. This is quite embarrassing. I'm going to make a point of bringing in a lot more. Let's start with the name of a mighty African goddess: Oya.
Oya (pronounced "OH-yah," I think) is a Yoruba name literally meaning "she tore." As the name suggests, she is involved with many destructive things like hurricanes, lightening, earthquakes, and any and all forms of natural devastation. But the havoc she wrecks isn't done in an arbitrary, careless manner. She is the spirit of the chaos necessary to bring about creation and drastic transition. She is very similar to the Hindu goddess Kali. She also presides over magic, fire, wind, and fertility.
Oya's form is that of a human being, but when she dances she has the tail of a horse. Her twirling skirt creates tornadoes. Traditionally she is often depicted screaming, with wide open eyes. Oya is the sister and favorite wife of Shango. She has many titles, including "the Great Mother of the Elders of the Night" and "She Who Puts on Pants to Go to War." She is not a goddess of the underworld, but she does preside over cemeteries, spirit communication, funerals, clairvoyance, and rebirth. Oya is sometimes said to have a sister named Ayao, but the legitimacy of this goddess is questionable.
Oya is very important to Santeria, and is often merged with Our Lady of Candelaria (patron of the Canary Islands) and St. Theresa. Which would make her feast day...February 2nd. Well, I was close. Santeria Priests from Cuba have prophesied that 2012 will be the year of Oya. After reading about her, I think we all have an idea as to what that means. They have predicted that this year will be characterized by "war and confrontation, social, political, and economic change, and a dangerous increase in temperature."
Invoking this goddess is not a task that should be taken lightly. She speaks the truth, even when you don't want to hear it. But if you want to make the attempt, you must make the proper offerings. She loves eggplants, shea butter, grapes, and anything spicy. She loves all colors except black.
This name is only for the bold, and I'm not sure I would recommend it for a little child. Oya would be a challenging name to bear because the energy of this goddess is so wild and unpredictable. If you still want to chance it, Oya is a strong name especially fitting for the year 2012.
Website News:
Hey, there is now a Facebook page! It's link is in the sidebar!
Sources:
Aidan
This name used to be popular only in Ireland and Scotland. Now it has reached mega popularity, and it just happens to be especially appropriate for Imbolc.
Aidan or Aiden (pronounced "AY-din") is the primary Anglicization of the Irish name Aodhan, a pet form of Aodh. Aodh means "fire," and it was the name of a Celtic sun god. Aodh, or Aed, is the eldest son of Lir, King of the Tuatha de Dannan (a race of people in Irish mythology). According to tradition, Aodh's mother Aobh died in childbirth giving birth to four children: Fionnuala, Aodh, Fiachra, and Conn of the Hundred Battles. Lir's second wife, Aoife, was jealous of the children and wanted them killed. But her servants had great love for the children and refused. As punishment, Aoife cursed the servants to live as swans for 900 years. Aodh grew up to be a minor god of the underworld.
This name is a classic in areas of Europe with a strong Celtic influence. It was given to many members of royalty, including King Aiden of Dalraida and Prince Aeddan ap Blegywyrd. It is also a name used by several saints. There is Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, and also Saint Maedoc of Ferns who is sometimes known as Aedan.
One well known Neo-Pagan namesake is Aidan Kelly. Aidan Kelly is a Wiccan academic and a poet from America. He was born in 1940, which would have made him a teenager when Wicca was introduced to the world. He became a leader in the Neo-Pagan community while he was studying for his Masters degree in creative writing. A friend of his asked him to compose a ritual as part of an art seminar. It eventually led to Kelly founding his own branch of Wicca: the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn. Now, Kelly has a bit of a sense of humor. His coven's name is a reference to the famous Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the one that William Butler Yeats was involved with. Kelly was also essential in the formation of the Covenant of the Goddess, which is an organization designed to protect the civil rights of Wiccans in the United States.
Aidan first appeared in the charts in the 1990s and skyrocketed. The name peaked in 2003 at #39. Now it ranks at #94. Realistically, it always takes a very long time for mega popular names to leave the charts completely. And I'm not saying that because I dislike the name. I actually don't dislike Aidan at all. It's all the copycats that I'm not in love with. When it got popular a whole herd of invented rhyming "-adan" names appeared on the charts as well. Kayden, Zaidan, Jaden, you name it, it's been done.
One source is rather insistent that Aidan is historically a unisex name. Unfortunately, there aren't any female namesakes that I can find that backs that up. I've seen it used for girls in modern times on a very occasional basis. Some suggest that the feminine version of Aidan is Eithne. Going back to the masculine, variations of this name include Hayden, Aden, and Ayden.
Aidan is very good for boys that are born on holidays that are associated with fire, like Imbolc. This name does have one practical problem with this name. While writing this post, I kept wanting to spell it Aiden. There are so many spellings of this name that he is going to have to constantly repeat it for others. I wouldn't use the name personally because it is not likely to become obscure again anytime soon. But despite the trendiness, it's a nice name. It has a Witchier past than one might expect.
Sources:
| i don't know |
Which is the only country in the world that bans women from driving? | Saudi Arabia women test driving ban | World news | The Guardian
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia women test driving ban
It was not a mass movement but about 30 or 40 women across the country took the wheel
Saudi women hail a taxi in Riyadh, a more traditional method of getting around than driving themselves Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia women test driving ban
It was not a mass movement but about 30 or 40 women across the country took the wheel
Friday 17 June 2011 12.25 EDT
First published on Friday 17 June 2011 12.25 EDT
Close
This article is 5 years old
At just after 10 o'clock on Friday morning Maha al-Qahtani swapped places with her husband, Mohammed, and took the wheel of the family car.
For the next 50 minutes, she drove through the Saudi capital, along the six-lane King Fahd Road, through Cairo Square, down the upmarket Olaya Street with its shopping malls, Starbucks, Apple store and boutiques.
"No one tried to stop us. No one even looked," the 39-year-old civil servant said. "We drove past police cars but had no trouble."
In fact, the biggest problem for Qahtani was her husband sitting next to her in the family Hummer. "He kept telling me to slow down or speed up. He was very fussy," she said.
This is Saudi Arabia , the only country in the world that bans women from driving motor vehicles.
Qahtani was part of a small but striking movement of women determined to do something about it.
The exact number of Saudi women who protested was unclear. It was certainly not a mass movement.
By mid-afternoon a handful had driven in Riyadh, a few in the southern port city of Jeddah, a couple in Dammam in the east, perhaps 30 or 40 overall in a country with a population of 27 million including migrant labourers.
But it was a breakthrough. In the closed and authoritarian kingdom, such open and premeditated dissent is extremely rare. Under the spotlight of international attention, Saudi Arabia's rulers had clearly decided to allow the protest to go ahead.
"It is not the issue of women's driving itself which poses a problem, it is the challenge to authority," said a political analyst, Khaled al-Dhakil. "But … change is eroding that authority."
This was the closest Saudi Arabia has yet got to the revolutionary upheavals of the Arab spring. A "day of rage" declared in March was, outside areas dominated by the Shia minority, a non-event. A lack of tradition of public protest and heavy security presence rapidly ended any efforts at mobilisation.
Last month seven women were arrested for driving. Manal al-Sharif, a 32-year-old who had posted a video on the internet of herself at the wheel, was held for 10 days , made to sign a pledge not to drive again and banned from talking to the media.
On Friday, a different mood prevailed. Police appeared to be under orders not to intervene. In Jeddah, one woman said she had been detained by soldiers and escorted home. Others reported being ignored.
But when Qahtani, who holds American and international driving licenses, tried driving again in the afternoon, she was stopped after 30 minutes by police, given a ticket for driving without a Saudi licence, and sent home.
The question now is whether this signals forthcoming concessions from the authorities. King Abdullah, a relative moderate reigning since 2005, is known to be sympathetic but constrained by a conservative religious establishment.
The support of the clergy has been crucial to the house of Al Saud and successive kings have been careful not to antagonise them. Earlier this year, clerics issued a fatwa against challenging the royal family's authority.
Many clerics claim the driving ban prevents vice by stopping women interacting with male strangers – despite the enforced proximity with a hired driver.
Wajeha al-Huwaider, the activist who filmed Sharif's drive, said the "big campaign" might make the government rethink.
"Driving is a basic simple right. Denying it is hurting the image of the country. Even if the ban is nothing to do with religion, it is also hurting the image of Islam ," she said.
Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have been key for the women drivers, providing support networks and, crucially, publicity outside the kingdom.
The legal situation is unclear. Supporters say it is justified by both religious fatwas and the rulers' own statements. Critics say there is nothing in Islam to back the ban and that there has never been a royal decree.
Women in Saudi Arabia are also banned from voting or from leaving home without a male guardian.
Previous campaigns to overturn the ban have failed. One, in 1991, resulted in nearly 50 women who drove losing their jobs and being banned from foreign travel. The critical question now is broader public opinion. Those driving on Friday come from a small – if growing – element of Saudi society.
Saad, a 24-year-old engineer who recently returned from government-sponsored studies in the US, said that Saudis should "get over" the issue.
"There are much more important issues here than women driving. We need to be more broad-minded," he said.
But many others disagree. Abdullah al-Otaiba, who trades camels on the outskirts of Riyadh, said that women driving was a "bad idea".
"You have your ways of doing things in the west and that's fine for you. We are conservative people. We are not democratic. We have another religion and women should not go alone," he said.
There is room for compromise – the most likely outcome, experts says. Some younger clerics would accept women being allowed to drive in case of emergency.
The women, most of whom learned to drive overseas, say their campaign will continue until a royal decree is issued allowing them to drive "without any conditions".
"It's our right. We have to have it. We will continue until we can decide ourselves," said Maha al-Qahtani.
"I'm really excited," said Eman Nafjan, 32, who drove round her Riyadh neighbourhood for 15 minutes . "We need to do it again."
Shaima Jastaina sentenced to 10 lashes after being found guilty of driving without permission
Published: 28 Sep 2011
In Saudi Arabia, women have been taking the wheel on Saudi roads in protest at the kingdom's ban on female drivers, the only such country-wide rule in the world
Published: 17 Jun 2011
US president rejects suggestion from John Boehner that formal approval of Congress was needed before taking military action
Published: 16 Jun 2011
| Saudi Arabia |
Which one of the castles that form the group known as 'The Iron Ring', built in the 13th century by Edward I on the Welsh coast, stands on the island of Anglesey? | Prince Says Saudi Arabia Not Yet Ready to Allow Women to Drive - Bloomberg
Bloomberg the Company & Its Products Bloomberg Anywhere Remote LoginBloomberg Anywhere Login Bloomberg Terminal Demo Request
Bloomberg
Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world.
Customer Support
Advertising
Bloomberg
Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world.
Customer Support
Prince Says Saudi Arabia Not Yet Ready to Allow Women to Drive
by
Kingdom is only country in world that bans women from driving
Women need guardian’s consent to get passport, travel overseas
Why This Saudi Prince Is Known as 'Mr. Everything'
Saudi Arabia isn’t ready to end the world’s only ban on women driving, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, arguing it’s not just a matter of ending strictures imposed by the kingdom’s austere form of Islam.
Allowing women to drive is “not a religious issue as much as it is an issue that relates to the community itself that either accepts it or refuses it,” said the 30-year-old prince, who has amassed unprecedented powers since his father, King Salman, ascended to the throne. “The community is not convinced about women driving” and sees negative consequences if it’s allowed, the prince said on Monday after outlining a plan to reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil.
The prince had signaled his support for more freedom for women during
an interview this month, saying “we believe women have rights in Islam that they’ve yet to obtain.” But when asked about the driving ban by a reporter on Monday, he said reform couldn’t be rushed. “Changes could happen in the future and we always hope they will be positive changes,” he said.
Attempts at broad social liberalization could jeopardize the closer ties that the Al Saud family struck with Wahhabi clerics after armed fundamentalists in 1979 seized Mecca’s Grand Mosque and demanded an end to efforts to modernize the Saudi state. Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh recently said allowing women to drive was “a dangerous matter that should not be permitted.”
Rapid Change
| i don't know |
Which scupture, when unveiled in 1994, was nicknamed 'The Gateshead Flasher' by locals? | From the man who made the 'Gateshead Flasher', a 'Millennium Man' for the Dome | The Independent
From the man who made the 'Gateshead Flasher', a 'Millennium Man' for the Dome
Monday 4 October 1999 23:00 BST
Click to follow
The Independent Online
THE ANGEL of the North is getting a brother in the south. Anthony Gormley, the sculptor who made the 20m high Angel that stands outside Gateshead, yesterday unveiled an even more ambitious project to be built next to the Millennium Dome in south east London.
THE ANGEL of the North is getting a brother in the south. Anthony Gormley, the sculptor who made the 20m high Angel that stands outside Gateshead, yesterday unveiled an even more ambitious project to be built next to the Millennium Dome in south east London.
Quantum Cloud, which has already been nicknamed "Millennium Man", is a 29m high sculpture of a figure standing inside a cloud. Both cloud and figure are made from 3,500 steel needles, each 1.6m long, which blend into each other. It will stand on a 12m high pier just off the Greenwich peninsula, making it over twice the height of the Angel of the North.
It is one of seven pieces of sculpture commissioned by the New Millennium Experience Commission (NMEC), the organiser of the Dome, to stand outside the exhibition and welcome visitors. In all the NMEC is spending £1.5m on the seven works of art.
Mr Gormley, who won the 1994 Turner Prize, said yesterday that he hoped Londoners would take the mammoth sculpture to their hearts the way his Angel of the North had been adopted by people in the North-east.
"I don't mind if it gets given a nickname. The public are much better at giving names to things and they've started calling the Angel 'the Gateshead Flasher' because of his outstretched arms," Mr Gormley said.
"The Angel was evidently a figure. He has volume and was put in opposition to space. With the Quantum Cloud the body is exploded, it no longer has a fixed volume and all these elements are in flux.
"The idea is that it should be elusive and ineffable," he added. "I want two old ladies to be sitting looking at it and saying 'Can you see it Edna? Can you see the man inside it?' and her saying 'No I can only see thousands of shiny needles'.
"Human beings are a zone of energy and light that react with space and light around them. Quantum Cloud is a constructed monument to the future, about the possibility of seeing human beings as part of the wider chain of being. It is also a natural metaphor of the behaviour of flocks and herds and shoals."
Mr Gormley has employed computer software similar to that used to map mathematical equations in chaos theory to construct the cloud and figure. It means the 3,500 steel tubes which make up the sculpture have had their final position decided by a computer-generated image.
The civil engineers, Ove Arup, turned down the opportunity to build the sculpture because it does not obey any of the normal rules of structural engineering.
The final commission for the project was only made two months ago because the NMEC was concerned the sculpture might be impossible to build.
The other works in the project include a spinning drum, containing coloured water which creates a solid-looking mirror created by Turner Prize winner Anish Kapoor, and a sliced cross-section of a ship by Richard Wilson. The slice of ship will lie in the River Thames beside the Dome.
Tacita Dean is creating a sound sculpture using the existing Blackwall Tunnel air vent which sits on the site. The circular vent will split into time zones and play recordings from ports around the world.
Another work, by Bill Culbert, is comprised of four, 30ft long light lines which are projected into the sky and move like a hand writing in space. The sculptors, Tony Cragg and Rose Finn-Kelcey, have also created works for the Dome's grounds. A famous London square is to be shored up to prevent it collapsing on to the underground under the weight of Millennium Eve revellers, it was announced yesterday.
The £1 million operation is being carried out at Parliament Square, close to Big Ben in central London. A thick concrete "raft" is being laid under the square, which lies above two underground lines.
"We have known for some time that at certain points along its route, the beams supporting the roof over the two lines may not be able to bear very heavy loads," London Underground managing director, Derek Smith, said. "For normal day-to-day use, this is not in any way dangerous. However, the potential for large numbers of people congregating on Parliament Square means that we need to take sensible precautions."
| Angel of the North |
Which district of New York City is situated north of 96th street in Manhattan? | 1000+ images about GCSE F Art/ Tx - 1 Landmarks on Pinterest | Aqa, Land art and Trafalgar square
Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas
GCSE F Art/ Tx - 1 Landmarks
71 Pins230 Followers
landmarks are prominent natural or constructed features that have inspired artists such as Cezanne and Monet who responded to particular landmarks, making series of studies over time. Land artists, Michael Heizer and Robert Smithson have created earthworks that have been landmarks. Anthony Gormley sculpture 'Angel of the North' and the installations on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square have been contemporary landmarks.
| i don't know |
Which American entertainer's signature tune was 'Ain't Misbehavin'? | Ain't misbehavin' reveals a new force on the local theatre scene | The Royal Gazette:Bermuda Lifestyle
Ain't misbehavin' reveals a new force on the local theatre scene
Published Jun 17, 1992 at 12:01 am (Updated Feb 9, 2011 at 10:56 pm)
AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' -- Black Box Performance Workshop at City Hall -- June 11,12 and 13.
A non-stop medley of music by American jazz great, Thomas Wright (Fats) Waller,
AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' -- Black Box Performance Workshop at City Hall -- June 11,12 and 13.
A non-stop medley of music by American jazz great, Thomas Wright (Fats) Waller, performed with near-professional polish by the cast and superbly backed by a `rhythm band' ensemble, provided an exhilarating and unusual evening of entertainment at City Hall last week.
Ain't Misbehavin', which may best be described as a musical revue in which three couples sing and dance their way through a dizzying 24 numbers, received rave reviews when it opened on Broadway in the late '70s.
Set in a dimly lit New York nightclub during Prohibition, there is no real story line -- merely the customers who react to the melodic and often comic songs that poured from the prolific composer/pianist. As such, a total reliance on performers with technical stamina as well as strong stage personalities to carry a show merely on its music, made producer Patricia Pogson's decision to mount it here something of a gamble.
Happily, the cast, which was obviously hand-picked, came through and Black Box's production proved to be a sheer delight.
This was certainly a show that called for team effort, but the bonus on this occasion was that each member of the cast had the necessary versatility and personality to bring a new freshness and wit to old and tried hit tunes. From the moment they launched into the opening ensemble number that became Fats Waller's signature tune, Ain't Misbehavin', they had the audience with them and in a virtuoso feat, managed to keep them to the very end without the "breather'' of an interval.
Director Suzette Harvey kept the show moving at a cracking pace with contrasting mood changes nicely shaded. Her choreography, while capturing that marvellous era when jazz and rag-time blossomed and the Charleston and tap routine reigned supreme, was kept artfully simple. Although the cast was primarily one of singers, they coped extremely well with dance routines that added an extra fillip to the proceedings.
In a piece of straight type-casting, multi-talented Ron Lightbourne took on the role of Mr. Waller, remaining onstage throughout at his piano, arising only to join Patricia Pogson in a suitably relaxed version of Two Sleepy People. His presence emphasised the casual genius of Fats Waller and lent an air of authenticity to the nightclub venue, further suggested by city sky-scrapers silhouetted against the back of the stage.
Denise Whitter, with a voice made for jazz that slides from plaintive high key to sumptuous low with consummate ease, looked great and revealed a real talent for humour, especially in her solo, I've Got a Feeling I'm Fallin'.
Khalilah Smith, who is only 16 years old and still a student at St. George's Secondary School, already has a voice of impressive range and power. Patricia Pogson's strong background in theatre was always apparent in this production.
Besides producing the revue, she confirmed her abilities as an all-round performer, tackling music and drama with apparently equal ease.
Already well known to BMDS and Gilbert & Sullivan audiences, Edward Christopher gave what was possibly his best performance yet in a dazzling array of numbers, ranging from a tender rendition of Honeysuckle Rose with Khalilah Smith and a hilariously convincing sketch of a reeling, but amiable drunk in How Ya Baby.
Last, but definitely not least in this talented line-up was Danjou Anderson, whose fine baritone voice was in strong competition with his outstanding comedic ability. His Fat and Greasy duet with Edward Christopher was a show-stopper, as was his interpretation of Your Feets Too Big.
Musical director, Gloria McCully, also playing keyboards, led a band that was an integral part of this show's success. Jack Kripl on reeds, Clarence Burrows on bass, Hiram Edwards on trumpet and Kenny Harris on drums, are some of the best musicians Bermuda has to offer and they formed a sympathetic and lively rapport with their colleagues on stage.
With this production, indications are that the Black Box Performance Workshop will provide an exciting new force on the theatre scene. -- Patricia Calnan AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' -- A musical tribute to the art of `Fats' Waller was staged at City Hall. Cast members included, from left: Khalilah Smith, Danjou Anderson, Denise Whitter, Edward Christopher and Patricia Pogson.
| Fats Waller |
Born in Alabama in 1904, what was the nickname of the blues pianist Clarence Smith? | Bursting with Song!--Black Musicals
Ain't Misbehavin' (Music by Fats Waller, lyrics by various)
The first really successful revue of a single composer's music since god knows when, Ain't Misbehavin' paved the way for a whole bunch of similar shows built around similar individuals. There's no real plot, but the whole show is set in a 1930s Harlem nightclub (which might explain why, when I saw the revival some years ago, the audience was entirely white). This show reminds us how good the composer's music is, and what a shame it is that so many people are unaware of it these days.
Billy No-Name (Music and lyrics by )
Off-Broadway, semi-autobiographical story of a young writer born in Harlem and what he encounters as he grows up. Sort of a pocket history of the civil rights movement and the black experience from the 20s to the late 60s. The ending is particularly interesting, as it provides three possible paths for the protagonist to take: the peaceable Martin Luther King Jr. route, the angry Black Panther route, and the me-first grab-what-you-can-as-you-assimilate route. None of the routes is presented as the "best" or the "worst," and the protagonist does not choose by the end of the show.
Black and Blue: A Musical Revue (Music and lyrics by various)
A 1989 revue using material from both black and white composers (e.g., Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, W.C. Handy, Harold Arlen, Jimmy McHugh). The booklet calls it "a celebration, indeed an epiphany, of a great and marvelous cultural legacy: the classic African-American tradition of dance, song, and music." It's set in Paris, or at least "reflects a Parisian affection for the exotic" (the booklet is not clear on this, though the show originated in Paris), during the period between the wars. I can't tell if there's a thread running through the music or whether this is a sort of Bubbling Brown Sugar update revue.
Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring In 'Da Funk (Music by Daryl Waters, Zane Mark, and Ann Duquesnay; lyrics by Reg E. Gaines)
One of the most original shows on Broadway in years, this innovative musical told the history of blacks in America through sharply sarcastic songs and rhythm, most specifically tap dancing, which becomes a language all its own, capable of expressing a wide range of emotions. It is an angry, proud, and deeply moving show that reminds us how far we've come and how far we still have to go. This is one of the very few rock/funk/rap musicals where the beat doesn't get in the way of the songs.
Bubbling Brown Sugar (Music and lyrics by various)
The late Rosetta LeNoire conceived this show, which was a revue of the work of composers such as Eubie Blake and Fats Waller before those individuals got whole shows devoted to them. Some of the material is very early, and there's more gospel and religious music than is typical for such productions. I believe the show was set in a Harlem nightclub (the concept predated Ain't Misbehavin' by a couple of years).
Cabin in the Sky (Music by Vernon Duke, lyrics by John Latouche)
Little Joe Jackson is dying and destined to go to hell because of his wicked ways, but his wife Petunia intervenes, and Joe is granted six months to straighten himself out, though of course he faces many temptations along the way. A classic, with a number of hit songs in its day, but too religious for my tastes, and these days it has a rather patronizing feel towards its characters. The original (and the movie) featured the incomparable Ethel Waters; the off-Broadway revival, which according to my father sucks big time, had Rosetta Le Noire.
Carmen Jones (Music by Georges Bizet, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II)
An all-black, updated version of Carmen set in the South. Carmen is a worker in a parachute factory; Don Jose is now Don, an army corporal; Micaela is now Cindy Lou, Joe's lover; and Escamillo is now Husky Miller, a boxer. When Hammerstein first conceived this show, he had immense trouble finding suitable actors for it because back then, black singers were discouraged (or actively barred) from becoming opera singers. With the help of a white empresario who was enthusiastic about discovering black talent, they plucked people from all kinds of non-acting positions--film scraper, cop, etc.
Chocolate Dandies (Music and lyrics by ?)
Read about this one in Ain't Misbehavin': The Story of Fats Waller. All I know about it is that it appeared in the 1920s.
The Civil War (Music and lyrics by Frank Wildhorn with Larry Gatlin)
This godawful show purported to tell the story of the Civil War from three different points of view: Northern, Southern, and slave. In practice it was a muddled and washed-out mess, a concert rather than a story. Frederick Douglass was one of only three named individuals in the entire show; everyone else was nameless and personality-less, which made it impossible to care when the slave family got torn apart. I wonder how the black cast members felt when, at the end of the touring production my parents and I saw (or, in my case, half-saw), the Confederate flag was given equal honors with the American flag.
Dinah (Music and lyrics by ?)
Read about this one in Ain't Misbehavin': The Story of Fats Waller. All I know about it is that it appeared in the 1920s.
Doctor Jazz (Music and lyrics by Buster Davis and others)
1975 flop musical about a black singer, her boyfriend, and her white manager during the rise of jazz. Lola Falana starred.
Dreamgirls (Music by Henry Krieger, lyrics by Tom Eyen)
Based on the story of the Supremes, Dreamgirls tells the story of a trio of great R&B singers whose lead singer is fat and unattractive. In order to present a more glamourous image and cross over to the pop mainstream, a sleazy producer elevates one of the backup singers to lead status, and the original lead is pushed out. In real life, the original lead never did much and died at 32; in the musical, she goes on to achieve stardom on her own. This show made a star out of Jennifer Holliday; someone told me that when she sang her showstopper, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," the audience was screaming in the aisles.
Eubie! (Music by Eubie Blake, lyrics by Noble Sissle)
The only thing I know about this show is that it existed and that it was produced in 1978. Can anyone help me out here? Was it more than a revue? Apparently there was a record and a TV presentation with nearly the entire original cast; maybe someday someone will rerelease these on CD/DVD.
Five Guys Named Moe (Music by Louis Jordan, lyrics by various)
A near-revue of Jordan' music; there's an attempt at stringing the songs together to tell a story about a guy named Nomax, who's having girl troubles, but the show is really just an excuse to stage a whole bunch of terrific songs. The version of "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" as performed in Hey! Mr. Producer is an orgasmic moment, and in general this show was one of the snappiest evenings in the theater that I can remember. The final song of the first act is a conga line that the audience joins, and everyone congas out to the lobby and the bar for drinks.
Golden Boy (Music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams)
The original source material was about an Italian boxer, but the musical changed the character into a black boxer so it could deal with issues about Harlem and exploitation (and so it could star Sammy Davis, Jr.). See also "The Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen: Everything Goes to Hell in the Second Act."
The Gospel at Colonus (Music by Bob Telson, lyrics by Lee Breuer)
I may have seen this show at the Denver Botanic Gardens about ten years ago. It's a reconception of Sopocles' Oedipus at Colonus through the framework of a Black Pentecostal church; most of the incidents in the story are "parable-like sermons." Lots of nice gospel chorus work, and Morgan Freeman provided some of the dialogue--dunno if it's the Morgan Freeman, though I assume so.
Grind (Music by Larry Grossman, lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh)
Ben Vereen headed this very interesting flop show about a burlesque house at the early part of the century. Because of local laws, the only way the house can show both black and white performers on the stage is if the two casts perform separately and never interact backstage. The issues of racism and race relations pervade the entire show, and the black cast gets more to do than the white cast. After a series of setbacks, the two casts decide that they're one family and group together to defend one of their number.
Hallelujah, Baby! (Music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green)
Ironically, this flop show would produce Jule Styne's only Tony, as well as a shared Best Actress Tony for Leslie Uggams . The three main characters do not age as they take part in American history, from post-slavery times to the Civil Rights period in which this show was created (1968), along the way dealing with race relations, limited opportunities for blacks, and the price of selling out to white audiences for money. A telling moment occurs when Uggams's character, having succeeded as a singer, attends a party where she is the only black person there. Her mother arrives and is mistaken for the maid. The show is not nearly as patronizing as it could have been, thanks in part to Robert Hooks's careful examination of the lyrics to ensure that they weren't racist. (He was the leading man.)
Harlem Song (Music and lyrics by various, book by George C. Wolfe)
A 2002 celebration of Harlem: its residents, history, anger, and hope, that was staged at the Apollo Theater. The music ranges from old classics to new material from George C. Wolfe and others.
House of Flowers (Music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Truman Capote and Harold Arlen)
Another flop show, this one dealt with prostitutes in Haiti (the bordello is called the House of Flowers, and the madames are known as horticulturalists). Pearl Bailey headed the distinguished cast and, according to Ken Mandelbaum , she apparently made lots of trouble backstage; the show also apparently had a gayer sensibility than 1954 audiences were prepared to accept.
It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues (Music and lyrics by various)
The title says it all: this is a historical revue of the blues in America, starting with African music. It focuses somewhat on white blues but is primarily concerned with black blues (there are five black and two white cast members). I saw this in its 1995 incarnation at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and I liked that relatively simple production better than the big Broadway version of 1999; too bad only the latter is available on CD.
Jamaica (Music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg)
Arlen followed up his Haitian House of Flowers with this Caribbean tale of a woman who lives with her fisherman husband on a quiet little island but longs for the glamour of Manhattan. Of course, she ultimately chooses her quiet little island and her husband. The show starred Lena Horne, and if they'd been able to get Harry Belafonte as her husband (as was intended), instead of Ricardo Montalban, this would have been some powerhouse recording!
Jelly's Last Jam (Music by Jelly Roll Morton, with adaptation and additional material by Luther Henderson; lyrics by Susan Birkenhead)
One of the only such shows with an actual storyline, Jelly's Last Jam combined Ferdinand Joseph Le Menthe Morton's music (and altered lyrics) with the life story of the man himself. Seems that as a light-skinned Creole, he didn't consider himself black and was actively racist towards darker-skinned individuals, so the main goal of the story is getting him to acknowledge his African roots--and admitting he didn't invent jazz--after he dies but before he goes to hell. Too much ego and a disastrous move to New York City destroyed his career and his personal life, but oh, what a legacy he left!
Kwamina (Music and lyrics by Richard Adler)
1961 flop musical about a London-educated West African chief's son (Terry Carter) who falls in love with a white female doctor (Sally Ann Howes) while, behind them, cultures clash. Whatever book problems it had were probably overshadowed by the love affair, which was too daring for the audiences of the time (yet by today's standards would seem unbelievably tepid, with Carter showing his love by pushing his arm bracelet up Howes's arm--hoo ha!).
The Life (Music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Ira Gasman, and book by David Newman, Gasman, and Coleman)
Though the prostitutes of this story belong to various races, and there's a subplot with a white chick from Minnesota, the main characters are black.
Little Ham (Music by Judd Woldin, lyrics by Richard Engquist and Judd Woldin)
This very recent off-Broadway offering by the composer of Raisin "is a musical story of love and loyalty set in the heyday of the Harlem Renaissance." It ran from the fall of 2001 until December 2002.
Liza (Music and lyrics by ?)
I read about this one in Ain't Misbehavin': The Story of Fats Waller. All I know about it is that it appeared in the 1920s.
Look to the Lilies (Music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn)
Flop musical based on Lilies of the Field.
Lost in the Stars (Music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Maxwell Anderson)
One of only a small number of musicals set in Africa ( Kwamina , Aida, Sarafina! , and The Lion King being the others), this one was based on the novel Cry, the Beloved Country. The main character is a black South African minister whose son participated in the robbery and accidental murder of the son of a white bigot. The bigot, who supports apartheid, eventually is won over by the minister's courage and they become friends. Weill's last musical.
Memphis Bound! (Adapted by Don Walker and Clay Warnick)
A flop musical of the 1940s based on HMS Pinafore, it starred Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Avon Long, Frank Wilson, Billy Daniels, Sheila Guyse, and Thelma Carpenter; the choreographer was Al White. Definitely an A-level cast in a musical with a D-level book.
Once on This Island (Music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens)
French Antilles fairy tale about a young island girl, Ti Moune, who falls in love with the mulatto son of a wealthy landowner. When he's injured, she makes a pact with the gods: her life for his. He survives and is grateful but rejects her love, and the gods, by way of reward or compensation for her sacrifice and disappointment, grant her eternal life by turning her into a tree.
One Mo' Time (Music and lyrics by various)
This new show "recreates a hot, sultry night at New Orleans' Lyric Theatre in 1926, home to Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey among others." Dunno if it's been recorded.
Porgy and Bess (Music by George Gershwin, lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin)
The classic Gershwin musical that has since entered the opera repertoire, and one of the greatest pieces of musical theatre ever written. It gave us a number of standards ("I Got Plenty o' Nuttin," "Summertime," "Bess, You Is My Woman Now," and "It Ain't Necessarily So").
Purlie (Music by Gary Geld, lyrics by Peter Udell)
If you ever wondered where Cleavon Little came from that he got the lead role in Blazing Saddles when it was originally earmarked for Richard Pryor, this is the place. He played the exuberant minister Purlie who overcomes a nasty white guy or two to buy a church for his flock in rural post-WWII Georgia, and also gets married in the process.
Ragtime (Music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens)
The major thread in this three-thread story is that of Coalhouse Walker, Jr., a ragtime musician with a car and a fiance, Sarah. He loses both, the first to bigoted white firemen, the second to murderous presidential bodyguards. Sarah's death pushes him over the edge, and he goes on a rampage, killing firemen in the name of justice. He's ultimately killed, but he and Sarah have left a legacy in the form of their small son, who will be raised by a white family.
Raisin (Music by Judd Woldin, lyrics by Robert Brittan)
Based, of course, on Raisin in the Sun, this is the story of Walter Lee Younger, a poor man with a dream: he wants to open his own liquor store with the money from his newly dead father's insurance. His mother, however, wants to use the money to buy a house in a nice white neighborhood. The liquor store business never works out because Walter Lee's partner absconds with the money, but enough is left to buy the house. This being the 1950s, the white folks in the neighborhood try to get the family to change their minds about moving in by offering to buy back the house. Walter Lee is tempted, but ultimately the family refuses to be bought out.
Runnin' Wild (Music and lyrics by ?)
I read about this one in Ain't Misbehavin': The Story of Fats Waller. All I know about it is that it appeared in 1923, it was produced by Flournoy E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles (both black), who produced Shuffle Along , and it introduced the Charleston to the North.
Friendly reader D. Grapes supplied this information: "The music in Runnin' Wild (1923) was by James P. Johnson. Its most important contribution was the inclusion of the dance we know of as "The Charleston," as it introduced it to American society, thereby setting the stage for the Charleston dance craze." (information available in Eileen Southern's The Music of Black Americans: a history, 3rd edition)
Sarafina! The Music of Liberation (Music and lyrics by Mbongeni Ngema, with additional songs by Hugh Masekela)
This stirring show is set in 1976 in Soweto, South Africa, when 200,000 black students protested the official decree that they had to use Afrikaans in their classrooms instead of Zulu. The brutal suppression of these students sparked the violents struggles that typified South Africa for many years, until apartheid was overturned. The show follows a fictional class of students, centered around the political activist Sarafina, who experience considerable brutality but maintain hope for the future. This is one of the very few musicals where a substantial number of the songs are sung in another language--in this case, Zulu.
Show Boat (Music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II)
The one exception to my rule: Although the main characters in Show Boat are white, the most interesting ones are black or part-black, and they get all the best songs. Anyway, after having heard Michel Bell as Joe, I can't possibly leave this one out. Besides, the bits about miscegenation and the hard life of black stevedores are still relevant-ish--they were painfully relevant in 1927, when this show first came out, and marked the most serious themes in a musical up to that time.
Shuffle Along (Music by Eubie Blake, lyrics by Noble Sissle)
Apologies for the title, which was acceptable back in 1921. This was the first successful musical entirely created, produced, and acted by blacks. The plot dealt with two mayoral candidates in Jimtown, Dixieland: venal Steve Jenkins and virtuous Harry Walton (prompting the song "I'm Just Wild About Harry"), plus a corrupt police chief. The bad guys are elected, but the good guys eventually get them thrown out of office. I believe there has been an attempt to update this show to bring it in tune with today's attitudes, and I suspect that Eubie! was also an attempt to divorce the wonderful songs from their embarrassing source material. There were three titular sequels to this show, the last being staged in 1952.
Simply Heavenly (Music by David Martin, lyrics by Langston Hughes)
Hughes adapted several stories he wrote about the character Jess Simple into this unappreciated flop show, which is considered by Ken Mandelbaum "perhaps the best black musical ever." The plot has to do with Jess's attempt to raise money to pay for his divorce from his estranged wife, so that he can marry his sweetheart Joyce. There are several interesting points made; for one, Jess ends up refusing to let his color be his excuse for his problems, and for another, he rejects Joyce until he can solve his problems.
Sophisticated Ladies (Music by Duke Ellington, lyrics by various)
Revue of the music of Duke Ellington. I know almost nothing about this one, save that it was far more elaborate a production than the other composer-tribute-revues in this list, with a big cast, lots of dancing, flashy costumes, and a 21-piece onstage orchestra. Why is this not available on CD? [It is, but it's rare--just got it.]
St. Louis Woman (Music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer)
Arlen had a thing for black-related musicals; this is his third on this list. Conceptually similar to Porgy and Bess , this mostly forgotten show had one of those Encores Cast Recordings in 1998, but the original is also available on CD. The out-of-print OCR is better than the concert cast recording; the original stars were the Nicholas Bros., Pearl Bailey, and Ruby Hill; get it if you can. Della Green falls for Li'l Augie, a jockey with a winning streak, though she's already the woman of Biglow Brown, a saloon owner. Brown is eventually killed, but he puts a curse on Li'l Augie that ends the streak and Della's affection for the jockey. The two eventually come back together, though.
The Tap Dance Kid (Music by Henry Krieger, lyrics by Robert Lorick)
In a turnabout of the "dreams will get me out of poverty" theme that many of these musicals have, this one concerns an upper-middle-class black family whose son wants to be a tap dancer. It was based on a TV play, which in turn was based on a children's novel, Nobody's Family Is Going to Change, by Louise Fitzhugh (author of the better-known Harriet the Spy). Savion Glover made his Broadway debut in this show at the age of 10. That's all I know about this one; anyone have any more info?
Timbuktu (Music and lyrics by George Forrest and Robert Wright, book by Luther Davis)
Retooled all-black version of Kismet set in Timbuktu in the Ancient Empire of Mali, West Africa, in the year 1361 (of Islam 752).
The Wiz (Music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls)
The Wizard of Oz done funk-style. This was one of the first musicals I ever saw, way the hell back in the mid-1970s on New Year's Eve. Even if Stephanie Mills, the original Dorothy, toured with it, I didn't see her, but some understudy instead. From the picture in Broadway Musicals Show by Show , it appears that the costumer designer for Starlight Express substantially based that show's train costumes on the costume for the Tin Man in The Wiz.
Honorable Mention
Black Broadway (Music and lyrics by...?)
I had never even heard of this show until I got a big book of backstage photos of Broadway folks and saw several pictures of participants. I have no idea whether it was a special short-term production or one that was intended to run for a while. Can anyone enlighten me?
A Broadway Musical (Music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams)
Flop musical about sleazy white producers who want to turn a black writer's serious play into a musical.
Big River (Music and lyrics by Roger Miller)
Based on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, so there's some pertinent stuff with the runaway slave Jim.
Guys and Dolls (Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser)
There was a well-received all-black cast for this show.
Hair (Music by Galt McDermot, lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado)
The main characters are white, but there are important subthreads dealing with racism, dying for a government that treats your people like crap, and loving people of different colors ("White Boys" is sung by black women, and "Black Boys" is sung by white women). The character of Abraham Lincoln is traditionally played by a black woman.
Hello, Dolly! (Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman)
The all-black version of this show, headed by Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway, revitalized it and was successful enough to merit its own cast recording.
The Hot Mikado (Music by W. S. Gilbert, lyrics by Arthur Sullivan; adapted by David Bell and Rod Bowman)
This is a swing/jazz/blues reinterpretation of the classic light opera, set in the 1940s. I can't tell if the original show had an all-black cast--revivals seem to be mixed casts--but I know Rosetta Le Noire was part of the original cast. This looks like a show desperately in need of a full-scale Broadway revival and an American cast recording. The only cast recording I could find was a London one from 1995.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Music and lyrics by various?)
This is a musical play rather than a musical, as far as I can tell, but I'd be willing to reclassify this on the advice of someone who's seen it and can enlighten me.
No Strings (Music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers)
The first black-white love affair in a Broadway musical, but the issue of race is barely dealt with.
Parade (Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown)
Although the story is about a Jewish man wrongly accused of murder in Georgia, the show has some telling moments by the black characters, who are A) gleeful that anti-Semitism rather than racism drives the trial, since there are several black suspects, and B) hopeful that, because of the Northern outcry over this obvious travesty of justice, officials will also start to notice the legal abuses perpetuated against black individuals as well.
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (Music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner)
With a creative team like this, how could this show have failed so miserably? Easy: it tried to encapsulate all the presidents up to that time (1976) and their First Ladies in a single evening--and having a single actor and actress play each role. The presidents play against a pair of black servants who, like the characters in Hallelujah, Baby! , never age (except to have a baby, who is born into freedom during Andrew Johnson's term). Apparently, part of the book deals with the presidents and their effect on black history.
The Wild Party (Music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa or by Andrew Lippa)
From everything I can gather, the focus of the original poem was on two white characters, but it's set in Harlem and has a number of important black characters as well.
Dishonorable Mention
My Darlin' Aida (Music by , Lyrics by )
A1989 flop musical that tried to do for Aida what Carmen Jones did for Carmen, transplanting the story to the Civil War era and transforming Aida into a half-black slave. Too bad they cast a white actress (Elaine Malbin) in the role.
Nefertiti (Music by David Spangler, lyrics by Christopher Gore)
This mid-70s flop musical also cast a white actress (Andrea Marcovicci) in the title role....
All non-lyric material copyright 2002-2003, D. Aviva Rothschild. All rights reserved
I invite additions and corrections to this list , or comments about the examples above. If I like your whole letter I'll ask if I can publish it on my letters page .
| i don't know |
Which former Welsh boxing championwas known as 'The ghost with the hammer in his hand'? | Max Boxing - Other Boxing News - Hughes And Davies Added To Newport Undercard
Tweet
Hughes And Davies Added To Newport Undercard
Warrior Promotions stage a show at Newport Leisure Centre on Saturday, October 10, headlined by former-WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli.
The undercard features rising stars Zack Davies, a quarter finalist at last summer’s Commonwealth Games, and Alex Hughes.
Hughes, a 21 year-old super-middleweight from Maerdy, is trained by Gary Lockett and earlier this year, signed a promotional deal with Frank Warren.
He’s won all five fights (three inside the distance) and according to Lockett, a straight-talking fighting man, he’s "a special talent."
Hughes looks sure to be well supported next month.
The fight in Newport will be his first in Wales since his professional debut in May and Hughes says "everyone in Maerdy is buzzing.I get unbelievable support wherever I go and I wanted to get on this show so much."
His home village is around a mile from Tylorstown, where boxing legend Jimmy Wilde emerged from a century ago to be a dominant world flyweight champion.
Wilde, known as the Ghost With The Hammer In His Hand, is widely regarded as the best flyweight in history and Hughes is also aiming high.
"There wouldn’t be any point boxing if I didn’t want to win a world title," he said, "but as long as I give it my best shot, I will be happy."
As an amateur, Hughes says he won "48 or 49" of his 54 bouts and won Schools and Junior honours.
"I didn’t get picked for the Welsh team," he said, "and I don’t know why.
"I was offered a trial with GB when I was 17, but I didn’t fancy it. I had met Gary by then and had decided to go professional."
Hughes had to wait to get his license after problems with his brain scan and says he "spent two years in the gym learning from the boys."
"The boys" at Lockett’s gym included Gavin Rees and Liam Williams and when he finally made his professional debut last year, Hughes showed how much he’d learned from them and Lockett as he coolly broke down tough-as-old-boots journeyman Mark Till in four rounds.
His talents were seen by a wider audience in February when Eurosport screened a four-round points win over Deividas Sajauka and last time out, Hughes was matched tough with Sheffield southpaw Wayne Reed.
Hughes won the six rounder on points, but it wasn’t easy.
Lockett said: "Alex tried too hard to take him out with one shot, got tired and had to work hard in the last three rounds to keep Wayne off him.
"It was the best thing that could have happened to Alex. Now he knows what it takes to be a professional boxer."
Hughes could have pursued a career in rugby union.
"I come from a rugby family," he said. "I played at scrum half or No 10 and was offered trials with the (Cardiff) Blues, but I didn’t want it to get in the way of my boxing."
Hughes was just eight years old when he followed a group of friends to the local boxing gym, but he didn’t have to leave his house for sparring !
"I’ve got two bigger brothers," he said, "and I had some beatings growing up. It was tough, but they leave me alone these days."
A grudge fight has been added to the Newport bill.
Darren Pryce will meet Ricky Leach in a rematch after a war of words on Twitter.
For further boxing discussion, contact SecondsOut on Facebook. Also, be sure to "LIKE" the SecondsOut Facebook page.
| Jimmy Wilde |
If something osifies, what does it turn into? | Jimmy Wilde | Boxing Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
Edit
Jimmy Wilde's birth certificate shows he was born in the Taff Bargoed Valley community of Pentwyn Deintyr ) (now known as the Graig), Quakers Yard , Treharris , in the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil but his parents later moved to the village of Tylorstown in the Rhondda Valley when Wilde was twelve years old. [2] Wilde was the son of a coal miner and worked in the coal pits himself. Wilde was small enough to crawl through gullies impassable to most of his colleagues. Wilde started boxing at the age of sixteen in fairground boxing booths, where crowds were amazed by his toughness and ability to knock down much larger opponents, most of which were local toughmen weighing around 200 lbs. In 1910, Wilde married his wife Elizabeth and was a father the same year. He left Tylorstown Colliery in 1913. In 1916, Wilde joined the British Army and was sent to Aldershot as a PT instructor.
Professional career
Edit
The record books often show that Wilde started boxing professionally in 1911 but it is widely assumed (and later confirmed by boxing analysts) that he had been fighting professionally for at least four years before that. Wilde's claim that he had at least 800 fights is probably greatly exaggerated, but it was rather more than the 152 shown in Boxrec and elsewhere. Wilde's officially listed debut was on 26 December 1910, when he fought Les Williams to a no-decision in three rounds. His first win came on 1 January 1911, when he knocked out Ted Roberts in the third round
Managed by Teddy Lewis, reserve captain of local rugby club, Pontypridd RFC , [3] Wilde went undefeated in 103 bouts, all of which were held in Britain , a remarkable achievement. In the middle of that streak, on 31 December 1912, he won the British 7 stone championship by beating Billy Padden by an eighteenth-round knockout in Glasgow. He finally lost his undefeated record when he challenged Tancy Lee for the vacant British and Europe Flyweight Championship on 15 January 1915 in London. Wilde was knocked out in the seventeenth round (of twenty).
File:William Howard Robinson A Welsh Victory at the National Sporting Club 1919.jpg
Wilde then embarked on a sixteen-fight knockout streak, and on 14 February 1916, he won the British flyweight title by beating Joe Symonds by a knockout in round twelve at the National Sporting Club in London. On 24 April 1916, Wilde beat Johnny Rosner by a knockout in the eleventh round at Liverpool Stadium to win the IBU World Flyweight title. On 13 May, he had two fights on the same day at Woolwich Dockyard (against Darkey Saunders and Joe Magnus), winning both by knockout, both fights combined lasting less than five rounds. On 26 June Wilde returned to the National Sporting Club to take his revenge on Tancy Lee with an eleventh-round knockout. On 18 December, Wilde became recognised as the first World Flyweight Champion (the IBU title was only recognised in Europe) when he defeated Young Zulu Kid of the United States whose seconds threw in the towel during the eleventh round of their bout at the Holborn Stadium.
In 1917, he retained the title by beating George Clarke by a knockout in four. With that win, he also won the European title and recovered the British title. But that would be his last title defence, as soon he decided to vacate the world title. He kept fighting and winning, and in 1919, he beat Joe Lynch , another boxer who was a world champion, by decision in 15. In 1920, he went undefeated in 10 fights, but then, he lost by a knockout in 17 to former World Bantamweight Champion Pete Herman , who outweighed Wilde by more than a stone (14 pounds), in 1921. The bout was originally scheduled as a title defence, but Herman had lost his championship to Lynch the month before. Herman easily regained the Bantamweight title from Lynch in July 1921, leading some to suspect that he had left the title behind with Lynch in America intentionally. That was the fight that marked his return to Britain after touring the United States all of 1920. After a win over Young Jennings , he announced his retirement.
Wilde returned to the ring out of a sense of obligation to defend his title against Pancho Villa on 18 June 1923. After losing by a knockout in seven to the Philippines ' first world champion, Wilde announced his retirement.
Retirement
Edit
Jimmy Wilde lived the last few years of his life in the Cadoxton district of Barry, South Wales. With his final boxing winnings, Wilde entered into several business schemes, including a Welsh cinema chain and partnership in a cafe at 5 Western Shelter, Barry Island that was named 'The Mighty Atom' cafe. None was successful and he spent his final years in poverty. [4] In 1965, Wilde suffered a serious mugging at a train station in Cardiff , from which he never recovered. [1] His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1967, [5] and two years later Wilde died in a hospital in Whitchurch . He was buried in Barry Cemetery.
Awards and recognition
Edit
Wilde had a record of 137 wins, 4 losses, 2 draws and 8 no-decisions, with 100 wins by knockout, which makes him one of the most prolific knockout winners of all time. Ring Magazine , a publication which named him the 3rd greatest puncher of all time in 2003, has twice named him the greatest flyweight of all time (March 1975 and May 1994). Furthermore, the October 1999 issue of Ring Magazine rated Wilde the 13th greatest fighter of the 20th century.
In 1990, Wilde was elected into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame as a member of that institution's inaugural class, a distinction shared with all time greats such as Sugar Ray Robinson , Harry Greb , Benny Leonard and Henry Armstrong . In 1992 he was also inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and one of his prize winning belts is part of the organisation's display.
Wilde was ranked as the number 1 flyweight of all-time by the International Boxing Research Organization in 2006. [6]
Notes
| i don't know |
What type of leaf forms the bulk of a silkworm's diet? | Silkworm's Diet | Animals - mom.me
Silkworm's Diet
China forbade selling silkworms outside the country for centuries.
Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
Silkworms are picky eaters: They like only one type of food: leaves from the white mulberry tree. Humans engaged in sericulture -- the keeping of silkworms for the purpose of harvesting silk from the insects' cocoons -- feed silkworms their preference for the highest-quality silk. It is not necessary to provide silkworms with water.
White Mulberry Tree
The silkworm's appetite for the white mulberry tree leaf is so voracious that arborists and botanists often refer to the tree as the silkworm mulberry. Its leaves are the silkworms' top choice for food; usually it's the only choice silkworms readily accept. Leaves that are just fully developed but still young and tender are best for feeding silkworms, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. That dining preference is a good thing for silkworms: White mulberry trees have short life spans but grow much faster than other trees, thus quickly producing matured leaves.
Osage Orange
When white mulberry leaves aren't available, silkworms will eat the leaves of the osage-orange tree as well as other mulberry tree species. It's more like a necessary evil than a preferred choice: The quality of the silk produced via worms eating these leaves is generally not as high as that produced via silkworms eating white mulberry.
Captive Diet
The discussion of silkworms' preferred food is, in reality, moot. This is because silkworms no longer live in natural or wild settings where they can make their own dietary choices. Humans provide their food and keep them in production-oriented settings. According to the online magazine Informed Farmer, silkworms were domesticated in China nearly 5,000 years ago. Silkworms have become extinct outside of silk factories and the hobby boxes that children sometimes keep them in, according to the Burke's Backyard website. An artificial diet comprising primarily mulberry leaves is available at most pet or feed stores.
Voracious Appetite
Silkworms eat, and they eat some more. As larvae, silkworms never stop eating, according to the Burke's Backyard website. It was their insatiable appetite for white mulberry tree leaves that inadvertently created the demand for the silk produced by their cocoons. According to a legend posted at Burke's Backyard, silk was discovered when Chinese Emperor Huangdi ordered his wife Xilingshi to find out what was damaging his mulberry tree. She discovered white worms eating the leaves and spinning shiny cocoons. In an experimental move, Xilingshi dropped a cocoon into hot water in a tea cup to see if the worm would die. The pupa inside the cocoon did perish, but in the process, a slender thread of silk unwound itself from the cocoon and started an industry the Chinese kept secret for centuries.
How Much to Feed
It is best to acquire fresh mulberry leaves to feed silkworms. Give them as much as they will consume. If you are buying artificial food, the Silkworm Shop recommends 2 pounds of silkworm food to raise 50 silkworms from egg to cocoon.
| Morus (plant) |
Which 11 letter word is commonly used to describe a cocktail that consists of vodka and orange juice? | Oregon Silkworms | Live Silkworm, Silkworm Chow, Silkworm for sale.
We believe in a fair deal which is why all of our products are fair trade
We believe in a fair deal
which is why all our products are fair trade
Welcome to Oregon silkworms
We have best quality silkworm chow and Live silkworms available at best price . Did you know that silkworms are one of the very best feeder insect? The silkworm life cycle goes through the larva-cocoon-moth stages, which are typical of most moth like insects. Here are some interesting facts about silkworms and their life cycle. The silkworm eggs, laid out about 300 to 400 at a time, generally take about ten days to hatch. Once the silkworm eggs hatch, the larvae or live silkworms eat incessantly during the larvae stage!
Silkworms
They prefer eating white Mulberry tree leaves, but they will feed on all varieties of the mulberry tree.
Silkworm eggs will hatch all year round given the correct conditions. Buy them for the experience to watch a silkworm hatch, spin a cocoon, turn into a moth and lay eggs or buy them as a feeder insect for your reptiles.
We have the best pricing
With the best product for anyone starting to raise silkworms (or have been) . I try to make it as simple as possible to get what you need and learn what you want to know about raising silkworms. To keep it simple, we have no checkout minimum, so if you only need a half pound of chow, get only a half pound of chow! When I was starting out with silkworms, I was ordering small amounts of the food so I had to pay a lot more because of the discounts offered with bulk buying.
We still do have the bulk pricing but its not as steep as the others, if you only need one bag you will pay less than you would elsewhere for ordering 16 of the exact same product! We have spent years searching for the best deal on this food and we’ve found it! This is very high quality food and is NOT FROM CHINA!
If you have any questions on any product please email me at [email protected] . You will not find better prices anywhere online for Silkworm Chow!
| i don't know |
Which two word term is commonly used to describe a cocktail consisting of vodka and tomato juice? | Bloody Mary | Definition of Bloody Mary by Merriam-Webster
See words that rhyme with Bloody Mary Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Bloody Mary
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up Bloody Mary? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
| Bloody Mary |
Which famous cartoon character, introduced in 1949 and voiced by Jim Backus, has the christian name Quincy? | British pubs: drink in a pub/bar in UK/Britain/England
BEER
Pint of English bitter
Bitter is traditional British beer (also known as ale). It is quite strong and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth after drinking. It is usually served at room temperature.. Light ales (or mild brews), contain fewer hops and are less alcoholic; these are popular in central and north-eastern England. Strong ales have a high alcoholic content and a strong flavour. Real ale is a term used for a beer which brewed from natural ingredients (hops, malted barley, yeast and pure water) and stored in a wooden barrel (a cask) until it is served. For more information, see the website of CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale): http://www.camra.org.uk .
Stout is dark brown (almost black) and tastes a little bitter. The most popular example is the Irish drink called Guinness. You may need to wait some time for this drink. Do not be surprised if the barman starts serving someone else before finishing pouring your drink.
Lager is a lighter-coloured type of imported beer, and is normally served cold. Examples are Fosters Ice, Stella Artois or Becks.
When you order a drink, don't just ask for a glass of beer: ask for bitter, stout or lager, or ask for a particular brand name.
State if you want a pint or a half pint (if you don't say, it will be assumed that you want a pint). A pint is about half a litre.
There may be a choice between bottled beer or draught beer (served by tap from a barrel).
Shandy is a mixture of beer and lemonade - you should ask either a lager shandy or a bitter shandy.
Root beer is an American drink which is not usually served in the UK.
Ginger beer and ginger ale are the names of soft drinks - they aren't beers.
OTHER ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
Herefordshire Cider
Wine is an increasingly popular drink in the UK and can be bought in pubs as well as in wine bars, although the choice in pubs may be limited. The most common option is to ask for a glass of the house wine (red or white).
Cider is a traditional English alcoholic drink made from apples. It is also known as scrumpy. It may be sweet or dry. You normally order a pint or half pint of cider.
Whisky is a strong drink produced in Scotland and in Ireland. It can be served on the rocks (with ice). You normally order a shot of whisky in England and Wales, or a dram in Scotland (US measures such as a jigger or gill are not used in the UK). The volume of whisky used for this measure can vary from one place to another, but must be shown on a sign in the pub (it is normally a multiple of 5ml).
Alcopops are bottled drinks which may taste of lemonade but are actually alcoholic. Examples are a Smirnoff Ice or a Bacardi Breezer.
Drinks are often mixed (known as a cocktail). For example, common mixed drinks are:
Gin and tonic; Whisky and coke; Rum and coke; Vodka and orange; Vodka and tonic; Bloody Mary (this is vodka and tomato juice)
In summertime a popular drink is Pimms and lemonade. This is a traditional cocktail of either Pimms Number 1 (based on gin) or Pimms Number 6 (based on vodka) together with ice, citrus fruits (lemon/orange/lime) and lemonade/ginger ale.
BAR FOOD
Cheese & onion crisps
It is common to ask for snacks to eat with your drink. Common snacks are crisps (known as potato chips or chips in American English), peanuts and pork scratchings. The most common flavours of crisps are ready salted (plain), cheese and onion and salt and vinegar. Other flavours include smoky bacon and beef & mustard. Peanuts may be dry roasted or ready salted.
To order a meal in a pub (known as a pub lunch or a bar meal), you usually have to find a table, go to the bar (sometimes there is a separate counter for ordering meals), and to tell them where you are sitting (if there is a number on the table you need to give this).
Sometimes they will give you a numbered ticket instead; in this case you have to go to this counter to collect your food when they call out your number.
Many pubs do not serve meals late at night, so check what time they stop.
After leaving the pub, some people like to go out to eat a curry or kebab or other meal at a late-opening restaurant.
Back to top
TYPICAL EXPRESSIONS
Below are some examples of some typical expressions which you might hear or want to say when you go to a pub.
Asking someone to go out for a drink with you:
"Would you like to come out for a beer?" or "Shall we go for a drink after class/after work?"
Asking if you can buy a drink for someone:
"Do you want a drink?" or "What would you like to drink?" (quite formal)
"What are you having?" or "What can I get you?" (less formal)
"Would you like another drink?" (if the person has already finished a drink)
Replying to someone's offer to buy you a drink:
"Can I have the same again, please?" (if the person who is offering knows what you have been drinking)
"A pint of lager, please" or "Could you get me a vodka and orange?" (specifying a particular drink)
"I'm fine, thank you" (this means you don't want another drink)
"I'm fine at the moment, thank you" (this means that you not want another drink until later)
What the barman or barmaid might say to you:
"What can I get you?" or "Ice and lemon?" or "Anything else?"
What you may ask the barman or barmaid:
"Hello. Two pints of lager, a Tetley's Bitter and a packet of cheese and onion crisps, please"
PUB ETIQUETTTE
Pub entrance
You have to be 18 years old to order a drink in a pub. Some pubs will allow people over 14 years old to go inside if they are with someone who is over 18, but they are not allowed to go to the bar or to have an alcoholic drink (16 and 17 year olds can sometimes order an alcoholic drink with a table-meal). Family pubs welcome people with children and have facilities for them. Avoid using rough language in a family pub.
Normally people go to a pub with other people, and it is common for one person to offer to buy drinks for the others, especially at the beginning. This is known as buying a round of drinks. You should always offer to return the favour, either by paying for a round of drinks yourself, or by offering to buy a drink for the person who paid for your drink. Sometimes people each pay money (for example: 10 pounds) to one member of the group at the beginning of the evening and use this pot or kitty to pay for drinks when wanted, until the money is finished.
It is not common to offer a tip to the person at the bar. If you want, you can tell a member of the bar staff to "have a drink on me", meaning that you will pay for the drink that he/she chooses (if you are offered a drink on the house, the pub pays for it).
Bans on smoking in enclosed public places (including pubs, bars and restaurants) were introduced throughout the UK in 2006/2007. You must go outside the building (for example to the pub garden, if it has one) if you want to smoke.
If you bump into someone and they spill their drink, you should offer to buy them another one.
Opening times depend on the conditions of the pub's licence. Standard opening times are between 11am and 11pm (10:30pm on Sundays or on public holidays; Scottish pubs generally do not open on Sunday afternoons). Since 24 November 2005 pubs can apply to extend these hours (opening earlier or closing later), so check the times when you arrive. Many places with extended hours open an hour earlier or close an hour later (eg at midnight): only a few places are open all night.
About 10 minutes before closing time (at about 10:50pm), the landlord will ring a bell and will tell people to order their last drinks (usually saying "Last drinks at the bar" or "Time, gentlemen, please"). The pub is not allowed to serve drinks after closing time. You must stop drinking 20 minutes after closing time; if you have not left by this time, the pub landlord may ask you to leave.
Do not drive after you have drunk alcohol. For information about how to call a taxi, see Travel/Transport/Taxi .
Please remember that people live near the pubs, so avoid making noise late at night.
For a detailed guide to British pub etiquette, see: http://www.sirc.org/publik/pub.html
Back to top
PUB NAMES
The names given to pubs often have some historical or local significance. The picture shown on the pub sign which is hung outside may help you to understand the meaning, but if not you can always try asking someone inside.
The most common pub names in Britain are:
(1) The Crown represents the king or queen. Many pubs are named after individual kings and queens (see examples below).
(2) The Red Lion the pub name became popular after James the First ordered a red lion to be displayed outside all public places.
(3) Royal Oak the king Charles the Second escaped the Roundheads (at the time of the English Civil War) by hiding in the branches of an oak tree.
(4) Swan a heraldic symbol, used in the "coat of arms" of powerful families.
(5) White Hart the white hart (stag) was the heraldic symbol of the king Richard the Second
Recently an increasing number of pubs have been taken over by large companies who have changed the names to a modern brand name, but you can still find many pubs which have kept a more traditional name. You may find it helpful to read a brief overview of British history; see: Britain/History .
The Red Lion
| i don't know |
"""The light that failed"" in 1871, ""Captain Courageous"" in 1876 and ""Kim"" in 1901 are all novels by which famous author?" | The Light that Failed - Introduction
The Light that Failed
Background
The Light That Failed is Kipling�s first novel, written when he was 26 years old, and therefore of considerable importance in the canon of his works. Since its initial publication in 1891 it has encountered a substantial body of negative, even hostile criticism. However, Jad Adams author of a recent (2006) Kipling biography, reminds us that the novel has stayed in print ever since its first publication, over a hundred years ago.
The story
The story centres on Dick Heldar � a thinly-veiled Kipling self-portrait � and his relationship with, and unrequited love for, Maisie, his childhood playmate, who was based on the real-life artist Flo Garrard, of whom more later. As children they are both under the cruel and repressive care of Mrs Jennet, where, even as a child, Maisie treats Dick with indifference. Dick later becomes a successful artist through his war-time illustrations, for London newspapers, of the Sudan campaign. (This was mounted in 1885, to defeat the Mahdi and relieve General Gordon at Khartoum.) In the Sudan Dick meets Gilbert Torpenhow, the correspondent of the Central Southern Syndicate, who is instrumental in spreading Dick�s reputation. They pledge friendship and promise to keep in touch.
Later, after Dick�s travels in Africa and the Orient, he hears from Torpenhow that his illustrations have made him famous, and this renews the friendship. Dick returns to London, meets Maisie again unexpectedly, and falls in love with her. Maisie, however, has artistic ambitions of her own, and rejects his passion to concentrate on her career, encouraged by her nameless companion, 'the red-haired girl', between Dick and whom there springs up a complex love-hate relationship. She is jealous of Dick�s attention to Maisie, but is secretly attracted to him. She makes a drawing of him, mocking his enslavement to Maisie, and vindictively destroys it.
Maisie and Dick begin work on their own versions of �Melancolia� the symbolic figure in James Thompson�s poem "The City of Dreadful Night", a key influence on the novel and discussed in detail later. Their competitiveness creates unresolveable personal and artistic conflict. Dick thinks himself the superior artist, convinced that Maisie has neither the insight nor ability to meet such a challenge. Throughout, Kipling sustains the novel�s one true lasting relationship, between Dick and Torpenhow. Dick has endured the earlier pressures of commercialism on his own artistic integrity, his fruitless passion for Maisie, and the conflict between Love and Art. Then he becomes incurably blind from the delayed effects of a Sudan war wound.
Emotionally distraught, Maisie leaves him. He is left alone in his blindness and privation, with only his artistic credo and dedication intact. He is finally drawn from the world of art to the world of action, once again on the battlefields of the Sudan. He is struck by a stray bullet, and dies in Torpenhow�s arms.
Critical responses
The novel has variously been described as sentimental, unstructured, melodramatic, chauvinistic, and implausible. Kipling himself said: '... it was only a conte�not a built book'. (Something of Myself p. 228). Relatively mild reproofs include Professor Carrington's in his essay for the ORG who feels it is 'not a good book, and not the best of Kipling' but is also mindful that it is 'never out of print.'. For Andrew Lycett (p. 286), another important Kipling biographer, 'the novel�s major drawback is that it is a 'grown-up� novel by an emotionally immature man.'. J M S Tompkins (p. 12), the doyen of Kipling critics, states more probingly that any artist 'cannot cope with all he knows', and that Dick�s character is 'blurred in consequence'; partly as a result of Kipling�s extremes of 'exaltation' or 'chastisement' in the presentation of Dick, and because there is less involvement in the character of Maisie.
Angus Wilson�s accusation (p. 156) of Kipling�s 'blind self-flattering misogyny' rather overstates the case in the view of this Editor, but perhaps contains an element of truth. Critic and biographer T R Henn has no truck with the novel�s 'ponderous irony, Biblical phrases, Wardour Street diction, and jocularity of tone' (p. 82). And it is hard not to detect a note of bile creeping into Lord Birkenhead's comment on Captain�s Courageous(1896), that 'the book failed for exactly the same reasons as �The Light That Failed... the characters are mere ciphers, who might with little loss to the reader, be called X,Y or Z' (p. 311). He even goes so far as to describe The Light That Failed as 'a rotten apple' in 'the teeming orchard' of Kipling�s other published stories in 1890. (p. 123)
One could extend the catalogue of strictures, assertions and counter-arguments ad infinitum, and to little purpose. Readers will, after all, come to their own conclusions on these matters.The fact is that The Light That Failed has always suffered in comparison with Kim (1901), Kipling�s most famous and popular novel. The aim of these notes is to move it out of the shadows, and assess its qualities on their own literary merits, as well as considering its rich background and range of themes.
Cruelty and brutality
One recurrent critical theme does, though, merit closer consideration; the novel's recurrent cruelty and brutality. Many critics and writers who are admirers of Kipling have had difficulties with this, both in this novel and in other works. J M Barrie and Henry James, for example, whilst recognising his enormous talent, could not accept the brutality and cynicism as they perceived them. George Orwell, in his famous Horizon essay on Kipling (Horizon 1942 in Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters Vol 2, Penguin Books 1970), acknowledged the realism of Kipling�s vision of war, seeing him as a prophet of late 19th Century imperial expansionism, and admiring the way the book captures the atmosphere of life at that time. But he echoes the charge of a 'definite strain of sadism' (p. 214), and the 'hunger for cruelty' (p. 222), to be confronted and answered.
The problem tends to arise in relation to three particular scenes: Torpenhow's gouging out the eye of the Arab soldier in Chapter II; Dick's manhandling of the Syndicate Head in Chapter III, and Dick's orgiastic response to the machine-gunning of enemy troops in the final chapter. One might also add Dick's generally unpleasant treatment of Bessie Broke, the artist's model. His treatment of the Syndicate Head can be partly explained by the unjust and chaotic Copyright laws of the time [see the Note on Ch III Page 40 line 28 ]. Kipling's own resentment over the treatment of artists and writers undoubtedly lasted throughout his life. There is a telling reminiscence, ironically paraphrasing his famous poem "Recessional", in his autobiography Something of Myself (1937), where he refers to the surge of interest in his poetic juvenilia after he attained fame and success. He gave a schoolboy poem to a woman when he left school:
...who returned it to me many years later... I burnt it, lest it should fall into the hands of 'lesser breeds without the (Copyright) law'.
We will return to these episodes later, in other contexts.
The incident with Torpenhow and the Arab soldier's eye is a sadistic touch, this Editor believes, although Kipling might well have thought 'After all, such things happen in war.' It is also arguably redundant when considered against the background of the Chapter's vivid and powerful battle scenes. However, Kipling doesn't linger gratuitously over the detail. Torpenhow grapples with the soldier, reaching for the man's face, clearly in understandable desperation. Soon after, he wipes a thumb on his trousers; 'the man's upturned face lacked an eye'. Even the battlefield carnage is reduced to a single charged sentence 'the ground beyond was a butcher's shop'. The simple omission of 'like', creating a visual metaphor out of a potential simile, is just one of myriads of quotable examples of the young author's immediacy and sureness of touch.
Childhood influences
Whatever the flaws in Dick's character and behaviour, Kipling carefully establishes a pattern of childhood influence and causation in Chapter I. Kipling readers will be familiar with the various accounts of the exile in England forced by their parents on the five year old Kipling and his three year old sister 'Trix in 1871. This was a common practice amongst Anglo-Indian families to protect their childrens' health and ensure that they had a thoroughly English upbringing. Rudyard and Trixie were placed in the foster-care of Mrs Sarah Holloway at Lorne Lodge, Southsea, later referred to by Kipling as 'the House of Desolation' where they endured six years of tyrannical harshness, an experience which marked him for life, and forms the basis for this Chapter.
In The Light That Failed Sarah Holloway becomes 'Mrs Jennet', whilst Dick is clearly the young Rudyard. This episode is also prominently fictionalised in a more-or-less contemporaneous story "Baa Baa, Black Sheep" (Wee Willie Winkie 1890) in which Kipling becomes 'Punch' and Sarah Holloway 'Auntie Rosa'. Kipling refers bitterly, but with characteristic succinctness, to the repression of these formative years in Something of Myself: 'I had never heard of hell, so I was introduced to it in all its terrors'.
Kipling leaves us in no doubt as to the effect on Dick, and himself as a child:
Where he had looked for love, she gave him aversion, and then hate. Where he growing older had sought a little sympathy, she gave him ridicule.
Dick's sufferings and neglect teach him the power of living alone and of enduring schoolboy mockery, but set in motion an undercurrent of violence in his character. It is a reasonable assumption that for Kipling these experiences may account for the incidents of bullying and humiliation in some of the later schoolboy stories in Stalky & Co (1899) These are echoed in one brief passage in the novel:
Dick shambled through the days unkempt in body and savage in soul, as the smaller boys of the school learned to know, for when the spirit moved him, he would hit them, cunningly and with science.
The final phrase hints at the sadistic element that is taking root within him. In Chapter III, as an adult, prompted by the Syndicate Head's emphasis on how much he owes them for spreading his reputation, Dick is reminded of 'certain vagrant years, lived out in loneliness and strife, and unsatisfied desires.' There is frequent testimony in Kipling's writings to the persistent sense of pain and suffering which influenced the darker side of his own and, therefore Dick's, character. In a 1907 address to McGill University he says:
There is a certain darkness and abandonment which the soul of a young man sometimes descends � horror of desolation, abandonment and realised worthlessness, which is one of the most real of hells in which we are compelled to walk.
The early descriptions of Dick's character from The Light That Failed are a kind of fictional shorthand; we have to take Kipling's word for them, in the absence of narrative. But they surely explain, even if not wholly justifying, the troublesome aspects of Dick's behaviour, and are at the heart of Kipling's artistic vision and practice. The portrait of Dick, consequently, is unflinchingly 'real' and honest; an unpredictable, arrogant, immature young man, but one who feels deeply and suffers profoundly. All else stems from this. Kipling could be no other kind of writer.
Because "Baa Baa, Black Sheep" dramatises the Southsea experiences so vividly, the final lines of the story offer perhaps the most eloquent expression of the influence of these years onThe Light That Failed and on much else of Kipling's work. In imagery drawn from the Bible and Bunyan, and directly relevant to the novel, he writes:
...when young lips have drunk deep of the bitter waters of Hate, Suspicion and Despair, all the Love in the world will not wholly take away that knowledge; though it may turn darkened eyes for a while to the light, and teach Faith where no Faith is.
Dick, therefore, is merely being true to his own nature and his artist's code when sardonically describing the graphic realism of his illustration of the soldier called "His Last Shot", which he is forced to clean up to make it acceptable to the public. Dick may even have had Torpenhow's life-and-death struggle with the one-eyed Arab in mind at this point:
It was brutal, coarse, violent � Man being naturally gentle when he's fighting for his life.
The remark both encapsulates Kipling's own credo, and the conflict between the the claims of Art and Commercialism which informs so much of The Light that Failed.
'Maisie' and Florence Garrard
If Kipling's childhood experiences at Southsea are one key autobiographical influence on the novel, the other is the relationship between Kipling and Florence (Flo) Garrard, the inspiration for the character of Maisie. Kipling�s unfulfilled passion for Flo, and her rejection of him, form the emotional core of the book.
Any first-time Kipling student with little or no knowledge of his works, and reading his autobiography Something of Myself, will find no mention of Flo nor of the devastating effect of his love for her; it is as if they had never existed. The title of the autobiography is self-revelatory, and its structure equally so, as so much of his short fiction, where there is rigorous selectivity and withholding of detail to create an effect. We simply, in this case, don�t get the whole story.
According to Something of Myself, written in the last year of his life, the germ of the novel: 'lay dormant till my change of life in London woke it up'. (p. 228) The hibernation period dates, perhaps, from 1878 when he saw and never forgot Jean Paul Pascale-Bouverie�s painting of �Manon Lescaut� at the Paris Exhibition, based on the 18th Century novel by Abb� Pr�vost. He described the resultant The Light That Failed as a: 'sort of inverted, metagrobolised phantasmagoria based on Manon'. Metagrobolise is derived from the French of Rabelais, meaning to 'puzzle' or 'mystify'. The adjective may just about pass muster as a clue to Kipling�s emotionally confused state of mind when writing the book, as may 'my change of life in London' when in 1890 he met Flo again after an absence of 8 years. Phantasmagoria means either a dreamlike series of illusory images or an early optical illusion show. Both definitions reflect Dick�s mental state in his latter days, the episodic structure of the novel, and its creative use of visual �moments�.
In 1877 Alice Kipling returned to England to take the young Rudyard away from Southsea to become a pupil at the United Services College at Westward Ho! In 1880 Kipling came to Lorne Lodge to fetch Trixie. It was here that he met and fell in love with Florence Garrard, a year his senior.
She had been born in Kensington on January 31 1865. Her family owned the famous London jewellery firm, Garrard and Co., but her father turned his back on the business, and joined the army. He retired on half-pay in 1865, but failed to settle and took the family to France. Florence seems to have lived a somewhat peripatetic existence, often in hotel rooms, and having only a fragmented education. So her arrival at Lorne Lodge to Mrs Holloway�s care, after Rudyard's departure, was a fateful co-incidence, but not too surprising under the circumstances. She was far more sophisticated and unconventional than Rudyard, and was exactly the 'long-haired grey-eyed little atom', as Maisie is described in the novel. She dressed carelessly, but the adult Trixie in a 1940 letter to her niece Elsie Bambridge (quoted in Andrew Lycett , p. 100) remembers her 'beautiful ivory face, the straight slenderness of her figure and the wonder of her long hair'.
The immediacy of Rudyard's encounter with Flo in London, and its effect on him, are vividly reflected in his description of Dick's meeting with the adult Maisie in Chapter IV page 56 of the novel . Dick is leaning on the Thames Embankment wall when:
...a shift of the fog drove across Dick's face the black smoke of a river steamer at her berth below the wall. He was blinded for a moment, then spun round and found himself face to face�with Maisie. There was no mistaking. The years had turned the child into a woman, but they had not altered the dark grey eyes, the thin scarlet lips, or the firmly-modelled mouth and chin; and, that all should be as it was of old, she wore a closely-fitting gray dress.
This is almost cinematic in style, as befits Kipling's life-long interest in photography and later in the moving image. For the reader to be told that: 'Dick's body throbbed furiously and his palate dried in his mouth' is in a sense redundant; the emotion is all in the visual recall. Kipling almost certainly never forgot the meeting with Flo; and one wonders if the artist in him recognised the 'phantasmagorical' quality of the moment, and perhaps used it again in the story "Mrs Bathurst" (Traffics and Discoveries 1904) when Hooper recalls the effect of seeing Mrs Bathurst alight from a train at Paddington in a 'Magic Lantern show'.
But the more ardent Rudyard became, the cooler Flo�s response. For almost two years they maintained a desultory correspondence until in the autumn of 1882 the sixteen-year-old Rudyard returned to India, and launched upon his journalistic and writing career.
Florence trained at the Slade School of Art in London and the fashionable Academie Julienne in Paris, becoming quite a successful portrait and landscape painter and a forceful character, with a fondness for cats. A self-styled �Chelsea artist� she had exhibitions in the Paris Salon and the Royal Academy. Her sketch book revealed her Bohemianism in a series of drawings, cartoons and caricatures, to which Rudyard later contributed over a packed few days after his return to England in 1889, when he was still only twenty-three, and Florence twenty-four.
Rudyard visited her at her London house where she was living with Mabel Price, the model for the red-haired girl in the book, a fellow student of Flo�s at the Academie and daughter of an Oxford don. She too enjoyed some success as an artist, with a painting exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1889.
Kipling could not compete with their intensely close relationship, which may well have been a lesbian one. It is not certain, however, if Kipling knew this or not, guessed it, or refused to acknowledge it. Flo treated his literary success and his amorous emotions with wounding indifference. The note to the Heading poem �Blue Roses� for Chapter VII, which was dedicated to her, illustrates the contempt that she later expressed to a close friend and companion, for him, for the poem, and for the novel, which was first published in January 1891. She lived on and died on January 31 1938, two years after Kipling, aged 73, after a moderately successful career as a painter.
The term �relationship� is patently inappropriate to characterise such a one-sided series of encounters. The artist in Kipling, however, superseded the lover enough for him to realise that it would be inadequate as the theme for a novel. Maisie and Dick, therefore, do have a relationship, adversarial, unsatisfactory, moving at times and ultimately doomed to failure, but at least a viable subject for fictional narrative.
There is, to this Editor, a tantalising if highly speculative postscript to all this. In her later years, Florence Garrard wrote a strange cartoon-like illustrated story, describing her time in prison after being arrested for trying to paint outside the Houses of Parliament. It was called Phantasmagoria, the same expression that Kipling used of The Light That Failed in Something of Myself (p. 228).
Did Kipling know of the existence of Florence Garrard's Phantasmagoria and deliberately use the expression when writing of The Light that Failed in the last year of his life? Had he followed Flo's career over the years? Was there the merest trace of conscience or regret on the part of either of them, with the long passage of time? Perhaps, but we shall never know.
Publishing history
As David Richards, the latest Kipling bibliographer, has explained in an article for collectors on this site , the publishing history of The Light that Failed is far from straightforward. Over two years, four versions of the story appeared: in twelve chapters with a happy ending; in fifteen chapters with a sad ending; in fourteen chapters with a sad ending; and in eleven chapters with a happy ending. The hardback 'Standard' version, ending in Dick's death, is described in a prefatory note as 'The Light that Failed as it was originally conceived by the writer.' To understand the background, we must go back to Kipling�s arrival in England to forge a continuing and successful literary career.
He arrived in London in 1889, a few days before Mrs Edmonia [�Ted�] Hill, an American friend from Indian days, whom he had met in Allahabad in 1887. Earlier in the year he had travelled with her and her husband Prof �Aleck� Hill, from Calcutta to San Francisco, and stayed with her parents in Beaver, Connecticut. Mrs Hill came with her sister Caroline Taylor, to whom Kipling became engaged for a time. They set him up in rooms in Villiers Street across the road from Charing Cross Station in the heart of London, and then left for India. He corresponded frequently with them until 1890. Villiers Street is clearly the setting for Dick�s room in the novel, as is the London skyline from his window.
Kipling was never at ease with women of his own age, and his engagement to Caroline came to an end with Florence Garrard's arrival on the scene. Kipling was now experiencing real literary fame, and it soon became obvious that a novel was expected. The one he had planned never appeared in print.
Mother Maturin
Since 1885 he had been devising a novel of Indian low-life called The Book of Mother Maturin, the manuscript of which arrived in London by mail, sent by his parents. Its whereabouts remain the last great Kipling mystery, although it is thought to have been in existence after 1900. In July 1885 Kipling wrote a Letter to his Aunt Edith MacDonald that it was going to be:
'not one bit nice and proper' ... 'it carries a grim sort of moral ... it tries to deal with the unutterable horrors of lower-class Eurasian and native life as they exist outside the reports'.
Some of the intended material from Mother Maturin eventually found its way into Kim (1901). It had all the hallmarks of a controversial work, perhaps too much so for the Victorian reading public, accustomed though they were to realism and even sensationalism in their fiction. Even the brief scenario we have indicates the uncompromising side of Kipling as a writer, the modernity, almost, in the refusal to observe literary conventions, and his honesty in describing life�s unpalatable truths. The same spirit informs much of The Light That Failed.
Wolcott Balestier
Rudyard had been struggling with the first draft of The Light That Failed, but managed to meet his deadline of August 1890. It is at this point that Wolcott Balestier, Kipling�s American future brother-in-law, although posthumously so, comes into the story.
Balestier was the eldest of four children; his sister Carrie would later marry Kipling. He came from a prominent East Coast family with homes in New York and Brattleboro, Vermont, where Carrie and Rudyard lived for a while from 1892-1896. The American period produced Kipling�s only other novel solely under his own name, apart from The Light That Failed and Kim, Captain�s Courageous, which has an American setting and is partly an admiring tribute to certain American values.
After limited success as a writer, Balestier, an unconventional character who only lasted a year at Cornell University, drifted into journalism, becoming editor of a low-brow magazine called Tid-Bits, published by John W Lovell and Company. In 1888 he arrived in London on behalf of Lovell to court British authors and encourage them to sign up with firms like his. Because the regulations on copyright protection in the United States were rather looser than those in Britain, American publishers had been able to pirate foreign authors by publishing their works without permission, and without any payment of royalties. Lovell wanted to pre-empt new copyright laws, which were in prospect, by sending agents like Balestier to acquire rights in Europe.
It was soon after this that the paths of the man from Vermont and the successful young author would cross. When they did, it was the start of a close, albeit short-lived, friendship and literary partnership. Balestier could get things done. He was a man after Kipling�s own heart. He also combined a strong business sense with genuine literary understanding, and quickly made his mark in London. Carrie arrived there in 1889 and by 1891 had met and taken to Kipling.
During this crucial period, Kipling was becoming ill with stress and overwork. He was trying to cope with The Light That Failed, revising the collection of stories Wee Willie Winkie for publication, and working on another collection called The Book of Forty-Nine Mornings. He had also been engaged in a dispute with the publishers Harper and Brothers over the rights to some of his stories, and an attack on him in one of their magazines. Harpers backed down in the dispute, almost certainly thanks to Balestier�s intervention and support. He persuaded Kipling to abandon Forty Nine Mornings, and enabled the American publication, through Lovell, of Barrack-Room Ballads in 1890. That collection was dedicated to Wolcott Balestier.
Alternative versions
There has been considerable debate as to exactly how the different versions of The Light That Failed came to be published. Andrew Lycett , however, is unequivocal on the matter (p. 228):
Balestier also suggested Rudyard should put out two versions of The Light That Failed - his original �sad� story, which would be published in volume form by the United States Book Company (the latest incarnation of the financially troubled John Lovell company) in the United States, and Macmillan in London, and a shorter alternative, bringing Dick and Maisie happily together, which would be easier for him to syndicate.
The upshot was that the version with a �happy ending' was published in Lippincott�s Magazine in January 1891. Lippincott�s was a popular journal, first published in Philadelphia in 1886, with a high reputation and with circulation in Britain, the USA, and Australia. It featured literary criticism, general articles and original creative writing. It had recently had best-sellers, with Conan Doyle�s Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of Four and - more controversially � The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
Kipling�s contribution was eagerly anticipated by its editors, and sold well in New York and London. This illustration (right) shows the cover of the London version, which sold for a shilling (five pence in modern currency). But the story hardly enhanced his literary reputation. The original and longer �sad� version was published by Macmillan in March 1891, with the full fifteen chapters; Chapter VIII and Chapters XIV and XV did not appear in the shorter version. The fifteen-chapter 'sad' version is now seen as the 'standard� text, and is the subject of these notes.
It is believed by some critics that in addition to Balestier's view, Alice Kipling, the author's mother, pressed him to go for a happy ending, which Kipling himself genuinely regretted. This tends to be the view of this Editor, and is borne out by the emphatic prefatory note at the head of the Standard Edition:
This is the story of The Light That Failed as it was originally conceived by the writer.
However, the Dedicatory poem �Mother o� Mine, O Mother o' Mine� suggests that in insisting on the 'sad' ending Kipling felt some guilt at having betrayed his mother�s wishes. In this context, Philip Mallett (p. 58) subscribes to the neo-Freudian belief that:
...the love Kipling/Dick is looking for is essentially maternal ... the story ends with Torpenhow on his knees, holding Dick�s body in his arms, in a presumably unintended parody of the Pieta.
In an oddly co-incidental way, the two versions of the novel can be said to echo Dick's awareness of the conflict between 'real' and 'commercial' over the issue of the painting "His Last Shot".
Wolcott Balestier died of typhoid in Dresden on December 6 1891, having collaborated with Kipling on The Naulahka, a novel largely neglected since by the general reader, but important in relation to The Light That Failed, as we will discuss later. It was published in 1892.
Such was the depth of affection and admiration between the two men that Kipling�s dedication to the Barrack-Room Ballads became his tribute to Balestier. The poem, written in eloquent and vigorous heptameters, ends:
Beyond the loom of the lone last star, through open darkness hurled,
Further than rebel comet dared or hiving star-swarm swirled,
Sits he with those that praise our God for that they served His world.
Carrie and Rudyard married in January 1892.
The 'happy ending'
The 'happy ending' is generally derided by the critics as being incompatible with the thrust of the story as a whole, the characters of Dick and Maisie, and the nature of their relationship. The quality of the writing has also been criticised. In the view of this Editor, some of the cliche-ridden romantic exchanges seem hardly the high watermark of Kipling's prose achievement. Nevertheless, however threadbare the love dialogue may be, this version merits some scrutiny.
The text does not, as one might reasonably expect from the derisive comments of the critics, end with Dick and Maisie in a mutually adoring embrace. Maisie leaves Dick, temporarily grief-stricken in the midst of her happiness at the vicious defacement of his painting that Dick cannot see. Apart from the fact that her departure is permanent in the Standard edition, both versions are very similar at this point in the story.
The final section has Torpenhow returning with news of a correspondents' reunion in his rooms to discuss a return to the Sudan. Dick assures them he hasn't 'turned his back on the old life yet'. The gathering becomes noisy with shouting and singing, the room 'heavy with tobacco smoke and the fume of strong drink'. Dick's 'poor second-hand gladiator' jibe is 'pretended scorn' mingling admiration and regret that he cannot accompany them.
When Torpenhow stops Cassavetti singing the 'Battle Hymn' with the words 'We've nothing to do with that. It belongs to another man'. Dick concludes the story with an emphatic 'No ... the other man belongs.' In short, and surprisingly, it ends not with images of romantic bliss, but of the old virtues of war as adventure, and male camaraderie.
The Standard version's ending, however, has not escaped critical censure either. Dick's return to the Sudan has been regarded as over -sentimentalised or melodramatic. It could also be described as implausible, with Dick - given the nobility of his character - unlikely to be willing to risk the lives of his friends to take him back to the war-zone.
Opinion will doubtlessly continue to work against the 'happy' version. But it is interesting to note that that the 'original' version did not altogether disappear in this one, indicating. perhaps, where Kipling's allegiances really lay.
Kipling and the Aesthetes
A study of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), and The Light That Failed (1891), opens up illuminating comparisons between the two in relation to the conflict between Kipling and the Aesthetic movement, and the dualities and contradictions within Kipling the man and artist.
Both novels, although so very dissimilar, focus on the themes of Art and the role of the Artist. Paintings as central symbols, which are ultimately destroyed, are a common feature. Dorian�s portrait is a fantasy image, which grows increasingly monstrous as his corruption increases, but his outward beauty remains unimpaired and ageless until the very end of the story. Dick�s "Melancolia" is a �real� painting, based by Kipling on Albrecht Durer�s engraving. This was the basis for James Thompson�s original description of the figure in his poem "The City of Dreadful Night", which outwardly expresses his artistic soul.
There are frequent references to the soul in both books. Basil Hallward, the painter of Dorian�s picture, fears the consequences of too much self-revelation if it appears publicly:
The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul.
(Complete Works of Oscar Wilde ed. Vyvyan Holland, Collins 1989 page 21)
And in a warning against the obsessiveness of Art, but with an implied homoerotic sub-text, and referring to his first meeting with Dorian, he declares:
I knew I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself.
Dick�s inner tensions early in the novel are between the lure of commercial success and the need for artistic integrity . Torpenhow�s criticisms of Dick�s desire for the accumulation of money, carry both Biblical and Faustian overtones:
I don�t care to profit by the price of a Man�s soul � Dick�s soul is in the bank.
Both Dorian and Dick have, in their own ways but to different degrees, made pacts with the Devil, but Dick�s attitude changes profoundly, and he preaches his doctrine to Maisie:
You mustn�t mind what other people do. If their souls were your souls it would be different. You stand and fall by your own work remember.
DC Rose provides some fascinating reflections on the two works:
Hallward�s portrait of Gray is his masterwork ... as Heldar�s �Melancolia� is central to the plot of The Light. Heldar paints the piece while going blind, sustaining himself with whisky ... His sight fails soon after the picture is finished and his model, who hates Heldar �emptied half a bottle of turpentine on a duster and began to scrub the face of the Melancolia viciously ... She took a palette knife and scraped, following each stroke with the wet duster. In five minutes the picture was a formless, scarred muddle of colours.' In Kipling we have a picture that is destroying its artist. In Wilde we have a picture that destroys its model.
('Blue Roses and Green Carnations' KJ 302 p. 33)
It is interesting to note the difference between the descriptions of the destruction of the two paintings. Dorian sees a palette knife handy and Wilde simply states 'He seized the thing and stabbed the picture with it'. One feels Kipling�s desire for authentic detail, however, extends as much to the destruction of a work of art as the creating of it. The quotation omits the small but signficant touch that the initial smudge was not enough; hence Bessie�s use of the palette knife.
The animosity towards Wilde and the Aesthetes was both moral and artistic. Kipling had made an earlier contribution to the debate with the poem "In Partibus" for the Civil and Military Gazette in 1889.
There are further jibes in the poem at 'long haired things/ in velvet collar rolls', who 'moo and coo with women folk/about their blessed souls'. This seems mean-spirited stuff, with Wilde clearly in mind, and appearing all the more so when recalling Wilde's rather more generous, albeit later, assessment of Plain Tales from the Hills. Kipling's scorn for the Aesthetes was still intact 38 years later in Something of Myself (p. 219) as his reference to 'the suburban Toilet-Club school favoured by the late Mr Oscar Wilde' confirms.
"In Partibus" (see the notes on the poem in this Guide) attacks what Kipling sees as the derivative second-hand nature of Aesthetic theory. The same idea recurs in two later celestial fables, "Tne Conundrum of the Workshops" (1890) and "Tomlinson" (1891). In the latter the Devil derides the eternal quest for new artistic theories with his insistent variant refrain "It's pretty but is it Art?":
The tale is as old as the Eden Tree � and new as the new-cut tooth�
For each man knows ere his lip-thatch grows he is master of Art and Truth;
And each man hears as the twilight nears, to the beat of his dying heart
The Devil drum on the darkened pane 'You did it, but was it Art?'
One wonders here if the phrase "lip-thatch" is a rueful allusion to the premature arrival of his own youthful moustache. The Devil also makes an appearance in "Tomlinson" , a poem about a young man-about-town, now dead, who had committed a double-sin; fornication with another man's wife, and reliance on received bookish opinions. Such men, as Andrew Lycett puts it, 'manage to lose their souls':
Then Tomlinson he gripped the bars and yammered "Let me in �
"For I mind that I borrowed my neighbour's wife to sin the deadly sin"
The Devil he grinned behind the bars, and banked the fire high:
"Did ye read of that sin in a book?" said he; and Tomlinson said "Ay!".
When The Picture of Dorian Gray first appeared, W.E Henley's assistant Charles Whibley, in the Scots Observer of July 1890, whilst praising Wilde's 'brains, art and style', attacked the book as written for 'outlawed noblemen and perverted telegraph boys'.
William Ernest Henley, poet, playwrite, critic and publisher, was the leader of the counter-decadence of the late 1890's so his involvement in the whole anti-Aesthetic saga is not surprising. He was the epitome of Victorian imperialistic views and hearty masculinity. He was also a periodical editor of distinction and a man of substantial literary cultivation. He edited the Scots Review � later the National Review (1884-94), which published Kipling's "Danny Deever" in 1887, enhancing the reputation of both publisher and author. His familiar wooden leg, arising from an amputation caused by tuberculosis, made him the model for Stevenson's Long John Silver in Treasure Island. The final lines of his most famous poem "Invictus" read:
It matters not how strait the gate
How charged with punishment the scroll
I am the Master of my fate
I am the Captain of my soul.
The poem was written in 1875, so we may assume Kipling's familiarity with it. In any case, its spirit of male courage in the face of adversity would have greatly appealed to him � and to Dick Heldar.
In such a context we are faced with the paradoxes within Kipling the man and Kipling the artist. His hostility to Wilde and his like seems strange in one sense, bearing in mind his close youthful relationships with his aunt and uncle Georgina and Edward Burne-Jones and the liberal Pre-Raphaelite circle. He was later to describe his visits to them in his childhood as 'a paradise which I verily believed saved me.' (Something of Myself p.11) His distaste for homosexuality, however, remained unwavering.
Here, then, we have a young man resolutely set against membership of the literary establishment, who rejected all honours offered him, yet was to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907; he was the first Englishman to receive it, and became one of the nation's most revered literary figures. Allan Massie sees Kipling as:
...a highly self-conscious artist, reared in the shadow of the Pre-raphaelite brotherhood, who nevertheless despised artistic coteries and preferred to associate with men of action
(The Literary Review Jan 1998; review of the new biography of Kipling by Harry Ricketts)
And John Palmer, quoted earlier, ironically describes Kipling's art as:
...as formal as the Art of Wilde or the Art of Baudelaire, which he helped to send out of fashion, despite being contemptuous of literary formality.
(Rudyard Kipling', Nisbet 1928 edition p. 14)
So, despite his so-called vulgarity and lack of 'style', and his shock-of-the-new realism, we have a painstakingly disciplined writer for whom dedication to the craft was essential for the creation of the art. Later in life he declared in Something of Myself (pp. 72-3):
There is no line of my verse or prose which has not been mouthed till the tongue has made all smooth,and memory,after many recitals,has mechanically skipped the grosser superfluities.
From all this emerges the character of Dick Heldar in The Light that Failed; the rebel and outsider; the individualist loyal to his own credo; the true artist unable to quite break free from the world of male camaraderie and action.
Kipling and the Arts
Painting and the visual arts were an important part of Kipling�s younger life, as one would expect with Lockwood Kipling, a distinguished artist, illustrator and designer, as his father. Lockwood, with his wife Alice, moved to India in 1865, the year of Rudyard�s birth, as a teacher in the JeeJeebhoy School of Art in Bombay (now Mumbai). Later Lockwood became curator of the Lahore Museum, and made an appearance in Kim as the Curator of the 'Wonder House'. He illustrated Kim and the Jungle Books, as well as working on decorations for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Given this background, a novel from Rudyard with a painting theme was probably inevitable sooner or later. That it was sooner was probably due to the power of these influences and the contact with illustrators which his journalistic career brought him, as well as his frustrations with Flo Garrard. As a child he would have been familiar with his father�s studio, the smell of oils and paints, the feeling of modelling clay and so on. These sense impressions find their way into The Light that Failed, so that it becomes, in the strictest sense, a colourful novel.
Kipling frequently describes his craft in visual terms; tone, brushwork and background and so on, and casually stated that to commit something to memory:
I rudely drew what I wanted to remember. (Something of Myself p. 230)
The writing of the stories in Rewards and Fairies (1910) is described as:
working the materials in three or four overlaid tints and textures...it was like working lacquer and mother of pearl, a natural combination. (Something of Myself p. 190)
The nature and creation of art, and in particular, the art of painting, is explored in the novel in three identifiable strands: the notion of an associated work ethic, the concept of artistic integrity, and the fascination for technique and process, which was to last a lifetime. In the penultimate Chapter of the novel he writes:
A man may forgive those who ruin the love of his life, but he will never forgive the destruction of his work. (p. 256).
Work, sacrifice, and the Law
Indeed the theme of work; of making, doing, building, runs throughout a great deal of Kipling�s oeuvre. Clara Claiborn Park, in KJ 319 quotes C S Lewis as saying (Kipling's World, Selected Literary Essays CUP 1969 page 235): 'It was Kipling who first reclaimed for literature this enormous territory'. Thus it can be said that he foreshadows writers like Arnold Bennett and DH Lawrence, to whom working life is central.
The idea of sacrifice and dedications is of major importance in the novel, although Dick doesn�t forget his early poverty, or advocate it for its own sake. He tells Maisie:
'You must sacrifice yourself, and live under orders, and never think for yourself, and never have real satisfaction in your work, except just at the beginning, when you�re reaching out for a notion.' (Ch. VII p. 107)
This austere doctrine has affinities with Kipling�s own concept of a personal �Daemon� or inspiration outside oneself, to which one has to submit. The idea is developed further when Maisie recalls the words of her teacher Kami who stresses the importance of: 'the conviction that nails the work to the wall'. (Ch XIII p. 212)
Shamsul Islam's perceptive book on Kipling�s Law makes little direct reference to the novel, but what he says is highly relevant to it. Here, he could be discussing Dick himself, struggling to obey a natural law of survival, despite his tragic end:
Man�s victory lies in the struggle which he puts up against darkness,chaos and disorder. In the ultimate analysis Kipling�s is a very positive message. (Ch. 4)
Shamsul Islam sees the Law as a complex association of ideas drawing on moral, cultural and religious influences. Also, he itemises his notions of Kipling�s ideal man, which we slightly paraphrase :
a man of honour and strong character
who knows his job thoroughly
who is devoted to it above all else
with a strong sense of responsibility in all circumstances
who is basically a man of action
and who is capable of love, suffering and self-sacrifice
(Ch. 5)
Given the odd exception, perhaps, and allowing for the possibility of human failings, this seems to this Editor a pretty fair summation of Dick�s character. Dick refers to the Law on more than one occasion, preaching here to a sceptical Maisie about self-sacrifice, and expressing Kipling's idea of the Law as something natural and inevitable in human affairs:
�How can you believe that?�
�There�s no question of belief or disbelief. That�s the Law, and you take it or refuse it as you please.� (Ch. VII p.107)
The hectoring side of Dick�s character surely plays some part in the ultimate failure of their relationship. Maisie�s independence and her own self-containing loneliness, exacerbate Dick�s thwarted longings, forcing him into the unsustainable dual role of lover and teacher. He coaches her in line, form and colour, but his desire to help and protect her conflicts with his own artistic dedication, and widens the gulf between them. He is often brutally, if penetratingly, honest about her work:
'Sometimes there�s power in it, but there is no special reason why it should be done at all'. (Ch. VII p. 98)
Dick even defines love in artistic terms when he says:
'Love is like line work; you must go forward or backward, you can�t stand still'. (55).
This was hardly a recipe for romance or domestic bliss. His longing for Maisie and his love of Art become entwined into an illusory love, inconceivable outside their artistic relationship, and thus doomed to failure.
Techniques
Kipling�s abiding interest in technical process, and the crafts of making and doing is unique amongst English writers, and is almost a theme in itself, running through the body of his work. Perhaps its most notable manifestation is to be found in the complex later story �Dayspring Mishandled� (Limits and Renewals 1932) in which Manallace�s Chaucerian forgery, as an act of revenge against Castorley, the Chaucer expert, is described stage by stage in detail. This display of skills is crucial to the story, as it is essential that the reader - like Castorley - accepts the forgery as a credible deception. The extent of such knowledge of a range of processes in The Light that Failed is demonstrated through the many examples we have noted, chapter by chapter.
One key incident was Dick's description of his picture �His Last Shot�. Dick tells how he has pipeclayed the helmet image to clean up the look (see Chapter IV p. 49 and Chapter XV p. 271); but Kipling adds the information that the technique is: 'always used on active service' and is 'indispensable to Art' (56).
Perhaps the most important instance is Dick�s account in Chapter VIII of the painting inspired by the 'Negroid-Jewess-Cuban' woman on the Lima to Auckland cargo boat in his roving days. She will make a re-appearance in this essay, but for the moment her interest is as a sort of 'daemon'. Kipling dwells on the process with great energy and particularity of detail. Not only does he give us the approach to the painting but the inspiration and motivation. The excitement of sea travel, the likelihood of storm danger, and the fear of death, all contribute. Above all there is the woman�s sexual attraction, heightened by the fact she is always close to him when working and mixing his paints. The challenge of the limited choice of paint is also a factor; only brown, green and black ship�s paint is available. Kipling�s implication here is that this will give the right elemental quality to the picture.
Colour
Dick is also inspired by Poe�s poem �Annabel Lee� (Ch. VIII p. 131) to make creative use of the three colours, such as green for 'the green waters over the naked soul' of the drowning woman. (Ch. VIII p.132) The choice of such dramatic subject-matter is an indication of Dick�s character. (One could never imagine him painting an English pastoral theme.)There are references to the light on the lower deck and its supernatural effect on the painting, on bad drawing, foreshortening and so on.
Examples of colour imagery in the novel are too numerous to individualise in detail, but a selection will make the point. There are references to the grayness of Maisie�s eyes, the magenta of Dick�s necktie (a tiny but notable artistic flourish). Yellow is a colour motif, from the yellow sea-poppy on Southsea beach, to Yellow Tina. the Port Said artist�s model, and the recurrent imageof the yellow London fog, which some critics have identified as an influence on T S Eliot�s "Preludes" and "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock". In addition there are so many striking colour�moments� such as: 'the crackling volcanoes of many coloured fire' behind Dick�s increasingly sightless eyes as he paints �Melancolia� in a sleepless delirium. (Ch. XI p. 186)
Colour awareness seems to take on a romantic dimension as Dick and Maisie end a happy reunion day at Southsea. We are almost tempted to believe in the possibility of a happy ending at this point; maybe this is an effect Kipling was trying to create. But at such a moment, when the possibility of romance appears tantalisingly close, there is the subtle hint that Dick is still fixated on the idea of Maisie as pupil-cum-fellow artist:
They...turned to look at the glory of the full tide under the moonlight and the intense black shadows of the furze-bushes. It was an additional joy to Dick that Maisie could see the colour even as he saw it - could see the blue in the white of the mist, the violet that is gray pailings, and all things else as they are - not of one hue but a thousand.(Ch. VII p.113.)
Even as Dick thinks in the language of an artist rather than a lover, we detect both the influence of his father in Kipling�s colour knowledge, and his own writer�s commitment to seeing things as they really are.
Male and female
The gender sub-texts of The Light that Failed are, arguably, the most complex and easily misinterpreted. We have already touched upon the conflict within Kipling/Dick in relation to the two worlds of Art and Action; the latter is inseparable from the novel�s celebration of male camaraderie This is presented most vividly in Chapter VIII, in which Dick's love for Maisie is set directly against male bonding and the yearning for adventure. The roistering songs serve to emphasise this. �Farewell, to you Spanish Ladies� conjures up the image of the sailor leaving his wife behind, and his desire for the dusky maiden in a distant land. In �The Sea is a Wicked Old Woman� the irresistible lure of the sea is the dominant force. The song�s rhythmn becomes, in Dick�s imagination, the pounding of the waves of the Lima cargo boat:
...and the go-fever, which is more real than many doctor�s diseases,waked and raged, urging him who loved Maisie beyond anything in the world to go away and taste the old hot unregenerate life again, to scuffle, swear, gamble ... and love light loves with his fellows; to take ship and know the sea once more and beget pictures... (Ch VIII p. 140)
Kipling could not have put it any plainer, although Art does get a brief look-in at the end. The message itself is reinforced by the seductive rythmns of the authors�s prose. This longing, not only for male comradeship, but for a return to the battlefield, is unmistakeably expressed, when the passage above blends into the yearning for:
the crackle of musketry, and see the smoke roll outward ... and in that hell every man strictly responsible for his own head, and his alone, and struck with an unfettered arm. (Ch VIII p. 140)
Here is Kipling�s Ideal Man, in action
The image of the beat of the waves becomes the drum beat and sounds of a guards band playing outside Dick�s rooms, as, tormented by his blindness, he listens, feeling the: 'massed movement in his face, heard the maddening tramp of feet and the friction of the pouches on the belts.' (Ch XI p.193) The pathos of this scene is heightened by Kipling�s masterly detail of the sound of the pouches, indicating how Dick�s blindness has sensitised his hearing.
It is here we re-encounter the Negroid-Jewess-Cuban woman 'with morals to match' from Chapter VIII. The association of colour with promiscuity could be taken as racist; an accusation that has always tarnished Kipling�s reputation. That is, as he might have said, another story, but the implication in the description lingers. In this context she embodies the erotic and the exotic, and the attraction of forbidden fruit, as Dick enthusiastically recalls: '...the sea outside and unlimited lovemaking inside.' (Ch. VIII p.132) There is almost certainly an element of sexual fantasising in the image of the woman; although implicit, retrospectively for Dick, there is a painful contrast between sexual desire satisfied and love unconsummated.
Because of his blindness, an active sex life is for Dick now an impossibility, and he and the reader realise this. In such a context, his blindness becomes both a disability and a symbol, taking on a sexual dimension. According to Andrew Haggiioannu, in addition to blindness being: 'a trope for the anxieties of the colonial�s return to London', it is a Freudian symbol for castration and impotence, 'which resonates powerfully with the overwhelmingly sexual line upon Dick�s emotional and physical collapse.' If one accepts this theory, one sees its transmutation into the loss of creativity and helplessness in the face of the power of the female will. (The Man Who Would be Kipling, Andrew Haggiioannu, Palgrave Macmillan 2003 p. 65)
We may widen out the issues of gender and sexuality in the novel by a consideration of the late Victorian fascination for the seductive underground urban worlds of vice and sin, a seediness which assumes a glamour of its own. Gail Ching Liang-Low�s observations on this are particularly illuminating, interpreting the novel as showing: 'an interesting split between the two sides of Kipling�s heritage'. She perceives Port Said, Dick�s early hunting ground, as the quintessential Oriental City of vice ... sexual perversity'and 'dancing hells' (White skin; Black Mask; Representation and Colonialism, Gail Ching Liang-Low, Routledge Keegan and Paul 1996 page 170). She goes on to describe the voyeuristic fascination for this underworld for artists like Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, linking this with the episode of the Negro-Jewess-Cuban woman. She concludes, therefore, that the novel presents us with, on the one hand a feminine decadent world of sexual pleasure, and on the other the masculine world of adventure, military heroism and male camaraderie. The former is evoked in this lurid description of a 'mad dance' which takes place in M and Madame Binat's house:
...the naked Zanzibari girls danced furiously by the light of kerosene lamps. Binat sat upon a chair and stared with eyes that saw nothing, till the whirl of the dance and the clang of the rattling piano stole into the drink that took the place of blood in his veins, and his face glistened ... Dick took him by the chin brutally and turned that face to the light. Madame Binat looked over her shoulder and smiled with many teeth... (Ch III pp. 32-3)
Binat himself warns Dick that he will 'descend alive into hell as I have descended', and bemoans his own 'degradation' (67).The appearance of this world is relatively brief; in Chapter III and for a short while before Dick�s death in Chapter XV, where a visit to Mme Binat, now a widow, revives memories of the old life. Brief though the scenes are, they are central to our understanding of Kipling�s dual heritage and the novel�s gender oppositions. The decadence of Chapter II is fundamentally no different from that of the seamy side of London�s dark streets, which destroys Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray, although Dorian sinks to an unspecified depravity that clearly goes far beyond any of Dick�s experiences. It is interesting to note two opposed concepts of hell emerging; the hell of battle and the hell of moral degradation; two punishments of sorts, ironically linking the novel�s central dualities.
The late Victorian period saw the dissemination of feminist ideas, leading ultimately to the Suffragette Movement, and the concept of the �New Woman� in social, artistic and political life. Readers and theatregoers would know at least something of the ideas of Shaw and Ibsen in this context, whose characters were often the equal of or superior to, their menfolk. Nora Helmer, the heroine of Ibsen�s �A Doll�s House�, which opened in London in 1889, sent shockwaves through audiences, as she rejected her submissive status as her husband�s pretty plaything, leaving him and their children to seek her own indentity and maturity. Ibsen�s blast of cold Scandinavian dramatic air, as Nora walks out of her door, changed theatrical convention for ever. The concept itself, therefore, can be seen as both destructive and liberating.
Many contemporary interpreters of Kipling saw Maisie as an embodiment of the �New Woman', and, consequently, an unsympathetic figure. Hilton Brown, writing in 1945, takes a view which seems a contemporary one for our own day:
Maisie was an unpopular heroine largely because her creator was, for once,years ahead of his time ... Her views that seemed hard and unreasonable and unwordly, now arouse no serious criticism. (Rudyard Kipling, Hilton Brown, Hamish Hamilton 1945 p.146)
A notable literary friendship may be significant here. The bond between Kipling and Rider Haggard was characterised by a shared love of adventure and colonial fiction. Kipling would undoubtedly have been familiar.with Haggard's She (1889) which was much influenced by the gender theories of the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung. Jung gave the name 'Anima' to the unconscious female component of men; and 'Animus' to the unconscious male component of women. 'Masculine' can be broadly taken as associated with power, dominance, logical abstract reasoning, whilst 'Feminine' signifies rooted in feeling, sensitivity, and capacity for empathy. In She Ayesha, a beautiful but powerful and destructive priestess, rises after 2000 years to claim the 19th century explorer-hero Leo Vincey, whom she believes is a reincarnation of her ancient lover Kallikrates. So powerful does she see herself, that at one point she threatens to depose Queen Victoria and take over the British Empire. Her's is a very different character from that of Ustane, who embodies unselfishness and unconditional love, the very qualities Dick wants from Maisie.
All this is a far cry from the world of art in Victorian London, although the Sudan deserts are a little closer to home. Nor is Maisie an English Ayesha. But this basic principle of role-reversal, and the assumption of opposed gender traits, clearly informs the characterisations of Dick and Maisie, and helps to explain the conflict between them. This being said, all the novel's textual evidence indicates that Kipling's treatment of Maisie is more even-handed and credible than those critics who see Kipling as a misogynist would suggest. Kipling's portrayal avoids the pitfalls which would have romantically conventionalised the relationship. Maisie is enough of a realist to know that there is no chance for them until one or both surrenders to the other, when she says 'You know I should ruin your life and you'd ruin mine as things are now.'
Maisie is neither femme fatale nor militant feminist, and she is never less than honest with herself about her feelings, admitting to her selfishness in using Dick, and her inability to respond to him sexually. She is not without emotion, however, and her grief at seeing Dick's blindness is genuine and moving as 'the fountains of the great deep are broken up', athough she does not normally weep easily (Ch. IX p. 154). Even at the moment of final parting, when Dick cries 'I'm no good now! I'm down and done for!' she can never be more than: 'unfeignedly and immensely sorry for him than she had ever been for anyone in her life, but not sorry enough to deny his words.' (Ch. XIII p. 219)
It has been said that Maisie lacks sex appeal. She is not, of course, the Negro-Jewess-Cuban woman of Chapter VIII, but the criticism is irrelevant. The whole point is that she does appeal sexually to Dick, whose passion she leaves unassuaged. She is what she is; an independent, ambitious woman and artist, who happens not to be in love with the story's hero.
Kipling's view of women
Kipling has been accused of misogyny by some critics, but in the view of this Editor, this is an area where one needs to tread carefully. He is too complex a a writer for such a simplification. There is, for example, no trace of misogyny in the characterisation of Helen Turrell in the story "The Gardener" (Debits and Credits 1926), for example, the loving mother seeking her dead son in the war graves of the Great War, nor in the sensitive portrait of the blind woman in "They" (Traffics and Discoveries 1904) It is quite absent from one of Kipling's most moving stories "Without Benefit of Clergy" (Life's Handicap 1891) which tells of the passionate, devoted, but short-lived marriage between the Englishman John Holden and his Muslim bride Ameera, which ends tragically with the death of Ameera and her child during a cholera epidemic. There is little doubt as to where Kipling's sympathies lie in this story, in the tender portrayal of Ameera's beauty and devotion to her family. There is no trace of misogyny, either, in the character of Grace Ashcroft in 'The Wish House' (Debits and Credits 1926), dying of cancer because she has loyally and devotedly, in a mysterious way, taken on the afflictions of Harry Mockler, the man she has loved all her life but who does not return her love. The cumulative evidence of stories such as these may suggest an element of idealisation and wish-fulfilment on Kipling's part; but this Editor can find no overt trace of misogyny.
The theme of repressed sexuality in The Light That Failed re-emerges in one of Kipling's most powerful, ambiguous and disturbing stories "Mary Postgate" (A Diversity of Creatures 1917). It is World War I, and Mary Postgate is a lonely, emotionally deprived spinster, who has spent years of her life as a sort of governess to her employer's nephew Wynn. She cannot even cry when Wynn is killed in a flying accident. Then a bomb falls killing a child, and Mary comes across the wounded German pilot. As she stokes the funeral pyre of Wynn's belongings, her hatred for the German mounts, whilst she waits for him to die.
an increasing rapture laid hold on her... her long pleasure was broken by a sound that she had waited for in agony several times in her life.
After his death, at the story's conclusion, Mary contendedly enters the house, takes 'a luxurious hot bath' and came down, looking 'Quite handsome'.
"Mary Postgate" is arguably the most sexually charged story in Kipling's works; the sense of implied orgasmic release and satisfaction is almost palpable in its intensity at the end of the tale. It is just on the 'right' side of explicit, and all the more powerful for being so. Unlike the stories referred to above, there is no demand for sympathy for Mary; not even a judgement as such. Kipling invites an open response by the reader to character and events.
However, many modern critics have undoubtedly found the attitude to women in The Light that Failed unacceptable. As Philip Mallett puts it:
... the novel is punctuated with assertions that women waste men's time, spoil their work, and demand sympathy when they ought to give it. The only woman it is safe to love is the sea, described as an "unregenerate old hag" who draws men on to 'scuffle, swear, gamble, and love light loves'... (Rudyard Kipling, a literary life Palgrave Macmillan 2003, p. 57).
It is certainly true to say that the treatment meted out by Dick and to a lesser extent by Torpenhow, to Bessie Broke the artist's model, who later defaces his picture, is arrogant and chauvinistic, despite Kipling's pleas in mitigation of Dick's behaviour, early in the novel, previously discussed. Dick's reaction to her in Chapter IX is true to his established character and artistic credo, but unpleasant nonetheless, talking about her as if she were an object, rather than a human being:
Do you notice how the skull begins to show through the flesh padding on the face and cheek bone?
This, and Dick's initial behaviour towards Bessie, suggest an influence on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion (1912), despite Shaw's dismissal of the novel in a letter to Ellen Terry (Ellen Terry and Bernard Shaw; a Correspondence, Reinhardt & Evans 1949 pp. 337-8). The similarities are quite striking. When Dick attempts to soothe Bessie's sobbing and wailing with 'There you are ... nobody's going to hurt you' (Ch. IX p. 156) it could be Henry Higgins in Shaw's play talking to Eliza. This impression is strengthened when Dick lays down his employment terms to her:
'You will come to the room across the landing three times a week at eleven in the morning, and I'll give you three quid just for sitting still and lying down.' (Ch. IX p. 158)
The use of 'quid' instead of 'pounds' emphasises Dick's contempt for Bessie, and is manner and tone are not totally dissimilar to Higgins's when he tells Eliza, addressing her as Dick does Bessie, almost as if she were a child:
If you're good and do whatever you're told , you shall sleep in a proper bedroom and will have lots to eat and money to buy chocolates ... (Act II)
At one point Dick refers to Bessie as a 'gutter-snippet ... and nothing more', a phrase echoed in Higgins's denunciation of Eliza as a 'heartless guttersnipe'. Bessie's hatred for Dick conveys how difficult and dislikeable he can be, and when she says to him 'Mr T's ten times the better man than you are' she echoes Eliza's feelings towards Col Pickering, Higgins's courteous companion. It is also interesting to note that Higgins in Shaw's play is in the role of teacher, like Dick in the novel, and that both have female pupils who are proving 'difficult'. Dick's character however, as this Editor has argued, can in some respects be identified with Kipling's. Shaw was a more detached and humorous observer, basing Higgins on the distinguished philologist Henry Sweet.
Cruelty in the novel
Two brutal episodes have made some critics very uncomfortable with the novel, but are highly relevant to the theme under discussion. In Chapter III, Dick�s abuse of the Syndicate man, claiming Dick�s work as the Syndicate�s property, despite there being no specific agreement between them (see the Note to page 40 line 28 Chapter III). He even brazenly offers to set up an exhibition of Dick�s work to spread his reputation. This naturally encourages a degree of sympathy with Dick�s righteous indignation. and his angry accusations of theft and burglary are understandable. But he goes further, firstly with threats of physical violence, and then actually manhandling him. It is at this point one detects a distinctly homophobic note intruding:
He put one hand on the man�s face and ran the other down the plump body beneath the coat ... 'The thing�s soft all over- like a woman' ... Dick walked round him, pawing him, as a cat paws a soft hearth rug. Then he traced with his forefingers the leaden pouches underneath the eyes.(pp. 42-3)
Given that Kipling has prepared the way for the negative side of Dick�s character to emerge, there is no mistaking the studied ,almost sadistic, and sensual cruelty here; especially in the combination of almost sexual pleasure and. revulsion at the man�s body.. In Chapter XV, Dick is back in the Sudan, his old battleground, for the last time, and on a train, he hears gunfire, and screaming in the darkness from Arab soldiers. He reacts with unrestrained joy:
'Dick stretched himself on the floor, wild with delight at the sounds and smells. �God is very good-I never thought I�d hear this again. Give 'em hell, men!. Oh, give �em hell� he cried' (Ch III p. 42-3)
At one level, the episode is a �lark�, a boy�s own adventure thrill at his return to the war zone. But at another, in its uncontrolled ecstasy, it suggests an orgiastic, homoerotic response. An interpretation of this kind of thing as symbolic of Dick�s thwarted, frustrated sexuality has not,however, mitigated similar critical disapproval to that of the Syndicate man�s humiliation.
One is very conscious in this particular analytical approach, of over-imposing a 21st century sexual agenda onto late Victorian mores, and reading Kipling too intently in this light. Nevertheless. the text does yield to gender interpretation, but hopefully not at the expense of other important lines of enquiry. The relationship between Dick and Torpenhow has, also, not escaped this particular scrutiny. Torpenhow is counsellor, and honest critic,,unafraid to denounce Dick�s arrogance and vanity. His is a fellow press man and war adventurer, drinking partner, and companion about town In Chapter XI, when Dick, is in an anguish of panic at the onset of his blindness, Torpenhow tries to calm him into sleep, and as he does so 'kissed him lightly on the forehead, as men do sometimes kiss a wounded comrade in the hour of death to ease his departure'(Ch. XV p. 229)
This moment consciously anticipates Dick�s death in the Sudan; one can imagine Torpenhow doing exactly the same over his dead body as he cradles him in his arms. In other words, I think Kipling is being truthful and accurate in his interpretation of Torpenhow�s action.; it is what one would do to a wounded comrade, and therefore I cannot subscribe to a homoerotic sub-text, nor do I feel the passage stands up to such an analysis.
This is re-inforced retrospectively in Chapter 5, when Torpenhow comes into the studio where Dick is in an emotionally confused state after being with Maisie. He looks at Dick in the darkness:-
... with his eyes full of the austere love that springs up between men who have tugged at the same oars together, and are yoked by custom and use and intimacies of toil. This is a good love, and since it allows, and even encourages, strife, recrimination, and the most brutal sincerity, does not die but increases, and is proof against any absence and evil conduct. (Ch XI p 188-9)
This definition of love is much in the spirit of Shakespeare�s Sonnet 118 (�Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds� etc), and is finely and movingly done; the very essence of their friendship, and indeed the true nature of friendship itself. Nevertheless, whilst there is no sexuality in it, Kipling is certainly describing male friendship, and the unambiguous message here is that Torpenhow is providing more durable and meaningful support than any woman can.
War and Pessimism
The novel�s maleness is inseparable from the idea of War as adventure. As Eric Solomon puts it: 'Kipling sought to use the idea of war to represent metaphorically a way of life - in this case the life of vigorous action, from which the artist-hero strays'. [English Literature in Transition: 1880-1920, Eric Solomon]. But we should also remember the impact on England, at the time, of an actual war and its aftermath, and the fate of a real-life great Victorian hero figure.
There can be few readers who are unfamiliar, at least in outline from history or the cinema, of the dramatic conflict between between General Charles George Gordon and his enemy the Sudanese rebel leader the Mahdi; a conflict which symbolises Empire and visions of Empire even now, and still captures the popular imagination. The 1884-5 Expedition to the Sudan under General Wolseley, to relieve the besieged Gordon at Khartoum, pre-dated the novel by some 5 years. The Sudan campaign, as Imperial and military history was clearly in the forefront of Kipling's mind during the gestation of "The Light That Failed"[The historical background is covered in the detailed Notes for Chapter II and for Chapters XIV and XV, and in the account given in an Appendix to ORG. The context of these events has sometimes been mistaken for the Battle of Omdurman, which heralded the final defeat of the Mahdi, but that was not until 1889, well after the novel was written.]
The Anglo-Indian community reacted with enormous shock to the news of Gordon's fate, and we may be pretty sure that Kipling reacted in the same way, given his likely admiration for Gordon as a man of action and a hero of the Empire. Public opinion in Britain blamed the Government, particularly Gladstone, for failing to relieve the siege. Some historians, however, have accused Gordon of defying orders, and refusing to evacuate Khartoum despite the late possibility of doing so.
These events, described in Chapter II of The Light that Failed, and their background influence the whole novel, up to and including the final two chapters. Gordon himself has only a few brief mentions, but he seems to cast his unacknowledged shadow over the novel�s action.
The most striking fact about the war sequences is that Kipling had never been on a battlefield, let alone in the Sudan campaign. It was the Boer War that later gave him his first experience of the real thing. He had only visited Egypt for 4 days in Port Said aged 16, during an earlier Egyptian war. So the vivid and realistic descriptions that Orwell and other critics have so admired, were derived from Kipling's own imagination enhanced by reading numerous eye-witness acounts of the conflict. It is not only the descriptions of action and scene that impress, but the attention Kipling gives to the details of military resourcing, tactics and logistics. (He was later to apply the same approach to the Jungle Books (1894), evoking a jungle world from images and books about a part of India he had never visited.)
If the tragedy of Gordon seems to anticipate the end of Empire, the sombre mood in Britain which followed it can be seen as related to the mood of world-weariness and pessimism which characterised the late 19th Century; ironically co-incidental with the high tide of Britain's wealth and imperial supremacy. William Knighton summed up the atmosphere in his 1881 essay on suicide for the Contemporary Review (no 39, 1881): 'Men everywhere are becoming more weary of the burden of life'. And Knighton describes 'the erosion of vitality' brought about by 'the force of their own inventions, runaway science, runaway technology, runaway urbanism.'
Such a view of life can be traced back to Wordsworth and his withdrawal from revolutionised society, and is discernable through the work of of Tennyson, especially in "In Memoriam"(1853), to the French Symbolists,Rimbaud and Baudelaire, to Poe, Wilde and Hardy's tragic fatalism.. Wilde expressed the sense of a world suddenly become meaningless and out of joint, in the macabre musical imagery of "The Harlot's House":
Then suddenly the tune went false
The dancers wearied of the waltz
The shadows ceased to wheel and whirl"
(�The Harlot�s House� Oscar Wilde (1885) Complete Works, Collins page 790)
An earlier example, Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" (1865) one of the great lyric poems of the 19thC, contemplates the Age's crisis of religious faith, and the need for love and stability in a world without order. The poem ends with his vision of a society that:
Hath neither joy, nor love, nor light
Nor certitude nor peace nor help for pain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and fight
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
(�Dover Beach� by Matthew Arnold: Palgrave�s Golden Treasury 1980 ed. page 790)
The power of the poem derives from a profound moral awareness of a kind of heart of darkness. There is an interesting and instructive parallel between this late Victorian sense of alienation, and the mood of the 1920's; similarly an age of great prosperity and endless possibilities. Yet, it was the darker moral and spiritiual underside of that society which concerned writers like Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald and D H Lawrence. And darkness and alienation certainly pervade the final chapters of The Light That Failed, indeed our own age is comparable, which is why this Editor finds in the novel a modernity as well as a portrait of its time.
The 1870's and 1880's also saw a liberalising of the attitude towards, and philosophical concern with,the idea of suicide, as Knighton's article suggests. In The Light That Failed when Dick is most painfully aware of the hopelessness of his condition, he is kept alive by:
'a lingering sense of humour ... suicide he had persuaded himself would be a ludicrous insult to the gravity of the situation,as well as a weak-kneed confession of fear.'
(Ch. XIV p. 235)
This is clearly Dick the brave, but the passage indicates that suicide has crossed his mind, and that he is no stranger to fear. It is possible,in the light of this, to see his death as both an act of heroism and of willed suicide, a euthanasia of a kind, aided by Torpenhow, whom he has asked to deliberately put him to 'the forefront of the battle'. In the view of this Editor the novel's penultimate paragraph could justifiably support this interpretation:
His luck held to the last, even to the crowning mercy of a kindly bullet to his head"
(Chapter XV p. 289)
Cities of Dreadful Night
There are two works entitled �The City of Dreadful Night� which are important influences on The Light That Failed. One is the collection of eight articles by Kipling describing Calcutta, originally published in the Civil and Military Gazette and the Pioneer in 1887-8, and later as sections of Letters of Travel, in Volume 2 of From Sea to Sea in 1900.
There is also the surreal narrative poem by the Glasgow-born poet James Thomson, from whom Kipling borrowed the phrase. This appeared in instalments in the National Reformer in 1874, and in book form in 1880.
Thomson�s poem is a terrifying Dante-esque vision of an imaginary city, symbolising a world of 'dead Faith, dead Love, dead Hope' (Section II Verse 8 line 45), and was a key text of late 19th Century pessimism. It is also very �modern� in its anticipation of the idea of the city as a place of loneliness and alienation, which influenced the T S Eliot of "Preludes" ,"The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock" and the �Unreal city� of "The Waste Land". Thomson describes the atmosphere of his city as: 'dark and dense' a place of sadness ... madness ... and despair (Section XV last verse)
Kipling recalls how his youthful reading of it 'shook me to my unformed core' (Something of Myself, Chapter II p 33). The poem's mood and imagery pervade the novel; Kipling quotes the text frequently, and the two �Melancolia� paintings are the novel�s central images, impacting on the personal and artistic conflicts between Maisie and Dick. Thomson�s �Melancolia� is a huge bronze female winged statue or effigy, based on Albrecht Durer�s engraving �Melencolia 1� (Kipling updated the spelling of the name for clarity.(see the note for Ch. IX pages 148-9).
Initially Thomson's statue becomes the inspiration for Maisie�s painting , and Dick's in scornful competition with her, because he doesn�t believe she has the power to complete the task successfully. Maisie�s determination has something of the �New Woman� about it when she says of the statue: 'She was a woman - and she suffered a great deal - till she could suffer no more.' (Ch. IX page 150). Kipling�s handles his poetic source very skilfully in underlining the difficulties of their relationship. The statue is soul-sick, inert, surrounded by objects of art and science, of which she makes no use; the epitome of lethargy and melancholy. Maisie observes, astutely and provocatively, that Dick would be unable to cope with such a passive subject, as he is only interested in 'blood and bones' (Ch. IX page 150). Inevitably, this stirs him into active rivalry. The image, therefore, is vitally important as a catalyst to their divisive relationship. There is also the implication that the red-haired girl, silently reading the poem, is an influence on Maisie�s decision.
Their joint project brings out the worst in Dick, as he contemptuously declares: 'You haven�t the power. You have only the ideas - the ideas and the little cheap impulses' (Ch IX p. 150), and he vows to create The Melancolia 'that transcends all wit' , himself quoting from the poem (Section XXI Verse 6 line 43).
Kipling's vivid description of Dick in Chapter IV sombrely watching the Thames from the Embankment wall, and looking at 'the faces flocking past ... some with death on their features ... others merely drawn and lined with work' (Ch. IV p. 54), owes something to the opening of the poem's Section VI as the speaker tells us how:
I sat forlornly by the river-side
And watched the bridge-lamps glow like golden stars
Above the blackness of the swelling tide. (Section VI Verse 1)
He too sees anonymous crowds, but also hears 'stranger voices in a stranger talk'.
Edwin Morgan, however, identifies a paradox in Thomson's image/statue of 'Melancolia'. Despite her inertia and world-weariness, he says of her in his Introduction to the poem:
There is a suggestion of great endurance and patience;great latent force,a force that remains under an even more powerful spell, and so cannot act in the real world. (Introduction to the poem, page 22).
This surely must have influenced Kipling's portrait of the heroic aspects of Dick's character, enduring his affliction even in despair, and similarly ultimately unable to "act in the real world". Edwin Morgan also points out that Section XXI symbolises the artist wrestling with his material and a kind of epic struggle:
Unvanquished in defeat and desolation
Undaunted in the hopeless conflagration.
(Verse 7)
...Baffled and beaten back she works on still,
Weary and sick of soul she works the more,
Sustained by her indomitable will:
The hands shall fashion and the brain shall pore,
And her sorrow shall be turned to labour,
Till Death the friend-foe piercing with his sabre
That mighty heart of hearts ends bitter war.
(Verse 8)
A change of gender and instrument of death, and you have the essence of Dick Heldar's heroic dimension.
Section IV describes a symbolic desert dreamscape, vividly lit with nightmare images of isolation and despair, with its refrain:
As I came through the desert thus it was
As I came through the desert all was black.
(Verse 2)
Dick in his blackness is in a very real desert, and like the narrator facing 'the deep jaws of death.' (Verse 3 line 20) Which brings us once again to the issue of Dick's end and the accompanying final ambiguity. Is his death, in the present context of this poem, a fin-de-siecle 'literary' suicide in keeping with the late century's pessimistic mood, or an act of courage escaping the fetters of his isolation and blindness? Dick is, after all, a passionate man, unlike the lost souls of Thomson's imaginary city.
The conclusion of Section X has obvious affinites with Kipling's own feelings at the loss of Flo Garrard, just as it parallels Dick's for Maisie, echoing Dick 's 'for old sake's sake'. (see the Note to Ch XIV p. 257 line 17), as he visits Mme Binat for the last time:
The Chambers of the mansion of my heart,
In every one whereof thine image dwells,
Are black with grief eternal for thy sake.
The inmost oratory of my soul,
Wherein thou ever dwellest quick or dead,
Is black with grief eternal for thy sake.
( Verses 8 and 9).
"The City of Dreadful Night" is a poem of extreme moods and vision, often unrelenting in its morbidity, but unforgettable once read. Edwin Morgan also sees in it something of the poet's sense of cultural displacement, coming from his native Scotland to London. In the same way, Kipling may well have recognised his own struggle to adjust to London literary and metropolitan life after the crucial formative years in India, so cruelly interrupted by Lorne Lodge, and so creating the burden of a double displacement.
If Thomson�s imaginary nightmare city is a place of fear and desolation, the Calcutta of Kipling�s own �City of Dreadful Night� is a thronging metropolis to be absorbed in all its diversity; a 'Real Live City' (Chapter I, Header page 201), and all that that implies, as Kipling�s invitation, hard to resist, anticipates the comprehensiveness of his urban portrait:
Let us take off our hats to Calcutta, the many-sided, the smoky, the magnificent, as we drive in over the Hughli bridge in the dawn of a still February morning.
(Chapter 1 page 201)
The eight vignettes that comprise the journey around the city are a fusion of two notions; one is the idea of urban poverty and deprivation, and the other the same late 19th Century fascination with a decadent sinful underworld, previously illustrated from Gail Ching Chiang Low�s studies. The Light That Failed presents a London which is anonymous alienating,enclosing.. Dick has to face up to 'all the loneliness of London'. (Chapter II p. 35). He must endure near poverty, monotonous diet, and pawn his belongings to exist. His shabby chambers overlooking the Thames let in only 'a pale yellow sun', which 'showed the dust of the place.' (Ch. III p. 39) Kipling, to some degree still in Thomson territory, highlights 'the long lightless streets' and 'the appalling rush of traffic'.
In contrast there is Port Said, a city which contains 'the concentrated essence of all the iniquities and all the vices in all the continents.'(Ch III p. 31. It also has light and colour, as opposed to London�s gloom; an open city of adventurous possibilities, in spite of the war background:
For recreation there was the straight vista of the canal,the blazing sands,the procession of shipping and the white hospitals where the British soldiers lay. (Ch. III p. 31)
But Calcutta of course has its poverty, at a level beyond that of Dick�s immediate milieu, although not of the London slums themselves as Kipling indicates in a brief description of Dickensian intensity:
The vision dies out in the smells and gross darkness of the night, in evil, time-rotten brickwork, and another wilderness of shut-up houses.
(Ch. VI p. 247)
Running through Kipling's �City of Dreadful Night� is the presentation of Calcutta as a kind of surreal negative mirror image of London. This is not just a convenient visual metaphor, but the epitome of Anglo-India itself. East and West are separate. yet they are one, so the city symbolises the reality of Empire and is a microcosm of late Victorian life. When Kipling describes Calcutta�s Park Street as:
...a rush of broughams, neat buggies, the lightest of gigs,trim office brownberries, shining victorias, and a sprinkling of veritable hansom cabs...
we could be in the heart of London itself. And the long account of the doings of the Bengal Legislation Council in Chapter II, with its frock-coated members, and committee rhetoric is not so far removed from the business atmosphere of a Victorian London Boardroom.
Calcutta, too, is a city of sin; personified by the seedy glamour of two �Madams� �Dainty Iniquity� and �Fat Vice� We journey to a backstreet den and up a staircase to be met by:
A glare of light on the stair-head, a clink of innumerable bangles, a rustle of much fine gauze, and the Dainty Iniquity stands revealed, blazing, literally blazing - with jewellery from head to foot... (Ch VI page 245)
Another passageway and another courtyard and we are confronted by the apparition of a Fat Vice, in whom there is no romance, nor beauty, but unlimited coarse humour. She too is studded with jewels , and her house is even finer than the house of the other... (Ch VI page 247)
Just in case we get too carried away with excitement at the delights on offer, Kipling strips away the masks to reveal the sordid reality:
'The scene changes suddenly as a slide in a magic-lantern' as Dainty Iniquity and Fat Vice slide away on a roll of streets and alleys, each more squalid than the other. (Ch VI p 247).
Images of human life
This image reminds us of Kipling�s abiding interest in photography. Indeed, much of the book is a series of vivid snapshots; a guided tour of sorts with the author exhorting us to listen in here, to take in a scene there, and follow him on a remarkable journey.
The Light That Failed can also be seen as a sequence of images, a book strongly visualised and full of colour in an age before colour photography. There is a notable example in Chapter V, just after Dick�s reunion with Maisie, as he thinks back to their childhood, and memories of:
...storm across the sea, and Maisie in a gray dress on the beach,sweeping her drenched hair out of her eyes and laughing ... Maisie flying before the wind that threshed the foreshore ... Maisie picking her way delicately from stone to stone, a pistol in her hand ... and Maisie in a gray dress sitting on the grass between the mouth of a cannon and a nodding yellow poppy. The pictures passed before him one by one,and the last stayed the longest.
(Chapter V pages 63-4)
The recall becomes a photo album in his mind; the last picture, of course, is pure holiday snapshot.
A variant of this is Kipling�s imaginative �listing� technique, often, as in this instance, a panoramic view of the variety of human types and races. In Chapter IV of "City of Dreadful Night" Kipling is at the Calcutta Port Office, and observes the surrounding mix of:
...the cast-ups of all races ... Italians with gold ear-rings and a thirst for gambling; Yankees of all states, with Mulattos and pure-buck niggers; red and rough Danes, Cingalese ... tunbellied Germans, Cockney mates keeping a little aloof from the crowd ... an ethnological museum where all the specimens are playing comedies and tragedies...
There is a hint of stereotyping here, but as all sterotypes begin from a factual starting point, we may accept that Kipling is describing the scene as it would be, and is showing a genuine fascinated interest in human diversity. To a modern reader the use of 'buck nigger' seems unfortunate, marginally excusable only in that it was common usage at the time. In the context of Kipling's whole oeuvre however, there is insufficient evidence to supplement the familar charge of racism that has for so long haunted his reputation. Describing people as 'specimens' or 'objects' in a museum is certainly curious, and made more so by the - for Kipling - surprisingly clumsy mixed metaphor used. At worst, the analogy is a thoughtless and misconceived attempt at the narrator-as-dispassionate-observer role; at best he may be genuinely seeing people as valid artistic subject matter.
Less vivid and particularised, but in the same spirit and tone is the Chapter III account in The Light that Failed of Dick in Port Said, and how:
He spent his evenings on the quay, and boarded many ships and saw very many friends ... hurrying war correspondents, skippers of the contract troop-ships employed in the campaign ... and others of less reputable trades. He had the choice of all the races of the East and West for studies...
(Ch III p. 31)
This is more generalised fare, 'all human life is there', but the approach is the same. Immediately, however, we come up against yet another contradiction, best illustrated by a brief consideration of an extract from a more popular Kipling novel. The experiences at sea of many peoples and dialects of the arrogant young Harvey Cheyne, in Captain's Courageous (1896), expand out into a wider sense of community; there is a change of attitude and feeling beyond the creation of images of colourful humanity. Harvey has relished his initiation into responsible manhood aboard the schooner We're Here - a Melvillian microcosm of humanity - and has been re-united with his parents, who are walking the streets of Gloucester, Massachusetts, contemplating:
...women in light summer dresses ... straw-hatted men fresh from Boston desks ... clear eyed Nova-Scotians ... French, Italians, Swedes and Danes ... ministers of many creeds ... captains of tugs and water-boats, riggers, fitters, lumpers, salters, boat builders and coopers, and all the mixed population of the waterfront...
(Captain's Courageous Chapter X pages 265-6)
The approach here is essentially that of Kipling's "City of Dreadful Night" but the tone is softer, the entire passage expressing a real kinship with one's fellow men. Later, the community gather together to remember their men and ships lost at sea, in a movingly dramatised Memorial Day service, based on a real-life occasion such as Kipling himself had witnessed. The novel makes several references to Freemasonry, an important part of Kipling's life, satisfying in himself a need for order and ritual. Associated with this is the idea of brotherhood; exactly what is conveyed in the above description, and another facet of the 'real' Kipling. Andrew Lycett (p. 641) believes that he was always 'looking for accommodation with Christianity, his instinctive religion', and that in his later increasingly symbolic fiction, he 'sought a balance between religion and society, with Freemasonry as its bridge'.
The loss of God
However, the readiness with which Kipling creatively mined the sources of Thomson's poem, and the consequent slough of despond of the final chapters of The Light That Failed, suggest that he was not at home in true Christian belief. Edwin Morgan, in the poem's Introduction, reminds us forcefully that 'this is a poem about the loss of God, or the death of God', and quotes from Section XIV where a preacher preaches an 'anti-sermon' espousing a 'doctrine of stoic necessity':
I find no hint throughout the Universe
Of good or ill, of blessing or of curse;
I find alone Necessity Supreme.
(Introduction to Thomson's "City of Dreadful Night" page 19 and Section XIV verse 13)
When Dick mentions God it is usually in the heat of personal despair rather than a declaration of faith, and his predicament is akin to the isolation and suffering of the Greek tragic hero, as well as in keeping with the mood of the poem. And there is an almost Lear-like bitter irony in his idea of:
the very just Providence who delights in causing pain has decreed that the agony shall return and in the midst of keenest pleasure.
(Ch. XIV p. 255)
If a conclusion of any kind can be drawn at this point, it is that Kipling emerges as clearly as ever as a writer of fascinating dualities and opposites. That is part of his nature as man and artist, and - faults notwithstanding - an element in his greatness.
Some other influences - Manon Lescaut
In Manon Lescaut, the 18th Century novel by the Abb� Pr�vost, the Chevalier des Grieux meets and seduces the faithless demi-mondaine Manon, who lives in Paris with him, but leaves him for a rich admirer. She is later arrested and charged with prostitution, and deported to Louisiana. Des Grieux, his passion unassuaged, manages to join her in America. They flee but find no shelter. Finally, in a tragic denouement, Manon dies in des Grieux�s arms in a desert waste, just as Dick dies in the desert in the arms of his one true friend. The story leaves unresolved whether Manon is thief, whore, a personification of passionate love, or a type of 'New Woman' and in some way a literary inspiration for Maisie.
In an interesting article by Margaret Newsom in KJ 195 , she draws attention to Part 3 of the Roman Comique by Paul Scarron (1610-1660). In this work a story is told by one of the characters with interesting parallels to The Light That Failed, "The Story of the Capricious Lover". It tells of Margaret and her lover Saint Germain, who loves her passionately, but whose love is constantly repulsed. He vows to join the army and die rather than live without her love. He goes to war, and afterwards is wounded in a quarrel by a sword blow to the head. His injury arouses Margaret�s compassion, and they marry when he has recovered.
This happy ending may conceivably have appealed to Kipling and been �metagrobolised� into the first, shorter, version of The Light That Failed. As Mrs Newsom reminds us: 'Kipling read French literature voraciously, under his learned father�s eye at Lahore ... Lockwood Kipling had once earned his living in London as a French teacher.' The characters of the butler and housekeeper in that story may have influenced Kipling's account of Mr and Mrs Beeton in his novel.
Aurora Leigh
Another possible influence is Elizabeth Barrett Browning�s lengthy, but hugely popular novel written in blank verse Aurora Leigh (1856), in which there are some striking points of comparison with The Light That Failed. The poem deals with a number of familiar Victorian issues to do with social relationships and gender, including the theme of 'Woman-As-Artist' and of blindness as 'the light failing'.
Aurora is a woman poet of mixed English and Italian parentage. She is orphaned at thirteen, and like both Kipling and Dick Heldar is brought up for a time by a narrow-minded and repressive aunt who intends to prepare her for middle-class wifehood. She submits outwardly, but inwardly desires to become a poet. Her aunt's cousin, Romney Leigh, dedicated to social service, proposes to her, wishing her to help him in his political career, but she rejects him in favour of her own vocation. Romney decides to marry a lower-class woman, Marian Earle, but she is discouraged by an aristocratic rival for Romney's love. Sent to France, Marian is raped and becomes pregnant, but she and the child are rescued by Aurora, and the three set up home in Italy, where Romney appears. He has been blinded by an accident, after a falling beam from his burning house has withered his optic nerve. Aurora marries Romney, but whilst not giving up poetry, she will write in service to her husband's ideas. The poem contains many referenes to failure and failing light, and the links with The Light That Failed are clear.
Poe's "Annabel Lee"
This poem by Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) is a lamentation on the death of a young girl. The narrator and Annabel shared a childhood together by the sea as do Dick and Maisie, although as true childhood sweethearts. In both cases their love is doomed. Sea imagery runs throughout Poe's poem, just as the atmosphere and experience of the sea colour passages in Kipling's novel, notably Dick's portrait of the Negroid-Jewess-Cuban woman. There is some evidence that Poe also was drawing on his own experience. The treatment of passion in "Annabel Lee" in comparison with Dick's - and indeed Kipling's - experience, strongly suggests the inclusion of the poem as a piece of wish-fulfilment on Kipling's part.
"Wressley of the Foreign Office"
Closer to home, Kipling appears to have revisited themes from a short story from Plain Tales From the Hills (1888) in The Light that Failed. "Wressley Of The Foreign Office" contains too many parallels for co-incidence and must have had deep personal resonance for Kipling: a rejected infatuation for an uncaring young woman, intense dedication to work; the centrality of a magnum opus; the imagery of Art, and a male protagonist who is not entirely sympathetic. The opening everse "Tarrant Moss" is also heavily indicative:
I closed and drew for my Love's sake
That now is false to me...
...And ever I moan my loss
for I struck the blow for my false Love's sake.
The poem was later enlarged and set to music by the American composer Charles Ives in 1902. It also echoes Dick's final "for old sake's sake" (see the Notes to Chapter XIV p. 257 line 17), with its connotations of nostalgia and unrequited passion.
Echoes in later works
Although Maisie abruptly departs from The Light That Failed in Chapter XIII, she is to re-appear in another persona as Kate Sheriff in Kipling's least read novel The Naulahka, co-authored with his friend Wolcott Balestier. The two men had begun work on it in 1890, but it followed closely on fromThe Light That Failed and was published after Balestier's death in April 1892. There is general agreement that Balestier wrote the opening American chapters, and Kipling the later sections set in India. It is an adventure novel, but it also explores the familiar themes of relationships between men and women that are at the heart of the earlier novel.
Nicholas Tarvin, an ambitious American, plans to persuade a railroad chairman to build a station in the High Plains town of Topaz. Nick's girl-friend, the strongly independent 'New Woman' Kate Sheriff, rejects his proposal of marriage, and sets out to work as a medical missionary in the state of Rhatore in Rajasthan. Nick, desiring both Kate and political success, follows her to India. He plans to obtain a priceless jewelled necklace the green emerald Naulahka (note the culture clash implied by the name Topaz), to bribe the wife of the railroad chairman in order to ensure the railroad will be built. Kate returns to America with Tarvin. Both are changed by their experiences in India. Kate is willing finally to let Nick be the decision maker. Nick, realising the dishonesty of his intrigue, chooses Kate above the precious stone.
Betty Miller ("Kipling's First Novel" in Rudyard Kipling; the Man, his work and his World, Weidenfeld and Nicholson 1973, page 4) places The Naulahka firmly in the context of Maisie's relationship with Dick Heldar in the earlier novel. She sees Maisie as aware of Dick's contempt for 'Woman's Art' and 'his professed love for her as a trap, designed expressly to ensnare and to frustrate her'. She notes that their argument is unresolved at the conclusion of The Light that Failed, and that in The Naulahka's final chapters 'the wrangling continues, and goaded by Nick Tarvin's insistence that she will give up her career in order to become his wife, Kate Sheriff pleads her own and Maisie's case.':-
'Suppose I ask you to give up the centre and meaning of your life? Suppose I ask you to give up your work? And suppose I offered in exchange-marriage! No, no.' She shook her head.'Marriage is good; but what man would pay that price for it?'
The general critical consensus is that The Naulahka is not a very successful novel. It does, however, have interesting points of comparison withThe Light That Failed.
"The Vampire"
A rather curious echo of the relationship between Maisie and Dick - and perhaps between Flo and Rudyard - is to be found in Kipling�s 1897 poem �The Vampire� , which appeared at about the same time as the publication of Bram Stoker�s classic horror novel Dracula. Kipling wrote it as publicity, to help bolster the erratic career of his artist cousin, Philip Burne-Jones. Burne-Jones was passionately in love with the actress Beatrice Tanner, better known as Mrs Patrick Campbell, and later the original Eliza Doolittle in Shaw�s play Pygmalion. She rejected his advances in favour of Johnston Forbes-Robertson, the actor who would play Dick Heldar in the second London stage version of The Light that Failed. The jealous Burne-Jones painted a Gothic fantasy picture of a youth - obviously himself - being straddled by a vampirish dark-haired woman - clearly Mrs Pat Campbell, which he entered for the tenth summer show at the New Gallery. Rudyard's poem was intended to get the painting noticed. Burne-Jones didn't sell his work, which sank into obscurity, but the poem appeared in the gallery catalogue and in the Daily Mail. It includes these lines, repeated with variations, throughout:
The fool was stripped to his foolish hide
(Even as you and I!)
Which she might have seen when she threw him aside -
(But it isn't on record the lady tried)
So some of him lived but the most of him died -
(Even as You and I!)
Even with the Burne-Jones connection in mind, and after 5 years of marriage between Carrie and Rudyard, the echo of the past is unmistakeable.
Other echoes of Kipling's tragic theme
Several other later well-known novels bear marked similarities to The Light That Failed. George Gissing's New Grub Street (1892) is also predicated on the notion of commercialism versus artistic integrity; writing as trade is opposed to writing as art. Pitiful intransigent Edwin Reardon endures poverty in his refusal to compromise. He too suffers from an ambitious woman, his wife Amy, who subsequently deserts him.
Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure (1898) also explores the character of a dedicated would-be artist and his conflicting and destructive relationship with women. Jude is caught between two women, the earthy sensual Arabella Donn, and the hypersensitive and vacillating Sue Brideshead. The sexual frankness of the novel exceeds anything Kipling attempts in The Light That Failed, and its hostile reception so angered Hardy that he forsook novel writing permanently and concentrated on poetry. Both novels however share an acute sense of human tragedy. We have no knowledge of Kipling's opinion about Gissing, but he had a friendly relationship with Hardy, an admirer of his work. In 1928 Kipling acted as a pallbearer at Hardy's funeral in Westminster Abbey.
The Moon and Sixpence
There is also an instructive comparison to be made between The Light That Failed and W Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence (1919). Both Dick and Maugham's 'Strickland' are obsessional artists, and both go blind. Strickland's life and character are based closely on Paul Gauguin, and Maugham, as a knowledgeable and discerning admirer of Kipling's fiction, may well have been influenced by Kipling. (It may not be too fanciful, also, to suspect that Maugham's use of the the name 'Strickland' possibly echoes the mysterious police inspector who figures in a number of Kipling's stories.) Maugham uses Kipling's familiar device of the narrator as observer and raconteur, describing events at second-hand. But the self-confessed limitations of Maugham's narrator ('I can give no description of the arduous steps by which he reached such mastery over his art as he ever acquired ... He kept the secret of his struggles to himself ...' etc ) are clearly Maugham's own, and preclude our directly experiencing Strickland's inner life and emergence as a great painter. [The Moon and Sixpence by W Somerset Maugham, Heinemann 1955 pp. 214-215] In contrast we see Dick at first-hand, with sustained insight into his sufferings and his struggle to keep his artistic conscience intact.
The Four Feathers
Arguably the most popular successor to The Light That Failed is AEW Mason's classic The Four Feathers (1902),which shares significant characteristics with Kipling. There is the Sudanese campaign background (Mason's tale covers the years 1882-1888), and the element of exciting 'Boy's Own' adventure. More importantly, both explore the theme of loss of sight commensurate with courage and personal growth. Guards officer Harry Feversham is given four feathers as an accusation of cowardice because he resigns his commission before active duty in the Sudan. The fourth feather is given by his fiancee Ethne, also a woman in conflict, who has rejected Harry because of his actions.
Determined to prove and redeem himself, he goes to the Sudan, disguised as an Arab, to rescue his accusers. Parallel to Harry's personal drama is the ordeal of his friend Jack Durrance, who is blinded by the sun, a blow he faces with brave acceptance. The novel's final pages catch something of the mood of The Light That Failed, with Jack aware of his tragedy and nostalgic for his days of action, 'the good years of his activity, the years of plenty' . He too has loved the desert to the very end. But while for Dick Heldar the desert is a welcome resting place, for Jack 'the desert he loved had smitten and cast him out.' The Four Feathers has been filmed no fewer than seven times, most recently in 2002.
Stage versions of The Light that Failed
A stage version of Kipling's novel played at the Royalty Theatre in London in 1898, starring Courtney Thorpe as Dick, Frank Atherley as Torpenhow, and Furtado Clarke as Maisie. Much more successful was the 1902 production. It used the 'happy ending' to appeal to the romantic appetites of its audiences, and ran for 150 performances until April 1903. It was adapted by a woman, 'George Fleming', in reality Constance Fletcher, who had several stage plays to her credit under this pseudonym. Johnston Forbes-Robertson played Dick. He was a major star of the English stage, and a great attraction for audiences, preparing perhaps for his role as another tortured soul, Shakespeare's Hamlet. C Aubrey Smith was Torpenhow.
Film versions
There have been three cinematic incarnations of Kipling's novel; once in 1916, a 5-reel Pathe version directed by Edward Jose; the 7-reel Paramount film directed in 1923 by George Melford; and most famously William Wellman's 1939 Hollywood version (left). This movie enjoyed no small success; Wellman was one of Hollywood's finest directors, and its most celebrated British-born star Ronald Colman took the role of Dick. Walter Huston, father of the great director John, was Torpenhow, Ida Lupino a much admired Bessie, and Muriel Angelus played Maisie.
A New York Times review of December 1939 praised its courage in sticking to the unhappy ending and noted Colman's charm and charisma, but remarked wryly that it gave the: 'comforting impression that the characters, good fellows all, will never concede that it's a woman's world they're living in.' It was a penetrating comment on the tensions within Kipling's tale.
Some conclusions
The Light That Failed has not enjoyed the popularity of the best-known fiction of its own time, and critical reception has ranged from indifference to hostility. Nevertheless it contains some of Kipling�s finest descriptive and narrative writing, and earns its rightful place in the Kipling canon. Time and time again, one encounters images and set-pieces which move and excite by their contextual rightness, and provide many of the novel�s high points.
Poet and critic Al Alvarez recently noted:
Rudyard Kipling, who wrote some of the purest prose in the English language, said that when he finished a story he locked it away in a drawer for a few weeks, then went through it again, blacking out with Indian ink all the bits he had been most proud of the first time around.
[The Writer�s Voice, Chapter 1 page 35 Bloomsbury Press 2005]
Alvarez thus defines his own notion of Kiplings purity; a style committed to significant detail, never seduced into �fine writing� or striving for effect. For Kipling, visual and emotional truth are paramount. Here is a battle-scene from Chapter II of the novel (pp. 25-6), reminding us again that his experience of the Sudan campaign was second-hand, but invested with a powerful sense of realism:
No civilised troops in the world could have endured the hell through which they came, the living leaping high to avoid the dying who clutched at their heels, the wounded cursing and staggering forward till they fell - a torrent black as the sliding water above a mill-dam - full on the right flank of the square.The line of the dusty troops and the faint blue desert sky overhead went out in rolling smoke,and the little stones on the heated ground and the tinder-dry clumps of scrub became matters of surpassing interest, for men measured their agonised retreat and recovery by these things, counting mechanically and hewing their way back to chosen pebble and branch.
The first thing that strikes one here is the knowledge of battle conditions; how every detail registers. There is the awful image of the dying clutching at enemy heels, and the impact of the landscape as a kind of desperate reference point for the retreating soldiers. It sounds authentic even if it is imaginative re-creation. The 'mill-dam' imagery could hardly be bettered in conveying the unstoppable force of an attack and the sheer weight of numbers. The phrase 'surpassing interest' suggests the men�s terror by its ironic understatement.
The 'mill-dam', as an image of oppression, becomes the 'millstones' of Dick�s thoughts grinding against each other in this description of him alone in his darkness in Chapter XIII, p. 231:
... yet the brain would not wear out and give him rest. It continued to think at length, with imagery and all manner of reminiscences. It recalled Maisie and past successes, reckless travels by land and sea, the glory of doing work and feeling that it was good, and suggested all that might have happened had the eyes only been faithful to their duty. When thinking ceased through sheer weariness, there poured into Dick�s soul tide on tide of overwhelming, purposeless fear- dread of starvation always, terror lest the unseen ceiling should crush down upon him, fear of fire in the chambers and a louse�s death in red flame, and agonies of fiercer horror that had nothing to do with any fear of death.
The power of this extract derives as much from its structure as its language. Kipling divides Dick�s mental processes into two halves; relentless thought giving way to overwhelming emotion. The significance of both is emphasised by the contrast between them. By making the brain 'it', as something with an identity separate from Dick, Kipling conveys his extreme state and the break-down of his self-control. One feels the effect of Kipling�s prose rythm, and his mastery of the long sentence, with its cumulative emotional effect. Somehow he has managed to make us, temporarily at least, forget the unpleasant side of Dick�s character in his affliction. The weight of the words, the alliterations and repetitions, all play their part in creating the total effect. As so often with Kipling there is a bold stroke; a striking or unusual image that spearheads the impact of a whole passage. In this instance it is the subtle but horrifying 'louse�s death in red flame'. In one image, Kipling has combined the sense of Dick�s reduced, less than human state, with the cruelty inflicted on him, and the terrible suddenness of death by fire.
Opinion in Kipling�s own time and the view of posterity has not always been bad news for The Light That Failed. A contemporary view by the poet Lionel Johnson offers an enthusiastic and perceptive judgement, surprisingly so from a writer closer to Wilde than to Kipling:
... it is the first truth about him that he has power; not a clever trick nor a happy knack, nor a flashy style, but real intrinsic power. The reader ... feels his heart go out to a writer with mind and muscle, not only nerve and sentiment.
[ R L Green (Ed.) quoted in DC Rose "Blue Roses and Green Carnations" KJ 302 p. 31 ]
One of the novel�s main faults, according to J M S Tompkins , is Kipling�s artistic inability to always distance himself from his material. But she is moved to comment (p. 3) that:
The writing never runs to waste, but it is explicit and fully expressive. Scenes and feelings are worked out, and people declaim and debate their opinions. Nothing is hinted or bitten back; it is a style of full statement.
By way of conclusion, let us leave the final word with Kipling himself, with the final four lines from "When Earth�s Last Picture is Painted" (1892), which seem a fitting tribute to both Dick Heldar and to Rudyard Kipling his creator:
And only The Master shall praise us, and only The Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They are!
| Rudyard Kipling |
"Which Gilbert and Sullivan opera that premiered in 1889 has the alternative name ""The king of Barataria""?" | The Light that Failed - Introduction
The Light that Failed
Background
The Light That Failed is Kipling�s first novel, written when he was 26 years old, and therefore of considerable importance in the canon of his works. Since its initial publication in 1891 it has encountered a substantial body of negative, even hostile criticism. However, Jad Adams author of a recent (2006) Kipling biography, reminds us that the novel has stayed in print ever since its first publication, over a hundred years ago.
The story
The story centres on Dick Heldar � a thinly-veiled Kipling self-portrait � and his relationship with, and unrequited love for, Maisie, his childhood playmate, who was based on the real-life artist Flo Garrard, of whom more later. As children they are both under the cruel and repressive care of Mrs Jennet, where, even as a child, Maisie treats Dick with indifference. Dick later becomes a successful artist through his war-time illustrations, for London newspapers, of the Sudan campaign. (This was mounted in 1885, to defeat the Mahdi and relieve General Gordon at Khartoum.) In the Sudan Dick meets Gilbert Torpenhow, the correspondent of the Central Southern Syndicate, who is instrumental in spreading Dick�s reputation. They pledge friendship and promise to keep in touch.
Later, after Dick�s travels in Africa and the Orient, he hears from Torpenhow that his illustrations have made him famous, and this renews the friendship. Dick returns to London, meets Maisie again unexpectedly, and falls in love with her. Maisie, however, has artistic ambitions of her own, and rejects his passion to concentrate on her career, encouraged by her nameless companion, 'the red-haired girl', between Dick and whom there springs up a complex love-hate relationship. She is jealous of Dick�s attention to Maisie, but is secretly attracted to him. She makes a drawing of him, mocking his enslavement to Maisie, and vindictively destroys it.
Maisie and Dick begin work on their own versions of �Melancolia� the symbolic figure in James Thompson�s poem "The City of Dreadful Night", a key influence on the novel and discussed in detail later. Their competitiveness creates unresolveable personal and artistic conflict. Dick thinks himself the superior artist, convinced that Maisie has neither the insight nor ability to meet such a challenge. Throughout, Kipling sustains the novel�s one true lasting relationship, between Dick and Torpenhow. Dick has endured the earlier pressures of commercialism on his own artistic integrity, his fruitless passion for Maisie, and the conflict between Love and Art. Then he becomes incurably blind from the delayed effects of a Sudan war wound.
Emotionally distraught, Maisie leaves him. He is left alone in his blindness and privation, with only his artistic credo and dedication intact. He is finally drawn from the world of art to the world of action, once again on the battlefields of the Sudan. He is struck by a stray bullet, and dies in Torpenhow�s arms.
Critical responses
The novel has variously been described as sentimental, unstructured, melodramatic, chauvinistic, and implausible. Kipling himself said: '... it was only a conte�not a built book'. (Something of Myself p. 228). Relatively mild reproofs include Professor Carrington's in his essay for the ORG who feels it is 'not a good book, and not the best of Kipling' but is also mindful that it is 'never out of print.'. For Andrew Lycett (p. 286), another important Kipling biographer, 'the novel�s major drawback is that it is a 'grown-up� novel by an emotionally immature man.'. J M S Tompkins (p. 12), the doyen of Kipling critics, states more probingly that any artist 'cannot cope with all he knows', and that Dick�s character is 'blurred in consequence'; partly as a result of Kipling�s extremes of 'exaltation' or 'chastisement' in the presentation of Dick, and because there is less involvement in the character of Maisie.
Angus Wilson�s accusation (p. 156) of Kipling�s 'blind self-flattering misogyny' rather overstates the case in the view of this Editor, but perhaps contains an element of truth. Critic and biographer T R Henn has no truck with the novel�s 'ponderous irony, Biblical phrases, Wardour Street diction, and jocularity of tone' (p. 82). And it is hard not to detect a note of bile creeping into Lord Birkenhead's comment on Captain�s Courageous(1896), that 'the book failed for exactly the same reasons as �The Light That Failed... the characters are mere ciphers, who might with little loss to the reader, be called X,Y or Z' (p. 311). He even goes so far as to describe The Light That Failed as 'a rotten apple' in 'the teeming orchard' of Kipling�s other published stories in 1890. (p. 123)
One could extend the catalogue of strictures, assertions and counter-arguments ad infinitum, and to little purpose. Readers will, after all, come to their own conclusions on these matters.The fact is that The Light That Failed has always suffered in comparison with Kim (1901), Kipling�s most famous and popular novel. The aim of these notes is to move it out of the shadows, and assess its qualities on their own literary merits, as well as considering its rich background and range of themes.
Cruelty and brutality
One recurrent critical theme does, though, merit closer consideration; the novel's recurrent cruelty and brutality. Many critics and writers who are admirers of Kipling have had difficulties with this, both in this novel and in other works. J M Barrie and Henry James, for example, whilst recognising his enormous talent, could not accept the brutality and cynicism as they perceived them. George Orwell, in his famous Horizon essay on Kipling (Horizon 1942 in Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters Vol 2, Penguin Books 1970), acknowledged the realism of Kipling�s vision of war, seeing him as a prophet of late 19th Century imperial expansionism, and admiring the way the book captures the atmosphere of life at that time. But he echoes the charge of a 'definite strain of sadism' (p. 214), and the 'hunger for cruelty' (p. 222), to be confronted and answered.
The problem tends to arise in relation to three particular scenes: Torpenhow's gouging out the eye of the Arab soldier in Chapter II; Dick's manhandling of the Syndicate Head in Chapter III, and Dick's orgiastic response to the machine-gunning of enemy troops in the final chapter. One might also add Dick's generally unpleasant treatment of Bessie Broke, the artist's model. His treatment of the Syndicate Head can be partly explained by the unjust and chaotic Copyright laws of the time [see the Note on Ch III Page 40 line 28 ]. Kipling's own resentment over the treatment of artists and writers undoubtedly lasted throughout his life. There is a telling reminiscence, ironically paraphrasing his famous poem "Recessional", in his autobiography Something of Myself (1937), where he refers to the surge of interest in his poetic juvenilia after he attained fame and success. He gave a schoolboy poem to a woman when he left school:
...who returned it to me many years later... I burnt it, lest it should fall into the hands of 'lesser breeds without the (Copyright) law'.
We will return to these episodes later, in other contexts.
The incident with Torpenhow and the Arab soldier's eye is a sadistic touch, this Editor believes, although Kipling might well have thought 'After all, such things happen in war.' It is also arguably redundant when considered against the background of the Chapter's vivid and powerful battle scenes. However, Kipling doesn't linger gratuitously over the detail. Torpenhow grapples with the soldier, reaching for the man's face, clearly in understandable desperation. Soon after, he wipes a thumb on his trousers; 'the man's upturned face lacked an eye'. Even the battlefield carnage is reduced to a single charged sentence 'the ground beyond was a butcher's shop'. The simple omission of 'like', creating a visual metaphor out of a potential simile, is just one of myriads of quotable examples of the young author's immediacy and sureness of touch.
Childhood influences
Whatever the flaws in Dick's character and behaviour, Kipling carefully establishes a pattern of childhood influence and causation in Chapter I. Kipling readers will be familiar with the various accounts of the exile in England forced by their parents on the five year old Kipling and his three year old sister 'Trix in 1871. This was a common practice amongst Anglo-Indian families to protect their childrens' health and ensure that they had a thoroughly English upbringing. Rudyard and Trixie were placed in the foster-care of Mrs Sarah Holloway at Lorne Lodge, Southsea, later referred to by Kipling as 'the House of Desolation' where they endured six years of tyrannical harshness, an experience which marked him for life, and forms the basis for this Chapter.
In The Light That Failed Sarah Holloway becomes 'Mrs Jennet', whilst Dick is clearly the young Rudyard. This episode is also prominently fictionalised in a more-or-less contemporaneous story "Baa Baa, Black Sheep" (Wee Willie Winkie 1890) in which Kipling becomes 'Punch' and Sarah Holloway 'Auntie Rosa'. Kipling refers bitterly, but with characteristic succinctness, to the repression of these formative years in Something of Myself: 'I had never heard of hell, so I was introduced to it in all its terrors'.
Kipling leaves us in no doubt as to the effect on Dick, and himself as a child:
Where he had looked for love, she gave him aversion, and then hate. Where he growing older had sought a little sympathy, she gave him ridicule.
Dick's sufferings and neglect teach him the power of living alone and of enduring schoolboy mockery, but set in motion an undercurrent of violence in his character. It is a reasonable assumption that for Kipling these experiences may account for the incidents of bullying and humiliation in some of the later schoolboy stories in Stalky & Co (1899) These are echoed in one brief passage in the novel:
Dick shambled through the days unkempt in body and savage in soul, as the smaller boys of the school learned to know, for when the spirit moved him, he would hit them, cunningly and with science.
The final phrase hints at the sadistic element that is taking root within him. In Chapter III, as an adult, prompted by the Syndicate Head's emphasis on how much he owes them for spreading his reputation, Dick is reminded of 'certain vagrant years, lived out in loneliness and strife, and unsatisfied desires.' There is frequent testimony in Kipling's writings to the persistent sense of pain and suffering which influenced the darker side of his own and, therefore Dick's, character. In a 1907 address to McGill University he says:
There is a certain darkness and abandonment which the soul of a young man sometimes descends � horror of desolation, abandonment and realised worthlessness, which is one of the most real of hells in which we are compelled to walk.
The early descriptions of Dick's character from The Light That Failed are a kind of fictional shorthand; we have to take Kipling's word for them, in the absence of narrative. But they surely explain, even if not wholly justifying, the troublesome aspects of Dick's behaviour, and are at the heart of Kipling's artistic vision and practice. The portrait of Dick, consequently, is unflinchingly 'real' and honest; an unpredictable, arrogant, immature young man, but one who feels deeply and suffers profoundly. All else stems from this. Kipling could be no other kind of writer.
Because "Baa Baa, Black Sheep" dramatises the Southsea experiences so vividly, the final lines of the story offer perhaps the most eloquent expression of the influence of these years onThe Light That Failed and on much else of Kipling's work. In imagery drawn from the Bible and Bunyan, and directly relevant to the novel, he writes:
...when young lips have drunk deep of the bitter waters of Hate, Suspicion and Despair, all the Love in the world will not wholly take away that knowledge; though it may turn darkened eyes for a while to the light, and teach Faith where no Faith is.
Dick, therefore, is merely being true to his own nature and his artist's code when sardonically describing the graphic realism of his illustration of the soldier called "His Last Shot", which he is forced to clean up to make it acceptable to the public. Dick may even have had Torpenhow's life-and-death struggle with the one-eyed Arab in mind at this point:
It was brutal, coarse, violent � Man being naturally gentle when he's fighting for his life.
The remark both encapsulates Kipling's own credo, and the conflict between the the claims of Art and Commercialism which informs so much of The Light that Failed.
'Maisie' and Florence Garrard
If Kipling's childhood experiences at Southsea are one key autobiographical influence on the novel, the other is the relationship between Kipling and Florence (Flo) Garrard, the inspiration for the character of Maisie. Kipling�s unfulfilled passion for Flo, and her rejection of him, form the emotional core of the book.
Any first-time Kipling student with little or no knowledge of his works, and reading his autobiography Something of Myself, will find no mention of Flo nor of the devastating effect of his love for her; it is as if they had never existed. The title of the autobiography is self-revelatory, and its structure equally so, as so much of his short fiction, where there is rigorous selectivity and withholding of detail to create an effect. We simply, in this case, don�t get the whole story.
According to Something of Myself, written in the last year of his life, the germ of the novel: 'lay dormant till my change of life in London woke it up'. (p. 228) The hibernation period dates, perhaps, from 1878 when he saw and never forgot Jean Paul Pascale-Bouverie�s painting of �Manon Lescaut� at the Paris Exhibition, based on the 18th Century novel by Abb� Pr�vost. He described the resultant The Light That Failed as a: 'sort of inverted, metagrobolised phantasmagoria based on Manon'. Metagrobolise is derived from the French of Rabelais, meaning to 'puzzle' or 'mystify'. The adjective may just about pass muster as a clue to Kipling�s emotionally confused state of mind when writing the book, as may 'my change of life in London' when in 1890 he met Flo again after an absence of 8 years. Phantasmagoria means either a dreamlike series of illusory images or an early optical illusion show. Both definitions reflect Dick�s mental state in his latter days, the episodic structure of the novel, and its creative use of visual �moments�.
In 1877 Alice Kipling returned to England to take the young Rudyard away from Southsea to become a pupil at the United Services College at Westward Ho! In 1880 Kipling came to Lorne Lodge to fetch Trixie. It was here that he met and fell in love with Florence Garrard, a year his senior.
She had been born in Kensington on January 31 1865. Her family owned the famous London jewellery firm, Garrard and Co., but her father turned his back on the business, and joined the army. He retired on half-pay in 1865, but failed to settle and took the family to France. Florence seems to have lived a somewhat peripatetic existence, often in hotel rooms, and having only a fragmented education. So her arrival at Lorne Lodge to Mrs Holloway�s care, after Rudyard's departure, was a fateful co-incidence, but not too surprising under the circumstances. She was far more sophisticated and unconventional than Rudyard, and was exactly the 'long-haired grey-eyed little atom', as Maisie is described in the novel. She dressed carelessly, but the adult Trixie in a 1940 letter to her niece Elsie Bambridge (quoted in Andrew Lycett , p. 100) remembers her 'beautiful ivory face, the straight slenderness of her figure and the wonder of her long hair'.
The immediacy of Rudyard's encounter with Flo in London, and its effect on him, are vividly reflected in his description of Dick's meeting with the adult Maisie in Chapter IV page 56 of the novel . Dick is leaning on the Thames Embankment wall when:
...a shift of the fog drove across Dick's face the black smoke of a river steamer at her berth below the wall. He was blinded for a moment, then spun round and found himself face to face�with Maisie. There was no mistaking. The years had turned the child into a woman, but they had not altered the dark grey eyes, the thin scarlet lips, or the firmly-modelled mouth and chin; and, that all should be as it was of old, she wore a closely-fitting gray dress.
This is almost cinematic in style, as befits Kipling's life-long interest in photography and later in the moving image. For the reader to be told that: 'Dick's body throbbed furiously and his palate dried in his mouth' is in a sense redundant; the emotion is all in the visual recall. Kipling almost certainly never forgot the meeting with Flo; and one wonders if the artist in him recognised the 'phantasmagorical' quality of the moment, and perhaps used it again in the story "Mrs Bathurst" (Traffics and Discoveries 1904) when Hooper recalls the effect of seeing Mrs Bathurst alight from a train at Paddington in a 'Magic Lantern show'.
But the more ardent Rudyard became, the cooler Flo�s response. For almost two years they maintained a desultory correspondence until in the autumn of 1882 the sixteen-year-old Rudyard returned to India, and launched upon his journalistic and writing career.
Florence trained at the Slade School of Art in London and the fashionable Academie Julienne in Paris, becoming quite a successful portrait and landscape painter and a forceful character, with a fondness for cats. A self-styled �Chelsea artist� she had exhibitions in the Paris Salon and the Royal Academy. Her sketch book revealed her Bohemianism in a series of drawings, cartoons and caricatures, to which Rudyard later contributed over a packed few days after his return to England in 1889, when he was still only twenty-three, and Florence twenty-four.
Rudyard visited her at her London house where she was living with Mabel Price, the model for the red-haired girl in the book, a fellow student of Flo�s at the Academie and daughter of an Oxford don. She too enjoyed some success as an artist, with a painting exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1889.
Kipling could not compete with their intensely close relationship, which may well have been a lesbian one. It is not certain, however, if Kipling knew this or not, guessed it, or refused to acknowledge it. Flo treated his literary success and his amorous emotions with wounding indifference. The note to the Heading poem �Blue Roses� for Chapter VII, which was dedicated to her, illustrates the contempt that she later expressed to a close friend and companion, for him, for the poem, and for the novel, which was first published in January 1891. She lived on and died on January 31 1938, two years after Kipling, aged 73, after a moderately successful career as a painter.
The term �relationship� is patently inappropriate to characterise such a one-sided series of encounters. The artist in Kipling, however, superseded the lover enough for him to realise that it would be inadequate as the theme for a novel. Maisie and Dick, therefore, do have a relationship, adversarial, unsatisfactory, moving at times and ultimately doomed to failure, but at least a viable subject for fictional narrative.
There is, to this Editor, a tantalising if highly speculative postscript to all this. In her later years, Florence Garrard wrote a strange cartoon-like illustrated story, describing her time in prison after being arrested for trying to paint outside the Houses of Parliament. It was called Phantasmagoria, the same expression that Kipling used of The Light That Failed in Something of Myself (p. 228).
Did Kipling know of the existence of Florence Garrard's Phantasmagoria and deliberately use the expression when writing of The Light that Failed in the last year of his life? Had he followed Flo's career over the years? Was there the merest trace of conscience or regret on the part of either of them, with the long passage of time? Perhaps, but we shall never know.
Publishing history
As David Richards, the latest Kipling bibliographer, has explained in an article for collectors on this site , the publishing history of The Light that Failed is far from straightforward. Over two years, four versions of the story appeared: in twelve chapters with a happy ending; in fifteen chapters with a sad ending; in fourteen chapters with a sad ending; and in eleven chapters with a happy ending. The hardback 'Standard' version, ending in Dick's death, is described in a prefatory note as 'The Light that Failed as it was originally conceived by the writer.' To understand the background, we must go back to Kipling�s arrival in England to forge a continuing and successful literary career.
He arrived in London in 1889, a few days before Mrs Edmonia [�Ted�] Hill, an American friend from Indian days, whom he had met in Allahabad in 1887. Earlier in the year he had travelled with her and her husband Prof �Aleck� Hill, from Calcutta to San Francisco, and stayed with her parents in Beaver, Connecticut. Mrs Hill came with her sister Caroline Taylor, to whom Kipling became engaged for a time. They set him up in rooms in Villiers Street across the road from Charing Cross Station in the heart of London, and then left for India. He corresponded frequently with them until 1890. Villiers Street is clearly the setting for Dick�s room in the novel, as is the London skyline from his window.
Kipling was never at ease with women of his own age, and his engagement to Caroline came to an end with Florence Garrard's arrival on the scene. Kipling was now experiencing real literary fame, and it soon became obvious that a novel was expected. The one he had planned never appeared in print.
Mother Maturin
Since 1885 he had been devising a novel of Indian low-life called The Book of Mother Maturin, the manuscript of which arrived in London by mail, sent by his parents. Its whereabouts remain the last great Kipling mystery, although it is thought to have been in existence after 1900. In July 1885 Kipling wrote a Letter to his Aunt Edith MacDonald that it was going to be:
'not one bit nice and proper' ... 'it carries a grim sort of moral ... it tries to deal with the unutterable horrors of lower-class Eurasian and native life as they exist outside the reports'.
Some of the intended material from Mother Maturin eventually found its way into Kim (1901). It had all the hallmarks of a controversial work, perhaps too much so for the Victorian reading public, accustomed though they were to realism and even sensationalism in their fiction. Even the brief scenario we have indicates the uncompromising side of Kipling as a writer, the modernity, almost, in the refusal to observe literary conventions, and his honesty in describing life�s unpalatable truths. The same spirit informs much of The Light That Failed.
Wolcott Balestier
Rudyard had been struggling with the first draft of The Light That Failed, but managed to meet his deadline of August 1890. It is at this point that Wolcott Balestier, Kipling�s American future brother-in-law, although posthumously so, comes into the story.
Balestier was the eldest of four children; his sister Carrie would later marry Kipling. He came from a prominent East Coast family with homes in New York and Brattleboro, Vermont, where Carrie and Rudyard lived for a while from 1892-1896. The American period produced Kipling�s only other novel solely under his own name, apart from The Light That Failed and Kim, Captain�s Courageous, which has an American setting and is partly an admiring tribute to certain American values.
After limited success as a writer, Balestier, an unconventional character who only lasted a year at Cornell University, drifted into journalism, becoming editor of a low-brow magazine called Tid-Bits, published by John W Lovell and Company. In 1888 he arrived in London on behalf of Lovell to court British authors and encourage them to sign up with firms like his. Because the regulations on copyright protection in the United States were rather looser than those in Britain, American publishers had been able to pirate foreign authors by publishing their works without permission, and without any payment of royalties. Lovell wanted to pre-empt new copyright laws, which were in prospect, by sending agents like Balestier to acquire rights in Europe.
It was soon after this that the paths of the man from Vermont and the successful young author would cross. When they did, it was the start of a close, albeit short-lived, friendship and literary partnership. Balestier could get things done. He was a man after Kipling�s own heart. He also combined a strong business sense with genuine literary understanding, and quickly made his mark in London. Carrie arrived there in 1889 and by 1891 had met and taken to Kipling.
During this crucial period, Kipling was becoming ill with stress and overwork. He was trying to cope with The Light That Failed, revising the collection of stories Wee Willie Winkie for publication, and working on another collection called The Book of Forty-Nine Mornings. He had also been engaged in a dispute with the publishers Harper and Brothers over the rights to some of his stories, and an attack on him in one of their magazines. Harpers backed down in the dispute, almost certainly thanks to Balestier�s intervention and support. He persuaded Kipling to abandon Forty Nine Mornings, and enabled the American publication, through Lovell, of Barrack-Room Ballads in 1890. That collection was dedicated to Wolcott Balestier.
Alternative versions
There has been considerable debate as to exactly how the different versions of The Light That Failed came to be published. Andrew Lycett , however, is unequivocal on the matter (p. 228):
Balestier also suggested Rudyard should put out two versions of The Light That Failed - his original �sad� story, which would be published in volume form by the United States Book Company (the latest incarnation of the financially troubled John Lovell company) in the United States, and Macmillan in London, and a shorter alternative, bringing Dick and Maisie happily together, which would be easier for him to syndicate.
The upshot was that the version with a �happy ending' was published in Lippincott�s Magazine in January 1891. Lippincott�s was a popular journal, first published in Philadelphia in 1886, with a high reputation and with circulation in Britain, the USA, and Australia. It featured literary criticism, general articles and original creative writing. It had recently had best-sellers, with Conan Doyle�s Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of Four and - more controversially � The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
Kipling�s contribution was eagerly anticipated by its editors, and sold well in New York and London. This illustration (right) shows the cover of the London version, which sold for a shilling (five pence in modern currency). But the story hardly enhanced his literary reputation. The original and longer �sad� version was published by Macmillan in March 1891, with the full fifteen chapters; Chapter VIII and Chapters XIV and XV did not appear in the shorter version. The fifteen-chapter 'sad' version is now seen as the 'standard� text, and is the subject of these notes.
It is believed by some critics that in addition to Balestier's view, Alice Kipling, the author's mother, pressed him to go for a happy ending, which Kipling himself genuinely regretted. This tends to be the view of this Editor, and is borne out by the emphatic prefatory note at the head of the Standard Edition:
This is the story of The Light That Failed as it was originally conceived by the writer.
However, the Dedicatory poem �Mother o� Mine, O Mother o' Mine� suggests that in insisting on the 'sad' ending Kipling felt some guilt at having betrayed his mother�s wishes. In this context, Philip Mallett (p. 58) subscribes to the neo-Freudian belief that:
...the love Kipling/Dick is looking for is essentially maternal ... the story ends with Torpenhow on his knees, holding Dick�s body in his arms, in a presumably unintended parody of the Pieta.
In an oddly co-incidental way, the two versions of the novel can be said to echo Dick's awareness of the conflict between 'real' and 'commercial' over the issue of the painting "His Last Shot".
Wolcott Balestier died of typhoid in Dresden on December 6 1891, having collaborated with Kipling on The Naulahka, a novel largely neglected since by the general reader, but important in relation to The Light That Failed, as we will discuss later. It was published in 1892.
Such was the depth of affection and admiration between the two men that Kipling�s dedication to the Barrack-Room Ballads became his tribute to Balestier. The poem, written in eloquent and vigorous heptameters, ends:
Beyond the loom of the lone last star, through open darkness hurled,
Further than rebel comet dared or hiving star-swarm swirled,
Sits he with those that praise our God for that they served His world.
Carrie and Rudyard married in January 1892.
The 'happy ending'
The 'happy ending' is generally derided by the critics as being incompatible with the thrust of the story as a whole, the characters of Dick and Maisie, and the nature of their relationship. The quality of the writing has also been criticised. In the view of this Editor, some of the cliche-ridden romantic exchanges seem hardly the high watermark of Kipling's prose achievement. Nevertheless, however threadbare the love dialogue may be, this version merits some scrutiny.
The text does not, as one might reasonably expect from the derisive comments of the critics, end with Dick and Maisie in a mutually adoring embrace. Maisie leaves Dick, temporarily grief-stricken in the midst of her happiness at the vicious defacement of his painting that Dick cannot see. Apart from the fact that her departure is permanent in the Standard edition, both versions are very similar at this point in the story.
The final section has Torpenhow returning with news of a correspondents' reunion in his rooms to discuss a return to the Sudan. Dick assures them he hasn't 'turned his back on the old life yet'. The gathering becomes noisy with shouting and singing, the room 'heavy with tobacco smoke and the fume of strong drink'. Dick's 'poor second-hand gladiator' jibe is 'pretended scorn' mingling admiration and regret that he cannot accompany them.
When Torpenhow stops Cassavetti singing the 'Battle Hymn' with the words 'We've nothing to do with that. It belongs to another man'. Dick concludes the story with an emphatic 'No ... the other man belongs.' In short, and surprisingly, it ends not with images of romantic bliss, but of the old virtues of war as adventure, and male camaraderie.
The Standard version's ending, however, has not escaped critical censure either. Dick's return to the Sudan has been regarded as over -sentimentalised or melodramatic. It could also be described as implausible, with Dick - given the nobility of his character - unlikely to be willing to risk the lives of his friends to take him back to the war-zone.
Opinion will doubtlessly continue to work against the 'happy' version. But it is interesting to note that that the 'original' version did not altogether disappear in this one, indicating. perhaps, where Kipling's allegiances really lay.
Kipling and the Aesthetes
A study of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), and The Light That Failed (1891), opens up illuminating comparisons between the two in relation to the conflict between Kipling and the Aesthetic movement, and the dualities and contradictions within Kipling the man and artist.
Both novels, although so very dissimilar, focus on the themes of Art and the role of the Artist. Paintings as central symbols, which are ultimately destroyed, are a common feature. Dorian�s portrait is a fantasy image, which grows increasingly monstrous as his corruption increases, but his outward beauty remains unimpaired and ageless until the very end of the story. Dick�s "Melancolia" is a �real� painting, based by Kipling on Albrecht Durer�s engraving. This was the basis for James Thompson�s original description of the figure in his poem "The City of Dreadful Night", which outwardly expresses his artistic soul.
There are frequent references to the soul in both books. Basil Hallward, the painter of Dorian�s picture, fears the consequences of too much self-revelation if it appears publicly:
The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul.
(Complete Works of Oscar Wilde ed. Vyvyan Holland, Collins 1989 page 21)
And in a warning against the obsessiveness of Art, but with an implied homoerotic sub-text, and referring to his first meeting with Dorian, he declares:
I knew I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself.
Dick�s inner tensions early in the novel are between the lure of commercial success and the need for artistic integrity . Torpenhow�s criticisms of Dick�s desire for the accumulation of money, carry both Biblical and Faustian overtones:
I don�t care to profit by the price of a Man�s soul � Dick�s soul is in the bank.
Both Dorian and Dick have, in their own ways but to different degrees, made pacts with the Devil, but Dick�s attitude changes profoundly, and he preaches his doctrine to Maisie:
You mustn�t mind what other people do. If their souls were your souls it would be different. You stand and fall by your own work remember.
DC Rose provides some fascinating reflections on the two works:
Hallward�s portrait of Gray is his masterwork ... as Heldar�s �Melancolia� is central to the plot of The Light. Heldar paints the piece while going blind, sustaining himself with whisky ... His sight fails soon after the picture is finished and his model, who hates Heldar �emptied half a bottle of turpentine on a duster and began to scrub the face of the Melancolia viciously ... She took a palette knife and scraped, following each stroke with the wet duster. In five minutes the picture was a formless, scarred muddle of colours.' In Kipling we have a picture that is destroying its artist. In Wilde we have a picture that destroys its model.
('Blue Roses and Green Carnations' KJ 302 p. 33)
It is interesting to note the difference between the descriptions of the destruction of the two paintings. Dorian sees a palette knife handy and Wilde simply states 'He seized the thing and stabbed the picture with it'. One feels Kipling�s desire for authentic detail, however, extends as much to the destruction of a work of art as the creating of it. The quotation omits the small but signficant touch that the initial smudge was not enough; hence Bessie�s use of the palette knife.
The animosity towards Wilde and the Aesthetes was both moral and artistic. Kipling had made an earlier contribution to the debate with the poem "In Partibus" for the Civil and Military Gazette in 1889.
There are further jibes in the poem at 'long haired things/ in velvet collar rolls', who 'moo and coo with women folk/about their blessed souls'. This seems mean-spirited stuff, with Wilde clearly in mind, and appearing all the more so when recalling Wilde's rather more generous, albeit later, assessment of Plain Tales from the Hills. Kipling's scorn for the Aesthetes was still intact 38 years later in Something of Myself (p. 219) as his reference to 'the suburban Toilet-Club school favoured by the late Mr Oscar Wilde' confirms.
"In Partibus" (see the notes on the poem in this Guide) attacks what Kipling sees as the derivative second-hand nature of Aesthetic theory. The same idea recurs in two later celestial fables, "Tne Conundrum of the Workshops" (1890) and "Tomlinson" (1891). In the latter the Devil derides the eternal quest for new artistic theories with his insistent variant refrain "It's pretty but is it Art?":
The tale is as old as the Eden Tree � and new as the new-cut tooth�
For each man knows ere his lip-thatch grows he is master of Art and Truth;
And each man hears as the twilight nears, to the beat of his dying heart
The Devil drum on the darkened pane 'You did it, but was it Art?'
One wonders here if the phrase "lip-thatch" is a rueful allusion to the premature arrival of his own youthful moustache. The Devil also makes an appearance in "Tomlinson" , a poem about a young man-about-town, now dead, who had committed a double-sin; fornication with another man's wife, and reliance on received bookish opinions. Such men, as Andrew Lycett puts it, 'manage to lose their souls':
Then Tomlinson he gripped the bars and yammered "Let me in �
"For I mind that I borrowed my neighbour's wife to sin the deadly sin"
The Devil he grinned behind the bars, and banked the fire high:
"Did ye read of that sin in a book?" said he; and Tomlinson said "Ay!".
When The Picture of Dorian Gray first appeared, W.E Henley's assistant Charles Whibley, in the Scots Observer of July 1890, whilst praising Wilde's 'brains, art and style', attacked the book as written for 'outlawed noblemen and perverted telegraph boys'.
William Ernest Henley, poet, playwrite, critic and publisher, was the leader of the counter-decadence of the late 1890's so his involvement in the whole anti-Aesthetic saga is not surprising. He was the epitome of Victorian imperialistic views and hearty masculinity. He was also a periodical editor of distinction and a man of substantial literary cultivation. He edited the Scots Review � later the National Review (1884-94), which published Kipling's "Danny Deever" in 1887, enhancing the reputation of both publisher and author. His familiar wooden leg, arising from an amputation caused by tuberculosis, made him the model for Stevenson's Long John Silver in Treasure Island. The final lines of his most famous poem "Invictus" read:
It matters not how strait the gate
How charged with punishment the scroll
I am the Master of my fate
I am the Captain of my soul.
The poem was written in 1875, so we may assume Kipling's familiarity with it. In any case, its spirit of male courage in the face of adversity would have greatly appealed to him � and to Dick Heldar.
In such a context we are faced with the paradoxes within Kipling the man and Kipling the artist. His hostility to Wilde and his like seems strange in one sense, bearing in mind his close youthful relationships with his aunt and uncle Georgina and Edward Burne-Jones and the liberal Pre-Raphaelite circle. He was later to describe his visits to them in his childhood as 'a paradise which I verily believed saved me.' (Something of Myself p.11) His distaste for homosexuality, however, remained unwavering.
Here, then, we have a young man resolutely set against membership of the literary establishment, who rejected all honours offered him, yet was to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907; he was the first Englishman to receive it, and became one of the nation's most revered literary figures. Allan Massie sees Kipling as:
...a highly self-conscious artist, reared in the shadow of the Pre-raphaelite brotherhood, who nevertheless despised artistic coteries and preferred to associate with men of action
(The Literary Review Jan 1998; review of the new biography of Kipling by Harry Ricketts)
And John Palmer, quoted earlier, ironically describes Kipling's art as:
...as formal as the Art of Wilde or the Art of Baudelaire, which he helped to send out of fashion, despite being contemptuous of literary formality.
(Rudyard Kipling', Nisbet 1928 edition p. 14)
So, despite his so-called vulgarity and lack of 'style', and his shock-of-the-new realism, we have a painstakingly disciplined writer for whom dedication to the craft was essential for the creation of the art. Later in life he declared in Something of Myself (pp. 72-3):
There is no line of my verse or prose which has not been mouthed till the tongue has made all smooth,and memory,after many recitals,has mechanically skipped the grosser superfluities.
From all this emerges the character of Dick Heldar in The Light that Failed; the rebel and outsider; the individualist loyal to his own credo; the true artist unable to quite break free from the world of male camaraderie and action.
Kipling and the Arts
Painting and the visual arts were an important part of Kipling�s younger life, as one would expect with Lockwood Kipling, a distinguished artist, illustrator and designer, as his father. Lockwood, with his wife Alice, moved to India in 1865, the year of Rudyard�s birth, as a teacher in the JeeJeebhoy School of Art in Bombay (now Mumbai). Later Lockwood became curator of the Lahore Museum, and made an appearance in Kim as the Curator of the 'Wonder House'. He illustrated Kim and the Jungle Books, as well as working on decorations for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Given this background, a novel from Rudyard with a painting theme was probably inevitable sooner or later. That it was sooner was probably due to the power of these influences and the contact with illustrators which his journalistic career brought him, as well as his frustrations with Flo Garrard. As a child he would have been familiar with his father�s studio, the smell of oils and paints, the feeling of modelling clay and so on. These sense impressions find their way into The Light that Failed, so that it becomes, in the strictest sense, a colourful novel.
Kipling frequently describes his craft in visual terms; tone, brushwork and background and so on, and casually stated that to commit something to memory:
I rudely drew what I wanted to remember. (Something of Myself p. 230)
The writing of the stories in Rewards and Fairies (1910) is described as:
working the materials in three or four overlaid tints and textures...it was like working lacquer and mother of pearl, a natural combination. (Something of Myself p. 190)
The nature and creation of art, and in particular, the art of painting, is explored in the novel in three identifiable strands: the notion of an associated work ethic, the concept of artistic integrity, and the fascination for technique and process, which was to last a lifetime. In the penultimate Chapter of the novel he writes:
A man may forgive those who ruin the love of his life, but he will never forgive the destruction of his work. (p. 256).
Work, sacrifice, and the Law
Indeed the theme of work; of making, doing, building, runs throughout a great deal of Kipling�s oeuvre. Clara Claiborn Park, in KJ 319 quotes C S Lewis as saying (Kipling's World, Selected Literary Essays CUP 1969 page 235): 'It was Kipling who first reclaimed for literature this enormous territory'. Thus it can be said that he foreshadows writers like Arnold Bennett and DH Lawrence, to whom working life is central.
The idea of sacrifice and dedications is of major importance in the novel, although Dick doesn�t forget his early poverty, or advocate it for its own sake. He tells Maisie:
'You must sacrifice yourself, and live under orders, and never think for yourself, and never have real satisfaction in your work, except just at the beginning, when you�re reaching out for a notion.' (Ch. VII p. 107)
This austere doctrine has affinities with Kipling�s own concept of a personal �Daemon� or inspiration outside oneself, to which one has to submit. The idea is developed further when Maisie recalls the words of her teacher Kami who stresses the importance of: 'the conviction that nails the work to the wall'. (Ch XIII p. 212)
Shamsul Islam's perceptive book on Kipling�s Law makes little direct reference to the novel, but what he says is highly relevant to it. Here, he could be discussing Dick himself, struggling to obey a natural law of survival, despite his tragic end:
Man�s victory lies in the struggle which he puts up against darkness,chaos and disorder. In the ultimate analysis Kipling�s is a very positive message. (Ch. 4)
Shamsul Islam sees the Law as a complex association of ideas drawing on moral, cultural and religious influences. Also, he itemises his notions of Kipling�s ideal man, which we slightly paraphrase :
a man of honour and strong character
who knows his job thoroughly
who is devoted to it above all else
with a strong sense of responsibility in all circumstances
who is basically a man of action
and who is capable of love, suffering and self-sacrifice
(Ch. 5)
Given the odd exception, perhaps, and allowing for the possibility of human failings, this seems to this Editor a pretty fair summation of Dick�s character. Dick refers to the Law on more than one occasion, preaching here to a sceptical Maisie about self-sacrifice, and expressing Kipling's idea of the Law as something natural and inevitable in human affairs:
�How can you believe that?�
�There�s no question of belief or disbelief. That�s the Law, and you take it or refuse it as you please.� (Ch. VII p.107)
The hectoring side of Dick�s character surely plays some part in the ultimate failure of their relationship. Maisie�s independence and her own self-containing loneliness, exacerbate Dick�s thwarted longings, forcing him into the unsustainable dual role of lover and teacher. He coaches her in line, form and colour, but his desire to help and protect her conflicts with his own artistic dedication, and widens the gulf between them. He is often brutally, if penetratingly, honest about her work:
'Sometimes there�s power in it, but there is no special reason why it should be done at all'. (Ch. VII p. 98)
Dick even defines love in artistic terms when he says:
'Love is like line work; you must go forward or backward, you can�t stand still'. (55).
This was hardly a recipe for romance or domestic bliss. His longing for Maisie and his love of Art become entwined into an illusory love, inconceivable outside their artistic relationship, and thus doomed to failure.
Techniques
Kipling�s abiding interest in technical process, and the crafts of making and doing is unique amongst English writers, and is almost a theme in itself, running through the body of his work. Perhaps its most notable manifestation is to be found in the complex later story �Dayspring Mishandled� (Limits and Renewals 1932) in which Manallace�s Chaucerian forgery, as an act of revenge against Castorley, the Chaucer expert, is described stage by stage in detail. This display of skills is crucial to the story, as it is essential that the reader - like Castorley - accepts the forgery as a credible deception. The extent of such knowledge of a range of processes in The Light that Failed is demonstrated through the many examples we have noted, chapter by chapter.
One key incident was Dick's description of his picture �His Last Shot�. Dick tells how he has pipeclayed the helmet image to clean up the look (see Chapter IV p. 49 and Chapter XV p. 271); but Kipling adds the information that the technique is: 'always used on active service' and is 'indispensable to Art' (56).
Perhaps the most important instance is Dick�s account in Chapter VIII of the painting inspired by the 'Negroid-Jewess-Cuban' woman on the Lima to Auckland cargo boat in his roving days. She will make a re-appearance in this essay, but for the moment her interest is as a sort of 'daemon'. Kipling dwells on the process with great energy and particularity of detail. Not only does he give us the approach to the painting but the inspiration and motivation. The excitement of sea travel, the likelihood of storm danger, and the fear of death, all contribute. Above all there is the woman�s sexual attraction, heightened by the fact she is always close to him when working and mixing his paints. The challenge of the limited choice of paint is also a factor; only brown, green and black ship�s paint is available. Kipling�s implication here is that this will give the right elemental quality to the picture.
Colour
Dick is also inspired by Poe�s poem �Annabel Lee� (Ch. VIII p. 131) to make creative use of the three colours, such as green for 'the green waters over the naked soul' of the drowning woman. (Ch. VIII p.132) The choice of such dramatic subject-matter is an indication of Dick�s character. (One could never imagine him painting an English pastoral theme.)There are references to the light on the lower deck and its supernatural effect on the painting, on bad drawing, foreshortening and so on.
Examples of colour imagery in the novel are too numerous to individualise in detail, but a selection will make the point. There are references to the grayness of Maisie�s eyes, the magenta of Dick�s necktie (a tiny but notable artistic flourish). Yellow is a colour motif, from the yellow sea-poppy on Southsea beach, to Yellow Tina. the Port Said artist�s model, and the recurrent imageof the yellow London fog, which some critics have identified as an influence on T S Eliot�s "Preludes" and "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock". In addition there are so many striking colour�moments� such as: 'the crackling volcanoes of many coloured fire' behind Dick�s increasingly sightless eyes as he paints �Melancolia� in a sleepless delirium. (Ch. XI p. 186)
Colour awareness seems to take on a romantic dimension as Dick and Maisie end a happy reunion day at Southsea. We are almost tempted to believe in the possibility of a happy ending at this point; maybe this is an effect Kipling was trying to create. But at such a moment, when the possibility of romance appears tantalisingly close, there is the subtle hint that Dick is still fixated on the idea of Maisie as pupil-cum-fellow artist:
They...turned to look at the glory of the full tide under the moonlight and the intense black shadows of the furze-bushes. It was an additional joy to Dick that Maisie could see the colour even as he saw it - could see the blue in the white of the mist, the violet that is gray pailings, and all things else as they are - not of one hue but a thousand.(Ch. VII p.113.)
Even as Dick thinks in the language of an artist rather than a lover, we detect both the influence of his father in Kipling�s colour knowledge, and his own writer�s commitment to seeing things as they really are.
Male and female
The gender sub-texts of The Light that Failed are, arguably, the most complex and easily misinterpreted. We have already touched upon the conflict within Kipling/Dick in relation to the two worlds of Art and Action; the latter is inseparable from the novel�s celebration of male camaraderie This is presented most vividly in Chapter VIII, in which Dick's love for Maisie is set directly against male bonding and the yearning for adventure. The roistering songs serve to emphasise this. �Farewell, to you Spanish Ladies� conjures up the image of the sailor leaving his wife behind, and his desire for the dusky maiden in a distant land. In �The Sea is a Wicked Old Woman� the irresistible lure of the sea is the dominant force. The song�s rhythmn becomes, in Dick�s imagination, the pounding of the waves of the Lima cargo boat:
...and the go-fever, which is more real than many doctor�s diseases,waked and raged, urging him who loved Maisie beyond anything in the world to go away and taste the old hot unregenerate life again, to scuffle, swear, gamble ... and love light loves with his fellows; to take ship and know the sea once more and beget pictures... (Ch VIII p. 140)
Kipling could not have put it any plainer, although Art does get a brief look-in at the end. The message itself is reinforced by the seductive rythmns of the authors�s prose. This longing, not only for male comradeship, but for a return to the battlefield, is unmistakeably expressed, when the passage above blends into the yearning for:
the crackle of musketry, and see the smoke roll outward ... and in that hell every man strictly responsible for his own head, and his alone, and struck with an unfettered arm. (Ch VIII p. 140)
Here is Kipling�s Ideal Man, in action
The image of the beat of the waves becomes the drum beat and sounds of a guards band playing outside Dick�s rooms, as, tormented by his blindness, he listens, feeling the: 'massed movement in his face, heard the maddening tramp of feet and the friction of the pouches on the belts.' (Ch XI p.193) The pathos of this scene is heightened by Kipling�s masterly detail of the sound of the pouches, indicating how Dick�s blindness has sensitised his hearing.
It is here we re-encounter the Negroid-Jewess-Cuban woman 'with morals to match' from Chapter VIII. The association of colour with promiscuity could be taken as racist; an accusation that has always tarnished Kipling�s reputation. That is, as he might have said, another story, but the implication in the description lingers. In this context she embodies the erotic and the exotic, and the attraction of forbidden fruit, as Dick enthusiastically recalls: '...the sea outside and unlimited lovemaking inside.' (Ch. VIII p.132) There is almost certainly an element of sexual fantasising in the image of the woman; although implicit, retrospectively for Dick, there is a painful contrast between sexual desire satisfied and love unconsummated.
Because of his blindness, an active sex life is for Dick now an impossibility, and he and the reader realise this. In such a context, his blindness becomes both a disability and a symbol, taking on a sexual dimension. According to Andrew Haggiioannu, in addition to blindness being: 'a trope for the anxieties of the colonial�s return to London', it is a Freudian symbol for castration and impotence, 'which resonates powerfully with the overwhelmingly sexual line upon Dick�s emotional and physical collapse.' If one accepts this theory, one sees its transmutation into the loss of creativity and helplessness in the face of the power of the female will. (The Man Who Would be Kipling, Andrew Haggiioannu, Palgrave Macmillan 2003 p. 65)
We may widen out the issues of gender and sexuality in the novel by a consideration of the late Victorian fascination for the seductive underground urban worlds of vice and sin, a seediness which assumes a glamour of its own. Gail Ching Liang-Low�s observations on this are particularly illuminating, interpreting the novel as showing: 'an interesting split between the two sides of Kipling�s heritage'. She perceives Port Said, Dick�s early hunting ground, as the quintessential Oriental City of vice ... sexual perversity'and 'dancing hells' (White skin; Black Mask; Representation and Colonialism, Gail Ching Liang-Low, Routledge Keegan and Paul 1996 page 170). She goes on to describe the voyeuristic fascination for this underworld for artists like Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, linking this with the episode of the Negro-Jewess-Cuban woman. She concludes, therefore, that the novel presents us with, on the one hand a feminine decadent world of sexual pleasure, and on the other the masculine world of adventure, military heroism and male camaraderie. The former is evoked in this lurid description of a 'mad dance' which takes place in M and Madame Binat's house:
...the naked Zanzibari girls danced furiously by the light of kerosene lamps. Binat sat upon a chair and stared with eyes that saw nothing, till the whirl of the dance and the clang of the rattling piano stole into the drink that took the place of blood in his veins, and his face glistened ... Dick took him by the chin brutally and turned that face to the light. Madame Binat looked over her shoulder and smiled with many teeth... (Ch III pp. 32-3)
Binat himself warns Dick that he will 'descend alive into hell as I have descended', and bemoans his own 'degradation' (67).The appearance of this world is relatively brief; in Chapter III and for a short while before Dick�s death in Chapter XV, where a visit to Mme Binat, now a widow, revives memories of the old life. Brief though the scenes are, they are central to our understanding of Kipling�s dual heritage and the novel�s gender oppositions. The decadence of Chapter II is fundamentally no different from that of the seamy side of London�s dark streets, which destroys Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray, although Dorian sinks to an unspecified depravity that clearly goes far beyond any of Dick�s experiences. It is interesting to note two opposed concepts of hell emerging; the hell of battle and the hell of moral degradation; two punishments of sorts, ironically linking the novel�s central dualities.
The late Victorian period saw the dissemination of feminist ideas, leading ultimately to the Suffragette Movement, and the concept of the �New Woman� in social, artistic and political life. Readers and theatregoers would know at least something of the ideas of Shaw and Ibsen in this context, whose characters were often the equal of or superior to, their menfolk. Nora Helmer, the heroine of Ibsen�s �A Doll�s House�, which opened in London in 1889, sent shockwaves through audiences, as she rejected her submissive status as her husband�s pretty plaything, leaving him and their children to seek her own indentity and maturity. Ibsen�s blast of cold Scandinavian dramatic air, as Nora walks out of her door, changed theatrical convention for ever. The concept itself, therefore, can be seen as both destructive and liberating.
Many contemporary interpreters of Kipling saw Maisie as an embodiment of the �New Woman', and, consequently, an unsympathetic figure. Hilton Brown, writing in 1945, takes a view which seems a contemporary one for our own day:
Maisie was an unpopular heroine largely because her creator was, for once,years ahead of his time ... Her views that seemed hard and unreasonable and unwordly, now arouse no serious criticism. (Rudyard Kipling, Hilton Brown, Hamish Hamilton 1945 p.146)
A notable literary friendship may be significant here. The bond between Kipling and Rider Haggard was characterised by a shared love of adventure and colonial fiction. Kipling would undoubtedly have been familiar.with Haggard's She (1889) which was much influenced by the gender theories of the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung. Jung gave the name 'Anima' to the unconscious female component of men; and 'Animus' to the unconscious male component of women. 'Masculine' can be broadly taken as associated with power, dominance, logical abstract reasoning, whilst 'Feminine' signifies rooted in feeling, sensitivity, and capacity for empathy. In She Ayesha, a beautiful but powerful and destructive priestess, rises after 2000 years to claim the 19th century explorer-hero Leo Vincey, whom she believes is a reincarnation of her ancient lover Kallikrates. So powerful does she see herself, that at one point she threatens to depose Queen Victoria and take over the British Empire. Her's is a very different character from that of Ustane, who embodies unselfishness and unconditional love, the very qualities Dick wants from Maisie.
All this is a far cry from the world of art in Victorian London, although the Sudan deserts are a little closer to home. Nor is Maisie an English Ayesha. But this basic principle of role-reversal, and the assumption of opposed gender traits, clearly informs the characterisations of Dick and Maisie, and helps to explain the conflict between them. This being said, all the novel's textual evidence indicates that Kipling's treatment of Maisie is more even-handed and credible than those critics who see Kipling as a misogynist would suggest. Kipling's portrayal avoids the pitfalls which would have romantically conventionalised the relationship. Maisie is enough of a realist to know that there is no chance for them until one or both surrenders to the other, when she says 'You know I should ruin your life and you'd ruin mine as things are now.'
Maisie is neither femme fatale nor militant feminist, and she is never less than honest with herself about her feelings, admitting to her selfishness in using Dick, and her inability to respond to him sexually. She is not without emotion, however, and her grief at seeing Dick's blindness is genuine and moving as 'the fountains of the great deep are broken up', athough she does not normally weep easily (Ch. IX p. 154). Even at the moment of final parting, when Dick cries 'I'm no good now! I'm down and done for!' she can never be more than: 'unfeignedly and immensely sorry for him than she had ever been for anyone in her life, but not sorry enough to deny his words.' (Ch. XIII p. 219)
It has been said that Maisie lacks sex appeal. She is not, of course, the Negro-Jewess-Cuban woman of Chapter VIII, but the criticism is irrelevant. The whole point is that she does appeal sexually to Dick, whose passion she leaves unassuaged. She is what she is; an independent, ambitious woman and artist, who happens not to be in love with the story's hero.
Kipling's view of women
Kipling has been accused of misogyny by some critics, but in the view of this Editor, this is an area where one needs to tread carefully. He is too complex a a writer for such a simplification. There is, for example, no trace of misogyny in the characterisation of Helen Turrell in the story "The Gardener" (Debits and Credits 1926), for example, the loving mother seeking her dead son in the war graves of the Great War, nor in the sensitive portrait of the blind woman in "They" (Traffics and Discoveries 1904) It is quite absent from one of Kipling's most moving stories "Without Benefit of Clergy" (Life's Handicap 1891) which tells of the passionate, devoted, but short-lived marriage between the Englishman John Holden and his Muslim bride Ameera, which ends tragically with the death of Ameera and her child during a cholera epidemic. There is little doubt as to where Kipling's sympathies lie in this story, in the tender portrayal of Ameera's beauty and devotion to her family. There is no trace of misogyny, either, in the character of Grace Ashcroft in 'The Wish House' (Debits and Credits 1926), dying of cancer because she has loyally and devotedly, in a mysterious way, taken on the afflictions of Harry Mockler, the man she has loved all her life but who does not return her love. The cumulative evidence of stories such as these may suggest an element of idealisation and wish-fulfilment on Kipling's part; but this Editor can find no overt trace of misogyny.
The theme of repressed sexuality in The Light That Failed re-emerges in one of Kipling's most powerful, ambiguous and disturbing stories "Mary Postgate" (A Diversity of Creatures 1917). It is World War I, and Mary Postgate is a lonely, emotionally deprived spinster, who has spent years of her life as a sort of governess to her employer's nephew Wynn. She cannot even cry when Wynn is killed in a flying accident. Then a bomb falls killing a child, and Mary comes across the wounded German pilot. As she stokes the funeral pyre of Wynn's belongings, her hatred for the German mounts, whilst she waits for him to die.
an increasing rapture laid hold on her... her long pleasure was broken by a sound that she had waited for in agony several times in her life.
After his death, at the story's conclusion, Mary contendedly enters the house, takes 'a luxurious hot bath' and came down, looking 'Quite handsome'.
"Mary Postgate" is arguably the most sexually charged story in Kipling's works; the sense of implied orgasmic release and satisfaction is almost palpable in its intensity at the end of the tale. It is just on the 'right' side of explicit, and all the more powerful for being so. Unlike the stories referred to above, there is no demand for sympathy for Mary; not even a judgement as such. Kipling invites an open response by the reader to character and events.
However, many modern critics have undoubtedly found the attitude to women in The Light that Failed unacceptable. As Philip Mallett puts it:
... the novel is punctuated with assertions that women waste men's time, spoil their work, and demand sympathy when they ought to give it. The only woman it is safe to love is the sea, described as an "unregenerate old hag" who draws men on to 'scuffle, swear, gamble, and love light loves'... (Rudyard Kipling, a literary life Palgrave Macmillan 2003, p. 57).
It is certainly true to say that the treatment meted out by Dick and to a lesser extent by Torpenhow, to Bessie Broke the artist's model, who later defaces his picture, is arrogant and chauvinistic, despite Kipling's pleas in mitigation of Dick's behaviour, early in the novel, previously discussed. Dick's reaction to her in Chapter IX is true to his established character and artistic credo, but unpleasant nonetheless, talking about her as if she were an object, rather than a human being:
Do you notice how the skull begins to show through the flesh padding on the face and cheek bone?
This, and Dick's initial behaviour towards Bessie, suggest an influence on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion (1912), despite Shaw's dismissal of the novel in a letter to Ellen Terry (Ellen Terry and Bernard Shaw; a Correspondence, Reinhardt & Evans 1949 pp. 337-8). The similarities are quite striking. When Dick attempts to soothe Bessie's sobbing and wailing with 'There you are ... nobody's going to hurt you' (Ch. IX p. 156) it could be Henry Higgins in Shaw's play talking to Eliza. This impression is strengthened when Dick lays down his employment terms to her:
'You will come to the room across the landing three times a week at eleven in the morning, and I'll give you three quid just for sitting still and lying down.' (Ch. IX p. 158)
The use of 'quid' instead of 'pounds' emphasises Dick's contempt for Bessie, and is manner and tone are not totally dissimilar to Higgins's when he tells Eliza, addressing her as Dick does Bessie, almost as if she were a child:
If you're good and do whatever you're told , you shall sleep in a proper bedroom and will have lots to eat and money to buy chocolates ... (Act II)
At one point Dick refers to Bessie as a 'gutter-snippet ... and nothing more', a phrase echoed in Higgins's denunciation of Eliza as a 'heartless guttersnipe'. Bessie's hatred for Dick conveys how difficult and dislikeable he can be, and when she says to him 'Mr T's ten times the better man than you are' she echoes Eliza's feelings towards Col Pickering, Higgins's courteous companion. It is also interesting to note that Higgins in Shaw's play is in the role of teacher, like Dick in the novel, and that both have female pupils who are proving 'difficult'. Dick's character however, as this Editor has argued, can in some respects be identified with Kipling's. Shaw was a more detached and humorous observer, basing Higgins on the distinguished philologist Henry Sweet.
Cruelty in the novel
Two brutal episodes have made some critics very uncomfortable with the novel, but are highly relevant to the theme under discussion. In Chapter III, Dick�s abuse of the Syndicate man, claiming Dick�s work as the Syndicate�s property, despite there being no specific agreement between them (see the Note to page 40 line 28 Chapter III). He even brazenly offers to set up an exhibition of Dick�s work to spread his reputation. This naturally encourages a degree of sympathy with Dick�s righteous indignation. and his angry accusations of theft and burglary are understandable. But he goes further, firstly with threats of physical violence, and then actually manhandling him. It is at this point one detects a distinctly homophobic note intruding:
He put one hand on the man�s face and ran the other down the plump body beneath the coat ... 'The thing�s soft all over- like a woman' ... Dick walked round him, pawing him, as a cat paws a soft hearth rug. Then he traced with his forefingers the leaden pouches underneath the eyes.(pp. 42-3)
Given that Kipling has prepared the way for the negative side of Dick�s character to emerge, there is no mistaking the studied ,almost sadistic, and sensual cruelty here; especially in the combination of almost sexual pleasure and. revulsion at the man�s body.. In Chapter XV, Dick is back in the Sudan, his old battleground, for the last time, and on a train, he hears gunfire, and screaming in the darkness from Arab soldiers. He reacts with unrestrained joy:
'Dick stretched himself on the floor, wild with delight at the sounds and smells. �God is very good-I never thought I�d hear this again. Give 'em hell, men!. Oh, give �em hell� he cried' (Ch III p. 42-3)
At one level, the episode is a �lark�, a boy�s own adventure thrill at his return to the war zone. But at another, in its uncontrolled ecstasy, it suggests an orgiastic, homoerotic response. An interpretation of this kind of thing as symbolic of Dick�s thwarted, frustrated sexuality has not,however, mitigated similar critical disapproval to that of the Syndicate man�s humiliation.
One is very conscious in this particular analytical approach, of over-imposing a 21st century sexual agenda onto late Victorian mores, and reading Kipling too intently in this light. Nevertheless. the text does yield to gender interpretation, but hopefully not at the expense of other important lines of enquiry. The relationship between Dick and Torpenhow has, also, not escaped this particular scrutiny. Torpenhow is counsellor, and honest critic,,unafraid to denounce Dick�s arrogance and vanity. His is a fellow press man and war adventurer, drinking partner, and companion about town In Chapter XI, when Dick, is in an anguish of panic at the onset of his blindness, Torpenhow tries to calm him into sleep, and as he does so 'kissed him lightly on the forehead, as men do sometimes kiss a wounded comrade in the hour of death to ease his departure'(Ch. XV p. 229)
This moment consciously anticipates Dick�s death in the Sudan; one can imagine Torpenhow doing exactly the same over his dead body as he cradles him in his arms. In other words, I think Kipling is being truthful and accurate in his interpretation of Torpenhow�s action.; it is what one would do to a wounded comrade, and therefore I cannot subscribe to a homoerotic sub-text, nor do I feel the passage stands up to such an analysis.
This is re-inforced retrospectively in Chapter 5, when Torpenhow comes into the studio where Dick is in an emotionally confused state after being with Maisie. He looks at Dick in the darkness:-
... with his eyes full of the austere love that springs up between men who have tugged at the same oars together, and are yoked by custom and use and intimacies of toil. This is a good love, and since it allows, and even encourages, strife, recrimination, and the most brutal sincerity, does not die but increases, and is proof against any absence and evil conduct. (Ch XI p 188-9)
This definition of love is much in the spirit of Shakespeare�s Sonnet 118 (�Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds� etc), and is finely and movingly done; the very essence of their friendship, and indeed the true nature of friendship itself. Nevertheless, whilst there is no sexuality in it, Kipling is certainly describing male friendship, and the unambiguous message here is that Torpenhow is providing more durable and meaningful support than any woman can.
War and Pessimism
The novel�s maleness is inseparable from the idea of War as adventure. As Eric Solomon puts it: 'Kipling sought to use the idea of war to represent metaphorically a way of life - in this case the life of vigorous action, from which the artist-hero strays'. [English Literature in Transition: 1880-1920, Eric Solomon]. But we should also remember the impact on England, at the time, of an actual war and its aftermath, and the fate of a real-life great Victorian hero figure.
There can be few readers who are unfamiliar, at least in outline from history or the cinema, of the dramatic conflict between between General Charles George Gordon and his enemy the Sudanese rebel leader the Mahdi; a conflict which symbolises Empire and visions of Empire even now, and still captures the popular imagination. The 1884-5 Expedition to the Sudan under General Wolseley, to relieve the besieged Gordon at Khartoum, pre-dated the novel by some 5 years. The Sudan campaign, as Imperial and military history was clearly in the forefront of Kipling's mind during the gestation of "The Light That Failed"[The historical background is covered in the detailed Notes for Chapter II and for Chapters XIV and XV, and in the account given in an Appendix to ORG. The context of these events has sometimes been mistaken for the Battle of Omdurman, which heralded the final defeat of the Mahdi, but that was not until 1889, well after the novel was written.]
The Anglo-Indian community reacted with enormous shock to the news of Gordon's fate, and we may be pretty sure that Kipling reacted in the same way, given his likely admiration for Gordon as a man of action and a hero of the Empire. Public opinion in Britain blamed the Government, particularly Gladstone, for failing to relieve the siege. Some historians, however, have accused Gordon of defying orders, and refusing to evacuate Khartoum despite the late possibility of doing so.
These events, described in Chapter II of The Light that Failed, and their background influence the whole novel, up to and including the final two chapters. Gordon himself has only a few brief mentions, but he seems to cast his unacknowledged shadow over the novel�s action.
The most striking fact about the war sequences is that Kipling had never been on a battlefield, let alone in the Sudan campaign. It was the Boer War that later gave him his first experience of the real thing. He had only visited Egypt for 4 days in Port Said aged 16, during an earlier Egyptian war. So the vivid and realistic descriptions that Orwell and other critics have so admired, were derived from Kipling's own imagination enhanced by reading numerous eye-witness acounts of the conflict. It is not only the descriptions of action and scene that impress, but the attention Kipling gives to the details of military resourcing, tactics and logistics. (He was later to apply the same approach to the Jungle Books (1894), evoking a jungle world from images and books about a part of India he had never visited.)
If the tragedy of Gordon seems to anticipate the end of Empire, the sombre mood in Britain which followed it can be seen as related to the mood of world-weariness and pessimism which characterised the late 19th Century; ironically co-incidental with the high tide of Britain's wealth and imperial supremacy. William Knighton summed up the atmosphere in his 1881 essay on suicide for the Contemporary Review (no 39, 1881): 'Men everywhere are becoming more weary of the burden of life'. And Knighton describes 'the erosion of vitality' brought about by 'the force of their own inventions, runaway science, runaway technology, runaway urbanism.'
Such a view of life can be traced back to Wordsworth and his withdrawal from revolutionised society, and is discernable through the work of of Tennyson, especially in "In Memoriam"(1853), to the French Symbolists,Rimbaud and Baudelaire, to Poe, Wilde and Hardy's tragic fatalism.. Wilde expressed the sense of a world suddenly become meaningless and out of joint, in the macabre musical imagery of "The Harlot's House":
Then suddenly the tune went false
The dancers wearied of the waltz
The shadows ceased to wheel and whirl"
(�The Harlot�s House� Oscar Wilde (1885) Complete Works, Collins page 790)
An earlier example, Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" (1865) one of the great lyric poems of the 19thC, contemplates the Age's crisis of religious faith, and the need for love and stability in a world without order. The poem ends with his vision of a society that:
Hath neither joy, nor love, nor light
Nor certitude nor peace nor help for pain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and fight
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
(�Dover Beach� by Matthew Arnold: Palgrave�s Golden Treasury 1980 ed. page 790)
The power of the poem derives from a profound moral awareness of a kind of heart of darkness. There is an interesting and instructive parallel between this late Victorian sense of alienation, and the mood of the 1920's; similarly an age of great prosperity and endless possibilities. Yet, it was the darker moral and spiritiual underside of that society which concerned writers like Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald and D H Lawrence. And darkness and alienation certainly pervade the final chapters of The Light That Failed, indeed our own age is comparable, which is why this Editor finds in the novel a modernity as well as a portrait of its time.
The 1870's and 1880's also saw a liberalising of the attitude towards, and philosophical concern with,the idea of suicide, as Knighton's article suggests. In The Light That Failed when Dick is most painfully aware of the hopelessness of his condition, he is kept alive by:
'a lingering sense of humour ... suicide he had persuaded himself would be a ludicrous insult to the gravity of the situation,as well as a weak-kneed confession of fear.'
(Ch. XIV p. 235)
This is clearly Dick the brave, but the passage indicates that suicide has crossed his mind, and that he is no stranger to fear. It is possible,in the light of this, to see his death as both an act of heroism and of willed suicide, a euthanasia of a kind, aided by Torpenhow, whom he has asked to deliberately put him to 'the forefront of the battle'. In the view of this Editor the novel's penultimate paragraph could justifiably support this interpretation:
His luck held to the last, even to the crowning mercy of a kindly bullet to his head"
(Chapter XV p. 289)
Cities of Dreadful Night
There are two works entitled �The City of Dreadful Night� which are important influences on The Light That Failed. One is the collection of eight articles by Kipling describing Calcutta, originally published in the Civil and Military Gazette and the Pioneer in 1887-8, and later as sections of Letters of Travel, in Volume 2 of From Sea to Sea in 1900.
There is also the surreal narrative poem by the Glasgow-born poet James Thomson, from whom Kipling borrowed the phrase. This appeared in instalments in the National Reformer in 1874, and in book form in 1880.
Thomson�s poem is a terrifying Dante-esque vision of an imaginary city, symbolising a world of 'dead Faith, dead Love, dead Hope' (Section II Verse 8 line 45), and was a key text of late 19th Century pessimism. It is also very �modern� in its anticipation of the idea of the city as a place of loneliness and alienation, which influenced the T S Eliot of "Preludes" ,"The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock" and the �Unreal city� of "The Waste Land". Thomson describes the atmosphere of his city as: 'dark and dense' a place of sadness ... madness ... and despair (Section XV last verse)
Kipling recalls how his youthful reading of it 'shook me to my unformed core' (Something of Myself, Chapter II p 33). The poem's mood and imagery pervade the novel; Kipling quotes the text frequently, and the two �Melancolia� paintings are the novel�s central images, impacting on the personal and artistic conflicts between Maisie and Dick. Thomson�s �Melancolia� is a huge bronze female winged statue or effigy, based on Albrecht Durer�s engraving �Melencolia 1� (Kipling updated the spelling of the name for clarity.(see the note for Ch. IX pages 148-9).
Initially Thomson's statue becomes the inspiration for Maisie�s painting , and Dick's in scornful competition with her, because he doesn�t believe she has the power to complete the task successfully. Maisie�s determination has something of the �New Woman� about it when she says of the statue: 'She was a woman - and she suffered a great deal - till she could suffer no more.' (Ch. IX page 150). Kipling�s handles his poetic source very skilfully in underlining the difficulties of their relationship. The statue is soul-sick, inert, surrounded by objects of art and science, of which she makes no use; the epitome of lethargy and melancholy. Maisie observes, astutely and provocatively, that Dick would be unable to cope with such a passive subject, as he is only interested in 'blood and bones' (Ch. IX page 150). Inevitably, this stirs him into active rivalry. The image, therefore, is vitally important as a catalyst to their divisive relationship. There is also the implication that the red-haired girl, silently reading the poem, is an influence on Maisie�s decision.
Their joint project brings out the worst in Dick, as he contemptuously declares: 'You haven�t the power. You have only the ideas - the ideas and the little cheap impulses' (Ch IX p. 150), and he vows to create The Melancolia 'that transcends all wit' , himself quoting from the poem (Section XXI Verse 6 line 43).
Kipling's vivid description of Dick in Chapter IV sombrely watching the Thames from the Embankment wall, and looking at 'the faces flocking past ... some with death on their features ... others merely drawn and lined with work' (Ch. IV p. 54), owes something to the opening of the poem's Section VI as the speaker tells us how:
I sat forlornly by the river-side
And watched the bridge-lamps glow like golden stars
Above the blackness of the swelling tide. (Section VI Verse 1)
He too sees anonymous crowds, but also hears 'stranger voices in a stranger talk'.
Edwin Morgan, however, identifies a paradox in Thomson's image/statue of 'Melancolia'. Despite her inertia and world-weariness, he says of her in his Introduction to the poem:
There is a suggestion of great endurance and patience;great latent force,a force that remains under an even more powerful spell, and so cannot act in the real world. (Introduction to the poem, page 22).
This surely must have influenced Kipling's portrait of the heroic aspects of Dick's character, enduring his affliction even in despair, and similarly ultimately unable to "act in the real world". Edwin Morgan also points out that Section XXI symbolises the artist wrestling with his material and a kind of epic struggle:
Unvanquished in defeat and desolation
Undaunted in the hopeless conflagration.
(Verse 7)
...Baffled and beaten back she works on still,
Weary and sick of soul she works the more,
Sustained by her indomitable will:
The hands shall fashion and the brain shall pore,
And her sorrow shall be turned to labour,
Till Death the friend-foe piercing with his sabre
That mighty heart of hearts ends bitter war.
(Verse 8)
A change of gender and instrument of death, and you have the essence of Dick Heldar's heroic dimension.
Section IV describes a symbolic desert dreamscape, vividly lit with nightmare images of isolation and despair, with its refrain:
As I came through the desert thus it was
As I came through the desert all was black.
(Verse 2)
Dick in his blackness is in a very real desert, and like the narrator facing 'the deep jaws of death.' (Verse 3 line 20) Which brings us once again to the issue of Dick's end and the accompanying final ambiguity. Is his death, in the present context of this poem, a fin-de-siecle 'literary' suicide in keeping with the late century's pessimistic mood, or an act of courage escaping the fetters of his isolation and blindness? Dick is, after all, a passionate man, unlike the lost souls of Thomson's imaginary city.
The conclusion of Section X has obvious affinites with Kipling's own feelings at the loss of Flo Garrard, just as it parallels Dick's for Maisie, echoing Dick 's 'for old sake's sake'. (see the Note to Ch XIV p. 257 line 17), as he visits Mme Binat for the last time:
The Chambers of the mansion of my heart,
In every one whereof thine image dwells,
Are black with grief eternal for thy sake.
The inmost oratory of my soul,
Wherein thou ever dwellest quick or dead,
Is black with grief eternal for thy sake.
( Verses 8 and 9).
"The City of Dreadful Night" is a poem of extreme moods and vision, often unrelenting in its morbidity, but unforgettable once read. Edwin Morgan also sees in it something of the poet's sense of cultural displacement, coming from his native Scotland to London. In the same way, Kipling may well have recognised his own struggle to adjust to London literary and metropolitan life after the crucial formative years in India, so cruelly interrupted by Lorne Lodge, and so creating the burden of a double displacement.
If Thomson�s imaginary nightmare city is a place of fear and desolation, the Calcutta of Kipling�s own �City of Dreadful Night� is a thronging metropolis to be absorbed in all its diversity; a 'Real Live City' (Chapter I, Header page 201), and all that that implies, as Kipling�s invitation, hard to resist, anticipates the comprehensiveness of his urban portrait:
Let us take off our hats to Calcutta, the many-sided, the smoky, the magnificent, as we drive in over the Hughli bridge in the dawn of a still February morning.
(Chapter 1 page 201)
The eight vignettes that comprise the journey around the city are a fusion of two notions; one is the idea of urban poverty and deprivation, and the other the same late 19th Century fascination with a decadent sinful underworld, previously illustrated from Gail Ching Chiang Low�s studies. The Light That Failed presents a London which is anonymous alienating,enclosing.. Dick has to face up to 'all the loneliness of London'. (Chapter II p. 35). He must endure near poverty, monotonous diet, and pawn his belongings to exist. His shabby chambers overlooking the Thames let in only 'a pale yellow sun', which 'showed the dust of the place.' (Ch. III p. 39) Kipling, to some degree still in Thomson territory, highlights 'the long lightless streets' and 'the appalling rush of traffic'.
In contrast there is Port Said, a city which contains 'the concentrated essence of all the iniquities and all the vices in all the continents.'(Ch III p. 31. It also has light and colour, as opposed to London�s gloom; an open city of adventurous possibilities, in spite of the war background:
For recreation there was the straight vista of the canal,the blazing sands,the procession of shipping and the white hospitals where the British soldiers lay. (Ch. III p. 31)
But Calcutta of course has its poverty, at a level beyond that of Dick�s immediate milieu, although not of the London slums themselves as Kipling indicates in a brief description of Dickensian intensity:
The vision dies out in the smells and gross darkness of the night, in evil, time-rotten brickwork, and another wilderness of shut-up houses.
(Ch. VI p. 247)
Running through Kipling's �City of Dreadful Night� is the presentation of Calcutta as a kind of surreal negative mirror image of London. This is not just a convenient visual metaphor, but the epitome of Anglo-India itself. East and West are separate. yet they are one, so the city symbolises the reality of Empire and is a microcosm of late Victorian life. When Kipling describes Calcutta�s Park Street as:
...a rush of broughams, neat buggies, the lightest of gigs,trim office brownberries, shining victorias, and a sprinkling of veritable hansom cabs...
we could be in the heart of London itself. And the long account of the doings of the Bengal Legislation Council in Chapter II, with its frock-coated members, and committee rhetoric is not so far removed from the business atmosphere of a Victorian London Boardroom.
Calcutta, too, is a city of sin; personified by the seedy glamour of two �Madams� �Dainty Iniquity� and �Fat Vice� We journey to a backstreet den and up a staircase to be met by:
A glare of light on the stair-head, a clink of innumerable bangles, a rustle of much fine gauze, and the Dainty Iniquity stands revealed, blazing, literally blazing - with jewellery from head to foot... (Ch VI page 245)
Another passageway and another courtyard and we are confronted by the apparition of a Fat Vice, in whom there is no romance, nor beauty, but unlimited coarse humour. She too is studded with jewels , and her house is even finer than the house of the other... (Ch VI page 247)
Just in case we get too carried away with excitement at the delights on offer, Kipling strips away the masks to reveal the sordid reality:
'The scene changes suddenly as a slide in a magic-lantern' as Dainty Iniquity and Fat Vice slide away on a roll of streets and alleys, each more squalid than the other. (Ch VI p 247).
Images of human life
This image reminds us of Kipling�s abiding interest in photography. Indeed, much of the book is a series of vivid snapshots; a guided tour of sorts with the author exhorting us to listen in here, to take in a scene there, and follow him on a remarkable journey.
The Light That Failed can also be seen as a sequence of images, a book strongly visualised and full of colour in an age before colour photography. There is a notable example in Chapter V, just after Dick�s reunion with Maisie, as he thinks back to their childhood, and memories of:
...storm across the sea, and Maisie in a gray dress on the beach,sweeping her drenched hair out of her eyes and laughing ... Maisie flying before the wind that threshed the foreshore ... Maisie picking her way delicately from stone to stone, a pistol in her hand ... and Maisie in a gray dress sitting on the grass between the mouth of a cannon and a nodding yellow poppy. The pictures passed before him one by one,and the last stayed the longest.
(Chapter V pages 63-4)
The recall becomes a photo album in his mind; the last picture, of course, is pure holiday snapshot.
A variant of this is Kipling�s imaginative �listing� technique, often, as in this instance, a panoramic view of the variety of human types and races. In Chapter IV of "City of Dreadful Night" Kipling is at the Calcutta Port Office, and observes the surrounding mix of:
...the cast-ups of all races ... Italians with gold ear-rings and a thirst for gambling; Yankees of all states, with Mulattos and pure-buck niggers; red and rough Danes, Cingalese ... tunbellied Germans, Cockney mates keeping a little aloof from the crowd ... an ethnological museum where all the specimens are playing comedies and tragedies...
There is a hint of stereotyping here, but as all sterotypes begin from a factual starting point, we may accept that Kipling is describing the scene as it would be, and is showing a genuine fascinated interest in human diversity. To a modern reader the use of 'buck nigger' seems unfortunate, marginally excusable only in that it was common usage at the time. In the context of Kipling's whole oeuvre however, there is insufficient evidence to supplement the familar charge of racism that has for so long haunted his reputation. Describing people as 'specimens' or 'objects' in a museum is certainly curious, and made more so by the - for Kipling - surprisingly clumsy mixed metaphor used. At worst, the analogy is a thoughtless and misconceived attempt at the narrator-as-dispassionate-observer role; at best he may be genuinely seeing people as valid artistic subject matter.
Less vivid and particularised, but in the same spirit and tone is the Chapter III account in The Light that Failed of Dick in Port Said, and how:
He spent his evenings on the quay, and boarded many ships and saw very many friends ... hurrying war correspondents, skippers of the contract troop-ships employed in the campaign ... and others of less reputable trades. He had the choice of all the races of the East and West for studies...
(Ch III p. 31)
This is more generalised fare, 'all human life is there', but the approach is the same. Immediately, however, we come up against yet another contradiction, best illustrated by a brief consideration of an extract from a more popular Kipling novel. The experiences at sea of many peoples and dialects of the arrogant young Harvey Cheyne, in Captain's Courageous (1896), expand out into a wider sense of community; there is a change of attitude and feeling beyond the creation of images of colourful humanity. Harvey has relished his initiation into responsible manhood aboard the schooner We're Here - a Melvillian microcosm of humanity - and has been re-united with his parents, who are walking the streets of Gloucester, Massachusetts, contemplating:
...women in light summer dresses ... straw-hatted men fresh from Boston desks ... clear eyed Nova-Scotians ... French, Italians, Swedes and Danes ... ministers of many creeds ... captains of tugs and water-boats, riggers, fitters, lumpers, salters, boat builders and coopers, and all the mixed population of the waterfront...
(Captain's Courageous Chapter X pages 265-6)
The approach here is essentially that of Kipling's "City of Dreadful Night" but the tone is softer, the entire passage expressing a real kinship with one's fellow men. Later, the community gather together to remember their men and ships lost at sea, in a movingly dramatised Memorial Day service, based on a real-life occasion such as Kipling himself had witnessed. The novel makes several references to Freemasonry, an important part of Kipling's life, satisfying in himself a need for order and ritual. Associated with this is the idea of brotherhood; exactly what is conveyed in the above description, and another facet of the 'real' Kipling. Andrew Lycett (p. 641) believes that he was always 'looking for accommodation with Christianity, his instinctive religion', and that in his later increasingly symbolic fiction, he 'sought a balance between religion and society, with Freemasonry as its bridge'.
The loss of God
However, the readiness with which Kipling creatively mined the sources of Thomson's poem, and the consequent slough of despond of the final chapters of The Light That Failed, suggest that he was not at home in true Christian belief. Edwin Morgan, in the poem's Introduction, reminds us forcefully that 'this is a poem about the loss of God, or the death of God', and quotes from Section XIV where a preacher preaches an 'anti-sermon' espousing a 'doctrine of stoic necessity':
I find no hint throughout the Universe
Of good or ill, of blessing or of curse;
I find alone Necessity Supreme.
(Introduction to Thomson's "City of Dreadful Night" page 19 and Section XIV verse 13)
When Dick mentions God it is usually in the heat of personal despair rather than a declaration of faith, and his predicament is akin to the isolation and suffering of the Greek tragic hero, as well as in keeping with the mood of the poem. And there is an almost Lear-like bitter irony in his idea of:
the very just Providence who delights in causing pain has decreed that the agony shall return and in the midst of keenest pleasure.
(Ch. XIV p. 255)
If a conclusion of any kind can be drawn at this point, it is that Kipling emerges as clearly as ever as a writer of fascinating dualities and opposites. That is part of his nature as man and artist, and - faults notwithstanding - an element in his greatness.
Some other influences - Manon Lescaut
In Manon Lescaut, the 18th Century novel by the Abb� Pr�vost, the Chevalier des Grieux meets and seduces the faithless demi-mondaine Manon, who lives in Paris with him, but leaves him for a rich admirer. She is later arrested and charged with prostitution, and deported to Louisiana. Des Grieux, his passion unassuaged, manages to join her in America. They flee but find no shelter. Finally, in a tragic denouement, Manon dies in des Grieux�s arms in a desert waste, just as Dick dies in the desert in the arms of his one true friend. The story leaves unresolved whether Manon is thief, whore, a personification of passionate love, or a type of 'New Woman' and in some way a literary inspiration for Maisie.
In an interesting article by Margaret Newsom in KJ 195 , she draws attention to Part 3 of the Roman Comique by Paul Scarron (1610-1660). In this work a story is told by one of the characters with interesting parallels to The Light That Failed, "The Story of the Capricious Lover". It tells of Margaret and her lover Saint Germain, who loves her passionately, but whose love is constantly repulsed. He vows to join the army and die rather than live without her love. He goes to war, and afterwards is wounded in a quarrel by a sword blow to the head. His injury arouses Margaret�s compassion, and they marry when he has recovered.
This happy ending may conceivably have appealed to Kipling and been �metagrobolised� into the first, shorter, version of The Light That Failed. As Mrs Newsom reminds us: 'Kipling read French literature voraciously, under his learned father�s eye at Lahore ... Lockwood Kipling had once earned his living in London as a French teacher.' The characters of the butler and housekeeper in that story may have influenced Kipling's account of Mr and Mrs Beeton in his novel.
Aurora Leigh
Another possible influence is Elizabeth Barrett Browning�s lengthy, but hugely popular novel written in blank verse Aurora Leigh (1856), in which there are some striking points of comparison with The Light That Failed. The poem deals with a number of familiar Victorian issues to do with social relationships and gender, including the theme of 'Woman-As-Artist' and of blindness as 'the light failing'.
Aurora is a woman poet of mixed English and Italian parentage. She is orphaned at thirteen, and like both Kipling and Dick Heldar is brought up for a time by a narrow-minded and repressive aunt who intends to prepare her for middle-class wifehood. She submits outwardly, but inwardly desires to become a poet. Her aunt's cousin, Romney Leigh, dedicated to social service, proposes to her, wishing her to help him in his political career, but she rejects him in favour of her own vocation. Romney decides to marry a lower-class woman, Marian Earle, but she is discouraged by an aristocratic rival for Romney's love. Sent to France, Marian is raped and becomes pregnant, but she and the child are rescued by Aurora, and the three set up home in Italy, where Romney appears. He has been blinded by an accident, after a falling beam from his burning house has withered his optic nerve. Aurora marries Romney, but whilst not giving up poetry, she will write in service to her husband's ideas. The poem contains many referenes to failure and failing light, and the links with The Light That Failed are clear.
Poe's "Annabel Lee"
This poem by Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) is a lamentation on the death of a young girl. The narrator and Annabel shared a childhood together by the sea as do Dick and Maisie, although as true childhood sweethearts. In both cases their love is doomed. Sea imagery runs throughout Poe's poem, just as the atmosphere and experience of the sea colour passages in Kipling's novel, notably Dick's portrait of the Negroid-Jewess-Cuban woman. There is some evidence that Poe also was drawing on his own experience. The treatment of passion in "Annabel Lee" in comparison with Dick's - and indeed Kipling's - experience, strongly suggests the inclusion of the poem as a piece of wish-fulfilment on Kipling's part.
"Wressley of the Foreign Office"
Closer to home, Kipling appears to have revisited themes from a short story from Plain Tales From the Hills (1888) in The Light that Failed. "Wressley Of The Foreign Office" contains too many parallels for co-incidence and must have had deep personal resonance for Kipling: a rejected infatuation for an uncaring young woman, intense dedication to work; the centrality of a magnum opus; the imagery of Art, and a male protagonist who is not entirely sympathetic. The opening everse "Tarrant Moss" is also heavily indicative:
I closed and drew for my Love's sake
That now is false to me...
...And ever I moan my loss
for I struck the blow for my false Love's sake.
The poem was later enlarged and set to music by the American composer Charles Ives in 1902. It also echoes Dick's final "for old sake's sake" (see the Notes to Chapter XIV p. 257 line 17), with its connotations of nostalgia and unrequited passion.
Echoes in later works
Although Maisie abruptly departs from The Light That Failed in Chapter XIII, she is to re-appear in another persona as Kate Sheriff in Kipling's least read novel The Naulahka, co-authored with his friend Wolcott Balestier. The two men had begun work on it in 1890, but it followed closely on fromThe Light That Failed and was published after Balestier's death in April 1892. There is general agreement that Balestier wrote the opening American chapters, and Kipling the later sections set in India. It is an adventure novel, but it also explores the familiar themes of relationships between men and women that are at the heart of the earlier novel.
Nicholas Tarvin, an ambitious American, plans to persuade a railroad chairman to build a station in the High Plains town of Topaz. Nick's girl-friend, the strongly independent 'New Woman' Kate Sheriff, rejects his proposal of marriage, and sets out to work as a medical missionary in the state of Rhatore in Rajasthan. Nick, desiring both Kate and political success, follows her to India. He plans to obtain a priceless jewelled necklace the green emerald Naulahka (note the culture clash implied by the name Topaz), to bribe the wife of the railroad chairman in order to ensure the railroad will be built. Kate returns to America with Tarvin. Both are changed by their experiences in India. Kate is willing finally to let Nick be the decision maker. Nick, realising the dishonesty of his intrigue, chooses Kate above the precious stone.
Betty Miller ("Kipling's First Novel" in Rudyard Kipling; the Man, his work and his World, Weidenfeld and Nicholson 1973, page 4) places The Naulahka firmly in the context of Maisie's relationship with Dick Heldar in the earlier novel. She sees Maisie as aware of Dick's contempt for 'Woman's Art' and 'his professed love for her as a trap, designed expressly to ensnare and to frustrate her'. She notes that their argument is unresolved at the conclusion of The Light that Failed, and that in The Naulahka's final chapters 'the wrangling continues, and goaded by Nick Tarvin's insistence that she will give up her career in order to become his wife, Kate Sheriff pleads her own and Maisie's case.':-
'Suppose I ask you to give up the centre and meaning of your life? Suppose I ask you to give up your work? And suppose I offered in exchange-marriage! No, no.' She shook her head.'Marriage is good; but what man would pay that price for it?'
The general critical consensus is that The Naulahka is not a very successful novel. It does, however, have interesting points of comparison withThe Light That Failed.
"The Vampire"
A rather curious echo of the relationship between Maisie and Dick - and perhaps between Flo and Rudyard - is to be found in Kipling�s 1897 poem �The Vampire� , which appeared at about the same time as the publication of Bram Stoker�s classic horror novel Dracula. Kipling wrote it as publicity, to help bolster the erratic career of his artist cousin, Philip Burne-Jones. Burne-Jones was passionately in love with the actress Beatrice Tanner, better known as Mrs Patrick Campbell, and later the original Eliza Doolittle in Shaw�s play Pygmalion. She rejected his advances in favour of Johnston Forbes-Robertson, the actor who would play Dick Heldar in the second London stage version of The Light that Failed. The jealous Burne-Jones painted a Gothic fantasy picture of a youth - obviously himself - being straddled by a vampirish dark-haired woman - clearly Mrs Pat Campbell, which he entered for the tenth summer show at the New Gallery. Rudyard's poem was intended to get the painting noticed. Burne-Jones didn't sell his work, which sank into obscurity, but the poem appeared in the gallery catalogue and in the Daily Mail. It includes these lines, repeated with variations, throughout:
The fool was stripped to his foolish hide
(Even as you and I!)
Which she might have seen when she threw him aside -
(But it isn't on record the lady tried)
So some of him lived but the most of him died -
(Even as You and I!)
Even with the Burne-Jones connection in mind, and after 5 years of marriage between Carrie and Rudyard, the echo of the past is unmistakeable.
Other echoes of Kipling's tragic theme
Several other later well-known novels bear marked similarities to The Light That Failed. George Gissing's New Grub Street (1892) is also predicated on the notion of commercialism versus artistic integrity; writing as trade is opposed to writing as art. Pitiful intransigent Edwin Reardon endures poverty in his refusal to compromise. He too suffers from an ambitious woman, his wife Amy, who subsequently deserts him.
Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure (1898) also explores the character of a dedicated would-be artist and his conflicting and destructive relationship with women. Jude is caught between two women, the earthy sensual Arabella Donn, and the hypersensitive and vacillating Sue Brideshead. The sexual frankness of the novel exceeds anything Kipling attempts in The Light That Failed, and its hostile reception so angered Hardy that he forsook novel writing permanently and concentrated on poetry. Both novels however share an acute sense of human tragedy. We have no knowledge of Kipling's opinion about Gissing, but he had a friendly relationship with Hardy, an admirer of his work. In 1928 Kipling acted as a pallbearer at Hardy's funeral in Westminster Abbey.
The Moon and Sixpence
There is also an instructive comparison to be made between The Light That Failed and W Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence (1919). Both Dick and Maugham's 'Strickland' are obsessional artists, and both go blind. Strickland's life and character are based closely on Paul Gauguin, and Maugham, as a knowledgeable and discerning admirer of Kipling's fiction, may well have been influenced by Kipling. (It may not be too fanciful, also, to suspect that Maugham's use of the the name 'Strickland' possibly echoes the mysterious police inspector who figures in a number of Kipling's stories.) Maugham uses Kipling's familiar device of the narrator as observer and raconteur, describing events at second-hand. But the self-confessed limitations of Maugham's narrator ('I can give no description of the arduous steps by which he reached such mastery over his art as he ever acquired ... He kept the secret of his struggles to himself ...' etc ) are clearly Maugham's own, and preclude our directly experiencing Strickland's inner life and emergence as a great painter. [The Moon and Sixpence by W Somerset Maugham, Heinemann 1955 pp. 214-215] In contrast we see Dick at first-hand, with sustained insight into his sufferings and his struggle to keep his artistic conscience intact.
The Four Feathers
Arguably the most popular successor to The Light That Failed is AEW Mason's classic The Four Feathers (1902),which shares significant characteristics with Kipling. There is the Sudanese campaign background (Mason's tale covers the years 1882-1888), and the element of exciting 'Boy's Own' adventure. More importantly, both explore the theme of loss of sight commensurate with courage and personal growth. Guards officer Harry Feversham is given four feathers as an accusation of cowardice because he resigns his commission before active duty in the Sudan. The fourth feather is given by his fiancee Ethne, also a woman in conflict, who has rejected Harry because of his actions.
Determined to prove and redeem himself, he goes to the Sudan, disguised as an Arab, to rescue his accusers. Parallel to Harry's personal drama is the ordeal of his friend Jack Durrance, who is blinded by the sun, a blow he faces with brave acceptance. The novel's final pages catch something of the mood of The Light That Failed, with Jack aware of his tragedy and nostalgic for his days of action, 'the good years of his activity, the years of plenty' . He too has loved the desert to the very end. But while for Dick Heldar the desert is a welcome resting place, for Jack 'the desert he loved had smitten and cast him out.' The Four Feathers has been filmed no fewer than seven times, most recently in 2002.
Stage versions of The Light that Failed
A stage version of Kipling's novel played at the Royalty Theatre in London in 1898, starring Courtney Thorpe as Dick, Frank Atherley as Torpenhow, and Furtado Clarke as Maisie. Much more successful was the 1902 production. It used the 'happy ending' to appeal to the romantic appetites of its audiences, and ran for 150 performances until April 1903. It was adapted by a woman, 'George Fleming', in reality Constance Fletcher, who had several stage plays to her credit under this pseudonym. Johnston Forbes-Robertson played Dick. He was a major star of the English stage, and a great attraction for audiences, preparing perhaps for his role as another tortured soul, Shakespeare's Hamlet. C Aubrey Smith was Torpenhow.
Film versions
There have been three cinematic incarnations of Kipling's novel; once in 1916, a 5-reel Pathe version directed by Edward Jose; the 7-reel Paramount film directed in 1923 by George Melford; and most famously William Wellman's 1939 Hollywood version (left). This movie enjoyed no small success; Wellman was one of Hollywood's finest directors, and its most celebrated British-born star Ronald Colman took the role of Dick. Walter Huston, father of the great director John, was Torpenhow, Ida Lupino a much admired Bessie, and Muriel Angelus played Maisie.
A New York Times review of December 1939 praised its courage in sticking to the unhappy ending and noted Colman's charm and charisma, but remarked wryly that it gave the: 'comforting impression that the characters, good fellows all, will never concede that it's a woman's world they're living in.' It was a penetrating comment on the tensions within Kipling's tale.
Some conclusions
The Light That Failed has not enjoyed the popularity of the best-known fiction of its own time, and critical reception has ranged from indifference to hostility. Nevertheless it contains some of Kipling�s finest descriptive and narrative writing, and earns its rightful place in the Kipling canon. Time and time again, one encounters images and set-pieces which move and excite by their contextual rightness, and provide many of the novel�s high points.
Poet and critic Al Alvarez recently noted:
Rudyard Kipling, who wrote some of the purest prose in the English language, said that when he finished a story he locked it away in a drawer for a few weeks, then went through it again, blacking out with Indian ink all the bits he had been most proud of the first time around.
[The Writer�s Voice, Chapter 1 page 35 Bloomsbury Press 2005]
Alvarez thus defines his own notion of Kiplings purity; a style committed to significant detail, never seduced into �fine writing� or striving for effect. For Kipling, visual and emotional truth are paramount. Here is a battle-scene from Chapter II of the novel (pp. 25-6), reminding us again that his experience of the Sudan campaign was second-hand, but invested with a powerful sense of realism:
No civilised troops in the world could have endured the hell through which they came, the living leaping high to avoid the dying who clutched at their heels, the wounded cursing and staggering forward till they fell - a torrent black as the sliding water above a mill-dam - full on the right flank of the square.The line of the dusty troops and the faint blue desert sky overhead went out in rolling smoke,and the little stones on the heated ground and the tinder-dry clumps of scrub became matters of surpassing interest, for men measured their agonised retreat and recovery by these things, counting mechanically and hewing their way back to chosen pebble and branch.
The first thing that strikes one here is the knowledge of battle conditions; how every detail registers. There is the awful image of the dying clutching at enemy heels, and the impact of the landscape as a kind of desperate reference point for the retreating soldiers. It sounds authentic even if it is imaginative re-creation. The 'mill-dam' imagery could hardly be bettered in conveying the unstoppable force of an attack and the sheer weight of numbers. The phrase 'surpassing interest' suggests the men�s terror by its ironic understatement.
The 'mill-dam', as an image of oppression, becomes the 'millstones' of Dick�s thoughts grinding against each other in this description of him alone in his darkness in Chapter XIII, p. 231:
... yet the brain would not wear out and give him rest. It continued to think at length, with imagery and all manner of reminiscences. It recalled Maisie and past successes, reckless travels by land and sea, the glory of doing work and feeling that it was good, and suggested all that might have happened had the eyes only been faithful to their duty. When thinking ceased through sheer weariness, there poured into Dick�s soul tide on tide of overwhelming, purposeless fear- dread of starvation always, terror lest the unseen ceiling should crush down upon him, fear of fire in the chambers and a louse�s death in red flame, and agonies of fiercer horror that had nothing to do with any fear of death.
The power of this extract derives as much from its structure as its language. Kipling divides Dick�s mental processes into two halves; relentless thought giving way to overwhelming emotion. The significance of both is emphasised by the contrast between them. By making the brain 'it', as something with an identity separate from Dick, Kipling conveys his extreme state and the break-down of his self-control. One feels the effect of Kipling�s prose rythm, and his mastery of the long sentence, with its cumulative emotional effect. Somehow he has managed to make us, temporarily at least, forget the unpleasant side of Dick�s character in his affliction. The weight of the words, the alliterations and repetitions, all play their part in creating the total effect. As so often with Kipling there is a bold stroke; a striking or unusual image that spearheads the impact of a whole passage. In this instance it is the subtle but horrifying 'louse�s death in red flame'. In one image, Kipling has combined the sense of Dick�s reduced, less than human state, with the cruelty inflicted on him, and the terrible suddenness of death by fire.
Opinion in Kipling�s own time and the view of posterity has not always been bad news for The Light That Failed. A contemporary view by the poet Lionel Johnson offers an enthusiastic and perceptive judgement, surprisingly so from a writer closer to Wilde than to Kipling:
... it is the first truth about him that he has power; not a clever trick nor a happy knack, nor a flashy style, but real intrinsic power. The reader ... feels his heart go out to a writer with mind and muscle, not only nerve and sentiment.
[ R L Green (Ed.) quoted in DC Rose "Blue Roses and Green Carnations" KJ 302 p. 31 ]
One of the novel�s main faults, according to J M S Tompkins , is Kipling�s artistic inability to always distance himself from his material. But she is moved to comment (p. 3) that:
The writing never runs to waste, but it is explicit and fully expressive. Scenes and feelings are worked out, and people declaim and debate their opinions. Nothing is hinted or bitten back; it is a style of full statement.
By way of conclusion, let us leave the final word with Kipling himself, with the final four lines from "When Earth�s Last Picture is Painted" (1892), which seem a fitting tribute to both Dick Heldar and to Rudyard Kipling his creator:
And only The Master shall praise us, and only The Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They are!
| i don't know |
"What is the name of the actor who has now become famous for his role as the killer Freddie Kruger in the 1984 film ""A Nightmare on Elm street""?" | See the Cast of 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' Then and Now
REDDIT
New Line Cinema
Horror master Wes Craven’s slasher film ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ was a huge success with both audiences and critics in 1984. In fact, it was such a hit that it spawned multiple sequels, remakes and various television incarnations.
However, the first movie remains the most memorable, because that’s when we were introduced to psychotic dream-stalker Freddy Krueger. While it was barely noticed at the time, the original ‘Nightmare’ was also the first appearance of an actor who went on to become one of the most popular entertainment figures of our time.
See who that was — and check up on what the cast of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ is up to these days — below.
Heather Langenkamp, Nancy Thompson
YouTube/Wikipedia
Then: Langenkamp played Nancy Thompson, a teen who wages an epic dream-time battle against Freddy Krueger. The 20-year-old was slated to make her film debut the year before in ‘The Outsiders,’ but her scenes got deleted. Her other career highlights include a run as Marie Lubbock on the ‘Growing Pains’ spin-off ‘Just The Ten Of Us’ and playing figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in the TV movie ‘Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story.’
Now: Langenkamp owns a special effects and makeup studio with her husband. The 2012 thriller ‘The Butterfly Room’ was her first acting role in a decade.
Robert Englund, Freddy Krueger
New Line Cinema/Frazer Harrison, Getty Images
Then: The now iconic role of murderous burn victim Freddy Krueger in ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ was Englund’s big break. But his big break had almost come seven years earlier, as he was considered for the role of Han Solo in ‘Star Wars’ before it went to Harrison Ford.
Now: The ‘Nightmare’ franchise made Englund a horror superstar. In addition to reprising Freddy Krueger dozens of times on TV and film, the classically trained actor has popped up in such horror films as ‘Urban Legends’ and ‘Hatchet’ and most recently headlined the gore-fest ‘Strippers vs. Werewolves.’
John Saxon, Lt. Don Thompson
YouTube/Alberto E. Rodriguez, Getty Images
Then: In ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street,’ Saxon was Lt. Don Thompson, a cop trying to track down Krueger. During that period he was playing recurring character Tony Cumson on ‘Dynasty.’ Saxon is probably best known for co-starring with Bruce Lee in 1973’s ‘Enter The Dragon.’
Now: Well into his sixth decade as an actor, the 76-year-old last appeared in the 2009 movie ‘The Mercy Man.’ He has two movies, ‘The Extra’ and ‘Bring Me The Head of Henriksen,’ in post-production.
Johnny Depp, Glen Lantz
YouTube/Theo Wargo, Getty Images
Then: Yup, Johnny Depp was in ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street.’ He played Nancy’s boyfriend Glen Lantz and didn’t quite make it to the end of the film. It was the acting debut for the 21-year-old, who came into prominence a few years later on the cop drama ’21 Jump Street.’
Now: Depp is arguably the biggest movie star in the world. This year he starred in ‘Dark Shadows,’ his eighth collaboration with director Tim Burton. In 2013, he will be Tonto in ‘ The Lone Ranger ‘ and a fifth ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film, of which he’s the star, has been announced. Not bad for a guy who got his start being sucked into a hole in his bed.
Ronee Blakley, Marge Thompson
Amazon
Then: You might remember Blakley as Marge Thompson, Nancy’s hard-drinking mom. An accomplished singer, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting role in the 1975 Robert Altman film ‘Nashville.’
Now: Blakley, 67, stopped appearing on movies or on TV around 1990, partly so she could raise her daughter. But her singing career continues, and in 2009 she released the album ‘The River Nile.’
Amanda Wyss, Tina Gray
YouTube/Joblo.com
Then: Wyss was high school student Tina Gray, the first to encounter Freddy, and the first to die. Prior to ‘Nightmare,’ she scored a small role in ‘Fast Times At Ridgemont High.’
Now: Wyss has had a steady acting career since ‘Nightmare.’ The 51-year-old was last seen as a guest star on ‘CSI,’ and in 2010 she played a supporting role in the movie ‘Deadly Impact.’
Nick Corri, Rod Lane
TvRage.com
Then: Corri is best remembered for playing Tina’s doomed boyfriend Rod Lane. Corri had made his acting debut two years earlier on an episode of ‘Fame.’
Now: In 1997, Corrie reverted back to his birth name of Jsu Garcia. He continues to act, and in 2011 played the role of Francisco D’Anconia in ‘Atlas Shrugged: Part One.’ The 49-year-old also runs the production company Scott J-R Production.
| Robert Englund |
Which year of the 20th century saw the deaths of Matt Busby, John Curry, Fanny Craddock and Richard Nixon? | Nightmare on Elm Street Series Ranked from Best to Worst - Metacritic
$62M
* U.S. grosses only; based on 2010 ticket prices. Source: Box Office Mojo
Introduced in Wes Craven’s 1984 horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) has been scaring moviegoers ever since. The horrifically burned boogeyman who haunts the children of those who burned him alive was an unexpected hit that turned indie studio New Line Cinema into the house that Freddy built.
Wes Craven’s clever conceit of a sharp-tongued monster (with even sharper knives for fingers) who tortures his victims through their dreams set the Nightmare series apart from the less creative exploits of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees of the Halloween and Friday the 13th series, respectively. Freddy started out terrifying, but, as the series went on, he became more and more cartoonish, going for gory laughs more than scares. Nevertheless, the series certainly has its share of surprises.
As with many successful pop-culture staples of the ’80s, the series is now being rebooted to appeal to a whole new generation. Music video director Samuel Bayer (Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”) makes his feature debut with the decidedly darker and louder A Nightmare on Elm Street , with Watchmen ’s Jackie Earle Haley replacing the iconic Englund as Freddy. Produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes imprint, the film isn’t receiving the best advance buzz, and if past remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (remake: 38) and Friday the 13th (remake: 34) are any indication, fans might want to stick with the original series.
Below, we examine all of the films in the series, ranked in order of quality.
All Nightmare on Elm Street Movies, From Best to Worst
Title
| i don't know |
"""Indian Camp"" in 1926, ""A farewell to arms"" in 1929 and ""The short, happy life of Franics Macomber"" in 1935 are all novels by which famous author?" | Ernest Hemingway Quotes - YouTube
Ernest Hemingway Quotes
Want to watch this again later?
Sign in to add this video to a playlist.
Need to report the video?
Sign in to report inappropriate content.
Rating is available when the video has been rented.
This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.
Published on May 15, 2013
For More Famous Quotes By Ernest Hemingway :
http://www.quoteswave.com/authors/ern...
About :
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. Three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Many of these are considered classics of American literature.
Notable Works:
The Sun Also Rises (1926)
A Farewell to Arms (1929)
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (1935)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)
The Old Man and the Sea (1951)
A Moveable Feast (1964, posthumous)
True at First Light (1999)
Like video? Subscribe Now -
| Ernest Hemingway |
Which famous puppet character, introduced in 1965 and voiced by David Graham has the christian name Aloysius? | Ernest Hemingway - Amerifo- Info on Everything America
History > Biographies >
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American author and journalist. His distinctive writing style, characterized by economy and understatement , influenced 20th-century fiction, as did his life of adventure and his public image. He produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Hemingway's fiction was successful because the characters he presented exhibited authenticity that resonated with his audience. Many of his works are classics of American literature . He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works during his lifetime; a further three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois . After leaving high school he worked for a few months as a reporter for The Kansas City Star , before leaving for the Italian front to become an ambulance driver during World War I , which became the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms . In 1918, he was seriously wounded and returned home within the year. In 1922 Hemingway married Hadley Richardson , the first of his four wives, and the couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent . During his time there he met and was influenced by modernist writers and artists of the 1920s expatriate community known as the " Lost Generation ". His first novel, The Sun Also Rises , was published in 1926.
After divorcing Hadley Richardson in 1927 Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer ; they divorced following Hemingway's return from covering the Spanish Civil War , after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls . Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940; they split when he met Mary Welsh in London during World War II . During the war he was present at D-Day and the liberation of Paris .
Shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea in 1952 Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in a plane crash that left him in pain or ill-health for much of the rest of his life. Hemingway had permanent residences in Key West, Florida , and Cuba during the 1930s and '40s, but in 1959 he moved from Cuba to Ketchum, Idaho , where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961.
Biography
Early life
Ernest Hemingway was the second child, and first son, born to Clarence and Grace Hemingway.
Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois , a suburb of Chicago. [1] His father Clarence Edmonds Hemingway was a physician, and his mother, Grace Hall-Hemingway, was a musician. Both were well educated and well respected in the conservative community of Oak Park. [2] Frank Lloyd Wright , a resident of Oak Park, said of the village: "So many churches for so many good people to go to". [3] When Clarence and Grace Hemingway married in 1896, they moved in with Grace's father, Ernest Hall, [4] after whom they named their first son. [note 1] Hemingway claimed to dislike his name, which he "associated with the naive, even foolish hero of Oscar Wilde 's play The Importance of Being Earnest ". [5] The family's seven-bedroom home in a respectable neighborhood contained a music studio for Grace and a medical office for Clarence. [6]
Hemingway's mother frequently performed in concerts around the village. As an adult Hemingway professed to hate his mother, although biographer Michael Reynolds points out that Hemingway mirrored her energy and enthusiasm. [7] Her insistence that he learn to play the cello became a "source of conflict", but he later admitted the music lessons were useful in his writing, as in the " contrapuntal structure" of For Whom the Bell Tolls . [8] The family owned a summer home called Windemere on Walloon Lake , near Petoskey , Michigan, where Hemingway learned to hunt, fish and camp in the woods and lakes of Northern Michigan. His early experiences in nature instilled a passion for outdoor adventure, and living in remote or isolated areas. [9]
Photograph of Hemingway family in 1905, from left: Marcelline, Sunny, Clarence, Grace, Ursula and Ernest.
Hemingway attended Oak Park and River Forest High School from 1913 until 1917 where he took part in a number of sports—boxing, track and field, water polo, and football—had good grades in English classes, [10] and he and his sister Marcelline performed in the school orchestra for two years. [7] In his junior year, he took a journalism class, taught by Fannie Biggs, which was structured "as though the classroom were a newspaper office". The better writers in class submitted pieces to the The Trapeze, the school newspaper. Hemingway and his sister Marcelline both had pieces submitted to The Trapeze; Hemingway's first piece, published in January 1916, was about a local performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra . [11] He continued to contribute to and to edit the Trapeze and the Tabula (the school's newspaper and yearbook), for which he imitated the language of sportswriters, and used the pen name Ring Lardner, Jr.—a nod to Ring Lardner of the Chicago Tribune whose byline was "Line O'Type". [12] Like Mark Twain , Stephen Crane , Theodore Dreiser and Sinclair Lewis , Hemingway was a journalist before becoming a novelist; after leaving high school he went to work for The Kansas City Star as a cub reporter. [13] Although he stayed there for only six months he relied on the Star's style guide as a foundation for his writing: "Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative." [14]
World War I
Hemingway photographed in Milan, 1918, dressed in uniform. For two months he drove ambulances until he was wounded.
Early in 1918 Hemingway responded to a Red Cross recruitment effort and signed on to be an ambulance driver in Italy. [15] He left New York in May, and arrived in Paris as the city was under bombardment from German artillery. [16] By June he was stationed at the Italian Front , and on his first day in Milan was sent to the scene of a munitions factory explosion where rescuers retrieved the shredded remains of female workers. He described the incident in his non-fiction book Death in the Afternoon : "I remember that after we searched quite thoroughly for the complete dead we collected fragments". [17] A few days later he was stationed at Fossalta di Piave . On July 8 he was seriously wounded by mortar fire, having just returned from the canteen to deliver chocolate and cigarettes to the men at the front line. [18] Despite his wounds, Hemingway carried an Italian soldier to safety, for which he received the Italian Silver Medal of Bravery . [19] Still only eighteen, Hemingway said of the incident: "When you go to war as a boy you have a great illusion of immortality. Other people get killed; not you ... Then when you are badly wounded the first time you lose that illusion and you know it can happen to you." [20] He sustained shrapnel wounds to both legs; underwent an operation at a distribution center; spent five days at a field hospital; and was transferred to the Red Cross hospital in Milan for recuperation. [21] Hemingway spent six months in the hospital, where he met and fell in love with Agnes von Kurowsky , a Red Cross nurse seven years his senior. [22] Agnes and Hemingway planned to marry, but she became engaged to an Italian officer in March 1919, an incident that provided material for the short and bitter work " A Very Short Story ". [23] Biographer Jeffrey Meyers claims Hemingway was devastated by Agnes' rejection, and that he followed a pattern of abandoning a wife before she abandoned him in future relationships. During his six months in recuperation Hemingway met and formed a strong friendship with "Chink" Dorman-Smith that lasted for decades. [24]
Toronto and Chicago
Hemingway returned home early in 1919 to a time of readjustment. At not yet 20 years old, the war had created in him a maturity at odds with living at home without a job and the need for recuperation. [25] As Reynolds explains, "Hemingway could not really tell his parents what he thought when he saw his bloody knee. He could not say how scared he was in another country with surgeons who could not tell him in English if his leg was coming off or not." [26] That summer he spent time in Michigan with high school friends, fishing and camping; [20] and in September he spent a week in the back-country. The trip became the inspiration for his short story " Big Two-Hearted River ", in which the semi-autobiographical character Nick Adams takes to the country to find solitude after returning from war. [27] A family friend offered him a job in Toronto; having nothing else to do he accepted. Late that year he began as a freelancer, staff writer and foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star Weekly. [28] However he returned to Michigan the following June, [28] and then moved to Chicago in September 1920 to live with friends, while still filing stories for the Toronto Star.
In Chicago he worked as an associate editor of the monthly journal Cooperative Commonwealth , where he met Sherwood Anderson . [29] When St. Louis native Hadley Richardson came to Chicago to visit Hemingway's roommate's sister, Hemingway, who was infatuated, later claimed "I knew she was the girl I was going to marry". Hadley was red-haired, with a "nurturing instinct", and eight years older than Hemingway. [30] Despite the difference in age, Hadley, who had an overprotective mother, seemed less mature than usual for a young woman her age. [31] Bernice Kert, author of The Hemingway Women, claims Hadley was "evocative" of Agnes, but that Hadley had a childishness that Agnes lacked. The two corresponded for a few months, and then decided to marry and travel to Europe. [30] They wanted to visit Rome, but Sherwood Anderson convinced them to visit Paris instead. [32] They were married on September 3, 1921; two months later Hemingway was hired as foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star; and the couple left for Paris. Of Hemingway's marriage to Hadley, Meyers claims: "With Hadley, Hemingway achieved everything he had hoped for with Agnes: the love of a beautiful woman, a comfortable income, a life in Europe." [33]
Paris
Hemingway's 1923 passport photo. At this time he lived in Paris with his wife Hadley, and worked as a journalist.
Early Hemingway biographer Carlos Baker believes that, while Anderson suggested Paris because "the monetary exchange rate" made it an inexpensive place to live, more importantly it was where "the most interesting people in the world" resided. There Hemingway would meet writers such as Gertrude Stein , James Joyce and Ezra Pound who "could help a young writer up the rungs of a career". [32] The Hemingway of the early Paris years was a "tall, handsome, muscular, broad-shouldered, brown-eyed, rosy-cheeked, square-jawed, soft-voiced young man." [34] He and Hadley lived in a small walk-up at 74 Rue du Cardinal Lemoine in the Latin Quarter , and he worked in a rented room in a nearby building. [32] Anderson wrote letters of introduction to Gertrude Stein and other writers in Paris. [35] Stein, who was the bastion of modernism in Paris, [36] became Hemingway's mentor for a period, introducing him to the expatriate artists and writers of the Montparnasse Quarter . She referred to artists as the " Lost Generation "—a term Hemingway popularized with the publication of The Sun Also Rises. [37] A regular at Stein's salon , Hemingway met influential painters such as Pablo Picasso , Joan Miró , and Juan Gris . [38] However, Hemingway eventually withdrew from Stein's influence and their relationship deteriorated into a literary quarrel that spanned decades. [39] The American poet Ezra Pound, older than Hemingway by 14 years, met Hemingway by chance at Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare and Company in 1922. The two toured Italy in 1923 and lived on the same street in 1924. [34] They forged a strong friendship and in Hemingway, Pound recognized and fostered a young talent. [38] Pound—who had recently finished editing T. S. Eliot 's The Waste Land —introduced Hemingway to the Irish writer James Joyce, [34] with whom Hemingway frequently embarked on "alcoholic sprees". [40]
Ernest Hemingway with Lady Duff Twysden, Hadley Hemingway, and three unidentified people at a cafe in Pamplona, Spain, July 1925
During his first 20 months in Paris, Hemingway filed 88 stories for the Toronto Star. [41] He covered the Greco-Turkish War , where he witnessed the burning of Smyrna ; wrote travel pieces such as "Tuna Fishing in Spain" and "Trout Fishing All Across Europe: Spain Has the Best, Then Germany"; and an article dedicated to bullfighting —"Pamplona in July; World's Series of Bull Fighting a Mad, Whirling Carnival". [42] Hemingway was devastated on learning that Hadley had lost a suitcase filled with his manuscripts at the Gare de Lyon as she was traveling to Geneva to meet him in December 1922. [43] The following September, because Hadley was pregnant, the couple returned to Toronto, where their son John Hadley Nicanor was born on October 10, 1923. During their absence Hemingway's first book, Three Stories and Ten Poems, was published. Two of the stories it contained were all that remained of his work after the loss of the suitcase, and the third had been written the previous spring in Italy. Within months a second volume, in our time (without capitals), was published. The small volume included six vignettes and a dozen stories Hemingway had written the previous summer during his first visit to Spain where he discovered the thrill of the corrida . He missed Paris, considered Toronto boring, and wanted to return to the life of a writer, rather than live the life of a journalist. [44]
Hemingway, Hadley and their son (nicknamed Bumby), returned to Paris in January 1924 and moved into a new apartment on the Rue Notre Dame des Champs. [44] Hemingway helped Ford Madox Ford edit the transatlantic review in which were published works by Pound, John Dos Passos , and Gertrude Stein as well as some of Hemingway's own early stories such as " Indian Camp ". [45] When In Our Time (with capital letters) was published in 1925, the dust jacket had comments from Ford. [46] [47] "Indian Camp" received considerable praise; Ford saw it as an important early story by a young writer, [48] and critics in the United States claimed Hemingway reinvigorated the short story with his use of declarative sentences and his crisp style. [49] Six months earlier, Hemingway met F. Scott Fitzgerald , and the pair formed a friendship of "admiration and hostility". [50] Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby had been published that year: Hemingway read it, liked it, and decided his next work had to be a novel. [51]
Ernest, Hadley, and Bumby Hemingway in Schruns , Austria, in 1926, months before they separated
Since his first visit to see the bullfighting at the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona in 1923, Hemingway was fascinated by the sport; he saw in it the brutality of war juxtaposed against a cruel beauty. In June 1925, Hemingway and Hadley left Paris for their annual visit to Pamplona accompanied by a group of American and British expatriates. [52] The trip inspired Hemingway's first novel, The Sun Also Rises, which he began to write immediately after the fiesta, finishing in September. [51] The novel presents the culture of bullfighting with the concept of afición, depicted as an authentic way of life, contrasted with the Parisian bohemians , depicted as inauthentic. [53] Hemingway decided to slow his pace and devoted six months to the novel's rewrite. [51] The manuscript arrived in New York in April, [54] and he corrected the final proof in Paris in August 1926. [55] Scribner's published the novel in October. [56] The Sun Also Rises epitomized the post-war expatriate generation, [57] received good reviews and is "recognized as Hemingway's greatest work". [58] However, Hemingway himself later wrote to his editor Max Perkins that the "point of the book" was not so much about a generation being lost, but that "the earth abideth forever"; he believed the characters in The Sun Also Rises may have been "battered" but were not lost. [59]
Hemingway's marriage to Hadley deteriorated as he was working on The Sun Also Rises. [55] In the spring of 1926, Hadley became aware of his affair with Pauline Pfeiffer, [60] although she endured Pauline's presence in Pamplona that July. [61] On their return to Paris, Hadley and Hemingway decided to separate; and in November she formally requested a divorce. They split their possessions while Hadley accepted Hemingway's offer of the proceeds from The Sun Also Rises. [62] The couple were divorced in January 1927, and Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer in May. [63]
Pfeiffer was from Arkansas —her family was wealthy and Catholic—and before the marriage Hemingway converted to Catholicism. [64] [65] In Paris she worked for Vogue . [64] After a honeymoon in Le Grau-du-Roi , where he contracted anthrax , Hemingway planned his next collection of short stories, [66] Men Without Women , published in October 1927. [67] By the end of the year Pauline, who was pregnant, wanted to move back to America. John Dos Passos recommended Key West , and they left Paris in March 1928. Some time that spring Hemingway suffered a severe injury in their Paris bathroom, when he pulled a skylight down on his head thinking he was pulling on a toilet chain. This left him with a prominent forehead scar, subject of numerous legends, which he carried for the rest of his life. When Hemingway was asked about the scar he was reluctant to answer. [68] After his departure from Paris, Hemingway "never again lived in a big city". [69]
Key West and the Caribbean
Hemingway house in Key West, Florida where he lived with Pauline. He wrote To Have and Have Not in the second story pool house not seen in picture.
In the late spring Hemingway and Pauline traveled to Kansas City where their son Patrick Hemingway was born on June 28, 1928. Pauline had a difficult delivery, which Hemingway fictionalized in A Farewell to Arms . [70] After Patrick's birth, Pauline and Hemingway traveled to Wyoming, Massachusetts and New York. [70] In the fall he was in New York with Bumby, about to board a train to Florida, when he received a cable telling him that his father had committed suicide. [note 2] [71] Hemingway was devastated, having earlier sent a letter to his father telling him not to worry about financial difficulties; the letter arrived minutes after the suicide. He realized how Hadley must have felt after her own father's suicide in 1903, and he suggested, "I'll probably go the same way." [72]
Upon his return to Key West in December, Hemingway worked on the draft of A Farewell to Arms before leaving for France in January. The draft had been finished in August but he delayed the revision. The serialization in Scribner's Magazine was scheduled to begin in May, but by April, Hemingway was still working on the ending, which he may have rewritten as many as seventeen times. A Farewell to Arms was published on September 27. [73] Biographer James Mellow believes Hemingway's stature as an American writer was secured with the publication of A Farewell to Arms, which has a complexity not apparent in The Sun Also Rises. [74] While in Spain during the summer of 1929, Hemingway researched his next work, Death in the Afternoon. He wanted to write a comprehensive treatise of bullfighting, with explanations of the torerosand corridas, complete with glossaries and appendices, because he believed bullfighting was "of great tragic interest, being literally of life and death." [75]
During the early 1930s Hemingway spent his winters in Key West and summers in Wyoming, where he found "the most beautiful country he had seen in the American West" and hunting that included deer, elk, and grizzly bear. [76] His third son, Gregory Hancock Hemingway , was born on November 12, 1931 in Kansas City. [77] [note 3] Pauline's uncle bought the couple a house in Key West with the second floor of the carriage house converted to a writing den. [78] While in Key West he enticed his friends to join him on fishing expeditions—inviting Waldo Peirce , John Dos Passos, and Max Perkins [79] —with one all male trip to the Dry Tortugas , and he frequented the local bar, Sloppy Joe's . [80] He continued to travel to Europe and to Cuba , and although he wrote of Key West in 1933, "We have a fine house here, and kids are all well," Mellow believes he "was plainly restless." [81]
Ernest, Pauline, Bumby, Patrick, and Gregory Hemingway pose with marlins after a fishing trip to Bimini in 1935
In 1933 Hemingway and Pauline went on safari to East Africa. The 10-week trip provided material for Green Hills of Africa , as well as the short stories " The Snows of Kilimanjaro " and " The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber ". [82] They visited Mombasa , Nairobi , and Machakos in Kenya , then on to Tanganyika , where they hunted in the Serengeti , around Lake Manyara and west and southeast of the present-day Tarangire National Park . Hemingway contracted amoebic dysentery that caused a prolapsed intestine, and he was evacuated by plane to Nairobi, an experience reflected in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro". Their guide was the noted "white hunter" Philip Hope Percival, who had guided Theodore Roosevelt on his 1909 safari. On his return to Key West in early 1934 Hemingway began work on Green Hills of Africa, published in 1935 to mixed reviews. [83]
Hemingway bought a boat in 1934, named it the Pilar, and began sailing the Caribbean . [84] In 1935 he first arrived at Bimini , where he spent a considerable amount of time. [82] During this period he also worked on To Have and Have Not , published in 1937 while he was in Spain, the only novel he wrote during the 1930s. [85]
Hemingway (center) with Dutch filmmaker Joris Ivens , and German writer Ludwig Renn (serving as an International Brigades officer) in Spain during Spanish Civil War, 1937.
Spanish Civil War and World War II
It was in Christmas 1936 when Hemingway first met war correspondent Martha Gellhorn at a bar in Key West, Florida . [86] In 1937 Hemingway agreed to report on the Spanish Civil War for the North American Newspaper Alliance (NANA). [87] In March he arrived in Spain with Dutch filmmaker Joris Ivens . [88] Ivens, who was filming The Spanish Earth , needed Hemingway as a screenwriter to replace John Dos Passos, who left the project when his friend José Robles was arrested and later executed. [89] The incident changed Dos Passos' opinion of the leftist republicans, which created a rift between him and Hemingway, who spread a rumor that Dos Passos was a coward for leaving Spain. [90]
Martha Gellhorn went on to join him in Spain. Like Hadley, Martha was a native of St. Louis, and like Pauline, she had worked for Vogue in Paris. Of Martha, Kert explains, "she never catered to him the way other women did." [91] Late in 1937, while in Madrid with Martha, Hemingway wrote his only play, The Fifth Column , as the city was being bombarded. [92] He returned to Key West for a few months, then back to Spain twice in 1938. He was present at the Battle of the Ebro , the last republican stand, and was among fellow British and American journalists who were some of the last to leave the battle as they crossed the river. [93] [94]
Hemingway and sons Patrick (left) and Gregory, with three cats at Finca Vigía ca. 1942–1943. The Hemingways kept cats in Cuba 1942–1960. The polydactyl cats at Hemingway's Key West house arrived after the family's departure in 1940.
In the spring of 1939, Hemingway crossed to Cuba in his boat to live in the Hotel Ambos Mundos in Havana. This was the separation phase of a slow and painful split from Pauline, which had begun when Hemingway met Martha. [95] Martha soon joined him in Cuba, and they almost immediately rented " Finca Vigia " ("Lookout Farm"), a 15-acre (61,000 m2) property 15 miles (24 km) from Havana. Pauline and the children left Hemingway that summer, after the family was re-united during a visit to Wyoming. After Hemingway's divorce from Pauline was finalized, he and Martha were married November 20, 1940, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. [96] As he had after his divorce from Hadley, he changed locations; moving his primary summer residence to Ketchum, Idaho , just outside the newly built resort of Sun Valley , and his winter residence to Cuba. [97] Hemingway, who had been disgusted when a Parisian friend allowed his cats to eat from the table, "developed a passion for cats" in Cuba, keeping dozens of them on the property. [98]
Gellhorn inspired him to write his most famous novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, which he started in March 1939, finished in July 1940, and was published in October 1940. [86] [99] Consistent with his pattern of moving around while working on a manuscript, he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls in Cuba, Wyoming, and Sun Valley. [95] For Whom the Bell Tolls became a book-of-the-month choice, sold half a million copies within months, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize , and as Meyers describes, "triumphantly re-established Hemingway's literary reputation". [100]
In January 1941 Martha was sent to China on assignment for Collier's magazine, and Hemingway accompanied her. Although Hemingway wrote dispatches for PM , he had little affinity for China. [101] They had returned to Cuba before the declaration of war by the United States that December, and he convinced the Cuban government to help him refit the Pilar to ambush German submarines. [20]
Hemingway with Col. Charles (Buck) T. Lanaham in Germany, 1944, during the fighting in Hürtgenwald, after which he became ill with pneumonia.
During World War II, he was in Europe from June to December 1944. At the D-Day landing, military officials who considered him "precious cargo", kept him to a landing craft, [102] although biographer Kenneth Lynn claims Hemingway fabricated accounts that he went ashore during the landings. [103] Late in July he attached himself to "the 22nd Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. Charles 'Buck' Lanaham , as it drove toward Paris", and he led a small band of village militia in Rambouillet , outside of Paris. [102] Of Hemingway's exploits, World War II historian Paul Fussell remarks: "Hemingway got into considerable trouble playing infantry captain to a group of Resistance people that he gathered because a correspondent is not supposed to lead troops, even if he does it well". [20] This was in fact in contraversion to the Geneva Convention , and Hemingway was brought up on formal charges; he said he "beat the rap" by claiming that his entire participation was to give advice. [104] On August 25 he was present at the liberation of Paris , although the assertion that he was first in the city, or that he liberated the Ritz is considered part of the Hemingway legend. [105] [106] While in Paris he attended a reunion hosted by Sylvia Beach, and "made peace with" Gertrude Stein. [107] Hemingway was present at heavy fighting in the Hürtgenwald near the end of 1944. [108] On December 17, a feverish and ill Hemingway had himself driven to Luxembourg to cover what would later be called The Battle of the Bulge . However, as soon as he arrived, Lanaham handed him to the doctors, who hospitalized him with pneumonia, and by the time he recovered a week later, the main fighting was over. [104]
In 1947 Hemingway was awarded a Bronze Star for his bravery during World War II. He was recognized for his valor in having been "under fire in combat areas in order to obtain an accurate picture of conditions", with the commendation that "through his talent of expression, Mr. Hemingway enabled readers to obtain a vivid picture of the difficulties and triumphs of the front-line soldier and his organization in combat". [20]
When Hemingway initially arrived in England, he met Time magazine correspondent Mary Welsh in London, and was infatuated. Martha—who had been forced to cross the Atlantic in a ship filled with explosives because he refused to help her get a press pass on a plane—arrived in London to find Hemingway hospitalized with a concussion from a car accident. Unsympathetic to his plight, she accused him of being a bully, and told him she was "through, absolutely finished." [109] The last time he saw her was in March 1945, as he was preparing to return to Cuba. [110] Meanwhile, he had asked Mary Welsh to marry him on their third meeting. [109]
Cuba and the Nobel Prize
Hemingway said he "was out of business as a writer" from 1942 to 1945. [111] In 1946 he married Mary, who had an ectopic pregnancy five months later. Hemingway and Mary had a series of accidents and health problems after the war: in a 1945 car accident he "smashed his knee" and sustained another "deep wound on his forehead"; Mary broke her right ankle and then her left ankle in successive skiing accidents. In 1947 his sons Patrick and Gregory were in a car accident, leaving Patrick with a head wound and severely ill. [112] Hemingway became depressed as his literary friends died: in 1939 Yeats and Ford Madox Ford; in 1940 Scott Fitzgerald; in 1941 Sherwood Anderson and James Joyce; in 1946 Gertrude Stein; and the following year in 1947, Max Perkins, Hemingway's long time Scribner's editor and friend. [113] During this period he had severe headaches, high blood pressure, weight problems, and eventually diabetes—much of which was the result of previous accidents and heavy drinking. [114] Nonetheless, early in 1946 he began work on The Garden of Eden , finishing 800 pages by June. [115] [note 4] During the post–war years he also began work on a trilogy to be called "The Land", "The Sea" and "The Air" which he intended to combine in one novel titled The Sea Book. However, both projects stalled and Mellow considers Hemingway's inability to continue "a symptom of his troubles" during these years. [116] [note 5]
In 1948 Hemingway and Mary traveled to Europe. During a several months long stay in Venice he fell in love with the then 19 year old Adriana Ivancich . The platonic love affair inspired the novel Across the River and Into the Trees , published in 1950 to bad reviews. [117] The relationship with Adriana lasted until 1955. [118] In 1951 Hemingway wrote the draft of Old Man and the Sea in eight weeks, considering it "the best I can write ever for all of my life". [114] The Old Man and the Sea became a book-of-the month selection, made Hemingway an international celebrity, and won the Pulitzer Prize in May 1952, a month before he left for his second trip to Africa. [119] [120]
Hemingway at a fishing camp. His hand and arms are burned from a recent brushfire; his hair burned from the recent plane crashes.
In Africa he was seriously injured in two successive plane crashes. Hemingway chartered a sightseeing flight of the Belgian Congo as a Christmas present to Mary. On their way to photograph Murchison Falls from the air, the plane struck an abandoned utility pole and "crash landed in heavy brush." Hemingway's injuries included a head wound, while Mary broke two ribs. [121] The next day, attempting to reach medical care in Entebbe , they boarded a second plane that exploded at take-off with Hemingway suffering burns and another concussion, this one serious enough to cause leaking of cerebral fluid. [122] They eventually arrived in Entebbe to find reporters covering the story of Hemingway's death. He briefed the reporters, and spent the next few weeks recuperating and reading his obituaries. [123] Despite his injuries, Hemingway accompanied Patrick and his wife on a planned fishing expedition in February, but pain caused him to be irascible and difficult to get along with. [124] When a bushfire broke out he was again injured, with second degree burns on his legs, front torso, lips, left hand and right forearm. [125] Months later in Venice , "according to Mary they learned the full extent of Hemingway's injuries". She reported to friends that he had two cracked discs , a kidney and liver rupture, a dislocated shoulder and a broken skull. [124] The accidents may have precipitated the physical deterioration that was to follow. After the plane crashes, Hemingway, who had been "a thinly controlled alcoholic throughout much of his life, drank more heavily than usual to combat the pain of his injuries." [126]
Ernest Hemingway in the cabin of his boat Pilar, off the coast of Cuba
In October 1954 Hemingway received the Nobel Prize in Literature . He modestly told the press that Carl Sandburg , Isak Dinesen and Bernard Berenson deserved the prize, [127] but the prize money would be welcome. [128] Mellow claims Hemingway "had coveted the Nobel Prize", but when he won it, months after his plane accidents and the ensuing world-wide press coverage, "there must have been a lingering suspicion in Hemingway's mind that his obituary notices had played a part in the academy's decision." [129] Because he was suffering pain from the African accidents, he decided against traveling to Stockholm . [130] Instead he sent a speech to be read, defining the writer's life: "Writing, at its best, is a lonely life. Organizations for writers palliate the writer's loneliness but I doubt if they improve his writing. He grows in public stature as he sheds his loneliness and often his work deteriorates. For he does his work alone and if he is a good enough writer he must face eternity, or the lack of it, each day." [131] [note 6]
| i don't know |
Which ex tennis player who was born on November 22nd 1867 had the nickname 'boom boom'? | Happy Birthday – November 22 – Boris Becker, Regina Halmich, Asamoah Gyan - Other - | Sport360
article:22nd November 2015
[L-R] Gyan, Becker, Halmich.
When a 17-year-old unseeded German – sporting a huge serve that earned him the nickname ‘Boom Boom’, incredible diving volleys and a flamboyant style – pulled off a surprise and won Wimbledon in 1985, the world was officially introduced to Boris Becker.
He was the first German player to lift the coveted trophy at the All England Club and also became the youngest-ever grand slam champion (a record later broken by Michael Chang).
Becker, born on this day in 1967, went on to capture six major singles titles, including two more at Wimbledon, and took doubles Olympic gold in the 1992 Barcelona Games with Michael Stich.
He was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.
Recently, he’s had great success as a coach, helping Novak Djokovic claim four majors since they teamed up in December 2013.
1974: Joe Nathan, American baseball pitcher. From 2004- 2009, was considered one of the top closers in MLB (41).
1976: Regina Halmich, German pugilist. Europe’s most well known female boxer and one of all-time best (39).
1985: Asamoah Gyan, Ghanaian footballer. Ex-Al Ain striker, now at Shanghai SIPG. Played three Marouane Fellainis (30).
1987: Marouane Fellaini, Belgian international footballer, plays for Manchester United as a midfielder (28).
| Boris Becker |
Which year of the 20th century saw the deaths of Linda McCartney, Frank Sinatra, Catherine Cookson and Justin Fashanu? | Happy Birthday – November 22 – Boris Becker, Regina Halmich, Asamoah Gyan - Other - | Sport360
article:22nd November 2015
[L-R] Gyan, Becker, Halmich.
When a 17-year-old unseeded German – sporting a huge serve that earned him the nickname ‘Boom Boom’, incredible diving volleys and a flamboyant style – pulled off a surprise and won Wimbledon in 1985, the world was officially introduced to Boris Becker.
He was the first German player to lift the coveted trophy at the All England Club and also became the youngest-ever grand slam champion (a record later broken by Michael Chang).
Becker, born on this day in 1967, went on to capture six major singles titles, including two more at Wimbledon, and took doubles Olympic gold in the 1992 Barcelona Games with Michael Stich.
He was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.
Recently, he’s had great success as a coach, helping Novak Djokovic claim four majors since they teamed up in December 2013.
1974: Joe Nathan, American baseball pitcher. From 2004- 2009, was considered one of the top closers in MLB (41).
1976: Regina Halmich, German pugilist. Europe’s most well known female boxer and one of all-time best (39).
1985: Asamoah Gyan, Ghanaian footballer. Ex-Al Ain striker, now at Shanghai SIPG. Played three Marouane Fellainis (30).
1987: Marouane Fellaini, Belgian international footballer, plays for Manchester United as a midfielder (28).
| i don't know |
"What is the name of the actress who had become famous for her role as the possessed girl, Regan, in the 1973 film ""The Exorcist""?" | Linda Blair - IMDb
IMDb
Actress | Soundtrack | Producer
From the age of five, Linda Blair had to get used to the spotlight, first as a child model and then as an actress, when out of 600 applicants she was picked for the role of Regan, the possessed child, in The Exorcist (1973). Linda quickly rose to international fame, won the Golden Globe, and seemed to be set to take the Academy Award for that role... See full bio »
Born:
a list of 41 people
created 20 Dec 2010
a list of 34 people
created 22 Dec 2011
a list of 34 people
created 20 Apr 2012
a list of 37 people
created 26 Dec 2012
a list of 33 people
created 03 Aug 2015
Do you have a demo reel?
Add it to your IMDbPage
How much of Linda Blair's work have you seen?
User Polls
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations. See more awards »
Known For
- Goodbye Hollywood (2000) ... Joni Witherspoon
- Working (2000) ... Joni Witherspoon
1999 Godzilla: The Series (TV Series)
Alexandra Springer
1997 Extreme Ghostbusters (TV Series)
Selene
1994 Robin's Hoods (TV Series)
Carla Patelle
1992 Married with Children (TV Series)
Ida Mae
1985 Murder, She Wrote (TV Series)
Jane Pascal
1982 The Love Boat (TV Series)
Muffy
1982 Fantasy Island (TV Series)
Sara Jean Rawlins
1976 Victory at Entebbe (TV Movie)
Chana Vilnofsky
1974 Born Innocent (TV Movie)
Chris Parker
1968 Hidden Faces (TV Series)
Allyn Jaffe
1994 Skins (performer: "Since You've Been Gone" - as Linda Blaire)
1987 Nightforce (Video) ("I STILL REMEMBER")
1975 Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (TV Movie) (performer: "It's Too Late")
Hide
2000 Scariest Places on Earth (TV Series) (creative consultant)
Hide
2015 Inside Bryan (Video documentary)
Herself
2014 Fox59 Morning News (TV Series)
Herself
2014 The Doctors (TV Series)
Herself
2014 WJZ-TV Eyewitness News (TV Series)
Herself
2014 RuPaul's Drag Race (TV Series)
Herself - Guest Judge
2012 Celebrity Ghost Stories (TV Series documentary)
Herself
2010-2012 Pit Boss (TV Series)
Herself
2010 Access Hollywood Live (TV Series)
Herself
2006-2010 KTLA Morning News (TV Series)
Herself
2007-2008 Jury Duty (TV Series)
Herself
2007 Buzz: AT&T Original Documentaries (TV Series documentary)
Herself
2006 Scream Awards 2006 (TV Special)
Herself
2006 Child Star Confidential (TV Series documentary)
Herself
2005 The Perfect Scary Movie (TV Movie documentary)
Herself
2003-2005 Biography (TV Series documentary)
Herself
2005 The Greatest (TV Series documentary)
Herself
2005 The O'Reilly Factor (TV Series)
Herself
2005 Hollywood Beat (TV Series)
Herself - Guest
2005 Street Smarts (TV Series)
Herself
1999-2004 E! True Hollywood Story (TV Series documentary)
Herself
2004 Love Hollywood Style (TV Movie documentary)
Actress
2003 Animal Tails (TV Series)
Herself
2003 Good Day Live (TV Series)
Herself
2000-2003 Hollywood Squares (TV Series)
Herself
2003 I Love the '70s (TV Series documentary)
Herself
2002 TV's Most Censored Moments (TV Special documentary)
Herself
2001 Intimate Portrait (TV Series documentary)
Herself
2001 The Test (TV Series)
Herself - Panelist
1979-2000 Good Morning America (TV Series)
Herself
2000 Comme au cinéma (TV Series documentary)
Herself
1999 Happy Hour (TV Series)
Herself
1998 Behind the Music (TV Series documentary)
Herself
1998 Reel to Reel (TV Movie)
Herself
1998 History's Mysteries (TV Series documentary)
Herself
1997 The RuPaul Show (TV Series)
Herself
1997 The View (TV Series)
Herself
1996 Day & Date (TV Series)
Herself
1996 Inside Edition (TV Series documentary)
Herself
1993 Live! with Kelly (TV Series)
Herself
1991 The Secrets of Dick Smith (TV Short documentary)
Herself
1991 Showbiz Today (TV Series)
Herself
1990 Circus of the Stars #15 (TV Special documentary)
Herself
1990 The Horror Hall of Fame (TV Movie documentary)
Herself
1989 Hollywood on Horses (Video documentary)
Herself
1983 Circus of the Stars #8 (TV Special documentary)
Herself
1982 Circus of the Stars #7 (TV Special documentary)
Herself
1982 Dance Fever (TV Series)
Herself - Judge
1982 The New Battlestars (TV Series)
Herself
1975 Sammy and Company (TV Series)
Herself
Herself - Nominee: Best Actress in a Supporting Role & Co-Presenter: Best Animated & Best Live Action Short Film
Hide
2015 Inside Edition (TV Series documentary)
Herself
2015 Celebrity Page (TV Series)
Herself
1995 Empire of the Censors (TV Movie documentary)
Herself
Personal Details
Other Works:
[2003] DVD commentary for Hell Night (1981) alongside the director Tom DeSimone and producers Bruce Cohn Curtis and Irwin Yablans . See more »
Publicity Listings:
1 Biographical Movie | 3 Interviews | 2 Articles | 18 Pictorials | 17 Magazine Cover Photos | See more »
Official Sites:
Did You Know?
Personal Quote:
It was always very strange for me when I was young and would meet someone who geniunely seemed to be afraid of me. They couldn't separate me from the monster I became in a movie. You wouldn't believe how often people ask me to make my head spin around. See more »
Trivia:
Flew to Florida to attend funerals for members of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd , when an acquaintance convinced Linda to go with her to buy cocaine. Blair reportedly went because she was interested in buying pedigree puppies which the dealers were selling. Blair reportedly placed a hold on one of the puppies and returned home to Connecticut. She kept in touch with the dealers, supposedly to buy the ... See more »
Star Sign:
| Linda Blair |
"Which Gilbert and Sullivan opera that premiered in 1884 has the alternative name ""Castle Adamant""?" | Linda Blair
Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an Academy Award nominated American actress most famous for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, and its sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic.
Blair was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Elinore (née Leitch), a real estate agent, and James Frederick Blair, an executive recruiter.[1] She moved with her parents to Westport, Connecticut when she was two years old. As a young child, Blair began her career by modeling, then acting in commercials, including a long-running one for Gulden's Mustard. Blair had originally planned to become a veterinarian, but instead accepted a role in The Exorcist because the money would allow her to pursue horsemanship. She was chosen over the very similar-looking Pamelyn Ferdin since the director wanted an unknown, and Ferdin had already gained notoriety after appearing in Star Trek, The Odd Couple and Night Gallery.
The Exorcist
Based on William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel, The Exorcist was directed by William Friedkin, who had recently won an Oscar for directing The French Connection. The cast included Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Max Von Sydow and Kitty Winn. Blatty produced the film and wrote the screenplay.
Blair gave a strong, credible performance as a young girl possessed by a demon, and was an integral part of the film's phenomenal success soon after opening in December 1973. Lines at theaters extended around blocks, with people standing in line for hours. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and Blair received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, as well as Golden Globe and People's Choice Award wins. Blair received a Golden Globe nomination for the now defunct "most promising female star" category.
Despite the film's several nominations, the Best Picture Oscar went to George Roy Hill's film The Sting. The Exorcist won for Blatty's screenplay and for Best Sound. Blair's chances for an Oscar were undeniably hurt when Mercedes McCambridge revealed to the press that she had provided the (initially) uncredited demonic voice, though Linda's voice was underlaid in the track, and another woman claimed to have body-doubled for Blair in several scenes, though the director dismissed the contributions of the double as insignificant. The Best Supporting Actress Oscar instead went to 10-year old Tatum O'Neal for her performance in Peter Bogdanovich's Paper Moon.
Linda Blair
| i don't know |
"Which British comedian, now aged 56, played the role of a bingo hall manager named Ray Temple in a BBC1 series called ""Eyes Down"" in 2003 and 2004" | Paul O'Grady
Official Radio 2 show page
Paul James O’Grady, MBE (born 14 June 1955) is an English comedian, television presenter, actor, writer and radio disc-jockey. He achieved fame using his comedic drag queen character, Lily Savage, and later became well known for presenting TV shows as himself, such as The Paul O’Grady Show .
Born to a working-class Irish migrant family in Birkenhead , Cheshire (now Merseyside ), O’Grady moved to London in the late 1970s, there working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council . It was here in 1978 that he developed his drag act, basing the character of Lily Savage upon traits found among female relatives. Touring Northern England as part of drag mime duo, the Playgirls, he eventually went solo as a stand-up comedian. Performing as Savage for eight years at a South London gay pub, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), he gained a popular following among the city’s gay community and used his character to speak out for LGBT rights . After being nominated for a 1992 Perrier Award , he attracted mainstream attention and made various television, radio, and theatrical appearances. As Savage, he presented morning chat show The Big Breakfast (1995–96), game show Blankety Blank (1997–02) and comedy series Lily Live! (2000–01), earning various awards and becoming a well known public figure.
Seeking to diversify his career away from Savage, O’Grady starred in BBC sitcom Eyes Down (2003–04) and presented two travel documentaries for ITV . In 2004, he began presenting ITV’s daytime chat show The Paul O’Grady Show, which proved a hit with audiences. After the network refused to transfer creative control of the series to O’Grady’s production company, Olga TV , in 2006 he defected to rival Channel 4 , where the show was rebranded as The New Paul O’Grady Show and ran until 2009. O’Grady subsequently presented a late night ITV show, Paul O’Grady Live (2010–11) as well as Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs (2012–present) and Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans (2014–present), while presenting BBC Radio 2 ‘s Paul O’Grady on the Wireless and publishing a four-volume autobiography.
O’Grady has received a variety of awards, among them honorary degrees and an MBE in the 2008 Birthday Honours for services to entertainment.
Contents
Early life
Childhood: 1955–71
O’Grady’s father, Patrick “Paddy” Grady (died 1973), [3] had grown up on a farm in Ballincurry, County Roscommon , Ireland, before moving to England in 1936, in search for work, settling down in the working class area of Birkenhead , Cheshire (now Merseyside ). His name was changed from Grady to O’Grady in a paperwork mistake when he joined the Royal Air Force ; he kept this altered name. [4] Patrick married Mary Savage (1916–1988), born in England to Irish migrants from County Louth . Patrick and Mary were devout Catholics and brought up their children in the faith. O’Grady was their third child, born at 7:30 am on 14 June 1955 at St. Catherine’s Hospital, Tranmere . [5] His birth, over a decade after that of siblings Brendan (b. 1941) and Sheila (b. 1944), [3] was not planned; his mother was 39 and discovered the pregnancy only when visiting the doctor complaining of indigestion. O’Grady spent his early life at the family’s rented home of 23 Holly Grove, Higher Tranmere, Birkenhead, [6] a house built in a former quarry during the early 1930s; O’Grady remarked that the house was always damp and cold, suffering from “ominous cracks” which “would appear in the walls and ceilings overnight”. [7]
“[W]hen I look back on my childhood I have no bad memories. Our family was loving and full of affection. I never knew what divorce was until I moved to London. I was an indulged child and completely protected from anything bad.”
Paul O’Grady. [8]
Attending St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, O’Grady excelled in all subjects but maths. Hoping that he had a good future ahead of him, his parents budgeted to send him to a private school, the Catholic-run Redcourt , but his grades dropped. Failing the eleven plus exam , to his mother’s dismay he was unable to enter a grammar school , instead attending the Blessed Edmund Campion R.C. Secondary Modern and the Corpus Christi High School, [9] where O’Grady experienced his first homosexual encounter, enjoying a brief romance with another boy, although still assumed he was heterosexual. [10]
A fan of the popular television series The Avengers and Batman , [11] he was enrolled in the cub scouts by his mother, but he hated it, leaving after a month. An altar boy at a local Catholic church, he was dismissed after laughing during a funeral service. [12] Then joining the Marine cadets, he later commented that he was following in the footsteps of his childhood hero, the cartoon Popeye . [13] Enjoying the cadets, at the advice of his captain he joined the Boys’ Amateur Boxing Club, developing a lifelong love of the sport. [14] Playing truant from school, he got into trouble with his parents, and subsequently with the police after burgling a house with three friends. [15] O’Grady’s first job was a paper round that he kept for a week, [16] and through this and other jobs he saved up to afford Mod clothes, for a time becoming a suedehead . [17]
Early adulthood: 1972–77
Leaving school aged sixteen, O’Grady obtained a job in the civil service, working as a clerical assistant for the DHSS at their Liverpool office; he commuted in from his parents’ home. Supplementing this income, he worked part-time at the bar of the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) club in Oxton . [18] Called for a disciplinary hearing at the DHSS and accused of incompetent behaviour and tardiness, he resigned. [19] Obtaining a job at the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Virginia Water , Surrey, aged seventeen, O’Grady moved there; appalled at the working conditions, the management accused him of stealing, which he denied. [20] Promptly returning to Birkenhead, he worked at the RAFA club, increasingly socialising within the Liverpudlian gay scene , attending meetings of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and working at gay bar the Bear’s Paw; [21] this was kept a secret from his parents, to whom he was not “out of the closet “. [22]
With best friend Tony, O’Grady regularly travelled to London to socialise with Tony’s friend, the classical music conductor John Pritchard , becoming very fond of him. [23] Experimenting, O’Grady had casual sex with a friend and colleague, Diane Jansen. [24] She became pregnant, news which O’Grady discovered in the same week that both his parents suffered heart attacks; his mother recovered, but his father died. [25] Following the birth of his daughter, Sharon Lee Jansen, on 16 May 1974, O’Grady agreed to pay £ 3 per week towards her upkeep, but refused to marry Diane, recognising his homosexuality. [26]
Briefly working as an assistant clerk at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court , O’Grady subsequently worked as a barman at Yates’s Wine Lodge , supplementing the income with the occasional night at the Bear’s Paw. [27] Realising this wage was insufficient to support both himself and his daughter, he travelled to London, lodging in Westbourne Green , but found only poorly paid work as a barman. In London, he began associating with drag queens , particularly a couple who used the stage name of the Harlequeens. Although making friends in the city, O’Grady was homesick and returned home. [28] Employed as an accountant in a FMC Meats Merseyside abattoir , he then gained employment at the Children’s Convalescent Home and School in West Kirby , a home for disabled and abused children; he worked here for three years. [29] [30] Entering into a relationship with an older man named Norman, O’Grady moved into his house in Littlehampton ; their relationship was strained, both cheating on one another, and it broke apart. [31]
Moving again to London, he rented a flat in Crouch End and began busking with a friend in Camden Town before obtaining a job as a physiotherapist’s assistant at the Royal Northern Hospital . [32] Made redundant by public sector cuts, O’Grady took up a job at a gay club called the Showplace, befriending Portuguese lesbian Theresa Fernandes; in May 1977, they legally married to prevent her deportation, although eventually lost contact, only gaining a divorce in 2005. [33] Taking up jobs as a cleaner and a waiter at private functions, [34] he began working for Camden Council as a peripatetic care officer, living in with elderly people or dysfunctional families which had a lasting effect on him for many years to come. [35]
Career in drag
Lily Savage and the drag circuit: 1978–84
“I’ve frequently been asked over the years who Lily Savage was based on and I’ve always answered that it was no one in particular and she was just a figment of my imagination. The truth, I realise now, is that Lily owes a lot to the women I encountered in my childhood. Characteristics and attitudes were observed and absorbed, Aunty Chris’s in particular, and they provided the roots and compost for the Lily that would germinate and grow later on.”
— Paul O’Grady, 2008. [36]
While working for Camden Social Services, O’Grady made his first attempt at putting together a drag act , creating the character of Lily Savage; he later related that “I wanted to get up there but be larger than life, a creature that was more cartoon than human. I wasn’t sure yet.” [37] His debut was on the afternoon of 7 October 1978 at The Black Cap gay pub in Camden, where his act involved miming the words to Barbra Streisand ‘s “Nobody Makes a Pass at Me” from the show Pins and Needles . [38] Following a holiday to Poland, [39] he visited an ex-boyfriend in Manila in the Philippines; he found Manila to be a “culture shock”, but briefly worked as a barman and waiter at a brothel known as Gussie’s Bar. [40]
Returning to London, O’Grady moved to Purley and then Streatham with a drag act, the Glamazons. With one of them, nicknamed “Hush”, he founded a two-man drag mime act, the Playgirls, although found little work in London. Agreeing to a tour of the North of England, they moved to Slaithwaite , Yorkshire, [41] also accepting a month’s work at a club in Copenhagen , Denmark. [42] Living up north, they diversified their act, with O’Grady performing a striptease while wearing a fat suit he named “Biddy”, also learning fire eating from a hotel manager in Bradford . [43] Fed up with the poor living conditions, Hush returned to London, leading O’Grady to continue his drag performance as a solo act under the name of “Paul Monroe”, a reference to Marilyn Monroe . [44] Ultimately finding himself under too much financial strain, O’Grady moved back in with his mother in Birkenhead, there becoming reacquainted with Diane and his daughter. [45] Amid mass unemployment, O’Grady briefly lived off the dole before resurrecting the Playgirls with his friend Vera; initially performing in Liverpool, where they were caught up in the 1981 Toxteth riots , they began touring other parts of Northern England until deciding to quit and return to London. [46]
Returning to work as a support worker for Camden Council Social Services, O’Grady began caring for an old woman who lived several doors down from serial killer Dennis Nilsen . [47] Regularly moving flats, from Vauxhall to Brixton and then Battersea , he was reunited with Hush, and they began performing as the Playgirls again, devising an act based upon the cult film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? . [48] At the end of the year, he appeared as an Ugly Sister in a drag pantomime of Cinderella . [49] Moving into the Victoria Mansions flats in Vauxhall, in March 1983 he joined the Equity union, allowing him to take a role in the theatrical adaptation of If They’d Asked for a Lion Tamer at the Donmar Warehouse . [50] The Playgirls gained bookings to appear across London, and also in Amsterdam and Copenhagen; O’Grady and Hush joined with drag artist David Dale to form an act known as “LSD”, which stood for “Lily, Sandra and Doris”, devising an act that parodied Andy Pandy , they gained bookings across London and in Edinburgh . [51]
Residency in Vauxhall: 1984–92
In 1984, O’Grady began work as a barman at the Elephant and Castle, a Vauxhall gay pub. As Lily, he became compere of Ladies Night every Tuesday, where amateur drag acts would perform. [52] As compere, he tried out comedy routines, becoming known for insulting both the acts and the audience, describing it as “one of the best times of my life.” Becoming increasingly popular, the show began attracting crowds and he was interviewed by artist Patrick Procktor . [53] After six months, O’Grady transferred his act to the nearby Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT) gay pub, whose manager offered him £50 a show over the £15 that the Elephant and Castle paid; he re-opened his show on Thursday nights as “Stars of the Future”. [54] In February 1985 he obtained his own council flat in Vauxhall’s Victoria Mansions, moving in with his pet cats and friend Vera. [55] During the mid-1980s, O’Grady met Brendan Murphy, known as “Murph” or “Murphy” to his friends, who was the manager of a gay sauna near the Oval , Kennington , and they entered into a long-term relationship. [56] Murphy would subsequently become O’Grady’s manager. [57]
O’Grady’s alter-ego, Lily Savage
Eventually appearing at the RVT three times a week, on Sundays O’Grady began performing at the Union Tavern in Camberwell and the Goldsmith’s Tavern in New Cross , where he often preceded Vic Reeves ‘ three-hour show Vic Reeves Big Night Out . [58] On a number of occasions he performed at the Madame JoJo’s club in Soho . [59] Quitting his council work, he focused full-time on his career as Lily, taking his act across the United Kingdom and also abroad to countries like Israel and Finland. [60] Befriending American drag queen Divine and his manager Bernard Jay, Jay booked O’Grady to appear in Fort Lauderdale , Florida. [61] As Divine had done, O’Grady also recorded his own Hi-NRG song, “Tough at the Top”, which was produced by DJ Ian Levine . [62] In 1988, he performed as Madame in The Scythe of Reason, [63] and appeared at the Glasgow Mayfest , where he developed a lifelong friendship with actor Ian McKellen . [64] From 1989 to 1992, O’Grady performed annually as Lily at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival , gaining increasing recognition for his act. [65] As a result, he was nominated for the 1991 Perrier Award alongside Jack Dee , Eddie Izzard , and Frank Skinner , although the latter ultimately won the award. [66] O’Grady followed this with a show titled Lily Savage Live from the Hackney Empire, which proved to be a sell-out and which was the first time that his performance was recorded. [67]
O’Grady used his act to publicly speak out against the treatment of Britain’s LGBT community by the mainstream media, government and police, particularly during the HIV/AIDS crisis that hit the community during that decade. On a number of occasions, police raided pubs that he was working at; he was quoted in the Capital Gay newspaper as calling on LGBT people to riot against their mistreatment. [68] In April 1988 he took part in a 30,000 strong march against Section 28 , a policy introduced by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher that the gay community denounced as homophobic . [69] Regularly doing charity fundraisers for HIV/AIDS research, many of his friends died as a result of AIDS-related complications. [70] In 2015 O’Grady said “I’ve lost about everybody I know”, and talked about having to pretend to some of their families that they were dying of cancer as he nursed them. “People my age will never get over the horrors.” [71] He performed in a play about the disease at the King’s Head Theatre in Islington ; it was there that he befriended co-star Amanda Mealing . [72]
O’Grady obtained his breakthrough into television when he played the character of a transvestite prostitute informant, Roxanne, in three episodes of ITV’s police drama The Bill between 1988 and 1990. [73] Just before filming on the first episode, O’Grady’s mother died and he proceeded to return her house to the landlord. [74] In 1990 he appeared in the ITV miniseries Chimera as Tony Donaldson, a social worker skilled in signing for the deaf; during filming he became friends with co-star Liza Tarbuck . [75] He followed this with a performance as Marlene Dietrich in an episode of Rik Mayall ‘s ITV comedy The New Statesman . [75]
Mainstream success: 1992–98
After leaving the RVT, O’Grady continued to tour as Lily and released VHS videos of his performances. [76] After gaining further public exposure through an appearance on the popular late-night Channel 4 comedy show Viva Cabaret! , [77] he was invited to appear on an episode of BBC quiz show That’s Showbusiness . Travelling to the Manchester studio where it was filmed, he accidentally left his Lily costume on the train, subsequently appearing on the show out of character. [78] Moving into radio, as Lily, he began making regular appearances on Woman’s Hour and Loose Ends . [79] Also moving into film, he travelled to Dublin , Ireland to play the role of an inmate in the 1993 film In the Name of the Father ; although not in the Lily character, he was credited as “Paul Savage”. [76] In October 1994, he was invited on to an episode of BBC television series The Steve Wright People Show as Lily, where he proved popular and was invited back for a later episode. [80] In November, he made a cameo as Lily in the soap Brookside , [81] while he was also invited to guest present an episode of BBC music show Top of the Pops as Lily. [82]
Employed to narrate the BBC 2 series Life Swaps, which with low ratings was not renewed for a second series, [83] he was also given his own late-night Channel 4 series, Live from the Lilydrome, which was filmed in a working men’s club in Blackpool . [84] Given top billing at the LGB rights charity Stonewall ‘s 1994 Equality Show in Albert Hall , [81] he also played the role of Nancy in the London Palladium ‘s performance of the musical Oliver! . [85] Reflecting his increasing success in mainstream British comedy, in 1994 he was nominated for both Top Live Stand-Up Comedian and Top Television Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards . [86] Some in the South London gay scene from which O’Grady emerged were critical of where he had taken his career, accusing him of being a sell out ; O’Grady fiercely denied these accusations, stating that “I’ve done nearly ten years on the factory floor and now I feel I deserve a shot in the office.” [87]
After Paula Yates resigned as presenter of the Channel 4 morning television program The Big Breakfast , its production company Planet 24 employed O’Grady to replace her. He was initially commissioned to present the show, to be termed Lie-in with Lily, for four weeks in what was to be treated as a trial run. [88] As Lily, O’Grady ignored the suggested questions of PR agents, instead asked personal questions of his guests, in doing so attracting a 30% share of the morning audience, with 2 million viewers; realising his popularity, Planet 24 renewed his contract to keep him on as presenter. [89] However, O’Grady found the early morning starts difficult to deal with, particularly as he had signed up to appear as Lily in a musical version of Prisoner in Cell Block H at the Queen’s Theatre in London’s West End . Juggling both rehearsals and The Big Breakfast proved incredibly exhausting for O’Grady. [90] When the musical went on a tour of the UK, O’Grady accompanied it, taking a break from The Big Breakfast to do so. [91]
He took his new dog, a shih tzu named Buster, with him on tour; [92] O’Grady later commented that “He was never happier than in a TV studio or theatre… Buster knew all the theatre doormen, and loved being fussed over. He was a smashing dog.” [93] At the time, O’Grady had been making greater attempts to get to know his teenage daughter; both her existence and that of O’Grady’s wife were discovered by the Daily Mirror tabloid, who treated them as a headline scandal in autumn 1994. [94] Critical of the media, O’Grady condemned them for solely referring to him as a drag queen; he commented that “ Barry Humphries is never called a drag act because he’s a heterosexual male. But I’m called one because I’m a gay man. It’s homophobic and it’s wrong as there is nothing remotely sexual about what I do. I dress up as a woman for financial purposes, nothing else.” [95]
In April 1996, O’Grady filmed a performance at the LWT Tower as An Evening with Lily Savage, broadcast on ITV in November. A hit, it attracted 11.2 million viewers and earned an award for Best Entertainment Program at the 1997 National Television Awards, although was publicly criticised as being bawdy and in bad taste by both the Daily Mail and the drag queen Danny La Rue . [96] ITV then offered him a weekly show that would air on Wednesdays at 8 pm, although O’Grady turned down the offer, believing that the pre-watershed slot would force him to drastically alter his act into a form of light entertainment . [97] With Murphy he then established a production company, known as Widlflower. [98] Returning to theatre, he performed The Lily Savage Show for a sixteen-week sell-out run at the North Pier Theatre in Blackpool , and after a month break returned to the town to perform Lily’s Christmas Cracker at the Blackpool Opera House . [99] At this juncture, he agreed to appear as Lily in a series of adverts for the Ford Escort , earning him £150,000, [100] and would subsequently appear in ad campaigns for Pretty Polly tights and a bingo company. [101] O’Grady had earned a substantial sum of money through these performances, enabling him to move out of his Vauxhall council flat and into a luxury apartment near to Tower Bridge in central London. [98] Through contacts made in showbusiness, he became friends with many A-list celebrities, among them Elton John and Cher . [102]
Television
Blankety Blank, travel shows, and Eyes Down: 1998–2003
In 1998, the BBC produced a six-week Sunday series titled The Lily Savage Show, although O’Grady found the scripted, non-spontaneous nature of the series difficult. He had convinced Janet Street-Porter to appear on the show as his floor-manager, and interviewed such guests as Alan Yentob , Anthea Turner , and Elton John. The show was not well received. [103] At the same time, the BBC had decided to revive the quiz show Blankety Blank , which had previously been hosted by Terry Wogan and Les Dawson . They selected O’Grady to present the show in the role of Lily Savage, allowing him to ab lib rather than strictly follow a script, filming a pilot episode in 1997; after this pilot was a hit, they commissioned a full series. [104] With his increased public profile, O’Grady was invited on to many other television chat shows, such as Richard and Judy , while in the guise of Lily, [105] and agreed to appear in a Christmas special of cookery show Ready, Steady, Cook alongside his friend Barbara Windsor . [106] Continuing with his theatre work, he went on an eight-week tour as Lily, [107] before starring as Mrs Hannigan in a West End performance of the musical Annie , for which he appeared in six evening performances and two matinees per week. [108] He subsequently accompanied the show on its tour of the UK, [109] before appearing in a pantomime in Birmingham that winter. [110] Deciding on a move to the countryside, in 1999 O’Grady purchased a house in Aldington, Kent for £650,000 from comedian Vic Reeves, proceeding to decorate it in an art nouveau style and establish a smallholding in which to keep various animals. [111]
Screened on primetime Saturday night, Blankety Blank proved a ratings winner for the BBC, attracting an audience of 9 million. Rival company ITV then purchased it, offering O’Grady a two-year deal for £1 million. [112] ITV let him be more risque in his use of humour on Blankety Blank, and also commissioned a new comedy series, Lily Live! . [113] This show also proved a success, earning O’Grady nominations for both the Best Comedy Entertainment Personality and Programme at the 2000 British Comedy Awards . [114] However, O’Grady had tired of appearing as Lily, and decided to try to make a career for himself out of drag. [115] He first appeared as himself in an advert campaign for Double Two shirt-makers, [116] before he pitched a proposed six-part travelogue series to ITV, who agreed to part-fund it. The project resulted in Paul O’Grady’s Orient, for which he travelled throughout East and Southeast Asia, visiting Shanghai, Hong Kong, the Philippines , Bangkok , Bali and Singapore. Although poorly received by the tabloid press, it achieved good ratings, and ITV commissioned a second series, Paul O’Grady’s America, in which he visited New York City, Miami, New Orleans , Dallas , San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Again it received poor tabloid reviews. [117]
Although then believed to have assets totalling £4 million, [118] O’Grady found that his newfound material wealth brought him little comfort and for a time suffered with clinical depression. [119] He recovered in time to perform alongside Cilla Black and Barbara Windsor in a burlesque rendition of “ You Gotta Have a Gimmick ” at the 2001 Royal Variety Performance ; the televised event attracted 11.5 million viewers. [120] In April 2002, O’Grady suffered a heart attack, and was rushed to St. Thomas’s Hospital in South London, where doctors attributed it to a combination of a congential family heart problems with stress, heavy smoking and caffeine. [121] Spending several weeks recovering, he missed the Heritage Foundation Awards ceremony, where he was to be awarded television personality of the year award. [122] Returning to work, he appeared as the Child Catcher in a twelve-week run of the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium , where he co-starred with Michael Ball and Brian Blessed . It was his first theatrical performance where his character was not largely based on Lily Savage, and earned him good reviews. [123] He followed this with a pantomime performance as the Wicked Queen in Snow White at Manchester Opera House . [124] O’Grady gave up smoking for two years after his first heart attack. [125]
In 2003, O’Grady appeared in Celebrity Driving School , a BBC Comic Relief show in which he learned to drive alongside friends Nadia Sawalha and Jade Goody . He earned his driving licence shortly after the show culminated, and was nominated for a Best Television Moment of the Year Award for one of his tantrums on the show. [126] He received an invite to appear on Gordon Ramsay ‘s Hells Kitchen but declined, citing his strong dislike for reality television. [127] He had also received various offers to star in a sitcom, a genre that he typically disliked. However, after reading the show’s script, he agreed to appear in the new BBC sitcom Eyes Down . Set in a Merseyside bingo hall, he played the manager, Ray, humorously commenting that “He’s an evil, twisted man who hates everything that moves. Not exactly a challenge for me”. [128] Screened in the prime Friday night slot at 9 pm, the show received poor and mediocre reviews although was popular with viewers, and was renewed for a second series. [129] The BBC were also planning on reviving The Generation Game , and brought O’Grady in as its presenter. Filming two pilot episodes in 2003, both O’Grady and the production team were unhappy with the result, with O’Grady leaving the project. [130] O’Grady ended 2003 with a pantomime performance at the Bristol Hippodrome . [131]
The Paul O’Grady Show: 2004–05
“I just want the show to be like a party, a group of pals gabbing away about the first things that come into their heads. There are always enough things in life to worry and get depressed about. I want my show to take our minds off all that stuff, even if it’s only for a while.”
Paul O’Grady, c.2004 [132]
O’Grady had gained experience as a daytime television presenter by standing in for Des O’Connor in nine episodes of ITV’s lunchtime chat show Today with Des and Mel . Having got on well with co-presenter Melanie Sykes , he enjoyed the feeling of presenting live. [133] ITV executives deemed this such a success that they offered him his own daytime chat show, with news of his agreement going public in autumn 2004; the result would be The Paul O’Grady Show. [134] There was initial press scepticism and concern that O’Grady’s style of adult humour would not be appropriate for a daytime slot, but ITV’s controller of entertainment, Mark Wells, declared that “Paul is one of the funniest people on television – he deserves to be on it far more than he is.” [135]
The show first aired on October 2004 from 5-6pm and saw O’Grady interviewing celebrity guests, representing “a glorious mix of seemingly unscripted banter, chat and slapstick humour”. [135] In producing the show, O’Grady worked with many of his old friends, including warm-up man Andy Collins . [136] The series was a hit, attaining between 2.5 and 2.7 million viewers daily, which was better than ITV had anticipated. [137] According to O’Grady biographer Neil Simpson, “The show was unashamedly populist, a riotous, endearingly kitsch romp with no pretensions to be anything other than pure entertainment. In some ways it was pure vaudeville[...] There were novelty acts, talking dogs, whistling goldfish, extraordinary stories. His audience laughed like drains at his anecdotes and were brought right into the heart of the show.” [138] The inclusion of his dog, Buster, on the show proved particularly popular with audiences. [139]
The show gained a devout following, with an “extraordinary hardcore of fans [who] try to be at as many recordings as possible”, in many cases arriving at the studio gates two hours before the advertised starting time to get the best seats. [140] O’Grady’s biographer Neil Simpson commented on the crowds coming to see the show being recorded when he related that “Groups of middle aged women dominate – but they are joined by beautiful twenty-something women with flawless make-up, flash City boys with Louis Vuitton briefcases, hip-looking students out for a good time and pensioners just wanting a laugh in the afternoon.” [141] In many cases, fans queuing to see the show had to be turned away because too many had turned up, and for live shows as many as a hundred often had to be turned away. [140]
“On or off camera it is the brilliant anecdotes about his life and the endless stream of trenchant opinions on the world in general that keep Paul’s fans coming back for more.”
Biographer Neil Simpson, 2008 [142]
Although it failed to gain a greater audience than BBC quiz show The Weakest Link , The Paul O’Grady Show attracted an audience half a million larger than that of rival daytime chat show, Channel 4′s Richard & Judy. The British tabloids stoked the rivalry between these two competing shows, calling the rivalry the “Chat Wars”. After Richard and Judy’s production company warned Joan Collins that she would be banned from further appearances on Channel 4 if she agreed to appear on both their show and The Paul O’Grady Show. O’Grady accused them of “(…)fighting dirty now. I’m not bothered what’s on the other side but they have said, If you come on my show you don’t go on theirs for three years. How stupid is that?” [143] He later claimed that tabloids had been making up false quotes which they then attributed to him, describing Richard and Judy as “a lovely couple and we certainly haven’t fallen out. I hate all the fuss being made.” [144]
In winter 2004, O’Grady again performed in pantomime, this time in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the West End’s Victoria Palace ; his contract attracted attention due to the fact that he was being paid £70,000 a week in addition to profit-related bonuses. [145] After a second series of The Paul O’Grady Show was commissioned, in March 2005 it was awarded Best Daytime Programme by the Royal Television Society , and O’Grady himself was subsequently awarded Best Entertainment Performance at the BAFTAs . [146] In his personal life, O’Grady was devastated when his manager and best friend Brendan Murphy contracted brain cancer ; O’Grady hid the diagnosis from the press and cared for Murphy at his Kent home; he later commented that “To watch someone you love, a healthy, eloquent man, unable to speak or walk is hideous.” [147] Murphy died aged 49, two days before O’Grady’s fiftieth birthday, and was buried in the local Kentish churchyard. [148] O’Grady subsequently became embroiled in legal arguments surrounding Murphy’s will, [149] although continued working to distract himself from his grief. [150] In August 2005 a furore enveloped the show when it was publicly revealed that the staff member responsible for interviewing prospective child reporters had written derogatory notes on many of them, such as “I think he is special needs”, “common and thick”, and “Black girl: NO”. O’Grady was on holiday when the story hit the tabloids, proceeding to offer a public apology, sending a card and flowers to those affected, and firing the staff member responsible. [151]
The New Paul O’Grady Show: 2006–09; 2013–2015
“I don’t rehearse, but I do research. If I’ve got an author on, I’ll always read the book. I think that’s the least you can do rather than just reading the researcher’s notes. I suppose I do so much research because I really love television. That’s why I work in it. I’m passionate about it and I always have been.”
Paul O’Grady, on the show [152]
Prior to the latter’s death, O’Grady had promised Murphy that his own production company – now named Olga TV after one of O’Grady’s dogs – would take creative control over The Paul O’Grady Show. ITV refused to allow this, and so O’Grady decided to take up an offer from Channel 4 to move the show to their channel; here it would be renamed The New Paul O’Grady Show, and would share the slot with former rival Richard and Judy. [153] O’Grady’s move was highly criticised in the press, where he was accused of abandoning ITV in pursuit of a higher salary; [154] Channel 4 offered him a contract for £2 million a year, making him one of Britain’s highest paid television stars. [155] ITV executives were furious at O’Grady for the move; they refused Olga TV permission to continue using their studio premises, leading the show to relocate to BBC’s studio 1 in Broadcasting House . [156] While Channel 4 began screening The New Paul O’Grady Show, ITV screened repeat episodes of The Paul O’Grady Show in an attempt to confuse viewers and draw them to their channel. [157] Nevertheless, the show continued to receive good reviews. [158]
In June 2006, O’Grady suffered a second massive heart attack while at his Kent home; he was taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford where he underwent angioplasty surgery. [159] [160] Following the incident, he received around 7000 get-well-soon cards and letters from fans and well-wishers. [161] He returned to work for the second series of The New Paul O’Grady Show in September, during which the show’s viewing figures hit a new peak. [162] To deal with his health issues, he began taking a week off mid-series, where he was replaced by guest presenters such as Cilla Black, Brian Conley , Lorraine Kelly , and Vernon Kay . [163] The tabloids tried to re-ignite the “chat wars” by claiming a rivalry between O’Grady and other daytime television shows such as The Sharon Osbourne Show and The Brian Conley Show , but O’Grady refused to participate. [164] He subsequently won the Ten Years at the Top award at the TV Quick and TV Choice awards. [165]
On 28 June 2008, O’Grady appeared in the Doctor Who episode The Stolen Earth . [166] In September 2008, he appeared in a two-hour-long show, called Ghosthunting with Paul O’Grady & Friends, filmed in Sicily , with fellow Liverpudlians Jennifer Ellison , Philip Olivier and Natasha Hamilton . On 6 June 2009, the Daily Mirror confirmed that O’Grady signed a new two-year contract with Channel 4 in autumn 2009 to keep his show on air until the end of 2011. However, Channel 4 told O’Grady that his show would face huge budget cuts, with his salary most likely halved. [167] On Monday 21 September 2009, O’Grady returned to present the 11th (including ITV series) and final series of The Paul O’Grady Show. [168] On 14 October 2009, O’Grady agreed to an £8 million deal with ITV to host a Friday prime-time chat-show, to rival that of BBC One ‘s Friday Night with Jonathan Ross from 2010, after budget talks broke down with Channel 4. [168]
On 30 November 2009, O’Grady was a guest presenter on GMTV Limited’s GMTV with Lorraine , in celebration of Lorraine Kelly ‘s 50th birthday. He has guest starred on Living ‘s paranormal show, Most Haunted Live! , after presenter Yvette Fielding was a guest on his show and invited him on. Also in November 2009, O’Grady reunited with Yvette Fielding to take part in a 2 part paranormal investigation series called Death in Venice where he and Fielding investigated haunted locations in Venice .
On 18 December 2009, Channel 4 broadcast the final episode of The Paul O’Grady Show, after 11 series.
In 2005, Liverpool John Moores University awarded O’Grady an honorary fellowship for services to entertainment, [169] and in 2010, he received an Honorary Doctor of Arts from De Montfort University , Leicester , in recognition of his outstanding contribution to television, radio and the stage. [170]
In the autumn of 2013, O’Grady began hosting a revival of his teatime chat show The Paul O’Grady Show on ITV . The series was produced by his own production company Olga TV filmed at The London Studios . [171] [172] In November 2013, O’Grady suffered an angina attack and underwent further heart surgery. He was said to be trying to give up smoking at the time. [173]
Paul O’Grady Live: 2010–12
O’Grady made a deal with ITV to present a new Friday night chat show, Paul O’Grady Live . [174] The first series aired for ten episodes from September to November 2010. [175] In October, O’Grady attracted media attention after using Paul O’Grady Live to criticise the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government for their implementation of mass cuts to social services. He called them “bastards” and proclaimed “Do you know what got my back up? Those Tories hooping and hollering when they heard about the cuts. Gonna scrap the pensions – yeah! – no more wheelchairs – yeah! … I bet when they were children they laughed in Bambi when his mother got shot.” [176] [177] [178] Ofcom received several complaints over the incident, [177] though his Bambi quote was soon after quoted by Peter Taffe at the Socialism 2010 conference. [179] O’Grady also voiced his support for student protesters who had occupied and vandalised the headquarters of the Conservative Party at Millbank Tower on 10 November 2010. [180] [181]
“I felt I was part of the PR machine . There was so much interference. They’d want this guest or that guest. Every question had to go through the lawyers. I was just another plug for someone’s book or film.”
Paul O’Grady on why he quit his chat show, 2012. [182]
The show was picked up for a second series from April to July 2011. A special devoted to American pop star Lady Gaga also aired; O’Grady described Gaga as a “thoroughly decent human being”, and labelled himself one of her “greatest admirers.” [183] Straight after, O’Grady holidayed in China with Brazilian boyfriend André, visiting Shanghai, Hong Kong and Lhasa . [184] O’Grady found himself caught up in the News International phone hacking scandal when police from Operation Weeting informed him that News of the World reporter Glenn Mulcaire had hacked his mobile phone. Disappointed, he decided not to sue. [185] In October 2011, O’Grady played Mr Slattery in a stage performance of Drama at Inish at the Finborough in Earl’s Court . [186] That month, ITV axed Paul O’Grady Live. [187] [188] O’Grady stated that ITV had asked him to return for a third series, but that he had refused, claiming that he had had enough of the chat show format. [174] [182] He remarked that he had become fed up with the “interference” from the show’s producers and the fact that certain guests had appeared on air while under the influence of the illicit drug cocaine . [182] O’Grady later commented that having to interview some A-list celebrities was akin to conversing with a “relative you felt obliged to visit.” [189]
Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs: 2012–present
Since 3 September 2012, O’Grady has presented the ITV documentary series Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs , covering life at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home . [190] O’Grady commented that he had wanted to do such a show for years and that he took to it with an “enthusiasm that surprised everyone except me”. Although scheduled to initially film at the centre for six days, he stayed as a volunteer for six months. [191] At the end of the first series, O’Grady was invited to become an ambassador of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home , and a bronze statue of his late dog, Buster, was erected on a plinth at the centre. [192] He also adopted a dog from the home; a Jack Russell - Chihuahua cross named Eddy. [192] In 2015, O’Grady stated that the show wouldn’t return for any future series. Despite this claim, For the Love of Dogs returned for a fifth series of eight episodes, beginning in September 2016 as well as Christmas and New Year specials.
The first series averaged 4.07 million viewers, the second averaging 4.97 million, the third with 3.98 million and the fourth received 3.74 million viewers on average. The show has won two National Television Awards in 2013 and 2014 for “Most Popular Factual Entertainment Programme”. In 2013, the programme was also nominated for a BAFTA . [193]
Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans: 2014–present
From 14 January 2014, O’Grady hosted a three-part documentary series entitled Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans on ITV , which saw him travel to Africa to meet some of the continent’s animal orphans. A second three-part series began on 20 January 2015 and a third series of two episodes began on 14 April 2016. [194]
The first series averaged 3.29 million viewers whilst the second averaged 2.75 million. [195]
Other work
In April 2012, O’Grady presented The One and Only Des O’Connor , a one-off special for ITV which looked back on the life of Des O’Connor . [196] On 3 July 2013, O’Grady narrated the ITV documentary programme, Me and My Guide Dog following the work of Guide Dogs. [197] On 14 April 2013, O’Grady presented a documentary about burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee as part of ITV’s Perspectives series. [198] That month, he also presented ITV’s British Animal Honours award ceremony. [199] [200] [201]
In 2013, O’Grady guest starred as cancer patient Tim Connor in three episodes of Holby City . [202] On 31 October 2013, O’Grady recorded a non-broadcast pilot for a BBC One sitcom called Led Astray, starring alongside Cilla Black . The show was not commissioned for a full series due to the pair’s busy schedules. [203] [204]
On 15 & 22 August 2013, O’Grady presented two-part BBC documentary series Paul O’Grady’s Working Britain, which was nominated for a National Television Award in January 2014. [205] On 16 October 2013, O’Grady presented The One and Only Cilla Black , a 90-minute ITV special celebrating Cilla Black’s 50 years in show business. [206] The show was later repeated shortly after Cilla Black’s death in August 2015, with O’Grady presenting a short tribute to her to introduce the show. [207] [208] [209]
In 2014, he appeared in a Gogglebox special for Stand Up to Cancer . [210] [211] In December 2014, O’Grady appeared as Santa Claus in a short Birds of a Feather sketch for ITV’s Text Santa appeal. On 31 December 2014, O’Grady appeared in the one-off ITV documentary Rita & Me celebrating Barbara Knox ‘s fifty years as Rita Tanner in Coronation Street . [212]
In 2015, O’Grady presented Bob Monkhouse: The Million Joke Man, a three-part factual series for Gold , exploring the life of comedian and presenter Bob Monkhouse . [213] The show looked back over the life of entertainer Bob Monkhouse . [214] In December 2015, O’Grady appeared in Our Cilla , a one-off programme about the life of Cilla Black . [215]
In September 2015, it was announced that O’Grady would present a new six-part series for BBC One , following the work of The Salvation Army . [216] The series, called Paul O’Grady: The Sally Army & Me aired on Sunday evenings from 27 March until 1 May 2016. [217] [218] [219]
In June 2016, O’Grady presented a 90-minute programme for Channel 4 called Paul O’Grady’s 100 Years of Movie Musicals. [220] [221] On 20 December 2016, O’Grady presented Paul O’Grady’s Favourite Fairy Tales, a one-off special for ITV . [222] He also contributed to “Hilda Ogden’s Last Ta-Ra – A Tribute to Jean Alexander”, a tribute programme surrounding the life of late actress Jean Alexander and her work on Coronation Street . This programme also aired on 20 December 2016.
Writing
O’Grady has written a three-volume autobiography. The first volume, At My Mother’s Knee … And Other Low Joints, was published by Bantam in September 2008. It was given a positive review by Private Eye who noted that the book did not fall into the most common celebrity biography traps of being ghost written, settling scores or not sounding like it had been written by its subject. The second volume, The Devil Rides Out: The Second Coming, was released in September 2010. In October 2012, his third volume, Still Standing: The Savage Years, was released with the official launch taking place at the Cambridge Theatre . In September 2015, O’Grady’s fourth book Open the Cage, Murphy was released. [223] [224]
Credits
Paul O’Grady’s Favourite Fairy Tales
Presenter
Personal life
“We used to fight like cat and dog. We were two alpha males vying to be top dog. He was a tricky bastard and I can be tricky too. We’d have real punch-ups. But I’d tell him everything. Suddenly, I was totally on my own. That’s when I said, “Lily’s going.” Because he’s always been here with Lily. I thought “I can’t do it any more.” So she sort of died with him.”
Paul O’Grady on the death of Brendan Murphy, 2012. [182]
In 1974, with his friend Diane Jansen, O’Grady had a daughter, Sharyn. O’Grady’s grandson, Abel, was born in December 2006, [226] with a granddaughter being born in December 2009. [227] From 1977 to 2005, he was in a marriage of convenience with Portuguese lesbian Teresa Fernandes, although was not in a relationship with her. [33] His long-term lover and business partner was Brendan Frank Murphy (4 March 1956 – 9 June 2005). [149] Known to many friends as “Lily” or “Lil”, [228] O’Grady is publicly known for having had many high profile and celebrity friends, including the politician Mo Mowlam , actresses Amanda Mealing and Barbara Windsor , comedian Brenda Gilhooly and the late Cilla Black . [229]
O’Grady divides his time between his Central London flat and his rural Kentish farmhouse. [230] There he grows organic fruit and vegetables, [231] and a variety of herbs, having a keen interest in herbalism . [232] A lifelong animal lover, [93] as a child O’Grady kept rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, a ferret and a rat as pets; he has commented that his mother thought him “a bit weird” as a result. [93] At his Kentish farm, he owned sheep, pigs, goats, donkeys, ducks, chickens, geese, ferrets, bats, mice, and dogs. [233] Two of O’Grady’s pet dogs became well known to the British public through appearances on The Paul O’Grady Show; the first was Buster Elvis Savage, a Shih Tzu / Bichon Frise cross. A rescue dog, Buster was euthanised in November 2009 after a struggle with cancer. [234] [235] O’Grady dedicated the second volume of his autobiography to Buster, describing him as “The greatest canine star since Lassie .” [236] A second dog, the Cairn Terrier Olga, also attracted attention; in 2013 it was revealed that she was undergoing chemotherapy as treatment for cancer. [237]
In an interview with the Daily Mirror in 2006 O’Grady admitted that smoking 40 cigarettes a day had contributed to his two heart attacks. [238]
Publicly known for his “trenchant opinions”, [142] O’Grady is critical of the British Royal Family , having been raised by his father to view them as social parasites; the exception in his mind was Diana, Princess of Wales , whom he came to respect for her charitable work with those living with HIV/AIDS . [239] In April 2013, O’Grady expressed his support for the Labour Party , championing Labour leader Ed Miliband as a better candidate for UK Prime Minister than Conservative incumbent David Cameron . [240] He lambasted the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government then in power, describing them as “absolutely disgusting. They have no idea what the common working man and woman are doing. They are not in touch with the working classes. They have led privileged lives – they’ve had public schools and have never been on the shop floor.” [240]
Charity work
O’Grady has supported philanthropic causes supporting carers. [241] Since 2008, O’Grady has been an ambassador for Save the Children . [242]
In 2012, O’Grady became an ambassador for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home following his series For the Love of Dogs , which was filmed in the home. [243] In 2013, he took part in the Pedigree Feeding Brighter Futures campaign with Amanda Holden , which aimed to give a million meals to rescue dogs nationwide. [189] [244]
In 2014, O’Grady co-starred in a Dementia Friends TV advertisement campaign to raise awareness about the disease. [245] [246]
In October 2015, following his work on Animal Orphans , O’Grady became a patron of Orangutan Appeal UK . [247]
In September 2016, O’Grady was recognised for his work with animals when he won the award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Animal Welfare’ at the RSPCA’s Animal Hero Awards. [248]
References
| Paul O'Grady |
Which five letter word can be the name of a famous cricketer, to pray or the christian name of a famous actress who died on September 14th 1982 aged 52? | Paul O'Grady
Official Radio 2 show page
Paul James O’Grady, MBE (born 14 June 1955) is an English comedian, television presenter, actor, writer and radio disc-jockey. He achieved fame using his comedic drag queen character, Lily Savage, and later became well known for presenting TV shows as himself, such as The Paul O’Grady Show .
Born to a working-class Irish migrant family in Birkenhead , Cheshire (now Merseyside ), O’Grady moved to London in the late 1970s, there working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council . It was here in 1978 that he developed his drag act, basing the character of Lily Savage upon traits found among female relatives. Touring Northern England as part of drag mime duo, the Playgirls, he eventually went solo as a stand-up comedian. Performing as Savage for eight years at a South London gay pub, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), he gained a popular following among the city’s gay community and used his character to speak out for LGBT rights . After being nominated for a 1992 Perrier Award , he attracted mainstream attention and made various television, radio, and theatrical appearances. As Savage, he presented morning chat show The Big Breakfast (1995–96), game show Blankety Blank (1997–02) and comedy series Lily Live! (2000–01), earning various awards and becoming a well known public figure.
Seeking to diversify his career away from Savage, O’Grady starred in BBC sitcom Eyes Down (2003–04) and presented two travel documentaries for ITV . In 2004, he began presenting ITV’s daytime chat show The Paul O’Grady Show, which proved a hit with audiences. After the network refused to transfer creative control of the series to O’Grady’s production company, Olga TV , in 2006 he defected to rival Channel 4 , where the show was rebranded as The New Paul O’Grady Show and ran until 2009. O’Grady subsequently presented a late night ITV show, Paul O’Grady Live (2010–11) as well as Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs (2012–present) and Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans (2014–present), while presenting BBC Radio 2 ‘s Paul O’Grady on the Wireless and publishing a four-volume autobiography.
O’Grady has received a variety of awards, among them honorary degrees and an MBE in the 2008 Birthday Honours for services to entertainment.
Contents
Early life
Childhood: 1955–71
O’Grady’s father, Patrick “Paddy” Grady (died 1973), [3] had grown up on a farm in Ballincurry, County Roscommon , Ireland, before moving to England in 1936, in search for work, settling down in the working class area of Birkenhead , Cheshire (now Merseyside ). His name was changed from Grady to O’Grady in a paperwork mistake when he joined the Royal Air Force ; he kept this altered name. [4] Patrick married Mary Savage (1916–1988), born in England to Irish migrants from County Louth . Patrick and Mary were devout Catholics and brought up their children in the faith. O’Grady was their third child, born at 7:30 am on 14 June 1955 at St. Catherine’s Hospital, Tranmere . [5] His birth, over a decade after that of siblings Brendan (b. 1941) and Sheila (b. 1944), [3] was not planned; his mother was 39 and discovered the pregnancy only when visiting the doctor complaining of indigestion. O’Grady spent his early life at the family’s rented home of 23 Holly Grove, Higher Tranmere, Birkenhead, [6] a house built in a former quarry during the early 1930s; O’Grady remarked that the house was always damp and cold, suffering from “ominous cracks” which “would appear in the walls and ceilings overnight”. [7]
“[W]hen I look back on my childhood I have no bad memories. Our family was loving and full of affection. I never knew what divorce was until I moved to London. I was an indulged child and completely protected from anything bad.”
Paul O’Grady. [8]
Attending St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, O’Grady excelled in all subjects but maths. Hoping that he had a good future ahead of him, his parents budgeted to send him to a private school, the Catholic-run Redcourt , but his grades dropped. Failing the eleven plus exam , to his mother’s dismay he was unable to enter a grammar school , instead attending the Blessed Edmund Campion R.C. Secondary Modern and the Corpus Christi High School, [9] where O’Grady experienced his first homosexual encounter, enjoying a brief romance with another boy, although still assumed he was heterosexual. [10]
A fan of the popular television series The Avengers and Batman , [11] he was enrolled in the cub scouts by his mother, but he hated it, leaving after a month. An altar boy at a local Catholic church, he was dismissed after laughing during a funeral service. [12] Then joining the Marine cadets, he later commented that he was following in the footsteps of his childhood hero, the cartoon Popeye . [13] Enjoying the cadets, at the advice of his captain he joined the Boys’ Amateur Boxing Club, developing a lifelong love of the sport. [14] Playing truant from school, he got into trouble with his parents, and subsequently with the police after burgling a house with three friends. [15] O’Grady’s first job was a paper round that he kept for a week, [16] and through this and other jobs he saved up to afford Mod clothes, for a time becoming a suedehead . [17]
Early adulthood: 1972–77
Leaving school aged sixteen, O’Grady obtained a job in the civil service, working as a clerical assistant for the DHSS at their Liverpool office; he commuted in from his parents’ home. Supplementing this income, he worked part-time at the bar of the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) club in Oxton . [18] Called for a disciplinary hearing at the DHSS and accused of incompetent behaviour and tardiness, he resigned. [19] Obtaining a job at the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Virginia Water , Surrey, aged seventeen, O’Grady moved there; appalled at the working conditions, the management accused him of stealing, which he denied. [20] Promptly returning to Birkenhead, he worked at the RAFA club, increasingly socialising within the Liverpudlian gay scene , attending meetings of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and working at gay bar the Bear’s Paw; [21] this was kept a secret from his parents, to whom he was not “out of the closet “. [22]
With best friend Tony, O’Grady regularly travelled to London to socialise with Tony’s friend, the classical music conductor John Pritchard , becoming very fond of him. [23] Experimenting, O’Grady had casual sex with a friend and colleague, Diane Jansen. [24] She became pregnant, news which O’Grady discovered in the same week that both his parents suffered heart attacks; his mother recovered, but his father died. [25] Following the birth of his daughter, Sharon Lee Jansen, on 16 May 1974, O’Grady agreed to pay £ 3 per week towards her upkeep, but refused to marry Diane, recognising his homosexuality. [26]
Briefly working as an assistant clerk at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court , O’Grady subsequently worked as a barman at Yates’s Wine Lodge , supplementing the income with the occasional night at the Bear’s Paw. [27] Realising this wage was insufficient to support both himself and his daughter, he travelled to London, lodging in Westbourne Green , but found only poorly paid work as a barman. In London, he began associating with drag queens , particularly a couple who used the stage name of the Harlequeens. Although making friends in the city, O’Grady was homesick and returned home. [28] Employed as an accountant in a FMC Meats Merseyside abattoir , he then gained employment at the Children’s Convalescent Home and School in West Kirby , a home for disabled and abused children; he worked here for three years. [29] [30] Entering into a relationship with an older man named Norman, O’Grady moved into his house in Littlehampton ; their relationship was strained, both cheating on one another, and it broke apart. [31]
Moving again to London, he rented a flat in Crouch End and began busking with a friend in Camden Town before obtaining a job as a physiotherapist’s assistant at the Royal Northern Hospital . [32] Made redundant by public sector cuts, O’Grady took up a job at a gay club called the Showplace, befriending Portuguese lesbian Theresa Fernandes; in May 1977, they legally married to prevent her deportation, although eventually lost contact, only gaining a divorce in 2005. [33] Taking up jobs as a cleaner and a waiter at private functions, [34] he began working for Camden Council as a peripatetic care officer, living in with elderly people or dysfunctional families which had a lasting effect on him for many years to come. [35]
Career in drag
Lily Savage and the drag circuit: 1978–84
“I’ve frequently been asked over the years who Lily Savage was based on and I’ve always answered that it was no one in particular and she was just a figment of my imagination. The truth, I realise now, is that Lily owes a lot to the women I encountered in my childhood. Characteristics and attitudes were observed and absorbed, Aunty Chris’s in particular, and they provided the roots and compost for the Lily that would germinate and grow later on.”
— Paul O’Grady, 2008. [36]
While working for Camden Social Services, O’Grady made his first attempt at putting together a drag act , creating the character of Lily Savage; he later related that “I wanted to get up there but be larger than life, a creature that was more cartoon than human. I wasn’t sure yet.” [37] His debut was on the afternoon of 7 October 1978 at The Black Cap gay pub in Camden, where his act involved miming the words to Barbra Streisand ‘s “Nobody Makes a Pass at Me” from the show Pins and Needles . [38] Following a holiday to Poland, [39] he visited an ex-boyfriend in Manila in the Philippines; he found Manila to be a “culture shock”, but briefly worked as a barman and waiter at a brothel known as Gussie’s Bar. [40]
Returning to London, O’Grady moved to Purley and then Streatham with a drag act, the Glamazons. With one of them, nicknamed “Hush”, he founded a two-man drag mime act, the Playgirls, although found little work in London. Agreeing to a tour of the North of England, they moved to Slaithwaite , Yorkshire, [41] also accepting a month’s work at a club in Copenhagen , Denmark. [42] Living up north, they diversified their act, with O’Grady performing a striptease while wearing a fat suit he named “Biddy”, also learning fire eating from a hotel manager in Bradford . [43] Fed up with the poor living conditions, Hush returned to London, leading O’Grady to continue his drag performance as a solo act under the name of “Paul Monroe”, a reference to Marilyn Monroe . [44] Ultimately finding himself under too much financial strain, O’Grady moved back in with his mother in Birkenhead, there becoming reacquainted with Diane and his daughter. [45] Amid mass unemployment, O’Grady briefly lived off the dole before resurrecting the Playgirls with his friend Vera; initially performing in Liverpool, where they were caught up in the 1981 Toxteth riots , they began touring other parts of Northern England until deciding to quit and return to London. [46]
Returning to work as a support worker for Camden Council Social Services, O’Grady began caring for an old woman who lived several doors down from serial killer Dennis Nilsen . [47] Regularly moving flats, from Vauxhall to Brixton and then Battersea , he was reunited with Hush, and they began performing as the Playgirls again, devising an act based upon the cult film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? . [48] At the end of the year, he appeared as an Ugly Sister in a drag pantomime of Cinderella . [49] Moving into the Victoria Mansions flats in Vauxhall, in March 1983 he joined the Equity union, allowing him to take a role in the theatrical adaptation of If They’d Asked for a Lion Tamer at the Donmar Warehouse . [50] The Playgirls gained bookings to appear across London, and also in Amsterdam and Copenhagen; O’Grady and Hush joined with drag artist David Dale to form an act known as “LSD”, which stood for “Lily, Sandra and Doris”, devising an act that parodied Andy Pandy , they gained bookings across London and in Edinburgh . [51]
Residency in Vauxhall: 1984–92
In 1984, O’Grady began work as a barman at the Elephant and Castle, a Vauxhall gay pub. As Lily, he became compere of Ladies Night every Tuesday, where amateur drag acts would perform. [52] As compere, he tried out comedy routines, becoming known for insulting both the acts and the audience, describing it as “one of the best times of my life.” Becoming increasingly popular, the show began attracting crowds and he was interviewed by artist Patrick Procktor . [53] After six months, O’Grady transferred his act to the nearby Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT) gay pub, whose manager offered him £50 a show over the £15 that the Elephant and Castle paid; he re-opened his show on Thursday nights as “Stars of the Future”. [54] In February 1985 he obtained his own council flat in Vauxhall’s Victoria Mansions, moving in with his pet cats and friend Vera. [55] During the mid-1980s, O’Grady met Brendan Murphy, known as “Murph” or “Murphy” to his friends, who was the manager of a gay sauna near the Oval , Kennington , and they entered into a long-term relationship. [56] Murphy would subsequently become O’Grady’s manager. [57]
O’Grady’s alter-ego, Lily Savage
Eventually appearing at the RVT three times a week, on Sundays O’Grady began performing at the Union Tavern in Camberwell and the Goldsmith’s Tavern in New Cross , where he often preceded Vic Reeves ‘ three-hour show Vic Reeves Big Night Out . [58] On a number of occasions he performed at the Madame JoJo’s club in Soho . [59] Quitting his council work, he focused full-time on his career as Lily, taking his act across the United Kingdom and also abroad to countries like Israel and Finland. [60] Befriending American drag queen Divine and his manager Bernard Jay, Jay booked O’Grady to appear in Fort Lauderdale , Florida. [61] As Divine had done, O’Grady also recorded his own Hi-NRG song, “Tough at the Top”, which was produced by DJ Ian Levine . [62] In 1988, he performed as Madame in The Scythe of Reason, [63] and appeared at the Glasgow Mayfest , where he developed a lifelong friendship with actor Ian McKellen . [64] From 1989 to 1992, O’Grady performed annually as Lily at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival , gaining increasing recognition for his act. [65] As a result, he was nominated for the 1991 Perrier Award alongside Jack Dee , Eddie Izzard , and Frank Skinner , although the latter ultimately won the award. [66] O’Grady followed this with a show titled Lily Savage Live from the Hackney Empire, which proved to be a sell-out and which was the first time that his performance was recorded. [67]
O’Grady used his act to publicly speak out against the treatment of Britain’s LGBT community by the mainstream media, government and police, particularly during the HIV/AIDS crisis that hit the community during that decade. On a number of occasions, police raided pubs that he was working at; he was quoted in the Capital Gay newspaper as calling on LGBT people to riot against their mistreatment. [68] In April 1988 he took part in a 30,000 strong march against Section 28 , a policy introduced by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher that the gay community denounced as homophobic . [69] Regularly doing charity fundraisers for HIV/AIDS research, many of his friends died as a result of AIDS-related complications. [70] In 2015 O’Grady said “I’ve lost about everybody I know”, and talked about having to pretend to some of their families that they were dying of cancer as he nursed them. “People my age will never get over the horrors.” [71] He performed in a play about the disease at the King’s Head Theatre in Islington ; it was there that he befriended co-star Amanda Mealing . [72]
O’Grady obtained his breakthrough into television when he played the character of a transvestite prostitute informant, Roxanne, in three episodes of ITV’s police drama The Bill between 1988 and 1990. [73] Just before filming on the first episode, O’Grady’s mother died and he proceeded to return her house to the landlord. [74] In 1990 he appeared in the ITV miniseries Chimera as Tony Donaldson, a social worker skilled in signing for the deaf; during filming he became friends with co-star Liza Tarbuck . [75] He followed this with a performance as Marlene Dietrich in an episode of Rik Mayall ‘s ITV comedy The New Statesman . [75]
Mainstream success: 1992–98
After leaving the RVT, O’Grady continued to tour as Lily and released VHS videos of his performances. [76] After gaining further public exposure through an appearance on the popular late-night Channel 4 comedy show Viva Cabaret! , [77] he was invited to appear on an episode of BBC quiz show That’s Showbusiness . Travelling to the Manchester studio where it was filmed, he accidentally left his Lily costume on the train, subsequently appearing on the show out of character. [78] Moving into radio, as Lily, he began making regular appearances on Woman’s Hour and Loose Ends . [79] Also moving into film, he travelled to Dublin , Ireland to play the role of an inmate in the 1993 film In the Name of the Father ; although not in the Lily character, he was credited as “Paul Savage”. [76] In October 1994, he was invited on to an episode of BBC television series The Steve Wright People Show as Lily, where he proved popular and was invited back for a later episode. [80] In November, he made a cameo as Lily in the soap Brookside , [81] while he was also invited to guest present an episode of BBC music show Top of the Pops as Lily. [82]
Employed to narrate the BBC 2 series Life Swaps, which with low ratings was not renewed for a second series, [83] he was also given his own late-night Channel 4 series, Live from the Lilydrome, which was filmed in a working men’s club in Blackpool . [84] Given top billing at the LGB rights charity Stonewall ‘s 1994 Equality Show in Albert Hall , [81] he also played the role of Nancy in the London Palladium ‘s performance of the musical Oliver! . [85] Reflecting his increasing success in mainstream British comedy, in 1994 he was nominated for both Top Live Stand-Up Comedian and Top Television Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards . [86] Some in the South London gay scene from which O’Grady emerged were critical of where he had taken his career, accusing him of being a sell out ; O’Grady fiercely denied these accusations, stating that “I’ve done nearly ten years on the factory floor and now I feel I deserve a shot in the office.” [87]
After Paula Yates resigned as presenter of the Channel 4 morning television program The Big Breakfast , its production company Planet 24 employed O’Grady to replace her. He was initially commissioned to present the show, to be termed Lie-in with Lily, for four weeks in what was to be treated as a trial run. [88] As Lily, O’Grady ignored the suggested questions of PR agents, instead asked personal questions of his guests, in doing so attracting a 30% share of the morning audience, with 2 million viewers; realising his popularity, Planet 24 renewed his contract to keep him on as presenter. [89] However, O’Grady found the early morning starts difficult to deal with, particularly as he had signed up to appear as Lily in a musical version of Prisoner in Cell Block H at the Queen’s Theatre in London’s West End . Juggling both rehearsals and The Big Breakfast proved incredibly exhausting for O’Grady. [90] When the musical went on a tour of the UK, O’Grady accompanied it, taking a break from The Big Breakfast to do so. [91]
He took his new dog, a shih tzu named Buster, with him on tour; [92] O’Grady later commented that “He was never happier than in a TV studio or theatre… Buster knew all the theatre doormen, and loved being fussed over. He was a smashing dog.” [93] At the time, O’Grady had been making greater attempts to get to know his teenage daughter; both her existence and that of O’Grady’s wife were discovered by the Daily Mirror tabloid, who treated them as a headline scandal in autumn 1994. [94] Critical of the media, O’Grady condemned them for solely referring to him as a drag queen; he commented that “ Barry Humphries is never called a drag act because he’s a heterosexual male. But I’m called one because I’m a gay man. It’s homophobic and it’s wrong as there is nothing remotely sexual about what I do. I dress up as a woman for financial purposes, nothing else.” [95]
In April 1996, O’Grady filmed a performance at the LWT Tower as An Evening with Lily Savage, broadcast on ITV in November. A hit, it attracted 11.2 million viewers and earned an award for Best Entertainment Program at the 1997 National Television Awards, although was publicly criticised as being bawdy and in bad taste by both the Daily Mail and the drag queen Danny La Rue . [96] ITV then offered him a weekly show that would air on Wednesdays at 8 pm, although O’Grady turned down the offer, believing that the pre-watershed slot would force him to drastically alter his act into a form of light entertainment . [97] With Murphy he then established a production company, known as Widlflower. [98] Returning to theatre, he performed The Lily Savage Show for a sixteen-week sell-out run at the North Pier Theatre in Blackpool , and after a month break returned to the town to perform Lily’s Christmas Cracker at the Blackpool Opera House . [99] At this juncture, he agreed to appear as Lily in a series of adverts for the Ford Escort , earning him £150,000, [100] and would subsequently appear in ad campaigns for Pretty Polly tights and a bingo company. [101] O’Grady had earned a substantial sum of money through these performances, enabling him to move out of his Vauxhall council flat and into a luxury apartment near to Tower Bridge in central London. [98] Through contacts made in showbusiness, he became friends with many A-list celebrities, among them Elton John and Cher . [102]
Television
Blankety Blank, travel shows, and Eyes Down: 1998–2003
In 1998, the BBC produced a six-week Sunday series titled The Lily Savage Show, although O’Grady found the scripted, non-spontaneous nature of the series difficult. He had convinced Janet Street-Porter to appear on the show as his floor-manager, and interviewed such guests as Alan Yentob , Anthea Turner , and Elton John. The show was not well received. [103] At the same time, the BBC had decided to revive the quiz show Blankety Blank , which had previously been hosted by Terry Wogan and Les Dawson . They selected O’Grady to present the show in the role of Lily Savage, allowing him to ab lib rather than strictly follow a script, filming a pilot episode in 1997; after this pilot was a hit, they commissioned a full series. [104] With his increased public profile, O’Grady was invited on to many other television chat shows, such as Richard and Judy , while in the guise of Lily, [105] and agreed to appear in a Christmas special of cookery show Ready, Steady, Cook alongside his friend Barbara Windsor . [106] Continuing with his theatre work, he went on an eight-week tour as Lily, [107] before starring as Mrs Hannigan in a West End performance of the musical Annie , for which he appeared in six evening performances and two matinees per week. [108] He subsequently accompanied the show on its tour of the UK, [109] before appearing in a pantomime in Birmingham that winter. [110] Deciding on a move to the countryside, in 1999 O’Grady purchased a house in Aldington, Kent for £650,000 from comedian Vic Reeves, proceeding to decorate it in an art nouveau style and establish a smallholding in which to keep various animals. [111]
Screened on primetime Saturday night, Blankety Blank proved a ratings winner for the BBC, attracting an audience of 9 million. Rival company ITV then purchased it, offering O’Grady a two-year deal for £1 million. [112] ITV let him be more risque in his use of humour on Blankety Blank, and also commissioned a new comedy series, Lily Live! . [113] This show also proved a success, earning O’Grady nominations for both the Best Comedy Entertainment Personality and Programme at the 2000 British Comedy Awards . [114] However, O’Grady had tired of appearing as Lily, and decided to try to make a career for himself out of drag. [115] He first appeared as himself in an advert campaign for Double Two shirt-makers, [116] before he pitched a proposed six-part travelogue series to ITV, who agreed to part-fund it. The project resulted in Paul O’Grady’s Orient, for which he travelled throughout East and Southeast Asia, visiting Shanghai, Hong Kong, the Philippines , Bangkok , Bali and Singapore. Although poorly received by the tabloid press, it achieved good ratings, and ITV commissioned a second series, Paul O’Grady’s America, in which he visited New York City, Miami, New Orleans , Dallas , San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Again it received poor tabloid reviews. [117]
Although then believed to have assets totalling £4 million, [118] O’Grady found that his newfound material wealth brought him little comfort and for a time suffered with clinical depression. [119] He recovered in time to perform alongside Cilla Black and Barbara Windsor in a burlesque rendition of “ You Gotta Have a Gimmick ” at the 2001 Royal Variety Performance ; the televised event attracted 11.5 million viewers. [120] In April 2002, O’Grady suffered a heart attack, and was rushed to St. Thomas’s Hospital in South London, where doctors attributed it to a combination of a congential family heart problems with stress, heavy smoking and caffeine. [121] Spending several weeks recovering, he missed the Heritage Foundation Awards ceremony, where he was to be awarded television personality of the year award. [122] Returning to work, he appeared as the Child Catcher in a twelve-week run of the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium , where he co-starred with Michael Ball and Brian Blessed . It was his first theatrical performance where his character was not largely based on Lily Savage, and earned him good reviews. [123] He followed this with a pantomime performance as the Wicked Queen in Snow White at Manchester Opera House . [124] O’Grady gave up smoking for two years after his first heart attack. [125]
In 2003, O’Grady appeared in Celebrity Driving School , a BBC Comic Relief show in which he learned to drive alongside friends Nadia Sawalha and Jade Goody . He earned his driving licence shortly after the show culminated, and was nominated for a Best Television Moment of the Year Award for one of his tantrums on the show. [126] He received an invite to appear on Gordon Ramsay ‘s Hells Kitchen but declined, citing his strong dislike for reality television. [127] He had also received various offers to star in a sitcom, a genre that he typically disliked. However, after reading the show’s script, he agreed to appear in the new BBC sitcom Eyes Down . Set in a Merseyside bingo hall, he played the manager, Ray, humorously commenting that “He’s an evil, twisted man who hates everything that moves. Not exactly a challenge for me”. [128] Screened in the prime Friday night slot at 9 pm, the show received poor and mediocre reviews although was popular with viewers, and was renewed for a second series. [129] The BBC were also planning on reviving The Generation Game , and brought O’Grady in as its presenter. Filming two pilot episodes in 2003, both O’Grady and the production team were unhappy with the result, with O’Grady leaving the project. [130] O’Grady ended 2003 with a pantomime performance at the Bristol Hippodrome . [131]
The Paul O’Grady Show: 2004–05
“I just want the show to be like a party, a group of pals gabbing away about the first things that come into their heads. There are always enough things in life to worry and get depressed about. I want my show to take our minds off all that stuff, even if it’s only for a while.”
Paul O’Grady, c.2004 [132]
O’Grady had gained experience as a daytime television presenter by standing in for Des O’Connor in nine episodes of ITV’s lunchtime chat show Today with Des and Mel . Having got on well with co-presenter Melanie Sykes , he enjoyed the feeling of presenting live. [133] ITV executives deemed this such a success that they offered him his own daytime chat show, with news of his agreement going public in autumn 2004; the result would be The Paul O’Grady Show. [134] There was initial press scepticism and concern that O’Grady’s style of adult humour would not be appropriate for a daytime slot, but ITV’s controller of entertainment, Mark Wells, declared that “Paul is one of the funniest people on television – he deserves to be on it far more than he is.” [135]
The show first aired on October 2004 from 5-6pm and saw O’Grady interviewing celebrity guests, representing “a glorious mix of seemingly unscripted banter, chat and slapstick humour”. [135] In producing the show, O’Grady worked with many of his old friends, including warm-up man Andy Collins . [136] The series was a hit, attaining between 2.5 and 2.7 million viewers daily, which was better than ITV had anticipated. [137] According to O’Grady biographer Neil Simpson, “The show was unashamedly populist, a riotous, endearingly kitsch romp with no pretensions to be anything other than pure entertainment. In some ways it was pure vaudeville[...] There were novelty acts, talking dogs, whistling goldfish, extraordinary stories. His audience laughed like drains at his anecdotes and were brought right into the heart of the show.” [138] The inclusion of his dog, Buster, on the show proved particularly popular with audiences. [139]
The show gained a devout following, with an “extraordinary hardcore of fans [who] try to be at as many recordings as possible”, in many cases arriving at the studio gates two hours before the advertised starting time to get the best seats. [140] O’Grady’s biographer Neil Simpson commented on the crowds coming to see the show being recorded when he related that “Groups of middle aged women dominate – but they are joined by beautiful twenty-something women with flawless make-up, flash City boys with Louis Vuitton briefcases, hip-looking students out for a good time and pensioners just wanting a laugh in the afternoon.” [141] In many cases, fans queuing to see the show had to be turned away because too many had turned up, and for live shows as many as a hundred often had to be turned away. [140]
“On or off camera it is the brilliant anecdotes about his life and the endless stream of trenchant opinions on the world in general that keep Paul’s fans coming back for more.”
Biographer Neil Simpson, 2008 [142]
Although it failed to gain a greater audience than BBC quiz show The Weakest Link , The Paul O’Grady Show attracted an audience half a million larger than that of rival daytime chat show, Channel 4′s Richard & Judy. The British tabloids stoked the rivalry between these two competing shows, calling the rivalry the “Chat Wars”. After Richard and Judy’s production company warned Joan Collins that she would be banned from further appearances on Channel 4 if she agreed to appear on both their show and The Paul O’Grady Show. O’Grady accused them of “(…)fighting dirty now. I’m not bothered what’s on the other side but they have said, If you come on my show you don’t go on theirs for three years. How stupid is that?” [143] He later claimed that tabloids had been making up false quotes which they then attributed to him, describing Richard and Judy as “a lovely couple and we certainly haven’t fallen out. I hate all the fuss being made.” [144]
In winter 2004, O’Grady again performed in pantomime, this time in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the West End’s Victoria Palace ; his contract attracted attention due to the fact that he was being paid £70,000 a week in addition to profit-related bonuses. [145] After a second series of The Paul O’Grady Show was commissioned, in March 2005 it was awarded Best Daytime Programme by the Royal Television Society , and O’Grady himself was subsequently awarded Best Entertainment Performance at the BAFTAs . [146] In his personal life, O’Grady was devastated when his manager and best friend Brendan Murphy contracted brain cancer ; O’Grady hid the diagnosis from the press and cared for Murphy at his Kent home; he later commented that “To watch someone you love, a healthy, eloquent man, unable to speak or walk is hideous.” [147] Murphy died aged 49, two days before O’Grady’s fiftieth birthday, and was buried in the local Kentish churchyard. [148] O’Grady subsequently became embroiled in legal arguments surrounding Murphy’s will, [149] although continued working to distract himself from his grief. [150] In August 2005 a furore enveloped the show when it was publicly revealed that the staff member responsible for interviewing prospective child reporters had written derogatory notes on many of them, such as “I think he is special needs”, “common and thick”, and “Black girl: NO”. O’Grady was on holiday when the story hit the tabloids, proceeding to offer a public apology, sending a card and flowers to those affected, and firing the staff member responsible. [151]
The New Paul O’Grady Show: 2006–09; 2013–2015
“I don’t rehearse, but I do research. If I’ve got an author on, I’ll always read the book. I think that’s the least you can do rather than just reading the researcher’s notes. I suppose I do so much research because I really love television. That’s why I work in it. I’m passionate about it and I always have been.”
Paul O’Grady, on the show [152]
Prior to the latter’s death, O’Grady had promised Murphy that his own production company – now named Olga TV after one of O’Grady’s dogs – would take creative control over The Paul O’Grady Show. ITV refused to allow this, and so O’Grady decided to take up an offer from Channel 4 to move the show to their channel; here it would be renamed The New Paul O’Grady Show, and would share the slot with former rival Richard and Judy. [153] O’Grady’s move was highly criticised in the press, where he was accused of abandoning ITV in pursuit of a higher salary; [154] Channel 4 offered him a contract for £2 million a year, making him one of Britain’s highest paid television stars. [155] ITV executives were furious at O’Grady for the move; they refused Olga TV permission to continue using their studio premises, leading the show to relocate to BBC’s studio 1 in Broadcasting House . [156] While Channel 4 began screening The New Paul O’Grady Show, ITV screened repeat episodes of The Paul O’Grady Show in an attempt to confuse viewers and draw them to their channel. [157] Nevertheless, the show continued to receive good reviews. [158]
In June 2006, O’Grady suffered a second massive heart attack while at his Kent home; he was taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford where he underwent angioplasty surgery. [159] [160] Following the incident, he received around 7000 get-well-soon cards and letters from fans and well-wishers. [161] He returned to work for the second series of The New Paul O’Grady Show in September, during which the show’s viewing figures hit a new peak. [162] To deal with his health issues, he began taking a week off mid-series, where he was replaced by guest presenters such as Cilla Black, Brian Conley , Lorraine Kelly , and Vernon Kay . [163] The tabloids tried to re-ignite the “chat wars” by claiming a rivalry between O’Grady and other daytime television shows such as The Sharon Osbourne Show and The Brian Conley Show , but O’Grady refused to participate. [164] He subsequently won the Ten Years at the Top award at the TV Quick and TV Choice awards. [165]
On 28 June 2008, O’Grady appeared in the Doctor Who episode The Stolen Earth . [166] In September 2008, he appeared in a two-hour-long show, called Ghosthunting with Paul O’Grady & Friends, filmed in Sicily , with fellow Liverpudlians Jennifer Ellison , Philip Olivier and Natasha Hamilton . On 6 June 2009, the Daily Mirror confirmed that O’Grady signed a new two-year contract with Channel 4 in autumn 2009 to keep his show on air until the end of 2011. However, Channel 4 told O’Grady that his show would face huge budget cuts, with his salary most likely halved. [167] On Monday 21 September 2009, O’Grady returned to present the 11th (including ITV series) and final series of The Paul O’Grady Show. [168] On 14 October 2009, O’Grady agreed to an £8 million deal with ITV to host a Friday prime-time chat-show, to rival that of BBC One ‘s Friday Night with Jonathan Ross from 2010, after budget talks broke down with Channel 4. [168]
On 30 November 2009, O’Grady was a guest presenter on GMTV Limited’s GMTV with Lorraine , in celebration of Lorraine Kelly ‘s 50th birthday. He has guest starred on Living ‘s paranormal show, Most Haunted Live! , after presenter Yvette Fielding was a guest on his show and invited him on. Also in November 2009, O’Grady reunited with Yvette Fielding to take part in a 2 part paranormal investigation series called Death in Venice where he and Fielding investigated haunted locations in Venice .
On 18 December 2009, Channel 4 broadcast the final episode of The Paul O’Grady Show, after 11 series.
In 2005, Liverpool John Moores University awarded O’Grady an honorary fellowship for services to entertainment, [169] and in 2010, he received an Honorary Doctor of Arts from De Montfort University , Leicester , in recognition of his outstanding contribution to television, radio and the stage. [170]
In the autumn of 2013, O’Grady began hosting a revival of his teatime chat show The Paul O’Grady Show on ITV . The series was produced by his own production company Olga TV filmed at The London Studios . [171] [172] In November 2013, O’Grady suffered an angina attack and underwent further heart surgery. He was said to be trying to give up smoking at the time. [173]
Paul O’Grady Live: 2010–12
O’Grady made a deal with ITV to present a new Friday night chat show, Paul O’Grady Live . [174] The first series aired for ten episodes from September to November 2010. [175] In October, O’Grady attracted media attention after using Paul O’Grady Live to criticise the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government for their implementation of mass cuts to social services. He called them “bastards” and proclaimed “Do you know what got my back up? Those Tories hooping and hollering when they heard about the cuts. Gonna scrap the pensions – yeah! – no more wheelchairs – yeah! … I bet when they were children they laughed in Bambi when his mother got shot.” [176] [177] [178] Ofcom received several complaints over the incident, [177] though his Bambi quote was soon after quoted by Peter Taffe at the Socialism 2010 conference. [179] O’Grady also voiced his support for student protesters who had occupied and vandalised the headquarters of the Conservative Party at Millbank Tower on 10 November 2010. [180] [181]
“I felt I was part of the PR machine . There was so much interference. They’d want this guest or that guest. Every question had to go through the lawyers. I was just another plug for someone’s book or film.”
Paul O’Grady on why he quit his chat show, 2012. [182]
The show was picked up for a second series from April to July 2011. A special devoted to American pop star Lady Gaga also aired; O’Grady described Gaga as a “thoroughly decent human being”, and labelled himself one of her “greatest admirers.” [183] Straight after, O’Grady holidayed in China with Brazilian boyfriend André, visiting Shanghai, Hong Kong and Lhasa . [184] O’Grady found himself caught up in the News International phone hacking scandal when police from Operation Weeting informed him that News of the World reporter Glenn Mulcaire had hacked his mobile phone. Disappointed, he decided not to sue. [185] In October 2011, O’Grady played Mr Slattery in a stage performance of Drama at Inish at the Finborough in Earl’s Court . [186] That month, ITV axed Paul O’Grady Live. [187] [188] O’Grady stated that ITV had asked him to return for a third series, but that he had refused, claiming that he had had enough of the chat show format. [174] [182] He remarked that he had become fed up with the “interference” from the show’s producers and the fact that certain guests had appeared on air while under the influence of the illicit drug cocaine . [182] O’Grady later commented that having to interview some A-list celebrities was akin to conversing with a “relative you felt obliged to visit.” [189]
Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs: 2012–present
Since 3 September 2012, O’Grady has presented the ITV documentary series Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs , covering life at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home . [190] O’Grady commented that he had wanted to do such a show for years and that he took to it with an “enthusiasm that surprised everyone except me”. Although scheduled to initially film at the centre for six days, he stayed as a volunteer for six months. [191] At the end of the first series, O’Grady was invited to become an ambassador of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home , and a bronze statue of his late dog, Buster, was erected on a plinth at the centre. [192] He also adopted a dog from the home; a Jack Russell - Chihuahua cross named Eddy. [192] In 2015, O’Grady stated that the show wouldn’t return for any future series. Despite this claim, For the Love of Dogs returned for a fifth series of eight episodes, beginning in September 2016 as well as Christmas and New Year specials.
The first series averaged 4.07 million viewers, the second averaging 4.97 million, the third with 3.98 million and the fourth received 3.74 million viewers on average. The show has won two National Television Awards in 2013 and 2014 for “Most Popular Factual Entertainment Programme”. In 2013, the programme was also nominated for a BAFTA . [193]
Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans: 2014–present
From 14 January 2014, O’Grady hosted a three-part documentary series entitled Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans on ITV , which saw him travel to Africa to meet some of the continent’s animal orphans. A second three-part series began on 20 January 2015 and a third series of two episodes began on 14 April 2016. [194]
The first series averaged 3.29 million viewers whilst the second averaged 2.75 million. [195]
Other work
In April 2012, O’Grady presented The One and Only Des O’Connor , a one-off special for ITV which looked back on the life of Des O’Connor . [196] On 3 July 2013, O’Grady narrated the ITV documentary programme, Me and My Guide Dog following the work of Guide Dogs. [197] On 14 April 2013, O’Grady presented a documentary about burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee as part of ITV’s Perspectives series. [198] That month, he also presented ITV’s British Animal Honours award ceremony. [199] [200] [201]
In 2013, O’Grady guest starred as cancer patient Tim Connor in three episodes of Holby City . [202] On 31 October 2013, O’Grady recorded a non-broadcast pilot for a BBC One sitcom called Led Astray, starring alongside Cilla Black . The show was not commissioned for a full series due to the pair’s busy schedules. [203] [204]
On 15 & 22 August 2013, O’Grady presented two-part BBC documentary series Paul O’Grady’s Working Britain, which was nominated for a National Television Award in January 2014. [205] On 16 October 2013, O’Grady presented The One and Only Cilla Black , a 90-minute ITV special celebrating Cilla Black’s 50 years in show business. [206] The show was later repeated shortly after Cilla Black’s death in August 2015, with O’Grady presenting a short tribute to her to introduce the show. [207] [208] [209]
In 2014, he appeared in a Gogglebox special for Stand Up to Cancer . [210] [211] In December 2014, O’Grady appeared as Santa Claus in a short Birds of a Feather sketch for ITV’s Text Santa appeal. On 31 December 2014, O’Grady appeared in the one-off ITV documentary Rita & Me celebrating Barbara Knox ‘s fifty years as Rita Tanner in Coronation Street . [212]
In 2015, O’Grady presented Bob Monkhouse: The Million Joke Man, a three-part factual series for Gold , exploring the life of comedian and presenter Bob Monkhouse . [213] The show looked back over the life of entertainer Bob Monkhouse . [214] In December 2015, O’Grady appeared in Our Cilla , a one-off programme about the life of Cilla Black . [215]
In September 2015, it was announced that O’Grady would present a new six-part series for BBC One , following the work of The Salvation Army . [216] The series, called Paul O’Grady: The Sally Army & Me aired on Sunday evenings from 27 March until 1 May 2016. [217] [218] [219]
In June 2016, O’Grady presented a 90-minute programme for Channel 4 called Paul O’Grady’s 100 Years of Movie Musicals. [220] [221] On 20 December 2016, O’Grady presented Paul O’Grady’s Favourite Fairy Tales, a one-off special for ITV . [222] He also contributed to “Hilda Ogden’s Last Ta-Ra – A Tribute to Jean Alexander”, a tribute programme surrounding the life of late actress Jean Alexander and her work on Coronation Street . This programme also aired on 20 December 2016.
Writing
O’Grady has written a three-volume autobiography. The first volume, At My Mother’s Knee … And Other Low Joints, was published by Bantam in September 2008. It was given a positive review by Private Eye who noted that the book did not fall into the most common celebrity biography traps of being ghost written, settling scores or not sounding like it had been written by its subject. The second volume, The Devil Rides Out: The Second Coming, was released in September 2010. In October 2012, his third volume, Still Standing: The Savage Years, was released with the official launch taking place at the Cambridge Theatre . In September 2015, O’Grady’s fourth book Open the Cage, Murphy was released. [223] [224]
Credits
Paul O’Grady’s Favourite Fairy Tales
Presenter
Personal life
“We used to fight like cat and dog. We were two alpha males vying to be top dog. He was a tricky bastard and I can be tricky too. We’d have real punch-ups. But I’d tell him everything. Suddenly, I was totally on my own. That’s when I said, “Lily’s going.” Because he’s always been here with Lily. I thought “I can’t do it any more.” So she sort of died with him.”
Paul O’Grady on the death of Brendan Murphy, 2012. [182]
In 1974, with his friend Diane Jansen, O’Grady had a daughter, Sharyn. O’Grady’s grandson, Abel, was born in December 2006, [226] with a granddaughter being born in December 2009. [227] From 1977 to 2005, he was in a marriage of convenience with Portuguese lesbian Teresa Fernandes, although was not in a relationship with her. [33] His long-term lover and business partner was Brendan Frank Murphy (4 March 1956 – 9 June 2005). [149] Known to many friends as “Lily” or “Lil”, [228] O’Grady is publicly known for having had many high profile and celebrity friends, including the politician Mo Mowlam , actresses Amanda Mealing and Barbara Windsor , comedian Brenda Gilhooly and the late Cilla Black . [229]
O’Grady divides his time between his Central London flat and his rural Kentish farmhouse. [230] There he grows organic fruit and vegetables, [231] and a variety of herbs, having a keen interest in herbalism . [232] A lifelong animal lover, [93] as a child O’Grady kept rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, a ferret and a rat as pets; he has commented that his mother thought him “a bit weird” as a result. [93] At his Kentish farm, he owned sheep, pigs, goats, donkeys, ducks, chickens, geese, ferrets, bats, mice, and dogs. [233] Two of O’Grady’s pet dogs became well known to the British public through appearances on The Paul O’Grady Show; the first was Buster Elvis Savage, a Shih Tzu / Bichon Frise cross. A rescue dog, Buster was euthanised in November 2009 after a struggle with cancer. [234] [235] O’Grady dedicated the second volume of his autobiography to Buster, describing him as “The greatest canine star since Lassie .” [236] A second dog, the Cairn Terrier Olga, also attracted attention; in 2013 it was revealed that she was undergoing chemotherapy as treatment for cancer. [237]
In an interview with the Daily Mirror in 2006 O’Grady admitted that smoking 40 cigarettes a day had contributed to his two heart attacks. [238]
Publicly known for his “trenchant opinions”, [142] O’Grady is critical of the British Royal Family , having been raised by his father to view them as social parasites; the exception in his mind was Diana, Princess of Wales , whom he came to respect for her charitable work with those living with HIV/AIDS . [239] In April 2013, O’Grady expressed his support for the Labour Party , championing Labour leader Ed Miliband as a better candidate for UK Prime Minister than Conservative incumbent David Cameron . [240] He lambasted the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government then in power, describing them as “absolutely disgusting. They have no idea what the common working man and woman are doing. They are not in touch with the working classes. They have led privileged lives – they’ve had public schools and have never been on the shop floor.” [240]
Charity work
O’Grady has supported philanthropic causes supporting carers. [241] Since 2008, O’Grady has been an ambassador for Save the Children . [242]
In 2012, O’Grady became an ambassador for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home following his series For the Love of Dogs , which was filmed in the home. [243] In 2013, he took part in the Pedigree Feeding Brighter Futures campaign with Amanda Holden , which aimed to give a million meals to rescue dogs nationwide. [189] [244]
In 2014, O’Grady co-starred in a Dementia Friends TV advertisement campaign to raise awareness about the disease. [245] [246]
In October 2015, following his work on Animal Orphans , O’Grady became a patron of Orangutan Appeal UK . [247]
In September 2016, O’Grady was recognised for his work with animals when he won the award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Animal Welfare’ at the RSPCA’s Animal Hero Awards. [248]
References
| i don't know |
In the Harry Potter books by J K Rowling, what is the name of the character who is Hogwart's gamekeeper and keeper of keys? He is played in the film series by Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane. | Harry Potter
Harry Potter
2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection . Related subjects: Novels
The Harry Potter books are an extremely popular series of fantasy novels by British writer J. K. Rowling and have made her the richest writer in literary history.
The books depict a world of witches and wizards, the protagonist being the eponymous young wizard Harry Potter. Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States ) in 1997, the books have gained immense popularity and commercial success worldwide, spawning films, video games, and a wealth of other items.
The six books have collectively sold more than 350 million copies and have been translated into 47 languages. The first volume has been translated into Latin and even ancient Greek, making it the longest work written in that language since the novels of Heliodorus of Emesa in the third century AD.
A large portion of the narrative takes place in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, focusing on Harry Potter's struggle against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort . At the same time, the books explore the themes of friendship, ambition, choice, prejudice, courage, growing up, love, and the perplexities of death, set against the expansive backdrop of a magical world with its own complex history, diverse inhabitants, unique culture, and parallel societies.
Six of the seven planned books have been published, and the unnamed seventh book is yet to be released. The latest, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was issued in its English language version on 16 July 2005. The first four books have been made into very successful films, and the fifth began filming in February 2006. English language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury, Scholastic Press, and Raincoast Books.
Origins and publishing history
In 1990, J. K. Rowling was on a crowded train from Manchester to London when the idea for Harry simply "walked" into her head. Rowling gives an account of the experience on her website saying, "I had been writing almost continuously since the age of six but I had never been so excited about an idea before. [...] I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me". That evening, the author began the pre-writing for her first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, a semi-detailed plan that would include the plots of each of her seven envisioned books, in addition to an enormous amount of biographical and historical information on her characters and universe.
Over the course of the next six years that included the birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and a move to Portugal , Rowling continued her writing of Philosopher's Stone. Eventually settling in Edinburgh , Rowling wrote much of the Philosopher's Stone in local cafés. Unable to secure a place in a nursery, her daughter would be a constant companion to her as she worked.
In 1996, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was completed and the manuscript was sent off to prospective agents. The second agent she tried, Christopher Little, offered to represent her and sent the manuscript to Bloomsbury. After eight other publishers had rejected Philosopher's Stone, Bloomsbury offered Rowling a £3,000 advance for the publication of Stone.
Despite Rowling's statement that she did not have any particular age group in mind when she began to write the Harry Potter books, the publishers initially targeted them at children age nine to eleven. On the eve of publishing, Joanne Rowling was asked by her publishers to adopt a more gender-neutral pen name, in order to appeal to the male members of this age group, fearing that they would not be interested in reading a novel they knew to be written by a woman. She elected to use J. K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling), omitting her first name and using her grandmother's as her second.
The first Harry Potter book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury in July 1997 and in the United States by Scholastic in September of 1998, but not before Rowling had received a six-figure sum for the American rights – an unprecedented amount for a children's book. Fearing that some of its intended readers would either not understand the word "philosopher" or not associate it with a magical theme, Scholastic insisted that the book be renamed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the American market.
Over nearly a decade Harry Potter has achieved much success due in part to positive reviews, Rowling's publisher's marketing strategy, but also due to word-of-mouth buzz among average readers, especially young males. The latter is notable because for years, interest in literature among this demographic had lagged behind other pursuits like video games and the Internet. Rowling's publishers were able to capitalise on this fervour by the rapid, successive releases of the first three books that allowed neither Rowling's audience's excitement nor interest to wane, along with quickly solidifying a loyal readership. The series has also garnered adult fans, leading to two editions of each Harry Potter book being released, identical in text but with one edition's cover artwork aimed at children and the other aimed at adults. Moreover, the series is popular around the world in its many translations. Such was the global clamour to read the book that the English language edition of the series' fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, became the first English-language book ever to top the bookseller list in France .
Story
Plot summary
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The story opens with the unrestrained celebration of a normally-secretive wizarding world which for years had been terrorised by Lord Voldemort in his decade-long bid for power. The previous night, Voldemort, who had for months sought the hidden Potter family, discovered their refuge and killed Lily and James Potter. However, when he turned his wand against their infant son, Harry, his killing curse rebounded upon him. His soul was ripped from his body, and he fled into hiding, leaving Harry with a distinctive lightning bolt scar on his forehead, the only physical sign of Voldemort's curse. Harry's mysterious defeat of Voldemort results in him being dubbed "The Boy Who Lived" by the wizarding world.
The orphaned Harry Potter is subsequently raised by his cruel, non-magical relatives, the Dursleys, in ignorance of his magical heritage. However, as his eleventh birthday approaches, Harry has his first contact with the magical world when he receives letters from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which are stolen from him by his Aunt and Uncle before he has a chance to read them. On his eleventh birthday he is informed that he is in fact a wizard and has been invited to attend Hogwarts, by Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts. Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life at Hogwarts, where he learns to use magic and brew potions. Harry also learns to overcome many magical, social, and emotional obstacles as he struggles through his adolescence and Voldemort's second rise to power.
For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each book .
Universe
The wizarding world in which Harry finds himself is both utterly separate from and yet intimately connected to our own world. Unlike the fantasy worlds of Narnia and Middle-earth, the world of Harry Potter exists alongside ours, and many of its institutions and locations are in towns, such as London, that are recognisable to anyone. It is a fragmented collection of hidden streets, overlooked and ancient pubs, lonely country manors and secluded castles that remain utterly invisible to the non-magical population (known as " Muggles"). Wizard ability is inborn, rather than learned, although one must attend schools such as Hogwarts in order to master and control it. Since one is either born a wizard or not, most wizards are unfamiliar with the Muggle world, which appears odder to them than their world would to us. Despite this, the magical world and its many fantastic elements are depicted very matter-of-factly. One of the principal themes in the novels is the juxtaposition of the magical and the mundane; the characters in the stories live utterly normal lives with utterly normal problems, despite their magical surroundings.
Motifs
Owls : Owls are perhaps the most visible motif of the Wizarding world. They appear at the start of the first novel, presaging what is to come, and play a very visible role in every novel following. They act as the principal form of communication among wizards (somewhat like carrier pigeons) and also as pets. Harry Potter has a pet owl named Hedwig.
The Hogwarts Express: The scarlet old-fashioned steam locomotive that is the principal means by which a wizard in training can reach Hogwarts. It departs from Platform 9¾ at King's Cross Station, London .
Houses: Like many boarding schools, Hogwarts is divided into four separate houses, and children are sorted into their respective houses at the start of their first year. They are Gryffindor (which favours courage), Ravenclaw, (which favours intellect), Hufflepuff, (which favours hard work and fair play) and Slytherin (which favours ambition). Upon arrival, Harry, along with his friends (Ron and later Hermione), are sorted into Gryffindor.
Quidditch: a spectator sport in the Wizard world, played up in the air on brooms. Similar in style to basketball , and soccer. Harry is an unlikely Quidditch star at his school.
Blood purity: Wizards tend to view Muggles with combination of condescension and suspicion, but for a few wizards this attitude, over the centuries, has descended into bigotry. Characters in the novels are classed either as "Muggle-born", (a wizard born to Muggles) "half-blood" (a wizard born to one wizard parent and one Muggle or Muggle-born parent) and "pure-blood" (a wizard born to parents of purely wizarding lineage). The maintenance of blood purity is the primary motivation for many of the series's darker characters.
Recurring characters in the Harry Potter series
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Harry Potter: The only child of James and Lily Potter, with whom he shares many distinct characteristics, most notably James' untidy black hair and Lily's green eyes. It is also revealed later that he gets his cheekiness from his mother. He was born on 31 July 1980. He achieved fame at the age of one when Lord Voldemort , the most feared dark wizard in the world, attacked his home and murdered his parents but failed to kill him. Voldemort was left nearly dead and Harry was left with an instantly recognisable lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. In the attempt, Voldemort was ripped from his body by his Killing Curse backfiring on him. Harry's survival was shown later to be a result of his mother's love for him, and the fact that she died to save him. Harry was raised by his Muggle aunt and uncle and knew nothing of his history until Hagrid came to fetch Harry to attend Hogwarts.
Ronald Weasley: Harry's best friend and the sixth of seven children of the kind and poor Weasley family. The Weasley family are one of the best examples of supposed " blood traitors". Ron befriended Harry almost immediately upon meeting him during their first journey on the Hogwarts Express. However, a rift developed between them in their fourth year, due in part to Ron's frustration at being forced to live in Harry's shadow – no doubt magnified by his position as the youngest son in his large and talented family. This gained praise for being an even-handed portrayal of secondary characters, defying the convention that the Hero must have a best friend and a love interest, but the best friend does not need friends or interests of his own. Despite this, he and Harry have remained close through the years, with Ron being a constant companion through Harry's trials and adventures.
Hermione Granger: The best friend of Harry and Ron who is generally held to be the top student in Harry's year at Hogwarts. She is extremely bookish and reads voraciously, far more than her studies call for. In times of challenge, Hermione is often likely to make a bee-line for the library. Her high intelligence coupled with her reasoned and logical way of tackling challenges have often been a great asset to Harry and Ron throughout their Hogwarts careers and other adventures, though her sometimes bossy and interfering manner has at times been a source of contention between them. Her status as a Muggle-born, along with her intelligence and studious manner, have on occasion made her a prime target for prejudiced, bullying classmates, e.g. Draco Malfoy. Though very proud of her intelligence, she can be insecure and harbours a great fear of failure, as seen by her experience with the boggart in the third book. She is the daughter of two dentists, neither of whom has a magical history.
Lord Voldemort : Evil wizard and chief antagonist of the series bent on securing unmatched power and immortality through the practice of the Dark Arts. His given name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. Rearranged, the letters spell "I am Lord Voldemort." He is a half-blood, the son of a muggle father and witch mother. He attended Hogwarts years before Harry's time. After years of slaughter in pursuit of his goals, Voldemort was ripped from his body and forced into hiding after his failed attempt on the life of the young Harry Potter. So feared was he at the height of his prodigious powers that even following his downfall most wizards feared to speak his name, referring to him instead as "You-Know-Who", "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named", or "The Dark Lord", the latter of which is used primarily by his followers, the Death Eaters. Note: The books he has not appeared in are Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Lord Voldemort appears in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince but it is very brief.)
Albus Dumbledore: Harry's most trusted advisor and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is perhaps one of the most respected men in the wizarding world, holding high ranking positions in both national and international magical government, along with being an accomplished alchemist and master of an assortment of magical disciplines. Dumbledore was repeatedly offered the position of Minister of Magic but turned it down every time. He is also said to be the only known person whom Lord Voldemort ever feared, and also one of the few who does not fear Voldemort and openly speaks his name, often calling him by his Christian name of Tom (Riddle). He is later killed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince after returning from a trip to collect the third Horcrux with Harry. He has a wonderful sense of humour, and his idea of "a few words" in the first book proves to be "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!".
Minerva McGonagall: Who was born October 4, c. 1925. Minerva is deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, head of Gryffindor House, and the Transfiguration Mistress (teacher), which she began teaching in December of 1956. McGonagall considers Transfiguration to be the most complex and difficult branch of magic and has little use for Divination or its teacher at Hogwarts. McGonagall has black hair, typically drawn into a tight bun. She wears emerald green robes and always has a very prim expression. Now in 2006 she is 81 years of age. She wears square glasses which match the markings around the eyes of her tabby cat transfiguration form. She also has a fondness for tartan patterns, apparently derived from a Scottish heritage; even her dressing gown and biscuit tin have tartan patterns. Stern, snappy, and generally reserved, Professor McGonagall has nonetheless been shown to have in mind the best interests of the students at Hogwarts, her wards in Gryffindor, and Harry himself. McGonagall is also one of Albus Dumbledore's staunchest supporters and is still a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Severus Snape: A gifted wizard, Hogwarts staff member, and since his youth, a bitter enemy of James Potter and Sirius Black. As Hogwarts Potions master he sought to exact his revenge on the deceased James Potter by verbally abusing his son Harry from day one of Harry's arrival at the school. A former Death Eater, he was later taken on as a professor by Professor Dumbledore. Snape's loyalty is constantly under question though Dumbledore maintains that he unequivocally trusts him for reasons partially revealed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Although Snape is responsible for the death of Albus Dumbledore in the sixth installment, his motive for doing so and consequently his ultimate loyalty are the subject of vigorous debate among fans. Snape also happens to be "The Half Blood Prince"
Rubeus Hagrid: Son of a wizard and a giantess, he is both surprisingly gentle and nurturing. One of Harry Potter's biggest supporters and most steadfast friends, he is also the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, as well as gamekeeper(Previously a man named Og.) and professor of Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid was sent to fetch Harry after the Dursleys refused to give him his welcoming letter to Hogwarts and told him he was a wizard. Hagrid also went to school at Hogwarts, but was expelled in his third year for an offence he did not commit and is thus unable to legally perform magic (not that that stops him). Hagrid's lessons have involved formidable magical creatures which some officials of the Ministry of Magic (notably Dolores Umbridge) consider inappropriate for the instruction of young students. In Harry's fifth year, Hagrid brings his half-brother,Grawp, to the Forbidden Forest to live.
Sirius Black: Best friend of James Potter and former rebellious youth who fled his pure-blood supremacist parents' home at an early age. Following the murders of James and Lily, he was arrested for supposed involvement though he later escaped and was only proved innocent after his death in the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius is also Harry's godfather.
Ginny Weasley: The only daughter of the Weasley family. She is a talented witch, especially noted for her skill with the Bat-Bogey Hex. Ginny is the first female born into the Weasley line in several generations, and that, as the seventh child, "she is a gifted witch." Potions professor Horace Slughorn sees great potential in the youngest Weasley and respects her formidable magical abilities. She had a long-standing crush on Harry and a romance between them starts in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Fred and George Weasley: Mischief and mayhem, in a good way. Which is which is irrelevant, they both play both roles with relish, but their mischief is never malicious. Identical twins who delight in confusing their own mother, they are the only students at the school that Peeves the Poltergeist actually respects. Loud explosions from their bedroom are considered normal in their house. The two live for pranks and eventually leave school before graduation to open their own joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. They played beaters on their house Quidditch team until they left the school in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Draco Malfoy: A pure-blood supremacist and member of Slytherin house known for his sharp tongue that often targets Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. As Harry and Ron became fast friends, Harry and Draco quickly became enemies, with the two facing off in various confrontations, including Quidditch, on numerous occasions throughout the series. He's bravest when he has his two goons Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle to back him up, the true sign of a coward. He serves as the antithesis to the main trio, so enraging Harry and Fred in The Order of the Phoenix after losing a Quidditch match that the two beat him up in front of the school and faculty, infuriating Professor McGonnagall. Malfoy also harbours many weaknesses, which make him an easy and willing target for service to the Dark Lord.
Neville Longbottom: A rather clumsy boy in Griffindor who lives with his "gran" (grandmother) because his parents were tortured into madness by Death Eaters and institutionalised. He is very forgetful, always losing things, but has a great aptitude for herbology. Neville becomes friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione. His greatest growth comes in the fifth book, when he emerges as a superb fighter against the dark arts and holds his own against a group of Death Eaters. Harry is aware of the fact that Neville is the other "Chosen One" in the fifth book besides him.
Luna Lovegood: A strange girl in Ravenclaw nicknamed 'Looney Lovegood' by other students who believes in Nargles and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. She often talks in a lazy, almost sedated voice and has a penchant for awkward honesty. Her father is the editor of the magazine 'The Quibbler', a publication with a reputation for far-fetched theories even by wizarding world standards. As a consequence of losing her mother at a young age (Luna was nine years old), she was raised by her father and consequently shares many of his odd beliefs and viewpoints. She often wears radish earrings and a butterbeer cork necklace and carries her wand behind her ear, like some people hold a pen. Luna is often the target of the other students' taunting, which completely rolls off her back. After going to the Ministry of Magic with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters, they become friends.
The Dursleys: These are Harry's vile Muggle (non-magical) family, and the only remaining relatives he has. His obese uncle Vernon is the manager of Grunning's, a drill company, while his bony aunt Petunia is a housewife. His cousin Dudley is utterly spoiled rotten by his parents and also obese like his father, but in the fifth book, Dudley is transformed into a more menacing presence when he takes up boxing and proves good at it. Throughout Harry's entire life they had mistreated him, but despite this, Harry must return to their home every summer, each holiday a torment, for a reason unknown to him until Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Structure
The novels are very much in the fantasy genre; however, in many respects they are also a Bildungsroman, a novel of education, set in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a British boarding school for wizards, where the curriculum includes the use of magic. In this sense they are "in a direct line of descent from Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days and other Victorian and Edwardian novels of British public school life". They are also, in the words of Stephen King, a "shrewd mystery tale"., and each book is constructed in the manner of a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery adventure; the books leave a number of clues hidden in the narrative, while the characters pursue a number of suspects through various exotic locations, leading to a twist ending that often reverses what the characters had been led to believe. The stories are told from a third person limited omniscient point of view; with very few exceptions (such as the opening chapter of Goblet of Fire and the first two chapters of Half-Blood Prince), the reader learns the secrets of the story when Harry does. The thoughts and plans of other characters, even central ones like Hermione and Ron, are kept hidden until revealed to Harry.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The books tend to follow a very strict formula. Set over the course of consecutive years, they each can be split into 6 general sections:
1. Summer at the Dursley's house: Harry spends most of the summer holiday from school with the Dursleys, in the Muggle world, enduring their ill treatment. This section ends with Harry going to a different location.
2. End of summer - just before school begins in the autumn: Harry goes to Diagon Alley, the Weasleys' residence or Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. It ends with the boarding of the school train at Platform 9 3/4.
3. New school session: New or redefined characters take shape, and Harry overcomes new everyday school issues, such as difficult essays, awkward crushes, and unsympathetic teachers; this usually ends around Halloween .
4. Conflicts arise: Harry and his friends and classmates start to sense that something is going wrong, and begin to respond
5. Climax: Harry and his friends make an important discovery, and Harry makes a mad dash to a particular location for a major conflict, involving a battle against the villains. This tends to occur near or just after final exams.
6. Aftermath: Harry begins recovering from the battle, and learns important lessons through exposition and discussions with Albus Dumbledore. It ends with Harry boarding the Hogwarts Express, and heading back home with the Dursleys.
Spoilers end here.
Themes and motifs
One of the most enduring themes throughout the series is that of love, portrayed as a powerful form of magic in and of itself. It is Dumbledore's belief that it was this power that allowed Harry to resist Voldemort's temptations of power during their second encounter, prevented Voldemort from being able to possess him during their fifth encounter, and will eventually lead to Voldemort's downfall.
In contrast, another major theme of the series is that of death. "My books are largely about death. They open with the death of Harry's parents. There is Voldemort's obsession with conquering death and his quest for immortality at any price, the goal of anyone with magic. I so understand why Voldemort wants to conquer death. We're all frightened of it," said Rowling. In fact, Voldemort's name contains several possible meanings - 'mort' means 'death' in French and Latin, and the term 'vol' could be related to the French word for 'flight' or the Catalan word for 'steal'; 'volde' also looks or sounds a bit like certain Germanic words such as 'Volk' ("people"), and "Wald" ("forest"). Most tempting is the notion that "vol" is somehow related to the word "Will", which in Germanic languages is pronounced with a V; thus the word Voldemort could also contain the meaning "will to death" or "death wish". Note also that the Dark Lord deliberately renamed himself, replacing his birth name Tom Riddle; so choosing a name with so many possible meanings, all sinister, must have been just as satisfying for Rowling as it seems to have been for Voldemort himself.
The series pits good against evil, and love against death. Voldemort's pursuit to avoid death, seen by his drinking unicorn blood for a half-life and splitting his soul through the use of horcruxes, contrasts with Lily's sacrificial love for Harry and the extraordinary magic her act leaves to him through his scar that Voldemort can never understand or appreciate, as well as Dumbledore's constant love of Harry.
Prejudice and discrimination also feature prominently throughout the series. As Harry's education in the magical world continues he learns that there are wizards and witches who hate Muggles and view them as inferior because of their lack of magical ability. Furthermore, the magical world utilises a system of designations, Muggle-born, half-blood, and pure-blood, to indicate a wizard's heritage. The more prejudiced within the magical community take these designations a step further, viewing them as a system of ranking to illustrate a wizard's worth, pure-bloods being the preferred sorcerers, and Muggle-borns (alternatively known by the slur "Mudblood") as the most despised. In addition to prejudices held for fellow humans, there is also a common shunning of non-humans and even part-humans (commonly known by the offensive epithet, "half-breeds").
Another significant recurring theme is that of choice. In Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore makes perhaps his most famous statement on this issue: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." He confronts the issue again in Goblet of Fire, when he tells Cornelius Fudge that what one grows up to be is far more important than what one is born.
As it has been for many characters throughout the series, what Dumbledore termed the "choice between what is right and what is easy" has been a staple of Harry Potter's career at Hogwarts and his choices are among his character's most distinguishing traits from Voldemort's. Both he and Voldemort were orphans raised in difficult environments, in addition to sharing characteristics including, as Dumbledore points out, Voldemort's "own very rare gift, Parseltongue — resourcefulness, determination" and "a certain disregard for rules". However, Harry, unlike Voldemort, has consciously elected to embrace friendship, kindness, and love, where Voldemort knowingly chose to reject them.
While ideas such as love, prejudice, and choice are, as J.K. Rowling states, "deeply entrenched in the whole plot", the writer prefers to let themes "grow organically", rather than sitting down and consciously attempting to impart such ideas to her readers. Friendship and loyalty are perhaps the most "organic" of these, with their main conduit being the relationship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione, which allows these motifs to naturally develop as the three age, their relationship matures, and their accumulated experiences at Hogwarts test their trueness to each other. These ordeals become progressively difficult, keeping in line with the series' increasingly darker tone, and the general nature of adolescence. Along the same lines is the ever-present theme of adolescence, in whose depiction the author has been purposeful in her refusal to ignore her characters' sexualities and leave Harry, as she put it, "stuck in a state of permanent pre-pubescence".
Also recurring throughout Harry Potter are literary motifs, namely Rowling's frequent use of irony, satire, wordplay, and folklore. Discussing Rowling's use of names could occupy its own book. From the first page onward her writing has displayed an ingenuity in finding the absolutely right name for people, places, things, spells, etc., a strong grasp of irony. From the multilayered sobriquet "Voldemort" through the onomatopoetic "Grawp" (Hagrid's bestial giant half-brother) through the very knowing pun hidden in the killing spell Avada Kedavra, Rowling creates names that usually contain several meanings. All the books are stuffed with these names and they provide some of the series' greatest pleasures for adult readers.
Criticism and praise
Early in its history, Harry Potter received overwhelmingly positive reviews, which helped the series to quickly grow a large readership. Following the 2003 release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix however, the books received strong criticisms from a number of distinguished authors and academics. A. S. Byatt authored a New York Times editorial calling Rowling's universe a “ secondary world, made up of intelligently patchworked derivative motifs from all sorts of children's literature [...] written for people whose imaginative lives are confined to TV cartoons, and the exaggerated (more exciting, not threatening) mirror-worlds of soaps, reality TV and celebrity gossip". Byatt went on to analyse the series' widespread appeal and concluded that this "derivative manipulation of past motifs" is for adult readers driven by a desire to regress to their "own childish desires and hopes" and for younger readers, "the powerful working of the fantasy of escape and empowerment, combined with the fact that the stories are comfortable, funny, just frightening enough". The end result being the levelling "of cultural studies, which are as interested in hype and popularity as they are in literary merit". Likewise, author Fay Weldon took issue with the series saying that it was "not what the poets hoped for, but this is not poetry, it is readable, saleable, everyday, useful prose". Literary critic Harold Bloom also attacked the literary worth of Potter, saying “Rowling's mind is so governed by clichés and dead metaphors that she has no other style of writing." Moreover, Bloom disagreed with the common notion that Harry Potter has been good for literature by encouraging children to read, contending that "Harry Potter will not lead our children on to Kipling's Just So Stories or his Jungle Book. It will not lead them to Thurber's Thirteen Clocks or Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows or Lewis Carroll's Alice ."
Charles Taylor of Salon.com took issue with Byatt's critcisms in particular. While he conceded that she may have "a valid cultural point — a teeny one — about the impulses that drive us to reassuring pop trash and away from the troubling complexities of art", he rejected her claims that the series is lacking in serious literary merit and that it owes its success merely to the childhood reassurances it offers; Taylor stressed the progressively darker tone of the books, shown by the murder of a classmate and close friend and the resulting psychological wounds and social isolation each causes. Taylor also pointed out that Philosopher's Stone, said to be the most lighthearted of the six published books, disrupts the childhood reassurances that Byatt claims spurs the series' success: the book opens with news of a double murder, for example. Taylor specifically cites "the devastating scene where Harry encounters a mirror that reveals the heart's truest desire and, looking into it, sees himself happy and smiling with the parents he never knew, a vision that lasts only as long as he looks into the glass, and a metaphor for how fleeting our moments of real happiness are", then asks rhetorically if "this is Byatt's idea of reassurance?" Taylor concludes that Rowling's success among children and adults is "because J.K. Rowling is a master of narrative".
Stephen King agreed with Taylor calling the series "a feat of which only a superior imagination is capable", along with declaring "Rowling's punning, one-eyebrow-cocked sense of humour" to be "remarkable". However, he does write that despite the story being "a good one", he is "a little tired of discovering Harry at home with his horrible aunt and uncle", the formulaic beginning of each of the six books published to date. King has also joked that "[Rowling]'s never met an adverb she didn't like!" He does however predict that Harry Potter "will indeed stand time's test and wind up on a shelf where only the best are kept; I think Harry will take his place with Alice, Huck, Frodo, and Dorothy and this is one series not just for the decade, but for the ages." However, Harry Potter 'and the sorcerers stone' was published in 1997, and almost a decade on, J.K.Rowling's books continue to inspire with large dedicated fan bases and rumour mills all lively anticipating future releases such Book 7 or Movie 5 within the series.
Yet another vein of criticism comes from some feminist circles, Christine Schoefer prominent among them, who contend that the novels are patriarchal and chauvinistic. According to Schoefer the series presents a world filled with stereotypes and adherence to "the conventional assumption that men do and should run the world." Schoefer cites Harry's courage in dangerous situations in contrast to Hermione's apparent emotional frailty when confronting the same, along with her need for Harry and Ron's approval. Similarly, she contrasts the female Professor McGonagall and her similar frailty under stress compared to the composed and farsighted Dumbledore. In addition to this is the attachment of fraud to females ( Professor Trelawney, Professor Umbridge), immaturity (constantly giggling, naïve and catty school girls), and a general lack of daring, bold heroines. It is worth noting that, by the end of the sixth novel, Ginny Weasley has emerged as a very confident and bold female character.
Controversy
Allegations of copyright and trademark infringement
In 1999 N.K. Stouffer quietly began to allege copyright and trademark infringement by J.K. Rowling of her 1984 works The Legend of Rah and the Muggles and Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly.
The primary basis for Stouffer's claims lie in her own invention of Muggles, non-magical elongated humanoids of sorts and the title character of the second work, Larry Potter, a bespectacled boy with dark, albeit wavy hair (Rowling's Potter is characterised as having all of those, though with unruly instead of wavy hair). Stouffer contended (and still does to this day) that it is not just these examples and similar names but that it is "the cumulative effect of all of it combined" with the other comparisons she lists on her real muggles website.
Rowling, along with Scholastic Press (her American publisher) and Warner Brothers (holders of the series' film rights), pre-empted Stouffer with a suit of their own seeking a declaratory judgment that they had not infringed on any of Stouffer's works. Rowling, through the use of expert witnesses who brought into question the authenticity of Stouffer's evidence, won the case with Stouffer's claims being dismissed with prejudice and Stouffer herself being fined $50,000 for her "pattern of intentional bad faith conduct" in relation to her employment of fraudulent evidentiary submissions, along with being ordered to pay a portion of the plaintiffs' legal fees.
In 2002, an unauthorised Chinese-language "sequel" entitled Harry Potter and Leopard-Walk-Up-to-Dragon appeared for sale in the People's Republic of China . The work of a Chinese ghost writer, the book contains characters from the works of other authors, including Gandalf from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and the title character from L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. Rowling's lawyers successfully took legal action against the publishers who were forced to pay damages.
Religious opposition to witchcraft themes
Rowling has had to contend with considerable backlash, particularly from fundamentalist Christian groups who believe the series’ supposed pagan imagery is dangerous to their children. Since 1999, the Harry Potter books have sat atop the American Library Association’s list of most protested books, with some American churches banning the books altogether.
"It contains some powerful and valuable lessons about love and courage and the ultimate victory of good over evil," said Paul Hetrick, spokesman for Focus on the Family, a national ultra-conservative Christian group based in Colorado Springs. "However, the positive messages are packaged in a medium — witchcraft — that is directly denounced in Scripture." Accordingly, Harry Potter has been the subject of at least one book burning. Continuing with the same line of reasoning, in 2002, Chick Publications went so far as to produce a comic book tract titled "The Nervous Witch" that claimed "the Potter books open a doorway that will put untold millions of kids into hell". Chick Publications also released a DVD entitled Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged which made claims that "Harry's world says that drinking dead animal blood gives power, a satanic human sacrifice and Harry's powerful blood brings new life, demon possession is not spiritually dangerous, and that passing through fire, contacting the dead, and conversing with ghosts, others in the spirit world, and more, is normal and acceptable." This religious fear was lampooned in an article in The Onion, that claimed the High Priest of Satanism had said, "Harry is an absolute godsend to our cause." The spoof was e-mailed as proof that Harry Potter books were causing children to turn to Satanism, and garnered many believers, apparently oblivious to the irony of a Satanist using the word "godsend."
The Vatican has presented a mixed view on the books. In 2003, Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, a Vatican priest, claimed during a press conference on inter-religious dialogue that, "If I have understood well the intentions of Harry Potter's author, they help children to see the difference between good and evil. And she is very clear on this," and that Rowling is "Christian by conviction, is Christian in her mode of living, even in her way of writing." This comment was seized on by the media as an endorsement of the novels from the Catholic Church, and by extension, the then Pope, John Paul II . However, there is no evidence that the Pope, or the Vatican hierarchy, officially approved of the novels. When Pope Benedict XVI was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he condemned the books in a letter expressing gratitude for the receipt of a book on the subject, stating they are "a subtle seduction, which has deeply unnoticed and direct effects in undermining the soul of Christianity before it can really grow properly". Fleetwood wrote in response that these remarks were misinterpreted, and that the letter was likely to have been written by an assistant of the then-cardinal.
Harsh criticism against the books also comes from the official Roman Catholic exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth, who believes that, "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil." He further told the Daily Mail that the Harry Potter books make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in reality, the distinction "does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil". Amorth believes that the books can be a bad influence on children by getting them interested in the occult.
Book challenges
The series has been frequently challenged for alleged inappropriate content. In the United States , the series was seventh on the list of books that were most challenged in American libraries between 1990 and 2000 despite having been first published in the United States in 1997. However, it is not clear how often libraries actually do restrict access to the books, and there have been several high-profile failures to do so.
Legal injunction
The series garnered more controversy with its most recent release, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when a grocery store in Canada accidentally sold several copies of the sixth Harry Potter book before the authorised release date. The Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books, obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court of British Columbia prohibiting the purchasers from reading the books in their possession. This sparked a number of news articles questioning the injunction's restriction on fundamental rights. Canadian law professor Michael Geist has posted commentary on his weblog. Richard Stallman has posted commentary on his weblog calling for a boycott until the publisher issues an apology. Some versions of this creed have been circulated by email including a spoiler for one of the major plot points in the novel. Whether this was actually the original posted version, modified by Stallman, is yet unclear, though the tone of the sentence is substantially the same as that of the rest of the message.
Films
In 1999, Rowling sold the film rights to the first four Harry Potter books to Warner Bros. for a reported £1 million ($1.9 million US, or ca. 1.4 million €). Her major demand was that the principal cast be kept strictly British. Although Steven Spielberg was initially in negotiations to direct the first film, he would later decline. He wanted the movie to be an animated film, with Haley Joel Osment to do the voice of Harry Potter. For a while, it was speculated that this was due to Rowling's heavy involvement and Spielberg's dislike of an all-British cast. However, Spielberg contended that, in his opinion, it would be like "shooting ducks in a barrel... It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge."
The Harry Potter movies have since gone on to even eclipse such giants as the Star Wars trilogy in worldwide box office gross receipts, finishing second all-time to only The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
In the Rubbish Bin section of her website, Rowling maintains that she personally had no role in Spielberg's choice saying, "Anyone who thinks I could (or would) have 'veto-ed' him needs their Quick-Quotes Quill serviced."
In the end, Chris Columbus directed the first two films, Alfonso Cuarón, the third, and Mike Newell, the fourth. The fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is currently in production and is being directed by David Yates. Columbus also worked as producer on the first three films.
Rowling's first choice director was originally Terry Gilliam, but Columbus' involvement as screenwriter on the 1985 film Young Sherlock Holmes encouraged Warner Bros. to select him in preference. Reminiscent of the Harry Potter series, Young Sherlock Holmes includes three leads who bear a strong resemblance to the Harry, Ron and Hermione of Rowling's description (as does a character named Dudley to Draco Malfoy). They investigate a supernatural mystery in a Gothic boarding school, where staff include the Professor Flitwick-like Waxflatter, and sinister Rathe. Scenes from the film were used to cast the first Harry Potter film.
In 2000, the virtually unknown British actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint were selected from thousands of auditioning children to play the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, respectively. They are scheduled to return in the fifth film. Other notable Potter character portrayals include Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid, Alan Rickman's Severus Snape, Tom Felton's Draco Malfoy, Maggie Smith's Minerva McGonagall, and Richard Harris and Michael Gambon's Albus Dumbledore (Gambon took over for the third film following Harris's death in 2002). Each will reprise their characters for Order of the Phoenix. along with Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, and Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort .
The first four films were scripted by Steve Kloves with the direct assistance of Rowling, though she allowed Kloves what he described as "tremendous elbow room". Thus the plot and tone of each film and its corresponding book are virtually the same with some changes and omissions for purposes of cinematic style and time constraints. Despite these changes, Rowling has characterised Kloves and his adaptations as being "faithful to the books."
The fifth Harry Potter film, Order of the Phoenix is scheduled by Warner Bros. for release on July 13, 2007, and the sixth, Half-Blood Prince is scheduled for November 21, 2008.
Further information: Differences between book and film versions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Differences between book and film versions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Differences between book and film versions of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Differences between book and film versions of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Differences between book and film versions of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Awards and honours
J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series have been the recipients of a host of awards since the initial publication of Philosopher's Stone including four Whitaker Platinum Book Awards (all of which were awarded in 2001), three Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes (1997-1999), two Scottish Arts Council Book Awards (1999 and 2001), and the WHSmith book of the year (2006), among others. In 2000 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was nominated for Best Novel in the Hugo Awards while in 2001 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won said award. Honours include a commendation for the Carnegie Medal (1997), a shortlisting for the Guardian Children's Award (1998), and numerous listings on the notable books, editors' Choices, and best books lists of the American Library Association, New York Times, Chicago Public Library, and Publishers Weekly.
Commercial success
The popularity of the Harry Potter series has translated into substantial financial success for Rowling, her publishers, and other Harry Potter related licence holders. The books have sold over 300 million copies worldwide and have also given rise to the popular film adaptations produced by Warner Bros., all of which have been successful in their own right with the first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, ranking number four on the list of all time highest-grossing films and the other three each ranking in the top 25. The films have in turn spawned five video games and have in conjunction with them led to the licensing of over 400 additional Harry Potter products (including an iPod ) that have, as of July 2005, made the Harry Potter brand worth an estimated 4 billion dollars and J.K. Rowling a US dollar billionaire, making her, by some reports, richer than Queen Elizabeth II .
Cultural impact
Since the publishing of Philosopher's Stone a number of societal trends have been attributed to the series. In 2005, doctors at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford reported that their research of the weekends of Saturday, 21 June, 2003 and Saturday, 16 July, 2005 (the dates of the two most recent book releases of the series) found that only 36 children needed emergency medical assistance for injuries sustained in accidents, as opposed to other weekends' average of 67. Anecdotal evidence such as this suggesting an increase in literacy among children due to Harry Potter was seemingly confirmed in 2006 when the Kids and Family Reading Report (in conjunction with Scholastic) released a survey finding that 51% of Harry Potter readers ages 5-17 said that while they did not read books for fun before they started reading Harry Potter, they now did. The study further reported that according to 65% of children and 76% of parents, they or their children's performance in school improved since they started reading the series.
Notable also is the development a massive following of fans. So eager were these fans for the latest series release that book stores around the world began holding events to coincide with the midnight release of the books, beginning with the 2000 publication of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The events, commonly featuring mock sorting, games, face painting, and other live entertainment have achieved popularity with Potter fans and have been incredibly successful at attracting fans and selling books with nearly nine million of the 10.8 million initial print copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sold in the first 24 hours. Among this large base of fans are a minority of "super-fans" (or fangirls and fanboys), similar to the trekkies of the Star Trek fandom. Besides meeting online through blogs and fansites, Harry Potter super-fans can also meet at Harry Potter symposiums. These events draw people from around the world to attend lectures, discussions and a host of other Potter themed activities. See Harry Potter Fandom for further details.
Crowds wait outside a Borders store in Delaware for the midnight release of the book
Harry Potter has also wrought changes in the publishing world, one of the most noted being the reformation of the New York Times Best Seller list. The change came immediately preceding the release of Goblet of Fire in 2000 when publishers complained of the number of slots on the list being held by Harry Potter and other children's books. The Times subsequently created a separate children's list for Harry Potter and other children's literature.
Future
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
There are currently three more Harry Potter films yet to be released. On April 5, 2006, Warner Brothers announced that the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, will be released in cinemas on July 13, 2007.
On August 4, 2006, Box Office Mojo reported the sixth adaptation, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, would be released on November 21, 2008. WB has since confirmed this release date.
In December of 2005, Rowling declared on her web site that " 2006 will be the year when I write the final book in the Harry Potter series." Updates have since followed in her online diary chronicling the progress of this the seventh Harry Potter book, though a title and proclamation of completion have not accompanied them. Many fans speculate that the book will be published in 2007, with a particular fixation on the numerologically-significant July 7, 2007, but as of November 26, 2006 there had been no confirmation of a release date from either Rowling or her publishers.
Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the seventh book was completed some time ago, before writing the third book. According to her, the last word in the book is "scar". In June 2006, Rowling, on an appearance on the British talk show Richard & Judy, announced that the chapter had been modified as one character "got a reprieve" and two others who previously survived the story had in fact been killed. She also said she could see the mentality in killing Harry to stop other writers from writing books about Harry's life after Hogwarts.
Regarding the existence of Harry Potter novels beyond the seventh, Rowling has said that she might write an eighth book some day, but it will not continue the life of Harry and his friends. If she does, she intends it to be a sort of encyclopedia of the wizarding world, containing concepts and snippets of information that were not relevant enough to the novels' plots to be included in them. She has also said that she will not write any sort of prequel to the novels, since by the time the series ends all the necessary back story will have been revealed.
Spoilers end here.
Another question for the future is whether Emma Watson who plays "Hermione Granger" will appear in the next film in the series. She said, "I love to perform, but there are so many things I love doing."
The Harry Potter series
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ( June 26, 1997) (titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States )
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ( July 2, 1998)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ( September 8, 1999)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ( July 8, 2000)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ( June 21, 2003)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ( July 16, 2005)
Untitled seventh book (not yet released)
Supplementary Books
| Rubeus Hagrid |
Which six letter name can be the name of a famous actor, a shoe shop and the christian name of an American soul singer who died on September 26th 1999 aged 57? | Hagrid's pets - The Full Wiki
The Full Wiki
More info on Hagrid's pets
Wikis
Hagrid's pets: Wikis
Advertisements
Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles .
(Redirected to Rubeus Hagrid article)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rubeus Hagrid
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Rubeus Hagrid is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling . The character is usually addressed only by his surname. Hagrid is the half-giant Keeper of Keys and Grounds, gamekeeper and, starting in Harry Potter 's third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry , the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Later in the series, it is revealed that Hagrid is also a member of the Order of the Phoenix .
"Hagrid", according to Rowling in an interview with The Boston Globe , [1] comes from the word " hagridden ", meaning to have a nightmarish night, particularly when hung over .
Contents
9 External links
Character development
Hagrid was among the characters that Rowling says she created "the very first day". [2] In her article Harry's Fame, Rosemary Goring notes the Forest of Dean is an influence to Rowling's work, and Hagrid is the only character that is "directly drawn from the Forest of Dean". According to Goring, Hagrid's "dropped word-endings are a Chepstow speciality." She also notes that Hagrid is physically "modelled on the Welsh chapter of Hells Angels who'd swoop down on the town and hog the bar, 'huge mountains of leather and hair". [3]
The character of Hagrid and conversations between him and Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in his hut are expository through the series, due to the fact that the trio frequently discover things about Dumbledore and Hogwarts by talking with Hagrid, as he has a habit of letting slip bits of information. Since he introduced Harry to the Wizarding world, Hagrid has been one of Harry's closest friends. Hagrid constantly watches over him, and is rather protective, seeing him as a fellow orphan and outsider. Harry in turn, apart from the dangerous animal fixation, views Hagrid as one of the most important people in his life. Rowling commented in an interview that the scene in the final book in which Hagrid is seen carrying Harry's apparently dead body is very significant as “Hagrid brings Harry from the Dursleys. He takes him into the wizarding world … He was sort of his guardian and his guide ... And now I wanted Hagrid to be the one to lead Harry out of the forest.” [4] He was also one of the first characters to imply that the idea of thinking of wizards as "pure-bloods" and "half-bloods" is a dated concept.
Rowling has stated in an interview that Hagrid was in Gryffindor house during his time as student. [5] When he comes into possession of an acromantula , he is expelled from Hogwarts as his pet is supposed to be the "monster of Slytherin ". However, persuaded by Albus Dumbledore (who at the time was Transfiguration teacher), Headmaster Armando Dippet agrees to train Hagrid as gamekeeper, allowing the boy to remain at Hogwarts. By the time Harry attends Hogwarts, Hagrid is also the Keeper of Keys and Grounds: the former, according to Rowling, means "that he will let you in and out of Hogwarts." [6] Part of his job includes leading the first years across the lake in boats, upon their initial arrival at Hogwarts.
Appearances
Mary GrandPré 's illustration of Hagrid from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Rubeus Hagrid is introduced in the opening chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Following the death of James and Lily Potter , Dumbledore entrusts Hagrid with rescuing the infant Harry from his parents' house after their murder by Lord Voldemort . When Minerva McGonagall expresses her concern about the fact that it was Hagrid who would carry Harry to the Dursleys ', Dumbledore says that he would trust Hagrid with his life, a fact that is demonstrated several times during the series when Dumbledore frequently asks him to carry out secret tasks. Years later, he is tasked to bring the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and assigned the three-headed dog Fluffy to take care of it. Dumbledore also gives him the task of locating Harry, helping him to find his bearings in the wizarding world and to buy his school things. Hagrid is the first member of the Hogwarts staff to be introduced to Harry before he began attending the school. Hagrid later becomes friends with Ron and Hermione as well. Later in the book, a hooded person ( Professor Quirrell in disguise) gives him a dragon egg to elicit details about Fluffy. Hagrid lets slip to Harry, Ron, and Hermione that the way to get past Fluffy is to play music, for which they use the flute Hagrid himself carved for Harry, which allows them to pursue the potential thief. The three also assist Hagrid after the dragon egg hatches, by helping to remove the baby dragon Norbert , who is taken to live in a dragon sanctuary in Romania where Ron's older brother, Charlie Weasley , works.
Readers first discover why Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . It is revealed that Hagrid was a student at Hogwarts at the same time as Tom Marvolo Riddle, the wizard that later became Voldemort. Hagrid was expelled during his third year, after being caught in possession of Aragog , a dangerous acromantula: this already grave crime was worsened due to the belief that it was "The Monster of Slytherin," and that Hagrid had released it from the Chamber of Secrets and, either intentionally or unintentionally, allowed it to attack and petrify (and in one case, kill) other students. This inaccurate belief was encouraged by Tom Riddle, the actual criminal, who had been using the true monster (a basilisk ) to attack students, and who had framed Hagrid to avoid the school being closed. During the events of the book, the Basilisk is unleashed once again and Hagrid is sent to Azkaban prison, as he is believed again to be the responsible for the attacks. However, before being arrested, Hagrid tells Harry and Ron to "follow the spiders", so that they can meet Aragog and discover the identity of the true monster. After Harry defeats the Basilisk, it is revealed that Ginny Weasley is acting under the influence of Tom Riddle's diary , thus Hagrid is freed from prison.
Following the resignation of Silvanus Kettleburn , the former Care of Magical Creatures professor, Hagrid is assigned to teach the subject in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban . He is also allowed to perform magic again since his name is cleared after the events of the previous book. [7] During his first class, in which he introduces the hippogriffs to third-years, one of the beasts, Buckbeak , attacks Draco Malfoy after the boy insults it. Although Dumbledore manages to prove that Hagrid is innocent, the Ministry of Magic sentences Buckbeak to death. Thus, Hagrid's classes become extremely boring, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione spend some time in getting information that would help Hagrid in Buckbeak's defence. Towards the end of the book, in a plot twist, Hermione uses her time-turner and, along with Harry, saves both Buckbeak and Sirius Black from unjust fates.
Fourth to sixth books
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire it is revealed that Hagrid is of mixed wizard and giant parentage, his mother having been the giantess Fridwulfa, who left his wizard father when Hagrid was a baby. Since giants have a reputation for being horribly brutal, and were once allies of Voldemort, Hagrid keeps his parentage a secret and allows people to imagine other reasons for his great size (drinking a bottle of Skele-Gro when he did not need it). Hagrid's parentage is exposed in the Daily Prophet by Rita Skeeter , who portrays him as dangerous (because of his like of aggressive creatures) and incompetent. Hagrid is gravely affected by this and attempts to resign from his post as teacher, though Dumbledore does not accept his resignation. During the novel, Hagrid develops a romantic interest with Olympe Maxime – another half-giant witch and Headmistress of the French magic school Beauxbatons . Hagrid is also one of the very few people that, since the beginning, believes in Harry's word that he did not apply to enter the Triwizard Tournament . Later in the book, Alastor Moody (impersonated by Barty Crouch Jr ) suggests Hagrid should show Harry that the first task of the Tournament would involve dragons. Hagrid also provides Blast-Ended Skrewts for the third task.
Hagrid is absent during the first part of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix . The character later reveals to Harry, Ron and Hermione that he and Madame Maxime travelled across Europe together on a mission from the Order, planning to find giants and convince them to ally themselves with the good side and with Dumbledore; however, Death Eaters also find the giants and managed to get them to Voldemort's side. Hagrid is attacked by giants during the mission, and saved by Maxime. Hagrid and Maxime eventually part on the journey home because of Maxime's exasperation with Grawp , Hagrid's half-brother who he had found and was attempting to bring home with them. Grawp, who wanted to stay with the giants, seriously hurt Hagrid. Hagrid introduces his half-brother to Harry and Hermione, and asks them to take care of him after he leaves Hogwarts. High Inquisitor of Hogwarts Dolores Umbridge supervises the classes of all the members of the Hogwarts staff, including Hagrid's, and she looks for an excuse to fire him, as Hagrid is close to Dumbledore. Towards the end of the book, Umbridge and other Ministry officials attempt to arrest Hagrid. The latter manages to escape, but Professor McGonagall is injured whilst trying to defend him. Finally, with Dumbledore's post as Headmaster restored, Hagrid returns to Hogwarts.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , Harry, Ron, and Hermione are no longer students of Care of Magical Creatures, and Hagrid gets both angry and disappointed with them during the first part of the book, but he soon realises that it is not because they do not like him. Later in the novel, Aragog dies, and Hagrid risks his life to recover the acromantula's body to give it a "proper" funeral. After the funeral, he and Horace Slughorn drink excessive Firewhisky , and Harry takes advantage of this situation (under the influence of Felix Felicis potion) to retrieve a certain memory from Slughorn. Towards the end of the book, Death Eaters attack Hogwarts and, while trying to fight them, Hagrid's hut is set on fire. During Dumbledore's funeral, Hagrid is seen carrying the Headmaster's body.
Final book
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , Hagrid is part of the Order of the Phoenix delegation assigned to remove Harry from the Dursleys' home to the magic-protected Burrow . Hagrid takes Harry on the flying motorcycle he inherited from Sirius but the plan goes awry when the Order delegation is ambushed by Death Eaters. The pair narrowly make it to the Burrow after being attacked by Voldemort himself. After attending Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour 's wedding reception, Hagrid presumably returns to his job at Hogwarts. Hagrid is next seen near the beginning of the climax of the book, after having been driven into hiding in the mountains with Grawp and Fang to escape the new Death Eater-controlled regime at the school due to Hagrid hosting a "Support Harry Potter" party in his hut.
During the Battle of Hogwarts, Hagrid attempts to come to the defence of Aragog's carnivorous children, who have been driven out of the Forbidden Forest by the Death Eaters and are now attacking both Hogwarts defenders and Death Eaters indiscriminately, but is carried off by a swarm of them. He later turns up, captive in the Death Eaters' camp, when Harry sacrifices himself to Voldemort. Hagrid is forced to carry Harry back to the school, not realising that Harry has survived again, and en route accuses the watching Centaurs of not doing enough to help. The Centaurs soon afterward join the fray and Hagrid takes part in the second half of the battle, felling his main nemesis among the Death Eaters, the magical-creature executioner Walden Macnair , and ultimately being one of the first to congratulate Harry after he defeated Voldemort. According to Rowling, Hagrid was never in danger of dying, as she "always had that picture in my head of the huge gigantic Hagrid walking through the forest crying with Harry in his arms". [8]
Epilogue
Nineteen years after Voldemort's defeat, Hagrid is still at Hogwarts, though it is not clear in what capacity, and invites Harry's young son Albus to his hut for tea, just as he had once done for Harry himself. During an interview in 2007, when asked if Hagrid did marry, Rowling answered that Hagrid developed a relationship with a giantess but it did not work out. When the audience complained about the fact that Hagrid never married, Rowling replied, "At least I didn't kill him." [9]
Film portrayal
Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane portrayed Hagrid in all of the film adaptations of the Harry Potter novels to date. [10] Rowling had Coltrane first in mind for the role and when asked who was the top of her list responded “RobbieColtraneforHagrid” all in one quick breath. [11] [12] Coltrane has commented that to be part of the Harry Potter films is "a fantastic thing to be involved in." [13] Rowling gave Coltrane some background on Hagrid prior to the completion of the series. [14] She also stated that, "Robbie is just perfect for Hagrid because Hagrid is a very loveable character, quite likeable, quite comic . . . but he had to have - you really do have to sense - a certain toughness underneath . . . and I think Robbie does that perfectly." [15]
English rugby union footballer Martin Bayfield has portrayed Hagrid as a stunt performer in longer shots due to his large size to emphasise Hagrid's height. Bayfield also appeared as a young Hagrid in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . [16]
Characterisation
Outward appearance
In Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid is mentioned as being twice as tall as the average man and nearly five times as wide but in the movie his height is mentioned as 8 foot 6 (roughly 2.6 metres), and in later books he is said to be three times as wide. Hagrid is known for his thick West Country accent . Being a half-giant, he is less vulnerable to jinxes and spells than full-humans. In Order of the Phoenix, when Umbridge and some other wizards come to remove him from Hogwarts he fights back. They try to jinx and stun him, but the spells just bounce off him because of giant-inherited resistance to magic. Hagrid also shows this resilience at the end of Half-Blood Prince, during the chapter Flight of the Prince, withstanding a Death Eater's powerful curses. Some potions are also ineffective with him, such as Polyjuice Potion , which is designed for human-only use. [17]
Personality
Hagrid has a friendly, softhearted personality and is easily driven to tears, as seen in his very first scene, when he drops Harry off at the Dursleys' in Philosopher's Stone. He is very loyal to his peers, especially Dumbledore, to whom he refers as the greatest wizard in the world multiple times. As first seen in Philosopher's Stone, he becomes extremely angry whenever anyone insults Dumbledore around him (a mistake made by Vernon Dursley , who called Dumbledore a "crackpot old fool"). Hagrid is also very loyal to Harry, suffered several times during the series because of this loyalty, and had to go into hiding twice to avoid prison. Rowling says of Hagrid, "Hagrid was always supposed to be this almost elemental force. He's like the king of the forest, or the Green Man. He's this semi-wild person who lives on the edge of the forest". [18]
Magical abilities
Following his expulsion from Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic broke Hagrid's oak wand and forbade him from performing magic. [19] Hagrid keeps the pieces of his wand in a pink umbrella , and performs small spells from time to time; however, he was technically forbidden to do magic until the third book, and since he is not a fully qualified wizard, he "will always be a bit inept" as compared to other adult wizards, [7] but "occasionally surprises everyone, himself included, by bringing off more impressive bits of magic". [20]
Family
Grawp
Grawp is the giant half-brother of Hagrid. Grawp and Hagrid were born of the same mother, the giantess Fridwulfa; Hagrid's father was a wizard, whereas Grawp's father was a giant. [21] Grawp is about 16 feet (4.9 metres ) tall, which Hagrid claims is small for a giant. His knuckles are the size of cricket balls (~225 mm in circumference). The other giants were bullying Grawp, and this is a factor in Hagrid's decision to bring him to the Forbidden Forest . Big and dim, he only knows a few words in English and his manners are wild and unpredictable.
At first, Grawp seems indifferent to his brother's attempts to civilise him, preferring to spend his time tearing down trees. After Hagrid leaves Hogwarts to avoid being imprisoned, he leaves Grawp in the care of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Much to their surprise, when they find themselves trapped in the forest during a confrontation with the local centaur population, Grawp inadvertently manages to divert the centaurs' attention from Harry and Hermione while looking for Hagrid, whom he calls 'Hagger'.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , Grawp is moved to the mountains, where he is apparently progressing much better. He also attends Dumbledore's funeral with Hagrid, much more civil and calm than before, and dressed formally. He also appears to understand emotions, at least to some extent, as he pats Hagrid's head to comfort him. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , Grawp, Hagrid, and Fang go into hiding after Hagrid throws a "Support Harry Potter" party and it is implied that Grawp helped them all escape. He is the only giant fighting against the Death Eaters in the Battle of Hogwarts, probably in an attempt to protect Hagrid, as he frequently calls his name while fighting the Death Eaters. Grawp participates in the victory celebration over Voldemort's defeat (albeit from a window, since he is too big to fit into the hall), and the Hogwarts students show their appreciation by tossing food into his laughing mouth.
In the film adaptation of the fifth book Grawp is completely computer-generated using a new "soul capturing" process from Image Metrics. [22] Andrew Whitehead spent 18 months working on the giant Grawp for the film. [23] The voice of Grawp is performed by Tony Maudsley . [24]
Parents
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , the truth about Hagrid's parents is revealed: his father, who is never named in the stories, married a giantess, Fridwulfa. Fridwulfa left Rubeus to his father's care after his birth; according to Hagrid, she was not very maternal. Later she gave birth to Grawp, a pure-giant. She died long before Hagrid returned to the giants in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix . Hagrid describes his father as "a tiny little man". Hagrid clearly felt great affection for him; in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , he says that his father's death when Hagrid was in second year at Hogwarts was one of his saddest memories.
Hagrid's pets
Action figures of Fang, Hagrid, and Norbert the dragon
Hagrid keeps and has kept a variety of pets, including some which the Wizarding community considers impossible to domesticate. They are not always wrong. Rowling has said that Hagrid has little interest in tamer magical creatures because of the lack of a challenge, although he has a cowardly, albeit large dog (boarhound) named Fang. Hagrid's love of dangerous magical creatures is relatively central to the plot of several books of the series.
Aragog
Aragog is an Acromantula - an enormous, sapient, talking spider that made a unique clicking noise as he moved in search of prey. Hagrid raises him from an egg as a Hogwarts student, keeping him inside a cupboard. In his third year at Hogwarts, Hagrid is caught talking to Aragog in the dungeons by Tom Riddle. Riddle then alleges that the creature is the "Monster of Slytherin," and that Hagrid, by extension, has opened the Chamber and released it. In fact, the "Monster" is a basilisk which Riddle, the real Heir of Slytherin, has released.
After Hagrid's expulsion, Aragog lives in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid even finds him a mate, Mosag, with whom Aragog has many offspring and becomes the patriarch of an entire colony of Acromantulas. He remains grateful to Hagrid and keeps his carnivorous children from attacking him when he comes to visit, but this does not extend to anyone else, as Harry, Ron, and Fang found out in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . Hagrid has told them to simply "follow the spiders." Doing as he wishes, they find Aragog, who reveals clues to the true identity of the Monster of Slytherin. Next, Aragog and his children try to eat Harry, Ron, and Fang, who are only saved at the last minute by Mr Weasley's flying car that has been lost in the forest a few months prior. Aragog remains in the forest for the rest of his life, eventually dying in Half-Blood Prince of old age. Hagrid retrieves Aragog's body from the forest, fearing that his children would devour his body.
Later in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Aragog's offspring return during the Battle at Hogwarts; having been driven from the Forbidden Forest, they begin to attack Death Eaters and Hogwarts' inhabitants indiscriminately. Hagrid endangers himself and, potentially, other Hogwarts' inhabitants by attempting to protect Aragog's offspring from harm, in fact being captured by them and taken to Voldemort.
Aragog was voiced by Julian Glover in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets .
Buckbeak
Buckbeak, along with eleven other hippogriffs , is introduced during one of Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures classes. Hagrid explains that hippogriffs are very calm, powerful giants, but are sensitive creatures and demand respect. Harry successfully approaches Buckbeak, who allows him to ride him around the paddock.
Draco Malfoy , in an arrogant attempt to show up his school nemesis, endeavours to approach Buckbeak as well. It becomes obvious that Draco neither listens to nor cares about Hagrid's warnings about the hippogriffs' sensitivity, as he makes contemptuous remarks about Buckbeak. Quickly angered, Buckbeak slashes Draco's arm with his claws. Pretending to be injured much more severely than he truly is, Draco persuades his father, Lucius Malfoy , to use his political power to sentence Buckbeak to death. Hagrid's numerous appeals fail, and members of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures come to Hogwarts to execute Buckbeak. With the use of a time-turner , Hermione and Harry free Buckbeak and rescue Sirius Black from the tower in which he is being held before being handed over to the Dementors. Sirius escapes with Buckbeak and flies to safety. During most of Harry's fourth year, Sirius and Buckbeak hide in a cave in the mountains above Hogsmeade . After this, they move to Number 12 Grimmauld Place , whereupon Buckbeak stays in Sirius' mother's former room.
In Half-Blood Prince, Harry inherits Buckbeak, and allows Hagrid to look after him again. To avoid suspicion from the Ministry of Magic, he is given the alias "Witherwings". A fiercely loyal creature, Buckbeak chases Severus Snape away from Harry by slashing his claws at the end of the book. Buckbeak also features in the Battle of Hogwarts at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows leading the Hogwarts' Thestrals against Voldemort's giants.
Fang
Fang is a large boarhound that, aside from his enormous size, appears to be an entirely ordinary dog. While Fang's appearance is intimidating, he is, in Hagrid's words, "a bloody coward." Boisterous and loving with people he knows, he seems to enjoy licking Harry, Ron, or Hermione around the face or ears.
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone he accompanies Harry, Hagrid, Draco, Hermione into the Forbidden Forest to look for an injured unicorn. In the following book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Harry and Ron take Fang into the forest where he is scared stiff of both the gigantic acromantula and Mr Weasley's flying car . In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, an escaping Death Eater set fire to Hagrid's hut while Fang is inside; Hagrid enters the flaming hut, slings Fang over his shoulder, and carries him to safety. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Fang and Hagrid participate in the Battle of Hogwarts; though Fang's exact involvement is not clear. He is last seen running away after a shattered vase frightens him.
Fang is said in the books to be a boarhound; however, in the films, Fang is portrayed by a Neapolitan Mastiff .
Fluffy
Fluffy is a giant three-headed dog used by Hagrid to guard the trapdoor leading to the underground chamber where the Philosopher's Stone was hidden until the end of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . The only known way to get past Fluffy is to lull him to sleep by playing music. Fluffy is based on Cerberus , the three-headed dog from Greek Mythology that guards the gates to the underworld . As with Fluffy, Cerberus was lulled to sleep with music by Orpheus .
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville accidentally run into Fluffy whilst hiding from Peeves, who was attempting to give them away to caretaker Argus Filch , who was searching for them. On Halloween, Harry and Ron witness Snape entering the door to Fluffy's chamber, and for the next few days having a pronounced limp. Harry also overhears him saying "How are you meant to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?" to Filch. However, it is later revealed that he followed then Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Quirinus Quirrell into the chamber. While Fluffy is guarding the Philosopher's Stone, Professor Quirrell penetrates Fluffy by playing a harp , in order to access the trapdoor while Harry uses a flute that had been given to him by Hagrid. Author of the Harry Potter book series J. K. Rowling was asked in an interview what happened to Fluffy after he was no longer needed to protect the Stone. Her reply stated that Fluffy was released into the Forbidden Forest .[citation needed].
Norberta
Norberta, previously named Norbert, is a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon that Hagrid had acquired as an egg from a mysterious, hooded stranger, who turned out to be Professor Quirrell . Hagrid helps the dragon hatch from the egg. Norbert becomes very dangerous and much bigger in the weeks following, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally persuade Hagrid to give her to Ron's older brother Charlie , who is studying dragons in Romania . Harry and Hermione take Norbert up in a crate under Harry's Cloak of Invisibility . In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , Charlie Weasley revealed to Hagrid that Norbert was actually female, and had been renamed Norberta. Charlie notes that female dragons are more vicious than the males.
In popular culture
Hagrid has appeared in various animated and non-animated Parodies of Harry Potter . He was featured in US skit comedy Saturday Night Live , portrayed by Horatio Sanz , in the same episode in which Lindsay Lohan played Hermione. [25] In Alistair McGowan 's Big Impression show, Hagrid appeared in a sketch called "Louis Potter and the Philosopher's Scone", in which he was portrayed by Robbie Coltrane himself. [26] Hagrid is also parodied in Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan, a story released by Comic Relief in 2003, and he was played by Ronnie Corbett . [27] [28] In the Potter Puppet Pals parodies by Neil Cicierega , Hagrid appeared in the episode "Ron's Disease", in which Harry uses Hagrid's strength to cure Ron from an illness, as well as to beat Hermione and Snape, and to discover Dumbledore's identity as a "gay android". [29]
References
| i don't know |
The Twingo, the Fluence and the Latitude are all models of car that are made by which company? | All Renault Models | List of Renault Cars & Vehicles (Page 2)
Full List of Renault Models
144k views 102 items tags f t p @
Below you'll find a list of all the Renault cars & models on the road. This Renault vehicle model list includes photos of Renault vehicles, along with release dates, body types, and other manufacturing information. Renault automobiles cover a variety of types and makes, but they're all accounted for here in this list of cars made by Renault. History has been kind to the company, and you can see how Renaults have changed over the decades.
Have you ever asked the question, "Which cars are made by Renault?" This list has the answers. Did you used to drive one of the old Renault cars on this list? Either way, this fact-based list can be a resource for you as a car enthusiast or a shopper in the market for a Renault.
Cars on this list include the Renault Clio and the Renault Twingo. This list of car models made by Renault is a great way to see how Renaults vary and perform, so if you're in the market for a used Renault, then you're in exactly the right place.
G Options B Comments & Embed
9
| Renault |
The Linea, the Sedici and the Stilo are all models of car that are made by which company? | Renault Fluence: Review, Specification, Price | CarAdvice
Renault Fluence
80 Comments
If you’re looking for a small sedan, the Renault Fluence is easily the most underrated car on the market today.
Renault Fluence News
10 Comments
The slow-selling Renault Fluence has been dropped from the French car maker’s local line-up. Renault Australia corporate communications manager Emily Fadeyev this week confirmed that the company has “stopped ordering the current variant of the Fluence sedan”...
3 Comments
Production of the Renault Fluence ZE has been abandoned following the collapse of its electric infrastructure partner and minimal take-up of the battery-swapping electric sedan. Renault confirmed the official closure of the Fluence ZE’s assembly line in Turkey this week, eight months after the car maker halted production when Israeli partner Better Place declared itself bankrupt in May...
| i don't know |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.